Published at 23rd of October 2026 9:49 am

Chapter 59 Feast (I/N)

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(Isaiah POV)

Fighting a possessed suit of armor is a real pain. Thirteen is going buck wild on the others, and Im stuck fighting a god damn Scooby-Doo villain. His skill with the axe is surprising; hes effortlessly controlling the flow of our fight while wielding a gigantic weapon. Hes the type of fighter that Vivienne would like: a skilled opponent who fights in a straightforward manner and without any random bullshit. Not me, though. Another downward slash forces me to fully transform into smoke. I already learned the hard way that letting the weapon go through me doesnt stop the frigid aura that he and his weapon emanate from affecting me. The fact that I can still feel the cold in my bones despite not currently having any bones is frustrating.

Nothing Ive thrown at him has done any real damage. My bullets, which are strong enough to rip through a tanks exterior, have only left tiny little dings in his armor. My enhanced strength is useless because I cant touch him without freezing my dick off, and my durability doesnt matter when his weapon can turn me into an ice cube. He doesnt need to breathe, he doesnt bleed, and theres no physical body for me to harm. Revenant is hollow inside. Wait. I materialize in front of him, baiting him into an attack, and then I send tendrils of smoke into the joints of his armor. I dissipate again, surrounding him in a thick black cloud. Five grenades materialize out of the smoke inside his chest plate, and I telekinetically pull the pins.

Five, four, three, two, one. The force of the explosion blows me away, and the shrapnel rattles inside the armor like beans in a tin can. The glowing wisps dim, flickering until they vanish. Revenant drops to his knees, then falls face first into the floor. The billowing cape lies motionless, and the gigantic axe melts into nothingness. The armor condenses, shrinking down, and fading away to leave the unconscious human body of the Shifter. I turn around to check on Thirteen and see that Snare and HiJack are taken care of. Thirteen also killed the dog, and there's a pile of mutant rat corpses. The only freaks left are the Clown and the Furry. Time to wrap this up.

I shake off the congealed blood and dust thats accumulated on my clothes. Im going to have to burn them all when I get home. Looking over at Thirteen, hes using his fingernails to peel the skin off the rat bodies and has a small collection of skulls neatly stacked beside him. The man is a sick fuck, the type of sadist that cant live a life without violence. Back before Nobody, back before Veritas, back before I was even Constrictor, I knew guys like him. Guys who have seen a level of cruelty and violence that changes them and shakes them to their core. The hesitation they used to have is gone; they pull the trigger as easily as they breathe. They become numb, and only in combat or when hurting someone do they feel anything. Thirteen might not even have any reason for the way he is. Some people are just created broken.

What is the next step of the plan? Thirteen asked, walking over with his detached arm in hand.

I've called it in, and the Boss is on his way, I answered.

Artificer is coming here? Thirteen asked. Good, he can reattach my arm.

Artificer is not the Boss, I laughed. Not even close. But Artificer is accompanying him.

As if summoned by our words, the exit door opens, and Kai walks through, followed by Nobody. I stand up quickly, presenting myself before him. Kais wearing a gas mask, so he clearly knew how bad this place smelled when he sent us here. Nobody walks up to us, silently observing the scene. The projected face on his helmet is an elderly Asian woman, and her eyes dart around the place, stopping briefly on each of the unconscious bodies.

Any casualties? Nobody asked.

No; all seven are accounted for and alive, I answered.

Good work, Smolder, he responded, and the projected face smiles kindly at me.

My heart swells in happiness. I did it. I made up for my previous fuckup. I'm back on his good side. YES.

I'll begin the extraction. How did Thirteen perform? Nobody asked.

Exceeded my expectations, and it would easily meet your standards, I answered.

Congratulations, Doctor. It appears that you were correct about Subject Thirteens performance. It does appear he has suffered an amputation; why dont you see to that first?

Kai takes Nobodys cue, and Thirteen gets up to follow the doctor outside. Once it is just the two of us, he removes a glove from his hand and begins the process of removing the powers from the seven Villains Syndicate members.

Nobody POV:

Yes. YES. This is the best feast I have had since triggering. Seven new abilities and seven new personality pieces. The pure joy traveling through my veins is invigorating and intoxicating. Im riding the high of this wonderful victory. Rotshots Alter ability is to charge any abiotic item with an incredibly potent toxic rot that will pass on to the first living organism it touches. It cant be washed off, and its potent enough that it would work on Isaiahs enhanced physique. The personality piece is not one that I will be keeping, however. Crassness isnt a trait that I need or want.

Revenants Shifter ability isnt to transform into a frosty, haunted suit of armor. In reality, it is to manifest an armored version of ones personality, complete with a weapon and elemental affinity. This ability is not one that I need to keep hidden; no, I can make use of this immediately, and there wont be a thread to tie it back to myself. This has the most potential to be an ability to give to Aubrey in her quest to kill Virtue. Or it would if I hadnt already solved her problem. Once Im done here, Virtue will be going away for a long time. Aubrey wont get a chance to kill her. Revenants personality piece is dedication, and that isnt something I thought I lacked, but maybe Ill notice a difference later on.

Snares ability is a combination of Manipulator, Traveler, and Bruiser classifications. Creating a string comprised of a unique alloy that is both razor-sharp and incredibly durable without necessitating any sort of special diet is remarkable. Then there are the added effects of being impervious to the string, acquiring perfect balance while moving or standing on the string, and an increase in strength when wielding it. If I could use the abilities I stole, this would be one I wouldve preferred to have. The personality piece being contempt is not one that I should keep. Ill give it a try as I have with every piece, but I very much doubt I will enjoy it.

Reversos ability is exactly as the research said it was. Manipulator classification: capable of kinetic redirection of physical objects by a degree of three feet. Another dud of an emotion, unfortunately. Cruelty isnt something that is of much use to me, but perhaps I can use it to create another Subject like Six or Zero. I instruct Isaiah to retrieve the Cowl known as Street Shark from above. The man is currently unconscious from blood loss on account of having a meat hook pierced through his shoulder. If we werent killing him, hed die of an infection. I take the mans power, and then grab the hook and give it a twist. The crusted and clotted blood breaks as fresh fluids drip down the metal. He screams, and I cant help but laugh. Spasming on the floor in pain, I plant my boot onto his ankle, pushing down. His screams grow louder, echoing within the plant, and I push harder to see how shrill his voice can become. His voice cracks in agony, and he fails to let out any other noises. A pity.

Punch a hole through his face. I want his brains splattered over the floor. Youve taken hits from Virtue; you should know how to make it look, I commanded Isaiah.

Understood, he replied.

Isaiah steps forward, picking the ma off the floor by the hook. His right hand cocks back and then shoots forward into the sniveling mans skull. Its reminiscent of slow-mo videos of a cannonball hitting a watermelon; Isaiahs fist turns the head into paste, spraying a cone of blood, bone, hair, and skin onto the floor. The now-dead Cowls power allowed them to travel through solid objects by allowing them to treat solid matter as a liquid. He still had to hold his breathe and he couldnt see through whatever he swam through. Its a pretty shit Traveler ability, but Im sure Ill find a use for it eventually. The personality piece is perhaps the weirdest one since the Tinkerer ability I gave Kai. Superstitious about luck.

I move on to the last two: HiJack and Animal King. Animal King is dressed like an absolute moron. Tuesday, high on glue, wouldnt come up with an outfit this fucking stupid-looking. Ezekiel, what terrible taste you have in minions. I shouldnt be surprised, honestly, well adjusted Cowls dont sign up to live-stream crime sprees like attention-seeking snuff influencers. The one minion I have who is odd, Tuesday, is twenty times as capable as this lot. HiJack is indeed a Tinkerer with a specialization in hacking and changing existing technology. It is interesting that he needs preexisting tech in order for his power to be useful. Equanimity is a middle-of-the-pack trait; it isnt necessarily good or bad for me. Im already able to masquerade as an affable person, so I dont know what this will even do for me beyond making me better at faking it.

Animal Kings ability does have a hidden effect that did not show up in the scouting report. Beyond being an Alter and Ruler ability to supercharge animals physiques in exchange for their life force and command them, he had the added ability of being able to read animals body language and understand their surface-level emotions. So it is also a Mentalist ability. The final personality piece of tonight is one that Im going to need to get rid of immediately: a need for attention. Thats a big nope for me. Anonymity and attention-seeking do not go together. The only persons attention I seek is Claire. What are you doing right now? Are you sleeping in your dorm? Are you alone? Do you have a roommate? Or a boyfriend? Looking Glass steps out from a giant shard of broken glass, pulling herself out of it.

I came to check to see if there is anything I can do for you, Francesca said.

First, dont ever show up without an invitation. Second, yes, there is something you can do. Collect some of the viscera and blood and spread it around her room, I ordered.

Sorry, she said meekly, before pulling her backpack off her shoulders. Inside is Virtues costume and a towel. Ohoho, Ezekiel, your granddaughter does have a bit of intelligence and foresight. Surprising, considering she worked with these stupid freaks. I hear someone groaning, which means that Snare must be waking up. She rolls over onto her stomach belching out bloody bile. Holding her head, she blearily moves around, moaning until she sees Looking Glass, Isaiah, and me.

LG? What? Where the fuck were you? She asked accusingly.

Excellent job Francesca. Cover the costume in blood and bits; I want you to make sure it has plenty of their DNA on it, I said, ignoring Snare.

You little bitch. You betrayed us, didnt you?

Dont look at her. She's already dead, she just hasn't realized it yet. Do as I say, I said firmly. Isaiah, shut her up, permanently. WE have no more use for her.

Looking Glass nods and then begins the process of wiping the Capes costume all over everything. The girl was smart enough to wear gloves, so perhaps I do need to rethink my plans for her. Isaiahs smoky form twists through the air, arriving right in front of the angry, depowered woman. In a deeply satisfying moment of violence, Isaiahs arm pulls back before he backhands her so hard her neck snaps, the skin twisting and tearing as her head is forcefully turned a hundred and eighty degrees. Thirteen and Kai come back inside, with the Subjects arm reattached. Hes flexing it repeatedly, testing it out with a few swings and punches. Trailing behind them is a few of Kai's Beholder drones, which hell use to imitate Virtues laser vision. Subject Thirteens hungry smile and bulging erection are a repulsive reminder that I have acquired another psychopathic pervert.

Thirteen, I stated.

His head swivels to look at me, and theres a blankness to his expression that is intriguing. Clearly, hes trying to understand me and figure out how to treat me. Thats a mark in the pro column. Being able to take a moment to consider an advisory is an important trait in our line of work. His face seems to settle on a quiet attentiveness as he stands in front of me silently.

Whatever thoughts you may have about me should be discarded. I am not a man you want to underestimate," I warned. "But good work deserves a reward; you get to assist Smolder and Artificer in brutalizing the bodies. The two of them can inform you of the Capes capabilities that you are emulating. Enjoy yourself."

I will, he snarled hungrily.

Disgusting. Francesca comes over to me, the normally pristine white and gold costume now a mixture of red, brown, and gray. Excellent. She's also got a few skull fragments and hair wrapped in the towel. I nod my head at her, and she disappears through a piece of glass, reemerging a few minutes later empty-handed. I hold my bare hand out to her, and she willingly accepts it. I begin the transfer while the other three begin their messy work, Kai already complaining. I hear the whoosh of lasers going off, and Im thankful again for my helmet protecting me from the smell of this place. Francescas ability is exactly as advertised, a Traveler ability to navigate the world through a glass dimension, but she does have to know where the glass she wants to go through is. An insignificant restriction. Her personality piece is a sense of body dysmorphia.

Lets go back to the base, Francesca, I said.

Yes, Nobody.

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