Chapter 28: Lockstep

-Chubster POV-

Ben groaned, the movement making his chained hands flare in pain. The cuffs were so tight around his wrists they threatened to rub his skin raw.

The operation was kapoot. Failed. Fucked before it had even started. The barrier surrounding the city did not merely protect the residents, it smothered their powers. Their equipment had been on the fritz the moment they began falling, and eventually began insisting that their position was deep underground. With no way to use their powers or call for help they had been stuck falling for well over a day.

And then -when they finally passed through that barrier- they were taken captive almost immediately!

The Trump effect preventing parahumans from accessing their powers clearly didn’t work on the residents, as he had seen a finely dressed man conjure weapons from nothing and even boost the strength of the soldiers under his command! Compare that to them, powerless and disoriented from falling for literal hours, and it was no contest.

They had been forced to the floor and shackled by the wrists, Shade had even been tackled by three of the men wen he attempted to run.

Needless to say; Ben was not having a good time right now.

A sharp tug on his arm hefted him up and he was spun around before being made to walk forwards.

Ben looked around. They had landed in a lightly forested area, the trees widely placed enough for sunlight to touch the grass floor. Perhaps it would have been serene if not for all the discarded food and drink littering the floor.

It was less a calm forest, and more something resembling one of those parties he often attended in his college years. Actually, it was almost exactly like that. The tables on the far side of the clearing were full of colourful food and drink, the smell wafting across the forest.

A shove cut through his thoughts as he was forced to face forwards again.

But now he saw where he was heading. In front of him was two members of his team being made to kneel in front of a single man. Sure enough, once he reached the man he was made to kneel.

It was the parahuman from before. Their leader.

As he had thought before, the man was finely dressed. But that descriptor didn’t do it justice. A decadent blue and gold robe of silk cascaded down his form like a waterfall, regal and powerful all at once. Upon his brow was a fine black and red hat that seemed to envelop his head in the same way a crown would. And there -upon his chest- was the finely woven image of a blue dragon.

‘Emperor’ the thought came, unbidden.

It was an odd realisation to have while chained and being made to kneel, but the more he looked at the man the less he could deny it. The imperious expression on his face as he looked down upon them, the way his guards looked to him in awe and adoration, even the way he subtly shifted his weight seemed to speak of hidden power.

A master effect? If so it was far subtler than any he had faced before.

One thing was for certain, this man was high up on the totem pole. Could he be one of the architects they had been looking for? Had he helped to build this city?

“Well-“ the silken smooth voice of the man echoed across the now silent clearing “-I certainly didn’t expect our festivities to be interrupted by a group of jesters. That was quite the trick you pulled, what a shame you decided to arrive uninvited.”

The words were light, even warm. But Ben had been around enough people in power to hear the subtle sharpness to his tone. Despite his words, he was not pleased.

“It was-“ Ben started, having to swallow for the sake of his suddenly dry throat –“not our intention to interrupt this celebration. We were simply curious about the sudden appearance of this city,” Ben finished. He couldn’t deny having entered the city without permission, they had been caught red-handed after all.

“And yet, interrupt us you did,” the man retorted simply. Then the man looked around and sighed.

“This is not the place for this,” The silken robed man said and turned to his guards. “If they haven’t used their powers yet, then they are likely unable to do so. Yà lì shān dà’s protection is holding strong.”

Yà lì shān dà? The name was unfamiliar to Ben, but the man seemed to imply that this person was responsible for the Trump effect. Another of the city builders perhaps?

“We can repurpose one of the empty buildings to hold them for the time being, Bring them with me.”

And once again Ben was harshly hauled to his feet, much to the aching protest of his tired body.

Then they began to march, and not too quickly either. The richly robed man seemed to find delight in taking the scenic route, stopping every so often to observe a flower. Ben very much lacked the same joy at the moment.

Fuck, how was he going to get back to Charlie?

Eventually the treeline thinned and the roads became less soil and more tarmac. There in the distance he saw a city. Ben had seen it before, photos of glimmering towers arching towards the sky. Seeing them in person was an entirely different experience.

He had seen skyscrapers before. He had travelled throughout the US and even beyond it. He had witnessed the rebuilding of New York and the construction of buildings that made a human sense of scale shudder in disbelief.

These towers put those to shame. Even craning his neck upwards he couldn’t see the top, and in their shadow Ben suddenly felt very small. The glimmering edifices of metal and glass cast their shadows on him like the cruel iron bars of a cell.

Because they may as well be.

As Ben brooded over his current circumstances a member of his team seemed to gather their courage and spoke up.

“Um-“ the shy voice of Shuffle began “-what will you do to us?”

The man leading them looked back, an eyebrow raised in mock interest.

“Didn’t I already say? You will be held under lock and key, though I’m guessing you want to know what will happen to you during your time here?”

Shuffle nodded.

“There won’t be enhanced interrogation, if that’s what you’re worried about. We have far more reliable means of obtaining what we want.”

The cool relief of the confirmation that there would be no torture was quickly wiped away by the last part of the man’s sentence.

Shuffle seemed to pale at that too, but quickly rallied. “Ah-um, okay. What about after? Will you ransom us back to our country or…?”

Her voice trailed off, sounding both terribly unsure and nervous.

The man seemed to ponder that question, allowing the silence to envelop their group.

“I suppose it depends. If I believe it to be advantageous I might. At the very least I’ll see what your country is willing to offer for your safe return. Though if they don’t meet my standards I’m afraid your stay will have to be extended indefinitely.”

The words chilled Ben, but it did worse for Shuffle.

Ben had come to know his team well. He had read through all of the files and had come to know each of them on a personal level. Such a thing was needed when you had to dive into some of the most dangerous missions available to the PRT. Because of that Ben was aware of Shuffle’s trigger.

Movers typically triggered from a need to escape, to flee. Shuffle was no different. The marks left by her parents overbearing and abusive tendencies were still present and informed every action she made.

Shuffle seemed to sag, losing strength in her legs for a moment. Then with a wild screech she reached up to claw at the guard holding her. The man backstepped out of the way, surprised at the sudden hostility of what had been a compliant prisoner only a second ago.

Shuffle clawed at her cuffs, bending and twisting her arms to try to shake them off, to no avail. This only made her struggle harder against them.

Her guard finally regained his composure and went to restrain the girl once more, but was stopped by the upturned hand of their leader.

The guards appeared confused, but once more stepped back. But Ben was no longer looking at the guard. Instead he was looking at the silken robed man in growing horror.

The man was watching Shuffle. His gaze was curious, almost expectant. As if he was waiting for something that made sense only to his own inscrutable mind.

The seconds dragged on and Shuffles breathing became more and more erratic. She began to sway slightly and her dazed and bloodshot eyes fluttered mindlessly across the street before she collapsed unconscious.

The leader smiled at that, and Ben knew with a growing ember of hate in his heart that he had allowed that to happen as some sort of test. Ben didn’t know what that test was but the result had clearly pleased the monster before him.

“Alright, that’s enough wasting time. Make sure to carry her safely gentlemen.”

And like that the man turned around and continued on his way. Utterly nonchalant.

-Alexander POV-

“Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountains! Secret secret secret Tunnel!”

Look, I only knew so many digging songs and Avatar was peak.

I continued to sing (badly) as I waited for the oven to cook my meal to perfection. I had experimented with trying to cook with my powers. But apparently figuring out the exact speed to vibrate atoms to perfectly cook meals was tricky.

The steam explosions were my proof.

Today I was cooking a tortilla with sauced beef inside. Was that remotely Indian? Who knows!

Renji and I had tried to stick to Indian dishes on our trip, but had quickly started doing our own thing once inspiration hit.

Back when I was human I was quite the fan of steak pies. A perfect meal to have with a side of chips, in my opinion! Now I was wondering if replacing the crispy crust of the pie with a tortilla would improve the dish or not.

After a few more minutes, my alarm rang and I raced to pull the two tortillas from the oven.

Blowing on them gently for a few seconds I nod to myself and place them on a plate.

Carrying both of them into the next room was a breeze with my six hands, it was one of the few things I appreciated about my new body. Things were so much easier when you had triple the amount of hands you usually did, with the caveat that they sometimes got in each other’s way.

“Oh Renji! Guess who’s done with the tortillas?,” I asked, adding a slight melodic tilt to my voice.

The raised fist protruding from the back of the couch showed his silent support.

Way to keep up your cool silent persona even while opening up Renji!

Renji leaned up from the couch and took the offered plate.

The samurai examined the tortilla curiously, eyes roaming across its surface for any flaw. Finally he shrugged at took a bite.

I watched as he seemed to take the flavour in.

“Not bad, though I think you undercooked it a little.”

“Eh? Seriously? I added the correct time for it to cook,” I said. Perhaps that website had been misleading me?

Renji took a few more bites before he spoke. “Did you remember to pre-heat the oven?”

Ah.

Um.

“Oops?”

Renji nodded, appearing to the world -or rather the dark tunnel we were in- like an enlightened monk teaching a student their own folly.

“It’s still good though,” Renji said and then took another bite.

I nodded, still slightly disappointed as I took my first bite of the tortilla.

…

Nah, the pie is definitely better.

AN: I have returned! In this chapter Taizong captures a team of American superheroes, traumatises one of them, instils a budding hatred in another and stops to smell the roses. If you couldn’t tell from the chapter itself Taizong took the opportunity to see if second triggers could occur with new Jinzhou. He knew it was unlikely but shards can occasionally pull some bullshit so he wanted to find out anyway. Poor Shuffle, I created an OC only for them to suffer. I am a cruel and capricious god. They’ll likely be locked up for a while, but there is the possibility of them being released in the future.

In other news Alexnder and Renji are taste testing whatever wacky food they think up. It’s been going well so far, need to add some fluff before the traumatic Endbringer fight of India!

And yes, Steak pies are good. I am using my author privilege to push my food preferences on all o you! I have gone mad with food related mania.

Thanks for reading, please leave a comment!