-----Chief Dirctor Rebecca Costa-Brown/Alexandria-----

-----PRT Conference Room; Seattle, WA; Earth Bet-----

-----01/04/2011-----

"Okay Dragon. We're all here. You said you had an urgent matter to discuss with the PRT, Protectorate, and The Guild?"

"Indeed, Chief Director. With your permission, there is one more party that I would like to bring into this teleconference on account of the information on the subject matter they're in possession of."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

"Doctor Morgana Yu, Chief of Operations aboard TranStar Industries 'Talos-1' lunar research and development station." Dragon replies before a woman with Asian features pops up on a new part of the split screen... are those stars outside the window behind her?

"Greetings. Dragon tells me that you are the people I need to talk to in order to get some actual help up here, so I'll try to keep it short. My name is Dr. Morgan Yu, Chief of Operations aboard the Talos-1 space station, owned and operated by TranStar Industries, currently maintaining position at the L2 Lagrange Point orbiting the Moon. She tells me that the concept of parallel Earth's aren't unknown to you, so to keep it brief, it would appear that we've been dimensionally displaced in your universe as opposed to our own."

That quickly causes the other Directors as well as some of the Protectorate branch leaders to begin murmuring about our alleged new arrivals.

Dragon then chimes in again. "I first noticed them while monitoring unusual activity from The Simurgh where she briefly seemed to be observing the moon for unknown reasons. After tasking a reconnaissance satellite to take a look, I spotted the space station and eventually established radio contact."

"I believe we understand your situation, doctor. What seems to be your emergency? If you need us to come evacuate the station, I'm afraid that's going to be a bit tricky. I don't know if Dragon told you or not but The Simurgh seems rather keen on disrupting our space industry and would likely intercept any shuttles we sent to retrieve you and your crew."

"She has made us aware of that possibility. That's not the problem. The problem is that we've had a containment breach from our Psychotronics Division and our latest Prototype Specimen, what we refer to as Typhon Prime, has inexplicably managed to escape its isolation chamber. We're currently scouring the station top to bottom just in case it's still here, but we have to assume the possibility that it somehow may have wound up on Earth Bet."

"And what exactly is this 'Typhon Prime'?" Deputy Director Tagg asks with a frustrated growl.

"It's a heavily-modified nonterrestial lifeform capable of potentially bringing about an extinction level event if left unchecked." And suddenly everyone's sitting up much straighter.

"'Nonterrestial lifeform'? Are you saying it's an alien?" Tagg asks again with heavy traces of skepticism. I, on the other hand, have to carefully prevent myself from trembling in fear.

"It would meet the typical definitions of the word, yes. In our Earth's timeline, it was first encountered in the 1960s by the Soviet Union but their attempts to study the specimens ended in the deaths of their science team. Eventually a joint effort between the Soviets and the Americans under the Kennedy administration establish a joint venture to study the Typhon organisms in a state of the art space station, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States managed to take total control of the station and cut Russia out of the deal. Russia more or less washed their hands of the whole thing and the U.S. eventually also gave up and abandoned the site for several decades until TranStar Industries bought out the remnants of the original station and modernized it with a major overhaul and began studying the Typhon for commericial applications."

"This turned out to be surprisingly profitable as it was discovered that by refining Typhon matter, it became possible to create a miracle technology that we called 'Neuromods'. They effectively allowed us to take snap shots of the human brain and copy people's brains at a given moment in their life. It was also possible to select specific 'Skills' such as the talent of famous musicians or artists and sell them to those interested in picking up said skills without having to put in any time or effort to learn them yourself."

And now everyone's in an uproar, especially Tagg, and possibly Piggot. No wonder, presumably the military applications of "Neuromods" would mean that you could upload years, if not decades, of a hardened veteran's combat skills and experiences into the minds of fresh out of boot rookies and have them suddenly being on par with said veteran's... and maybe they could build upon the foundations of said veteran's for the next generation? If so, that would be extremely valuable...

"I'm sensing a major 'but' coming up, doctor." I say while keeping a neutral expression.

"You have no idea. The first problem is maintaining enough of a harvestable population of Typhon organisms to refine for 'Exotic Material'. Their physiology, if it can be called such, is completely unlike anything found in nature. Their bodies seem to be made up of some anomalous form of matter that simultaneously exhibits properties of solids, liquids, and gases simultaneously, giving them a tar or oil-like sheen or texture while also emitting black smoke-like gas from their bodies. They're practically living masses of shadow. They don't have stomachs in the traditional sense, they don't 'eat' the way we do, they don't breathe air... they're cognitovores."

"They're what?" Tagg asks.

"They feed on conscious thoughts. The mental, or psychic energy of sapient lifeforms. They're specifically drawn towards beings with higher levels of thought to consume and proliferate. In other words, they feed on Human minds." Dr. Yu says with a pale complexion.

"Eventually, a process was set up where the government would send up condemned death-row inmates for... 'feeding' the Typhon, so as to maintain the supply of newly-crafted Neuromods.-" The doctor starts before Piggot suddenly stands up and screams in fury at her screen.

"WHAT THE EVER-LOVING FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU SICK BASTARDS?!?!?! YOU WILLINGLY LET THESE THINGS EAT PEOPLE?!?! FOR WHAT?! TO MAKE MONEY?!"

"-But we'd been trying for years to find an alternative." The doctor continues.

"Such as?" I ask as Piggot sits back down in her chair.

"Well, there was a certain proposal that crossed my desk one day. Through extensive analysis of the Typhon, we had successfully managed to map out the parts of their 'brains' that enabled them to perform paranomal abilities. All Typhon are inherently capable of various feats of psychic phenomena... and we found a way to transplant those abilities into Human subjects, which was yet another draw for the government to continue backing the experiments and providing 'Volunteers' for 'feeding'. Then came a new idea after we saw initial success in transplanting Typhon Neuromods into Human minds." The doctor says before pausing.

"What proposal?"

"Project Cobalt. Or more specifically, 'what would happen if we put Human Neuromods into a Typhon organism?' In short, attempting to put a Human mind into a Typhon body. Part of the idea was to be able to establish a 'bridge' between Humanity and the Typhon, part of it was to see if the Typhon's need to feed on the consciousness of sapient organisms could be abated by 'giving' them a sapient consciousness."

"Mother of God." Tagg states. I don't blame him.

"This time, some of our own research personnel volunteered to have Neuromods made of their own minds to transplant into Typhon organisms with limited success. Then we recently came into possession of a new specimen of a previously unknown species that the donors called 'the Klyntar'. Physically, they displayed superficial similarities with the physiology of the Typhon, being amorphous semi-solid blobs almost. However, they seem to prefer bonding with other lifeforms in a form of symbiosis which greatly enhances all of the natural capabilities of the host organism."

I had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"And one of the researchers who'd been implanted with Typhon Neuromods accidentally became bonded with a Klyntar specimen and noted a significant increase in the potency of his Typhon abilities."

The bad feeling is getting progressively worse.

"So then someone suggested 'what would happen if we tried bonding a Project Cobalt Typhon organism with a Klyntar specimen?'"

And there it is.

"On the one hand, it seemed to be a far greater success than initially expected. The subjects passive generation of psionic energy seemed to be capable of self sufficiency, allowing for 'Typhon Prime' to rise beyond the physical need to consume sapient organisms to feed itself. This was naturally seen as a good thing since it meant we could possibly put an end to the 'Volunteer' program and instead have a collection of sapient Typhon who could donate parts of their bodies in a similar fashion to blood or organ donations, owing to the regenerative properties of Typhon organisms, to allow for more 'ethical' means of procuring Exotic Material."

Okay, that's admittedly more humane I suppose.

"But then something went wrong. There was a massive surge of energy that originated from Typhon Prime's containment unit and then... well, the next thing we knew, we were orbiting your Moon rather than our Moon. And so far Typhon Prime hasn't been accounted for."

"...I see. You suspect that Typhon Prime may have somehow wound up here on Earth Bet? Exactly what sort of threat are we looking at?"

"According to our research materials, Typhon Prime is theoretically capable of performing all of the known abilities of every documented Typhon organism we've studied. You need to understand something though. The Typhon are not rigid. They're fluid, ever-adapting. When they realized that escaping through physical means was nearly impossible, they began to create Telepaths to mind control the research personnel into releasing them. When we started to develop the means to shield our minds from their influence, they turned to the creation of Technopaths to sabotage and subvert our machinery directly. If given time, they will adapt and evolve to find a way through or around a given problem. The trick is being able to adapt faster than they can."

"...We're going to need a full, comprehensive list and breakdown of all known Typhon organisms you're aware of and all of their known capabilities."

"I can give you a rundown of our own Threat Assessment based on what Dragon told me about how you evaluate threats. For generic Typhon, Mimics would likely rate a Master/Stranger 4 due to their ability to mimic virtually anything of comprable or lesser mass along with their ability to rapidly multiply. A single Mimic can drain a Human mind and use the energy obtained to spawn three additional Mimics. Phantoms would likely rate a Blaster/Mover 6-7 due to rapid teleportation and powerful ranged attacks. Telepaths and Technopaths would likely warrant a Master 8-9 against organic life and machinery respectively, with maybe a minor Tinker rating for modifying technology to incorporate it with Typhon physiology. Poltergeists would likely warrant a Stranger/Shaker 3-4 due to being invisible and producing localized directed gravity wells. As a rule, I'd also recommend a minor Brute rating for all Typhon organisms regarding durability and resistance to kinetic weaponry."

Fuck me.

"Then there's Typhon Prime, who's a whole other breed of danger. Our preliminary analysis, based on our interpretation of your own Threat Rating system, puts Typhon Prime solidly at Master 10+, Stranger 9, Changer/Breaker 10, Shaker 8, Tinker/Thinker 7, Striker/Brute 6, Mover/Shaker 8, and Trump 10+ at minimum." Doctor Yu states, much to the alarm of everyone present.

"Are you absolutely certain? Those aren't the kind of numbers to throw around lightly."

"Of course I'm not certain. This particular specimen is unprecedented. There's no telling how powerful it really is or could become. I know that throwing around 10+ at anything is basically saying 'world-ending catastrophe', and that's exactly what Typhon Prime could become if given the chance. It needs to be located and contained as soon as possible before it's given the chance to proliferate out of control. Each Human it consumes is three new Mimics under its control. Each corpse it leaves in its path is a new Phantom in its army. It takes three to four Mimics working together to cause one Mimic to evolve into a Weaver who can go on to raise more corpses as Phantoms. It takes roughly three to four Mimics combining together to make a single Telepath. I cannot stress enough how quickly a Typhon outbreak can spiral out of control."

"I think we've got the picture, doctor. Do you have any ideas or recommendations for how to fight against these things?"

"Well, we observed that the Klyntar seem to be especially vulnerable to certain sonic frequencies as well as high temperatures such as open flames, so that might deter Typhon Prime. As for standard Typhon? Unless you've got Nullwave equipment or a sufficient equivalent on hand, then I'd recommend hitting them hard and fast from a distance. Long range engagements are pretty much their sole tactical weakness as things stand, but that could quickly change if they're given enough time."

"Thank you doctor. We'll contact you if we get any additional information on our end regarding Typhon sightings."

"Thank you, Chief Director, for taking the threat seriously." Dr. Yu says before hanging up.

"Well, you heard the doctor, all divisions are on high alert. If anyone gets even a ghost of a whisper of anything that even remotely resembles a Typhon, you fast track that shit straight to my desk ASAP."

""Yes ma'am!"" Everyone responds before the conference is concluded.

"Door me." I say before going to Cauldron. Moments later, Contessa arrives.

"I've been trying to find any signs of these so-called 'Typhon', but it seems that their Stranger rating may need to be bumped up. They're not registerring on the Paths at all."

Damn. "Any ideas on where the Path starts to break down?"

"I think so. I've noticed that Brockton Bay is getting slightly harder to Path over the last couple of days, but it's too early to say if that's a result of the Typhon or just new Triggers. That place is kind of a gold mine for fresh Triggers, and Trigger Events always muck up the Paths."

"True. Keep looking. The last thing we need is another S-Class threat running loose and making life more difficult for us."

"...Actually, there is an opportunity here. Depending on the success of this 'Project Cobalt', it's possible that we may be able to open a dialogue with this 'Typhon Prime'. Their abilities might help to give us an edge in the final battle. If every Human corpse can really be converted into a Phantom..."

"...If you make any progress in locating Typhon Prime, then try to find a diplomatic way of approaching them. Just in case." Contessa nods before Dooring away to somewhere else.

Damn I wish I could get properly shit faced. Stupid stasis-locked invulnerable body.

-----Officer James Lopez-----

-----Streets of Brockton Bay, CT-----

Well, looks like tonight's going to be a quiet night. Well, quiet for Brockton Bay that is. Sure, we got the damn Asian rage dragon, the literal Nazis, and the Merchants I suppose, but I guess everyone's more or less decided to take the night off.

Not that I'm complaining, it's not like we'd be able to do anything about those bastards. Fucking PRT waving their jurisdictional bullshit all over the place, stopping us regular cops from bustin' heads.

All of a sudden, my radio crackles to life as dispatch radios in an announcement. "All units, be advised. We're receiving multiple intruder alarms at a number of hardware and electronics stores in the vicinity of the Trainyards and Boardwalk. All patrol car officers are to respond to the nearest location immediately."

Huh. Guess tonight's not going to be as quiet as I thought. A new Tinker? Couldn't be. Not for simultaneous hits like this. Probably some thugs looking to score. The timing's a bit suspicious though.

I look over at my partner, Ramirez, and ask him "you ready for this?"

He gives me a cocky look as he replies "anytime."

With that, I switch on the sirens and make for Joe's Electronic Shop.

*A Few Minutes Later*

Pulling up to Joe's Electronics', I see something straight out of a fever dream, or a sci-fi induced nightmare. A small group of shadowy things that vaguely resemble people. Their bodies seemingly made of some sort of oily slime giving off a black gas with piercing white holes that I guess pass for eyes.

"Uh, Lopez? You seein' this shit?" Ramirez asks me.

I nod in response. "Call it in. This clearly reeks of Parahuman involvement."

Ramirez looks at me in disbelief. "Really? You don't say. But they're right there!"

As he says that, a little too loudly for my liking, the things all stop what they're doing and turn to look at us.

The closest one then speaks, for lack of a better word. "̸̤̮̠̺͈̽́̌͘͘Ţ̶͖̰͓͗̐̋̒h̶̙̮̓̇e̶̱̒r̶̼͎̂́̅ȩ̴̮͍̇̀'̸̢̟͂̉̎s̵͇̖̻̻̦͒ ̵͉̳͗͂̒͝s̷̮͓͍͍̓́͝ͅŏ̸̘͕͛̂̓m̶̫̭̓ͅé̴͖̟̈͌t̷̝̱̆ḧ̸̟̮͍́̃͋́ị̵͓̘̮͑ͅn̴̦̳̪̔̕g̶̪̻͔̯̾̒ ̶̨̡̟͎͊̌̏͒ͅō̸̗̗̐͘ṽ̵̲͚̹̯̯̎͗ë̵̱͔͖́̀̔ͅr̶̢͋͌̒͜ ̸͓̯̭̼̪͊̉͌t̷̼͂̀̚ḧ̵̫̦̜́͊̔̀̇͜ḛ̴͓̭͘r̶̡͖͓̤̚͝é̷͓̭͇́͊̃̕!̶͎̺̤͚͒̎̑͆"̸͓̓̑͒̽͘

It came out all scratchy and distorted, but it sounded like it said "There's something over there."

Another one then responds. "̶̥̐W̷̰̓h̵̭̹͗y̸̪̼̋̕ ̶̲͊̏a̴̲̍͋r̷̼̗̈́e̵̞͒͘ ̵̥̓̓y̴̦͇̍̚o̸̹͊ù̶͔̗ ̶͚͝ͅĥ̶̘̌é̶͔̯r̴̫͛̑ȅ̷̹̉?̵͍̼̈"̶̰̩̒̎

Why are we here? "We are with the Brockton Bay Police Department! Cease and desist your illegal activities immediately!"

A third one then responds. "̶̡̪̫͉̾̃͛E̵̦͐̄́̕s̸̡͈̜͈̩͐̓c̴̙͖̬͎̤̎̑a̶͍͚͉͈̳͆͛̀͋͝p̷̻͎̘̒̽͊̽e̷̢̟̐͒ͅ!̴̬͚͍̦̘͒͊͊̚̚"̸̢͙̝̮̪̊

With that, things pop off immediately. They extend their arms into a number of shadowy tendrils to grab bags full of stolen loot and make for an open manhole cover.

Ramirez shouts "freeze! Hands! Er, tendrils in the air!" Only to be ignored.

Ramirez then fires his service weapon into the air, immediately causing the creatures to stop and look at him. It's very disconcerting looking at the ones who paused mid-step and are holding that position, as though looking at pictures.

Ramirez shouts again. "This is your last warning! Put down the bags, get down on your knees, and put your hands behind your heads!"

The lead creature cocks its head to the side, then shouts "̶̼̞̜̮̍̉͂͐͘͝G̴̠͍̖͍̭̝̒̊̑ͅe̷̢͕̺̺̽͛̅͊͗̕ͅt̶̢̢̩̳̝͍̀ͅ ̶̧̧̻͚̺̱̩̩͕͋̊͂͂̿͌̈́̂̄͜o̶̬̖̮̣̙̦͙̺̓͊̊́́͜u̶̙͍͚̳̰̝͓̔̈́̈̓̍͊͌͝ͅt̵͈̓͛̆̿̒̓͝ͅ!̴̖̘̆̿̒̈́̚"̸̢̹̗͓͚́̓̑́͛̂͛̕

With that, the four of them then start producing some strange yellowish glow from around where their hearts would be.

I then shout to Ramirez "duck!" Before the creatures unleash bolts of energy that explode on contact with violent force. I was lucky enough to get behind the car, curling up into a ball as the glass from the windows shattered and rained down around me. I didn't see or hear Ramirez.

I tried to peak and get a better look at the situation, but the creatures kept firing at the car. However, I did notice that the frequency of the attacks was steadily diminishing. Eventually, it stopped all together, at which point I stood up to look towards where I last saw the creatures.

They had seemingly all escaped into the sewers. "Ramirez! Sound off!" Only to be met with silence.

Looking around, I saw an alarming amount of blood, with a trail of it leading down into the sewers. Shit! They took him!

I reach for my radio and shout to dispatch. "Officer down! Repeat! Officer Down! Joe's Electronic Shop! Hostiles have captured Officer Ramirez!"

"Lopez?! Where the Hell've you been?! We've had similar reports from all of the reported burglarized sites. The PRT is responding along with EMS. Are you injured?" Dispatch replies.

"Negative. I'm uninjured. I don't know about Ramirez though. They took him."

"Understood. Stand by." Right. Sometimes, I hate my job.

-----Officer Ramirez-----

-----???-----

Ugh. My fucking head hurts. Attempting to get up, I'm immediately made aware of the excruciating pain in my, well, everywhere, so I decide to remain motionless. It hurts to breath.

I groggily attempt to recall the sequence of events that led to my current state, and eventually recall responding to the burglary at Joe's Electronics', encountering the creatures, one of their attacks clipped me, and I guess I was knocked out.

I then hear some rather loud stomping, and taking a look around, I see that I'm in some dimly lit chamber somewhere. Probably in the sewers if the smell's anything to go by.

More disconcertingly is the number of those shadow people stomping around, dumping a number of tools and electronics in vaguely defined piles. Then there's the floating creatures. Most are these black blobs with dangling tendrils with a glowing purple light in the center mass.

There's this one rather small one though that's similar to the humanoid ones, but something about the way it's looking at me just feels off for some reason. Like there's actual intelligence behind those eyes rather than these other... things. This one seems to steadily approach me before extending one of its tendrils towards me. The last thought that passes through my head is a sharp pain and something being drained from me.

-----???/Our Protagonist-----

-----Sewers of Brockton Bay-----

-----01/04/2011-----

I finally bothered to keep track of the date. Not really sure why it's important though. But it feels significant for some reason. Not this date in particular, but the general time frame.

I'm rather annoyed at my existence being even remotely exposed, but it couldn't be helped. I knew that making a move like this was bound to draw attention, but it's fine. I'll manage.

Draining the neural energy of this "Officer Ramirez", I feel a new sensation sort of pop into awareness. With a bit of will, I shed my "Host" and go back to basically being a glorified Mimic before stretching, contorting, expanding, becoming more...

Then I feel my form more or less settle into a new "normal".

-----Director Emily Piggot-----

-----Director's Office, PRT Field Office, Brockton Bay, CT-----

-----01/05/2011-----

Being woken up in the middle of the night was not one of my favorite activities. Being told that I need to come into the office before the sun comes up even less so.

"This had better be really damn important." I all but growl at my Deputy Director, Renick, as well as Armsmaster, leader of the local Protectorate Branch.

Renick replies. "I'm afraid that this is a matter of grave importance. Earlier, in the late hours of the fifth, the BBPD reported simultaneous burglaries of a number of hardware and electronics stores in the vicinity of the Trainyards and Boardwalk.

They didn't feel that this was the work of a Tinker due to the simultaneous attacks, and didn't believe it to be the work of the gangs since there were no reports of gang movement in the areas in question. They chalked it up to some unpowered thugs looking to make a quick buck.

However, this is not the case. Upon arrival at the scene, the responding officers all reported more or less the same thing. Each of the stores was being robbed by a small group of "humanoid shadows", is the term they used.

Armsmaster then flicks on the projector to display dash cam footage, only it's incredibly low resolution and staticky as all hell. "What's with the garbage resolution and static? Surely the BBPD isn't that broke?"

Armsmaster then replies "no, they aren't. And this is after Dragon and I attempted to clean up the footage from the BBPD's dash cameras as well as CCTV in the area. The cleanest footage we have comes from cameras nearly half a block away."

The displayed footage then shows a distant view of the stores being robbed by shadow figures of some sort. "Due to the absence of reported Tinkertech, we suspect that these beings possess some sort of Stranger/Shaker Power that interferes with electronics, as it wasn't just the cameras, but also all nearby electronics in their vicinity that displayed signs of interference."

Ah, the flickering street lights are being caused by them? I thought the city utility services were just slacking off again.

Armsmaster then continues. "Initially, the creatures seemed to ignore the presence of the BBPD entirely, seemingly content to just continue looting the stores without a care in the world. However, when the officers finally attempted to call out to the creatures, they finally acknowledged the presence of the BBPD, and attempted to flee. Once the officers displayed the willingness to escalate to using firearms, the creatures responded with coordinated Blaster attacks. The most alarming part was that any officer that was sufficiently wounded, was then taken by the creatures down into the sewers with them as they retreated."

Watching the footage of the creatures laying down suppressing fire on officers that managed to retreat into cover while they made a very disconcerting tactical withdraw, complete with abducting any wounded officers, I was forced to suppress a violent shudder at the flashbacks to Ellisburg that were creeping their way into the forefront of my mind.

Nilbog's monsters, for all of their terror, were little more than mindless beasts. Sure, there were indications of more intelligent monsters among his ranks, and they did display pack-hunting capabilities similar to wolves or lions, but this? This was something that more closely aligned with the tactical acumen of humans in my mind. Which made it that much worse.

Wait a damn second. "Zoom in and enhance that frame right there." I say, pointing to a still image of one of the creatures out in the open.

Zooming in and trying to clean up the footage as best as he can, it's really hard to make out as anything other than a roughly person-sized blur, but as my brain wakes up more I become even more certain.

Pulling open the relevant files distributed to all PRT Field Offices and comparing the images side by side, I become even more certain.

"Armsmaster. Get the Chief Director and Legend on the line. The Typhon are here in Brockton Bay."