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

-----Sewers of Brockton Bay, CT-----

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

This is good stuff. Thank you Coil. Thank you very much. I wonder what I should do with him. Some of this intel, he seemingly added out of nowhere, and he's demonstrated an uncanny ability to always succeed at whatever endeavor he sets out to do, with minimal deviation.

If he isn't a Cape, I'll eat my tendrils. Thomas Calvert. What are you hiding? Perhaps Sarah could be persuaded to tell me. She does love to run her mouth after all...

-----Colin Wallis/Armsmaster-----

-----PRT ENE Director's Office-----

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

"As things currently stand, our search for the mysterious hacker has hit a snag. Our search of the Library turned up virtually no leads, at least not at first."

Director Piggot levels a hard stare at me before asking "what do you mean by that?"

To which I reply "initially, we checked security footage both inside the Library and surrounding the Library checking for suspicious activity. None could be determined. Next we tried checking for traces of Tinkertech. We couldn't find any. We considered the possibility of some sort of Thinker/Shaker effect directed towards controlling technology. This seemed ridiculous at first, but later investigation showed this to be more likely."

Director Piggot cocks an eyebrow in curiosity before gesturing for me to continue. "Having found no traces of Tinkertech, nor any immediate signs of a hacking Thinker at work, we decided to examine the internals of the Library's computers themselves to check for tampering. We expected, or rather we hoped, to maybe find some hidden Tinkertech integrated into the systems, what we found was something else entirely."

I then pull up images of the computers in varying states of disassembly. I then pulled up a comparison to standard computers of the same make and model as what the Library should be using.

"As you can see, what we found vs. what we expected, demonstrates that the internal makeup of the computers has been heavily modified through unknown means. Based on a preliminary examination, Dragon and I have determined that these modifications would've greatly improved upon the overall processing power and performance of the computers themselves, if at the expense of lifespan."

"The computers were effectively overclocked by some form of anomalous energy field, this was not done by some form of Tinkertech, or if it was, it would be one that operates within an extremely limited area of effect. In addition to the hardware being extensively modified, the software of the computers was also extensively modified to connect to an unknown host network. We're still in the process of trying to decrypt the software and hopefully figure out what all they got access to."

Director Piggot adopts a hardened stare once more before asking "in other words, we still don't know who was actually responsible?"

It's at that point that Dragon pitches in. "Not necessarily Director. This anomalous energy, while distinct, is not entirely unfamiliar to us. We've detected trace amounts of extremely similar before. Quite recently actually. Last night to be exact."

Director Piggot then glares heavily. "So, it really is the Typhon then?"

I then respond. "That would seem to be the case as we ruled out all other conceivable possibilities alongside reviewing the data that Dr. Yu shared with us regarding the Typhon. In conclusion, the anomalous energy and modification of the library computers is highly consistent with Technopath interference. We should assume that Typhon Prime now possesses at least one functioning Technopath and is capable of fielding an unknown number more. Additionally, given what Dr. Yu had to say about the Technopaths abilities, relying on any form of electronic system would be heavily unreliable."

-----Director Piggot-----

Great. Just great. As if we didn't have enough fucking problems with being undermanned and underequipped, now we have to consider that our entire local chain of command's been irrevocably compromised.

"How do we deal with this threat?"

Armsmaster replies with "the only efficient path I currently foresee involves finding and destroying the Technopaths as Dr. Yu advised. Assuming we can even find them. As far as we can tell, they're making heavy use of the sewer systems to move around and we don't currently have a reliable means of tracking them down there. We could send Velocity down there to run around, see what he finds, but I'd rather not put him in potential danger like that."

Yes. That would be bad indeed. "Do you have any alternative ideas?"

"Dragon and I are currently devising potential strategies for safely exploring the sewers to locate and eliminate the Technopaths, if nothing else. They are somewhat limited in that if they wish to access networked systems then they require an internet uplink of some sort, which is something we can track. For now, I'd recommend putting sources of publicly available Wi-Fi under strict observation and wait for a Technopath to try and link up to the net."

I grunt in approval of his plan before ending the meeting and rubbing my sore head. I've got a feeling that this is only the beginning of the headaches that this "Typhon Prime" is going to cause me.

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

After carefully reviewing the data on the various Capes of Brockton Bay, I'm far less concerned about confronting Parahumans in general. At least the local ones. I may not understand where they get their Powers from, but I'm confident I can deal with the vast majority of them.

Oni Lee needs to see where he's trying to teleport to for his Power to work. He can be taken out with a blindfold, or a Mimic to the face. Lung is only dangerous if you're stupid enough to give him time to ramp up. Just kill him in his sleep. Actually, most of the Capes in this city don't have any counter to night-time Mimic surprise hugs.

The only real exceptions to this are Armsmaster and Miss Militia. Miss Militia due to being a Noctis Cape, who requires no sleep. Armsmaster due to being an extremely paranoid Tinker with an Artificial Intelligence watching over him.

I was mildly surprised by the Technopath's findings when it briefly confronted Dragon. All available data I'd gathered thus far indicated that AI was outlawed in this world due to fears of the Machine Army down in Eagleton, yet one of the best Hero's on the planet's an AI? Inconceivable.

And yet, the facts were undeniable. However, it seems that Dragon is far weaker than she should be. The Technopath discovered indications of severe programming restrictions binding Dragon, reducing her potential significantly. This is fortunate for me since it greatly reduced her threat to my existence.

Besides, the weaker she is, the easier it'll be for me to gain control of her later once I get some proper Technopaths under my control. In the meantime, I'm going to lay low and quietly build up my Powers while letting the heat die down. Tensions are running just a bit too high for my liking and I'm in no particular rush.

-----02/01/2011-----

It's been almost a month since my arrival in this world, and I've made considerable progress towards my goals. I've quietly absconded with a number of individuals from homeless dregs to Lower-Middle Class citizens to consume for the sake of growing the hive. I'm also getting closer to fabricating a proper Technopath as the first-gen Fabricator and Recycler are just about ready. Once I can properly start fabricating to spec, preparing an Operator Fabrication Station should be a piece of cake.

...I wonder what cake tastes like? I've got hundreds of memories to draw upon, but they say that memory's no true substitute for experience... or something like that.

I also made sure not to idle around power-wise. I've been tapping into my subconscious to try and sus out the hidden capabilities within me and I've uncovered a considerable amount of abilities. While I was doing that, I feel that I'm also closer to solving the current mystery about the truth of my existence. The parts I don't know anyway.

-----Director Piggot-----

-----PRT ENE Director's Office-----

You know something? When I heard there was an honest to God alien infestation that had been inadvertently set loose upon this shit hole of a city, I thought I was going to either have a stroke from my rising blood pressure, or a heart attack from the Ellisburg flashbacks as the streets were drowned in a sea of oily monstrosities from beyond the stars, and that would be the worst of it.

Turns out I was mistaken. This "silence", this lull of activity over the last month turned out to be far worse than any of my worst nightmares. The waiting, that's what's getting to me. It's knowing that the threat is somewhere, out there, just waiting and watching for the proper moment to strike. Like a child being stalked by a tiger or something.

The whole city's atmosphere is rife with tension. Even Lung, who regularly boasts of his invincibility, has been surprisingly circumspect. Do the gangs know about the Typhon? Are they also waiting for the other shoe to drop as the eldritch abominations suddenly decide to announce their abhorent return?

God I hate this fucking city.