The Power Manipulator - Worm SI OC

L33T

Leet hunched over his workbench, a chaotic mess of wires, gears, and half-finished gadgets strewn around him. His latest project—a sleek, compact device that might be an anti-gravity generator, or a laser cutter, or maybe both—was slowly taking shape in his hands. He wasn't sure yet what it would do, but that was half the fun, wasn't it? The unpredictability of his powers, the way ideas hit him like lightning and left him scrambling to keep up. That was what made him Leet!

… is what he'd like to say but he knew the sad truth. He was a mess, barely keeping up with his half-baked gadgets and tech that had a reputation of blowing up on their faces. That was the reality. That was how it was… except…

Except… something had changed.

He didn't know when exactly it started—maybe yesterday, or the day before that, but things had been different. Subtle, at first—less time staring at blueprints that wouldn't come together, fewer explosions in his face, fewer moments of sheer frustration where nothing worked the way it was supposed to. And today? Today, it felt like the fog in his brain had lifted completely for once. For the first time in what felt like forever, Leet had clarity. Ideas were flowing freely, almost too freely. His hands moved with a purpose they hadn't had in ages, each piece of the device fitting together like it was meant to be.

It felt… unnatural.

"What the hell is going on?" Leet muttered, frowning down at his workbench. This wasn't how things were supposed to go for him. Tinkering wasn't supposed to be easy. It wasn't supposed to make sense. Usually, it was that he made things in a haze and then prayed to the heavens that it'd last long enough to finish their next event or gig. His brain worked in fits and starts, lurching from one half-baked idea to another, eeking out new tech from the leftover tech trees after his initial and unwitting binge of awesome tech crafting left him with very little safe options to explore. But now? Now it was like the chaos had been dialed down just enough for him to actually build something without compromising or jury rigging.

Leet eyed the device in front of him, realizing with a start that it wasn't an anti-gravity generator or a laser cutter after all. It was a battery. A portable, high-yield energy source, small enough to fit in his hand but powerful enough to run most of their gear for days. He hadn't even meant to make it. His hands had just… done it after he felt that there a need for a sustainable and reliable power source for their tech.

"Über's gonna freak out," Leet murmured, a grin tugging at his lips. He could already imagine Über's reaction—finally, something that worked the way it was supposed to. They hadn't caught a break in months. Every heist, every job, something had gone wrong. They were supposed to be the cool villain duo, the ones with the tech and the style, teaching this blande, decrepit world the wonders of gaming, but lately, it had been more like the laugh track to a bad sitcom.

But now? Maybe things were changing.

Still, there was that nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Why now? Nothing had changed. No new deals, no fancy power upgrades—like what he'd read on some of the conspiracy threads on PHO… hah, as if someone could actually give out full-fledged superpowers without any strings attached—He hadn't even had a particularly good night's sleep last night. So why was everything suddenly coming together?

Leet stood up, pacing the cluttered space of their workshop, kicking aside an old drone carcass as he walked. His mind raced. Maybe it was just luck. Or maybe… maybe it was something else. He didn't trust luck. In their line of work, you couldn't afford to. There was always a reason, a trick hiding somewhere behind the curtain.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking it," he muttered in the end, rubbing his aching eyes, but the words felt hollow even as he said them.

He glanced back at the super battery. The nagging feeling was still there, but it didn't matter. Not right now. He had work to do, and for once, it felt like he could actually finish something amazing without everything blowing up in his face—literally or figuratively.

Leet grabbed his tools, settling back into his chair, trying to shake the unease creeping up his spine. His hands moved with precision, his mind unusually focused. It felt good. Too good. Like the universe had decided to throw him a bone for once in his miserable villain career.

But the paranoia was there, lurking at the edges of his thoughts. This wasn't natural for him. He wasn't supposed to be this competent, as much as it galled him to say this about himself.

Before he could get too lost in his own head, however, there was a knock at the door, followed by Über's voice as the door was opened.

"Yo, Leet! You alive in there?"

Leet smirked, shaking his head. "Barely, man. Barely. But you gotta see this!"

Whatever was happening, he'd figure it out later. For now, he'd take the win like a champ.

-x-

Über

Über sat on the worn-out couch in their hideout, a place that had seen better days—just like him, he thought with a wry grin. The flickering light of the TV screen cast dancing shadows across the cluttered room, highlighting the remnants of their latest failed project. Half-assembled gadgets and pieces of discarded or dead tech lay scattered around, the debris of Leet's overambitious schemes.

Über wasn't paying much attention to the TV, though. He had his laptop open on his lap, scrolling through the Parahumans Online forums. PHO was always buzzing with the latest news, gossip, and wild speculations. It was a goldmine of information if you knew where to look—and Über prided himself on knowing exactly where to look. That's part of how the duo of Über and Leet managed to survive and occasionally thrive in the cut throat world of capes.

"Let's see what the world's talking about today," he muttered to himself as he clicked through the threads, his eyes scanning the screen with practiced speed.

The usual topics were there, of course: speculation about the next Endbringer attack, complaints about the Protectorate's latest screw-up, and the endless debates about who was the strongest cape in Brockton Bay – that would always come down to Armsmaster and Dauntless and whether the premier tinker has secretly deviced a way to incapacitate/kill all of his coulleges in case they're Mastered or some shit. Things often were wild in the speculation land. Sometimes there were unique opinions added it, like the one guy who explained how Velocity could theoretically take out all BB capes, no cap. That one was an interesting, if doubtful, read.

But Über wasn't interested in the usual noise. He was looking for something else—something more relevant to him and Leet.

He found it in a thread titled "Mass Power Theft in Brockton Bay—What the Hell is Going On?"

"Now this looks interesting," Über said, leaning forward as he clicked on the thread. The post was long, filled with rumors and reports from various sources. Gangs were on edge, capes were disappearing, and powers were 'being stolen?'

Alright…

No one seemed to know who was responsible, but everyone on PHO was freaking out about it.

Über's eyes narrowed as he read through the thread. The speculation was wild, ranging from theories about a new Endbringer to the possibility of a rogue tinker with a device that could rip powers away from their owners. But one thing was clear: whoever was behind it was making waves. Big ones. Unknowingly or knowingly, he didn't know, but if it was a cape debue, that was one hell of a way to debue.

He scrolled down to a post that caught his attention, written by someone claiming to have inside info from the PRT.

 "Word on the street is that the PRT is losing their shit over this. They don't know who's doing it, but they're scrambling to figure it out. I've heard they're even thinking about bringing in capes from other cities to help deal with the situation. If you're in the Bay, keep your head down—no one's safe."

Über let out a low whistle. "Well, that's not good."

He leaned back on the couch, letting the implications sink in. If someone was (allegedly) stealing powers, that meant they were potentially taking capes off the board left and right. The balance of power in the city was already shaky, and this could tip it over the edge. He could only imagine what'd happen if the gangs were attacked like that and none of it was good. And if the PRT was worried enough to consider calling in reinforcements, things were probably worse than the public knew. Assuming that 'inside info' had any weight. The user who posted it had a decent reputation and post history, but it wasn't exactly on the level of, say, Bagrat's reliability.

"Shit," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face as the realization hit him. This was bad news for everyone in the Bay, but especially for small-time players like him and Leet. They were already struggling to stay relevant in a city filled with heavy hitters. If this power thief decided to come after them...

Über shook his head, trying to push the thought away. No point in panicking. They needed to be smart about this, stay under the radar until the dust settled. Maybe even find a way to turn this chaos to their advantage.

He clicked on another thread, this one speculating about which gangs had been hit hardest by the thefts. The Empire, ABB, and Merchants were all mentioned, with people pointing out that their recent activities had become increasingly frantic and erratic. Some were even saying that the gangs were starting to suspect each other, which could lead to all-out war in the streets.

Über's grin widened, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Let 'em rip each other to shreds. Saves us the headache."

But as he continued to read, his smirk faded. The thread was filled with stories of capes going missing, their powers stripped away, leaving them vulnerable—or worse. It wasn't just the big players who were at risk. Even the small fry were getting caught in the crossfire. Or maybe that was just speculation or heresay. There wasn't any real proof for most of the claims and what little was there was unreliable.

A different post in the thread caught Über's eye:

"Anyone hear about that power-stealing cape targeting villains only? Sounds like a vigilante. Maybe they're trying to clean up the city in their own twisted way. But how long before they start going after heroes too? Or anyone with powers?"

Über stared at the screen, his mind racing. A vigilante with the ability to steal powers… that could be a game-changer. And not in a good way for villains. It wasn't on the level of Gavel, not even close, but stealing a cape's power was one of the worst thing you could do to them, he thought.

"Leet's not gonna like this," he muttered, closing the laptop and setting it aside. If this was true, which he was hoping it wasn't, they needed to be extra careful. Whoever this cape was, they were playing a dangerous game, and Über didn't want to get caught up in it.

He glanced over at the door that led to the room where Leet was tinkering away, oblivious to the world outside. Über knew he'd have to break the news to his partner, but he wasn't looking forward to it. Leet had a tendency to panic, especially when their already precarious situation seemed to get even worse.

With a sigh, Über stood up and headed towards the door. He could already hear the sounds of tools clinking and Leet muttering to himself as he worked on their next "big idea."

"Hey, Leet," Über called out but didn't get a response.

"Yo, Leet! You alive in there?" He repeated, louder this time with a knock as he pushed the door open.

"Barely, man. Barely. But you gotta see this! Look, I was just finishing up this portable, high-yield battery!" Leet's voice was filled with excitement, his eyes wide behind the goggles he wore. "It's gonna power our gear for days without needing a recharge. Imagine the stream potential! We could do a 24-hour marathon, no problemo!"

Über forced a smile, but his mind was elsewhere. "We need to talk. There's something going down in the Bay, and it's bad news, man. Real bad news."

Leet looked up from his workbench where he'd been looking at the gadget with awe and pride, his goggles now perched on his forehead, a questioning look on his face. "What's up? Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Über said, his tone grim. "And you're not gonna like it."

-x-