11.05

Chapter 11.5: Debauchery and Revelation

The Merchants had taken over the wrecked shopping center, turning it into a chaotic den of debauchery. Construction equipment was repurposed for mayhem, the air was thick with the stench of burning trash and rancid meat, and discordant music blared from mismatched speakers. Skitter and her group, wearing red elastics to blend in, navigated the crowded interior, the air heavy with the smells of sweat and garbage.

They encountered a disturbing market where people were sold alongside drugs and stolen goods. Lisa, ever pragmatic, made a show of buying drugs, later revealing them to be sugar pills—a clever ruse to maintain their cover.

The scene at the collapsed center of the mall was a grotesque spectacle of dancing, fighting, and chanting. A group of women, drugged and compliant, were on display in a shattered shop window, while a terrified teenage girl, clearly not a willing participant, was trapped on the platform. Skitter, despite Lisa’s initial reluctance, insisted on helping the girl, displaying a flash of her heroic intentions.

Minor, one of their escorts, intervened, throwing the girl over his shoulder and scattering money and fake pills into the crowd, causing a riotous distraction. Skitter helped fend off a knife-wielding Merchant as they made their escape.

In a quieter hallway, the rescued girl recognized Skitter as “the locker girl” from Winslow High, a traumatic incident Skitter was desperate to forget. The girl’s clumsy apology only fueled Skitter’s anger, as she pointed out the girl’s inaction during the locker incident. Their confrontation was cut short when Brooks announced they had found Bryce, the reason for their mission.

They found Bryce with his new girlfriend, having willingly joined the Merchants after feeling stifled by his living situation and the prospect of chores. Lisa revealed that his sister was supposedly in the ICU, a lie to gauge his reaction.

The music abruptly stopped, and Skidmark, the leader of the Merchants, addressed the crowd from a makeshift platform, flanked by Squealer and Mush. He initiated a brutal free-for-all fight within a square marked by his powers, promising the last five standing a special prize. Lisa realized Skidmark’s horrific intention: to force trigger events and recruit new parahumans.

Skidmark revealed the prize: five metal canisters containing vials of what he claimed were “superpowers in a can.” The chapter ends with the crowd in a frenzy, eager for violence and the promise of power.