9.04

Okay, here’s a compressed summary of Worm Chapter 9.04, keeping the author’s tone and style:

I’m a tinker, supposed to be smart. So how can I have been so stupid?

Ballistic points at Kid Win, then at Vista. He launches debris at Vista, telling us exactly where he’ll attack. Sundancer’s orb forces the other Wards to scatter. At least they’re holding back - going all out would leave corpses. If they get desperate, that might change.

Kid Win fires at Ballistic, but Trickster swaps their positions. He realizes Trickster can only teleport what he sees. Kid Win gets teleported, nearly falls into Genesis. Weld slams into her, but she claws him, smoke billowing from her wounds. Kid Win shoots Genesis; she explodes into smoke. It’s her power, not his gun.

Ballistic attacks Vista, pins Sundancer to a wall with darts. Trickster’s swaps put the Travelers inside, Wards surrounding them. A brief pause, then Trickster swaps Weld with a corpse. Kid Win’s gunfire slams into him, intensely hot. The balance shifts. Vista gets caught in wires from a corpse, nearly strangled.

Shadow Stalker attacks Trickster, but Ballistic drives her back with a grievous wound. Kid Win frees Vista, but the Travelers escape in a cloud of steam.

They move the bodies; the rain pours. Kid Win is plagued by self-doubt. ADD, dyscalculia - he’s a daydreamer who can’t focus, can’t keep numbers in his head. His power lets him visualize, build, but he’s still a step behind. He’s the only Tinker without a specialty, worried his talent is just making things despite his disability. His best work, the Alternator Cannon, was made on medication he couldn’t keep taking. Now it’s gone, destroyed by Leviathan. He feels like the weakest link, that this loss is his fault.

Weld calls them back. The Protectorate is handling the bodies; they’re staying quiet. Kid Win shares his theory: three crime scenes, three bodies each - nine bodies for nine killers. The Slaughterhouse Nine.

Weld agrees it’s possible but not their case. He assigns patrols: Vista and Flechette, Clockblocker and him, Shadow Stalker late-night. Kid Win gets a special duty: recruiting.

A kid named Chariot has a speed suit. Assault caught him; now Kid Win has to convince him to join. He meets Chariot at a run-down apartment. Chariot’s interested, but a four out of ten. Kid Win talks up the funding, the resources. Chariot’s dismantled his TV, his toaster - he’s hungry for parts. Kid Win shows off a device made with tech from another Tinker. Chariot’s hooked.

Kid Win lays out the deal: trust fund, allowance, materials paid for. Chariot’s mom is worried about the danger, but Kid Win argues it’s safer than going it alone. Tinkers are targets, resources. Chariot admits he can’t not use his power. He’s reluctant to give up his creations, but Kid Win says it’s only in name. He can access other Tinkers’ work, even Dragon’s.

Chariot’s interested, but something feels off. Forced. Kid Win pushes: no negotiating, take it or leave it. Chariot takes his card. Kid Win leaves, feeling uneasy.

He uses his camera to spy on Chariot. The boy goes straight to his computer, takes notes on what he saw, then sends an email: “I’m in.” But it’s to a Cryptmail address. Someone got to him first.

Kid Win calls for a meeting, asks Weld to call Piggot.