Ow.

"Oh, but Jack. I thought you liked me."

"Oh, what's a little stabbing between friends?" He's lazily tossing more knives, none of which do more than scratch her. That and give Burnscar some time.

"Maybe treat me to dinner, first."

She takes a winding path through, trying for cover from both knives and fire-propelled projectiles.

Hatchet Face's range was never very wide.

Apparently what Burnscar came up with was an enormous fiery pulse. Her control over it fizzles out, highlighting the boundary neatly, but the blast of superheated air continues.

...Hatchet Face will be at the center of the circle. She grabs the knife out of her leg. She'll just do another resurrection with Bonesaw if she complains.

From the outside, this probably looks like she's fleeing the heat. But the circle is small enough that seeing the curvature could point her toward the center. When she finds Hatchet Face, he's standing inactive. No current orders.

She cuts his throat.

He does move to defend himself—more than zero instincts, apparently—but not quickly. And his brute powers do not render him immune to knives.

After he falls, her attempts to reach for Crawler's shade go through. She can walk through the fire and probably shrug off most of whatever Burnscar is throwing.

Good. She heads in the direction of the most recent missile.

Jack is enormously pleased when the power nullification goes down and the Crawler shape goes up. He seems to be trying to talk Burnscar into conceding. She's not very receptive.

"You should just let me kill her."

"Why? Admittedly she's not always the most interesting member of our little family, but that's hardly a capital offense.

And I don't think you'd want her power anyway. What with the enforced recklessness and inability to think clearly."

"I do get some insulation from those effects. And it would solve the problem of the moment."

"But long-term solutions to short-term problems are so boring. Much more exciting when everything is balanced on, well, a knife's edge.

Besides, you'll probably outlast her. Until then, the more dangerous we collectively are the more capes we end up killing. After, of course there's no reason not to."

"Fine."

He doesn't talk Burnscar into conceding, but he talks her into a ceasefire for a bit and then into calling the fight over.

Ellie will accept that.

Then the only one remaining is Bonesaw, who is not about to object.

So she is one of the Slaughterhouse Nine now?

Yup. Welcome to the most-feared group of...humans. Endbringers don't count.

Where are they going first?

"Bonesaw suggested Boston. The problem with that is, Boston is in perfectly fine condition right now. They'll be able to concentrate forces on us. In a straight-up war...we could probably win. We are the Slaughterhouse Nine, after all. It goes much better if we pick somewhere already on its back foot. A question of priorities, and risk management."

"Sensible enough."

"In which case... Cherish, how would you like to set Boston at war with itself for the occasion?"

She smiles, looking a lot more cheerful than Jack's near-permanently evil grin. "Absolutely."

If no opportunities present themselves, create one. This should be interesting.