Shatterbird

{{#if:Jack SlashInterlude 12|

“	Shatterbird, who had deigned to observe for the moment, hovering over the scene, was an individual who craved validation. She would be insulted to hear it spoken aloud, but she needed to be powerful in the eyes of others, civilian or teammate. She could tolerate much, but an insult or a joke at her expense could push her over the edge.	”
{{#if:Jack Slash| —Jack Slash{{#if:Interlude 12|, Interlude 12}} }} }}

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Shatterbird</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

Deceased

</format>

<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>Shatterbird is a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

Personality

Shatterbird considers herself a scholar, and claimed to be "the Nine’s primary recruiter," and to "have an eye for people who can thrive among us".<ref name="11.e e1">Excerpt from Interlude 11e</ref> She gets along with other monsters very well.<ref>Ridtom:
She and Damsel of Distress would be best friends if they didn't kill each other.

Wildbow:
Shatterbird touts herself as an intellectual, but she's closest with fellows who walk the path of ruin and madness.

Yes, I very much agree. She would get along with Damsel in much the way she got along with Burnscar. - Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles</ref><ref name="RWhat if">Damsel of Distress - Excerpt from a comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> Alec describes her as being a control freak having a great deal of pride.<ref name="15.2">Colony 15.2</ref>

Jack Slash described her as pretending to be civil but growing restless when things got quiet. He also noted that she was very prideful, with her driving motivation being appearing powerful and respected by those around her, while the threat of physical harm or embarrassment held her back.<ref>Shatterbird, who had deigned to observe for the moment, hovering over the scene, was an individual who craved validation.  She would be insulted to hear it spoken aloud, but she needed to be powerful in the eyes of others, civilian or teammate.  She could tolerate much, but an insult or a joke at her expense could push her over the edge.  As carrots went, a simple word of praise could satisfy her for a week, and an opportunity to shine could sate her for a month.  It was why he allowed her to ‘sing’ each time they arrived somewhere new, even as he found it repetitive and boring, brooking the same scenarios time after time.  Her stick was easy enough: the threat of physical harm, or the embarrassment of being made to lose control.  Were she to attack a member of the group, Siberian or Crawler would retaliate, and they would hurt or kill her.  It would be inevitable, unequivocal.  The idea of the shame she’d feel in that ignoble defeat held her back as much as anything. - Excerpt from Interlude 12</ref>

Shatterbird enjoyed the long-lasting psychological effects that her city-wide attacks had on her victims and their loved ones.<ref name="I19.n" />

According to Witness's deductions, Shatterbird harbored romantic feelings toward Jack, but never acted on them and justified herself with excuses.<ref name="I19.n" />

She hated Cherish for having nominated herself to the Nine.<ref>She'd thought she had an ally in Shatterbird, at least, but the woman hated her, and the uptight bitch had gone along with the plans to visit Brockton Bay just to ruin her day. [...] You get nominated, you're tested no matter what you want… and a few of the Nine don't want to have two Vasils on the same team. Shatterbird hates my guts, for some reason. - Interlude 11g</ref><ref name="12.4e1">"Shatterbird likes the psychological tests, and she was in a hell of a mood after Cherish nominated herself for the team. Our Cherie didn't have five minutes to rest before Shatterbird drove her into a room and sealed her in. No food, no light, barely any water. The room was empty, but for one glass shard. Always edging towards her, ready to prick, cut, slice and stab the second she stopped, the moment she tried to rest."
I shivered. Jack hadn't said how long that lasted, but after three days and three nights without sleep, even a few hours like that would have been nightmarish.
There was a clue there, too. Credit to Regent for getting Jack to let it slip. Shatterbird had more offensive range than Cherish, if she was able to trap the girl and use the shard without getting affected in retaliation. It wasn't much, but it was a tidbit of information, a piece for the puzzle. - Plague 12.4</ref>

Appearance

Shatterbird is Middle Eastern in appearance.

She wore a helmet of colored glass shards that covered the top part of her face, a flowing garment of colored shards on her body, and a beaked glass mask.<ref name="I19.n" /><ref name="Cast1">Shatterbird – A silicakinetic, capable of moving and manipulating glass, or affecting whole cities with a glass-shattering scream. Drapes herself in a costume of colored glass shards, complete with a beak-mask. A member of the Slaughterhouse Nine. - Cast (spoiler free)</ref> Her costume was real, not held together with her power,<ref name="11e" /> although it could serve as a source of glass in a pinch.<ref name="13.6e1">Genesis began to dissolve, and in moments, Cherish spilled out, wincing as she cut her hands and knees on the glass that Shatterbird had detached from her costume and weaponized. - Snare 13.6</ref>

She carried a gun beneath her dress for times her power was nullified.<ref name="11e" />

Abilities and Powers

Shatterbird was a silica kinetic, having the ability to manipulate silicon through high-frequency sounds, giving her essentially perfect control over all glass, sand, and other siliceous compounds within multiple city blocks of her location. Often, she would use this ability to make every piece of glass in a city explode violently to announce the arrival of the Slaughterhouse Nine.<ref name="Cast1" /><ref>Plague 12.5</ref><ref>Plague 12.6</ref> She was able to achieve this much range because her power was transmitted and re-transmitted through the glass in a cascade effect.<ref name="13.1" />

Shatterbird had finer control of glass that was closer to her. She leveraged this ability to create projectile weapons or targeted storms of glass, fashion makeshift shields, and fly by controlling the glass in her costume.<ref name="11e" /><ref name="13.6">Snare 13.6</ref><ref>Snare 13.8</ref> She could even use her power to shore up injuries with "constructs" made out of glass.<ref name="11e e2"> Excerpt from Interlude 11e</ref><ref name="12.5 c1">It’s not regeneration, exactly. She can use glass to shore up her injuries and create detailed constructs that will, say, help her retain or redistribute blood in the event of massive blood loss, but the body parts won’t function. - Comment by Wildbow on Plague 12.5</ref> Her range for these fine-tuned abilities was longer than Cherish's offensive range;<ref name="12.4e1" /> Tattletale speculated that her fine movements were boosted by the presence of small pieces of glass, like those scattered all over the city when she announced her presence.<ref name="13.1">Snare 13.1</ref>

According to the Missing Interlude, she could hear sand, allowing her to detect people digging. She claimed that this was why she left Dubai.<ref name="I19.n">Worm FAQ</ref>

Shatterbird's flying speed was lower than the speeds Siberian and Crawler could run at.<ref name="13.6" />Her power was subject to the Manton Effect, and couldn't affect plants.<ref name="12.6c1">Manton effect isn’t necessarily limited to just people. - Comment by Wildbow on Plague 12.6</ref> Shatterbird's power was reliant on ultrasonic frequencies generated by her and the glass she controlled. This made her vulnerable to powers that could cancel out that frequency<ref name="11e" /> and soundproofing.<ref name="13.1" /><ref name="13.6" />

Bonesaw also modified members of the Nine with various "safeguards"; sheathing their vital organs and major arteries in a protective sub dermal mesh, further wire reinforcement was put into the skeleton to avoid broken bones,<ref name="13.7 e1">“You’re not really in a position to be making demands,” Trickster said. “You’re bleeding to death, and we do have the ability to hurry the process along.”

Cherish shrugged. “Bonesaw gave me the works. Mesh sheaths for every major artery and organ, wire reinforcement for my skeleton. It’s not going to kill me anytime soon.”

I made a mental note of that. Chances were good that Jack, Bonesaw and the other more vulnerable members of the Nine had some similar protection. How differently would things have played out if Ballistic had used his power and blown them up?

“I could,” Trickster threatened. “Or we could wait and see which happens first: Either you agree to share the information we want or you slowly bleed out.”

“A game of chicken? I’m down.” Cherish prodded her injury with a fingertip. It was clear it hurt, but she still stuck a finger into the hole and investigated some. “The auto-injection pump is dosing me with painkillers and antibiotics now. First time feeling this stuff work.” - Excerpt from Snare 13.7</ref> with special attention was paid to the organs and spine to keep them functioning.<ref name="14.10 e1" /> She also rendered her teammates resistant to her pathogens,<ref name="14.10 e1">“A benefit of little Bonesaw’s smoke,” Jack answered. “If I recall correctly, it’s something of a safeguard in case she accidentally deploys a concoction she hasn’t immunized herself or the rest of our team against. The fact that it works against bugs and small rodents is a side benefit, rather than the intent. Bonesaw’s work has made us members of the Nine more or less immune to disease anyways.”

“And the gunshot?”

“Subdermal mesh. There’s more protection around the spine and organs, and you landed that shot pretty close to my spine. It hurts quite a bit.” - Excerpt from Prey 14.10</ref> and granting them artificial neurons which allowed them to make plans Cherish could not see, it is unknown if this could be adapted for other Master powers.<ref name="12.4 e1">Jack paced back and forth, two or three steps at a time, gesticulating with his knife. “I was looking forward to Cherish’s attempt. Bonesaw and I even had a plan in mind. I wanted to see what she did, how she worked around Siberian’s immunity to her power… then the safeguards Bonesaw implanted in us would have kicked in and released us from her thrall, and oh, the look on her face. To have seen that would have been so very worth all the trouble. And that girl just spoiled it all.”

[...]

Jack was getting heated, talking mostly to himself. “That was the whole point! To see how long we could go without tipping her off. Bonesaw helped with some surgery, even some artificial neural connections that Cherish wouldn’t be able to see. So much work and preparation ruined.” - Excerpt from Plague 12.4</ref>

History

Background

Shatterbird was born in the United Arab Emirates and was unknowingly dosed with a Cauldron formula, prompting the manifestation of her powers and the deaths of thousands. She eventually made her way to London, then America, joining the Slaughterhouse Nine.<ref name="Cast2">Shatterbird (Missing) – Typically the one that heralds the arrival of the Slaughterhouse Nine at a new city, Shatterbird is a silicakinetic with the ability to manipulate glass at will over a wide area. She was born in the Arab Emirates and dosed with a Cauldron formula, prompting the manifestation of her powers and the deaths of thousands. Eventually made her way to London, then America, joining the Slaughterhouse Nine. She was kidnapped by the Undersiders and controlled by Regent for some time, escaped in the Echidna Arc, and is expected to have died in the collapse of Coil’s base. - Cast (in depth)</ref>

Shatterbird's induction into the Slaughterhouse Nine was the last time more than one of its "candidates" survived the Nine's tests previously to their arrival in Brockton Bay in 2011, and she presumably won her place in the Nine by killing the other candidate(s).<ref name="I12">“That’s not really a test,” Shatterbird spoke, “There hasn’t been a round of testing since I joined the group where we didn’t whittle it down to one candidate.”

“We could forego the final test, pitting them against one another.”

Shatterbird turned to him, “Ah.  But, again, the last test where we had to go that far was… mine?” - Excerpt from Interlude 12</ref>

She would gain a reputation as the recruiter for the Slaughterhouse Nine, directly recruiting Burnscar when the young pyrokinetic was on one of her sprees.<ref name="I11.c">Interlude 11c</ref>

Post-Leviathan

Shatterbird came to Brockton Bay with the rest of the Nine and devastated the city with her power. Her candidate for membership was Hookwolf, whom she convinced to agree by threatening his Chosen.<ref name="11e">Interlude 11e</ref>

She was defeated and captured by an alliance of the The Undersiders and The Travelers. Regent then used his Master abilities to control her body and by extension her power.<ref name="13.6">Snare 13.6</ref>

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine

Shatterbird became a fixture of the Undersiders strategies for the weeks since her capture. She was only able to use minute amounts of free will during this period.

Shatterbird was killed during the Battle against Echidna. Originally freed by some of Echidna's clones when a Vizier tried to control her she killed it and turned her scream on her liberator. Tattletale collapsed her stolen base around Echidna, with Shatterbird caught in the collapse. She was able to get off one last damaging scream.

Trapped in the base, she encountered the freed Vista, who used her own powers to collapse the debris further and crush Shatterbird.<ref>“Don’t,” I said, again. “Don’t send anyone, don’t come. Not unless you’re sure you can afford to.”

"Okay. Don’t become one of those voices in my head, Victoria. I’ll put you in a corner of my brain with Bastion, Barrow Rose, and Shatterbird.” - Excerpt from Blinding 11.9</ref>

Post-Echidna

She was listed as missing and assumed deceased.

Post-Timeskip

Several clones of Shatterbird were made and used as part of the The Slaughterhouse Nine-Thousand. They are all presumed to be dead.

Trivia

• Information is incorporated into this article from a partially decanonized source; see the page in question for details.
• In an early draft of Worm, Guts and Glory, Shatterbird was named "Breaker."<ref>The first iteration of the Nine, back when I was writing a story with Glory Girl and Panacea as protagonists, the members included many of the same people. Crawler (then named ‘Troll’), Shatterbird (‘Breaker’), Bonesaw (The Maiden) and some who aren’t in this iteration. - Comment by Wildbow on Interlude 13.5 (Donation Bonus)</ref>

Fanart Gallery

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References

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Site Navigation

Slaughterhouse Nine
Leaders	King {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Jack Slash {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Members	Bonesaw {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Breed {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Burnscar {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Cherish {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Chuckles {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Crawler {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Crimson {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Damsel of Distress {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Gray Boy {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Hatchet Face {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Hookwolf {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Mannequin {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Miasma {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Murder Rat {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nice Guy {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Night Hag {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nyx {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Psychosoma {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Screamer {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Shatterbird {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • The Siberian {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Skinslip {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Winter {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Bonesaw's Hybrids	Hack Job {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Laughjob {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Murder Rat {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Nighty Night {{#switch: unknown	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Pagoda {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Snowmann {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Spawner {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Tyrant {{#switch: deceased	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }}
Clones	Damsel of Distress II {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Damsel of Distress III {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger Clones {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} (Harbinger I {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger II {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger III {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger IV {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }} • Harbinger V {{#switch: former	deceased=†	noncanon=≠	former=‡	unknown=*	#DEFAULT= }})