"There was no long-term, and trying to cling to one would only spoil it all."
This article contains spoilers regarding the ending of Worm and plot of the sequel.
Palanquin , initially known simply as Faultline's Crew, is a group of supervillains-for-hire, organized by Faultline. They eventually became known as Palanquin, similar to their nightclub of the same name.[1]
Goals[]
Several members of Palanquin are Case 53s. Some of them have put their wages toward investigating their origins.[2]
Though explicitly mercenary, the crew does have limits on who they work for and what they do, willing to do "anything short of murder".[3] They make a point of never fighting without pay.[4]
Members[]
| Name | Status |
|---|---|
| Faultline | Active |
| Gregor the Snail | Active |
| Newter | Active |
| Labyrinth | Active |
| Spitfire | Active |
| Shamrock | Active |
| Scrub | Unknown |
| Matryoshka | Active |
| Whippersnap | Active |
| Chantilly | Active |
History[]
Background[]
Faultline recruited Newter and Gregor the Snail after saving them from being arrested by a hero. After they met her conditions.[5] This 'founding' was roughly three years before the story started.[citation needed]
The group pulled a job on the North American Tinker black market[2] and infiltrated a high-security asylum seeking information on the Dragonslayers. After defeating a team from the Boston Protectorate, they recruited Labyrinth, an inmate who had been recently transferred there[2].
Around a month before coming to Brockton Bay, they defeated Chevalier and Myrddin in Philadelphia.[2]
The crew recruited Spitfire at some time either before or during the early events of Worm.[6]
Overall, the group had performed three times as many jobs as the Undersiders with only one or two failures as of the meeting at Somer's Rock in Hive.[7]
Start of Worm[]
The crew attended a meeting at the neutral ground of Somer's Rock, and were paid by Coil to join the attack against the ABB.[8] Members of the crew partnered with subordinates or members of the Empire, Coil, the Undersiders, and the Travelers in raiding ABB warehouses and positions.
Post-ABB battle[]
At some time between Interlude 5 and Infestation 11.7, the crew recruited Shamrock. The crew crashed a Merchants "party" in an attempt to seize six Cauldron vials in Skidmark's possession.[9]
Burnscar attacked the crew's living quarters at Palanquin to talk to Labyrinth.[10]
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine[]
Faultline's Crew were away on a fact finding mission when the undersiders suffered a betrayal. The crew assaulted Jeremy Foster at his house and recruited Matryoshka in Madison, Wisconsin, and was subsequently attacked by Contessa as a warning from Cauldron.[11]
They were called back to Brockton Bay and participated in concluding the battle against Echidna.
Post-Echidna[]
The crew attended Cauldron's meeting following a new threat emerging.[12]
Post-Timeskip[]
The group were among the forces that arrayed against the resurgent Slaughterhouse Nine-Thousand to try to stop Jack from bringing about End of the World. The extent and form of this aid is unknown and was ineffective in preventing the event regardless.[13]
Gold Morning[]
They group appeared at the start of the event, accompanied by Dinah.
After the meeting they did not participate in the fighting working on securing a stable base [14]
They were as instrumental as any in the final moments of the event.[15]
Ward[]
At some point rebranded themselves as Palanquin. Some of the surviving Irregulars joined the team.
Post-Goddess' Takeover[]
Assisted Tattletale and the Undersiders in escaping from March.
Met with the members of Breakthrough to connect them to Tattletale.
Post-Attack on Teacher[]
Palanquin was employed by Dinah Alcott to ensure her safety and independence,[16] and by extension The Wardens.[17]
The Ice Breaks[]
Faultline, Gregor the Snail, Newter, Shamrock, Matryoshka, Whippersnap and Chantilly attend emergency power testing of Case 53s, arranged by The Wardens.[18]
Later, they stood in the way of Titan Fortuna going to Earth Shin portal.[19]
References[]
- ↑ The Undersiders had met with the Palanquin mercenaries, despite the fact that Tattletale’s feud with Faultline was common knowledge. - Polarize 10.4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Interlude 5
- ↑ Tattletale nodded, "Faultline's crew does anything short of murder. You can say her personality sucks, you can say her powers suck, but I'll admit she's very good at finding hidden strengths in the people that work for her. See those two guys? When it came to powers, they got a bad roll of the dice. Became freaks that couldn't hope to pass in normal society, wound up homeless or living in the sewers. There's a story behind it, but they became a team, she made them effective, and they've only messed up one or two jobs so far."
"Gotcha," I said, "Impressive."
"Keep in mind, though, we haven't screwed up any. We're 100%."
"They've done something like three times as many jobs as us," Regent pointed out. - Hive 5.1 - ↑ "Just saying my group won't be getting directly involved in this without a reason," Faultline spoke, "We won't be going after the ABB unless they get in my way or someone pays my rates. It's the only workable policy when you're a cape for hire. And just so we're clear, if it's the ABB paying, my team's going to be on the other side of things." - Hive 5.1
- ↑ The nature of Faultline’s meeting with her ‘crew’ is essentially what happened in canon. - Snippets: Before Worm
- ↑ "Uh, yeah," Brian looked a touch embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck, "It didn't go well. We tried with Spitfire, and she got scared off before we even got to the job offer. Our fault, for bringing Rachel along that time." "And then she got recruited by someone else," Alec added. "Yeah," Brian shrugged, "She got snagged by Faultline before we got a second chance. - Insinuation 2.6
- ↑ Tattletale nodded, "Faultline's crew does anything short of murder. You can say her personality sucks, you can say her powers suck, but I'll admit she's very good at finding hidden strengths in the people that work for her. See those two guys? When it came to powers, they got a bad roll of the dice. Became freaks that couldn't hope to pass in normal society, wound up homeless or living in the sewers. There's a story behind it, but they became a team, she made them effective, and they've only messed up one or two jobs so far."
"Gotcha," I said, "Impressive."
"Keep in mind, though, we haven't screwed up any. We're 100%."
"They've done something like three times as many jobs as us," Regent pointed out. - Hive 5.1 - ↑ Hive 5.1
- ↑ Infestation 11.7
- ↑ Interlude 11c
- ↑ Interlude 18.f
- ↑ Scarab 25.5
- ↑ "Every… major… group… helping… teams… defeat… Jack… Cauldron… Thanda… PRT… Protector… ate… Wards… Brockton B… ay villains… Moord Nag… Irregulars… Faultline… Triumvirate…"
We'd just lost our last major advantage in determining how this could play out. Jack was getting everything. He was a wiki-walk away from getting details on everyone who was arrayed against his new Slaughterhouse Nine. - Excerpt from Sting 26.6 - ↑ The conversation continued. Egg had a hard time listening, as emotions stirred.
They were traitors. All of them. Faultline had stolen good capes away at the end of the world, working on infrastructure and backend, gambling they’d be ahead if everyone made it through Gold Morning. She had only been part of the final fight because she’d been forced to be. Gregor and Newter and those others had been the same, because she called the shots.
He didn’t blame them so much as he blamed her. She called the shots, she owned the shots. A team only worked if everyone was on the same wavelength, willing to follow the leader. - Excerpt from Interlude 19.a II - ↑ Speck 30.6
- ↑ From Within 16.3
- ↑ Sundown 17.z
- ↑ Infrared 19.a
- ↑ Infrared 19.4
[]
| Leader | Faultline |
|---|---|
| Members | Gregor the Snail • Labyrinth • Newter • Scrub • Shamrock • Spitfire • Matryoshka • Whippersnap |
| Associates | Coil † • Tattletale ‡ • Dinah Alcott ‡ |
| Leader | Coil † • Tattletale |
|---|---|
| Members | Dinah Alcott ‡ • Chariot • Creep • Leah • Pitter • Trainwreck † • The Travelers ‡ • The Undersiders |
| Associates | Accord † • Circus ‡ • Faultline’s Crew • Leet ‡ • Über ‡ |