Kill Order

A  is a document issued by the PRT allowing for the murder of a cape with no legal repercussions. A rarely wielded tool, a kill order brings society's wrath down onto its target.Keep in mind that the PRT is in large part a PR organization. They want to recruit wherever possible, and the more kill orders you sign off on, the less people are going to be willing to play ball with you. As a general rule, the only villains who justify a kill order are those where, if you were to poll the local villain community, Arson Jones is going to say, "Yeahhhhh, you need to put that motherfucker down." Just as a rule of thumb. In a healthy, functioning city (Brockton Bay is not this) it's not something that's going to come up with any frequency. What is it? A Kill Order is basically kicked off by the PRT reaching out to other authorities (police, government) and outlining the situation, often through meetings, and often with other Directors from nearby cities getting involved. Given what the Kill Order is, in most cases the police & government already know what's up, and oftentimes there will be discussions that sort of table the kill order until there's one more strike, so to speak. Once it's made, it's open season. Civilians (and capes) can put money into a reward pool, and it's essentially open season on the target, and anyone who's got permission and knows the general rules (no collateral damage) is allowed to go after them. Example: Lullaby has been going around and murdering little kids in Bismarck, North Dakota, displaying the bodies in prominent locations. Bismarck doesn't have a PRT office (well, it does, but it's literally a one-room office), so the heroes arrive from St. Paul-Minneapolis, and protectorate members from other cities are called in for backup. There's little need for the PRT to reach out to police and local politicians/senators, because the phone is basically ringing off the hook. A meeting is called in, directors from the various offices around St.Paul-Minneapolis are brought in, as are local politicians, police, and judges. They basically hold an abbreviated trial complete with sentencing. If there's any doubt at all, then it can't go forward. The kill order is signed (Lullaby is shown on security cameras killing the kids with her signature power, then hanging them up over an alleyway) and the notice goes out. Media is contacted, and local capes make a point of spreading the word in any communities. What generally happens is that the crazies come out of the woodwork. Intense vigilantes, mercenaries, and villains who want an excuse to get some legitimized violence going on. The heroes switch jobs (and may switch out) to a more management style. Keeping the kooks in line, keeping the vigilantes and the like from killing each other, and providing/gathering information. Lullaby gets offed by Brazen Bull, a murderer himself, manager of a roaming villain biker gang, and Brazen Bull strides into the PRT office. He collects his reward (about 90% of the $130,000 pot - the other 10% goes to the person who provided the info that helped Brazen Bull find Lullaby) and walks out without being arrested. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit.

Requirements
Kill Orders are assigned to capes who are a threat to public safety. A kill order could be signed to punish criminals who consistently broke the Unwritten Rules. They generally only applied to people who even other villains agreed needed to be dealt with.

As an example the Slaughterhouse Nine all have signed kill orders, as do other S-class threats.

Signing a kill order usually involved the local PRT discussing the situation with civilian government, police, judges, and often neighbouring PRT Directors. It involves an "abbreviated trial" and sentencing. While kill orders usually take a while to be implemented, sometimes the process is expedited, or even pre-signed as a deterrent measure.

Effects
Signing a kill order generally causes large numbers of unstable bounty hunters to attack the target, forcing the heroes to work to keep them from killing each other. Being under a kill order makes the act of killing the subject one of self defense.

Surrender was theoretically possible for the target of a kill order.

Bounties
Kill orders carry a bounty funded by public donations. Criminals can collect this bounty from the PRT without fearing arrest.

Background
The politics behind the Kill Order's original creation is unknown.

Post-Leviathan
First mentioned by Burnscar to her friend Labyrinth. Miss Militia recommended that the Undersiders and Travelers kill the captured Cherish rather than turning her over.

Post-Slaughterhouse Nine
While perusing a stolen PRT database Blasto found out that he had a pre signed kill order if his creations started self replicating.

The Undersiders were at risk of getting a Kill Order. Given their activities leading to them taking over the underworld of Brockton Bay and fending off several heroic attempts to dislodge them.

As an S-class threat, Echidna was immediately under a kill order due to the devastation it could wreck.

The Timeskip
As the fallen were escalating their criminal activity one longtime member; Seir, kidnapped and assaulted a women earning him a Kill Order.

Post-Gold Morning
The Amnesty essentially removed all standing kill orders. Those who have earned them were likely to be imprisoned regardless.

Early-Ward
During the attack on the Fallen Compound, Narwhal informs the heroes about Seir's obviated Kill Order. Using it as justification for lethal force.

Post-Goddess' Takeover
After a series of maimings/kidnappings, Breakthrough demands from mayor Wynn to issue kill orders for Cradle and his accomplices. She halfheartedly green-lights lethal force, but without guarantees of any formal support.