April 14, 2011
A hand slammed against the table.
Vista jumped in her chair, startled, just as every other Ward in the room did.
Director Piggot looked around for a moment, taking stock of all the teenagers present. "I did not call for complaints, justifications, or rationalizations. Be thankful I'm not doing more than docking your pay."
Behind her opaque green visor, Vista closed her eyes and sighed as silently as she could.
The day had been a total disaster. A small time smash-and-grab group of thieves calling themselves the Undersiders had taken advantage of the Protectorate heroes being out of town and assaulted the Brockton Bay Central Bank. The Wards approached and surrounded the building, blocking any escape while waiting for reinforcements.
Problem number one: Gallant, on his own and without asking permission, had called his girlfriend Glory Girl, member of New Wave and bimbo wrecking ball extraordinaire, to come and help them.
Problem number two: Panacea, local 'greatest parahuman healer' and Glory Girl's sister, was in the bank in her civilian identity, though the Undersiders didn't seem to know she was there.
Problem number three: Panacea texted Glory Girl about her situation.
Then everything went to hell, because instead of waiting for the reinforcements and making sure the Undersiders weren't provoked to hurt the hostages, Glory Girl crashed through the walls of the bank.
The rubble fell on the hostages, wounding several of them. Spooked, the Undersiders cut their losses and ran off without a fight, riding their monstrous dogs and enveloped by a cloud of darkness.
All of them except Tattletale, who had been separated in the confusion. She did the only thing she could to keep the heroes at bay: take Panacea hostage at gunpoint and try to talk her way out.
Vista was pissed at the villain for that, of course, although rationally she could understand her actions. Left in a bad spot, not wanting to get caught, and with no way to fight or outrun them. Rock, meet hard place.
It would have been fine. Slow her down, buy time, wait for reinforcements, keep things calm, and ensure Panacea's safety.
Glory Girl disagreed, once again. And that was when Tattletale started talking. Really talking.
She hinted at things she shouldn't have known. Things about every Ward that none wanted to be known. For Vista, she came too close for comfort.
Her family situation, with her parents constantly fighting to gain her affection as if she was a contest prize, trying to get her to side with one of them so they could rub it in the other's face. Their sense of entitlement and lack of concern for her feelings pushed her to escape, eventually making her trigger and give her powers to twist space. It hadn't changed her situation; if anything it made it worse, as now the prized daughter was a parahuman. Whoo, powers, awesome. Send to Wards, instant bragging rights.
As a Ward, she was the most experienced of the Brockton Bay group. While her parents had signed her up without even asking her, she ended up loving her time there: it was something she was good at enjoyed doing. But despite all the time and effort she put into it, she was constantly patronized, belittled and ignored. She was the youngest, so of course she had to be coddled and protected from the violent Brockton fights that she ended up participating in anyway. It frustrated her to no end, but the Wards gave her her only respite from home.
Tattletale hadn't said exactly what she knew, but if she knew those things, she probably also knew about her unexpected (and unreported) encounter with Hookwolf that left her with a hideous belly scar, or her infatuation with Gallant, an older boy who only had eyes for the glory hound that had gotten them into that mess.
She couldn't stand the thought of everyone knowing all that. The other Wards seemed to feel the same, even if they were reluctant to let Tattletale go. Piggot understood why they put their secrets, emotional stability and possibly their civilian identities over capturing a single villain, but she didn't hide her disappointment either.
Aegis, their team leader, and Gallant tried to talk Glory Girl down, and convince her that threatening the villain with a hostage wasn't the best course of action.
But again, Glory Girl disagreed, and Tattletale reacted accordingly. Seeing that the New Wave brute wasn't stopping for anything, Tattletale finally dropped the bomb that took the fight out of Glory Girl and Panacea. Tattletale left through the back exit, leaving a catatonic Panacea just outside the building. Now Panacea had become a shut-in, Glory Girl's mess had fallen on the shoulders of the PRT, and they had no captured villainess to show for it; while the Wards were busy securing Panacea and keeping an enraged Glory Girl under control, the Undersider had vanished.
Thank fuck that Shadow Stalker had already run off after her bullying campaign ended up leaving the now dubbed 'locker girl' crippled, because she had a personality as aggressive as Glory Girl's, and between the two of them someone could have ended up dead.
So here they were, debriefing in a PRT meeting room. When Gallant, the son of one of the most wealthy families in the city, had offered to pay the damages from his pocket, Piggot had decided instead to dock everyone's pay, instead of punishing him in some other way that couldn't be solved with money, or actually calling New Wave out for Glory Girl's lack of self-control.
You could maybe argue that Aegis should take responsibility as the leader, but Clockblocker, Kid Win, Browbeat, and Vista herself had done everything as they were told. Of course everyone would complain, what did Piggy expect?
Piggot then clasped her hands and spoke again. "Still, this doesn't solve the security issue that Tattletale presented. By tomorrow, I want on my desk an accounting from everyone of you, with all the information you suspect she might have been in possession of."
If the room had heard their complaints, now it erupted in disbelieving indignation.
All the Wards were talking over each other, and Piggot simply waited in silence. She didn't talk, instead glaring at the Wards; some caught the message first and shut up, prompting the rest to follow. "Don't even think for a moment I take pleasure on this. But if a villain group has information that compromises this organization and anyone in it, I need to know it so measures can be taken."
Under the table, Vista's fists opened and closed in frustration and anger. Just the crap with Glory Girl and the pay dock was enough to make her rethink her crush on Gallant, irrational as it might be from the start. Still, this?
Piggot didn't care. She was a very practical-minded woman. After the Shadow Stalker fiasco threw a shadow over her management of the local PRT branch, she was hellbent on getting everything in tip-top shape. Nothing she did had improved things, and she was desperate now.
Before she could react further, Browbeat rose from his chair, and started walking to the door.
"Browbeat!" Piggot yelled "You haven't been dismissed yet."
He stopped, and turned around calmly, taking off his mask and showing the face of a young black man. "Maybe not, but with the way things are going, I'm leaving anyway, the meeting and the Wards."
Piggot looked like she had bitten a lemon. "You can't just leave! We need-!"
"My parents already know about the bank; they called me while we were waiting for the vans", he interrupted without changing his relaxed tone. "They are beyond worried. Now you tell us you're punishing the ones who followed instructions for the mistakes of others." He paused, frowning at Gallant for a moment. Gallant, for his part, didn't react to it. "I have nothing to hide", he continued, turning again to Piggot, "except for my civilian identity and through that the identity of my family and where we live, which is uncomfortably close to both Merchant and Empire territories, and it's a known secret that the gangs get information from here.
"I mean no disrespect, Director, and I understand your reasons." He sounded sincere on that. Browbeat usually did. "But after this morning, this, and the Shadow Stalker scandal, no matter what I say to them, I fully expect my parents to withdraw me the moment they arrive here. Even if, despite what the rumor mill says, you're not replaced soon enough as director."
"Dude, not even a little solidarity with the group?" Clockblocker chided.
"I'm sorry", Browbeat told him, "but I've only been here for a week, and I have to think of my family."
Clockblocker didn't respond to that.
"Dismissed, all of you." Vista rose as Piggot slumped in her seat, all fight gone from her.
Kid Win, of course, had to be the one to ask. "What about the information-?"
"I said dismissed." Piggot turned around in her chair, facing the window behind her that looked out at the city.
Everyone took the hint and started filing out from the room.
What Browbeat had done... She loved the Wards, every one of them, she really did. She only needed some way to fix all this, to find some balance between doing what's right and not feeling like a prisoner in her own life.
There was nowhere else for her to go, though.
August 14, 2011
Click.
[Looking out a dirty old window, down below the cars in the city go rushing by, I sit here alone and I wonder why~]
Click.
[In the midnight hour she cried 'more, more, more'. With a rebel yell she cried 'more, more, more'~]
Click.
[Now, sure as the sun will cross the sky, this lie is over. Lost, like the tears that used to tide me over~]
"That's enough, Vista" said Armsmaster, seated in the driver's seat of the PRT van and fully suited in his armor. "Decide on one station or shut it down, we're in the middle of an operation."
Vista shut the radio off, and looked out through her window, head propped on a raised hand, and bored out of her skull.
The van was parked in a backstreet just outside one of the areas the Empire had taken from the Azn Bad Boyz. The nazis were now duking it out with Lung and Oni Lee, fighting over another neighbourhood.
Lung had recruited a bomb Tinker a couple months ago, Bakuda. She hasn't been spotted yet, but with Oni Lee's usual tactic of suicide bombing, she wouldn't need to be. Lung could fight off entire teams alone, but the Empire's numbers had kept the gangs at a stalemate. These new bombs could not only change the balance of power, but cause far too many civilian casualties.
While the rest of the Protectorate and New Wave were dealing with that, she was here. Which she could understand; Wards weren't supposed to face such threats, and director Iriomote had been very clear that he wouldn't use them as extra boots on the ground like Piggot had before him.
No, the problem was that Armsmaster, the leader of the Protectorate, was sitting in a van, waiting with her, instead of leading his team.
"Vista", he said without prompting, unmoving and with his hands on the wheel, "If you have something to say, please do so. We still have time until we move."
She didn't take her eyes from the street. "Why would you say that, sir?"
He breathed out through the nose, slowly, nodding in thought. "What happened with Shadow Stalker made me realize that leaving the Wards under Director Piggot's direct authority wasn't my best decision, and Director Iriomote has brought it to my attention that this is an issue I shouldn't leave unresolved much longer."
Vista looked at him, curious. "Are you saying you're taking the team under your authority again, sir?"
Armsmaster turned his head slightly towards her. He normally didn't bother with the small gestures and motions, but considering his helmet covered all his head excet the mouth, it was considerate of him. "I'm talking it over with the director. There's the fact that that you've been accustomed to your living quarters there, and the PR department..."
Vista snorted. "They want us there for their guided tours so the public can see us nice and easy, right?" A pause. "Sir. Sorry", she added in a hurry.
He nodded, turning again to the street in front of the vehicle. "Yes, they are making a ruckus, but I'm confident we can start the preparations to move all of you to the Rig in the next week, once all the details have been worked out."
Vista rubbed her hair with a hand. "Right, that's... I'm sure the guys will appreciate it, sir."
"I've also been checking the reports of the events the Wards have participated in during this year", he kept going. "Double checking, actually. It might be nothing, but from the report at the Rig exercise in May, I got the impression that you were upset."
"No, I mean, yeah", she said with indecision, "I got frustrated from not really managing to do anything and worse, being used as bait, but everyone was upset." She took a small breath. "Hell, I think Miss Militia took it worse than us or the troopers."
Armsmaster turned again to her. "Miss Militia?"
"Yeah", she said, sitting straight. "I've seen her angry before, but she seemed to have taken Virtue's win very personally."
He frowned. "She didn't mention anything of the sort."
"It's true, sir", a woman's voice came from the small window connecting to the cargo bay where four troopers were readying their gear. "She seemed ready to tear some poor bastard's neck off for the rest of the day. You didn't notice?"
Armsmaster looked through the window. "Are you sure, Officer Zhou?"
"Everyone at the ARR saw it, sir. Evans here can tell you."
"Yeah, it's true", a man said. "If 'Reave' says it, then it's confirmed."
The rest of the troopers laughed. "Shut up, asshole", Zhou said with amusement. "This ain't PHO."
Ignoring the byplay, Armsmaster turned again to Vista. "I'll talk with her later. Still, I must ask." He relaxed his lower face, and softened his tone. "The bank. Tattletale."
"What about her?"
"What she said about Panacea and Glory Girl, she was willing to do the same for all the Wards, were you to act against her. I understand why you all decided not to, but..."
"Ok, no, sir, hold on", she babbled, holding a hand out and pinching her nose between the eyes. "I hope you are not asking to tell you what we thought she knew."
"I'm not demanding anything like Director Piggot, but if we at least knew..."
Vista opened her eyes, looking to the street in front of her. "Am I the first one you're asking?"
He nodded. "Yes. Not intentionally, you were simply the first the matter came up with."
"Well, I know what everyone will say. 'No.' It's about our... our shames. Things that hurt. Things that we'll talk about when we are ready to. It's not about things that could hurt the PRT; at least not mine." Vista turned back to him, lips pursed. "If anything, we lost Browbeat because it would affect his family."
Armsmaster rubbed his beard, face downcast. "I understand, and I apologize for hitting a nerve, but I only want to help you and your teammates. Shadow Stalker was on probation, which makes me responsible for the damages the lack oversight caused."
"Is that why we're here, sir? Because Virtue is your responsibility?"
Armsmaster kept silent for a moment, but Vista could see him glaring behind his helmet. "What do you mean, Vista?"
'Me and my big mouth...'
Vista looked around, undecided on following the subject she had just raised, and then closed the window between them and the troopers.
"Sir, I'm not saying I'd know anything about Virtue's identity... but I think it's easy to see you're connected somehow. Mostly you being unavailable whenever he drops a perp off to the police. It's not like there's much to it, and I haven't told anyone, but it wouldn't surprise me if half the Protectorate and PRT in the city suspect something already."
Taking a moment to slowly breathe out through his nose, he confirmed the window was safely closed, and leaned back on his seat, looking at the horizon in front of him.
"Virtue suffered because of a mistake I made. Initially, I wanted to make amends, but then I saw their drive to overcome what happened... We talked, and it was abundantly clear from the start he didn't want to get involved with the Protectorate or our methods, but I saw a will to make a change for good, to make things better, above what I seen in most heroes."
"And you helped him become a vigilante? Aren't we supposed to try to recruit capes who might agree to join...? Wait." Armsmaster wasn't one to leave personal mistakes to chance. Much less admit to them.
Vista scratched her neck. The thought that just occurred to her was uncomfortable, if true. "Is, is the girl Stalker put in a locker Virtue?"
Armsmaster frowned, but released a breath. "Dammit Vista... Am I that transparent?", he said turning to her, sounding slightly defeated.
"Just this once", she shrugged. "So what, she's disappointed with us for Stalker? I get it, but not everyone is like her."
"No, Virtue recognizes the fault is not entirely of the PRT, but there'll be a long time before we regain that lost trust. So I offered a sponsorship, with Dragon's assistance." Hands set over the knees, a finger trapped in thought. "Vista, in the local Protectorate, I'm probably one of the most concerned with following the rules. Probably only second to Miss Militia. So please believe me when I say that I'm not backing an underage vigilante out of vice."
He paused to take a deep breath. "I've seen parahumans, both heroes and villains, waste their extraordinary powers, year after year wasted in fights that puts civilians in danger – yes, heroes included – and suddenly I find one young girl, bitter, alone, with no interest in being a hero as we understand it, but with the drive, self-control, concern for civilian lives, and above all, the potential to go farther than most would dare. All despite having what anyone else would consider some 'underwhelming' powers. Of course I'd support her efforts. It would be a waste for everyone not to.
"I thought, if I could get Virtue back on her feet, take the credit for what she'd do until she's ready to deal with the attention she'd receive, guide her so she keep her head straight..." He chuckled, which took Vista by surprise. It was a very subdued chuckle, but Armsmaster wasn't known for showing any emotion. "She went beyond any of my expectations during her first night, and she's been doing such a good job afterwards that I found it impossible to protect her as I had planned, so the only solution left was Guild membership. Closer to the PRT than she'd like, but they at least provide a support network and an operational independence where she can thrive." He shrugged. "Maybe that's for the best. It's not the kind of thing you do and expect forgiveness."
"But that's the problem, sir. You forgot about us." Vista said, managing to keep her tone under control. "You leave us with Piggot, and then go play with an outsider? Ok, Virtue is one of the good guys and not an outlaw. Cool by me, count me in for a girls patrol night with her, but you were supposed to look out for us."
Armsmaster put a hand over her shoulder for a second. The way he did it was awkward, but he was trying, and didn't feel condescending. "Vista, thank you for talking candidly. I'd appreciate if you kept this between us. I know I've made mistakes, but I want to make amends. One week, that's all I ask."
She nodded. There was no point in adding anything else, not in this situation; not when he needed to focus in the current crisis. Still. "Sir, you understand that if any of this gets to someone up the ladder, you might get punished, right? Even demoted."
He took a moment before answering. "Yes. I know. Will you tell anyone?"
Before she could answer, the comms radio crackled to life with Dragon's voice. She sounded nervous. "Armsmaster, pick up is a go, two hostages wounded and waiting. Move, now!"
Armsmaster moved his hands swiftly through the vehicle controls, bringing the engine to life and starting to move the van with increasing speed. "Roger, Dragon." The push of a button opened the cargo bay window again. "Officers, get ready for pick up and medical", he said as he made the van increase its speed, and was answered with a chorus of 'ayes'. "What about Virtue?", he asked Dragon as he closed the window. "They're not with them?"
"Virtue ran off! The hostages were family friends and the Empire sent people to their home. I already sent a suit and a ship, but they wouldn't - she couldn't wait!"
The van turned a corner as its driver and passenger fell silent. 'The Empire is all kinds of messed up', Vista thought, 'but they wouldn't attack the family of a minor Guild member. Right?'
'Right?'
"Ran off? It's two miles to her house!" Armsmaster exclaimed, pushing a bit more of gas to the engine as they cruised straight down a street, driving as fast as possible into the border of Empire territory. "Not only won't it make a difference, she'll be exhausted and surrounded by the Empire when she arrives!"
"And you'd think that would stop her from protecting her father?", Dragon said with a sigh, not even noticing she just outed Virtue's gender to someone else than Armsmaster. Was she listening on them? "Focus on the hostages for now. I sent the ship to pick you up there in a few minutes. I'm flying the suit alone to her house. Hopefully we can solve this before anything worse happens."
The van turned another corner, and slowed down as they approached the entrance to an alley. Peeking through the window, she could see two people sitting against a wall. They didn't look good.
The van stopped, and the troopers started jumping out. Armsmaster opened his door to exit, and she did the same, leaving the vehicle.
Telling anyone wouldn't just make problems for Armsmaster; it would probably make things harder for Virtue as well. Really, leaving the rig exercise aside, Vista didn't have anything against her, and she had been doing good work.
Vista could see the troopers attending the hostages in front of her. A couple. Both of them big and muscled. Both with plain gold wedding rings. Both horribly wounded and tortured, unconscious.
Despite their efforts, the woman wasn't breathing.
They were family members. And now Virtue had gone to protect her father from a similar fate.
"No, I won't tell", Vista said as she left the vehicle and Armsmaster passed by her side. She didn't like the idea of making things harder for anyone, much less harder than they were now.
The troopers registered the woman's time of death. Vista hoped she never had anyone she cared for go through anything like this.
Now
Vista watched as Gallant was loaded into an ambulance still in his armor, barely stabilized. Apparently Glory Girl was trying to convince her sister to heal him. It was a long shot, given the healer's newfound reclusiveness, but it wasn't longer than it would be for any other person.
Sitting on a piece of rubble in front of the PRT HQ front doors, big enough to be a comfortable seat with her elbows on her knees, she sighed.
Police and PRT cars and vans surrounded the building's main entrance, forming a cordon that kept everything out of sight from curious bystanders. She was thankful for that. At least out here she wouldn't have to breathe the heavy smell of copper, and she wasn't in the mood for gossiping idiots trying to get her attention.
If someone had tried to get a signature from her right now, she'd have kicked them in the shins with a metal pointed boot, 'PR mascot image' be damned.
Clockblocker approached with a water bottle in hand, passing it to her. "Not going with them?"
"No, I'm... dunno, not useful, right now?" she said, accepting the bottle. "I already helped stabilize him, and there's so little space in an ambulance I'd just be a bother." A half truth. She wouldn't occupy that much space, but seeing Gallant like this was hard. Her crush on him had diminished after the bank, a traitorous part of her mind blaming him for all that happened there, but it was still strong. Accompanying him would just break her a bit more.
Besides, she'd have to meet with Panacea and Glory Girl. Things being awkward with the first wasn't really that much of a problem, but she didn't want to see the second if she could avoid it. Seeing her before the bank pissed her off, particularly when she saw her with Gallant, but she could deal with it. After that, she've found herself hard pressed not to scream in her face.
"What about you?"
Clockblocker made a lazy shrug. "He's stabilized, and there are two troopers worse than him. I'm checking on them every ten minutes until more ambulances arrive, but I'm taking a break now." He crouched until both of their heads were at the same level. "Kid Win told me what happened. Seems you were pretty baddass up there."
Vista grimaced, opening the bottle and taking a drink. Of all of them, Clockblocker was the only clean one. Aegis was armless, even if that wasn't much of an impediment for him, and Kid Win's hands and hers were drenched in Gallant's blood; she had taken her gloves off and tossed them on the ground at her side. Most of the troopers who'd seen action were injured or dead. Clockblocker had only frozen the ones with the worst wounds. Saying that she was 'badass' when...
She shook her head. That wasn't fair. He did the most useful thing he could have done.
She closed the bottle and passed it to Clockblocker again. "Not really. The swordsman ran faster than I could trap him or Kid Win hit him."
Clockblocker drummed his fingers along the bottle, thinking. "So, doesn't it seem weird that after going super Hookwolf on the mercs, ninja dude gives Gallant just one little paper cut and runs away from you like a scared kitty?" At her glare, he elaborated. "I mean, you know, little cut compared to being made mincemeat..."
He sighed. "Sorry, you know how I am. We haven't had a real good day for months, and tonight has been... bloodier than usual."
She relaxed her glare. Clockblocker reacted to stressful situations with humor; it was his emotional shield, even if it everyone around him tended to find it distasteful. "It's ok. And, yeah, you're right. I got angry. But now that I think calmly about it, he could have killed me and Kid on the spot if he wanted. Guess we're lucky he didn't."
The doors of Gallant's ambulance closed, and with its siren wailing, it started moving away. "An accident, maybe?" he asked.
Vista shrugged as the ambulance disappeared behind a corner. "Maybe. Gallant seemed to have crashed into him. Startled him."
Not that it would stop her from trying and take down the asshole hard the next time she saw him, of course.
"They say there's no sign of Venom or his dog anywhere", he continued.
"You know it's Virtue, right?"
He turned his head as if to gave her a look, but with his white blank mask he failed at it. "After the Rig exercise and reading what Void Cowboy and Winged One said in their thread? Nah, Venom fits him better."
She was now the one wearing an incredulous look. Why anyone would even give a second of consideration to what those two whackos wrote in the PHO forum was beyond her. "Forget about that. Are they sure she's not here?"
"Wait, her?"
Vista slapped herself mentally. "Nevermind."
"What? No! You don't drop a bomb like that and expect me to forget. Are you two buddy-buddy or something?"
"No! Look, I don't know her. Just keep it to yourself and forget it. Ok?"
"Of course, your majesty. But anyway, no trace of her. Sorry, them. The guys doing the sweeps say..." Clockblocker was interrupted by a tinny ringing sound. He took his civilian phone out from a pocket and looked at the screen for a moment. "Sorry, mom's calling. I'll talk to you later?"
She nodded. "Sure, be safe."
"I always am!" Clockblocker sat up and started walking back to wherever the injured troopers were waiting to be refrozen as he answered the call.
Vista's solitude didn't last long, as Armsmaster and Miss Militia, in her camo fatigues costume and bandana covering her lower face, were approaching her. Accompanying them were Carmichael, the trooper that had shared cover with them in the lobby, and Zhou, a mixed race woman with short brown hair and hints of Asian facial features on her slightly dark skin
"Vista", Armsmaster said, looking at the bloody gloves on the ground. "Are you injured?"
She sat up and shook her head. "No, that's not mine. I'm fine."
"If you need rest..." Miss Militia started, but she quickly interrupted her.
"No, no, it's fine."
Armsmaster pointed vaguely at the lobby. "You and officers Carmichael and Zhou are the only ones without current duties who had been present either at Virtue's pick up two nights ago, or at the battle here tonight. Moreover, you were one of the three Wards who chased this 'swordsman'." Vista saw Miss Militia's eyes narrow at the mention of what they had tried to do, but Armsmaster raised a hand. "You are not in trouble. It was an unwise thing to do, but both Aegis and Gallant already paid for making the call. I know it might not be the best moment for you, but I need to check your stories. The security monitors had been sabotaged during the attack and there's no security footage."
Sharing a look with the officers, she nodded. "Yeah, sure, sir."
He nodded, pleased. "Very well. While Velocity and Dauntless inspect the rest of the building with Kid Win's help, I was analysing the lobby and the infirmary. So far, we haven't found Virtue, and I suspect her room was the scene of a fight. I can't say who the fighters were, but there was a broken window and a slash running from just below it to another broken glass in the lobby upper floor."
"I went up there", said Miss Militia. "There were three corpses in front of that window with the same fatigues as the soldiers down below." She paused to turn towards the officers. "The angle matches with the way you saw the swordsman jump on the main group. Anything you can add?"
"Yeah, the soldiers and the swordswoman definitely weren't working together, I think there's some animosity in there", Zhou added. "I had a clear view of their fight, if you could call that 'fighting'. Batting bullets away with a sword was impressive, but she was working more through reflex and strength than skill. And there was hate in there, if her screaming wasn't enough clue."
"Her?" Miss Militia asked.
Zhou shrugged. "She was using a voice modulator of some kind, but as I said, she was screaming, hard. Maybe an older teenager, or in her youngish twenties. A bit too thin for a man, too, but that might be the armor."
Vista saw Miss Militia's eyes narrow dangerously.
"Alright. That's interesting. We'll give them the temporary denomination 'Swordswoman' for the time being, but we need to move on." Armsmaster gestured as though he was cutting one hand with the other. "I'll need to run a more extensive forensics analysis, but the cuts on the corpses, the floor and Gallant's armor are exceptionally thin. Not only that, but it resembles the marks of an ultrasonic cutter. Did any of you got a good look at her sword, or how the bodies interacted with it?"
Everyone present grimaced at the thought, but Carmichael answered him. "I didn't really stop to admire how the poor bastards died, but it seemed like they weren't posing any resistance at all. They might as well been butter. The sword seemed one of those oriental weapons. Blade was kind of long, square flat handguard."
"A katana", Zhou said. "The blade seemed to have only one edge. The other edge seemed a bit too blunt, otherwise it didn't look like particularly special. But I'm pretty sure it's a katana."
Miss Militia stepped closer to Armsmaster as he nodded. "You have an idea?"
"Yes. I was tinkering a weapon with similar qualities, and during my research I came up with some abandoned military studies after the 2000's on high frequency blades, or vibroblades. Think souped up electrical kitchen knives, with the blade doing sawing motions thousands of times each second, back and forth. It fits with what happened here, and in theory you don't need exotic materials or designs to fabricate one; the only problems are designing a motor that is both powerful enough to drive the blade and small enough to fit in the handle, then balancing the weights of handle and blade. You don't need a Tinker to create one."
"So it's not tinkertech. And if the sword isn't, the amor might not be either."
"From experience, any power armor with the exhibited capabilities is the ground of Tinkers. But the military had been studying the matter decades before before Scion appeared; mostly to help soldiers and support staff carry heavier weights. So yes, it's a strong possibility that we are not dealing with tinkertech."
Turning around to face the lobby, Armsmaster rubbed his beard with a hand. "These soldiers, on the other hand, used rifles with tinkertech under barrels."
"You think Coil did this, sir?" Zhou asked.
"Perhaps", said Miss Militia. "Which bring us to the motive. The only possible target seemed to have been Virtue. The admittance into the infirmary was the last remarkable change around."
"The corpses are mostly unrecognizable beyond the skin color", Armsmaster explained, "and there's no clear identifier on them. However, Coil is not this bold, and he didn't participate in the gang war. Virtue didn't damage his operation at all as far as we know. It doesn't fit. Carmichael suggested the Empire calling a favor from Gesellschaft, but there are all kinds of skin colours among the corpses, and Virtue is too small for that kind of favor anyway. It's not Kaiser's style either. As it is, it's too soon to blame anyone without more information."
"So what you're saying is", Vista said, crossing her arms, "two someones, who might or might not be tinkers or capes at all, get crossed enough at Virtue to send killers at her on her deathbed. One of these groups sabotages the surveillance system, while the soldiers come from the front and pin down everyone there. The Swordswoman shows up inside somehow, without explanation, then enters Virtue's room, and gets into a fight. Can't be with Virtue because she was already dying, but she got thrown through the window, gets inside again at the lobby, recognizes the soldiers and kills them, then goes up the building and disappears?"
Armsmaster nodded in approval. "Good summary. Yes. That'd be my guess, but there is something else. Before the security was compromised, an opening at the heliport roof door was logged. How it was opened and the tinkertech sensors avoided I cannot know until I check them more closely, but I'd say that's how the Swordswoman came inside."
Miss Militia interjected. "Vista, officers, I think we've got enough information from you. You can leave us."
All three of them nodded, and turned around, the troopers taking the opposite direction to Vista.
She started walking towards an empty van to sit in its back door, but she couldn't avoid hearing Miss Militia from behind. "I have a different theory."
A different theory? They barely had one yet.
Curious, Vista was too far away from them to hear Armsmaster's reply, but when she finally sat down on the vehicle, she pinched the distance between them and her. Just enough to let sound travel through a thread of compressed space over their heads.
She saw Mis Militia cross her arms. "It might be Virtue", she said lowering her voice.
Armsmaster looked as confused as Vista felt. "Virtue was dying. She hadn't regained consciousness since the fire."
"Well, someone thought she was still dangerous."
He shook his head. "How could she be? You know there are no healers available. Panacea's shut herself in and sending Gallant to her is a hail mary already as it is. Othala is with the Empire, and they would refuse healing. Virtue couldn't have done this."
"Think about it", Militia said with a raised hand. "The only realistic reason these soldiers would come for her is if she was still a danger for someone."
"On her deathbed? Why? "
"Maybe because she looks like Big Boss and he had thousands of enemies?"
Big who? Who used such a cheesy cape name?
Armsmaster turned fully towards her, giving her his full attention. "The war criminal during the Nineties? What does he even have to do with Virtue?"
"I knew him, personally. The military fatigues, the eyepatch, the intensity of her look. The sheer refusal to accept defeat, even." She answered, following with a scoff. "God, she even uses the same unorthodox and ridiculous tactics that he did. Are you really telling me a random girl who can't be older than twenty came out of nowhere, modeled herself with such accuracy after him, and even fights just as well as he did?"
Armsmaster sighed. "Just for the sake of argument, let's say there is a connection. Big Boss was a professional soldier, a mercenary. He raised and lead armies, long before any parahumans or advanced technology. How do you explain the armor and sword in all this?"
That didn't deter Miss Militia. "It could have been she was helped by a skilled enough Tinker with the resources, skills and personal connection to get a dying girl they care about on her feet, and put them inside power armor. I know it wasn't you, you were with the rest of us running damage control as the gang war cooled off yesterday." She pointed a finger at him. "But where has Dragon been?"
"Dragon's spent last night and this morning with a suit in Virtue's room since she got it here, making her company which as the infirmary night shift can tell you happened without incident, and then left for most of the day helping our patrols on a very aggressive route through Empire territory. So Dragon couldn't have done it. If the Swordswoman is Virtue, that means that someone else with considerable resources would have had to break into the infirmary, somehow heal her from death's door to fighting shape, equip her with high-tech gear...and then throw her through a window? How does that fit?"
"You made Virtue. You tell me."
"I didn't make her", Armsmaster said, resting his hands on his hips. "I backed her and put her in contact with Dragon and the Guild. That's all. I've never paid any attention to Big Boss' persona. She chose her attire, and I didn't teach her anything; I brought her to close quarter instructors but they barely had anything to teach her. She is a natural at what she does."
"And you didn't think of giving her the Wards pitch instead?"
Vista tuned out the discussion for a while. Her conversation with Armsmaster was still fresh in her mind. The only difference was that she was worried about his responsibility for the Wards, while Miss Militia was concerned with the amount of time he'd spent on Virtue.
Eventually, Miss Militia raised her voice enough to regain her attention. "You fielded a potential normal, a minor, as a combatant? For what, some sort of redemption? Are you out of your damned mind!?"
Armsmaster waved a hand dismissively. "If there's any responsibility to bear, I'll accept it gladly when it occurs, but until then, this stays between us. Besides, none of this matters anyway. There's no way that kind of healing was available."
Unimpressed, Miss Militia squared off against him. "You haven't answered me yet. Where is Dragon?"
His reply was cut short as an engine roared. Looking up, Vista could see a figure take flight from the rooftop, with enormous wings and a trail of fire coming from behind.
It started a controlled descent to them as a new voice approached the Protectorate heroes. "The aircraft Dragon had stationed in Boston Bay during this weekend has been sighted leaving the city towards Boston, if that's what you're asking."
Armsmaster and Miss Militia turned around to watch two feminine figures appear from behind a PRT van near to them. The one flying from above landed in the ground at a distance, and then walked up to the other two to joined them.
All of them shared the same gray suit and eyeless full face mask or helmet, forgoing the cape culture customs of costumes, and instead making use of similar uniforms, bulletproof jackets and helmets, but that's where all the similarities ended.
The flying one, Ash Raven, was the tallest and the Tinker of the trio, equipping not just herself but her teammates as well. A massive and powerful jetpack on her back was responsible for her flight, which she controlled with the pair of long and broad metal wings with numerous points of articulation. Their wingspan was long enough to cover the length of two PRT vans, but now they were folded around her, covering her like a coat. She was covered in armor and what looked like a modified flight helmet with rebreather, and while her legs weren't covered by the wings, she had heavy protective extensions that made them longer and in the form of bird talons, protecting them from the heat of the jetpack emissions. A heavy grenade launcher hung at thigh level, with her hips covered in belts with grenades marked for different uses.
The shortest one and the only one with a jumpsuit and full face mask instead of a any armor was Devilfish, a Stranger with a big flat helmet over the top of her head made by Raven that gave her a Brute subrating; it sprouted four wide tentacles that fell around her with cameras and three pronged pincers at each end, allowing Devilfish to use them to walk instead of her legs, elevating herself over the ground. There was no statement about what her Stranger power was, but she was specialized in recon, and the tentacles allowed her to move across the terrain and fight stronger opponents head on.
Flanked by the other two was Kilika, the Shaker and leader. She wore a complex rig on her back following her spinal cord, anchoring the helmet that covered her head and giving her six more arms above her shoulders, with curved knives at the reach of each one of them sheathed alongside the rig. A telekinetic with enough fine control to levitate herself thanks to her rig, move the arms as if they were natural extensions of herself, and control the knives in anyway she chose. Like Raven, she too was armored, though it looked lighter, and her helmet was a one piece mirrored mask with six 'eyes'. And unlike the other two, who at least had a sidearm each, she didn't have a visible firearm, but a satchel hanged from her hip behind her.
The HAVEN team. Parahumans not affiliated with the Protectorate but with the PRT. With their attitude, and their powers and gear raising their height, they looked more trained, proud, confident, and bigger than anyone else present.
They were sponsored by the PRT, but as the one behind their formation, HAVEN tended to follow Director Iriomote anywhere he went and followed his orders to the letter. Some of the tinfoil-hat sorts online claimed they were his personal strike team, but as attached as they might be to the director, no one denied they were effective and supportive of the PRT troops they accompanied in patrol.
They also didn't have any problems flaunting their figures. The suits and armors didn't leave anything uncovered, but it was easy to see they could have very well gone into modeling instead of law enforcement if they had wanted to. There was nothing exaggerated that she could notice, but watching them made Vista a bit more self-conscious than she'd like.
Devilfish's constant giggling was creeping Vista out, though.
They stopped in front of the Protectorate members, taking relaxed stances. Kilika levitated straight up with her normal arms crossed and her mechanical ones like the Hindu goddess she took her name from. Devilfish let herself float lazily over the tentacles like in a couch, while Raven looked around impatiently.
"Raven has been conducting her own preliminary investigation", Kilika continued, with hints of a Spanish lisp. "There is evidence of a fight in one of the meeting rooms in the upper floors, with signs of heavy weapons and containment foam being used there, and I've been interviewing the few witnesses available. They told me the Dragon aircraft came down in front of that room, gunned the window and the interior down, then turned around to admit two passengers in the cargo bay before leaving. Whatever the reason, it seems Dragon took Virtue, and she's not answering anyone's calls."
Armsmaster stood straight. "HAVEN, thanks for coming. You've been listening in on us?"
Ash Raven scoffed, and Devilfish gave a slightly higher giggle. "Well, yes!" she said in an unplaceable European accent, and raising what looked a small round drone no bigger than a fist in the grips of one tentacle. "Me and Raven have been leaving these little boys around to help inspect the scene, and you were close enough to the one at the main entrance to record you." She then raised a finger over the marks of her lips in her mask. "But we won't tell! Shh!", she said before laughing again with a shrug. "Sorry?"
"I apologize for the intrusion, but it was simply a coincidence", Kilika said. "This is standard procedure for us during the investigation of a crime and approved by Director Iriomote, and his disappearance has enough priority for us to forgo asking for permission."
Vista jerked in her seat, eyes widening behind her visor. Armsmaster and Miss Militia reacted similarly. "He's gone too?" she said, raising her voice. "Wait. You said there was a second person with Virtue? Could he be Iriomote?"
"From witness testimonies, one was a girl, thin, in a hospital gown", said Kilika. This prompted Armsmaster and Miss Militia to share a look; her theory had suddenly lost a lot of weight, and both knew it. Kilika ignored them. "The other was a man, probably middle aged, in some sort of jump suit. Not many of details that your usual bystander can make out at night with rubble and glass falling over his head. But if I were to guess, I'd say that was Virtue, and the other could be an independent party, or someone connected to Dragon. Maybe a Guild member."
"I just inspected the Director's office", Raven said with an Indonesian accent. "There were signs of another fight." She moved her wings slightly upwards, allowing her to pass four plastic evidence bags to Kilika. "One crossbow bolt embedded into his desk. Two bullets lodged in the wall. A stun gun and one of his favorite revolvers on the floor. Two of the cartridges in the cylinder are spent. No blood, except from some footprints coming from the corridor outside. I think those might be from your Swordswoman, fresh from the lobby skirmish."
Kilika used her artificial limbs to manipulate the bolt, bullets and stun gun bags, holding the revolver in her real hands. After briefly examining the first three, she passed them to Miss Militia and Armsmaster, while examining the revolver. Her posture shifted, hunching over slightly as she cradled the revolver.
"Think it could have been Shadow Stalker? She wouldn't have a motive against Iriomote, and could escape unseen without help." Miss Militia examined the bolt closely before showing it to Armsmaster. "It's not the kind she used as a Ward, or a commercial one I recognize, but..."
"There are few parahumans that make use of crossbows", he finished, looking at the bolt. "Even fewer if you only count those on the East Coast. The closest one is Flechette, a New York Ward, but she uses a different type of crossbow with bigger bolts, and for anything smaller she has darts. I'll ask Legend, but I expect her to have an alibi, not to mention a lack of motive."
'I'm not saying it was Sophia, but it was Sophia.' Vista resisted the urge to voice her thoughts out loud. Sophia's bitchy ways were mysterious and inscrutable.
Miss Militia sighed. "Great, just what we needed", she said, rubbing her eyes with a hand. "I'll find Renick and give him the bad news, he'll be the one in charge now."
"I should be the one to go", Armsmaster said. "Besides, he'll expect an assessment on Dragon's actions, and as a Tinker partner of hers, I'd be the appropriate one to do it."
She looked at him with suspicion. "Aren't you usually in constant contact with her?"
Armsmaster didn't lose a beat. "She was patched into the security system since she came to the Bay, so she was concerned about the sabotage affecting her end and went dark as we arrived the scene. I saw no reason to compromise her security longer than needed."
"That can wait", Kilika said. "Armsmaster, I need to have a word with you in private. Raven and Devilfish will accompany Miss Militia to talk with the Deputy Director. If Iriomote has truly been captured or worse, HAVEN will make finding him a priority, but we'll coordinate with Director Renick as time allows."
Her two comrades nodded sharply at Miss Militia, who nodded as well. "Alright, come with me then." She gave Armsmaster a dark look before she left. "This conversation isn't over yet."
The three took off, followed by the HAVEN troopers, and once they were gone, Armsmaster turned to Kilika, inclining his head to match hers. "I know you want to find Iriomote first, but-"
"Whatever it is, it can wait", Kilika interrupted him with a raised hand. "We need to talk about something else, Armsmaster. Miss Militia already hinted at it before we arrived. People are becoming suspicious."
He frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Think", she said, waving a hand towards the ruined lobby, "what the PRT and its PR department might do to justify this disaster. The more time Dragon and Virtue wait to make contact, the greater chance the PRT will play around with suspicions like Miss Militia's: that Virtue is the one behind this butchery. Even if she's a Guild member, as an outsider, they'll pin it on her, and your connection with Virtue isn't subtle. They already refused your petition to bring in parahuman healing for her, after all."
Armsmaster crossed his arms. "They wouldn't go that far."
"It wouldn't be the first time it happened. It makes sense at times, and makes things simpler for everyone... well, everyone else. Remember, I work directly under the PRT, I know how things are done. I can assure you this mess will spill all over you."
Vista grimaced. That didn't look good for Armsmaster. Things might not have gone has he planned, but as far as she could see, he was only trying to help.
"Is that a threat?" he asked.
Kilika tilted her head. "No. I doubt whatever I say will move the cogs faster than they already are, and I'm not personally invested in what happens to you. But I thought it'd be courteous to warn you, from team leader to team leader."
Armsmaster sighed, dropping his arms at his sides. "Thank you, and I apologize. It feels like everything is falling down and I don't have the time to fix any of it."
"Not a problem. But want a suggestion?" she said with a shrug. "Fix them one by one. I only know of one person that can juggle several projects at once."
Armsmaster gave a humorless laugh as he turned to look at the sky. "You'll have to show me one day", he said as more newcomers showed up above the buildings. New Wave, the local independent hero family. "I feel that it's a skill that I would have welcomed many times in the past."
"We'll see about that", she said wistfully, cradling the revolver in her hands. "He just disappeared."
Armsmaster nodded, but kept silent. Kilika obviously had a personal connection with Iriomote.
As Vista thought that, she saw Kilika turn her head slightly towards her.
Startled, Vista neutralized the space compression as subtly as she could. When she looked back to them, Kilika had turned around alongside Armsmaster to meet New Wave, as they flew down to them.
Had she caught her eavesdropping? If so, why hadn't she said anything?
She let her head hang, lifting her visor and rubbing her eyes. She wasn't tired enough to sleep yet, not really, but maybe they'd let her go down to the Wards quarters so she could relax a bit. Maybe finish some homework or-
"So, where is the asshole?"
Vista jerked away in her seat from the voice, and turned around. Glory Girl was there at her side, with her white dress, cape and tiara over her long straight blonde hair, a furious face and holy shit she's terrifying I'm scared don't kill me leave me alone-
"Vicky! Aura! You're scaring her!"
Oh, right. Glory Girl's emotional aura. If it hits you and like her, you'll adore her. If you fear or dislike her, your legs will wobble like butter and you'll cry your heart out like the most useless punching bag ever.
Feeling her head getting clearer, Vista took a deep breath and looked around.
When had she fallen to the ground?
Glory Girl's cousin, Laserdream, was the one to call out her, and went to help Vista get up and settle down her visor again. "What the hell, Glory Girl!?" Vista yelled.
Glory Girl floated closer. Vista still felt her emotional aura affecting her, though much less, but the independent heroine was still frowning. "I said, where's the asshole that almost killed Gallant so I can punch him into the ground?"
Vista was already standing on her feet when Laserdream intervened. "Vicky, calm down, this isn't the place for..."
Vista didn't give her time to finish. "Do you have to scare and browbeat that outta me!?"
That took Glory Girl aback, but she still pushed on. "You were the last one to see him. Armsmaster wouldn't tell, and this is faster than arguing with him."
"Faster!?" The aura was still scaring Vista, but she had it with her by now. "The Swordswoman tried to kill Virtue and disappeared, I don't know where she is, and even if I knew, do you think I'd tell you when Armsmaster didn't, after this? Get lost!"
Glory Girl walked close enough to invade Vista's personal space and tower over her. "Says the one who let the fucker go."
Vista felt her heart beat like a jackhammer again. Glory Girl had enhanced her emotional aura again.
"Stop already, Vicky! What's gotten into you?" said Laserdream as she put herself between them. Which, considering Glory Girl's Brute rating, meant pushing Vista away instead.
It was a laudable effort, but Vista wasn't thinking straight anymore from the primal fear she was getting bathed in, or maybe she was simply tired and angry at the older girl. "I did all I could to stop them from fleeing and failed. But at least I didn't endanger civilians like you did at the bank!"
Glory Girl bristled, tensing as if considering slapping her, but she stepped back. "Don't push me", she said before turning around and walking off.
Feeling the aura decreasing its pressure on her, Vista steadied her breath. That was not a fun experience at all.
"Sorry, she's been in a bad mood since she heard Gallant was injured", Laserdream said with a grimace. Like her younger cousin, she was also an attractive blonde, but wore a white suit with pink accents and a hairband. "She didn't even wait and go to meet him at the hospital, just flew off and met us on the way here."
Vista rubbed the back of her head. She must have hit her head against the ground when she felt because damn it hurt. "And I get it, she's upset, but what did she expect? That I'd kneel and praise her-?"
Laserdream smirked. Oh, yeah. Some people would definitely do that.
"Don't worry. I don't think she'll hold a grudge. And besides, not many people get to tell her off, so you get a cookie for that."
Vista's lips flattened. A cookie? Seriously? Why not a lollipop? What the hell was with older blondes taking potshots at her? Did she have a note at her back saying 'I'm a kid, demean me'?
Her mind went back to what Laserdream had just said. Had she just told off Glory Girl? Holy shit, she had. While aura-freaked out. Family aside, she didn't know any heroic person who did that.
People liked Glory Girl, and she was the strongest Alexandria package in the Bay. Vista wasn't sure if she was in trouble, the PR people might get a collective stroke if they had to salvage her public image from acting like this towards a well liked heroine, but screw that, she felt a bit better now.
She chuckled. "So, what are you guys doing here anyway? You missed all the action."
"Mom thought you could use the assistance", Laserdream said with a shrug. "Glory Girl came directly here, and Brandish is staying put so she can convince Panacea to heal Gallant." She shook her head in disappointment. "Sometimes it feels like only Gallant or Panacea exist for her, and she's petty enough to go kick ass instead of supporting her people first. Bad priorities, but you know how she is."
Vista scoffed. "Thinks with her fists before her heart?"
Laserdream frowned at that, rubbing the back of her neck. "She should be thinking with her brain, but, well... Vicky. Anyway, the Pelhams are all here too, but it seems like we came for nothing."
"That remains to be seen." Both girls turned to watch Armsmaster approach accompanied by Miss Militia. Lady Photon, wearing a white suit with purple lines and a tiara in her hair, and Glory Girl followed a short distance behind them. Armsmaster's helmet blocked most of his face, but his mouth was set in a worried line.
"Renick just got a call from the Boston branch", he said. "Dragon's ship crashed in Boston, reasons unknown. Ordinarily, the Protectorate there would take charge of the situation, but their team is indisposed. As we are the nearest branch, we've been called to assist."
"Why? Isn't Dragon, like, connected to her suits from Canada?" Laserdream asked. "Where did they crash?"
"As Dragon has been unavailable since the attack, the ship is the best clue to what happened", Militia said. "And it crashed in the North Zone, the area that Sahelanthropus destroyed during its attack months ago and which is now teeming with the Teeth, Accord's people, and squatters of all kinds."
"Oh. Yeah. You don't want them to get there first."
"Also, Virtue was sighted boarding that ship during the attack", Armsmaster continued, "which we suspect was in part an assassination attempt. So this would be a rescue mission as well."
Militia looked at him. "Or an arrest."
Lady Photon raised an eyebrow at that. "New Wave isn't enthused with Virtue's methods, but I thought he was a hero in good standing with the Guild?"
He sighed in frustration, but whatever he had to say was interrupted by Glory Girl talking over him. "Oh, do tell. If they turn out to be a bad guy we gotta be ready."
"This is not the time!" he insisted, raising his voice. "Militia, we don't have enough information yet, so let's keep our suspicions to ourselves until we know anything at all." He directed this last bit at Glory Girl, who looked tense.
Miss Militia stayed silent for a moment, and sighed. "You are right, that was unprofessional of me. I guess they made an impression on me during the exercise. Go on."
"Alright", Armsmaster said taking a breath. "Considering the current situation, I cannot commit too many heroes to Boston. As I'm familiar with Dragon's technology, I'll go, accompanied by Dauntless and Velocity. Militia will stay here with Battery and Assault to keep things under control." He looked at Militia. "HAVEN will be focused on the investigation here, so don't be afraid of patrolling and answering calls. It shouldn't be any different to when they weren't around."
She nodded, and he then turned his attention to Lady Photon and Laserdream. "If anyone in New Wave would volunteer to come as well, it would be appreciated. It shouldn't take more than a day."
"It's late, but I'll go. Manpower and Shielder can stay here to assist Miss Militia", Lady Photon said as she shared a look with her daughter, who nodded.
"Sure, count me in. I'm sure you guys can use as many flyers as possible there."
"Hell, I'm going too", Glory Girl said hands on hips, glaring at Vista for a moment as she talked. "There's something going on between Virtue and the Swordswoman and I want answers. I'm tired of people attacking my family."
"It's just a theory, Glory Girl", Armsmaster said. "If you come – because God knows I can't stop you – you better have enough self-control to not do anything rash. Again."
"Not to mention", Lady Photon added. "You'll be with me where I can see you, and I'll call your mother first. You might be useful there, but if she's against it, you're not coming. And after the bank, you better believe I'll have you on a tight leash, Victoria."
Glory Girl looked downcast, pouting. "Fine."
"Sir, I'd like to go too", Vista said, trying to sound as professional as she could. "I know I can help."
Militia crossed her arms. "No, we are not dragging the Wards to this."
Armsmaster, however, looked at her curiously. "Why would that be, Vista?" he asked.
"Well, sir", Vista stalled as she put her thoughts in order, "several reasons. I was planning to spend the night at the Wards quarters anyway, but now it's inside a crime scene. I can help with recon and extraction. If the Swordswoman is after Virtue, then she's bound to show up; Gallant is my teammate, I would feel pretty bad not doing anything that might have helped capture the person who wounded him and is trying to kill another hero. Finally, she-" Vista pointed in Glory Girl's direction "-is incapable of cooperating with us, so please don't pull the 'must keep the cute kid safe' card on me because if she's going then I'm going too."
Glory Girl gave her a look halfway between questioning and outraged. 'Fuck off already.'
Armsmaster rubbed his chin as he leaned towards Militia, who shook her head to him. "She has a point", he said. "We could use her help. I'll talk it out with Renick."
Miss Militia massaged her forehead. "You're making a mistake here. Another."
"Your objection is noted", Armsmaster said sharply, before turning back to Vista. "If the Director gives the go ahead, you will stay with me and do as I say. If for any reason that Swordswoman shows up, you will disengage immediately. Is that understood?"
Vista nodded sharply. "Alright, have a trooper escort you through the cordon and get a fresh costume", Armsmaster said before walking off, calling out orders. "Everyone get ready and try to get refreshed before we depart, transports will arrive soon and I have to talk with the Director..."
Letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, Vista turned around and walked towards trooper Zhou, who was standing at ease and waiting for her next assignment. She was anxious after what happened, and now she had the opportunity to do something about it.
She just hoped the Swordswoman wasn't Virtue. The memory of the Rig exercise was still fresh in her mind, and she wasn't looking forwards to facing Virtue, in a real, potentially lethal fight.