Interlude - PRT Base
An automatic door slid open, and Armsmaster stepped in. He looked remarkably good for someone who had an arm ripped off by Leviathan a few hours prior.
"You didn't need to be here for this. Someone could have briefed you later." Director Piggot said.
"No need. I'm more than capable of being here in person."
"Boss...how? You shouldn't be able to..." Assault was cut off by Armsmaster.
"My suit administers powerful pain relievers specially suited to keep me alert and pain free. I'll be able to continue working until Panacea can heal me."
"You really should rest, sir." Miss Militia said. "Injuries like yours..."
"I won't be engaging in combat until I'm healed, now enough. I'm here for a briefing, not judgement for my actions."
Silence fell over the room. Piggot was the one to break it.
"Very well, do you need an overview of what we've been over thus far?"
"Dragon was keeping me up to speed while I traveled."
"Excellent. Did she patch in the recordings?"
A curt nod was the only response the head of the Protectorate ENE gave.
Another silence. This time broken by Battery.
"Hard to believe, you know? I mean...you told us about the possibility, but it's confirmed now."
"It was all but confirmed before." Armsmaster said.
"But still, someone with a power like that..." Miss Militia said. "Another Glaistig Uaine."
"It's unlikely that her power will be an exact match." Legend said. "We all know that powers rarely mimic each other perfectly. There's likely some difference. Potentially a greater weakness."
"Hold on a second." Assault said. "You're all talking like we're going to target her, make her top priority. She's willing to play ball with us, right? Why would we want to turn someone like that against us?"
"There's far too much risk in allowing an individual with the sort of potential that Elysium presents to act unchecked." Armsmaster said.
"But we all heard the recording. She tried to save Aegis. Called in, tried to get a healer..."
"And then claimed him." Piggot said.
"When he was going to die anyway." Assault said, quieter than before.
"According to her." Dauntless responded. "We don't have any guarantee that he was in as bad shape as she claimed."
"We have Thinkers analyzing the situation now." Miss Militia said. "Preliminary analysis does lead them to believe that he likely was dying from his sustained injuries, but it will be some time before they can know any more."
"What's more..." Armsmaster said, barely acknowledging Miss Militia's statement. "Regardless of her motivation, she used her power in an Endbringer situation to her benefit. Claimed a new power that will last, for as far as we can tell, indefinitely. We can't allow a precedent to be set that let's people think that is acceptable."
"That's very true." Alexandria said, stepping into the room through an open window, phone in hand.
"Is everything alright?" Legend asked. The heroine nodded.
"Eidolon was looking for you, Legend. Said he could use your help with a few things, and wanted to talk over a bit of what we learned here today. He was in the hospital, helping with the healing."
Legend looked to the others, then nodded. "I'll go see him then. You don't mind lending them our collective thoughts on this matter, do you?"
She smiled. "Of course not."
Legend lifted off of the ground, and floated out the same window Alexandria had just come in through.
"Did you have something you wanted to add, Alexandria?" Piggot asked.
"I did. The Faerie Queen was a terror. Everyone in this room is fully aware of that. And your newest Cape to the city does parallel her in a number of ways. Two major differences exist, however, that completely change the way that this would need to be approached. Firstly, and this is a detriment if she is to be engaged, is that she seems to manifest any power she claims herself, unlike Glaistig Uaine who possesses projections which make use of powers for her."
"We also don't know her limits. At least a couple of powers at once, but she could easily have all of them at the same time." Dauntless said.
"I don't think so. I've looked over what recordings Dragon was able to get of Elysium fighting Leviathan. After the incident with Aegis, whenever she utilized Hookwolf's power, she dropped from the sky, losing her ability to fly, presumably. She has a limit. The exact number is unknown, but..."
"It does exist." Armsmaster said, nodding. "And the other difference?"
"Level of sanity. Glaistig Uaine is considered by many to be a prime example of powers influencing a Cape. Her talk of Faeries and her complete lack of morals are testament to the fact. Elysium, for her part, seems mostly lucid. No talk of Faeries and she expressed sympathy and sadness over Aegis' death. Combine that with the fact that she seems to have been targeting villains when she was claiming powers, and it seems she wasn't as strongly affected."
"But she still was, you think?" Assault asked.
"Well, she has killed a fair number of people. It would be absurd to think that she may not be impacted by her power to a degree."
"And how would you recommend we approach this?" Piggot asked.
"I'm not sure, honestly." Alexandria said. "We don't know her exact methods. Whether she kills and then claims powers, or if she has the same Striker type of ability as Glaistig Uaine. Because of that, we can't know the full suite of powers she possesses. Add to that the uncertainty of what she would do under active pursuit from the Protectorate and PRT, and..."
"Are you suggesting that we do nothing?" Armsmaster asked.
"I'm suggesting that this is a delicate matter. Elysium may be harder to put down than Glaistig Uaine based on the way her power works alone. If you send Capes after her, she'll get stronger with each successful fight. Send PRT agents, and it's unlikely that they'll have any real impact."
Piggot was about to say something when the large screen at the far end of the room lit up. She pressed a button on her desk, and the image of a woman appeared on the screen.
"Ahh, Chief Director Costa-Brown. How lovely to see you." Piggot said.
"Director Piggot. Apologies for not responding sooner." the woman said, looking down at some papers on her desk. "I've been reviewing the documentation that you forwarded me on the Elysium case between updates from various other Agencies."
"Not a problem. Do you have any thoughts?"
"I do. I'll approve Elysium as a Trump 8, with a note that she may be upgraded once more information on her power comes to light. I'll also approve tentative 5's in each other category."
Piggot nodded. "And your thoughts on how to proceed?"
The Chief Director folded her hands in front of her face, looking into the camera. "Allow me to preface this with a statement that I do understand the precarious position that you find yourselves in. No one would want to find themselves in the position that you all are in now."
A pause, raising the tension in the room. "That said, I believe more planning is necessary before any action can be taken. I am incredibly hesitant to throw lives away as we did against Glaistig Uaine."
"With all due respect, Chief Director, the longer we wait the more powerful Elysium could grow..." Armsmaster said.
"With all due respect, Armsmaster, I am aware of the risks. There are too many variable that cannot be accounted for. Combine that with the fact that she is docile toward the Protectorate and PRT, and even willing to cooperate, and I think that waiting until a proper plan can be formed is the best course of action. And I would advise all of you not to do anything to earn the ire of an individual who could pick up where the Faerie Queen left off."
Lethe looked around the room, taking in the reactions of all of the heroes. It was an odd mix of nervousness and relief for most of them. Only one stood out. Alexandria herself maintained the same confident, slight smirk she had sense entering.
Wonder what that's about. Lethe thought to herself.
The conversation continued for a few more moments, a bit more back and forth, but nothing that would really be relevant to her and Taylor. She was glad she had decided to stick around and see if any juicy info turned up. She wouldn't have been much help during the actual fight, and now she could share this with Taylor, giving her a chance to prep.
Shrugging, she finally decided to head for the exit. No one noticed the door to the conference room opening and closing. Nor did any of the officers or Capes she passed in the halls on her way outside.
As she stepped out of the building, she looked up at the sky. It was amazing how quickly the rain stopped once Leviathan was gone. Of course, the streets were still flooded, and likely would be for some time, but...hey, glass half full.
She looked around at the damage. Broken buildings, overturned cars, cracked streets...
However many bodies had already been cleaned up.
Lethe decided to make her way toward the shelter that they had left Taylor's dad at. It sucked wading through the water, though. Might have to talk Tay into putting Squealers power to work. Get myself a boat or a hovercraft or something.
The walk was uneventful. She picked up some interesting tidbits. The ABB's lack of showing at the fight, the notable casualties like Aegis and some members of New Wave. Apparently there was some dissent among the Empire Capes, someone did something without the go ahead. That tidbit came straight from a skin head. Certainly didn't take long for them to come back out after a horrific event.
Might be worth asking Taylor about. Maybe she caught some of the Nazi shit show.
She finally reached the shelter. People were hanging out in front of it, chatting awkwardly. It took a few minutes to find Mr. Hebert and an out of costume Taylor. He was hugging her, asking her where she went after the shelter shut.
She wondered, idly, if her own parents would wonder where she was. If she dropped her power, how long would it take for them to try and contact her.
She might get a call or a text from her dad.
Her mom, though...?
She was shaken from her thoughts as she watched the pair begin to move. No reason to dwell on those thoughts.
She followed behind them. No one noticed the splashes she made as she trudged along.