AN: Not a lot to say this time. We're back in the Bay now folks. Hold onto your seats, it's not going to go to pieces immediately, but it's not going to take long either. Oh and…. well not sure what's going to happen with this arc. Thought I did and then suddenly my whole world boiled down to the fact it was time to break the mold again. How badly only time will tell but there you go. I think I'm a little addicted to the rush I get surprising all of you. Eh, whatever there are worse things to get high on. You'll see what I mean in the next update.
Controlled chaos.
That was the best way to describe the camp. It had taken only minutes to establish chain gangs to unload the trailer. The actual process could take hours given how much was crammed in there, but people were hard at work. Others had jumped on the first supplies off the truck and set to cooking. Still others were inventorying and organizing the new supplies. Some of them eyed me warily, but most stayed focused on their jobs.
I was waiting. Part of me wanted to pitch in, but I'd just be one more body. They had asked me to wait for the man in charge, so I'd wait. I couldn't search the entire city at once, but I could start by scanning this particular crowd for a certain balding head with black hair.
"Miss?" The voice was deep. The tone was cautious, but also firm. Turning I found the likely speaker happened to be a man in PRT uniform. No helmet, or foam sprayer, but he had the body armor and a sidearm. The fact he was actually carrying a gun said an awful lot about the current situation all on its own. The man was frowning and his hand hovered near his side arm.
"I'm Legacy." I offered him a handshake and a pained smile. "I'm actually from the Bay. Unfortunately, circumstances took me out of the city after I got my powers and I didn't make it to the teleport in time to come help with the fight. I'm actually here trying to find family."
The officer relaxed minutely.
"Lieutenant Jameson. I'm sorry to hear that, Legacy. I don't want to be blunt… but I don't recognize your name and given the state of the city…"
I smiled, a bit more honestly this time. "Hero, only been in the game a month now. My name is even newer than that." Shirou chuckled lightly at my misdirection.
"So, you're looking for family? I can offer to have their names flagged in our system if they come up." He trailed off as I shook my head.
"I appreciate the offer, but that would out me." And while I didn't actually care if I got outed or not, all it would take is someone realizing Dad and I were already in their files and suddenly I would have them hounding me. Maybe it was shooting myself in the foot to turn down an offer to help find him, but I didn't come all this way just to get sidelined now. "I'll keep the offer in mind if I don't turn anything up on my own. But I'll try and do this without compromising my identity first."
The lieutenant frowned, but nodded. "Can't say I'm surprised, but in that case, there isn't a lot we can do to help."
I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "No need to lie to me." I waved an arm out over the camp. "You all have so much on your plate as is. Helping me locate one civilian just isn't going to happen."
"I wish I could disagree with that." He muttered with a shake of his head. "Come on, the least I can do is show you the latest map."
{}{}{}{}
"Right, so we're here." He tapped at the map. "Just off of captains hill. It's the most intact portion of the city. We've got refugee camps established in the downtown area near HQ where we can deploy most easily to keep people safe. We've also got camps in the area north of the city's new lake, and well south of the trainyard. New Wave are providing the cape support, and we have a small detachment from the national guard to help maintain order."
"That's not even a third of the city." I muttered. The area around captains hill he had sketched wasn't much, and the portion of downtown he had indicated wasn't much bigger."
"Tidal Waves did a good job of scouring the cost clean." He elaborated dragging his finger a fair few blocks inland from the coastline. "And what they didn't get needs to be checked, and dried out. The Director instructed us to set up only in these areas until we know what the gangs will do. It makes sense, but it's going to limit how much space we have available."
"Are the gangs moving yet?"
"No, or at least not in force." He grimaced. "The Empire lost Kaiser, which means no one knows what the skinheads will do next. Still their territory is fairly intact. We think they will stay south of our new lake for the time being, unless whoever comes out on top decides to chase off any dissenting opinions. We've got reports of the ABB pushing west a bit from their normal territory which is part of why were boxed in so close to the hill here. The big issue, unbelievably, is the Merchants."
I glanced up sharply. "How could those idiots possibly be the biggest issue?"
"Squealer's vehicles are tough enough to not care about the condition of the roads. Which makes the Merchants the only truly mobile group in the city. They've spent the past day tearing all over hitting whatever strikes their fancy."
"You can't even tell me what's gang territory right now?" I let some of my frustration leak out into my voice.
"I can tell you not to go past the lake unless you want to tangle with the Nazi. We've got downtown mostly under control, and this area is safe enough, but beyond that…" He shrugged.
I blew out a breath and looked over the map again. The house wasn't in traditional ABB territory but if they'd moved far enough West it very well might be now. And if the Merchants were roaming wherever they pleased I'd have to keep an eye out for them as well. Not good. Not good at all.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll have to risk a trip into the city. I need to leave a note for my family if they head for home. After that... I guess I'll visit the different refugee camps and look in person." I looked up to meet the man's eyes. "I've got a radio built into my helmet. I'm not much of a mover, but if I'm close, I'll try to pitch in if you need me."
He looked up sharply at the mention of my radio. Technically speaking an independent really should not have access to the PRT and Police radio frequencies. Eventually though he just nodded acceptance. Bigger fish to fry I suppose.
"I'll stick around for the night and head out first thing in the morning. If you have any people or supplies you want to send to another camp, I'm willing to pitch in for security on my way out into the city."
His eyes lit up and a tired grin spread across his face. "Thank you, Legacy. I think I'll take you up on that offer."
{}{}{}{}
It was only barely light out, but sure enough we were on the move. An old box truck to carry supplies, with me riding shotgun again. We also had an old pickup with a half dozen National guard riding in the bed for escort duty. We had already needed to stop twice to clear debris for the vehicles. It was slow progress, but given how much walking I had ahead of me I wasn't about to complain.
"You sure you'll be alright out there, kid?" The driver, Mitch, asked for at least the third time as he gave me a skeptical look. "City really isn't safe right now."
"I was born and raised here. It's never been safe." I countered easily, more focused on scanning the road and buildings for threats than on the conversation.
Mitch snorted lightly. "True, but not this bad, and it'll only get worse."
"Fair enough." I conceded with a shrug. "But I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves. Only ones I'd be worried about are Lung and Hookwolf." Not that I was really worried. I could deal with either one handily enough. It was just that doing so would mean a lot of property damage. I didn't really need the kind of attention that blowing them up would net me.
The Driver side eyed me skeptically, but didn't say anything further.
A few more minutes of moving in silence and the camp came into view.
{}{}{}{}
Moving on foot through flooded streets wasn't pleasant. The city, never a pretty place to begin with was now visibly damaged and scattered debris did nothing to improve it's looks. More than that though was the near oppressive silence. A city is meant to be if not loud then at least noisy. Car engines, people talking people, televisions and radios going. There was none of that now. Just my own footfalls and some distant noises. Occasionally I'd hear voices or see another person, but it was nothing compared to the norm. Just a few small groups of people moving about. Most were probably checking on their homes. Trying to see what, if anything was left.
The relative quite made everything seem strange. Now that I wasn't so high strung it was a lot like New York after the alarms shut off and most everyone was buttoned up in the shelters. I'd been to angry to think about it then but now it was kind of spooky.
It also made the sudden shouting stand out all the more.
Five men with improvised weapons, most ridiculously a golf club, were shouting at a four people who looked somewhere between eighteen and twenty. The fact that half the second group was also carrying something that could generously be considered a weapon made the scene less clear cut, but not by much.
I didn't bother with subtle I just picked up the pace and let the drum of combat boots on concrete and the splash of puddles announce my arrival. For a moment I was actually concerned the larger group wasn't going to notice me until I was on top of them. Fortunately, one of them was paying some attention to his surroundings and pointed me out to his buddies.
"You know I don't know what you all are arguing about, but I can tell you I don't really like the look of it." I spoke flatly. Part of me really wanted a weapon right now. But I could trace fast enough for it to be a non issue. Besides, if these idiots thought I could fire death rays from my mind they would be more likely to back down than if all they saw was a medieval Miss Militia. Which was stupid because my powers should be terrifying to anyone that stopped to think, but whatever. People underestimating my abilities was at least something I could use. Even if it grated.
"Stop that." Shirou muttered.
"Did I think that out loud?"
"You did not, but you're radiating annoyance. Focus."
Three of the larger group who I was mentally classifying as looters took steps back, one fidgeted a bit, and the last one snarled at me.
"Fuck off, bitch!" He paused to actually spit on the road. "I dunno who the fuck you think you are, but this is Merchant territory!"
"Uh-huh." I deadpanned. "You know I was born and raised here? Only been gone a few months, and wouldn't you know it, I missed the teleport to the fight." I said as casually as I could. "But I've got loose ends to tie up here so I hopped on the first aid truck I managed to track down. And from what I remember, the Merchants never held any territory worth the name." I smirked. "You really ought to just walk away boys. Five of you isn't even a workout." I stopped smirking and switched to a glare.
The fidgety one grabbed mouthy by the shoulder as if to pull him away. I was ready for a fight to break out when mouthy shook off his buddies' hand, but after a final muttered curse the gang twits moved away. Neither I, nor the smaller group moved until the gang members were well and truly out of sight.
"You alright?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, thank you." The relieved thanks came from the only girl in the group. "I was really starting to worry." The boys with her nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm.
I bit my bottom lip. I wanted to help them, but I really needed to get to the house. The longer I delayed the more likely I was to miss Dad. "Where are you all going? I'm headed farther into the city right now, but I'll be moving back to the camps after I check something out. I'd offer to escort you back now, but the sooner I make this trip the better."
The four of them exchanged looks and started muttering to each other. I just sort of shifted from foot to foot awkwardly while I waited for them to decide. Finally, the girl threw her arms up and stormed my way.
"I don't mind a bit more walking if it means having a cape around. But they want to head north before making for the camps." She said it almost scathingly.
I nodded a bit hesitantly, and reached into my jacket pocket before tracing a can of pepper spray I handed off to her. She looked surprised at the offer and I shrugged.
"Cities not exactly safe right now. But, well, I wouldn't feel comfortable offering someone without training anything more serious." She smiled gratefully and excepted it. The boys shook their heads and our new groups went our separate ways.
"So… I'm Kim." The girl offered with a hesitant smile. I graced the tiny, frazzled looking, brunette with a tired grin.
"Legacy."
"... Did you mean what you said to those Merchants?"
"... Yeah." I sighed. "My whole team came, and I wasn't supposed to. Didn't know where the attack was happening and… When they told me it was already too late. I was halfway across city and I didn't have time to make it." I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath.
"Your team, did they...?" she trailed off.
"They all made it back alive." I grinned. "A bit battered and bruised but they made it back. Did anyone you know…"
She seemed to sag into herself. "I don't know. My family was all in different parts of the city. I checked the house, and left a note, but now…"
I reached over and pulled the older girl I had something like seven inches on into a one armed side hug.
"I'm headed to my old house to leave a note of my own." I said quietly. I managed not to jump as the girl squeezed me back. We stepped apart and went back to walking in silence for a time.
"I probably should have asked this first." Kim finally spoke up. "But, uhm, what team were you on? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm just glad to have someone around that can chase of creeps, but you are a hero, right?" She fidgeted a bit nervously and I had to laugh.
"I uh, I actually ran away from the Wards to get here and look for my family. I was in New York for the past few months." Kim gaped at me. "I was supposed to be on leave after a fight got really violent. Legend wanted me to sit around on my ass for a couple of weeks before he'd let me transfer in… So, I grabbed some clothes and took off." I shrugged helplessly.
"Damn, that is just…" She laughed, it didn't quite sound right. A bit too relieved, a bit too… something. Given the situation, I couldn't say I blamed her. People's reactions could get really weird when they are stressed. And given a day's space? Yeah. Just grabbing some essentials and booking it was kind of funny. I hoped my absence was enough to cause the flying lightbulb migraines. That thought was enough to set off my own slightly manic giggles.
"Like I said before." I spoke after the giggles subsided. "Once I leave a message, maybe grab some photos, I'm heading back to the camps. There won't be any kind of comprehensive lists just yet. With everything going on it might take days. So, for now I've got to search in person." I shrugged uncomfortably. "If you're doing the same thing you're welcome to tag along." I offered honestly.
Kim shot me a watery grin and nodded energetically.
This was being a hero. Lily's kind of hero. Helping people who needed it, because I was there and could do something. It wasn't the kind of hero needed to fix the world. But it was the best, the most heroic, I'd felt since I put on the mask.
I smiled back honestly.
{}{}{}{}
I left a message carved into the dining room table. I left with a waterproof box full of frameless photos. I left with more fear and uncertainty. But also, with more determination and drive. I would find him. Even if I had to search the whole damn city, I would find him.