A/N: Chap 22 review responses are in my forums as normal. As for this chapter-this is as close to a reaction chapter as you're going to get. Even then, it still has some important plot points for the future. It also is a direct answer to a few of last chapter's reviews-what exactly was it that Taylor won in her meeting with Alexandria?

The answer-a hell of a lot.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Turn Your Misguided Heart

The PRT Headquarters building in Washington DC was possibly better defended than the White House. It bristled with every Tinker-Tech defense the organization had access too, and was speculated to be able to survive both a nuclear attack and an Enbringer attack.

Emily Piggott thought the planners were overly optimistic.

"Through here, Director," one of her escorts said.

The two agents assigned to her during her stay in the headquarters were polite and professional, giving away nothing. The door opened and pressurized air blew out as she stepped in. The doors made a sucking sound behind her when they closed. Within, the head of the Protectorate, Legend, stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

Beside him, Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown sat in a chair at the end of a table. Both of them were watching video playing on a large monitor built into the wall behind them. On it, Emily noted the winged figure of Taylor Hebert sitting at a table in a generic-looking restaurant across from Alexandria.

"Have a seat, Emily," Costa-Brown said without turning to greet her.

Emily sat. The sound of the video was either off, or being directed to ear pieces the two others in the room wore. Costa-Brown leaned back after a moment, then slowly turned to face her. "That was twenty minutes ago. As of this moment, Taylor Hebert is putting up groceries she purchased for her parents' cabin…"

"Which we can't find using any means at our disposal," Legend added.

"…and then she will be returning to Brockton Bay. At that time, the PRT will offer her an A-6G Associate's Contract, with the maximum amount of grant money and privileges allowed by law. After that, Legend, myself and Alexandria will petition the President of the United States to designate her a Section 6-71 asset. The PRT will bend over and kiss its own ass, if that's what it takes, to make up for the fuck-up that occurred under your watch."

This was not, Emily knew, a discussion. "What changed?"

"Aside from a video proving that your Ward attempted to murder her by shooting her in the back? Alexandria had a discussion with Narwhal yesterday immediately after New York," Legend said. "She knew a lot more about the Hebert's story than she was at liberty to say to you during your debrief a month and a half ago. Based on that conversation and some other facts we confirmed for ourselves, the Protectorate is no longer confident in our ability to remove her as a threat if she turns villainous."

"You're saying she could be another Glastig Uaine or Slaughterhouse Nine?"

"I'm saying that she be worse than an Endbringer if given sufficient cause," Costa-Brown said. "So, we're not going to give her cause."

Emily couldn't argue, not with the early snow that fell across the east coast following her tantrum. "I'm obviously not fired, or I wouldn't be here. What do you need from me?"

"Get back to work and clean up your mess," Costa-Brown said. "You have your audit results. Track down every single item that led to Taylor Hebert being attacked by Lung in that school. Track down the source of the Rune rumors. Get PR out everywhere to make sure people know that Hebert almost killed herself healing North African refugees in a Spanish internment camp while Rune was joining the Empire. We need Hebert friendly, Emily. We need her friendly to us, and we need the city friendly to her. Make it happen."

"How fast can you get me back to Brockton Bay?" she asked the Triumvirate member who could fly faster than light.

~~Theogony~~

~~Theogony~~

Twenty minutes later she strode into her office atop the seventeen-story PRT ENE building in Brockton Bay with Armsmaster and a squad of her most loyal field agents.

Thomas Calvert sat at her desk. He'd already stripped it of her things. The man beside Calvert, the newly promoted Assistant Director Steiger, stiffened in surprise when she entered. His hand briefly moved toward his sidearm until Armsmaster stepped in behind her.

Behind them came an entire squad of PRT troopers in full gear.

"Emily, what a pleasant surprise," Thomas said with a smile that almost looked pleasant. "How'd you get here so fast? I just received the memo of your reinstatement. I was writing a summary of events while you were away. Still, aren't you a little over-prepared for a simple transition?"

"Thomas, please shut up," Piggot said. "Armsmaster?"

The armored tinker stepped stiffly in front of Piggot. "Mr. Steiger, you are under arrest for espionage, criminal fraud, conspiracy to commit murder, misuse of PRT resources…"

Staeger drew his side arm in a quick, practiced motion and fired without hesitation. Armsmaster lifted a gauntlet of his armor in front of his exposed chin the very instant Steiger moved. The shot that would have hit the tinker's only weak spot instead ricocheted off his armor.

The trained PRT agent adjusted his aim for Piggot. Behind them, the six other agents were attempting to find a clear line of sight to fire around the Tinker and newly reinstated director, but the office wasn't that large.

At that moment, Thomas Calvert struck.

For such a thin man, the interim director demonstrated a high level of training in his explosive use of violence. In one motion, as if he'd been practicing the move for years, he grabbed Steiger's gun arm with both his hands while, at that very same moment, he stomped down at the back of Steiger's right knee. As Steiger stumbled, Calvert turned the man's imbalance into his undoing. He slammed his own elbow into Steiger's gun arm elbow, while maintaining his own grip with his free hand on the gun itself.

Steiger's gun arm bent backward, firing twice as it went. The first of the shots hit the ceiling and sent plaster dust falling around them. The second removed the top of Steiger's head in a splatter of blood, brain and bone.

The entire encounter, from Steiger's first shot to his third, took less than ten seconds.

As the now dead Assistant Director fell with a twitch of his left foot to the floor, Calvert himself stumbled back to his desk. His thin face dripped with gore. He spun around to face Piggot, Armsmaster and the six stunned agents.

"How did you know?" he demanded angrily. "That man passed every fucking security check we had! I put him through the entire FBI workup before I offered him the AD position. How did you know?"

Piggot stepped into the office's only luxury-an en suite bathroom. She returned with a wad of paper towels and handed it to him. "Armsmaster loaded a hidden, unique code in the phones of all Protectorate and PRT Members, with a unique separate code for each recipient. The moment the email left official PRT channels, we knew who sent it and who received it. The man was a mole for Coil."

"Coil?" Calvert wiped the blood from his face. "Shit. When did you appoint Steiger SAC?"

"Five years ago," Piggot admitted with a wince. "We're still researching to see if he was a plant to begin with, or if Coil turned him since."

"Not that it matters," Calvert said. "That explains so much. The recidivism rate for villains in this city was among the highest in the nation. People were laughing about the PRT ENE being a revolving door. We'd catch them, and then they'd escape the next day. Now we know why. But..."

He looked at Armsmaster. "He can't be the only one. Our file on Coil implies he's an information broker as much as a villain. He wouldn't place all of his plans on the shoulders of one man, no matter how highly placed."

"I agree," Armsmaster said. "We're running background checks on all PRT personnel and…"

"Stop, please," Calvert said. "Emily, you know that won't fly. We can't have the watched investigate the watchers. It's a violation of the PRT rules and US Code. The Protectorate cannot lead an investigation into the PRT unless there is probable cause of a parahuman in the ranks. Do we have probable cause to suspect Coil is impersonating a PRT staff member?"

"It's possible," Armsmaster said.

"No," Piggot said a split-second after. "No, we don't. The email code was a passive anti-espionage tool that has been approved for use before in other offices. But an actual investigation is outside of the Protectorate's jurisdiction." She stepped past Calvert to stand behind her desk. "Where are my things?"

"The coat closet. I had Marjory pack them up for you and keep them close since I had a feeling you'd be back. Costa-Brown would be a fool to blame the Shadow Stalker fiasco on you. In fact…" Calvert nodded. "You said conspiracy to commit murder. Steiger sent information about Hebert?"

Emily nodded. "Several captured ABB foot soldiers testified during interrogations that Coil personally fed Lung information that the cape which killed one of his favorite lieutenants was attending Winslow. While we can't prove it conclusively, we believe that Steiger was that mole, acting on Coil's behalf."

"A tricky son of a bitch," Calvert said. "Why not sow a little chaos and make the local Protectorate look bad? Best case scenario, a troublesome new cape dies. Worst case scenario… Well. The director gets removed as the public scapegoat, and I step in despite not being familiar with all staff. Steiger sets up AD Renick for the fall, takes his place, and now we have Coil's man with access to the files and identities of every Ward and Protectorate member in the city, and one bullet away from the big chair."

Calvert sagged against Emily's desk. "Son of a bitch. I thought I'd stayed abreast of what was happening, but I got played right along with everyone else."

"You'll have your chance to do something about it," Emily said. She motioned for one of the agents to go fetch a forensics team. "I know you have directorship waiting for you in Florida. But for the next week you're mine. Head up the IA investigation behind Steiger. We need you to clean this department out so that I can get some work done."

Calvert stood a little straighter, then gave both she and Armsmaster a firm nod. "I don't care how long it takes. I've been played by parahumans once too often to just let this stand. I'll hunt the son of a bitch down for you, Emily. I promise by the time I'm done Coil will not be a problem for anyone ever again. You have my word on it!"

He took a long, shaky breath. "Now, if you'll excuse me, my ears are ringing and I'm a little nauseous. I'm going to go home and clean up. I'll report first thing tomorrow morning, if that works for you, Director."

"That works," Emily said. "Go home."

Calvert strode stiffly out of the room. She looked to Armsmaster after he was gone. "Well?"

"He's very good," Armsmaster said. "My software couldn't detect a single lie."

Piggot sat down, then frowned fiercely before she reached down with a grunt to adjust the chair's height. With a huff, she then adjusted its tilt. She then sat still, looking at the locked screen of the computer Calvert was staring at with Staeger just minutes ago.

She reached for an empty corner of the desk. "Good God, Thomas, really?"

She moved the phone from where Thomas placed it to where it was supposed to be, then picked up the receiver and dialed a five-digit internal number. "Marjory? Yes, I'm fine. A forensics team should be coming up any minute. Steiger resisted arrest. Yes, he's dead. Look, I need a new computer and phone. My old ones are potentially compromised. Make sure Wilson sets it up for me; Natalicio always screws up my email. And after that call Barry and tell him to get his ass back here. We have work to do."

She slammed the phone back into its cradle. The forensics team arrived just then. The lead investigator stared at her wide-eyed, then at the body lying on the floor next to her desk.

"Go ahead, ladies and gentlemen," Piggot said.

She stood to let the team work and led the head of her Protectorate team out of her office and into the cube farm beyond. Marjory was on the phone just outside, talking to Renick, it sounded like.

They stepped into one of the huddle rooms outside her office and closed the door. As she did so, her phone dinged with a message she'd both been dreading and desperate to receive. "Taylor Hebert is going to be here within the hour with Alexandria. It appears that Alexandria has talked Hebert into an associate's contract. An A-6G contract."

Despite his armor and visor, after so many years of working with the man Emily had picked up his tells. He had a downward curl on the left side of his mouth that was only apparent if one looked. As hard as he worked to keep his poker-face in place, she could read him like a book. And right now, he was angry.

"An A-6G comes with grants and privileges. It means she works with Wards. My Wards. A girl who cut a 16-year-old hero in half. I don't want her around my Wards."

Give me a villain to beat any day over an HR problem. "They're not your Wards anymore."

This time he reacted with more than just the hint of a frown. He actually moved, leaning backward as if struck. "Explain."

"Deputy Renick was running the Wards program, Armsmaster," Piggot said, pointing out the obvious. "You popped in whenever you wanted to review Kid Win's tinker tech, but Aegis took more orders from Renick and myself than he did you. And both Legend and Costa-Brown took exception to that. It was noted as a deficiency on both our records. Yours for passing your responsibility off on my team, and mine for letting it happen. Don't think I came back in triumph, Armsmaster. I came very close to getting fired, and am still under an independent audit."

"I see. Because of Hebert?"

"The Triumvirate and Costa-Brown know something about the girl they haven't shared with us." She held up her phone. "Because according to this text, Hebert's going to get a Title 6-71 status to go along with that contract. Costa-Brown personally guaranteed it. The first one Brockton Bay has ever seen. She's important enough that Washington has determined that a change at the ENE is necessary. The Wards are now to report to Miss Militia directly, with AD Renick to provide PRT support as required. Miss Militia will also serve as the Protectorate contact for Hebert. Minton will return as her PRT resource officer. You'll remain head of the Protectorate, but I think we both can agree that working with children is not your strength."

"Or yours," Armsmaster said. Not spitefully, at least in tone.

"Of course not. I despise children, the little shits. That's why I promoted Barry in the first place. He has so many grandkids it's like second nature to him."

Emily knew for a fact that Barry Renick's rapport with the Wards was one of Armsmaster's own motivating factors when he forfeited his command over them the first time. It made it very hard for him to argue the point.

To his credit, he didn't try. "Perhaps that is for the best," Armsmaster admitted. "They all look up to Militia. She has a level of compassion that I...sometimes struggle with."

"Good, we're agreed then," Piggot said. "I'm not going to ask you to be there when she arrives. I don't doubt your professionalism, but as a human being I don't want to put you through that. As soon as she's done she'll be heading to New York for formal power testing. You can make yourself useful by prepping a space for the Wards on the Rig."

"I'll prepare quarters for them," Armsmaster said. He turned to leave, but paused at the door. "It's good to have you back, Director."

"Thank you. Now get your ass to work."

"Yes, ma'am."

Yes, Emily could read Colin Wallis like a book. Thomas Calvert, though, was another matter. She had a feeling she'd just let a fox loose in the henhouse.

~~Theogony~~

~~Theogony~~

Barry Rennick was never a field agent. He'd come into the PRT from the FBI, where he was an agent specializing in financial crime. He had sufficient training to be able to effectively field his sidearm, but he'd never be comfortable with it.

However, what he lacked in combat instincts he more than made up for with inhuman patience. He listened to Emily's spiel without blinking an eye, then shrugged when she was done. "We have two Master 3s running around Arcadia, one of whom we label as a shaker to keep her family happy. It's not the first time we've had to bend over backwards for a cape. When's she going to be here?"

"We should head up to the helipad now."

"We?"

"You're there to make her feel welcome. I'm there to grovel for forgiveness," Piggot said. The two fell in together toward the elevator. "Are you good with the personnel changes I made?"

"What? Giving the Wards to Miss Militia? About time, to be honest. Armsmaster is a consummate professional and an effective cape, but he's not suited for the mentor role. The only issue I have is Calvert. You've given the fox the keys to the henhouse, Emily. I don't trust that man."

"We only have to put up with him for another week," she said. "He's been offered a directorship in a new office in Boca Raton. Evidently, it's the Floridian equivalent of Brockton Bay in terms of parahuman population and gang violence. Until then, we watch him like a hawk."

The two made it to the roof of the PRT. Emily could still smell the scent of smoke in the air from the gang battles that rocked the city. The Winslow incident occurred yesterday morning; the New York fight happened early that afternoon. And now, the morning after, Brockton Bay was groaning under Lung's latest incursion into the Empire 88 territory.

Word is this time he actually got his target and seriously wounded the new Empire cape, Rune, before the Empire drove him off.

Two fully kitted agents emerged from the doors just moments after the director and assistant director did. Having two high value targets on the roof of the building was enough to prompt some security.

When Hebert and Alexandria arrived, they did so with such speed that no one had any warning. One moment, Emily was contemplating how she was going to get new staff to replace her injured or killed agents, and the next a powerful wall of air slammed into her and sent her stumbling. If not for Rennick, she would have fallen.

She turned just in time to see a pair of black wings breaking the girl's flight and her bare, heavily tattooed foot touching down on the helipad just a second before Alexandria's. She turned to face the most powerful flying brute in the world. "I won!"

Rennick sputtered as the girl's words sank in.

"You won," Alexandria agreed. "That was an interesting technique you used. You can control the air finely enough to create a vacuum tube to remove friction."

"I don't control the air. I asked the spirits to help, and they did. So that means I can stay in my own home tonight!"

"Oh shit," Barry muttered. "Emily…"

"I know."

The problematic teen turned faintly luminescent eyes to Emily. She'd managed to avoid the girl the first time around, letting Rennick handle the paperwork. So that moment was the first time she'd ever felt the girl's gaze. Now I know what Barry was talking about.

Alexandria said nothing; which was Emily's cue to begin the suck-up. She'd done far, far worse in her life. Stepping forward, Emily climbed the steps onto the helipad. "Miss Hebert, I'm Directly Emily Piggott. I regret we weren't able to meet the first time. On behalf of the PRT East-Northeast, I wish to apologize for the mistakes that led to the incident at Winslow. You have my personal word that we will get to the bottom of what happened, and make sure it doesn't happen again."

The girl stared at her, and it felt as if she were looking through Emily. She never thought she'd find literal truth in a metaphorical "heavy gaze", but the girl's eyes felt heavy against her. Whatever she saw, the girl finally nodded. "I believe you."

Costa-Brown's words echoed in her mind as Emily continued. "We appreciate the fact that you're willing to give us another try. I understand that because of what happened, the Wards program may no longer be our best option. But if you'll follow me, we have an associate's contract ready for you. I also understand that an emergency court order is being issued granting you independent status, though there will need to be a more formal hearing in the near future."

Hebert turned to Alexandria. "That was fast."

"We messed up, Taylor. It's important to make things right."

Holy shit, Costa-Brown wasn't joking. Emily was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. She'd met Alexandria before, and the cape she just heard was not the cape she'd met in the past. Everyone must have been scared out of their wits by this girl.

"If you'll come with us?"

They walked down to the executive conference room two floors below the helipad. Marjory already had the A-6G contract drawn up and pre-filled. Emily knew they had one waiting for when Panacea reached her majority, but this would be the first her department had executed. She knew Mouse Protector also operated under an A-6G contract as an associate through the Chicago PRT.

They sat down at the table and she let Rennick take the lead, given his experience in reading capes into the programs. "It's very important you read and understand the contract," he began. He then started going over it at length.

The girl glanced at the contract once or twice, but mostly she just watched Rennick.

"You should read the contract, Taylor," Alexandria said.

She looked at the older hero. "Mr. Rennick believes its ridiculously generous and much too flexible for a girl my age. That seems good enough."

Emily forced herself to breathe. "You know what Assistant Director Rennick is thinking?"

In response to their looks of horror, Taylor shook her head. "No! He just has a real expressive soul. He controls his expressions really well, but he puts his whole soul behind whatever he's feeling. It's why he's such a good grandpa, but why he struggled with his own kids."

For once, the unflappable Barry Rennick had nothing to say. Hebert took the contract and began signing. "I guess you should know…I don't really see faces. I mean, I see them, but that's not how I recognize people. Masks don't mean much to me. If I see you with a mask, or without, you'll still look the same to me."

She finished signing and pushed the contract back to the somber assistance director. "So, what's next?"