"Hey TT this is S need to talk to big C as K is thinking about it." She put the phone away inside of her robes again using the Force to open the doors. Jeff and Mike rolled up in front of the building just in time for her to get in.
Return of the Jedi
"PRT building, I feel the Force wants us there."
"So, it went well?"
"They were expecting a fight. I barely walked inside of the office, but they remain civil. The threat to their civilian identity was stronger."
"How did they react to the demands?"
"They were raging inside. Krieg really wanted to fight, but I revealed I was more than a match for him as he would have been no match for the ground."
"You threaten to push him out a window?"
"Yes, through a wall first before he would have hit the window."
"All Kaiser would have done was fill the room full of metal spikes."
"True but the Force would have warned me. Hopefully fast enough that I could react."
"Wait a minute you were not sure?"
"Mostly. I was not there to fight them, and they knew it. Threats aside I doubt it would have come to a fight. Not one that they could have gotten out of with their identities reveled. I did nothing to threaten this."
"Still, don't like it."
"We are here, and we can discuss it later." Jeff drove the car into the parking garage next to the PRT. Two medical masks hide their faces until they got out of the car. With the trunk open they removed the coveralls they were wearing and put on their helmets. Skye did not bother to conceal herself as her hood did well enough. They took the stairs to get back to the street level and calmly waited for the light to cross over. As soon as they entered several of the tourists had their phones out or were taking pictures.
"Are you new capes." An eager boy asked.
"I am Rapier this is Cutlass nice to meet you. Give me a pound." Jeff held out his fist and the boy bumped it with his. Jeff pulled it back as he mockingly played that his hand was hurt causing the boy to giggle and some of the parents to laugh nervously.
"You are pretty?" A girl called out.
"Why thank you." Cutlass replied.
"Not you, her." Skye pulled off her hood and then knelt down in front of the girl.
"Am I pretty? I think you are beautiful." the girl blushed as she went to hide behind her mother's leg.
"No, you are beautiful." Skye stood as bowed to the mother.
"Such a lovely youngling. A precious treasure indeed." Skye turned away from the mother to reach the central control desk.
"Why don't you wear a mask?"
"I do not need to hide."
"But won't a villain come to your home and hurt you?"
"Or worse kill you?"
"That happened yesterday, but they could not win. However, we were ready. The Empire failed and is now nearly destroyed. I scattered the Merchants, took out the ABB, and with help from others we stopped the Empire from expanding."
"Are you claiming to have taken out Lung and Kaiser and Skidmark by yourself?" One tourist asked.
"Have you not watched Uber and Leet's channel?" Cutlass asked.
"You will see how many it took each fight."
"Come, now is not the time and we do not seek glory of glory's sake. Let the heroes strut and caw. I am here to see Director Piggot." Skye turns away from the tourists and steps up to the center desk. Rapier and Cutlass step up behind her.
Piggot was called and she turned on a monitor not a minute later. She watches the three enter talk with the tourists and then to the front desk. Several PRT officers come in to support the four inside and the group moves off to the holding room. Skye just sits on the floor and meditates from the looks of it. The other two sit and seem to do the same but so obviously.
"Take them to conference room three."
"What of their weapons?"
"I'll would suggest taking them away, but the rules cover costumes, and I am sure both of those suits hide more than the pistols on their sides. Send Aegis, Gallant, Clockblocker, and Kid Win to join them with a containment team."
"Yes ma'am." She hung up and sighed before taking a sip of water. The urge to drink was hard to resist at times and so nice to do just before her sessions, but she just got back from the last one and she had to last until the next. She was so tired of controlling her water intake, the foods she ate or the constant monitoring of her blood pressure. Ten years on a waiting list and only to be told that if she did not get a donor before her next birthday, she may never get a kidney.
She sighs forcing the thought out of her head. That just brings up another problem and that is these new capes. Well two are former laughing stocks, but with the armor they wear they have turned more than a few new leaves. Still villains and if she could confirm who they are she would have them arrested no matter how many gang members they put in jail. Half of them would be back out on the streets in under a week. Though to date only a few have posted bond and each one a parent that could ill afford to do so and now gang to go back to for work.
She sighed again as she got to the regular elevator. She despised the tinkertech one. You could not feel it moving and that made it worse not better. She got out went through a door closed it after she turned the light out and entered a narrow room. They appeared to have not moved. The four inside this room even more alert now that she was there. She then left after seeing the four Wards enter the conference room. A moment later she entered the same room.
She locked eyes with Skye, and she was held fast. Knowing what she did of the girl she was not expecting her first thought to be on how innocent she looked or the fact she barely looked fourteen even if she was sixteen and managed to gain emancipation. Her smooth rise from the floor darkened her a bit as if her meditating made her glow. She still her face to hold her calm as her mind wondered about this girl. Every person had characteristic movement and tells, but this girl was a complete blank so controlled was her face. Her eyes did not blink, or she blinked when Emily did which was even more unnerving.
Though her lack of movement was more so as only her eyes followed, but then she tilted her head and her smile blossomed on her face. Innocent, but not creepy in any way. She held a love for life that was sure. Definitely happy from what she could see. She moved over to the seat at the end of the table as the three took positions on her right side.
"You are in pain. Perhaps we should come back later."
"I am always in pain. Comes with the territory. Now what is it that you want? As I am here only because I got eleven capes in my holding cells with the rest being full of gang members." At least she was not dumb enough to let them out of their cells. The BBPD learned that lesson the hard way.
"The suits that both Rapier and Cutlass are not unique from where I come from. The construction, metals and fabrics used and even the electronics and blasters are all normally mass produced."
"They are tinkertech." Kid Win countered.
"Futuretech, and to prove they are not tinkertech. Her is the designs for a basic version of their suits as they are custom, and the materials used." Rapier set several data sticks down on the table. He opens the datapad and then turns it on. Several holograms appear in a constant succession of images.
"With the right material it takes an hour to assemble one of these combat armor suits. The parts take a fraction of that time and the looms as you call them take about the same time. From start to finish one suit takes ten hours to complete from raw material to finished product. That is if you have a molecular furnace, and a parts assembler you can make it yourself minus the bodysuit. A special loom is needed for the fabric to be turned into sheets that can be layered together."
"Why are you telling me this? I thought you were here for some type of demand."
"We are and the plans for the body gloves and the composite armorweave and armor plate will be in exchange for the actions in not trying to take over my base."
"All that for leaving your base alone. That cannot be everything?"
"It isn't, you see we have done you a great service in removing the shadier gangs from the city. I will expect you continue to do so while working even closer with the BBPD. In fact, you need to be attached at the hips so that if a cape shows up during an arrest or raid on a drug house the PRT is already there."
"We have laws and regulations for what we do."
"And I am telling you they don't work. As a Jedi we are faster, stronger, smarter with an education that teaches you to think on your feet and to stand up for justice. That does not include a nearly unlimited endurance, the ability to move things with the Force, heal wounds that would take a life or generate lightning. But a well-organized group that knows our weaknesses can defeat us easily at times. At others I have seen four Sith kill and army of ten thousand without even moving their feet."
"So, what else do you want? Why would you give this up knowing it will make you weaker?"
"Weaker perhaps if you know our weaknesses, but I want you to be able to confront a cape with a team of four and come out the other end with that cape in custody. I want the military to be able to field a hundred men to take a territory that would normally take a thousand. I would like to give you defenses that could defend against an endbringer."
"What proof other than the suits do you have that you could take on an endbringer?"
"When I arrived here, we were attacked before reaching orbit by a creature call Simurgh. My fighter damaged her. I am but one. Had we had an entire wing she would not have survived."
"Clear the room."
"Ma'am?" Kid Win asked suddenly taking his eyes off all the possible designs he had gotten from just the holos.
"Clear the room. None of you have the clearance to hear the next part. I assume that the observers will also turn off the recorder and microphones. Failure to do so will result in life imprisonment." Emily said it so firmly and calmly it was eerie in its own right, but the four PRT rushed out of the room. The Wards reluctantly left as well. Once the door closed, she hit several buttons on the center control device.
"Armsmaster, Miss Militia have heard all that?"
"Yes, we have. I still don't believe it."
"Unconfirmed if she is telling the truth, but no signs that she is lying."
"Any change in subject one?" Skye noticed both of them stiffened. She could only see the weapons that Miss Militia cycled did so faster and Armsmaster frowned.
"None are you sure we should talk in front of them?"
"I am sure these two know already and I want to do a favor for a favor."
"You know Costa-Brown will not authorize this."
"I don't care. This girl is not from Earth not from any Earth. She singlehandedly organized a group of misfits and villains to take out all the organized gangs. This leaves Coil's group on top, but I think revealing this will get her to find and take out Coil."
"Okay then you have to understand that we did not know until now that who we have is linked to you."
"Who do you have?" Skye paused only for a second before she came to her feet. "Take me to him now."
"We have not said if..." Piggot attempted to stall
"I don't care. Take me to my master now!"
"We will do that, but..." She tried again.
"No buts, no concessions, no nothing." Emily saw her eyes and the innocence was gone replaced by what she felt was rage.
"He has not woken up since we found him." Emily said quickly.
"I assume you are feeding him. Giving him fluids?"
"Yes." Armsmaster confirmed.
"Stop." Skye ordered.
"What? He'll starve." Miss Militia stated.
"He'll wake up. I can't believe I forgot what a hibernation healing trance does."
"Okay we'll send a helicopter over."
"No get me to the roof. Ayfour, Hast? Have you been listening?"
"The room is..."
"Yes master, Ayfour is ready to life off with your permission ETA two minutes."
"Get me to the roof. I'll fly there myself. Armsmaster will get a good look at my fighter and Ayfour while I wake my master."
"What if we don't release him?"
"That is on your head. If you are concerned about me. Know this, nothing will keep me from my master."
"Fine you can go. Hey!" Skye suddenly hugged the woman. It was something that she had been needing to do to really find out why she felt so off in the Force. She was not a cape, but as soon as she had a bit of skin contact, she knew what was wrong. The woman was slowly drowning on her own fluids. From the looks of it she has been surviving with some procedure that removed the water from her system and the poisons, but not all of them.
"I could heal you, but it would only last so long without new kidneys. Let Foliage heal you, tune you up a bit. I understand your hate, but it is only going to kill you sooner than later. I give you six weeks. If you let your pride interfere with your health."
"They... No let me go. How dare you."
"I dare to tell the truth. One that you already knew. Not everyone can face mortal danger head on. Some will always flee if they think they can't win."
"How could you know that? Did you read my mind?"
"No, your classified file. Hast is a perfect hacker with Tattletale's power set. Come I have my master to awaken." She backed off and with a flick of her hand a lightsaber flew away from Cutlass to disappear inside her robes.
Piggot got up once the girl was no longer hanging on her. She felt better, a bit more alert, which was different. Damn that girl had healed her without permission. It would have been a reason to have her arrested, but she had not felt so good in years. She looked at the two remaining, so many things went through her mind as she glared at them. Their armor hides most of their body language, but if they were Uber and Leet then they had changed. Confidence as they stood, and that Cutlass went out into the hall.
"We are not who you think we are. It was only a thing we did. A thing that two messed up kids latched on to and did not know any better. It was a direction that we should have left long ago. Skye changed us, guided us in a new purpose to help put this city back on its feet. We don't work in the black and white anymore." Rapier turned and followed Cutlass to the elevator leaving Piggot there to think.
"Director, Skye's aircraft just touched down on the roof."
"Let her go. Armsmaster do not drool too much."
"Yes. Ma'am." She looked at the Wards and her eyes settled on Gallant.
"Gallant, tell your girlfriend I want healing from Foliage, and I'll go to her."
"She is at Brockton General." Piggot nodded and took the first step to healing. Not just her body but her view of some capes, or in this instance, a not cape alien. She snorted as she got to the elevator that took her to the garage.
Skye jumped up on the fighter as the canopy was rising nearly ten feet off the helicopter pad on the roof. It began to move before she could get inside, and it passed the Boardwalk by the time she was in, and the canopy closed. She guided the fighter low to the water sending up a plume of water before rising back up and spinning around backwards to us counter thrust to stop nearly on a dime. The fighter spun again as it lands on the helicopter pad of the Rig. Armsmaster and Miss Militia were waiting for her and as her senses spread out, she felt the other heroes waiting true the place.
"Ayfour allow Armsmaster to look over the fighter. Don't let him take anything apart." The droid beeped and whistled causing her to chuckle at his threats. She opened a compartment and fiddled with the maintenance datapad.
"You need to hand over your weapons." Armsmaster demanded. She placed the datapad in his hand.
"It is set to English. I can send you a converted log and schematic file once I have time. As for handing you my lightsaber or my master's lightsaber, it will not happen. It is no different to me then handing you my arm or my leg. A Jedi's weapon is a part of them, and I do not trust you with a part of my soul. You have my word no harm shall come to anyone here on this platform."