Power
The monitor in the conference room was cycling through the latest information on The Undersiders, financial and crime statistics for each territory they held along with briefs on latest encounters between the self proclaimed warlords of Brockton Bay and the last of the major cape led gangs.
"I can't believe it, you spent like a third of our stay in the business office at the Hotel - printouts and faxes and crap. Then after all that Piggot was down for it?!" Dust Devil let the knife pass through him as it nearly sank into the top of his skull.
He leaned forward and extracted it from the back of the office chair then tossed it up just passed his ear, it's lazy arc an easy grab for the knife's owner.
"Hey, I used to hunt very specific targets half the time I was doing the vigilante thing, Devil. Anonymous search engines and encrypted browsers are a girl's best friend when you're looking for scumbags selling their services on the back channels online."
Shadow Stalker flicked the blade under the table, and Dust Devil brought it up caught between two fingers, "Low blow, Shadow. Low blow."
Between the two capes were boxes and cases with their spare gear. The knife that was previously stuck in the wall of Ray's barrack was their current plaything of choice as they waited on the much needed cash infusion their proposal needed.
Shadow Stalker chuckled before she gestured for her packmate to chuck the blade at her again, "C'mon, put some heat on it this time."
~~x
Dennis was in his helmet, boxers, a heather gray tee, and was less than fresh from a long inglorious patrol. His feet throbbed, breath smelled, he was pretty sure some of his bruises were hiding a spreading rash that hurt to even consider scratching, and now he stood in front of a conference room window just peeping through half closed blinds. Missy leaned up against him, while their current leader Weld spoke to the bot floating near the window.
Shadow Stalker and Dust Devil were in fresh gear semi watching a slideshow presentation. Essentially half The Wards and a Dragon Drone occupied the hallway with their minds blown, considering how rumors spread the moment Dust Devil was taken into custody. Then the rumors metastasized after the Undersiders attack on the PRT and Shadow Stalker's life imploded shortly thereafter. So how the hell did they end up back in costume, let alone back in the PRT's good graces?
Every so often one of the two in the conference room would toss a knife that the other would dematerialize to dodge or catch. The playfulness between the two creeped the shit out of Dennis, and brought up so many more questions. Word from a couple Officers that the night Ray was taken into custody both he and Sophia were alone and barely dressed in the visitors barracks. Despite her grade-A asshole behavior, Sophia was indeed attractive but from what he'd seen of Ray around the base it just didn't make a lick of sense. The poor guy's face was basically a slab of deli-style boiled ham and the two of them patrolled all of once officially. Sophia could've just been really into pyromaniacs or, maybe it was just true chicks really dig scars. Dennis's interest in a tattoo of a clock face on his chest, right before joining the Protectorate, seemed like a much better idea now.
"Are they for real?", Clockblocker asked to no one in particular.
"Sorry to call you down here but I got up to get ready for patrol when I found Weld here talking to Dragon, then I saw why", Vista answered. "Last I heard those two were in prison and I don't know how to feel about... this."
"Nah, it's fine. What's a little shared mass hysteria between teammates?", Dennis put a reassuring hand on Missy's shoulder. "Besides I always got your back."
Weld nodded at Dragon's drone and it returned to it's sentry position by the door to the conference room, "Let's - let's head back to the dorms. I'll fill in the curious during the meeting we're about to have in however long it takes for us to get back up there."
Vista rapidly shortened the hallway's path to the elevator.
~~x
The Drone let itself into the conference room a minute after The Wards departed.
"Dragon?", Dust Devil addressed the tinker's creation.
Shadow Stalker palmed her blade and turned her swivel chair to face the slideshow.
"Dust Devil, thank you both for your patience. I am presently in pursuit, along with my partner Defiant, of leads regarding the Slaughterhouse Nine. Thanks to you and Shadow Stalker volunteering to deal with The Undersiders we are free to continue our hunt."
"Our literal pleasure", Shadow Stalker replied.
"Considering your past history with the group and your present focus I would like to ask you both to show a small measure of restraint in regards to their newest members."
Sophia's back straightened.
"I only ask as while Imp is a Stranger class Cape, she appears to be one of the youngest members of the group. Data points put her between 12 and 14 years of age. This age span is excellent for the chance at her recruitment for the Wards."
"Recruitment!? They tied me to a damn chair and Regent tortured me. I don't care if she's Dakota fuckin Fanning, she's going down."
"You said newest members, members plural, as in?" Ray inquired.
"Skitter."
The name hung heavy in the conference room.
"Why?!" Sophia asked curtly.
"The sole reason she was even in the situation to see your face, Shadow Stalker was-" Dragon was cut off. The conference room monitor's video source cut from the slideshow to a live feed of a heavily armored figure sitting in the high tech cockpit of an aircraft.
"It's my fault, I made a series of decisions that led to your capture and abuse by not only these villains but the system all of us support as heroes. Skitter, you, and several of our injured and fallen suffered. When the Slaughterhouse Nine came to the city, I was one of the reasons they arrived and made Brockton Bay that much more attractive to those monsters."
"I'll explain from here, Defiant. Thank you", Dragon wrested control of the conversation and the screen switched back to the slides. "Defiant was Armsmaster previously, his injuries and disgrace by his actions have led him to forsake his old ways and atone via reinvention as a new hero. He was there the night Skitter took her inaugural patrol and took credit for her defeat of Lung. She went undercover, with Armsmaster as her sole contact, in joining The Undersiders to get their identities and location for their base so they could be taken down."
"She was a goddamn vigilante?"
"Yes, she was on the side of good, and in her own way she has made choices and decisions to help this city despite going about it in the guise of a crime lord."
"Working with the Protectorate to bring down the-", her laughter broke her thinking out loud.
Dust Devil materialized on his knees next to Shadow Stalker, "Mi sombra bella... I'm right here with you".
"I-I'm alright, Devil. Just that we're cutting a similar deal like she did and she ended up going native with those assholes because she got screwed over by the person she was helping."
Ray scratched around the edge of his mask by one of horns, "I mean it takes some real cojones to go undercover, that's some risky shit."
Sophia nodded but said nothing in response. It was hard to read her through her mask and her body language was less defensive since he came to her side.
"So you don't want us to bring Imp or Skitter in dead?", Ray asked as he crouched next to Sophia.
"It would be preferable for all of them to be taken into custody. Regent is the product of a mind control sex cult run by Heartbreaker, Hellhound is only a threat when others interfere with her care of her dogs or she perceives as a threat, Grue is at his core a very professional thief, Tattletale is not their leader but their guide to navigating the criminal underworld, while Imp and Skitter are the most effective but least experienced members. I'm merely suggesting, as the PRT considers your backgrounds and deeds when dealing with you, just find a measure of restraint in your use of deadly force", he didn't expect to hear pleading in Dragon's voice.
"This is really screwed up, Dragon. You're asking us to pull our punches for people with a history of torture and murder. That they're just kids and dealt a raw hand in life?"
"No", Shadow Stalker spoke up. "I'm not pulling punches with Regent and Skitter, they-"
"You systematically harassed, assaulted and abused a young girl so badly she went to the hospital for it. Just like Ray, who triggered and ended up in the emergency room, Taylor triggered and became Skitter. Skitter is a product of your choices."
Shadow Stalker stood up and clenched her fists, as the Drone hovered in place.
"I thought we weren't supposed to know the criminal's names, Dragon?" Ray got up from his crouch and stood shoulder to shoulder with Sophia.
"I know how close you two are, and you're being supportive of each other, but Sophia needs to know - you need to know, no one is perfect in this world. All we can do is try to make the world a bit better than we found it."
"All the kids go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars... but Regent", Shadow Stalker spoke to Dragon. "He has said and has demonstrated how far his control of me goes. I'll never be safe again so long as he lives. Piggot wanted to talk about 'suffer the little children', well we can't let this particular one live."
The slideshow on the conference monitor switched over to a briefing on a Rogue Celebrity cape named Sheila Torrance, she is a performance artist and former child star. A scan of a poster advertising a Parahuman Circus touring through Liverpool three years ago flashed up while the Drone hovered silently for a few moments. Sophia pointed out the change on the monitor and Ray took out his phone and took pictures of the screens as they changed.
~~x
"I'm not going to feed any gossip, again, Dennis. All I know is that the relationship between a Ward and a probationary Protectorate member was improper."
"I knew it", Clockblocker spoke to his helmet that sat on his knee during the meeting.
Lily shook her head,"Why are you obsessed with that part of this entire thing?"
"I'm a single, red blooded American teenage guy in a cruel and unfairly sexy world."
Lily leaned away from Dennis.
Missy had trouble tugging on her boots. Even with her powers making travel far easier, the hours of standing and walking through flooded debris strewn streets made her small feet blister. "Ugh, I don't want to think of those two - like that. Weld, are they or aren't they being put on the team so I can talk to-"
An automated voice interrupted over the dorm's system, "Kill Order: Active. Target: Regent of The Undersiders. Last known location: Brockton Bay."
"So that's a thing", Chris, aka Kid Win, strolled in late to the meeting. His red and gold costume tarnished with scratches filled with grit and mud, looking far from a kid let alone one who was winning.
"Thanks for making it, Kid Win", Weld said, then turned his attention back to the team. "This wasn't unexpected, once The Travelers and Undersiders took territories across Brockton Bay, Dragon informed me that each warlord was given an expedited trial through the local governments and law enforcement, and all the known Travellers and a handful of Undersiders were issued presigned Kill Orders should they step out of line during the reconstruction of the city."
Lily's eyes widened at the news, "Ahh, permission to take Vista's patrol?"
"Seriously, I'd appreciate that but I just got my stupid boots on."
"Denied", Weld said as he stood up to take a print out that was still printing from the Monitor desk.
A stone sunk to the bottom of her stomach, "Can I at least join Missy?"
"If you're that set to get out there, Lily, you might want to start getting dressed."
The masking lights flickered on in the dorms, signaling visitors coming in the next few moments, and The Wards scrambled for helmets and domino masks. The doors parted open and Shadow Stalker and Dust Devil stepped into the room.
"Did you get the paperwork?" Shadow Stalker asked Weld.
"Just printed it out", Weld passed one set of pages to Lily and the other to Dennis.
Dust Devil whistled as he looked around the dorm. The place was bright, a touch homey, and just populated enough to not feel lonely nor crowded. "This is very nice, very very nice. Ahem, anyway Flechette and Clockblocker, come on down! You've just been volunteered for a very special assignment!"
"Does it have anything to do with the Kill Order?" Clockblocker asked.
"Shadow, this one is not the Flechette one, right?" Dust Devil gestured at the underdressed Clockblocker.
"Yeah, that's Clockblocker. He thinks he's funny."
"Tsk, alright. First, to answer your question. I don't want to lie to you. Second, to ask you a question. Where are your pants, son?"
~~x