Thanks to dwood15 for betareading, and to the Cauldron discord for assisting in research.

Lustre 3.1

"For more than a decade, the city of Brockton Bay has been divided. Gangs and other criminals have grown and run rampant, and only the heroic efforts of the Protectorate, PRT, and Wards have held them at bay…."

I shuffled into the green conference room, rubbing Narya as it rested on my gauntleted finger. The conference itself had barely started; some guy in a suit was behind the podium, talking nonsense about the PRT's longstanding efforts against the gangs and criminal elements of Brockton Bay, and the assistance provided by the Protectorate and Wards program. It was mostly empty filler, and I immediately tuned it out. Now I was just waiting for him to step off and let the actual talk start.

"Relax, Annatar," said Aegis as he passed by me from behind, putting a hand on my pauldron for a moment while he was near me. "You'll do fine."

I sighed. "Thanks, Aegis."

"You're clear on what questions you can answer?" asked Derek Mills, the PR guy who'd been coaching me in preparation for this event and the interviews which would surely follow.

"Crystal," I confirmed dryly. "We've only drilled it a million times."

"It's easy to lose your head up there," he cautioned.

"We've only drilled that half a million times. Maybe we should go through it a few more?"

Aegis snorted, taking a seat on the couch. "You'll be fine," he repeated. "Come on, sit down. Have some crackers."

I grumbled inaudibly as I left the center of the room and took a seat on the couch beside him. I palmed one of those fancy round crackers from the coffee table and garnishing it with a slice of cheddar.

"How do you stay so calm?" I asked him as I prepared my snack.

Aegis shrugged. "This isn't my first public event," he said, dipping a piece of celery into peanut butter.

"I know." I rolled my eyes. "And you know that's no answer." I bit down on my cracker. It wasn't half bad.

He crunched down on the celery, chewed, and swallowed. "Just picture them naked," he suggested.

"Does that work?"

"Not at all. Unless you're Clockblocker. The rest of us just get embarrassed, on top of being nervous."

I giggled. "You're no help."

"It's starting," said Mills.

The windows behind the podium provided a pleasant view of the city hall's courtyard behind Armsmaster and Piggot as they walked onto the stage and took their position at its center. Piggot took the microphone and lectern, setting a slim portfolio of notes on it as Armsmaster took a position slightly behind and to her right.

"Thank you, Mr. Harvey, for the introduction," Piggot said, and I could just barely detect the sarcasm under her businesslike tone. "Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, the parahuman Lung, leader of the criminal organization colloquially called the 'ABB,' was apprehended by Armsmaster one week ago. Armsmaster, if you would?"

They switched places, Piggot falling back slightly to allow Armsmaster a spot at the lectern.

"Thank you, Director," Armsmaster said. "It should come as no surprise that, as leader of the ENE branch of the Protectorate, I've been working on a way to neutralize Lung for some time. My research met with success several weeks ago in the form of specific weaponry designed to counteract Lung's regeneration. I was given the opportunity, last Sunday, to field that weaponry. It was demonstrably effective. However, to take full credit for the operation would be dishonest. I received assistance from an independent parahuman who encountered Lung earlier that night."

"Was it New Wave?" A woman in the crowd hollered.

"We'll be taking questions at the end of the conference," said Armsmaster, "but I can answer that one. No, it was not New Wave. It was a solitary, independent hero, hitherto largely unknown. We have her here this afternoon to talk to you, but before we get to that, Director?"

They switched places again.

"Thank you, Armsmaster," said Piggot. "The new parahuman, under the cape name 'Annatar' first surfaced preventing a robbery by the Undersiders last Saturday. The following night, she called in a report of Lung planning the murder of a group of children. Armsmaster was deployed to assist, and they worked together to bring Lung to justice."

"If she could fight Lung," objected a guy with a rather annoyingly shrill voice, "how come we haven't heard of her?"

"No questions, please." Piggot gave the guy a scorching glare. "Annatar, being underage, approached the PRT later last week about joining the Wards program. She was then accepted as a trial member. Her primary classifications are tinker and trump."

"Time to head backstage," said Aegis, nudging me.

I nodded and stood up. "Notify my next of kin," I said, and followed Mills out of the green room, leaving my team leader chuckling behind me.

Piggot was still talking, only now I could hear her from the stage directly, rather than over the microphone. "Annatar was also instrumental in the Wards' operation on Thursday, when the villainous group known as the Undersiders, accompanied by the solo villains Circus, and Trainwreck held up and robbed Brockton Bay Central Bank. Through the Wards' efforts, three of the six attacking villains were captured during the operation, and are currently in PRT custody."

Mills and I came to a halt in the wings. I could see Piggot and Armsmaster facing the crowd, lit from behind by the sunlight and from the front by electric lighting, but I couldn't see the throng of reporters from here.

I knew they were there, though. I knew it all too well. Narya might bolster my image, but it didn't cure stage fright.

"For the purposes of her introduction as a new hero in Brockton Bay's roster," Piggot said, "we've asked her to come forward here today, publicly. So, without further ado, please welcome Annatar.

I strode forward, trying to keep my steps even and my stride natural, even as the applause rang out.

I reached Armsmaster and Piggot far too slowly for my comfort, which suggested that I'd done it about right. I shook the director's hand and took the central position behind the lectern.

The PRT's image department knew that sometimes, childlike nerves could work really well for a Ward. Not so for me. I was a knight in shining armor, a girl who strode into battle with spear and sword (assuming I could get that approved). Nerves didn't mesh with that, nor with the fact that I'd apparently been one of two people involved in the operation to bring in Lung. I needed to project confidence and presence. Which, of course, was why I was wearing Narya.

I cleared my throat, adjusted the microphone, promised myself one last time not to stutter, and began.

"Thank you for the warm welcome." My voice resounded through the auditorium. "I'm sure you all have questions, and I'll do my best to answer them when the time comes, but first, let me cover the basics to save us all some time.

"You can call me Annatar. I'm a tinker-trump, with a focus on what, for lack of a better term, we've been calling 'powered items.' Each object I build tends to have some sort of internal power, similar to the effects of a parahuman power. My spear, for example, chills substances it penetrates to temperatures far below freezing.

"As a Ward, I look forward to contributing to the safety and security of Brockton Bay and its people. I'll be working under Aegis to keep this city safe, and I intend to bring whatever I can to the field to achieve that. I'll be taking a few questions now."

Instant clamoring. Every reporter and their mother seemed to want my attention, and was determined to get it, by hook or by crook. The space was filled with the sound of shouting and the waving of raised hands. I randomly pointed at one in the middle of the left-hand side.

"Jonathan Schmidt, CNN," he introduced. "Can you tell us anything about the other 'powered items' you've made?"

I nodded. "Well, my armor qualifies," I answered, gesturing at my platemail. "It's durable on a level beyond most tinkers' power armor, although that doesn't necessarily translate directly to more protection." As I found out; thank you, Circus. "It appears to be nearly indestructible by conventional means, to the point that it's impervious even to most forms of study. It, like many of the other objects I make, is composed of a metal I transmute from other substances, which I call mithril."

More hands, more yelling. I picked another. "Candice Williams, Brockton Report; this 'mithril,' can you tell us more about its capabilities?"

I shrugged. "It's nearly impossible to damage, and only I can create it," I said. "We're still testing it to determine its chemical and physical properties, if that's what you're asking. Once we know more about it, I'll likely be collaborating with other tinkers to phase in mithril versions of existing gear. I've already been approached about the possibility of a collaboration with Dragon to industrially produce the substance."

I privately had my doubts about whether that would work—call it a hunch—but I wasn't to say that to the reporters.

More hands went up, and again, there was the shouting. I pointed at one guy whose green suit stood out.

"Albert Barrows, Parapeople Magazine," he said. "Is it true that you and Shadow Stalker are romantically involved?"

My jaw tightened, my teeth clenched. My throat worked there uselessly for a moment, unable to push my mouth open. The practiced smile felt stapled on my face. It was at least a couple seconds before my jaw loosened enough to allow me to speak, and a couple more before I'd found an answer.

"You know," I said coolly, "I almost wish I could see her response to that. No, it's not true. And I'll be looking at PHO to see where that nonsense came from."

I pointed at another reporter. "Please make this one a useful question," I requested dryly.

She smiled slightly. "Of course. Sarah Churchill, Brockton Times. Can you give us any details on how you assisted in the capture of Lung?"

I nodded. "Obviously I can't say too much," I said. "But the basics? I found him, planning to attack some kids, and called the PRT immediately. Then I created a distraction and led him in Armsmaster's direction. Most of what I did was bait him and take a couple of hits to keep him busy."

Piggot rapped on the side of my backplate with a fingernail. I nodded minutely.

"That's all I have time for today, I'm afraid," I said. "I'll be running an AMA on the PHO forums sometime this week, though, so any questions I missed now will hopefully be addressed then. Until then, however, I'll hand this back to Director Piggot."

I stood aside and walked offstage to the sound of applause. Mills led me back into the green room silently, and Aegis was waiting there, a wide smile shifting the shape of his mask.

"Great job, Annatar," he said.

I crossed the room and collapsed bonelessly into the couch. "I hope I never have to do that again," I moaned.

"Sorry to say," Aegis chuckled, "but you're a hero now. PR's part of our shtick. Should've gone rogue if you didn't want to deal with it. It's the only way to maintain the adulation of the adoring masses, after all."

"Bah," I grumbled. "they don't want heroes; they want celebrities."

"Same thing, in their minds," said Aegis dryly.

I sighed. "Heroing sounded different from the outside," I whined. "I imagined it as more, well, heroic. Going out, stopping the bad guys, saving people, rescuing kittens from trees…"

"Yeah?" Aegis asked sardonically. "You want that kind of life? Step one: Be Scion. There is no step two."

I laughed. "Yeah, the golden guy has it made, doesn't he?"

"Anyway," said Aegis, taking a seat beside me, "You've been holding out on me, Annatar. What's this I hear about you and Shadow Stalker? I'd never have thought it of you, really."

My face fell like a boat going over Niagara Falls. "Okay," I said flatly. "You're an ass."

Aegis just laughed. "Hey, better you than me," he said. "In fact, thanks for taking some of the heat off. They'd basically moved on from shipping her with Dennis and transferred it over to me until you were seen carrying her halfway across town on Thursday. I appreciate your sacrifice."

"Someone recorded that?"

"You need to visit PHO more. Everyone recorded it. No one knew who you were, but everyone saw a hero in armor run through town with Shadow Stalker in her arms. Played hell with her lone badass image, believe me."

I leaned back into the cushions and massaged my temples. "Well, at least I'm making trouble for her," I said dryly. "That's one good thing to come out of this."

"Hey, you never know," he said lightly. "Maybe the two of you will come to another understanding."

"Oh, not you too!"