James Baron is still unconscious. Taylor Hebert is not happy. Beta by Faria Lyton.

Guild Invites 4.2

It must take a special kind of courage to be a PRT first responder. These guys had no powers, but they were rushing into a potential encounter with Lung and the ABB instead of away from it. I had to respect that. Their van pulled to a halt behind Armsmaster's bike, and a squad of five agents almost flew out of the vehicle. Two agents armed with some kind of combat rifle took the lead followed closely by another wearing a containment foam sprayer. The driver and another agent both armed only with pistols hung back.

"Condition Green," announced Armsmaster. "Lung is sandman'd. Two ABB down and injured. One friendly sandman'd. She's a friendly." Armsmaster pointed at me. "Secure Lung for transport. Do not foam."

"Sir, protocol says we use containment foam."

Armsmaster looked annoyed. "And, how long will it take us to get him unstuck from the pavement? I want to get him in a cell before his regeneration can fight off the sandman. I'll ride escort."

The driver nodded. "You heard him. Meier, Levine, get Lung loaded. Kelly, I want a visible presence. Carter, get up on a roof."

The men hustled. Two of them grabbed a stretcher and got Lung on it. One of them ran for the ladder leading up to roof of the building where James and I had fought Lung. One of them moved to the middle and started tossing out roadside flares.

I looked to Armsmaster. "You're riding escort? What about – " I bit my tongue literally as I almost said James. "Beetle Knight?"

"No room for him." Armsmaster sighed. "First response team goes in expecting hostility. It's their job to secure the area and keep civilians out of cape fights. They can also transport prisoners and emergency evac injured, but it's not their job. We need Lung in a cell before his regeneration can kick in, or the ABB tries to mount a rescue mission. There will be some ambulances along soon. Your partner is merely unconscious. We'll have him transported to the PRT building, and you can ride along, but you can help most of all by staying quiet and out of the way. Pay attention and you might learn something. Mop up after a fight is important, even if it isn't glamorous."

"Right." I felt like complaining about James, but I really couldn't fault his priorities. After all villains escaping while being transported happened all the time. I sat down by James and arranged him to look a little less uncomfortable. Given what Armsmaster said about the Oni Lee and Bakuda combination I had my bug-dar on high alert. My bugs were stretched out as far as I could control, and I made sure they covered every nook and cranny.

On the plus side the extra time gave me a chance to sort through my bugs. I needed a different set of bugs for visiting the PRT building. Ever since I came up with the idea for Lady Bug, my plan was to use cute bugs to throw off the creep factor of my bugs. Unfortunately I didn't have many cute bugs left. I settled for some larger and more colorful moths, a few butterflies that I'd woken up, and all the fireflies and ladybugs that I could gather. Not as many as I'd like, but they should suffice to prove I was an insect controller.

I also added quite a few of the smallest bugs I could manage: gnats, itsy-bitsy spiders and male mosquitoes – useful trivia, only female mosquitos suck blood. Just two days of training with zombies had me relying on «Combat Mapping» as much as my eyes, maybe even more than my eyes. I wasn't giving that up just because I was going to PRT headquarters. Plus, I constantly worked my bug skills ever since James's power had clued me in that they could be improved by simply practicing them. Whenever possible I'd order my bugs to leave my control range and return to me. That exercised both «Lingering Command» and «Mental Control Area». I also pushed my «Sense Processing» as much as possible by opening myself up to my bug's senses of smell and taste. Having a good sized collection of hard-to-detect bugs would let me continue my constant practice without drawing attention.

I did watch the PRT agents, but I focused more on clearing out the many pop-ups that I'd picked up. Rather than the more obvious hand gestures at invisible windows, I quietly reviewed and dismissed them with voice commands. I decided to accept the quest to form or join a team. What was his power trying to tell me? I thought James and I were already a team, so why give me the quest? Apparently being in a party together didn't count as joining a team. Did we need to do something more formal? Like choose a team name and publicly announce it? Or did we need to close the tutorial party and open a new one. I set that aside for later and cleared the other pop-ups with quiet whispers. The only time I used hand gestures at all was to drop three points into my INT. I had skill points to spare, and I'd already missed out on «First Aid». I didn't want to miss out on any other good skills because my INT was too low.

I also decided that I really needed to add «Cryptography» to my list of skills that I constantly practiced. That was the one skill that I knew raised my INT. While I was waiting I tried out James's idea and set up two dozen groups of bugs each translating the chatter from the PRT agents into a different cipher. I earned a skill up that way, but it didn't send my «Cryptography» skyrocketing or get me any more INT. I really needed to find a better way to train INT. When I had more time I really needed to see what other skills I could constantly practice with my bugs.

Another PRT van arrived as they were loading up Lung. Armsmaster took off on his bike leading the way for the PRT van hauling off Lung. The PRT guy who seemed to be in charge took my statement. Basically I ran over everything that I'd told Armsmaster again. By the time that was done two ambulances had arrived as well. The two injured ABB members went in one of them while I got to ride along with James.

The two EMTs who ended up transporting me and James to the PRT turned out to be quite chatty. Maybe that was because they worked for the city instead of the PRT. Once they assured me that James was fine and could be awakened at the PRT building, they started plying me with questions. They were very much impressed that I'd taken down Lung and wanted to hear the blow-by-blow. Instead I gave them the even shorter version of the fight, and showed off with some ladybugs and fireflies. I also got to give out my first autographs ever:

"For Jo Brister, my first fan ever. – Lady Bug #1"

"For Marv Gourley EMT, because you don't have to wear a cape to be a hero. – Lady Bug #2"

I included the stylized ladybug that I'd practiced for my sig. The numbering of signatures wasn't my idea. Lots of capes had done it before me, including Parian. While it was considered tacky to number your signatures beyond the first one hundred, that first hundred series of signatures often ended up resold on online auctions for thousands of dollars. Mouse Protector's #1 signature recently sold in the six figures. For me it was free publicity because Marv and Jo would likely end up posting on PHO. After taking out Lung I probably didn't need more publicity, but it couldn't hurt to put a positive spin on things.

The ambulance wasn't using its sirens, but we still made good time. Before I knew it we were at the PRT building. Standing in front of the doors were two PRT agents and Miss Militia. Her costume was deceptively simple. She wore an urban camo military uniform that hugged her curves much more closely than actual uniforms accented with two red, white and blue American flags. One flag was worn as a sash around her waist, the other she wore as scarf hiding the lower half of her face. Brave of her to show so much of her face, but short brunette hair, brown eyes and a slightly tanned skin fit so much of the female population maybe it was enough for her to hide. She currently had some kind of rifle strapped on her back, but from what I knew of her power it could become any weapon known to mankind, limited only by her imagination.

«Fashion Rating: Patriotic +40% to Reaction Rolls, +30% to Intimidate, +30% to Stealth. Now she knows how to wear a uniform.»

And there went James's weird ass power again. Why did it feel the need to butt in again? My new EMT fans immediately unloaded him from the ambulance. They pulled out folding wheels turning his stretcher into a gurney and wheeled him toward the building. I moved to follow.

Miss Militia stepped into our path. "Lady Bug, I presume?" Her tone was friendly. I couldn't see her mouth, but I bet she was smiling. "Great job, taking down Lung. We have you classified as a friendly new cape, but I'm afraid you'll still need an escort within the PRT building. That will be me."

Great job. Miss Militia thought I did a great job. She wasn't quite as big a name as Armsmaster, but I was still a huge fan of hers – especially since I triggered. Miss Militia's power wasn't that impressive as far as powers go. She held her own against more powerful capes with nothing but guns and guts. I hoped that someday I could do as well with my bugs. I felt like squealing with glee at her praise, but held it in. "Yes, ma'am. I won't cause problems. I just want to collect my partner and go home. Do I need to hand over my bat?" I didn't really have any way to stow it.

She laughed at that. "I'm not one to ask about disarming. I don't think your weapon poses a danger. Let's get your partner to Medical." She moved out of the way of the gurney and motioned them forward.

Marv and Jo started pushing James's gurney into the building. I followed into the PRT building which looked similar to a hospital lobby: obvious reception desk up front, bank of elevators past it, gift shop off to one side, waiting area with lots of chairs to the other side, and large hallways. I'd never been in the building before although I'd passed by it a few times. It was surprisingly empty as well, just a few PRT uniforms scattered about. Despite the almost mundane appearance I was very much feeling like I didn't really belong here. When I met Armsmaster, I'd just taken down Lung. I'd been impressed, of course, but not overwhelmed. Now some kind of reaction was setting in and I was very much aware that I was in way over my head.

Miss Militia fell in beside me. She had a precision about her walk that made me certain that her costume wasn't a prop and she really was ex-military. "So Lady Bug, we may be waiting a while. Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Armsmaster said you were a Brute and a Master?"

I shrugged at that. "That's what Armsmaster said, but I'm not sure he's right. I'm certainly a Master. I control bugs." I brought my cute bugs for a reason so I had some ladybugs spell out 'HI' for me and added some fireflies to provide some blinking lights.

"Nice." Miss Militia nodded her approval. "You have very good control. Is that how you poisoned Lung?"

"Yes. I hit him with black widows, brown recluses, wasps, hornets, bees and such – I wouldn't have used bugs like that on someone else, but he's Lung. He fought Leviathan single-handedly. Plus, he was going to kill kids. Beetle Knight and I couldn't just stand aside and let that happen."

"You're not in trouble for that." She reassured me. "That's a reasonable level of force to use on Lung. He's rated at a Brute four that increases to a Brute nine."

Our conversation was put on pause for a bit as we'd reached a double door labeled "Medical". Unlike medical shows where they just push the gurney through the doors, Marv raced ahead and held the doors open while Jo kept pushing James along. This brought us to an open area that appeared to be nurse's station although there was no sign of a nurse in attendance. Instead a uniformed and armed PRT trooper glanced our way. Jo ignored the trooper and kept wheeling James on the gurney into a room that was conveniently labeled Med Bay 4.

The trooper stood a little straighter and saluted Miss Militia. "Ma'am."

Miss Militia chuckled. "At ease. We're just passing through." She turned to me. "Why don't I give you a behind-the-scenes tour while you wait?"

"I thought I could stay with my partner." Why hadn't Marv or Jo mentioned this?

"I can tell you're concerned about Beetle Knight, but we need to give the medical professionals space to do their thing now."

Fine. I wasn't thrilled to be separated, but I couldn't help James now, and I'd promised to behave. I needed to get it together and not come across like a spoiled child. I took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm just worried about him. We're both also overdue in our civilian IDs. Is there really time for a tour? We need to leave as soon as he is awake."

Miss Militia reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "I've already seen the report from the paramedics. He's just sedated. I'll have them notify us as soon as he is awake. We'll keep the tour short. We can go by the canteen for something to drink. After that, maybe I can introduce you to some of the Wards. I can also arrange for you to make a secure phone call if you like."

"I'll pass on the phone call." My father was no doubt awake and worried sick about me, but calling him now wouldn't do any good. I wasn't even sure what to tell him. I really didn't want to tell him that I was a cape. Besides, while I trusted Miss Militia, I doubted that any phone in the PRT building was truly secure. I wasn't a tinfoil hat type, but the PRT had accumulated a lot of 'emergency' powers to deal with villains and Endbringers. How secure was my secret identity really stacked up against the PRT's 'need to know' about a cape that took down Lung? "But I'll take you up on the tour and meeting the Wards."

She nodded at me. "This way then." She led me back the way we came toward the reception desk. "So, we've established you are a Master, but you disagree about being a Brute?"

"Yeah, because a Brute rating means strength and toughness, right? The ability to take hits?"

"Yes, that's pretty much the definition."

"Then I don't think I have a Brute rating. My powers don't make me any stronger or offer me any protection. That's why my costume has armor in it. I'm just as vulnerable as any other Master."

"Then why were you in hand-to-hand combat with Lung? And Armsmaster said you took Lung down with that bat." We'd made it back to the reception desk and she led me off down another corridor past the ban of elevators.

"It's a just a bat." Okay, maybe it meant a bit more to me. My bat had seen me through Legion Zombie and Lung, but it was still just an ordinary aluminum bat. Also bent now, so unfortunately in need of a replacement. "Anyway, you bring down a baseball bat on most people's head it is going to hurt. The blow I gave him would probably have killed a normal person. Lung just took a little nap."

"Took a nap? You're saying you went hand-to-hand against Lung with nothing more than a baseball bat and a little armor?"

"And Beetle Knight and my bugs." I shrugged. "But, yes. He didn't give us much choice. He was going to kill kids. Sure, I later learned those 'kids' were the Undersiders, but we couldn't step aside."

Miss Militia shook her head. "I don't think you really understand what you've achieved. So, this is the canteen. Why don't I get you a drink and you tell me more about it. I'd really like to know."

The canteen was certainly a step up from Winslow cafeteria. Instead of long picnic tables laid end to end there were round tables scattered like lilypads across a tastefully decorated room. Internal walls divided it into interconnected subareas. Most of the kitchen/serving areas were shut down, but I spotted at least two serving lines, one for sandwiches and one offering a selection of cooked meals. Two separate salad bar islands were shut down as well, but apparently in use during the days. Another serving line was open serving breakfast even at this hour. I was also pleased to sense very few bugs in the kitchen and no rodents. I had quickly grown desensitized to the fact that even the cleanest kitchens had some bugs. However, knowing how bad Winslow's rat and roach infestation was, there was no way I'd ever eat there again.

I took Miss Militia up on her offer and had tea with her. Actually she had coffee. It was a little awkward to sip hot tea through a tiny straw, but I only had a small gap in my mask to let me breathe and speak. I'd already told the story twice before to Armsmaster and the PRT, but this time was more of a chat and less a report. I still had to watch what I said as I didn't want to give away James's true abilities, but going over it with Miss Militia wasn't a chore. She drew out some more details, like how I'd disabled the ABB's firearms before the fight started and some of the conversation with the Undersiders. She was also clearly impressed with what James and I had achieved. That gave me a warm feeling that had nothing to do with the hot tea in my belly.

"What you and Beetle Knight achieved tonight was nothing short of amazing. I know Armsmaster mentioned the Wards to you, but I'd like to extend the offer again. I really wish both of you would join. We can use more heroes like you."

When she asked me like that, a part of me wanted to do the happy dance and scream, 'Yes!' However, my reasons for avoiding the Wards hadn't changed. "I'll think about it."

Miss Militia nodded. "It's a serious commitment to make. I'm sure Armsmaster has already given you the good reasons to join: the protection of a team, support from the PRT, power testing, training, equipment, and having peers that can truly understand you and what you're going through. Why don't you tell me the reasons you're still unsure? Maybe I can put some of your doubts to rest."

Somehow the deal sounded more attractive when Miss Militia described it. Armsmaster had sounded like he was reading from a brochure. Not to mention that James's power had given me that quest to join a team – or make our own. "Several things…" But what to say? I didn't want teenaged drama, but maybe other teenaged capes would understand me. James certainly did. "Well, for one, Beetle Knight and I are partners. If we joined, then we wouldn't necessarily be paired together would we?"

"Not all the time, no. We would rotate you among all the Wards so you could get to know them all. Working with capes with different powersets is important. When you move up to the Protectorate you won't work with just your own team. Capes get moved around and transferred. We would take your preference for being paired with Beetle Knight into account, but working with different powersets teaches you how to counter different powers. That is critically importance in the field."

"I suppose the lack of control is a concern." Being shuffled about did not appeal to me, even if Miss Militia probably had a point about learning how different powersets worked and how to counter them. Fighting zombies was well and good for practicing with my bat, but nothing like the real thing. Didn't mean I wanted to be told what to do. "Beetle Knight and I can set our own hours, patrol where and when we wish."

"I'll grant you that one." Miss Militia didn't seem offended. "But, what you lose in autonomy, you gain in security. You'll have a radio link to the PRT and help just minutes away if you get in over your head."

Not really a problem for us. We could just escape to an illusion barrier. Which maybe we should have done in the second fight with Lung. Somehow in the heat of the battle the possibility of running away hadn't crossed my mind. Hmm, my biggest fear was still the fear that Beetle Knight would be removed from the field. However, I couldn't say that. "I also give up creative control over my look. I spent a lot of time putting together my costume. I don't want to be told to change it."

Miss Militia laughed. "Oh, I don't think you have anything to worry about. You're costume is so heroic our PR team won't make any significant changes. They might even help you by upgrading your gear."

Really? "Well, what about my bugs? Ladybugs are cute." I showed off with another display of ladybugs, forming them into a unicorn shape. "However, in combat I'm going to be hitting people with venomous spiders, wasps and other bugs." As I mentioned my combat bugs I morphed my ladybug art into a spider and then a wasp. "That's scary and not exactly the wholesome image that the Wards usually have." When Shadow Stalker joined the wards, she'd changed from real crossbow bolts to tranquilizer darts.

"First, let me compliment your control. It's even more impressive than I thought. As for your bugs, you might very well be asked to hold back on the more dangerous bugs, but we prefer to keep the Wards away from the kind of fights where you would need bugs like that. Maybe we can help you find less lethal ways of using your powers."

"Maybe." I already had my skirt-nets, but didn't want to get into a discussion about why I hadn't used them against the ABB. I also wasn't impressed that we would be kept out of combat. I wanted to make a difference. "Anyway, I won't be making any decisions without talking things over with my partner first." And according to my bugs he was still out cold.

"I would expect no less." She nodded and stood. "Why don't we go meet some of the Wards? Even if you don't join us we want to encourage communication with friendly independents. Most of them have gone home for the night, but Clockblocker and Vista would like to meet you."

"Really? Okay." I stood up eager. While I wasn't ready to join the Wards, I wouldn't turn down meeting any Ward. I knew a little bit about them both from research and because they were our local Wards. Clockblocker could freeze people in time. Not surprisingly given his name, he was known as a jokester and usually had a good quip for reporters. Vista had joined the Wards at a very young age and been more of a team mascot at first. That was a few years back, and now she patrolled with the Wards. While she had grown a few inches, she was still short and probably younger than me.

Miss Militia took me back to the bank of elevators which we rode upward several floors before stopping on the Wards' floor. We passed another PRT trooper on our way to very large and impressive door. She bent over and looked into some kind of pipe-thing. "Optical scanner," she explained as she straightened up. The heavy doors whirred and opened with a quiet whirr.

While the rest of the building had been rectangular this room was a large dome in shape. Doorways opened off at various points like spokes on a wheel. A bank of computers and monitors were all tied together on side of the room surrounded by a half-dozen chairs. Prominently visible on one of the larger screens was a domino mask icon against a vivid red background. Other screens showed what I recognized as various city landmarks. Presumably this was some kind of monitoring station. Two people in costume sat at this station and immediately rose to meet us.

"I, Blocker of Clocks, bid you welcome, dearest Bug Lady, to our humble abode. Please sit anywhere you like, oh mighty slayer of dragons." His costume was a mix of skintight white fabric and glossy white armor that reminded me of stormtrooper armor from Star Wars. His armor had to be some kind of tinkertech because the glossy white was interrupted by grey clocks. Some of the clocks might have been painted on, but others had moving hands, and still others moved about on his armor. His mask was the same glossy white and completely featureless.

«Fashion Rating: Lacks Character -10% to reaction rolls. Oh, look at the time.»

That was… well, there really wasn't much good I could say about his costume, so I guess it wasn't that unfair.

The girl beside him punched him in the arm. "Goof." I easily recognized her as Vista. Her costume was a mix of body armor and form-fitting cloth with a modest knee-length skirt added. Both the armor and the cloth followed the same pattern of intertwining wavy lines in white and forest green. Standing beside Clockblocker, I noticed that except for coloration their body armor was very similar in the cut and placement of the pieces. Perhaps there was a standard Protectorate design? There were some differences. For example, Vista's breastplate had actual breasts, the fake divided kind. Interestingly, she wore a matching domino mask when I was pretty sure that she usually wore a helmet and a visor. Had she partially unmasked for me? It was perfectly clear why she usually wore the helmet and visor. Her domino mask didn't hide her blue-green eyes, her blonde hair in an adorable pixie cut, or just how young she looked.

«Fashion Rating: Cute. +20% to Reaction Rolls, -20% to Intimidate. How precious.»

"Can't you be serious?" Vista attempted to glare at Clockblocker, but it only proved the fashion rating to be spot on about her «Intimidate» penalty.

"I am serious. Seriously funny."

Vista sighed. "What our team clown is trying to say is that we're both glad to meet you."

Whoa, they were glad to meet me? "It's an honor to meet the two of you as well. So, what's it like being a Ward?"

Clockblocker laughed. "You would be surprised how often we get asked that. It is not all glory, games, fun and adventure. There are some definite perks. We get to work with some adult heroes. We do ride alongs with all the ENE Protectorate. We're often in the limelight and get treated almost like royalty when we're in costume. However, the reality kicks in: training, training, and more training. Some of that is combat and power training, but we have to learn procedures at multiple levels: PRT, Protectorate, police, state, federal and local. There is a ton of paperwork and the joys of console duty. We do a lot of patrols, but we don't take the fight to major villains like you did tonight. We usually go for the unpowered gang members. We learn a lot. Our job isn't really to be heroes. It's to learn how to fight without dying and survive to be real heroes someday."

Vista looked at Clockblocker in obvious surprise. "That's… pretty accurate really. It bothers me at times. I've been a Ward longer than any of them and will still be a Ward when all the others have moved on to the Protectorate. I want to get out there and take on the villains like you did, but I couldn't take out Lung."

Miss Militia cleared her throat. "Lady Bug. I don't want to detract from what you did tonight, but answer me honestly, were you lucky tonight? If things had gone down just a little bit different, could Lung have won that fight?"

Meaning could James and I have ended up dead? It was all too easy to picture how things could have gone horribly wrong. "Yeah, we were lucky."