Well if there was any hope that the briefing would be upbeat and positive it was quickly gone once they announced a new parahuman gang was in town.
"The Merchants?" I asked.
"The Archers Bridge Merchants to be precise, but most residents are calling them the Merchants for short." Agent Burns responded. "We've been getting scattered reports that some of the drug dealers have been changing their behavior these last few months. It's only been confirmed this week that apparently a parahuman named ummm …. Skidmark… has been consolidating some of the smaller criminal outfits and individual drug dealers into a larger organization."
Aegis raised his hand and asked "How much information do we have on Skidmark?
Agent Burns shuffled some papers to find the relevant page. "According to our files we have linked him to the civilian identity of Adam Mustain. Our researchers say he has been active as a parahuman for a year and a half at most, though reports have been sketchy. He has a rating of Shaker 2, though that is more a reflection of his actual performance rather than the full potential of his abilities. His power is to create a deflector effect, a type of force field that pushes things. It's usually not that strong but he has shown the ability to increase his power's strength on several occasions. We have passed out a complete file of his abilities and encounters. If you have any further questions about him you can refer it to my office."
Gallant raised a hand and when he was acknowledged asked "And is this Skidmark the only parahuman involved?"
"He's the only one we have absolutely confirmed but a recent arrest that confirmed the existence of this gang involved a tinkertech garbage truck. I believe Armsmaster has provided further details in his report on the vehicle. We're not certain whether it was purchased from an outside tinker or if it was made in house, but we believe it's more likely to be a member of the Merchants who made it. Thinker analysis indicated the parts were all locally sourced, so it's either a member or a close affiliate."
Oh Brockton Bay, just when I started to underestimate you, we find out the drug dealers are cosplaying Mad Max. Well I always thought the PRT wasn't doing enough to deal with the drug problem in the city. Maybe the bright side is that they'll finally put some more resources towards arresting dealers now that they're cruising around in tinkertech.
"Unfortunately further investigation hasn't yielded results yet. There's no territory we can consider theirs, and we haven't identified a gang hierarchy yet. So until we have more actionable information from the regular police force, the Merchants will have to remain a secondary concern to the ABB and the Empire." Agent Burns continued.
Nevermind, I should have known better than to get my hopes up. Potentially having a new gang to fight could be a good reason to argue I'm needed out there, but until there's actually something to punch that's not going to be persuasive. Guess I'll have to argue the old fashioned way.
"Before we move on, are there any further questions about the merchants that the briefing papers haven't covered?"
Aegis raised his hand again and asked "You mentioned the garbage truck was part of an arrest. What exactly were they doing that got them arrested?"
"Oh yes, that was only noted in the arrest report. Thank you for asking Aegis. The driver of the truck was testing a cloaking device and had gotten into an accident. Several people were injured including the truck driver and his passenger. We'll amend the briefing with the arrest report when this is over."
And just like that my mind froze hearing about a truck causing an accident. The dreams I had been getting about the accident on the day mom died had gotten fewer and further between, but they still came on some nights. I had to know more so I stood up to ask a question.
"Excuse me, but how badly were the other people in the crash hurt?"
"Oh! Well if I recall correctly only two other vehicles were involved. One driver had a minor case of whiplash and the other was mostly hurt by some broken glass with a sprained arm. They should be on their way to a full recovery." The agent responded, a little flustered at how fast I had jumped up.
"Thank you"
The fact that the actual injuries were minor eased my mind a bit. I sat down and noticed a few of the other wards were giving me a side look. Most of them knew I had gotten my trigger event in a car accident. I was something I usually shared with new wards who came in. Thankfully most of them only had a look of mild concern at my sudden question. Sophia was the exception with a look of mild annoyance.
After that the briefing had moved on to more mundane events and announcements. The only highlight after that was that with Christmas coming up we were going to have our gift exchange. I had drawn Sophia in the hat they had passed around. If I didn't already know her power I probably would have just settled for using duct tape as wrapping paper for her gift. I guess I'll have to be more creative for my prank gift this year.
As the meeting wrapped up Dennis decided to approach me. He was probably just checking to see how I was doing. I glanced around and saw Kid Win talking to Armsmaster. Looks like I had some time to kill until he was free.
"Hey Mansy, so who's going to be the recipient of this year's prank gift? Don't worry, I can keep a secret."
"That would take all the fun out of it, Clock. I finally got a turn now that Triumph moved up. He was always worried I'd do something crazy for my gift, the silly billy. I can't wait to apply my own personal touch."
"Come on. Triumph let it slip that you gave him the idea for the 'Tradition'. It's been all you from the beginning."
"I can neither confirm nor deny that accusation."
I then noticed that Sophia was approaching us. She must have decided she wants to join the conversation.
"What exactly are you two talking about? What prank gift?"
Right, she wasn't here last Christmas. I decided to enlighten her. "Well you see Sophia, folks around here enjoy this thing called "fun" sometimes. So every year one of the longer serving wards like Vista or Aegis gets to prank their gift. Just something to add some excitement to the gift exchange."
"That sounds dumb. Even dumber than having a gift exchange in the first place."
"Don't knock until you try it. Believe me you'll find it very entertaining when you see it yourself."
"Whatever, just don't expect me to take this seriously. Holiday parties are for idiots who don't know how to have an actual good time."
With that she walked away. I know I shouldn't hold a grudge against a teammate since it wasn't healthy, but damn if Sophia didn't make it so easy to dislike her. I decided to focus on more productive thoughts. Thankfully Vista came by to touch base before she left.
"Hey Manes, have you decided what you're going to say to Armsmaster?"
"Not exactly, I'm drawing a blank. Armsmaster is pretty damn uncompromising. Even if I could negotiate with him I don't have anything to bargain with as the black sheep here."
It was then Dennis decided to join in, apparently he's been listening and wants to get some context.
"What are you asking from Armsmaster?"
"Well I've been banging my head trying to get the director to return my schedule to normal for a while now. So Vista suggested I approach Armsmaster about it. But he's a pretty stern guy. I doubt I could persuade him to do anything."
"So maybe you don't persuade him."
"Sorry Clock I'm not following."
"You have a point, Armsmaster is not a guy you can persuade. So don't. Instead just state your situation and make a point that he's the one who can solve your problem. He has a natural tinkers mindset. And you know how they love solving problems."
I stared, and then I thought about it. The points Dennis made were true. Armsmaster has a different mindset to most other people, so a different approach like he was suggesting might work. Then Missy asked Dennis a question.
"Clock how long have you been thinking about this, because it sounds like you've been thinking about the "How do I get Armsmaster to do something?" question for a while now."
"Oh well you see I've been thinking about taking some time off for a vacation with the folks. Since Armsmaster has input on the schedule I need his OK to finalize our plan. Can't just take time off when the city has a crime wave after all."
"Oh that's ironic. You want less time on the schedule and Manes wants more."
I looked around again and it looked like Armsmaster was almost done talking to Chris. I could tell by how much he was checking the time.
"Would love to keep planning guys. But I need to take my chance soon to have my chat with Armsy. If your suggestion works Dennis there's some novelty flavored beef jerky in your future."
"If I had known it was that easy to get beef jerky I'd give out more advice."
"Knowing you, its probably better for you to do it more rarely. Alright, good luck. I'll see you tomorrow. Text me to let me know how it goes. " Missy said.
I waved goodbye and sauntered up to the pair of tinkers just to hear the end of their conversation.
"I'm sorry but I won't have time to help you with your project. I'm taking extra shifts until the holiday season is over and Dauntless is back."
"Oh, okay. I understand. It's not urgent. I can put the hover-board on hold until you have some time… Oh hello Manes" Chris said.
"Hello Kid, Hello Armsmaster. I hope I'm not interrupting any shop talk?"
"We were just finishing up. Feel free to talk to Kid Win…"
"Actually Armsmaster I was hoping to talk to you about something."
He seemed a bit annoyed but he also seemed to know it was better to indulge me for a few minutes and then beg off. He turned to Chris.
Could you give us a moment? I think this should be a private conversation."
Chris looked at both of us and decided to heed Armsmaster's request and walked away.
"I have to start a patrol soon. Will this require a lot of time?"
"That depends. You see I was hoping to talk to someone about adding some patrols to my schedule but Director Piggot has been busy lately. And it occurred to me that since you're the head of the protectorate division here you would have some input on the schedules."
"You are correct that I do have input. However all the schedules need to be approved by both the PRT and Protectorate heads. Personally I can understand you want to participate more, and I support the sentiment. But without the director's approval I can't change the schedule. I'm sorry."
And like that my polite expression began to fall. The direct approach had failed out of the gate. Was there really no way to stop getting treated like the local leper around here?
"Are they still upset about the mugger incident? They said then I just needed to wait a few months to let the attention cool off. Then I was told every time a new ward got recruited they needed the patrol time to get acclimated. It's been over a year and a half now. How much longer do I have to wait?"
"Manes I regret that this has been continuing for so long. But I'm afraid it's out of both Director Piggot and my hands."
I was suddenly confused. How could both of them be powerless to change a dumb schedule.
"What are you talking about? Why would anyone higher than you guys care about me? I haven't exactly done anything heinous or anything."
His mouth's expression took on a slightly strained expression. It seemed he was weighing how much he wanted to tell me.
"Normally yes, your error wouldn't merit the treatment you've received if you were most other wards. However anti-master sentiment has been seeing a surge lately."
Why am I not surprised it keeps coming back to me being a master. I'm not even that dangerous compared to most masters!
"There's been some concerning bills and legislation that's been circulating in Washington DC recently. Any parahuman who is designated a master would have to submit to a significant number of new restrictions. Rules such as where they can live, what stores they could shop at, and whether they can enter into legally binding contracts. The PRT & Protectorate have recognized that these bills go too far. If they passed then no master would ever consider joining us."
Holy crap that was not what I was expecting. I was thinking this was just them not wanting to give me another chance. "Okay that sounds really bad. If what you said is true then.. It sounds like I'd basically be on probation just for being a master, like I had committed a crime or something."
Worst of all it wouldn't just affect me from the sound of things. Taylor and dad might be restricted as well since they live with me. Then another thought occurred.
"But…. if both the PRT and Protectorate are against it, why are you worried it'll become law? They're the ones who would have to enforce those laws. They're not going to be crazy enough to make them do it right?"
"While we have significant sway in regards to parahuman law, we still have to follow public opinion. Part of the lobbying effort has depended on keeping master incidents to an absolute minimum. Once the public saw you were a master the Protectorate had to include you in the minimum exposure initiative."
"You mean if people suddenly decided that Gallants' emotion blasts were too close to mastering, he'd get benched too?"
"Most likely, yes."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Armsmaster gave a deep sigh and said "When we operate the Wards program there's an unofficial understanding that you're not supposed to be used in a political way. Informing you would have compromised that by incentivizing you to act a certain way. If it became known we were coaching or coercing wards to act in certain ways to influence policy decisions, that would create a very negative public perception."
"Wait, so you didn't tell me because telling me would make me political?"
"I understand it's not a satisfying explanation, but unfortunately the political system isn't conducive to rational decision making. I am only telling you now because this issue is directly affecting you and you approached me. So no one can logically say I coerced you into getting involved in the mastering issue"
"So I've been wasting my time trying to persuade Piggot for no reason. A year and a half of my wards career just spent on training because some politicians were really worried about masters?"
"In my evaluation you have not wasted your time at all. According to my records you have completed reading 42 of the 65 operations & procedures manuals we have on base, and have viewed 1014 different case studies and incident reports during your studies."
"Wait, you guys actually keep track of that?"
"Yes, the point of the wards program is that you learn. So keeping track of how much you actually study is something we see as important. What it means is that while you haven't had as much field experience as you could have, you have still learned a lot. In addition your adherence to your restrictions has raised many PRT and Protectorate officials' estimation of you, including the Director. An impressive feat."
"I appreciate that but what am I supposed to do now? Should I write to my congressman or something and complain?"
He seemed to smile, as much as a robot man like Armsmaster could smile. "The good news is that will be unnecessary. The new congress that was elected recently is being seated next month. Based on our analysis the anti-master legislation is unlikely to be revived. We can revisit this topic in January and I suspect your requests will be more likely to be granted then."
"So you mean I'm not going to be stuck on console and training forever?"
"I can't promise anything but you could say that. I apologize that this couldn't immediately be resolved but we will be making progress on this problem soon. We do actually want heroes like you out there."
A small beep came from his wrist. He checked it and seemed to focus back into his professional hero mode.
"If you excuse me I'm almost due to start my patrol and I need to prepare my equipment. I hope you have a good evening."
With that Armsmaster walked out of the room. Everyone else had left by now, so I was now alone in the room. I wasn't sure how to feel about that conversation.
On one hand it seems like the direct approach was the right way to go after all. I did get some valuable information about what exactly was going on. Plus Armsmaster had been pretty positive about what I had been doing so far.
On the other hand, learning how blind I was to potential problems like an anti-master law was jarring. Capes are already pretty restricted in what they can do. Throwing more draconian rules on people with certain powers like masters would be the logical next step. The fact that my life had been affected for a year and a half by one that was just being considered was hard to take in. It was not something I had considered, nor something I could do anything about.
Glancing at the clock I could see it was about time for me to go home. I decided whatever my feelings were about the anti-master legislation it would be a problem I could deal with another day. In any event Dennis had earned his novelty beef jerky for his advice. I headed to change into my civilian and get my van ride home. Hopefully Taylor had a better day than I did.
A/N
-As tempting as it would have been, I decided to avoid cramming interactions with all the wards into one chapter. So Aegis, Kid Win, and Gallant will have to wait their turns and hopefully they can get some actual interactions sooner rather than later.
-I couldn't find lots of details on the Merchants backstory pre-canon so I decided for the purpose of this story they only got organized the year before canon. They weren't exactly a big gang at the start so I figure it can be justified. I wanted an event that was bad but not something that would immediately take over the story (ex Bakuda bombing). So a gang being revealed fit the bill well enough, and honestly the merchants can be fun to write when they aren't being scummy.
-I hope the legislation plot device is a satisfying enough explanation for why Sam is being benched now. Since the Canary trial suggested some strong anti-master sentiment I figured the legislation idea made sense. Lots of crazy and restrictive legislation gets put out in the real world after all.
-Hopefully it's clear that Sam is dealing with more than just the consequences of her own actions. She's going to be dealing with a lot of public bias against masters in this story. So any mistake she makes is going to be much more scrutinized. How she deals with that will be a big part of her character development, whether she decides to try and change it or gives up