1.2
A few hours in a holding cell is quite boring. Luckily I had thought to copy Miss Militia's power, so I had something to entertain myself. The variation of guns I could produce was fascinating. I didn't have the same suite as MM herself, but it was quite fun having a Nerf gun war with invisible enemies around the room. I also tested out various water guns. When the floor was covered in water and Nerf bullets, I realized that I may have a problem. No one seemed to be coming for a while so I pulled out a flamethrower and vaporized all the water. Now it was like a Sauna, as the steam slowly escaped through the vents.
"Yep. Definitely going to be some mold problems in the future here." I said to myself. Not having anyone to talk to was also boring, so I was having pretend conversations with myself. Hopefully they don't think I'm insane. Probably just lock me straight away in the birdcage to avoid any PR blips.
The door opened. I put away the flamethrower as an armored man walked inside. He looked around at the water puddles, burn marks, and melted foam darts lying everywhere. "Let's go. We will be conducting the interview… in another location." He stated.
Ah. Good ol' Armsmaster. "Alrighty. Let's hop to it." I joyfully responded. It's a wonder what a few hours of shooting things does to your mood. I'm a joyful fellow most of the time, but when I start thinking of what Sohpia had done to Taylor, my blood starts to boil and I begin having strange murderous thoughts. Probably a character flaw, but I'm pretty down with who I am, so I don't really care.
We walk down the hall to another room, where there is a table in the center and the floor is clean. "Nice. Much better than that little steam room I created. You should probably get someone to clean up that mess by the way. We don't want mold to take root."
I sit down on the side with two chairs instead of the one chair. Just to piss them off a little bit. I can't help it. I'm a spiteful bastard.
Armsmaster just looks at me and does a fantastic job of just moving on. He probably thought it was inefficient of his time to respond, so he just sits across the table from me. "I'm Armsmaster. I'll be conducting your interview."
"WAIT! YOU ARE ARMSMASTER! NO WAY!" I stand up and scream. His body tenses and you can tell he was about to react. "Heh. Like I didn't know that already." I turned around to face the glass wall behind me, where I'm sure the rest of the PRT higher ups are watching this.
"Howdy y'all. I suppose you couldn't be bothered to come to this meeting face to face, huh?"
"If you could please sit down. We would like to ask you a few questions." Armsmaster responded. It was admirable that he hadn't started pushing me with truth drugs or something already. Must have been told to be extra nice to me.
I don't really care. I just ignore him. I say once again to the blank wall. "Sooo. You guys really are not that intelligent. Just a few hours ago, I told you about some serious crimes one of your wards committed, right under your care, and who do you send in here? The leader of the Ward. Brilliant. Bring the guy in who let a hero torture an innocient girl right under his nose. Sup--"
I didn't get a chance to finish, as a metal fist slammed down onto the table behind me. I jumped. Maybe screamed. "Enough!"
I turned around about to complain, but he just stood up and walked out. Must have gotten an earful just now or something, otherwise he wouldn't have let up like that. A few seconds later Miss Militia walked in.
"Why hello once again Miss Militia! What brings you here?" I said innocently.
She opened her mouth to respond when her brain caught up. She then just took on a serious look. "Copycat, you know why I'm here. We should sit down."
"Oh. I guess I can do that for an old friend. I mean we did make out earlier."
"Wh-No we didn't!" She blushed, I could tell. Seems she gets a little flustered around this topic. I mean she did taze me just for trying to kiss her.
She looked at the window for a second. "Please, just sit down."
"Alright. I can't promise I won't get the same tingly feeling I did last time though. Perhaps I'll be the one to get you on your back this time." I grinned as I sat down.
"What… OH! Just stop talking!" She had to have been blushing from head to toe. "You are underage, that is extremely inappropriate to talk about."
"So you are saying if I wasn't 17, we could talk about it? I only need a few more months."
She put her head in her hands and took a breath. When she raised up she seemed to have gotten her composure back. Some.
"We have some questions we would like answered."
"Alright, shoot. Wait, please don't shoot me. I should be more specific." I said as I popped another Nerf gun into existence, for effect.
She just sighed. "We are in the process of gathering evidence, however there are already some clues that give credence to some of your claims."
"Whoopty doo. You finally realized that a murderous psycho has been next to you this whole time! You should get a cookie for the great work!"
"I just have one question for that. Have you secured Shadow Stalker? Because from what I know, she is a vengeful, spiteful and hateful person. The minute she realizes there's no getting out of this, she'll run, and she will attempt to kill whoever ratted her out. She will never admit to being the one in the wrong."
Miss Militia just glanced worriedly at the room behind me. So they didn't even take proper precautions.
"Oh great. How imcomptenent can you fools be? If she escapes, you know she'll be a nightmare to catch. Also, my family would be in extreme danger. You do not want that to happen. I'd suggest just putting her in a medical coma."
"The necessary steps will be taken to ensure that doesn't happen. Now--"
"Haha. So you are admitting that you didn't even put a proper guard on her. Wow. First you bring in Armsmaster to question me, then you don't even properly lock up the murderous psychopath. It looks like this is the most incomptent bunch of people I've ever seen work. You can resume your interview when I see Shadow Stalker chained to a chair with no conceivable way to escape."
I just close my eyes and prop my feet up on the table, tilting my chair back as I do so. Just a little bit of shuteye ought to help a bit.
I hear the chair side back and then the door open and close. All alone again.
--
A few people were gathered inside the office of Director Piggot.
There was only silence filling the air.
"What is the current status of the investigation?" Piggot asked.
Armsmaster replied, "We have found records of a student, Taylor Hebert, who was admitted to the hospital the first day back from school. The records are consistent with injuries sustained from being locked into a locker with biohazard material. The statements from the teachers are mixed, and not very much detail has been confirmed. The students are also fairly non-cooperative. However, there is no mention of such an event in Shadow Stalkers report. It is confirmed that it happened, however. We have pulled phone records from Shadow Stalkers personal phone, and found damning evidence that leads to her as the perpetrator, alongside two other students. There's not enough to really hold up in court, but --"
The Director cut in, "She did it, though. Right?"
"Yes." He replied.
Her face was filled with fury. "How did this happen? Why was one of our Wards acting in this manner, AND NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT!" She screamed.
"We had to wait for an outside source to tell us about one of our own. He also happens to be an extremely powerful Trump who seems to take this without any seriousness whatsoever!"
"I disagree, Ma'am." Assault butted in. "He was very outgoing and silly when we first me, even pulling a prank on me right when we first met, and then did so again with Miss Militia."
"My point exactly, Assault."
"I'm not finished. Once we got him settled down, he immediately got serious. He went from joking around one second, to angry almost instantly. When he started telling us about Shadow Stalker, he was serious. Deadly serious. He even practically admitted that he only joked around with us earlier just so we could form a connection before he told us. Like he had planned on that happening from the start. Like he planned on all of this happening, from the get go."
There was silence once again in the room.
"So you're saying he set the entire day up, just so he could end up in a holding cell and turn in Shadow Stalker?" Piggot asked. "It wasn't a rhetorical question."
"It seems that way, ma'am." Answered Miss Militia. "I just don't understand what he wants from all of this."
"That's something I would like to know as well. What's the status on Shadow Stalker?" Piggot asked, turning her head to Armsmaster.
"She is secured. I actually caught her attempting to escape after Copycat told us to increase security." He answered.
The room turned to look at him.
"Would she have succeeded if you hadn't gotten there?" Piggot asked sternly.
"There is a chance she may have succeeded under the safeguards put in place. At the time, we had no reason to think she would be a flight risk. It seems we did not know her as well as we thought. Now, there is no chance of her escape."
"Great. So he was right about that too. We will not be telling him about this, understand?"
Nods all around the room.
"Now, Aegis, what have you to say for yourself? You are the captain of the Wards, and Sohpia was one of your responsibilities. Why didn't you report anything about her behavior?" Piggot asked him.
"I'm sorry Ma'am. I've let everyone down. There were some signs, but I didn't take them seriously enough. She skipped out on patrol sometimes, going off on her own. She was also rough with Vista and never got along, but I never thought she was capable of something like this." He hung his head down in defeat.
"The rest of us were caught unprepared as well Aegis. It's not solely your fault. However, punishments must be meted. Your are hereby relieved of your duties as Ward's Captain."
He just nodded his head in acceptance. "Also, Armsmaster, you are temporarily suspended as head of the wards, pending further investigation. We will have to sort the rest out after this fiasco is over. Now, bring in the boy. I want to talk with him directly."
--
I found myself being led down the hall by a PRT agent. I figured they had gotten their ducks in a row finally and wanted to give me the, "we have handled it, now join the wards or else" speech.
We ended up at the end of a hallway and I was led into a room. It was filled with just about every member I had met so far. Assault, MM, Armsmaster, and a kid who I knew to be Aegis. Additionally, there was a very mean looking woman staring daggers at me.
"Aww guys, you didn't have to do this! How did you know it was my birthday?"
"Your files--" Armsmaster stopped talking mid sentence.
I turned to him. "Oh. My files. So you've been snooping on my civilian identity then have you?" I wagged my finger at him. "Bad boy. That's against the rules you know."
"No matter. I knew my identity was shot the moment I walked into this place. I'm sure any villain could find the identities of any of you within five minutes if he wanted."
"What are you suggesting?" Armsmaster asked angrily.
"Oh. I mean any tinker hacker could hack into this place I'm sure. Not to mention just place a few cameras around the streets by this place, cross reference with school absences, strange habits, etc. Not to mention any thinkers they could call up. The idea of having a civilian identity is only a false reality that people are okay with because it's convenient."
"Hmm." Was all he responded. I turned to look at the woman I assumed to be the director. She looked even more angry than before.
"Oh. Sorry director. Didn't mean to put you on the backfoot once again." I said as I smirked and sat down in the chair.
She breathed deeply for a second. She was trying really hard not to lose her cool. "Copycat. Is it alright if I call you that? I've heard that's what you've been going by today."
"Yeah, that's cool for now."
"Well then, I would like to say thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We have collected the evidence of Shadow Stalker's crimes, and she has been detained. She has broken her probation, and will be heading back to jail. No trial necessary."
"Birdcage." Was all I answered back.
"Excuse me?" She said.
"You heard me. I want her in the Birdcage."
"I'm afraid that's not possible. It takes a lot to get sentenced to the Birdcage."
"You mean like a parahuman using their powers for theft, attempted murder, assualt with a bio-weapon, unlawful imprisonment, stalking, harrassment, and don't let me forget. Actual murder." I retorted sarcastically.
"We must have proof of anything like for a sentence like the Birdcage." She said testily.
"Oh I'm sure you could find some stuff. You just don't want there to be a public trial for an ex Ward to be sentenced to the Birdcage. You probably want her there as well, but just aren't willing to take the PR hit."
She seemed surprised for the first time. "It wouldn't be good for anyone for the public to lose trust in us at the moment. We also do not actually have the evidence for such a trial. That option is not feasible."
"Well it's entirely unacceptable to me for her to just be sent back to juvie, and then be out after a few years. She'll get out. And then immediately come to my house to try to kill me in my sleep. You know it. I know it. She knows it. Everyone knows it. Right now she's probably trying to figure out who outed her, just so she can do exactly what I predicted."
There was an uncomfortable pause. "What would you have us do then?" Piggot asked.
"You know what I've always thought was worse than jail? Well except for the Birdcage, but that's not even a jail, thats just slow torture until death. What is truly scarier than a jail is an asylum. Why? It's because there isn't an end date. As long as the authorities say you are insane, they can keep you there. Indefinitely"
"You are suggesting we put her in one of the containment centers?"
"Exactly. She is obviously off her rocker. Insane. She's also homicidal and if a shrink ever got in her head I'm sure she would agree. Have her interviewed, in depth, and then have her sent there until she's better. I'm betting she never gets better, but who knows, miracles do happen."
"We will put that into consideration." She replied. Surprisingly accepting of the offer. It probably never occurred to her to try that option.
"Good. Because that's one of my requirements for joining the Wards. I also have a few other conditions."
Piggot took another breath and sighed. "We do not work for you, or even answer to you. You don't get to make such decisions."
"Oh I know. You can do whatever you want. Really. I'm just saying that unless certain things happen, I will not be joining. I can't force you to do anything. I'm also completely serious. I will not budge on any of my conditions. This is not a negotiation, as you so kindly pointed out to me."
She was starting to get irritated again. "And why would we even entertain the notion of your 'conditions'?"
"Oh, isn't it obvious? Besides the already handled matter of your out of control Ward, I'm the most powerful cape in existence."
"I seriously doubt that. Don't have such fanciful dreams, young man. Be serious." She replied.
"I am. Everyone agrees that Eidolon is the most powerful cape in the world, at least publicly, right? Bring him here right now, and I'm a second Eidolon. Easy as pie."
I let the words sink in for a moment. They've probably considered my powers before, but with all the commotion of Shadow Stalker, I doubt they put everything together with the true extent of my powers.
She eyed me skeptically. "You think you can copy even Eidolon's powers?"
I looked straight in her eyes. "Definitely. I know what my power can do, and I can copy any capes' power."
She took that in for a moment. She was realizing the implications.
"We'll see what we can do. Now leave. You'll be escorted home."
She cut the meeting short, and no one expected it. Everyone else in the room seemed a bit confused, but I was escorted out immediately and then sent on my merry way.
--
In the room after the parahuman known as Copycat was escorted out, the room erupted into commotion.
"Director, why did you send him out?! We had further questions? We didn't even get to know what his conditions were!" Armsmaster yelled out.
"SHUT IT! ALL OF YOU!" Piggot screamed. She looked worse for wear. She probably need to do dialysis soon after all the stress of today built up. "I did what I did for a reason. The first is that if I saw his face for one more second I might have punched it. And the second is that he is right. He is the most powerful parahuman we've met! Maybe not right now, but don't you see? If he isn't mistaken, he's a second Eidolon, a second Legend, a second Alexandria. A second anything!!! Anything we need, he can become. Don't you understand?"
The room went silent.
"Oh my god." Miss Militia was the first to react. "I thought I understood how useful he would be, earlier, but now, I understand. It's the Endbringer fights, isn't it? Whatever we need, he can add support to. A second Panacea. If we need more teleporters, he can do that. Then he can become Legend and help fight. If we fight an enemy cape, all we have to do is let him touch, and bam, we have the same exact power on our side. He's the most powerful parahuman because he can become anything we need. I can't imagine if he joined --"
She looked frozen at Piggot for a second. "Exactly. We can't have him join a gang. Or any villain. Or even be rogue. I expect he would get a kill order immediately if he didn't join the Protectorate. I think he knows that, too." Everyone looked at her, and remembered where her injuries came from.
He could be Nilbog. He could be any S-class threat. Just imagine if he joined the Slaughterhouse 9. They could become unstoppable.
"I agree with you Assault. He came here for a reason. It wasn't just Sophia. That just made us look incompetent, and it looks like he was actually angry about that. He probably has decent morals. Thank god. He was much smarter than he seemed. He didn't ever ask for anything that couldn't be done. I suspect he asked for the Birdcage for Shadow Stalker just so he had more leverage. I think he planned this whole day out."
"How are we going to handle this?" Armsmaster asked.
"We are going to be using kiddy gloves, for one. I want at least three of you watching his house at all times. We can't have a gang kidnapping him, or him leaving. Miss Militia, you do not need to sleep, you'll be pulling overtime on this one. I want every possible angle of him being watched. Nothing must happen to him, or his family. You'll receive further orders. Now get out there!"
"I have a few calls to make." She started calling as soon as the last person shuffled out of the office.
"Chief Director, yes, I have some urgent news…