Hope Through Overwhelming Firepower Interlude 2 Piggot
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"Buster, eh? Bland, but..." Director Emily Piggot glanced down at the report on her desk, "...Appropriate." She finished dryly.
Shuffling the papers into a single pile, Piggot looked up at Armsmaster.
"You are aware that we can't simply let this go, correct? A blaster with that much firepower... We can't risk letting another Purity slip through" Piggot ended her sentence with finality.
"She was not particularly enthused with the idea of joining the Wards." Armsmaster explained. "I managed to convince her to come and talk with you, but it was a near case."
Piggot nodded. "Send her in."
Armsmaster pressed a button on the side of his glove, before moving off to the side.
The door slowly swung open, and Buster meekly walked in.
"She certainly doesn't look like she could devastate Lung so throughly." Piggot mused to herself, "But superpowers care little about what they're possessor looks like."
Ending that train of thought, Piggot motioned towards the chair in front of her desk, "Take a seat, please."
Buster sat down in the chair. Looking up from the process of doing so, her partially shaded eyes seemed to briefly morph into a four pointed star, before changing back to a human normal.
Piggot frowned, "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from the use of powers in here without clearing it first."
"What?" Buster spoke out, blinking in confusion.
"Your eyes," stated Piggot, "They underwent some sort of change for a brief moment there."
"I didn't do anything though." She protested.
An almost imperceivable beep came from a small device in her ear, as Armsmaster signaled that she at least believed that she was telling the truth.
Sighing back into her chair, Piggot began to talk. "You say you don't want to join the Wards, yes?"
"Correct." Buster affirmed.
"And yet, there are parts of your powers you don't understand," Piggot bluntly stated, "How can you justify not joining the Wards when you don't even know what you can do? Your powers apparently have some involuntary component, how do you know they aren't going to do something you don't want them to do?"
That apparently hit a nerve, the girl in front of her abruptly turned absolutely white.
Piggot smirked internally, she had gotten her hook. "They already have, haven't they?"
"I-well-No." She stuttered.
A different beep, she was lying.
Switching gears, Piggot began the process of making herself seem reasonable.
"Look," Piggot started, "I'm not sure why you don't want to join the Wards so badly, and you haven't yet done anything which would make me force my hand." Piggot paused to let her words sink in before continuing, "But if your powers really are so out of control, you will need the Wards. That's why they exist, so that teenagers like you can figure out your abilities."
The girl still seemed hesitant, "I... well..."
Piggot frowned internally, the girl was more set against this then she had thought. She was going to have to play the long game here.
Piggot let out another brief sigh, "I am not an unreasonable woman, and am willing to compromise with you on this topic. Meet the other Wards, talk with them for a bit. Maybe that will assuage your concerns, maybe it won't. But if your going to an independent hero, you will probably run into them at some point. So it would be best for you to have a decent working relationship with them."
"But... What about what you said about my powers?" Buster said with some confusion.
"If your so against it, theres nothing I can do unless your powers go out of control very obviously." Piggot replied with a shrug. "I can hope that interaction with the Wards convinces you to join, but other than that, my hands are tied for now."
Buster seemed almost convinced here, so Piggot pushed just a little harder, "Is it so much to ask? We're not saying you have to unmask, we're not saying you have to come in for testing or anything. All we're saying, is go to a designated place, at a designated time, and meet the wards."
Buster finally caved in. "I suppose... if you just want me to meet them... I can do that."
"Good, thank you for being reasonable, here." Piggot quickly scribbled a meeting place and time, along with the BB PRT phone number, onto one of the pieces of note paper she always kept around, and handed it off to Buster.
"Does this work for you?" Piggot questioned.
Buster paused to read over it, "Ah, yes. I believe it does."
Piggot nodded. "If something comes up, call that number and tell the operator your name. They will put you in touch with me, and rearrangements can be made."
"Alright then, so..." Buster trailed off.
"You're free to go." Piggot confirmed.
With a nod of acknowledgement, Buster stood up and walked out of the room.
After Buster left, Piggot leaned back with a look of satisfaction on her face.
There was a time when the blatant manipulation of a teenage girl would have bothered her.
That time had long since passed.
And now that's over with. Thankfully.