Emily Piggot.
Director Piggot was well aware that her attitude towards parahumans was too biased because of Ellisburg incident. On the other hand, cases like these once again proved that her fears were not unfounded.
However, knowing that she was right in no way diminished her headache or her understanding of the PR-collapse that the PRT could expect in the near future if she didn't figure out how to deal with what had happened.
Now she was sitting at the head of the round table, which, apart from her, included the entire roster of PRT capes, as well as all the specialists involved.
Piggot sipped off the water from the glass and carefully placed it on the table, as if doubting her movements. After that she started slowly:
"So, let's get this straight. After everything that happened at St. Brutus, did we move the Mortician directly to Brockton Bay Central Hospital?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Piggot rubbed her temple. She remembered very well that she had given the order herself, but did anyone here have the balls to tell her it was a bad idea?
"Okay. Then tell me for the love of God who came up with such a brilliant idea to put her in a ward in the main building? Not in the bunker under the hospital, not in a secure building specifically for the capes, but in a simple room, albeit with tightened security?"
This time, Miss Militia took the floor:
"Mortician's minor, ma'am. You know that. Youth Guard will eat us alive if they knew that we had put underage cape in a room prepared for someone like Hookwolf or Lung right after the trigger. In addition, we expected ward security be enough to hold her down in case of incidents. We do not know exactly how her powers work, so we applied standard measures to keep the Master with Projection-based powers. The operatives were equipped with darts with powerful sedatives; there was also an automatic sedative-loaded turret in the room in case her abilities were stronger than we thought..."
"Then why didn't any of this work out? Why did the girl manage to call the projection? - asked the director with the extreme dissatisfaction on her face.
"We don't know exactly why the automatics didn't work, but according to the reports, they experienced something similar to the aura that Glory Girl radiates. They just couldn't get themselves to raise a weapon against her."
"Fascinating. Like her trigger event wasn't enough, now she have multiple Projections. What do we know about them?"
Armsmaster stand up, pressed some buttons displaying various pictures on the main screen.
"At this point, we know about two projections. First one, Codename "Undertaker". We assume that he is the primary cause of … extinction. Height – eight point nine feet, disproportionate thin body with long arms. Dressed in some kind of unidentifiable military uniform. Behind his back are eight independent floating structures in the form of coffins of unknown metal with bas-reliefs similar to those depicted on the coffins of medieval knights. We estimate it as the Mover-3 because of its ability to fly..."
"Propose to raise it up to at least five, judging by how much he spent in this condition - the flight time is not limited." said Miss Militia, thereby breaking into the Armsmaster's monologue. Piggot nodded, agreeing with the reasonable suggestion of the subordinate. Tinker made amendments, and then continued:
"Also Shaker-6, at least. We do not know the mechanics and nature of the impact, but we assume that the projection was always near the conscript and influenced remotely. Master-2 for their ability to create a feeling of unnaturalness in some radius"
"I would also add Striker, Blaster and Brute ratings. At least three of them each. Striker for the fact that the Undertaker somehow kept Mortician alive for at least a few hours. Blaster for the screams that the projection makes from time to time. I don't know how strong and effective they are, but they clearly enhance that power for what we give him Master rating. Brute - just in case. We haven't had any combat situation with Undertaker, but this guy didn't look like someone who cares much about bullets," Miss Militia suggested based on her own interaction with Projection.
"Acceptable" nodded Piggot. Being paranoid about capes and their powers – that was the thing that helped to ensure that PRT agents will survive the encounter. She would even say that the ratings were understated, but even being paranoid, it was worth knowing the measure.
"What about the second one?"
"Things getting interesting here. Projection appeared at about quarter past two PM today, after Ms. Hebert refused to accept treatment offered by Panacea."
"How can you be afraid of a pretty girl like Panacea, I don't understand..." Assault grumbled.
"Perhaps Miss Hebert's mental trauma is more complicated than we thought from the beginning..." Yamada thoughtfully concluded by writing down something in her notebook.
The Armsmaster, meanwhile, continued:
"Then, for twenty-seven seconds, a flash of light from the projection blinded the cameras in the room. After that, Projection materialized completely," Armsmaster unfurled the image of Isis on the big screen. - She then said a few words, then approached Miss Ebert and healed her in bodily contact. Then, before she disappeared, she used some kind of Shaker ability, apparently mass healing." Tinker finished his quick report.
"Did we manage to record her voice?"
"Yes, we are. Here's the recording. But ma'am…" Armsmaster hesitated
"What do you want, Colin?" Emily sighed
"You may not like the aftereffects"
"Just push the damn "play" button, Colin."
Armsmaster pressed a few more buttons and recording started:
"Daughter Firstborn of Geb Am I. Mother of the Sun, Ruler of Heaven. My tear shall drop and Nile will spill. The Bird Of Hath Am I. So Know My Name... Isis. "
Even a mere recording of this voice made everyone in the room feel a herd of goosebumps running down the skin. Emily felt that something inside her had gone down, making her gut get cold.
"What… what the hell was that?"
"It's unknown, ma'am. Dragon and I scanned the recording multiple times without finding any foreign elements or the presence of an infra- or ultrasound. Regardless of the number of iterations of editing and copying this soundtrack – effect still remains..."
"Christ... So, now even tape recordings could receive Master rating?" - Battery has run out of steam.
"It seems so..." – Assault agreed with his companion
"Stop this. We'll take care of this later" - Piggot stopped unnecessary speculation. - Did I get it right that we are dealing with a sentient Projection?
Armsmaster nodded:
"Yes. Projection, "Isis", as she called herself, showed unusual sentience. Linked speech, independent behavior, communication skills, submotorics. She behaves more like a real person, not a Projection"
"Maybe Mortician assumed direct control?" asked Miss Militia.
"Excluded. Physiognomy shows that she was as surprised as we were."
"To sum up. Moritician could summon independent sentient Projections. That's something new." Velocity concluded grimly
"What about ratings?" - Piggot asked, internally trying to come up with the mildest and most streamlined language for the report to the Director of the Costa Braun.
"Master, like Glory Girl, but more powerful. Two or three. Striker-6 healed Mortician's wounds completely, bringing her back to the state she seemed to be in before the events at Winslow. Shaker-5 - healed people within a 60-meter radius. Probably Mover, assuming that her wings are fuctional.
The silence established, broken only by the rustle of the air-conditioning system. PRT staff considered the situation.
"Did I understood correctly that we are dealing practically with the second Panacea, only this Panacea knows how to heal en masse?" – Assault was clearly shocked.
"That's right." nodded Armsmaster. "But according to Panacea, Isis is not a biokinetic."
"What do you mean?"- This time, Miss Militia was clearly surprised.
"Panacea examined patients after Isis' treatment. She said that after Isis treatment patient's telomeres has not shortened, as well as the amount of fatty tissue or any other possible building materials in the body that still remained the same."
"Are you saying that… it cured people by actually creating a mass out of nothing?"
"According to Panacea, that's exactly what happened. And that's not all." Armsmaster added.
"Speak up." Piggot said. Right now, her head was killing her badly with the size of a total PRT fuck up titled "Taylor Hebert", but she was ready to hear out Armsmaster. She knew that she will do not like what she will hear, but she obliged to know everything about this girl before she would make any decisions.
"We believe that Isis is not Manton-limited" Armsmaster dropped the information bomb.
"What… do you mean by that" – Velocity asked in a dizzy, almost whispering voice. Manton's capes without restriction were rare, and most of them were either members of the Protectorate and allied heroic organizations, or had a Kill Order. Second option was very unlikeable
"Manton's effect suggests that the power of the capes in most cases works only for certain objects. Panacea can treat only living creatures. However, Dragon's analysis and Panacea's testimony suggests a complex effect on the organism in a large radius with almost the same effectiveness as when touched. Look at this." - The Armsmaster pressed several sensors and the image from the cameras increased, showing a small pot of wilted geranium standing on the windowsill. Then the Armsmaster pressed the rewind button, and everyone present could watch the dead plant blossom in a few seconds. After that was a clip, where a floor brush with a wooden handle suddenly putted down the roots and grew leaves.
"As you can see, the power of projection is not limited to people, but is rather directed at all organics."
"It's... Man, I've always known that the powers are bullshit, but what the hell..." - Velocity passed.
"Could we have this one at the next Endbringer fight? That could save a ton of lives! "
"I'm afraid you're all missing one important detail," Armsmaster said thoughtfully and with a little pressure. Waiting until he had the all attention, he continued. "That recording, that we heard. That's not everything. She said something else, before disappearing"
"I have to go. I am afraid that the Child is still not strong enough to call me in my full power. But before that..."
Isis's voice again gave everyone the creeps the creeps out of it, this time twice. For the first time, from the sound of the voice itself, and for the second time, from the meaning of her words.
Battery cursed dirty, but no one even thought to shake it. In his or her thoughts, everyone was in complete agreement with her definition of the situation. Even Piggot.
Emily felt that her recent headache seemed insignificant compared to what she was experiencing now. Although it may have been because of the realization in how deep shit PRT could be if even one corrupt journalistic soul knew at least part of what was going on.
"To sum up. Our potential PR ticking bomb named "Taylor Hebert" is capable of summoning multiple Projections, at least one of those has self-consciousness and healing abilities on a par or maybe even greater to Panacea, and has already demonstrated these abilities to the common people. We are dealing with a cape that ignores the Manton effect and God knows what else she can do, we only know that her projections could become stronger. And with all this splendor, we have a Shadow Stalker who has escaped and who may try to do something rash. Did I get this right?" - Looking at the uncertain nods of those present, Emily continued: "And now let's imagine that I am telling director of Costa Braun, who has expressed a personal interest in the St. Brutus incident all of these nonsense. How soon do you think everyone present here would be fired or relocated to Ancoridge?"
Looking at the pale and ingrained faces of her subordinates (even the capes shuddered markedly), Emily relaxed a bit. When you are not the only one whose head hurts, but also for your subordinates, it gives you some sense of satisfaction.
"As I understand it, none of us needs such problems. That is why you gentlemen have..." - Emily looked at the clock, "twenty-eight hours to solve the problem with Shadow Stalker. Do what you want, but do not let any journalist get a feel for it. Do you understand? "- Waiting for a restrained nod from the Armsmaster, who had already been busy with the problem, Piggot nodded back to him before contacting a staff psychologist of the PRT.
"Yamada, Hebert is your problem. I do not know how, but you have to make sure that the girl is ready to at least coöperate with Protectorate. The last thing we need is Panacea-like cape among the villains. Othala is already enough. Especially when the same cape has someone like Undertaker. In general, you have a full carte blanche. In ten hours Glenn Chambers will arrive here, he should help you and all of us to get out of everything that we all got into.
"Will do, ma'am," nodded Jessica, stirring something hard in her notebook.
"Then that's it for today, everyone's free. I hope you all realize how thin the ice we walk on is?
Silence was the best answer.
Having risen hard, Emily moved towards her office. It was almost midnight on the clock, but she had a job waiting for her. A lot of work.
AN: Here's another one. Hope you'll like it