Brockton Bay, December 5th, 2010, Sunday
"So how was your first patrol?" Emily asked offhandedly glancing to her daughter over the dinner table.
"Are we really going to do this?" Amy sighed pointing her fork at her mother the sprig of cheese coated broccoli on the end threatening to drip onto the table.
"We don't have to, I figured we'd make small talk over dinner, and that was a better starting point than 'how was school'?" Emily pointed out cutting into her pork chop, one of these days she was going to figure out how Alucard learned to cook so well when he didn't eat food. " Besides it's not like I got to talk to you much afterwards."
"A fair point. I am rather curious as to what you are doing particularly the ones you have planned for this week." Amy offered her eyes closing as she exhaled eating the sprig before it dripped.
"What ones I'm planning for this week?"
"Don't give me that, I was there. Telling Faultline to keep to herself screams that you have something planned, particularly in costume." Amy retorted sounding like she was getting angrier, as did her stabbing her fork into the pork chop and leaving it there. Pocky lifted her head up from her food dish and looked at the pair, her tall ears twitching.
"There are some things I can't do as the director. Costa Brown knows this and while I doubt she approves, she didn't say no. Alucard will conveniently be patrolling around where I am going for the next few weeks. To back me up."
"Yeah, but you are back in the costume..." Amy frowned shaking a little, Pocky's attention left the food entirely to focus on her.
"All I am doing is talking. I have no plans to do any take downs or arrests, let alone any fighting." Emily offered.
"You are wearing the costume again..." Amy stuttered a bit.
Emily sighed. " A necessary evil for the moment. things need to be prepared before we can do anything. You did well not saying anything last night or reacting."
"Was distracted by Newter and Gregor...I don't like this." Amy growled. "You nearly died last time you were in that costume."
Emily blinked wondering if this was something that wasn't brought up in her therapy. Amy claimed she didn't mind that her mother was a non powered cape at times. But then again, the last time Emily had worn the thing Amy had triggered. Emily blinked again as it finally registered that Amy was shaking. Fuck...
Emily rose and moved around the table to hug Amy who twitched a little before relaxing." It's alright. All I'm doing is talking and not even with any one dangerous to me. Once this is done I'm not gonna wear it again. Plus Alucard is there and will probably eat any one who tried something."
"Oh very much so. After making some pithy comments first." Alucard called from where he was seated in the other room watching the current episode of Martha Stewart and draining a blood pack through a crazy straw.
"See nothing to worry about. He's an ass but he's usually pretty good at his word." Emily offered feeling Amy relax a little more.
"I heard that." Alucard whined.
"You were meant to." Emily retorted causing Amy to snort with held in laughter.
Brockton Bay, December 6th, 2010, Monday
Director Piggot stared across her desk at the girl sitting there. Her curly hair and freckles reminded her very much of Amy, though her freckles were heavier than Amy's and her hair a shade or two lighter. The girl was also much thinner, almost sickly so. The last few weeks in PRT care however clearly had helped as she wasn't nearly as jittery or worried looking as she had been.
The report on her desk showed the girl had been talking quite a bit with the therapist and the lawyers assigned to her. Thus far they had all bypassed the notice of the Youth Guard entirely.
Granted they Youth Guard was screaming about Vista still, and someone had noticed Druid go into a bar on patrol so there was a stink about that too despite the fact Druid hadn't been served anything. It was like the idiots couldn't focus on anything important and needed to distract themselves with something to bitch about to keep their self proclaimed importance in the public eye.
Oh wait.
That was exactly what they did.
"So I hear you have come to a decision Miss Clark?" Director Piggot asked the girl across from her who nodded. "While what you told the therapist was recorded and is on file, no one will be allowed to see what the document contains unless they have the relevant access. Which is not any one you will be working with, not even me given her assessment of you. What you and Miss Cleff discussed may however be brought up in the court case. Are you alright with this?"
"Yes ma'am." Emily nodded to the director. "I … don't want to go back."
"And you will not be." Berrall Jones stated with an air of finality and barely held anger, with the Lawyer Greg Abbot snorting his agreement. Director Piggot knew the case worker and the lawyer were two of the ones who knew what Emily had said to the therapist. To see the normally calm woman like this made Director Piggot wonder if she should let Alucard have a word with the girls parents.
"Well then seems you have signed everything needed for the moment. " Director Piggot stated."Let me be the first to Welcome you to the Brockton Bay Wards, Miss Clark. Or should I call you Spitfire now?"
"Not in costume." The girl muttered with a flush of her cheeks." Not sure when I'll get it."
"PR team has already started work at it. They were going to go with a fireman style outfit due to the safety issues noticed during power testing, but something that big and bulky didn't work well despite the protection if offered. Current thoughts are to call back to the WW2 aircraft of the same name with a modified pilot suit that they showed you. You'll probably be in and out of the design department for a few weeks before everything's settled." Director Piggot offered looking at the paperwork with some of the designs in it. "Honestly they seem to be having trouble with the weave, really we have a fabrokinisis cape in town that can be hired. I'll remind them of that later."
"Won't something like that draw the attention of the Nazi's?" Greg Abbot asked." Spitfires were used against them in World War Two."
"One, I doubt any of the lower gang bangers has the IQ to even know what a history book looks like. Two, if anyone comes after a ward that city gets a visit from a very angry Legend and Alexandria. And that's if we don't get to them first." Director Piggot explained. "Three, the Nazi's already have other things to worry about given we've nabbed or put down a large chunk of their number. And four we haven't revealed anything to even draw their attention to her. It will be a while of classes and training before we let you go out in the field Miss Clark."
"S'fine." Emily offered.
"Alright. We have a few Wards in the building right now and one of them is waiting to escort you to the Wards area and show you your room there. Mouse Protector will be by later to make sure you get settled in the next few days. Be sure to let her know if there's anything you need and make sure you don't put up with her nonsense." Director Piggot stated tapping a button on a device on her desk. "Send him in."
The door to her office opened and a figure in white strode into the room, his outfit festooned with clocks as he made his way towards the desk, stopping before the social worker and tilting his head as he looked the woman up and down.
"So I was told that I was here to give a new Ward the tour but you seem a little old to be dropped in at the kids table." Clock Blocker hummed. "Did you make the adults angry at Thanksgiving?"
" Clock Blocker..." Director Piggot sighed as Berrall smirked. "Not her."
"Well I know it's not him." Clock Blocker pointed to the lawyer. "I've seen him in the cafeteria before so I know he already works here. And you called me in here so you're out."
"Clock..." Director Piggot sighed as Emily giggled a little at his antics the other two adults in the room simply sighing softly with resignation at dealing with him, she gestured to Emily. "This is the new Ward."
"Really? No way. Someone this cute is gonna join our band of governmentaly corrupted misfits? Unheard of." Clockblocker mock gasped. Emily blinked at the compliment and failed to hide a blush.
"Just... ugh. Take her to meet the others." Director Piggot sighed. "I should have had Druid do this."
"Of course but first." Clockblocker pulled a domino mask from his pocket offering it to Emily." Mask up please, no need to let anyone who doesn't know, know, you know? "
"Umm okay." Emily blinked and took the mask putting it on.
"Excellent, you need to be careful all sorts of people who don't have clearance to know who's behind the mask around." Clockblocker offered before leaning down to stage whisper to the girl." Like the one behind the desk over there. I don't think she's cleared to know anything. Shifty type she is."
Director Piggot glared at Clockblocker who she knew was grinning like a fool behind that mask of his. She did her best to not grind her teeth as the teen hero escorted Emily out.
"Do you have to deal with that all the time?" Berral Jones asked.
"I have him, Alucard, Assault, AND Mouse Protector." Director Piggot grumbled. "And I've only been here a little over a month and I already can say it in that tone."
"Never have I been happier to be in Juvenile Justice as now." Greg Abbot nodded.
"So you have this all handled?" Director Piggot questioned.
"My part in it is, though our department head Miss De'liss needs to go over it when she gets back from dealing with the Lindt situation. Last I heard she hit the town where Miss Lindt ran from like a stack of dynamite, she's got a court case with forty three different individuals at varying levels of fuck up there. When she gets back and sees Miss Clark's paperwork, that girls parents will wish she only hit them with a stack of TNT."
"Well when she comes back suggest she make time to come up to meet me. She's the only department head I've not spoken with since I got here." Director Piggot offered.
"If she ever gets any free time, the old joke about lawyers being sharks doesn't fit her at all. She's more a killer whale that enjoys eating sharks , and if she smells blood in the water... "Greg Abbot shuddered.
"Where is Emily going to be housed?" Director Piggot asked the case worker.
"There's a small apartment PRT has control of about a block from here we use for staffing. Several members of the PRT and Rahs Sparkle are staying there. She's refused any attempts to put her in a foster family so we are simply setting her up with a 24 hour contact, and a number of visits daily, that will slow once she shows she is capable of taking care of herself. We have a few agents who live there willing to be points of contact and to help her with shopping and the day to day. Rahs has also agreed to keep an eye on her. We have her tentatively scheduled to start at Arcadia in January with her full Wards reveal sometime in June."
"Excellent." Director Piggot smiled. "Nice that something is working out for once."
Brockton Bay, December 8th, 2010, Wednesday
"Boss, we have incoming."
The faint whump of fabric hitting the ground was heard before the hard click of high heels on the wooden floor echoed down the hall in a rush.
The blonde looked up as her dark haired boos made it to the door slipping her mask on and adjusting her hair.
"Who is it this time?" the masked woman asked as she adjusted her self regarding the spread of computer monitors before the blonde, and the pile of fast food and coffee cups covering the rest of the desk and the floor."What did I tell you about cleaning up after yourself?"
"I'll get it I'll get it. Also looks like PRT, but not. She's just here to talk and ask a few questions... There's one clearly visible on the cameras. Old Hero Slayer she's... oooooooh that's interesting, and probably illegal, that gets filed away to check into never because she would bury us if we said anything. There's another too, she's talking to some one, either there or on a headset... no no head set he's... gah fuck.." the woman winces clutching her head.
"Lisa!" the darker woman steps forward only to be waved away.
"I'm fine. Get out there , Slayer wants to talk to you and she's crossing the parking lot now. Be your usual self and you'll be fine. "Lisa offered."Ignore the asshole in red and you'll be fine, they're not a threat... to us..."
Parin sighed and nodded checking herself in the mirror then heading out to the front of her shop, a large stuffed cat moving behind her." Don't forget to clean this up if you're fine."
"Yeah yea." Lisa smirked then muttered. "Fucking Alucard and his fucking stranger bullshit."
Brockton Bay, December 11th, 2010, Saturday
Missy was bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.
She was so bored, she could write a song about it and then expect Mouse Protector and Moon Dog to put on a show with it.
Okay she was 'Almost' that bored.
It had been nearly three weeks since she had helped the Director take out Victor and run off Rune and she still giggled when she thought about it.
That woman was bad ass.
Almost on par with Slayer.
The problem was that the Youth Guard lost their damn minds over 'Vista' being exposed to that sort of violence, like she couldn't see worse riding to school on the bus in this town. Because of that they benched her so she would have time to 'recover mentally from the trauma'.
She was locked at home, with two people who hated each other more than they cared for her, during the holidays.
This was fucking torture is what this was. No one listened to the twelve year old when she said she was fine, or that her parents were constantly pissing her off.
They were currently screaming at each other now because dad went out and bought a Christmas tree. Despite the fact they had been arguing this morning because he hadn't gone out and got a tree yet.
That turned into a screaming match that lasted until dad left for work and now that he was back they picked it up again like he never left.
She couldn't even make an excuse that she had some papers to fill out at HQ so she could leave. The Youth Guard made it clear she was not to come back until the first of the year at all.
Missy reached a hand over twisting space a bit and cranked the radio in her room up even louder. Sooner or later the neighbors would complain about the Christmas music blaring from her room and she'd have to cut it down again, which was odd because the neighbors never complained about the constant screaming and fighting.
To be fair it was Christmas music, Missy wasn't a fan either, but it was all that the stations were playing despite it still being two weeks until the holiday.
Missy sighed bending space as she stretched out on her bed and picking up a well worn Slayer figure from her shelf. It was one of the first line released, she had one still in the clam shell box sitting on her wall, but she got one to play with as well.
The paint was worn in a few places around the joints, and it didn't have the full torso twist ability any more due to the O-ring snapping and being replaced by a stiffer wire, but it was still intact and often had Missy adjusting the legs or arms in various poses to try and relax.
She held the little figure up over her head with a sigh before flinching as the plastic gun fell from the hand and bounced off her nose.
Missy slowly sat up looking around on her bed for the gun, it was one of the most lost pieces of Slayer's action figure and it would be a nightmare to get a replacement if she some how lost it, that the gun neither fit in the figures hand, or the attached plastic holster that well was annoying, but Missy had managed to keep it with the figure despite the odds.
Finding the bit of plastic she picked it up and looked it over. A PRT issue 1911 with a custom blue city camo grip that matched Slayer's costume. She had done her research on it and the weapon was changed to the current Beretta 9mm that was currently used by the PRT back in the 90s.
A few of the PRT higher ranks kept theirs, Like Major Kaisur and evidently Director Piggot, but the standard troops used the 9mms now.
Missy had done a lot of research on the pistol and she knew as soon as she was able she was going to get one herself. She had been shut down a number of times when she stopped muggers or thieves who had a 1911 that she wanted to claim for herself.
Sometimes she accepted the refusal if the weapons were stolen, other times it pissed her off because of the 'too young' claims instead of valid reasoning.
This was America, there were junior shooting competitions for those 8 to 14 across the country, but far be it for the Shaker 9 to be trained with a gun. Not like she couldn't kill some one by looking at them funny, a Gun would be a down grade. Granted if she pointed a finger at some one, even if they knew she could warp space to pull their skeleton out of their body... maybe, they didn't react. But point a gun and the message was easier to get across.
Not that she would ever get the chance, her parents had denied the gun training paperwork without even looking at it. Though both of them started screaming at each other because they disagreed on why. Fuck even when they agreed on something they fought over it.
Missy sighed looking over the toy gun with a frown the blued metal color on the plastic was a bit worn from all the contact, something that wouldn't happen with a real one if it was well cared for.
Missy had heard the director bitching about having to clean her weapon after she shoved it into Victor's mouth.
From what she had seen of her gun it was well cared for, the bluing finish looked even cooler on the real gun, and the grip she had looked a little off with the blue city camo...
Missy blinked.
She turned her head to one of the posters on the wall, a full body shot of Slayer with Alucard behind her, the poster was supposed to be life sized, but having met Alucard she was sure it was a couple inches shorter.
It was a dynamic pose with Alucard's long coat all flared out and Slayer with her gun drawn and pointing slightly off to the side giving a near profile view of the weapon.
Missy stared at the poster.
Director Piggot's Nineteen eleven had a blue camo grip on it and the same sort of blue tint to the metal as the one in the poster, but the other ones she had in her research tended to have either had a gray or wood grip. The bluing wasn't on the standard issues either as it was an after market thing.
Director Piggot had a blued Nineteen Eleven .45 caliber.
She was blonde.
She was clearly well trained and strong even in that dress suit of hers.
Alucard listened to her.
And she was a complete bad ass.
Vista stared at the poster just as the sound of an atomic bomb sound effect went off to start another Christmas song on the radio, this one from Weird Al.
Director Piggot, was Slayer!
In the end, it was the high pitched fan-girlish squee that had the neighbors complain instead of the Christmas music.
