[Alexandria]

She sat down on her chair, letting out a tired sigh. It was physically impossible for her to get tired but mental health was a thing(no matter what David thought).

She was tired. The last week had been a weird mix of interrogation, accusations, threats and paperwork…lots and lots of paperwork. Sometimes she wondered why she didn't have a parahuman employed specifically for the last of completing paperwork. Oh right, it was because she was one of the members of an extremely shady organisation with a penchant for paranoia.

The media was an absolute ass to deal with. She swore that the fuckers were even more evil than Cauldron and that's saying something. The past week had resulted in a lot of her friendships being terminated- granted that she wasn't committed to all but 5 of them but it's the thought that counts. Apparently, deceiving someone for nearly half of their lifespan(most of her friends and colleagues weren't even 40 yet) was a dick move.

Rebecca foresaw this. What she didn't foresee was that most of them were quitting their friendship because they were unable to trust her and not because they were angry at her(not to say that there weren't some angry ones out there).

Rose and Matt even tried to reassure her that they were just taking a 'break' and that they would be best friends again, a few weeks later. She could see the hurt in their eyes but the fact that they were trying to make this easier for her melted her time-stopped heart.

Alexandria knew she wasn't worthy of such kindness, not after all the atrocities she committed and will commit, but she was happy nonetheless. She should-

Tring Tring

Huh? Who's calling her at this hour? It's past 10:00 P.M. Keith? He should be with Arthur and his kid at this hour. Wonder what happened?

"Hello, Keith? What happened?" She asked unsurely.

"Check PHO Rebecca. The new Thinker seems to have some sort of grudge against Cauldron. 10 minutes prior, Prophet made another post and they revealed information about Numberman. Kurt's going to lose a lot of his customers. He is going to be pissed." He sure would be.

The former S9 member had a weird obsession with money even though he was the most nihilistic member of Cauldron. Maybe due to being nihilistic, he liked being in control of a whole world's economy? He mostly likely countered his nihilistic mindset with the acquisition of such capital.

"I am not sure what the end result will be but it will certainly not be good. Everyone is freaking out at the moment. The fact that financial security is a fabricated lie seems to be scaring the masses a lot" There was a twinge of nervousness and urgency to his tone but Keith remained calm. Well, as calm as one could remain after a nuke being dropped on them.

The man known to the world as Legend, had been a hero for years. He certainly knew how to handle situations like this even though this was a much bigger problem than either of them were equipped to handle.

She was fairly certain that there was some happiness in his tone as well. Rebecca supposed she could hide this from others. After all, it wasn't like she wasn't guilty of the same thing a week prior.

"I'll be doing that. You should contact Doctor Mother and ask why a meeting hasn't been scheduled yet. This is pretty important after all. Also, don't forget to inform Arthur and little Keith about this. You don't want them to worry."

"Will do. Bye." A bit of her annoyance had creeped into her voice but judging by Keith's flippant reply, he didn't seem to care.

Then again, she was sure he was annoyed at the new cape as well. While the fact that Prophet accidentally allowed her some much needed relief was surely welcome, the fact that they were plunging the world into chaos due to a typical Thinker god complex was in equal parts worrying and equal parts annoying.

Rebecca had sacrificed her humanity so that Humanity could survive. She wouldn't allow some new Thinker asshole to rip apart her late fiancee's dreams of peace. With promises of ripping the Prophet a new asshole in her mind, she opened her laptop to gaze at the most recent PHO post by Prophet.

"What the fuck?" The curse came unbidden as she fully processed what information the world's most powerful Thinker(after Contessa) revealed. Such information manipulation capabilities put him as enough of a threat that even Cauldron would have to think twice before antagonizing the moronic Panacea simp.

She reviewed the information released once again, committing each and every word to her memory. Wait, if Jack Slash is a Master, couldn't he have manipulated- It was like a dam burst open. Suddenly she could see that there was an increasingly high chance that Cauldron capes were mastered by that smug motherfucker.

After all, Numberman was a previous S9 member and Contessa had run a 'Path to destroying S9' when they were all mourning Barry's loss. Contessa was no exception. She did stop it just before she was about to kill that vile piece of shit because Doctor Mother calmed…them…down.

"Bastard son of an asshole dickish impotent whore. Mother of a…" Increasingly vulgar comments continued to leave her mouth as she felt white hot rage coursing through her veins. The fact that there was a chance that her fiancee's killers were living because of a Master effect enraged her to no end.

It took a while but she stopped shouting obscenities. She wasn't in the mood of punching someone's guts out of their body at the moment. No, the rage she felt now was cold, focused. She would have her revenge and it would be soon.

Alexandria took out her phone and typed a number she had gotten as gratitude. Since then she hadn't required his services. After all, she was powerful enough on her own. She didn't really need favors from unpowered people. But now was the time she required him the most.

"So what does the illustrious Alexandria need from good old me? If you want me to assassinate the mystery Thinker, you are calling the wrong person Ms.Hero. After all, I am a humble sniper, not a Thinker." The voice chuckled at his own shitty joke.

Rebecca clutched her phone just a little tighter. She had forgotten how insufferably smug the asshole was. Well what else can you expect from a soldier, especially a Navy SEAL. Even when she saved his daughter and wife from the clutches of S9, she only received thanks on his wife's insistence. Well, she didn't really call him for his illustrious personality. She just needed him to get the work done.

"I don't have time for your bullshit Chris. I would like cash in your favour right now, that is if you were serious about it. You never know it with you army officers." She smirked under her breath. Rebecca knew he knew she was deliberately aggravating him but she didn't give a fuck. She was very angry right now and didn't have time to deal with anyone's bullshit.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Chief Director or is it former Chief Director now? After all, you never know it with PRT officers." That might have worked on her if she actually cared about that. Still, it stung a bit. Being PRT's Chief Director was an integral part of her so she naturally felt some connection with the role.

"Also, could you kindly tell me who is the idiotic fuck who pissed off Alexandria herself? I think you would have liked to pummel the moron yourself but bad PR like that isn't good in these times, is it?" And there was the smug tone. Well, it was for the best that she let him think he won. Playing to someone's ego was the best way to get them to do the job you want them to.

"Listen here, Kyle. I am in a bad mood right now so just do your job. You'll get your payment as soon as the job is complete. Your job is to kill Jack Slash." She could hear him do a spit take.

"Lady, you do aim high. But I am really not in the mood for jokes. I could be sleeping peacefully with my wife but here I am, attending a call with you. So please tell me- what makes you think this humble fella could kill Jack fucking Slash when countless others have failed to do so?"

There was genuine confusion in his tone that was laced with irritation. Good. It's good to know he had self-preservation instincts and intelligence to keep his arrogance in check. If he had replied in affirmative without even trying to question this, Rebecca would have cut the line immediately.

"You haven't checked the latest PHO post by Prophet, have you?"

"Prophet? What's that Thinker got to do with this? Wait. Let me check the post."

…

" 'Jack Slash is a Thinker/Master'- What the fuck? Is this true?" The Navy SEAL asked with the excitement of a kid on a sugar high. There were other options but she chose him due to his past with S9. After all, which man doesn't want to murder the group of murderhobos which nearly killed his family and killed most if not all of his neighbours?

"Yep. It's true. I personally confirmed this through a trusted Thinker." She answered bemusedly. Ok. That was a half-truth. She was a Thinker after all- just not a trusted one. Well, it wasn't the time for self-depreciation. Get back to the topic, Alexandria.

"So do you want the job or not?"

"Are you kidding me?" He said in a clear 'Are you an idiot?' tone. She let it pass this once as she could understand the sentiment behind his words.

"Of course I want it." She grinned. Anyone who might have been able to see her would have pissed themselves at the sight of that 'grin'.

A/N: Before any of you complain about their being no Cauldron meeting this chapter even after this big revelation, let me tell you: It is due to these revelations that there isn't a Cauldron meeting.

This compounded with the Alexandria mess has streched every member of Cauldron very thin. They don't have any time to schedule a meeting. Alexandria and Eidolon busy with PR work most of the time. Doctor Mother and Contessa are trying to stabilise the paths that are going haywire (this announcement leaving them even more drained). And Numberman is trying to run damage control. While most of his customers are supervillains who don't give a fuck, a lot of people are unknowingly his customers. And a lot of people are flooding the banks to do something in regards to their situation.

In short, everyone in Cauldron(except Legend and Clairvoyant) is fucking busy and has no time for meetings at the moment.