I Think My name is No No

by Jokiba

A semi-Self Insert, the Main POV Character is Emily Piggot's niece who after coming to Brockton Bay starts school at Winslow the day Taylor is shoved into the locker. Comeuppance occurs and hilarity ensues.

A CYOA goes to Worm, or, I Think My name is No No

By Rajvik_Wolfboy

Summary:

A semi-Self Insert, the Main POV Character is Emily Piggot's niece who after coming to Brockton Bay starts school at Winslow the day Taylor is shoved into the locker. Comeuppance occurs and hilarity ensues.

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Emily Piggot looked at the reports on her desk and then frowned as she looked at the teenager across from her. "In a moment you can explain to me just what the hell you were thinking," the Director for the PRT East-Northeast said with a deceptively calm voice. "However, let me explain to you what these reports tell me. To begin with," she tapped one report, "this one tells me that three people were taken by ambulance, from your school to the hospital, one of whom had to be placed in the Intensive Care Isolation Unit due to her injuries. This one," she tapped the second stack of paper, "informed me that three people were, as a result of the incident, taken to the county jail and held for arraignment without bail, and finally this one," she tapped a single sheet of paper. "Your expulsion from Winslow High School." Emily Piggot glared death at the teenager across the desk from her for a moment longer, getting no reaction from the standing teen who was staring fixedly six inches over the Director's head.

Emily Piggot then did something her subordinates would have sworn was impossible, something her Wards "knew" couldn't happen and would call anyone who claimed to have seen it a liar. In that next moment, Emily Piggot gave a rueful sigh and smiled while looking down and shaking her head, "All of that paperwork Akane, and I can't even write you up. Hess is going to Juvie because of this, and what pisses her off more than anything else it that you someone beat her without using powers, good job."

"Thanks Aunt Em," I replied dropping my thousand-yard stare and smiling. "How's your day been?"

The Director shrugged as she gestured at one of the guest chairs in her office, "Sit," she said before answering my question as I did so. "It's been alright I guess, but how in the world did you end up in this mess?" The question was finished by waving the reports that she had just scooped up before throwing them into a silenced paper shredder.

"Same way I always end up in the middle of something like this Aunt Em," I said with a smile. "I walked in and the wrong thing was happening right in front of me."

There were two things I noticed as I entered the school building by the main hallway. First was the stench, a smell like that of the dumpster behind some fish processors on a hot summer day. The second was a gaggle of teens surrounding a locker. As I slipped my body through the crowd I saw one of the group lean over to a particular locker and speak through the grating on the door. "You're trash Hebert," the girl said into the locker. She was my height, but long limbed and muscular like a greyhound. If I had been put on the spot to guess, I would have said she was a track team member. "Trash should know its place," the girl continued and then I was close enough that I heard the muffled sobs and shouts from inside the locker.

The girl that had been talking to the locker screamed as the toe of my shoe, a penny loafer, hit the back of her left knee with all the force and speed I could put behind it causing the runner to go down. I never even gave her the chance to respond as I viciously slammed her head into the locker she was talking into before kicking her in the ribs while she was on all fours. The speedy triplicate of blows left her on the ground wheezing as she fought to breathe with her abused diaphragm.

"You damn…" I ducked blindly at the declaration and spun around planting a palm strike just under the attacking red-head's ribs, shutting her up and putting her on the ground along with her friend.

"Anyone else!" I shouted, my hands becoming fists as they returned to my sides. Looking at the shocked crowd of onlookers. "Good, now who has a camera that has been recording this whole fiasco?" A half-dozen hands went up amongst the crowd. "You," I snapped pointing at a white boy with dreadlocks, "and you," I added pointing at a Hispanic girl that looked like she was a cheerleader. "The two of you keep recording this for evidence, the cops are going to want the footage. Now you and you," I continued turning and pointing at two different students at the edge of the crowd. "I want you each to get a teacher over here right now." They both nodded and took off in different directions. "You," I said pointing to a small cutesy girl with twin pigtails, "Go get the principal or her vice, now." The next person looked like a linebacker, so I assumed minimal intelligence, "You, this place has a metal-shop, right?" he nodded, "Either get the shop teacher or the janitor, but we need a big pair of bolt cutters now, so we can get her out." He nodded and took off running and I turned to the red-head who attacked me.

"Phone," I demanded of her and she glared death at me. "Listen you little bitch," I snarled, "either you unlock and hand over your phone, and I say you helped once things finished, or you don't, and I let them throw the book at you." Her response was to flip me off, so I turned to the next girl, one who I suspected was at least an accomplice in this, but I wasn't sure. "How about you sweetheart?" I asked, "you gonna let me use your phone to call the police?" The girl nodded slowly and pulled a decent looking smartphone out, unlocked it and handed it to me. "Thank you," I said while red and runner glared daggers at the girl. I was going to have to protect her from some of the fallout from this, but one step at a time.

"Nine-One-One," the voice on the other end answered almost as the first ring was sounding. "What is your emergency?"

"Yes ma'am," I replied, "I need EMS, Police and a biohazard containment unit sent to Winslow High school immediately please."

"Could you please describe the injuries needing attention miss," the operator, a complete professional thank the gods, asked.

"We have one person with unknown injuries currently locked in an enclosed space with something that stinks like a skunk that has been dead on the side of a Texas highway for over a week," I answered. "One subject with a probable concussion and likely a dislocated knee, and a third with a bruised diaphragm."

"Thank you," the operator replied calmly. "Do you need a rescue crew to free the entrapped subject, and is the situation contained, or do the police need to respond with some level of force or crowd control?"

"Contained," I answered. "The person in the confined space is the victim it looks like, the other two the culprits. I have someone going to get either the janitor or the shop teacher and a large set of bolt cutters to remove the lock that has the victim trapped."

The operator's voice was drowned out by a shrill yell by a beastly woman in a severe suit yelling, "What the hell is going on here, you two stop recording, you get the hell off that phone, who were you calling?"

"One moment please ma'am, a supposed authority figure has arrived." I told the operator before pulling the phone away from my ear. "You two keep recording," I told the two shutterbugs who nodded. Good, they were more afraid of me than this harridan. "As to you madam, there is someone locked in this locker, someone that at least these two shoved in there with whatever is causing this unholy stench. Now who are you?"

The woman seethed at me and growled her reply, "I'm principal Blackwell," she said to me, "and I'm sure you are mistaken about whatever has transpired here. Now why is Miss Hess unconscious and Miss Barnes clutching her ribs?"

I held up a finger to the principal and put the phone back to my ear. "Ma'am," I told the operator. "It seems the principal has arrived; how long do you think the Police and EMS…"

I stopped as I heard the shouts of "Police," "5-0" and "Make a hole people," come from the entryway.

"Never mind, the police are here," I told the operator. "Thank you for your service."

"Thank you, have a nice day," the operator replied and hung up. I calmly handed the phone back to the girl who I had borrowed it from. "Thank you," I told her before turning back to the principal who was even more angry since I had started ignoring her. "Now madam, you were asking me something?"

A pair of teachers had since arrived and were standing behind the principal, one was female, younger than the principal, but not by much. The other was male with a hipster teacher appearance to him. Finally, the boy that I had sent running for the shop teacher or the janitor showed up about the same time the police made it through the crowd of students. He didn't have either the janitor or the shop teacher with him, but he did have a large set of bolt cutters in hand and I nodded at him. "I asked you why these two girls are in the condition they are young lady?"

"This one," I said pointing at the unconscious black girl on the floor, "was tormenting whoever it is that they have stuck inside that locker." My finger shifted from the girl to the locker with a dent in it. "Officer, I have two people filming this so that there is evidence of what has happened here, may we open the locker and remove the victim?"

"By all means yes, why haven't you done so yet?" one of the officers, an older one by appearance, asked.

I tapped the boy with the bolt cutters on the shoulder and pointed at the lock, "Pop the lock on that thing and open it up." He nodded, and I turned to the two camera holders, "Film it." They both nodded as well and shifted to opposite sides as the boy cut the lock and pulled it through the hasp before trying to open the door.

As the door opened, a brunette girl, tall, thin and gangly, fell out of it covered in the filth that had to be causing the stench because of how it suddenly got even worse. The entire group standing around the locker took an involuntary step back and several of us, myself included nearly puked. "We were," I gulped and choked back the vomit that threatened to overwhelm me as I bent over and touched her throat to check for a pulse. She was unconscious and trembling, almost as if her body was having a seizure, but the muscles weren't getting the entire message. "We had to wait on the bolt cutters," I said answering the officer's question. "They got here with this guy, where's the paramedics and bio-containment team?" I finished standing back up.

"Right here," a new voice said as a gurney pushed its way through the student mass. "Dear god in heaven, what the hell happened here?"

"These two bitches and their little cohort over there shoved her into the locker and locked her in." a punk looking girl with green and pink striped blond hair said pointing at the three including the one that I had borrowed the phone from. "They were teasing her through the door when this girl," she pointed at me, "came in and kicked the shit out of Hess and slammed her face into the locker. Funniest damn thing I've seen in all the time I've been here."

I looked at the principal whose mouth was now hanging open, so I looked at the two shutterbugs, "I think you can stop filming now," I told them, they nodded and then looked at the pair of police officers.

"We will need the footage off of them," the younger of the pair said, "But if you'll let me, I'll just email them to myself, that way I can hand them to the lead detective later." The pair nodded at the officer who smiled at them and started leading them away from the scene while continuing to talk. "I'll also want you to save the footage to a SD card or something, that will make it less likely the District Attorney will want to take your phones as evidence."

I turned my attention back to the principal who was trying to get control of the situation from everyone, up to and including arguing with the paramedics. "The most in danger first principal Blackwell," one of the paramedics told her as they loaded the girl from inside the locker onto the gurney. "We already have a second ambulance on the way, they should be here any moment."

"But she's the important one," Blackwell said pointing to the unconscious girl.

"She's also the primary suspect and only has limited injuries," The older police officer said. "I'm betting they call Panacea in to check on that one. I could relocate this one's knee while she was unconscious, and she would likely never know the difference."

"And she admitted to blatant assault, why aren't you arresting her," Blackwell snarled, finally losing her temper.

"Because she's behaving," the older officer replied. "Honestly I doubt the DA will even try to press charges. This looks to me like a clear-cut case of defense of others, and if he does she has a ready-made defense. Besides, it's not like she killed anyone."

Blackwell spun and snarled at me, so I held up my hands placatingly. "I have a thing about bullies," I said plainly. "In fact, it's simple, I don't put up with them at all." Period, end of bloody sentence honestly.

"Who are you anyway," Blackwell finally growled out, "I don't recognize you."

I smiled, "I just started today and was on my way to meet with you," I said, causing the woman to start. "My name is Akane Takamachi. It's nice to meet you, Principal Blackwell." The principal blanched at my name and I heard mutters from some of the students in the crowd, so I had to ask, "What, what's wrong with my name?"

"Wrong," one of the mutterers, a boy of Asian descent, replied. "Nothing is wrong with that name per se but given it and the way you took those three down I would say life around here is about to get interesting."

"Why?" I asked, I knew why, I just wanted things to be aired publicly so that everyone and their brother would know not to screw with me. There was a new sheriff in town so to speak, and it was time for everyone to know that.

"You're kidding right," the girl with the pink and green streaks said with audible surprise, "Your first name is the same as the queen of the Nerima Wrecking Crew. Miss pick up a car and beat you to a pulp with it herself, and that's with her NOT being a parahuman brute?"

"It's also a very common first name in Japan," I answered. "My mother is from there."

The Asian boy picked up where the blonde left off, "And with the last name Takamachi, I don't want to be anywhere close to your target if you went all miss orbital bombardment on someone's head. Uh-uh, no ma'am, not going to be anywhere within an astronomical unit of that amount of "befriending" if I can avoid it."

"Dad took my mother's family name when they married," I said with a smile as I looked at the crowd. "I'm not a parahuman, and I'm definitely not an all-powerful blaster 10 like Nanoha-chan." A collective sigh seemed to run through the crowd. "However," I continued. "As I said to the principal, I have neither patience nor tolerance for bullies, and what that girl received was nothing more than a love tap compared to the level of hurt I can put out. I have trained in the martial arts since I could walk, and I am trained in four weaponless and three armed disciplines. If you are a bully I will drop kick you all the way to the police station from here, but if you need help with anything, feel free to ask. I can tutor in history, chemistry, physics and various levels of math if you need help. Other than that, I just want to finish school in peace. Now, we all have classes to get to yes?" The question was asked in an innocent tone but had the desired result of clearing the hallway in the course of about ten seconds leaving the shutterbugs, the police, EMS, the Principal, and myself.

"Young lady," the principal seethed next to me, "I have some very pointed questions for you, and you will answer them right now."

"Actually, Principal Blackwell," a new voice said from behind us both. "I think it is you that is going to have some very tough questions to answer, and I want my answers now." The voice had gone from fairly pleasant to a low growl as it had progressed causing both myself and the principal to turn and face it. Standing in the hallway behind her was a deeply tanned woman wearing a rather severe looking black pantsuit and a badge.

"Sergeant Lupo," the principal almost hissed out, "what are you doing here?"

The sergeant smiled a grim and wolf-like smile. "I just happened to be in the area and caught the call out. Officer Danforth, Officer Melvis, any evidence?"

"Arguably a whole locker full, though it's going to take a biohazard team to clean this properly," the older officer answered. "That said we have recorded witness testimony already about who the perps are, and the victim is on her way to Bay General to be looked at."

"The perps?" the sergeant asked.

"Two are on their way to the hospital with minor injuries and the third one is already on her way to county lockup to await bail." The older officer said, answering again. "That said, I have a very bad feeling that this is going to go up in a political shit storm very quickly."

"Noted," Lupo replied and then sighed. "Alright then, if either of these officers has your name, then you can go on about your business miss. You on the other hand Blackwell. You got some splaining to do." The sergeant threw on a thick Ricky Ricardo accent for the last causing me and the two officers to smile for a second.

"Actually sergeant," the older officer said looking a little sheepish and pointing at me. "Since she assaulted the two perps that are going to the hospital, we have to take her to the precinct as well."

"Very well then," the sergeant said with a grimace about the same time I replied with "What the hell?"

The older officer shrugged as he started to lead me toward the door. "State law doesn't let people do things like this without at least facing the District Attorney." I nodded at that, my parents had instilled in me a respect for both the law and procedure. "That said," the officer continued, "I seriously doubt he'll push for charges, though the two girls might, in which case my suggestion is a good lawyer and sticking to the story that was shown today. You would likely be able to call that girl with the multi-colored hair as a witness as to what happened and use the video evidence you ensured was gathered in your defense."

I nodded to this, "This means I'm going to have to call my aunt and get her to send someone to pick me up," I grumbled as we reached the squad car and he put me in the back without handcuffing me. "She is not going to be happy."

"Family seldom is happy when they are called down to the precinct to bail someone out," the officer answered as he slid into the driver's seat. "But be glad you have them, it could be worse."

"Yeah," I muttered as the car started to move. "They could be dead like my parents."

The officer stopped for a moment as we reached the edge of the schoolyard and looked back at me through the rearview mirror. "Yeah kid," he said with a knowing look in his eyes before pulling out of the school yard and into traffic.

Emily Piggot smiled as she looked at the ceiling, her niece was irrepressible as Assault, but at least she was responsible enough to take her medicine. "Alright," Emily said bringing her face back down and putting on her "Director's hat". "You are on two weeks restriction and grounding for fighting in school, this of course won't be difficult since you'll be coming here with me every day until we find another school that will take you in. Maybe Immaculatta will take you," Emily pondered out loud, "they have a history of taking "troubled" students."

I shuddered and shook my head slightly, "I'll be good," I said mentally begging all that was holy that she did not send me to a catholic day school. My parents hadn't been particularly religious, but my mother's parents had been, if not particularly devout, then at least holiday Shintoists and that was the "religion" that I had been raised in until I started seeking my own path. I was still seeking, but I already knew Christianity was not for me. Aunt Emily smiled at me and I relaxed, of course she had been kidding me.

"Now, what to do with you for the rest of the day," Director Piggot muttered looking at the schedule on her computer screen. "All the other Wards are in school and none are scheduled to come in until tomorrow, so I guess that I can have someone walk you through intake now instead of at three when we had planned too."

"Actually ma'am," I said getting her attention, "if you'll allow me, I would like to go sit with the victim until she wakes up and I can explain what happened to her." Emily Piggot's eyebrows quirked at the suggestion and then her eyes flared wide and rage suffused her face. "Exactly," I said before she could speak, "I tagged her before she left with the EMTs but that has a maximum effect of twelve hours, and I don't want her to wake up and freak out."

Emily Piggot mentally berated herself for not considering the possibility of the victim having triggered, even she would have probably triggered if stuffed into a locker with that kind of filth and the door locked. Picking up the phone on her desk she pushed a few buttons before speaking. "Hannah, I need you to take Akane to get her phone issue and ID's, and then I need you to run her over to Bay General so that she can sit with the victim. If the girl's father is there, either give Akane a domino and explain that we think his daughter may have triggered due to the incident or play it off as the savior coming to sit with the victim, your call. If she did trigger, don't push the Wards but do mention it as a possibility, I don't want to alienate the man at this juncture, and assure him that all the hospital bills will be covered."

A moment later the director hung up the phone and stood, "Come with me Akane," she said, leading the way out the door of her office and down the hall. We stopped in front of an office even as a PRT officer was coming out

Daniel Hebert turned his head from his daughter to look at the door to her hospital room as it calmly opened. Instead of a nurse or doctor though, a girl of about Taylor's age and a uniformed woman walked in and quietly shut the door. "Can I help you?" he asked as the girl's face became troubled.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier," the girl said stepping over to Taylor's other side. "If I had been on time I might have averted this whole thing."

"Akane," the uniformed woman started in a disapproving tone, the girl cut her off however, her voice dripping with cold hatred and self-contempt.

"I missed my intended bus," the girl said with not quite a snarl. "If I hadn't I would have been ten to fifteen minutes earlier, probably right behind her coming inside according to the video. If I had been, I would have been able to stop this immediately, and she wouldn't have suffered she wouldn't be here."

"Akane," the woman said, obviously straining to keep a civil tone. "If the Probation Officer and principal had done their jobs you wouldn't have had to put that little psychopath in the hospital, if the principal or a teacher had reported a damn thing, this wouldn't have happened either." The woman, a PRT agent by the undress uniform she was wearing and the badge on her hip continued. "There was nothing more you could have done, and you went above and beyond in what you did, it's why you're not in trouble with the director." Sighing, the PRT agent turned to Daniel and addressed him. "I'm sorry for our intrusion Mister Hebert, I'm Special Agent Hannah Washington, PRT, and this is the Director's niece Akane." She held her hand out and he took and shook it. "Akane wanted to come sit with your daughter until she woke up, and the director ok'd it while giving me some instructions on things to handle when we got here."

"Alright, that explains why you're here," Daniel said, nodding. "Do those instructions have anything to do with this "situation"?"

"Unfortunately yes," Agent Washington answered. "First let me inform you that the hospital bills from this are being covered by the PRT, we are at least partially at fault and intend to make all possible amends to that." Daniel nodded so she continued. "Now while there are some papers you will need to sign, Non-Disclosure Agreements for identities, nothing saying you can't sue after the fact, I also want to assure you we are using every bit of power to ensure that both the girls involved, and the school administration will get fully prosecuted under the law."

"From that statement one of the girls was one of yours," Daniel growled visibly suppressing his temper. "Explain to me what happened from your agency's point of view considering everyone knows that the Wards, which is the only way this could be your fault, go to Arcadia."

The agent sighed, "And that is a good chunk of why we left this new, probationary member, attending Winslow," she said. "That she was already a student there with a passing, but not exemplary scholastic record who wanted to stay there also counted towards her staying there. What we didn't know, because the school and her probation officer didn't report it to us, was exactly what she had been up to while there. Her little clique apparently had picked out your daughter to torment and turn into their personal punching bag, and the school's principal was either bribed or threatened into silence."

"Silence my hide," the girl, Akane, growled. "Back home she would have at least been charged as an accessory after the fact, if not a co-conspirator."

"Akane's mother was a police officer and her father a Marine," Agent Washington said, shooting the girl a look. "She has some very black and white views on things." Akane snorted in what Daniel took as amused contempt for the comment and Agent Washington continued. "Anyway, because of that, the girl's actions were never reported to the PRT or Protectorate, maybe not even to her probation officer as her civilian identity was on probation for assault and she was never violated."

Daniel nodded, objectively he could see how someone at least passively covering up the situation could keep another group from doing their job. "Alright, and I assume there are going to be further investigations into this and how it happened?"

"Oh absolutely," Akane said, an almost feral smile crossing her face, "Aunt Em is not happy, and when she's not happy…" she trailed off and Agent Washington shuddered slightly nodding before picking up the commentary.

"Yes, the director is almost a force of nature when she is on the warpath over something," The agent said.

"I think she's also been shown that a singular member cannot be left alone in a place like Winslow," a new voice said from the doorway. "Not that she particularly liked Shadow Stalker anyway." All attention turned to the speaker, a frizzy haired brunette in a white robe. Standing behind her was a blond girl, both of them maybe a year older than Taylor. "I suppose I have you to thank for the damage done to Shadow Stalker," the brunette continued as she entered the room and addressed Akane.

"Hello Panacea, Glory Girl," Agent Washington said. "Thank you for coming here so quickly."

I looked at the two newcomers, so I could judge their mood before answering. The blonde was almost lounging, and maybe a little miffed that she had been needed to get here this fast, but the real power apparently lay in the brunette who was approaching the bed at a determined pace. "Yes," I answered, "and even with the possibility of charges, I'd still beat the hell out of her if I felt I needed to."

"You dislocated her knee, cracked two and bruised four ribs, and hit her head against something so hard she was unconscious for over an hour," the healer said in an irritated tone as she started to read the chart. Suddenly she glared at it and snarled, "And you should have bounced her off the floor or walls a few more times while you were at it. Now I'm glad I came up here instead of going to the PRT Headquarters first."

I smiled as I offered her my hand, "Akane Takamachi," I said introducing myself. "Slayer of bullies through physical means for ten years running."

The healer and the blonde both chuckled, and Mr. Hebert and Miss Militia both smiled, "It's nice to meet you Akane," the healer replied, taking my hand. "I'm Amy Dallon, and this is my sister Vicky," she shook my hand like a professional and then as she mentioned her sister hooked a thumb over her shoulder at the blonde who waved.

"The gentleman here is Mister Daniel Hebert, head of hiring for the Dock Workers Union," Miss Militia said gesturing at Mr. Hebert, "and the young lady is his daughter."

"Yes," Amy said, her face going into what I was taking as a professional mode. "Mr. Hebert, do I have your permission to heal your daughter?"

"Yes, please," he said. Amy nodded and reached out for Taylor's hand when I voiced a thought.

"Could you possibly fix her eyesight as well?" I asked.

"Why," Amy asked turning her head to look at me, "I take it she wears glasses?" she asked Mr. Hebert who nodded.

"Her glasses were destroyed in the locker," I answered. "If she wakes up without them, all she'll see is blurs, not a face she'll recognize."

Amy nodded, "It is a reasonable request, do I have your permission for that as well Mr. Hebert?"

"Yes, of course," Mr. Hebert replied. "I rushed here straight from work, so I didn't have the opportunity to go home and find her spare pair."

Panacea nodded at the response and took Taylor's hand even as I moved over to where Vicky was standing. "So, bully buster huh," the blonde said smiling. The rest of her comment and my response were cut off though by Panacea's cursing snarl.

"That psychotic bitch," Amy snarled, ripping the hospital bed's sheet back to expose Taylor's legs and the rows of feminine hygiene products laying around them. "I don't know how she did it, but these were all fused inside her body and causing sepsis to set in already."

"Taylor is going to be alright though right?" Mr. Hebert asked, and Panacea nodded in response as she gathered the materials and dumped them into the biohazard waste receptacle.

"This just went from assault to attempted murder," Miss Militia said with a grimace. "Panacea, we are going to need you to add this to the report."

"Gladly," the healer snarled. "There were also a goodly number of healed and nearly healed micro-fractures. Tell me Mr. Hebert, is your daughter clumsy, prone to falls or accidents?"

"No," the older man, now starting to show anger in his face instead of the sorrow that had been there. "It does however explain quite a few things, things I had noticed but couldn't figure out how to bring up in conversation. Though not why she didn't tell me."

"Mister Hebert," Miss Militia said as she laid a hand on his shoulder in her role as Special Agent Hannah Washington. "Over the years I've been an impromptu older sister for more than a few wards and they always have reasons," she used her fingers to make air quotes when she said the word reasons, "to not tell or talk to their parents about things that are going on in their lives." The other three of us looked slightly ashamed at that, knowing it was true, but the elder cape in her civilian persona continued even as I subtly touched my hand to Taylor's foot. "Of course they are being teenagers, but we, as adults, have to remember how we were then, and then choose how we're going to handle them."

Amy coughed into her hand to get the attention back and everyone turned to face her. "She will wake up in a few minutes," she said addressing Mr. Hebert, "and I'll have the nurse bring in two trays of food for her so that she has enough to fill her up because she's going to be ravenous with hunger. Over the next couple of weeks she's going to need to eat more, and it's going to need to contain a lot of leafy green vegetables, lean beef, beans, and dairy."

"Thank you for this," he said nodding, "I'll tell Taylor and make sure those things and more are available."

Amy nodded and then turned her attention to Miss Militia before she continued, "I'm going to go fill out my report for you on what we found, and I'm sure the Director will find it interesting reading." Miss Militia nodded and then the healer turned her attention to me and smiled, "I hope to see you at Arcadia soon. I doubt you'll find any bullies that need so energetic a busting, but you never know." She shrugged at the end and smiled as she turned toward the door. I smiled and waved at the pair as they left.

"And that brings up another subject," Miss Militia said to Mr. Hebert. "Barring your daughter completely dropping the ball on her placement exams, she will start attending Arcadia as soon as she is ready."

Smiling Daniel Hebert looked at the ceiling for a minute before responding. "I don't know if she'll want to or not to be honest with you." He said, a frown forming on his face, "She went to Winslow in the first place to stay with a friend of hers who didn't make the cut for Arcadia, I don't know if she'll take this opportunity to get out of that hell hole without her friend or not."

"Dad," a voice that I had only heard once before, that had been sobbing and pleading to be released from its incarceration, answered from the bed. "Emma hasn't been my friend since I started high school, in fact, she was one of the people who put me in that locker."

Amy*

"Amy?" Vicky said as we walked away from the Hebert girl's hospital room. I looked over at her and saw her looking back at the room. "You were a bit more vicious than I remember ever seeing you in there."

I nodded at the comment, "Yes," I answered. "But you would have to have seen the pictures of what they pulled her out of to truly understand why. Hell, you saw what I pulled out of her, and I'm still trying to figure out how Sophia did that." Suddenly I stopped, frozen almost mid-stride by the thought that percolated through my brain. "Oh hell, Piggot's gonna love this one." I muttered with a smile.

Turning my attention back to Vicky I said, "Sis, if you were to see what that psycho and her friends did to that girl, you would want to take all three of them out for flying lessons," I told her in a calm and rational voice. "And then when you got to about ten-thousand feet, you would let them go." Vicky quirked an eyebrow at me and I smiled before continuing on towards the hospital cafeteria for a cup of coffee and to write my report.

Sophia*

I woke with a start, looking around at my surroundings. A curtain partitioned me from the rest of the world, making the bed I was in alone and isolated. The ceiling above was white acoustic tiles and there was a beeping coming from my right just above my head. I tried to reach my face, to wipe it with my hand only to find the limb handcuffed to the bed. It looked to be a plain hand-cuff, so I reached for my power to phase through it and found nothing. "What the hell?" I snarled jerking on the cuff and on my other arm to find it also restrained.

"Hey Puppy," a voice I recognized said outside the curtain. "I think she's awake."

[i]Oh hell/i] I thought. [i]They sent Assault and Battery, is anyone concerned about my secret identity?/i] Seconds later it was proven that they were not concerned as Assault, in full costume, pulled the curtain aside showing Battery and himself. "I was right," he said and pointed at me.

"Yes dear, I see." Battery deadpanned back at him. "Now, since you are awake and seem to at least understand what is going on, Sophia Hess, also known as Shadow Stalker, you are under arrest for assault with a parahuman power, attempted murder with a parahuman power, and biological terrorism. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law."

"Wait a minute, hold the fucking phone," I snarled interrupting the hero in her recitation of the Miranda warnings. "What the hell are you talking about with those charges, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

Assault grinned, "We have you on camera stuffing one Taylor Hebert into a locker filled with all kinds of nasty things Sophia," he answered. "That's the assault right there, what those things were makes it bio-terrorism, and the fact that somehow you caused her to phase shift in and out inside that shit and end up with a good mass of it in her body causing sepsis to set in along with several other diseases is the attempted murder."

"Bullshit," I snarled at him. "I can think of a half dozen ways any camera footage could be faked, and it's not like Hebert has any friends at that school, the question is who knocked me the hell out and left me there to be found?"

"Oh we have that on camera too," he answered with a grin and I felt my stomach clench, "the footage is unbroken and Dragon says un-edited from start to finish. Quite frankly it was fun to watch you and your little red-headed friend get your comeuppance and funny that it was someone you could never have anticipated in a million years."

I growled at the smug asshole as Battery stepped back in, "Are you done yet?" she asked, and Assault nodded. I tuned her out as she started to Mirandize me from the beginning. The question that bounced around my head though as she finished, and I demanded a lawyer absentmindedly so as to not have to answer any questions was how? [i]We had that school in the palm of our hands, even the administration was cowed between Emma's father and my status as a Ward. Blackwell of course was watching out for me for whatever reasons, as was my probation officer. There shouldn't have been anything…/i]

Sophia's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out yet again. Assault snickered at that and smiled at Battery. "At least this time we were able to get through the Miranda warning before she blue screened," he said. "Any idea when her lawyer is going to be here?"

"Well considering this Alan Barnes is the parent of the red-head in the video, probably a while since he's trying to get her out on bail," his wife answered. "But Sophia will keep, the doctor said it wasn't that bad a concussion, and if we don't shock her system this next time she'll probably stay awake. In fact, why don't you leave since you enjoy tormenting her with the explanation each and every time?"

"Because I enjoy tormenting her," he answered. "The entire Wards team dislikes her for various reasons. Hell, if they were coming in today I would be letting them take a turn at it." Battery found she could only shake her head at her husband's vindictiveness, it wasn't like she wasn't enjoying the show or anything.

Taylor*

"Emma hasn't been my friend since I started high school," I said as the three other people in the room turned and faced me. "In fact, she was one of the people who put me in that locker." As I spoke, I looked around the room at the people in there with me. Dad was hovering like he always did when I was sick or something was wrong, his presence and how much he hovered had always been my metric of how bad I was hurt. The other two people were a PRT agent, she was dusky skinned with dark hair and something about her made me think I knew her from somewhere. The third was a girl that was maybe my own age, Asian, and had a concerned look on her face.

"Since the start of high school," the girl said, her tone showing her shock over the matter. "Why didn't anyone stop it?"

I shrugged, "Part of it I imagine is that it's Winslow, the school is a dumping ground for those without the intelligence, money or connections to go to a better school. Which means it is prime gang grunt recruiting territory." The adults both nodded and I waited as a nurse showed up with a pair of food trays and set them on the rolling table that went with the hospital room. "Second was the administration ignoring my complaints as being, and I quote, baseless and without merit or evidence." I continued after the nurse left. Dad used the bed remote and raised the bed back while the girl moved the roller table over where I could position it and its trays while I continued. "As my freshman year came to a close, Blackwell actually threatened to suspend me up for lying to the staff and start punishing me in other ways for trying to get the three of them into trouble."

"Did she now," Dad commented with a deceptive calm. Looking at him I could see in his face that he was working the problem now, and I felt guilty for not telling him sooner.

"Why not try and change schools," the PRT Agent asked. "I know Arcadia has a waiting list, but I also know the wait isn't this bad. At the worst you would have been transferred as of the start of this school year."

"I would have if the administration wasn't shredding my transfer applications," I said uncovering the first plate to find a burger and fries. It wasn't a Challenger, but it wasn't a dollar burger either. "Between that and the trio destroying my GPA I didn't stand a chance of getting into Arcadia, which is the only school that I can reasonably reach by bus." I could see my dad getting progressively angrier at this line of thought so I tried to change the subject, "What does the PRT have to do with any of this?" I asked, taking a bite out of the burger.

"Part of it is that we screwed up," the agent answered bluntly. "One of your bullies was a Ward, not a well liked one, or really someone who was even willing to join the program except to get out of going to juvenile detention, but one none-the-less. Because of this, we feel we are at least partly responsible so in response we are at least going to pay for your hospital stay, and if you have triggered offer you a place on the team.

Her admission that one of my bullies had been a Ward caused me to stop eating mid-chew as my mind ran through what I knew. Figuring it out wasn't hard although swallowing the bite of half-chewed burger was a little. "Shadow Stalker," I growled, and the three of them nodded. Seeing the unsurprised look on his face I asked, "Dad?" and he chuckled.

"They never gave me her real name, but before you woke up Agent Washington and Akane filled me in on the Ward issue," Dad answered and then Agent Washington picked up the response.

"We would appreciate it if you didn't publicize that part of it," she said with a grimace. "She's going to be spending a lot of time in both juvenile and adult prison and might even get a ticket to the birdcage for all this, but I assure you one thing, she is going to be punished for this."

I nodded at that, Sophia was screwed and justice would be served one way or another for all three of them. Yeah, I could accept this. "Alright," I said, "but you think I might have triggered in the locker?"

"It's likely that something like that would have caused what we call a trigger event." Agent Washington answered. "Most capes refer to those event's as the worst day of their life, and I can believe that what you've gone through classifies."

"But I don't feel different," I replied ignoring the slight buzzing in the back of my head as I continued to eat.

"It could be something very subtle," Agent Washington said. "At the PRT building we have a variety of testing methods that can figure out both if you have powers, and how extensive they might be."

"Do you really think that I could have powers?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm almost certain of it," the girl said beside me and I quirked an eyebrow at her. "But I have a suggestion, Mister Hebert, why don't you take agent Washington with you and go get Taylor some clothes from your home. I'll sit here with Taylor while she eats in case she wants some more food from the cafeteria and she and I can get to know one another."

I looked at Dad who sighed and nodded, "I do need to get you some clothes kiddo," he said with a sigh. "I came here straight from work, so I haven't had a chance to get anything for you."

I nodded at that, "Three boards into my closet there is a knothole in the board that will let you pull the board out," I said, and he nodded with a questioning look on his face. "Inside the space is a pair of notebooks that record the things the trio have done since about this time last year on a day to day basis. I don't know if they will count as evidence against them or not, but I figured there should be at least some documentation of what they were doing."

"By themselves, no," Agent Washington answered. "But in conjunction with the records we are pulling from their phones, it will definitely be another nail in the coffin as well as keeping two of them from simply blaming the third." I nodded at that and Dad ruffled the hair on top of my head.

"Alright kiddo, I'll be back shortly and then we'll go see if you have super powers or not." Dad said before opening the door for Agent Washington and following her out.

As the door closed I shifted the lids from the full tray to the empty one revealing a small steak and a salad. "So, Akane was it?" I asked, and the girl nodded. "Why are you so confident that I have powers?"

"Because I'm suppressing them," she answered with a smile, "and boy is it not happy about that."

Two hours later the four of us were standing in a gymnasium sized laboratory with various stations that were obviously meant to test different factors of powers. "Don't worry T," I said to Taylor as she eyeballed the equipment. I'm going through this the same as you since I haven't been tested yet either.

She shifted her gaze to me from behind the domino mask she was wearing. "What do you mean you haven't been tested?"

I shrugged as her father and Agent Washington stepped into an observation room so that the techs that were about to enter couldn't leak who the new cape was by recognizing a family member. "I've been a cape for less than a month and literally just got here from Tokyo Saturday evening. Sunday was my aunt and I getting settled into her new apartment since she'd been living alone before now, and then today I went to school. I was supposed to be doing this tonight anyway, you're just a not-so-happy coincidence. Taylor nodded, and we watched the techs come in and take their places at the machines.

After a moment one of the techs came forward to us and smiled, "Ladies," he said, a slight accent tilting his English. "I am Doctor Stein, if you would follow me we can get started." We both nodded and followed him toward the first machine as he continued to speak. "Do either of you have any ideas as to what your power sets entail?"

"I am a power manipulator," I answered plainly as I looked at his name tag, "My power lets me adjust someone else's abilities, either down to zero shutting them down, or up to fifteen, giving them fifty percent greater power than they normally would have for a defined period of time."

"Můj Bůh v nebi" the doctor replied and then shaking his head asked, "What are your known limitations?"

"The boost only lasts about half an hour, but the drain lasts up to twelve hours," I answered. "So far I don't know if the strength of the cape's powers effects those time limits or not." The doctor nodded and then turned to Taylor.

"I have no knowledge of what my powers are other than the hint that there is a buzzing in the back of my head," she answered. "A has been suppressing my powers probably since my trigger this morning."

Doctor Stein nodded to this and then returned his gaze to me, "Miss A, if you would please stop suppressing Miss T's powers, we can get started."

I nodded to him and turned to Taylor, "Slowly alright," I said taking her hand, "part of the reason I've been suppressing them is I don't want you overwhelmed by them, I know I was the first time I touched a cape. With your's buzzing in your head, I imagine it's not touch based." Taylor nodded, and in my mind, I started turning a dial. Starting at zero I slowly took it to one, then to two, and at three she staggered backwards putting her hands to her head.

"So many," she said clenching her eyes shut while gripping her temples. "So many little…" She trailed off and we watched as insects poured out of the walls in a shadow state before becoming normal and forming an artificial whirlwind around her.

Two hours later I was finished with my testing and the pillar of insects that had formed around Taylor was finally starting to disperse. "T?" I asked getting her attention as the insects went smoke-like and vanished into the floor.

"Shut me back down please." She begged in a small voice. I nodded before touching a finger to her forehead and mentally turning the knob back to zero. "Thank you, she almost sobbed. There were just so many senses and minds, I couldn't make sense of any of it, I couldn't differentiate between myself and the insects. Was that my full power?"

I shook my head, "That was your power at about a third your normal strength. I imagine your range, sensory depth and fine control will increase with the power level." I didn't add that what she might be able to control might increase in complexity as her power increased as well. It wasn't likely, but it was possible.

"Everyone but the girls and the people in the observation booth out of the room, now!" Aunt Emily's voice barked even before the double doors to the testing area hit the walls. The response was as one would expect, a flurry of running feet as the techs cleared the room and the Director of the PRT East-Northeast branch walked over to the two of us. As the techs left Doctor Stein, whose full name I had found out was Franklin Nicholai Stein, closed the doors, locking them behind the group. Once that happened, the observation booth door opened, and Daniel Hebert ran over and hugged his daughter tightly.

"Mister Hebert, miss Hebert, you have my sincere apologies for what has happened," Aunt Emily said as Taylor's dad eased up on his hug. "The documentation you recorded young lady is going to be the final nail in that whole group's coffin. The fact that you thought to document your interactions with Principal Blackwell as well meant that we were able to arrange for the BBPD to get a search warrant for both her electronic correspondence and her bank accounts. I can't go into what has been found so far, but suffice it to say, all of them will be going to prison for one thing or another."

Taylor smiled a bit at that, [i]vengeance might be a dish best served cold, but justice should be hot, fresh and free flowing/i] I thought.

"Now," Aunt Emily said, continuing. "I don't know if Agent Washington has floated the idea of you joining the Wards yet or not," she looked at the mentioned agent who waggled a hand back and forth in a "sorta" gesture, "but we would love to have you and help you gain control of your powers which is what the Wards program is there for."

"But all I do is control insects?" Taylor said in a small voice.

I smiled, "T, you sense through those insects, you can control their littlest function, maybe you wouldn't be out on the front line punching someone like Hookwolf or Lung in the face, but standing back and flooding them with bugs until they cant move, wrapping them up in spider silk, being able to track them at your range which we still haven't found out what that is yet. And as for punching people in the face, I can teach you that, heck I intend to anyway." My smile was going a bit manic at the thought of Taylor and I working together.

"I would really feel better about you doing things this way Taylor," her father said. "I think I know you well enough that I can say that you are not going to simply sit back and do nothing with this power once you have a handle on it and I don't want you out there unsupported and alone, not with who this city has produced for villains."

Taylor looked at the adults in the room and then at me causing me to shrug, "In or out T, I've got your back, and I'll help you get used to your powers as well, but I would rather we be able to work together completely instead of during scheduling holes."

After standing there a moment Taylor nodded, "Alright then," she said, "Let's do this."

Taylor*

By nine that evening I was beat, and after a long relaxing shower it was all I could do not to simply collapse into the bed that had come with the issued room in the Ward's dorm area. Dad had run home for more clothes for me and Director Piggot had made arrangements so that I could access some of what would be my Ward's paycheck immediately so that I could get clothes better than the Good Will stuff that I had been wearing. Dinner with her and Akane had been nice, if a bit tense, and I found out that the Director had her own issues just like anyone else. Still, it had been nice, and I had been able to work on my range and control the entire time simply by having it at a level that didn't overwhelm me.

Laying down on the bed in the pajamas that Dad had brought I stretched while lying face first in the cheap thin pillow that was on my bed. They had asked after the power testing if I wanted to stay here near Akane as a safety precaution and I had said yes, because the last thing I wanted to have happen was for either of our powers deciding to go poof and something bad happen. "So how do you feel?" I heard Akane ask and I turned to see her standing in the doorway wearing an oversized AC/DC concert T-shirt, I groaned in response.

"Yeah, I understand," she said coming in and sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Tomorrow we'll get you to the point that you feel safe going home at your normal range and then we'll start working on your skills." As she spoke she started running her fist up and down my spine causing me to want to arch my back into it like a cat getting its back stroked.

Turning my head to the side so that I could speak unmuffled by the pillow I replied, "As long as my head doesn't feel like a piece of pounded meat Wednesday night it's all good." She chuckled at that and I wanted to ask why, but I could feel sleep beckoning. The slow circles she had switched to rubbing on the small of my back was easing me towards slumber, "Whaso funny?" I asked muzzily.

"Well," she answered, "your head won't feel like pounded meat, but tomorrow your muscles will probably end the day more like overcooked pasta instead."

"Das fine," I mumbled as I drifted off, and then there was nothing but oblivion.

Once Taylor drifted off I covered her with the comforter that lay folded on the footlocker at the foot of the bed before shutting off the light and leaving the room, closing the door behind me. Taylor had filled us in over dinner on the things that had been going on in her life over the last few years, including the nearly two years of bullshit that those three little bitches had put her through. "She's a better person than I am Aunt Emily," I said as I found my aunt sitting quietly at the Ward's kitchenette counter. "If it had been me I would have long since beat the hell out of at least one of them.

She chuckled mirthlessly at that, "You're very much like your father in that Akane," she said after a moment. "He was never one to suffer fools or bullies and I suppose that is one of the reasons he joined the Corps as opposed to the PRT like I did." I nodded at that, he had written letters to me before I was even born and had sent them along with the ones that he had sent to mom. His stories of growing up, his time in Somalia, all of it was because he felt he could change things. "That said," Aunt Emily said pulling my attention out of the depression spiral that I had started down, "You are also your own person Akane, and I expect you to chart your own path, though I figure you to be a bit more law abiding than your father was at your age."

I chuckled at that, dark thoughts banished for the moment. "I make no promises Aunt Em," I replied. "My friends, my team, you know I'm going to be there for them no matter what I have to do right?"

She smiled, "I expect nothing less than that," she said getting off the barstool that she had been sitting on. "Goodnight Akane, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Aunt Em," I said as she slid from her seat and exited the Ward's area and I turned to go to my own room. Today had been one of those days that didn't go according to plan, but maybe that had been for the best. Spirits only knew what screwed up fate had been averted by me showing up when I did.

Chapter 2: Coil Interlude

Chapter Text

Thomas Calvert flipped from one arrest report to another on his computer as he considered the best way to handle the current situation. He had planned on using Shadow Stalker's indiscretions against Emily when it came time to remove her, unfortunately her niece showing up like she did was unexpected, as was her interference. Now, instead of Piggot taking the blame for the girl's excesses, he was having to burn the girl's probation officer, and through her the high school principal to cover his tracks. Luckily the idiot administrator had decided to skim a little of the Wards participation funds off the school budget, so it could simply be blamed on the woman's greed.

Pulling up the Takamachi Dossier he had to suppress the urge to curse his, or maybe Emily's luck even more. The girl herself was a menace to his plans and his cover being a shaker trump that shut down other cape's powers at a touch unless she concentrated on not doing that. That of course meant that there was no way he could ever let her touch him as it would end a timeline. This of course meant one of two things, coming off active reserve with the PRT so that he wasn't at Headquarters all the time, or else using his body double there more often. Both scenario's had their issues in that the body double could do something out of the norm calling down Master/Stranger protocols on him, and leaving active reserve would have him not be in the position he needed to be in to snap up Emily's position when he made his move.

Akane Takamichi

Statistics:

Born: 9-19-1994

Age: 16

Hight: 65-inches (161.5 cm)

Weight: 110lbs (50kg)

Hair: black shoulder length

Eye: hazel

Skin: tan

Body type/Build: petite/athletic

Status: Active

Affiliation: Wards ENE

Powerset: Striker (Trump) 7 (Power Manipulation- Defaults to nullification unless she is actively causing it to set at a particular level or boosting)

Family:

Parent: Takamachi, Hitomi-Mother-Deceased- Dec. 2010- Killed by the explosion of a street racer's car as it crashed in the Akihabara district (*See notes)

Parent: Takamachi, James (Piggot)-Father-Deceased-unknown 1994 US operations in Somalia (*See notes)

Paternal Grandparent's:-Deceased prior to 1994

Maternal Grandmother: Takamachi, Mami (Tomoe)-Deceased-2008/June/4

Death due to coronary embolism while home. Was found by her husband.

Maternal Grandfather: Takamachi, Shiro Deceased-2010/January/3

Respiratory failure during sleep. Found by nurse.

Maternal Uncle: Takamachi, Kenta-Uknown, Pronounced Deceased as of 1998 "Drowning of Kyushu" (2005)

Paternal Aunt: Piggot, Emily Anne-Currently: Director Parahuman Response Team East-Northeast

History of Movement

Born-1994/Sept./19- Higashisaga Hospital-

Residence: Yoshinogari Village (maternal grandparents.)

11/2/1998-Evacuated by helicopter with family to USS Kittyhawk during "Sinking of Kyushu" incident

12/1998-New Residence-Akihabara district, Tokyo Japan

04/2000- 03/2006-Heisei Elementary School

04/2006- 03/2008-Okachimachi Taito Junior High

04/2008- 12/2010-Tokyo Metropolitan Hakuo High School (*See notes)

Moved to Brockton Bay Mass. 2011/Jan/01 to live with Paternal Aunt.

Notes:

Subject racer was involved in a high-speed chase by a rival group when struck by oncoming car in an intersection under the Tsukube Express line as she exited the Naka-Okachimachi station. Subject vehicle flipped several times before landing and Takamachi Hitomi was killed as the car exploded in the aftermath. Remains of the driver of the racer were found still in the vehicle, the driver of the striking car disappeared, and the owner had reported it stolen the day prior.

Chapter 3: Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Vista*

I both hated when my mother either had the early shift or the overnight shift at the hospital and I didn't, (or couldn't arrange) a late shift for myself. When we both had late shifts I would simply sleep over in the Wards dorm and either bring a spare set of clothes or wear the ones I kept there for just such an occasion. This time though, because of the first day back at school on top of the holiday weekend, we hadn't had any patrols for me to hide behind, which meant waking up at oh-my-God thirty and getting dressed so that I could ride to the PRT building and wait to go to school. There was of course an upside to this in that I could get in a couple of uninterrupted, (and uncommented) hours of cartoons while eating something sugary without being griped at for it being unhealthy.

Akane*

I woke to the sound of my phone alarm screaming "Dive, Dive, Dive," with a diving klaxon blasting out as well. I never knew when it was going to be hard for me to wake up, so I had found this alarm sound and so far, it had worked. Shutting off the alarm I rolled out of bed and looked at the time, my body was still getting used to the Eastern Time Zone and part of me wanted to skip the workout I had in favor of more sleep. Preferably at least until the NHK Nightly News came on. I chuckled at the thought and then left the room, grabbing the domino mask from the bedside table as I walked out.

Exiting the room, I headed toward the lounge area where I was surprised to find a blonde-haired girl sitting on the couch and flipping channels. She was wrapped in a blanket and when I was standing behind her I could see that she was sitting there in the near dark with a soup bowl of cereal in her lap. A couple hours to kill, mind numbing cartoons, and a bowl of sugar infused chocolatey goodness. I smiled, "Ah, the guilty pleasures are always the best, aren't they?" I asked wondering where she got the cereal. She probably had her own stash as the only cereal I had found in the kitchenette had been an unopened box of Wheaties that was probably almost as old as I was being that it had a teenage Mouse Protector on the box.

"They certainly are," the girl said with a smile to match my own, and then she froze in place as if Clockblocker had tagged her.

Taylor*

I woke up to the combination of a scream, a crash, and the blaring of an alarm causing me to literally roll out of my bed. I then had to fight my way out of the comforter that someone, (probably Akane, bless her) had covered me up with, before finally making it out of my room, down the hallway and into the lounge area where I found Akane sitting on the floor covered in liquid and broken crockery, and a blonde haired tween standing next to the door as a small flood of PRT agents and Miss Militia came storming in. immediately my hands went up as there were foam sprayers pointed everywhere while the blonde latched onto Miss Militia and asked, "Who are these people and why are they here?"

Akane was giving me a sheepish look from under her wet head, kind of like one of the twins from that Harry Potter movie series of the last few years and as the troopers fanned out Miss Militia aske the blond girl, "What the hell happened here?"

"So what's the story?" Missy asked after Akane left to get cleaned up and Miss Militia went to get the three of us breakfast from the cafeteria. It had taken about five minutes to get everything calmed down once the older cape had arrived, and another ten after that to get the mess of broken soup bowl and spilled milk and cereal cleaned up. I lifted an eyebrow at her and her question, so she specified. "Why are you here?"

"My power currently overwhelms me with sensory overload," I answered. "I'm working my way up in exposure so that I can acclimatize to all the input."

It was her turn to have a questioning look in her face, so I elaborated, "Akane is a power manipulator who helping me by adjusting my power's setting."

"Whoah," Missy said going wide eyed, "So what is your power?"

"Arthropod master with a breaker secondary similar to Shadow Stalker's," I grimaced at Sophia's cape name but either Missy didn't notice or she chose to ignore it in favor of trying to parse what I had said.

"Shadow Stalker isn't going to like that," she said absently while deep in thought. "She's kinda possessive about her entire schtick." Suddenly she pulled out a smartphone and tapped on it for a second before exclaiming, "Holy shit, you control bugs?"

"As well as spiders, crabs and probably a whole bunch of other things," I said with a smile, she smiled in return and started to laugh only to groan after a couple of moments. "What was that for?" I asked.

"The laughter was because of the conniptions you are going to give the PR department," she answered. "The groan was because of how bad they are going to try and nerf your powers in the name of being family friendly and politically correct."

"What in the name of all that is unholy does being family friendly have to do with stopping crime," Akane asked coming out of the back in fresh clothes. "I mean granted it's not just about going out and smacking heads until people start to behave, but still?"

Missy shrugged at the question about the same time a buzzer sounded and all three of us turned our attention to the door. "That's probably Miss Militia," she said putting on a domino mask and handing me one as well. Akane had already grabbed a fresh one when she had gotten dressed.

A couple of minutes later Miss Militia entered the room pushing a meal cart with three covered trays and a pair of large pitchers that she brought over and sat on the coffee table between us. "Breakfast is served, you girls try not to make a mess," she said arching an eyebrow at Missy, "and Vista, remember you have a bus to catch, don't be late for it."

The three of us chorused, "Yes Ma'am" to her and descended on the platters pulling back the lids to show the bevy of breakfast food that she had brought us. Pancakes and scrambled eggs, sausages, both patty and link, bacon along with toast and a collection of jelly and syrup packets. In fact, we were so intent on our food that we never noticed her leave the room.

Emily Piggot smiled as she watched the two girls spar through the security cameras in the gym. Akane had spent two hours teaching Taylor the basics and going through moves of her family's style of martial arts, and then they had spent the last hour working on her confidence by sparring.

"She's a good teacher," Miss Militia said as she watched as well.

"She ought to be," Emily said with a slight snicker. "She has been helping her grandfather teach their family's style since she was ten."

"Do you think she would be willing to teach the other Wards?" Miss Militia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably," Emily answered and then looked at her computer when it dinged at her. "And apparently we're going to need all the help we can get on that front." She continued with a sigh.

"Is the Youth Guard already causing problems?" Hannah asked shifting to look over her boss's shoulder.

Piggot shook her head, "No," she groaned, "they are thankfully still distracted by yelling at Shadow Stalker's probation officer and that idiot Blackwell. This comes from Public Relations."

Hannah groaned and said some words in a language that while Emily couldn't understand them, she was sure she agreed with them. "What is Glenn's problem now, and why isn't he busy trying to spin the Shadow Stalker situation into a smaller problem."

"Because there is nothing more he can do about Sophia, and Taylor's insects are causing him an apoplectic fit," Piggot answered with a snarl turning the monitor so the cape could see more easily. "The damn fool wants to turn her into a media darling like Vista."

"You know how much Missy hates that role," Miss Militia said stifling a groan. A second later she chuckled though, "I bet Glen would shit himself if he heard what Akane, Taylor and Missy came up with over breakfast this morning, they were practically cackling like Saturday morning villains over it."

Emily quirked an eyebrow, "Do I really want to know?" she asked. Miss Militia nodded with a smug and knowing smile, "Then fill me in, we may have to unleash them on him." Minutes later she was cackling herself.

Taylor*

I grimaced at the price on the blouse and put it back on the rack. "Not into the whole shop-o-rama thing are you?" a voice asked behind me. Turning I found a frizzy haired brunette just a year or so older than me walking up and practically hiding in the rack.

"Not really," I answered eyeballing her for a moment. "I usually shop at the Goodwill because of issues, but I need some better clothes since I'm transferring to Arcadia next week."

She looked up from the blouse that I had just put back on the rack to eyeball me back, "School started yesterday," she said, "why are you transferring in a week late?"

There was an incident at my old school yesterday that put me in the hospital," I answered. "I was told at one point that I would never have to set foot in those halls again." The girl's eyes went wide and mentally I swore. She must have seen the video of Akane pulling me out of the locker, but before I could say anything Akane called from a little way away.

"Hey Taylor, look who I found," she said dragging a blonde down the aisle towards me.

I facepalmed at my friend's actions and shook my head. "Akane, you can't just drag random people up to…" I trailed off as I notice that the blonde she was dragging was floating an inch or so off the floor. "Oh hell," I muttered.

"Hey Amy, I see you found Akane's friend." Glory Girl said smiling.

"Yeah," the brunette said, "I didn't recognize her at first, but I do now."

"Recognize me?" I asked, "why would you recognize me, oh hell." It was then that it struck me, this was Amy and Victoria Dallon, the second generation of New Wave. "Thank you by the way," I said looking at Amy who was looking back at me with a questioning look. "I'm guessing they called you in to heal me after the locker." She blushed and ducked her head a little bit while muttering something I couldn't make out. "Still, thank you."

"You're welcome," she said a little more clearly. "So why are you looking for new clothes?"

"We'll be starting at Arcadia on Monday," I answered, "my usual clothes are not nice enough for that, let alone going in to take the tests tomorrow. What are you two doing here, I figured you would be at school right now."

"Today is one of our half-days for quote, unquote work study," Vicky answered. "Technically this is a patrol of the boardwalk."

"Which is just an excuse for Vicky to get an early look at what everyone has on the shelves before school lets out," Amy snarked.

"Oh, like you don't like to look and see what new books and movies have come out each week before everyone else." Vicky returned, and I watched as the two sisters verbally spar as we walked out of the boardwalk store and toward a Brockton Bay landmark. "Have you two eaten lunch yet?"

"No," Akane answered, "and we really should before we go anywhere else." I nodded at that feeling a bit hungry myself.

"Well then," Vicky said, "let's get some Fugly's and then we'll see if we can't catch a ride up to Weymouth Mall and get some real shopping done."

"You don't think we'll find anything here on the boardwalk?" I heard myself ask.

"Not anything that you would want to wear to school for very long," Vicky answered. "It's almost all tourist crap, with the exception of Parian's shop."

"And she would be so far out of my budget that it isn't funny." I answered and saw two of the other three nod.

"Who is Parian?" Akane asked.

"Cloth cape," Vicky answered waving at the hostess as we walked in. The hostess waved back and guided us to a booth towards the end of a particular section.

Amy lifted an eyebrow and then expanded on her sister's quick answer, "She's a rogue who has the ability to animate cloth and control other light objects related to cloth. She uses this ability to do puppet shows for children on the boardwalk and make clothing. It is really high-end custom stuff, and the cost is insane, but it's worth it when you get one, especially her cape costumes."

Akane and I both nodded, and then we ordered our drinks before resuming the conversation. "So, clothing suggestions?" Akane asked the pair, Amy groaned and covered her face while Vicky smiled.

After a lively discussion over clothing styles, of which I had no real clue and apparently Akane was a bit of a tomboy in that she preferred pants or slacks and a simple shirt instead of dresses, a decision was made to hit Weymouth Mall and get some "normal girl clothes" with Vicky and Amy's help where fashion was concerned. A double order of chili-cheese fries had been shared by the four of us and as we waited on our burgers Amy asked, "So what classes are you thinking about taking?"

"I don't know what I'll qualify for yet," I answered, "Akane and I don't take our placement tests until tomorrow at the earliest, but the computer science track looks interesting."

"I'm looking hard at the history track myself," Akane said with a shrug, "I can already do some advance level mathematics in my head, as well as tutor in that and a few advanced physical sciences, so I'm looking more toward the humanities so that I don't burn out on the hard science side."

"Can't say anything about the computer science track," Vicky said as the waitress refilled our drinks and set our burgers in front of us. "That said, AP History is interesting, or if nothing else, amusing."

"Interesting how," Akane asked lifting an eyebrow in a decidedly Nimoy fashion.

"The teacher is working on his doctorate," Amy supplied apparently also having the class. "Mister Wolfe tends to assign reading for about the first half of the class, and then once we reach the halfway point asks if there are any questions over the material. It has led to some very interesting discussions in class."

"I bet," I responded, "it's definitely not something that you could do at Winslow, you would have a riot on your hands before the first class was half over."

Amy and Vicky both winced and the latter asked, "Is Winslow really that bad?"

"Let me put it this way," I said with a sigh, "From the beginning of this school year up until just before Christmas break we had an actual security guard. Don't know why they didn't have one last year, but they got this guy somewhere and he would ride the minority kids unmercifully."

"I'm guessing his attitude toward the minority kids got him fired," Amy half asked, I just shrugged in response.

"An attitude like that, he was probably an Empire member," Vicky sneered before taking a monster bite from her burger.

I chuckled and shook my head as I swallowed my own bite of burger, "No," I said turning my head to face Vicky directly. "He was definitely not an Empire member." The other three gazed at me with questioning looks so I relented. "Mister Ruckus was an old black man, but I swear, barring his skin tone he would have gladly stood shoulder to shoulder with Hookwolf and Kaiser. As it was, if one of them had encountered him they would have probably died of shock when he abased himself to them."

While I told them about Ruckus it was as if you could hear the mental record scratch, "What the actual fuck," Vicky asked.

Director Piggot glared at the assembled capes around the table as she walked into the conference room. "I want everyone to keep their mouths shut and their comments to themselves until after I'm done explaining the situation." She said in a flat, no-nonsense tone. Stopping to stand at one end of the table she glared at the combined group of heroes for a moment before, when she was sure that she had their undivided attention, continued. "Yesterday morning a young woman entered Winslow High School and was subsequently assaulted, and then shoved into a locker full of bio-hazardous material. This was the culmination of an eighteen-month bullying campaign where the bullies systematically isolated, and humiliated their target, even to the point of turning the school administration against her."

The adults all knew what had happened already and kept a blank poker face to the ranting of the director. Vista had been excluded from the meeting because of school and because of her meeting Akane and Taylor that morning, but the other Wards stared at the director seemingly in shock. "The only reason the situation did not get any worse was because a new student stepped in, knocked out one of the bullies and called emergency services while making arrangements to get the victim out. Now, do you have any questions so far?"

Browbeat, their newest probationary Ward raised his hand and Emily nodded to him. "With all due respect ma'am," he said. "What does this have to do with us?"

Browbeat blanched as Emily smiled before she spoke. "Because it was Shadow Stalker that was the main bully, Dragon, please show the film." The teens and adults spent the next half hour watching as the events of the previous day unfolded. When it was over Emily looked at their shocked, and in a couple of cases decidedly green faces, and spoke again. "Now," she said, "I want to know everything that you know about Shadow Stalker, her attitude, what she did, and even things that she said that in light of this could have new meaning."

Another half-hour passed while the teens told stories of Sophia's attitude issues, her actions that Triumph admitted having sat on because he figured it was just her having to get used to working with a team, and Aegis offering up his leadership as a sacrificial goat over the situation. "Carlos," she said to the teen as the rest of them stared in shock, "It is good that you are willing to take responsibility for this, but in all honesty the failure happened above your paygrade." The boy relaxed at that and she smiled, knowing he took his responsibility seriously made her just the tiniest bit more accepting of him. "Honestly, the only upside to this whole fiasco is that the girl and her father are not holding this against us for our failures. On the other hand, if she saw half the crap that is coming out of Glenn's office she might honestly think that we were insane instead of incompetent."

"We've all had our own run-ins with public relations Director," Armsmaster said calmly. "What are the girl's powers?"

"Her primary power is a master class," Piggot sighed. "Arthropods as near as we can figure, we are giving her an initial rating of seven in that field." The table nodded almost as one at that though a few of the Wards pulled out their phones, probably to search out what an Arthropod was. "Secondary is a breaker four, thinker three, the thinker possibly to increase along with the master and the breaker is basically a copy of Shadow Stalker's, but with the ability for the insects to also use it. She can also sense through her minions out to her range which is currently at a two-block radius. If some of the ideas that were discussed in the lab earlier pan out, then she'll also receive a tinker and a stranger rating as well."

"Five classifications in one person," Kid Win said, his voice showing the awe he felt.

"Yeah, it's kinda out there," Aegis answered, "definitely something special."

"What's an arthropod?" Clockblocker asked, obviously having left his phone behind in the Wards area.

"Insects, arachnids and some species of crab," Dragon answered the same time that Assault asked, "how is public relations being a problem?"

"She's to dangerous," Aegis answered deep in thought, "and at the same time, not family friendly enough for them to spin as a hero. What is PR's answer for this director?"

"The Vista treatment," Emily answered and almost the entire table groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me," Kid Win grumbled, "this cape is joining us willingly, and PR wants to neuter her to uselessness?" She's a combat multiplier, once she gets used to her powers, she'll be almost unstoppable."

"The Wards were not meant to be a combat formation Chris," Miss Militia said trying to calm the situation.

"They were also not meant to be used in a city like Brockton Bay," Gallant replied calmly. "In fact, the problem with this city is that the PRT and Protectorate have exactly two options if everything were to go to Hades tomorrow. Either you could field the Wards as a combat unit and possibly beat down the gangs as they showed themselves, or us and the entirety of the Protectorate could cover the withdrawal of all the civilians not involved in the gangs, leaving the city a warzone until such time as the forces could be brought to bear to retake it."

"And either way my head would be on someone's wall," Emily responded keeping Miss Militia from arguing the point. "Either the Chief-Director would have it for losing the city, or the Youth Guard would have it for using children as soldiers." At that point Emily Piggot hung her head in thought causing Miss Militia to speak up.

"Director," the patriotic themed cape said, "You're not thinking of going with the girl's idea from this morning, are you?"

"I'm seriously considering it," Piggot muttered, "I'm going to have to get her father's thoughts on it though, and preferably his permission."

Lung groaned as he picked his head up off of his desk and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Miranda is going to be pissed," he muttered to no one, "and Nemuri isn't going to be happy either." He had promised the both of them that he would not sleep in his office anymore unless it was absolutely necessary, and that even then he would let them know when that was going to happen. Still though he thought with a smile, It will be good to let them know that they are not alone in the world anymore. Looking at the big screen that he usually used to either watch the casino floor or his shows, (mostly his shows), the image of a familiar face, eerily similar to one he had last seen decades before and had thought easily a decade dead with his home island, stared back with a familiar rage bringing back the memories of his youth.

Years Earlier

"He's your son Shiro," Kenta heard his mother say to the strange man whose home they stood in front of. "You need to take responsibility for him." Kenta didn't know who the man was, all he knew was that his mother had brought him here when she had found out that Uncle Jiro had gotten him to run errands for the club. Behind the man stood a woman who was probably the man's wife, and a girl of maybe four years. They stood on one side of the doorway of the home that his mother had brought them to, while Kenta and his mother stood outside, and the man stood in the doorway itself.

"Bǎihé," the man sighed and then took another look at Kenta. He was big for his age of seven years, that was why Uncle had sent him to carry the messages, and now the strange man was eying him like he was measuring his mettle. "You are sure he's mine?" the man asked finally.

Kenta saw his mother seem to deflate in relief, "Yes Shiro," she said in a voice a little louder than a whisper. "He is definitely yours, there was no one else at the time that would dare to suffer your rage had they used me in such ways."

The man reached out and took his mother by the shoulder before pulling her into an embrace. "The two of you need to come inside then," he said stepping back and waving them inside. "Why now though?"

"Because Jiro put him to work and I won't have my son sucked down into that morass if I can avoid it." Kenta winced at the sound of his mother's voice. There was an edge to it there that he had never heard before, and he doubted he ever would want to hear directed at him.

The man simply nodded to that statement as if it was a simple fact and turned to the woman and child that had already been in the house. "Mami, Hitomi, this is Bǎihé and Kenta," he said. "Apparently Kenta is my son, and by bringing him here, Bǎihé will need a new place to stay as well since my old boss will take this as a betrayal."

"No, I won't," Kenta's mother said earning a raised eyebrow from both the man and his wife. "I have already arranged to go back to China. I couldn't keep your son from you though, and I didn't trust him with Jiro."

"Will your path be safe with Jiro against you like this?" the man asked, concern tingeing his voice.

Kenta's mother smirked and knowing smile, "Jiro doesn't know all the smugglers out there," she said. "I have a train I must catch though to make my boat. Take care of him Shiro, and Kenta," his mother turned to him and dropped down to look him in the face. "Listen to these people, they are your family, and your father will care for you and teach you as a father should." Kenta nodded, and his mother ruffled his hair before kissing him on the cheek. Standing she looked at the other adults, "Hopefully one day I will be able to return and see him, until then," his mother stopped and the man, his father continued.

"Until then he is family," the man said, "and the Takamachi family stands as one." The other woman and the girl nodded at this statement causing his mother to smile before bowing and leaving. Once his mother was gone his Father turned to him and running another eye over him grunted, "Very well then, Kenta," he pointed at the older woman. "This is my wife Mami," the woman bowed politely, and Kenta returned it properly, "And this is our daughter Hitomi."

The girl walked over and without warning hugged him tightly around his chest, "Yay, I now have an onisan," the girl bubbled happily, "Aiko-chan will be so jealous." Kenta could only smile as he wrapped his arms around his new sister.

Ten Years Later*

"You do this," Hitomi said from off to one side while Kenta went through the family forms against the training dummy. "and Pops is going to go ballistic. He might kick you out of the house for it."

"He was my best friend," Kenta grunted out between strikes, "and Jiro just killed him like you would kill a rabid dog that got close to the little children." Kenta lashed out with another series of blows, shattering some of the wooden poles that were the strike points on the dummy, "Besides, I'm not going to down there to join one of the gangs, just to exact payment for Toji's death.

Hitomi shook her head and let fly with the throwing knife that had been flipping between the fingers of her hand. "It won't matter Kenta," she said pulling another from up her sleeve. "It won't be a sanctioned action, and thus he is going to blow his top."

"Who is going to blow their top," their father's voice said entering the dojo causing both teens to jump to stop what they were doing to spin to face their father. "And why," the elder man continued, "would this person blowing their top matter?"

Kenta and Hitomi locked eyes for a moment and Hitomi's silent, slight shrug told Kenta she had no idea how long the old man had been listening. "Well you blowing your top is very significant father," Kenta answered honestly.

The elder man smiled wryly and nodded, "Indeed it would be my son," Shiro said. "But why would I blow my top, have either of you done something that would anger me?"

"Not that I know of father," Hitomi said sliding her throwing knife back into its arm sheathe. "But some news that has recently come to Kenta has the potential of rousing your anger should it be acted upon."

Their father grunted in thought, and then spoke. "You seek to take the Yakuza's bounty on Jiro then," was all he said.

"Not for the money, nor for the Yakuza's sake," Kenta replied, "Toji was a friend back then, and he leaves behind both a sister and a wife."

"A wife," his father said, "at your age?"

Kenta shook his head, "He was a year older than me, and his wife is American born. They met when she came to Japan to look into her heritage." His father lifted an eyebrow in question, "I don't know if they were married yet, but I do know they were expecting a little girl soon."

His father looked away for a moment, obviously in thought, "You would take the life of one you looked upon once as family, and then what, give the woman and her child the money, hoping they could go back to her parents in America?"

"Is there a better way for justice to be served father?" Kenta asked. "If so, then please, for the sake of all the spirits tell me so I may act and bring peace to the soul of one I still think of as a brother."

His father sighed, "Give me three days my son," his father said softly as he turned toward the family shrine at the other end of the dojo. "In three days, I will either have an answer, or else I will give you my blessings."

"Thank you, father," Kenta said bowing.

"Don't thank me yet boy," the old man said with almost a snarl, "you may find that my way is to leave it be and let others handle it. Vengeance is not something we practice here, nor do we seek death for the sake of our own hearts." The two teens bowed, and their father closed the shoji that separated the dojo from the shrine area.

"I don't think you are going to get what you want Kenta," Hitomi said as she walked to the target board and retrieved her throwing knife.

"And yet I have a good feeling about this," Kenta countered smiling as he withdrew the boards from the strike training dummy and replaced them by sliding in new ones. "He will find a way to see Jiro dead, and then maybe my mother can return to see me." Hitomi only sighed before she left the dojo.

Three days later*

"Walk out that door and you will never be welcome here again," Shiro's voice was as cold and sharp as the steel that made his blades. "Your mother wanted me to keep you out of that life, and I have done all I could over the years to do just that. That your friend died is a tragedy, but killing Jiro won't bring him back, and it won't bring peace to his wife and daughter. Nor will it protect them."

"And so another death goes unavenged father?" Kenta's voice was just as cold as their father's. "I cannot continue to do nothing, and Jiro's death solves so many people's problems."

"And you must be the person who brings about that death?" his father asked. "When was it appointed that you, Takamachi Kenta, were the executioner, the final arbiter of justice for the spirits of the dead?"

"Never," Kenta answered. "And yet there he sits, the people he can reach cowed and fearful of him, or else on the run and hiding. No more father, I can let it stand no more."

"Then go, willful child," his father said in a growl, "but never return to this home or this dojo, you are no longer welcome here." Kenta nodded and stomped out of the dojo, grabbing a bag of clothes that he had put aside in anticipation of the trip. He never heard his father's final words of, "Spirits protect you my child," as he left.

Lung picked up the phone from his desk and punched the auto-dial. Two rings later a young woman's voice answered. "No Miranda I'm fine," he said gently. "I found out something yesterday and there was a bit too much celebrating it after work." He listened to the young woman on the other end of the phone, mostly nodding to himself. "That's fine thank you, now please, put her on." The voice on the other end changed to that of a small child and Lung smiled. "Hello sweetie how was your day?" he asked. After listening to the child chatter away on the other end for a few minutes, mostly spent nodding to himself as he was berated, he said, "I know sweetie, I'm sorry, I'll try not to let it happen again alright?" The response made him smile. "Alright, I have to get back to work, but maybe soon I'll have a surprise for you." The chatter on the other end made him smile, "Well I can't tell you silly," he answered, "then it wouldn't be a surprise. I love you." He finished and after the voice on the other end answered him, he hung up the phone. Pushing the intercom button, he spoke his assistant, "Souta, I need you to get me some contact information for the Takamachi girl."

"Right away Lung-sama" the person on the other end of the intercom replied causing Lung to sit back and relax a bit. Soon niece, he thought, soon you will have more family than you ever thought you might.

Taylor*

Visiting the mall accompanied by Glory Girl and Panacea had been eye opening in a way. Vicky was definitely the queen bee type of social butterfly while Amy either seemed to prefer to be the tag along or had just become so used to the role that it wasn't funny. On the other hand, she was always the one to call her sister down for letting go with her aura or flying indoors. Frankly it reminded me of Emma and myself back in the good old days. Akane, bless her, was thankfully all business and didn't let Vicky get to out of hand when picking out clothes. That said, as we waited for the door to the Wards area to open for us, we still had to juggle half a dozen clothing bags, plus a grocery bag each.

"Are you ready for this?" Akane asked me as she settled the domino mask over her eyes.

"I guess," I answered as I settled my own. "What about you?"

Akane smirked, "Honey, I was born ready." Her answer didn't surprise me, Akane had a confidence that I could only wish for. Maybe I could get there with time now that I didn't have the trio ruining everything I did, but then again I had always been a bit of a wallflower even before Emma turned on me.

No I thought, This is the time for new beginnings, a time to become a new me. With that thought in mind I squared my shoulders and stood tall, I would master my powers and become the best hero the bay had ever seen. It was that or die trying.

Akane*

I watched Taylor square her shoulders while pulling herself out of the slight slump that I had become accustomed to seeing in her, That's right girlfriend, I thought, show the world you're not some little rag doll to be tossed around. You're the one with the badass power set that everyone is going to underestimate. I knew I didn't need to fall, or let Taylor fall into Shadow Stalker's mindset and become a bully, but I doubted that it would be the way Taylor would go. She had been the victim, and something in me said that she would be the first one to pull a bully up short once she had the confidence to do so.

The door to the Wards area seemed to open almost immediately at that point, so we strutted in as if we owned the place. Missy turned to look at us from the kitchen island and smiled. No, not Missy, Vista now that she was in costume, her visor hiding the upper half of her face. "A, T, you're back." She said rushing over and helping us with our bags.

"Yeah," I answered. "I'm going to be here pretty much daily, and T is supposed to meet her dad here later. So where is everyone?"

"Gallant is out on patrol with Aegis and Browbeat right now." She answered, "That just leaves me here on Console duty with these two jokers for the time being since Shadow Stalker is back in Juvie."

"Hi, I'm Clockblocker," one of the two boys sitting on the couch said with a wave, "and this is my good friend Kid Win." Vista snickered slightly at that causing me to raise an eyebrow in question.

"He used to say partner in that introduction," she replied smiling, "until one day when an older girl on the tour commented that it must be nice to have his boyfriend right there with him all the time." She snickered again, and the two boys went a little red in the face while Clockblocker scowled at her. "He turned as red as a tomato but couldn't do more than stammer at the comment." Taylor and I both smiled and shook our heads.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if the girl hadn't pulled her girlfriend close to her and stole a kiss," Kid Win commented softly, obviously focusing on whatever they were working on. I looked at Vista who only nodded, confirming what had been said.

"Well don't feel so bad CB," I said with a smile, "I'm sure someone out there will warm up to you someday." It seemed like a good idea to change the subject, so I asked them, "What are you working on?"

"Geometry," Kid Win answered, "I have discalculia and a distinct problem focusing on the classwork, so I have to study harder to keep my grades up."

"Ah, I'm the complete opposite," I answered walking over and looking at the book between the two boys. "Which one are you on?"

"Number twenty," Clockblocker replied. I nodded and after looking at the question turned around went back to the table.

"I just happened to pick up something of a mnemonic that will cover that one," I said reaching into one of the four bags I had set down. "Do you want it?"

"Absolutely," Clockblocker answered, "I don't have Kid's problems, but math is still not one of my strong suites."

"Alright," I said pulling the item out of the bag and holding it behind my back before walking back over.

The boys in my absence has moved their papers and books to the coffee table, making room for me between them on the couch, "Give it to me and we'll see if it's something we've tried with Kid before." I lifted and eyebrow at Kid Win and he nodded, so I shrugged and hit Clockblocker in the face with the cream pie.

Emily Piggot collapsed into her chair in shock at the assault her niece had just committed on her own future team mate. Behind her she could hear the stifled laughter of Assault and the cracks of Battery hitting him, trying to shut him up. "Dragon," Armsmaster said calmly, "could you please show us the problem in question?"

"Certainly Collin," the Canadian tinker replied making an inset view on the screen with a blow up of the math problem.

Almost immediately there was a pair of slaps that were not Battery followed by the thump of a body hitting the floor. Turning around to look at the assembled capes she found Assault convulsing on the floor, the act of suppressing the laughter having caused him to fall out of his seat while Miss Militia and Triumph had both smacked themselves in the face. Triumph over his mouth to contain his laughter while Miss Militia had facepalmed at the apparent joke. Collin lifted an eyebrow in a decidedly Nimoy fashion and deadpanned, "Well, she's not wrong, the answer is pie."

Taylor*

Two things were happening, the first was that I couldn't believe that Akane had just hit one of the Wards in the face with a cream pie, and the second was that I couldn't seem to stop laughing about it. Looking over at Vista as Clockblocker swore vengeance with a very accurate mimic of Bugs Bunny saying, "You know of course, this means war." I could see her still laughing as well while Kid Win facepalmed and wrote the answer down.

"Do I at least get to know the true name of my opponent?" he finally asked.

"Only if I get to know yours good sir," Akane answered suppressing a snigger.

Pulling back the cowl of his costume to expose his entire head he answered, "Dennis Dynamite, and you are?"

"Akane Takamachi," Akane answered pulling off the domino mask before looking at me.

"Taylor Hebert," I said, pulling my domino mask off as well, "it is nice to meet all of you."

Vista kicked up her visor to on top of her head still chuckling, "I have to get back on the console, but then you two already know me."

Kid Win pulled his helmet off, "Chris Fairchild," he said, "and thank you, now I know I'll always remember that something is Pie." Akane only grinned and walked back to me at the island table.

"So now what?" Dennis asked as I grabbed a kitchen towel from where it hung next to the stove before throwing it at him. "Are you just going to leave me to clean up this mess?"

"No," Akane answered before grabbing a roll of paper towels out of her sack. "But I thought I should have the proper tools to clean up with as opposed to making more work with something that has to be washed." Dennis sighed and nodded before bringing the towel over to the table

"I'll just take this stuff back to our rooms and then go sit with Vista," I said eyeballing the situation. "We have tests tomorrow and Thursday, and then we have to meet with PR on Friday." Akane nodded and grabbing the garbage can, went to help clean up the mess from the pie.

Chapter 4: Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Taylor*

"Mr. Chambers," Akane's voice was thankfully enough to pull my mind out of the crushing loop that was caused by the man's garish clothing choices. Glenn Chambers was built similar to Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller, however where the stage magician was probably heavily muscled due to the needs of his profession, Glenn Chambers ran heavily to fat which he covered in suits that would make the eyes of a Hollywood pimp water in their garish blending of pastels and prints. "We were told to meet with you over costuming and branding?"Akane, thankfully, seemed unfazed by the man's clothing choices as she stood their waiting for the adult's answer.

"That's right Miss Takamachi," he answered offering his hand over his desk. "Please have a seat and make yourselves comfortable." We shook his hand and then sat down after which he handed us each a portfolio folder and started to talk. "I need you to look through these folders and make any suggestions that come to mind as to what else we could do where your powers and public perception are concerned." Akane nodded and started going through her folder so I opened mine and looked. Powers looked right, though the number of them slightly surprised me, and then I looked at the name suggestions and almost froze. What the hell is this guy thinking I thought and then shook my head before turning the page and glancing at Akane who apparently had similar thoughts

Looking at the new page I went wide-eyed before turning the page again. Weapon options were, alright who the hell thought this was a good idea for fighting crime? I was about to say something to that effect when Akane beat me to it with a very loud, "What the ever-loving fuck?"

I knew from Aunt Em's complaining in both phone calls over the years and over the last week at home that the Wards and Protectorate systems were terminally fucked in most cities and more beholden to public relations than anything else. This city in particular just seemed to be the biggest loser and in her eyes as it was passed over for more "important" (read flashier or more politically important) cities where personnel and requisitions were concerned. If nothing else proved her point, what was sitting in front of me did. The name was a nothing, no reference to anything I could do power wise or skill wise. The costume on the other hand had no armor to speak of and it looked like either something one of those Irwin brats would wear in Australia crossed with a boy scout uniform. There was nothing of any real use. Adding to that, between all the pockets and doodads that were in them, I looked like a damn RC control tinker. The look of shock on Glenn Chambers face told me that either no one had ever bothered to question him on things like this, or he couldn't believe that a child would do it. All told, I honestly felt that my question was appropriate. "Taylor let me see yours a moment please."

Looking at Taylor's I winced almost as hard as I had with mine. Again, little to no armor, bright primary color, and while the name idea could work, the "Appropriate insects list" could go hang itself. I tossed both files up on the desk and looked at the idiot across from us. "Did you look at these things?" I asked him while pulling out my phone.

"Yes," he answered eyeballing me, "I didn't see anything inherently wrong with them."

"Mr Chambers," Taylor interjected, "In that folder all I could see was promotional ideas and a couple of cutesy costumes. There was nothing about any defenses, active or inactive, and there was no offensive ability whatsoever. Are your public relations people unknowledgeable about the situation in Brockton Bay?"

"The situation in this city is immaterial Miss Hebert," Glenn replied in a tone that practically screamed, I'm an adult, I know better than you. "Quite frankly miss, you are Wards" he continued in the same tone. "That means that you will be kept the safe areas and used strictly for public relations. If either of you had ideas about going out and stopping crime you will have to put them off until you are 18 and have joined the Protectorate."

I snorted hitting the call button and then putting the phone on speaker, "Of course," I muttered as the phone started to ring, "damn REMFs." His eyes went wide at that comment even as the phone connected.

"Piggot," the voice almost echoed in the man's office.

"Director," I said the smile that was on my face evident in my voice, "I'm sorry for disturbing you but as we figured PR is being their usual pain in the ass."

"Director," Chambers said glaring at me, "you know that the Wards are there to show the public that the Protectorate and the PRT have things well enough in hand that their junior members have no fear of moving around and meeting the public. They're PR assets, not shock troops."

"Glenn," the director answered calmly, "you are right, they are not shock troops, however you seem to be under the misconception that Brockton Bay has the ability to not need to use them as anything but Public Relations assets. Now, Akane, Taylor, one at a time lay out your problems with what PR has proposed and we'll see if we can't come up with some sort of compromise."

"Well the most blatant thing is that they have me looking like an Irwin that joined the boyscouts, and Taylor dressed up as a giant ladybug. Neither costume has any armor what-so-ever, and they nixed any useful insect in Taylor's local repertoire.

"Costuming can be changed," Chambers said with a sigh, "since names haven't been chosen yet. But there will be no obvious armor and the insect list isn't changing, the public won't stand for it."

"Costuming and names are not the main problems here mister Chambers," I replied almost snarling at him. "May I explain exactly what the problems are ma'am?"

"By all means Akane," the director answered, "Glenn, I suggest you sit down and take notes, one of these girls grew up here and is in front of you because of what was arguably our fuck up, the other one, well I'm sure Akane can enlighten you."

"First of all," I said standing and setting the phone on the edge of the desk next to the file folders. " The central point of almost all my points is that this is Brockton Bay. When George Lucas wrote that line about a hive of scum and villainy he could have been describing this place, and I knew that before I came here from Japan." I pinned Chambers with a glare as I said that first part, and then started to pace the short distance across the carpet in front of his desk as I continued. "This is a city," I continued, "that is probably within the top ten in the US, if not the world, of capes per capita. It has three major gangs, all led by parahumans, that are at current in a state of cold war as they wait for one of them to show either a weakness that can be exploited, or else a strength that will allow them to try and take over."

Turning I placed my hands on his desk and glared at him again, "That sir," I said, "means this town is a powder keg just waiting for some idiot to light the fuse. The fact that two of those gangs are known to run guns into the city just means that body armor is a necessary item if anyone is not a brute and wants to survive."

"That would not be a problem so long as you kept to the safe sectors of what the police, Protectorate and the PRT had cleared." Glen returned. "I don't see where your argument trumps mine young lady."

"That is because you are not from here Mr. Chambers," Taylor said with a growl. "When you have a school administration that lets them wear their colors and recruit members in the school itself, when, if you're a minority there are sections of what are supposed to be Ward Safe patrol routes that if you are a minority you could be lynched on. No Mr. Chambers, you don't understand this city at all."

I nodded at Taylor and turned my attention back to Chambers, "In Tokyo it wasn't this bad," I said. "Yeah the gangs and especially the Yakuza and the Triads had their fingers into everything. If you had a business you paid protection in some form or fashion, and that was with a Sentai on practically every corner. You barely outnumber the ABB, and are outnumbered by a bunch of Nazis, so sticking your head in the sand and saying that everything is normal falls on deaf ears here Mister Chambers."

"Now," I said as I started to pace again. "The next issue is this limiting of Taylor's minions. Doing this severely limits her flexibility. Outside of your requirements Taylor could go anywhere in the world save the Arctic and Antarctic and have a large swarm to fight with within seconds. Placed within their bounds however, she is a sitting duck with practically no use at all. She wouldn't even have to endanger her identity as she could either make bug clones or else make a mask out of insects."

Chambers held up his hand to get me to stop, "I understand this, in fact this is part of the reason for limiting her as much as Public Relations has called for," he said. "Fact of the matter is that she is just to damn scary to the population. In fact, she is easily the scariest cape in the city."

"Chambers," the director replied, "this is a city that is home to a villain cape that single handedly fought an Endbringer to an effective standstill and another that is a verified Neo-Nazi who turns himself into a werewolf of hooks and blades. I think the populace can handle a few bug swarms that aren't actually attacking them"

Chambers glowered at my phone sitting on the edge of his desk like he wanted to smash it, so I decided to twist the knife a little more. "Furthermore," I continued, "do you know that spider silk has a high tensile strength. Multiple layers, probably with reinforcing plates could turn any costume made out of it into a flexible armor suit that is good for all weather. Done right it would probably turn short range small arms fire, but that would have to be tested."

The PR head actually sat back to think about that one, so I decided to hit him with the next problem. "Then there is the idea that sending us out into the afore mentioned powder keg, with no armor, should be done in bright, primary colors that make you stand out. This is fine if you are a brute like Aegis and can soak the gunfire, but for squishy folks like me and Taylor, it's suicide."

"That's why you're only supposed to be doing patrols in safe areas to show the flag, and PR events in already secured locations." Chambers snarled back at me. "Your never supposed to be in any danger, at all."

"That's why I asked if your people had any knowledge of the city," I said calmly and then sat down before speaking again. "Because in Brockton Bay, there are no such places."

Glenn turned the chair to where he could see out the three-quarter window and smiled. Neither the local director, a woman known for being a hard-ass, nor really anyone outside of Public Relations knew this, but the initial relations offering was always a test to see what was most important to the parahuman in question. There were effectively three types of parahuman and PRT Management, the first were people who went with the offered package and were usually only interested in their image. This was not a bad thing necessarily, they were the ones meant to be the faces of the Protectorate and Wards, the ones that were shown to the cameras and given flashy but empty positions.

The second and third types started with questions and usually wanted to be effective as opposed to approachable. The difference between the two was in their PRT management. Type two members would bow to the pressure of the PRT directors and either go with the offered package, or at best force minor amendments to the proposed overall theme. Type twos were rare amongst the Wards because parents usually went along with the approved idea regardless of the Ward's ideas simply because the parent wanted them "safe".

Type threes were practically unheard of amongst the Wards because the parents usually could be counted on to fight their children in the name of the child's safety, and their PRT management usually aided in that. This, as miss Takamachi had pointed out, was Brockton Bay, a city that arguably shouldn't have a Wards presence at all because of how dangerous it was, and here of all places he had found not just one, but two type threes. They were type threes because not only did they disdain the arguable safety of the Ward's position but had managed to talk both their guardians and the local PRT management into backing them. At this point his options were to either sign off on the teen's ideas and let it go, or go to the Youth Guard and the Chief Director and get them to fight it. Looking out over the city's skyline he could almost see the line in the streets, the point where things went from being passable, livable and arguably safe, into a steaming pile of crap. "Alright," he muttered to himself, "what do I do this time?"

"Emma Barnes and Madison Clements," The two girls raised their heads from where they had been seated for the hearing. The female guard guided the pair of them toward the defense table as a man that Emma noticed was not her father stepped forward.

"Michael Foster for the defense your honor," the man stated as the two of them reached where the guard wanted them to stand. Looking back over her shoulder Emma could see her mother in the audience near the center aisle along with Madison's father.

Turning back to the judge, a stern looking black man with a bald head, Emma could see the state attorney step forward with a pair of case files as the clerk read the charges. "The accused are each charged with ten counts of assault and battery, one count of attempted murder with a biological weapon, and conspiracy to commit the same."

As the clerk read the charges Emma's eyes grew larger and the sound seemed to fade as her mind whirled, Attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, what the hell are they talking about? she thought, I mean yeah we roughed her up, that would be assault, or battery I can't remember which, but we never tried to kill her. Her lawyer, who's name she remembered her father mentioning as an associate at his firm was talking, trying to get her bail she thought, at least that was the plan and the reason they were in front of the judge today. The problem was she couldn't hear what was being said. Now her mother and Mr. Clements were stepping forward to speak to the judge and apparently answer the DA's questions.

Suddenly her lawyer had turned to her and trying to say something, then someone shook her and sound returned along with the world coming back into focus, "What?" she asked.

"The judge asked if you understood the conditions Miss Barnes," her lawyer said.

"Conditions?" she asked turning back to the judge who was frowning.

"Yes Miss Barnes," the judge answered. "If I release you on bail there are going to be conditions to your release. First, you will have absolutely no contact with your victim Taylor Hebert or her family. Second, you will wear an ankle monitor and through it be monitored at all times during your release. If you are released after the trial the monitor will be removed at that point. Removing the anklet will send out an alarm and will see your bail revoked and you returned to juvenile detention to await your trial. Finally, you are restricted to either be at school, or at home, and by that, I mean your home. You may not go anywhere else save pre-approved doctors appointments. Failure to adhere to these requirements will also see your bail revoked and you returned to juvenile detention. Do you understand and accept these restrictions and requirements?"

Akane*

"So," Taylor said as we sat watching Parian put on one of her puppet shows for a mass of children and their minders. "Are you ready for school on Monday?"

I tilted my head as I watched the brown and grey denim wolf chase after a green and grey gingham duck, "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," I answered as the children either grew angry or cried for the death of the duck. The group of kids were either from a day care somewhere towards Captain's Hill or were a Pre-K group with a lot of parental chaperones. The old Russian folktale was age appropriate though, and all of them were entranced by the movements of the different cloth scraps that made up the dolls. Glancing over at Taylor, I could see her lifting an eyebrow questioningly at me, so I continued, "I'm as ready now as I was when I walked into Winslow Monday morning." Taylor grimaced and I smiled at her before hugging her close to my side. "It won't happen again Taylor," I told her before dropping my volume so as not to be heard by the people around us. "And we are about to take this whole city for a spin, just you wait and see."

She snorted and smiled in response before grabbing my empty hot chocolate cup from where we had stopped at Starbucks before the show and heading towards the garbage can. I turned my attention back to the show as the children started to cheer. Peter was a mass of red cotton with blue denim legs and was perched proudly on top of the "wolf" doll as the "hunters" carried the two back to town. Some of the children were still sad over the death of the duck though, or at least until it was found, alive by the small bird to end the story. That, in of itself, also brought cheers, and the entire scene brought a smile to my face. I always enjoyed the smiles from small children, and I imagined that was part of what drove Parian to do these shows as well.

"Hey sweetheart," a voice called from one side of the square that housed the small, open air theater. The shout grabbed everyone's attention and pulled their gaze to the mass of filth covered humanity that stood on that side of the square. "I think it's time we had a serious talk about when your going to do one of your special shows for Skidmark."

"Merchants," Taylor muttered having come back over to me after disposing of our trash. I glanced at her again and could see the look of disgust on her face at the six thugs that were advancing on the crowd.

"Power up," I half asked, half warned as I cranked her power up to fifteen and then watched her face turn almost mint as she obviously fought the urge to vomit. "What's wrong?" I asked in a near whisper.

"They have so much," she muttered after a second of gaining her control back. "They are covered in lice and other body bugs its just so damn disgusting." I went pale at the thought and almost barfed right there as well. "Even with my power normal I could probably fight one blindfolded and track their every move there are so many on them." I matched her full body shiver with my own shudder.

While we had been talking, the group of landfill rejects had moved closer to the crowd sending the children scrambling for parents and caretakers while Parian started to pack up her show. "You know you owe us for not fucking you up, right blondie?" the apparent leader of the group said in a menacing tone. "Though I suppose we could call it even if we took the money from these rich fucks and their parents."

"You will do no such thing," a new voice with a thick German accent said from the other side of the square drawing everyone's attention there. Standing there was a strange, older man leaning on a cane with six empire thugs backing him. "You and your trash will leave Madame Parian and these people alone and return to the landfill from which you spawned or else my friends and I will, how is you American's say it?" he paused a moment for drama's sake before continuing. "Ah yes, we shall take out the trash, ja?"

"Who ever heard of Empire to the rescue," I muttered causing Taylor to snort slightly. Of course she was the only one who was likely to find it funny, because as bad as running from the Merchants might be on its face, being caught in the opening salvo of a gang war would be worse, and these civilians knew that.

I fired off a text to Aunt Emily one handed that I hoped wasn't gobbledygook, or at least if it was would get her to send some kind of help. They were probably all unpowered so I could at least keep my secret and possibly help a few civs clear, but as each group started to finger knife hilts and body chains, I knew that either Taylors ID was about to become public, or else we would need a miracle. Surprisingly, miracles were apparently Taylor's other super power.

Taylor*

"Gentlemen!" I yelled stepping up on top of the bench that Akane and I had been watching the show from. "Before you fight, I would ask that you listen to me for a minute." The two leader's heads had snapped to me even as I had raised my voice, but the man with the cane nodded, and the Merchant struck a kind of swagger pose and waved, so I continued. "We all agree that this is an area that depends on the crowds like this one to survive yes?"

The Nazi nodded, his eyes never leaving me while the Merchants mumbled amongst themselves for a moment before the leader yelled back, "What's your point bitch?"

"My point is," I said waving my hand at the civilians who had come for the show. "Scared and possibly worse, wounded adults neither bring, nor allow their children to go somewhere that they are likely to be hurt." Both of the group leaders nodded at this, so I continued, "I propose that both sides allow the civilians to withdraw, to leave unmolested, and then you have your little fight while Miss Parian makes up her mind."

"We can allow this," the Nazi said calmly.

"Whatever," the Merchant leader snarled and with that I gestured at the parents and chaperones who grabbed their charges and practically flooded out the parking lot exit.

Parian*

To be frank, I was surprised. That girl had probably just saved several lives by getting through to both sides and convincing them to let the audience leave. "Wundabar fraulein," the Nazi leader said with a soft slow clap. "You know the Empire is always willing to take in quick minded people of the right persuasions."

"Yeah, but no," the tall brunette answered having turned to look at the Empire group. "Thanks, but no thanks, I'm not interested. Besides, you wouldn't like my friends." The group of Merchants started laughing at how she had shut down the Empire's offer, they stopped quickly though when she turned her attention on them however. "Don't laugh to hard you bunch of landfill rejects," she said shutting up the Merchants as well. "The Empire's soldiers at least know how to bathe. Now Miss Parian, if you would step over here, they can begin their fight and beat each other senseless."

I nodded and grabbing the reigns of the pack horse that I had made out of my fabric led it and its loads of appliques and doll parts toward the exit. "Merci beaucoup," I said as I reached her causing the young woman to nod. Looking back over my shoulder I could see her and her friend backing away from the square, one hand each on the flanks of my pack pony.

"Alright gentlemen," the girl called out as we started down the stairs toward the parking lot, "it's all yours." The roar from the two groups was soon followed by grunts and the clangs of pipes meeting each other from being swung. I refused to look back at the carnage that was happening behind me, my focus completely on the parking lot ahead.

Reaching the parking lot showed an ambulance, a paddy wagon, and a PRT sprayer team dismounting from another cargo van along with a dozen of the Brockton Bay Police Department. Turning I looked at my rescuers and asked, "Who are you?"

"So," Parian said over her green tea, "let me be sure I understand you correctly. You wish to trade materials that you can make, and in exchange you want me to make you each a costume, plus one other." Taylor and I nodded to that so the cloth working cape continued with a question. "What kind of material are you looking to offer?"

"Spider silk," Taylor answered pulling a swatch of fabric that I knew she hadn't had before out of her fanny-pack. "This is just a sample, but I can get it made in bolts to varying thicknesses, basically whatever you deem necessary to make bullet resistant clothing, with pockets for bullet-proof panels."

As Taylor spoke, I watched Parian's eyes widen, and when she felt the undyed piece of cloth she smiled. "Very interesting," she said after a minute before eyeballing each of us up and down. "We may actually be able to work a deal here, however, you are offering me quite a bit of trust for someone you just met."

"You have a reputation," I answered calmly. "You don't play the games, and you try to stay out of the cape scene in favor of performing your puppet shows and creating breathtakingly beautiful fashion. Today was the worst it has ever been so far, but both the gangs and the Protectorate are looking to recruit you for various reasons rather than leave you a rogue."

"Are you going to make me the same kind of offers they do?" Parian asked and I shook my head.

"No," I answered, "if you choose to join the side we are on, you will do it of your own volition. We will neither pressure you nor inform anyone of anything we learn about you. That is the code isn't it, even when you learn them, the civilian face of a cape is sacrosanct."

Parian seemed to smile, (it was difficult to tell with her mask) before taking a sip of her tea through a straw. "One would think that yes," she said. "The truth, however, is that power allows one to ignore that rule, especially if you have annoyed more than one person of power. The pair of you strike me as the heroic type so let me point this out. When you annoy people, you make them enemies, and in this city, there are three enemies you don't want to have at the same time, The Empire, The ABB and the PRT."

"And if you have the support of one of those three?" Taylor asked.

"Then the other two will generally leave you be to a degree." Parian answered. "However, I simply wish to be my own person. "That said, I will do this for you. In thanks for your help if nothing else, though I do wish to trade for your material." As she spoke, she pulled an ink pen out of her bag as well as a sketch pad. "This is the name and number of a classmate of mine who acts as my face so to speak," she said jotting down a name and number across the bottom corner of a page before carefully tearing it out. "You can call phone her after three this afternoon and she will be available to get your measurements and work with you on a design. Once I have the fabric it should not take much time to produce the costumes." She smiled at us, "Unfortunately though I must leave now, farewell."

Taylor and I both nodded to her as she got up and quietly left. "Well that went better than expected," Taylor commented downing the last of her tea. I drank down my own, now cold, hot chocolate before nodding.

"I didn't expect the Empire and the Merchants to show up though." I answered. "What do you think though, will this work?"

Picking up the piece of paper that Parian had left on the table, Taylor looked at it and shrugged, "I don't know, let's ask Sabah in an hour or so." Taylor handed me the piece of paper with the name Sabah ibn Salim written on it with what was obviously a cell phone number. I punched the number into my phone and saved it to my contacts.

"Yeah," I said looking from my phone to the clock on the wall that was showing a little after two in the afternoon. "You want to deal with paperwork, or window shop the Lords Street market?" Taylor's response was to laugh as she walked out the coffee shop's door and turn toward the docks area.

Taylor*

"Could I ask you two a question?" Parian's classmate Sabah said as she finished jotting down my measurements and looking at both sets with an air of thought.

"You can ask," Akane answered smiling,

"But we never guarantee an answer," I finish with a smile of my own causing Sabah to smile as well.

"That is understandable," the dark-skinned young woman replied. "Do you have anything planned for the Sunday after next?"

Akane and I shared a look before she asked, "Which one of us?"

"Both of you," Sabah answered. I looked at Akane who shrugged at me before both of us returned our attention to the clothier. "I need to ask a favor of you, and I hope you consider it before deciding."

"Ask," I said wondering what she could want. She only had measurements and names, so she couldn't know what we were going to be up to I consoled myself. "The worst we can do is say no."

She looked between us and sighed, "The problem is that I need some help, and the two people I had arranged to handle it are now sitting in the city jail. Could the two of you model some clothes for me?"

"Model clothes?" I practically whispered freezing in place with my eyes wide and staring. ME?

Akane*

"So, how do I look?" Taylor asked as she stepped out of the apartment's bathroom. It had taken almost twenty minutes for Sabah and I to calm Taylor down from the incipient panic attack that she had started into, but once we did, Taylor had been willing to at least give the outfits a try. In turn, Sabah had led us to a three-bedroom apartment close to the border between the ABB and the Merchants. The building was run down, and the apartment was full of people, but an older woman who I gathered was Sabah's mother or aunt ran the children out of the apartment in short order to give the three of us the room we needed to work. Most of the outfits Sabah had set aside for this were going to be long on me, as the model they had been planned for hit almost directly between Taylor's five foot ten, and my own five foot five. This of course meant that while they would be long for me, and a touch short for her, we needed to see how well she wore them before seeing if hemming them up for me would work better.

Turning, I looked at her and felt my jaw drop. Her hair had been pulled back into a scrunchie just behind and below her neck framing her face while the sky-blue sundress, which would have hit me mid-shin, sat with it's hem just above her knees. My eyes dropped to her bare feet once more, and I tried to lift them up to look at her face, but I just couldn't get past the hem of the skirt. My inner otaku was currently head desking, knowing that if this were an anime or manga that at best, I would be turning beat red with steam whistling out my ears, and more likely have comically catapulted over backwards due to an explosive nosebleed. Thankfully neither of these happened, and yet I was still unable to answer or raise my view past those marvelous legs to look my friend in the eyes.

"'araa 'ana hadha hu mjrd alainhiraf biqadr ma kunt abnat" the older woman's voice said finally dragging my attention away to the now laughing woman in a hadjab. "ela alaql hdha alnawe jadhdhab nsbyana , ela alrghm mn 'an 'iizhar qadr kabir min aljuld yjb 'an yakun mkhjlana lieayilatiha."

Now, even as something about what the woman said felt familiar, I could feel the blush starting to warm my cheeks. "al'umu , nahn duyuf fi hadhih al'umat , yjb 'an naetaniq bithaqafatina kathaqafatina hataa" Sabah said to her before turning to me and Taylor, "I'm sorry," she said to us, "my mother forgets we are no longer in Arabia and should embrace American culture even while gifting your nation with our own."

"Did," I started and then gestured for Sabah to come closer. She leaned in and I whispered in her ear, "Did your mother just call you and I both perverts?"

Sabah's eyes went wide as I said that and then leaned back and nodded. "You know how to speak Arabic?" she asked, and I shook my head no, "Then how?"

"I don't know," I answered, "it was practically instinctual."

"al'umu , nahn duyuf fi hadhih al'umat ," her mother said pointing at me. "yjb 'an naetaniq bithaqafatina kathaqafatina hataa"

"It wasn't like that madam," I replied causing the woman to raise an eyebrow. "I was confirming what I thought you had said, and the problem is that I don't know how I knew it."

"Would not be only person here with power." The woman croaked out before laughing and tottering off toward one of the bedrooms. Not that it mattered as instantly my head snapped first to Taylor who was looking at all of us wide-eyed before I turned back to Sabah who had just gone pale as a sheet.

"Well," Sabah said after her mother had left the room, everyone still looking at the door that had closed behind the woman. "If Akane's response is indicative of the reaction you will receive, then I have very little that I will need to do with things. Maybe take in the waistline with a ribbon belt to emphasize your hips and arrange for the stage to have a pair of open toed three-inch wedge heels. What do you think Akane?

"It looks really good," I muttered just loud enough to be heard trying to focus on something other than Taylor's legs. Of course, it was at that moment she decided to spin around, causing the skirt to flair out and highlight her legs even more and me to mutter under my breath, "Supiritto wa sore o teirā ni kuruwaseru, anata wa sore o itotekini yaru koto sura nai."

"You need to get into one of the outfits she has for you as well Akane," Taylor said a moment later, causing me to look up at her as she bent over toward me with one of the outfits in her hands. "I want to see what you look like in this one."

"You're starting to get into this aren't you?" I asked taking the dress with a slight grimace and starting toward the bathroom. I had worn skirts as a part my school uniform because I had to, but I was definitely not a fan of them, especially ones as confining as this outfit would be.

"Sorta," Taylor said with a shrug as Sabah started to tinker and make various adjustments to the sundress. "It at least brings back happier memories of my childhood."

I nodded and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me before I started stripping down to change clothes. The dress thankfully tightened with ties, so there were no buttons or clasps to have to deal with except for around the neck. Design wise, the dress was arguably a cross between a classic, spaghetti strap little black cocktail dress and an Ao Dai. The whole thing was a royal purple with a cut-out lace front backed with a slightly paler purple to show the shapes in the lace. The straps that held it up at the shoulders and connected the collar were about an inch wide and as I settled the dress into place, let the bosom of the dress sit a little lower than was probably intended. As I had figured, the skirt for it was similar to a LBD's pencil skirt giving very little room for someone to move above the knees. Thankfully it did stop at the knees instead of going for the full length that a normal Ao Dai would, but again the height difference between me and the intended model shifted the actual skirt down below my knees.

Finally dressed, I stepped back out of the bathroom in a shuffle instead of my usual stride, "Definitely need to adjust the lengths of something here Sabah," I said before looking up. Taylor was beaming at me in that blue sundress which had gained laces up the sides and between the breasts while I had been getting dressed, and now Sabah was coming over with a critical eye towards what changes and adjustments she was going to have to make to this dress to make it work for me.

"Yes, this definitely is the one for you," she muttered adjusting the top section and pinning the straps where they needed to be before kneeling down to adjust the skirt. "Take in the hem a little and it will be perfect." Internally I groaned, knowing this was going to be a long and drawn out process.

Taylor*

I looked up from the kitchen table as dad walked in from work, "Hey dad, how was your day?" I asked sliding away the book I had been reading.

"So, so," he answered, "Do you have any preferences for dinner tonight, or should I just pick somewhere to call for delivery?"

"I'm going to make us a salad to go with the steaks and potatoes I've prepped," I told him with a smile. "Then we can eat once the steaks and potatoes have cooked."

Dad smiled at that as it had been a while since we could afford steak, "Sounds good to me, but I can sense you either want to ask for something or are wanting to do something."

"How?" I asked, wondering how he knew that I wanted to ask something.

"I'm a parent," he answered, "Even when you were hiding what was happening at school, I knew something was happening, just not what, nor really how to ask." At that point he sighed, "I've spent a bit of time talking to Hannah," I looked at him questioningly, "Agent Washington." He answered and I nodded. "Anyway, we've been talking, and she explained that sometimes you just have to come out and ask bluntly, so what is it you want Taylor?"

"I want to invite Director Piggot and Akane out to dinner to thank them for all they've done for me and for us." I said and smiled as dad nodded. "Plus, Akane and I were asked to model a student's designs at a local fashion show next Sunday, so I figured we could go out to dinner afterwards."

Dad nodded in thought, and then, apparently in agreement "Sounds like a good idea," he said sitting down at the table across from me. "Now, tell me about this fashion show."

Notes:

(mother) I see this one is just as much a pervert as you are daughter.

At least that one is relatively attractive, even though showing that much skin should be shameful to her family.

(Sabah)Mother, we are guests in this nation, we should embrace their culture as our own even as we gift them with our insights.

(Mother)Don't go whispering sweet nothings in my daughter's ear young lady, I'm going to have to keep a very close eye on you apparently.

Chapter 5: Chapter 4

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

I woke with a clench, barely choking off the scream that seemed to fill my throat. From that point I don't know how long I lay there panting in my bed as I came down from the ecstasy of my dream. I do know that at some point I realized I was going to have to replace my clothes and bed sheets, so it couldn't have been too long, and when I was pulling the sheets off after changing my shorts I could see my alarm clock which showed that it was 3am.

Bed stripped and myself somewhat cleaned up from my nighttime adventure I carried the sheets to the laundry room off the kitchen of the apartment and started to load the washer as I tried to remember and make sense of the dream. Unfortunately, there was nothing but a mass of faces and hair, a dark-skinned redhead that was backed by flames, a fine boned blonde with darkness behind her, and a multitude of Asian women, only one of who I recognized. The last face though was someone I recognized immediately, and I cursed my brain for throwing my friend into that kind of dream. Sheets layered into the washer I added the detergent and set the machine, only to hear water running in the sink as I went to push the start button.

"Don't let me filling the coffee pot stop you from starting the laundry," Aunt Emily said shutting of the water. "I can tell something happened, and if you're doing laundry it wasn't a nightmare, or it was one hell of one." She gestured at me to go ahead and start the laundry load, so I did before stepping back into the kitchen where she was still filling the coffee maker. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really," I answered blushing deeply as I sat down at the kitchen island.

Aunt Emily grunted in consideration as she finished prepping the coffee maker and started it brewing. "So, do I need to expect calls to and from Tokyo at odd hours?"

"No Aunt Em," I answered before rubbing my face, "Tokyo and I broke up in the wake of the hijacking." Mayumi didn't have a problem with my powers, or so she claimed. No, her problem was the ease in which I had gutted a man with his own knife so that I could steal his weapons and the measures I had gone to so that I would have him alone to do so.

"Then do I need to have a word with someone on the team?" the question was logical, both as my guardian and as the local director, however it still had me staring at her wide-eyed. In response she gave me an indulgent smile, "Akane, as long as I'm not having to deal with Dennis in my home on an almost nightly basis, nor an enraged Glory Girl or Vista due to you chasing Dean Stansfield I don't really mind who you go after." The so long as it doesn't mess up the team didn't need to be stated. "Just don't end up pregnant ok," she stated, probably more calmly than she felt.

I smiled up at her as that wasn't exactly a problem, "Aunt Em," I said with a sigh. "The problem, or at least part of it, is that they don't know how I feel, and I don't know how they would feel about the situation themselves. They've been hurt recently, and, well I don't want to hurt them nor drive them away." At that point I muttered, "They've been hurt enough over the last few years."

Aunt Emily's eyes went wide at that point as she sucked in a large breath in surprise. The yell I expected though didn't come, only her muttering, "Fucking hell Akane," before getting up to fix herself a cup of coffee.

I had met Saotome Mayumi on my first day of school in Tokyo. She occupied the desk next to me in my class and in all honesty, I was probably a little standoffish as she struck me as an overly girly-girl who didn't even know how to throw a punch. That didn't matter when a pair of older boys decided to pick on her at recess that day. She had brought a doll with her, and the boys who were bigger, and arguably stronger than both of us, took it and pulled it apart in a show of both barbarity and cruelty. They never noticed me walking up behind them, nor the fact that I drew back the whiffle ball bat that I had taken from the class supplies and swung it like a golf club behind the larger of the two, hitting him right between his legs. His friend didn't get a chance to react either as I spun and put the same bat across the backs of his knees.

At that point I grabbed Mayumi with one hand and dragged her away towards the teacher who had yard duty that day. I ended up in trouble with the school, and my mother was called, but I was only scolded by the teacher and the vice-principal for taking matters into my own hands. Mom on the other hand was ecstatic, both that I had made a friend and that I had stood up for her myself. If the school had punished me, then mom rewarded me with some ice cream, inviting Mayumi and her mother along for the trip.

For almost the next ten years, Mayumi and I were inseparable, even when the school would put us in different classes, one of us would find a way to at least spend lunch and club time with the other. At 13 I had realized I had feelings of being more than just friends with Mayumi, and at 14 I had managed a stilted and red-faced confession of my feelings to her. I had been so embarrassed, and so worried that she would reject me I almost fainted when she took my hands and kissed me on the cheek. She felt the same way, and from that point on we were a couple. Mayumi's mother didn't seem to mind, and somehow managed to convince my mother that we would be fine. Mom, well she thought it was just a stage, and that sooner or later we would be giggling over boys instead of each other. The fact that I could beat the crap out of any boy in the school, and scared most of them senseless, didn't seem to matter. But then our class trip to Okinawa happened, and Mayumi looked at me with a look that I had never seen on her face directed at me. A look of fear at what I was capable of.

Sitting in the Wards common area I tipped back and finished off the first soda of my day. Being a twenty-ounce into my day at 7am struck me as being like an alcoholic and a pint in at that same point in the day.

In short, it was not a good thing. Still, I had not gotten back to sleep after waking up at 3am like I had. Back to bed yes, I had gone back to my room and laid down, however, I had not gotten another wink of sleep, instead I had spent the last three and a half hours contemplating both my past and my conversation with Aunt Emily. Being love struck over Taylor probably wasn't the best of ideas, and quite frankly, looking at it objectively it was obviously a want for a rebound relationship. I had lost both my best friend and the love of my, admittedly short, life in one turbulent trip, because in the wake of what had happened Mayumi had very politely, but very firmly said that it was over between us.

The other side of things was that Taylor didn't deserve to be a rebound relationship, either romantically or even as a best friend. She needed real friends who would have her back, not someone who could flake off at the worst possible moment because they found someone "more interesting" or "less stressful." Furthermore, Taylor had spent the last year and a half going through hell herself due to her previous best friend turning on her like a rattlesnake that wasn't being held properly. The work for Sabah would help her confidence, and getting her in a set of heels to practice in would probably be as easy as calling Vicky, and I would either have to help and possibly embarrass us both, or, I could leave her to someone else. This would embarrass only her, but that could be worse than the both of us being embarrassed since we could help each other there. I could handle being embarrassed; you didn't learn the art unless you could. Of course, that was because you would always find someone stronger than you to face and inevitably end up being put on your ass.

I sighed before tossing the plastic bottle into the recycle bin and laying my face onto my forearms with a moan. "Bloody dreams," I muttered to myself as I heard two people walk through from the barracks rooms and into the common room.

"Looks like someone had a bad night of it," one of them said in a not unkind tone. Quite frankly it sounded like someone that had been there themselves even though they were either projecting or else just mistaken. "Nightmares keeping you awake?"

"No," I growled raising my head enough to glare at Gallant and Aegis. Both were dressed for their patrol this morning, apparently about to go out. "Haven't had nightmares for years, I have a prayer to keep them away." I did too, having true faith in the military version of Psalms did wonders for one's psyche.

"Carlos, why don't you go ahead to the front door," Gallant said taking a seat and removing his helmet.

"Yeah yeah," Aegis replied, "no more than five minutes though, we need to get a move on."

Gallant nodded and then waited for the Wards Team Leader to leave the room. "I can see something is bothering you Akane," Dean said pulling his helmet off and setting it to the side as he sat down. "If you say it wasn't a nightmare, I'll believe you, but if it was, I understand."

"Dean," I said with a sigh. "If I say that it wasn't a nightmare, believe me it wasn't a nightmare." He nodded at that but kept the same concerned look as he watched me. He wasn't going to let it go, but I thought, Maybe if I give him a hint he'll back off. "You have a girlfriend, right Dean?" I asked him. It was a rhetorical question of course. It was as if everyone in the world seemed to know that Dean Stansfield was dating Victoria Dallon, aka, Glory Girl. He nodded in response, so I continued with my hint, "I'll assume you dream about her," another nod, and then the light bulb seemed to appear over his head as his face lit up. Ah good, he gets it.

"I understand Akane," he said getting up and pulling his helmet back on. "I'm sure things will work out between you and whoever it is you left behind. You seem like the kind of person who can make a long-distance relationship work."

Idiot, I thought as he walked away and I put my head back down. In the background I heard the door open and voices talk too low for me to understand or even recognize. I just had to wait long enough for the caffeine to kick in and I would be alright, and then arms were wrapping around me from behind.

"Don't worry Akane," I heard Taylor say as she hugged me from behind. "I'm here for you just like you're here for me."

Gods damn it Taylor, I thought as I felt my body relax in her arms, You don't know what you're saying. It had been a long time since I had been held like this, and my mind threw me back to it even as the light dimmed for me.

Interlude: Captain Takamachi Nanoha*

"Mamma," Nanoha heard her daughter call out and turned to look. The eight-year-old girl stood in the doorway to the National Police Captain's home office with a tablet in hand and a troubled look on her face. "That girl with our name is on the internet again mamma." Vivio said as she walked over and handed Nanoha the tablet, the video in question already cued up. "Are you sure she's not related to us, because she has your angry look down for certain."

Nanoha smiled fondly and patted her adopted daughter on the head. When Nanoha had been required to represent the department at Takamachi Hitomi's funeral, Vivio had seized on the family name and started to research anything involving the family name. She had found that the girl seemed to be something of a trouble magnet and someone who stood for what was right. Unfortunately, when trying to trace back the family lines to prove that they should adopt the girl so she could stay in Japan, Vivio had run into the usual problem of proving familial relationships. The family registers only went back to the 1940's as the ones prior to that had been destroyed when the allies firebombed Tokyo. Nanoha had tried to assuage the girl's irritation by telling her that the likelihood was that that they were not related and that having the same surname was a coincidence. "What happened this time?" Nanoha asked.

"I don't know exactly," Vivio answered. "My English isn't that good, and they are talking awful fast. What I saw was Akane-chan come into the scene, kick one girl in the knee while slamming her head into a locker before she pivots, ducks and slams her palm into another girl's chest. They were doing something bad I'm sure, she isn't the type to just go and hurt someone without a good reason."

"Do you want me to watch it and explain it to you?" Nanoha asked.

"Please," Vivio said and when Nanoha shifted things around a bit, climbed into her mother's lap.

Starting the video, Nanoha noted the cut in text and read it aloud, "This is fifteen minutes into the original video," she explained, "it also provides a link to the uncommented video." She watches as the orphaned girl walked into the scene and did just what her daughter had described with a professionalism that spoke of good training and discipline. She blanched though at what the girl said as she glares at the crowd. This girl isn't playing! she thought as she watched Akane organize the crowd and respond to the situation. "Those two girls she hit trapped someone in that locker," Nanoha explained to her daughter, "Akane is now organizing the crowd and getting them to help her get the person out."

"Oh," Vivio said thoughtfully. "Why would someone do that?"

"What," Nanoha asked, "shove someone in a locker and lock them in?" The little girl nodded in Nanoha's lap and Nanoha thought hard. "Some people just enjoy doing mean things to other people sometimes," she stated sadly. "Others take great joy in stopping those people and doing nice things to help those that have been mistreated."

"Are the people who enjoy doing mean things just bad, or is there something wrong with their heads?" Vivio asked causing Nanoha to pause instead of giving a rote answer.

"It depends sweetheart," she finally said after a moment of thought. "Some of them are just bad people, some have something wrong in their head, and some are a mixture of both, one feeding off of the other." At this point Nanoha sighed and smiled slightly, "Thankfully, as a police officer, it's not my job to figure out which is which, just to stop them from hurting people."

"And what about Akane-chan?" Vivio asked.

"It's not her job," Nanoha said before smiling slightly, "but I imagine that anyone who hurts anyone else around her is likely to regret it."

Vivio thought about this for a moment before she nodded and smiled. "Good," she said climbing out of her mother's lap and accepting back her tablet. "Akane-chan seems to have a sense of justice that mimics your's momma. It will ensure her friends are safe, I'm sure." With that the eight-year-old left the room, probably to update her "Akane-chan" scrapbook.

Interlude: MITHRIL*

"Hello Sagara," Gunnery Sergeant Jones said as he stood in the passageway outside the captain's office and the Sergeant came to stand beside him. "Do you know what this is about?"

"No Gunny," Sagara answered as he stood and waited to be seen. "All I was told was to report to the captain's office. Gunnery Sergeant Jones just grunted and then stood there outside the hatchway and waited.

It wasn't a long wait however as moments later Melissa Mao stuck her head out of the outer office door and spoke, "Gunny, Sagara, good you're here, please come in." Stepping back, the Sergeant-Major made room for the two of them to enter before leading the way into the captain's inner office.

"Ah good," Captain Testarossa said from her seat. Lieutenant Commander Kalinin and Commander Mardukas sat in chairs on either side of the captain's desk and Sagara, Mao and himself stood in front of the desk. "We have some questions regarding the incident with the class trip and the airliner."

"I'm assuming things that were not specifically covered by our after-action reports?" Mao asked and Kalinin nodded.

"Miss Chidori was our primary consideration in your class Sagara," the Lieutenant-Commander commented. "However, given the occurrences after your exit from the aircraft in pursuit of Miss Chidori, there is another of your classmates that we feel we should be watching over as well."

"Gunnery Sergeant," Captain Testarossa said taking command of the conversation once more. "What was your assessment of the situation when you reached the airliner?"

"Ma'am," Jones said snapping to attention. "As I put in my after-action report, upon landing my platoon cleared the area around the airliner and then myself, Lieutenant Andrews, and two fireteams from first squad entered the aircraft, one from the front, and the other from the rear passenger doors. We expected to take fire upon entering, however the on-site terrorists, later identified from photos as Yangban members, had already been dealt with and we were greeted by the call of "Hold your fire," as a young woman recognized our blue helmets. One of the students had taken down the two Yangban and had handed out their weapons to hold off any attempt by them to retake the aircraft."

"And what was the student's name?" Mardukas asked.

"Takamachi Akane," Jones answered, beside him Sagara breathed in sharply and muttered something under his breath where even Jones couldn't tell what he had said. "As we exited the aircraft, she took the rear-end position amongst the students, herding them along and assisted in providing suppression fire against the enemy when some of our people were dealing with a wounded teammate." Jones looked at the three officers, "Ma'am, may I ask why we are discussing the young lady?"

"In a moment Gunny," Testarossa replied. "Sagara, what do you know about Miss Takamachi?"

"Takamachi Akane, age sixteen, 165 centimeters, 54 kilograms. Father deceased, mother was a police detective in the Akihabara precinct Cataclysm division office," Sagara replied. "Her grandparents died in the last few years, and daily she would run the martial arts training that her grandfather had been doing up until about fifteen months ago." Sagara paused for a moment as if considering continuing with his observations.

"I can tell you have other information Sergeant," Kalinin said calmly, "continue."

"Yes sir," Sagara replied. "Some other things of note, during the week she would work her way through the martial-arts based clubs, sparring with their strongest members and usually winning. If Miss Chidori had asked Takamachi to assist in clearing out the Judo club, she would have beat them at their own sport."

"Where you just shot them," Mao chimed in.

"Precisely Sergeant-Major." Sagara replied. "I personally rated her as a class four out of ten threat possibility, and a class eight advantage in defending Miss Chidori. That said ma'am," Sagara continued, "she hasn't been seen since her mother's funeral."

"Interesting," Captain Testarossa replied lacing her fingers together and looking first at Kalinin and then Mardukas before returning her attention to Jones. "Gunnery Sergeant, given this new information, would you consider approaching her for recruitment?"

"That would depend on where she is and what her situation is currently," Jones answered. "Sagara, what is the word from the class rumor mill on that?"

"Rumor mill from her ex-girlfriend is that she went to the United States to live with her paternal Aunt, a regional director for the Parahuman Response Teams." Sagara answered.

"Ex-girlfriend?" Jones asked.

"Yes Gunny," Sagara replied, "One Saotome Mayumi, originally from Nerima, her, her mother, and her younger brother moved to Akihabara after Leviathan sank Kyushu. They lived just down the road and used the same recreational center that the Takamachi's taught at."

Jones went as pale as his dark skin would allow, "Sagara, did you say Saotome from Nerima?"

"Yes," the Sergeant answered even as the Captain asked. "Is something wrong Gunny?"

"Not exactly Captain," Jones answered. "It's just that if it is the same family, then she needs another look as far as a threat/assistance assessment."

"Assuming it is the same family Gunny," Mardukas replied, "how dangerous could her family be?"

"Sir," the Gunnery Sergeant started. "This is a family from an area known for having non-parahumans causing massive collateral damage with their bare hands." All three officers looked at him and he sighed, "Ma'am, sirs, they made an anime and a manga about it that was only SLIGHTY exaggerated."

The last time I had been held like this it was the day after my grandfather's funeral. Mother had to work the day shift at the precinct and the students had all elected to spend a week out, in respect of both my grandfather and our family. We accepted this stoically, as was traditional, and because of this, I had nothing to occupy my mind during the day. Mayumi, bless her, had come over and tried to keep my spirits up, but in the end, we had done nothing but lay there on my futon cuddling together. "You," she would whisper into my ear, "are not a monster. You loved him and the fact that no one knew he was dead that morning is not your fault." That had been what I had dissolved into, near hysterical tears while blaming myself for oversleeping that morning and not checking on him before leaving for school. Mom had been working overnights at the precinct and would barely have enough energy when she came in to make it to her futon before crashing, and when his health had taken a bad turn after my grandmother's death, it became my responsibility to check on him.

I couldn't say that Mayumi didn't understand, we all understood duty, it was something taught to us from before we could remember. Duty to family, to friends, to our school, duty was culturally ingrained into our minds and souls. Because of duty, I would return to school the next day and maintain a calm and bland face in front of all my classmates, perform my work as expected, and go about my life as if nothing bad had happened. Once I returned home, or went to Mayumi's, then I would be able to break down into tears and self-recrimination. I would wear a mask for the public, and then in the privacy of what I considered my remaining family, break down and be consoled, wrapped in loving arms, and told that everything would be alright.

Saotome Mayumi*

"Trust me handsome," the person next to me said, practically cooing at the terrorist as the speaker stroked her hand up the man's leg. "That one isn't worth your time, I on the other hand, I can show you how much your hard work is appreciated. Just take me in the bathroom over there, and you will forget all your worries in a really short time." To hear those words come out of anyone's mouth sickened me, especially since they were referring to me. But to hear them out of the mouth of my best friend, my girlfriend, to one of the bastards that were keeping us at gunpoint. I felt my heart crack, falter, and then shatter as I watched her lead the smiling ass toward the aircraft's bathroom.

Sometimes it would seem like the scream came an eternity later, sometimes almost as soon as the door to the bathroom closed, but sooner or later there was always a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream come from the bathroom. One of the other terrorists runs up the aisle to check, doing a quick look around and head count, before cursing as he realizes that he was both two bodies short, and what likely has occurred. Reaching the bathroom, he ripped the door open, only to fall backwards at the twin blasts that greeted him. Then Akane steps out over the top of him. She is covered from the neck down in blood, a pistol in one hand, and a bloody knife in the other. Her face was a rictus of cold fury as she shoved the pistol in her hand down the back of her skirt before pulling a similar weapon from the now dying terrorist's hand. Sliding that one into her blazer pocket she searches him, quickly, for anything else of use before slitting his throat in a perfunctory manner.

Turning to the rest of us she points at people and starts snapping orders like a soldier, (or that idiot Sagara,) would, obviously expecting to be obeyed. Then, as the rest of the group starts to move themselves, she stalks over to me and pulls me to my feet. "Mayumi-chan, you're having another nightmare sweetheart," I hear someone say. Akane kisses me and I taste the coppery taste of blood. My response is to scream, and I wake up to find myself in my own bed, my mother standing there in the doorway, disheveled as I panted, trying to regain my breath.

"Not again," I muttered rubbing my face as my mother entered my room and knelt down beside me. I had dreamed of that day almost nightly since it had occurred, and I needed to get over it, I had to push past it and move on with my life, move on from Akane.

"Mayumi," my mother said pulling me into a hug, "I think you should talk to Akane about these dreams. Not on your life mom, I thought, I'm not saying so much as a word to her if I can help it ever again.

I awoke to the door's warning buzzer, jerking into a near upright position where I had been leaning back against someone as I sat on the stool at the counter. Whoever it was, their arms were wrapped around me and they were curled protectively around me as we both had fallen asleep sitting up and leaning against the kitchen island. Taylor, my brain told me and then I remembered talking to Dean, and then Taylor holding me while I drifted off into some weird mixture of dream and memory. Wait, BUZZER, Damn it! I reached over to grab the domino mask that I had left on the island and found it not there. I half spun to look for it even as my left hand came up to shade my face, and then I felt it already in place.

I let out a sighing breath as I relaxed once again, the adrenaline having blasted the last of the cobwebs from my brain. I looked and found that Taylor also had a mask in place even as the door opened to let Chris and Dennis into the common room. "Mwahuh," I heard Taylor mumble and blearily she raised her head from where it had been resting against my shoulder. "Sorry," she said softly with a slight smile, "I must have dozed off myself, you obviously needed the sleep."

"You too," I replied softly, taking a finger and pushing a lock of hair back up out of her face, "Rough night?" I asked.

"Nightmare about the fashion show," she said running her fingers through her hair and stretching, Don't watch Akane, I thought. And then her back arched and I found myself spinning away, DAMN IT AKANE, I said don't watch! "Ugah," she groaned. "I don't even own a set of heels, let alone know how to walk in a pair."

"We can fix that though," I answered twisting and popping my neck while pulling my phone out of my pocket. "In fact, I can think of someone who would probably love to help on both counts, and has a sister who needs to decompress some."

Amy*

"You were at the hospital all night again weren't you," Vicky's voice blasted through my sleeping brain causing me to sit up and allow the blankets to fall from over my head. "What time did you finally drag yourself home?"

I glowered at my sister as she stood in the doorway to my room, "Yes I spent all night at the hospital again," I growled out as I glanced around to see what time it was. Finally, I found my alarm clock on the floor where I had apparently knocked it at some point this morning. "I got home about 5:30," I answered as I set the clock back on my bedside table, noting the time as a quarter of noon. "Met mom as she was heading out to work. She said that someone called and asked her to step in on the Canary case, so she is having to run to Boston to pick up the case file and meet with her new client."

Vicky nodded at that and smiled, "Do you have anything planned for the rest of your day?" she asked. I shook my head no and she smiled. I felt my stomach drop when she did, she had something planned, and I doubted I would like it. "Then get up and get a shower," she said bouncing up on her toes. "Taylor and Akane need our help, and their buying lunch and the snacks."

I was about to ask what they needed help with, but Vicky turned and dashed off to her room, obviously planning something. I just collapsed back into my bed. I don't know how much time passed between her running off and her coming back but I doubt it was very long before she was bouncing my bed to get me up. "Come on Amy, get up, we need to do this together."

I rolled my eyes at that and groaned. Unfortunately, I just couldn't stay angry with Vicky, she was just too enjoyable a person to be around. The energy she brought to everything was like a young puppy that just wanted to play with everyone, and you couldn't help but find it infectious. "Alright I'm up, I'm up." I grumped as I rolled back upright and then out of the bed. "I'll grab a quick shower and then we'll go?"

"It's a surprise," Vicky giggled, "just trust me, you'll have fun." I groaned at that as I trudged off to the bathroom. Vicky's idea of fun, and mine usually didn't match, so I doubted I would end up enjoying this. Still, it would be spent with two of our newest friends, at least one of whom understood the want and desire to stay out of the public eye.

"I truly hate you at times," I grumbled at Vicky as we set down outside Weymouth Mall. The two-story shopping monstrosity had already eaten up the better portion of an afternoon on Tuesday, and now we were back for the sole reason of finding some specific shoes for Taylor and Akane. All Akane needed was a pair of two-inch black pumps, something that I was sure we could easily find. Taylor though, she needed both those same black pumps, and a set of wedge heeled sandals with a three-inch lift. According to Vicky someone had talked the two of them into modeling for a fashion show a week from Sunday and neither of them owned, nor had ever worn heels before.

"Get over it," Vicky said as she started walking toward the food court doors. I hurried to catch up with her longer stride and was quickly walking beside her. "Besides," she continued. "You're going to get to watch both of them show off their legs and totter around on heels until they learn to walk in them." I lifted an eyebrow at my sister causing her to snicker. "I caught both you and Akane trying so very hard not to look at Taylor's legs in those dresses I had her try on Tuesday." She shook her head and smiled before reaching over and pulling me into a one-armed hug. "Ames, you should have said something long ago, I'd have found girls to set you up with on those double dates, not Dean's guy friends."

If it wasn't for Vicky's arm around me, I would have stopped dead in my tracks and probably collapsed right then and there. "How? Why?" I sputtered. No, not how, she said she caught me looking at Taylor's legs Tuesday, I thought.

"Amy, you're my sister," Vicky continued heedless of my own thoughts, "and like I said, I caught you looking, but if you think that just because you like girls like I like guys, that I'm going to disown you or something, well think again." Vicky's face looked a little hurt at the thought and I felt bad for it. But then she smiled and waved down the food court with her free hand causing me to follow her gaze and spot Taylor standing over the crowd. I smiled and she glanced down at me and grinned, "Is that what you like Ames, long legged brunettes? Cause let me tell you, if I swung that way, I'd be chasing Taylor myself."

"Huh?" I asked looking at Vicky.

"I'm Hetero little sis," she answered smiling and waving again while dragging me forward, "I'm neither blind nor dead."

Akihabara*

Ran Saotome sighed as she watched her daughter finally shuffle back off to bed. Usually something like this would have been solved with a quiet call to Akane, her daughter's now ex-girlfriend, (and hadn't that been a surprise.) However, that was unlikely to happen as Akane was respecting Mayumi's request not to contact her. Of course, the other part of the problem was that it was Akane's actions to protect Mayumi that was causing the nightmares. Ran silently shook her head in exasperation at the level of stubbornness as she rinsed the two teacups and shut off the kitchen light. A quick check on her youngest child, Daisuke, who seemed to be solidly asleep, and the mother of four went to her own room and kneeled before the family shrine.

The shrine itself had been a wedding gift from her husband's mother, a family heirloom of some sort that while it had seen a good bit of travel, evidenced by some dings and scratches to the finish, was still as sturdy as the day it had been turned out by a master craftsman five generations prior. On the small, backpack sized, cabinet was an incense bowl and a series of photographs. On one side of the upper shelf sat his parents wedding photo, matched by her parents on the opposite side. Beneath that and just above the incense bowl was a group photograph of her, her late husband, and all their friends in a frame that had been labeled, "Nerima High School class of 1987, aka The Wrecking Crew." It was this photo she focused on, thinking back to those heady days when one of their teachers had come to them as a group and explained that she had been using their lives as the source for a manga.

Takahashi-sensei had explained how she had changed things, and played up certain aspects of their lives, exaggerating where necessary to make the story more fantastic and protect the real-life people behind her characters. Ran and her brother had been turned into one character who changed genders with a splash of water, and while other characters were more straightforward things like her father's lousy parenting skills and her husband's boorish attitude were portrayed as similar curses that changed their species. Even the exchange student from China had been drug into it, though that had been more about the girl's one-sided crush on Ran's brother and habit of preening than anything else. Still, the group of them had earned a reputation around the area for being a bit hard on their surroundings.

One example was the youngest daughter of the family that they had moved in with, (an old friend of their father's) who had been summarily engaged to Ranma, could, would and did on occasion, pick up small cars and trucks when angered by others at the school and use them as weapons against the people who angered her. Ran and her brother could handle their Akane because they had similar strength, as did Ryoga, Xian Pu, and Ukyo, their core group of friends, but that was because they had all been trained as high-level martial artists since they had been small children. It was still hell on the landscape though, and then it seemed that with no warning, high school was over and real life demanded it's due.

Akane's older sister Nabiki married money, and their eldest sister settled down to care for their father while Akane and Ranma married and took over the Tendo family's dojo. Ran helped with the dojo and ended up marrying their friend Ryoga, (something that surprised most of the family) while Xian Pu had returned with her grandmother to China and Ukyo had moved to a different section of Tokyo to teach at a culinary school. The next generation were born, twins first for Ran and Akane both, and then Ran had Mayumi, and then Leviathan attacked Kyushu.

Nerima, 1997*Six hours before Leviathan's attack on Kyushu*

"He's going to attack Kyushu," Ryoga said to Ranma, Akane, Ran, Tatewaki Kuno, Nabiki and Kodachi. Relations with the Kuno's were sometimes strained, but since Ran had started working with Nabiki in the stock market and Ryoga was teaching all the girls Rhythmic Gymnastics, (as well as how to use them in the martial arts) things had eased a bit more than they had been right after high school. "If we can get to Kyushu in time, we could help I'm sure." Ryoga was the dreamer of the group, always thinking big, always pushing forward, it was one of the reasons she loved the lug.

"Sure Ryoga," Ranma replied almost dismissively, "and since you've figured this out, then I'm sure their big brains have also figured it out and ain't gonna let anyone in there from outside. So how are we going to get there?"

"We have a plane," Tatewaki commented offhand. "We could fly into Kagoshima or any of a number of airports on the island."

"And if they deny us landing clearance?" Akane said, either playing devil's advocate or trying to poke a hole in Kuno-sempai's ego Ran couldn't tell. "What are you going to do then?"

"Why parachute in of course," Tatewaki replied nonchalantly, "I can have Sousuke pack parachutes for whomever wants to go, and then we leave. They can't stop us once we are on the ground there after all."

"So, who goes?" Akane asked, "I'm not getting left behind while you men go and fight this thing."

"Neither am I," Kodachi, Tatewaki's sister replied echoing Akane's response. Her brother started to say something which she shut down just as quickly with a glare and the words, "We are not the last anymore brother."

"Of course not dear," Ranma had said drowning out Tatewaki's sigh and closing the issue, so that was four.

"I'm out," Ran had answered even as Ryoga had said, "I'm in."

"Of course you're in pork but," Ranma had snarked only to get a glare from his sister.

"Ranma, you will be nice to him," Ran had growled, "and the lot of you better come back."

"Yeah yeah sis," Ranma had answered loftily, "odds are pork but is completely off and nothing will happen. So why don't we get this ball rolling, eh Kuno." Them waving as the five of them walked out to one of the Kuno's cars had been the last time she had seen them alive. All of them cocky, laughing and so sure of themselves.

Akihabara now*

Ran opened her eyes feeling the tears flowing freely down her face. They had returned in a way, brought back by one who had stayed and fought beside them until the island itself had sank beneath him. One who had also lost family, and while he couldn't get the closure of knowing how his family had ended, he had at least brought two bodies and hours of their actions back to her and Nabiki.

It was strange to find out how small a world they lived in was, that this stranger had been the relative of a friend, and they had stayed in touch over the years. Now, checking the time, she decided that since he lived in the same city as her daughter's ex, she was going to ask a favor and see if he couldn't get the girl to call. Picking up the phone she dialed a long stream of numbers and waited for someone to answer on the other end, "Hello Nemuri-chan," she said as a young girl answered the phone on the other end, "Could you put your father on please, I need to ask a favor of him."

"Of course Auntie Ran," the girl bubbled back, just a second and I'll go get him." Ran could hear the phone's receiver get set down and the girl running off calling "Daddy, Auntie Ran is on the phone for you!"

Brockton Bay*

"I can't believe that twit," Vicky grumbled as we left the store, the blonde stalking out like someone had just grabbed her butt. "I mean, it isn't difficult to for them to just say that they don't have anything like that in stock currently."

"Calm down Vicky," Amy sighed as she tottered along. Somehow Vicky had talked her into a set of two-inch, black, patent leather pumps like what Taylor and I had needed, and now all three of us were learning to walk in the damn things. "Now, where is that shop they suggested we go to?" she asked.

Still grumbling Vicky stepped over to the ad and map board that malls all over, used to guide you where you wanted to go. "It looks like it is in one of the outer areas." Vicky answered. "Since the clerk said they didn't open until after four, I would suggest we catch a movie to kill the time and then go see if they have the higher heels like she said they would."

"Sounds like a plan," I replied. "Taylor, what do you think?"

She shrugged, "Alright, but what's playing?"

Two hours later we walked out of the theater, I myself contemplative, Vicky bouncing and the other two somewhere in between. "So how much of that honor stuff is true?" Vicky asked damn near floating through the lobby of the theater toward the exit. She wasn't actually floating though because I had shut all of our powers down for the afternoon.

"It depended on various things to the point of being subjective to the storyteller's perspective." I answered. "First point being that the main character of that movie was Chinese, not Japanese and even though there are surprising similarities between the cultures, they are not the same."

"Noted," Vicky replied smiling as she walked backwards toward the exit. "But personal honor was a big deal during the time period for them as well wasn't it?"

"Honestly," I answered, "probably no more than it actually was in Europe during the middle ages. The thing is though, we're talking about something that would have happened sometime in the mid to late eighteen-hundreds going off the American west scenes and the weapons. Probably closer to the century mark than the middle of the century at that. During that time frame there wasn't any big changes in either country outside the Meiji Restoration, and the level of assassination that started the movie was not something that would have been condoned during that situation."

Vicky chuckled, "Mister Wolfe is going to love having you in his history class."

It was at that point we walked through the doors back into the mall to find four men with AK's staring down the theater patrons. "Alright folks," one of them said. "I think that's all of you from that showing, now get your asses to the central court." He punctuated his order by chambering the assault rifle, a round flying to the floor in waste.

"Fuck!" was all I could say.

outside*

Brockton Bay Police Lieutenant Martin Riggs looked at the mall in front of him and then at the two sergeants who had been in charge of the scene until his arrival. Detective-Sergeant Josephine Lupo was scowling at the front doors of the mall, the fingers of her right-hand drumming against the grip of her holstered berretta nine-millimeter on her hip. As if to counterpoint the detective, PRT Sergeant Wynonna Earp was leaned almost casually against the front of the PRT Rapid Response van that held the rest of her squad. "Calm down Jo," Earp said glancing away from the door and at the other sergeant, "stressing is not going to get those people out any faster, and the Protectorate will be here shortly."

"It's been twenty minutes already Earp, what's keeping them?" Lupo growled.

"Looking for Squealer I imagine," Earp answered calmly. "Report was that she dropped a whole slew of Merchant assholes off and then drove away, her vehicle disappearing under some kind of invisibility cloak. I guess some people might just want to make sure she's not sitting out here watching and waiting to light the lot of us up when we make our move."

"I think you're giving the druggies to much credit," Lupo snapped out.

"And I think you are not giving them enough." Earp answered calmly. "Besides we have something else to deal with at the moment. Have either of you heard about a new cape in the area?"

Lupo looked at Riggs who shook his head in response so Lupo answered, "No, why?"

"Cause that's an awful lot of bugs heading this way," Earp answered pointing to the mass of insects that were making their way across the parking lot toward them. "Johnson, stand by with your sprayer, we might need you."

Inside*Taylor*

Akane cranked my power up to fifteen as we were herded to the central courtyard of the mall by the four merchants with rifles and as we went, I awoke and gathered every insect and spider I could find in my extended range before using them to sweep through the mall in a search. I found Merchants pillaging the various stores and shops, emptying out cash boxes and registers, even cutting into a few safes. The pharmacy over in what some would probably call the geriatric's wing had been ransacked for both money and pills, and as we could see, everyone that had been inside the mall itself was gathered in the central courtyard under the gaze of Skidmark. The leader of the Merchants sat on some kind of bastard child of a powered wheelchair and throne that had been made of various car parts being welded together. The cape sneered at the crowd as our group was brought in and told to find a place to sit. "Hebert, Takamachi, over here." I heard someone call out. Looking I found a girl that I vaguely recognized from Winslow, blonde with pink and green streaks running through it, waving at us, so I looked at the others before we headed over.

"Holy shit has your luck turned around Hebert," she said softly as we sat down near her. "You not only have miss bad ass here, but the Dallon sisters to pal around with as well now. Shit has definitely gotten better for you."

"And you are?" Vicky asked in a low voice, a single eyebrow lifted.

"Someone who owes Hebert here more than I could probably ever repay because I let certain shit occur to her for the last half year at school." I lifted an eyebrow at that so she explained, "I just transferred to Winslow this school year, not, I might say, by my choice. But I wasn't around for last year's bullying."

"Alright I can understand that," I told her waving off the other's irritation. "Apology accepted, though, I'm sorry to admit, I don't know your name."

"Katherine Fleischer," she answered with a smile, "Most people call me Katie though."

I watched as the others shook hands with her, and things were fine, at least until she shook hands with Akane which was when both of them went, "Oh shit!"

Outside*

"So that's the current situation inside," the figure that had introduced itself as Skitter, a new Ward that was still working on their power, informed them while showing a scale map with her insects. "The fun thing is that apparently Uber and Leet are also in play."

"What are those two jokers doing here," Battery asked.

"Right now," Skitter said, a hint of humor in her voice. "They are guiding Sergeant Earp's squad into position."

Wynonna Earp looked at the two characters that were holding the exterior door open, allowing her squad into the mall's support areas. Uber was wearing a pair of shades, tactical clothing and an ankle length trench coat with a monster pistol in one hand while Leet was wearing a set of Mjolnir armor from the HALO series with its standard carbine. Do you have a path for us?"

"Of course," Uber said with a smile, "I will take point and clear your path to the upper level over the central court, Leet will bring up the rear."

Wynonna nodded, "Then take point," she told him stepping through the door with the last of her people, "I'll be watching your back, Johnson, you're bringing up the rear with the armor."

A bear of a man wearing a sprayer tank and carrying a carbine as well nodded and walked over to Leet who looked at Uber and shrugged. "Alright team," Earp called out softly, "I'm on point with Uber, Johnson is on drag with Leet. Now let's go save some civies."

Uber ghosted forward, the PRT sergeant close behind and damn near as quiet even without his soft soled stealth boots. When the Merchants had first hit his and Leets shop in the mall, the pair of Rogues had been able to take out the two idiots quietly. Once they had done that, the pair had locked the door to their back area and started working through the supply areas of the mall. Initially the pair had planned to deal with the druggies themselves, but the problem turned out to be that there were too many of them and they were just to spread out.

Earlier*

"So what do we do now Uber," Leet asked him as they circled back to their shop.

"Well you could explain why you're here to begin with," an unknown voice buzzed between them. The two of them put their backs to the wall and scanned the hallway. "Oh calm down you two, you are obviously not here with the Merchants, so what is going on and why are you here?"

"Nothing on the sensors but a handful of insects bro," Leet said in a tone that said he was about to panic.

"That would be because I'm not actually there with you," the voice answered. "And before you panic, I'm an arthropod master, not a human one, I'm using the bugs in the area to talk to you. Now, are you going to answer my questions, or do I tell the PRT to take you down as well?"

"No," Uber said with a sigh as he relaxed slightly. "We have a comic and game shop here in the mall, when the Merchants showed up, we thought we might be able to handle it, but there are too many of them in too many places."

"Alright," the voice buzzed. "Two things, first is that the PRT is already on site and need a way in that isn't covered by the Merchants. Currently they are waiting for Protectorate assistance before coming in. Second is that if you need to get my attention, just say Hey Skitter, and then ask or say what you need to, I'll hear and answer."

"We can play Pathfinder for them," Uber answered, "Can you indicate where we are to them?"

"Yes," Skitter answered, "What is the nearest landmark to where you are going to let them in?" Uber answered and Skitter seemed to chuckle. "I'll see if I can get the squad moving that way, be ready to wait for a few minutes though."

"Understood," Uber answered. "Team gamer is on the move.

Outside*

"Alright," Battery said with a sigh. "So they're helping instead of going off on their own, do we have a plan?"

"Oh yeah," Lieutenant Riggs said with a smile as Armsmaster slid silently to a stop at their command post.

"Armsmaster on site at Weymouth Mall," he said as he climbed off the motorcycle, "Battery, report on the situation.

Akane*

"So," I said looking at the girl whose power I had just shutdown. "Are you an active combatant, or do you stay under everyone's radar?"

"Active," Katie answered with a sigh. "And I'm not one of the heroes around this town." When she said that I lifted an eyebrow which caused her to grimace. "But I've started to regret quite a few of my decisions over the years, maybe the ones regarding my family the most. That said, it's also hard to go against family, even in acts of teenage rebellion."

Vicky and Taylor looked confused, and Amy looked a bit pensive at that comment, so I continued my questions. "Can you fight, or are you like me and more of a support type?"

"Both," she answered with a smirk, "but in this instance, I think I qualify as a direct combatant. You give me my power back, and I'll have a good number of these idiots pinned and unable to fight in short order."

"Good," Taylor said with a smile. "Amy, can I have a pen and your notebook for a bit, I think it's time to line out the plan."

"What are we going to do with just the five of us?" Amy asked handing over a notebook and pen. "I doubt there's enough bugs in the mall to make a difference and unless Katie has a blaster power the most we can do is either have Vicky play frisbee with the tables, or charge Skidmark and Mush."

"And doing that would just allow the rest of them to gun everyone down," Taylor acknowledged. "Thing is first, it's not just five of us in here, it's seven. Secondly, there is a PRT squad currently moving into position to come into the mall with the other two's help. Third, the police and the Protectorate are also on site, and all are coordinating together for this. Fourth, I'm acting as coordination and scout for all the forces so we can get the civilians out and deal with the problem." As she had been talking, Taylor had been sketching and labelling in the notepad. "Katie, I have to ask for the plan, what is your power?"

Outside*

Armsmaster looked at the list of capes on scene as the insects spelled things out beside the map that Skitter was providing. "I approve of your plan," he finally said. "Once everyone is in position, execute."

"Understood sir," the mass of insects buzzed, saluting before dispersing to reinforce the map and list.

Skidmark chuckled as Mush finished his story. The stupidity of some people never ceased to amuse him and soon they would be flush with both cash and materials for sale. Suddenly, and with no warning, the buildings PA system kicked in crackling, "What the fuck?" he asked looking at Mush who shrugged. Pulling out his walkie talkie, Skidmark called out, "Ok, which of you shitstains is fucking around in the security office?"

Whatever the answer was, the voice on the radio was drowned out as a voice called out, "You ready for this?"

Uber looked down on the central courtyard from the second floor's walkway and then looked up to watch as the PRT squad positioned themselves to take out the Merchant grunts that were surrounding the civilians. There would be no challenge, just the call of "PRT" as they stepped up and opened fire on the gang members. Off to one side he saw a knot of teens handing something around between three of them before nodding to each other, "On the bounce and with the beat people," Skitter's insect voice buzzed softly in his ear and he stepped up to the bannister with the PRT as Skidmark started to react to first the Public Address speakers and then the threat of Glory Girl throwing herself at him.

Skidmark's attention snapped from the speakers to the blonde missile flying at him and he responded by standing and throwing down a repulsion field between him and the flying brute. This caused her to stop in place as she tried to force her way through to him, "Fuck off Glory Hole," he snapped with a smirk laying down another field and throwing her back the way she had come, was that a smirk, he thought as she flew back. He didn't have time to contemplate the issue though as he heard something metallic hit his power throne behind him, causing him to spin and catch the contents of the exploding containment foam grenade in the face.

Distraction complete, insects swarmed the gang members even as the people on the second floor started firing their weapons. Mush laughed at the shooters, his garbage armor seeming to make him immune to their fire. Rune slamming him into a pillar with a table on the other hand, was apparently done with enough force that he was either knocked unconscious or broke something serious as he went limp in response. By the time the song ended, the Merchants in this area were all down, unconscious and quickly being secured. The best part of it all, was that no one important was injured.

Outside*

"Now that is how an operation is supposed to happen," Riggs laughed as he watched the representation of the civilians being escorted out. "Michaels, Palmer, Civies are being led your way." Turning to Armsmaster the Lieutenant smiled, "That's a good girl you have there in Skitter, why haven't you debuted her yet?"

"Her and her partner are getting special costumes made by someone other than Public Relations," the tinker answered. "Though I think that they are going to have to have PR make a quick set for a likely press conference."

"What's so special about the costumes they're having made?" Riggs asked.

"They're bullet resistant." Armsmaster answered before going to join Assault and Battery as they entered the mall.

Money is always available, where peace and prosperity meet

Standing at the corner of Peace Street and Prosperity Road, Danny Hebert thought back over the history of his town. Back when the All Father ran the Empire an agreement had been reached between him, Galvanate, and Marquis to designate certain places as neutral territory where either no one had control, or they were all considered equals. One place was Sommer's Rock, a falling apart bar down in the docks where no one held any sway, another was here, at this crossroads downtown where each of them had sponsored a restaurant. All of them had been rather blatant about who they represented, Galvanate had opened a classic Italian restaurant that looked like it had been pulled straight out of a 40's mob movie, All Father had opened a Beer Garden and Marquis a Bistro. The fourth corner had been occupied by a small grocery that originally sold to all of them, but the owners died, causing the store to be closed not long before Lung's arrival.

By the time the Rage Dragon had arrived, Galvanate was in the Birdcage and Kaiser was running the Empire. Lung bought up the fourth corner at the intersection, leaving the burned remains of Galvanate's restaurant alone to replace and rebuild the old grocery into a nice diner that served an ever-changing mixture of Oriental Family foods and fusions. Lung, or maybe it was the property manager Kenta Horaki, had somehow made arrangements with a Tokyo based Culinary School to send ten of their top students to his diner to cook for a year. They would open no later than the third Sunday in January, close after the first weekend in December, and were always supervised by a member of the school staff. They received a paycheck as well as had room and board provided for them, but for eleven months they would work to keep a business running in a slowly dying city.

Locking the door to his truck Danny started to walk over. The kids that would work and run the restaurant were all outside it seemed, repainting the exterior mural depicting a large eastern style dragon in blues, blacks and gold as it eased its way around the building towards the door. As he crossed the street a brunette woman with a high ponytail, stepped out the front door and called to them. "Minasan, kon'nichiwa. Chūshoku wa mō junbi ga dekite imasu." They all seemed to acknowledge her in some way, mostly by starting a quick clean up of their brushes or heading towards the door, Danny just hoped he could catch them before the door was shut.

"Excuse me," Yukihara Souma heard a man's voice call out and turned to see a middle-aged white man walking fast across the street towards them, in fact angling for the door and Miss Kuongi. "I'm sorry to bother you, and I know you are not open yet, but I would like to make a reservation for next Sunday."

"You know most people just call or even go online to make a reservation," Miss Kuongi said with a smile as the others eased into the restaurant behind her. Finally, Souma had his roller clean, and moved to join the others as their teacher-supervisor spoke to the man.

"I know," the man said, "Old habit from when my wife and I dated." Miss Kuongi raised an eyebrow at that causing the man to elaborate. "I would call in a reservation, and then when we would arrive, the hostess or greeter would take one look at me and swear that there were no reservations in that name. Frustrated by that, I started swinging by a week in advance and making the reservations. Since I could call the hostess or greeter out for lying to the manager, or at least explain to the manager who had taken the reservation and point them out, it got them to stop pulling that trick."

Miss Kuongi smiled at the man, "Very well then Mister?"

"Hebert," the man answered with a smile of his own, "Danny Hebert, Miss?

"Kuongi," Souma's teacher answered, "If you will follow me Mr. Hebert, we'll get your reservation settled and be happy to have you here next Sunday."

"Thank you," Mister Hebert replied stepping in as Kuongi-sensei held the door open for him to come in.

"Souma-kun," she said focusing on the teen for a moment, "Go have your lunch, and see what it is that Mito-chan has that she wants you to test. She specifically asked to have you test it, but I don't know what it is."

"Yes ma'am," Souma answered heading off towards the kitchen area even as he heard the front door lock behind him.

"Now Mister Hebert," she said, "What time were you thinking for Sunday, and if I may ask, what is the occasion."

Katie*

PRT HQ-1730 hours*

Arriving at the PRT Building in the wake of the Mall Incident, as everyone was currently calling it, the five of us were escorted upstairs to a conference room where the PRT Director was waiting. She gestured for us to sit down, and once we had she leaned against the table and spoke. "Alright ladies," she said, her voice far calmer than the look on her face would suggest. "I want you to walk me through the afternoon and explain both what happened and what the hell you were thinking."

"Well it started for most of us when Taylor and I woke from our impromptu nap in the common room just before the eleven-o'clock tour came through." I only half listened as Akane explained why the four of them were at the mall, and that they had been ambushed as they had exited the theater after seeing a movie. Myself, I was going over what had happened to me during the week and wondering, How did my life get turned upside down all of a sudden?

Monday, January 3, 2011-2:30pm*

"So what you're saying is that I fucked up and missed a prime chance to recruit someone to the cause," I said as Brad pushed through another set on the bench press.

"Somewhat," Brad answered. "Your predecessor at Winslow should have stepped in and stopped it a long time ago, and while it is doubtful that she would have joined, I bet that its better than even odds that her old man would have become a little more," he paused a moment as if searching for the right word to use. "Accepting, yes, he might have become a little more accepting of our people, or at least our passage in the docks in appreciation." He finished the set on the bench and sat up before turning to look at me. "The thing about helping someone is that you usually earn a bit of acceptance, a bit a trust by doing what seems to be completely unnecessary for you. Most people, they do like you did, they either join in or stand by and don't help the person in trouble, in short, they're sheep. People who do something though, especially for their own reasons, are heroes, it is part of why we do what we do."

I nodded, what he said made sense in a way, but something seemed just the tiniest bit off. "Alright," I said tossing him his towel. "How do I turn this to my advantage?"

"Honestly I don't see how you could unless another opportunity presents itself," he answered as he wiped off the bench and we started changing out the weights for my set. "But, you can at least apologize if you see her again, make up a bit for not helping maybe. Honestly though, I doubt you will have the chance. The way that Tachamachi girl seized the opportunity, she's more likely as not being groomed by the chinks as we speak."

PRT HQ-1745 hours*

The argument outside the doors to the conference room pulled me from my memory of Monday even as Akane got to the point of the Merchant goons jumping them with AK's outside the movie theater. "Masks on, all of you," the director snapped quietly as she stood up, and a moment later all of us were wearing domino masks. Seeing this when she turned back at the door to check, she nodded and then opened the door.

"and if you think I won't make sure you are sent to the coldest, loneliest outpost that the PRT possesses," a woman's shrill voice screamed. "Then I will by god prove you wrong, now open that damned door, you brainless boor and let us in there.

"The door is open," a more cultured, possibly older voice said calmly. "Hello Emily, sorry to intrude, but I understand that you had a Wards involved incident earlier and you know we are required to check on things."

"Of course Ms. Burns," the director responded coolly. "Please, won't you and your assistant come in and have a seat, Miss No No was just getting to the point where the Merchants were capturing people coming out of the theater." as she spoke the director stepped back, allowing two women to step into the room. The first in was older, maybe forty or fifty, and had the look of old money. She was wearing a tasteful grey pantsuit with a high-necked white blouse that was joined with a classic cameo pin. In short, she was comfortable as the rich would say.

Her companion on the other hand was best described as an attack dog's brain in a teacup chihuahua's body. As she entered, she glared at the director and I would bet, was a hair's breadth away from physically growling at Piggot. This was comical because physically she was practically child sized, and if she was more than five feet tall or over a hundred pounds I would be surprised. If she had been dressed in ribbons bows and a nice dress, she could have been called cute. As it was though, in the severe pantsuit that echoed her elder she simply looked like a child emulating an adult they adored.

The director closed the door behind them and walked behind them as they came to the table looking us over. "Why are you masked?" the younger one snapped at Akane, Taylor and me, before whirling to face and glare at Piggot again. "Why are they wearing masks?"

"Because three of them are not Wards and thus don't fall under your remit miss Smithers," Piggot answered calmly. "Further more," she continued, "you don't have the clearance to know who the two who are Wards are outside of their cape persona's. Now, before we return to the debrief, are their any questions you have for the young ladies Ms. Burns?"

"I would think that introductions would be in order Emily," the older lady said calmly. "In fact, if you don't mind I'll start." The director nodded so the elder woman stood once more and continued to speak. "My name is Montmorency Burns and I am the regional director for the Youth Guard. With me today is my assistant Carolyn Smithers." The younger woman nodded at us and glared, something I was sure she did with regularity.

Taylor, who was sitting between me and Akane, stood and inclined her head to the elder woman, "Ms. Burns," she said calmly, "I know your name through my mother for the fundraising you've done for the Brockton Bay University Library project. You may refer to me as Skitter, my current companions are No No and Rune," she continued gesturing first at Akane, and then at me. "Also with us are Glory Girl and Panacea of New Wave."

"I see," the elder woman replied as the younger one turned her glare at me, trying to stare me down.

"Why, is this criminal not imprisoned," the young woman growled at a barely audible level.

"Two reasons," the director answered. "First, she came in willingly after helping with a hostage situation not of her creation. As such, as much as I would like to arrest her and throw the book at her, current rules require that I give her safe passage under the rules of the truce and allow her to leave so long as she does not cause trouble." At this point Piggot started to glare at the young miss Smithers, "and I would not suggest trying to bait her into causing trouble young miss, for I have no trouble letting her defend herself." I smiled at her only to get a sniff in response. "Secondly, since her records record who Rune is because of how her trigger happened. Because of what happened today, we are also willing to offer her a place as a probationary Ward, to include emancipating her from her, familial problems."

My head snapped around to look at the director, eyes wide with surprise. Smithers of course voiced my own question by yelling "Your going to do WHAT!?"

Akane*

I smiled a small, successful smile as I glanced back down the table at the others. Vicky and Amy were wide eyed in shock, as was Katie, Taylor meanwhile looked at me and spocked an eyebrow so I acted like I was texting with my hands until both eyebrows rose and she nodded slightly. Texting was a marvelous thing, and I had been doing it almost constantly since we had left the mall in the aftermath of the incident. Getting Aunt Em to look up Rune's known and or convicted crimes was relatively easy, and while she wasn't star material, she was possibly redeemable. All of her crimes were juvenile, a couple of minor battery charges, and some defacement of public and private property between her masked and unmasked time with the Empire. The worst she could probably be charged with was assault against an officer and resisting arrest with violence, but to get another Ward, I was almost certain that those charges could disappear or at least be knocked down to something she could get probation for.

"Carolyn," the older woman said calmly, "remember what the Wards program is here to do, and furthermore, remember that almost no one is beyond redemption." The younger woman looked at her elder, the shock on her face evident before turning back to glare at Katie.

Katie smiled at that, "Thank you ma'am," she said to Ms. Burns, "and also to you director, I assumed that my trigger was public record, especially since I used it to escape confinement, but I think that if you can get me clear of my guardians, that I would be happy to join your team." Aunt Emily nodded to this before turning to look at the Youth Guard members.

"Now," Aunt Emily said calmly, "we were about to hear their report of what happened. Skitter, No No, you were exiting the cinema at Weymouth Mall having just finished the movie that you had gone to see, what happened as you walked out?"

"Four gangsters with Kalashnikov rifles met the group exiting the cinema and directed us to the central court." Taylor said calmly. "In the central courtyard Skidmark waited with ten non-powered people also with firearms, some sort of powered throne and Mush. I used my power to scout the area while we waited, as well as to make contact with a pair of independents as well as PRT, Protectorate and police forces. Once we had contact, a plan was developed that used the independents to lead both Brockton Bay SWAT and the PRT Fast Reaction force into position. Initiating once they were in position was left up to us because a distraction was needed to ensure that Skidmark couldn't protect his people from the officers and endanger the civilians. Glory Girl and I provided the distraction, first by me activating the Public Address system and playing music over it, and her by charging Skidmark in flight."

"Why did you have to provide the distraction," Smither snapped, "why couldn't the police or the PRT simply neutralize him along with his grunt?"

"Because of his particular power set" Katie answered, "He produces bands of directional force and as a defensive measure usually surrounds himself with them. Getting his attention away from his grunts was necessary so that a containment foam grenade could be dropped by Skitter's insects onto the seat of his power chair from directly above. The music got him to stand and consequently actually dismissed most of the bands surrounding the throne that he had. Glory Girl's charge turned him to one side and while he was distracted dealing with her, Skitter dropped the grenade on his chair. The sound of that caused him to spin around and get a face full of containment foam, keeping him from using bands of force to protect his grunts."

"A very concise report ladies thank you," Aunt Emily said and glanced at the two Youth Guard members. "Ladies, do you have any questions for them?"

"Miss Rune," the Burns woman said calmly, "If I may ask, what were you doing there today?" Katie flushed a bit under her mask and muttered an answer that I didn't catch. Taylor and Vicky did, both going wide eyed and smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you," the older woman said with a slight smile. "Could you please repeat that?"

"I had a date," Katie said turning an even brighter red. "He doesn't know anything about this but he, he has gotten me to take a new view on what I have been taught all my life."

"I see," the elder woman said with a slight smile. "And does your young man know where you are now?" Katie's eyes went wide, realizing that she had not before shooting a look at my aunt.

"Go ahead into the other half of the conference room," Aunt Em said kindly, pointing at the dividing partition. "Just make it quick ok"

"Yes ma'am." Katie said getting up and moving toward the mostly closed partition.

"Ma'am," Taylor said gaining my aunt's attention. "Could I call my father and let him know what's going on as well?" Aunt Em only nodded and pointed in the same direction so Taylor got up, "Thank you ma'am," was all she said before she was also heading through the partition.

Katie*

This had to be the weirdest week of my life. A couple of years ago I would have said that there was no way this would have happened. No way I would join the Wards, no way I would betray "The Cause," and yet, here I was having, (at least verbally) joined the Wards, and planning on telling the PRT everything I knew about Kaiser's little empire. It was in a way, insane, and all because I had stuck up for another person, a weakling who was getting his ass handed to him by a pair of bullies because he was smarter than they were.

Wednesday, January 5th 2011*

"Look, I can't give you the answers," the voice said from the alley as I walked past. "The questions are randoMs.ed by section, as are the answers for each question." The voice caused me to stop just past the mouth of the alley behind the testing center. This was another instance of the situation Hookwolf had told me about. Be strong by defending the weak, earn their gratitude and acceptance, and while they may not join, maybe they would have family that would at least turn a blind eye to what we did that broke man's laws. Reaching into my jacket pockets I wrapped my hands around the rolls of dimes and imbued them with my power. Alone, my muscles didn't have much strength, but my power could and did make up the difference when needed, especially when used on a pair of brass knuckles or a roll of coins.

"Just tell us the answers nerd," one of the thugs said lifting the boy up by the collar of his jacket. "If you don't, I might just have to hurt you."

All three of the people in the alley were white, and the two that had cornered the third were considerably bigger than the third who I somewhat recognized from around Winslow. "Hey assholes," I called out as I stepped into the alley, "why don't you try just go to Clarendon, he's already told you he can't help you."

"Buzz off bitch," one of them called back without turning around. "Little geek doesn't want to talk, but we'll make him. Besides, I don't want to have to get up that damn early just to go someplace I don't like."

The other punk turned around and looked for a moment and blanched, "Oh hell," he said turning back, "Jimbo, it's that Fleischer cunt the boss said we had to listen to."

"Fuck that and fuck her," "Jimbo said with a snarl. "She's just another uppity bitch that needs to learn…" I never learned what it was that I was supposed to learn as the punch I threw connected with his short ribs and probably his kidneys. Neither had seen me come closer, as I had started steadily advancing once the smarter one had turned back to warn his buddy, but the one I hit knew I was there when I connected. In response he dropped the boy he had picked up, spinning on me with a haymaker that I easily ducked, putting another empowered punch to his body before dancing back far enough to put my empowered boot in his crotch.

"Jimbo" went down to his knees with that blow, the only reason he wasn't screaming was that he had no breath in his lungs. This allowed me to focus on his partner for the moment who was moving into a position to try and tackle me while I was distracted with his slightly bigger partner. "You have the chance to run," I said to him, "I won't say anything, but if you stay and fight." At this point I shrugged slightly, "Well, I'll kick your ass, and then tell everyone why I did it." He stayed, he fought, and while I had to give the idiot props for sticking with his buddy, but this guy, while big, had no more clue how to fight than the other one. Three blows later, he was down on the ground with his friend, and I was picking up the person they had attacked, "You alright there?"

"Yeah," he muttered as he checked his glasses to make sure they weren't broken. "Just a few bruises, nothing I haven't received from these assholes before, damn Empire wannabes."

I chuckled slightly, a comment like that meant that I wasn't likely to get a recruitment out of this guy, still though, beating these losers had felt good. "Well, can't really do much about them but beat them down when they raise their ugly mugs. I'm Katie Fleischer, I transferred into Winslow at the start of the school year, and while I know I've seen you around I don't think I know your name."

"Greg Veder," he said smiling as he offered me his hand which I shook. "And thanks for the help, if you need help with any of the subjects in school, let me know and I'll be there."

"Sure," I said as I smiled back at him, "though you seem a bit confident you're going to get into Arcadia."

He shrugged, "I was sick the day we took the test to get at the end of middle school." He said calmly, "As a result I couldn't focus on the test and got over half the answers wrong. And while Winslow was hell, I figured if she could take what they were doing to her, I could put up with the jocks and the gangers."

I looked at him as we walked out of the alley and toward the nearby bus stop. "You're talking about Hebert, right?" he nodded and let a little bit of a dejected sigh escape.

"She was always at least polite to me," he said. The tone was not quite wistful, but it almost had an air to it of envy to it to be honest. That said, at the same time it also was a tone that said, Not happening, so don't even bother to dream it. "She included me in the class projects for Gladly's class when no one else would, and she helped me pick up my things when the jocks or the trio would knock them out of my hands in the hallway if she was there." At that point he shook his head, smiling slightly. "Still though, I couldn't help her, and any thought of there being anything between us other than mutual victims was long since a lost cause." He shook his head more firmly and raised it as we reached the bus stop. "Don't bother paying me any attention," he said with a slight smile. "How do you know Taylor?"

"I don't actually," I answered leaning against the stop shelter's pillar. "I mean I was there in the crowd when they pulled her out of the locker, and I told the cops and Blackwell what happened." At this point I chuckled remembering the look on that Hess bitch's face as her head was slammed into the locker. "But the thing is I don't actually know her. I mean, what was the bitches three's deal with her?"

So Greg told me what he knew, about how Taylor and Emma, the redhead, had been friends before coming to Winslow, but something had changed that summer before their freshman year, and Taylor didn't know what. "That was also when Hess and Clements showed up," he told me as we rode the bus toward his mother's apartment. "But from what Taylor said in passing, Hess had been there before the start of the year, and Emma was meaner when she was around."

I nodded at this and got up with him as he went to get off the bus. "Something must have happened," I said more to myself than to anyone else, "and I would bet that whatever it was, Hess probably helped Barnes out of it."

"Makes sense," he said as we got off the bus and started deeper into the docks. "Hey, you obviously know how to fight, would you mind teaching me?"

"Me?" I asked. "Will your pride let you let a girl beat the hell out of you, so that you'll learn?"

He snorted and smiled, "What pride," he said, "I've had my ass kicked by girls that did it strictly for their own enjoyment and because Hess told them I was taking pictures of them in the shower room at school." I raised my eyebrow at that, and he shook his head, "I didn't do it, but they believed I did and beat the ever loving shit out of me as a result. Besides," he continued, "at least this way I learn from someone who at least has a clue about being the smaller person in the fight."

I chuckled at that, "Alright," I answered, "Since I work in a gym I can get you in to work out and maybe a little training time, but there's going to be some changes to things, and if you don't listen I'll stop teaching you. Do you know Beast Bod downtown?"

"Yeah," he answered, "or at least I know of it. What's a nice girl like you doing working for an Empire front?" I stopped dead in my tracks gaping, People knew the gym was an Empire front, what's next, the IRS auditing the books? Greg turned to look at me and grimaced, "You didn't know huh," he said calmly, "It's not the most apparent of Kaiser's recruitment and laundering sites, but if you know what to look for, it's pretty obvious. The fact that the awning sports a likeness to Hookwolf if nothing else would be a dead giveaway."

I was still staring at him when I finally managed to say something, "It's a family issue," I told him, "they got me the job, and at least it pays decent and allows me to train."

"There is that I suppose," he said as we started up the street once again. "Still, I don't think I should be seen there."

"I understand," I said, a frown entering my voice, "but if that's the case then you're going to have to push this stuff on your own. I can help you get the tools, and I'll see about finding another gym where you can work on your training, but none of it will work if you don't put in the effort."

"Effort I can give you," he said as we reached a fairly rundown apartment building. "So, can I expect to hear from you tomorrow?"

"If you give me your number you will," I answered back with a smile as I pulled out my cellphone. He gave me his home and his cell number and I put them into my phone, giving him mine in exchange, "I'll call you about ten in the morning, by then I'll know when I'm getting off and we can arrange to meet up."

"Works for me," he said smiling and waving as he unlocked the outer door to the building and went in, "I'll see you tomorrow." He said before shutting the door, I waved back and started back towards the bus stop. Something about me felt better since I had done this, and I felt that things would probably proceed to go well. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Taylor*

"Hebert residence," my father answered, probably as soon as he got the house phone up to his head.

"Hey dad," I said glancing at the clock, "Have you watched the news yet tonight?"

"No," he answered slightly questioningly, "Should I be concerned?"

"There was an incident at the mall today," I answered looking over at Katie who was chatting on her own phone. "Downside was that we ended up being involved, the upside is that I made a new friend."

"Was anyone hurt?" he asked, concern coloring his tone.

"Only Mush," I answered smiling and letting it show in my voice, "Rune hit him with a table and slammed him into a pillar." My dad chuckled his amusement, "Currently I'm kinda stuck here for the after-action review, but I'm likely going to end up staying over with Rune and Akane, at least until everything gets settled."

"Which will be when?" Dad asked concern entering his voice again.

"Getting Rune settled in will likely take most of the night," I answered, "possibly some action tomorrow but I don't think that will be likely. I promise, I'll be home for dinner tomorrow night no later."

"Alright kiddo," he said, his tone grudging at best. "You take care of your friends, I'll see you for dinner tomorrow, just remember, it is your turn to cook."

"Thanks Dad," I chirped, "I'll talk to you later, ok."

"Love you kid," he replied, "you be careful."

"Love you too Dad," I said back, "and you too, I'll see you tomorrow, bye."

"Bye Taylor," he said and then I hung up. Looking over I saw Katie waiting to go back into the conference room, "You ready to face these idiots?" She nodded and pushed the partition door open leading the way back in.

Katie*

RING…RING…RIN-"Hello, Katie? Where are you, they still have the mall cordoned off." Greg gasped in my ear, near panic apparently.

"Greg," I cast a look over at Taylor who was talking with her father and ignoring me, "I'm fine, I had to go down to the PRT building to give my statement."

"Never figured you would sit that out," he said, the smile evident in his voice. "Word is from the other civilians that Rune was there and took out Mush, any truth to that?"

"Yeah," I answered, "Look I got to get back into this debriefing thing, try again tomorrow, same time and place?"

"I guess," he answered hesitantly, "but what about your job?"

I smiled at that, "Screw them," I said confidently, "I just got an internship offer by the PRT, and they pay more with better hours."

"Well then tomorrow we'll celebrate," Greg answered the smile in his voice obvious. "Till then?"

"Till then," I answered and hung up my cell. What the hell was it about that damn geek that got my damn motor running. He was a cape geek and an uber nerd that spent more time banned on PHO than any three other users combined. And I think I'm falling for him, damn it I thought and remembered yesterday.

Friday 2pm*

"So I asked around and this place, while they pay their protection money, isn't an empire front." I told Greg as I opened the outer door to the gym. The place was obviously built around the boxing ring in the center area, and the equipment was meant to aid people in learning the art. At the edge of the ring, an older black man was directing the pair inside the ring. One was a man a decade or so younger than the man outside the ring while the other was only a couple years older than me at a guess. Beefcake my brain commented at how the two in the ring were built, big, muscular, and while the younger one wasn't as large as the bruiser he was fighting against, he was faster, and used that smaller size to his advantage. Suddenly the man outside the ring sounded the bell and the two men inside separated.

"Good work Brian," the man outside the ring said as he threw each of them towels. "You keep moving and landing a series of shots," he said to the younger man. "Using your smaller size to your advantage but never afraid to close and land a solid hit, that's good tactics." Turning to the older man he continued. "Jonathan, you need to learn to close faster, keep him from dodging out of your range while he pegs you like that. He's right there within your reach why aren't you hitting him?"

"He's" the older man gasps, "he's to damn fast, seems every time I swing he's already gone or at least far enough back to lean back out of my reach."

"That's because you started throwing those damn barroom haymakers," the oldest of them said. "If you would keep a short jab right from here," he demonstrated dropping his right arm slightly and lancing out with it at chest height almost faster than you could follow, "then you would have connected more. You get sloppier the more tired you get, work on it," he finished. "Now, Jonathan, you go hit the showers, Brian, there's supposed to be a pair of white kids coming in here soon, one of them needs training in weights and exercise."

"I think they're here pops," the younger man said pointing causing the older to turn around and look at us.

"So they are," he replied. "Well boy, get to work, I ain't paying ya to stand there and look pretty, cause she'd do it far better than you do." I snorted and I think the young man rolled his eyes as the two older men climbed out of the ring and headed for the door labeled "Men's Locker Room" standing next to the door labeled "Office"

"Don't worry you two," Brian said once the other two had left the gym proper and he had climbed out of the ring. "The old man's bark is far worse than his bite, just don't get in the ring with him unless you know a whole hell of a lot about fighting."

"How much more should I know about fighting before getting in the ring with him?" I asked, curious at what the man's son would say.

"Well first," he said looking at both Greg and I. "You should know that in the ring he'll have no problem knocking your head off, girl or not. The man makes Rocky Balboa seem like a lightweight with the strength of his punches and since he grew up street fighting, he probably knows every dirty trick in the book and then some."

"Good things to know," I said calmly. "Look, I'm Katie and this is Greg, and we were hoping to be able to train here since he won't be welcome where I work."

"Where do you work?" Brian asked cocking his head to one side.

"Beast bod," I answered. "Greg pointed out that it's an empire front, and I know that while your dad pays his protection, he doesn't allow any of their bullshit in here. So I figured it would be a good place for Greg to get in shape and learn to protect himself."

"I'm in shape," Greg said with a tone that said it was false hurt, so I shot him a look. His reply to the look was to say, "Round is a shape after all."

I rolled my eyes and smiled at that, his sense of humor was a bit twisted, but he was funny, "Anyway," I continued. "He is going to be in here daily, and I'll be with him as often as possible barring my job and finding a new one, and he's going to need help. In return, I'm arranging to cover your old man's protection fee's while he's here."

"I can work with that," Brian said calmly nodding, "which means you don't get to quit Greg, and by this time next year, you'll likely have shed that baby fat for good solid muscle and she'll be beating the other girls away with a stick."

Greg's jaw dropped at that in disbelief, though whether that was the comment about beating the other girls off with a stick or that he would look good enough that I would have to I didn't know. "Anyway," I said catching both of their attention. "I was thinking getting a baseline for him today so we could tailor the routine and judge his advancement over time," I said causing Brian to nod.

"You've done this before," he said, and I nodded. "Works for me, I get paid either way. So let's get started." With that said he clapped his hands together and led us through the workout equipment.

Two hours later Greg was effectively a limp noodle, barely able to hold himself upright as I guided him to the bus stop. "You did good in there Greg," I told him and smiled. "Soon you'll look back on today and smile knowing it was the turning point in your life."

He smiled slightly, something that caused my heart to skip a beat for some reason. "No," he said shifting, probably to ease a muscle that was aching. "The turning point in my life was meeting you yesterday," I blushed slightly at that, "and while I doubt someone like you would…"

"Now you shut that shit down right the fuck now Greg," I snapped at him. "You have had enough people in your life giving you shit, you don't need to be doing it to yourself. Now what would you like from me?"

"Would you like to go see a movie with me tomorrow?" he asked.

"Sure," I said smiling. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

His smile was fit to break his face as the bus pulled up in front of us. "No," he said. "No it wasn't. Weymouth Mall has a cinema, and we can grab dinner before or after, your choice"

"Meet me at the food court at four then," I told him as I pushed him onto his bus. "We'll see what's playing and then make the call about dinner." He nodded and stepped back, waving as the door closed and the bus pulled away. Turning I walked the opposite direction, whistling happily while I walked toward home.

Taylor*

As we stepped into the room you could feel the tension on the air as Akane was glaring across the table at the Youth Guard attack dog. "Say again," she said, barely able to be heard from where I stood in the partition doorway. What was able to be heard though was the anger in her voice and that her accent was extremely thick instead of practically nonexistent. "Say again, I not have physical powers, but I put you head through table easy."

"Miss No No," the director growled, "That is enough. You know she is wrong; I know she is wrong, and Ms. Burns knows she is wrong, and it is Ms. Burns that is in charge of her. That said, Ms. Burns, please."

"Quite right Director," Ms. Burns said calmly. "I think this meeting has been sufficiently derailed Carolyn."

"Ma'am?" the assistant answered continuing her glaring contest with Akane.

"I said that's enough!" Burns snapped. "I apologize director," Burns continued coolly. "Carolyn should never have made that comment, and while I think Miss No No is a bit hot headed on the subject, she has not done more than threaten Carolyn."

"Yes," Director Piggot said calmly. "Something she and I will have a long talk about later I assure you."

As Katie and I headed back to our seats I looked at Vicky and Amy. Both were staring at the two hotheads with their eyes wide. What the hell happened in here while we were out?

Akane*

The three of us watched as Taylor and Katie walked into the partitioned half of the room to make their phone calls while the rest of us sat and waited with the director and the Youth Guard representatives. "Director," Smither's said, almost growling at Aunt Emily, "I find it appalling that you have let this go on like you have."

"Carolyn," Ms. Burns said laying a hand on her companion's forearm, only for the younger woman to shake it off as she continued.

"You allowed two Wards, teens under sixteen to participate in a combat action around civilians," she continued. "You should have never allowed it to happen."

"And how should I have done that Ms. Smithers." Aunt Emily said coldly to the assistant. "They were there amongst the crowd already."

"You could have not used them," the aide snapped. "You shouldn't have used them in fact, maybe the police and your PRT Troops would have taken a few injuries, but better that than to involve children in a military style strike."

"Kuso baka," I muttered drawing a lifted eyebrow from the older woman and a sneer from the younger.

"Do you have something to comment on?" the aide asked snidely. I glanced at Aunt Emily who only nodded.

"Excuse please," I said deliberately making it seem like I didn't speak English very well. "But what you said, stupid. No person capable of helping would have kept out. Age not matter, only skill." Aunt Em and Ms. Burns shared a look, the older woman lifting an eyebrow while Aunt Em only looked at the ceiling. "So why what we do problem?" I asked.

"Her job," the aide said slowly, probably to make sure I "understood," "is to ensure your safety, she failed at that."

I spocked an eyebrow at her, "She not precog, have no way of knowing what happen." I snorted and smiled at her. "This not kids show, villains not schedule attacks."

"Regardless," Smithers said waving her left hand in the air and offhandedly dismissing my argument. "You and Skitter should have been her first priority."

I shook my head at that, Ideology blinded fool, I thought. "First duty to civilians," I told her. "We not civilians."

"You are children," she countered before sniffing disdainfully. "You are supposed to be protected the same as the civilians, if not before them."

Again I shook my head, trying to not laugh out loud at her. "Excuse please," I said keeping up the façade of not being good with English. "But first life lesson I learn after life not fair was with power comes responsibility." The look she gave me almost sent me into a fit of giggles, so I continued. "With knowledge, patience, with strength, mercy, and with skill, self-control. For many century family has protected people from excess, and today no different." Beside me Vicky and Amy both nodded in agreement, and Ms. Burns smiled slightly.

"You sound like you have been trained for many years miss No No," the elder woman asked cordially. "May I ask where?"

"Initially at family dojo on Kyushu," I answered honestly. "But after Leviathan, what you call YMCA in Tokyo by grandfather. I also learn from friend's family, but belief is from family."

"Then may they burn in hell," the aide muttered drawing every eye in the room.

"Excuse please," I said, my smile going from friendly to brittle in a heartbeat. "Explain please?"

"They taught you that violence is the solution," she said giving me a sad look. "That is a horrible thing to do to a child. Now all you expect is the fight, you don't look for other solutions."

"Violence is a solution," I said, carefully enunciating every word there to get my point across as I tried to suppress my anger. "It is tool like anything else, only fool believe otherwise."

The aide was the one shaking her head this time. "Brainwashed from birth," she said softly. "I truly do hope they burn in hell for that."

Taylor*

As Katie and I sat back down, we both kept an eye on Akane as she visibly suppressed her anger and swallowed her pride. "I apologize," she finally ground out. "I should not have lost my temper like that." Her words were slow and carefully spoken, as if she were, She's faking a heavy accent, the thought ran through my mind like a wild animal. The question was why?

"You have my apologies as well miss No No," Ms. Burns said in response. "Carolyn and I will be having a long conversation on the inappropriateness of her remark today."

"But…" Smithers started but was glared down by her superior.

"Are there any other questions?" the Director asked. Ms. Burns replied with a negative headshake, so she turned to us. "Thank you for coming to this debrief Victoria, Amy, you can either go home or join the other three in going to the Wards area."

"Thank you, Director," Amy replied before Vicky could say anything. "We actually need to go home now." At that point Amy directed her attention at Vicky, "We are late for dinner, and Mom isn't exactly happy about what happened today."

Vicky sighed in response, but then nodded before standing. "Alright Ames," she said, "home it is. Skitter, I'll call you or No No tomorrow to see how the evening went."

I nodded but before I could say anything the Director spoke again, "No No, Rune, Skitter, unless you are going home?" I shook my head at that causing the Director to nod, "then you are restricted to the Wards area. Akane and I both raised an eyebrow at that, and she explained. "You're not in any trouble, but we do have other things to go over and I need to know where to find you."

Akane and I nodded at that and stood to leave as well. "You know we only do this for your own protection." Smithers prattled, earning a glare from both Ms. Burns and the Director. Heedlessly she continued, "it's for your own good that we try and keep these myrmidons from turning you into child soldiers."

"Miss Smithers," I said, intentionally not using the "correct" honorific. "When you finally get a clue what your protection actually accomplishes, I hope you understand why we need that level of discipline in this city, and not your Pollyannic attempts that hamstring us." She looked at me and blinked so I took another tact. "We appreciate the thought that goes into that desire on a personal basis Miss Smithers," I told her. "What we need, instead of your good intentions, is that more people, such as yourself, try and save this city. Now, if you will excuse us Ms. Burns, Director." Both of the other, older women nodded, and while Carolyn Smithers just sat there dumbfounded, the rest of us filed out of the conference room.

"What the hell is wrong with that girl?" Carolyn Smithers muttered softly to herself as her and Ms. Burns sat down in their car. In the wake of the teens leaving the conference room, Piggot had stonewalled them on the question of how long those two had been Wards members, trying to redirect her ire towards what had happened where Sophia Hess had been…"I'm such an idiot." She suddenly said out loud as the pieces clicked together in her mind. "Skitter is the girl that Hess stuffed into that locker."

"Congratulations Carolyn," Montmorency Burns said closing the divider between them and the driver. "You have managed to figure out why the girl does not hold people like us in high esteem. Now," the elder woman continued, "would you care to take a guess as to why she is even bothering to work with the PRT and the Protectorate instead of turning to one of the gangs?"

"Because the girl that pulled her out of that locker is No No," Smithers said sitting back covering her face with her hands. "Which means that she has been here for about the same amount of time that Skitter has had her power and thus has no blame in the situation." Smithers rubbed at her face, mortified at what had happened in that room, happened because of her overzealousness. "And then I go and insult what was probably the first friend that Skitter has had in years, condemning No No's parents for raising her in a way that ensured that she would intervene and save Skitter. God I have fucked up."

"Yes Carolyn, you have," Ms. Burns said as the car slid to a stop in front of their building. "Hopefully those girls will not hold a grudge, indeed I highly doubt they will. You will not get a friendly reception from them in the future however, and I wouldn't expect them to treat you with any more respect or deference than your position requires until you somehow show your reticence." At that point Ms. Burns climbed out of the car and walked into the office building where the Youth Guard's local offices were quartered, Carolyn scrambling to get out of the vehicle and catch up.

"Ms. Burns," Carolyn said as she caught up to the elder woman and started to hover in her wake. "How do I fix this?"

"Honestly Carolyn," Burns said as they entered the elevator and settled in for the five-floor ride, "I don't know if you can. A sincere apology to each of them would be a start, but the problem is that they both know you believe what you said to them whole-heartedly, so it would come off as insincere and conniving." Carolyn's face fell, and she and her boss contemplated the situation as it traveled upwards.

You say you were wrong,

To ever leave me alone,

Now you're sorry,

you're lonesome and scared.

Kagome Kuno groaned a bit as the strains of a six-string guitar woke her from her sleep. It took a minute for her to realize where she was and why she was hunched over a kotatsu. Looking around she saw two of her cousins equally passed out, face down in their books from the late-night cram session they had endured last night. Why do I hear Akane?" she asked herself mentally as her mind wound itself into wakefulness. Suddenly she threw the top of her laptop open to see the girl in question sitting in a chair with a blank wall behind her singing along with nothing but her six-string. "Megumi, Ayame, wake up!"

"Purple pinwheels in Paris," Megumi snapped out, sitting up completely as she spoke, then blinking once before faceplanting back into her math workbook.

Meanwhile Megumi's twin-sister Ayame snuggled deeper into her own arms while muttering, "But I don't have to go to school today Auntie Nabiki," before dropping back into unconsciousness.

Kagome facepalmed at her cousin's antics and then sighed. Because it was Sunday, which was their only day off from school, it was the only day that the old man was not allowed to wake them up. Because of that, Saturday nights tended to be the night that they did group things such as sleepover study sessions, which they usually also took to the Kuno estate. (This was also partially because Genma-oji would not raise the ire of Mr. Green Turtle AND her mother at the same time.) That all said and done, this time the study session was only amongst family, and only amongst their age group, but while Aunt Ran's other daughter Mayumi might have broken up with Akane, Kagome still thought of the younger girl as a friend.

"Souske-oji?" she said sticking her head out of the small study building's only window.

"Yes, mistress Kagome?" the old family retainer said from above her on the roof.

Looking up, Kagome found the head of the elder retainer and that of his eldest son sticking over the roofline. One of the things Takahashi-sensei had gotten right in her story was the level of devotion that Souske's family held toward the Kuno's. (That and the fact that they were probably one of the last remaining ninja clans in existence.) "Akane has shown up on our groups video chat server," she said mimicking her mother's usual business tone. "Please inform the rest of the band that we will be proceeding with practice as fast as everyone can arrange."

"As you wish young mistress," the elder retainer said and then vanished.

"Momo-kun," Kagome continued, smiling at the boy who she had grown up with. "Please tell the kitchen staff that we would like breakfast out here in the study shed. All three of us, please."

"Yes Mistress Kagome," the young man said, his head snapping back over the roofline and disappearing. He wasn't quite as experienced as his father, and she could hear his footfalls as they raced across the length of the shed roof.

Now, she thought. Now to wake the twins. Perhaps a bucket of water from the pond. It should be sufficiently cold. Besides, there's no reason to upset Mr. Green Turtle.

Katie*

When we reached the Wards area Akane was dead silent as she stormed to the back, "That's where the rooms are," Taylor told me. "She's probably getting something." Sure enough, a couple of minutes later the enraged teen came storming back out, a guitar case in one hand, and a laptop bag in the other. Quickly and surely, she shifted the coffee table and an easy chair from how they had been setup to ensure a blank wall behind her before setting up the laptop and plugging it into the wall for power, and the television for display. A handful of keystrokes and the TV only showed her along with a bundle of empty image slots, and then the guitar came out. It was old, dinged here and there from being roughly handled at times, but seemingly loved. Some slow plucks and strokes and then the turn of the guitar's keys to tighten the strings and it was in tune, then she softly started to play.

Angie, Angie

When will those dark clouds all disappear

Angie, Angie

Where will it lead us from here

With no lovin' in our souls

And no money in our coats

You can't say we're satisfied,

I knew the song, an old Rolling Stones tune, but the way she played and sang it, it was haunting. There was real loss, real pain in the words, more than what could have possibly happened in the conference room, This is older than that, I thought as listened. Whatever was said in the conference room pissed her off, but backing off like that, it reminded her of another pain, something that isn't healed yet.

She played through "Angie" and then through other songs. Nothing held firm about what she played except that the slow haunting melodies were all ballads, and all were sung with the same pain that had filled the first song. It wasn't until after an earie rendition of "Beth" that something else started. An almost thunderous crash came from the television and took our attention from Akane to it and the people who now populated it's screen.

Akane*

The thunderous downbeat of drums and keyboard snapped me from my introspective playing of various ballads and love songs first to the big screen and then to Taylor and Katie looking first at the TV, and then at me. My problem had been that I wanted Mayumi, I had wanted that one person who had been there for me when my grandmother and grandfather had died, and while she hadn't been there after mother's death, I could understand how much I had scared her. With me in Brockton Bay, there was a 13-hour time difference between me and Tokyo, there it was Sunday morning, and I had not expected anyone to be awake quite this early. Still, as what had become one of our signature songs thundered through the room, I smiled, and then I started to sing.

Taylor*

I've got a dream 'bout an angel on the beach

And the perfect waves are starting to come

His hair is flying out in ribbons of gold

And his touch has got the power to stun

I've got a dream 'bout an angel in the forest

Enchanted by the edge of a lake

His body's flowing in the jewels alive

And the earth below is starting to shake

But I don't see any angels in the city

I don't hear any holy choirs sing

And if I can't get an angel

I can still get a boy

And a boy'll be the next best thing

The next best thing to an angel

A boy'll be the next best thing

Akane's sang, the song was slow, haunting, just like the ballads she had been singing before, and maybe that is why the people on the screen had chosen it. But as it hit a point, the music changed. No longer the slow, haunting but loud ballad type of song, but a hard, driving rock and roll song that I found myself drawn into smiling. After the first chorus I found myself remembering the Aleph import movie, and the soundtrack that my parents had loved. What was more, these people had the sound to pull it off. Akane's image sat at the center of the screen, this time doing pure vocals. A boy, with messy brown hair sat at the drums above her, keeping up with the dark-haired girl that was on a separate screen below Akane's playing a keyboard. Finally, there was two more girls whose screens sat to either side of the Akane, both were identical redheads that were playing guitars. It took a moment of watching but while at first one could think that maybe there was a video glitch showing two screens of the same person, a closer look showed that one was playing lead guitar, while the other played bass. This made it clear that they were different people.

The song came to an end and the lead guitarist said something in Japanese that I couldn't understand, but Akane was there as always to help things. "Kagome," she said still smiling, "there are others here that don't speak Japanese, could you please all speak English?"

"Sure, sure, Akane," Kagome answered. "I take it you're making new friends?"

"Somewhat," Akane answered, and with opposing hands the two redheads facepalmed on the screen.

"You've been being your usual stoic, Takamachi self haven't you Akane?" the one on the left of the screen grumbled out.

"I think she probably made friends in her usual style," the right-side redhead countered. "Beating the hell out of troublemakers and or bullies."

"She did that," Katie and I chimed in simultaneously, followed by us sharing a look and laughing before stepping around behind Akane and getting into the camera's view.

"This is Taylor, and Katie," Akane said pointing at each of us in turn. "Girls," she continued, "on keyboard, we have Kagome Kuno, and on guitar, her cousins Megumi and Ayame." As Akane named each girl, the girl bowed at their respective camera. "on drums we have Kyon," the boy waved, "and behind the cameras and the technical details we have his girlfriend Haruhi." A brunette girl with a yellow hair ribbon stuck her head out into the view of Kyon's camera and waved.

"So Akane, what have you been up to for the past week?" Kagome asked, "get into a skating school like you planned?"

Akane just blew a raspberry at the camera causing everyone to laugh. Katie broke in, "Oh she got in, and then was promptly kicked out when she embarrassed the administration and caused the entire school to be shut down, what, maybe thirty minutes after you arrived?"

Akane shrugged, "Maybe, I was already on my way to jail by that point." A statement that caused the girls on the TV to all gape.

"You're joking right?" one of the redheads asked, causing Katie to shake her head no. "Damn Akane, that's faster than mom ever managed."

"Or dad for that matter," the other redhead chimed in. "How did you manage that?"

Akane didn't say anything so Katie continued. "She took out a pair of bullies, rescued a damsel in distress, and in doing so exposed a hellacious cover up that the school administration had been hiding for years once the investigative team was done searching the building for the various code violations that they found." I noticed that Akane's gaze had shifted to Katie as mine had. I had only known that they had shut Winslow down, not why, and Akane's eyes had gone wide as Katie had listed off what had happened. Katie was suddenly the one getting all the attention as everyone on the screen chimed in at the same time asking questions. Shifting her gaze from the laptop's camera to Akane and myself her face went from smiling to a total deadpan. "You didn't know?"

"They expelled me before I even got to Aunt Emily's office." Akane answered.

"I was in the hospital, and then here," I answered slightly shocked.

"Well that's what happens when a Takamachi makes an impression." Kagome said quelling the babbling on the screen and causing Katie to smile. "So what kind of music do you two like?"

Emily Piggot*

I sighed as I stepped out of the stairwell and onto the Wards level of the headquarters. I could already hear music playing, which meant that the girls had apparently turned the sound up on the stereo system in the lounge to near deafening levels. This caused me to shake my head in exasperation as it was something that I would have to nip in the bud immediately if for no other reason than to keep them from destroying their hearing. One song ended and another started as I got closer to the door, and because of that, the music, and in particular the singer could be heard more clearly. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised that it was Akane singing. When the bureaucrat from the Japanese consulate had contacted me and informed me of Hitomi's death and that they were questioning whether to leave her with a local family to finish her schooling in Japan, or send her to me, I had jumped on the chance to get to know her better. We were as close as we could be living on opposite sides of the planet and in completely different cultures, but we were family, and we did have a connection of sorts thanks to my brothers old six-string guitar. When she had been in middle-school she had joined the light music club there because she wanted to learn an instrument. It was during a phone call, as she had told me about it, that I had suggested sending her father's guitar to her for her to learn on she had jumped on the opportunity. Sending it was easy, my parents had long since died, and James and their things were simply gathering dust in storage, so a quick trip to the storage facility and then to the post office and an old six-string was winging its way across the Pacific to a little girl who was happy to have another piece of the father that she had never known to hold. The problem was that the government official handling the case on this end though was worried about my health.

2-weeks prior*

"Madam," the consulate official said from across the table as she flipped through what appeared to be my PRT Personnel file. "I frankly don't know how you do what you are doing. You're on near nightly dialysis, severely overweight and would qualify for an eighty percent disability if you would be willing to take it." I lifted an eyebrow at her as she looked up at me from the file. "You refuse both Parahuman healing, or tinker-tech replacements for your damaged body parts and yet you continue to operate in a high stress job where you are forced to be both desk bound and unable to eat any more healthily than your average desk jockey. Quite frankly madam I am surprised you haven't keeled over from the stress and hyperglycemia." I smirked a bit at that, at least until the next words left her mouth. "That said, I have to lay down an ultimatum. Either you get healed, either through Panacea's ability or tinker-tech, or you take the disability. Refusal to do either will mean that I will have to tell the Public safety office that you are unfit to take Akane in as your health is likely to fail within the next few years, once again leaving her an orphan before her majority."

It honestly surprised me that my heart didn't stop right then. The life insurance payment, if husbanded properly, would allow Akane to either go to a decent university for the full four years while living on campus, or else survive for the next few years until she could get out of high-school and find a job to work her way through college. "So you're saying that for Akane to be able to come to the US and live with me, I have to either quit my job, something that while I know there are other people who could do it, I feel they are likely to make a mess out of before they got a handle on it, or trust the kind of people who left me high and dry in a combat situation and caused me to have these injuries in the first place."

To give the woman credit she blinked when I said that, though that may have been because of my tone of voice, then she blinked again and asked, "Director Piggot, has no one told you?"

"Told me what?" I asked coldly, I wasn't going to like what was about to be said, I could tell just by the way the woman's face became sympathetic.

"Akane triggered as a parahuman about a week before her mother's death as near as we can figure." She answered. "We, that is the Japanese government, don't really have a junior version of the Sentai. The underage members usually join in full and work in a sort of apprentice position with other members. We unfortunately do lose a lot of potential members to the Triads and the Yakuza, however I highly doubt that Akane would be one of those. The families that we expect to be willing to take her in are in their own ways very law abiding, though sometimes the damage to the scenery can get a little out of hand."

"How?" I asked white faced, "How did she trigger and with what kind of powers?" I wasn't scared of my own niece, not so long as she hadn't ended up with a power that changed her, and frankly I didn't think that even triggering could change the upbeat future troubleshooter that much.

"Did you hear about the Japanese Airlines flight that was hijacked two weeks ago," I nodded, and then if possible, went even more white faced causing the other woman to nod. "Akane's class was taking a trip and was on that flight when it was taken. We don't know the particulars, but whatever happened between the time they landed and the time they left caused her to trigger. When the class landed back at Narita her clothes were covered in blood, but she was unharmed."

"And her powers?" I asked and the woman simply shrugged.

"We don't have the ability to test parahumans, at least not minor parahumans. From interviews with her classmates we believe she became some sort of low-level combat thinker, but that could simply have been her previous martial arts experience. The upside is that once she was back home, she seemed to revert to normal, but…" the woman trailed off and I nodded.

"But then a week later, her mother died, and she has had to deal with that by herself ever since." I finished for her and then sighed. "I'll contact people and see what it will take to get myself healed, I'm not leaving Akane as a Ward of the state, nor am I going to see her end up apprenticed to someone who will take her into danger with little to no care for her well-being."

"Thank you, director," the official said simply. "Let us know when you have made your decision and effected either the healing or your discharge." I nodded to the woman before levering myself out of the chair and leaving.

A quick phone call to both Armsmaster and then to Brandish and it was arranged. Armsmaster didn't have the ability himself to make anything to replace my kidneys or right hip joint, but Panacea was scheduled to be at Brockton Bay General Hospital that night and Brandish told me that she would make sure that Panacea knew to expect me at some point that evening. I wasn't going to leave my niece to the system, pride and insecurities be damned.

now*

Bypassing the alarm and delay on the door with my ID pass I opened the door to see Akane, Taylor and Katie sitting off to one side of the lounge, Akane's laptop sitting out on the coffee table open and facing them, but hooked up to the big screen and showing the faces of several young women and one guy. Each of the people on the TV screen had an instrument and were playing readily as was Akane while Taylor and Katie joined in on the singing. Checking the time, I nodded to myself and called out as the music ended. "Alright girls, I think its time to call it a night, noise ordinances and all that you know."

"Can we do one more song Aunt Em," Akane called over which was followed by a bevy of pleading from the television.

"Alright then," I said smiling, "One more, but keep it softer than that last one, we don't want the neighbors complaining."

Akane, Taylor and Katie all smirked at that but nodded. The dark-haired keyboardist nodded, "I know just the song, and so do you, so lead us off Akane." Then to the others around the TV she called out, "Last song," and Akane started to play.

Saotome Mayumi*

I sighed as I approached the study shed in the back corner of the Kuno family property. I hadn't been sleeping properly since the class trip and with school having been back in session for a week, I had the feeling I was starting to fall behind. It was because of these things that I had tried to beg off going to my aunt's home for the weekly family dinner. My mother had insisted though, so I gathered my study materials and brought them with me in the hopes that I could either get some studying done, or maybe even a nap in the shed. Band practice would keep me from taking a nap prior to dinner, but maybe I would be able to concentrate on studying instead by letting the music keep me awake. Stepping up to the door, I could already hear the sound of Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit" being played, I couldn't hear who they had singing though. Akane always loved to take Cobain's role in that song, my brain commented flashing an image of Akane working her way through the song's opening. She also loved how that song then turned on its head and dove into the grunge. I smirked at the thought as I shifted from my winter shoes to a pair of house slippers and pulled the inner door of the space open after putting the shoes in a cubby. "Last song," I heard Kagome say and frowned a bit. If they were stopping now then either whoever they had on acoustic wasn't making the cut, or else they had been going at it for hours already. Been at it for hours, my mind provided when I spied the dirty breakfast dishes sitting on the kotatsu. Well at least I might manage… It was then that my mind froze as the opening acoustic guitar riff started playing from the sound system.

Here she comes, mm, just like an angel.

Seems like forever that she's been on my mind.

Nothing has changed, she thinks I'm a waste of her time.

There she goes.

No, she don't know what she's missing.

Can't she see I'll never give up the fight.

I'll do all I can.

She understands my desire.

My heart clenched afresh as her voice filled the room. This had been the song she had gotten the music club to practice with her so she could ask me out that first time. It hurt hearing her sing it now, the memories it brought to the front of my mind, just as I was sure it did the same for her. Looking around, I spotted Kagome's laptop sitting on the sound board and plugged in, so I walked over and opened it. Seeing Akane sitting there playing her father's old acoustic guitar also hurt as I remembered the hours that she and I had spent, me watching and listening to her learning the chords and frets and how each one sounded when "picked" or "strummed." Hours spent in each other's company just talking, listening, solving each other's problems, secrets shared between us, and then sharing ourselves. Hugging myself I realized, I missed her, and I regretted asking her to stay away.

Everything hurt, including seeing that gaijin girl that looked eerily similar to me sitting next to Akane, but what made this so painful was that I couldn't blame her, not for anything. Even as my mind played back what happened on the plane as a part of the memory montage of our lives together, I couldn't find it in me to blame Akane. She had been protecting me, just like she always had, ever since the first day we met, and I had always let her. I had always known, deep down, that there was a ruthlessness in Akane, there wasn't anything she wouldn't do to keep me safe from anything and everything, including herself if I thought that was what was needed, and apparently, maybe even from myself. No, I thought, I ended our relationship, I was the one that told her to never contact me again. Spirits, three weeks, almost a month, and just hearing her voice and seeing her face made me want to hold her again. I couldn't do that right now as she had moved to where her aunt lived. What I could do, was possibly get a message out, maybe get through to her, and maybe, just maybe, she would forgive me enough to at least talk to me.

Akane*

I wiped my face, clearing the small bit of tears from my face as the last notes died out. Looking up at my screen as I was about to tell the others good night, I froze at who was in the new window. It was then that she started to sing.

Looking back over the years

Of All the things I've always meant to say

But words didn't come easily

So many times through empty fears

Of all of the nights I tried to pick up the phone

So scared of who might be answering.

By the third line the rest of the group had picked up the song while I simply stared dumbfounded at the screen of my laptop. This was the song that she and I had learned to sing together, that we had done acapella for our mothers before explaining how we felt about each other. To me this and the song I had just done…THAT'S IT! the light came on in my mind and just in time for me to pick up the second verse.

Taylor*

I smiled as I could hear both the love, and the heartbreak in their singing of the song. Glancing over at Katie I could see the wonder in her eyes as well. She senses it as well, I thought and then used a fly to catch her attention before pointing over to the Director. She nodded slightly and slipped off out of camera view and over to her, leaving me to do the same. Go get her Akane, I thought with a smile.

Miss Militia*

Walking into the Ward's common area I looked around and counted five of the six Wards I was hoping to find here. "Where's Chris?" I asked scanning their faces.

"Getting a snack," Dennis answered pointing towards the kitchenette causing me to turn and see Kid Win coming out with a bag of chips.

Once he sat down and had offered the bag around the group, I spoke, catching their attention. "There are some things that we need to discuss this afternoon," I told them. "And while I know you are here off the clock this is rather important so pay attention." I pinned Dennis with a stare with that last point as he had a habit of only half listening. "As many if not all of you may know, yesterday the Merchants hit Weymouth Mall. They did this while Akane and Taylor were there with Glory Girl and Panacea." The response to this was expected, chuckles and cringes at what they expected happened to the Merchants. "Also, amongst the crowd was one other parahuman who, because of her actions yesterday, was offered a position as a probationary Ward."

"Another new Ward?" Dean asked. "We seem to be hitting the lottery when it comes to new capes this month."

"Is the newbie a complete rookie?" Carlos asked, "or do they have some experience?"

"Oh they have experience," I answered, "a serious Striker with Mover and Blaster sub-ratings," they all blinked at that. "The point being though is that because of her home-life she's going to be living here in Headquarters for a little while, at least until we can get her housing situation sorted out."

"Miss Militia," Missy piped up, "I'm sorry but I can't think of a hero anywhere, independent, vigilante, or Ward that fits those criteria."

"That's because until yesterday she was considered a villain," I stated calmly and then let the screams of "What?!?" wash over me.

Finally though, the hubbub died down and Dean asked the question, "Vicky told me that Rune helped with the situation at the mall, is that who's joining us?"

I nodded and Dennis gave a rueful shake of his head. "So Sabrina the Teenaged Nazi is pulling a Von Stauffenberg," he commented earning raised eyebrows from the rest of the group. "I have only two questions regarding this." I nodded for him to continue. "First, how likely is this to be a feint or ploy to gain inside intel on the Wards and Protectorate? Second, whatever reason she gave for turning to us, do you believe her?"

The others nodded to this making me smile, When Dean and Carlos move up to the Protectorate, you're going to find leadership very interesting Dennis. "To answer your second question first, Yes, both the director and myself believe her, as does Akane and Taylor." The group all nodded to this giving it the weight each person felt that it deserved. "Furthermore, her bridges with the Empire are thoroughly burned. In fact, if it wasn't for the unwritten rules, I think Othala would be sitting in a holding cell about now going by what happened when we went to get Rune's things this morning.

9am*

Getting into the building downtown was easy, even deep into Empire territory like it was, it still had a delivery entrance for large, heavy items. That entrance only needed an occupant's key card to operate, the same as the freight elevator which we used to transport a four-man team, Rune and myself up the apartment building and to the apartment that Rune was sharing with her cousin and her cousin's husband. "Hopefully they will be gone," Rune said. "If that's the case, we'll be able to just grab my stuff and go. In case they aren't though, I will go in first to diffuse any possible issues. Ophelia means well, but she's given herself completely over to the cause."

I nodded to that, zealots could cause issues for anyone, and someone with that kind of belief and a willingness to die for their beliefs would be trouble. it's what suicide bombers are made of, my mind jibed at me. "I'll go in with you, the others can wait in the hall unless they are needed." Rune nodded to that and when the elevator opened led the way to a non-descript door where she once again used her keycard to unlock the door.

I heard the electronic clunk of the lock disengaging as Rune turned the handle and pushed the door in, "This won't take long," Rune said as we walked in, and then I could hear someone talking to her from deeper inside the apartment.

"Oh thank God you finally showed up," a woman said from inside the apartment and to the right. "Everyone has been worried that something had happened. Get changed real quick and I'll let everyone know that you're fine…" she trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw us, even as the winter coat she had been shrugging into settled on her shoulders. "Well this is unexpected." She finished flatly.

"Ophe, just stay calm," Rune said raising her hands to show they were empty. "We're just here for me to get my stuff and then we're out of here."

"Really," the other person, a young brunette woman about 25-years of age said. "And why is the PRT and one of their "Heroes" here with you to get your things?"

"Because I'll be joining the Wards this afternoon," Rune answered maybe a little hotly. "I've finally seen through the BS that," she paused for a minute before continuing, obviously having chosen a different word than what she had planned. "I've seen through what he's been shoveling to us for years and I'm leaving while there's an offer on the table."

The pair glared at each other for a couple of minutes before the older one sagged, sighed and nodded. "Alright Katie," she said moving over to a table set in a dining nook. "Go get your things, I know when I'm not going to change your mind."

"Thanks Ophelia," Rune replied and took off down the side hall at a jog.

"Simmons," I said calling forward a female trooper. "Go with her, help her pack her things." The trooper nodded and followed Rune at a more sedate pace. Turning my attention back to the young woman that I assumed was Rune's cousin, I continued talking. "I imagine there are a lot of questions running through your mind at the moment, and while I can't tell you much, I can say that she chose this without any pressure whatsoever."

"Ophelia," snorted slightly at that. "I don't know if there could be a truer statement than that in the entire world," she said, a wistful smile crossing her face. "With her it is an easy thing to say that no one can force that girl to do anything she doesn't want to do. She's stubborn as a goat and twice as hardheaded that's for certain, but a good heart in her all the same."

I smiled at that, "I don't know her yet," I replied, "but she could have kept her head down yesterday and she didn't. That makes her good people in my book."

Ophelia nodded to that, "Just keep her clear of Shadow Stalker please." She said causing me to raise an eyebrow at that. "It's nothing to do with the, cause, but the girl had a habit of shooting first and asking questions never and Katie would usually be the one tasked with bringing in the wounded after an ambush."

I sighed at that and mumbled, "Nobody is perfect, but that girl…" I let myself trail off for a moment before looking at Ophelia and replying, "Shadow Stalker is well out of the picture and no longer capable of being an issue." This caused both of her eyebrows to move towards her hairline only for Rune and Simmons to return to the room. Rune had a backpack and a suitcase while Simmons was dragging a rolling case in her off hand.

"That's all of it," she said looking at the two of us. "Ophe, heres the keycard to the place," she continued laying the keycard that had gotten us in and up the freight elevator in the first place. "I wiped the laptop once I had all my files pulled out, so it should be good to use again."

"You could have the computer, you silly girl," Ophelia said standing up and pulling Rune into a hug. "And also remember, you can always come home if you choose."

Rune hugged her back before holding her at arms-length, "It's a nice and generous though Ophelia," Rune said smiling sadly. "But unless you suddenly decide to come join me, then this is goodbye."

"Never goodbye cousin," Ophelia said letting go of Rune and stepping back. "Only good luck, and good hunting," she continued. "No matter which side either of us is on. Now get out of here before my husband comes to see what's taking so long."

Rune smiled before grabbing the handle of her suitcase and leading the way back out of the apartment and back the way we had come. "One last thing Miss Militia," Ophelia said as we reached the door. "Make sure someone has her back, some of our mutual, acquaintances are not as, accommodating or accepting as I am.

"I won't say don't worry," I told her in a low voice, "you will anyway. But she has a couple of good ones watching out for her, both in and out of costume."

"Thank you," Ophelia said with a nod and then closed the door behind me, leaving me to go back the way we had come in, to the freight elevator, and the quiet trip to our next stop.

10am*

"Katie, what are you…" the brunette that opened the door stopped speaking when she saw me off to one side of Rune. I had changed clothes to a set of PRT undress BDU's instead of my usual costume. "Katie, is there a problem?"

"Can we come in Kayden?" Rune asked looking a bit sheepish. "What we need to discuss, it's not for open discussion." The brunette raised an eyebrow at that but nodded and stepped back, allowing us to enter.

Closing the door Kayden asked, "What is the issue Katie," as we stepped into a combination living room/dining room and Kayden gestured at the small table.

"Were you serious about going to the light side Kayden?" Rune asked in a low voice causing the woman's head to snap up and glare at Rune. "I remember when you left Max you said you had to change things to keep her safe, to raise Aster right. Do you still want to do that?"

The woman cut a glance at me and then sighed, "I do," she answered looking back at Rune. "The problem is that Max has such power and reach, I highly doubt I could get Aster, let alone Theo clear of him."

"Depending on what you can give us on him," I said softly, "we could likely get you into witness protection. Between that and rebranding as a hero," I looked her in the face, "if we can get enough on him, he won't be an issue to anyone but the prison system, the Birdcage if he pushes matters to far."

Kayden's eyes went wide at that, looking at me and then returning her gaze to Rune who nodded. "I'm telling them everything I know about him, Brad, and Uncle James, and then thinking about it, I remembered you wanting to do better. I didn't give anyone your name, and Hannah here will keep this quiet, but I was hoping you would come in with us and help take them down."

Kayden thought about it for a moment while looking at the infant sleeping in the playpen. "Do you really think they'll relocate us? Get us clear of their reach, the Gesellschafts' reach?"

"I won't lie to you, and I won't make you any promises," I told her. "But if what Katie tells me is true, you knew Mr. Anders and his operations better than anyone else, and I know a series of three letter agencies that would love to know what you do about him."

Kayden smiled a grim, but apparently infectious smile. "This is going to go international, and it's going to embarrass some big names in certain communities." Kayden finally answered. "That said though, I'm in I'll do anything for my little girl."

I nodded at her, "Then let's get the two of you out of here."

Notes:

There are a lot of hyperlinks that I used in this, every set of song lyrics goes to Youtube for the appropriate video. However, I'm sorry to say that AO3 seems to eat the hyperlinks so you'll have to look them up yourself here.

Chapter 6: Chapter 5

Summary:

downtime and fluff

Chapter Text

Taylor*

"1 Tsuki 3-nichi no 7-ji 45-bu made ni rokkā." Akane was muttering in her sleep as I checked on her. "Kyanbera no 2 tsuki no kibō satsujin-sha." I was planning to wake her up as it was already ten, but standing in the doorway watching her mumble in her sleep was entertaining in its own way and I wished I had my phone on my so that I could record her and ask her what it all meant. "Man'naka no kodomo wa 5 tsuki chūjun ni burokkuton o osoimasu."

"Akane," I said trying to wake her gently. Her response was to mutter "Chōnan wa 8 tsuki ni Indo o otozuremasu." So I raised my voice a little and called her name again, "Akane!"

"Mphll" she answered into her pillow before raising her head and looking at me blearily.

"Time for breakfast," I told her before heading back to the Wards lounge and the kitchenette where the bacon was cooking. "How do you want your eggs Akane?" I called back as I turned the current crop of pork strips.

A minute or so later Akane stumbled into the common room and looked at me, "What did you ask?" she asked me.

"How do you want your eggs," I said as I pulled the current strips of bacon out of the pan and dropped another set in. The pan was only big enough for three or four full sized strips at a time, thus making it a small production to cook an entire pound. "I can make you some fried, scrambled, or an omelet, take your pick."

She looked at me for a moment before shaking her head and giving me a hug, "Thanks Taylor," she said resting her head against my shoulder. "Just a couple scrambled is fine, I'm going to get a shower and fully wake up, I'll be back in about ten or so."

"Kay," I said as she shambled back toward the rooms and showers and I turned my attention back to the bacon before reaching over and turning up the radio that sat on another counter. I was in too good a mood for too much silence.

Akane*

Hot water cascading across my head seemed to wake me up, even as I scrubbed my face with my water filled hands. I hated waking up after long nights like last night, I had ended up spending until about five in the morning talking with Mayumi and her family, getting my life back there back on track a bit. At least I could call and talk with her again without upsetting her, or at least I hoped it would be without upsetting her. The fact that she had spent the last few weeks getting little to no sleep due to what happened on the flight disturbed me. I never intended to scare her, I had just wanted to keep her safe, and dealing with the terrorists had seemed like the best way to do that. The problem was of course that dealing with the terrorists had required being a bloodthirsty and cold-hearted bitch.

I sighed and shut off the water. Last night had allowed some closure though, and at least Mayumi and I were talking again. Part of the problem was that it happened at all, and it was going to take more discussion to work things out, assuming the two of us decided that we wanted to try and make a go of things. It wasn't long before I stepped out of the bathroom, my thoughts having carried me through drying off and dressing. Re-entering the kitchen, I found Taylor finishing up putting breakfast together. It wasn't anything particularly difficult, just scrambled eggs and bacon with toast and juice to go with it, still though, it made me happy that she had at least thought of me. "Thanks Taylor," I said as she handed me one of the two plates, "it smells great."

Taylor blushed a little at the compliment and sat down opposite me at the counter, "Hanging out with your friends last night was fun," she said after a moment. "I never realized I was tired until it was over."

I nodded, "Adrenaline crash," I explained, scooping some eggs up from my plate. "That was perfectly normal after something like yesterday, did you at least sleep well?" Having asked a question, I took a bite of the eggs and felt my eyes start to roll. She had scrambled them but had used the bacon grease to keep them from sticking to the pan. So Good! I thought, almost not hearing her answer

"I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow," She answered. "You seemed a bit out of it this morning though, how late did you stay up talking?"

"Almost five," I answered, and Taylor got this look of utter panic on her face. "Don't worry about having woke me up," I continued. "I need to keep the same sleep cycle as everyone else, it just means I will probably go to bed a little earlier tonight so that I can get up on time for school tomorrow." She eyeballed me a for another minute while I enjoyed a piece of bacon before finally calming down and asking another question.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, and that's fine if you don't," she said looking away for a minute. "But what did that Youth Guard twit say that had you so steamed last night?"

I sighed around another mouthful of eggs, Taylor, for all her issues, cared more about those around her than herself. Kind of like I would, she put her friend's feelings, needs and desires ahead of her own. Gotta love her, I thought as I finished the food in my mouth before answering. "She cursed my parents and grandparents, not realizing that both were dead," I said as calmly as I could. "She one of those people who thinks that violence is never the answer, or at least if violence must be used, then it should be an adult using it against an adult, not a teen."

And there's the expected explosion, I thought as I watched Taylor's eyes go wide and her face go an interesting shade of red. "That FUCKING BITCH! Taylor snarled standing up and leaning on the counter. "Next time I see that little fucking shit stain…"

"Taylor," I said, cutting off her rant and drawing the flashing eyes of her anger, Holy fuck she's hot, I thought for a heartbeat. "I can fight my own battles when it comes to bureaucratic little turds like her, don't worry about it. Calm down, sit down and enjoy your breakfast."

Taylor looked at me for a moment before taking a deep breath and sitting back down. "At least tell me she got called down for it," Taylor said before shoving an entire piece of bacon in her mouth angrily.

"I think they tried," I answered. "Though they both may have been a bit in shock as I went toe to toe with the bitch." At that point I took a second to breathe and center myself. "That said, I did sort of start it," Taylor spocked an eyebrow at that so I explained. "She tried to harangue Aunt Emily, and I stepped in, playing like I didn't speak English very well and called her a fucking idiot in Japanese. Her main problem is that she is blinded by her ideology, and between her can't we all just get along, kumbaya mentality and her need to make a mark protecting children from people who in her mind will only abuse them, well, it's easy for someone like her to be blinded to the truth."

"The truth being that sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in," Taylor said more calmly than she seemed to feel. "It doesn't matter if we want to or not, it has to be done."

"Not quite, but close," I replied. "Violence is one possible solution, should we always default to it, no. Having it available when it is needed however, should always be on the table." Because sometimes all you can do is smash your opponent.

Taylor nodded, a thoughtful look on her face as we finished our breakfast. As we were cleaning up she finally spoke up again, "That girl that showed up at the end, just as your aunt was breaking up the party, the one who started that last song," she said as she handed me a plate to dry.

"Yeah," I answered, "what about her?"

"That was Mayumi, right?" Taylor asked. "You never told me how much she and I resembled each other, nor why you broke up." And there went my face, bright as a fire engine I was sure, TAYLOR!?! I moaned mentally.

Ingredients:

2-4 Boneless pork chops

8oz can of pineapple juice

8oz soy sauce

1tsp minced garlic

1-small can pineapple chunks

1 medium can Chinese vegetables

1 small bag frozen stir fry vegetables

Directions:

Cut pork chops into bite size pieces and place in bowl with soy sauce, pineapple juice and minced garlic to marinade for one-half hour

While the meat is marinating start rice or noodles as preferred.

Once meat has marinated, brown in an oiled skillet before adding the vegetables and pineapple chunks, (all drained/thawed).

Mix contents of pan thoroughly and heat through until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are warmed but still crunchy. (can be cooked until vegetables are soft if necessary but not recommended)

Serve with or over rice/noodles as preferred.

I could hear Taylor's father coming down as I slipped out the back door of her house and then out the side of her back yard. They needed to have some time together and my pork stir-fry recipe was just enough for two, maybe three depending on how big a portion you took. That said though, between my time talking with Mayumi this morning and helping Taylor cook this afternoon, I was feeling a bit nostalgic. So instead of waiting and catching the bus back toward downtown and the PRT building, I caught the first one that came along, the one that headed deeper into the docks and toward the local Asian community center.

One of the things about Brockton Bay that I liked was that the bus system was considered neutral territory. Almost everyone here needed the busses to get around, at least unless you lived within walking distance of where you worked, and even then, it helped. That said, because practically everyone used the busses, no one could afford for fights to break out on them, thus the transit peace was agreed to, the first rule being that you did NOT start anything, nor drag anything onto a bus. Busses were for quiet and peaceful travel so that the people on them could get where they needed to go. Gang members who had been glaring daggers of hate at each other moments before, had been reported helping the other remove problems from the busses, and short of outside interference, they were probably the one safe place in the city for everyone.

Riding toward the area where the Asian community had centered, I watched the docks degrade further and further. This was considered Merchant territory for the most part, an area of town so run down that even squatters were few and far between, the only people that spent time out here were scrappers and those to high to care where they laid their heads. Slowly they turned bad, and then almost as slowly, they improved again as the bus trundled into occupied and habitable territory.

As the bus turned the corner to head back east in its meandering journey, I found myself looking on something you would expect in New York or San Francisco's Chinatown areas, that is, if Chinatown had gone by way of Las Vegas. Neon signs were everywhere, as were people moving around, and as the bus came to its first stop, I found myself filing off with the rest of the passengers, if for no other reason than to wonder around.

I honestly couldn't believe what I was looking at, there was no way in all the possible hells that this was here, and yet I was standing in front of the shop looking at the sign that declared its name. "The Cat Café" was a Nerima staple and had been since the early 80's when a Chinese exchange student had talked her grandmother into coming over with her to Tokyo and setting up shop. Sometime after that, after the second Chinese civil war and the destruction, (or maybe absorption) of the communist party into the Chinese Imperial Union, the group known only as the Chinese Amazons had become refugees. This is one of the many places Lung earned his reputation, helping the women warriors of the Amazons hold off the Imperial army, the Yangban and another tribal group known only as "the Musk" while first their non-combatants, followed by their leaders and the rest of the tribe, evacuated. Most passed through Hong Kong and Singapore to ships which carried them elsewhere in the world. A handful, or more accurately an extended family group, came through Tokyo, to The Cat Café and Elder Ka Lon.

Eight years prior- Nerima, Japan*

"Greetings young ones," the old woman said as we walked into the café. The elder was a bit shorter than I was, old, wrinkled, and tottered around with a cane, and yet she was still somehow fast on her fast on her feet as she served steaming hot bowls of ramen and other food. "Have a seat and tell this old lady what she can get for you."

"One Wrecking crew sized serving of pork ramen please," Mayumi said as she laid down our combined money. Weeding her aunts flower beds and scrubbing the slime out of mister green turtle's pond had been hot, tiring work, but well worth the yen it had earned us to get this treat.

The elder looked at the coinage and sighed, "I'm sorry girls, but that's not quite enough," she said solemnly. "Costs have gone up recently and I had to raise my prices to compensate. I can give you a regular bowl for that much with some change back…" she trailed off knowing the problem that this particular solution caused.

"But one regular serving isn't enough for both of us," I said softly. "Is there someway to earn the money to make up the difference?"

The elder pulled out her pipe and chewed on the stem for a moment, (she had quit smoking a few years before but the habit of chewing on the stem while thinking still persisted,) and then spoke. "Come with me girls, I know you planned on eating first, but maybe a couple of chores for me can earn you each a bowl outright." Scooping up our money Mayumi and I followed, we would spend the next couple of hours doing dishes and scrubbing various implements, apparently being judged by the elder as we worked. The next week I ended up starting to work for the café, learning the Amazon style of martial arts by doing so, and giving the elder's granddaughter the ability to learn how to teach in the Amazon style."

Now*

Stepping into this Cat Café was like stepping into the one in Nerima, tables and booths covered the floor and at the back stood the kitchen window that the bowls would generally come flying out of at something close to mach speed. Off to one side of the window was a small hallway where the restrooms and the door to the kitchen were, while right next to the door sat a small hostess/waitress station. "Hello," the girl standing there said as I walked in. "Are you alone?" she asked, and I nodded looking around at the people in the shop. "And will this be dine-in or carry-out?" she continued. The place was about half full and as I opened my mouth to answer, a familiar voice snapped something out in Mandarin causing the girl to break into action.

Five bowls flew in quick succession out of the kitchen window towards one of the tables, but the girl was already moving to intercept, catching and laying out four of them in quick succession. She had apparently missed the fifth bowl however, and I found myself reacting to it, catching it just shy of hitting her in the back of the head, tucking it close and spinning to bleed off it's momentum so that it didn't spill. Looking at it I asked the group at the table, "Who had the fully loaded pork?"

Once the bowl was handed over to the customer I walked over to the window and called in through it, "Oi, you almost lost your server with that last bowl."

"Then she need pay better attention," a familiar voice replied before stepping around into the window. "I know you," the lilac haired woman said looking at me. "Where I know you from?"

I smiled, "Elder Xian Pu," I said switching to Japanese and bowing. "You know me from Nerima, you helped train me under Elder Ka Lon"

She looked at me, obviously thinking back over the years before her eyes widened in shock. "You are Mayumi's friend, the fast learner," she said suddenly and I nodded. "What is your name though, I can't remember?"

"Akane, elder." I answered.

She nodded, obviously committing the name to memory, "Alright, but what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Getting some dinner for me and my aunt," I answered. "With what I've done today and the late night I had last night I figured that a touch of home that my aunt can not only identify but enjoy would be welcome."

"No," she said and then paused, "I mean obviously I can handle that, but what are you doing in Brockton Bay?"

I could see she wanted to ask where my mother was but wasn't going to push on that at the moment, still she needed an answer, which an honest one would cover mom just as well. "There was an accident while mom was heading home last month, she didn't survive." I said softly. "Aunt Emily was my last surviving relative, so I came here to live with her."

The elder disappeared from the window, her voice calling out a command in Mandarin even as she headed around the wall and came through the kitchen door a second later and wrapped me up in a hug. It felt good to be held honestly and I hugged her back all the same. "Why didn't you stay with Nabiki or Ran," she asked, "both of them would have been happy to take you in."

"Mayumi and I had just broken up," I said, causing the Amazon to put me at arms-length and look at me. "It wouldn't have been right to put either of us through that, so I came here to live with my father's sister."

"You and Mayumi were?" the question was left hanging there because of course no one had told the Amazon.

"We were dating," I answered more calmly than I felt. "For about two-years, then there was an incident where I protected her, but then everything went to hell because when I protected her and the rest of the plane's occupants, I scared the hell out of everyone there."

"What did you do?" she asked.

"What I had to," I replied, "they were going to hurt people, probably were going to rape Mayumi, and I gutted that one like a fish with his own knife." The last came out in a growl as I remembered tricking the man into the plane's bathroom and then using his own knife on him. "When they pulled us out, I was covered in his blood and unrepentant about anything I had done."

Xian Pu looked me in the eyes and nodded, "Good," she said coldly, "such things are to be done when necessary and put behind you. Now, what do you and your Aunt want to eat."

"Beef Bowls," I said smiling at the subject change. "Wrecking Crew size for me, but a regular for her, and don't spare the daikon."

The Amazon Elder nodded and called back the order in Mandarin to whoever they had cooking before sitting me down at a nearby table. "So tell me, what has been going on with you?" she asked, and I spent the time between then and when the order came out telling her what had happened in the last eight years.

The trip back from the Neko Hanten was faster and more hair raising than I expected. Part of that was because the Elder introduced me to the café's delivery girl and nascent mechanic Mutsu Haruka. Her, or more importantly, her motorbike, was going to be what got me to the PRT headquarters with my food order before things could get cold. "Elder," I said as the girl threw the bike back into working order, "I can catch a cab just as easily."

"Cab cost money," the lilac haired elder said smiling, "Haruka-chan can get you back faster by taking other routes." She tucked a couple of take-out menus into the heated box containing the food as Haruka handed me a helmet and goggles, and once I had them and the backpack style carrying case in place, we took off for downtown. Quite frankly, it surprised me that it took as long as it did for me to realize that something was wrong with the throttle.

Battery*

Assault and I had just stepped out of the PRT building to do a walking patrol of the immediate area when it happened. The only warning we had was the roar of a two stroke engine and a high pitched cry causing me to spin and him to be put face down under a motorbike. Thankfully the operator had killed the engine before the landing, so Assaults use of his power to negate the impact of him into the ground also killed the bike's forward momentum. "See, we here Akane," the operator said as the passenger climbed off the back of the bike and staggered away a couple of steps.

"Yeah no thanks to you, you maniac," the director's niece replied pulling the helmet and goggles she had been wearing off of her head. "Something is seriously wrong with that bike," she finished. Looking past her ride she saw me and commented, "Hey Battery, where's Assault?"

My response was to point down under the bike which caused the operator to gasp and jump clear, grabbing the bike by the main bar and lift it off of him one handed. "Gomen'nasai," she gasped setting the bike down next to her. "I no see…"

Assault, the damn joker, used the stored kinetic energy to pop back up to standing as if he was some kind of demented Jack in the Box. "It's alright sweetie," he said patting the girl on the helmet. "Accidents happen and I can take a shot like that so long as I can see it coming."

"You no mad?" the girl asked pulling the helmet and goggles off of her head to reveal long black hair and big green eyes.

Assault just ruffled her hair a bit and smiled, "It takes a lot more than a motorbike and the weight of a couple of girls to hurt me," he said tapping his chest with his free hand. "What has you girls out at this hour anyway?"

"Elder said to bring Akane-sempai back to PRT," the girl answered smiling up at Assault, she then turned and nattered something off at Akane who went pale.

"I think you need to get back to the café Haruka," Akane said setting the strange backpack she was wearing down and pulling out some large bowls and other items. "And I imagine Assault and Battery were going on a patrol about now, so they need to get back to it."

The girl sighed and nodded, "Is true," she said after a couple of seconds and taking the pack back from Akane. "Elder will want hotbox back for other deliveries and I need to see why engine go run away again."

"Let me take a look real quick," Assault said leaning over the bike motor and pulling out a flashlight. A couple of seconds later he nodded, "Yup, there's the problem."

"What problem?" the girl asked as she tucked her hair back into her helmet.

"Your throttle return spring is broken," the hero answered, "I can give you a temporary fix that will get you home, but you need to replace the spring itself."

"Hai," the girl said beaming. She then shook herself and apparently remembered her English and replied, "Yes please, and thank you."

"Not a problem," Assault said taking a paperclip and rubber band out of his pockets and hooking them up to replace the spring. "That won't last more than one trip, so you are going to have to get a replacement, but it will get you home."

"Arigato Assault-san," the girl said smiling before giving Assault a kiss on the cheek and starting the motor. "I see you next time Akane-chan," she called out and then started to putter away on the motorbike.

"What a nice girl," Assault said before turning back to me. "Don't you think so Puppy?"

Akane*

"He would make a good husband, I wonder if he's single." the words that had come out of Haruka's mouth haunted me all the way through the lobby and up the elevator to my aunt's office. The secretary had gone home at five, but Aunt Emily would usually work until eight or nine on a nightly basis to make sure the paperwork she had to handle was done. The last thing we need around here is a bunch of amazons trying to get hitched, I thought as I opened the door and saw my aunt at her desk. Easing through the opening I balanced the bowls on one arm while the other hand held the other essentials for good ramen.

"You know," Aunt Emily said, not looking up from her paperwork, "if your phone didn't have a tracking beacon on it I would be more upset than I am. That said, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Just that I needed to think initially," I answered setting the smaller bowl down on her desk with a few odds and ends to go with it. "Then, when I hit," I paused at that point because I had to ask, "what is the designation for that area by the way?"

"Asia-town" Aunt Emily answered looking at the bowl and additions. "Most folks call it Asia-town now, though it used to be called the West End because it was the western end of the bus lines."

I nodded, "When I got to Asia-town, it was a serious hit of nostalgia, which I expected, and I got off the bus to wander around just a touch." I smiled, "Then I ended up finding an old teacher and some really good ramen." With that I took the lid off my bowl and after adding a dash of soy sauce, lifted the bowl to my lips and drank down a couple of mouthfuls of the marvelous miso and beef broth that the Neko Hanten ramen always had.

"You know that no one is supposed to use the bus routes to gain intel on anyone else right?" Aunt Emily asked and I nodded. The bus lines were one of the few things around town that were considered hands off for one reason or another. In the case of the busses, it was that the people around town were so broke that everyone needed the busses and their routes. If gangs or individual capes made it to where a bus line had to be closed, then the people that that route covered would suffer, and while the Merchants almost directly, and the other gangs through other means preyed on and profited from suffering, people without jobs couldn't buy the various good or services that the gangs might provide. Furthermore, with the civilians in their territories out of work, the charities that acted as fronts for two of the gangs would have no donations coming in that were not money laundering, and thus all their illegal activities would be more easily spotted. Thus, the gangs kept the bus lines peaceful for their own benefit if nothing else.

"Good," Aunt Emily said before taking a careful sip of her ramen. "You won't tell me of any illicit things you might have spotted, and I unfortunately won't ask. Now," she continued, "Who is this old teacher and why is it important?"

"Well Aunt Em," I said separating my chopsticks and scooping up some noodles. "Do you remember when I was eight and I spent a few months working as a waitress on the weekends at that shop in Nerima?" she nodded absently around her fish cake and then stopped before raising her head and swallowing,

"The Chinese Amazons?" she asked.

"The same," I answered nodding. "Elder Xian Pu was actually the one to teach me, and she's still teaching, had a girl in there tonight going through some of the moves." I pulled out the half of boiled egg that came out of my bowl and ate it. "Not bad overall, needs to work on her situational awareness and keeping count, but she has the speed and the moves for where she seems to be at." Aunt Emily nodded slowly as I took a bite of my food before I continued. "The bigger problem is that one of them is showing signs of," I paused a moment to pick the right word for this one, "interest in Assault."

This sent Aunt Emily into a coughing fit, almost causing her to drop the bowl of soup as she hacked and wheezed around the broth that had gone down the wrong hole. "Explain," she hacked out after a minute.

"Elder Xian Pu had their delivery girl give me a ride back to base," I answered. "The throttle broke on the trip, though I'm not sure quite where, and when we arrived, it was by landing on Assault with her motorbike. He not only solved the problem of the runaway throttle but shrugged off the hit as if he's always getting landed on by two teenage girls on motorbikes. I think Haruka-chan was impressed."

"How old is she and how bad can this get?" Aunt Emily asked massaging her forehead.

"Fourteen, maybe fifteen," I answered, "and as to how bad, not very and extremely."

"Explain," Aunt Emily groaned.

I set my bowl down and thought, "Chinese Amazons," I said closing my eyes in concentration, "Matriarchally ruled tribal group where any woman's word is law. Tribal elders originally were simply the eldest of the various households, but once they fled the CUI in late 1999, they adapted to where each enclave has a group of seven. Elder Xian Pu is only a few years older than my mother and the same age as Mayumi's mother and if she is here then there is an enclave of Amazons, probably somewhere just outside of town, bordering on Asia-town." I frowned at this point but continued. "It has been reported to Elder Ka Lon that most if not all of the enclaves have been adapting to and adopting local laws as opposed to isolating themselves like they did in China, but to what extent the local group has I don't know. That said, if Elder Xian Pu is in charge here then she will be pushing to adapt to local customs. Because of that we are less than likely to see a challenge for Assault's hand in marriage."

Once I said that I heard Aunt Emily sigh in relief, "Thank God," she said, "I think Battery could take even an Amazon trained fifteen-year-old, but better to not even have to worry about it."

"Oh it's not Haruka-chan that we would have to worry about," I replied, "it would be her elder sisters or mother." Aunt Emily just groaned at the thought.

Miranda*

I sighed as I mounted the steps to the back porch. "Rough night?" I heard my father ask and I looked over to find him sitting on the porch swing where he could see the stars.

"You could say that," I answered. "I only came close to getting concussed twice tonight, which is an improvement." He nodded at that, so I continued. First one was during the dinner rush and I had my guard up enough that I sensed it just before it would have hit and ducked." He chuckled and I sighed, "broken bowl to pay for, mess to clean up, but my head was still intact. The second one though, a girl younger than I was had walked in off the street and caught it just before it knocked me cold."

Her father leaned toward her listening closely, "She caught it" he said, and I nodded. "Was she another amazon?" he asked.

"I don't think so," I answered. "I caught some of her conversation with Elder Xian Pu and the elder seems to have taught her years ago in Tokyo under the supervision of Elder Ka Lon." I sat down on the swing next to my dad and sighed. "The girl is phenomenal," I said, "and interesting. Not to mention I swear I have seen her somewhere before." This caused my father to lift an eyebrow and look at me. "She's not someone I know from around town, and not someone I have seen amongst the Amazons, but the Elder had Haruka-chan take her home."

"Did no one else recognize her?" my father asked. When I shook my head he then pulled out his phone. A few taps and he was showing me a picture and asking, "Was this the girl?"

I looked, "Yes," I answered, "why, is she someone important?"

"In a way," my father said smiling. "Congratulations daughter, you are the first of our family to meet your cousin." Cousin? I thought, Since when have I had a cousin?

Katie*

"That was," I started as Greg and I walked out of the cinema and into the mall's lower area.

"Absolutely horrible," Greg said shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he continued after a minute of us blindly walking toward the stairs. "The reviews said that it was a good date movie and I…" he trailed off with a shrug that left me shaking my head and smiling.

"I think that the critics figured that a sappy chick flick like that had to be a good date movie," I commented pulling him into a hug. "It fits their pre-conceived notions that women are all either sappy, romance addled idiots, or butch, battleaxes that don't know what "true love" really is." I watched as he smirked at my commentary and even blushed a touch. "Now," I continued. "Since the movie Taylor and Akane suggested doesn't start for another hour, what do you suggest to kill the time?"

Separating Greg actually stopped to think for a minute before responding, "We could just walk around the mall," he started. Something must have shown in my expression because he finished with, "but you're not a window shopper." I smiled at him and shook my head no, "Then really there is only the Arcade, the food court or Uber and Leet's place."

I lifted an eyebrow at the last. Taylor had shown me the PHO thread on what had happened yesterday, and I had never known that the pair had a shop here in Weymouth, "Where is that?" I asked conspiratorially.

"It's kind of hidden," he answered smiling, "they prefer word of mouth advertising rather than mall wanderers, but I used to frequent their shop when it was over in Lords Market.

"Then show me," I replied with a smile, "and let us see what we can find." Greg smiled before grabbing my hand and leading me around the stairs to the other side and a curtain covered doorway with a sign reading "Games, Comics, and Cosplay".

I had never admitted it to anyone, but I did have another secret besides being a parahuman. That secret was that I loved Japanese animation. The industry on Bet took a hit with the destruction of Kyushu, but there was still Aleph imports and within five years of the island's sinking various companies had managed to claw their way back from the brink through either the licensing or the production of various Miyazaki works as well as going back into their archives for older works. Many of the earlier anime productions that had never been released outside of Japan itself found their way to America and Europe as animation artists and writers tried to get various new material produced and ready for release.

In the interim, and more pertaining to myself, between internet downloads from Aleph and some borrowed DVD's from friends, I had managed to watch probably half of Ranma , the better part of Yu Yu Hakusho, and all three seasons of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was because of these that when Akane had walked in and so casually beat the hell out of Sophia Hess that I wasn't even considering trying to start trouble with her. She carried herself like she deserved the two names she carried. (I had asked the ABB boy, Adam, about her last name and he had given me the name of another anime for me to check out,) and I knew from interviews with the manga-ka Takahashi that her story had been based on real people that she had taught in school. No, Akane Takamachi was not someone I would have wanted to fight, and that was before powers got involved, and then seeing her pissed last night reminded me even more of her namesake and that anime.

All that said, walking into Uber and Leet's shop was like stepping into something akin to heaven. Along the wall to our left were shelves of shoe box sized totes filled with various disks, both of anime and games, mostly indexed alphabetically and separated by system. On the wall opposite the door were manga and comic books, alphabetized by title and again stored in totes for ease of sealing and protection. To our right was a register and behind it, a glass case containing various game systems and (what I hoped were) prop weapons while the center floor of the shop held a foursome of folding tables and chairs along with a quartet of mannequins. In the corner behind the register stood the Mjolnir armor that Leet had worn the previous day and one of the four mannequins was wearing the Shadowrun clothing that Uber had worn for the raid against the Merchants in the mall. Out of the other three mannequins I could only recognize one outfit, Yoko Littner's bikini from Gurren Lagann.

"Hello, and welcome to Games Comics and Cosplay," a voice said drawing my attention to a hidden door between the racks of anime and those of manga. A young man, only a few years older than Greg or myself was stepping out of what I imagined was a back area of the store, "I'm Uber," he continued, only a domino mask hiding his identity, "how may I help you."

"We're mostly just browsing," Greg answered from behind me as we walked deeper into the store. Uber nodded and Greg and I started poking through the various racks and totes. Greg seemed drawn to the print media more than the video, and I started looking for possibilities in building my own private connection of anime. It wasn't long before I was engrossed almost to the point that I didn't notice the flashes which caused me to spin and look behind me.

Behind me Greg and Uber were looking at a computer screen that sat in the glass case as images of me spinning around started to appear on the screen. Likewise, five columns appeared below the original pictures and a gauge started to show progress as a program worked its way through its operations. "What are you doing?" I asked stepping over to them.

"Leet wrote a program that can use pictures to take measurements and custom make cosplay outfits for people," Uber answered. "Thing is, it also cross references images all across the internet for potential costumes so that you have something to choose from if you don't have any idea what to get made." He smiled at this point, "It's great around Halloween for people who need last minute costumes, maybe twenty-four hours for a turn around so long as we have the base materials." I felt my eyebrows rise at this as images started to fill the five columns with a match percentage beneath them, and then I saw Uber hand Greg a five-dollar bill causing me to cock my head at Greg.

"He bet that the system would throw out Tifa or Alice before anyone else and at the highest match," Greg explained, "I said that it would throw out Rikku or Yuna." At that point I smiled, Greg grinned and with a shrug we turned back to the screen as it seemed to settle on what seemed to be my top five matches.

"Alright," I commented as I looked at the screen, "Greg seemed to call two out of the three we can see, but what is the lockout on the other two." I asked as we looked at the results. Greg, as I had said, had been right that Yuna and Rikku had popped up as the highest matches, but Uber had been right that Alice from the Resident Evil series had also come up. With those being the top three I had wondered why they last two were blacked out and labelled "Age Locked."

"Well," Uber said rubbing the back of his head, "You know that there are various adult materials out there as well," I nodded and then suddenly facepalmed as the realization hit me.

"The last two are from adult franchises aren't they," I answered, and he nodded in response. "Are you even able to look into them?"

"We can," he answered, "but in all honesty the program gets wiped at the end of the day so that there is no compromising information on anyone."

I nodded at that, "Yuna's outfit then," I told him and both him and Greg goggled a minute at me. "What?" I asked, "I'd look good in that." I said pointing at the outfit.

Greg grinned, "Yeah, but it's a little early for Halloween and unless there is a local comic-con that I don't know about…" Greg trailed off as I smiled. "Alright," he said matching my grin. "What are you thinking about?"

"Well there happens to be two different conventions next month, one in Boston, the other in Marlborough and I was thinking that maybe I could take you on at least a day trip to one of them." I went silent at that point, figuring I had probably gone just a touch to far, too fast.

Greg floundered for a moment, his bran obviously trying to reboot from what I had said. "You know," Uber said coming to Greg's rescue, "I could give you a discount on the Alice outfit as well if you'd be willing to wear it for this years Halloween episode." I looked at the cape and raised an eyebrow, so he explained. "The mall has already contracted Leet and I to do a zombie apocalypse adventure night for Halloween proper, having Alice and maybe a few other heroes show up to help the customers would make for an epic show."

"I might be game," I replied smiling. "Especially if I can convince my choice for Jill Valentine and Ada Wong to come join the fun. That of course could probably be helped by you being willing to give them discounts on those costumes."

Uber opened his mouth to respond when Greg's brain finished rebooting, and he stepped over in front of me and kissed me good and proper. This sent my brain spinning in the process and once it ended, I was staggering a bit before looking at Uber who was grinning. "I think I can get Greg into shape enough by then to take a role in this as well. Maybe an Umbrella merc outfit?"

Uber nodded, "Let me get your number and I'll get your Yuna outfit started," he said as Greg and I stood there grinning like a couple of idiots. "The costume should be done by next weekend unless we get some serious rush orders, but I'm not expecting anything like that. You contact your other teammates and get them in here over the next few months and we'll get everyone's costumes ready by the start of October."

I nodded to that, "Alright Greg, lets go see another movie," I said taking him by the hand and leading him toward the door, stopping long enough at the cash register to pay for the outfit and a couple of anime DVDs and provide Uber with the number to my new cell phone.

"You two have fun now," Uber said smiling as we walked out of his shop, I grinned as I pulled Greg closer, holding hands as we went back towards the theater and what I had been told had been a decent action movie.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Five a.m. and my alarm blared jarring me from peaceful dreams that disappeared with the real world's intrusion. This was a school day, so I didn't have time to waste as school started at eight, and I needed to get my daily workout in. Sliding out of bed, I threw the covers into some semblance of neatness and grabbed my workout clothes before heading for the shower. Fifteen minutes to clean up and get dressed before I spend five stretching my muscles out so that I can run. Then, after ensuring that I have everything I need to either get back into the apartment or into the Wards area of the PRT I jog down the four floors or eight flights of stairs to reach the street.

For the last week I had been running varying routes through town to the PRT building, learning both the shortest and fastest versus the longest routes so that I could vary my routine and path. Today was a long day, twenty-five blocks in an expanding circle from the apartment to the PRT offices. The short route was only five blocks, a good solid sprint that was good for the trip home, parkour style free running, or trying to beat some incoming rain, but the twenty-five block route was a 5k run, and at a little better than three miles, it would take me about a half hour to finish depending on traffic. Checking my phone, it was 0530 as I slipped the earbuds into my ears and started my running playlist to hear Pat Benatar start singing "Invincible" before taking off down the block and turning left. A good run would get my blood pumping and that would get my brain going for the day.

Katie*

"Good morning everyone!" I heard Akane call from the Wards area hallway, "It is now zero-six-fifteen and school starts in one hour and forty-five minutes. This is to be considered first call, breakfast is on hand in the kitchenette and I will be providing eggs to order in ten minutes once I get showered and change clothes. Last call will be at zero-seven hundred at which point I will drag you from your beds and force you to get up so that you are not late for school. That is all."

"Mphbt" I mumbled into my pillow but then forced myself to roll over and sit up. I hate morning people, I thought as I drug myself out of the bed and toward the door in my pajamas. Need clean clothes for school, my brain continued causing me to turn to the tiny dresser that currently held all my clothes. Pulling out a button-down shirt, undershirt, slacks and the necessary under-garments took a few minutes as my brain was slowly spun up by physical activity, regardless of its serious lack of caffeine. Finally, I was able to make my way down the hall to the showers only to be passed by Akane as she headed out of the shower and back toward the front of the Wards area.

"Morning Katie," she said, "are you the only one here?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Everyone else was gone when I got in last night from my date. Could you scramble me two with some toast?"

"Sure," she answered, "bacon will be up as well." I nodded and continued toward the showers even as my brain groaned, Mmm, bacon.

Taylor*

I hitched my book bag a little higher as I stepped off the bus and looked down the block at the gates of Arcadia. Leaving middle-school my grades had been good enough for me to go here, but Emma's hadn't and for our friendship's sake I had joined her at Winslow. Worst mistake EVER! my mind supplied even as I started walking toward the gates. The friendship that I had sacrificed my place at this school for died that summer, and then I ended up in the hell that had been my time at Winslow. Stopping outside the gate's opening I took a large breath of air and then slowly let it out, centering myself. I have friends here, I thought, I won't be alone in this. Another deep breath and a self-affirming nod and I was walking through the gates at a brisk pace.

"ID please," someone said from my right, causing me to turn and look.

Realizing that the person my insects had picked up waiting there was a security guard caused me to blush. "Sorry," I said softly, "Winslow you learn to clear anything that blocks your line of sight quickly lest someone uses it to jump you."

The security guard was probably in his mid-thirties but clean shaven and sporting an almost shaved head. Not the Empire type skin head haircut, but a military cut with the sides shaved, and while his face was initially a bit harsh, it softened a good bit when he smiled. "I understand miss," he said calmly as he accepted and checked my coded slip of paper against a list. "I went to a rough and tumble school myself, and then afterwards I joined the Corps. You learn the hard way that a little paranoia is usually a helpful thing." After a minute of looking he seemed to find my number amongst his list and nodded. "They'll have a school ID for you in your welcome pack, and if they don't, they'll probably take you to make one. You have a nice day now." He finished as he handed me the coded slip back with a smile and I smiled back.

"Thank you, and you too," I replied, and he just nodded before turning his attention back to the crowd entering. I turned and started walking toward the main doors of the building, looking around for any familiar faces. I probably have remembered to look up as well, if I had I wouldn't have been surprised when I heard Vicky call out "Hey Taylor!" from above me and to my right, causing me to jump a solid six-inches into the air.

Amy*

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at Taylor as she jumped, her head snapping around to spot who had called out to her. Vicky had risen above the crowd, (as usual) and I was walking in her wake as people cleared a path in case she dropped, which she did in Taylor's direction as she called out. "Hey Vicky," Taylor said with an embarrassed wave only to be pulled into a one-armed hug by my sister.

"Little jumpy there ain't ya," Vicky ribbed Taylor who smiled and shook her head.

"Old habits," she answered with a shrug before gesturing at the school. "So, this is Arcadia huh?"

"Yeah," I heard a voice comment from behind us causing me to spin in surprise at the red-headed prankster that had snuck up behind us. "Not quite as Durance Vile as Winslow, but it is still our parent's preferred method of educational incarceration."

"Taylor," Vicky said smiling. "This is Dennis Dynamite, junior and prankster extraordinaire." Dennis bowed at the waist, causing Taylor to giggle. "He is currently in the middle of a prank war with my boyfriend Dean."

"Nothing destructive I swear," Dennis replied holding up his hands as if surrendering. "And I'm also careful to not involve bystanders," he smiled slyly. "Except as either a laugh track or with their permission."

"Making a mess on the other hand, he will do," I commented, earning a raised eyebrow from Dennis. "That talc bomb in his car didn't get anyone but him, but it did ruin our ride home that afternoon." As I spoke, I crossed my arms and gave Dennis a look that usually cowed Vicky on the spot. Dennis of course, was either made of sterner stuff, or just found himself that much funnier because he smirked in return.

"That said," Dennis continued through his smirk. "I need to get inside though, because someone's boyfriend is looking for revenge and has planned to set something up to get back at me, so I need to be prepared." With that said he walked off towards the doors with a smile on his face and a jaunty wave to the crowd.

"Well that was something," Taylor said wide-eyed. "What was this Talc-bomb that he got your boyfriends car with?" Vicky sighed, but then waved at someone else who was walking through the gates. Turning, I scanned the crowd to see Katie and Akane walk in with a boy of about the same age. He was a little pasty, and a little on the flabby side, but otherwise clean. Unfortunately, he also walked with the wary look of someone who was watching his back for the knife on a fairly regular basis. Glancing at Taylor I could see that she was a little wide-eyed looking at them. "Hey Katie, Akane, where did you meet Greg?"

"Greg was the reason I was at the mall Saturday," Katie said with a smile as she pulled the boy into a hug.

"Only after she beat the hell out of a pair of idiots who were trying to beat the test answers out of me," Greg said smiling. "She's helping me get into shape and learn how to defend myself."

Taylor smiled and it was an honest smile not a forced one. "That's good you two," she said with a nod. "Now, we just have to deal with the hell that is School."

"It's not that bad," I said only to receive a look from the lot of them, Vicky included.

Akane snickered and then began to sing, "We call ourselves, Blake's seven with pride,"

"Pride, confusion, backstabbing and pluck," Katie and Taylor chimed in while Vicky laughed and Greg went wide eyed. Honestly, I just stared blankly.

"Though Blake is gone, and three of us died," Akane continued.

"Amateur rebels, relying on luck," this time Greg and Vicky both joined Taylor and Katie in singing. I just covered my face as all five of them broke into laughter.

"Where did you find that song?" Greg asked once they had all finished their laugh. Taylor and Katie both pointed to Akane while Akane and Vicky looked smug.

"One of the songs I picked up at a comic convention in Tokyo," Akane responded before looking at Vicky.

"I actually collect filk," Vicky answered smiling. "It's one of my guilty pleasures that even Amy didn't know about." They all turned and looked at me and my response was to shake my head and walk towards the doors to the school. Its too early for this shit! I thought.

Akane*

Walking into the school building Amy and Vicky led us to the office where I saw a couple of girls walk out followed by a stern looking woman with a meterstick in one hand and a scowl on her face. She then turned to look at us and nodded, "Are you more students from Winslow?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," Taylor answered offering the woman a slip of paper.

"That won't be necessary," the stern looking woman replied. "Vicky, Amy, if you would be so kind as to take them to Mister Wolfe's classroom." Vicky nodded and the woman turned to the rest of us, "Mister Wolfe will hand out your welcome packs and then bring you to the photo lab to have your school identification made. He will also, for today only, act as your homeroom teacher and ensure that you have everything you need including your class schedule and handling any drops or adds you feel need to be made. Please do not make his job exceedingly difficult as he has volunteered to do this for you." We all nodded and then she looked at me, "Are you Akane Tachamachi?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," I answered.

She nodded, "Then let me inform you that your actions at Winslow," she continued, "while appropriate for the immediate situation at that time will not be allowed here. If you find someone bullying someone, go get one of your teachers immediately, or watch the situation while sending someone else. Unless someone's life is in immediate danger you are not to physically intervene, am I understood?"

"Completely ma'am," I answered with a slight bow only to get a nod in return.

"Alright then," Vicky said clapping her hands once to get all of our attention, "Mister Wolfe's classroom is this way, and we have about a half-hour until we have to be in our seats so I can give you a short tour before class starts. Does that sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me Vicky," Taylor said with a nod before looking at the rest of us. All of us nodded causing Vicky to smile.

"Excellent," Vicky said bouncing on her toes, "This is the central hall where the offices are as well as a singular elevator for our physically disabled students so that they can get upstairs to their classes and a matched set of bathrooms. On the second floor is the school store in the place of the office while the third and fourth floors have classrooms in the place of the office. To your left is the east hall, and at its end is the cafeteria while to your right is the west hall and at it's end the gym and locker rooms. Also at the end of each hallway is a staircase going up to the higher floors to match the one here behind you and to your left and right."

Four staircases, two in the center of the building and one at either end, all with doors to allow easy egress in case of emergencies. I thought as Vicky started leading us down the east hall. Unlike any of my schools in Tokyo, there wasn't a set of shoe lockers in the main entry hall for people to change out of their street shoes. A significant difference in culture my mind commented, Still, it is something expected. Another thing I had to keep in mind, as a cultural difference, was that I was expected to move between classrooms here, My school in Tokyo, you moved up a floor when you changed grades, and maybe changed classmates depending on how things were or were not shuffled in the week or two between classes in the spring. Here though, you could cover any subject you wanted in your scholastic time, and you while you would have to move around to do so, so did everyone else.

"What about when we learn to drive?" Greg asked breaking through my mental meandering while earning a lifted eyebrow from Katie.

"There is a student parking lot on the Gym side of the school," Vicky answered, "but there are a series of rules that make driving your own car to the school a bit of a hassle unless you live far enough out that the bus is a pain."

"Or you can't fly and pissed off your ride by getting into a fight with them," Amy snarked. "Besides, the rules for driving aren't that bad, the school's mechanics shop teacher has to inspect it and you have to have your drivers license and insurance verified by the office. Once those little issues are dealt with, so long as you can afford the car and the gas, you can drive yourself to school if you want." We all nodded as we took that in before Vicky led us to our classroom and left us to go to her own day.

Akane*

Walking into the classroom I gave the group a nod as they turned and looked at us and then sat in an empty seat that was close to Taylor. I watched her glance around and smiled. The bitches three wouldn't be here, though I couldn't say for certain that none of their hangers on wouldn't make the cut, those three had specifically been banned from attending Arcadia because of what they had done. A gasp from behind me had me looking back at a black girl, about my age, wearing glasses and a flower print dress, (that did not exactly flatter her appearance,) with her hands over her mouth as her eyes darted between Greg and Katie. "Miss Erkhel," an adult male voice said from the front of the classroom, grabbing practically everyone's attention. "While I am sure that the romantic prospects of your fellow students will be the grist for the rumor mill throughout the day," the teacher said, not even showing his face from behind the book he was reading one handed while the other jotted down notes on a legal pad, "I would appreciate it if you did not shatter the windows in the room with your squeal."

"Yes sir," the girl said softly with a thick southern accent. That the man was multi-tasking like he was and very obviously not being strained by it caused the class to murmur more about the teacher than the glances Katie and Greg had been throwing each other's way. Something that was rather comforting to me, as was the fact that they all went dead silent when the chimes rang out through the Public Address system drawing everyone's attention to the morning announcements.

"And finally," the voice over the PA system said as the announcements wound down. "I want to welcome our new students from Winslow High School. You are the most intelligent students that those halls have produced, and both the teachers and the administration here at Arcadia wish you luck in facing the upcoming challenges you will face here at Arcadia." Three more chimes sounded and the PA clicked off.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the teacher said, stepping out from behind his desk to the podium at the center of the front of the room. "I'm going to read off a list of names, if you are here, simply say present. If you do not hear your name, come see me after I am finished and have assigned the daily reading. Please hold all questions until I call for them. Now, Aaronson, Andrew?"

"Present sir," a boy in the back responded, and like that we were off. He read through one hundred and twenty-five names, of which only twenty-five were in our classroom, and when he reached the end, he assigned the reading that he had talked about.

"Now that that is over," he said feeding a scan card into a reader next to his desk. "Inside each desk is a welcome packet including a student handbook and a school map, please pull both of these out." He gave people the time to do so before speaking again. "Now, each grade has a section that is primarily for their lockers, all of which is indicated on the map. Please find where your locker section is on the map."

One of the girls near the front row raised her hand and was pointed to, so she asked a question, "Sir, the locker sections are designated by the letters A through H. What would set where our individual lockers sections are?"

"Very good question miss," he replied. "Sectors A and B are for Freshmen, C and D for Sophomores, and so on. Does that enlighten the rest of you?" the majority of the class nodded at that and then proceeded to find the areas that their lockers would be in. My own were C and D, both of which were located on the second floor. "I want you all to recognize that somewhere in those areas is going to be your locker, and your classes will more than likely be all over the entirety of the school. Classes start at eight am precisely, and last for one-hour each with a ten-minute window between classes to get to your locker and then be seated in your next class. Fourth period is the only exception to this, consuming an hour and forty-five minutes to allow for each group to have a full half-hour for eating their lunch plus the requisite time to get to class afterwards. Fifth period is, honestly, a catch all period, and on Fridays during the season, used for pep-rallies as well as an early start to intramural sports practices and games. Now turn to your handbooks." The class pulled them out and listened. "Turn to page three and start reading, we have forty-five minutes until second period and I want you all as well versed in the rules as possible while once your schedules get here, I will call you up individually to go over them, their locations and any possible drops and adds to the system."

I raised my hand and was called upon, "Sir," I said politely, "I was informed that there is a Work Study Program, how does one become part of that?"

"Good question miss Takamachi," most of the class seemed to blink at that and turn to look at me. "Most of that," he continued, "we will cover during the drop add process, however, you should all know, and I will say this now so that I don't have to repeat myself during the drop add choices, that to participate in the Work Study Program you must have Study Hall as your fifth period class. Yes, you can double up if you have first or second lunch and have two study halls back to back, thought the school does not recommend that, and then you must note on a drop add form that it is for Work Study. Later in the week Miss Evers the Guidance Councilor here at Arcadia will call you into her office and show you what professions are available as well as help you put an application and resume together to send to the profession of your choice. At that point it is up to the professionals in question as to whether or not to accept your application. Now, get to reading." With that he went back to his desk and his book.

Taylor*

It seems like they are going to scatter us through the school, I thought as the four of us compared schedules. All of us had first lunch, which would allow us to compare notes at least, but otherwise we were all over the place. First period had me in History with a Mrs. Jackson, while Akane had Algebra II with Phillips and Katie had chemistry with Pavlich. Second period, I shared anatomy/physiology with Akane while Katie took my place in Jackson's History class. Third, had me and Katie in Bassett's AP English while Akane was back here for Wolfe's AP History. Then we had roughly forty-five minutes to meet up in the cafeteria, get and eat our lunches and then be off to fourth period, which for me was Algebra with Greg in Phillip's classroom while Katie had calculus of all things. Greg, the poor soul, didn't even cross paths with any of us except my fourth period. All three of us girls had, probably because of PRT involvement, study hall as our fifth period, which allowed all of us to quietly apply for the Work Study Program, while Greg was stuck with Auto shop. "Are any of you going to try out for any of the clubs or sport teams?" Millicent Erkhel asked as the class period was coming to an end.

"Maybe next year when things aren't so hectic," Katie answered, and I nodded.

"A paid Work Study program like this," I said. "Even at minimum wage for data entry, is a damn big boon to my family's finances. Add to that, it will be both a foot in the door and experience to call upon after college." Millicent nodded, she had just transferred to Winslow before Christmas Break, so she didn't have anything to do with the trio other than just being another cog in the rumor mill machine. "Still though, I might check out what clubs the school has, at least for next year."

"I'm still playing with my band back in Japan," Akane said with a smile, "In fact, I need to see if I can spread the advertisements around here."

"Advertisements for what?" Katie asked. In response, Akane pulled a much-folded flyer out of the inside pocket of her blazer and spread it out. "Akane, it's in Japanese, so I can't read it." Katie said in a deadpan tone.

"Your no fun," Akane said with a smile to show that she was joking before pulling an almost identical one out that was in English.

"Covering the End," Katie read, "a benefit concert series on pay-per-view to benefit Endbringer victims around the world. Brought to you by the Kuno Foundation and the Wrecking Crew Memorial Fund." Katie looked at Akane, "Kuno, as in Kagome's family?"

"Yeah," Akane said just as the bell rang. "I'll explain it to you later though, gotta run this by Aunt Emily as well as the school."

Sophia Hess*

Stepping into the room Sophia looked at the five back lit positions. Two held the silhouettes of men, two more that were obviously women, and then the fifth which she couldn't tell at the moment "Sophia Hess," a male voice but not one of the shadows above her said. "Also known as the Vigilante and soon former Ward Shadowstalker. You have been charged with Assault with the intent to do great bodily harm, attempted murder with a biological weapon, and conspiracy to commit the same. All this is in violation of your previous plea agreement and probation. Do you have anything to say before judgement on the revocation of your probation is rendered?"

Suddenly someone came into the room from behind Sophia, throwing light halfway up the plinths behind which the shadows sat. "Sorry for my tardiness Directors," a woman's voice said as it approached, causing Sophia to look over her shoulder. A brown-haired woman in what had to be a government issue business suit-dress stepped into the light that was spotlighting her in the otherwise dark room. "There was an issue with my verification at the gate."

"And you are?" the man on the left asked in a bemused tone.

"Janet Kowalski, Esquire," the woman answered. "I'm here to represent the Youth Guard and Miss Hess's interests."

All five of the shadowy heads nodded at that, "Very well then," the man on the left continued. "As asked, do you have anything to say before this administrative panel passes judgement on your failure to adhere to Wards standards of behavior and your probation."

"Yes I do," Sophia said loudly and clearly. "I want my lawyer, and my mother here now. You have no legal ability to take action on me without their attendance and permission." Alan Barnes had drilled those arguments into her in case she ever found herself on the wrong side of a courtroom or in this case a directorial panel again.

"First miss Hess," the woman on the panel to her left responded before picking up a piece of paper in front of her. "Your mother has washed her hands of you, Because of the evidence against you she has signed over guardianship to the state in the hope that you can be rehabilitated."

Sophia looked over at the Youth Guard rep who said nothing but shrugged slightly. "Lawyer, and mother," Sophia insisted even as her heart sank a little. If her mother had abandoned her, Not like she didn't do that years ago with that fucking bastard that was Michelle's daddy, she thought and then mentally shook her head. No, mom apologized for that incident, hasn't let anyone get that way with me again.

"Your lawyer is also not coming because he is also up to his eyeballs in the situation," the woman on the right of the panel responded. "Between the possibility of his complicity in your wrongdoing and his daughter's involvement in this particular set of charges, he has been required to stand down from your case."

Traitor, she snarled mentally before blinking. "Then where is my new lawyer?"

"The courts will assign you a lawyer when you go before them for your charges," the man on the right said coldly. "This is an internal PRT review and we are asking you to give us a reason why we should not further violate your probation by continuing on with rescinding your Wards membership."

"Lawyer, mother." Sophia stated bluntly as she cast a glance at the woman beside her who had so far said nothing. "Youth Guard Representative."

"First of all Miss Hess," the figure in the center said, showing her identity to be a woman, though a bit butch by the haircut and figure. "Your Youth Guard Rep is right there beside you, Also, as we have tried to tell you, this is an internal administrative hearing to see if we are going to kick you out of the Wards program and leave you to the not so tender mercies of the state." Sophia tried to speak at that point, to interrupt, but the woman's gaze bore down on her. "Per your plea bargain, if we remove your Wards membership, you are to be immediately remanded to the Massachusetts Department of Juvenile Justice for placement in juvenile detention. While in detention you would receive a lawyer and then have a hearing before a judge to determine if the cancellation of your membership was for cause or not. If the judge determined that it was for cause, this would be added to your charges as a Violation of Probation."

Sophia was silent for a moment, considering what was likely to happen. I could grovel, she thought. Apologize and they might just let it go with a slap on the wrist and a reassignment. But then another part of her mind countered. No, fuck them, she thought, useless bureaucratic bastards. They aren't willing to do what the city needs anyway, so fuck them. After a moment though, she finally shook her head, "If you are not going to get me my lawyer, my Youth Guard Rep, AND my mother, then I have nothing to say to you," she told them.

"Very well then," the woman at the center replied. "This administrative panel finds you in breach of your Wards behavioral requirement and hereby removes your Wards membership. Due to the violation of your plea bargain that termination for cause invokes, you will be remanded to the Massachusetts Department of Juvenile Justice for trial for Violation of Probation, Assault with intent to do great bodily harm, Attempted murder with a biological weapon, and conspiracy to commit said murder. Trooper, return her to her cell and ensure the preparations for her transfer are ready. She had a court date for a bail hearing on Friday." The trooper nodded and took Sophia by the arm, leading the teen out of the room.

Taylor*

When lunch came, I was pleasantly surprised. At Winslow it had been a question of what would happen, which clique would try to get on Emma and Sophia's good side by torturing me and ruining my lunch. It was why I had taken to finding out of the way spaces to eat in in the first place. Because of this though, I entered the cafeteria with a bit of apprehension, right up until the point that Katie patted me on the shoulder and Vicky popped up behind us. "I have a usual group that I sit with," she said bouncing a bit on her toes, while Katie and I both put our hearts back in our chests. "But I'll make sure that there are seats for all four of you." With that she darted off to one of the tables that was already filling with other girls of our general age group.

"I think we all need to focus on staying calm today right Taylor?" Katie half asked from behind me. I gave her a half-hearted smile and headed for the food line. The choices here surprised me for a few minutes. Where Winslow had slop, Arcadia had identifiable food. Here there were wraps, pizza, burgers and salads, milk, juice and bottled tea. At Winslow it would have been mystery meat goulash or stew that might or might not have been spiked by the Merchant kids who passed through ahead of you. At Winslow it would have been all bargain basement backdoor deals to save money, here it was all fresh and pretty and because of that, I felt a moment of disgust that all the money that could have possibly saved Winslow was being spent here. Because the Wards are sent here, my subconscious commented.

It was only for a minute though because then the thought rushed through my brain, Fuck Winslow, what did that hell hole ever do but cause me trouble. "Katie," I said calmly but coldly as I collected a wrap a salad and a bottle of tea.

"Yeah Taylor?" she answered grabbing a couple of slices of pizza, milk and a salad.

"If I ever start bitching about how Winslow could have been saved," I said in a deadpan tone, "smack me."

The blonde chuckled as we used our new student ID's to pay for our lunches, "Sure thing," she said. "I mean, you'd do the same for me for lamenting my former associates right?" I nodded and she shrugged, "Then we're good for that, lets go eat with Vicky and Amy." I nodded again finding that indeed there were seats opposite the pair and their friends at a particular table. The fact that three of the tables had been pushed together to form a monstrous one with Vicky at the center of it meant little to me, but Akane was already sitting down and I watched Katie wave to Greg as he walked in with Dennis and Chris.

Akane*

The rest of the day passed as many school days have before and would later quietly and without comment. Ah the end of the day, I thought as I walked with Taylor and Katie towards our bus. I watched a red sportscar drive by with Dean and Carlos in it and shook my head. "I'm going to have to help Dean get back at Dennis for that prank," I muttered. "A 1971 Hemicuda is not something that should be talc bombed."

"Ah, should we see if we can't get you into the auto shop class as well Akane?" Katie asked in a teasing tone of voice. "I'm sure you could have all the guys you could handle if they saw you fawning over some old muscle car."

"I can and will hurt you Katie," I grumbled good naturedly. "That was a classic though, and it didn't deserve to be used as part of a prank."

"Oh I don't disagree with you there," Katie replied giving me a smile. "Sometimes though you just have to accept the good with the bad." I just had to nod to that because it was true, so she continued. "The question becomes, which of us will manage to get a car of our own first, and what will it be?"

What would I like, and what could I afford? the thought was an interesting idea for discussion. "I won't get one any time soon," Taylor said grudgingly as we climbed onto our bus. "Things are tight enough as it is, and dad needs a newer truck to go back and forth to work in more than I need a car to waste gas in hanging out and running around." Another thought that I could only nod along with. Like Taylor, there was some money put back for me, but that was to go to college with, not for frivolous things like getting a car, or in my case, a motorbike. The thought of the wind in my hair and someone special snugged up tight behind me as we drove down the highway was just, enjoyable. The upside was that there wouldn't need to be any special changes to take it back to Japan with me if I got one. The problems though were that a proper motorcycle though, it would cost as much as a decent car, and I couldn't do half the things I could with a car, let alone the fact that I couldn't legally have one until after I turned 18 due to the endorsement restrictions.

"Honestly I just want something that gets me from point A to point B," Katie supplied even as we sat down on the bus. "Nothing fancy, though a classic like Dean's would be nice," Taylor and I both nodded to that, "but really even a beat-up old station wagon would be fine."

"Maybe by the time we're eighteen we will be able to afford something," I muttered half to myself, half to the others. "Until then we have other things to worry about." They both nodded to what I said and after a few blocks in silence we arrived at our corner.

Entering through the "back door" to the PRT Building was becoming fairly normal to me, and I was becoming very adept at triggering the code panel's release with my phone just close enough to put away the phone in a pocket before punching in my personal code. Walking in we turned to the right and took the stairs down two levels to the Wards area and its back door next to the showers. "Hey you guys," Missy said as she came out of her room sans visor. "There was a message left that whoever saw the three of you first to send you straight to Glenn's office.

"Costuming," I said at Katie's questioning look. "Thanks Missy, we'll head straight there as soon as we grab masks."

The younger teen shrugged and headed toward the lounge area, probably on her way to the console. "Not a problem Akane," she said. "Just give him hell alright."

"You got it," Taylor and I said at the same time, smiles going from ear to ear across our faces. Turning to Katie I asked, "You ready to fight the monster that is Public Relations?"

"Lead on McDuck" she said with a smile causing Taylor and I to both chuckle.

Katie*

Akane led the way upstairs and into the Public Relations office only to stop short a few steps inside the office. "Mister Chambers," she said icily, "I thought that we had agreed that this was NOT going to be our costumes."

Stepping past her and Taylor, who had also stopped I could see what looked like some kind of scouts outfit and a children's ladybug Halloween costume. "It's all we have for tomorrow's debut and news conference, that is unless you can get your source to pop up with a few outfits within sixteen hours."

"What about mine," I asked, suddenly dreading the answer.

"No choice at the moment but to send you out there in your old one since you are not rebranding in another city," he said and I goggled.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" I snapped. "I go out there in my old costume either the Empire thinks that it is ok to push me in my civilian identity for Wards information, or they brand me even more of a traitor than they are going to."

"And I usually have a full PR crew including either a seamstress or tailor and at least three to four weeks to work on a debut announcement," the head of Public Relations came back. "That at a minimum is enough to get new costumes put together, not the three days I was given to work with here."

I looked at Akane who had pulled out her phone and was typing into it, "Who are you contacting?" I asked.

"Sabah," she answered, "She's our contact with Parian, we need to get you measured anyway, and if Parian can throw together a normal cloth costume for the three of us in that time frame we're fine. That is, unless you have any other ideas than this SNAFU."

Glenn spoke before I could say anything, "I already called Parian," he said, getting a shocked glance from Akane. "We've used her before on capes in other cities for special costumes, and some piece work. I wasn't against her doing your costumes, but she has tests today and tomorrow, and a backlog for their fashion show this weekend."

"I may just," I answered, pulling out my phone and pulling up a number while Akane grumbled under her breath.

"Uber and Leet's Games, Comics and Cosplay, Leet speaking," the voice on the other end answered.

"Leet," I said with a hopeful smile, "A couple of friends of mine and I have run into a costuming emergency and need custom costumes by," I looked at the man named Glenn with a questioning eye.

"Two PM tomorrow," he answered and I repeated the timing to the gamer.

"Depending on the costume," he answered, "yeah, it can be done. The question is are you able and willing to pay the cost because this isn't going to be cheap."

"One second," I said to the tinker before turning to the others, "They can likely do it but it's going to cost major money for the short turn around."

"I can handle that," Glenn said, breathing an obvious sigh of relief. "Put him on speaker." I did and Glenn took over, "Leet, this is Glenn Chambers of the PRT."

"Oh hell," the tinker exclaimed, "How did you end up on this line, I was talking to a customer?"

"One of our new local Wards," Glenn answered. "You worked with her on Saturday."

"Oh," Leet answered. "So the PRT is having a costuming emergency huh?"

"Yes," Glenn answered. "Usually I have several weeks and an entire PR team to work on things like this, this is being thrown out there fairly slap dash and in a hurry, and that's where you apparently come in."

"Like I said to the young lady," Leet said with an almost audible nod. "Depending on the costume depends on the turn-around time and cost."

"Ninja Gaiden," Akane answered, "One midnight blue, one deep forest green and one a dark dusky rose."

"Yeah, we can do that," Leet answered. "If you get down here by four, we could probably have them done tonight before the mall closes."

"I'll bring the girls down personally for measurements," Glenn commented before hanging up. "What made you think of calling them?" he asked as he locked down his computer and grabbed a cell phone and laptop bag.

"They are making a Yuna costume for me for a convention that is in a few weeks," I answered. "Uber was telling Greg and myself about the machine that Leet made and programmed that could make costumes for anyone just off their photos and also pick out the most likely characters for them to cosplay." The Head of Public Relations smiled gleefully and nodded as he led the way out of his office, using his cell to call for a car to meet us in the garage.

Leet*

I looked up as the door chime dinged and started to greet these customers with the phrase Uber and I had finally agreed upon, only to stop short, caught staring at the garish mass of clothing that had entered. To say the man was large was like saying water was wet or that ISP lag killed, and the clothing he wore was dated even to my own estimations. Behind him though entered three teens with domino masks on their faces. "Mister Chambers I presume," I said, trying to remain calm.

"And you must be Leet," the large man replied with a smile. "Yes, I'm Glenn Chambers, head of Public Relations for the PRT, now, I understand you have a machine that can churn out costumes pretty much at need?"

I could already see the near manic light in the man's eyes and sighed, "Sort of," I told him. "Let me flip the sign and get the girl's measurements. After that I can show you if you really want."

Chambers nodded and then paid attention to everything as I had each girl stand in front of the anime and video games racks so the system could get their measurements. Then, since I wasn't getting their names, I listed them as their desired color of costume in the system before I closed the door to the mall and led the four into the back area of our shop. "Now," I said as we entered the employee only area. "Please don't touch anything that's back here unless I tell you that you can. Some of these things can be dangerous if not handled properly, others are completely harmless while a few are actual weapons."

"Like the Mjolnir armor that you were wearing for Saturday's little bit of fun?" one of the three, a long-haired brunette asked.

I nodded as we reached the costume machine. Behind it sat eight revolver racks of cloth bolts, one for each primary color and then a combined one for white, black and a few shades of grey. "Pretty much miss Rose," I said. "Now, this is our costume machine. As you can see, it has a control stand and an auto-feeder of all the general colors as well as various shades of each color." At this point I tapped on the touch screen and watched as the big screen on the wall at the discharge end of the machine lit up. "Now," I continued as the measurements fed into the system from the camera program. "Is there anything special, like some embroidery perhaps, that you would like added to the costumes."

The three girls shared a look before looking at Chambers. "Go ahead girls," he said. "This is on the PRT, especially with what you did on Saturday going so well."

The girls nodded and Rose stepped forward, "An owl outline in grey on the front left panel of the shirt please."

I nodded and pulled up a group of images on the screen. "Do any of these match what you want?"

"This one please," she said pointing at a one that depicted the owl of the goddess Athena of Greece. I nodded and shifted the image to the desired location and set the thread color. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you." She said before stepping back.

"What about you miss Green?" I asked, actually starting to get into the job.

"The Lonely Mountain' she answered wistfully. "Centered across the back in brown." I pulled up image files for her to page through until she found what she wanted. "This one," she said pointing out the image from the map in the book. "Just remove the words, Smaug can stay there in his usual red."

I smiled, "It shall be done." I told her. "What about you miss Blue?"

"The White Tree of Gondor across the back in white" she answered. I pulled up an image file and she picked the version she wanted.

"Very well then," I said before turning to the man with the expense account. "Mister Chambers, I assume you have a PRT issued credit card?"

"I do," Chambers answered, "When can these be delivered?"

"Just to give myself a buffer," I said calmly, "how does eight in the morning strike you."

"Perfectly reasonable," he answered with a smiling nod, "Cost?"

"With all the embroidery and the rush job," I said running the numbers in my head. "Three hundred even before Uncle Sam gets his cut."

"That sounds reasonable as well," Chambers said, pulling out his wallet. "We'll settle up and be on our way."

"This way then," I replied, pushing the button to start the machine running and leading the way back into the front of the store where the credit card reader was located. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you Mister Chambers,"

"And we may just be sending more work your way Mister Leet." Chambers said as the reader chirped. "Hopefully not something so rushed next time."

"That would be appreciated as we try not to run this thing except on Sunday nights after everything has closed," I answered as the register dinged showing the sale. I handed him his receipt and flipped the sign back to open while unlocking the door for them. "Have a nice evening." I told them and they all nodded and waved as they left. Well that was profitable, I thought.

Akane*

The rest of the afternoon was spent rehearsing for the news conference about what had happened Saturday and our debut. Glenn wanted things to go off perfectly and as we were about to leave for the evening specifically said, "Whatever you do, do not emulate Clockblocker. That boy caused us more problems than you can imagine."

"I knew his approved name wouldn't be a sexual inuendo," Katie grumbled causing Glenn to shake his head.

"No," the Public Relations man said, frowning. "He was supposed to be Time Lad, so that he could get rebranded as something more adult when he graduated to the Protectorate or left the program completely." At this point he smiled nastily. "Do any of you think that something like that, or even Victoria Dallon's "Glory Girl" moniker will survive them passing into adulthood?" All three of us shook our heads at that and Glenn continued. "Rune, even with your known history with that name, it is one you can give new meaning, and lots of things skitter around, not just insects. No, of the three of you only No No is likely to have to rebrand when she finishes her time in the Wards, and even that might not be necessary."

"I don't know if I will be sticking around after I graduate," I said softly, earning a lifted eyebrow from the man. "I don't know what exactly I want to do with my life. I could join the band on the road if we make it big, I could go back to Tokyo and become an officer in the Cataclysm Division, college, family, I just don't know where I want to go yet."

"And that is perfectly fine," Taylor said, stepping up and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I know I want to go to college, but I haven't really tried to decide where, as certain people were sabotaging my work. On the other hand, now that I have an unimpeded chance, maybe by the end of junior year I will have an idea of what I can do."

"What do you want to do though?" I asked.

"Help people," she answered, "fix the bay, get this city back to the way it was when things were still working." She sighed, "After that though, I don't know. It is going to take a while I know, maybe my whole life. What about you Katie?"

"Fixing the city sounds good," she answered with a sigh as she sat down. "Things could be worse than they are now, but we're going to fight to keep people safe, no matter what. After that though, a family would be nice, a quiet job to settle down into, someone special to hold onto." At that point she nodded. "Have to clean things up first though. Find out a way to get that damnable tanker out of the way."

Taylor shook her head, "Dad has talked about that before," she said with a slight but sad sigh. "City will never do it as the cleanup would cost them too much money. Of all things they are more likely to just blast a new channel through the ship graveyard, assuming the money and the business was there to demand that level of shipping. But with the lack of automation it's easier to justify shipping things overland from Boston and it's harbor than cleaning out our own."

"So the city is likely to just wither up and die huh," Glenn asked. "Then why fight for it."

"Because it's our home," Taylor answered, "Because the people here deserve better, and even if we can't supply that for them, we at least have to give it our all in trying."

Katie nodded, "Besides," she said, "maybe we'll luck out and find some cape that can solve the problem one way or another."

"Just remember that the cleanup is the real problem," Taylor said. "So I wouldn't bet on anything that simple." The PR head just smiled.

Taylor*

The next day passed in a blur. Wake up, run, shower, breakfast, school. All of those things flew until last period and Study Hall. "Miss Hebert, Miss Fleischer, Miss Takamachi," the teacher said catching my attention as well as Akane and Katie's. "Your work study has been approved, there is a van waiting to take you and the rest of your study group in front of the main doors."

"Thank you, ma'am," we said, almost in unison before turning and leaving the classroom. Work Study alternated days, some people had Mondays and Wednesdays, others, like us had Tuesdays and Thursdays while no one went in on Fridays so that they could be there for school events. Walking out of the building I could see Carlos and Dean drive past in Dean's car even as we started toward the black PRT SUV. "Are you two ready for this?" I asked as I climbed into the back seat and slid over to the driver's side.

"As I'll never be," Katie answered as she took the front passenger seat and closed the door."

"So long as that joke got the costumes right," Akane replied closing the back-passenger door. "He mucks this up I'm going to string him up in the mall atrium by something sensitive and give every passing kid a swing with a wiffle ball bat."

I winced slightly at that, but I could also understand. The three of us and the PRT were laying a lot of trust in Leet's machine and if it, or he messed things up, we were going to go out there looking like idiots. "I'm sure if something had gone wrong that we would have been notified," Katie said calmly over her left shoulder. "Though if we need alterations…" she trailed off and at that Akane and I both smiled.

"Minor fitting issues we can handle I'm sure," Akane said calmly. "But if something is majorly wrong, we're in trouble."

Even the monogramming being missing would be acceptable, I thought as we passed into a guarded parking garage behind the PRT building. "Akane," I said as another thought struck me. "You're going to have to show us how to do up the masks on these things correctly."

"That isn't a problem," Akane said with a smile as the SUV stopped and we unstrapped ourselves. "The face covering was one of the many things my grandfather taught me in my youth." Her grin set me at ease, Why does it though?

Apparently, I didn't need to worry about the masks after all. Leet had set up the headgear so that the face covering simply stretched across the front and hooked into the opposite side. Pants, a sleeveless turtleneck styled undershirt and a jacket that from the printed instructions could either be simply wrapped around tied shut like a Gi top or buttoned closed at three points. The footwear was soft-soled and calf-high boots made to look like sandals but zipped up the back. Stepping out into the lounge area I found Akane going over Katie's costume before nodding with approval.

"Looks good," she said setting the belt around our teammate's waist. "And I might need to talk to Sabah and Parian about these boots. I didn't expect Leet to come up with something that was both functional and comfortable."

"What were you expecting," Katie asked a hint of nerves in her voice.

"That I would either have to make something last minute myself," she said smiling, "or else teach you two how to tie traditional sandals to your feet."

"That doesn't sound like fun," I muttered slightly sourly. "Any chance we could use this headgear design for our own as well?" I asked.

"Depends on Parian," Akane answered while looking me over. "Working some protective headgear like a boxer's or MMA fighter's helmet in there would be a bit much, I think. But maybe some padding held together with ABS plastic strips. Anything too bulky would give things away and end up looking like a military helmet covered in cloth. You might have to cut your hair though."

"I'll consider it," I said. My hair was my most feminine feature and I had already bundled it up in a thick braid and wrapped it in a cloth sleeve that clipped on underneath the helmet.

"Your public awaits ladies," Gallant said stepping in through the door with Aegis right behind him. We had another couple of hours of rehearsals before the news conference and debut, but we needed to get busy.

Putting the mask in place I turned to the others, "Let's do this," I said. No No and Rune both fixed their own masks and nodded. As far as we were concerned, it was game time.

Sherryl Atkinson was the chief correspondent for PRT and Protectorate issues for Brockton Bay's ABC affiliate and took her job seriously. Because of that she and her camera crew were already in place when Deputy Director Renick stepped out and the entirety of the room went silent. "Ladies and gentlemen," the bureaucrat said with a hint of solemnity. "In a moment Director Piggot will step out and state the PRT and Protectorate's stance on what happened Saturday. After this she will answer a few questions before Aegis comes forward to introduce and accept the incoming new Wards. Once they have been introduced there will be a short period for questions for them as well. With luck and all of this will be completed for your stations to do editing for the six-o'clock news. If one of the new Wards declines to comment on a question do not badger them or you will be removed from the press pool."

Sherryl nodded at that. It was a common statement, at least the last part as the PRT had no patience for reporters badgering their junior members. Still though, she had a job to do and was about to give her camera operator a tap when he gave her a thumbs up. Steve knows his job, she thought as the Director of the local PRT stepped out onto the stage and up to the podium.

"Thank you for coming this evening," she said setting a tablet on the podium in front of her. "Saturday afternoon the parahuman gang known as the Archer's Bridge Merchants took a number of civilians and unknown to them, one Empire cape, two Wards and two members of New Wave hostage while attempting to rob Weymouth Mall. We have since confirmed that their intentions included not only those robberies, but the forceful addiction of every hostage there." The woman, no longer as out of shape or obviously injured as she had been before Christmas, stared at the group of reporters coldly. "The fact that the robberies were foiled, the hostages freed without injury and the apprehension of so many of that gang along with two of its parahumans happened is a direct result of those five young people. Also that night, the Empire cape that I mentioned being there, turned herself in to PRT jurisdiction and has joined the Wards program. Anyone who knows the Empire's cape lineup will recognize her name and her power as she is not changing her name, but her motivations have changed, allowing her to see the light that is law and order. Now, I will take a few questions. You," the director finished pointing at Sherryl.

"Director," Sherryl said standing up. "You said that the Merchants have lost two of their capes and that one of the Empire's capes has joined the Wards, is there any thought as to moving on either gang?"

"Sherryl," the director replied with a smile that was probably three-quarters feral because the woman could sense the blood in the water. "You know I can neither confirm nor deny any potential operational possibilities. However, I will say we are looking at our options and intelligence for anything that is actionable both in the near and long term."

Sherryl sat back down as the director turned and pointed to another correspondent, "Director," another woman said calmly. "What led you to take a criminal into the Wards program?"

"Maria," the director said responding to the local Fox affiliate's reporter. "One thing you have to remember is that everyone makes mistakes and that teenagers make more than adults. This particular young woman was raised in a household that while not physically active in the Neo-Nazi movement, supported it financially. She called her parents out on their own hypocrisy for not acting on their beliefs and was sent to a family member who was physically active in the movement. She triggered sometime afterwards and was admitted to their roster immediately. Lately, she has found reason to break from their grip and leave. Furthermore, the only crimes she has ever been accused of have been misdemeanors, notably defacement of public property and resisting arrest without violence."

"But what about comparisons to Shadow Stalker?" another reporter called out causing the director to grimace.

"Shadow Stalker was a mistake," the director said, her voice turning cold and angry. "She was captured as a vigilante who not only didn't want to work with us, but thought we were too weak to do our jobs. Her acceptance into the Wards was against my judgement and under orders from my superiors. The difference between them is that this young woman could have walked away after the debriefing under rules of truce similar to those of the Endbringer fights. Instead she decided to take probation and Wards membership when it was offered

Taylor*

As Aegis stepped out onto the stage to take the microphone from the director, I took a deep breath and watched Katie, No, I have to think of her as Rune. A new Rune, but still Rune. Rune and No No, lift up on the table that had been painted black so that it would disappear amongst my bugs over the lights. I had been slowly bringing more and more into the room and the line about blotting out the sun felt appropriate. "Now if you will excuse me ladies and gentlemen of the press," Aegis said starting our cue. "Skitter, No No, Rune, would you ladies please step out and speak to the press?"

"Of course we will Aegis," my swarm buzzed before forming a wall over most of the stage. Rune and No No went out over the stage curtain while the media were distracted, after which I walked out behind the screen, my bugs parting, as if a sheer curtain before me. "I am Skitter," the swarm buzzed before it disappeared into mist.

No No dropped beside me from maybe eight foot in the air, landing in a three-point stance before standing. "I am No No," she said, her radio-microphone picking her voice up clearly.

Rune, as planned, came down slowly behind and between us on the table, the raised edge of the stage hiding it slightly once it was on the ground. "I am Rune," she said. At that point all three of us bowed at the waist to the press. "We stand ready to serve," we all said in sync before standing back straight again.

Missy/Vista*

It was almost time for the evening news when I watched the three newest Wards manage to make it back to the Wards area and collapse together onto the couch. "Missy," Akane groaned out, "Are we allowed to bring harm to the fourth estate?"

"No," I answered looking questioningly at the three of them. "You can complain to the director and the Public Affairs Officer and if they agree have that person banned from the building while requesting their service send someone else. Which of the reporters managed to get under your skin?"

"D. Wayne Peterfelt," Katie growled in response giving me the impression that most of the attention was directed at her, or at least was about her. "According to what he said he works for the North-Eastern Progressive, and before you ask, no, none of us have heard of it or him either."

I rolled the names of both person and news service around in my head, "I don't recognize the names either," I told them. "Have you had a chance to look them up?"

"No," Taylor answered as the other two just groaned. "After the free for all that the question and answer section of the debut turned into, we were taken to a conference room for debrief on what we did right and what we could have done better." The girl sighed, "Apparently informing the media and the public that they are not likely to see us on patrol was not, optimum."

"Ugh, an Armsmaster debrief," I groaned having been through them myself. "My sympathies. How bad was it?" Their response was to all groan in sync so I turned the local news on just in time for the announcer to start.

"Good evening Brockton Bay, I'm Bill Weathersby" the fairly generic brown-haired anchor started. "To start tonight's news, we bring you something we promised you yesterday. More information on what happened Saturday at Weymouth Mall and the new local Wards that were apparently instrumental in ending the standoff without any civilian casualties. At the PRT is Melisa Ivanova with the latest, Melissa?"

"Thank you, Bill," the on-scene reporter, a twenty-something silky haired black woman said into the camera. "The PRT debuted three new Wards this evening, Skitter, No No, and the former Empire cape Rune. It was the inclusion of the last one that apparently ruffled feathers amongst some of the more, extreme members of the press that attended the event."

The television cut to a shot of the stage with the reporters in the foreground as one stood to ask a question. "D. Wayne Peterfelt of the North-Eastern Progressive," the reporter said identifying himself. "My question is, why have you been dressed this way? It shows a distinct lack of sympathy for the local Asian community and could possibly enflame their feelings against you."

All three Wards seemed to blink at that before the one in a deep blue stepped forward to the microphone, "Excuse please, but I recently come from Tokyo and can tell you this how many young hero dress."

"I'm sorry?" the reporter returned clearly flabbergasted at the response. "Also, she's an admitted racist." He continued pointing at the one in green. "Of anyone, why would you dress her like this?"

"She used to be racist," the blue ninja answered. "Is why she is wearing green, is color of growth and change This is good thing, yes?" The last was said while pointing at anther reporter in the television section.

"Sherryl Atkinson," the reporter started, "Miss No No, may I ask why you have that as a name?"

The blue ninja seemed to smile behind her mask, "Is because of my power."

"Your power?" the reporter asked. "I don't understand. Why, or maybe more appropriately how?"

No No squatted down on the stage to be closer to the reporter. "What do you say to small child who is about to hurt themself?" she answered. "You tell them no no, maybe smack lightly on hand if reaching for something dangerous. That what I do."

The scene cut back to the split screen between the anchor and the reporter who were both having a hard time suppressing their mirth. "It seems one of the newer reporters went a little further than he should have?" the anchor asked.

"Yes Bill," the reporter responded. "As a result, he can possibly expect to be blacklisted from future events for as little as the next one to permanently. The PRT has not commented publicly on what their decision will be, but the fact that he kept butting in on other reporters questions to both the Wards and the PRT did not win him any sympathy with the rest of the reporters in the group. That however was not the biggest point of this press conference or Wards debut."

The television cut again to the scene showing the crowd as the green ninja stepped forward. "I wasn't born here, and while I moved here a few years ago, I am not a natural Brocktonite. That said, I have been a part of the problem for the last couple of years, because of that I have what you might consider a unique view of the situation. I hope that the people at home, as well as those of you in the press can see it in your hearts to at least give me the chance to redeem myself by helping to solve the problems and making amends to the community." The scene cut away as the firebrand reporter stood up and started to yell something.

The next scene showed the red ninja addressing the crowd, but an unseen something buzzing her answer, "Rune didn't have to expose herself," the girl buzzed. "She could have acted with complete anonymity and even after she teamed up with us, could have walked away once the debrief at the PRT was finished. She chose to come over and help us fix our home, and with people like Hookwolf and Kaiser on the other side of that divide that showed a great deal of bravery. I'll give her the chance she's asked for, if for no other reason than she earned it, and she's going to continue to earn it every day she serves."

The screen cut back to the reporter. "The young ladies also pointed out that the three of them are a scouting and intelligence gathering team as opposed to being able to hit hard targets and as such are unlikely to be seen down on the boardwalk doing patrols."

"Thank you, Melissa," the anchor stated taking back control as the camera went from a full screen of the woman reporter, to a split scene of both of them for a moment, before finally cutting simply to him. "The PRT's director also had things to say about the incident Saturday, that however we will cover in the ten o'clock hour. Investigation…"

I cut the TV's sound off at that point and looked at the three of them. "Not the worst debut I've ever seen, but not the best." I told them. "Clockblocker still has you beat hands down for talking to much, but that was definitely a solid seven out of ten on the good scale." The three of them groaned and the pile that they were simply produced three fingers. "And once again people say that I'm number one, thank you."

Once the three of them had wandered back to their rooms to change I pulled out my smart phone and took a look at the PHO page that had sprung up since the news had shown what it had of the debut.

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Topic: Wards Debut

In: Boards General Threads USA Brockton Bay

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Jan 11th 2011:

So as of last Sunday we knew that we would get more information on what happened with the incident at Weymouth Mall and that there would be new Wards debuting. What i don't think anyone, including myself and I'm usually in the loop on these things, expected was once Aegis asked for the young ladies to show themselves, was for a large swarm of bugs to come down and form a wall as the first one, (Skitter) stepped out from behind the curtain of insects. No No dropped from above into a classic three point stance and then Rune came down, her arms crossed as she landed a platform behind and between the other two. At that point all three bowed to the audience and the bugs seemed to disappear again into nothing. They all answered some questions, but their team mission statement seemed to leave some of the reporters asking what in Hades their plans are. I know the Youth Guard is currently having kittens.

Now, discuss!

(Edit: Full Video Here)

(Showing page 1 of 1)

Pest Delayer

Replied On Jan 11th 2011:

How many kittens, what breed are they, and are there any pics?

ClockBlocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied On Jan 11th 2011:

You beat me to a joke, I can respect that.

in this case though, not literally. They don't like the fact that the three of them are not planning on following the usual Wards Routine of show patrols along the Boardwalk, but intend to act as scouts, staying as much out of sight as possible.

Katzenhai (Unverified Cape)

Replied On Jan 11th 2011:

Well I can respect it. They have a good power synergy for recon for as I can tell so maybe they can scout out areas in advance for the PRT or Protectorate? Either way, glad they're taking it serious and not kow towing to the YG.

BrocktonBayPartyPatrol

Replied On Jan 11th 2011:

Scouts, hidden in the shadows. Gathering intel to coordinate targeted strikes to bring the city's gangs to their knees!

Or, as we lay people tend to refer to people in that uniform and with that job: Ninjas

End of Page. 1

I nodded and typed in my own response to the verbal melee that was just getting started. Apparently despite the Youth Guard's unhappiness the man on the street seemed to like the idea so far. Good, I thought, the status quo around here could use a little shaking up, and the three of them seem just the types to do so. With that thought I headed towards the door. Mom was supposed to be home at a decent hour tonight and wanted me home for dinner since I didn't have console duty. She meant well, but a part of me just wanted her to stop trying so hard and relax. Neither she nor dad were solely to blame for what had happened and both of them hovering so much that they kept sniping at each other didn't help matters. Stupid divorce.

Taylor*

There were two main topics of discussion the next day. The Wards Debut, and the reporter who had managed to make an ass out of himself during it, filled up the morning's gossip, to the extent of being commented on in Mrs. Jackson's history class as an example of the extremes that political correctness could go to. By lunch though our debut had been overshadowed by the fact that the Drama and Glee Clubs had decided to go in together to put on a production of Little Shop of Horrors. "The problem," Vicky's friend Tabitha, who was in the Drama club, said morosely, "is that the voices of all the boys in both groups are cracking and none of them can seem to keep a note for more than two heartbeats."

"Of course, that's the ones that can carry a tune. Of the others that can," Samantha, another member of the drama club cut in, "either they don't want the starring role, or they can't remember their lines. Finally, we have a severe shortage of males in the first place. It is almost as if someone is trying to sabotage our efforts for the city showcase this year."

"Now, now," Amy said, waving a fork with a bit of salad around in one hand, while reading the script of the play with the other. "I doubt anyone is trying to sabotage us that way." She paused a moment in thought before continuing, "Though here's an idea, why not gender flip at least the starring role, if not the whole thing?"

The Drama club students seemed to ponder that for a few moments before Samantha piped up, "It could be done." With that, the group was off on that tangent of who could possibly do what role, and what scenes it would allow them to do.

Emily Piggot*

"Furthermore," James Tagg continued from his position on the screen, "the residents seem to have finally realized that rushing the portal point is only going to get them shot, even if it is with less than lethal ammunition or confoam."

"Thank you for your report James," the Chief Director said in her window and received a nod from the man in charge of the Madison containment zone. "Now, Emily, you said you had a potentially good thing brought to your attention?"

"Yes ma'am," I answered. "My niece recently joined me from Japan where a major investor has arranged a series of concerts to encourage people to be in their Endbringer shelters. She suggested we tap into that idea and assist by arranging for our shelters to do the same."

"Who is this investor and how are they affording to do this when the odds of any given city being hit are slim?" Director Armstrong asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Kuno Industries," I answered. "The current CEO ordered it and when they built their shelters after the sinking of Kyushu, they outfitted them to be usable as concert halls as well as shelters."

The Chief Director nodded, "I could see city administrators liking that idea, being able to get more use out of them than as just shelters. How successful are they on projected Endbringer assaults?"

"According to my niece they have around a ninety to ninety-five percent occupancy rate of their given areas," I answered. "Of course, that is not counting the people who have to stay out as necessary emergency workers or hospital staff. Also, once the Endbringer sirens sound, the doors are sealed until the all clear is given."

"How often are they off on the attack date?" Director Paulson asked, sounding a little breathless from his screen.

"Once since they started this in 2000," I answered, "And that was the Simurgh's appearance at Lausanne."

"Holy shit!" Tagg commented, his surprise evident. "How the hell are they predicting them?"

"Akane doesn't know," I answered, waving my hands in front of me in a slightly warding gesture. "All she knows is that it involves some computer algorithm and that it's only good for a three-day window around when they will attack, never which one nor where."

"Still though," the Chief Director said, cupping her chin in thought. "A warning like that could still save lives, and it reduces the annoyance at false alarms by giving them entertainment. Where do they get the acts?"

"Mostly local groups and cover bands from what Akane has told me," I answered truthfully. "They do ask for donations because the concert portions are advertised as a benefit to help areas rebuild after the Endbringer attacks."

"The Kuno Foundation?" the Chief Director asked, and I nodded. "That means they've been doing this for about ten years now." Her face took a pensive cast for a moment as she thought about the situation and the odds before she spoke again. "Emily, how do you feel about using Brockton Bay as a test subject for doing this?"

"Honestly I would feel better if it was being done somewhere else," I answered truthfully, "Between the nazi's, the druggies and the ABB I think we would be a piss poor test scene for it."

"Afraid you're going to have to get peoples hands dirty keeping the peace in the shelters?" the director of Phoenix snarked.

"Director Ramirez, I try very hard to keep the bloodshed around here as low as possible," I growled. "I don't care whose blood it is. That said, the fact of the matter is that I would either have to segregate the local partisans into different shelters or keep the entirety of the Bay PD on shift throughout the three-day period. Even then, people are likely to die."

"Are things still that bad Emily?" Tagg asked from his window. I was honestly a bit surprised to hear the concern from the man, but the look on his face was honest concern.

"In a word James," I answered with a sigh, "Yes they are." I rubbed my hands over my face for a moment and looked at the myriad of windows on my computer screen. "The fact of the matter is that we need more here. More troopers, more heroes, more money for outreach and more tractable villains. If I could get some more support in general I could start to whittle away at what the gangs have but as things sit I'm lucky to be able to hold things to a stalemate of the status quo, which doesn't sit well with me."

"What about your three new Wards?" Director Castle asked from Atlanta, "I know you just debuted them yesterday and they aren't supposed to be doing anything dangerous, but still patrolling them in the safer parts of town is supposed to be able to free up your Protectorate forces to do other things."

I lifted an eye at the woman in Georgia. "We don't have safe areas like that Amanda," I answered with a hint of cold in my voice. "The safest area we have for the Wards to patrol is the Boardwalk where just last week there was a fight between a group of Merchants and the Empire over trying to forcibly recruit a rogue who is going to be making the costumes for our new Wards once the base material is ready."

"I'll run the test," Director Andrew Dufraine said from New Orleans. "It would be nice to be able to have everyone locked down and entertained where a teleporter can get to them easy as opposed to chasing survivors all over the lower ninth."

The Chief Director nodded at that. "Thank you, Andrew. Anyone else?" she asked.

"I will," Meredith Baxter said from San Francisco. "It will be something new and different anyway."

A couple of other directors volunteered their city for the test before the big question was asked, "When are they predicting the next attack?"

"The weekend of February 12th," I answered. "Akane's band will be playing for that one, and they are pretty decent."

The Chief Director nodded, "So anytime from the Friday before the twelfth until the Monday afterwards?" I nodded in response, "We will prepare accordingly, and then if they are right, ask the company if they are willing to share their prediction algorithm." Everyone nodded to that. "If there is nothing else ladies and gentlemen?" a look at the various screens showed shaking heads, "then I call this meeting adjourned." With that the windows and their directors started to wink out of existence allowing my wallpaper to slowly grow back to it's full size.

Nerima, Japan

Nabiki smiled as she picked up the workbook from her daughter's chest before pulling the covers over the teen and setting the workbook with the rest of Kagome's school things on her desk. There was a quiet murmur from the sleeping teen as her mother walked toward the door to the girl's room stopping only long enough to shut off the light and slide the door closed. "Sousuke?" she practically whispered.

"Yes, Mistress Nabiki," the family retainer answered, stepping from a shadow just down the hallway.

"Am I too distant from her?" the woman asked quietly, "have I focused too much on keeping the business afloat?"

"No Mistress Nabiki," the ninja replied just as softly. "She is so independent that if you had tried to be controlling then she would have rebelled and want nothing to do with you or the company."

"Sasuke, it's a Thursday night and she spent the entirety of it studying alone," Nabiki returned. "The only friends of hers that I know of are her cousins and she treats them more like siblings than cousins. When I was her age I had a flood of at least acquaintances that I could go see to study with, not immerse myself in solitude."

"She wasn't alone, Mistress," Sasuke replied blandly. "Momo has been with her all evening helping her study and watching over her. I had just carried him off to bed myself when you came in."

The former Tendo paused at that, "And how do they get on Sasuke?" she asked.

"He cares for her," the ninja replied, "and I think she has feelings for him as well, though both think they hide it well. It has been many generations since there was even a hint that the two families might intermingle."

This caused Nabiki to lift an eyebrow, "I find that a bit hard to believe Sasuke," she said, starting to walk towards her room. "I mean the Kuno women, if the family portraits are to be believed, have always been of outstanding appearance."

The elder retainer shook his head in her peripheral vision, "Until your late husband changed it, the rule amongst our clan has always been that the children of the master's family were off limits to us. As simple retainers it would have been inconceivable to marry into the master's family. That is not to say that there have not been cases where a young master has impregnated a young kunoichi, or a young mistress decides to run off with a scion of the family."

"And when was the last time such an incident was recorded?" Nabiki asked quietly, "and what was the result?"

"I would have to double check, mistress," Sasuke answered. "However, I believe the last time was during the Mejii Revolution when one of the young masters had a disagreement with his father over the matter and the two of them disappeared into that mess. She returned two or three years later with a babe in arms and the young master's blades. The clan took the child in, and the master at the time accepted the blades back knowing his son died with honor."

Nabiki thought on this for the rest of their walk to her quarters. "If you are not against it Sasuke," she said sliding her door open, "Then I will have no problem with Momo as a potential son-in-law. He is a good and loyal young man,"

"I have no problem with it, mistress," Sasuke answered bowing. "I wish you a good night." With that said the ninja vanished into the shadows once more causing Nabiki to smile. Good and loyal describe you as well Sasuke, too bad you're married.

Chapter 8: Chapter 7

Chapter Text

PRT Headquarters

Washington DC, USA

1800 hours Thursday, January 13th 2011*

"I apologize for the hour of this call Ms. Kuno," Chief Director Rebecca Costa Brown said once the video call had connected and she found herself looking at a perfectly average Japanese woman. She had spent the last day and a half doing her research on the woman and her family only to find herself impressed. Mother of one, Summa Cum Laude with a Master's Degree in Business Management and Economics from Tokyo University as well as running one of the biggest multinational investment businesses in Japan. The woman had a cutthroat way of doing business that made sure that everything possible went her way, and even the things that couldn't didn't hurt her or her family.

"Hello Chief Director," the CEO of Kuno Investments and The Kuno Foundation said with a slight seated bow. "How may I assist you today?"

"Madame," Rebecca started, "It has been brought to my attention that you have a way to predict when the Endbringers are to attack. I would like a copy of that data so that our own people can adapt it to our existing attempts to build an Endbringer prediction program."

"That isn't a problem Chief Director," the woman replied while making a note on a legal pad next to her. "I can have the program in a shielded package and on its way to you within the day, was there anything else?"

Rebecca froze slightly, she had not expected getting the prediction program to be that easy. "Err, thank you," the Chief Director answered. "Actually, there is one other thing. We are wanting to mimic your Endbringer entertainment venues in a few test cities here in the US. Would you be willing to either send someone as a consultant to assist in this, or at least link us into your projected programming?"

"I can do both," the woman said with a wide smile. "Though I am going to have to charge you for this one. Currently we have expanded our program to South Korea, The Philippines, as well as parts of SouthEast Asia and most of the Pacific Islands. Depending on what cities you intend to include we may be expanding to a near 24-hour program."

Rebecca goggled at that, "New Orleans, New York, Seattle and San Francisco are our test cities," Rebecca answered, her voice wavering some. "Chicago and Denver are considering doing something similar, but they doubt they could get it set up before the predicted time frame."

The CEO nodded, "I can send a person to each city you listed and link all of them into the programing. The cost for you would be 25-thousand dollars per 100-thousand people."

"That's very generous of you Ms Kuno," Rebecca commented breathlessly. That's insane! she thought as she accepted the offer. "If you will send people to those cities I am sure that they can arrange for the money to be transferred to your foundation's account once they have an estimate of how many people they will be dealing with."

"Of course Chief Director," the CEO answered, making another note to herself. "I will have people dispatched by the end of our business day.

"Thank you for your time and cooperation, Ms Kuno." Rebecca said calmly only to receive a nod from the other woman before the call was disconnected. Standing up from her desk Rebecca walked out of her office and past her secretary's empty desk toward a broom closet. Opening the closet door, she murmured "Door to Cauldron," before disappearing into the shining doorway.

Akane*

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday flew past in a blur of school, training, and actual work. I was followed by Saturday, which dawned bright and beautiful as I awoke to a text from Sabah notifying me of a practice walk at the Brockton Bay University Auditorium at noon. The timing did not upset any plans I had so I went about my day. It was a quarter of twelve when I walked through the auditorium doors to find a madhouse of young adults running back and forth trying to make everything perfect. "Akane!" Taylor's voice called out over the bedlam and after a minute of scrutiny I could see her and Sabah off to one side about halfway down the hall. Seeing her I almost dropped the pumps in my hand as she bounced and waved in the sundress that Sabah had stuffed her in last week. I waved in return before walking over.

"Taylor, Sabah," I said as I reached them and tried valiantly not to eye Taylor's legs in the short sundress. "Kind of a madhouse around here huh?"

"Hello Akane," Sabah said as she only half noticed my appearance. "I'm glad you are here as not only do I need to do a final fitting on your dresses, but Taylor needs someone to walk her around and get her used to the three inch heels that she's going to be wearing."

I sighed but nodded. I wasn't a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, and I preferred slacks and jeans to skirts, I had, however, agreed to do this and I could see by the look in Taylor's eyes that she was enjoying every bit of it. "Alright," I said with another sigh. "Where is the changing area and the first dress?"

Sabah pointed to one side where a screen partition like you would see in a western stood providing a modicum of privacy. "All three of your outfits are hanging behind the screen, it doesn't matter which you choose, but if you choose the Ao Dai first we can go ahead and find you a pair of slippers to go with it."

I nodded and headed toward the screen, considering how I would look in the dresses. Five gets you ten someone is going to record this and I will never live it down, I thought as I began to strip from my street clothes before pulling on the slip and the fancy dress. It actually fit this time as opposed to being overly large on me. The waist hit at the right point, and while the chest was snug, it wasn't in a way that was uncomfortable or constraining. The skirt on the other hand still minimized my steps worse than a kimono.

Stepping out from behind the screen I felt my breath hitch at the vibrancy of Taylor's smile. She bounced slightly in the heels as she clapped her hands, "My God Akane," she said with a giggle, "you'll have the boys swooning if they see you like this."

I grimaced as I hobbled over to the block that Taylor was occupying. "They say a word and I'll kick their butts up between their ears," I grumbled through my smile. "What about those slippers Sabah?"

"I think I'll let Taylor lead you there," the design student and seamstress answered. "That way she can get some more practice walking in the heels she's wearing."

Taylor and I both nodded and I offered her my hand to help her down from the platform. "You seem to be having fun," I said as we left Sabah behind.

"I don't usually wear clothes this nice," Taylor replied beaming, even as she wobbled a bit in the heels. "At Winslow there not only wasn't any reason, but with the trio and their hangers-on screwing with me daily, they would have been ruined by the end of first period." She sighed after a minute before continuing to talk even as she seemed to focus on her walking. "It's also not really my style," she said quietly. "I mean, every once in a while, yeah having a reason to dress up nice and having something nice to wear at that point is a good thing, but it's not a daily thing for me. I'm just as comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt as this."

I nodded as I was much the same, back in Japan I would have been much more comfortable in the boy's uniforms at my schools, than the girls. My reputation had kept me from problems there though as no one wanted to test my control. Still though, I would rather be in a suit than a dress. I thought as we stepped up to a young man that seemed to have a shoe fitting station.

"Ah, you're here for slippers, right?" he asked, smiling as he looked at me.

"Yes," I answered. "I usually wear a size six American, but the width tends to be on the wide side of things."

"Alright then," he answered with a smile. "Why don't you have a seat and we will see what fits." I nodded and sat down on the stool he had available while watching Taylor walk back and forth in the heels. The young man took a shoe sizer and settled my left foot in it before sliding the sides and the end in. Pulling my foot out once he locked the pieces in place, he looked at it and nodded. "Yes, size six extra wide," he commented half under his breath before diving into a stack of boxes and pulling out three. "Try this one on," he said, handing me one of the boxes.

The slippers inside were a pale violet, and just a touch too narrow, "Nope," I said pulling it back off. "Too narrow in the toes."

"Alright then," he said, setting one of the two boxes aside before handing her the other. "Try this pair." I handed him the pair of slippers I had back before taking the new pair and pulling out the left one.

"Much better," I told him as I flexed my foot in the slipper. Putting the other one on I stood up and walked around a bit. "Yes, this will do nicely, thank you."

"No problem," the young man said with a smile. "What about you miss, any problems with your sandals?"

"Just that I need to get used to walking in them in a hurry," Taylor answered.

"Sorry but I have no answer for that one." He replied.

"I might," I said, but let's let Sabah finish her fitting before we try it."

Taylor*

"Excuse me," I looked up from where Sabah was re-hemming the cuffs of Akane's pantsuit to see a spare blonde woman with a clipboard standing off to one side of us. "Could you tell me your names and what agency you work for?" she asked.

I blinked for a moment at the question before looking at Akane and Sabah. "A mutual friend introduced us," Sabah answered through a mouth full of pins. "They don't work for an agency."

"While I find that hard to believe as it is awfully convenient," the blonde said with a smile, "I still need your names for the announcements during the fashion show."

"Noelle," Sabah sighed standing to look the blonde in the eyes. "I gave you their names yesterday. In fact, I wrote them down on your ever so fashionable clipboard so that you wouldn't forget them. How in the hells you manage to be a top tier team leader and strategist in a combat game with how scatterbrained you seem to be is beyond me?"

The blonde smiled, "Francis says that it's because I attain a laser like focus when the virtual feces hits the rotary air impeller," she replied. "I'm not that ditzy, I really just wanted to see if these were who you wrote down or if there was going to be another last-minute change. You've got a couple of cute ones here."

CUTE! I thought as my mind jackknifed like an 18-wheeler trying to stop on a patch of ice. She thinks I'm cute, why does she think I'm cute? Vocally all that came out was a groan as my mind started to spin.

Akane*

Taylor groaned and I felt my eyes roll back as I sighed in disgust. "Noelle was it?" I asked, receiving a nod from the blonde, Too damn thin, anorexic or bulimic at a guess. my brain supplied. "Thanks a lot, you broke her," I continued gesturing at Taylor. "Now I have to figure out a way to fix her and continue this afternoon so that we can get some practice in on the platform before we go home."

"What do you mean I broke her?" the blonde asked acerbically. "All I said was that she was cute, it was a compliment."

"And she's had a bad couple of years that has destroyed her self-esteem and self-image." I hissed at her. "She has a hard time believing she's good at anything or worth anything. Compliments fluster her. Sabah, are you done setting the hem?"

"Yeah," the fashion student answered, shooting a glare at the blonde. "I can finish re-hemming the thing tonight and it will be ready for you tomorrow."

"Good," I answered, stepping off the small platform and moving behind the changing screen. "I'm going to try and get Taylor's brain to reboot, or at least get it out of the crashing loop I imagine it's in and then we're going to walk the runway, might talk to the sound folks about the music for tomorrow, and then we are out of here."

"Completely understandable," Sabah told me. "Just remember that we need to be here at three for any last-minute changes and a practice walk through."

"Understood," I answered as I changed out of the clothes Sabah had me in and back into my street clothes. "Taylor and I will be here by then and ready to go."

Fully dressed save my boots I stepped out from behind the screen to sit down. "Now, tomorrow I will hopefully have Taylor ready to take any compliments but do try and keep them minimal and about the clothes. She's not used to them." Noelle and Sabah both nodded as I zipped up my boots and then I stood, before I walked over to Taylor and wrapped my arms around her from behind. "Tay," I said softly in her ear. "Let's get out of here and we'll talk some alright?" the girl nodded slightly before letting me pull her to her feet and guide her out of the auditorium.

"She called me cute?" Taylor said in a soft small voice as we left. "How can she find me cute?"

Akane*

Just off the BBU campus was a little dive eatery that mostly served the students when they wanted something other than cafeteria food or takeout. From the sign over the bartop where you ordered it wasn't much, just a half-dozen tables and booths, with a jukebox, cheap beer, and greasy food. Right now though, the most important thing was that it was effectively empty, meaning it was someplace with a calm atmosphere. Sitting Taylor down I went and ordered us a couple of sodas and a basket of fries before coming back to her and sliding into the booth next to her. "Taylor," I said softly, "Taylor look at me."

The look in my friend's eyes when she looked at me wrenched at my heart and a part of me wished I had hit that damn redhead harder than I had. I will make her regret this somehow, I thought as Taylor suddenly grabbed me and buried her head in my chest, sobbing. My response was to hold her, making soothing noises and holding her. After a few minutes, a voice said, "There was a time when young women were at least somewhat respected by the men around here." I looked away from Taylor to find the bartender/waitress setting our drinks and fry basket down on the table. "And when they weren't respected, the people who didn't respect them learned to fear them." The look in the woman's face turned hard with that comment, "She's your friend, right?" she asked, and I nodded. She nodded back before continuing, "You find whoever hurt her and make it right if you can, if you can't you call me or come find me, Some of the boss's girls didn't go to prison, and others have gotten out since"

I smiled at her, "Thanks," I said, and she nodded before walking back towards the bar. Turning my attention back to Taylor I sighed. "Taylor listen to me ok?" I felt her nod against my chest and rolled my eyes. "I need you to think back for a minute and tell me, who has been telling you that you were not cute."

"Well," Taylor said, her brows knit in concentration. "It was everyone at…" and that was when the realization hit her. Taylor's reaction was to jerk back like she had been slapped, her face turning into a snarl. "Emma!" she growled, and I nodded even as I took her by the shoulders.

"For whatever her reasons, she did this to keep you down, to break your spirit," I told her and then chuckled. "Besides," I continued. "If you weren't at least cute, you wouldn't have half the school watching whenever you walk past."

"You're exaggerating," Taylor countered huddling in on herself.

"Am not," I returned. "I've personally watched Aaron Kilpatrick, Dennis, Chris and Tracey Perkins all follow you with hungry eyes as you've walked away."

"Dennis is scared of me," she mumbled causing me to raise an eyebrow. Taylor saw the unvoiced question and chuckled a bit. "Caught him stealing the mallow jars for a prank when I needed them for last week's fudge, and I, well I threatened to engulf him in bugs if he didn't put them back or tried it again."

That she had the gumption to do even that much was a step in the right direction and I pulled her into a hug, "Good girl," I said smiling, "and while it could explain his partner in crime, that doesn't explain the baseball team captain or the head cheerleader checking out your butt as you left the room."

Taylor snorted, "Akane, I'm too tall, my mouth is too wide, I'm skinny as a rail and I'm flat as a board, no one is going to want me." Unvoiced I could hear the, "I'm not good looking," in her tone and I shook my head as I put a finger to her lips.

"Taylor," I said with a slight smile and a shake of my head. "Think for a moment about the other girls that were in that auditorium, the ones that were there to model the clothes. All of them were skinny as rails, most of them because they live unhealthy lifestyles to keep the weight off. Yes, they are almost all shorter than you, but they want your height so that they can look skinnier than they already are. As for the rest, you're still in that gangly coltish stage of growth, give it a couple of more years and you are going to be breaking hearts and your father is going to be answering the door with a shotgun,"

That earned a giggle and a smile from her so I continued. "I want you to eat these fries, and drink that soda, and then we need to get back over and do a walk through on the runway before we go home. I'm going to see if I can't get someone over to help." Taylor nodded and I got up before grabbing my cup and heading toward the bar. Pulling out my phone with my other hand I pulled up my contacts list and picked a contact to dial. "Hey Vicky, are you busy?"

"Not particularly," the blonde Alexandria package answered, causing me to smile.

"I need some help and I think you would love to make your sister all flustered again," I told her. "If you at least will come over to the college's auditorium I would appreciate it."

"What do you need help with there?" she asked.

"We need to teach Taylor how to strut." Was all I answered.

Sabah:

"I'm obviously missing something," Noelle had commented as Akane led Taylor out of the auditorium. My response had been to snort at her statement as I took up the slacks before turning to face my teacher's assistant.

"You think?" I asked just a touch sarcastically before turning the pants inside out. "The girl has apparently spent the last eighteen months going through a special kind of hell and Akane and I had to calm her down when I broached the subject of her modeling my clothes. The girl has practically no self-confidence and I have a funny feeling as to the why."

"Shit," the blonde commented. "What's your feeling?" Noelle asked.

"That at least one of the two girls who were supposed to model for me was involved in it," I answered. At that point I turned my attention to the slacks and started stitching the hem into place, losing myself in the repetitive motion.

My attention was pulled from finishing the slacks as the main doors to the auditorium slammed open to show three silhouettes standing in the doorway, "Let's do this," a voice I didn't recognize stated as the bodies moved through the room toward the stage. As the doors closed I could see it was Akane, Taylor and a…and Victoria Dallon, Because of course they could get Glory Girl to come over and help Taylor, I thought as I rubbed my eyes.

Akane made a beeline for the sound board and the computer there that would provide the music for the fashion show. Walking over to her I could hear her muttering "No, no, hell no," followed by her lifting an eyebrow at what I could only figure was one song choice as she said clearly, "Who the hell do they think they are, Rick James?" before shaking her head and pulling up the computer's master music list. "Ah, here we go,"

Danny smiled as he eased himself into the auditorium seat as Emily sat down between himself and the Dallon sisters. Vicky had somehow convinced Amy that she would enjoy the fashion show or at least that it made more sense for her to take the night off and join them both here and at dinner as opposed to spending another night at the hospital. They would have almost filled the row with Carol and Mark, but the former had an early court appearance in Boston for the Bad Canary trial tomorrow and wouldn't have been able to join them for dinner, while the latter was having one of his bad days and was home in bed. "Excuse me," a low voice rumbled from Danny's other side drawing his attention to a large Asian man with what was obviously his daughters. "Is anyone sitting in these seats?"

"They're open," Danny answered taking a closer look at the two girls. One was a little older than Taylor and Akane, maybe eighteen or so while the other was more than likely a preteen of maybe twelve. "Is yours a student or a model?"

The man blinked for a moment as his girls moved to sit down, "I have one that is a student," he answered smiling. "But not here and not learning fashion, my wife runs the modeling studio that is providing the majority of the models tonight and she wanted to be here to ride herd on them. Herding cats is more accurate in my opinion but what can you do right?" Danny smiled and nodded at the comment. "After this we have to go open the restaurant for the year too, so it's going to be a long night."

Danny smiled at that, "That would mean that you are Kenta Horaki correct?"

The man lifted an eyebrow but nodded over the heads of his daughters, "I am," he answered. "Who are you, if I may be so bold?"

"Danny Hebert," Danny answered standing and offering his hand.

Kenta took the offered hand and shook it while smiling. "You run the Dockworkers Union," he replied and Danny laughed shaking his head.

"I'm just the head of hiring," Danny returned, and Kenta shook his head.

"From what I've heard," Kenta countered. "If you didn't keep beating your head against the wall that is city hall half the city wouldn't be livable and nobody in the union would have legal employment. You do good work, what has you here?"

"Daughter got talked into modeling for one of the students," Danny answered. "Favor trading at its finest." Kenta nodded at that smiling.

"Let me guess," Kenta said, his smile turning a touch feral. "She took the place of one of the two that ended up going to jail for some high school prank turned near deadly."

"Her and her newest friend," Danny answered with a chuckle. "The student asked them to model for her since no one else was available."

Kenta nodded, "My wife was very put out by the stuff that they are accused of doing," he growled. "They have been blacklisted by her and everyone that she could influence, at least until they turn eighteen."

Danny's response was a low whistle, "Blacklisted before they even get out of the house," he said, a smirk gracing his face. "Serves them right."

"Daddy," the younger of the two girls said, breaking into the conversation and drawing both of the adult's attention. "You are being rude," she finished.

Both men looked down at her, Kenta smiling but both of their eyebrows raised. "And how am I being rude my little flower?" her father asked.

"You haven't introduced Miranda or myself," the girl answered. "And you are literally talking over our heads."

Danny had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the girl's precociousness. Kenta on the other hand sighed, a smirk crossing his face before solemnly looking at Danny and addressing his daughter's comment. "Danny, these are my younger two daughters, Miranda who is eighteen, and Nemuri who is twelve. Girls, this is Mister Hebert."

Nemuri smiled wide while Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation with her sister. "It is a pleasure to meet you both," Danny replied with a smile and a slight bow.

"Is that your wife?" Nemuri asked indicating Emily.

Danny grimaced slightly, the pain of his loss showing for a heartbeat before he answered. "No," he said. "That is the aunt of my daughter's friend, her name is Emily Piggot and she is the director of the local PRT branch." As he answered he noticed Nemuri's eyes got big at that while both Miranda and Kenta seemed to freeze in place.

"Interesting," Kenta commented as he finally sat down in the aisle seat of the row. A moment later the lights all dimmed, and a young blonde woman stepped up to the microphone stand that was set off to one side of the stage.

Francis Krouse grimaced as he looked at the tracklist on the soundboard's computer again. Someone had come in yesterday after he finished loading the playlist and made a new one, leaving a note not to change the list. Up until the point that Noelle said anything, he had been planning to ignore the note and delete the new list anyway. "I'm tired of Right Said Fred and RuPaul Francis," she told him. "The girl that put that list together did so to keep others from revolting over the music and managed to pick songs that matched the runway times for each of the fashion styles."

Francis had grimaced at that but nodded, "Alright Noelle," he had told her as he deleted the list that he had put together in favor of this other list. "I'll use this list instead."

"Thanks Francis," she said before leaning in and kissing him. "I have to go deal with Mrs. Horaki now, so I'll see you in a little bit, alright?" Francis nodded and he watched as she went backstage. He didn't like the change, but maybe it would work.

Akane*

Hikari Horaki rampaged through the backstage area like an agitated bull in a china cabinet, her tone that of a platoon sergeant dealing with a group of hungover green recruits, chivvying her girls to where they were supposed to line up. Taylor and I were chatting while we waited for the show to start, already set for the first of our three walks. "And you," the woman said as she stalked over and got into our personal space. "I don't recognize you, who are you?"

"Taylor Hebert and Akane Takamachi," I answered and smiled as Taylor bowed up, standing at her full, heel-augmented height and returned the woman's glare with one of her own. "We are walking for Miss Sabah ibn Salim."

Horaki seemed to blink before nodding. "Good," she said before looking Taylor up and down. "You have backbone," she said smiling. "This is good, we should talk afterwards, I might have some work for you in this field." As Taylor's eyes flew open in shock, Horaki turned to me and switched to Japanese. "What does the name Takamachi Kenta mean to you?" she asked.

"He was my mother's half-brother," I answered in the same language. "Grandfather disinherited him from the family school when he left the village to avenge the death of a friend of his. To the family's knowledge he died during the sinking of Kyushu."

"An interesting summation my dear," Horaki said before leaning in to whisper in my ear. "But are you sure he's dead?"

Taylor*

I was still trying to figure out if Mrs. Horaki's offer was legitimate or not when she leaned in and whispered something in Akane's ear. Akane stepped back in shock at whatever the woman had said, but before Akane could respond the woman said, "Atode mata o ai shimashou," before storming off, yelling at another girl who was not where she was supposed to be.

"Akane are you alright?" I asked her as she shook her head as if she had been hit.

"Yeah," she answered, "I'll be fine, let's get this shit done yeah?" I nodded and took my place at the start of the second tier of models.

Danny*

"I don't know if I should thank Akane," I said as Taylor started down the runway to ZZ Tops "Legs". "Or if I should strangle her for turning her into every hetero-male's fantasy."

"Face it Mr. H." Vicky said with a smile. "You and your wife are as much to blame, as is Sabah who is damned good at what she does. I wonder if I can get her to make my prom dress."

Looking over at Vicky to comment in return I noticed Amy all but drooling, her eyes never leaving Taylor until she left the stage. Not just the straight male population, I thought with a sigh. Turning to my other side to try and get some support from Kenta, I found his wife sitting there on his lap and whispering in his ear.

"Much better than the girl she replaced," the woman said smiling. "I'm going to have to offer her some very good jobs to entice her into working for me and hopefully take the jobs that the Barnes girl is no longer doing." At that point I covered my face with my hands and groaned. Where did I go wrong?

Emma Barnes stared at her television in shock as the second leg of models finished. This is not how it was supposed to be! she thought. "That was supposed to be MY JOB DAMN IT!" she screamed, flinging her pillow at the screen. "This can't be fucking happening, how the fuck did she get my job?"

After about two minutes of her slamming about her room someone was banging on her door, drawing Emma's attention. Stomping over, she jerked it open to find her father standing there, "What seems to be the problem Emma?" he asked flatly.

"That!" she growled, pointing at the flatscreen and the fashion show that was shown on it. "Taylor and that ABB bitch are wearing the dresses that were supposed to be for me and Madison and are walking in the fashion show that was supposed to get us noticed and out of this damn town."

Alan Barnes looked past his daughter at the television screen and felt his eyebrows rise at the image of Taylor, frozen at the end of the runway where Emma had managed to freeze the channel. "I'll be damned," he muttered before turning around to walk out of the room.

"Daddy," Emma whined following him through the door to her room. "Can't you do anything about this?"

Turning back to his daughter for a second Alan nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, right," he said before raising his voice. "Hey Zoe," he called out. "Did you leave the VCR set up to record the fashion show?"

"Yes, damn it," she called back from below. "I forgot that I even set it up, Anne wanted to see what her sister was up to. I'll go shut it off."

"No, let it run," Alan called back as he turned and started back down the stairs. "Anne will want to see how Taylor is doing and I'm sure Danny will want a copy as well." Behind him Emma let out an enraged and inarticulate scream as she stomped back through her bedroom door, slamming it behind her.

Taylor*

"I'm going to beat Akane bloody for this," I grumbled as I got behind the curtain and went to where Sabah was set up with the clothes and was finishing up with Akane for the next run. "I'm going to hurt you later," I told Akane as I untied the ribbon belt before contorting my arms to start undoing the back of the dress.

"You love me," Akane smirked as she buckled the belt on her slacks before reaching for her jacket. "Two more passes, right?" Akane asked Sabah who nodded.

"Yes," Sabah answered, pulling out the charcoal grey pencil skirt and white blouse and hanging them over the screen for me to change into as I dropped the dress and stepped out of it behind the screen. "You have this suit, and a bathing suit/sarong combination while Taylor has a cocktail dress." Both of us nodded as I pulled on the under-shirt before grabbing the blouse and pulling it on. Settling the blouse on my shoulders I let the shirt garters hang while I buttoned up the blouse itself. I can do this, I thought reaching for the skirt. It's just two more outfits, this one going with be office suits like Akane is wearing." At that point I gulped, But then it's the little black dress, can I do that?

Kenta*

As my wife snuggled into my side, watching the girls walk up and down the aisle I thought about how much things had changed since my arrival. Back then, the rumors about kidnapping and sex slavery had been true, and everyone seemed to fight for ever damn street corner in the West End. The Tongs, the Triads and the Yakuza all had their representatives, and all of them fought each other making the area a mess of anarchy and destruction. I walked out of the CUI into this maelstrom and over the course of six months beat the local population into submission. It was at this point that I laid down the new laws to them.

Years earlier*

"You are all a part of the community," I said to the gathered survivors of my rampage. The various capes of the different gangs had all either fled or died by my hand, and now their workers, the seamstresses who worked in the sweatshops, the hookers from the street corner, the normal thugs and the shop owners who laundered the funds of the illegal enterprises or else paid their protection, all of them were here. "I have beaten those that stood against me, and now like a smith I shall forge this community into a single group to defend it." All of them looked at me as if I was crazy but they were too beaten down to say anything. Part of that was a good thing, it meant that they wouldn't fight me, that I didn't have to worry about a knife or a bullet in the back as I walked out of the room. At the same time though, it was a bad thing, as those that were too scared lacked initiative.

"One thing you must realize," I continued, "is that we all face a set of common enemies. Enemies that think we are beneath them, that want to see us subjugated to them or else driven out of this place that we intend to make into our homes. The way I see it, we have three common enemies, but together we will be able to face them and if not win, at least keep them from driving us out. Together we can and will hold back Kaiser's Empire, together we will rescue our families from the lands of the Chinese Union Imperial, and together we will fight Leviathan." The start had gotten their attention, pointing out that the Empire 88 wanted to drive us out of town got quite a few of them grumbling as they knew the neo-Nazi's would either try to drive us out, or attempt to butcher us as they could. Putting their attention on WHY they slaved in their jobs most of the time was another thing. Those of them that had come here had mostly done so illegally through snakeheads and were either working to pay off that debt or working to put the down payment on getting their families brought over by the same people. I had different contacts that could accomplish the same thing for less cost. The last thing I had figured was likely to only appeal to the Japanese amongst the group as we had been the one to lose one of our home islands. Surprisingly the entire crowd erupted at that statement and I had to wait quite a few minutes until they quieted down enough for me to continue speaking.

"This will not be an easy task," I said once the crowd had quieted down enough. "There are those of you that, after tonight, who will disobey the edicts that I am about to lay down, and you should know that there is only one penalty. That said, I will not take it out on your family. If you screw the community over, then you will pay the cost of your actions. That said there are certain jobs that will no longer be allowed, or else be seriously curtailed while I rule here. Do not test this, for my resolve is as hot as my fire." The crowd looked around at each other nodding and then I began to lay out the rules that would govern us going forward. When I was done I looked at them and as I had figured I could see some that were already planning on trying to slip around my laws. An example would have to be made, but unfortunately it would have to wait until they were caught breaking the rules.

Now*

Even though they did not know it, these girls would not have to worry about being marked for kidnapping on a dark night only to be sold overseas for men to use until they broke and were replaced. They would not have to worry about being forcibly addicted to various drugs to force their compliance, (at least not by my people) and they would have help through various contacts to help them get their wanted modeling careers started. "Do either of them want a modeling career?" I asked Hikari quietly.

"I don't know," she answered. "The Hebert girl is having confidence issues and Akane seems to be there mostly to keep her standing straight and help her through her panic. If they do want to I will work very hard to ensure they have the best jobs available."

I nodded at that. Akane was family, and Taylor was her friend, that alone called for preferential treatment if it could be done without breaking promises already made. The fact that the Barnes girl and her friend had managed to screw up so royally and break their own contracts made at least those jobs easier to hand to Akane and Taylor. "We will have to find out," I murmured to my wife and settled in as Akane walked out in a well put together business suit.

Taylor*

I don't know how in the hell the pair of them managed to talk me into this thing, I thought as I tried to pull the dress down a touch before I stepped out from behind the curtain. As I came out I suppressed the urge to offload my emotions into my swarm as once again Akane had timed things so that the music changed just as I came into view of the crowd. Thankfully this one wasn't as embarrassing as having Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" blasting as I made my way down the runway in the "business casual" outfit, but The Hollies "Long Cool Woman" was still drawing attention to me. This was one I could mentally see Akane playing with her band as they definitely had the sound to pull it off, I wonder if I could talk them into doing it next weekend? I thought as I made my turn at the end of the runway.

Finally stepping back through the curtain into the backstage area I looked over to where Sabah was set up and found her starting to pack her various things back up. Yet while Sabah was putting things away and preparing to go home, Akane was nowhere in sight.

"Hurry up and get dressed Taylor," I heard Akane say from behind one of the two screens. "I know your dad and Aunt Em are going to be ready to get the hell out of here. Of course, you do have the option of wearing what you have on, I don't think anyone could complain about it not being appropriate."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I slid behind the screen and started to remove the dress. It fastened at the back of the neck before plunging down to a modest and loose bustline, backless down to my waist. Letting it drop and stepping out of the dress I moved to hang it up when I realized something and asked, "Where the hell are my clothes?"

"Probably in your dad's truck," Sabah answered. "Which of your outfits do you want to wear to dinner?"

This time I did shove the panic and irritation into my swarm as I looked around the edge of the screen and lifted an eyebrow in question at my two friends. Sabah and Akane were both standing there smirking and Akane was back in the business suit that she had worn out on her second walk. I remembered that Sabah had said that the light grey of the suit would probably set off both the blouse and charcoal grey skirt that was the business casual outfit that I had worn myself. Grimacing I sighed before answering, "The business outfit please," I said handing over the dress. "And could you redo my hair as well?"

"Sure," Sabah said smiling as she walked over and handed me the outfit. "And good news, you get to keep all three outfits, not just the one."

"Bwuhuh?" I replied letting the blouse and its stays drop over my head again. "I thought you needed at least four of them for your professor to judge and grade?"

"He already gave me my grade," Sabah said, the smile apparent in her voice. "One-hundred percent on the project, a full ten bonus points for solving the emergency problem that your predecessors left me in for a grand total grade of ninety-eight. He was making his rounds backstage while you were on your last walk."

I smiled. "That's great Sabah," I said as I attached the stays to the pantyhose, deciding to go ahead with them instead of switching back to the regular stockings and garters. "But I doubt I'm going to have any use for that cocktail dress."

"You will if there are any high-end parties we are invited to," Akane said in a smug tone. "Vicky's boyfriend is big money around here and we could end up at one of those parties. So keep it, you might need it."

Fastening the skirt, I scowled. Akane was right that we might end up having to be at some kind of big money party out of costume, though how it could be justified I didn't know. "You just want to be able to stare at my ass Akane," I shot back. Both Akane and Sabah laughed as I slid my feet back into the low heels before stepping out from behind the screen.

Looking at them I sighed and sat down on the stool so that Sabah could do my hair up again. "Maybe we can do a little makeup for you too," Sabah said as she pulled my hair back, running her fingers through it to ensure there were no tangles.

"Or maybe do the makeup instead of the hair," Akane commented as she stood in front of me. "Honestly while the messy bun looks good on you, I think that leaving your hair loose will look better."

"Really?" Sabah asked as I started to blush and turned my eyes away from Akane. "Hold up that mirror so I can get a comparison." Akane grabbed the mirror in question and stepped back, holding it up where Sabah could get a full view of my face and hair. "I think I see what you're talking about Akane," the darker skinned girl said, pulling my hair up before letting it fall. "With her hair up she looks all serious and business like, but with it down, she looks more approachable, less stern."

"And for dinner I think the more relaxed hair down would be better," Akane said. "What do you think Taylor?"

I looked up and felt something lurch in my chest, What the hell? I thought as I suddenly found myself swallowing with a completely dry mouth. Akane was standing there looking at me with her hazel eyes and I could see, friendship, concern, ATTRACTION? What the hell, I thought again. "Down I guess," I answered, my voice barely not stuttering as she smiled. Suddenly I felt a warmness fill my chest.

"Alright then," Sabah said, stepping around me and blocking my view of Akane. "Let us get a little gloss on those lips and maybe touch up on the eye-shadow." She hummed as Akane moved back into view with a color pallet for Sabah to work from as the fashion student began to touch up my makeup. "Look up," Sabah said as she started her ritual of doing things, walking through a mental checklist that she had to do makeup to. The things we do to impress people. I thought with a mental sigh.

Emily Piggot*

"You and Taylor looked very nice together," I said with a smile as Akane and I settled into the little coupe that I had gotten years ago. "You could make a very cute couple."

"Please don't start Aunt Em," Akane grumbled from the passenger seat. "Taylor and I are just friends, besides, Mayumi and I are talking and trying to work things out."

"Alright," I said smiling, something in my tone causing Akane to scowl at me. "Really, if you say so," I continued. "Besides, as it sits, Danny doesn't know whether to thank you for getting Taylor out of her funk and the work on her confidence, or greet you with a shotgun the next time you go over to their house."

Akane chuckled at that, "Well I guess that makes two of them," she replied. "Taylor was not exactly amused at me calling attention to her assets with the music."

"It wasn't exactly subtle dear," I said reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. "On the other hand," I continued, "I've been reliably informed that Glenn is currently having a meltdown, so you've done good as far as I am concerned."

I saw her turn to look at me quizzically out of the corner of my eye, "And why is mister I can't color coordinate having a meltdown?"

"Because both of you are about to get inundated with modeling offers according to him," I answered. "He's upset that he can't use you to pimp the Wards as an organization."

"I'm sure he didn't use those words," Akane deadpanned at me and I nodded.

"He didn't," I answered. "Assault told me as Glenn was still having his meltdown."

"Assault would put things like that," Akane laughed out and then sighed. "Are there going to be any problems because of this?"

"Depends on who has issues," I answered honestly. "If he keeps his mouth shut, no one has any problems, especially him. If he comes to me, I will shut him down as he really has no room to complain, especially since your costumes cover you completely. If he goes higher though it could get a little dicey. The chief director would be able to voice her opinion, and she likes to have any and every one of our more photogenic Wards to be media darlings always in front of the cameras."

Akane chuckled as I parked the car alongside the street next to what had once been Marquis' bistro and shut the engine off. "The three of us may be photogenic," she said as her laughter died. "But we are not media darlings. If forced on her Taylor would respond with a heavy dose of malicious compliance and passive aggressive retaliation." I chuckled at that as I checked traffic behind me before climbing out of the car. Once Akane and I were both out I locked the car and we waited for the Dallons and the Heberts to join us before walking over to the restaurant.

Taylor*

We approached the front door of the restaurant as a group only to find a crowd growing at the entrance as a large Asian man stepped up to a podium that had been set up with a small speaker next to the door. "Good evening everyone," he said addressing the crowd. "And welcome to another year at the Totsuki Saryo Diner. This is the place where we bring some of the finest of Japan's culinary students to receive a year's education in how a cooking establishment actually works from top to bottom." The crowd applauded him politely and he bowed slightly to them in return. "Thank you," he replied. "With us tonight are ten of the Totsuki Saryo Culinary Academy's top students, chosen through their own challenges and brought here to delight your taste buds with their creations. Also with us this year is Miss Ukyo Kuongi, who will act as their supervising manager." At this point a woman about dad's age stepped forward in a very pretty kimono and bowed to the crowd. "With that, I wish you all a good evening's meal."

The man's speech given, I found myself surprised when he walked over to Ms. Horaki, took her by the hand and then led her and two girls into the restaurant. Miss Kuongi smiled at them and bowed as they passed, only pausing as the man whispered something to her. Looking over at Akane I saw her wide eyed as she watched, and sliding over to her I asked quietly, "Is there a problem?"

"I just," she said, seeming slightly shell shocked before taking a breath to center herself. "I just need to talk to Miss Kuongi for a second. I know her from Tokyo."

I nodded, "Maybe once we're seated, we can slip off so you can talk to her." Akane's response was to nod and join the rest of us as we cued up to enter the diner.

Kuonji Ukyo*

"Seat the Hebert party with me," Kenta had told her, and in that one sentence he had managed to completely screw her carefully laid out seating chart. Balance in the restaurant, as her previous times here had taught her, was a fine balancing act of egos and actual social importance. Daniel Hebert was polite and unassuming with practically no ego and was taking his daughter, four of her friends and one of those friend's Aunt out to thank them for helping his daughter. That he had caught Kenta's eye somehow was strange, But he's the boss she thought as she pulled a couple of the students over to one side and told them to add two tables and six chairs to Kenta's spot.

"Nihao Ukyo" a familiar voice said from behind her, pulling her attention from the seating chart and how to minimize the damage this could cause.

Turning Ukyo smiled an exasperated smile and gave the lilac haired Chinese-Amazon a hug. "Hey sugar," she said, addressing her fellow Nerima graduate. "Here to accept Kenta's hospitality for another year?"

"Hai," Xian Pu answered, and Ukyo added another chair to Kenta's group. "Have you talked to Ran or Nabiki recently?"

"Not since Akane's little airline incident," Ukyo answered blinking at the non-sequitur. "Why do you ask?

"Because Akane is here in Brockton Bay," Xian Pu answered before leaning in close. "Hitomi was killed not quite a month ago and she had to move here to live with her Aunt," she whispered causing Ukyo to gasp. "She wandered into the café last Sunday and we talked some."

Taking a steadying breath, Ukyo nodded. "Thanks for telling me," she said softly. "Go on to Kenta's table, you know where it is. The waitstaff should be setting up extra chairs with it and expanding the table with others. I'll see you both shortly." The Chinese-Amazon Elder nodded and slipped out of the manager's office leaving Ukyo to sigh before making another note on the seating chart. Thankfully she had somewhat anticipated Xian Pu's attendance, so it was easy to work with. What am I going to do if she shows up here like she did with Xian Pu and the Nekohanten? she asked herself. No Ukyo, focus on the now, deal with what you have to now, Akane will happen or she won't, deal with it when it happens. a breath to center her focus again and she was headed out to the hostess station.

Emily Piggot*

"Hebert, party of six?" a young, blue haired girl in a chef's jacket said from the hostess station while pulling six menus from within the podium.

"Here," I heard Danny say as he raised a hand to wave at the girl. Around us the girls talked quietly and started to head toward the curtained entrance to the dining area.

"I'll take them Megumi," the manager, a miss Ukyo Kuonji, who had been part of what was once known as the Nerima Wrecking Crew, said, stepping back up to the podium. The blue-haired teen nodded, handing the older woman the stack of menus before stepping back and checking the reservation list as Kuongi addressed Danny. "Mister Hebert I do have to tell you, there has been a bit of a change from the seating we agreed to when you expanded your reservation earlier in the week." As she spoke she led the way into the dining room, presumably to our table.

"Well," Danny said with a chuckle. "You don't seem to be leading us out the back door, so I'll take this as an improvement to my seating as opposed to what we had discussed.

The manager snorted a laugh and smiled at Danny, Is she flirting with him? I thought a little shocked before answering my own question. She is, and he's flirting back. "Never anything so crass," Kuonji answered. "Kenta has asked that you be seated with him and his family."

"Do you know why?" Danny asked, a tone of concern in his voice and internally I smiled. Hebert had a good head on his shoulders and could recognize the political fallout of being associated with Lung's equivalent of a mafia Consigliere.

Kuonji shook her head, "All he told me was to seat you and yours with him and his," she answered. "But I doubt he means you any harm."

Danny looked back at the rest of us for a second before looking at her and nodding. "Alright then," he said sighing. "Looks like this will be a networking dinner instead."

I grimaced slightly as the two of them started moving forward again, allowing all of us into the dining area and allowing me to get a lay of the land. Inside the dining area I could see that it was divided into four distinct areas. Against the wall to my right was a row of cooking stations like you would see on a cooking competition television show while the other three walls were all half booths with tables both right in front of the wall benches and with chairs further out. At each station a young cook, not much older than Akane stood waiting for the servers to bring in the orders

On the wall opposite the kitchen, the mayor and his extended family were sitting down under the eye of a fairly stiff platinum blonde young lady. There, two of the tables had been brought together allowing the mayor's son Rory to sit with his date while his younger, female cousin sat with her back against the wall watching the entire room wide-eyed.

Between the mayor's group and myself was Max Ander's, the CEO of Medhall with his twin blonde secretaries and James Fleisher. Fleisher was Katie's uncle and Ander's Chief Operations Officer and the four of them were being seated by a deeply tanned young man. According to Rune and Purity all four were capes and senior members of the Empire and while the gangs might not have realized that the PRT and Protectorate knew about their little "Neutral Zones" we did so even before the pair ratted them out.

Finally though we passed through the filling room to where three of the four person tables had been put together to form one huge table. At the table sat Kenta Horaki, his wife and two of the man's three daughters. A fifth person, a woman with lilac colored hair sat with the younger daughter whispering as she pointed at the various servers or chefs. As we approached, Horaki and his entire family stood and bowed to us. "Thank you for joining us tonight Mister Hebert, Director Piggot."

"Thank you for having us," Danny answered, hesitantly bowing in return. "From Taylor I understand that she and Akane met your wife backstage just before the fashion show started."

"Yes," Horaki said smiling, "but please, sit all of you. Some of you know who I am," he continued as we started to sit down, and I had to suppress a snort at that comment. I had a great deal of intelligence on Kenta Horaki, just as I did on every gang leader and their civilian supporters. Horaki was Lung's gentle public face, his legitimate hand that, at least on paper, owned the property that made up the majority of the businesses and homes in the West End of Brockton Bay. He was the public voice of reason when Lung did not want to destroy something as his first action, and he was, at least on the surface, perfectly legitimate. Much like Max Anders, a lot of investigative time had been put into researching Kenta Horaki. He was a Kyushu survivor, and a veteran of the running war that the CUI had taken up against the mountain tribes like the Chinese-Amazons. Something about the man was off though because he was just too damn slick. Not quite as blatant as Anders in crime, but within his territory his word held the same weight as Lung's and that meant that he had to be dirty.

I realized that I had let myself lose track of the conversation and returned to it as Horaki said, "have discussed it, and decided to see if Taylor and Akane would like to take the place of the Barnes girl and her friend in some of the modeling shoots that are coming up." I looked past Danny at the girls to find Taylor looking at the pair with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

Akane, on the other hand, was in a staring contest it seemed with the lilac haired woman and the older daughter. "I think Taylor and I would have to discuss this between us," she said, never breaking eye contact. "But I have a few questions if you don't mind. Not about the modeling jobs though there will be plenty of questions regarding that, but more along the lines of why Elder Xian Pu is here with us, or really even why your elder daughter is training in the Amazon style at the Nekohanten?"

"We're cousins," the lilac-haired woman, who I took to be the Chinese-Amazon Elder, answered. "His mother is my mother's older sister."

Akane nodded at that breaking the staring contest to turn to look at Mrs. Horaki, "That makes sense, but then what was your wife's comment about backstage?" she asked. "As far as my family has known, my uncle Kenta died during the battle against Leviathan when the island sank."

Kenta Horaki's face split in a smile that effectively said, "I have a secret!" in size eighteen font and bolded for extra emphasis. "Well there is an interesting answer to that, and the full story is long and involved," he said through the smile. "But the short-short answer is that I am your uncle."

Akane*

The entire room seemed to freeze in place as the words left his mouth. "How…" I started to ask before shaking my head and demanding, "Prove it!"

The man smiled and reached into his back pocket pulling out a wallet. "You were maybe six months old when your mother and I saw each other last," he said as he opened the wallet and pulled out a folded picture. "She convinced the old man that she needed a day or two away from the village and came down to Nagasaki where I was working. She brought you with her." As he talked, he unfolded the picture to show a photo of three adults and three children. The adults were him, his wife, and my mother. The children were a pair of young girls, about six and three years old respectively and an unidentifiable infant.

He sighed before he continued, "She also wanted to share with me your father's last letter home, the one that went to her but talked about the both of you." His smile dropped into a grimace as he turned to Aunt Emily. "I didn't know your brother and I regret that," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "From what Hitomi said he was a good man who loved his wife and child. From the copies of his letters that I have read, and that I have read to my own daughters, he would have been a great father."

Aunt Emily nodded, "Thank you," she said, her voice cracking. "He was very dedicated to his family, and as much as he and our parents didn't agree on things, he did respect them." I looked at the picture again, looking at mom who was hanging between the two Horakis and smiling while the eldest daughter held the infant.

Slowly I stood back up and slid between the tables. There was just enough room with the way everyone was sitting to move to where he sat. Looking up from the picture in my hands I could see that at least the adults, if not everyone at the table was watching me as I reached him. "Uncle Kenta," I said hesitantly, causing him to smile, and then I was launching myself into him, hugging him with my left arm while hitting him with my right which gripped the picture tightly. "What the hell happened to you," I practically sobbed, tears streaming down my face, "Mom, Grandfather and Grandmother all died thinking you were dead damn it."

"I'm sorry Akane," he replied softly, sniffling slightly as he obviously held back his own tears. "We thought you were all dead due to the beast as well."

Taylor*

Twenty minutes later the air around the table was festive and happy as Akane and her uncle traded stories back and forth. Orders for dinner had been placed with a blond haired young man who had gone back to the kitchen to apparently cook it himself. "So," Mister Horaki said, looking at Akane. "I have to ask, but if you remember, how did you get out of Kyushu? I tried to get back to get to the village, but the tunnel was already flooded, the train was only running outbound and the bridges were both blocked with wrecks"

Akane smiled a rueful smile, "Marines never leave their people behind," she answered. "Helicopters from the USS Kittyhawk arrived to pull the upper villages out while they could even as the SDF used every boat that they could get their hands on to pull everyone from the coast, especially at places like Kagoshima. All we were able to take out with us was a picture folio, the birth certificates, a couple of the scrolls on some of the more advanced forms of the family style, and Grandfather's sword."

Mr. Horaki sucked in a hissing breath at that. "That blade," he said before letting his breath back out. "That blade, it is good that you have it, as the last master of the family school that blade is a major part of your history."

"Yours as well Uncle," Akane said, her smile turning from rueful to what seemed to be both happy and sad. "It belongs to you and your daughters as well." As she finished though I could see her uncle shaking his head.

"I never taught them," he said once she finished, earning himself a questioning look. "Akane, you are the heir to the school now," he continued a sad smile on his face. "And like the ancestor that had that blade forged, you are the last of the recognized family."

"But I could teach them," Akane said, a plaintive tone in her voice only for her uncle to shake his head again.

"Akane, how long have you been training in the family style?" he asked calmly.

"All my life," Akane answered. "Miranda is already learning the Amazon style though, so I could…"

Again her uncle was shaking his head, "Miranda, how long have you been working under Elder Xian Pu,"

"Three years now," the older teen answered, "I'm finally getting the hang of catching ramen bowls and keeping track of the incoming bowls. The night you were in there I almost caught two upside the head, one I dodged and the other you caught."

"But that's…" Akane started only for the Amazon elder to start speaking.

"Beginning lesson," Xian Pu said, nodding. "You learned that lesson in three weeks over summer vacation, and Nemuri has no interest in learning at all."

Akane sighed, "Well at least I have Taylor to teach," she said turning and giving me a smile. No heart, don't stutter beat like that! "I'll tell you what though," Akane continued. "By the time she could face him this summer, I bet Taylor could beat the old panda two falls out of three."

"Genma is getting old though," Mr. Horaki said with a smirk only for Akane to cut him off.

"Genma-oji might be getting older," she countered, "but much like the old panty thief he hasn't lost a step in his old age." Mr. Horaki raised his hands in surrender at that and Akane looked over at her older cousin. "Right now I'm still teaching Taylor the basics, but she could use a sparring partner that she isn't going to stomp on or will do so to her too easily like I could."

"I can see if I have any openings in my schedule," Miranda answered smiling. "I could use a new sparring partner anyway, the elder doesn't take it easy on me."

"Of course I not take it easy," the Amazon Elder stated, poking the girl in the ribs. "I take it easy on you, you will take it easy in your efforts, and you not learn fast enough as is."

I looked at Miranda even as three people came out of the kitchen and headed for our table carrying large, covered trays, presumably of food. "Thank you for your help in learning your arts." I said giving a seated bow.

Miranda smiled at me and bowed in return as the food started to be laid out on the table. "We'll just have to see how well we both do," she said as a plate was put in front of each of us.

I smiled back at her, "So we shall," I answered and looked down at my beef burgundy before taking up my knife and fork. "So what kind of music do you like Miranda?"

Thomas Calvert hummed as he enjoyed his dinner, the fish was delicious and fried to just the right consistency to only require a fork to pick it apart. Picking up his phone he split his timelines and sent a text. In one timeline the text to the computer server read "Activate Plan A" in the other it read "Activate Plan B. From there, Calvert sat back and finished enjoying his dinner as his minions did their jobs.

Dennis*

"What was it like?" I asked as Katie and I sat at the Wards console and watched a quiet Sunday night slip past.

"What was what like?" she returned, not even looking up from her book.

"Growing up Empire?" I answered with a shrug. "I just don't understand how it happens."

Katie sighed as she placed her bookmark in between the pages that she had been reading and closed the book. "In all honesty it probably wasn't really very different than growing up any other way," she said, raising her head to look at me. The rhetoric was probably just different."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she temporized for a moment. "Take watching the news," she said, finally choosing a direction to take the conversation. "A crime is reported on, who do you blame as a gut reaction, and why do you figure they did it? What excuses do you expect to hear when they are caught and then perp walked?"

"That is usually a matter for the courts to decide," I answered only to receive a shake of her head.

"No, I'm not talking about the court's decision," she said calmly. "The initial gut reaction of Joe public. The person sitting there in their Lazy-Boy with a drink and watching the news, how do they react without any real context."

I nodded, "Alright, I get you there," I told her.

"In my… In the house I grew up in they would blame the minorities, the Hispanics were lazy but coming in and taking jobs that could and should be done by Americans. The blacks were entitled animals who weren't willing to do an honest day's work but would steal whatever they wanted. The rich were all money-grubbing Jews, and the Asians were just a menace. That said, for all they decried the acts of minorities my parents would do nothing but occasionally give money to the various facets of the cause, so I called them out on their hypocrisy."

"And their answer was to send you to someone in the cause that would use your firebrand mentality, right?" I asked, receiving a nod in answer as she tapped her book against her leg.

"My uncle didn't have the time to deal with a teen," She said, lost in thought. "So he left me to live with my cousin. Ophie is not his child mind you, but a niece of his from the other side of the family, Still her and her husband were supportive and introduced me to the Empire and when I triggered in Juvie, well…"

She trailed off at that point and I nodded before speaking. "You became their transport specialist and air support," I finished for her and she nodded.

"You know the craziest thing about all this is that it was Hookwolf who set me on this new path," she said smiling slightly and causing my eyebrows to rise. "If he hadn't chastised me for not helping Taylor then I would have likely not done a damn thing where Greg was concerned." I was about to comment, to ask how Hookwolf of all people could have set this path for her when the building shuddered and alarms started to blare, "What the hell?" Katie said as we both spun back to the console to look at the in-building cameras. "Did someone just drive an armored bus into the lobby?" Rune asked.

Taylor*

Dessert had just been served when there was a loud bang from the entryway followed by the sound on a stomping tread. Turning I could see a person in power armor that smoked? enter the dining room as dirty, raggedly men and women fanned out with various handguns, knives, and clubs to cover the room. "Trainwreck," the director and Mr. Horaki growled in unison. The director took it further by standing up and turning to face the group. "Trainwreck, what do you want here?"

The power-armor wearing villain looked at the director and smiled, "Mostly I'm here to get you to release Skidmark and Mush," he said before leering at the crowd. "But I figure we can do what Skids set out to do last week and get us some more customers as well."

"That is not going to happen," Mr. Horaki said standing and stepping around the tables. Something didn't feel right to me though, so I reached out to Akane and poked her, earning a lifted eyebrow in response. I gestured to her for maximum power so she laid one of her hands on mine and I felt my range and control expand. They aren't Merchants! i suddenly realized.

"Those aren't Merchants," I whispered to Akane, causing both of her eyebrows to rise at the statement.

"But who," she started to ask quietly only to go silent as the villain turned his gaze toward us and smiled.

"And it seems we have our first two customers," he said pointing at the two of us. "Come on out girls, don't be shy, i'm sure we have something that will be to your tastes in our little medical bags." A man stepped out of the entryway as he said this, the armband he wore bearing a black cross and I heard Amy snort from beside me. "I'm sure Doctor Pitter can, see to your dosages, and ensure that you will enjoy your trips."

"I would advise you to back off and simply go home, Trainwreck," the director said calmly. "Skidmark has already been shipped to New York, and Mush is in Boston. Attacking a group of civilians is going to do nothing but get the Protectorate and the PRT to come down on your head even faster than they already were."

The armored man chuckled at that, "And when your niece is crying her eyes out, begging for another dose of our product director, what then?"

"Then I help her get clean and take my frustration at the situation out on you by drawing and quartering you slowly and painfully," the director said coldly.

Suddenly one of the goons reached out and grabbed a young girl from where the mayor was sitting and put a knife to her throat. "Sit back down Gloryhole," the goon said, causing everyone to turn and look at Vicky who had apparently stood and was eyeballing the situation. Vicky nodded, and then sat back down, the goon didn't release the girl however.

"Doctor," Trainwreck said calmly, "I do believe the young lady will be your first customer for tonight. Followed by Miss Hebert and Miss Takamachi."

Katie/Rune*

"What the ever-loving fuck is this about?" I asked as people started to flood out of the bus and storm the lobby area of the PRT building. Most were carrying AK knockoffs and handguns, though a few carried crowbars and knives even as PRT Troopers deployed to face them.

"The automatic sprayers are offline!" someone said over the internal comms, "the elevators won't lock out. Doors up are locking but they are hindering our movement more than theirs." people were starting to panic in the main console area until a new voice overrode the panic.

"They are going for the confinement blocks," Deputy Director Renick said calmly over the comms. "Troopers move down the secondary stairwells to the floor just above the holding cells and prepare to catch them in the main stairwells and elevator shafts with confoam as they go to leave."

There was a round of confirmations over the communications channels even as an alert came in over the console, "Sir," Dennis said as we read the alert. "The Undersiders are hitting Palenheim Jewelers, Miss Militia and Armsmaster are on their way from The Rig, should we redirect them?"

"Assault and Battery are two minutes from PRTHQ," one of the other console operators added.

"Yes, redirect them," Rennick said. "I'm sure Assault and Battery can handle trapped," the line went dead as the building shook again.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked starting to search the console screens only to find most of the sensors offline.

"I think the bus that crashed into the lobby blew up," Dennis said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I have nothing," he said as I started to pull my costume's jacket and mask on. "What are you planning?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on things," I said as I keyed my radio. "Can you hear this?" I asked

"Five by five," Dennis said. "Go up three floors and out the window on the southwest corner, the occupant usually keeps it unlocked." I eyeballed him for a minute and he sighed, "The person who inhabits that office is a smoker but doesn't like to have to go out to the back alley to indulge, so they had maintenance give them a window they could open instead of a solid pane of glass."

"And you know this how?" i asked as i started out of the Wards area and toward the back stairs, my table floating along with me.

"Chris caught her sitting on her ledge indulging when he came back from patrol early due to technical issues." Dennis answered over the radio. "Assault and Battery are coming in from the west, I'll try and contact them but no promises."

"Understood," I answered as I reached the floor I needed and headed for the aforementioned window.

Reaching the window, I opened it and climbed out onto the ledge before guiding my table through the tight fit of the window. "I'm outside now," I said as I stepped onto the table and started to move around the building.

"Get high and disappear into the darkness," Dennis said as I started to move the table. "I got some of the cameras across the street connected again and the goons in front of the building are shooting at anything that moves, and you are not armored yet."

"I copy," I replied, guiding the table over the top of the neighboring building. "Assault, Battery, do either of you copy?"

"What's the situation Rune?" I heard Battery reply.

"Unknowns, probably Merchants, have assaulted the lobby in an armored bus and detonated something that took out the internal communications links," I answered. "Currently information says they are going for the prisoner cells on the lower levels."

"Understood," Battery replied, "ETA is two minutes."

"Be advised," I added, "they have trigger-happy shooters out in front of the building."

"I can handle that," Assault chimed in at that point causing an audible sigh from Battery.

"Stand by for counter assault," Battery said a moment later. "Initiating in twenty seconds"

Thomas Calvert sighed as he ended the Plan A timeline. I will have to find some way of punishing Tattletale for her failure, he thought as he watched his Plan B play out. Trainwreck and a handful of mercenaries dressed up as Merchants were really paying off as they already had a hand on their primary objective and was about to handle their secondary when everything was interrupted by a blood curdling scream which cut off as quickly as it started, and was followed by someone pounding on the doors to be let in.

Taylor*

When Akane juiced my power, it gave me a surprising four block radius. In that four blocks were a treasure trove of insects of all varieties, from sleeping hornet nests to a colony of cow ants. Mostly there were roaches of all types, but there were also two termite colonies, all of which I grabbed ahold of and hurried as fast as their wings could move them and the spiders that infested all of the buildings. I used the dumpster of the restaurant as a staging area, gathering the mass of arthropods into something useful. Flyers were used to ferry the slower spiders and ants onto the top of the building where the majority of the flyers went to the front side and gave me my first view of the situation outside.

Outside there were three guards and fitting my assumption not one of them looked like Merchants. In fact, all of them were dressed in black tactical clothing and were carrying AR styled rifles with something attached to the underside of the barrel. Three were too many to take down at once, and then I thought, Let's set the mood a little, throw them off their game. so dividing the flyers in half, I swarmed the heads of the two furthest from the door while phasing my infantry bugs through the roof giving me a second view inside as well as a way to project somewhat of a voice.

Of the two that I swarmed, one screamed in fear for about ten seconds. That was all the time it took the insects to clog his windpipe, choking him into unconsciousness while the second fought on, teeth tight together in a fierce grimace until I managed to phase a handful of flies and moths through his mouth causing him to start coughing which allowed me to choke him out as well. The third guard said nothing, he just started running for the doors to the dinner, beating on them to be let in as soon as he reached them. It was to no avail as by the time the guards inside opened the door to let him in, he also had been choked to unconsciousness and left lying in the doorway as a low toned chuckle seemed to fill the restaurant.

Inside my smoky ground troops drifted down from the ceiling taking positions on their targets even as the events outside caused some of the patrons to get a little paler. The laughter seemed to start unnerving even the mercenaries as they started at its sound and began looking around for the source, "Who knows," the swarm buzzed in that low laughing voice, "the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. The Shadow knows." I let the voice laugh a little more, taking in the effect it had among the troops. Mom may have been an English professor, but she and dad had always enjoyed listening to recordings of the old 30's radio programs like The Shadow, and The Green Hornet. We even had a copy of the Aleph version of the movie that they had made with Alec Baldwin as the lead character at the house.

"Who are you?" Trainwreck snarled at the open air. "Leave us alone, we have things to do here."

"I just told you who I am, Trainwreck," I had the swarm buzz. "Though I doubt you are actually here for the gang you supposedly are a member of. Too many, mercenaries for the Merchants, which means you are here for…Coil, yes, you are here representing Coil. And do release the girl, you will not be dosing her with anything tonight." As the swarm spoke, getting stronger as the bugs from outside phased into the room to add to the sound, I moved spiders and cow ants into position to cause the maximum amount of pain to the mercs and especially free the young girl from their grip. As expected, Trainwreck signaled to the one holding the girl to keep a hold of her and gestured the "doctor" on.

"Go to hell, whoever you are," Trainwreck growled. "There ain't nothing you can do to us."

"Isn't there?" the swarm buzzed, and I had two cow ants sting the merc that was holding the girl, first in the grasping hand, and another on his back near the spine. As soon as the ants struck, he screamed and jerked back from the girl who ran to her parents and the mayor.

The girl is playing with them, Thomas Calvert thought as he winced at the screaming of the mercenary. Casting a glance at the younger Hebert he mentally sighed, Marvelous flair for the dramatic, his mental train continued, she would have fit in well with… his thoughts derailed as a single gunshot rang out, silencing the screamer and pulling everyone's attention back to the armored villain. "Get on with it Doctor," Trainwreck snapped, causing the mercenaries to jump into motion as they headed for Dinah Alcott, Taylor Hebert and Akane Takamachi.

While the stung mercenary screamed in pain, my spiders swarmed both the doctor's bag and Trainwreck's power armor. The doctor's bag was full of pre-loaded syringes, all with labels on them that I couldn't make out, not that it really mattered. All of them were likely some kind of opiate to send each person here into lah lah land so that Trainwreck and his mercs could make a clean getaway. Trainwreck's power armor on the other hand was remarkably interesting, as was the fact that it was better than ninety-nine percent pure mechanical. Trainwreck himself was basically a head with a few tentacle-like appendages that controlled everything from the head and upper chest region, everything else ran off of those controls through steam. Finding the boiler and firebox wasn't hard, and while it was tinker-tech, it wasn't exactly difficult to understand, at least not in generalities.

Having a spider short across a circuit shut down the burner and burnt out the control runs for that, while another short opened the drain valve on the pressure vessel filling the suit with steam and water. Killing these two items on the inside shut him down, causing the rest of the people to see him suddenly wet himself, before falling over cursing. "Surrender now mercenaries and you will not be harmed," the swarm buzzed causing the mercs to stop cold.

"No," one snarled as he raised his pistol, which suddenly went flying while he started screaming and pawing at his wrist.

"Anyone else want to be an idiot?" the swarm buzzed and none of them moved. "Then drop your weapons and go sit on your hands in the corner away from the diners." Slowly the mercs lowered their weapons to the floor where they stood and went to sit in the corner. Using the insects to form an outline of my costumed image I had it turn and bow to the director. "I apologize Director," it buzzed, "I did not think he would shoot one of his own men."

"Not your fault Skitter," the director said standing up. "Miss Dallon, could you do something about this man's screaming, it's starting to grate."

"Yes ma'am," I heard Amy answer as the director walked over to stand over Trainwreck.

"Good work by the way," the director said. "Now we just have to clean up these Merchants."

"Mercenaries ma'am," I corrected. "Like I said, they were mercs, so he was probably doing this for Coil."

"How do you know they were mercs?" she asked.

I made the swarm shrug, "Too clean to begin with," I answered, "Ran into Merchant's last week on the boardwalk and I could sense them at my range. These guys, they have no body bugs."

The director grunted at that. "Very well then," she said calmly. "Thomas, I see you over there, I'm sorry to intrude on your night off, but get ahold of HQ and get us a couple of wagons and a containment team out here for these guys. "

"Already on it Director," a thin man said from amongst the two person tables. "I think something is wrong at HQ though as no one is answering."

"There better be," the director growled, "If there isn't then someone will be hearing about this."

Battery*

The Merchants in the lobby of the PRT building never knew what hit them. Coming up to the opening of an alley half a block from the front of the headquarters, Assault peeked out around the corner as I charged my powers. "Three shooters with AK's keeping a half-assed watch on the street," Assault told me before turning back to me in the alley. "How do you want to play this one puppy?"

I mulled that over for a minute as he looked back up the alley that we had come down and laughed. Following his gaze, I could see a ratty old couch that had been set out under an overhang where people could come out and have a smoke during their breaks. "Assault," I said with a slightly manic smile, "are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

He smiled back at me before answering, "I think so puppy, but the real question is how much force the couch cushions will hit with."

I hit him with my full power and watched as he absorbed it and smiled, "Let's find out."

Clockblocker*

I was watching the shooters through the wireless cameras that kept an eye on the street in front of the PRT building when it happened. From off camera three blurs flew through the camera's view impacting each Merchant goon. The first was knocked flat as his legs were taken out from underneath him, while the second and third were simply flattened by the sheer impact of something large into their chests and arms. It was only after this that I saw Assault and Battery flash across the screen to secure them, "Rune, the front shooters are down, Assault and Battery on scene."

"Understood," she answered causing me to smile. "I'm moving to assist."

Rune*

"Roger that Rune," I heard Clockblocker answer over the radio, "happy hunting."

I nodded even though he couldn't see it as I lowered my table toward the ground at a high rate of speed.

Reaching ground level, I hopped off the table and looked around to find three couch cushions laying on the ground, each not far from the bound Merchants. "Battery, where do you need me?" I asked. Suddenly the bus that had rammed its way into the lobby went rolling out as if it was nothing but paper mache and wheels, finally coming to a stop blocking the street as it hit the curb on the other side of the street.

"Hey kid," Assault called from the opening. "Do you think you can straighten that up so that it isn't blocking traffic?"

"Sure," I said, before removing my power from the table and letting it drop to the ground as I walked over to the bus. Dragging my hand across the front tires and the bumper between them I instilled my power into them and lifted the front of the bus before moving it into a proper parking position. "How are things inside?" I called back once that was done.

Turning I found Assault chuckling through a smile, "Oh this group is going to be sticking around at least until we can manage to get the cleaning agent in here to separate the men from the goats."

"Don't you usually use a crowbar for that?" I snarked back, earning another laugh.

"For the normal issue of separating them, yes we would," Battery said, coming out with a sigh. "Unfortunately, someone got a lucky hit in on a sprayer tank and filled the entire stairway access."

"Damn," was all I could muster as a comment.

"The only warning we had that anything was wrong was the shudder that went through the entire building before it dropped a solid ten feet and started to topple to one side. Screams filled the building even as sirens filled the air around it and the apartment complex fell to one side tossing anything that wasn't attached into the air before it fell to the new down."

Noelle Meinhardt mentally sighed as she told the group what had happened in Madison Wisconsin when the Simurgh had attacked. As she did, she looked at the other eleven people in the circle. Immediately to her left was Francis, one of her teammates that had been brought here with her from Earth Aleph. Two seats to her right were a young couple who she was pretty sure were Victor and Othala out of costume while across from them sat Velocity and Dauntless. The other six chairs at the meeting were filled with a mix of capes from outside of Brockton Bay. This particular meeting, she and Francis had sent their regrets about attending initially. It was a support group for Capes who had faced the Endbringers in some aspect.

They gathered and listened to each other recount something that had happened during an Endbringer battle that might be causing them psychological issues, and this meeting she and Francis had expected to miss due to the fashion show. As luck would have it however, the small meeting hall in Boston that they had planned on using had run into the problem of being heavily damaged in a fight between Accord's forces and Blasto's minions. This had happened Friday and the group needed someplace that they could meet in short order, so Noelle had suggested the auditorium where the fashion show would be, knowing it would be well over by the time the meeting started, and Legend had agreed to it before passing the information to Strider who was bringing most of the out of town members.

Finally, she finished her story, waking up in a hospital bed that was in a PRT refugee area. As she sat down, Francis stood and told about finding Cody impaled on a piece of pipe, half his body pulped by the same chest of drawers that had almost taken her dead center. While he did so she looked around at the other eleven people who had showed up for this meeting. To her left, past Francis, was Dauntless and Velocity, two local heroes who she had seen at other meetings, to her right were a young couple who if she had to guess were Victor and Othala. The rest of the twelve seats were taken up by various out of town capes who had their own issues to discuss on the subject of the Endbringers and had chosen to use the meeting to do so.

After a while everyone had spoken, and Legend stood to speak. "Each and every one of you have seen what happens at Endbringer battles," he said calmly. "The odds are never in our favor and we will always lose someone. The loss may be someone you don't know at all, or it could be a dear loved one. Always know though that this group will always be here, every week until we no longer need to. Until that day…"

He trailed off and the entire group practically intoned "Until then," before standing and starting to leave.

As the group broke up Legend stepped over to her and Francis, waiting until the others were far enough away to speak privately. "Thank you for being able to host tonight," the leader of the Protectorate said softly. "I was afraid we were going to have to cancel this week." Looking around he turned back and asked, "Did you just finish something else here?"

Francis nodded, his skull looking half-mask looking askance over his street clothes. "We did," he answered, "but the Loa are if nothing else, flexible."

Legend nodded at that smiling. "Again, thank you," he said. "Ghede, Erzulie, until next time I suppose." Francis and I nodded at him and watched as he walked out of the auditorium, the same one that a few hours before had held a hundred young women showing off the attempts of young fashion students.

Max Anders and James Fleischer escorted their "dates" out of the restaurant, Kenta Horaki's apologies fresh in their ears. Walking across the parking lot in silence they entered the waiting limousine and upon directing the driver to take them back to the Medhall offices closed the divider so that they could speak in private. "I believe that it is time for Coil and the Merchants to learn their respective places in this city," the corporate magnate stated calmly, if coldly.

Fleischer and the two women nodded but it was Fleischer who responded, "I believe that after tonight Lung and the Protectorate will turn somewhat of a blind eye to that endeavor," the thin, aristocratic man replied, his voice hinting at a slight Germanic accent. "The question becomes of course, which do we focus on?"

"The director did say that Skidmark and Mush were both shipped out of town already," the larger magnate commented. "Which with Trainwreck joining them, means that all the Merchants have at best is Squeeler and Whirlygig, meaning the Merchants themselves are effectively leaderless and will simply go back to selling their poisons to whomever wants them. They will have no power. Coil on the other hand, he has been a thorn in our side for some time. Yes, we will focus on him and teach him the error of his ways."

"It will be as you say Kaiser," Krieg said from his seat as the car made its way toward their offices.

Kenta Horaki turned from watching Max Anders enter his limo and leave to handling the rest of the restaurant's guests and his own family. A few steps away the Mayor was commenting to Director Piggot on the efficiency of her Ward and asking her to thank the person for saving his niece. The girl in question was holding her head and grimacing as if struck by a bad migraine. Akane went over to her and her parents apparently asking them a few questions before kneeling in front of the girl and taking her hand.

Kenta turned his attention back to the adults of the mayor's group as the man himself moved to pass him. "A pity this had to happen Kenta," the Mayor said to him as he walked with the group through the door. "Are things going to be alright for your chefs?"

"They are," Kenta rumbled gently. "You know my, backer will not take this lying down, though I will council him to be precise in his retribution and not create any more destruction than absolutely necessary."

The mayor nodded at that, "A lack of destruction would be appreciated unless it can be confined to areas that are, shall we say, slated for such things." Kenta smiled and nodded at that. He knew that there were certain sections of the docklands, both north and south that the Merchants held that had been slated for demolition for years, the only thing keeping them from being torn down was the fact that the city did not have the money to spend on the deconstruction, and that the Merchants would strip any equipment of anything of value overnight if the equipment was not guarded.

"I can only advise him Mr. Mayor, but I will mention such things when we speak." Kenta responded earning a nod from the man. A handshake and the mayor and his family were getting into two chauffeured town cars to leave and he was able to turn back to the rest of his guests, both the welcome and unwelcome.

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Topic: Ninja's Strike

In: Boards United States Massachusetts Brockton Bay

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Jan 17th 2011:

Well some people were wondering how long we were going to have to wait for our newest Wards to make another impact. Well wait no more:

In other news this morning, last night there was an attack on the Totsuki Saryo Diner on its annual opening. Around 8:30 pm last night a group of what are currently being described as members of the Archers Bridge Merchants gang invaded the restaurant and held the occupants hostage under the claim that they wanted the gangs parahuman members Skidmark and Mush released from PRT holding. Amongst the establishment's patrons at that time was PRT Director Emily Piggot who informed the hostage takers that both subjects had already been transferred out of the city and were not able to be released. Somewhere during the nearly twenty minute ordeal one of the newest Wards, Skitter, intervened using her insect control to protect the patrons and staff while disabling both the parahuman Trainwreck, and at least four of the gang members on site. All of the merchants on site were captured due to the threat of the Ward's minions.

Now I don't know what is being planned because of this, (security issues don't ya know,) but considering that at that same moment Trainwreck was attacking the diner, Squealer and Whirlygig were leading a bus load of hopped up Merchants into the PRT building only to get foamed while trying to accomplish the same thing, I would say that the Archer's Bridge Merchants are now a done deal.

(Showing page 1 of 2)

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Yeah, the boss is just a bit pissed as this ruined what was supposed to be a celebratory night for her niece and a friend of hers. Another thing to think about is how many pots the Merchants just took a leak in because of who was on the guest list there last night. It was a veritable who's who of Brockton Bay with the restaurant's proprietor and his family, (Kenta Horaki) The Mayor, his wife, son, Sister and her husband and daughter as well as Max Anders, his CFO and their dates. That the PRT Director and the DWU Head of Hiring were there with the Dallon sisters also in attendance just...

could the merchants have gotten any dumber?

Whitecollar (Cape Wife)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

And why was a Ward there as well?

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Officially as part of the Director's protection detail. Its not something we spread around widely, but when we have someone that can keep an eye on a large general area as well as pack a punch we try to keep them around our directors. That said, with the Director out for dinner at a nice establishment in a semi-decent part of town, the expectations of trouble were minimal to non-existent, so a Ward was apparently detailed to the job, perhaps two, we will have to wait and see what the official PRT press release says.

BrocktonPartyPatrol

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

So you had a Ninja bodyguarding the Director, and they remained unseen while disabling the enemy, ensuring that no civilians were hurt, and you want me to believe the attack on the PRT Headquarters, where the Wards are based, was solved through, what, automatic defenses or Troopers? You can't fool me, I know what took down Squealer and Whirlygig. Ninjas.

Kind of suspicious how the gang was attacking right where those Wards would happen to be and need to respond. Almost like some masters of infiltration, deception, and counterintelligence had been practicing taking down a gang in a series of perfectly executed strikes to remove the leadership. Now I'm not saying that these Wards have, perhaps, been up to more than the public knows. I'm just suggesting we keep an eye on what happens to the unpowered members in the following weeks to see whether any large, systematic raids and take-downs happen that could possibly be associated with the city's law enforcement basically knowing their every move and secret.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

You know, I thought it was just Skidmark that was the Chief Idiot of the Smacks. I forgot something: All the Idiots that Followed Him. Talk about your stupid maneuvers!

So the Merchants are done. Fantastic! Now go clean up their territory! Oh wait, that's not your job. I forgot.

Mr. Mayor, Sir! Is it safe to send the BBPD in to clean up that mess of drugged out hopheads, or is that something you have to call the DEA in for? Actually, with all the crap that's happened in this city, I'm surprised we haven't had the National Guard in here yet for Martial Law!

catman

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Who signed off on a ward named Skitter? Sounds like a dumb villain who's afraid of loud noises.

Wolfy_One (Verified Fuzzy)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Catman

Probably the same person who realized that a person who controls insects can be called anything they want, at least so long as it isn't already taken.

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@catman

apparently there were some very serious negotiations that went into her contract. Word around the water cooler is that someone had carnal relations with the neighbor's canine and the PRT was basically put over a barrel where that was concerned. Basically what Skitter wanted was what Skitter was going to get.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Reave - That fills me with -such- confidence. Truly. That said, though. The Wards' newest Ninja embodiment of Biblical Plagues Three, Four, and Eight did a decent enough job in protecting everyone. Personally though, I'm glad I missed it. Fairly certain that people will be joining me with cases of Entomophobia, which I predict will --skyrocket-- in the coming months. I only hope the majority of cases happens to the gangs, though. Butterflies and fluttery moths for the kiddies, yeah?

End of Page. 1

(Showing page 2 of 2)

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Everyone still has the mandated Public Relations and Excessive Force classes @Sarchasm

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Here is the transcript of the press conference about last night's incidents, video found here.

Deputy Director Renick: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I will make a brief statement on last nights incidents, and then take a few questions. Now, at approximately 8:30 last night, a small group of mercenaries, led by the parahuman known as Trainwreck, assaulted the Totsuki Saryo Diner. The mercenaries were hired by the gang known as the Archers Bridge Merchants for the purpose of kidnapping the Director and dosing the rest of the patrons in an attempt to increase the gang's illicit funds as well as get Skidmark and Mush released. At the same time, Squealer and Whirlygig assaulted the PRT building also to release Skidmark and Mush. As previously reported, the Ward known as Skitter, who was out alongside the rest of the Directors security detail, was able to handle the situation at the diner with no loss of life. At the PRT building, with internal sensors knocked out by an Electro-Magnetic Pulse generated by Squealer's bus, Rune provided eyes in the sky, warning Assault and Battery of waiting Merchant gang members in the street outside the PRT building. This allowed the pair to disable the shooters without injury. Inside there was however an incident with a sprayer tank taking fire from the Merchants filling the access stairs to the confinement cells with containment foam and trapping all the gang members inside.

Trying to take advantage of these situations, the Undersiders robbed Palenheim Jewelers on East Thirty-Second Street. While that gang managed to succeed in their getaway, the owners of the Jewelry store inform us that the loss was minimal as all their expensive pieces were already locked away in their safe. Now, I will take questions.

Sarah Saunders, (WCBS):

Assistant Director, is the PRT or Protectorate planning on moving on the remaining members of the Archers Bridge Merchants?

Deputy Director Rennick:

That is not within the PRT's remit as they are unpowered gang members. We have been informed by the Brockton Bay Police Department that they will be making extra patrols in the areas known to be frequented by the Archers Bridge Merchants.

Michael Ossof (AP)

Director, why was a Ward on the Director's protection detail?

Deputy Director Rennick:

As has been posted on PHO we try to keep at least one parahuman on call as part of the director's protective detail as all directors are considered high value targets. That said, with the fact that the director was to be in attending an event that was in a safer part of town, it was decided that having a Ward in the parahuman scheduling slot would be allowable. Skitter, while unable to anticipate Trainwreck's actions, or even observe in person his deployment of forces, she was able to act without endangering the civilians involved where the regular PRT forces could not.

Maria Fornado: (WFOX)

Director, what about some concerns that have been voiced about Wards being used as if they were soldiers. What about the health risks associated with Skitters insects?

Deputy Director Rennick:

All Wards receive the same Youth Guard oversight to ensure we are not turning them into soldiers Maria. That said, some are more prone to taking action with their powers and we at the PRT see it as our job to ensure that they learn how to use their powers not only safely for themselves and others, but responsibly. As for the insects themselves, all were native to the immediate area outside the restaurant itself. Skitter has assured me that all were removed from the area with her departure.

Sherryl Atkinson (WABC)

Deputy Director, were there any problems with the attack on the PRT building or the robbery of the jewelry store?

Deputy Director Rennick:

Yes Sherrell. At Palenheim Jewelers the Undersiders wrecked several parked cars and blocked the street, and thus the B10 bus line for three hours while they were cleaned up. More importantly Squealer's EMP disabled the restraints on a prisoner allowing Shadow Stalker to escape custody. We are asking anyone who sees her to report her whereabouts but strongly advise that people do not approach her. She is to be considered armed and dangerous.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Is it just me, or are things spiraling around here? Not only have the Merchants completely fubared everything, they didn't get who they were after, -and- accidentally let someone else loose! I will say though, that the Merchants trapping themselves in Containment foam is hilarious! Lived here all my life, and only now I'm starting to take my daughter's advice to move to Florida seriously. Screw this, I need a beer. Docksbodies, comin in for double-header! Put the game on and set up the dart board! Brockton Bay, man. Only in the frikken Bay. Next, there'll be talks of swamp monsters or something coming out of the water. Ia! Ia! Good night.

Wolfy_One (Verified Fuzzy)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Hey @Reave, @Bagrat, any word on what Shadow Stalker did to end up in confinement or is that hush hush?

Echiko (Verified Weeb) (Mobuseka Overdrive)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Hey. Wait a sec. Missed something very important there.

Did you say Totsuki Saryo? As in Totsuki Totsuki? In Brockton effing Bay?

Pardon me while I pack my bags, I've been looking for a reason to get out of the Apple anyway.

Epicurean (Verified Foody) (Verified Critic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Echiko

Yes they did, they have had the diner there for about six years now.

Was there for opening night and as usual 5 stars for the food and service, I won't hold the security breach against them.

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Shadow Stalker was on probation in her civilian persona and currently stands accused of violating it. That is all that I am allowed to say because anything else would possibly indicate what her civilian identity is.

End of Page. 1, 2

Theo Anders chuckled and pushed his smartphone over to his friend John with the thread screen still up as he looked over at the girls around Victoria Dallon. The two new girls that had joined Victoria's usual group were chatting away with her, as was Katie. Of all the people around the Empire, Theo could understand why Katie had taken the PRT's offer to bail on the Empire. His father was a prick, having chased off the one person in his life that had given a damn about him, (outside his father's belief that Theo or Aster would grow up to take over the Empire and rule Brockton, maybe even the North-East.) Kayden was gone, disappeared with no trace what-so-ever taking Aster with her, and it had his father furious. The only thing he wished was that she had managed to take him with them.

"So who do you think they are?" John asked him as he slid Theo's phone back to him.

"Who do I think who are?" Theo replied turning his attention back to his lone friend. (There were acquaintances from the Empire, but Theo didn't count them. John was a light skinned Hispanic boy, and Theo knew his father didn't know John's ancestry.)

"Who do you think the three ninja's are?" John asked with a hint of exasperation. "We know that the PRT sends the Wards to Arcadia, and there were a whole mess of kids arrive from Winslow to hide them in, so who do you think they are?"

"I don't know," Theo said, the lie coming smoothly as he knew who Rune was. "But I would say that they are likely closer than we would ever believe." John simply snorted and turned to ask another kid the same question. More close than you would EVER believe.

Sophia*

"What the hell are you doing here?" my mother hissed as I walked through the wall from the fire escape.

I snorted, "I'm getting my stuff, Mom," I answered coldly. It was obvious that the damn bitch on the panel wasn't lying. "I don't see what it matters to you, you did throw me to the wolves after all."

"Sophia, you tortured a girl!" my mother said crossing her arms with a glare of disapproval. "A white, middle class girl in Brockton Bay, something that could have gotten the entire family killed!" I scoffed at that and turned to continue down the hall of the apartment to my room, but my mother followed me. "And if that wasn't bad enough you didn't even pick a Nazi, which I could have understood, but the daughter of the man who has kept food on that table and in your belly since before you could walk!"

At that I froze and turned to stare at her. "What are you talking about Mom?"

Mom sighed in exasperation, "Sophia, what do I do for work?"

"Clean houses and businesses," I answered. "It's beneath you, and your education, Mom."

My mother nodded, "It is," she agreed, "but there were other people just as qualified as I was. Some more so, and all of us were laid off when the shipping industry died in Brockton. But Daniel Hebert is loyal to his people if he is nothing else. That man has managed to keep the majority of us that are stuck here employed in one legitimate endeavor or another since he took over the Union!" As she had spoken, my mother's gaze had dropped to the floor, only now for her face to rise to glare at me. "And you!" she snarled, "you had to pick HIS daughter to be the punching bag for your little group of idiots! How could you be so stupid?"

I couldn't help it, I gawked at her in astonishment. "I," I stuttered, "I, I didn't know. She just seemed to be some nothing that Emma had been friends with. When she showed up at the end of the summer, she just seemed like the perfect target to help build Emma back up from being a complete wreck when Emma suggested it." I was babbling, I never babbled except when I was in the wrong. I am NOT in the wrong here damn it!

Shaking my head I snarled, "No, I am not in the wrong here, Mom," before gritting my teeth and glaring back at her. "Taylor was a sniveling little shit not worth the powder it would have taken to blow her brains out. I don't know why Emma decided to focus on her, but we did, and we were so good at it we had the entire school doing it before that ABB bitch stuck her nose into shit."

"That was the Director's niece you idiot!" my mother yelled back at me finally losing her temper. "She wasn't there for the ABB, she was a new student that walked in and caught you taunting that girl in her locker and rightly proceeded to kick your ass. Sophia what you did was wrong, period. The fact of what she is and who she is, is immaterial to that fact.

Piggot's niece? I thought in shock as I backstepped slightly. I snarled mentally, she can pay just as much as Hebert and her father.

The smile that passed over my face as another thought percolated through caused my mother to gasp and reach for me. "Damn it girl don't be stupid," she snapped as her arm reached out and I went to mist to avoid being grabbed. "There is no way you going after any of them ends well for you."

"What's it matter to you, Mom?" I sneered as I went into my room. "You've already thrown me to the wolves of the system. Its not like anything I do is going to affect you, right?"

"Damn it, Sophia!" she snapped following me. "It will make things worse for you which does affect me, it affects all of us."

Opening my closet, I reached up though the ceiling and grabbed one of my hold-out sets of equipment. The crossbows were older, and the mask was a standard hockey mask, but I had added a handful of the tranquilizer bolts to the quiver and I palmed one as I turned back to face my mother. "You see Mom," I said calmly, "I don't actually believe you." She looked at me with shock and pain in her eyes. "Now, I'm going to grab a bit of clothes and a bag to carry it all in, and you are going to take a little nap."

"I am, guh," she stopped as I stepped into her and hit her in the chest with the tranquilizer bolt before easing her to the floor of my room. "Don't worry Mom," I told her as I laid her down. "Once I settle things with Hebert and her little bitch friend, it will all be better."

Chapter 9

Notes:

Somehow, in transitioning things from the forums to AO3, I have managed to muck up the chapter numbering, I will continue to try and figure out how and where, but for now, here is the actual chapter 7

Chapter Text

PRT Headquarters

Washington DC, USA

1800 hours Thursday, January 13th 2011

"I apologize for the hour of this call Ms. Kuno," Chief Director Rebecca Costa Brown said once the video call had connected and she found herself looking at a perfectly average Japanese woman. She had spent the last day and a half doing her research on the woman and her family only to find herself impressed. Mother of one, Summa Cum Laude with a Master's Degree in Business Management and Economics from Tokyo University as well as running one of the biggest multinational investment businesses in Japan. The woman had a cutthroat way of doing business that made sure that everything possible went her way, and even the things that couldn't didn't hurt her or her family.

"Hello Chief Director," the CEO of Kuno Investments and The Kuno Foundation said with a slight seated bow. "How may I assist you today?"

"Madame," Rebecca started, "It has been brought to my attention that you have a way to predict when the Endbringers are to attack. I would like a copy of that data so that our own people can adapt it to our existing attempts to build an Endbringer prediction program."

"That isn't a problem Chief Director," the woman replied while making a note on a legal pad next to her. "I can have the program in a shielded package and on its way to you within the day, was there anything else?"

Rebecca froze slightly, she had not expected getting the prediction program to be that easy. "Err, thank you," the Chief Director answered. "Actually, there is one other thing. We are wanting to mimic your Endbringer entertainment venues in a few test cities here in the US. Would you be willing to either send someone as a consultant to assist in this, or at least link us into your projected programming?"

"I can do both," the woman said with a wide smile. "Though I am going to have to charge you for this one. Currently we have expanded our program to South Korea, The Philippines, as well as parts of SouthEast Asia and most of the Pacific Islands. Depending on what cities you intend to include we may be expanding to a near 24-hour program."

Rebecca goggled at that, "New Orleans, New York, Seattle and San Francisco are our test cities," Rebecca answered, her voice wavering some. "Chicago and Denver are considering doing something similar, but they doubt they could get it set up before the predicted time frame."

The CEO nodded, "I can send a person to each city you listed and link all of them into the programing. The cost for you would be 25-thousand dollars per 100-thousand people."

"That's very generous of you Ms Kuno," Rebecca commented breathlessly. That's insane! she thought as she accepted the offer. "If you will send people to those cities I am sure that they can arrange for the money to be transferred to your foundation's account once they have an estimate of how many people they will be dealing with."

"Of course Chief Director," the CEO answered, making another note to herself. "I will have people dispatched by the end of our business day.

"Thank you for your time and cooperation, Ms Kuno." Rebecca said calmly only to receive a nod from the other woman before the call was disconnected. Standing up from her desk Rebecca walked out of her office and past her secretary's empty desk toward a broom closet. Opening the closet door, she murmured "Door to Cauldron," before disappearing into the shining doorway.

Akane*

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday flew past in a blur of school, training, and actual work. I was followed by Saturday, which dawned bright and beautiful as I awoke to a text from Sabah notifying me of a practice walk at the Brockton Bay University Auditorium at noon. The timing did not upset any plans I had so I went about my day. It was a quarter of twelve when I walked through the auditorium doors to find a madhouse of young adults running back and forth trying to make everything perfect. "Akane!" Taylor's voice called out over the bedlam and after a minute of scrutiny I could see her and Sabah off to one side about halfway down the hall. Seeing her I almost dropped the pumps in my hand as she bounced and waved in the sundress that Sabah had stuffed her in last week. I waved in return before walking over.

"Taylor, Sabah," I said as I reached them and tried valiantly not to eye Taylor's legs in the short sundress. "Kind of a madhouse around here huh?"

"Hello Akane," Sabah said as she only half noticed my appearance. "I'm glad you are here as not only do I need to do a final fitting on your dresses, but Taylor needs someone to walk her around and get her used to the three inch heels that she's going to be wearing."

I sighed but nodded. I wasn't a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, and I preferred slacks and jeans to skirts, I had, however, agreed to do this and I could see by the look in Taylor's eyes that she was enjoying every bit of it. "Alright," I said with another sigh. "Where is the changing area and the first dress?"

Sabah pointed to one side where a screen partition like you would see in a western stood providing a modicum of privacy. "All three of your outfits are hanging behind the screen, it doesn't matter which you choose, but if you choose the Ao Dai first we can go ahead and find you a pair of slippers to go with it."

I nodded and headed toward the screen, considering how I would look in the dresses. Five gets you ten someone is going to record this and I will never live it down, I thought as I began to strip from my street clothes before pulling on the slip and the fancy dress. It actually fit this time as opposed to being overly large on me. The waist hit at the right point, and while the chest was snug, it wasn't in a way that was uncomfortable or constraining. The skirt, on the other hand, still minimized my steps worse than a kimono.

Stepping out from behind the screen I felt my breath hitch at the vibrancy of Taylor's smile. She bounced slightly in her heels as she clapped her hands, "My God Akane," she said with a giggle, "you'll have the boys swooning if they see you like this."

I grimaced as I hobbled over to the block that Taylor was occupying. "They say a word and I'll kick their butts up between their ears," I grumbled through my smile. "What about those slippers Sabah?"

"I think I'll let Taylor lead you there," the design student and seamstress answered. "That way she can get some more practice walking in the heels she's wearing."

Taylor and I both nodded and I offered her my hand to help her down from the platform. "You seem to be having fun," I said as we left Sabah behind.

"I don't usually wear clothes this nice," Taylor replied beaming, even as she wobbled a bit in the heels. "At Winslow there not only wasn't any reason, but with the trio and their hangers-on screwing with me daily, they would have been ruined by the end of first period." She sighed after a minute before continuing to talk even as she seemed to focus on her walking. "It's also not really my style," she said quietly. "I mean, every once in a while, yeah having a reason to dress up nice and having something nice to wear at that point is a good thing, but it's not a daily thing for me. I'm just as comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt as this."

I nodded as I was much the same, back in Japan I would have been much more comfortable in the boy's uniforms at my schools, than the girls. My reputation had kept me from problems there though as no one wanted to test my control. Still though, I would rather be in a suit than a dress. I thought as we stepped up to a young man that seemed to have a shoe fitting station.

"Ah, you're here for slippers, right?" he asked, smiling as he looked at me.

"Yes," I answered. "I usually wear a size six American, but the width tends to be on the wide side of things."

"Alright then," he answered with a smile. "Why don't you have a seat and we will see what fits." I nodded and sat down on the stool he had available while watching Taylor walk back and forth in the heels. The young man took a shoe sizer and settled my left foot in it before sliding the sides and the end in. Pulling my foot out once he locked the pieces in place, he looked at it and nodded. "Yes, size six extra wide," he commented half under his breath before diving into a stack of boxes and pulling out three. "Try this one on," he said, handing me one of the boxes.

The slippers inside were a pale violet, and just a touch too narrow. "Nope," I said pulling it back off. "Too narrow in the toes."

"Alright then," he said, setting one of the two boxes aside before handing her the other. "Try this pair." I handed him the pair of slippers I had back before taking the new pair and pulling out the left one.

"Much better," I told him as I flexed my foot in the slipper. Putting the other one on I stood up and walked around a bit. "Yes, this will do nicely, thank you."

"No problem," the young man said with a smile. "What about you miss, any problems with your sandals?"

"Just that I need to get used to walking in them in a hurry," Taylor answered.

"Sorry but I have no answer for that one." He replied.

"I might," I said, but let's let Sabah finish her fitting before we try it."

Taylor*

"Excuse me," I looked up from where Sabah was re-hemming the cuffs of Akane's pantsuit to see a spare blonde woman with a clipboard standing off to one side of us. "Could you tell me your names and what agency you work for?" she asked.

I blinked for a moment at the question before looking at Akane and Sabah. "A mutual friend introduced us," Sabah answered through a mouth full of pins. "They don't work for an agency."

"While I find that hard to believe as it is awfully convenient," the blonde said with a smile, "I still need your names for the announcements during the fashion show."

"Noelle," Sabah sighed, standing to look the blonde in the eyes. "I gave you their names yesterday. In fact, I wrote them down on your ever so fashionable clipboard so that you wouldn't forget them. How in the hells you manage to be a top tier team leader and strategist in a combat game with how scatterbrained you seem to be is beyond me?"

The blonde smiled, "Francis says that it's because I attain a laser like focus when the virtual feces hits the rotary air impeller," she replied. "I'm not that ditzy, I really just wanted to see if these were who you wrote down or if there was going to be another last-minute change. You've got a couple of cute ones here."

CUTE! I thought as my mind jackknifed like an 18-wheeler trying to stop on a patch of ice. She thinks I'm cute, why does she think I'm cute? Vocally all that came out was a groan as my mind started to spin.

Akane*

Taylor groaned and I felt my eyes roll back as I sighed in disgust. "Noelle was it?" I asked, receiving a nod from the blonde, Too damn thin, anorexic or bulimic at a guess. my brain supplied. "Thanks a lot, you broke her," I continued gesturing at Taylor. "Now I have to figure out a way to fix her and continue this afternoon so that we can get some practice in on the platform before we go home."

"What do you mean I broke her?" the blonde asked acerbically. "All I said was that she was cute, it was a compliment."

"And she's had a bad couple of years that has destroyed her self-esteem and self-image." I hissed at her. "She has a hard time believing she's good at anything or worth anything. Compliments fluster her. Sabah, are you done setting the hem?"

"Yeah," the fashion student answered, shooting a glare at the blonde. "I can finish re-hemming the thing tonight and it will be ready for you tomorrow."

"Good," I answered, stepping off the small platform and moving behind the changing screen. "I'm going to try and get Taylor's brain to reboot, or at least get it out of the crashing loop I imagine it's in and then we're going to walk the runway, might talk to the sound folks about the music for tomorrow, and then we are out of here."

"Completely understandable," Sabah told me. "Just remember that we need to be here at three for any last-minute changes and a practice walk through."

"Understood," I answered as I changed out of the clothes Sabah had me in and back into my street clothes. "Taylor and I will be here by then and ready to go."

Fully dressed save my boots I stepped out from behind the screen to sit down. "Now, tomorrow I will hopefully have Taylor ready to take any compliments but do try and keep them minimal and about the clothes. She's not used to them." Noelle and Sabah both nodded as I zipped up my boots and then I stood, before I walked over to Taylor and wrapped my arms around her from behind. "Tay," I said softly in her ear. "Let's get out of here and we'll talk some alright?" the girl nodded slightly before letting me pull her to her feet and guide her out of the auditorium.

"She called me cute?" Taylor said in a soft small voice as we left. "How can she find me cute?"

Akane

Just off the BBU campus was a little dive eatery that mostly served the students when they wanted something other than cafeteria food or takeout. From the sign over the bartop where you ordered it wasn't much, just a half-dozen tables and booths, with a jukebox, cheap beer, and greasy food. Right now though, the most important thing was that it was effectively empty, meaning it was someplace with a calm atmosphere. Sitting Taylor down I went and ordered us a couple of sodas and a basket of fries before coming back to her and sliding into the booth next to her. "Taylor," I said softly, "Taylor look at me."

The look in my friend's eyes when she looked at me wrenched at my heart and a part of me wished I had hit that damn redhead harder than I had. I will make her regret this somehow, I thought as Taylor suddenly grabbed me and buried her head in my chest, sobbing. My response was to hold her, making soothing noises and holding her. After a few minutes, a voice said, "There was a time when young women were at least somewhat respected by the men around here." I looked away from Taylor to find the bartender/waitress setting our drinks and fry basket down on the table. "And when they weren't respected, the people who didn't respect them learned to fear them." The look in the woman's face turned hard with that comment, "She's your friend, right?" she asked, and I nodded. She nodded back before continuing, "You find whoever hurt her and make it right if you can, if you can't you call me or come find me, Some of the boss's girls didn't go to prison, and others have gotten out since"

I smiled at her, "Thanks," I said, and she nodded before walking back towards the bar. Turning my attention back to Taylor I sighed. "Taylor listen to me ok?" I felt her nod against my chest and rolled my eyes. "I need you to think back for a minute and tell me, who has been telling you that you were not cute."

"Well," Taylor said, her brows knit in concentration. "It was everyone at…" and that was when the realization hit her. Taylor's reaction was to jerk back like she had been slapped, her face turning into a snarl. "Emma!" she growled, and I nodded even as I took her by the shoulders.

"For whatever her reasons, she did this to keep you down, to break your spirit," I told her and then chuckled. "Besides," I continued. "If you weren't at least cute, you wouldn't have half the school watching whenever you walk past."

"You're exaggerating," Taylor countered huddling in on herself.

"Am not," I returned. "I've personally watched Aaron Kilpatrick, Dennis, Chris and Tracey Perkins all follow you with hungry eyes as you've walked away."

"Dennis is scared of me," she mumbled causing me to raise an eyebrow. Taylor saw the unvoiced question and chuckled a bit. "Caught him stealing the mallow jars for a prank when I needed them for last week's fudge, and I, well I threatened to engulf him in bugs if he didn't put them back or tried it again."

That she had the gumption to do even that much was a step in the right direction and I pulled her into a hug, "Good girl," I said smiling, "and while it could explain his partner in crime, that doesn't explain the baseball team captain or the head cheerleader checking out your butt as you left the room."

Taylor snorted, "Akane, I'm too tall, my mouth is too wide, I'm skinny as a rail and I'm flat as a board, no one is going to want me." Unvoiced I could hear the, "I'm not good looking," in her tone and I shook my head as I put a finger to her lips.

"Taylor," I said with a slight smile and a shake of my head. "Think for a moment about the other girls that were in that auditorium, the ones that were there to model the clothes. All of them were skinny as rails, most of them because they live unhealthy lifestyles to keep the weight off. Yes, they are almost all shorter than you, but they want your height so that they can look skinnier than they already are. As for the rest, you're still in that gangly coltish stage of growth, give it a couple of more years and you are going to be breaking hearts and your father is going to be answering the door with a shotgun,"

That earned a giggle and a smile from her so I continued. "I want you to eat these fries, and drink that soda, and then we need to get back over and do a walk through on the runway before we go home. I'm going to see if I can't get someone over to help." Taylor nodded and I got up before grabbing my cup and heading toward the bar. Pulling out my phone with my other hand I pulled up my contacts list and picked a contact to dial. "Hey Vicky, are you busy?"

"Not particularly," the blonde Alexandria package answered, causing me to smile.

"I need some help and I think you would love to make your sister all flustered again," I told her. "If you at least will come over to the college's auditorium I would appreciate it."

"What do you need help with there?" she asked.

"We need to teach Taylor how to strut." Was all I answered.

Sabah:

"I'm obviously missing something," Noelle had commented as Akane led Taylor out of the auditorium. My response had been to snort at her statement as I took up the slacks before turning to face my teacher's assistant.

"You think?" I asked just a touch sarcastically before turning the pants inside out. "The girl has apparently spent the last eighteen months going through a special kind of hell and Akane and I had to calm her down when I broached the subject of her modeling my clothes. The girl has practically no self-confidence and I have a funny feeling as to why."

"Shit," the blonde commented. "What's your feeling?" Noelle asked.

"That at least one of the two girls who were supposed to model for me was involved in it," I answered. At that point I turned my attention to the slacks and started stitching the hem into place, losing myself in the repetitive motion.

My attention was pulled from finishing the slacks as the main doors to the auditorium slammed open to show three silhouettes standing in the doorway, "Let's do this," a voice I didn't recognize stated as the bodies moved through the room toward the stage. As the doors closed I could see it was Akane, Taylor and a…and Victoria Dallon, Because of course they could get Glory Girl to come over and help Taylor, I thought as I rubbed my eyes.

Akane made a beeline for the sound board and the computer there that would provide the music for the fashion show. Walking over to her I could hear her muttering "No, no, hell no," followed by her lifting an eyebrow at what I could only figure was one song choice as she said clearly, "Who the hell do they think they are, Rick James?" before shaking her head and pulling up the computer's master music list. "Ah, here we go,"

Danny smiled as he eased himself into the auditorium seat as Emily sat down between himself and the Dallon sisters. Vicky had somehow convinced Amy that she would enjoy the fashion show or at least that it made more sense for her to take the night off and join them both here and at dinner as opposed to spending another night at the hospital. They would have almost filled the row with Carol and Mark, but the former had an early court appearance in Boston for the Bad Canary trial tomorrow and wouldn't have been able to join them for dinner, while the latter was having one of his bad days and was home in bed. "Excuse me," a low voice rumbled from Danny's other side, drawing his attention to a large Asian man with what was obviously his daughters. "Is anyone sitting in these seats?"

"They're open," Danny answered, taking a closer look at the two girls. One was a little older than Taylor and Akane, maybe eighteen or so while the other was more than likely a preteen of maybe twelve. "Is yours a student or a model?"

The man blinked for a moment as his girls moved to sit down. "I have one that is a student," he answered, smiling. "But not here and not learning fashion, my wife runs the modeling studio that is providing the majority of the models tonight and she wanted to be here to ride herd on them. Herding cats is more accurate in my opinion but what can you do right?" Danny smiled and nodded at the comment. "After this we have to go open the restaurant for the year too, so it's going to be a long night."

Danny smiled at that, "That would mean that you are Kenta Horaki correct?"

The man lifted an eyebrow but nodded over the heads of his daughters, "I am," he answered. "Who are you, if I may be so bold?"

"Danny Hebert," Danny answered standing and offering his hand.

Kenta took the offered hand and shook it while smiling. "You run the Dockworkers Union," he replied and Danny laughed shaking his head.

"I'm just the head of hiring," Danny returned, and Kenta shook his head.

"From what I've heard," Kenta countered. "If you didn't keep beating your head against the wall that is city hall half the city wouldn't be livable and nobody in the union would have legal employment. You do good work, what has you here?"

"Daughter got talked into modeling for one of the students," Danny answered. "Favor trading at its finest." Kenta nodded at that, smiling.

"Let me guess," Kenta said, his smile turning a touch feral. "She took the place of one of the two that ended up going to jail for some high school prank that turned near deadly."

"Her and her newest friend," Danny answered with a chuckle. "The student asked them to model for her since no one else was available."

Kenta nodded, "My wife was very put out by the stuff that they are accused of doing," he growled. "They have been blacklisted by her and everyone that she could influence, at least until they turn eighteen."

Danny's response was a low whistle, "Blacklisted before they even get out of the house," he said, a smirk gracing his face. "Serves them right."

"Daddy," the younger of the two girls said, breaking into the conversation and drawing both of the adult's attention. "You are being rude," she finished.

Both men looked down at her, Kenta smiling but both of their eyebrows raised. "And how am I being rude my little flower?" her father asked.

"You haven't introduced Miranda or myself," the girl answered. "And you are literally talking over our heads."

Danny had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at the girl's precociousness. Kenta on the other hand sighed, a smirk crossing his face before solemnly looking at Danny and addressing his daughter's comment. "Danny, these are my younger two daughters, Miranda who is eighteen, and Nemuri who is twelve. Girls, this is Mister Hebert."

Nemuri smiled wide while Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation with her sister. "It is a pleasure to meet you both," Danny replied with a smile and a slight bow.

"Is that your wife?" Nemuri asked, indicating Emily.

Danny grimaced slightly, the pain of his loss showing for a heartbeat before he answered. "No," he said. "That is the aunt of my daughter's friend, her name is Emily Piggot and she is the director of the local PRT branch." As he answered he noticed Nemuri's eyes got big at that while both Miranda and Kenta seemed to freeze in place.

"Interesting," Kenta commented as he finally sat down in the aisle seat of the row. A moment later the lights all dimmed, and a young blonde woman stepped up to the microphone stand that was set off to one side of the stage.

Francis Krouse grimaced as he looked at the tracklist on the soundboard's computer again. Someone had come in yesterday after he finished loading the playlist and made a new one, leaving a note not to change the list. Up until the point that Noelle said anything, he had been planning to ignore the note and delete the new list anyway. "I'm tired of Right Said Fred and RuPaul Francis," she told him. "The girl that put that list together did so to keep others from revolting over the music and managed to pick songs that matched the runway times for each of the fashion styles."

Francis had grimaced at that but nodded, "Alright Noelle," he had told her as he deleted the list that he had put together in favor of this other list. "I'll use this list instead."

"Thanks Francis," she said before leaning in and kissing him. "I have to go deal with Mrs. Horaki now, so I'll see you in a little bit, alright?" Francis nodded and he watched as she went backstage. He didn't like the change, but maybe it would work.

Akane*

Hikari Horaki rampaged through the backstage area like an agitated bull in a china cabinet, her tone that of a platoon sergeant dealing with a group of hungover green recruits, chivvying her girls to where they were supposed to line up. Taylor and I were chatting while we waited for the show to start, already set for the first of our three walks. "And you," the woman said as she stalked over and got into our personal space. "I don't recognize you, who are you?"

"Taylor Hebert and Akane Takamachi," I answered and smiled as Taylor bowed up, standing at her full, heel-augmented height and returned the woman's glare with one of her own. "We are walking for Miss Sabah ibn Salim."

Horaki seemed to blink before nodding. "Good," she said before looking Taylor up and down. "You have backbone," she said smiling. "This is good, we should talk afterwards, I might have some work for you in this field." As Taylor's eyes flew open in shock, Horaki turned to me and switched to Japanese. "What does the name Takamachi Kenta mean to you?" she asked.

"He was my mother's half-brother," I answered in the same language. "Grandfather disinherited him from the family school when he left the village to avenge the death of a friend of his. To the family's knowledge he died during the sinking of Kyushu."

"An interesting summation my dear," Horaki said before leaning in to whisper in my ear. "But are you sure he's dead?"

Taylor*

I was still trying to figure out if Mrs. Horaki's offer was legitimate or not when she leaned in and whispered something in Akane's ear. Akane stepped back in shock at whatever the woman had said, but before Akane could respond the woman said, "Atode mata o ai shimashou," before storming off, yelling at another girl who was not where she was supposed to be.

"Akane are you alright?" I asked her as she shook her head as if she had been hit.

"Yeah," she answered, "I'll be fine, let's get this shit done yeah?" I nodded and took my place at the start of the second tier of models.

Danny*

"I don't know if I should thank Akane," I said as Taylor started down the runway to ZZ Tops "Legs". "Or if I should strangle her for turning her into every hetero-male's fantasy."

"Face it Mr. H." Vicky said with a smile. "You and your wife are as much to blame, as is Sabah who is damned good at what she does. I wonder if I can get her to make my prom dress."

Looking over at Vicky to comment in return I noticed Amy all but drooling, her eyes never leaving Taylor until she left the stage. Not just the straight male population, I thought with a sigh. Turning to my other side to try and get some support from Kenta, I found his wife sitting there on his lap and whispering in his ear.

"Much better than the girl she replaced," the woman said smiling. "I'm going to have to offer her some very good jobs to entice her into working for me and hopefully take the jobs that the Barnes girl is no longer doing." At that point I covered my face with my hands and groaned. Where did I go wrong?

Emma Barnes stared at her television in shock as the second leg of models finished. This is not how it was supposed to be! she thought. "That was supposed to be MY JOB DAMN IT!" she screamed, flinging her pillow at the screen. "This can't be fucking happening, how the fuck did she get my job?"

After about two minutes of her slamming about her room someone was banging on her door, drawing Emma's attention. Stomping over, she jerked it open to find her father standing there, "What seems to be the problem Emma?" he asked flatly.

"That!" she growled, pointing at the flatscreen and the fashion show that was shown on it. "Taylor and that ABB bitch are wearing the dresses that were supposed to be for me and Madison and are walking in the fashion show that was supposed to get us noticed and out of this damn town."

Alan Barnes looked past his daughter at the television screen and felt his eyebrows rise at the image of Taylor, frozen at the end of the runway where Emma had managed to freeze the channel. "I'll be damned," he muttered before turning around to walk out of the room.

"Daddy," Emma whined following him through the door to her room. "Can't you do anything about this?"

Turning back to his daughter for a second Alan nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, right," he said before raising his voice. "Hey Zoe," he called out. "Did you leave the VCR set up to record the fashion show?"

"Yes, damn it," she called back from below. "I forgot that I even set it up, Anne wanted to see what her sister was up to. I'll go shut it off."

"No, let it run," Alan called back as he turned and started back down the stairs. "Anne will want to see how Taylor is doing and I'm sure Danny will want a copy as well." Behind him Emma let out an enraged and inarticulate scream as she stomped back through her bedroom door, slamming it behind her.

Taylor*

"I'm going to beat Akane bloody for this," I grumbled as I got behind the curtain and went to where Sabah was set up with the clothes and was finishing up with Akane for the next run. "I'm going to hurt you later," I told Akane as I untied the ribbon belt before contorting my arms to start undoing the back of the dress.

"You love me," Akane smirked as she buckled the belt on her slacks before reaching for her jacket. "Two more passes, right?" Akane asked Sabah who nodded.

"Yes," Sabah answered, pulling out the charcoal gray pencil skirt and white blouse and hanging them over the screen for me to change into as I dropped the dress and stepped out of it behind the screen. "You have this suit, and a bathing suit/sarong combination while Taylor has a cocktail dress." Both of us nodded as I pulled on the under-shirt before grabbing the blouse and pulling it on. Settling the blouse on my shoulders I let the shirt garters hang while I buttoned up the blouse itself. I can do this, I thought reaching for the skirt. It's just two more outfits, this one going with be office suits like Akane is wearing. At that point I gulped, But then it's the little black dress, can I do that?

Kenta*

As my wife snuggled into my side, watching the girls walk up and down the aisle I thought about how much things had changed since my arrival. Back then, the rumors about kidnapping and sex slavery had been true, and everyone seemed to fight for ever damn street corner in the West End. The Tongs, the Triads and the Yakuza all had their representatives, and all of them fought each other making the area a mess of anarchy and destruction. I walked out of the CUI into this maelstrom and over the course of six months beat the local population into submission. It was at this point that I laid down the new laws to them.

Years earlier*

"You are all a part of the community," I said to the gathered survivors of my rampage. The various capes of the different gangs had all either fled or died by my hand, and now their workers, the seamstresses who worked in the sweatshops, the hookers from the street corner, the normal thugs and the shop owners who laundered the funds of the illegal enterprises or else paid their protection, all of them were here. "I have beaten those that stood against me, and now like a smith I shall forge this community into a single group to defend it." All of them looked at me as if I was crazy but they were too beaten down to say anything. Part of that was a good thing, it meant that they wouldn't fight me, that I didn't have to worry about a knife or a bullet in the back as I walked out of the room. At the same time though, it was a bad thing, as those that were too scared lacked initiative.

"One thing you must realize," I continued, "is that we all face a set of common enemies. Enemies that think we are beneath them, that want to see us subjugated to them or else driven out of this place that we intend to make into our homes. The way I see it, we have three common enemies, but together we will be able to face them and if not win, at least keep them from driving us out. Together we can and will hold back Kaiser's Empire, together we will rescue our families from the lands of the Chinese Union Imperial, and together we will fight Leviathan." The start had gotten their attention, pointing out that the Empire 88 wanted to drive us out of town got quite a few of them grumbling as they knew the neo-Nazi's would either try to drive us out, or attempt to butcher us as they could. Putting their attention on WHY they slaved in their jobs most of the time was another thing. Those of them that had come here had mostly done so illegally through snakeheads and were either working to pay off that debt or working to put the down payment on getting their families brought over by the same people. I had different contacts that could accomplish the same thing for less cost. The last thing I had figured was likely to only appeal to the Japanese amongst the group as we had been the one to lose one of our home islands. Surprisingly the entire crowd erupted at that statement and I had to wait quite a few minutes until they quieted down enough for me to continue speaking.

"This will not be an easy task," I said once the crowd had quieted down enough. "There are those of you that, after tonight, who will disobey the edicts that I am about to lay down, and you should know that there is only one penalty. That said, I will not take it out on your family. If you screw the community over, then you will pay the cost of your actions. That said there are certain jobs that will no longer be allowed, or else be seriously curtailed while I rule here. Do not test this, for my resolve is as hot as my fire." The crowd looked around at each other nodding and then I began to lay out the rules that would govern us going forward. When I was done I looked at them and as I had figured I could see some that were already planning on trying to slip around my laws. An example would have to be made, but unfortunately it would have to wait until they were caught breaking the rules.

Now*

Even though they did not know it, these girls would not have to worry about being marked for kidnapping on a dark night only to be sold overseas for men to use until they broke and were replaced. They would not have to worry about being forcibly addicted to various drugs to force their compliance, (at least not by my people) and they would have help through various contacts to help them get their wanted modeling careers started. "Do either of them want a modeling career?" I asked Hikari quietly.

"I don't know," she answered. "The Hebert girl is having confidence issues and Akane seems to be there mostly to keep her standing straight and help her through her panic. If they do want to I will work very hard to ensure they have the best jobs available."

I nodded at that. Akane was family, and Taylor was her friend, that alone called for preferential treatment if it could be done without breaking promises already made. The fact that the Barnes girl and her friend had managed to screw up so royally and break their own contracts made at least those jobs easier to hand to Akane and Taylor. "We will have to find out," I murmured to my wife and settled in as Akane walked out in a well put together business suit.

Taylor*

I don't know how in the hell the pair of them managed to talk me into this thing, I thought as I tried to pull the dress down a touch before I stepped out from behind the curtain. As I came out I suppressed the urge to offload my emotions into my swarm as once again Akane had timed things so that the music changed just as I came into view of the crowd. Thankfully this one wasn't as embarrassing as having Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" blasting as I made my way down the runway in the "business casual" outfit, but The Hollies "Long Cool Woman" was still drawing attention to me. This was one I could mentally see Akane playing with her band as they definitely had the sound to pull it off, I wonder if I could talk them into doing it next weekend? I thought as I made my turn at the end of the runway.

Finally stepping back through the curtain into the backstage area I looked over to where Sabah was set up and found her starting to pack her various things back up. Yet while Sabah was putting things away and preparing to go home, Akane was nowhere in sight.

"Hurry up and get dressed Taylor," I heard Akane say from behind one of the two screens. "I know your dad and Aunt Em are going to be ready to get the hell out of here. Of course, you do have the option of wearing what you have on, I don't think anyone could complain about it not being appropriate."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I slid behind the screen and started to remove the dress. It fastened at the back of the neck before plunging down to a modest and loose bustline, backless down to my waist. Letting it drop and stepping out of the dress I moved to hang it up when I realized something and asked, "Where the hell are my clothes?"

"Probably in your dad's truck," Sabah answered. "Which of your outfits do you want to wear to dinner?"

This time I did shove the panic and irritation into my swarm as I looked around the edge of the screen and lifted an eyebrow in question at my two friends. Sabah and Akane were both standing there smirking and Akane was back in the business suit that she had worn out on her second walk. I remembered that Sabah had said that the light gray of the suit would probably set off both the blouse and charcoal gray skirt that was the business casual outfit that I had worn myself. Grimacing I sighed before answering, "The business outfit please," I said handing over the dress. "And could you redo my hair as well?"

"Sure," Sabah said smiling as she walked over and handed me the outfit. "And good news, you get to keep all three outfits, not just the one."

"Bwuhuh?" I replied letting the blouse and its stays drop over my head again. "I thought you needed at least four of them for your professor to judge and grade?"

"He already gave me my grade," Sabah said, the smile apparent in her voice. "One-hundred percent on the project, a full ten bonus points for solving the emergency problem that your predecessors left me in for a grand total grade of ninety-eight. He was making his rounds backstage while you were on your last walk."

I smiled. "That's great Sabah," I said as I attached the stays to the pantyhose, deciding to go ahead with them instead of switching back to the regular stockings and garters. "But I doubt I'm going to have any use for that cocktail dress."

"You will if there are any high-end parties we are invited to," Akane said in a smug tone. "Vicky's boyfriend is big money around here and we could end up at one of those parties. So keep it, you might need it."

Fastening the skirt, I scowled. Akane was right that we might end up having to be at some kind of big money party out of costume, though how it could be justified I didn't know. "You just want to be able to stare at my ass Akane," I shot back. Both Akane and Sabah laughed as I slid my feet back into the low heels before stepping out from behind the screen.

Looking at them I sighed and sat down on the stool so that Sabah could do my hair up again. "Maybe we can do a little makeup for you too," Sabah said as she pulled my hair back, running her fingers through it to ensure there were no tangles.

"Or maybe do the makeup instead of the hair," Akane commented as she stood in front of me. "Honestly while the messy bun looks good on you, I think that leaving your hair loose will look better."

"Really?" Sabah asked as I started to blush and turned my eyes away from Akane. "Hold up that mirror so I can get a comparison." Akane grabbed the mirror in question and stepped back, holding it up where Sabah could get a full view of my face and hair. "I think I see what you're talking about Akane," the darker skinned girl said, pulling my hair up before letting it fall. "With her hair up she looks all serious and business-like, but with it down, she looks more approachable, less stern."

"And for dinner I think the more relaxed hair down would be better," Akane said. "What do you think Taylor?"

I looked up and felt something lurch in my chest, What the hell? I thought as I suddenly found myself swallowing with a completely dry mouth. Akane was standing there looking at me with her hazel eyes and I could see, friendship, concern, ATTRACTION? What the hell, I thought again. "Down I guess," I answered, my voice barely not stuttering as she smiled. Suddenly I felt a warmness fill my chest.

"Alright then," Sabah said, stepping around me and blocking my view of Akane. "Let us get a little gloss on those lips and maybe touch up on the eye-shadow." She hummed as Akane moved back into view with a color pallet for Sabah to work from as the fashion student began to touch up my makeup. "Look up," Sabah said as she started her ritual of doing things, walking through a mental checklist that she had to do makeup to. The things we do to impress people. I thought with a mental sigh.

Emily Piggot*

"You and Taylor looked very nice together," I said with a smile as Akane and I settled into the little coupe that I had gotten years ago. "You could make a very cute couple."

"Please don't start Aunt Em," Akane grumbled from the passenger seat. "Taylor and I are just friends, besides, Mayumi and I are talking and trying to work things out."

"Alright," I said smiling, something in my tone causing Akane to scowl at me. "Really, if you say so," I continued. "Besides, as it sits, Danny doesn't know whether to thank you for getting Taylor out of her funk and the work on her confidence, or greet you with a shotgun the next time you go over to their house."

Akane chuckled at that, "Well I guess that makes two of them," she replied. "Taylor was not exactly amused at me calling attention to her assets with the music."

"It wasn't exactly subtle dear," I said, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. "On the other hand," I continued, "I've been reliably informed that Glenn is currently having a meltdown, so you've done good as far as I am concerned."

I saw her turn to look at me quizzically out of the corner of my eye, "And why is mister I can't color coordinate having a meltdown?"

"Because both of you are about to get inundated with modeling offers according to him," I answered. "He's upset that he can't use you to pimp the Wards as an organization."

"I'm sure he didn't use those words," Akane deadpanned at me and I nodded.

"He didn't," I answered. "Assault told me as Glenn was still having his meltdown."

"Assault would put things like that," Akane laughed out and then sighed. "Are there going to be any problems because of this?"

"Depends on who has issues," I answered honestly. "If he keeps his mouth shut, no one has any problems, especially him. If he comes to me, I will shut him down as he really has no room to complain, especially since your costumes cover you completely. If he goes higher though it could get a little dicey. The chief director would be able to voice her opinion, and she likes to have any and every one of our more photogenic Wards to be media darlings always in front of the cameras."

Akane chuckled as I parked the car alongside the street next to what had once been Marquis' bistro and shut the engine off. "The three of us may be photogenic," she said as her laughter died. "But we are not media darlings. If forced on her, Taylor would respond with a heavy dose of malicious compliance and passive aggressive retaliation." I chuckled at that as I checked traffic behind me before climbing out of the car. Once Akane and I were both out I locked the car and we waited for the Dallons and the Heberts to join us before walking over to the restaurant.

Taylor*

We approached the front door of the restaurant as a group only to find a crowd growing at the entrance as a large Asian man stepped up to a podium that had been set up with a small speaker next to the door. "Good evening everyone," he said addressing the crowd. "And welcome to another year at the Totsuki Saryo Diner. This is the place where we bring some of the finest of Japan's culinary students to receive a year's education in how a cooking establishment actually works from top to bottom." The crowd applauded him politely and he bowed slightly to them in return. "Thank you," he replied. "With us tonight are ten of the Totsuki Saryo Culinary Academy's top students, chosen through their own challenges and brought here to delight your taste buds with their creations. Also with us this year is Miss Ukyo Kuongi, who will act as their supervising manager." At this point a woman about dad's age stepped forward in a very pretty kimono and bowed to the crowd. "With that, I wish you all a good evening's meal."

The man's speech given, I found myself surprised when he walked over to Ms. Horaki, took her by the hand and then led her and two girls into the restaurant. Miss Kuongi smiled at them and bowed as they passed, only pausing as the man whispered something to her. Looking over at Akane I saw her wide eyed as she watched, and sliding over to her I asked quietly, "Is there a problem?"

"I just," she said, seeming slightly shell shocked before taking a breath to center herself. "I just need to talk to Miss Kuongi for a second. I know her from Tokyo."

I nodded, "Maybe once we're seated, we can slip off so you can talk to her." Akane's response was to nod and join the rest of us as we cued up to enter the diner.

Kuonji Ukyo*

"Seat the Hebert party with me," Kenta had told her, and in that one sentence he had managed to completely screw her carefully laid out seating chart. Balance in the restaurant, as her previous times here had taught her, was a fine balancing act of egos and actual social importance. Daniel Hebert was polite and unassuming with practically no ego and was taking his daughter, four of her friends and one of those friend's Aunt out to thank them for helping his daughter. That he had caught Kenta's eye somehow was strange, But he's the boss she thought as she pulled a couple of the students over to one side and told them to add two tables and six chairs to Kenta's spot.

"Nihao Ukyo," a familiar voice said from behind her, pulling her attention from the seating chart and how to minimize the damage this could cause.

Turning Ukyo smiled an exasperated smile and gave the lilac haired Chinese-Amazon a hug. "Hey sugar," she said, addressing her fellow Nerima graduate. "Here to accept Kenta's hospitality for another year?"

"Hai," Xian Pu answered, and Ukyo added another chair to Kenta's group. "Have you talked to Ran or Nabiki recently?"

"Not since Akane's little airline incident," Ukyo answered blinking at the non-sequitur. "Why do you ask?

"Because Akane is here in Brockton Bay," Xian Pu answered before leaning in close. "Hitomi was killed not quite a month ago and she had to move here to live with her Aunt," she whispered causing Ukyo to gasp. "She wandered into the café last Sunday and we talked some."

Taking a steadying breath, Ukyo nodded. "Thanks for telling me," she said softly. "Go on to Kenta's table, you know where it is. The waitstaff should be setting up extra chairs with it and expanding the table with others. I'll see you both shortly." The Chinese-Amazon Elder nodded and slipped out of the manager's office leaving Ukyo to sigh before making another note on the seating chart. Thankfully she had somewhat anticipated Xian Pu's attendance, so it was easy to work with. What am I going to do if she shows up here like she did with Xian Pu and the Neko Hanten? she asked herself. No Ukyo, focus on the now, deal with what you have to now, Akane will happen or she won't, deal with it when it happens. a breath to center her focus again and she was headed out to the hostess station.

Emily Piggot*

"Hebert, party of six?" a young, blue haired girl in a chef's jacket said from the hostess station while pulling six menus from within the podium.

"Here," I heard Danny say as he raised a hand to wave at the girl. Around us the girls talked quietly and started to head toward the curtained entrance to the dining area.

"I'll take them Megumi," the manager, Miss Ukyo Kuonji, who had been part of what was once known as the Nerima Wrecking Crew, said, stepping back up to the podium. The blue-haired teen nodded, handing the older woman the stack of menus before stepping back and checking the reservation list as Kuongi addressed Danny. "Mister Hebert I do have to tell you, there has been a bit of a change from the seating we agreed to when you expanded your reservation earlier in the week." As she spoke she led the way into the dining room, presumably to our table.

"Well," Danny said with a chuckle. "You don't seem to be leading us out the back door, so I'll take this as an improvement to my seating as opposed to what we had discussed.

The manager snorted a laugh and smiled at Danny, Is she flirting with him? I thought a little shocked before answering my own question. She is, and he's flirting back. "Never anything so crass," Kuonji answered. "Kenta has asked that you be seated with him and his family."

"Do you know why?" Danny asked, a tone of concern in his voice and internally I smiled. Hebert had a good head on his shoulders and could recognize the political fallout of being associated with Lung's equivalent of a mafia Consigliere.

Kuonji shook her head, "All he told me was to seat you and yours with him and his," she answered. "But I doubt he means you any harm."

Danny looked back at the rest of us for a second before looking at her and nodding. "Alright then," he said sighing. "Looks like this will be a networking dinner instead."

I grimaced slightly as the two of them started moving forward again, allowing all of us into the dining area and allowing me to get a lay of the land. Inside the dining area I could see that it was divided into four distinct areas. Against the wall to my right was a row of cooking stations like you would see on a cooking competition television show while the other three walls were all half booths with tables both right in front of the wall benches and with chairs further out. At each station a young cook, not much older than Akane stood waiting for the servers to bring in the orders

On the wall opposite the kitchen, the mayor and his extended family were sitting down under the eye of a fairly stiff platinum blonde young lady. There, two of the tables had been brought together allowing the mayor's son Rory to sit with his date while his younger, female cousin sat with her back against the wall watching the entire room wide-eyed.

Between the mayor's group and myself was Max Anders, the CEO of Medhall with his twin blonde secretaries and James Fleisher. Fleisher was Katie's uncle and Ander's Chief Operations Officer and the four of them were being seated by a deeply tanned young man. According to Rune and Purity all four were capes and senior members of the Empire and while the gangs might not have realized that the PRT and Protectorate knew about their little "Neutral Zones" , we did so even before the pair ratted them out.

Finally though we passed through the filling room to where three of the four person tables had been put together to form one huge table. At the table sat Kenta Horaki, his wife and two of the man's three daughters. A fifth person, a woman with lilac colored hair sat with the younger daughter whispering as she pointed at the various servers or chefs. As we approached, Horaki and his entire family stood and bowed to us. "Thank you for joining us tonight Mister Hebert, Director Piggot."

"Thank you for having us," Danny answered, hesitantly bowing in return. "From Taylor I understand that she and Akane met your wife backstage just before the fashion show started."

"Yes," Horaki said smiling, "but please, sit all of you. Some of you know who I am," he continued as we started to sit down, and I had to suppress a snort at that comment. I had a great deal of intelligence on Kenta Horaki, just as I did on every gang leader and their civilian supporters. Horaki was Lung's gentle public face, his legitimate hand that, at least on paper, owned the property that made up the majority of the businesses and homes in the West End of Brockton Bay. He was the public voice of reason when Lung did not want to destroy something as his first action, and he was, at least on the surface, perfectly legitimate. Much like Max Anders, a lot of investigative time had been put into researching Kenta Horaki. He was a Kyushu survivor, and a veteran of the running war that the CUI had taken up against the mountain tribes like the Chinese-Amazons. Something about the man was off though because he was just too damn slick. Not quite as blatant as Anders in crime, but within his territory his word held the same weight as Lung's and that meant that he had to be dirty.

I realized that I had let myself lose track of the conversation and returned to it as Horaki said, "have discussed it, and decided to see if Taylor and Akane would like to take the place of the Barnes girl and her friend in some of the modeling shoots that are coming up." I looked past Danny at the girls to find Taylor looking at the pair with a gobsmacked expression on her face.

Akane, on the other hand, was in a staring contest with the lilac haired woman and the older daughter. "I think Taylor and I would have to discuss this between us," she said, never breaking eye contact. "But I have a few questions if you don't mind. Not about the modeling jobs though there will be plenty of questions regarding that, but more along the lines of why Elder Xian Pu is here with us, or really even why your elder daughter is training in the Amazon style at the Neko Hanten?"

"We're cousins," the lilac-haired woman, who I took to be the Chinese-Amazon Elder, answered. "His mother is my mother's older sister."

Akane nodded at that breaking the staring contest to turn to look at Mrs. Horaki, "That makes sense, but then what was your wife's comment about backstage?" she asked. "As far as my family has known, my uncle Kenta died during the battle against Leviathan when the island sank."

Kenta Horaki's face split in a smile that effectively said, "I have a secret!" in size eighteen font and bolded for extra emphasis. "Well there is an interesting answer to that, and the full story is long and involved," he said through a smile. "But the short-short answer is that I am your uncle."

Akane*

The entire room seemed to freeze in place as the words left his mouth. "How…" I started to ask before shaking my head and demanding, "Prove it!"

The man smiled and reached into his back pocket pulling out a wallet. "You were maybe six months old when your mother and I saw each other last," he said as he opened the wallet and pulled out a folded picture. "She convinced the old man that she needed a day or two away from the village and came down to Nagasaki where I was working. She brought you with her." As he talked, he unfolded the picture to show a photo of three adults and three children. The adults were him, his wife, and my mother. The children were a pair of young girls, about six and three years old respectively and an unidentifiable infant.

He sighed before he continued, "She also wanted to share with me your father's last letter home, the one that went to her but talked about the both of you." His smile dropped into a grimace as he turned to Aunt Emily. "I didn't know your brother and I regret that," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "From what Hitomi said he was a good man who loved his wife and child. From the copies of his letters that I have read, and that I have read to my own daughters, he would have been a great father."

Aunt Emily nodded, "Thank you," she said, her voice cracking. "He was very dedicated to his family, and as much as he and our parents didn't agree on things, he did respect them." I looked at the picture again, looking at mom who was hanging between the two Horakis and smiling while the eldest daughter held the infant.

Slowly I stood back up and slid between the tables. There was just enough room with the way everyone was sitting to move to where he sat. Looking up from the picture in my hands I could see that at least the adults, if not everyone at the table was watching me as I reached him. "Uncle Kenta," I said hesitantly, causing him to smile, and then I was launching myself into him, hugging him with my left arm while hitting him with my right which gripped the picture tightly. "What the hell happened to you," I practically sobbed, tears streaming down my face, "Mom, Grandfather and Grandmother all died thinking you were dead damn it."

"I'm sorry Akane," he replied softly, sniffling slightly as he obviously held back his own tears. "We thought you were all dead due to the beast as well."

Taylor*

Twenty minutes later the air around the table was festive and happy as Akane and her uncle traded stories back and forth. Orders for dinner had been placed with a blond haired young man who had gone back to the kitchen to apparently cook it himself. "So," Mister Horaki said, looking at Akane. "I have to ask, but if you remember, how did you get out of Kyushu? I tried to get back to get to the village, but the tunnel was already flooded, the train was only running outbound and the bridges were both blocked with wrecks"

Akane smiled a rueful smile, "Marines never leave their people behind," she answered. "Helicopters from the USS Kittyhawk arrived to pull the upper villages out while they could even as the SDF used every boat that they could get their hands on to pull everyone from the coast, especially at places like Kagoshima. All we were able to take out with us was a picture folio, the birth certificates, a couple of the scrolls on some of the more advanced forms of the family style, and Grandfather's sword."

Mr. Horaki sucked in a hissing breath at that. "That blade," he said before letting his breath back out. "That blade, it is good that you have it, as the last master of the family school that blade is a major part of your history."

"Yours as well Uncle," Akane said, her smile turning from rueful to what seemed to be both happy and sad. "It belongs to you and your daughters as well." As she finished though I could see her uncle shaking his head.

"I never taught them," he said once she finished, earning himself a questioning look. "Akane, you are the heir to the school now," he continued a sad smile on his face. "And like the ancestor that had that blade forged, you are the last of the recognized family."

"But I could teach them," Akane said, a plaintive tone in her voice only for her uncle to shake his head again.

"Akane, how long have you been training in the family style?" he asked calmly.

"All my life," Akane answered. "Miranda is already learning the Amazon style though, so I could…"

Again her uncle was shaking his head, "Miranda, how long have you been working under Elder Xian Pu,"

"Three years now," the older teen answered, "I'm finally getting the hang of catching ramen bowls and keeping track of the incoming bowls. The night you were in there I almost caught two upside the head, one I dodged and the other you caught."

"But that's…" Akane started only for the Amazon elder to start speaking.

"Beginning lesson," Xian Pu said, nodding. "You learned that lesson in three weeks over summer vacation, and Nemuri has no interest in learning at all."

Akane sighed, "Well at least I have Taylor to teach," she said turning and giving me a smile. No heart, don't stutter beat like that! "I'll tell you what though," Akane continued. "By the time she could face him this summer, I bet Taylor could beat the old panda two falls out of three."

"Genma is getting old though," Mr. Horaki said with a smirk only for Akane to cut him off.

"Genma-oji might be getting older," she countered, "but much like the old panty thief he hasn't lost a step in his old age." Mr. Horaki raised his hands in surrender and Akane looked over at her older cousin. "Right now I'm still teaching Taylor the basics, but she could use a sparring partner that she isn't going to stomp on or will do so to her too easily like I could."

"I can see if I have any openings in my schedule," Miranda answered smiling. "I could use a new sparring partner anyway, the elder doesn't take it easy on me."

"Of course I not take it easy," the Amazon Elder stated, poking the girl in the ribs. "I take it easy on you, you will take it easy in your efforts, and you not learn fast enough as is."

I looked at Miranda even as three people came out of the kitchen and headed for our table carrying large, covered trays, presumably of food. "Thank you for your help in learning your arts." I said giving a seated bow.

Miranda smiled at me and bowed in return as the food started to be laid out on the table. "We'll just have to see how well we both do," she said as a plate was put in front of each of us.

I smiled back at her, "So we shall," I answered and looked down at my beef burgundy before taking up my knife and fork. "So what kind of music do you like, Miranda?"

Thomas Calvert hummed as he enjoyed his dinner, the fish was delicious and fried to just the right consistency to only require a fork to pick it apart. Picking up his phone he split his timelines and sent a text. In one timeline the text to the computer server read "Activate Plan A" in the other it read "Activate Plan B. From there, Calvert sat back and finished enjoying his dinner as his minions did their jobs.

Dennis*

"What was it like?" I asked as Katie and I sat at the Wards console and watched a quiet Sunday night slip past.

"What was what like?" she returned, not even looking up from her book.

"Growing up Empire?" I answered with a shrug. "I just don't understand how it happens."

Katie sighed as she placed her bookmark in between the pages that she had been reading and closed the book. "In all honesty it probably wasn't really very different than growing up any other way," she said, raising her head to look at me. The rhetoric was probably just different."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she temporized for a moment. "Take watching the news," she said, finally choosing a direction to take the conversation. "A crime is reported on, who do you blame as a gut reaction, and why do you figure they did it? What excuses do you expect to hear when they are caught and then perp walked?"

"That is usually a matter for the courts to decide," I answered only to receive a shake of her head.

"No, I'm not talking about the court's decision," she said calmly. "The initial gut reaction of Joe public. The person sitting there in their Lazy-Boy with a drink and watching the news, how do they react without any real context."

I nodded, "Alright, I get you there," I told her.

"In my… In the house I grew up in they would blame the minorities, the Hispanics were lazy but coming in and taking jobs that could and should be done by Americans. The blacks were entitled animals who weren't willing to do an honest day's work but would steal whatever they wanted. The rich were all money-grubbing Jews, and the Asians were just a menace. That said, for all they decried the acts of minorities my parents would do nothing but occasionally give money to the various facets of the cause, so I called them out on their hypocrisy."

"And their answer was to send you to someone in the cause that would use your firebrand mentality, right?" I asked, receiving a nod in answer as she tapped her book against her leg.

"My uncle didn't have the time to deal with a teen," She said, lost in thought. "So he left me to live with my cousin. Ophie is not his child mind you, but a niece of his from the other side of the family, Still her and her husband were supportive and introduced me to the Empire and when I triggered in Juvie, well…"

She trailed off at that point and I nodded before speaking. "You became their transport specialist and air support," I finished for her and she nodded.

"You know the craziest thing about all this is that it was Hookwolf who set me on this new path," she said smiling slightly and causing my eyebrows to rise. "If he hadn't chastised me for not helping Taylor then I would have likely not done a damn thing where Greg was concerned." I was about to comment, to ask how Hookwolf of all people could have set this path for her when the building shuddered and alarms started to blare, "What the hell?" Katie said as we both spun back to the console to look at the in-building cameras. "Did someone just drive an armored bus into the lobby?" Rune asked.

Taylor*

Dessert had just been served when there was a loud bang from the entryway followed by the sound on a stomping tread. Turning I could see a person in power armor that smoked? enter the dining room as dirty, raggedly men and women fanned out with various handguns, knives, and clubs to cover the room. "Trainwreck," the director and Mr. Horaki growled in unison. The director took it further by standing up and turning to face the group. "Trainwreck, what do you want here?"

The power-armor wearing villain looked at the director and smiled, "Mostly I'm here to get you to release Skidmark and Mush," he said before leering at the crowd. "But I figure we can do what Skids set out to do last week and get us some more customers as well."

"That is not going to happen," Mr. Horaki said standing and stepping around the tables. Something didn't feel right to me though, so I reached out to Akane and poked her, earning a lifted eyebrow in response. I gestured to her for maximum power so she laid one of her hands on mine and I felt my range and control expand. They aren't Merchants! i suddenly realized.

"Those aren't Merchants," I whispered to Akane, causing both of her eyebrows to rise at the statement.

"But who," she started to ask quietly only to go silent as the villain turned his gaze toward us and smiled.

"And it seems we have our first two customers," he said pointing at the two of us. "Come on out girls, don't be shy, I'm sure we have something that will be to your tastes in our little medical bags." A man stepped out of the entryway as he said this, the armband he wore bearing a black cross and I heard Amy snort from beside me. "I'm sure Doctor Pitter can, see to your dosages, and ensure that you will enjoy your trips."

"I would advise you to back off and simply go home, Trainwreck," the director said calmly. "Skidmark has already been shipped to New York, and Mush is in Boston. Attacking a group of civilians is going to do nothing but get the Protectorate and the PRT to come down on your head even faster than they already were."

The armored man chuckled at that, "And when your niece is crying her eyes out, begging for another dose of our product director, what then?"

"Then I help her get clean and take my frustration at the situation out on you by drawing and quartering you slowly and painfully," the director said coldly.

Suddenly one of the goons reached out and grabbed a young girl from where the mayor was sitting and put a knife to her throat. "Sit back down Gloryhole," the goon said, causing everyone to turn and look at Vicky who had apparently stood and was eyeballing the situation. Vicky nodded, and then sat back down, the goon didn't release the girl however.

"Doctor," Trainwreck said calmly, "I do believe the young lady will be your first customer for tonight. Followed by Miss Hebert and Miss Takamachi."

Katie/Rune*

"What the ever-loving fuck is this about?" I asked as people started to flood out of the bus and storm the lobby area of the PRT building. Most were carrying AK knockoffs and handguns, though a few carried crowbars and knives even as PRT Troopers deployed to face them.

"The automatic sprayers are offline!" someone said over the internal comms, "the elevators won't lock out. Doors up are locking but they are hindering our movement more than theirs." people were starting to panic in the main console area until a new voice overrode the panic.

"They are going for the confinement blocks," Deputy Director Renick said calmly over the comms. "Troopers move down the secondary stairwells to the floor just above the holding cells and prepare to catch them in the main stairwells and elevator shafts with confoam as they go to leave."

There was a round of confirmations over the communications channels even as an alert came in over the console, "Sir," Dennis said as we read the alert. "The Undersiders are hitting Palenheim Jewelers, Miss Militia and Armsmaster are on their way from The Rig, should we redirect them?"

"Assault and Battery are two minutes from PRTHQ," one of the other console operators added.

"Yes, redirect them," Rennick said. "I'm sure Assault and Battery can handle trapped," the line went dead as the building shook again.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked starting to search the console screens only to find most of the sensors offline.

"I think the bus that crashed into the lobby blew up," Dennis said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I have nothing," he said as I started to pull my costume's jacket and mask on. "What are you planning?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on things," I said as I keyed my radio. "Can you hear this?" I asked.

"Five by five," Dennis said. "Go up three floors and out the window on the southwest corner, the occupant usually keeps it unlocked." I eyeballed him for a minute and he sighed, "The person who inhabits that office is a smoker but doesn't like to have to go out to the back alley to indulge, so they had maintenance give them a window they could open instead of a solid pane of glass."

"And you know this how?" I asked as I started out of the Wards area and toward the back stairs, my table floating along with me.

"Chris caught her sitting on her ledge indulging when he came back from patrol early due to technical issues." Dennis answered over the radio. "Assault and Battery are coming in from the west, I'll try and contact them but no promises."

"Understood," I answered as I reached the floor I needed and headed for the aforementioned window.

Reaching the window, I opened it and climbed out onto the ledge before guiding my table through the tight fit of the window. "I'm outside now," I said as I stepped onto the table and started to move around the building.

"Get high and disappear into the darkness," Dennis said as I started to move the table. "I got some of the cameras across the street connected again and the goons in front of the building are shooting at anything that moves, and you are not armored yet."

"I copy," I replied, guiding the table over the top of the neighboring building. "Assault, Battery, do either of you copy?"

"What's the situation Rune?" I heard Battery reply.

"Unknowns, probably Merchants, have assaulted the lobby in an armored bus and detonated something that took out the internal communications links," I answered. "Currently information says they are going for the prisoner cells on the lower levels."

"Understood," Battery replied, "ETA is two minutes."

"Be advised," I added, "they have trigger-happy shooters out in front of the building."

"I can handle that," Assault chimed in at that point causing an audible sigh from Battery.

"Stand by for counter assault," Battery said a moment later. "Initiating in twenty seconds"

Thomas Calvert sighed as he ended the Plan A timeline. I will have to find some way of punishing Tattletale for her failure, he thought as he watched his Plan B play out. Trainwreck and a handful of mercenaries dressed up as Merchants were really paying off as they already had a hand on their primary objective and was about to handle their secondary when everything was interrupted by a blood curdling scream which cut off as quickly as it started, and was followed by someone pounding on the doors to be let in.

Taylor*

When Akane juiced my power, it gave me a surprising four block radius. In that four blocks there was a treasure trove of insects of all varieties, from sleeping hornet nests to a colony of cow ants. Mostly there were roaches of all types, but there were also two termite colonies, all of which I grabbed ahold of and hurried as fast as their wings could move them and the spiders that infested all of the buildings. I used the dumpster of the restaurant as a staging area, gathering the mass of arthropods into something useful. Flyers were used to ferry the slower spiders and ants onto the top of the building where the majority of the flyers went to the front side and gave me my first view of the situation outside.

Outside there were three guards and fitting my assumption not one of them looked like Merchants. In fact, all of them were dressed in black tactical clothing and were carrying AR style rifles with something attached to the underside of the barrel. Three were too many to take down at once, and then I thought, Let's set the mood a little, throw them off their game. so dividing the flyers in half, I swarmed the heads of the two furthest from the door while phasing my infantry bugs through the roof giving me a second view inside as well as a way to project somewhat of a voice.

Of the two that I swarmed, one screamed in fear for about ten seconds. That was all the time it took the insects to clog his windpipe, choking him into unconsciousness while the second fought on, teeth tight together in a fierce grimace until I managed to phase a handful of flies and moths through his mouth causing him to start coughing which allowed me to choke him out as well. The third guard said nothing, he just started running for the doors to the dinner, beating on them to be let in as soon as he reached them. It was to no avail as by the time the guards inside opened the door to let him in, he also had been choked to unconsciousness and left lying in the doorway as a low toned chuckle seemed to fill the restaurant.

Inside my smoky ground troops drifted down from the ceiling taking positions on their targets even as the events outside caused some of the patrons to get a little paler. The laughter seemed to start unnerving even the mercenaries as they started at its sound and began looking around for the source, "Who knows," the swarm buzzed in that low laughing voice, "the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. The Shadow knows." I let the voice laugh a little more, taking in the effect it had among the troops. Mom may have been an English professor, but she and dad had always enjoyed listening to recordings of the old 30's radio programs like The Shadow, and The Green Hornet. We even had a copy of the Aleph version of the movie that they had made with Alec Baldwin as the lead character at the house.

"Who are you?" Trainwreck snarled at the open air. "Leave us alone, we have things to do here."

"I just told you who I am, Trainwreck," I had the swarm buzz. "Though I doubt you are actually here for the gang you supposedly are a member of. Too many, mercenaries for the Merchants, which means you are here for…Coil, yes, you are here representing Coil. And do release the girl, you will not be dosing her with anything tonight." As the swarm spoke, getting stronger as the bugs from outside phased into the room to add to the sound, I moved spiders and cow ants into position to cause the maximum amount of pain to the mercs and especially free the young girl from their grip. As expected, Trainwreck signaled to the one holding the girl to keep a hold of her and gestured the "doctor" on.

"Go to hell, whoever you are," Trainwreck growled. "There ain't nothing you can do to us."

"Isn't there?" the swarm buzzed, and I had two cow ants sting the merc that was holding the girl, first in the grasping hand, and another on his back near the spine. As soon as the ants struck, he screamed and jerked back from the girl who ran to her parents and the mayor.

The girl is playing with them, Thomas Calvert thought as he winced at the screaming of the mercenary. Casting a glance at the younger Hebert he mentally sighed, Marvelous flair for the dramatic, his mental train continued, she would have fit in well with… his thoughts derailed as a single gunshot rang out, silencing the screamer and pulling everyone's attention back to the armored villain. "Get on with it Doctor," Trainwreck snapped, causing the mercenaries to jump into motion as they headed for Dinah Alcott, Taylor Hebert and Akane Takamachi.

While the stung mercenary screamed in pain, my spiders swarmed both the doctor's bag and Trainwreck's power armor. The doctor's bag was full of pre-loaded syringes, all with labels on them that I couldn't make out, not that it really mattered. All of them were likely some kind of opiate to send each person here into lah lah land so that Trainwreck and his mercs could make a clean getaway. Trainwreck's power armor on the other hand was remarkably interesting, as was the fact that it was better than ninety-nine percent pure mechanical. Trainwreck himself was basically a head with a few tentacle-like appendages that controlled everything from the head and upper chest region; everything else ran off of those controls through steam. Finding the boiler and firebox wasn't hard, and while it was tinker-tech, it wasn't exactly difficult to understand, at least not in generalities.

Having a spider short across a circuit shut down the burner and burnt out the control runs for that, while another short opened the drain valve on the pressure vessel filling the suit with steam and water. Killing these two items on the inside shut him down, causing the rest of the people to see him suddenly wet himself, before falling over cursing. "Surrender now mercenaries and you will not be harmed," the swarm buzzed causing the mercs to stop cold.

"No," one snarled as he raised his pistol, which suddenly went flying while he started screaming and pawing at his wrist.

"Anyone else want to be an idiot?" the swarm buzzed and none of them moved. "Then drop your weapons and go sit on your hands in the corner away from the diners." Slowly the mercs lowered their weapons to the floor where they stood and went to sit in the corner. Using the insects to form an outline of my costumed image I had it turn and bow to the director. "I apologize, Director," it buzzed, "I did not think he would shoot one of his own men."

"Not your fault Skitter," the director said standing up. "Miss Dallon, could you do something about this man's screaming, it's starting to grate."

"Yes ma'am," I heard Amy answer as the director walked over to stand over Trainwreck.

"Good work by the way," the director said. "Now we just have to clean up these Merchants."

"Mercenaries ma'am," I corrected. "Like I said, they were mercs, so he was probably doing this for Coil."

"How do you know they were mercs?" she asked.

I made the swarm shrug, "Too clean to begin with," I answered, "Ran into Merchant's last week on the boardwalk and I could sense them at my range. These guys, they have no body bugs."

The director grunted at that. "Very well then," she said calmly. "Thomas, I see you over there, I'm sorry to intrude on your night off, but get ahold of HQ and get us a couple of wagons and a containment team out here for these guys. "

"Already on it Director," a thin man said from amongst the two person tables. "I think something is wrong at HQ though as no one is answering."

"There better be," the director growled, "If there isn't then someone will be hearing about this."

Battery*

The Merchants in the lobby of the PRT building never knew what hit them. Coming up to the opening of an alley half a block from the front of the headquarters, Assault peeked out around the corner as I charged my powers. "Three shooters with AK's keeping a half-assed watch on the street," Assault told me before turning back to me in the alley. "How do you want to play this one puppy?"

I mulled that over for a minute as he looked back up the alley that we had come down and laughed. Following his gaze, I could see a ratty old couch that had been set out under an overhang where people could come out and have a smoke during their breaks. "Assault," I said with a slightly manic smile, "are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

He smiled back at me before answering, "I think so puppy, but the real question is how much force the couch cushions will hit with."

I hit him with my full power and watched as he absorbed it and smiled, "Let's find out."

Clockblocker*

I was watching the shooters through the wireless cameras that kept an eye on the street in front of the PRT building when it happened. From off camera, three blurs flew through the camera's view, impacting each Merchant goon. The first was knocked flat as his legs were taken out from underneath him, while the second and third were simply flattened by the sheer impact of something large into their chests and arms. It was only after this that I saw Assault and Battery flash across the screen to secure them, "Rune, the front shooters are down, Assault and Battery on scene."

"Understood," she answered, causing me to smile. "I'm moving to assist."

Rune*

"Roger that Rune," I heard Clockblocker answer over the radio, "happy hunting."

I nodded even though he couldn't see it as I lowered my table toward the ground at a high rate of speed.

Reaching ground level I hopped off the table and looked around to find three couch cushions laying on the ground, each not far from the bound Merchants. "Battery, where do you need me?" I asked. Suddenly the bus that had rammed its way into the lobby went rolling out as if it was nothing but paper mache and wheels, finally coming to a stop blocking the street as it hit the curb on the other side of the street.

"Hey kid," Assault called from the opening. "Do you think you can straighten that up so that it isn't blocking traffic?"

"Sure," I said, before removing my power from the table and letting it drop to the ground as I walked over to the bus. Dragging my hand across the front tires and the bumper between them I instilled my power into them and lifted the front of the bus before moving it into a proper parking position. "How are things inside?" I called back once that was done.

Turning I found Assault chuckling through a smile, "Oh this group is going to be sticking around at least until we can manage to get the cleaning agent in here to separate the men from the goats."

"Don't you usually use a crowbar for that?" I snarked back, earning another laugh.

"For the normal issue of separating them, yes we would," Battery said, coming out with a sigh. "Unfortunately, someone got a lucky hit in on a sprayer tank and filled the entire stairway access."

"Damn," was all I could muster as a comment.

"The only warning we had that anything was wrong was the shudder that went through the entire building before it dropped a solid ten feet and started to topple to one side. Screams filled the building even as sirens filled the air around it and the apartment complex fell to one side tossing anything that wasn't attached into the air before it fell to the new down."

Noelle Meinhardt mentally sighed as she told the group what had happened in Madison, Wisconsin when the Simurgh had attacked. As she did, she looked at the other eleven people in the circle. Immediately to her left was Francis, one of her teammates who had been brought here with her from Earth Aleph. Two seats to her right were a young couple who she was pretty sure were Victor and Othala out of costume while across from them sat Velocity and Dauntless. The other six chairs at the meeting were filled with a mix of capes from outside of Brockton Bay. This particular meeting, she and Francis had sent their regrets about attending initially. It was a support group for Capes who had faced the Endbringers in some aspects.

They gathered and listened to each other recount something that had happened during an Endbringer battle that might be causing them psychological issues, and this meeting she and Francis had expected to miss due to the fashion show. As luck would have it however, the small meeting hall in Boston that they had planned on using had run into the problem of being heavily damaged in a fight between Accord's forces and Blasto's minions. This had happened Friday and the group needed someplace that they could meet in short order, so Noelle had suggested the auditorium where the fashion show would be, knowing it would be well over by the time the meeting started, and Legend had agreed to it before passing the information to Strider who was bringing most of the out of town members.

Finally, she finished her story, waking up in a hospital bed that was in a PRT refugee area. As she sat down, Francis stood and told about finding Cody impaled on a piece of pipe, half his body pulped by the same chest of drawers that had almost taken her dead center. While he did so she looked around at the other eleven people who had showed up for this meeting. To her left, past Francis, was Dauntless and Velocity, two local heroes who she had seen at other meetings, to her right were a young couple who if she had to guess were Victor and Othala. The rest of the twelve seats were taken up by various out-of-town capes who had their own issues to discuss on the subject of the Endbringers and had chosen to use the meeting to do so.

After a while everyone had spoken, and Legend stood to speak. "Each and every one of you have seen what happens at Endbringer battles," he said calmly. "The odds are never in our favor and we will always lose someone. The loss may be someone you don't know at all, or it could be a dear loved one. Always know though that this group will always be here, every week until we no longer need to. Until that day…"

He trailed off and the entire group practically intoned "Until then," before standing and starting to leave.

As the group broke up Legend stepped over to her and Francis, waiting until the others were far enough away to speak privately. "Thank you for being able to host tonight," the leader of the Protectorate said softly. "I was afraid we were going to have to cancel this week." Looking around he turned back and asked, "Did you just finish something else here?"

Francis nodded, his skull looking half-mask looking askance over his street clothes. "We did," he answered, "but the Loa are if nothing else, flexible."

Legend nodded at that, smiling. "Again, thank you," he said. "Ghede, Erzulie, until next time I suppose." Francis and I nodded at him and watched as he walked out of the auditorium, the same one that a few hours before had held a hundred young women showing off the attempts of young fashion students.

Max Anders and James Fleischer escorted their "dates" out of the restaurant, Kenta Horaki's apologies fresh in their ears. Walking across the parking lot in silence they entered the waiting limousine and upon directing the driver to take them back to the Medhall offices closed the divider so that they could speak in private. "I believe that it is time for Coil and the Merchants to learn their respective places in this city," the corporate magnate stated calmly, if coldly.

Fleischer and the two women nodded but it was Fleischer who responded, "I believe that after tonight Lung and the Protectorate will turn somewhat of a blind eye to that endeavor," the thin, aristocratic man replied, his voice hinting at a slight Germanic accent. "The question becomes of course, which do we focus on?"

"The director did say that Skidmark and Mush were both shipped out of town already," the larger magnate commented. "Which with Trainwreck joining them, means that all the Merchants have at best is Squealer and Whirlygig, meaning the Merchants themselves are effectively leaderless and will simply go back to selling their poisons to whomever wants them. They will have no power. Coil, on the other hand, has been a thorn in our side for some time. Yes, we will focus on him and teach him the error of his ways."

"It will be as you say Kaiser," Krieg said from his seat as the car made its way toward their offices.

Kenta Horaki turned from watching Max Anders enter his limo and leave to handling the rest of the restaurant's guests and his own family. A few steps away the Mayor was commenting to Director Piggot on the efficiency of her Ward and asking her to thank the person for saving his niece. The girl in question was holding her head and grimacing as if struck by a bad migraine. Akane went over to her and her parents apparently asking them a few questions before kneeling in front of the girl and taking her hand.

Kenta turned his attention back to the adults of the mayor's group as the man himself moved to pass him. "A pity this had to happen, Kenta," the Mayor said to him as he walked with the group through the door. "Are things going to be alright for your chefs?"

"They are," Kenta rumbled gently. "You know my, backer will not take this lying down, though I will counsel him to be precise in his retribution and not create any more destruction than absolutely necessary."

The mayor nodded at that, "A lack of destruction would be appreciated unless it can be confined to areas that are, shall we say, slated for such things." Kenta smiled and nodded at that. He knew that there were certain sections of the docklands, both north and south that the Merchants held that had been slated for demolition for years, the only thing keeping them from being torn down was the fact that the city did not have the money to spend on the deconstruction, and that the Merchants would strip any equipment of anything of value overnight if the equipment was not guarded.

"I can only advise him Mr. Mayor, but I will mention such things when we speak." Kenta responded, earning a nod from the man. A handshake and the mayor and his family were getting into two chauffeured town cars to leave and he was able to turn back to the rest of his guests, both the welcome and unwelcome.

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Topic: Ninja's Strike

In: Boards United States Massachusetts Brockton Bay

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Jan 17th 2011:

Well some people were wondering how long we were going to have to wait for our newest Wards to make another impact. Well wait no more:

In other news this morning, last night there was an attack on the Totsuki Saryo Diner on its annual opening. Around 8:30 pm last night a group of what are currently being described as members of the Archers Bridge Merchants gang invaded the restaurant and held the occupants hostage under the claim that they wanted the gang's parahuman members Skidmark and Mush released from PRT holding. Amongst the establishment's patrons at that time was PRT Director Emily Piggot who informed the hostage takers that both subjects had already been transferred out of the city and were not able to be released. Somewhere during the nearly twenty minute ordeal one of the newest Wards, Skitter, intervened using her insect control to protect the patrons and staff while disabling both the parahuman Trainwreck, and at least four of the gang members on site. All of the merchants on site were captured due to the threat of the Ward's minions.

Now I don't know what is being planned because of this, (security issues don't ya know,) but considering that at that same moment Trainwreck was attacking the diner, Squealer and Whirlygig were leading a bus load of hopped up Merchants into the PRT building only to get foamed while trying to accomplish the same thing, I would say that the Archer's Bridge Merchants are now a done deal.

(Showing page 1 of 2)

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Yeah, the boss is just a bit pissed as this ruined what was supposed to be a celebratory night for her niece and a friend of hers. Another thing to think about is how many pots the Merchants just took a leak in because of who was on the guest list there last night. It was a veritable who's who of Brockton Bay with the restaurant's proprietor and his family, (Kenta Horaki) The Mayor, his wife, son, Sister and her husband and daughter as well as Max Anders, his CFO and their dates. That the PRT Director and the DWU Head of Hiring were there with the Dallon sisters also in attendance just...

Could the merchants have gotten any dumber?

Whitecollar (Cape Wife)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

And why was a Ward there as well?

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Officially as part of the Director's protection detail. It's not something we spread around widely, but when we have someone that can keep an eye on a large general area as well as pack a punch we try to keep them around our directors. That said, with the Director out for dinner at a nice establishment in a semi-decent part of town, the expectations of trouble were minimal to non-existent, so a Ward was apparently detailed to the job, perhaps two, we will have to wait and see what the official PRT press release says.

BrocktonPartyPatrol

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

So you had a Ninja bodyguarding the Director, and they remained unseen while disabling the enemy, ensuring that no civilians were hurt, and you want me to believe the attack on the PRT Headquarters, where the Wards are based, was solved through, what, automatic defenses or Troopers? You can't fool me, I know what took down Squealer and Whirlygig. Ninjas.

Kind of suspicious how the gang was attacking right where those Wards would happen to be and need to respond. Almost like some masters of infiltration, deception, and counterintelligence had been practicing taking down a gang in a series of perfectly executed strikes to remove the leadership. Now I'm not saying that these Wards have, perhaps, been up to more than the public knows. I'm just suggesting we keep an eye on what happens to the unpowered members in the following weeks to see whether any large, systematic raids and take-downs happen that could possibly be associated with the city's law enforcement basically knowing their every move and secret.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

You know, I thought it was just Skidmark that was the Chief Idiot of the Smacks. I forgot something: All the Idiots that Followed Him. Talk about your stupid maneuvers!

So the Merchants are done. Fantastic! Now go clean up their territory! Oh wait, that's not your job. I forgot.

Mr. Mayor, Sir! Is it safe to send the BBPD in to clean up that mess of drugged out hopheads, or is that something you have to call the DEA in for? Actually, with all the crap that's happened in this city, I'm surprised we haven't had the National Guard in here yet for Martial Law!

catman

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Who signed off on a ward named Skitter? Sounds like a dumb villain who's afraid of loud noises.

Wolfy_One (Verified Fuzzy)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Catman

Probably the same person who realized that a person who controls insects can be called anything they want, at least so long as it isn't already taken.

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@catman

apparently there were some very serious negotiations that went into her contract. Word around the water cooler is that someone had carnal relations with the neighbor's canine and the PRT was basically put over a barrel where that was concerned. Basically what Skitter wanted was what Skitter was going to get.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Reave - That fills me with -such- confidence. Truly. That said, though. The Wards' newest Ninja embodiment of Biblical Plagues Three, Four, and Eight did a decent enough job in protecting everyone. Personally though, I'm glad I missed it. Fairly certain that people will be joining me with cases of Entomophobia, which I predict will --skyrocket-- in the coming months. I only hope the majority of cases happens to the gangs, though. Butterflies and fluttery moths for the kiddies, yeah?

End of Page. 1

(Showing page 2 of 2)

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Everyone still has the mandated Public Relations and Excessive Force classes @Sarchasm

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Here is the transcript of the press conference about last night's incidents, video found here.

Deputy Director Renick: Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I will make a brief statement on last night's incidents, and then take a few questions. Now, at approximately 8:30 last night, a small group of mercenaries, led by the parahuman known as Trainwreck, assaulted the Totsuki Saryo Diner. The mercenaries were hired by the gang known as the Archers Bridge Merchants for the purpose of kidnapping the Director and dosing the rest of the patrons in an attempt to increase the gang's illicit funds as well as get Skidmark and Mush released. At the same time, Squealer and Whirlygig assaulted the PRT building also to release Skidmark and Mush. As previously reported, the Ward known as Skitter, who was out alongside the rest of the Directors security detail, was able to handle the situation at the diner with no loss of life. At the PRT building, with internal sensors knocked out by an Electro-Magnetic Pulse generated by Squealer's bus, Rune provided eyes in the sky, warning Assault and Battery of waiting Merchant gang members in the street outside the PRT building. This allowed the pair to disable the shooters without injury. Inside there was however an incident with a sprayer tank taking fire from the Merchants filling the access stairs to the confinement cells with containment foam and trapping all the gang members inside.

Trying to take advantage of these situations, the Undersiders robbed Palenheim Jewelers on East Thirty-Second Street. While that gang managed to succeed in their getaway, the owners of the Jewelry store inform us that the loss was minimal as all their expensive pieces were already locked away in their safe. Now, I will take questions.

Sarah Saunders, (WCBS):

Assistant Director, is the PRT or Protectorate planning on moving on the remaining members of the Archers Bridge Merchants?

Deputy Director Rennick:

That is not within the PRT's remit as they are unpowered gang members. We have been informed by the Brockton Bay Police Department that they will be making extra patrols in the areas known to be frequented by the Archers Bridge Merchants.

Michael Ossof (AP)

Director, why was a Ward on the Director's protection detail?

Deputy Director Rennick:

As has been posted on PHO, we try to keep at least one parahuman on call as part of the director's protective detail as all directors are considered high value targets. That said, with the fact that the director was to be attending an event that was in a safer part of town, it was decided that having a Ward in the parahuman scheduling slot would be allowable. Skitter, while unable to anticipate Trainwreck's actions, or even observe in person his deployment of forces, she was able to act without endangering the civilians involved where the regular PRT forces could not.

Maria Fornado: (WFOX)

Director, what about some concerns that have been voiced about Wards being used as if they were soldiers. What about the health risks associated with Skitters insects?

Deputy Director Rennick:

All Wards receive the same Youth Guard oversight to ensure we are not turning them into soldiers Maria. That said, some are more prone to taking action with their powers and we at the PRT see it as our job to ensure that they learn how to use their powers not only safely for themselves and others, but responsibly. As for the insects themselves, all were native to the immediate area outside the restaurant itself. Skitter has assured me that all were removed from the area with her departure.

Sherryl Atkinson (WABC)

Deputy Director, were there any problems with the attack on the PRT building or the robbery of the jewelry store?

Deputy Director Rennick:

Yes Sherrell. At Palenheim Jewelers the Undersiders wrecked several parked cars and blocked the street, and thus the B10 bus line, for three hours while they were cleaned up. More importantly, Squealer's EMP disabled the restraints on a prisoner, allowing Shadow Stalker to escape custody. We are asking anyone who sees her to report her whereabouts but strongly advise that people do not approach her. She is to be considered armed and dangerous.

Sarchasm (Verified Sarcastic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Is it just me, or are things spiraling around here? Not only have the Merchants completely fubared everything, they didn't get who they were after, -and- accidentally let someone else loose! I will say though, that the Merchants trapping themselves in Containment foam is hilarious! Lived here all my life, and only now I'm starting to take my daughter's advice to move to Florida seriously. Screw this, I need a beer. Docksbodies, comin in for double-header! Put the game on and set up the dart board! Brockton Bay, man. Only in the frikken Bay. Next, there'll be talks of swamp monsters or something coming out of the water. Ia! Ia! Good night

Wolfy_One (Verified Fuzzy)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Hey @Reave, @Bagrat, any word on what Shadow Stalker did to end up in confinement or is that hush hush?

Echiko (Verified Weeb) (Mobuseka Overdrive)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Hey. Wait a sec. Missed something very important there.

Did you say Totsuki Saryo? As in Totsuki Totsuki? In Brockton effing Bay?

Pardon me while I pack my bags, I've been looking for a reason to get out of the Apple anyway.

Epicurean (Verified Foody) (Verified Critic)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

@Echiko

Yes they did, they have had the diner there for about six years now.

Was there for opening night and as usual 5 stars for the food and service, I won't hold the security breach against them.

Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 17th 2011:

Shadow Stalker was on probation in her civilian persona and currently stands accused of violating it. That is all that I am allowed to say because anything else would possibly indicate what her civilian identity is.

End of Page. 1, 2

Theo Anders chuckled and pushed his smartphone over to his friend John with the thread screen still up as he looked over at the girls around Victoria Dallon. The two new girls that had joined Victoria's usual group were chatting away with her, as was Katie. Of all the people around the Empire, Theo could understand why Katie had taken the PRT's offer to bail on the Empire. His father was a prick, having chased off the one person in his life that had given a damn about him, (outside his father's belief that Theo or Aster would grow up to take over the Empire and rule Brockton, maybe even the North-East.) Kayden was gone, disappeared with no trace what-so-ever taking Aster with her, and it had his father furious. The only thing he wished was that she had managed to take him with them.

"So who do you think they are?" John asked him as he slid Theo's phone back to him.

"Who do I think who are?" Theo replied, turning his attention back to his lone friend. (There were acquaintances from the Empire, but Theo didn't count them. John was a light skinned Hispanic boy, and Theo knew his father didn't know John's ancestry.)

"Who do you think the three ninjas are?" John asked with a hint of exasperation. "We know that the PRT sends the Wards to Arcadia, and there was a whole mess of kids arriving from Winslow to hide them in, so who do you think they are?"

"I don't know," Theo said, the lie coming smoothly as he knew who Rune was. "But I would say that they are likely closer than we would ever believe." John simply snorted and turned to ask another kid the same question. More close than you would EVER believe.

Sophia*

"What the hell are you doing here?" my mother hissed as I walked through the wall from the fire escape.

I snorted, "I'm getting my stuff, Mom," I answered coldly. It was obvious that the damn bitch on the panel wasn't lying. "I don't see what it matters to you, you did throw me to the wolves after all."

"Sophia, you tortured a girl!" my mother said, crossing her arms with a glare of disapproval. "A white, middle class girl in Brockton Bay, something that could have gotten the entire family killed!" I scoffed at that and turned to continue down the hall of the apartment to my room, but my mother followed me. "And if that wasn't bad enough you didn't even pick a Nazi, which I could have understood, but the daughter of the man who has kept food on that table and in your belly since before you could walk!"

At that I froze and turned to stare at her. "What are you talking about Mom?"

Mom sighed in exasperation, "Sophia, what do I do for work?"

"Clean houses and businesses," I answered. "It's beneath you, and your education, Mom."

My mother nodded, "It is," she agreed, "but there were other people just as qualified as I was. Some more so, and all of us were laid off when the shipping industry died in Brockton. But Daniel Hebert is loyal to his people if he is nothing else. That man has managed to keep the majority of us that are stuck here employed in one legitimate endeavor or another since he took over the Union!" As she spoke, my mother's gaze had dropped to the floor, only now for her face to rise to glare at me. "And you!" she snarled, "you had to pick HIS daughter to be the punching bag for your little group of idiots! How could you be so stupid?"

I couldn't help it, I gawked at her in astonishment. "I," I stuttered, "I, I didn't know. She just seemed to be some nothing that Emma had been friends with. When she showed up at the end of the summer, she just seemed like the perfect target to help build Emma back up from being a complete wreck when Emma suggested it." I was babbling, I never babbled except when I was in the wrong. I am NOT in the wrong here damn it!

Shaking my head I snarled, "No, I am not in the wrong here, Mom," before gritting my teeth and glaring back at her. "Taylor was a sniveling little shit not worth the powder it would have taken to blow her brains out. I don't know why Emma decided to focus on her, but we did, and we were so good at it we had the entire school doing it before that ABB bitch stuck her nose into shit."

"That was the Director's niece you idiot!" my mother yelled back at me finally losing her temper. "She wasn't there for the ABB, she was a new student that walked in and caught you taunting that girl in her locker and rightly proceeded to kick your ass. Sophia what you did was wrong, period. The fact of what she is and who she is, is immaterial to that fact.

Piggot's niece? I thought in shock as I back-stepped slightly. I snarled mentally, she can pay just as much as Hebert and her father.

The smile that passed over my face as another thought percolated through caused my mother to gasp and reach for me. "Damn it girl don't be stupid," she snapped as her arm reached out and I went to mist to avoid being grabbed. "There is no way you going after any of them ends well for you."

"What's it matter to you, Mom?" I sneered as I went into my room. "You've already thrown me to the wolves of the system. It's not like anything I do is going to affect you, right?"

"Damn it, Sophia!" She snapped following me. "It will make things worse for you which does affect me, it affects all of us."

Opening my closet, I reached up though the ceiling and grabbed one of my hold-out sets of equipment. The crossbows were older, and the mask was a standard hockey mask, but I had added a handful of the tranquilizer bolts to the quiver and I palmed one as I turned back to face my mother. "You see Mom," I said calmly, "I don't actually believe you." She looked at me with shock and pain in her eyes. "Now, I'm going to grab a bit of clothes and a bag to carry it all in, and you are going to take a little nap."

"I am, guh," she stopped as I stepped into her and hit her in the chest with the tranquilizer bolt before easing her to the floor of my room. "Don't worry Mom," I told her as I laid her down. "Once I settle things with Hebert and her little bitch friend, it will all be better."

Chapter 10

Summary:

Here is the actual Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Taylor*

"One of the things you have to understand about the English Language is that it is about as pure as a dockside lady of negotiable virtue when the Seventh Fleet is in port," our AP-English teacher, Mr. Basset, said as he went through his lecture portion for the class. "Another philosopher of languages is quoted as saying that the English language has a habit of following other languages down dark alleyways and riffling their pockets for various words and phrases." This caused the entire class to chuckle slightly and the teacher smiled before continuing, "Because of this many words have changed their meaning or use since their inclusion in the English language. Could someone, anyone, give me an example of such a word." As he said the last bit he turned back to the white board behind his desk and took up his dry erase marker."

"Fuck!" a male voice called out from the opposite side of the classroom and my head snapped around to see Michael Herren stuffing his phone inside his jacket and looking around in a near panic.

Mr. Basset, however, took the word in a nonplussed manner. "While not quite the word I was expecting, Mister Herren, it does fit the criteria," the teacher commented. "Now, what does the word Fuck actually mean, Mister Montrose, Webster's definition?"

A lanky black teen stood up from the front row, a large unabridged dictionary on his desk. "According to Webster there is two definitions, one, an act of sexual intercourse, and the second the destruction of an item."

Mr. Basset nodded, writing these things on the board. "However, we do know that the use of the word is larger than that. I want everyone to try and think of a way that uses the word fuck that isn't sexual." The class looked at each other in astonishment at that. "Be sure to give the context for the use and remember that the word can be used as almost every word in a sentence."

"How is that sir?" someone I didn't know in the back asked.

"Well while everyone tries to think of a use for the word that isn't sexual why don't I give a few examples," the teacher said turning around. "Most uses are as a noun or a verb, however it can be used as an adjective, such as in the sentence, John is doing all the fucking work. As part of an adverb like Shirley talks to fucking much. As an adverb enhancing an adjective as in Shirley is fucking beautiful. Honestly it can, as I said, be used as almost every word in a sentence."

"An example of that sir?" I heard myself ask.

The teacher smirked, "Well, as some of you have surely said about various groups; Fuck the fucking fuckers!" The teacher saying that broke the class, everyone laughed, and it took a few minutes for everyone to get it under control. "Now that you have managed to get that out of your systems. What uses do you have for me?" he picked a girl and pointed at her.

"Describing Fraud sir," the girl replied. The teacher nodded for her to continue, so she did. "I got fucked at the used car lot."

Mr. Basset nodded to this before pointing to another student who had also had their hand raised, "Trouble, I guess I'm really fucked now." The boy answered.

"Good, good," Mr. Basset replied, both past tense verbs, but different uses. Miss Marshall?"

"Difficulty," the girl he had picked out answered, "I don't understand this fucking question." That earned a chuckle from everyone, even the teacher who nodded and pointed to another student.

"Inquiry," the boy said only for someone else to pipe up, "Who the fuck is that?" which also earned a chuckle as well as a glare from the first boy. "Fine then, I'll go with dissatisfaction." The teacher nodded so the boy continued, "I don't like what the fuck is going on here."

Another nod and another student was chosen "Dismissal," the girl said before getting a nod at which point she turned to the boy next to her and said, "Why don't you go outside and play hide and go fuck yourself."

That earned laughter and comments of "burn" as the boy, who had been slowly edging closer to the cheerleader, quickly backed off. "That one probably edges a bit too close to the sexual miss Baxter, however I would suggest that mister Bronson take your advice, or else listen to the use of the word regarding anger and not fuck with you." The class chuckled at that and the student held up his hands in surrender. "Next," Mr. Bassett said, pointing at another student.

We spent the next five minutes discussing the use of the word Fuck, its meaning and etymology as well what types of word each use was before the class ended and I had to go to Study Hall, but it had made English class fun for the first time in a long while.

Akane:

I sighed as Study Hall drug on toward the end of the school day. I was frustrated by the pace today had set compared to the speed that yesterday had passed at. The fashion show had been a whirlwind event in and of itself, and then the events at the diner had played out. Meeting Uncle Kenta, my cousins, finding out that I was related to elder Xian Pu, all had come at me like lightning. And then Taylor took down those asshats like she did. I smiled at the thought and glanced over at her as she seemed to be working on her homework. She had killed it on the runway during the fashion show according to my cousins, and aunt Hikari who was definitely wanting the both of us to do some other work that a model had apparently flaked out on. Taylor was considering doing it but wanted to talk to me later today or tomorrow about it. I also thought back to the text conversation that Mayumi and I had had in the aftermath of the restaurant incident.

By ten that night I was back at the PRT building and about to bed down for school the next day when my phone trilled with a text alert. So how did the fashion show go? Mayumi asked.

Good, I answered with a smile. Taylor was the shit out on the runway, completely cool demeanor and absolutely no wobble on her heels. Was a might pissed at me for the music though.

Why? she texted back, followed by a sudden flurry of WHAT DID YOU DO??? three or four times, getting "louder" each time.

Nothing bad, I texted back initially to which she replied with a questioning emoji. I just timed certain songs to start as she came on stage.

What songs and what does she look like? Mayumi asked and I could practically hear her voice in a deadpan tone.

I sent a smiley emoji and then answered, She looks like a Caucasian version of you but without the confidence, though I'm working on that part, and the first song she came out to was ZZTop's Legs while wearing a sundress that might have been considered a bit short and showed her legs off quite nicely. Her second outfit was a nice suit/skirt combo and gave her a "hot teacher" look so I had Van Halen play for that one. Her last outfit was a LBD, so Long Cool Woman was a must.

It apparently took a minute for her to figure out how she wanted to respond, but when it came through, it didn't really surprise me. I want pictures, she texted me and I sighed because of course she did. Then, as I was typing out my response she texted a new question, So how did opening night at Uncle Kenta's restaurant go? and like that the fact that I had been so close to him and yet so far away at the same time struck me.

I'll see what I can do about pics of Taylor, both in and out of the outfits, as to dinner, apparently no one realized that he was also MY uncle. We thought he had died during Kyushu and he had thought the same about us. The fact that you and I knew each other is "Small World" kinda bullshit right there and I bet if I had ever intruded to meet your Uncle Kenta, then the bandaid would have been ripped off ages ago.

My text must have either surprised the hell out of her or else she had been at lunch and the break had ended because I didn't get a response until I got up the next morning, Mom and I are so going to have a talk when she gets home!

Ran looked at Mayumi as she pinned the elder Saotome with a glare as she came in the apartment door from her job, "What's wrong Mayumi?"

"How long have we known Uncle Kenta?" the teen asked. "I don't remember much from before I started school, I know that dad disappeared going to fight Leviathan at Kyushu and that Daisuke was born not long after that, but I don't actually remember any of that, just that Aunt Hikari was there for you while Uncle Kenta was off in China at the time for some reason."

"Why do you ask?" Ran asked as she walked into the apartment's kitchen and set down her bag. Turning, she watched her daughter use her foot to push out a chair so that the older woman could sit down.

"Because I was texting with Akane today and she found out that our uncle Kenta is actually HER uncle Kenta," Mayumi answered. "That the man they had thought was dead since Kyushu was at times only a few miles away whenever we would have a family get together that she could have crashed at any time."

"Yeah," Ran sighed, sitting down at the table. "I was going to try and talk to her once you got around to discussing things with her and working things out." Mayumi lifted an eyebrow at her mother and the woman continued. "I didn't know until I talked to Kenta the day after you told me why you and Akane broke up. I've noticed you're sleeping better," she continued, "did you talk things out with her?"

"Last weekend," Mayumi mumbled looking away. "She was playing with the band when we got to aunt Nabiki's."

"So that's why you spent the entire visit either talking or texting on your phone," Ran said smugly. "Are you back together?"

"Somewhat," Mayumi answered, wagging her hand in a so-so gesture. "We're going to take it slow and see if this time apart is a good thing or not. We'll revisit it during summer break."

Ran smiled at her daughter. "We've known Kenta Horaki since just after Kyushu when he brought the bodies of your uncles back to us."

"Why didn't he bring Dad's body back as well?" Mayumi asked.

Ran smiled, "Because the dumbass disappeared," she answered.

Katie

Finally! I thought as the bell rang and the three of us headed out of class. I made a quick trip to my locker to change out some of the books I had in my bag and then I was meeting up with the others at the bus stop.

"If I doze off on the bus downtown, you two will wake me up when we get there right?" Akane asked.

"Of course we will Akane," Taylor said even as I nodded. "Why wouldn't we?" In the short time I had known her I knew that "Butter won't melt in my mouth" tone coming from Taylor. It was the one she used on Dennis when he misbehaved.

Because of that I had to ask as we sat down on the bus. "What did you do to Taylor, Akane?"

Akane sighed and let her head fall forward into the back of the empty seat in front of us even as Taylor patted her on the back. "Not much really," Taylor answered in Akane's place. "Did you get to watch the fashion show yesterday? I know they televised it."

I shook my head, "Not really into the fashion circles," I answered. "What happened."

"She made me the center of attention at the fashion show," Taylor answered in a deadpan tone. "Every time I came out on stage for my walk, there would be a new song to call attention to me and my look."

I raised an eyebrow at Akane, who was still resting her head against the seat in front of us. "You didn't?" I half asked, half said.

"She did," Taylor replied. "Legs, Hot for Teacher, and Long Cool Woman."

"And what was the reaction?" I heard myself ask, the curiosity getting to me.

Taylor sat back with a huff, "According to Akane's Aunt Hikari there are a dozen or more modeling offers for me as of lunch today. I don't even want to know what has arrived since then."

I felt my jaw drop, "You're kidding me," Taylor looked at me and shook her head. "Holy shit," I muttered. "What does our bosses have to say about that?"

"Glen apparently had a meltdown over it and the fact that he can't use us himself," Akane muttered from her spot. "Aunt Em was particularly amused by that when she was told. She told me that nobody could really force the issue, so we're golden there. Just be prepared for a bit of pressure from PR."

"What kind of pressure?" I asked.

"Offers to change cities and be more public," Akane muttered, "Do a full make-over on you and make you a famous cover girl for the Wards and Protectorate. Makes things more a PR job than what we're meant to do."

Both Taylor and I nodded, "They can suck it," I said just as softly, "I'm not leaving, not when I have real friends."

"And a boyfriend," Taylor pointed out, causing me to blush. "Any idea on foster parents yet?"

I sighed, "No," I answered. "Not yet."

Ukyo Kuonji*

"I'm sorry, but we're closed for the immediate… oh. Danny?" I said, as the frown that had been on my face as I opened the door became a smile. "What brings you here? We're actually closed due to last night."

"I understand," Danny answered. "But, I figured I might be able to help, so I found some guys who knew how to lay flooring. Or, in this case, pull it and replace it, and brought them with me." I craned my neck out of the doorway and peered at the parking area. Three pickups and a sedan sat in it as well as three older, and six younger men. "If Kenta can get the materials," Danny said, smiling. "We can have the floor work done in a day to three, depending on whether or not he wants to change from that short pile carpet you have, to full tile or not."

My eyes widened. "I don't know what is available as far as budgeting for this is concerned, Danny," I said, pushing the door completely open. "But, I'll text Kenta to see what he wants to do. In the meanwhile, the least I can do is fix some coffee. That is, if you gentlemen would like to join me for a cup?" While I had raised my voice so that they could all hear, my eyes were solely on Danny.

He smiled at me, and I smiled back, "We would love some coffee, Ukyo," he answered, taking the door and holding it open, allowing me to step back and let the other men in. "Let's see what we have to do."

Kenta*

"Mister and Mrs. Horaki, so nice to see you again," the doctor said as he stepped into the exam room and smiled at them. "How are you today?"

I nodded to the doctor, leaving Hikari to carry the conversation. "Honestly doctor Honeycutt," Hikari said, giving me a glare, "I'm feeling a bit, off. Not sick per say, but not quite right."

"Alright," the doctor said with a nod. "Let me look at your bloodwork here and we'll see what there is to see." Picking up the medical chart from beside the exam table he started to look over the information and asked, "How, in particular, have you been feeling off?" he asked.

"Nausea, bloating, weird tastes and scents hitting me at odd moments," Hikari answered as the doctor squinted at the medical file. "Occasional dizziness as well, but not that often, and I have usually attributed it to standing up too fast."

The doctor hummed at that before half stepping out into the hall and pulling in a nurse. "Joanne, could you get a small blood draw and run this test on it real quick, someone didn't think to do it with her general work-up?"

"Yes doctor," the nurse answered, taking the file as the doctor finished writing in it. A quick blood draw and the nurse was heading out. "It should only take a few minutes, Mrs. Horaki." She said as she left the room.

"Now," the doctor said, sitting on the second chair. "In all honesty Mrs. Horaki, this could simply be menopause settling in, however, that is not the only thing, only the most benign option. I don't think it's an inner ear infection, you show no signs of fever and your white blood cell count is, if anything, a little low for that. Comparatively," I let the conversation between Hikari and Doctor Honeycutt wash into the background for me. All things were possible, I would deal with realities and only realities, much like the damage at the restaurant from last night. Ukyo had sent me notice that Daniel Hebert had showed up with workmen to help deal with the carpet and was able to offer a very fair price on replacing the carpet with tile. Doing so would shut the venue down for a week, but honesty compelled me to note that we would need to do a brand-new annual re-opening regardless. So being shut down for another week would not hurt anything. I texted Ukyo to get the supplies that Danny suggested and go ahead with the tiling. By the time that was done I looked up and the nurse was walking back in with the medical file, handing it to the doctor before leaving.

The doctor took up the file and looked at the results of the test he had ordered and blinked. "Well," he said. "You're not the oldest person I've had this conversation with, and more importantly this isn't your first time, but at least here is an answer for your issues. Congratulations."

"Congratulations?" I asked in a low rumble while giving him a lifted eyebrow.

"Yes," the doctor replied smiling. "Or did you not want another child?"

Akane*

Walking into the PRT building through the front door was sometimes the funniest part of my situation. Being a Ward let you into the building whenever you wanted outside a lockdown, but being the director's niece, or one of her friends allowed you to walk in the front door without being in costume because you have to go somewhere after school, why not go hang with the Wards. Of course, being known to hang with the Wards you get the inevitable question of, "What is, (insert Ward identity here) really like?" all the damn time, but what could you do?"

"Akane," I heard my name ring out and found myself being struck by a moderate sized blonde missile named Dinah.

"What the…" Katie and I asked almost in sync even as Taylor sighed. "Dinah, where are your parents?" she asked.

"They still don't believe me," she said into my chest and I sighed as I pulsed my power through her, shutting her own down. I felt her shudder against me as I was sure the pain passed.

"Come with us then," Taylor said with a soft smile. "We have to go talk to some people, but then we can see about getting some proof for you." Dinah looked over at Taylor and smiled shyly before allowing us to lead her to the elevator. Once the doors closed behind us Taylor handed around domino masks, Always prepared, even with extras, I thought as she handed Dinah one and helped her put it into place. "Your identity is your most valued possession," my friend said. "Protect it no matter what, because other than the director, no one in this room has a reason to know who you really are."

Dinah nodded, "What about my family?" she asked quietly.

"By protecting your identity, you protect them," Katie answered. "If no one knows who you are, then they can't threaten them. The question is, what do we call you?"

"How about Viewpoint," I suggested with a shrug. "She's a thinker but I don't know how her power works to suggest a more appropriate name. Besides," I added, "it's only a holding name so that we have something to call her during the meeting."

"It works," Dinah said with a smile.

Three familiar faces looked at the conference room door as the four of us walked in, "Who is this?" Aunt Emily asked, lifting an eyebrow at Dinah.

"This is Viewpoint," I answered with a smile and an intentionally thicker accent. "She is having problems getting her parents to believe that she triggered because she is a thinker."

"Ms. Burns, Ms. Smithers," Taylor said in greeting. "I hope what was said last weekend has been thought on, and discussed?"

"It has," Smithers said, her discomfort apparent on her face. "And the only reason I am here today is to observe and offer my apologies for what I said last week."

"Really?" I let slip out with a bit more venom than I should have.

"No No," Aunt Emily said, a note of warning in her voice and I nodded.

"Yes ma'am," I said to her before turning to Ms. Smithers. "Ms. Smithers, I apologize for that comment, it was uncalled for and antagonistic. If you are here to apologize, then consider it accepted. But please, let us never speak of it again."

"Agreed," Smithers said with a nod.

"Well then," Mrs. Burns said with a nod, "Let us get this debriefing handled so that you can handle this other business Director."

"Quite," Aunt Emily said, giving three out of the four of us a bland look of irritation. "No No, why don't you give us your view of what happened last night."

Dinah*

Watching the Three Ninja of Brockton Bay be debriefed on what had occurred last night, as well as what they had individually figured out in the intervening time was, educational. Director Piggot kept everything calm and no-nonsense, while Mrs Burns asked what I could only figure were pertinent questions about how things had happened. Once they were done, Mrs. Burns stood, as did her assistant, and thanked the three of them, especially Skitter's actions the night before. "Your methods were thoughtful and executed with a precision that we can only wish that others would have. Ladies, I wish you a good evening, let's go Caroline."

Once the pair left, the director turned to the others and sighed, "Alright Akane," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can recognize Miss Alcott even with the domino mask, why do you believe that she has powers?"

"Because I shut them down last night so that she could get a decent night's sleep," Akane answered, frankly. "I also tried to hint to her mother that she might not be pretending, but the woman didn't want to listen. Dinah, did she say anything about bringing you here today?"

"No," I answered. "Mom is mostly concerned that Dad might be having an affair. There's a non-zero chance that he is, but the numbers say that he's working extra hours and cases to ensure that he has the money to buy her something nice for their anniversary next month."

"How do you know those things?" Akane asked, looking at me with her eyebrows raised. "I shut your power down when we met in the lobby."

"Because I've asked them every time mom starts having a snit over dad missing dinner for the last two weeks," she answered. "I do tend to remember what the answers are, which is making school a headache, literally."

Akane nodded and the director frowned. "Your power starts giving you the answers to whatever you are asked, correct?" she asked.

"In percentages," I told her. "For instance, there is a seventy-five percent chance that the person behind the kidnapping and murder attempt last night is listening to this conversation right now. Before you ask how I know that I asked myself what the chance was, that by going to Akane the person responsible for last night was going to be able to listen into whatever conversation we had. That it was an attempted murder and kidnapping was an eighty percent chance and that whoever is behind it is also a thinker, as the attempt had a two out of three chance of failure."

"Jesus," the director muttered. "I'll call your parents and get one or both of them down here immediately. For now, it's probably best if you stick with these three." I nodded at that as together there was a ninety percent chance of my being safe for the next six hours. "Girls, your current assignment is to guard Viewpoint and not allow her to go anywhere alone until cleared by myself in person, not even the bathroom. If he can listen in on a secure conference room, then whoever is behind this is within the system."

"Yes ma'am," the three others snapped off before standing. "Ward's lounge?" Skitter asked.

"As good a place as any to fort up," Rune answered. "And it allows us to draft Vista to watch her at school."

"Good point," Akane and the director said at the same time. Akane snorted before continuing after sharing a glance with her aunt. "Let's go, there's homework to be done."

Margaret Christner Alcott sighed as she entered the PRT building and stepped up to the security station. "Excuse me," she said, addressing the person behind the counter. "I received a phone call from Rory Christner asking me to come down here?"

"And you are?" the receptionist, a young blonde woman in the PRT blacks asked as she tapped at her computer.

"Margaret Alcott," she answered, receiving a nod.

"Thank you, ma'am," she said, looking up at her and smiling. "I'll let Rory know you're here and he should be down in a minute or two."

"Thank you," Margaret said, turning around only to see her nephew Rory come striding out of the elevators.

"Sorry to call you over here Aunt Margaret," he said as he stepped up to her. "It's a bit important and something that we can't discuss out here." She nodded and he turned to the receptionist, "Thanks, Margo."

"No problem Rory," the young woman said, giving her nephew a dazzling smile. "I hope everything goes well." Rory smiled and nodded before leading her towards the elevators.

"Did something go wrong between you and Crystal?" Margaret asked as the elevator doors closed and Rory pushed a button on the control panel.

"No," Rory answered, giving her a questioning look. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because that Margo girl is looking to stake a claim on you," she answered. "Done anything to lead her on?"

"Not that I'm aware of," he answered with a sigh. "But then again, around here it could be anything. That however, is not why I called and asked you to come down here."

"No," she said, sighing. "Has your cousin coerced you into having her tested to see if she is a parahuman?"

"She told you?" Rory asked, his voice swinging through varying tones of disbelief. "If she told you why didn't you bring her down to be tested already?"

"Because she's a child, Rory," she answered with a touch of heat to her voice. "She's playing make believe and acting out to get attention while her father fools around with his…" she lowered her head and took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly. "Rory, your uncle and I are going through a bit of a rough patch and because of it, Dinah is likely acting out. It's not like she's experienced anything truly traumatic."

Looking up she found her nephew looking at her wide-eyed. "You really don't get it do you?" At that point he sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. "No No and Skitter were both there last night, and No No touched Dinah. Dinah has powers Aunt Margaret. In fact, she's a very powerful thinker and that whole scene last night was so that a villain by the name of Coil could kidnap her."

The elevator dinged, cutting off further talk as Rory led her down two halls before stopping at a door and waving his badge against a scanner next to the door. She heard the lock disengage and then he opened the door, waving her into a closed meeting room where Emily Piggot sat. "Mrs. Alcott," she said standing up. "Thank you for coming so quickly. Has Rory filled you in on the situation?"

"He was just doing so," Margaret answered, looking back to see her nephew enter the room behind her and shut the door. Feeling slightly shocked at the revelation she sat down in the offered chair. "I didn't think that she could hear our arguing, that we had managed to keep it from her."

"Children find out things in the oddest ways," Piggot said sitting down. "The fact of the matter though, is that Dinah has triggered. Worse, she has already popped up on one villain's radar. Currently I have Rune, Skitter and No No protecting her, but I can't have them do that twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week. Right now we are looking for a way to capture the villain in question, but he's a slippery little snake and has gone to ground and we don't know where he is at the moment. I hate to suggest it, but if you are willing to sign Dinah up for the Wards, I can house her here until we catch him or verify that he is no longer a threat."

"I can't do that without at least discussing it with her father," Margaret said with a sigh. "That said, can you keep her safe, as a Ward?"

"Not perfectly safe, no," Emily answered honestly. "Nothing is perfectly safe of course, but your daughter would likely be kept back at base, instead of being sent on patrol like the others. On the other hand, joining the Wards tends to mean that a parahuman is hands off to forcible recruitment. The main reason for this is because if someone goes after them, either to harm or kidnap them, it earns a response similar to breaking the unwritten rules. There have been incidents in other cities where villains who have gone after Wards, have been found near death from the response of both the local villains who didn't want to be pounded on because someone went too far and the heroes, both independent and Protectorate, who were angered by the action.."

"And like the unwritten rules, if they have power, then they can ignore this for the most part." Margaret countered, earning a nod from the director.

"That is true," Emily said. "On the other hand, Coil is a very small fish in an only moderately sized pond. "I have it on good authority that neither Lung, nor Kaiser would allow someone to get away with assaulting a Ward with intent."

"What about Fleur?" Margaret asked hotly.

"First of all, Fleur wasn't a Ward," Emily answered dryly. "Furthermore, while that particular individual might have managed to enter the Empire like they intended, their life there was neither kind nor long. The way he died was a statement that even if Kaiser would accept those who broke the rules, the rest of the Cape community would not."

Margaret Alcott blinked a moment before asking, "What happened to him?"

"I don't know how," The director said, looking down for a moment. "But he was caught out and buried alive with some very large rats in his coffin. We were alerted to his location about a week after the BBPD was informed of his disappearance. I won't horrify you with the details of the results, and Panacea was not a cape at the time, so he was only able to be cared for with normal medicine. He didn't survive."

Margaret blanched at the thought. "So what you are telling me is that at least some amongst the capes are willing to take the unwritten rules seriously," she said.

Piggot nodded, "We have our suspects of who might have been the person responsible for the death of Mathew Hines," she said calmly. "But there is no evidence and quite frankly, even if Kaiser has the willingness to accept someone else who did that, he doesn't have the power to keep them from meeting a similar fate." Emily rested her elbows on her desk before steepling her hands in front of her face. "Regardless of what you choose Mrs. Alcott," she continued. "We at the PRT will strive to protect your daughter the same as we do any other non-villain parahuman, however, if your daughter is a Ward, we have more of an ability to do so."

Margaret Alcott sighed. "Let me call her father and get him over here," she said mentally admitting her defeat on the subject. "I know that there are contracts to go through and he's better at dealing with that than I am."

Emily Piggot only nodded before looking at Rory. "Feel free to use the phone in here or Rory can take you outside if you wish to use your cell to call him," the director said. "I apologize but I have a lot of paperwork that I need to handle before I can go home. When your husband shows up Rory can collect him from downstairs and take you to Deputy Director Rennicks office to handle the paperwork."

"Thank you," Margaret said as she looked at her nephew who nodded. With that the director got up and left the meeting room to the two of them.

Thomas Calvert sighed as he released the pair of timelines that he had been carrying since the night before. Taylor Hebert had well and truly fucked his plan, and Tattletale had almost outed him to the majority of the capes in the city as well as Emily Piggot. As creative as he was sure Kenta Horaki and Maximillian Anders would be in his death, Emily would surely surpass them both. Not because she would be against killing him, no, she wouldn't kill him unless he left her no choice. Some asshole in prison would kill him for any number of reasons, this of course was assuming he didn't get sent to the Birdcage.

No, last night he had been left with no option but to let things play out with his mercenaries, and that had failed with Mr Pitter and all but one of the rest being captured. Not that they had stayed captured mind you. It was interesting how the police transport that was supposed to be taking them to the local precinct for booking seemed to have disappeared completely, but that was someone else's investigation, and if they figured out that Coil was the responsible party, well, Skitter had already laid the blame on him, regardless of what the press release stated. What are you playing at Emily? he thought as he split his timelines again.

In the first timeline he kept working at his desk. There was plenty to be done as an Assistant Deputy Director and Strike Team Leader, and there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. It would be Nine PM when he finally put his computer to standby mode, clocked out, and drove his completely bland Honda Civic home before eating a late dinner and going to bed. Like all days, the next day promised to be as long as this one had been, especially if things got interesting overnight.

In his second timeline, he logged out and put his computer on standby before clocking out and going downstairs to the street. Outside he crossed the street before going down it three blocks to another parking garage where inside he unlocked and climbed into the back of a panel van. The panel van was unmarked and had a curtain separating the rear area from the front. In the back of the van was a full set of unmarked black BDUs as well as one of his costumes. Stripping out of his work uniform he contemplated whether or not he should get into his costume now, or in the locker room. If he costumed up now, he could be caught, but the mercenaries would know it was him. On the other hand, if he wore the uniform, which intentionally mimicked the PRT work BDUs, they would believe him just another of the body doubles that "Coil" used to keep people guessing. Shrugging, he put on the clean BDUs before climbing into the front of the van and driving to another parking garage next to a construction site. His base was under the entire block, but the easiest entrance for anyone to use was the elevator in the parking garage. Even then it required a key to not only unlock the panel that hid the button to the proper floor, but one also had to unlock the button itself and open the doors manually at the floor. Calvert knew that it made some of his mercenaries wonder why the local body double lived outside the base, but others knew he was also a mole in the PRT, so it was a non-issue.

Entering the base went as expected, quietly and with little fanfare as his face, and ID were checked against a physical list, before he was allowed to proceed past the secondary entrance and again at the main entrance. Entering the locker room he changed into his Coil costume before going to relieve the body double on duty and taking over and accessing the PRT camera feeds. Emily was doing paperwork, Dinah was in the Wards area with the director's niece, Skitter and Rune. And how the fuck that friendship happened I have no clue. How is her racist ass so nonchalant about being friends with a Japanese lesbian? he wondered before shaking his head and moving on. The Alcotts were both in a meeting room with Triumph, going over paperwork, Probably the contracts to put Dinah in the Wards, he thought. Now I'm going to have to either figure out a contingency to use her, or give up on the plan as a whole. He didn't like that idea, but then again, he couldn't use a child in the Wards itself as a magic 8-ball to boost the usefulness of his and Tattletale's powers. Even splitting his timelines to do so, either the girl herself would get wise to what he was doing, or else those around her would. He couldn't kidnap her now and stay in town either. Doing that would bring the entirety of the local PRT and Protectorate down on his head, and that was assuming that he would be able to kidnap her in the first place. The Undersiders were good, but they weren't the hardened criminals it would take to snatch a girl, and none of them would try and grab a Ward, they weren't completely suicidal, so it would have to be the mercenaries grabbing her, which with the Merchants now gone, would point directly at him. Or would it? The thought percolated inside his brain for a moment and he started to work up a plan that just might work, as well as divert the blame.

.

Four figures entered a dark and ramshackle bar in the southern docks from opposite sides of the room but at the same time. Kaiser grimaced as did Lung as both found their arrival was unable to provide them leverage against the other. Grumbles from both parties carried them to a simple table and the two gang leaders sat opposite each other as did their seconds. "Lung," Kaiser said with a nod. "It seems that a snake has reached beyond what it should."

Lung grunted nodding, "Agreed," he stated flatly. "Tonight, the Merchant areas of the southern docks will burn, and I will be sighted in various places. If you can provide me any intelligence on Coil's holdings, I will ensure that they do not survive either."

Kaiser nodded and Kreig slid a folder across the table to Oni Lee. "That contains locations that we know of or suspect of belonging to Coil. Know that he has many mercenaries with tinkertech additions to their rifles."

Lung nodded to this, and Oni Lee slid a similar folder to Kreig, "These are the locations downtown of Merchant labs that we have found out about. Mostly in the basements and workspaces of buildings."

"They will be dealt with," Kaiser replied flatly. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Included in there is the number for the burner phone that I will be using tonight should your forces need something burned out or other things coordinated." Kaiser smiled at this and together the two of them shared a nod of acknowledgement before leaving the way then entered.

Katie*

All of us were comfortable when the door opened a few hours later to admit the Director. Akane was playing her guitar, while Dennis wailed away on a harmonica and Chris kept time with a pair of wooden spoons and a mixture of pots and cans. Taylor was the one that surprised me, singing the lyrics to the Mellencamp song strongly and without any hesitation. She had a good voice, and at least the music was inoffensive. Once they finished the song the director spoke up, startling everyone else as they hadn't seen her come in and she had bypassed the warning buzzer. "You know, if I had video of that and showed it to Glenn, he might just stroke out," the director joked.

"Oh please no aunt Em," Akane said holding her guitar close while shaking her head. "The tear he's been on for the last day has been bad enough. My phone and email have been blown to Hades by him trying to convince me to give up the ninja bit and become one of his special PR projects."

"I have to agree with Akane, director," Taylor said, nodding. "My phone and email are at least as bad as Akane's and I don't have her confidence, or her voice."

"Your singing voice is fine Taylor," Akane said smiling. "As with anyone, it's a matter of picking what songs you're singing lead on, and which ones you are singing backup."

"She's right Taylor," I said from where Dinah and I were sitting on the couch. "You have a great singing voice. Not as flexible as Akane's, but then I don't think many are?"

Akane shrugged at the compliment, but Dennis nodded. "Katie's right," he said. "I've seen you sing everything from Abba to ZZ Top and make it sound right, even knowing how it's supposed to sound. The fact that you know all the lyrics by heart makes me think you have a thinker power that we don't know about."

"Stop trying to flirt with me Dennis," Akane said with a smile, "I already have a girlfriend, I don't need a boyfriend on top of that."

The male Ward rolled his eyes and everyone else chuckled before the Director asked, "How are things between you and Mayumi?"

"Getting better," Akane answered with a smile. "She should be heading to school about now, given the time difference."

"And her sleep issues?" Akane's aunt asked.

"Also getting better," Akane answered with a sigh. "We talk constantly and at least intellectually she understands what I was doing."

"She's just having trouble working through it," the director finished nodding. "Well I have news," she continued. "Once her mother gets back from getting some clothes for her, Dinah will be staying here for the time being. You're in a different grade than Vista, Dinah, so while she can't watch over you in class, she will be making sure you get here safely after school. Taylor, Katie, Akane, you will provide as much overwatch as possible and do whatever you feel is necessary to protect them until backup can arrive should anything happen."

"Yes ma'am," we chorused and the director nodded.

"One of the Protectorate will take you to school each morning until this is resolved and you can go home," she continued. "If anything happens, I assure you, all hell is going to come down on whoever is responsible, and probably within minutes of it happening."

"Thank you ma'am," Dinah said smiling and the director just smiled. "When my mother gets back, can i talk to my parents for a while?"

"Of course," the director answered. "If you want I can take you to the conference room where your father is now. There is no reason you can't wait on her with him."

"I'd like that, thank you," Dinah answered.

"Alright then," the director said and Dinah got up to go with her. "Taylor, you can go home if you need to, and i'll talk to your father about this tomorrow sometime."

"It's alright ma'am," Taylor answered. "I already told him there was an issue and that I might need to stay for a few days. He wasn't exactly happy, but he understood." The director grimaced, but nodded before leading Dinah out of the room. "So Akane, what's going on with Mayumi?"

Saotome Mayumi*

"Mayumi!" a familiar voice shouted out, causing me to look in time to see my schoolmate Tokiwa Kyoko running up to me. "Have you seen Kaname today? Something happened last night and I haven't heard from her since she called me to ask for me to record a show for her."

"No," I answered as we turned the corner of the sidewalk and the backside of the school came into view. "Holy hell, what in the world happened here last night?" Destruction littered the ball field in front of us where some kind of fight had occurred. "You don't think Kaname was involved with this do you?" I asked.

"I don't know," Kyoko answered with some uncertainty. "Do you think it is connected to the incident down at the docks last night?"

"What happened down at the docks last night?" I was astounded.

"Some tinker's giant mecha either went crazy or was piloted through a portion of the docks district chasing a small truck." Kyoko explained. "Shot up the street a good bit, and crashed through some warehouses before another, smaller mecha stopped it. The smaller mecha disappeared but the Police department's Cataclysm Division is investigating the event according to this morning's news."

"Any word on the drivers of the truck?" I asked as we circled the damage to the area so that we could enter by the main doors.

"No," Kyoko answered. "But if Kaname was involved, that is probably where she was." Mayumi only grimaced as she went to change her shoes from her outdoor pair to her inside slippers. If she was involved, I hope that she is alright." both girls thought.

Aisha Laborn*

The day had been quiet, even with the shit that had gone down the night before, none of the gang bangers at school had done anything more than sneer at each other, and the Empire and ABB had been downright cooperative with each other when a Merchant had been involved. Shit was about to get real in the worst sense of things, I could feel it. Mom was too stoned to give a shit, and unfortunately her current boyfriend liked to get grabby when he got high, so I was sitting out in the building's hallway when the new tenant who had moved in down the hall showed up. The new guy was old, maybe even older than dad, but there was something about him that said he wasn't going to take anyone around here's shit either. Even from here I could see the muscles on his arm as he shifted the plastic grocery bags from one hand to the other before pulling out his key and opening the door one handed. As quietly as I could I slipped down the hall as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Looking inside I could see that the apartment was really bare bones, an old army cot, a pair of folding tables and what looked like it was possibly some kind of sound system sat against the opposite wall. "If you're going to try and get a look, you might as well come in and take a look around, might keep your friends alive so long as you can convince them that there isn't anything here worth their lives," the man said, never having turned around.

How did he know I was here? I thought as he finally turned around and looked at me. "Hi," I said, "I'm Aisha Laborn, I live down the hall with my mom in 22, what's your name?"

"Stephen Jones," the man grunted, "you going to come in or stay out there, cause I'm closing the door."

Oops, I thought and walked inside looking around. In one corner was a large metal safe, not the kind you would use for money, but the kind people kept the good guns in, and in the opposite corner next to the kitchenette was a ratty Lazy-boy with a turntable, a milk crate full of records and a set of headphones. "Kind of low end huh," I said, not thinking as I took in the effectively bare apartment.

"Yeah, I'm only here temporarily," Jones answered. "My bosses tasked me with finding someone and offering them a job. You want something to drink while you check out my place?"

"What are you willing to give me?" I asked with a grin before what I said registered. "That didn't come out how I meant it," I sighed.

"You have attitude kid," Jones said, turning around with a smile and leaning against the counter in the kitchenette. "How about some water, cause other than some milk or making a pot of coffee that's what I got."

"Bottled?" I asked and he nodded causing me to smile as I headed toward the easy chair and the crate of records. I preferred CD's as I could put the music on my phone but sometimes you just couldn't find certain songs outside of vinyl, and some of that was damn good. Looking on the turntable itself I stopped. "You have an actual Stitch Jones record?"

"Yeah," the guy said from about five feet away and I turned to look at him as he held out a cold bottle of water. "I actually have three of them, why?"

"Dude!" I said shocked, "do you not know how valuable those things are? I mean just the records are worth about five, and if it's signed, twice that. Damn shame he's dead, wasn't appreciated when he was trying to make it in the business, and died before he got popular."

"What do you mean before he got popular?" Jones asked as he leaned against the wall.

"You ask me that and you have three copies of Bionic Marine?" I asked. "Where the hell have you been for the last ten years?"

"Classified," Jones answered in what I was figuring out was his I mean business tone. "Why don't you tell me what you know about it."

"You got speakers for this thing?" I asked and he nodded. "Why don't you hook this up and put that record on while I tell you what I know. He shrugged and went into a closet, coming back with a pair of computer speakers that while they wouldn't make the album sound as good as the high end headphones, they would do well enough. "So, story goes that Jones was an active duty Marine back around the same time Scion shows up. He apparently dabbled in music, making extra pocket money playing the bars wherever he was stationed. At some point about 85 or so he had managed to save up enough money to fund recording an album and having five-hundred copies printed. Recon Records, as he called the company, produced exactly that one run of five-hundred copies of the album Bionic Marine, which flopped horribly on the charts." While I had been talking, Jones had unplugged the headphones and plugged in the speakers before turning them on and starting the record player. I continued as the strains of "Highway you sick Individual" started. "Word was with the flop of his only record, sales being poor and radio play being minimal, Jones left the music world behind and focused on his Marine career. He was declared lost in 1994 in Somalia during a capture operation that got a lot of Marines killed trying to take a parahuman warlord alive when, at least the Monday morning quarterbacks said that the UN should have leveled the damn block and been done with it."

"That's what I understand," Jones said, going back into the kitchenette and the fridge before pulling out a can of beer and popping the top. "How does that translate into demand for a record that was made nearly ten years before he died?"

"More about the way he died than anything else got it started apparently," I answered. "See, Jones had made Gunnery Sergeant in the intervening years, and the last anyone reported seeing him, he was using the fifty-cal that had been on an enemy truck to hold back the warlord's troops while his men retreated toward friendly forces. Had called the airstrike that had finally been authorized, right on top of him to take out the warlord who was leading his troops from the front. In the wake of that epic last stand, the media went digging into his past and found the album, which became an instant hit just off of the media push. It kept its fame for a while because the country's taste in music had changed, but between the fact that Jones had taken the master's with him when he left the recording studio and no one knew where he had put them, so they couldn't make any more copies. Because of that, those five-hundred albums became sought after relics of a man lost before he became famous."

I sighed as the album started its second and title track. "And you have three copies, that's between fifteen and thirty thousand dollars sitting in one of the shittiest apartments in one of the shittiest towns in the country." My part said, I sat down on the floor against the wall, nodding to the rhythm of the music as the water bottle in my hands sweated.

"Would you like one of them?" Jones asked, causing my head to snap up and find myself staring at a signed album in its original cover.

"You're joking right?" I asked in shock. "You just want to hand me an album that's worth ten-thousand dollars? For what?"

"Cause I can," he answered with a sad smile, "and you seem to like it. You wouldn't know all of that story if you didn't."

Carefully, gently, I took the album in my hands and stared in awe at the music in my hands. "Thank you," I said, a touch of awe coloring my voice. "You need anything around here, you let me know, I'll do what I can to help."

"I'll do that," he said with a smile and a chuckle.

10:30pm that night

"Shit," Coil cursed as his safe timeline collapsed as his car was run over by a rampaging giantess. The PRT had called almost as soon as his head hit his pillow, calling strike team leader Calvert in to help deal with the current crisis. The Empire were going almost door to door in the downtown area clearing out Merchant hideouts and pocket labs that had never even popped up on his radar. It was at this point his phone rang and answering he snapped out, "Report!"

"Sir," a guard that his computer identified as being at one of his downtown armories. "The Empire just hit us with twenty of their grunts. The people on the perimeter are currently holding them with small arms, but if they get one of their capes over here," the man's voice was cut short, and the line went dead with what sounded like a knife cutting through a watermelon.

"Damn it," Coil grumbled before splitting his timelines. In the first timeline he sent orders to all of his cache guards to collect what they could transport and blow up the rest, in the second he sent orders to the cache guards to hold firm while ordering the mercenaries in his base to reinforce his cache's. There weren't but three other locations downtown, all of them placed to allow his mercenaries to act at a moment's notice in any region of downtown so that he could exploit any opening there was.

That done, he sighed in the first timeline before returning to the locker room to change into his BDU's so that Strike Leader Calvert could report as needed. Fucking Kaiser and his Empire, he thought in both timelines as they worked the problems. Couldn't they just sit back and accept that their way of life is done?"

Aisha*

I woke to near total darkness, covered in a sheet and leaning against a wall with my forehead resting against my knees. "Where?" I muttered only to hear a male voice hush me.

"Something is going on out there," I heard Jones say softly, "any idea what it might be?"

"If you have a telescope or something I can look and probably tell you," I answered just as softly. He grunted and in the dim light that was coming through the blinds I could see a pair of binoculars being held out in front of me. Taking them I went over to the window and looked down to where I could hear the pops of gunfire. "Looks like the ABB are making a push against the Merchants," I said, only to jerk my head back as the bottom of the building across the street exploded. "Fuck," I cursed. "Well there's one less meth lab in the city, but now the damn building across the street is on fire."

"Anyone in there?" Jones asked quietly and I shrugged.

"Various homeless druggies," I answered, "mostly the meth addicts that were fighting…" I trailed off as I thought of somebody I knew that might be over there. "I need to check on something," I gasped, handing him the binoculars and running out the door. As I ran down the hall I pulled the apartment key out of my pocket before sliding to a stop at mom's door.

Unlocking and opening the door I looked inside only to sigh in relief. Mom was still passed out, where I had left her. John was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't a loss, so I pulled my cell phone out and started to dial 911 when I heard a very unmistakable roar. "Oh fuck, Lung's rampaging." I muttered as I hit the send button.

0800 PRT Command Center

Emily Piggot

I looked up and had to suppress a grin as Thomas Calvert staggered into the room and dropped into his seat at the conference table. It was obvious that the man had been running around all night trying to put out various fires, but after the man's actions in Ellisburg I had no sympathy for the slimy bastard. The fact that the higher ups had whitewashed and classified the whole debacle irritated the piss out of me, and the fact that this man got to murder his platoon leader and walk pissed me off. Was it petty to take joy in his pain? Yes, but then again, I never said I wasn't a petty person at times. "Since that's everyone," I said, looking around the table. "We might as well get started. Rennick, what do we know about what happened last night?"

John Rennick sighed before rubbing his face with both hands and standing up. "Frankly ma'am," he said, walking towards the front of the room and its large briefing screen. Both Kaiser and Lung surprised us. Both demonstrated an ability to move faster and more forcefully than we anticipated. Their intelligence was also more thorough and more flexible than I would have and did believe."

I grimaced at that, "What were the results of last night?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer.

"A large swath of the south docks, between the Dock Workers Union perimeter and Asia Town was destroyed, burned to the ground into practically nothing but ash," John Harden, one of the PRT Strike Team Leaders, answered. "Lung stayed around fifteen feet in height and walked a firebreak around the perimeter of what they intended to destroy, setting fire to the inside of the break. The destruction uncovered several unknown drug labs when the fires set them off, causing them to explode."

"Casualties?" I asked, horrified at the thought of how many people that could have killed.

"Surprisingly low," Harden answered, looking at his notes. "Bay General currently lists three dead, and fifteen wounded, mostly due to gunfire. The ABB were apparently going ahead of Lung, clearing people out of the buildings in his path. There were what we believe to be several weapons caches found in the remains though, going by the fact that they seemed to be Armalite frames with what could have been tinkertech mounted on the lower lug, we believe that they belonged to Coil instead of the Merchants."

I nodded and turned my attention to Michael Daystrom, the Strike Team Leader for the northern docks area. "I understand the North side docks stayed quiet?" I asked.

"Mostly," the man answered. "We only seemed to have to deal with the overflow from downtown, but that was enough to keep us on our toes even though it was effectively just over that invisible border into the industrial district." The man checked his notes before continuing. "That said, someone turned out or destroyed five of Coil's weapons caches in the area and two of his medical safe-houses while killing five mercenaries and wounding several more that we never found. Four empire grunts were also found dead in the ensuing mess, but none of their wounded despite the blood saying there were more."

"That would be because the Empire has Othala and Coil likely has his own medical personnel, meaning they don't have to go to the hospital and file a report," I said flatly before turning to Calvert. "What about downtown?"

The last team leader sighed before answering, "Downtown saw the Empire hit fifteen different sites, destroying five drug labs, eight weapons caches, and two medical sites," Calvert read off. "The drug labs had Merchants in zip ties in them while there were five dead mercenaries over the other ten sites."

"Jesus," I muttered, turning to Armsmaster. "And from the Protectorate?"

"Current analysis," he answered. "Lung, as previously noted, burned a good portion of the south docks area. What was missed in this is that all but one of those buildings had been slated for demolition for at least the last three years."

"And the exception?" I asked

"A mostly abandoned apartment building that had a methamphetamine lab in its basement," the cape answered. "And by the speed in which it became fully involved in the fire due to that lab's explosion, the building inspector responsible for it is being investigated for corruption because it obviously should have already been condemned. On the Empire side, the deaths were predominantly due to either Cricket or Hookwolf, with either Fenja or Menja accidentally causing a car accident as they moved across a highway and stepped on a car's hood. They stopped and removed the wounded, transporting them to Bay General, accounting for an additional four wounded civilians that were not a part of the earlier count."

"I get the feeling that it was a bit of an oops moment for them," Harden snarked.

"However it happened," Armsmaster continued. "She told the hospital to send her the bill, though how she expects them to do that I don't know."

I grunted half of a laugh at that. "What about Coil himself?"

"He never showed his face," Armsmaster answered, "and wherever his main base is, it apparently was never found by either group."

I nodded at that, "Good," I said looking around the table. "When that bastard sticks his head out of whatever hole he's hidden himself in, I want us there to cut it off for him. Now, who needs what?" The meeting went on like that for another half hour as we discussed the needs, wants and desires of each strike team and the local protectorate forces. Finally though everyone had said their piece and looking at my notes I dismissed them all. Now to see what I can pry out of Washington,{/i I thought as I walked to my office.

Thomas Calvert/Coil

Thomas Calvert sagged in his chair before putting his head down on his desk. As Coil, he knew all about his losses throughout the Bay area. The caches in the industrial district were still in place, and his main base was still intact and undisturbed, but there had still been millions of dollars' worth of equipment and quite a few lives that had been lost destroying those caches and safe-houses. Maybe I should call a meeting? he thought. Sommers Rock is accorded neutral territory and neither Kaiser nor Lung would… His thoughts were cut off as his "Coil" burner trilled in his pocket, causing him to fumble it out. Splitting the timeline, he answered it. "Yes?"

"Sir," a voice on the other end said, "Shultz here, I was just escorted off the premises." Shultz was one of his moles in the Empire, a MedHall employee that when he found out that his employers were Nazis decided to turn a quick buck instead of turning them in.

"Did they say why?" Calvert asked, he could almost hear the man on the other end of the call shaking his head.

"Bradley said that he had been instructed to cut out some dead wood and that my name was on the list," the man answered. "I haven't seen anyone I know also come out, but I might have been the very first, or the very last."

"Go home," Calvert said calmly as his email dinged several times. "I'll contact you in a week or so about somewhere to go."

"Understood," the other man said before cutting the connection as Calvert opened his email.

"Fuck me running," Calvert cursed as he looked through the five e-mails that had popped up through various remote accounts. It seemed that the Empire was clearing out his moles in one fell swoop, and as it dinged three more times, he could see that Lung was as well. "Well, if you think you can kick me out of this city you have another thing coming." He said checking over the e-mails and responding. Somehow Lung and Kaiser had decided to drive him out together, As if they don't break the unwritten rules themselves, he thought as he finished sending out his instructions. Now to find an appropriate patsy.

Horaki Hitomi

Cornell University,

Ithaca, New York

"Stop that," I muttered as the radio played softly in the background and I tried to focus on the physics book on my chest.

"Stop what?" My roommate Brigitte asked with a sigh, her breath tickling the arch of my left foot as she exhaled.

Sighing to myself I put my finger where I had left off before closing the book and glaring at my roommate and girlfriend. "Baby, I know you're bored, but if I don't pass this mid-term, my GPA is going to drop. If that happens my mother and grandmother are going to be up my ass with an orthoscope to figure out why that happened. If they decide that you are the reason for that drop in my grade, then they are going to forcibly separate us, by either dragging me back to Brockton Bay, or sending me to New York to study at NYU. Either way I will be forced to live with family, and they will force the situation of separating us."

"And if I follow you?" she asked, sitting up and letting her dark curls fall around her shoulders. She stretched at that point, the motion drawing my attention to her chest and the thin T-shirt she was wearing. It was one of my shirts, a gray short-sleeved one with writing in Latin on the front. "How would they enforce something like that if I moved to wherever they sent you?"

Sighing I sat up on the side of my bed and slid over next to her before wrapping her in a one-armed embrace. "They would watch me like a hawk to begin with," I told her as gently as I could. "And while you could get into Brockton Bay's university, I doubt you could manage NYU as you are almost on academic probation here as it is. Add to that, Brockton Bay is worse than that bunch over in Port Chester." She blinked and gave me a questioning look, so I elaborated, "PCU has Cause-heads," I remarked, commenting on the people there that would find a high profile, international cause to protest about. The fact that they only stuck with that cause for a week or so tended to make them the laughing stocks of any political movement. "Brockton has Skinheads, and they aren't exactly forgiving of white women dating outside their race, let alone being anything other than straight."

"So you've told me in the past," she said snuggling into me. "The problem is that I'm bored, and my muse just isn't cooperating. That means that the story that I owe Michaelson isn't happening either. Add to that it's too damn cold to do anything outside and almost all the food is gone from the building."

I groaned at that as it reminded me that I hadn't had anything since my breakfast of two pop-tarts and a cup of coffee. I looked at the clock on my bedside table as I reached for my bookmark and noted that it was just past two pm. Putting the laminated photo of Brigitte in the pages of the textbook I slumped. "I understand," I told her. "It doesn't help that not only have the dining halls been shut down because of the snow fall, but the building parking lot is nothing but a block of ice and everyone is out of food." It was at that point an idea hit me, the solution to everyone's problems, or at least ours until the snowplows could clear and salt the roads. "Baby, get the notebook and pens from my desk, we're about to make a supply run."

"How?" Brigitte asked, perking up, She'll even brave the cold, at least some, to get out of this building for a while. I thought before answering.

"Last fall I helped the maintenance department build a mini-snowcat," I told her with a smile. "I know where the spare key to the building where it's kept is, and the key to start it as well. We can borrow it, make a supply run to a few stores and then bring it back. We'll be dorm heroes."

"You get the transport," she said, getting up and grabbing the notebook I had mentioned and a handful of pens. "I'll see who has cash and what they want." I nodded and she went running down the hall as I stood and went for my parka and snow boots. The maintenance building for this part of the campus wasn't far, but it was below freezing out there, maybe even below zero and I wasn't getting frostbite.

"What's this thing?" Brigitte asked as she slid into the cab of the makeshift snowcat and shut the door. Once she was in, I pushed the twin throttles up to about thirty percent and started us moving for Thurston Avenue and the nearest bridge to cross Falls Creek.

"Maintenance had an old Mitsu truck that the engine and frame were shot in, and bought a pair of used snowmobiles," I told her as I navigated the campus with its mounds of snowed in cars and open fields and streets. "I helped them meld the three together and then tested it for them after the first snowfall. You can't get her going at more than a fast walk speed, but she keeps the wind off while you go, and she's good for snow and ice."

Brigitte nodded and then we spent the rest of the trip to the grocery store mostly in companionable silence, her helping me navigate the snow shrouded streets as we went to the Universal Deli and Grocery on Eddy Street. As we made our way down College Street and crossed Cascadilla Creek though, there was a flash in the cloud cover that seemed to throw a shadow up in front of us. "What the," were the only words I got out before the world went topsy turvy and I blacked out.

Taylor*

School Tuesday was fairly peaceful, with only a handful of people commenting on the fashion show or the diner incident. The idea to gender-flip the play had apparently taken off and both the Glee club and the Drama club had agreed to do so. With both clubs backing the idea it was getting the go ahead despite "concern" from certain quarters that at the mere thought of the idea had erupted in outrage. The bus ride after lunch and fourth period was equally quiet and we could see the front of the PRT building being put back together in the wake of Sunday's attack. I waved at a few of the workmen that were there that I recognized from the DWU before going inside, only to practically run into Akane and Katie's back as she stared at the waiting area's television. "I need to call Aunt Hikari," Akane said as she pulled out her phone allowing me to step close enough to see the headline at the bottom of the screen. My response would have gotten my pay docked for using foul language on any other day.

"Yes?" Emily Piggot snarled as she jabbed the speaker button on her phone

"Director," Taylor's voice said from her phone. "The three of us are in the building and heading for our area, where do you need us."

Oh thank god, Emily thought as the keys clacked under her fingers. "Suit up and take Rune's picnic table to get Viewpoint and Vista," she snapped out. I'll call their school and have them prepared for extraction. Coil might try and use this incident at Cornell as a distraction. Get the two of them and get back here because you're deploying to Cornell to assist as soon as you get back with the two of them.

"Understood ma'am," Taylor answered. "We'll be airborne in ten minutes or less."

Emily hit the end button closing the line even as Taylor seemed to cut the call from her end as well. Thank God for good subordinates, Emily thought as she one handedly punched another number into the phone and hit the speaker button again. "Arcadia Middle School, this is the front office, to whom should I direct the call?"

"Ms. Murphy," the director said calmly, "this is Director Piggot, I need you to pull Missy Byron and Dinah Alcott from their classes for emergency pickup."

"Already done," the school secretary said with a smug tone. "Though in the future you should have your troopers come inside in civilian clothes, not full kit. He almost gave me a heart attack and there would be a lot of questions from people not in the know about why a PRT Trooper was picking up those two students."

Emily froze, "So you're saying a PRT Trooper already picked the two girls up?" she asked.

"They did," the secretary answered. "Is there a problem?"

"Not for you," Emily answered before dropping the call and growling, "Not at the moment anyway. We'll see what an investigation turns up." Punching another number into the phone she only waited until the other end picked up before snapping her words out. "Get airborne yesterday, Coil has managed to kidnap both Dinah Alcott and Missy Byron."

Thomas Calvert*

The Thomas Calvert in the timeline where he was listening in on Emily's call to the chief director started cursing a blue streak in a loud and demanding voice, shooting the three people who barged into his office before the built-in foam sprayers targeted him and he discontinued the rampage. His problems were probably legion but for the moment the biggest problem was a mercenary captain who took too much initiative. The head of his mercenaries had, as usual, been watching the news when the news broke about Cornell, and had the brilliant idea to use the disaster as a distraction to abduct Dinah Alcott. At almost any other point he would have given the man a bonus and gone with it, the problem of course being that there was no safe way to go about it.

Again splitting the timeline, Thomas continued to mentally curse his Mercenary Captain as he used his disposable timeline to continue listening to the director call Washington. Emily was pissed, and the fact that he actually had to be here today, because of the incident the night before meant that he didn't have a safe timeline to use to keep the Merc Captain from using his own initiative. "Chief-Director," Emily Piggot said in her office as she talked to the PRT's Chief-Director, a woman named Rebecca Costa-Brown. "I'm calling for an Inquisition, both PRT and Protectorate as soon as the personnel can be arranged."

"Emily, Cornell has us all in a pinch at the moment…" the Chief-Director stated calmly only to be interrupted by Piggot.

"Ma'am," Emily practically growled, "Right now the majority of my contribution to helping in Ithaca is busy searching for two of their teammates while the rest are already on site thanks to Strider. I only need two senior Protectorate members, one each Director level and Assistant Director level PRT officers for classified information and two strike teams to go after whomever they deem necessary to take down. Ma'am, at this point I'll take James Tagg running this thing, if need be, but I need this cleaned up now so that I can keep everything from exploding in our faces."

"What do you mean?" The Chief-Director asked, computer keys clacking from her side of the connection.

"If my ninja team finds the two missing teens before I can get them support," Emily replied calmly. "They are going to call in New Wave and the Chinese Amazons that are here in Brockton for support."

"Fuck," Thomas said, even as the keyboard's clacking from the other end of the phone line stopped.

"Emily, I want an explanation to that last statement," the chief director said coldly.

"My niece and I found out Sunday night that she is related to Kenta Horaki and through him to one of the core elder families of the Chinese Amazons," Emily explained. "This is also the same person who trained Akane while she was in Japan, so knowing that we are compromised, she might call her cousin for reinforcements to help rescue her teammates." Emily explained.

Thomas had to give Emily credit, the woman didn't pause nor quibble over her niece, and thus technically her, by removes, being related to the Chinese Amazons. Costa-Brown's response was just as unequivocable. "Have them do so specifically," the Chief-Director instructed. "It would be a good thing to try and entice them into working with us instead of possibly being against us."

Calvert blinked in shock, as he was sure Emily was doing as well. "And the Inquisition ma'am?" she asked.

"I'll get the necessary teams there as fast as I can," Costa-Brown responded. "Tagg will be in charge, but the team will be bare minimal. Your people will be expected to help once each of them is individually cleared. I don't know who other than Tagg I can get at this time though, so I don't know who else will come. Otherwise, good luck."

"Thank you, ma'am," Emily said as the line clicked closed and Thomas killed that timeline with muttered, "Fuck!"

Ithaca, NY*

What the hell were they working on? Legend thought as he stared at the crater of what remained after the explosion. It looked like the results of a sixteen-inch naval broadside all hitting the same spot, decimating the buildings around it. One of the buildings to the north had been a chemical research lab and was currently burning merrily, a plume of black smoke pouring out of the rubble, evidence of the danger. To the south, people were working to pull survivors out of one of the dorm halls while glass and debris littered the ground around them.

"Medic!" a voice called, snapping Legend out of his thoughts, causing him to turn around and face the source. What he found was a bruised and battered Asian woman dragging a makeshift sled with something or someone laid out on it. "Gods damn it, someone get me a damn medic over here or a mover to take us to Brockton Bay now, I don't know how long she'll last if someone doesn't see her now."

One of the PRT medics that had just arrived from Albany ran over with their bag and started looking over the woman that was standing there. "Her not me asshole," she snapped, pointing at the sled. "I can walk and talk, and if I find who caused this, I'm going to skin them alive after breaking every damn bone in their body." Moving over to one side of the sled, the woman dropped to her knees next to it and spoke just loud enough for Legend to hear her say, "Brigitte baby, talk to me."

The medic moved from the woman to the sled itself and the woman that was apparently on it, after a minute of working though, he shook his head and said something to the Asian woman. The next thing Legend knew he was picking himself up off the ground where he had fallen. Looking around he could see the woman had collapsed, her head down on the sled, an arm seemingly lashed out for the PRT Medic who was looking at the collapsed woman with fear in their face. Walking over, Legend looked at the medic and reached a hand down to assist them up. "You know grief takes some people hard, Sergeant," Legend offered. "She very obviously cared for the woman there, she was already dead I take it?"

The medic nodded, "Maybe by a minute or two," the sergeant, another woman, offered. "The problem being of course that with that piece of metal stuck through her chest I couldn't do anything about it.

Legend nodded, "Go on back to the search then," he said gently. "Hopefully this one won't be the last one we find alive." The sergeant nodded and walked off back to her unit, circling the crater that had once been the Newman Accelerator Building and was now a crater.

Akane*

"Anything?" I asked for what seemed the hundredth time as we circled the area in three block spreads, searching for the flea that Taylor had placed on Dinah so she would always be able to find her. I was worried, not just for Missy or Dinah, but for Hitomi, the cousin that I didn't remember meeting who was attending Cornell and not answering her cell phone. Apparently, someone had set off a large explosion in the school's High Energy Physics lab and it gutted a section of the campus. A simple and plausible answer for the unanswered phone calls was that the explosion had set off an Electro-Magnetic Pulse that fried any electronics within its blast range. Either that or she had forgotten the phone in her dorm room and was kept from going back for it by the police and PRT cordon as they looked for the bomber. The worst-case scenario was that she was dead in the blast. I didn't want to lie to Aunt Hikari but that was as valid a chance as anything else that had been suggested. Aunt Emily wanted us there as fast as we could recover Dinah and Missy. She believed that between the five of us we could help rescue efforts, but of course Coil had to…

"Found her," Taylor said interrupting my train of thought and pointing down and to one side. "Over one more street on a bench." She continued.

Dinah and Missy's phones had been shut off as soon as they were leaving the school and we hadn't found them yet. "Dinah or Missy?" I asked as Katie banked the wooden picnic table over another street in the direction Taylor had indicated and as we flew lower, I could see a shock of blonde hair sticking out from under an old army jacket that was covering someone on a bus stop bench in the middle of the block.

"Missy," Taylor answered, visibly suppressing her temper. "If we can get her to wake up, I will be able to search an even larger area."

"Or treat Coil to a couple of the great plagues of Egypt," I snarked with a vicious grin. "I'll call Amy and see if she can't meet us in the rotation of the search somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan," Katie said as she set the table, top first, on the ground before Taylor and I jumped off and collected her. "Put her in the center so that she doesn't accidentally take a header off this thing."

Taylor gave Katie a sloppy salute after setting the girl down. "We we Mon Capitan," she snarked. "Now if you would be so kind as to take us back up so that we can resume our search pattern?"

Katie chuckled, shaking her head as she lifted the table and us up into the air. "How are we going to wake her up?" she asked once we were back above the majority of the buildings once more.

"I'll call Amy and see if she's free," I said pulling out my phone and pulling up Amy's number on the contact list. Hitting the call button, it rang twice before a familiar voice answered.

"Amy's phone," Vicky Dallon said answering the phone. "Her hands are a little busy at the moment, whatcha need Akane?"

"Someone kidnapped Vista and a new Ward we're currently calling Viewpoint," I told her. "We just found Vista, doped up and sleeping on a bus stop bench under an old jacket. Once we find Viewpoint's location, we're going to need reinforcements and having Amy clean Vista's system out so that we can get them where we need to quickly and quietly would really help."

"Where are you now?" Vicky asked before passing the information to someone else that was right there.

"Currently about a hundred and fifty feet in the air flying a search grid out from downtown to try and find the flea Skitter left on Viewpoint."

"A part of me wants you to explain that to me," Vicky said softly after passing the information to Amy. "They are evacuating the severely wounded from Ithaca to Brockton General." Vicky said after a moment. "So Amy is going to be a while. I'll call you as soon as she is done, or you can swing by here and meet us up on the helipad, your call.

"Thanks Vicky," I said. "And if you run into a girl by the name of Hitomi Horaki, let her use your phone to call her mother, it'll be local I promise."

"Your cousin?" she asked, "I'll keep an eye out."

"Thanks again Vicky, I said.

"That's what friends are for." She replied before hanging up.

Smiling I put my phone away only for Taylor to look up with a feral grin. "Got them!" she declared.

Ithaca NY

Screams came from the area where the lightly wounded had been put in tents and Legend's head snapped that direction only to see a blue and silver Eastern Dragon rise out of the tentage. It was around twenty feet long and Legend had an idea who it might be, so he flew over. "Miss," he called out, the dragon's head snapping towards him immediately. "Everything will be ok," the dragon gave him a very level look that seemed to say, "Yeah right," and caused him to sigh. "I mean, damn it, could you come over to the crater so that we're not causing the wounded to panic?" The dragon gave him a very bland and dry look before nodding and flying over to the edge of the crater where she settled into a motionless hover at the edge. "I'm sorry," Legend said, setting his feet down on the ground in front of her. "That was the wrong thing to say, especially to someone who just lost someone they care about. Now, you've triggered as a result of that, and because of your transformation I have reason to believe that you are either related to, or at least stay in somewhat close proximity to Lung. Would I be correct in that?"

The dragon nodded again, so Legend continued. "Good," the hero said. "That means that we can get in touch with him fairly quickly. That said, if you could calm down, that would probably allow you to change back." The dragon took in a long breath through its nostrils as if to roar, to yell and vent its anger and disappointment, before suddenly stopping. "Is something wrong?" Legend asked, to which the dragon held up a single talon before starting to scratch something into the glass that lined the crater. A moment of scratching later the dragon was making a beeline for the remains of the lab that had exploded, snuffling like a hound on a scent. "What did she smell?" he asked himself before floating over to where he could see what she had been scratching into the glass. Looking he found a phone number which after fishing his phone out, he called.

"This had better be important," a familiar voice said from the other end of the line.

"Lung," he responded, "it's Legend. A young lady that has triggered and turned into a dragon gave me this number. But she can't seem to change back to normal at the moment," he continued. "Could you come up here and help?"

"Oh her mother is going to be so damn pissed," the villain said, letting out a rueful chuckle. "I'll be there as quickly as I can," he continued. "Tell her," Lung paused and suddenly Legend's attention was drawn back to the young woman in question as she let out a roar to challenge the other dragon and started flinging rubble from the last parts of the exploded lab, exposing a large black cylinder.

"I'll tell her you're coming as quickly as you can," Legend told Lung. "She just uncovered something that may hold a survivor or two." With that Legend hung up his phone and pulled out his radio. "Get medics back to the crater, we may have survivors from the lab itself," before flying over to see what could be done.

Claire Redmoon sucked in a deep, full breath as the cap to the cylinder where she had been trapped popped off. Unfortunately, she immediately screamed it out as a draconic muzzle poked into the opening and showed its teeth. This day officially sucks she thought as she mentally went over what had happened. She had shown up late to her internship at the lab, practically frozen because of the snow, only to be yelled at by Doctor Peterson, (and gods forbid you forget to use his title of Doctor.) Only to be put checking the nitrogen in the data server instead of watching the fusion reactor. Not that the reactor would be doing anything special, just making energy to provide enough power to the particle accelerator to get a measurable reaction. And the data server was secure, as in you either had to be a football linebacker to lift the hatch, in which case you wouldn't fit in the claustrophobic old well, or use the electric hoist to pull the lid off. Cold, dark, and barely enough room for Claire's narrow shoulder width within the internal casing, Claire had climbed down the inside of what had originally been a colonial era well.

It had been found while contractors were working to expand the lab's basement area, a six-foot wide, forty-foot deep well that had been partially filled in with trash from the late colonial-era before being capped, sealed and buried under the excess soil from another building's foundations. The history department had predictably gone nuts, taking over the excavation, removing the entirety of the old stone well and its contents, leaving a ten-foot by ten-foot hole, forty-feet deep. The combined sciences departments had decided to do something with the hole, and thus the "Deep Core Server Project" had been built with the thought that if anything happened, there would, at the worst, be a record of what had been accomplished. Thermo-resistant tiles superior to what was used on the space shuttle covered the outside of the double-walled steel cylinder and the four-inches of lead lined faraday cage that was sandwiched between the two pieces of half-inch hardened steel. Then they lined the inside of the steel cylinder with a polymer one, before lowering in the polymer capsule with the data core itself within. Even the core itself was the very best non-tinker tech that the college could produce. Sixteen hollow-centered disks, each with four tera-byte hard drives and four 6-core 3.4 gigahertz processors, all running in parallel recorded everything the fusion reactor and the particle accelerator did. The core was cooled by pumping liquid nitrogen through a heat exchanger in the very top of the capsule, while a nitrogen atmosphere kept the parts from corroding. Right next to the port for the plumbing in and out of the heat exchanger was a gauge port for the nitrogen atmosphere that had to be checked daily and the data cable that was fed by the computers in the control room.

Something had happened at about the same time the San Francisco native reached the bottom of the cylinder that had caused the entire thing to shake, the hatch to slam shut, and the limited lighting that was mounted to the ladder to go out causing Claire to curse slightly. There was an emergency phone, a landline installed at the top of the cylinder in case someone got stuck inside, so with the phone in her front shirt-pocket to provide light, she climbed the ladder again, only to find the phone line dead and the top of the cylinder warm. "Well shit," she muttered. It was four hours later when the air was starting to get a little thick, that she had heard something scratching and scrabbling around the tube.

"And that's how you found me," she said to Legend as she wrapped herself once again in the blanket and took another swallow of her coffee while the silver and blue dragon hovered near her. The dragon had popped the end off the data core's protective tube like it was the top of a Pez dispenser before gently sliding her, and then the data core itself out for the PRT and Protectorate to inspect. "The good news," Claire continued as she cut a glimpse back at the destruction of the lab. "Is that back at the first of the year, the University started running a constant backup of the security footage to the core. Give the computer guys a couple of hours and they'll have you access to that footage more than likely."

"I'm glad," Legend said nodding. "We need to know if this was an act of terrorism or just some truly unfortunate accident, and if the latter, why."

"SSSStackpoled," the dragon hissed from where she lay not five-feet away from Claire. "No acccciident."

"She's right," Claire said regarding the dragon for a moment. "Fusion reactors, contrary to science fiction, do not explode, they simply shut down, unless you overload them.

"Which means doing this intentionally," Legend growled and both Claire and the dragon nodded.

"A fusion reactor is a very hard thing to keep running to begin with," Claire said, somewhat lost in thought. The Stackpole detonation that occurred had to not only be forced but reinforced as the system will constantly seek equilibrium. You must actively overload the magnetic containment field and then make the system continue to build power until it blows." The red-haired science intern shook her head. "Whoever did this, did it intentionally and was there the entire time."

"Which means either suicide," Legend said contemplatively, "or a Master."

Brockton Bay*

Emily Piggot*

"Three hours," I muttered under my breath as I watched the draco-tech shuttlecraft come in for a landing on the upper level landing pad of the PRT Headquarters. It had been three hours since I had given Akane the clearance to bring in the local group of Chinese Amazons on the recovery of Dinah Alcott, and three hours since I had asked the Chief Director for an inquisition to go through my command. Akane would do what was necessary to save her teammate, of that I had no question, now it was time to find out how deep the rot had penetrated my command.

First out of the shuttle were a half-dozen troopers in full kit, followed by Kamil Armstrong and two parahumans. This was the group that was coming from Boston, the next nearest command and someone who understood what it meant to have to deal with the insanity that came from having a parahuman family. One of the two parahumans with him was his adopted son Weld, a young man whose power caused him to absorb any metal he came in contact with and make it a part of his body. The other parahuman was an adult, and probably a member of Boston's Protectorate team.

A flash on the pad heralded the arrival of the other group of troopers along with James Tagg and another Protectorate member. This one I knew about as the woman was probably the only surviving resident from Eagleton, Tracer. As the two groups formed up on the pad I stepped through the door and went to greet them.

"James, Kamil," I said as I approached them.

"Blue-delta-three-six," Tagg challenged before I got within ten feet of them.

"Green-alpha-four-two," I replied, "Soylent Green is people."

Both men nodded before stepping forward offering their hands. Shaking both James smiled, "Emily," he said as I shook his hand. "It's good to know that whatever this is, it didn't actually get you."

I smirked, "You don't get my chair that easily James," I replied. "We have one hell of a clusterfuck here though. Have your people been briefed?"

Both of the men shook their heads, "All I know is that you called an Inquisition due to a kidnapping, no specifics," Kamil answered.

"That's more than I know," Tagg said with a grimace. "Why don't you brief everyone, and we'll get to work.

I nodded, "Alright people, gather round," I said, pitching my voice to carry over the wind. "Four hours ago, a man in full PRT Trooper kit abducted our two youngest Wards from their school. The man had authentic looking credentials, and the password of the day, as well as the sign and countersign to verify his identity to the Wards themselves. Currently most of the Wards and Protectorate are either in Ithaca helping with that incident, or at home, safe. The exception is our ninja team who were going to go to Ithaca to help until this occurred, and have currently tracked the kidnappers to their base. Because we cannot trust my local troopers at the moment, they are using other means to secure the perimeter before recovering their teammates. Our job is to ensure that when they do so and return, we can make sure that the bastards that did this do not escape punishment. To that measure, we are going to go through this facility from top to bottom and remove each and every listening device that we find after tracing it back to its origin." I looked at them closely. "I want the bastard that did this, and I want everyone to know you do not steal our Wards, am I understood?"

"YES MA'AM," the eighteen troopers shouted, causing me to nod.

"Good," I snarled. "Let's get to work, James, Kamil?"

Both men nodded but it was Tagg who stepped forward and started barking orders, "Alright," he snarled, "you heard the Lady and you know the drill, assholes and elbows, At the run and move your ass," he finished leading the troopers into the building. The group would do a physical inventory of equipment and search the trooper areas before moving up the building to assist with a physical search for listening devices. The three parahumans stayed where they were with Kamil, who turned to me smiling.

"You still have that touch Emily," the man said chuckling. "You know who Weld is," the young man nodded to her, "and I think Tracer is well known enough that I don't have to really introduce her." The strawberry-blonde cape, a striker disguised as a tinker, nodded to me. "But allow me to introduce a newer member of my protectorate team, Spade."

I turned to look at the other parahuman and smiled, "Spade is it," I said with a nod. "Thinker?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered, his voice approaching Barry White levels of smooth whiskey baritone. "Post-cog with a degree in criminology from NYU. I believe that between Tracer and myself, we can find out who is behind your problems."

"The who, is likely to be Coil," I answered. "But finding out who the leaks are in the office is the most important thing as since they will sell information to one, they might sell it to others."

"I understand ma'am," the cape replied.

"What about me sir," Weld asked looking around.

"You are here to debrief the Wards when they return," Kamil answered. "Any word on that Em…" he was cut off as an explosion boomed out over the city and a thin pillar of fire rose over where I knew there to be a parking garage for the downtown area.

"At a guess," I replied, my grin going feral. "Akane either just cleaned out the nest, or else caused a whole mountain of paperwork to be sent my way.

"Then I suppose we better get started," Kamil said, and I led the way into the building and my office.

2 hours earlier-

Vista*

Reality returned with a blink from the haze that I had found myself in. Continuing to blink, I looked around me, blue sky above me and five familiar faces, none of whom set me at ease as to what might have happened. "Coil got her didn't he?" I asked as I sat up and looked at Taylor, Akane, Katie, Vicky and Amy. "How deep is this shit?"

"Deep enough that Aunt Emily called for an inquisition from D.C." Akane answered. "What do you remember?" she asked.

"We were called up to the office where there was a PRT Trooper in full kit waiting," I answered as I remembered. "Dinah and I walked out of the school and climbed into the back of the standard unmarked van where probably half of a strike team sat, all but the driver in full kit, and the driver still had a helmet on. The doors closed and then there was a hiss along with a sharp pain against my shoulder, then nothing."

"Someone hit you with an air-injector of propofol, knocking you out before they took Dinah and your phones and stripped the latter," Amy grumped. "Thankfully with what is going on at Cornell they have stopped sending the wounded, or else I wouldn't be able to help."

"And you've found them?" I asked, looking around at the others, Taylor just looked smug as Katie and Akane nodded.

"We know where they are and have backup coming to contain them," Akane replied. "Backup that Coil is less than likely to have an in with."

"Who's that?" I asked curious as to who that could be.

"The Chinese Amazons," she answered.

Kamil Armstrong

Three hours later:

There was a hush over the conference room as I sat at the head of the table. On my right were seven teenagers, five of whom were Wards, and on my left were either their parents, or a person to represent such plus Armsmaster to represent the local Protectorate. "What the hell is keeping Rebecca," the other person, who was teleconferencing into this meeting growled as she apparently worked on paperwork to make use of the time. "I could have walked to her office by now, read her the riot act, and made my demands plain."

"I don't know madame," I said trying to calm the enraged national director of the Youth Guard. "She was in a briefing about Cornell when she was contacted, and she still…" I cut off as the television screen at the other end of the table stopped simply showing the enraged bureaucrat to split into quadrants. Dragon's virtual avatar sat in one, obviously there to provide technical information that Armsmaster might not have currently, and the third held the Chief Director. The occupant of the fourth panel however, had everyone in the room jumping to their feet. "Good evening, Mister President," I said looking to both sides of the table. The Wards and Armsmaster were standing at something akin to attention, as were Emily and Montmorency Burns. The other parents, while not at attention, were at least showing the man the due respect of his office.

"Good evening everyone," Barack Obama said with a genial smile. "Please, everyone sit down so we can see what the problem is and solve it."

"Mister President," the head of the Youth Guard said from her office everyone took their seats, "I don't see why you are here. The matter will be well in hand in but a moment." The tone she used was like that of a grandparent trying to direct a recalcitrant child into doing something other than what they wanted, almost like she was trying to get him to eat his Brussel sprouts. She then turned her attention to the Chief Director. "The local PRT illegally used Wards in a combat situation. The appropriate fines are being leveled against them and I expect to see Emily Piggot fired immediately for doing so."

"No," the Chief Director answered calmly, and the entire crowd watched the Youth Guard director go wide eyed at what she would probably call blatant disobedience. "Director Piggot ordered this at my direction," she continued. "Which I did because, as she noted when giving me an update and requesting an internal review, that the four of them would only wait so long before going into the situation on their own, with or without support or permission."

The entire room froze at that declaration, as they had fully expected the Chief Director to throw Emily out as a sacrificial lamb. "They are children," the Youth Guard director snarled at the PRT Chief. "They are in the Wards to learn how to use their powers safely, not to be used as soldiers and shock troops to break villains or mercenaries."

"Vista," the Chief Director said in a calm voice. "How many of Coil's mercenaries did you have to fight when you recovered Viewpoint?"

"None, Chief Director," the youngest Ward answered, sitting at attention.

"No No," The PRT head continued. "How many of Coil's parahumans did you have to disable to recover Viewpoint?"

"None, Chief Director," the lead ninja answered from behind her mask. "We encountered neither mercenaries nor parahumans in our operation."

"How many people did Coil have in his base Skitter?" the Chief Director asked.

"Approximately three-hundred and fifty, ma'am," the young master answered. "Four of which were right outside Viewpoint's cell."

"Viewpoint was unconscious when you found her," the Chief Director continued, looking at a piece of paper. "How did you get her out, past Coil's mercenaries, without fighting them?"

"I used my table to fly us through the vents ma'am," Rune answered. "Vista expanded them and Skitter directed us with her insects. We recovered Viewpoint and then exited the same way we came in.

"At any time," the director finally asked. "Were you in direct physical confrontation with Coil or his mercenaries?"

"No ma'am," Skitter answered. "Between the use of our powers, the enemy never knew we were there until I demanded their surrender." Turning her attention to the Youth Guard director who was about to start speaking, Skitter cut her off, continuing with, "and I know this because I was listening into their communications the entire time."

"And how did you do that while demanding their surrender?" the ancient jurist asked petulantly.

"I don't appreciate your tone there director," the masked man who was Skitter's father growled, only to be echoed by the other parents at the table. It was Emily of course who kept the situation from turning into a glaring contest between the parents and the Youth Guard.

"How did you communicate with the mercenaries Skitter?" Emily asked, drawing the conversation back to where it needed to be.

"I built an insect swarm clone in the commanding officer's office and told them they had an hour before they could either surrender, be swarmed or gassed. I won't repeat his response."

"Why didn't you swarm them right then?" the President asked conversationally, reminding everyone that he was still present in the meeting.

"I tried to sir," Skitter answered. "The problem was they were ready for that and broke out the bug bombs, I barely had enough time to start the emergency fuel tanks for the generators purging before I ran out of insects."

"And why did you do that?" the Youth Guard director asked, her curiosity quite evident.

"Because without that fuel source," Armsmaster replied, speaking for the first time in the meeting. They only had power for about sixty hours. Without that power source, they would not be able to filter their air or pull water for any use without opening their doors and ending the Endbringer lockdown status.

"Armsmaster," the President said with a nod. "What have you been able to find out?"

"The base was a repurposed Endbringer shelter that had been taken off the books," the local Protectorate lead answered. "Records indicate that while it was started, it was decertified for use because of structural issues. Furthermore, the gas did not vent properly, though we don't know yet if that was intentional or a matter of unfinished work due to its repurposing. What we do know is that the shelter itself, as well as the parking garage above about half of it had been rigged for demolition prior to their completion. The parking garage came down on top of the entire structure, spreading its decks like a stack of playing cards being fanned out. It was used to cap the entire shelter and ensure that any recovery was hindered."

"That doesn't bode well," I muttered as I looked around the table. "Quite frankly, it currently looks like Coil is still on the loose, I would normally offer all of you the hospitality of the PRT building but currently we don't know how deeply we've been compromised."

"I can take everyone…" Skitter's father started to offer, only to be interrupted by a loud explosion and the sense that the building had just shuddered, if ever so slightly. "What the hell was that?" I asked my finger finding the intercom button leading to the desk outside.

"Sir," a voice answered, probably one of the two troopers outside on guard duty. "A team was sent to escort Strike Leader Calvert to medical for his MRI. When they opened the door an explosive went off sending shrapnel through the outer office area. At the same time, his office window blew out. We have him on external camera rappelling down the exterior of the building, but we have several wounded trapped in confoam and bleeding out."

"That rat bastard," Emily snarled as I looked at Panacea and Glory Girl. The healer nodded almost forcefully as she stood, her sister wrapping an arm around her and flying the two of them out of the room. "Girls," she continued looking at the three ninjas and Vista with a shark like grin. "All I need is for him to be alive." The four girls smiled back at their director and left, even as the Youth Guard director started to protest.

"Ruth," the President said in a flat tone. "Shut up."

Thomas Calvert cursed his luck as he reached street level and stepped out of the swiss seat that he had used to rappel down from his office. For some definitions of lucky, there had been no one beneath the window when the charge he had set up to shatter the window went off. That meant that there were no injured laying in the street to distract emergency services from trying to chase him down. He had tried twenty different times to escape the office quietly, but none of them had even made it out of the building, and when his cameras had seen the fire team coming to collect him, he had set the second charge and gotten under his desk. The claymore mine that he had hidden in the front of the desk had done an admirable job of taking out the people that had come to collect him, including puncturing a confoam tank and blocking his office door with the resulting pile. Now though, a short but quick jog was putting distance between him, and the scene of his escape and he would soon be recovering Tattletale and his money so that he could try again elsewhere. Atlanta was a proper mess, maybe he could pull this off there.

He was about to stop his jog, stepping out of a crosswalk and up onto the sidewalk when suddenly he was tripping and falling flat on his face. "The director would like a word with you," a voice buzzed from behind him even as a pair of feet landed just out of reach in front of him. "Hello Coil," Akane Takamachi said as she reached down and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He could feel his power disappearing even as she drug him to his knees, glaring at him over her mask. "I would like to have a few words with you as well."

In a nondescript café on the boardwalk a teenage blonde girl sat before a laptop and giggled. She was free once more, and more to the point, she was rich enough to enjoy it, even after giving her teammates an equal cut. The blackmail material she had on the computer was another thing, something that, if she kept it and stayed in the area, could make her even more money. At the same time however, it was still of limited use if she didn't follow Coil's original plans, so after a moment of thought she composed a short email and attached the information before sending it off through the internet. She hoped that Armsmaster and Dragon appreciated the information.

Work done with for the foreseeable future, she cleaned up where she sat before packing up her things and leaving. As she walked towards the bus stop at the south end of the Boardwalk she pulled out her phone and dialed a number from her contacts list. "Brian," she said when the person on the other end answered. "Get Aisha and the rest of the team, I have an announcement to make."

Aftermaths*

Ithaca, Ny

Jerome Martushkin looked up from the pair of people he was standing guard over as a pair of headlights flashed over them. Legend had detailed him and his partner Illya Potemkin to watch over the pair as the intern slept in the embrace of the eastern dragon's coils. "Illya," he subvocalized. "It's your turn." Legend had told the pair that only he or Lung were to disturb them, and even then, to be cautious about it.

"Yeah, Yeah," the woman replied, walking out to stop the car before it even turned into the parking lot for the destroyed laboratory. Jerome watched as the car did turn into the driveway of the parking lot, before stopping to talk to Illya. At that point it should have either reversed out or turned around and left. Instead, it simply pulled forward and parked. Jerome could see why even as Illya's voice rose over the radio clearly. "Legend this is Dispatch-two," she said as a mountain of a man in a metal mask stepped out of the driver's seat. "Your guest has arrived and is about to initiate contact with Sleeping Beauty and her guardian."

"Understood, Dispatch-two," the hero's voice answered. "Please relate my condolences to the guardian and ask all three to join me in the command post. If they agree, escort them; if Lung and Guardian wish to leave, allow it. Sleeping Beauty is needed for image identification however."

"Understood Legend," Jerome answered as Lung approached him. Addressing the villain-cape, Jerome nodded. "Lung sir," he said, receiving a nod from the cape. "If you and Guardian are willing to, Legend wishes for you two and Miss Redmoon to join him in the Command Post when you are ready."

"Thank you," Lung rumbled. "Guardian you said?" he asked.

"A temporary designation for the dragon sir," Jerome answered. "Until she chooses her own, and only for our own, internal documentation. Lung grunted at that, only for a young woman to almost appear in his arms, sobbing out, "Daddy!!!"

Horaki Hitomi*

Hitomi was pissed, she was heartbroken, and she was worried. Brigitte was dead, she couldn't seem to undo her change into a dragon, and Claire Redmoon, one of her professor's Teacher's Assistants, refused to let go of her, even in sleep. She had coiled around the girl in an effort to ward off the winter chill even as night had fallen. Hitomi couldn't go inside because of her size, and Claire refused to let go of the person that had found her, saved her, when death was stalking the redhead. I understand why, she thought as a pair of headlights flashed over them and one of the PRT Troopers went to wave off the curious onlookers or the worried parents. She bonded to me, at least in this form, because I pulled her out of that tube. It's a psychological defense mechanism. The dragon shook her head mentally though. I don't need a relationship to start like this though, it would be doomed to failure.

Either her mother or her father would be coming soon, maybe Lee if neither of them could break away from whatever they were doing, but more than likely one of them, if not both. The closing of a car door broke her looping train of thoughts, causing her to raise up slightly and look to see what was going on. It was then that she saw the mask glint in the moonlight. Daddy! she thought, he would make it make sense, he would make it all better. With a shift of her coils, she was clear of Claire and speeding towards her father, motes of blue and silver light falling away as she blearily rushed at him until she crashed into him, her arms wrapping as far around the man's chest as humanly possible. "Daddy," she sobbed, "She's dead, she's dead Daddy." And then there was nothing but great heaping sobs and tears for a while.

Claire Redmoon*

"Miss Redmoon," Claire woke to the voice of the female PRT Trooper and the feeling of the winter wind on her body. "Legends compliments ma'am," the trooper stated. "They need you in the command post to look at some images and hopefully tell them who they are."

"Where's Guardian?" Claire asked, pulling the blanket that she had over her lap up and around her shoulders to ward off the chill.

"Her father has arrived, and is comforting her," the trooper answered. "Apparently, she lost her girlfriend as a result of the blast and triggered because of it."

Claire groaned at that. "And you say Legend needs me in the command post?" Claire asked. The trooper nodded in response causing Claire to sigh. "Just let me give Guardian my thanks and condolences, and we'll go on our way."

"They're down the hill," The trooper said pointing at where the other trooper was standing in the light of a sedan's headlights.

In front of the trooper was a small mountain with someone in front of it, and then the mountain turned to answer something the other trooper said, and Claire could see the glint of a metal mask in the moonlight. Holy Hell, she thought, That was Lung's daughter! It made sense in a way, he was the only cape in the general area that took on the form of a dragon, so anyone else was likely to either be known to him, or else be family. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the hillside and stopped about five feet away. "Thank you for saving my life Guardian," she said with a bow to the girl that was there. Turning to the man she bowed again. "Lung sir," she continued, "your daughter is a good person, and I owe her my life. Please keep her as safe as possible."

Something about the way Lung turned and looked at her seemed to make Claire think he was smiling at her. "I intend to," he rumbled softly, "that said, I believe that Legend wishes to see us. Let us get that over with, and then we can go someplace warm and get a bite to eat."

"If you would follow us sir, ladies," the male PRT Trooper said. "We were ordered to escort you there if you so decided." The three people nodded and after Lung shut off the car, the troopers started to escort them to the command post.

Emily Piggot*

"So Thomas Calvert was really Coil," Kamil Armstrong said in a tone of both disgust and surprise as he leaned back from the table. "How did he get around the mandatory testing?"

The Wards and the parents had left, the girls all going to the Alcott's home for a generic sleepover since none of them would be going to school the next day and the parents going to their own homes. The other directors and I however, were still doing paperwork concerning the entire situation, including figuring out how deep Calvert had managed to penetrate into the various systems of my department.

"According to the documentation that we've found on his computer," James Tagg said as he thumbed through the pages on a tablet. "A combination of bribery, blackmail, and in one case, using a body double to take his place in the MRI."

"After Ellisburg I never trusted the bastard," I said, the disgust and hate of the man clear in my voice. "If it hadn't been for the fact that I'm so shorthanded around here, I would have kicked his ass back to Washington to play lacky for the chief-director."

"I get why you would hate the man now Emily," Kamil said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "But I get the feeling that you have hated this man for quite a while now, so what was the issue?"

I snorted, "Oh didn't anyone tell you?" I said, my voice full of sarcastic sweetness. "Thomas Calvert and I were the only two people that the PRT sent into Ellisburg that came out alive. I did it by being the hardest bitch to ever put on the uniform, but he did it by shooting his Lieutenant in the back because that poor bastard wasn't climbing the rope ladder fast enough for poor mamma Calvert's boy Thomas to survive."

"Son of a bitch," Tagg growled. "How did you find that out Emily? No one knew anything about that."

"Because he confessed it to me while we were in medical waiting to be declared clear of any of Nilbog's little nasties," I answered tossing my own tablet onto the table. "The powers that were, whitewashed the whole affair, giving some bullshit explanation that it would have the whole Protectorate and PRT idea shut down as being untenable. Damn wishy-washy politicians had no faith." At that point I sighed, deflating from my angry diatribe. "And hell, maybe we are if we can't keep the damn enemy out of our own offices." I finished.

"Emily," Kamil said calmly. "We can't give up because of a few failures. It just means we have to try harder."

"I know Kamil," I replied. "It's just so damn frustrating, and to add on to that I have my niece to look after as well. I wouldn't give that up for anything in the world except maybe her parents still being alive, but…" I trailed off at that point, waving my hand at the pile of paperwork and tablets that covered the table between the three of us.

"The good news is that by the time the week is out," James Tagg said, chiming in on the discussion. "You'll have a clean house and absolutely no leaks because it looks like, as Coil, Calvert had his finger on every leaker and sympathizer for any side, controlling the outflow of information. I'm just surprised that he kept this sort of information on his office computer."

About the time James said that the intercom buzzed, and I reached over and pushed the button. "Yes?" I answered.

"Front desk ma'am," the trooper stationed at the first-floor desk replied. "There are some people here who say that they need to speak to the three of you."

"Who are they?" I asked, even James growled something out that I couldn't discern. "And ask them if they can come back tomorrow."

It took a moment before the trooper spoke again, but when he did, I could hear the concern in his voice. "Ma'am," he said, "it's the Undersiders, and they are here to turn themselves in as state's evidence against Coil."

At those words, my head snapped up, meeting the gazes of both Kamil Armstrong and James Tagg. "Is Rachel Lindt with them?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am," the trooper answered. "And while she does have three dogs with her, they are being extremely well behaved."

"I'll be down shortly," I answered. "Take them yourself to one of the nice interview rooms and get them some water." I killed the intercom at that point and looked at the other two.

"It's your station Emily," Kamil said giving me a smile. "And having them on our side is always better than having them on the other."

"I agree," James added. "And if they want to stay together, I'm sure they can be put to use pretty much anywhere as a generic strike team." I quirked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, "They have a good synergy and are highly flexible," he continued, "and for all his faults, Thomas apparently had a good eye for up and coming talent."

I laughed, something that hadn't come easily since Ellisburg, but was easier to do since Akane had joined me here. "Alright then, wish me luck, because I think I'm going to need it."

"Good luck," the two of them said as I pushed away from the table before standing and leaving the room.

Taylor*

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot," Akane, Katie and I said trying to figure out who got which shift. The problem though was that with three of us, we were each rotating through the different signs, so each time nobody won, but nobody lost.

"You know you could just ask me if there is going to be trouble tonight," Dinah said from where she lay snuggled into her bed. "And for reference the odds of anyone trying to kidnap me again in the next six-months is .099875, kill me is .001259, and cause me or my family trouble in any way in an attempt to co opt me is .094514. I think we can all sleep safe tonight."

We looked up from our latest attempt at the game and gave the girl a level stare. "Did you use your power to find out if you were going to be kidnapped from school today?" Akane asked.

"No," she answered. "I trusted the PRT and the Protectorate to do their jobs, and they did, through you."

"Cheeky brat," Katie muttered somewhat darkly. "What if we had been caught up in something or deployed to Ithaca before they tried to kidnap you?"

"Then you would have come back ready to take heads and not even bother asking names," she answered with a smile.

"She's not wrong," I commented. "But that means one thing though."

"What's that?" the other four girls in the room asked, almost in unison.

I walked calmly over to where Dinah lay in her bed, the covers rolled down where she was sitting up. "Tickle fight!" I almost yelled before diving on the girl and starting to tickle her ribs. Dinah squirmed, trying to get away from my reach even as she broke down laughing. A moment later I felt my ribs being assaulted, causing me to break out laughing as Akane joined in. Katie was only a minute or so behind her, but instead of going for me or Akane, she went after Missy on the floor, who was soon roaring herself.

What was probably five minutes later, (but felt more like five times that long,) the door to the room opened and Dinah's parents stood there shaking their heads with smiles on their faces. "That's enough girls," her father said, causing the tickling to stop and the laughter to die down. "I know none of you are going to school tomorrow, but the rest of us do need to get some sleep. So keep it down, alright."

"Yes sir," we chorused, smiling and stifling the laughter.

"You girls should get some sleep as well," Dinah's mother said. "You've had a long day, and while tomorrow might be easier, it might not be either."

"Yes ma'am," we answered and headed for our sleeping bags. Once everyone was in their personal bags, Dinah's mother came in and made sure Dinah was tucked in before kissing the girl on the forehead and leaving, shutting the light out as she went.

"I don't want to sound like a bitch or anything Dinah," I said from beside her bed a few minutes later. "But you're lucky. Cherish what you have in your parents and that they support you, because you never know when you might lose one, or both of them." The other girls muttered agreement of varying sorts and through my bugs I could see Dinah smile and nod.

"I will, Taylor," she said as she snuggled down into her pillows. "I will."

Chapter 11: Chapter 9

Summary:

Someone done F'ed up and finds out.

Chapter Text

10:30pm that night

"Shit," Coil cursed as his safe timeline collapsed as his car was run over by a rampaging giantess. The PRT had called almost as soon as his head hit his pillow, calling strike team leader Calvert in to help deal with the current crisis. The Empire were going almost door to door in the downtown area clearing out Merchant hideouts and pocket labs that had never even popped up on his radar. It was at this point his phone rang and answering he snapped out, "Report!"

"Sir," a guard that his computer identified as being at one of his downtown armories. "The Empire just hit us with twenty of their grunts. The people on the perimeter are currently holding them with small arms, but if they get one of their capes over here," the man's voice was cut short, and the line went dead with what sounded like a knife cutting through a watermelon.

"Damn it," Coil grumbled before splitting his timelines. In the first timeline he sent orders to all of his cache guards to collect what they could transport and blow up the rest, in the second he sent orders to the cache guards to hold firm while ordering the mercenaries in his base to reinforce his cache's. There weren't but three other locations downtown, all of them placed to allow his mercenaries to act at a moment's notice in any region of downtown so that he could exploit any opening there was.

That done, he sighed in the first timeline before returning to the locker room to change into his BDU's so that Strike Leader Calvert could report as needed. Fucking Kaiser and his Empire, he thought in both timelines as they worked the problems. Couldn't they just sit back and accept that their way of life is done?"

Aisha*

I woke to near total darkness, covered in a sheet and leaning against a wall with my forehead resting against my knees. "Where?" I muttered only to hear a male voice hush me.

"Something is going on out there," I heard Jones say softly, "any idea what it might be?"

"If you have a telescope or something I can look and probably tell you," I answered just as softly. He grunted and in the dim light that was coming through the blinds I could see a pair of binoculars being held out in front of me. Taking them I went over to the window and looked down to where I could hear the pops of gunfire. "Looks like the ABB are making a push against the Merchants," I said, only to jerk my head back as the bottom of the building across the street exploded. "Fuck," I cursed. "Well there's one less meth lab in the city, but now the damn building across the street is on fire."

"Anyone in there?" Jones asked quietly and I shrugged.

"Various homeless druggies," I answered, "mostly the meth addicts that were fighting…" I trailed off as I thought of somebody I knew that might be over there. "I need to check on something," I gasped, handing him the binoculars and running out the door. As I ran down the hall I pulled the apartment key out of my pocket before sliding to a stop at mom's door.

Unlocking and opening the door I looked inside only to sigh in relief. Mom was still passed out, where I had left her. John was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't a loss, so I pulled my cell phone out and started to dial 911 when I heard a very unmistakable roar. "Oh fuck, Lung's rampaging." I muttered as I hit the send button.

0800 PRT Command Center

Emily Piggot

I looked up and had to suppress a grin as Thomas Calvert staggered into the room and dropped into his seat at the conference table. It was obvious that the man had been running around all night trying to put out various fires, but after the man's actions in Ellisburg I had no sympathy for the slimy bastard. The fact that the higher ups had whitewashed and classified the whole debacle irritated the piss out of me, and the fact that this man got to murder his platoon leader and walk pissed me off. Was it petty to take joy in his pain? Yes, but then again, I never said I wasn't a petty person at times. "Since that's everyone," I said, looking around the table. "We might as well get started. Rennick, what do we know about what happened last night?"

John Rennick sighed before rubbing his face with both hands and standing up. "Frankly ma'am," he said, walking towards the front of the room and its large briefing screen. Both Kaiser and Lung surprised us. Both demonstrated an ability to move faster and more forcefully than we anticipated. Their intelligence was also more thorough and more flexible than I would have and did believe."

I grimaced at that, "What were the results of last night?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer.

"A large swath of the south docks, between the Dock Workers Union perimeter and Asia Town was destroyed, burned to the ground into practically nothing but ash," John Harden, one of the PRT Strike Team Leaders, answered. "Lung stayed around fifteen feet in height and walked a firebreak around the perimeter of what they intended to destroy, setting fire to the inside of the break. The destruction uncovered several unknown drug labs when the fires set them off, causing them to explode."

"Casualties?" I asked, horrified at the thought of how many people that could have killed.

"Surprisingly low," Harden answered, looking at his notes. "Bay General currently lists three dead, and fifteen wounded, mostly due to gunfire. The ABB were apparently going ahead of Lung, clearing people out of the buildings in his path. There were what we believe to be several weapons caches found in the remains though, going by the fact that they seemed to be Armalite frames with what could have been tinkertech mounted on the lower lug, we believe that they belonged to Coil instead of the Merchants."

I nodded and turned my attention to Michael Daystrom, the Strike Team Leader for the northern docks area. "I understand the North side docks stayed quiet?" I asked.

"Mostly," the man answered. "We only seemed to have to deal with the overflow from downtown, but that was enough to keep us on our toes even though it was effectively just over that invisible border into the industrial district." The man checked his notes before continuing. "That said, someone turned out or destroyed five of Coil's weapons caches in the area and two of his medical safe-houses while killing five mercenaries and wounding several more that we never found. Four empire grunts were also found dead in the ensuing mess, but none of their wounded despite the blood saying there were more."

"That would be because the Empire has Othala and Coil likely has his own medical personnel, meaning they don't have to go to the hospital and file a report," I said flatly before turning to Calvert. "What about downtown?"

The last team leader sighed before answering, "Downtown saw the Empire hit fifteen different sites, destroying five drug labs, eight weapons caches, and two medical sites," Calvert read off. "The drug labs had Merchants in zip ties in them while there were five dead mercenaries over the other ten sites."

"Jesus," I muttered, turning to Armsmaster. "And from the Protectorate?"

"Current analysis," he answered. "Lung, as previously noted, burned a good portion of the south docks area. What was missed in this is that all but one of those buildings had been slated for demolition for at least the last three years."

"And the exception?" I asked

"A mostly abandoned apartment building that had a methamphetamine lab in its basement," the cape answered. "And by the speed in which it became fully involved in the fire due to that lab's explosion, the building inspector responsible for it is being investigated for corruption because it obviously should have already been condemned. On the Empire side, the deaths were predominantly due to either Cricket or Hookwolf, with either Fenja or Menja accidentally causing a car accident as they moved across a highway and stepped on a car's hood. They stopped and removed the wounded, transporting them to Bay General, accounting for an additional four wounded civilians that were not a part of the earlier count."

"I get the feeling that it was a bit of an oops moment for them," Harden snarked.

"However it happened," Armsmaster continued. "She told the hospital to send her the bill, though how she expects them to do that I don't know."

I grunted half of a laugh at that. "What about Coil himself?"

"He never showed his face," Armsmaster answered, "and wherever his main base is, it apparently was never found by either group."

I nodded at that, "Good," I said looking around the table. "When that bastard sticks his head out of whatever hole he's hidden himself in, I want us there to cut it off for him. Now, who needs what?" The meeting went on like that for another half hour as we discussed the needs, wants and desires of each strike team and the local protectorate forces. Finally though everyone had said their piece and looking at my notes I dismissed them all. Now to see what I can pry out of Washington, I thought as I walked to my office.

Thomas Calvert/Coil

Thomas Calvert sagged in his chair before putting his head down on his desk. As Coil, he knew all about his losses throughout the Bay area. The caches in the industrial district were still in place, and his main base was still intact and undisturbed, but there had still been millions of dollars' worth of equipment and quite a few lives that had been lost destroying those caches and safe-houses. Maybe I should call a meeting? he thought. Sommers Rock is accorded neutral territory and neither Kaiser nor Lung would… His thoughts were cut off as his "Coil" burner trilled in his pocket, causing him to fumble it out. Splitting the timeline, he answered it. "Yes?"

"Sir," a voice on the other end said, "Shultz here, I was just escorted off the premises." Shultz was one of his moles in the Empire, a MedHall employee that when he found out that his employers were Nazis decided to turn a quick buck instead of turning them in.

"Did they say why?" Calvert asked, he could almost hear the man on the other end of the call shaking his head.

"Bradley said that he had been instructed to cut out some dead wood and that my name was on the list," the man answered. "I haven't seen anyone I know also come out, but I might have been the very first, or the very last."

"Go home," Calvert said calmly as his email dinged several times. "I'll contact you in a week or so about somewhere to go."

"Understood," the other man said before cutting the connection as Calvert opened his email.

"Fuck me running," Calvert cursed as he looked through the five e-mails that had popped up through various remote accounts. It seemed that the Empire was clearing out his moles in one fell swoop, and as it dinged three more times, he could see that Lung was as well. "Well, if you think you can kick me out of this city you have another thing coming." He said checking over the e-mails and responding. Somehow Lung and Kaiser had decided to drive him out together, As if they don't break the unwritten rules themselves, he thought as he finished sending out his instructions. Now to find an appropriate patsy.

Horaki Hitomi

Cornell University,

Ithaca, New York

"Stop that," I muttered as the radio played softly in the background and I tried to focus on the physics book on my chest.

"Stop what?" My roommate Brigitte asked with a sigh, her breath tickling the arch of my left foot as she exhaled.

Sighing to myself I put my finger where I had left off before closing the book and glaring at my roommate and girlfriend. "Baby, I know you're bored, but if I don't pass this mid-term, my GPA is going to drop. If that happens my mother and grandmother are going to be up my ass with an orthoscope to figure out why that happened. If they decide that you are the reason for that drop in my grade, then they are going to forcibly separate us, by either dragging me back to Brockton Bay, or sending me to New York to study at NYU. Either way I will be forced to live with family, and they will force the situation of separating us."

"And if I follow you?" she asked, sitting up and letting her dark curls fall around her shoulders. She stretched at that point, the motion drawing my attention to her chest and the thin T-shirt she was wearing. It was one of my shirts, a gray short-sleeved one with writing in Latin on the front. "How would they enforce something like that if I moved to wherever they sent you?"

Sighing I sat up on the side of my bed and slid over next to her before wrapping her in a one-armed embrace. "They would watch me like a hawk to begin with," I told her as gently as I could. "And while you could get into Brockton Bay's university, I doubt you could manage NYU as you are almost on academic probation here as it is. Add to that, Brockton Bay is worse than that bunch over in Port Chester." She blinked and gave me a questioning look, so I elaborated, "PCU has Cause-heads," I remarked, commenting on the people there that would find a high profile, international cause to protest about. The fact that they only stuck with that cause for a week or so tended to make them the laughing stocks of any political movement. "Brockton has Skinheads, and they aren't exactly forgiving of white women dating outside their race, let alone being anything other than straight."

"So you've told me in the past," she said snuggling into me. "The problem is that I'm bored, and my muse just isn't cooperating. That means that the story that I owe Michaelson isn't happening either. Add to that it's too damn cold to do anything outside and almost all the food is gone from the building."

I groaned at that as it reminded me that I hadn't had anything since my breakfast of two pop-tarts and a cup of coffee. I looked at the clock on my bedside table as I reached for my bookmark and noted that it was just past two pm. Putting the laminated photo of Brigitte in the pages of the textbook I slumped. "I understand," I told her. "It doesn't help that not only have the dining halls been shut down because of the snow fall, but the building parking lot is nothing but a block of ice and everyone is out of food." It was at that point an idea hit me, the solution to everyone's problems, or at least ours until the snowplows could clear and salt the roads. "Baby, get the notebook and pens from my desk, we're about to make a supply run."

"How?" Brigitte asked, perking up, She'll even brave the cold, at least some, to get out of this building for a while. I thought before answering.

"Last fall I helped the maintenance department build a mini-snowcat," I told her with a smile. "I know where the spare key to the building where it's kept is, and the key to start it as well. We can borrow it, make a supply run to a few stores and then bring it back. We'll be dorm heroes."

"You get the transport," she said, getting up and grabbing the notebook I had mentioned and a handful of pens. "I'll see who has cash and what they want." I nodded and she went running down the hall as I stood and went for my parka and snow boots. The maintenance building for this part of the campus wasn't far, but it was below freezing out there, maybe even below zero and I wasn't getting frostbite.

"What's this thing?" Brigitte asked as she slid into the cab of the makeshift snowcat and shut the door. Once she was in, I pushed the twin throttles up to about thirty percent and started us moving for Thurston Avenue and the nearest bridge to cross Falls Creek.

"Maintenance had an old Mitsu truck that the engine and frame were shot in, and bought a pair of used snowmobiles," I told her as I navigated the campus with its mounds of snowed in cars and open fields and streets. "I helped them meld the three together and then tested it for them after the first snowfall. You can't get her going at more than a fast walk speed, but she keeps the wind off while you go, and she's good for snow and ice."

Brigitte nodded and then we spent the rest of the trip to the grocery store mostly in companionable silence, her helping me navigate the snow shrouded streets as we went to the Universal Deli and Grocery on Eddy Street. As we made our way down College Street and crossed Cascadilla Creek though, there was a flash in the cloud cover that seemed to throw a shadow up in front of us. "What the," were the only words I got out before the world went topsy turvy and I blacked out.

Taylor*

School Tuesday was fairly peaceful, with only a handful of people commenting on the fashion show or the diner incident. The idea to gender-flip the play had apparently taken off and both the Glee club and the Drama club had agreed to do so. With both clubs backing the idea it was getting the go ahead despite "concern" from certain quarters that at the mere thought of the idea had erupted in outrage. The bus ride after lunch and fourth period was equally quiet and we could see the front of the PRT building being put back together in the wake of Sunday's attack. I waved at a few of the workmen that were there that I recognized from the DWU before going inside, only to practically run into Akane and Katie's back as she stared at the waiting area's television. "I need to call Aunt Hikari," Akane said as she pulled out her phone allowing me to step close enough to see the headline at the bottom of the screen. My response would have gotten my pay docked for using foul language on any other day.

"Yes?" Emily Piggot snarled as she jabbed the speaker button on her phone

"Director," Taylor's voice said from her phone. "The three of us are in the building and heading for our area, where do you need us."

Oh thank god, Emily thought as the keys clacked under her fingers. "Suit up and take Rune's picnic table to get Viewpoint and Vista," she snapped out. I'll call their school and have them prepared for extraction. Coil might try and use this incident at Cornell as a distraction. Get the two of them and get back here because you're deploying to Cornell to assist as soon as you get back with the two of them.

"Understood ma'am," Taylor answered. "We'll be airborne in ten minutes or less."

Emily hit the end button closing the line even as Taylor seemed to cut the call from her end as well. Thank God for good subordinates, Emily thought as she one handedly punched another number into the phone and hit the speaker button again. "Arcadia Middle School, this is the front office, to whom should I direct the call?"

"Ms. Murphy," the director said calmly, "this is Director Piggot, I need you to pull Missy Byron and Dinah Alcott from their classes for emergency pickup."

"Already done," the school secretary said with a smug tone. "Though in the future you should have your troopers come inside in civilian clothes, not full kit. He almost gave me a heart attack and there would be a lot of questions from people not in the know about why a PRT Trooper was picking up those two students."

Emily froze, "So you're saying a PRT Trooper already picked the two girls up?" she asked.

"They did," the secretary answered. "Is there a problem?"

"Not for you," Emily answered before dropping the call and growling, "Not at the moment anyway. We'll see what an investigation turns up." Punching another number into the phone she only waited until the other end picked up before snapping her words out. "Get airborne yesterday, Coil has managed to kidnap both Dinah Alcott and Missy Byron."

Thomas Calvert*

The Thomas Calvert in the timeline where he was listening in on Emily's call to the chief director started cursing a blue streak in a loud and demanding voice, shooting the three people who barged into his office before the built-in foam sprayers targeted him and he discontinued the rampage. His problems were probably legion but for the moment the biggest problem was a mercenary captain who took too much initiative. The head of his mercenaries had, as usual, been watching the news when the news broke about Cornell, and had the brilliant idea to use the disaster as a distraction to abduct Dinah Alcott. At almost any other point he would have given the man a bonus and gone with it, the problem of course being that there was no safe way to go about it.

Again splitting the timeline, Thomas continued to mentally curse his Mercenary Captain as he used his disposable timeline to continue listening to the director call Washington. Emily was pissed, and the fact that he actually had to be here today, because of the incident the night before meant that he didn't have a safe timeline to use to keep the Merc Captain from using his own initiative. "Chief-Director," Emily Piggot said in her office as she talked to the PRT's Chief-Director, a woman named Rebecca Costa-Brown. "I'm calling for an Inquisition, both PRT and Protectorate as soon as the personnel can be arranged."

"Emily, Cornell has us all in a pinch at the moment…" the Chief-Director stated calmly only to be interrupted by Piggot.

"Ma'am," Emily practically growled, "Right now the majority of my contribution to helping in Ithaca is busy searching for two of their teammates while the rest are already on site thanks to Strider. I only need two senior Protectorate members, one each Director level and Assistant Director level PRT officers for classified information and two strike teams to go after whomever they deem necessary to take down. Ma'am, at this point I'll take James Tagg running this thing, if need be, but I need this cleaned up now so that I can keep everything from exploding in our faces."

"What do you mean?" The Chief-Director asked, computer keys clacking from her side of the connection.

"If my ninja team finds the two missing teens before I can get them support," Emily replied calmly. "They are going to call in New Wave and the Chinese Amazons that are here in Brockton for support."

"Fuck," Thomas said, even as the keyboard's clacking from the other end of the phone line stopped.

"Emily, I want an explanation to that last statement," the chief director said coldly.

"My niece and I found out Sunday night that she is related to Kenta Horaki and through him to one of the core elder families of the Chinese Amazons," Emily explained. "This is also the same person who trained Akane while she was in Japan, so knowing that we are compromised, she might call her cousin for reinforcements to help rescue her teammates." Emily explained.

Thomas had to give Emily credit, the woman didn't pause nor quibble over her niece, and thus technically her, by removes, being related to the Chinese Amazons. Costa-Brown's response was just as unequivocable. "Have them do so specifically," the Chief-Director instructed. "It would be a good thing to try and entice them into working with us instead of possibly being against us."

Calvert blinked in shock, as he was sure Emily was doing as well. "And the Inquisition ma'am?" she asked.

"I'll get the necessary teams there as fast as I can," Costa-Brown responded. "Tagg will be in charge, but the team will be bare minimal. Your people will be expected to help once each of them is individually cleared. I don't know who other than Tagg I can get at this time though, so I don't know who else will come. Otherwise, good luck."

"Thank you, ma'am," Emily said as the line clicked closed and Thomas killed that timeline with muttered, "Fuck!"

Ithaca, NY*

What the hell were they working on? Legend thought as he stared at the crater of what remained after the explosion. It looked like the results of a sixteen-inch naval broadside all hitting the same spot, decimating the buildings around it. One of the buildings to the north had been a chemical research lab and was currently burning merrily, a plume of black smoke pouring out of the rubble, evidence of the danger. To the south, people were working to pull survivors out of one of the dorm halls while glass and debris littered the ground around them.

"Medic!" a voice called, snapping Legend out of his thoughts, causing him to turn around and face the source. What he found was a bruised and battered Asian woman dragging a makeshift sled with something or someone laid out on it. "Gods damn it, someone get me a damn medic over here or a mover to take us to Brockton Bay now, I don't know how long she'll last if someone doesn't see her now."

One of the PRT medics that had just arrived from Albany ran over with their bag and started looking over the woman that was standing there. "Her not me asshole," she snapped, pointing at the sled. "I can walk and talk, and if I find who caused this, I'm going to skin them alive after breaking every damn bone in their body." Moving over to one side of the sled, the woman dropped to her knees next to it and spoke just loud enough for Legend to hear her say, "Brigitte baby, talk to me."

The medic moved from the woman to the sled itself and the woman that was apparently on it, after a minute of working though, he shook his head and said something to the Asian woman. The next thing Legend knew he was picking himself up off the ground where he had fallen. Looking around he could see the woman had collapsed, her head down on the sled, an arm seemingly lashed out for the PRT Medic who was looking at the collapsed woman with fear in their face. Walking over, Legend looked at the medic and reached a hand down to assist them up. "You know grief takes some people hard, Sergeant," Legend offered. "She very obviously cared for the woman there, she was already dead I take it?"

The medic nodded, "Maybe by a minute or two," the sergeant, another woman, offered. "The problem being of course that with that piece of metal stuck through her chest I couldn't do anything about it.

Legend nodded, "Go on back to the search then," he said gently. "Hopefully this one won't be the last one we find alive." The sergeant nodded and walked off back to her unit, circling the crater that had once been the Newman Accelerator Building and was now a crater.

Akane*

"Anything?" I asked for what seemed the hundredth time as we circled the area in three block spreads, searching for the flea that Taylor had placed on Dinah so she would always be able to find her. I was worried, not just for Missy or Dinah, but for Hitomi, the cousin that I didn't remember meeting who was attending Cornell and not answering her cell phone. Apparently, someone had set off a large explosion in the school's High Energy Physics lab and it gutted a section of the campus. A simple and plausible answer for the unanswered phone calls was that the explosion had set off an Electro-Magnetic Pulse that fried any electronics within its blast range. Either that or she had forgotten the phone in her dorm room and was kept from going back for it by the police and PRT cordon as they looked for the bomber. The worst-case scenario was that she was dead in the blast. I didn't want to lie to Aunt Hikari but that was as valid a chance as anything else that had been suggested. Aunt Emily wanted us there as fast as we could recover Dinah and Missy. She believed that between the five of us we could help rescue efforts, but of course Coil had to…

"Found her," Taylor said interrupting my train of thought and pointing down and to one side. "Over one more street on a bench." She continued.

Dinah and Missy's phones had been shut off as soon as they were leaving the school and we hadn't found them yet. "Dinah or Missy?" I asked as Katie banked the wooden picnic table over another street in the direction Taylor had indicated and as we flew lower, I could see a shock of blonde hair sticking out from under an old army jacket that was covering someone on a bus stop bench in the middle of the block.

"Missy," Taylor answered, visibly suppressing her temper. "If we can get her to wake up, I will be able to search an even larger area."

"Or treat Coil to a couple of the great plagues of Egypt," I snarked with a vicious grin. "I'll call Amy and see if she can't meet us in the rotation of the search somewhere."

"Sounds like a plan," Katie said as she set the table, top first, on the ground before Taylor and I jumped off and collected her. "Put her in the center so that she doesn't accidentally take a header off this thing."

Taylor gave Katie a sloppy salute after setting the girl down. "We we Mon Capitan," she snarked. "Now if you would be so kind as to take us back up so that we can resume our search pattern?"

Katie chuckled, shaking her head as she lifted the table and us up into the air. "How are we going to wake her up?" she asked once we were back above the majority of the buildings once more.

"I'll call Amy and see if she's free," I said pulling out my phone and pulling up Amy's number on the contact list. Hitting the call button, it rang twice before a familiar voice answered.

"Amy's phone," Vicky Dallon said answering the phone. "Her hands are a little busy at the moment, whatcha need Akane?"

"Someone kidnapped Vista and a new Ward we're currently calling Viewpoint," I told her. "We just found Vista, doped up and sleeping on a bus stop bench under an old jacket. Once we find Viewpoint's location, we're going to need reinforcements and having Amy clean Vista's system out so that we can get them where we need to quickly and quietly would really help."

"Where are you now?" Vicky asked before passing the information to someone else that was right there.

"Currently about a hundred and fifty feet in the air flying a search grid out from downtown to try and find the flea Skitter left on Viewpoint."

"A part of me wants you to explain that to me," Vicky said softly after passing the information to Amy. "They are evacuating the severely wounded from Ithaca to Brockton General." Vicky said after a moment. "So Amy is going to be a while. I'll call you as soon as she is done, or you can swing by here and meet us up on the helipad, your call.

"Thanks Vicky," I said. "And if you run into a girl by the name of Hitomi Horaki, let her use your phone to call her mother, it'll be local I promise."

"Your cousin?" she asked, "I'll keep an eye out."

"Thanks again Vicky, I said.

"That's what friends are for." She replied before hanging up.

Smiling I put my phone away only for Taylor to look up with a feral grin. "Got them!" she declared.

Ithaca NY

Screams came from the area where the lightly wounded had been put in tents and Legend's head snapped that direction only to see a blue and silver Eastern Dragon rise out of the tentage. It was around twenty feet long and Legend had an idea who it might be, so he flew over. "Miss," he called out, the dragon's head snapping towards him immediately. "Everything will be ok," the dragon gave him a very level look that seemed to say, "Yeah right," and caused him to sigh. "I mean, damn it, could you come over to the crater so that we're not causing the wounded to panic?" The dragon gave him a very bland and dry look before nodding and flying over to the edge of the crater where she settled into a motionless hover at the edge. "I'm sorry," Legend said, setting his feet down on the ground in front of her. "That was the wrong thing to say, especially to someone who just lost someone they care about. Now, you've triggered as a result of that, and because of your transformation I have reason to believe that you are either related to, or at least stay in somewhat close proximity to Lung. Would I be correct in that?"

The dragon nodded again, so Legend continued. "Good," the hero said. "That means that we can get in touch with him fairly quickly. That said, if you could calm down, that would probably allow you to change back." The dragon took in a long breath through its nostrils as if to roar, to yell and vent its anger and disappointment, before suddenly stopping. "Is something wrong?" Legend asked, to which the dragon held up a single talon before starting to scratch something into the glass that lined the crater. A moment of scratching later the dragon was making a beeline for the remains of the lab that had exploded, snuffling like a hound on a scent. "What did she smell?" he asked himself before floating over to where he could see what she had been scratching into the glass. Looking he found a phone number which after fishing his phone out, he called.

"This had better be important," a familiar voice said from the other end of the line.

"Lung," he responded, "it's Legend. A young lady that has triggered and turned into a dragon gave me this number. But she can't seem to change back to normal at the moment," he continued. "Could you come up here and help?"

"Oh her mother is going to be so damn pissed," the villain said, letting out a rueful chuckle. "I'll be there as quickly as I can," he continued. "Tell her," Lung paused and suddenly Legend's attention was drawn back to the young woman in question as she let out a roar to challenge the other dragon and started flinging rubble from the last parts of the exploded lab, exposing a large black cylinder.

"I'll tell her you're coming as quickly as you can," Legend told Lung. "She just uncovered something that may hold a survivor or two." With that Legend hung up his phone and pulled out his radio. "Get medics back to the crater, we may have survivors from the lab itself," before flying over to see what could be done.

Claire Redmoon sucked in a deep, full breath as the cap to the cylinder where she had been trapped popped off. Unfortunately, she immediately screamed it out as a draconic muzzle poked into the opening and showed its teeth. This day officially sucks she thought as she mentally went over what had happened. She had shown up late to her internship at the lab, practically frozen because of the snow, only to be yelled at by Doctor Peterson, (and gods forbid you forget to use his title of Doctor.) Only to be put checking the nitrogen in the data server instead of watching the fusion reactor. Not that the reactor would be doing anything special, just making energy to provide enough power to the particle accelerator to get a measurable reaction. And the data server was secure, as in you either had to be a football linebacker to lift the hatch, in which case you wouldn't fit in the claustrophobic old well, or use the electric hoist to pull the lid off. Cold, dark, and barely enough room for Claire's narrow shoulder width within the internal casing, Claire had climbed down the inside of what had originally been a colonial era well.

It had been found while contractors were working to expand the lab's basement area, a six-foot wide, forty-foot deep well that had been partially filled in with trash from the late colonial-era before being capped, sealed and buried under the excess soil from another building's foundations. The history department had predictably gone nuts, taking over the excavation, removing the entirety of the old stone well and its contents, leaving a ten-foot by ten-foot hole, forty-feet deep. The combined sciences departments had decided to do something with the hole, and thus the "Deep Core Server Project" had been built with the thought that if anything happened, there would, at the worst, be a record of what had been accomplished. Thermo-resistant tiles superior to what was used on the space shuttle covered the outside of the double-walled steel cylinder and the four-inches of lead lined faraday cage that was sandwiched between the two pieces of half-inch hardened steel. Then they lined the inside of the steel cylinder with a polymer one, before lowering in the polymer capsule with the data core itself within. Even the core itself was the very best non-tinker tech that the college could produce. Sixteen hollow-centered disks, each with four tera-byte hard drives and four 6-core 3.4 gigahertz processors, all running in parallel recorded everything the fusion reactor and the particle accelerator did. The core was cooled by pumping liquid nitrogen through a heat exchanger in the very top of the capsule, while a nitrogen atmosphere kept the parts from corroding. Right next to the port for the plumbing in and out of the heat exchanger was a gauge port for the nitrogen atmosphere that had to be checked daily and the data cable that was fed by the computers in the control room.

Something had happened at about the same time the San Francisco native reached the bottom of the cylinder that had caused the entire thing to shake, the hatch to slam shut, and the limited lighting that was mounted to the ladder to go out causing Claire to curse slightly. There was an emergency phone, a landline installed at the top of the cylinder in case someone got stuck inside, so with the phone in her front shirt-pocket to provide light, she climbed the ladder again, only to find the phone line dead and the top of the cylinder warm. "Well shit," she muttered. It was four hours later when the air was starting to get a little thick, that she had heard something scratching and scrabbling around the tube.

"And that's how you found me," she said to Legend as she wrapped herself once again in the blanket and took another swallow of her coffee while the silver and blue dragon hovered near her. The dragon had popped the end off the data core's protective tube like it was the top of a Pez dispenser before gently sliding her, and then the data core itself out for the PRT and Protectorate to inspect. "The good news," Claire continued as she cut a glimpse back at the destruction of the lab. "Is that back at the first of the year, the University started running a constant backup of the security footage to the core. Give the computer guys a couple of hours and they'll have you access to that footage more than likely."

"I'm glad," Legend said nodding. "We need to know if this was an act of terrorism or just some truly unfortunate accident, and if the latter, why."

"SSSStackpoled," the dragon hissed from where she lay not five-feet away from Claire. "No acccciident."

"She's right," Claire said regarding the dragon for a moment. "Fusion reactors, contrary to science fiction, do not explode, they simply shut down, unless you overload them.

"Which means doing this intentionally," Legend growled and both Claire and the dragon nodded.

"A fusion reactor is a very hard thing to keep running to begin with," Claire said, somewhat lost in thought. The Stackpole detonation that occurred had to not only be forced but reinforced as the system will constantly seek equilibrium. You must actively overload the magnetic containment field and then make the system continue to build power until it blows." The red-haired science intern shook her head. "Whoever did this, did it intentionally and was there the entire time."

"Which means either suicide," Legend said contemplatively, "or a Master."

Brockton Bay*

Emily Piggot*

"Three hours," I muttered under my breath as I watched the draco-tech shuttlecraft come in for a landing on the upper-level landing pad of the PRT Headquarters. It had been three hours since I had given Akane the clearance to bring in the local group of Chinese Amazons on the recovery of Dinah Alcott, and three hours since I had asked the Chief Director for an inquisition to go through my command. Akane would do what was necessary to save her teammate, of that I had no question, now it was time to find out how deep the rot had penetrated my command.

First out of the shuttle were a half-dozen troopers in full kit, followed by Kamil Armstrong and two parahumans. This was the group that was coming from Boston, the next nearest command and someone who understood what it meant to have to deal with the insanity that came from having a parahuman family. One of the two parahumans with him was his adopted son Weld, a young man whose power caused him to absorb any metal he came in contact with and make it a part of his body. The other parahuman was an adult, and probably a member of Boston's Protectorate team.

A flash on the pad heralded the arrival of the other group of troopers along with James Tagg and another Protectorate member. This one I knew about as the woman was probably the only surviving resident from Eagleton, Tracer. As the two groups formed up on the pad I stepped through the door and went to greet them.

"James, Kamil," I said as I approached them.

"Blue-delta-three-six," Tagg challenged before I got within ten feet of them.

"Green-alpha-four-two," I replied, "Soylent Green is people."

Both men nodded before stepping forward offering their hands. Shaking both James smiled, "Emily," he said as I shook his hand. "It's good to know that whatever this is, it didn't actually get you."

I smirked, "You don't get my chair that easily James," I replied. "We have one hell of a clusterfuck here though. Have your people been briefed?"

Both of the men shook their heads, "All I know is that you called an Inquisition due to a kidnapping, no specifics," Kamil answered.

"That's more than I know," Tagg said with a grimace. "Why don't you brief everyone, and we'll get to work.

I nodded, "Alright people, gather round," I said, pitching my voice to carry over the wind. "Four hours ago, a man in full PRT Trooper kit abducted our two youngest Wards from their school. The man had authentic looking credentials, and the password of the day, as well as the sign and countersign to verify his identity to the Wards themselves. Currently most of the Wards and Protectorate are either in Ithaca helping with that incident, or at home, safe. The exception is our ninja team who were going to go to Ithaca to help until this occurred, and have currently tracked the kidnappers to their base. Because we cannot trust my local troopers at the moment, they are using other means to secure the perimeter before recovering their teammates. Our job is to ensure that when they do so and return, we can make sure that the bastards that did this do not escape punishment. To that measure, we are going to go through this facility from top to bottom and remove each and every listening device that we find after tracing it back to its origin." I looked at them closely. "I want the bastard that did this, and I want everyone to know you do not steal our Wards, am I understood?"

"YES MA'AM," the eighteen troopers shouted, causing me to nod.

"Good," I snarled. "Let's get to work, James, Kamil?"

Both men nodded but it was Tagg who stepped forward and started barking orders, "Alright," he snarled, "you heard the Lady and you know the drill, assholes and elbows, At the run and move your ass," he finished leading the troopers into the building. The group would do a physical inventory of equipment and search the trooper areas before moving up the building to assist with a physical search for listening devices. The three parahumans stayed where they were with Kamil, who turned to me smiling.

"You still have that touch Emily," the man said chuckling. "You know who Weld is," the young man nodded to her, "and I think Tracer is well known enough that I don't have to really introduce her." The strawberry-blonde cape, a striker disguised as a tinker, nodded to me. "But allow me to introduce a newer member of my protectorate team, Spade."

I turned to look at the other parahuman and smiled, "Spade is it," I said with a nod. "Thinker?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered, his voice approaching Barry White levels of smooth whiskey baritone. "Post-cog with a degree in criminology from NYU. I believe that between Tracer and myself, we can find out who is behind your problems."

"The who, is likely to be Coil," I answered. "But finding out who the leaks are in the office is the most important thing as since they will sell information to one, they might sell it to others."

"I understand ma'am," the cape replied.

"What about me sir," Weld asked looking around.

"You are here to debrief the Wards when they return," Kamil answered. "Any word on that Em…" he was cut off as an explosion boomed out over the city and a thin pillar of fire rose over where I knew there to be a parking garage for the downtown area.

"At a guess," I replied, my grin going feral. "Akane either just cleaned out the nest, or else caused a whole mountain of paperwork to be sent my way.

"Then I suppose we better get started," Kamil said, and I led the way into the building and my office.

2 hours earlier-

Vista*

Reality returned with a blink from the haze that I had found myself in. Continuing to blink, I looked around me, blue sky above me and five familiar faces, none of whom set me at ease as to what might have happened. "Coil got her didn't he?" I asked as I sat up and looked at Taylor, Akane, Katie, Vicky and Amy. "How deep is this shit?"

"Deep enough that Aunt Emily called for an inquisition from D.C." Akane answered. "What do you remember?" she asked.

"We were called up to the office where there was a PRT Trooper in full kit waiting," I answered as I remembered. "Dinah and I walked out of the school and climbed into the back of the standard unmarked van where probably half of a strike team sat, all but the driver in full kit, and the driver still had a helmet on. The doors closed and then there was a hiss along with a sharp pain against my shoulder, then nothing."

"Someone hit you with an air-injector of propofol, knocking you out before they took Dinah and your phones and stripped the latter," Amy grumped. "Thankfully with what is going on at Cornell they have stopped sending the wounded, or else I wouldn't be able to help."

"And you've found them?" I asked, looking around at the others, Taylor just looked smug as Katie and Akane nodded.

"We know where they are and have backup coming to contain them," Akane replied. "Backup that Coil is less than likely to have an in with."

"Who's that?" I asked curious as to who that could be.

"The Chinese Amazons," she answered.

Kamil Armstrong

Three hours later:

There was a hush over the conference room as I sat at the head of the table. On my right were seven teenagers, five of whom were Wards, and on my left were either their parents, or a person to represent such plus Armsmaster to represent the local Protectorate. "What the hell is keeping Rebecca," the other person, who was teleconferencing into this meeting growled as she apparently worked on paperwork to make use of the time. "I could have walked to her office by now, read her the riot act, and made my demands plain."

"I don't know madame," I said trying to calm the enraged national director of the Youth Guard. "She was in a briefing about Cornell when she was contacted, and she still…" I cut off as the television screen at the other end of the table stopped simply showing the enraged bureaucrat to split into quadrants. Dragon's virtual avatar sat in one, obviously there to provide technical information that Armsmaster might not have currently, and the third held the Chief Director. The occupant of the fourth panel however, had everyone in the room jumping to their feet. "Good evening, Mister President," I said looking to both sides of the table. The Wards and Armsmaster were standing at something akin to attention, as were Emily and Montmorency Burns. The other parents, while not at attention, were at least showing the man the due respect of his office.

"Good evening everyone," Barack Obama said with a genial smile. "Please, everyone sit down so we can see what the problem is and solve it."

"Mister President," the head of the Youth Guard said from her office everyone took their seats, "I don't see why you are here. The matter will be well in hand in but a moment." The tone she used was like that of a grandparent trying to direct a recalcitrant child into doing something other than what they wanted, almost like she was trying to get him to eat his Brussel sprouts. She then turned her attention to the Chief Director. "The local PRT illegally used Wards in a combat situation. The appropriate fines are being leveled against them and I expect to see Emily Piggot fired immediately for doing so."

"No," the Chief Director answered calmly, and the entire crowd watched the Youth Guard director go wide eyed at what she would probably call blatant disobedience. "Director Piggot ordered this at my direction," she continued. "Which I did because, as she noted when giving me an update and requesting an internal review, that the four of them would only wait so long before going into the situation on their own, with or without support or permission."

The entire room froze at that declaration, as they had fully expected the Chief Director to throw Emily out as a sacrificial lamb. "They are children," the Youth Guard director snarled at the PRT Chief. "They are in the Wards to learn how to use their powers safely, not to be used as soldiers and shock troops to break villains or mercenaries."

"Vista," the Chief Director said in a calm voice. "How many of Coil's mercenaries did you have to fight when you recovered Viewpoint?"

"None, Chief Director," the youngest Ward answered, sitting at attention.

"No No," The PRT head continued. "How many of Coil's parahumans did you have to disable to recover Viewpoint?"

"None, Chief Director," the lead ninja answered from behind her mask. "We encountered neither mercenaries nor parahumans in our operation."

"How many people did Coil have in his base Skitter?" the Chief Director asked.

"Approximately three-hundred and fifty, ma'am," the young master answered. "Four of which were right outside Viewpoint's cell."

"Viewpoint was unconscious when you found her," the Chief Director continued, looking at a piece of paper. "How did you get her out, past Coil's mercenaries, without fighting them?"

"I used my table to fly us through the vents ma'am," Rune answered. "Vista expanded them and Skitter directed us with her insects. We recovered Viewpoint and then exited the same way we came in.

"At any time," the director finally asked. "Were you in direct physical confrontation with Coil or his mercenaries?"

"No ma'am," Skitter answered. "Between the use of our powers, the enemy never knew we were there until I demanded their surrender." Turning her attention to the Youth Guard director who was about to start speaking, Skitter cut her off, continuing with, "and I know this because I was listening into their communications the entire time."

"And how did you do that while demanding their surrender?" the ancient jurist asked petulantly.

"I don't appreciate your tone there director," the masked man who was Skitter's father growled, only to be echoed by the other parents at the table. It was Emily of course who kept the situation from turning into a glaring contest between the parents and the Youth Guard.

"How did you communicate with the mercenaries Skitter?" Emily asked, drawing the conversation back to where it needed to be.

"I built an insect swarm clone in the commanding officer's office and told them they had an hour before they could either surrender, be swarmed or gassed. I won't repeat his response."

"Why didn't you swarm them right then?" the President asked conversationally, reminding everyone that he was still present in the meeting.

"I tried to sir," Skitter answered. "The problem was they were ready for that and broke out the bug bombs, I barely had enough time to start the emergency fuel tanks for the generators purging before I ran out of insects."

"And why did you do that?" the Youth Guard director asked, her curiosity quite evident.

"Because without that fuel source," Armsmaster replied, speaking for the first time in the meeting. They only had power for about sixty hours. Without that power source, they would not be able to filter their air or pull water for any use without opening their doors and ending the Endbringer lockdown status.

"Armsmaster," the President said with a nod. "What have you been able to find out?"

"The base was a repurposed Endbringer shelter that had been taken off the books," the local Protectorate lead answered. "Records indicate that while it was started, it was decertified for use because of structural issues. Furthermore, the gas did not vent properly, though we don't know yet if that was intentional or a matter of unfinished work due to its repurposing. What we do know is that the shelter itself, as well as the parking garage above about half of it had been rigged for demolition prior to their completion. The parking garage came down on top of the entire structure, spreading its decks like a stack of playing cards being fanned out. It was used to cap the entire shelter and ensure that any recovery was hindered."

"That doesn't bode well," I muttered as I looked around the table. "Quite frankly, it currently looks like Coil is still on the loose, I would normally offer all of you the hospitality of the PRT building but currently we don't know how deeply we've been compromised."

"I can take everyone…" Skitter's father started to offer, only to be interrupted by a loud explosion and the sense that the building had just shuddered, if ever so slightly. "What the hell was that?" I asked my finger finding the intercom button leading to the desk outside.

"Sir," a voice answered, probably one of the two troopers outside on guard duty. "A team was sent to escort Strike Leader Calvert to medical for his MRI. When they opened the door an explosive went off sending shrapnel through the outer office area. At the same time, his office window blew out. We have him on external camera rappelling down the exterior of the building, but we have several wounded trapped in confoam and bleeding out."

"That rat bastard," Emily snarled as I looked at Panacea and Glory Girl. The healer nodded almost forcefully as she stood, her sister wrapping an arm around her and flying the two of them out of the room. "Girls," she continued looking at the three ninjas and Vista with a shark like grin. "All I need is for him to be alive." The four girls smiled back at their director and left, even as the Youth Guard director started to protest.

"Ruth," the President said in a flat tone. "Shut up."

Thomas Calvert cursed his luck as he reached street level and stepped out of the swiss seat that he had used to rappel down from his office. For some definitions of lucky, there had been no one beneath the window when the charge he had set up to shatter the window went off. That meant that there were no injured laying in the street to distract emergency services from trying to chase him down. He had tried twenty different times to escape the office quietly, but none of them had even made it out of the building, and when his cameras had seen the fire team coming to collect him, he had set the second charge and gotten under his desk. The claymore mine that he had hidden in the front of the desk had done an admirable job of taking out the people that had come to collect him, including puncturing a confoam tank and blocking his office door with the resulting pile. Now though, a short but quick jog was putting distance between him, and the scene of his escape and he would soon be recovering Tattletale and his money so that he could try again elsewhere. Atlanta was a proper mess, maybe he could pull this off there.

He was about to stop his jog, stepping out of a crosswalk and up onto the sidewalk when suddenly he was tripping and falling flat on his face. "The director would like a word with you," a voice buzzed from behind him even as a pair of feet landed just out of reach in front of him. "Hello Coil," Akane Takamachi said as she reached down and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He could feel his power disappearing even as she drug him to his knees, glaring at him over her mask. "I would like to have a few words with you as well."

In a nondescript café on the boardwalk a teenage blonde girl sat before a laptop and giggled. She was free once more, and more to the point, she was rich enough to enjoy it, even after giving her teammates an equal cut. The blackmail material she had on the computer was another thing, something that, if she kept it and stayed in the area, could make her even more money. At the same time however, it was still of limited use if she didn't follow Coil's original plans, so after a moment of thought she composed a short email and attached the information before sending it off through the internet. She hoped that Armsmaster and Dragon appreciated the information.

Work done with for the foreseeable future, she cleaned up where she sat before packing up her things and leaving. As she walked towards the bus stop at the south end of the Boardwalk she pulled out her phone and dialed a number from her contacts list. "Brian," she said when the person on the other end answered. "Get Aisha and the rest of the team, I have an announcement to make."

Aftermaths*

Ithaca, Ny

Jerome Martushkin looked up from the pair of people he was standing guard over as a pair of headlights flashed over them. Legend had detailed him and his partner Illya Potemkin to watch over the pair as the intern slept in the embrace of the eastern dragon's coils. "Illya," he subvocalized. "It's your turn." Legend had told the pair that only he or Lung were to disturb them, and even then, to be cautious about it.

"Yeah, Yeah," the woman replied, walking out to stop the car before it even turned into the parking lot for the destroyed laboratory. Jerome watched as the car did turn into the driveway of the parking lot, before stopping to talk to Illya. At that point it should have either reversed out or turned around and left. Instead, it simply pulled forward and parked. Jerome could see why even as Illya's voice rose over the radio clearly. "Legend this is Dispatch-two," she said as a mountain of a man in a metal mask stepped out of the driver's seat. "Your guest has arrived and is about to initiate contact with Sleeping Beauty and her guardian."

"Understood, Dispatch-two," the hero's voice answered. "Please relate my condolences to the guardian and ask all three to join me in the command post. If they agree, escort them; if Lung and Guardian wish to leave, allow it. Sleeping Beauty is needed for image identification however."

"Understood Legend," Jerome answered as Lung approached him. Addressing the villain-cape, Jerome nodded. "Lung sir," he said, receiving a nod from the cape. "If you and Guardian are willing to, Legend wishes for you two and Miss Redmoon to join him in the Command Post when you are ready."

"Thank you," Lung rumbled. "Guardian you said?" he asked.

"A temporary designation for the dragon sir," Jerome answered. "Until she chooses her own, and only for our own, internal documentation. Lung grunted at that, only for a young woman to almost appear in his arms, sobbing out, "Daddy!!!"

Horaki Hitomi*

Hitomi was pissed, she was heartbroken, and she was worried. Brigitte was dead, she couldn't seem to undo her change into a dragon, and Claire Redmoon, one of her professor's Teacher's Assistants, refused to let go of her, even in sleep. She had coiled around the girl in an effort to ward off the winter chill even as night had fallen. Hitomi couldn't go inside because of her size, and Claire refused to let go of the person that had found her, saved her, when death was stalking the redhead. I understand why, she thought as a pair of headlights flashed over them and one of the PRT Troopers went to wave off the curious onlookers or the worried parents. She bonded to me, at least in this form, because I pulled her out of that tube. It's a psychological defense mechanism. The dragon shook her head mentally though. I don't need a relationship to start like this though, it would be doomed to failure.

Either her mother or her father would be coming soon, maybe Lee if neither of them could break away from whatever they were doing, but more than likely one of them, if not both. The closing of a car door broke her looping train of thoughts, causing her to raise up slightly and look to see what was going on. It was then that she saw the mask glint in the moonlight. Daddy! she thought, he would make it make sense, he would make it all better. With a shift of her coils, she was clear of Claire and speeding towards her father, motes of blue and silver light falling away as she blearily rushed at him until she crashed into him, her arms wrapping as far around the man's chest as humanly possible. "Daddy," she sobbed, "She's dead, she's dead Daddy." And then there was nothing but great heaping sobs and tears for a while.

Claire Redmoon*

"Miss Redmoon," Claire woke to the voice of the female PRT Trooper and the feeling of the winter wind on her body. "Legends compliments ma'am," the trooper stated. "They need you in the command post to look at some images and hopefully tell them who they are."

"Where's Guardian?" Claire asked, pulling the blanket that she had over her lap up and around her shoulders to ward off the chill.

"Her father has arrived, and is comforting her," the trooper answered. "Apparently, she lost her girlfriend as a result of the blast and triggered because of it."

Claire groaned at that. "And you say Legend needs me in the command post?" Claire asked. The trooper nodded in response causing Claire to sigh. "Just let me give Guardian my thanks and condolences, and we'll go on our way."

"They're down the hill," The trooper said pointing at where the other trooper was standing in the light of a sedan's headlights.

In front of the trooper was a small mountain with someone in front of it, and then the mountain turned to answer something the other trooper said, and Claire could see the glint of a metal mask in the moonlight. Holy Hell, she thought, That was Lung's daughter! It made sense in a way, he was the only cape in the general area that took on the form of a dragon, so anyone else was likely to either be known to him, or else be family. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the hillside and stopped about five feet away. "Thank you for saving my life Guardian," she said with a bow to the girl that was there. Turning to the man she bowed again. "Lung sir," she continued, "your daughter is a good person, and I owe her my life. Please keep her as safe as possible."

Something about the way Lung turned and looked at her seemed to make Claire think he was smiling at her. "I intend to," he rumbled softly, "that said, I believe that Legend wishes to see us. Let us get that over with, and then we can go someplace warm and get a bite to eat."

"If you would follow us sir, ladies," the male PRT Trooper said. "We were ordered to escort you there if you so decided." The three people nodded and after Lung shut off the car, the troopers started to escort them to the command post.

Emily Piggot*

"So Thomas Calvert was really Coil," Kamil Armstrong said in a tone of both disgust and surprise as he leaned back from the table. "How did he get around the mandatory testing?"

The Wards and the parents had left, the girls all going to the Alcott's home for a generic sleepover since none of them would be going to school the next day and the parents going to their own homes. The other directors and I however, were still doing paperwork concerning the entire situation, including figuring out how deep Calvert had managed to penetrate into the various systems of my department.

"According to the documentation that we've found on his computer," James Tagg said as he thumbed through the pages on a tablet. "A combination of bribery, blackmail, and in one case, using a body double to take his place in the MRI."

"After Ellisburg I never trusted the bastard," I said, the disgust and hate of the man clear in my voice. "If it hadn't been for the fact that I'm so shorthanded around here, I would have kicked his ass back to Washington to play lacky for the chief-director."

"I get why you would hate the man now Emily," Kamil said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "But I get the feeling that you have hated this man for quite a while now, so what was the issue?"

I snorted, "Oh didn't anyone tell you?" I said, my voice full of sarcastic sweetness. "Thomas Calvert and I were the only two people that the PRT sent into Ellisburg that came out alive. I did it by being the hardest bitch to ever put on the uniform, but he did it by shooting his Lieutenant in the back because that poor bastard wasn't climbing the rope ladder fast enough for poor mamma Calvert's boy Thomas to survive."

"Son of a bitch," Tagg growled. "How did you find that out Emily? No one knew anything about that."

"Because he confessed it to me while we were in medical waiting to be declared clear of any of Nilbog's little nasties," I answered tossing my own tablet onto the table. "The powers that were, whitewashed the whole affair, giving some bullshit explanation that it would have the whole Protectorate and PRT idea shut down as being untenable. Damn wishy-washy politicians had no faith." At that point I sighed, deflating from my angry diatribe. "And hell, maybe we are if we can't keep the damn enemy out of our own offices." I finished.

"Emily," Kamil said calmly. "We can't give up because of a few failures. It just means we have to try harder."

"I know Kamil," I replied. "It's just so damn frustrating, and to add on to that I have my niece to look after as well. I wouldn't give that up for anything in the world except maybe her parents still being alive, but…" I trailed off at that point, waving my hand at the pile of paperwork and tablets that covered the table between the three of us.

"The good news is that by the time the week is out," James Tagg said, chiming in on the discussion. "You'll have a clean house and absolutely no leaks because it looks like, as Coil, Calvert had his finger on every leaker and sympathizer for any side, controlling the outflow of information. I'm just surprised that he kept this sort of information on his office computer."

About the time James said that the intercom buzzed, and I reached over and pushed the button. "Yes?" I answered.

"Front desk ma'am," the trooper stationed at the first-floor desk replied. "There are some people here who say that they need to speak to the three of you."

"Who are they?" I asked, even James growled something out that I couldn't discern. "And ask them if they can come back tomorrow."

It took a moment before the trooper spoke again, but when he did, I could hear the concern in his voice. "Ma'am," he said, "it's the Undersiders, and they are here to turn themselves in as state's evidence against Coil."

At those words, my head snapped up, meeting the gazes of both Kamil Armstrong and James Tagg. "Is Rachel Lindt with them?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am," the trooper answered. "And while she does have three dogs with her, they are being extremely well behaved."

"I'll be down shortly," I answered. "Take them yourself to one of the nice interview rooms and get them some water." I killed the intercom at that point and looked at the other two.

"It's your station Emily," Kamil said giving me a smile. "And having them on our side is always better than having them on the other."

"I agree," James added. "And if they want to stay together, I'm sure they can be put to use pretty much anywhere as a generic strike team." I quirked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, "They have a good synergy and are highly flexible," he continued, "and for all his faults, Thomas apparently had a good eye for up and coming talent."

I laughed, something that hadn't come easily since Ellisburg, but was easier to do since Akane had joined me here. "Alright then, wish me luck, because I think I'm going to need it."

"Good luck," the two of them said as I pushed away from the table before standing and leaving the room.

Taylor*

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot," Akane, Katie and I said trying to figure out who got which shift. The problem though was that with three of us, we were each rotating through the different signs, so each time nobody won, but nobody lost.

"You know you could just ask me if there is going to be trouble tonight," Dinah said from where she lay snuggled into her bed. "And for reference the odds of anyone trying to kidnap me again in the next six-months is .099875, kill me is .001259, and cause me or my family trouble in any way in an attempt to co opt me is .094514. I think we can all sleep safe tonight."

We looked up from our latest attempt at the game and gave the girl a level stare. "Did you use your power to find out if you were going to be kidnapped from school today?" Akane asked.

"No," she answered. "I trusted the PRT and the Protectorate to do their jobs, and they did, through you."

"Cheeky brat," Katie muttered somewhat darkly. "What if we had been caught up in something or deployed to Ithaca before they tried to kidnap you?"

"Then you would have come back ready to take heads and not even bother asking names," she answered with a smile.

"She's not wrong," I commented. "But that means one thing though."

"What's that?" the other four girls in the room asked, almost in unison.

I walked calmly over to where Dinah lay in her bed, the covers rolled down where she was sitting up. "Tickle fight!" I almost yelled before diving on the girl and starting to tickle her ribs. Dinah squirmed, trying to get away from my reach even as she broke down laughing. A moment later I felt my ribs being assaulted, causing me to break out laughing as Akane joined in. Katie was only a minute or so behind her, but instead of going for me or Akane, she went after Missy on the floor, who was soon roaring herself.

What was probably five minutes later, (but felt more like five times that long,) the door to the room opened and Dinah's parents stood there shaking their heads with smiles on their faces. "That's enough girls," her father said, causing the tickling to stop and the laughter to die down. "I know none of you are going to school tomorrow, but the rest of us do need to get some sleep. So keep it down, alright."

"Yes sir," we chorused, smiling and stifling the laughter.

"You girls should get some sleep as well," Dinah's mother said. "You've had a long day, and while tomorrow might be easier, it might not be either."

"Yes ma'am," we answered and headed for our sleeping bags. Once everyone was in their personal bags, Dinah's mother came in and made sure Dinah was tucked in before kissing the girl on the forehead and leaving, shutting the light out as she went.

"I don't want to sound like a bitch or anything Dinah," I said from beside her bed a few minutes later. "But you're lucky. Cherish what you have in your parents and that they support you, because you never know when you might lose one, or both of them." The other girls muttered agreement of varying sorts and through my bugs I could see Dinah smile and nod.

"I will, Taylor," she said as she snuggled down into her pillows. "I will."

Saturday January 29, 2011

Danny smiled as he looked around the warehouse at the group of parents and teenagers that filled it. The warehouse itself was one that the union kept easy to empty (or empty in the first place,) in case that they needed to pull in the entire membership for something. It was also where they kept their grill, already set up to vent to the outside and loaded with wood and charcoal, ready to cook. He had arranged the venue, the PRT had provided the meat, and New Wave was providing a couple of large bags of charcoal and some firewood to refill the cooker once everything was done and cleaned up.

Closest to himself were most of the adults for the entire group. Emily was chatting with the various mothers, while the fathers helped with the grill itself, talking sports between themselves and wondering if the Docksbodies were going to make it to the playoffs this year or not. The adults were avoiding the elephant in the room, that all of the families here had at least one parahuman in it. Thankfully, those who were not in the know couldn't necessarily guess who was which one. Danny realized that it was arguably an illusion of not knowing, but then again it was the same illusion that allowed the girls to go to school like normal teens, so like everyone else, he kept his mouth shut on the situation.

Looking around again, he paid more attention to the other groups. The teens had divided themselves into what could arguably be called age groups, with the new members of the Wards being allowed to slide in and make themselves as comfortable as possible. Rachel Lindt, for example, was sitting with Aisha Laborn, Missy Byron and Dinah Alcott, and each girl was petting a dog of some variety, the sizes seemingly directly in opposing proportions to their size. Dinah's father had mentioned that he and his wife had agreed to take the canine-based biokinetic into their home both as a way to help the girl as well as providing a backup to protect Dinah, especially as the young girl had bonded so well to the former villain. Cerberus, as the PRT was now calling the older teen, had brought with her a good number of her dogs, and the Alcotts were helping her and the PRT fund a pair of no kill shelters in the city as well as either adopt the dogs out, or train them for working relations.

Turning his attention to what the girls were discussing, it seemed that Aisha was regaling them with a story about what she had been doing the night Lung had burned a major portion of the south docks area to no more than ash and rubble. That she had walked out of the situation with a signed Stitch Jones album was surprising, especially since she even knew who the man was. This was, of course, something that had to be explained to the rest of the group who proceeded to laugh a bit at her fangirling. Her response was a succinct "Bite me," before she turned the attention of the group on Missy and what she was up to as the girl kept cutting glances at another group.

Following the direction of the blushing girl's gaze she could see two possible groups of interest. The closest was the older boys, Rory Christner was standing in a loose circle with Dean Stansfield, Brian Laborn, Carlos Hernandez and one of the PRT troopers by the name of Ethan Morrow. Ethan and Brian were debating fighting techniques, the jovial trooper smiling as he and the older teen squared up and Brian threw a few blows at the trooper who took the blows on his arms and chest. Brian was the son of a local gym owner that had been a bit of a local legend back in the day. Danny had known John Laborn better back in the "Bad old Days" of the Bay when the man could have gone Golden Gloves and had a chance to go professional and get out of the bay itself. The other man had given that up for a family with a woman that unfortunately had turned into an addict on first his dime, and then apparently the state's. As the two talked, John Laborn snickered behind him and made a comment that Danny couldn't quite make out but that had the other fathers chuckling.

Beyond the young men were their equals in some sense, and betters in others. While a boy named Alec had gathered the younger boys around a TV set and gaming console in the back corner, while the older teen girls had gathered around a table and proceeded to gossip. They sat almost as if they were playing cards, Victoria at one end of the table, Taylor to her left and the new girl Lisa to her right. Akane sat next to Taylor and between her and Katie, while on the other side, Amy Dallon sat between Lisa and Crystal Pelham. Opposite Victoria, Ethan's wife Sharron sat as if to mediate the group, or maybe deal the cards if a poker game broke out. The pair had taken in Katie who was trying to help moderate Ethan's sense of humor at home while Sharron was trying on being a mother, as Ethan was wanting to become a parent.

"Neil," Sarah Pelham called out from the group of mothers, "Do you know where Erik is?"

"Over with the other gamers I believe," Neil Pelham replied loud enough for his wife to hear. "Is something wrong?"

"No," the woman most of the world knew as Photon Mom answered. "I just hadn't seen him in a while, and you know what they say about children when they're quiet."

"They're up to something," most of the parents chorused in response before laughing.

"We get no respect!" a chorus of indignant male voices replied from the gaming corner, causing the entire room to start laughing.

Taylor*

"Well, that was something," Battery, no Sharron, mumbled as the laughter died off. "So what have you girls been doing over the past week and a half?"

"Mostly hanging out or been at school like any other normal teenager," Katie answered and the rest of us mostly nodded. "I had a date last Saturday, and Akane spent the weekend just outside of town with her cousins at the Chinese Amazon's farm."

"A date huh," Sharron asked. "I didn't know about that, who is he?"

"Greg Veder," I answered, poking Katie in the side as she blushed and looked away from her new caretaker. "He's okay I guess," I continued, "we've been going to school together for years and other than being a little bit of a geek, and occasionally a little creepy, he's not a bad guy."

"I haven't noticed him being creepy," Akane commented with a raised eyebrow, "when was this?"

"Back in Winslow," I answered, "and I might be doing him a disservice in saying that, but there were a few times since the start of high school that he came off a bit, obsessive."

Katie snorted, "Yeah," she said suppressing a laugh. "Greg sometimes loses track of where he is and goes a bit far in his conversations, but he wouldn't hurt anyone. Hell, Brian and I are teaching him how to fight and he is so damn careful with both of us, like he thinks he's a brute or something."

"You don't think?" I started, only for Akane to laugh and shake her head.

"I've Gibbs slapped the guy," she said suppressing a chuckle. "He isn't, he's just careful and not wanting to fuck up what he sees as obviously a good thing for himself."

I nodded only for Katie to smile and sigh a little. "He's a good guy, but like most men, needs a bit of work. Sort of like Ethan, right Sharron?" That had her guardian sputtering and the rest of us chuckling

"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up you bunch," the heroine said smiling. "So why don't you tell me about that date from Saturday?"

"It wasn't much," Katie answered. "We went to the Boardwalk and had dinner before walking around a bit. With the Merchants gone, it was actually quite peaceful."

Katie

Brockton Bay Boardwalk

Jan. 22, 2011*

I giggled as Greg finished reciting the rabbit scene from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" while we walked south along the Boardwalk. Two weeks mandatory time off, plus hazard pay for what had happened Tuesday had been a nice addition to my bank account, allowing me to add more music and manga to my now growing collection. I had placed a few special orders when Akane, Taylor and I had hit Uber and Leet's store the day before and gotten each of them sized for the costumes for Halloween. Akane had been enthusiastic about it, and Taylor had gotten caught up in the excitement after a while, going for a Lulu costume to compliment my Yuna costume. All in all, it had been a good night out as had this one.

The sun had set behind the mountains in the distance a while before, and with us near the southern edge of the boardwalk, the stars were shining through the light pollution of the city while the moon fell away from hitting full a couple of days before. In short, it was a romantic night out, even though it was cold as hell. "So what are you thinking about Katie?" Greg asked as he bumped into me pulling from my musings on the stars, the moon, and the weather.

"How nice a night it is," I answered, turning to him and giving him a peck on the cheek. "School is peaceful, as opposed to Winslow, work is, interesting as well as better paying, and my family situation is getting straightened out. All in all, life is good." As I had spoken, I had done a little shuffle step slightly away from him. "Having you around, however, is the reason for all of it," I continued as I turned back and gave him a smile. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had a reason to be better than I had been. The fact that you are a great kisser is just the cherry on top of everything."

Greg blushed as I reached out and pulled him close. "You're only saying that to boost my confidence," he muttered just before we kissed again, this one longer and more serious.

"Is it working?" I asked semi-seriously as we separated.

"Kinda," he answered a little breathlessly. "I mean I…" he started only to get interrupted by a familiar voice barging in.

"Aren't they cute," a familiar male voice said out of the darkness, causing both of us to turn and look, only to be flash blinded by the striking of a match. The face was also familiar to me but while I couldn't quite place it, Greg obviously did.

"What do you want, Jimbo?" Greg growled, sliding around me to that side. I reached my hands into my pockets and wrapped my fingers around the roll of quarters in each.

Jimbo took a few puffs on his cigarette before answering. "You know Veder, since you didn't give me the answers to that test, I'm having to get up at the ass crack of dawn and ride the bus to Clarendon. Michael and I both are, and he's not happy about it either."

"Sounds like a you problem to me," Greg answered, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets and turning away from the asshole. "C'mon Katie," he said showing a lot of bravado. "Something seems to stink down here, lets go."

I started to respond only to be cut off by the click of a switchblade, "It's a you problem alright Veder," the other boy growled even as he charged at us, only for Greg to pivot, step into the other boy's charge and then put his fist into the other guy's face. A fist that was wrapped around a roll of quarters just like mine were. The switchblade started forward even as the fist made contact, only to drop uselessly to the ground as its wielder folded around the fist before falling to the ground.

Greg stepped back and cradled his right hand. "I think I might have broke something," he muttered through a grimace. "Could you call the police, glass jaw or not that hurt."

"Sure," I answered, pulling out my phone and calling the BBPD while watching for Jimbo's usual partner. Thankfully no one else showed up out of the darkness until the flashing lights of the police and an ambulance showed up.

Taylor*

Saturday Jan. 29, 2011*

"Good lord what are you feeding that boy?" Sharron asked, laughing at the story. Katie meanwhile was blushing deeply and shaking her head at the older woman's antics. The boys had wandered over by that time, Dean sliding in next to Victoria and Rory next to Crystal.

"It's more about what we've been teaching him," Brian said from behind me, causing me to look back and up to find the older teen almost looming behind me. Wow, I thought, he's huge! "Greg," he continued, "is learning boxing and weights from me, while Katie teaches him the dirty tricks that you don't use in the ring and keeping his cardio up."

"I'm sure she is," Ethan said, smirking only to be smacked by his wife who muttered something under her breath. "What about you Taylor?"

"Went to talk to Akane's Aunt last Saturday about possible modeling work," I muttered just loud enough to be heard. "Allowed myself to get talked into a half-dozen photo shoots over the next few months that a former friend had been slated to do and now can't." At that point I grinned. "She finds out that I am going to be the one doing them and she's going to be pissed."

"Sometimes the petty revenge is the best revenge," Lisa said, lifting her glass. "So what will you be modeling?" the blonde asked.

"Shoes and gloves to begin with," I answered thinking back to that day. "Apparently I have better legs and hands than Emma does, and the guy doing the pictures also hated Emma's attitude."

0900-Saturday January 22, 2011*

"Taylor, Akane, so good of you to come by," Hikari Horaki said walking out of a hallway from the back of the offices downtown. Suddenly she turned, looking behind her and yelled out, "Hitomi, come here and meet your cousin," before she finished walking toward us. "Akane," she continued, "your cousin is here because of that fracas up at Cornell, so she's going to be the one to take you out to the farm while Taylor and I discuss what she is possibly agreeing to." She then turned to me, "and I've already talked to your father Taylor, and if you agree to anything I'll fax the paperwork over to him or hand it to you to take home with you to discuss with him. Also, don't think that you have to decide anything today, if you want to take a few of the offers home with you and discuss them with him, that's fine as well. None of these will happen before the next Endbringer attack has passed, though at that point it might get a bit hairy."

As I nodded to this a girl almost as tall as Mrs. Horaki's husband walked out of the back. Between the girl and Hitomi Horaki I could see the family resemblance, and there was a definite resemblance to Miranda and Nemuri as well. But why don't I see any resemblance to Kenta Horaki or Akane? my mind asked.

Akane froze, her face looking like she had seen a ghost, before blinking and smiling at her cousin. "Nihao, Hitomi," she said, causing the other girl to misstep and almost fall before looking at us, her eyes flashing from her mother's back to me and then to Akane.

"Do I know you?" she asked carefully, and Hikari Horaki laughed.

"When you were about six I think," the woman said, turning around to smile at her daughter. "Your father, sister and I introduced you to your aunt and namesake," she said, only to be interrupted by her daughter who finally remembered.

"The picture with the woman and the baby," she blurted out in shock before taking Akane in with another look. "You look good for someone who's supposed to have been dead for over a decade."

Mrs. Horaki gasped only for Akane to chuckle and respond with, "You should see the other guy," smiling the entire time. "Taylor, you ok here?" I nodded, a slightly crooked smile coming to my face as I did so. Akane was in a joking mood, which meant that she was ready, willing and able to give Dennis and Amy a run for their money in snark, sarcasm and pranks. "Then since Hitomi is going to be giving me a ride out to this farm, I suppose we ought to get a move on." She stepped over and gave her aunt a hug before going over to her cousin and poking the girl in the clavicle. "Let's get a move on, I'm sure the local elders want to have a word with both of us before I can do anything else."

An almost feral grin spread across the older girl's face. "Alright," she said. "How fast do you think you can shamble there, madam zombie?" Hitomi asked.

"Probably faster than you if I knew what you were driving," Akane said with a smirk. "But since you are doing the driving, and I don't know what you drive, I think you should take the lead."

"Touche," Hitomi said with a nod before turning around. "Walk this way," she said as she started to head back the way she came. Akane gave me a smile and a quick hug before running off after her cousin and I had to smile.

"This is going to give the elders nightmares I'm sure," Mrs. Horaki muttered before turning her attention back to me. "How about we go look at some of the things that these designers and manufacturers want you to model." I could only nod and watch the other two go out of sight, a feeling of dread starting to fill me about what was to come.

"Taylor," Mrs. Horaki said as she led me into a new room. "This is Maureen O'Hara, and she's going to be your personal assistant and the fitter for clothes while you are here." I looked at the young woman in the room and blinked before giving her a shaky smile and a nod.

"I'm going to need a stepladder for this one boss lady," the small, bubblegum pink haired young woman said with a smile. Something about the way she said it, along with the smile suggested that she didn't mean the jab as anything more than a way to break the ice. "Still, she has nice legs, can I see your hands real quick?"

I blinked at that but nodded. "Why my hands?" I asked.

"There's a rush on a glove advertisement that we need a model for," Mrs. Horaki said with a sigh. "Technically it is for next winter's clothing line but the manufacturer wants it in place to be advertised before next October and is pushing for it to be done before spring is even here."

"That red-head that got herself arrested was supposed to be shooting it next Sunday," the assistant grumbled as she examined my hands and forearms. "Not that she was very good for it, just the best we could find at the time. Problem of course is that her pretrial release limits her to home and school, effective house arrest, and the photographer wants to do the whole thing down at the boardwalk." At that point Maureen looked up at me. "Your hands are more what we were looking for than hers were," I shot her a questioning look and she smiled at me. "Honestly, please tell me you'll do this, so we don't have to reschedule everything."

"Maureen," Mrs. Horaki said with a slightly chiding tone. "Taylor is still getting used to the idea that she can be a model, don't pressure her."

"Getting used to…" The pink-ette said, stepping back and giving her boss a questioning look. "Boss lady look at her, I know a dozen models that would literally kill to have her body, and another dozen or more that would just for her hair. Hell, I want to know what she uses to get that sheen, and how she gets it that straight while still having the amount of curl that she does. I mean seriously, if I wasn't looking right at you now, I would think the closeups from the fashion show last weekend had been photoshopped."

I stared at the anime styled strawberry-blonde, my mouth hanging open in shock. "I just wash it," I answered dumbfounded, "Nothing special goes into my hair, just a common shampoo and time."

Now it was the other two's turn to look at me shocked. "You mean that you don't treat your hair?" Mrs. Horaki asked, running a hand through the trailing end of my hair even as Maureen blinked at me. "This is all natural?" the older woman asked.

"Bullshit," Maureen breathed out, "and that really was your first-time modeling clothes?" I nodded and her eyes got wide. "We got ourselves a gods be damned natural. How in the hell did we manage that boss?"

"I don't know," Mrs. Horaki said almost breathlessly, "but Taylor?" I turned to her and nodded. "If you would be so kind as to let us know what problems you have with modeling for this agency, I will move heaven and earth to fix them."

"Mrs. Horaki," I said, giving the woman as kind a smile as I could. "As Akane has pointed out to me, my problems stem from certain slanderous redheads and the damage they have done to my self-esteem. I'm going to take the glove shoot for you." That got the both of them beaming. "And then we'll take each of Emma's other shoots on a case-by-case basis as they get closer. Are there any others that are rush jobs?"

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011*

"So you're modeling out of spite," Vicky said smiling as Lisa cackled off to the blonde's right.

"Oh yeah," I said smiling. "As Lisa said, sometimes the petty revenge is the best, besides, it helps Akane's aunt out of a bind and it gets me out there outside my comfort zone."

"Could you possibly drag Amy along with you to a few of those," Vicky asked only to receive a slap on the shoulder from her sister who reached across Lisa to accomplish it. "Ames, you know you need to get out more, and it's not like you wouldn't enjoy it."

The healer looked at her sister, jaw hanging open in apparent shock. "Vicky!" she finally got out, voice tinged with a little whine. "Why did you?"

"Ames, it's not like anyone here at the table doesn't know, or really care about it," Vicky said, giving her sister a smile even as Crystal gave her a hug from the other side. "By now I bet better than half the school knows, and you know what?" Amy gave her sister a questioning look, "The only ones that care either go to Othala for their healing, or else want to get in your pants."

"You're joking," Amy deadpanned, causing her sister to shake her head.

"She's not wrong," Akane said smiling. "I have a personal tap into the gossip mill, and once news about your personal preferences hit the mill, the whispers and questions took off. Which girl you fancy is probably the second biggest question out there right now."

"What's the first?" Amy snarked back.

"Where the Endbringer is going to hit the weekend after next." Akane said flatly and effectively killing that avenue of conversation.

It took the group a few minutes for the group to work their minds through that comment, successfully distracting them from who my personal gossiper was. It was a dirty trick, but an effective one especially since somehow in the two weeks we had been there Myrtle Erkhel had managed to not only insert herself into the gossip and rumor mill at Arcadia, but had managed to get herself keyed in to everything that went on in the school from freshman to senior years. The girl knew it paid to listen, and in those two weeks, Myrtle had managed to become Arcadia's gossip queen. "Anyway," Taylor said, trying to get the conversation started once more. "Hitomi took you off to see the Amazons, how did that go and where are they set up?"

"Most people refer to it as the Germantown farm I think," I answered.

"Just to the west of town?' Crystal asked and I nodded in response. "I knew I had seen more activity out that way the last three or four years. How did Lung end up with it."

That caused me to grimace slightly. "You know the rumors about women getting kidnapped and shipped overseas for the sex trade?" The others grimaced and nodded. "Lung, when he took over the Asian gangs, ordered it to stop, threatened the lot of those that remained that if they worked to continue it he wasn't going to be happy. Apparently, one of the old gangs thought they were, sneakier than the dragon."

Akane

Jan. 22, 2011

"The Farm '' was a phrase whispered by both parents and teenage to twenty-something young women in fear. Rumors abounded about girls going missing, never to be seen again, and the common thought was that they were shipped out and sold overseas, forced into the sex trade and left somewhere overseas with no ability to escape. Word was that it was the ABB that did it, that they would kidnap pretty, young American girls and sell them in Singapore or Malacca, and that "The Farm'' was where they were collected to await shipment while being broken in. The fact that these rumors were mostly spread by the Empire and their sympathizers didn't make me think that they were lies, but they struck me as a touch of moral relativism as the Empire assuredly shipped girls off to Europe for their own contact's, pleasure.

The place that Hitomi brought me to definitely would have fit the image that the Empire wanted people to believe about Asians and the ABB. Most of the people that were in view were Asian, and almost all were women, though the handful that were not Asian showed no signs of distress. Hitomi must have noted the wonder that covered my face as I looked around, and she spoke up to explain. "When Lung conquered the various gangs, creating the ABB as it is now, he set down a list of rules that to defy would mean death," she said simply as she parked the car. "One of those rules was that no person was to be sold, period. The remains of the local Triad gang tried to continue the outbound flesh trade through here, and Lung was not pleased. As a result, he made a pointed example of the group."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," I commented as she put the gear shift into park. "But what did he do?"

"The way most of the people here remark about it is that Lung put them to work in the field," she answered. "The reality is that he cut one of their Achilles tendons and then put them out as scarecrows before handing the farm over to the Amazon elders."

"He crucified them?" I asked shocked, and she nodded. "It's honestly a bit more western than I would have anticipated." I added after taking off my seatbelt. "How many were there?"

"Six," she answered, opening the driver's door, and I followed with the passenger door. "The decree was that if they survived a week, or triggered, they would be released and sent out of the city. Only one of them even got close, and he died the night before he would have been freed."

Climbing out of the car, I blinked at that before realizing that things would have been worse for them if they had simply been handed over to the Amazons. The elders didn't play around when it came to kidnapping and sexual assaults. The fact that there would have been ample evidence to see them convicted in a normal court was beside the point. "He did that because he said he would punish them didn't he?" I asked.

"Yes," Hitomi answered, shutting her door. "And for whatever problems anyone has with Lung, he is a man of his word. If he tells you that he will do A if you do B, then he means it and he will follow through with it. Now, let's go see grandmother," she said with a smile as I closed my door.

Taylor*

"Jesus Christ," I heard someone mutter, and it took me a minute to realize that it had been me. I looked at Akane and blinked before looking at the others. Lisa, Vicky and Katie looked contemplative, while Amy looked sick and Crystal and Sharron looked angry. The boys all just looked shocked.

"How," Crystal growled, "can a monster like that still be free?"

"Multiple reasons," Lisa answered, clearly waxing philosophical. "The least of which being that the last time he fought the local Protectorate and New Wave, he kicked your asses." Crystal blinked at that bluntness but nodded in acceptance. "Then there is the fact that he shows up to practically every Endbringer fight, and fights on the front line every time, and that's after single-handedly fighting a delaying action against Leviathan at Kyushu, while the other capes worked to evacuate the civilians. He earned a lot of good will for that alone, and a lot of fear as well. The final thing is that outside of breaking the rules and going after him in his civilian persona with intent to kill from the beginning, the only capes that can stop him in a rampage are Alexandria and Eidolon, and that is out of all the known heroes and villains."

"What about Crawler?" Brian asked.

"Crawler is a definite maybe," Lisa replied. "But the problem then becomes which power wins, Crawlers adaptive regeneration, or Lung's ability to escalate to the threat?" At that point the entire group went contemplative. Akane and Lisa had points, certainly, but Crystal was right in that the man was a monster.

"Monster or not, he keeps his people in line," Sharron said, breaking the quiet of thought. "I found out, after the fact, that a couple years back there were some mooks that decided to initiate a new member by having her carve up a girl in an alley. Lucky for the girl, Shadow Stalker happened by and rescued her and her father, or else they might have ended up a different statistic. After the foursome got released on bail though, they went back to the west end, only to end up decorating a couple of lamp posts."

"Brutal," Carlos commented.

"But effective," Vicky chimed in. "The ABB tends toward a mixture of white- and blue-collar crime, but it's mostly completely internal to the West End and it is almost completely non-violent."

The rest of the group nodded to this, and Crystal sighed in response. "So the long and short of it is that while Lung is a monster, he is at worst a useful one that keeps to his own and because of that is less of a problem."

"Eh," Akane said, wiggling her hand. "I wouldn't necessarily go that far. But I will say that he is less of a priority than say, Kaiser and the Empire."

The collective group nodded again, before Katie spoke up. "Hey," she said, "why are we talking about work when we have so much else to discuss? How did things go, meeting your uncle's mother?"

Akane sighed at that. "About as well as it could go, I think," she answered. "It was what I expected anyway. Hitomi introduced us, and she called me over for a hug while reminiscing about the one time she had met my mother. Then she started testing me on the Amazon Style of fighting which lasted the rest of the day."

"What about after that?" I asked.

"Afterwards," Akane answered, "Which meant after I beat a couple of the Amazon's there, Hitomi took me to Uncle Kenta's place which wasn't far away. His place is, modest, for around here, bigger than your house Taylor, but not as big as Dinah's, and he obviously patterned it after the Kuno home in Nerima."

1800 hrs. Jan. 22, 2011*

"Akane!" I heard a voice yell as I climbed out of Hitomi's car only to be impacted by a teenage missile.

I smiled, "Hello Nemuri," I said ruffling the girl's hair. "How have you been?"

"I'm good," the girl said, pushing herself just far enough away from me to look up at me before grabbing my hand. "We need to get you to the bath though, you're all stinky."

"Grandmother has been testing her in the Amazon style most of the day," Hitomi volunteered. "I'll get you some of my older clothes to wear since you didn't bring anything to change into."

"Didn't know I was going to need to," I chuckled. "But a bath sounds terrific right about now," I continued, and food wouldn't be amiss either."

As I said that Nemuri dragged me through the doors and the scent of food smacked me across the face, causing my mouth to water. "Well, I'm glad you're hungry," Uncle Kenta said, turning away from the stove where he had just pulled something out of the oven. "Because I have spent half the afternoon preparing dinner, I hope you like it."

"By the smell, I'm sure I will," I replied. "Now, where's that bath?" I asked Nemuri, who smiled and drug me off, leaving Hitomi with her father.

Akane*

"So you had a family dinner?" Taylor asked smiling. I nodded in response, so she asked. "What are they like?"

"Nemuri is a chatterbox," I answered smiling as I recalled the last weekend. Filled me in on everything that was going on with the family, like how your dad got the restaurant refloored and ready to open again tomorrow or how her mom is now going through a stack of offers to find you just the right jobs." I then leaned closer to her and lowered my voice. "She even told me how your father took Aunt Ukyo out to dinner last Saturday."

"I thought he seemed a bit," she paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Upbeat the next morning. "Hey Dad!" she called out to where her father was tending to the grill. "How was your date with miss Kuonji last weekend?"

Danny Hebert seemed to try and ignore the question, but Crystal's father stepped over and elbowed him slightly, talking to him in a low enough tone that the people at the girl's table couldn't hear them. After a moment of talk though, Taylor's dad handed the tongs over to Crystal's and walked over to them. "We had a nice date," he answered. "I took her over to Fratelli's Fish House for dinner, and then we killed a few more hours walking around the boardwalk and talking. Yes, we enjoyed ourselves and yes, I will be asking her out again once the restaurant hits its stride for the year. Are there any other questions?"

"No Dad," Taylor said smiling at him. "Its good to go out there and try to move forward."

He smiled at her and reaching past Brian ruffled her hair. "Thanks kiddo," he said. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow." Taylor nodded and her dad went back to the grill where he took the tongs back from Crystal's father.

"Ok, that's the youngest," Katie said looking at me. "What about the other two?"

"Hitomi is still a bit off kilter because of Cornell and having to change schools because the majority of her major's areas were destroyed. Miranda on the other hand is currently debating whether or not to quit working on learning the Amazon style."

"I would love to learn the Amazon style," Crystal muttered, and Rory wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

"I'm fairly sure I could talk Elder Xian Pu into teaching you," I commented. "But you would be facing a steep learning curve. Quite frankly, the most effective way for you to learn would probably be the traditional way, which means working in the Nekohatten."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"Well to start with you don't speak Mandarin." I answered.