Chapter 18

As Clockblocker and I arrived in the lobby, we found Kid Win and Vista waiting for us with Miss Militia and a PRT officer. Each wore an orange felt poppy pined over their heart, like people wore every year on December 13th to commemorate the lives lost to the Endbringers. Vista was clutching a bunch of flowers in her hands, a mix of orange poppies and red carnations. I supposed that was the purpose of the errand Kid Win and her had been on.

It baffled me a bit that florists would have hurried to reopen so soon after the disaster when they weren't anything near an essential service, though presumably, between the memorial's unveiling and the funerals of the capes and civilians who had perished, there would be enough of a demand for flowers to justify it.

Miss Militia greeted us, and handed us each a felt poppy. I pinned mine in place next to the honeycomb logo on my dress.

"Déjà Vu gave the all clear concerning Coil," she told me, "but she said to watch out for a group of Nazis looking to set off fireworks near the ceremony. We've positioned officers around, but I would appreciate if you could keep an eye out."

"I will," I answered.

The officer led us outside to a van, and we climbed in the back, with me next to Miss Militia, and the three other Wards across from us.

The ride to Captain's Hill took about twenty minutes, and no one said a word, though I felt that the occasion was probably more to blame than me. Clockblocker, Kid Win and Miss Militia kept stealing glances at Vista, who was staring off into the distance as we made our way to a neighborhood that hadn't been affected by the disaster at all, near the mountains west of the city.

The van stopped on the side of the street bordering the Captain's Hill park, and we all exited it to walk toward the covered monument on top of the hill. A podium had been installed beside it for the mayor's speech, and hundreds of people were gathered to witness the unveiling of the memorial.

The Protectorate heroes stood to the left of the crowd, near the front, and we joined them. Assault and Battery turned to me as I arrived.

"Hey, newbie. Are you okay?" Assault asked.

"I'm fine," I answered, mindful not to give too much details with the nearby civilians who could overhear us. "Are you?"

"Great as always," he said, clapping me on the shoulder.

"I'm glad that you're okay," Battery added with a smile before going to see the other Wards.

At the front of the crowd, I noticed Director Piggot and a few other PRT employees, as well as Maureen, who was wearing a dramatic black blouse with ruched sleeves and an oversized bow at the front. Each had an orange poppy pined over their heart, like most people in the crowd. Despite the media ban, I also recognized some of the journalists who had been present at the press conference introducing me as a Ward, filming on their phones rather than with a camera crew.

Meanwhile, I was tagging everyone in my range with bugs, as well as keeping track of groups of people and moving vehicles. It didn't take long before I found what I was looking for.

A truck made its way through the trail leading to the base of the nearby mountains, and backtracked after seeing the PRT van that was stationed there. At the back of the truck were two large metal grids on a rack, each with metal tubes placed to form the number eight, presumably to shape the fireworks.

I went to Miss Militia.

"I found the Nazis," I told her. "They just turned away on the trail at the base of the mountain, where a PRT van is parked."

"I'll relay it to the squad," she said. "Good job."

Soon, the van started, giving chase to the truck as it took the road leading to the other side of the mountains, until they both fell out of my range.

Miss Militia went to exchange a few words with Déjà Vu, then walked up to the mayor to give him the all clear.

He stepped to the podium, and the crowd quieted as he began addressing them in a grave voice.

"Good morning, and thank you all for being here. Today, we pay our respects to those who gave their lives defending our city."

Between Kid Win and Clockblocker, Vista sniffled, and Kid Win took her hand to squeeze it.

"Their bravery and sacrifices are the reason the city still stands, and will be remembered, immortalized in this monument."

Two men lifted the black sheet hiding the monument, revealing an obelisk of black marble with etched letters reflecting the sunlight with a metal gleam. There were a dozen names on each of the sides I could see.

"Here are their names," the mayor continued. "Acoustic. Aegis. Alabaster. Apotheosis. Ascendant. Bastion. Brigandine. Browbeat. Chubster. Cloister. Dauntless. Debaser. Escutcheon. Erudite. Fenja. Fierceling. Frenetic. Furrow. Gallant." He gave each name appropriate gravitas no matter who he was naming, hero or villain.

At the mention of Gallant, Vista let out a sob and clutched the flowers in her hand tighter. Clockblocker passed his arm around her shoulders.

It didn't escape my notice that a few of the journalists were aiming their phones at us rather than at the mayor, and I couldn't help but feel a flare of annoyance on her behalf. A handful of bugs flew to cover the phones' cameras and ruin the footage.

The mayor was still reciting names. "Geomancer. Good Neighbor. Hallow. Herald. Humble. Impel. Iron Falcon. Jotun. Kaiser."

Nothing happened. Just another name amongst the list. I still kept note of the people in my range in case anything changed.

"Manpower. Mister Eminent. Oaf. Pelter. Penitent. Quark. Resolute. Saurian. Scalder. Sham. Shielder. Smackdown. Snowflake. Strider. Uglymug. Velocity. Vitiator. WCM. Zigzag," the mayor finished listing. "Now, let us observe a minute of silence for the fallen."

I lowered my head, along with the other heroes. I focused on my bugs in the meantime. A few people belatedly joined the crowd, though none struck me as potential capes or troublemakers. There were no people in unusual places that would raise red flags, like behind the cedar hedge separating the hill from the neighboring mountains, on rooftops or at the nearby belvedere on top of one of the mountains, nor could I find any obvious signs of Empire affiliation on anyone present, aside from a few men with shaved heads, but they weren't gathered together. I still kept an eye on them in case they tried anything.

After the minute had passed, the mayor thanked the crowd, then stepped away from the podium and toward the obelisk. An aide handed him an armful of flowers, and he laid down a wreath of orange poppies against each side of the monument.

Others in the crowd began to step forward, to lay their own tributes and pay their respects to the fallen while the mayor's people removed the podium. Vista went, and the bunch of flowers in her hands turned out to be several smaller bouquets, each made of three or four flowers. She laid four bouquets one by one on the first side of the monument by alphabetical order, the first three presumably for Aegis, Browbeat and Dauntless, though I couldn't figure out who the fourth was for. She moved to the left, to the end of the list, and laid one down for Velocity, then went around the obelisk to the second side, where she laid red carnations for Gallant.

Clockblocker and Kid Win also went, touching the monument where the names of their fallen friends were.

I stayed behind, figuring that I would go after them to let them have their moment in peace.

I recognized part of New Wave, or what remained of it, amongst the people stepping forward to lay flowers. Brandish, Lady Photon, Laserdream and Glory Girl were all out of costume and wearing black. Flashbang and Panacea were absent, I noted. Glory Girl also laid flowers on the side with Gallant's name, red roses, and put an arm around Vista's shoulders as they remained in front of that side of the monument.

I looked away, feeling like I was intruding on their moment. Also intruding were the handful of increasingly frustrated journalists trying to film or take pictures of the heroes around the memorial and only managing to catch blurry bug silhouettes. A few looks were thrown my way, but since the medias weren't even supposed to be here, there was precious little they could do about it.

"So, you're the new hero, huh? Apiary, was it?" Said a girl, approaching me.

She was dressed in black, like the majority of the people present, wearing a black jeans skirt over leggings, and an oversized black sweater with an orange poppy pined over the heart. Her blond hair was tied in a french braid, a few strands escaping it.

I glanced at Miss Militia, who was talking with a teenage boy around my age with a mop of black hair falling over his eyes. Déjà Vu had wandered off to Revoke's side, and like me, they were letting the others go first. The other heroes had all gone to the monument to pay their respects.

I looked back at Lisa.

"I suppose I am."

"I heard that you used to be a villain," she said with a cheeky grin.

I hesitated, choosing my words carefully.

"People change, and circumstances change."

"I guess," she said with a sigh. "And you're okay with that? Being a hero after everything?"

"It's better on my conscience," I told her honestly.

She gave me a sad smile.

"I suppose it is. Are you okay, though? I heard you were in a big fight yesterday," she said, lowering her voice so the other heroes wouldn't hear.

That gave me pause. Had she known beforehand that Shadow Stalker would attack me? To which degree was she complicit to Coil?

"How did you hear about that?" I asked her, cautious.

"The usual way," she answered. "I wanted to makes sure you were okay. I didn't… That was all him. That and the leak."

"How did he know all that stuff, then?"

She shrugged.

"He has his ways. I'm trying to get him off your case, though it's still a work in progress. But first, I want to know if you're okay."

"I'm fine," I said, part of me feeling relieved that she hadn't betrayed me after all, though the other part couldn't help but wonder how much I could trust what she was saying. "Are you?"

"Peachy," she said, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "I hope you don't regret your choice. I guess it's one of those fork in the road moments where you have to take a leap of faith, since most of us mere mortals can't see both paths at once."

That was an odd statement to make. She stared me in the eyes as she spoke, her expression turning serious enough to make me wonder whether there was a message hidden in her words. What could it mean? What kind of message would she try to give me? Knowing her, every word had to be calculated. She'd said "most of us," I noticed, which implied that some of us did. Was she talking about Coil? Giving me a hint about his power? It would fit with the rest of the conversation, and I straightened up a bit at the thought.

She grinned, that familiar Tattletale grin, a confirmation if there ever was one.

"I should go," she said as some of the heroes came back. "Nice to meet you, Apiary."

"You too," I answered.

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, and I felt her press something into my palm as she did.

She let go and walked away as I glanced at my hand. Part of me had hoped for a scrap of paper with a secret message or a way to contact her, but it wasn't anything like that.

It was a small spring ending with a cluster of tiny, five-petaled blue flowers with yellow centers.

Forget-me-nots.

My mom had owned a book about floriography, the Victorian language of flowers, and though I remembered looking at the pictures with her, I couldn't remember the meaning of this specific flower, aside from the obvious one. I'd have to look it up online.

I delicately placed the spring in my pocket, then I went to the memorial to pay my respects.

Meanwhile, bugs followed Lisa to her car, and I hesitated, wanting to say something more, something I couldn't have said with the other heroes scattered around, but I couldn't find the words.

Her car started, and she headed East, until she fell out of my range. No goodbyes.

Later on, when we arrived back to the PRT HQ, Miss Militia took me aside and asked me to follow her.

For a moment, I worried that it had to do with my chat with Lisa, but she led me to one of the conference rooms on the third floor, where Revoke, Déjà Vu and Director Piggot were already installed.

Miss Militia sat next to Piggot, across from Déjà Vu, and I sat beside her.

"As expected, Coil has leaked the security footage of your fight with Shadow Stalker," Piggot began. "Or at least, the part of it that occurred around that building. He also alleged that you later used excessive force in an attempt to kill Shadow Stalker in retaliation, but his evidence for that is weak at best. We put out a statement naming him as being behind both the attack and the leak, explicitly stating his goal to undermine us."

"I didn't try to kill her," I said. "Unless she's allergic to wasp stings, which I'm pretty sure she's not, she didn't get stung enough times to trigger anaphylactic shock."

"I've read the report," said Piggot, "and the public seems firmly on your side, though they are mainly outraged that this situation was allowed to happen in the first place. In the text accompanying the video, Coil called for me to resign or be suspended, which is a possibility we'll have to prepare ourselves for."

"But we know that's what he wants," I protested. "Isn't there anything we can do against it?"

"The board of Directors had been made aware of Coil's attempts to force a restructuration," she answered, "but an investigation remains likely, especially with the court of public opinion against me. Not to mention that we don't know how far-reaching his influence is within the organization. Fortunately, given the likelihood that he is looking to have me replaced with one of his puppets like in the mayoral election, the board has agreed to let Deputy Director Renick take over my functions, should I be put on leave."

That seemed like a sensible alternative to having someone new and most likely corrupted take the wheel.

"For now," she continued, "we couldn't leave the attempt on your life unanswered. After your report, we pulled strings and called in favors to mobilize a select few Thinkers across the country to try and find the best way to handle Coil and the ace up his sleeve while minimizing collateral damage."

I nodded, leaning forward. Finally, they were coming through. I wished they'd done this from the start, but the bitter part of me couldn't help but see a correlation between Piggot's position being threatened and her willingness to finally take action.

"However," she continued, and I deflated a bit, "while we were trying to get in touch with everyone and coordinate a meeting, Déjà Vu's power came back, and she saw that Coil had evacuated his base during the night."

My heart sank, a wave of cold washing over me.

Her statement hung in the air, everyone watching for my reaction, and I clenched my fists beneath the table, nails digging into my palms to keep me from betraying anything.

Just like that, we'd lost our only lead on Dinah.

Was that it? Would they declare that there was nothing more they could do? Wasn't there someone, somewhere, who could track him down?

I opened my mouth to speak, but Déjà Vu answered before I could ask.

"Unfortunately, our most precise trackers need to have touched or met someone to be able to find them again. The others can't narrow it down enough to matter. All we know is that he is still within the city. But's that not all. If we search the base, we'll find a massive vault with two reinforced steel doors, so big that the pet Endbringer thesis seems more and more likely."

"You can't see what was in there?" I asked after swallowing past the lump in my throat.

"I can't see the past, only the future. I can tell you that it smells like rotten meat in there, though."

"And he managed to move what was in there without anyone noticing? Despite the surveillance?"

"We know he has access to teleporting tinkertech," Revoke pointed out. "And we only had one entrance under surveillance. Presumably, there are others."

I took a deep breath to center myself before speaking again.

"I thought Revoke's presence was supposed to mess with his power and Dinah's predictions."

"It's a double-edged sword," Déjà Vu answered. "She can't be perceived by him or Dinah, but we can't include her in any Thinker-made plan, because we can't perceive her either."

"So we have nothing, then," I concluded, voice harsh.

"We'll send a team to investigate his base," said Piggot. "Maybe forensics will be able to bring us some answers on the nature of the vault's occupant."

"I meant on Dinah. Saving her was my condition for joining, and you've done nothing at all," I spat the words at her.

I had to consciously hold back my bees from attacking the guards posted around the rooftop. They were unusually aggressive, responding faster to my subconscious influence on them than to my conscious commands.

Under the table, my fists were still clenched, nails biting indents into my palms through the thin fabric of my gloves to keep me from having a more physical reaction.

Miss Militia turned to me.

"You said that he had just moved into his new base when you first visited it. Do you know whether he had another base before?"

I took another deep breath to temper my anger before answering.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised."

"Whatever was in the vault, he needs a place to contain it," Déjà Vu pointed out. "He wouldn't have moved it without."

"It is most likely that he was planning to move anyways, since his base was compromised and under surveillance," said Revoke. "He may very well have spent the past few days securing a way to contain and evacuate the vault's occupant, so he was ready to vacate as soon as we planned to make a move."

"Then we're looking at not one, but possibly two elaborate supervillain lairs built right under our noses," Piggot said in a clipped tone. "They didn't appear out of thin air. A construction crew worked on those, and was still working on this one, based on Apiary's testimony. There has to be records of this somewhere. We'll start by investigating the construction company that worked on the buildings above the base, interviewing their employees and auditing their paperwork to search for discrepancies, and we'll investigate the other sites they've worked on before. That gives us a lead."

She dismissed the meeting.