a not

by thejarl7166

not

1. Admiral

Admiral

AN: This is a story featuring an Alt-Power Taylor with a Master Power that lets her summon German shipgirls. In this world, Taylor's shipgirls are the only ones in existence. They are her power. She for them is their admiral. She will start with only one girl, but with time will gather more into her fleet.

Because I like drama and angst in my comments just as much as in my story these will be exclusively the German ship girls. As they are all the spirits of the ship they are and the crew, they hold beliefs of their crew. BE WARNED! This means that the girls will have beliefs and thoughts, and opinions that were common for their time, but are now socially, politically, and in other ways out of date by decades. Taylor does not hold these beliefs and the interactions between the girls and Taylor as well as the wider world will be a major subject of this story throughout its entirety.

Given these things if you are going to have an issue with this, or if your sensibilities will be offended, please do not read! I do not want a flame war in my story and I do not want it to get banned. I as always will appreciate any constructive criticism, but I do not and will not spend my time with people who come in here looking to get offended and start a fight.

I would like to briefly credit LegoKitsune for their fic Cape Name? I'm Named After a Person which was the story that gave me the idea that inspired this own idea of mine.

TV TROPES PAGE

As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

NURSE

I was seated behind the reception desk at the entrance of the emergency wing of the hospital. It was the middle of the day, a little past one now. The lobby room was quiet, mostly. Oh, there were a few rooms in the back that were occupied but it was far enough past new years that the inevitable wave of accidents had been sent home. The worst cases had been transferred to longer-term areas of the hospital. The lull was not enough to let the doctors and nurses like me be caught off guard though.

The sliding doors of the entrance had opened barely in time to allow the figure racing through to squeeze in carrying large bulky cases on straps over her shoulder and more importantly a person in her arms. Now standing in the hospital emergency entrance the blond-haired woman screamed deafeningly loudly, getting the attention of all of us.

"Doctor! I need a doctor here!"

I could hear the frantic shouts, my ears and brain registered a faint German accent as I raced around from behind the reception desk. My attention was immediately drawn to the woman, no the girl I realized that she held to her body. The girl was dangerously pale, her body covered in sweat, she smelled of blood, and worse. She was also nearly adult grown and a part of me was wondering how the blond woman? Boy? Was carrying not only the girl but those large and heavy-looking cases on either side of her.

I didn't have time to hesitate though. I turned back even as more footsteps were coming from behind me at a run. Two male nurses, some of the ones we had to handle larger patients were running up, and I pointed at them on instinct and snapped an order.

"Get a crash bed. We're taking her in immediately."

Quickly turning my head back to the front I looked at the frantic blue-eyed blond that had carried this unconscious girl in and snapped twice in front of her face to get her attention, drawing her eyes from the person she was carrying to me.

"What happened to her?"

I asked as I looked at the blood-stained jeans and sweater the girl was in. As I was examining her a bug of some kind crawl from beneath the hem of the hoodie. Immediately I brushed it off her with a hand, we didn't need any more complications for this patient than she already had.

"She was trapped. She was trapped and no one was helping her. No one was helping her. No one was helping her. No one was..."

The blond girl was franticly repeating herself over and over, clearly in shock. I couldn't resist the grimace that twisted my lips. Even though this girl had brought the patient in she was clearly in no fit state herself. I examined her too with well-trained eyes looking her over also for injuries. I didn't see any injuries, only bloodstains to what I realized had to be a uniform of some kind. As I took in the dark gray-green clothes I noticed several other things that caused my mouth to harden into a thin line even as my eyes narrowed. Turning my head back to my fellow nurses I put my thoughts aside. I had a patient to help.

The crash cart was brought up and with the help of the others we quickly transferred the patient into it and the other nurses began to wheel her back at a brisk walk through the halls. Moving quickly in their wake I snapped orders to the others, even the nurses and doctors that were running up even now.

"Prep an IV and I want immediate blood tests!"

I gave one more glance at the blond that was following as we pushed the bed with the black-haired girl forward into the halls of the emergency wing of the hospital. Leaning to the side I spoke more quietly to one of the nurses beside me.

"Contact the PRT. I think these two are E88."

The nurse I had spoken to as we moved through the white hallways at a quick walk with the bed, looked wide-eyed at me before glancing at the blond girl. I could see as the realization filled her eyes as well as she studied the blond for a moment before breaking off from the pack of nurses and doctors to make a particularly important phone call.

After all, how many people would be wearing a military hat with an eagle and swastika of the Nazis?

Two hours later I was badly in want of a coffee, and smoke, as I wondered how such a famous and prestigious hero as the one now standing before me could be so damn aggravating.

"And has the suspect made any threatening comments to you in the time you have been around them?"

Yes, definitely a smoke after this.

"As I've been telling you already. No. She just sits there next to the girl. Doesn't say much of anything and just keeps muttering to herself. Some of it in English, some of it not. I'd guess German but I don't speak that so I can't be sure. Now can I go? I should have been out of here to go pick up my son over an hour ago."

I dared Armsmaster to keep me here, the way his mouth tightened I had no doubt at all that he wanted to. But he did not. And before he could change his mind, I fled out of there in pursuit of freedom and a desperately needed cigarette leaving the blue armored hero standing there.

ARMSMASTER

I stood there studying the heads-up display of my helmet visor. Speaking quietly I jotted down several additional verbal notes for my mission report file.

"Secondary subject still remains unconscious. Intervention by Panacea may be necessary according to hospital personnel, presence of primary parahuman suspect complicates Panacea's presence."

An eye twitch and a blink ended my helmet's active recording function for the moment, and I walked out of the unused emergency room and scanned the hallway. At the end, a pair of PRT troopers were posted on either side of the door to the room in question while the hall was filled with BBPD officers, doctors, nurses, as well as the presence of a familiar key hero.

I walked towards the uniformed and red, white, and blue decorated second in command. Stopping right beside Ms. Militia and moving to the side to clear the center of the hallway I spoke quietly with my coworker and subordinate.

"Has there been any confirmation of identities?"

From behind her bandana mask, she glanced towards the guarded room and back to me.

"We just got the identity of the secondary. Her name is Taylor Hebert. Her father works in the Dock Worker Union, her mother is deceased. Up until now neither she nor her father had any gang ties on record. Her mother was associated with Lustrum but that was years old even before the woman died two years ago."

Proving just how well she knew me she immediately followed up on that.

"And no, her death was non-parahuman related. A drunk driver and driving while on a cell phone."

I nodded in confirmation as I let that settle in. My suit's sophisticated programming was active as my helmet display field was already accessing case files and pulling up the information from the crash. I'd filled out enough crime scene reports to look for things out of the ordinary and there was nothing in that.

Of course, that still left us with the question of what a member of the Empire, a previously unknown one at that was doing with the girl. I voiced my suspicions to such.

"So, her past isn't involved. What are we thinking, Empire initiation gone bad?"

Militia shook her head.

"I don't know how our benevolent Tinkertech equipped Nazi hero comes into it but I'm going to guess not. This doesn't resemble any of their usual initiations that we've seen in the past. The blood tests came back, and I've heard some of the doctors quietly talking about biowarfare attacks."

That caught me off guard. The girl had looked bad but not like she had been exposed to something like that. As my thoughts raced ahead a chill raced down my spine. There was a room next to us and a glance inside showed it was empty. I pulled Militia inside with me and closed the door.

"What is the likelihood that the Empire has a new cape? A Bonesaw-like tinker or something else? The girl looks barely an adult. It could be that her conscience couldn't stand doing nothing and so she tried to save the test subject?"

Ms. Militia looked like she was considering the idea for a moment before eventually shaking her head.

"I'd agree with you if she wasn't supposed to be at school. She reported to her homeroom class this morning but nothing after it. I don't think even the Empire would take a girl out of a school during the day with all the eyes on them. Even in a shithole like Winslow."

Winslow? That was new.

"I'll contact Shadow Stalker, see if she saw anything suspicious during the day while she was at school."

Ms. Militia nodded in agreement before glancing towards the wall in the direction of the patient's room.

"And our suspected parahuman?"

There was hesitance in her voice and I didn't blame her. The girl either affected by a guilty conscience or something else had revealed herself before the Empire had intended. A new cape was always a PR opportunity for them just as it was for the Protectorate and they never missed the opportunity to wave the flag.

"Unfortunately we don't have her committing any crimes. She has no history and is not coming up in any databases. We can question her certainly but we have no reason yet to arrest her. We will question her, attempt to learn her powers, and remind her that the Empire will do far worse and that if she wants to leave their ranks we will be happy to offer her refuge and sanctuary."

The fact that she would be rebranded and watched under probation I didn't mention. Militia knew things well enough that I didn't have to so for the sake of efficiency I didn't.

Turning and opening the door I stepped out into the hallway looking to one end and then the other. Catching a glimpse of Dr. Jacobowitz I strode down the hallway to him. Staff and personnel cleared a path for me letting me reach the man easily.

"Doctor. Is the patient conscious yet?"

The man looked up to me from the nurse sitting behind the desk. His eyes flicked from me to the end of the hall and the patient's room, and back to me.

"No, she's not. Honestly given some of the things that are coming back in her blood work I've put in a request for Panacea but…"

His eyes shifted to the room and then back to me again and I understood his hesitance. Luckily his hesitation suited my own needs and I nodded to give him a visible cue of the body language of my understanding.

"I would like to speak to the other one. Are we okay to be in the room?"

I didn't like having to ask permission, it was wasteful, but in this time and moment, when dealing with doctors and the unknown it was necessary.

"Yes. Or at least it should be. If she's contagious at this point half the people here will be exposed by now anyways. Please avoid physical contact though, we are dealing with the unknown for the moment."

I nodded and gave a hand motion signaling Militia to stay here outside. There was no need for both of us to be exposed, not when the patient was unconscious still, and her rescuer could potentially be recruited.

I strode back down the hallway, the armored troopers letting me open the door without stopping me. Inside the girl, Taylor Hebert, was asleep or rather unconscious. I corrected myself, in the hospital bed hooked up to a dozen different machines. I eyed her vitals and noted that almost all were well outside of the normal range and several were at dangerous levels. She was dressed in a hospital gown though I'd been told she'd been dressed in clothes that had been contaminated with biowaste on arrival. Her skin was soaked with sweat and her skin unhealthily pale. She did not look good at all, but the medical results indicated she had been worse earlier.

My gaze turned to the other occupant of the room. She was a blond-haired teen with short hair in an almost boyish cut. My visor's heads-up display had been scanning it for any recognition since my entry and after a moment more found a match at last. The girl's uniform matched the Second World War military uniforms of the German Navy.

The navy bit actually surprised me. My gaze moved to the cases she had been described as carrying by the staff. They weren't cases, they looked like sections of what my display now supplied pictures of as German submarines. This was unusual. I took a step forward-moving to where she would be able to see me clearly. She was asleep right next to the bed.

The hospital staff had reported that they had attempted to remove her from the room but she had displayed Brute abilities of strength and resisted. Rather than force a conflict they had allowed her to stay if she promised to remain in a chair in the room out of the way. By all accounts, she had obeyed although now the chair was moved directly next to the bed. The blond-haired mystery cape was also holding the hand of the unconscious Taylor Hebert.

"Miss?"

Immediately in a jolted start, the girl snapped up awake, moving back in a jerk to sit ramrod straight in her chair, her hands letting go of the patient's. She looked at me with wide eyes even as her left hand moved to straighten her hat. My armor's computer supplied the name of a service cap for description as it referenced that before moving on to the next item.

"What is your name?"

I had been criticized many times for being unfeeling. In truth, I simply did not put stock in wasting time beating around the bush. It was easier to push straight to the point, particularly in the hear and now when gathering information could be of critical importance if the suspected parahuman was mentally or emotionally off-balance.

"U-505, type IXC submarine."

TRUTH

I blinked and I struggled to restrain my frown of annoyance as my surprised reaction closed the browser page I had been reading while talking to her. Another blink opened it back up even as my computer was referencing the name against known parahuman databases.

"That is your cape name?"

Her head tilted at my question as I tried to parse through the strangeness of her name before she shook her head in a visibly animated manner.

"No. I am U-505. Are you here to help my Admiral?"

TRUTH

She was looking down at the girl lying in the bed. The way she looked, the intensity of her gaze gave me the necessary information to make a connection I couldn't reach. The fact that my lie detector had given me a TRUTH statement both times was worrying. I started a search for parahumans going by the name of Admiral. Several candidates immediately came up but a quick search provided nothing viable.

Then a news article came up. A breaking news story out of Chicago that an entire submarine had been stolen from a museum there. A submarine known as the U-505. No one was sure how it had happened. With my Protectorate access I was able to access a security camera I watched as where one second the submarine was there and the next it simply vanished. The video feed was only hours old.

The connection was too much to dismiss.

"Are you involved in the disappearance and theft of the German submarine U-505 just a few hours ago?"

Her panic visibly subsided, just a little though I could see she was upset still by the situation.

"I didn't disappear. I was summoned."

TRUTH

She believed it. It was insane but parahuman powers did have stranger impacts. I looked to what the nurses had misidentified as 'cases' in their initial report describing the young woman. Cases that looked like the fore and aft of the very same submarine. I pointed at them.

"Did you steal those?"

Her panic was quickly fading away now and she stood before me from the chair. Her tone becoming calmer with each and every word she spoke. Despite it, her words remained quiet, barely more than a whisper.

"Steal? I cannot steal what I am. It is a part of me. It is my rigging."

TRUTH

"This is my rigging. With it, I will destroy all enemies of my Admiral. I will safeguard her from harm, and I will hunt those she commands me to."

TRUTH

"Decades ago now I was made of steel, powered by diesel, I carried a crew of brave men who risked their lives in the darkness of the depths to bring death to the enemies of their country, and I safeguarded them within me."

TRUTH

"I failed then. To protect my crew."

TRUTH.

"I failed in my missions."

TRUTH

"I was betrayed. Sabotaged. Denied the ability to sail into the abyss with my sisters to bring woe and ruin to our enemies."

TRUTH

"And then I was captured, and betrayed my nation, my people, my sisters."

TRUTH

"I failed."

TRUTH

Her words had gotten even more quiet as she spoke. The sound of guilt filling her voice, and her gaze. She paused for a moment, her eyes looking away. And then those eyes snapped back to me and I felt myself taking a step back... In fear? Was I intimidate by her gaze alone?

"And then the war was over. I was paraded about, an attraction for the tourists of my victorious enemies. In time I was given to one of their museums after I was stripped of everything inside of me. Do you know what that is like? To have everything part of you removed until you are only your skeleton?"

Her voice was ever so slowly starting to get louder, her words filled with the sound of conviction echoing in every word she spoke.

"But that was not to be my fate. Even despite my failures. My nation believed in me, held pride in me sufficient to refurbish me. They made me whole again. And for fifty-seven years now I have played host only to visiting school children. I have grown… content. But I cannot be content anymore. I will not be content anymore."

TRUTH

I could only watch and stare, unmoving and only listening as the blond boy-looking woman before me looked to young Taylor Hebert sleeping in the bed beside her.

"I have been called to service again. To glory at last. If you are my Admiral's allies then I long for the day we shall race on the waves into battle together. But if you are not I warn you now that you shall taste fire and fury if you should dare to cross her."

TRUTH

Her words had reached a heated fervor. She had started speaking to me with barely a whisper but now her volume has grown to almost a shout as her demeanor shifted from terror and fear to righteous conviction.

A groan from the bed had us both looking at it. I could see the girl in the bed struggling just to open her eyes. The blond parahuman's reaction was far more extreme. Turning on her heel her heels kicked together with an audible 'click' as she came to attention, raising her hand to her brow in salute before the girl lying in the bed staring at us with confused gaze through squinted pain-filled eyes.

"ADMIRAL! U-505, TYPE IXC SUBMARINE FORMERLY OF THE KRIEGSMARINE REPORTING FOR DUTY!"

TRUTH

Last edited: Oct 11, 2022

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Veriseple

Mar 4, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 6, 2021

#96

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

I opened my eyes and stared up at the hospital ceiling. The lights were dimmed. Tilting my head forward I looked around the room. On my left side my hero, the blond who had saved me from my locker was asleep in a chair, her head and arms resting on the bed as she slept.

I had dim memories of her, flashes, glimpses of worried frantic eyes. But in those memories, I remembered distinctly something I'd seen in history class, the eagle and swastika of the Nazis. I couldn't see it now, my vision without my glasses was too blurry. But her hat had, something, on the front and I squinted trying to see if I could make it out better.

After a bit, I could make out more details, still not much without my glasses, but enough to know that it hadn't been just a nightmare, I really had been saved by a racist. There was more, like a strange headset she wore on the side of her head over her ear but I couldn't make out what it was so I stopped trying.

I still had no idea why an Empire supporter, a Nazi, had saved me. Was it because of Sophia? Did I even matter, or had she just rescued me because a black girl had trapped me in my own locker. I had dreamed of her talking to Armsmaster but that was just a dream. There was no way Armsmaster would have been in my hospital room. Just as there was no way he would talk to a Nazi. He was a hero.

And yet it wasn't Armsmaster who had pulled me out, who had saved me. It was the Nazi and I hated how that made my foggy clouded brain feel when I should have nothing to do with her, it was something I wasn't capable of thinking about given how much my… everything… burned and hurt still.

A noise from beside me drew my attention to my other side. Against the wall sitting in a chair with his worn winter coat draped over him like a blanket. He shifted a little in his chair but didn't wake.

Opening my lips to speak I realized just how dry they were. I wasn't just thirsty, I felt like I could drink and drink until all the water in the world was gone. I tried to lick my lips, to wet them. My tongue felt like cotton as I tried to speak.

"Da… dad…"

My voice was faint, a squeak, and I shivered at how bad my voice sounded. He didn't wake but I could hear movement.

I turned my head to the side and found blue eyes right in mine. I tried to jerk away, to do anything, but I was too weak. I started trying to reach for anything, this was a hospital bed, there had to be a call button to get a nurse, right?

My hands flailed on my bed and felt something hard near my leg. It felt like a TV remote, I tried to do anything, press a button, do anything while I watched the racist stranger, this Nazi look from me to my hands. Oh no! She was going to stop me.

My hands beat at the remote even more frantically and I turned my head trying to watch her as she reached for it to take it from me. I could feel her hand slip take hold of mine, but for some reason, she didn't take it from me. Instead, she pressed it firmly into my hand. Smiling slightly, she spoke to me, her words had a slight German accent though she sounded American enough to my ears.

"Do you need anything? A nurse? The doctor?"

I just stared at her not understanding even as the desert of my mouth refused to be forgotten. I could see the red cross button faintly, that had to be the call nurse. I pressed it with my thumb and the blond didn't stop me.

"Water."

My voice was so weak, so quiet, I felt so embarrassed but she didn't laugh at me. She didn't make fun of me and criticize me for my clothes or being in this bed. She just moved to the side of the room. I couldn't see what she was doing. When she walked back, she had a clear plastic cup, the kind with a lid and a straw.

There was a tray near the end of the bed that she set the cup down on and removed the lid on. She poured the glass slowly full before setting the pitcher down. She replaced the lid and carried the cup to me. I tried to lift my hands to take it but they were shaking so badly. I couldn't hold them still; I couldn't take it from her. All I could do was keep my shaking hands on her own as she held the cup for me and guided the straw into my mouth.

I felt so embarrassed just lying there as this stranger, a Nazi, a BAD PERSON just stood there helping me do such a simple task. She didn't criticize me, bully, or berate me.

I was blinded by bright light a moment later as a door opened and I could see someone in the doorway.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. You've had us all worried."

My eyes were still adjusting to the light from the hallway outside so I blinked, and tried to shield my eyes with one of my shaking hands. The lights in the room brightened slightly but not so badly that I was blinded all over again as my vision slowly adjusted.

When I finally recovered my vision or as much as I ever would without my glasses, I looked at the nurse standing over me beside the bed. The nurse was a man with a beard. I didn't know why I focused on the beard but I did. He wasn't looking at me, but he was looking at a bunch of machines beside him with cords and lines coming off of them. I could see lights blinking and numbers that I didn't know the meaning to.

When he looked back down at me, he gave me another smile.

"How are you feeling Ms. Hebert? You've been out for quite a while and you had a few of us wondering how long you would be unconscious."

Out for quite a while? How long had I been asleep, or whatever I was in this bed? I tried to answer my question even as I could feel my eyebrows pressing together in confusion.

"How…" I liked my still dry lips but at least there was a little water on them now. "How long?"

The blond moved the straw to my lips again and still thirsty I took another sip.

"You've been unconscious for two days now Ms. Hebert."

I looked back up at him in surprise. But I noticed he wasn't looking at me but at the blond holding my cup. I looked at her and stopped drinking. She was smiling even as she pulled the cup away and just held it. She glanced at the nurse and her smile vanished but when she looked back to me, she smiled again.

"I'll let the doctor know you're awake."

I looked back but the man was already turning and walking to the door of the room I was in. He was giving the blond a look, a glance once more at me, and I couldn't see that friendly smile he'd first given me when he entered. Then he turned and walked away.

Oh no.

My brain finally caught up and realized what was going on. The nurse, the doctors, they must all think I was a Nazi too. After all, why else would one save me?

"No, please don't go I'm not…"

Every word was raspy and squeaky as I tried to talk to him, stop him, explain what it was but he was already gone. I squeezed my eyes shut and let my head slump back in my pillow. God, Emma was never going to let me live being saved by a Nazi down.

"Taylor?"

I opened my eyes and looked to the side to see Dad still in the chair but now awake rubbing his face with his hand.

"Dad? I'm awake."

He instantly moved to me, surging towards me and I could feel him wrapping his arms around me in a hug. But it didn't last as he tugged at me. I thought he was trying to lift me up off the bed in a hug when he pulled away.

I realized he was being yanked away by the blond who was now shoving him off and away. He shoved away her hands, raising his own and I thought he was going to punch my racist savior before I realized he was shaking his finger at the blond.

"I don't care what craziness you are. Taylor is my daughter. You will not stop me because you are not real."

What?

"I can assure you I am quite real. You simply do not understand yet. Just as you do not believe me."

Understand? Believe? What was going on?

"Oh I know my daughter was bullied for over a year right under my nose, by her best friend and a black girl and because I so failed as a father, she became a racist. Well, I don't care. I love her and you won't stop me."

Dad knew?! How?! I'd never told him! But why did he think I was racist? She was the racist, she was the Nazi! Not me!

"Dad."

I tried to shout, but I still couldn't. My words came out in just as bad of a squeaky wheeze as before.

He looked down at me and even with my bad eyesight I could see his wince. He moved to take my hand on the bed, wrapping it in his hands.

"Oh, I'm sorry Taylor. I didn't mean… Look I don't care. I don't care if that girl bullied you so badly you now hate black people. I don't care. Do you hear me? Plenty of the dockworkers I work with are lost their way too. I still work with them just like anyone else. You never gave in to the hate and turned to Kaiser and the Empire. That's how I know that even if you are lost, you're still good. Because you know that it isn't right even if it's how you feel. And I just want you to know I won't abandon you because of your beliefs. After everything you've gone through it is understandable that you've learned to hate. And I'll help you let it go. Do you understand? I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere."

I just stared at him in horrified confusion as he was crying now, tears starting to run down his face.

"I failed you before. I failed you ever since… your mother died. But I won't fail you again." He tightly squeezed my hand. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be with you through this."

Dad was interrupted from saying any more by someone else walking in. I looked to the door and I saw what looked like a doctor, right down to the white coat and the stethoscope hanging around his neck.

"Ah. Hello Taylor. Good to see you're awake finally. How are you feeling?"

I finally focused on something I could think about and process.

"Tired… hot and thirsty."

He nodded even as he picked up a clipboard from somewhere beyond my feet and pulled a pen from his coat pocket and made a note on it.

"Well, that's not surprising. Your body has been fighting off a very bad infection and you've got a fever. Don't worry though you're in good hands. We'll have you back to shipshape in no time."

He chuckled a little but I couldn't imagine what was funny even as he glanced at the blond and then dad for a moment before walking towards me pulling his stethoscope from around his neck.

"Now I need to examine you and ask you some questions about how you're feeling. Okay?"

The doctor then proceeded to check every part of me it seemed. He listened to my heart and my lungs with his stethoscope. He looked in my ears and my eyes with a bright light. He asked me to wiggle my toes and fingers and a dozen other things that I didn't understand but did anyways. Every time he would jot something down on that clipboard.

By the end, I felt like I had been poked and prodded everywhere. No matter how much I had a squeaky weak voice the doctor didn't act anything but nice and gentle to me. When he was done with his examination though there was only one question I had to ask.

"How…" My mouth and throat were dry again and I couldn't help but to take a sip when the blond offered me the straw again to sip from. "How long will I be here?"

Holding the clipboard close against his chest so no one could read it the doctor was silent for a moment.

"Probably for a few days more."

Oh no.

"You are still running a fever and have an infection. We'll be sending you home with antibiotics of course but I'd like at least another twenty-four hours to make sure you're past the worst."

I fearfully looked at dad and saw how tight his smile was. I didn't need him to say anything to know that we couldn't afford this. Dad had probably already spent more than his insurance from work would cover on me and well the money we had…

"Okay…"

I glanced up at the doctor and saw his smile had lessened slightly as he glanced between me and the others.

"Mr. Hebert, Miss. Perhaps we should talk outside?"

Dad slowly pushed him up off the chair and followed the doctor outside, stopping only to give my hand a reassuring squeeze. The blond didn't follow immediately but pressed the cup into my hands.

"I'll be just outside okay Admiral?"

Admiral?

"Admiral?"

She just nodded, gave me a smile, and walked out closing the door behind her. I lay in my bed stewing in confusion over why she had just called me Admiral. I was sitting there for I wasn't sure how long. My room didn't have a clock that I could see. At least a minute or two for sure. And that's when I started to hear raised voices.

It sounded like Dad, maybe like he was trying to keep himself from shouting but wasn't fully succeeding. At that point, he opened the door and stormed in with an angry voice. The blond followed in and she didn't look angry. Neither did she look happy. What had happened outside.

"Dad?"

He just sat down in the chair with an audible huff before looking up at me and sighing.

"I'm sighing. It seems Kaiser's heard about her."

I glanced at the blond in confusion and then looked back at dad.

"Umm, why would a gang leader care about her?"

Dad snorted.

"Because she's a Nazi." I nodded. "And because you're a parahuman, or you both are."

What?

He looked at me and just shook his head rubbing at his face and pinching his nose for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you so soon. What happened at Winslow was so bad you had a trigger event and became a parahuman. And then you created her."

I looked at the blond back on the other side of my bed.

"I created you?" I looked back to Dad. "I'm a parahuman?!"

He immediately raised his finger to his lips shushing me, I realized I must have been a little louder than I thought if he was shushing me.

"You are a parahuman Admiral. But you did not create me. You summoned me."

I looked back to the blond Nazi confused by what the difference between the two was.

"I existed before you had need of me, I just was in retirement in Chicago. But you needed me. You called me and I answered."

I had teleported someone all the way from Chicago?! Why couldn't I have teleported myself out of my locker and sent myself to Chicago? That would have solved all my problems much more easily!

"Taylor, she thinks she's a submarine."

"I AM a submarine."

"Apparently there is, or I guess there was, a German submarine from the second world war in a museum in Chicago. When you created her, you, or someone at least, vanished the submarine from the museum at about the same time."

I was just looking back and forth between the two as they talked to me and a little bit to each other.

"As I've said many times over the last two days, I was summoned. And for that my Admiral you have my thanks. I'm very eager for my fleet actions to commence. In fact, with your permission, I would like to sortie now."

Now I just had to step in and get some answers.

"Sortie? You mean go out and… do stuff? Do what?"

She walked over to the side of the room and started lifting the strangest things I'd ever seen. I hadn't noticed them sitting on the floor before but they looked like… I wasn't sure what they were.

"Why yes. You will be in need of resources to maintain my operations. My crew has been hard at work intercepting radio transitions. Mostly just local commercial AM radio stations which have still been useful and educational for learning the situation of the city. Apparently not only does this city have a criminal population which needs to be eradicated, but they are also successful, and there are certain laws in effect that allow vigilantes to keep spoils of war."

She smiled and this time I didn't feel it was a friendly smile.

"I am a Kriegsmarine U-boat. I am perfectly familiar with raiding operations. So, I propose I sortie and accomplish the dual objectives of eliminating the criminal element while filling your coffers. So."

She came to attention, her hand raising to her brow in a salute. At that moment I could only feel grateful that she hadn't done THAT salute instead.

"U-505 prepared to Sortie and Raid! Permission to commence my mission?"

I could only just stare at there as she just declared that she would do… I wasn't even entirely sure what she was… okay that wasn't true I was pretty sure I did. But I didn't want to. And why was this on me? She was the Nazi. Why was she asking me and not Kaiser?

But she was just standing there at attention and saluting and I knew there was only one answer I could give.

"No."

There was a pause. I knew Dad was looking at me but I couldn't look away as the blond, this U-505 just stared at me in disbelief for a long moment frozen in shock, her jaw dropped. Finally, she couldn't help it and she broke stamping her foot in frustration like a petulant child throwing a tantrum over being denied a shiny new toy as she shouted at me.

"WHY NOT?!"

Last edited: Jun 5, 2022

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Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 8, 2021

#248

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

The last day had been hell. I still felt terrible but even worse was seeing dad's expression when he didn't realize I was looking. We didn't have much even before but now we had even less because of me. I felt the guilt continuing to build through the night. By morning I had my mind made up. Dad had to leave early, around 6 am and I spent the next two hours struggling to stay awake so I could plan. I was resolutely ignoring the girl sitting off to the side of the room still pouting. Ever since I had told her she couldn't go be a vigilante she'd sat in that chair sulking and pouting. I still didn't know why she was staying near me when she could just leave but I didn't question it. The sum total of our interactions had been me offering my fruit cup from dinner to her, and her refilling my water cup.

I still didn't have a clock in my room that I could see, so I lifted my hand and looked at Dad's watch on my wrist. He'd loaned it to me for my stay after I'd complained in a fit of pique last night. It was now 7:30 am in the morning and I sighed. Curiously I glanced at... there had to be a better name for her than U-505. I wasn't going to call a person, even a Nazi, a letter and a number.

"Do you have any other name than U-505?"

My voice was still weak but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Something I was grateful for considering I planned to leave today before I made things even harder for Dad. Off to my side, the girl who deludedly believed she was a submarine opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"When I was captured by the American Navy they renamed me to the USS Nemo as part of their efforts to keep my capture secret from the German Navy."

Okay, not the answer I was expecting at all. The name or the reason why.

"Why was the US Navy keeping the subs... your capture secret?"

"Because they had successfully captured my enigma coding machine. I've since learned they were already beginning to successfully decode German naval codes by that point. But, if the German High Command had known I'd been captured rather than sunk like most of my sisters they would immediately have changed the codes. So the US Navy went to very great lengths to keep my survival and capture secret so they would have a strategic advantage."

I had not known that at all. It was actually a little bit neat to learn something like this. Normally the bitches three ruined all the classes they shared for me. History for the past year had been hell, to finally be learning something, even from a Nazi was... nice.

I shouldn't have been feeling good about associating with a Nazi under any circumstances but honestly, I was so starved for any social interactions that I was more willing to talk to her than I probably should have been. It wasn't like she was trying to convert me to be a Nazi too right? Thinking for a bit more a few more minutes passed before I looked back at her just sitting there peacefully.

"Aren't you bored? Just sitting there?"

She tilted her up and slightly to the side looking like she was considering my question.

"I probably would be normally. But you did just summon me a few days ago. I've been familiarizing myself with this world listening to the radio and letting my crew perform maintenance."

Crew? Actually, that wasn't the first time she had thought she was just using a figure of speech. But she talked like they were actually real.

"You have a crew?"

She nodded happily in confirmation to me.

"Yes, I do. Would you like me to have them assemble for your review?"

Okay, this was getting weird but it was too weird to just pass up.

"Ummm yes..."

She stood up from her chair and walked over to my bed. She didn't move directly beside me but instead stepped to the side at the end of the bed and pulled the flat tray that I was served my meals on, and wheeled it to just beside my torso. She just stood there for a moment when suddenly a tiny person was dressed just like her. And then another, and another. These tiny people kept appearing and all I could do was stare and count. When they finally stopped appearing they stood in a five by eleven group of people with one tiny person standing ahead of them. The lead figure made a noise, I wouldn't call it a word but immediately all of them saluted me, and so did the full-size submarine turned girl behind them all.

I stared as they just held their position, every last one holding the salute and not moving. When they clearly weren't going to stop I glanced up at the full-sized girl behind them all who was still also saluting.

"Okay this is so weird but why are they just saluting me?"

U-505 didn't cease her salute or move her body but I could see her eyes looking down at me in the bed.

"You're our Admiral. We're presented to you for review and they're waiting for you to return the salute."

Her reply was a whisper and I felt like I was breaking some kind of cultural rule. But this was just so out of the normal... anything... I was swept up into the midst of everything. I forced myself to sit up in my bed. It was hard but I felt genuinely proud of myself for accomplishing it. Now sitting I tried to mimic their salute back. My hand raised to my forehead for a moment before I lowered it to my side.

"Hai!"

That was all the response I got, just like before from the lead figure, who I supposed was the officer in charge if the military theme was being followed. The group all lowered their salutes. Another high-pitched sound shout and they shifted positions, legs spreading, arms moving behind their backs. I glanced away back to U-505 and just like before she was imitating every last one of the tiny duplicates of her.

I couldn't help my curiosity, I leaned in close looking at the tiny... what did I call them? Clones? Copies? Wanting an answer I looked back up to the big original.

"Okay I understand they are your crew, but why do they all look like you? Are they clones or copies?"

U-505 shook her head even as I got a 'HiHiHi' response from the officer at the front.

"No Ma'am, these are my crew, my fairies."

I just gave her a look not quite believing that part.

"Your fairies? I thought you were a German warship from World War Two. Where do fairies come into that?"

U-505 got a thoughtful look while more high-pitched nonsensical sounds came from the officer fairy.

"We're not quite sure. I certainly didn't have any originally but I still need a crew and when you summoned me they were suddenly within me."

"Huh..."

I felt so intelligent in that second but it was all I could say to something so strange. Maybe there was really some truth to her being a parahuman even if I wasn't convinced I was one... though I didn't have any answers yet as to why they were saluting me and calling me Admiral either.

"I'm back Taylor, sorry I took so long at..."

As one fifty-seven heads, fifty-six tiny ones and one normal-sized turned instantly to look to the door and I mimicked them a moment later to see Dad standing in the doorway of my hospital room just staring, blinking at U-505 and her crew.

"I don't remember drinking anything..."

He quietly muttered to himself a moment before I waved hell from my bed.

"Umm, dad... why don't you come in and we'll talk. I think I need someone to tell me that this isn't a dream."

He took a few steps inside, hand closing the door behind him as his eyes looked once from me and back to U-505 and her crew. At the foot of my bed, he stepped around it and just walked up to the side stopping right before the meal tray and the arrayed crew. He slowly lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed, lowering himself to get a closer look he just continued to stare at the crew in curious disbelief. I understood completely since I still didn't fully believe what I was seeing but Dad's belief actually reassured me. Finally, he looked at me and pointed at the arrayed crew.

"Tiny people."

I couldn't resist my snort and I started to giggle even as it hurt to do so a little bit.

"I know right!"

Dad looked from me to the arrayed crew that was still watching us, up to U-505, back to the crew, then me again. I wasn't sure why, maybe everything was so crazy, so weird and strange, but he started chuckling too. We both just laughed for a while until we stopped, the crew and my submarine rescuer just watching us. Not wanting to keep U-505's crew just standing there I looked to them and tried to order, or at least sound commanding as I spoke to them.

"Return to your stations."

I'd heard that once in a movie, or at least I thought I had, but it seemed to work as I got a high-pitched 'HiHi' in response and they turned about as one massive single unit and began disappearing in quick succession until they had all vanished. Dad and I were both watching as each and every one of the fairies vanished into I still wasn't sure where. Inside of U-505? She looked too real for that to be the case. Dad clearly was wondering too.

"Where did they go?"

U-505 was still standing there with her legs spread and arms behind her back. She looked to dad before answering.

"Inside me. I know I may look like a human but I'm just as much submarine as I am a girl."

Dad and I both pondered that for a long while before a thought and question occurred to me.

"So you're what? A sub girl?"

U-505 nodded and I let out a breath at that answer. It was weird, but everything I had seen was so weird there was so much weirdness to all of this that it was actually nice that she didn't just call herself an ordinary human, it actually helped with to believe all of it.

But dad was back and there were more important and normal things to talk about, and not the tiny miniatures we had just been looking at.

"Dad. I'm feeling a lot better. And the doctor is going to give me antibiotics to help me more so can we go home?"

Dad was instantly starting to protest so I just raised a hand trying to signal I wasn't done as I lay in the bed and continued talking, not giving him the space to argue against me.

"Dad I know that your insurance for work can't be covering my hospital bills, not nearly enough at least. The longer I'm here the more it's going to cost and none of this..." I gestured at the hospital room I was in and the machines I was still hooked up to. "can be cheap. So, please. I want to go home. Please."

Dad was plainly unhappy and even a bit sad as he shook his head.

"No Taylor. I'm not taking you out of here before you're healthy and ready to go home. Infections are bad. What if you get worse at home? The money doesn't matter. I'll take a second job washing dishes if I have to, it doesn't matter. You'll get the care you need."

I sighed in frustration. Dad had that look in his eyes even as he still was sitting on the edge of his bed that I knew he wouldn't budge. Dad could be stubborn. I loved him and hated him for it. But it was who he was.

"Dad..."

I tried once more just in case but he shook his head decisively.

"No Taylor. You are staying here until you are healthy. And that's final. Let me worry about paying for this. I'll figure something out. I'm sure your school will cover at least some of this and you better believe I'm going to talk to Alan about covering part of the bill since Emma was partially responsible."

Oh no... Dad and Uncle Alan hadn't talked since before he found all this. I tried to grab his wrist, to stop him, make him listen to me, to make him stay, but he stood up from the bed before I could.

"Look I just came back to tell you I'm going in to work today. I'll be back this evening and I'll call you on my lunch break to make sure you're doing well. Okay? All I want you to worry about is getting healthy and better again."

"I... okay dad..."

He leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. Standing back up he gave U-505 a long look but he didn't say anything, good or bad to her before turning and leaving.

The nurse came in a while later and I had a breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, and scrambled eggs. I'd been thinking about how to help dad so much I was worrying myself into an upset stomach so I didn't eat more than a few bites. Rather than let the nurses worry over me and fuss and say anything that would keep me here longer I pushed my plate on the tray a little bit in U-505's direction.

"Eat. That's an order."

I didn't know if she was humoring me or actually following my order but she took the plate and cleaned it completely before putting it back. She didn't say anything or protest. She didn't chide me for not eating which I was grateful for. The nurse came back in a while after and made some approving comments about eating all my food, I wasn't really listening, to be honest. I was just in my own head, lost in my thoughts as time passed around me.

It was a little bit before noon that I came to a decision. Dad wanted to protect me, and I loved him for it. But I refused to let him sacrifice his health and future for me. Not when I might be able to do something, anything really to help. So hours of silence later I looked to U-505 sitting back in her chair still.

"U-505."

I tried to put as much command into it as possible. I probably failed miserably but it worked as she stood up in her chair and walked over to me and reassumed that stance with her legs spread and hands behind her back.

"I..."

Was I really considering this? I'd refused her before and with good reason once. Was I actually going to unleash a Nazi on the Bay? Just so I could help Dad? I hesitated as I considered it and my mind looked for anything to say to avoid sounding stupid.

"I'm not going to call you a letter and a number. It's weird. You need a real name again. The US Navy called you Nemo before right?"

She gave me an affirming nod as she stood there.

"Yes, Admiral."

I nodded, my mind still waging a war of morality and ethics as I stalled for time.

"Then that's what I'm going to call you. Okay?"

"Yes, Admiral!"

She sounded way too enthusiastic about me telling her name was different but I guessed it was just a name? Did she even have an attachment to her name? Did it matter to her the way a name, my name mattered to me? My thoughts were a mile a minute but part of me knew that the longer I thought about that was just me delaying myself. I needed to make a decision. For real. So I took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh before I forced myself to ask my question.

"Nemo... before, yesterday, you talked about sorties and raids."

"Yes, Admiral?"

I tried to ignore and forget how she sounded far too eager for my liking, but this wasn't for her, it was for dad, to help him.

"You said you were listening to the radio right?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"Look just call me Taylor. You don't have to call me Admiral."

She looked like I'd just told her to do something unforgivable for a brief moment before her expression faded and she composed her face again.

"I could never do that Admiral. It would be disrespectful."

I sighed but knew I was just avoiding things again.

"On the radio, did they mention the gangs in the Bay? Did they talk about the Merchants?"

"Yes, Admiral."

I thought about that for a long time. Up until now, I'd just been asking questions, nothing that actually meant anything, not really. But what I was about to do, about to tell her to do. There would be no going back from this. I took another deep breath, trying to calm my mind for a brief moment, to make sure I was making the right decision, for Dad, for me, for everyone.

"I'm going to let you raid, but only the Merchants. You can't hurt anyone, you can't kill anyone. Any of the gang members you find you are to take to the police and get them arrested. And ONLY the Merchants. I don't want you to even talk to the E88 or the ABB. That's an order."

I tried to squash my worry as she just grinned in delight like I'd told her Santa was real and he was going to walk into the room in just a few minutes to give her every present she'd ever wanted. There was a pit of worry and fear in my stomach but I tried my best to squash it as I reminded myself this was to help Dad. It would be important for him, to help him. And that was the end of this.

She came to attention and saluted me, raising her hand to her forehead. I returned it, humoring her again. As soon as I lowered my hand she burst into motion grabbing the small submarine-shaped bags? Cases? I still wasn't sure what those were but I supposed that at this moment it didn't matter. She opened the door and stepped through before closing it behind her.

I let my head slump back on the pillow and begin to whisper to herself.

"This is to help Dad, you're not a Nazi. This is to help Dad, you're not a Nazi."

It didn't feel like it worked but it was all I could do. Well, all I could do about the money. What I could really do was get healthy so I could get out of here so the bill didn't get any bigger. So I laid there and tried to think myself healthier as stupid as that was. I was a parahuman now. Maybe I could actually do it if I concentrated on it hard enough?

DANNY HEBERT

I had thrown myself into work today. I had no choice, Taylor's condition and the mountain of paperwork from missing the last two days both gave me no other choice. Before I knew it it was lunchtime and I was grateful for the opportunity to stretch my legs. Normally I would eat in the meager cafeteria in the main building of the Dockworker Association. But I had no appetite today. I filled a mug of coffee to strengthen my soul and mind before pulling out my winter coat and walked outside with mug in hand for a walk instead. The fresh air would do me good.

Outside the docks stretched out before me. But I only looked around for a little bit before I realized that far too few of the dockworkers were busy at work. The administrative office was back from the wharves and docks themselves but I should still have been able to see more than just this. I was only the head of hiring but job cuts had hit all levels and I wore a lot of hats these days, being a supervisor was sometimes one of them so coffee in hand I went searching for my missing workers. It took me a few minutes but eventually, I found them all congregated on the edge of the docks all looking out towards the Graveyard.

"Alright, boys. What's so damn interesting that you all are slacking off."

There were dozens of them just gathered there standing along the edge of the concrete piers and collectively as one they turned back to look at me. Most had the decency to look sheepish and embarrassed at being caught slacking on the job.

"Sorry, Danny. It's just that there's something funny going on in the Graveyard."

I sipped my coffee as I gave them an unamused look but curiosity got the better of me as I started walking forward. The men easily made a path for me and it took me only a moment before I was standing on the edge of the pier looking out towards the Graveyard. Normally I would be able to see hundreds of wrecks half-submerged in the water but only a few were visible at the edge of a thick patch of fog. The strange thing was the fog only occupied the Boat Graveyard. It didn't stretch beyond it or out into any of the rest of the bay. Contemplating which of the city's parahuman residents were likely behind this I continued to sip at my coffee.

"Well I'll admit that's strange but it's probably either someone new or maybe Leet. As long as they don't bother us we won't bother them. Got it, boys?"

I got a chorus of "Yes Danny!" and "Yes Sir!" in response and turned away when I began to hear of all things singing from behind me. Or at least I thought it was singing. It certainly wasn't in English but it sure sounded like someone was singing inside the fog.

"Boys?"

"Yes Sir?" Came a quick reply from the few of my dockworkers that were still present.

"Anyone besides me hear that?"

They took a moment before old Fredrich Kruger (no relation to Hollywood or any horror films ever) chuckled.

"Well, I'll be damned."

I looked at him, the question easily visible on my face and he shrugged. Everyone else still left here was looking to him as well.

"Lass in there whoever she is has got a lovely singing voice. I haven't heard that song since I was a little boy." He chuckled as we all just gave him a look. "It's called 'Falling in Love Again' in English."

Chuckling a little more he turned around and started walking away and began to sing along in the foreign language.

"Männer umschwirr'n mich,

Wie Motten um das Licht."

I watched him and the others go back to work before taking a final sip of coffee from my mug as I continued to stand on the edge of the concrete pier, looking towards the fog eclipsing thing Graveyard and listened to what I was growing to suspect was a German song that admittedly sounded quite lovely. In the distance of the Graveyard I thought I could see... something... maybe someone? In the fog. Straining my eyes to see I tried to figure out who, or what was the source of the strange fog and the lovely sounding music as the fog began to shift.

And then it finally happened as something, no someone, began to walk forward, towards me, out of the fog.

AN: Falling in Love Again (Song)

Last edited: Mar 8, 2021

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Mar 8, 2021

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Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 13, 2021

#423

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

"Männer umschwirr'n mich,

Wie Motten um das Licht."

The men and women of my workers had turned away but I still stood on the edge of the concrete pier of the docks, listening to the music sung in a language I did not understand. But the shape moving in the fog was growing closer.

"Und wenn sie verbrennen,

Ja dafür kann ich nicht."

The fog was beginning to roll back and in the midst of the rigs I finally saw a figure. It was a woman, short, not quite the size of an adult walking towards me, singing as she walked. She was dressed somewhat oddly, even for a Cape. She wore no mask, but instead wore a gray dress with a white apron tied around the front. Beneath a strange white hat or hood of some kind I could barely make out blond hair.

Really what she looked like most was an old time nurse like I'd seen out old pictures my grandfather had kept from his time in the First World War, or the Great War as he'd sometimes called it. She was dressed almost exactly as a picture of a nurse he had always told me he'd been sweet for. Right down to the white arm band with a red cross on this woman's arm.

"Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß

Auf Liebe eingestellt,"

She was fully out of the fog now and I could only stare, with good reason, because she was just walking on top of the water. She moved right towards me and I just watched her approach.

"Ich kann halt lieben nur

Und sonst gar nichts."

She finally stopped singing and I had to give a little shake of my head to the unearthliness of the whole scene. Even in a world of parahumans where the news on TV and the internet showed them doing impossible things there was something impossible about walking on water, something almost divine or mystical.

I had lost my religion years ago even before Annette had died. It was hard to hold to the idea of god in a world where people like Allfather and Marquis, let alone the Butcher and the Teeth, had proven that Might makes Right time and time again. But, despite loosing my faith, there was something, divine, about seeing someone walk on water.

She walked right up to me, looking up at me as she stood on the water right before the dock.

"Guten Tag. Would you be so kind as to help me up?"

I like to think I'm enough of a gentleman that when a lady asks me for a hand in assistance I would immediately react. But I did pause for a moment before I extended a hand to her. Taking a good firm grip she pulled herself up onto the concrete pier. When she was standing before me, I realized how small she was. She looked to be an adult but she barely came up to my chest. I supposed it was the way she carried herself. With pride and dignity and a grace.

"Thank you, Herr. That was very kind of you. Please excuse me for one second."

Turning she looked back out towards the graveyard and raising a hand to beside her mouth called out.

"Kleine, es ist Zeit, zu gehen. Du kannst später spielen."

Not sure of who she was addressing I looked out towards the Graveyard looking for perhaps another young person walking on water? The fog was fading fast but I didn't see anyone. Anyone that was until a head popped out of the water right infront of the pier where the young lady I had helped up had just been standing a few moments before.

"Ach, müssen wir? Hier unten sind so viele tolle Dinge! Ich will mich hier umschauen!"

"Du kannst dich später umschauen, es ist Zeit, hereinzukommen. Hast du deine Schwester schon kontaktiert?"

"Ich mach das sofort!"

I was quickly getting a sinking suspicion as the two chatted back and forth in a language I didn't understand. The first girl, the one standing to my right dressed as a nurse was so foreign in presence, I hadn't known what to make of her. The girl in the water still was sadly more familiar to me.

She bore a somewhat similar resemblance to the girl who was at the hospital with Taylor, the one who thought she was a submarine. Even though this one was mostly submerged in the water there were similarities between the two. The hat in particular given it had the eagle and swastika of the Nazis right on the front. The number on the side of the hat wasn't 505 but instead 2540.

I took a few steps aside as the young woman at my side did the same giving girl in the water room to pull herself up out of the water and onto the pier. Feeling an oncoming headache I removed my glasses for a moment to massage the bridge of my nose before putting them back on to look at the two females now jabbering at each other in what I assumed was German.

"Sadly, I don't speak German, but I'm guessing you're looking for your Admiral?"

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

The nurse quickly turned to look at me a smile spreading on her face.

"Yes, we are! Do you know the quickest way to reach her?"

As my hopes were dashed, I consoled myself that even though Taylor had lost her way she was creating more than just deluded girls who thought they were Nazi submarines. A nurse was a far better sign.

"I left her at the hospital this morning. She will still be there now. Come on I'll give you a ride in my truck."

"Sehr gut! But please there is no need to interrupt your work. I'm sure it is very important. If we could please get directions, we can make our own way."

The blond dressed similar to 505 was just looking back and forth between us. I wondered if she even understood German. If she didn't it didn't make much sense for Taylor as a parahuman, but then it in a way supported the claim of being a submarine even if I still didn't believe any of it.

"No. I'll drive you. The last thing anyone needs is your friend here being mistaken for E88 and starting a riot. Besides she is my daughter. I should be at the hospital with her anyways."

The nurse raised her hand to her mouth as her face got a look of visible surprise.

"Oh. I do apologize. I did not realize you were related to the Admiral. I must insist now that we do not interrupt your work. You must be very important with whatever work you are doing for her."

I gave a weak chuckle at the idea of working for Taylor.

"No I don't work for her. I'm the head of Hiring for the Dockworkers here."

The nurse gave a 'ohh' of understanding for a moment.

"Well that is still important. Dockworkers like yourself provide a necessary service for all of us."

And there went that hope that this girl wasn't operating under a similar delusion to the first girl and now the likely second. Still she wasn't carrying the cases of a submarine like the girl who I had left at the hospital or the one standing beside us still watching us without an expression of understanding.

"So I guess you think you're a submarine too? I didn't know the Nazi's had hospital submarines."

She had a look of surprise for a moment before giggling for a moment and giving a wave of her hand that was dismissive.

"A submarine? Oh no. I was a hospital ship for them?"

A hospital ship? So Taylor wasn't limited only to deluded, what was the word Armsmaster had used? Projections? That thought they were submarines?

As I was pondering this new information and tried to make sense of it she continued to speak.

"Herr, I am the hospital ship Vityaz. And the lady beside me is U-2540 Wilhelm Bauer."

I was sure these were both girls but that was definitely a man's name.

"Wilhelm?"

The girl dressed similarly to the other first submarine girl looked me in the eye expectantly and I could only admit it must be her name, or at least a name she went by after all judging by her reaction. Sighing I decided not to focus on it when I had bigger issues.

"Well if we're doing introductions, I'm Danny Hebert."

Immediately Vityaz curtsied before me. As she did so I noticed a backpack I somehow had missed before. It still didn't look anything like what Wilhelm was carrying but I supposed it was something for the strangeness that was now orbiting Taylor.

"Herr Hebert. It is a pleasure to properly meet you."

Mimicking Vityaz, Wilhelm curtsied as well. At least that was better than the salutes Taylor was getting. I could use the normal. I nodded back to both in recognition of the curtsies.

"Why don't you two come with me. I'll drive you over to the hospital to see Taylor."

Turning and starting to walk down the pier I led the way. Both quickly caught up with me to walk on either side of me flanking me as we walked down the pier towards the port proper.

"Herr Hebert, again this is not necessary. We cannot be responsible from taking you from your important work. The operation of the docks is of great importance and it would be improper to ask you to stop just to take us to the hospital. Directions, and perhaps a map, would be more than enough."

I wouldn't lie to myself and say I didn't feel a warm surge of pride to hear someone, anyone, even Nazi's talk about the job I had devoted my life to and call it important. Because to me it was, but not to the rest of the world. For decades now the ports, shipyards, and shipping industries of the world had dying by inches with every passing day and by miles every time Leviathan attacked some place new.

"And I'm insisting that I drive you. We keep ourselves in good order but the docks aren't the best part of the city and I won't let two young women like yourself walk through that. I don't care if you are Nazis or not. Any decent man would do the same for two young ladies like yourselves."

I did my best to ignore the blush Vityaz was giving off at my words. I had not meant them in any such way of flattery but clearly, they'd been taken that way.

"Oh, my Herr Hebert, you are as chivalrous as Siegfried. Sehr gut. You can drive us. After all, how could we turn down the offer of a gentleman such as yourself."

I didn't respond to that instead just walking forward. We were making our way through the cranes and warehouses of the docks now and every dockworker we passed was stopping what they were doing and staring at us. I knew I was going to need to call a meeting of the entire shift as soon as I got back from dropping these two off at the hospital just so I could explain everything.

After resisting the efforts of everyone from Marquis over a decade ago to the current attempts by all the gangs inhabiting the city the fact, I had a Nazi teen would shake the resolve of all my dockworkers, and I needed, to explain, no I owed them an explanation.

I quickly ducked my head into the main office and told Janice at the front desk that I was stepping out to run to the hospital and would be back in an hour. With my responsibilities as an employee and employer taken care of temporarily I walked out to where my truck was parked in the parking lot.

"You'll have to put those cases in the back."

When Wilhelm didn't immediately respond, now convincing me she didn't understand or speak English I tried to take the nearer of the two cases from her. But despite how hard I tried to lift the strap of the case off her shoulder to help her, I couldn't so much as budge it.

Now I prided myself on being a fit man. I might not have the muscles of some of the dockworkers, but I wasn't out of shape despite the fact I sat behind a desk for work. I could pull my weight, and sometimes did as needed, on the docks helping to move something, and despite lifting as hard as I possibly could I couldn't get the leather strap to so much as flex.

With a grunt and a gasp of air I leaned against the truck for a moment and just watched as she lifted the case one handed up over the side and set it in the bed of my pickup truck. Walking around to the other side of the vehicle she repeated it with the second case.

Shaking my head I gestured silently with my hand towards the passenger side door gesturing for the two of them to get in. Both walked to the door and squeezed in on the passenger side while I leaned on the side of my truck. Reaching in I gave one more experimental tug to the strap of the submarine bow shaped case and it moved just as little as my first attempt. Shaking my head, I turned and opened the driver side door and got in.

My truck was an older model Chevy with a single bench seat that fit all of the three of us. It was cramped and I muttered an apology as I reached in front of Vityaz putting the truck into gear with the stick shift rising up from the floor. Luckily both the girls were smaller than either Taylor or me and we all fit in the cab with minimal fuss.

I turned on the heat, for myself since neither girl seemed to even notice the January cold despite the fact that one was still dripping water onto my seats. But I at least appreciated the warmth as we drove through the streets.

We didn't talk as I drove through the streets away from the dockyard. Luckily both of my passengers were equally playing the role of the gaping tourist as we moved through the city. Every now and then they would whisper to each other but I could never make out what they were saying to each other.

I found myself waiting at another stoplight, both girls peering out the windows of the truck in every which way, still whispering back and forth when Wilhelm stiffened. I glanced at her trying to figure out what had alarmed me when an explosion occurred ahead of us.

My head snapped back to see SOMETHING bursting out of a warehouse wall across the street beyond the intersection taking out two cars waiting for the green light on the other side. It shoved the two cars clean out of their lane and into the sidewalk against another building. The debris, rubble, and dust was settling enough that I could make out an ungodly monstrosity of machinery and wheels. It didn't take a neuroscience degree to figure out what the only thing this could be.

Squealer and the Merchants.

Putting the truck in reverse I turned around and looked out my rear window as I began backing away from the gangsters as quickly as I could. Of course, I only got a little bit of the way when someone ran out of an alley right behind me and into the road. My foot hit the brake but not fast enough. Rather than run them over the truck came to a hard and abrupt stop.

And because this was clearly my luck today right there behind me was the first girl that Taylor had created. What the hell she was doing away from Taylor I didn't know but I hoped it was because she had snuck away, and not that Taylor was out here mixed up in all this.

Her head coming up fully over the back of my truck I could see recognition flash in her eyes and a smile burst on her face splitting her mouth wide in a grin.

"Wilhelm! Come quick! Together we can stop that thing and arrest the criminals for the Admiral."

Oh no Taylor. What did you get wrapped up in…

"Wait don't go its…? dangerous…"

I didn't even get a chance to keep the girls safely from Squealer before Wilhelm had yanked open the door and was running out of the truck, stopping only to grab the cases she had that were similar to the ones that 505 was carrying. I looked to Vityaz.

"Please tell me you at least aren't planning on fighting that thing."

My foot was already pressing the gas pedal. I might not be able to do a thing to protect the two Nazi teens but I could at least protect the third one of them as long as she stayed in my truck.

"Of course, not Herr Hebert. I am not a warship. But fear not. Your concern is noble but unneeded. Even a civilian ship like myself knows that that abomination of machinery is no match against the precision of German engineering. If you would please stop backing up I would like to be able to tend to any wounded after they are finished with it."

It was official. All three of them were crazy. And I doubted I could even blame any of it on the fact that two out of three were Nazis. With a frustrated sigh I pressed the brake and came to a stop, turning and looking out the window at the fight breaking out in front of me.

NEMO

I dodged to the side behind a car as the turret on top of that ugly thing continued to turn towards me. On the other side of the street Wilhelm Bauer was doing the same, mimicking my movements as we worked together like a proper wolf pack to hunt the criminals.

I dreaded that I was going to have to submit a report of how I had been detected on patrol by means still unknown and attacked by these criminals. But at least I would also have a capture to counterbalance my operational failure which would hopefully keep the Admiral happy with my performance.

But I could sort out how I had been detected afterwards. The turret fired with terrible aim, the shot going clear over my head with a woosh like a shell from a warship. I felt a surge of envy at the ugly turret because at least that was a proper gun. I missed my deck gun.

Getting up near the tires along the side I was now below the field of fire. Criminals though they were, the were possessed of enough attention that they tried to move their vehicle tank thing so that they could take up a firing position again. I pulled my 2cm machine cannon AA gun from its holster on my hip and began firing at the tires one after another on my side of the vehicle.

One after another they ruptured crippling the vehicle's mobility. My prey now crippled I began to climb up the side.

I was part way up, grabbing hold of hand holds and various protruding things for handholds, when an armor plate detonated outward with enough force that I was thrown free. The machine's engine began to roar again as I slammed into the building behind me. When I got to my feet, I was happy to see it had made no progress in its escape and then I realized why. The engine wasn't from it. There beneath the forward wheels which were now lifted clean into the air was Wilhelm Bauer lifting the front end clean into the air.

Grinning I fired up my diesel engines. The sound was loud as 4,000 horsepower of power surged through my body. Grinning I sprinted towards the raised vehicle, reaching the side of it and lifting at the massive metal body I lifted putting all of my horsepower into my efforts to lift the lumbering beast clear off the ground and with a final shove turned it over onto its side with Wilhelm's help at the front.

My engines were still roaring as I ran around the overturned vehicle. I barely had any diesel at all. More than enough for a few minutes of activity but nothing compared to the ocean of fuel I would have to take me out on a proper patrol across the Atlantic. Reaching the turret of vehicle, I took one look at it and began to force it open letting my horsepower fueled body force the locked metal hatch open inch by inch until a space big enough to get in and out of was finally opened.

A gun fired from inside and I felt something hit my torso, like a tap of a finger. I pulled my AA gun back out of its holster and aimed it inside as Wilhelm walked around beside me.

"Criminal scum! Come out with your hands up!"

I could hear some movement faintly over the sound of my still roaring diesel engines when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked to Wilhelm standing beside me who was pointing in the opposite direction.

Turning my head the other way I looked and saw flashing sirens.

Excellent I would be able to hand the criminals over for arrest immediately. The Admiral would be so happy! Raising my free hand, I waved happily to get their attention and make sure they could see us. My crew began to work of turning off my diesel engines and my radio operator fairy was already signaling Wilhelm to do the same as I kept my AA gun pointed into the interior of the makeshift tank.

Yes, the Admiral would be very happy with my mission, especially once I showed the petty cash funds and poor quality drugs my crew had stored in my cargo storage earlier! And there was the hospital ship Wilhelm's radio message earlier had reported. Yes this was an excellent mission after all!

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask

Falling in Love Again (Song)

Spoiler: German Translations

Last edited: Mar 14, 2021

745

Veriseple

Mar 13, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 21, 2021

#537

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

NEMO

I lowered my hand as the flashing lights and blaring sirens of the police approached clearly approaching us. Inside me my crew were shutting down my engines, conserving my precious diesel, and the noise of my engines quieted after a few moments more.

I could hear movement down at my side and saw a figure shuffling around in the darkness of the interior of the makeshift tank. Reaching down I yanked pulling a woman of well-endowed figure and barely any clothes out. My engines were shut off but my tonnage was more than sufficient to ensure that even as she tried to fight me she couldn't escape my grip.

"What? You little bitch! You ruined my baby! I don't know how you did what you did but I'm going to turn you into goddamn Roadkill! And my Skiddy will do fuck worse! I hope you are ready for the shitstorm you brought down you… mmph!"

I had placed my hand over her mouth shutting off the foul vulgarities. Her profanity was nothing compared to the profanity of sailors at sea, but there were standards of decency to be observed even by criminal scum such as her.

"Be quiet. If you can't keep from cursing, I will stop you from talking at all."

She went silent, and I couldn't help but marvel at her feebleminded nature. She clearly thought the silencing I meant was to kill her. As if I would disobey my Admiral's order. I glanced around taking in the scene while keeping a grip on the criminal's wrist with one hand, and the other keeping her mouth covered.

Wilhelm was still standing off to the side. Our crews had been passing a steady stream of encrypted radio messages between us but radio took time and talking was faster.

"Wilhelm, thank you for your assistance. The Admiral will be pleased with us. Once I have handed this criminal over to the police we can go hunting together. The Admiral has ordered raids against the criminal organization known as the Merchants. With your help we will be able to capture them and their contraband very quickly!"

Wilhelm looked from the approaching cops to me and gave a firm nod.

"Of course! Anything for the Admiral. This city is so different from Bremerhaven. I can't wait to explore it!"

I chuckled at my little sister's antics. She was younger than me that much was clear looking at her. I would have to show her the ropes as quickly as I could so she could perform at peak capabilities for the Admiral.

Farther back from us in the other direction the Admiral's father Mr. Hebert was getting out of a truck with… Mars!

Grinning I pulled my hand away from the criminal woman's mouth immediately releasing a wave of profanity as I waved in greeting to the hospital ship.

"You little maggot infested, Hitler sucking, ass… mmmphph!"

Her foul mouth was once again covered. But not by my hand this time, instead Mars reaching over and covering it herself instead.

"I am supposed to treat everyone in need of help and medical aid. But if you continue to speak like that I will consider it beneficial to the health and mental well being of those present if you are silenced."

The muffled words of the criminal continued but they were unintelligible and the three of us just turned our heads to watch as the police came to a stop from us. The two officers in the lead car opened the doors and got out only to duck behind them drawing their sidearms and point them at us.

"Get down and put your hands on your heads!"

Wilhelm standing beside me looked to me before leaning in close and whispering a question.

"Why are they treating us like criminals?"

I let go of the criminal's wrist and raised both hands to signal peace as I spoke loudly to the police officers even as more cars were coming to a stop and more officers mimicking the first two by getting out and pointing their weapons at us.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. We have a criminal for you to arrest."

"I told you to get down and… You are handing her over?"

I could hear the officer's confusion. I was confident enough in my command of the English language to know I hadn't misspoken so I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. We have been given orders to find members of the criminal organization called the Merchants, and to hand over every one of their members we find to the police."

There was quiet muttering coming from multiple police officers as they conferred from one to another quietly. I could have activated my sonar but I felt the police were worthy enough accorded respect to not snoop on their conversations. At the end one of the two police officers that had arrived first stood up straight behind the door of the police car.

"Alright. We're all going to take this easy. I'm going to approach you and cuff Squealer and put her in the back of our car. Don't do anything and we won't do anything. Okay?"

I wasn't sure if he was talking to me and Wilhelm, or the other police officers. But a moment later it didn't matter because he was slowly walking towards us. He still had his sidearm pistol drawn but as he approached, he was putting it back in its holster and keeping his hand on the pistol's butt as his now freed left hand pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

When he got closer, I pulled the criminal who was apparently called Squealer, up to her feet, with Mars helping me. Together we forced her hands forward so the cop could cuff her.

"Turn her around, I want her hands cuffed behind her back."

Giving a nod we turned her around, the two of us assisting the officer while Wihelm watched everything from a few feet away. Soon enough Squealer's wrists were forced behind her and the solid click of the handcuffs sounded announcing her securing. As the officer began to lead the criminal back to the cars Mars spoke up.

"I observed pupillary responses that may indicate she has suffered a concussion. Please make sure she receives proper medical attention."

The officer stooped in his tracks looking back at the three of us for a moment before just turning his head and shaking it as he continued walking the criminal to the car.

Sadly it seemed we couldn't just leave. Immediately after we were told we were needed to answer questions about what had led up to the criminal's capture. It was delaying our mission to raid but I didn't think the Admiral would want us to disobey the police. So we stayed off to the side and chatted amongst ourselves while Mr. Hebert sat in his truck with his head just resting on the steering wheel after the police officers told him too that he was required to give a statement.

"So you are still a hospital ship, but you are keeping the name the Bolsheviks gave you?"

We had been talking for a few minutes and had only just gotten to the fact that Mars, or rather Vityaz like I had been rechristened.

"Well yes. Perhaps if I had been built into the service of a hospital ship but I feel a great deal of pride of the name I was given and the work my crew accomplished. Of course, I serve the Admiral at her pleasure but I am more than just a hospital ship anymore."

I nodded in understanding. It was very nice to know that Mars, oh that was going to take some getting used to. Vityaz, had spent many years of service before being retired as a museum ship. That was an honorable life, one any ship would be proud of.

Wilhelm was standing beside the two of us and had mostly been quiet. I'd learned that she like me and Vityaz had been a museum ship that the Admiral had summoned up to service. I felt though that being a newer ship she was shy. I was going to need to work on that. As a submarine it was good that Wilhelm was quiet by nature but she also needed to be social enough to carry out any tasks the Admiral might give her.

None of us after all knew what missions the Admiral might give us. It was important that every sub was capable and competent for any task the Admiral ordered.

"Alright sorry to make you three wait. Thank you for staying to give statements."

I turned my head to look at the police officer, a different one than the first one that had taken the criminal from us.

"It is my pleasure. All law-abiding citizens should be at the assistance of any law enforcement officer."

The officer just stared at me for a long moment before he just shook his head.

"Right… Anyways for the record what name should I write down for the logs? Do you have a cape name yet?"

I shook my head to the negative with a smile.

"I don't have any cape name, but my Admiral has christened me Nemo."

His eyes lingered on me again as he pulled out a notepad and began to write in it.

"Admiral huh… Alright. And is this Admiral a member of the Empire Eighty-Eight?"

I was about to answer to the negative when I realized I didn't actually know the answer to that. Mouth opened I quickly shut it and held up a finger in thought for a moment trying to recollect as my fairies frantically checked my mission logs of everything the Admiral had said. When their search came up negative, I finally spoke.

"I don't believe so, but I'm not actually sure. But I have no reason to believe the Admiral would be involved with criminal or any nefarious business."

The cop continued to write even as he glanced from me to the overturned vehicle the criminal had been driving then back to me.

"Alright. Well, if your Admiral isn't a member of a gang then why were you involved in a fight with Squealer?"

"Oh I wasn't. She was chasing me."

"And why was she chasing you?"

The writing was quickly continuing and I could tell he was writing down a lot of notes as I spoke to him.

"I'm not exactly sure. I was carrying out the mission my Admiral assigned to me when she attacked me. I don't actually know how I was detected as I was taking measures to be unobserved. It is actually quite embarrassing to get caught."

He stopped writing for a moment just studying me.

"And why was that embarrassing? And what mission were you assigned?"

"I do apologize officer but the Admiral hasn't given you military clearance high enough for me to report on my mission to you. As for why it was embarrassing. I'm a submarine. I'm supposed to be stealthy and yet she caught me snooping around like I was a big old battleship steaming full ahead. I was running silent. She shouldn't have been able to tell I was there at all!"

The pause of silence now was quickly getting awkward as the police officer was just staring at me. I glanced down at his notepad and he wasn't writing anything in it either. He wasn't moving, just staring at me. I glanced to Vityaz.

"Does he need Medical Assistance?"

That snapped the officer out of it, his eyebrows narrowing suspiciously as he glanced from Vityaz and back to me.

"What did you just say to her?"

"I asked her if you required medical assistance. You weren't moving and I was growing concerned for you. She is a hospital ship and will be far better at helping you if you have a medical issue, than I will be."

He glanced to Vityaz.

"Right. A hospital ship… And what is your name Miss Hospital Ship?"

"Vityaz."

"Vityaz. How do you spell that."

"In English it would be Vee Eye Tee Why Aye Zee. Do you need me to spell it in Cyrillic?"

There was a brief pause.

"No that won't be necessary… And your name?"

He was looking to Wilhelm now but since she didn't know any English, or at least not enough to understand she didn't reply. Feeling very embarrassed for how we were representing the Admiral's Fleet I blushed in embarrassment on Wilhelm's behalf.

"I do apologize. She does not understand or speak any English. Her name is U-2540, Wilhelm Bauer."

The police officer paused again but continued quickly, writing more notes.

"U-2540… That sounds like a German submarine number. Is she like you?"

I made a so-so movement with my hand.

"While we are both submarines, I am a Type IXC. She is a Type XXI. We are both submarines but not quite the same."

As the officer was processing this another officer walked up and spoke softly to the interviewer. I could hear what was spoken without needing to use my Sonar. And if they didn't want to maintain operational security by communicating in code? Well, that was just their fault wasn't it?

"Velocity is in route. PRT got wind we have Squealer is in custody. I'd say you have a minute before all of this gets snatched out of our hands."

The interviewing officer just gave a nod of understanding as the second officer walked away. I waited expectantly as he looked back to me.

"Right. We were discussing submarine types? I'll admit that's a new one."

It seemed that the officer was another person who did not understand or believe. But it didn't matter. The admiral ordered me to turn over criminals. Not to educate.

"Have you had any contact with or knowledge of any Empire Eighty-Eight gang members?"

Oh good a question I could answer.

"I have not. In fact, I have not been ordered to even speak to any members."

He gave me a squinty eyed look before flipping the notebook closed.

"So that's how it is. Thank you for the assist in capturing Squealer."

He sounded rather hesitant about the last part. I had no idea why but I will admit I got a little distracted when I saw a red figure move in a blur at the end of the street not far from where Mr. Hebert was being interviewed by another officer.

We still hadn't been officially dismissed yet so I just stood off to the side with Vityaz and Wilhelm as the red costumed figure talked to one officer after another. He didn't stop to talk to Mr. Hebert, something I filed in my mission logs but he did talk to several different police officers before moving over to us in a red blur of movement.

Eventually after a few minutes of standing around wasting time we could be hunting more criminals the red suited man finally came over to us.

"Hello Ladies. I'm Velocity."

I blinked when he introduced himself to us not in English, but in fluent and smooth German.

"Greetings Velocity. I am Nemo. My companions are Hospital Ship, Vityaz. And Type XXI submarine, WIlhem Bauer."

I probably didn't need to be that formal but the fact that this superhero was taking the time and effort to speak to us in German, well it was something that was deserving of an accord of respect.

"It is a pleasure to meet all three of you. Now I have several questions. Ones you've probably already answered to the police. However, I'd like to ask them for my own report. Before we address what happened here. I have to ask. Were any of you involved with a man being thrown into a police station approximately an hour ago?"

Oh he was well informed. But then he did move faster than any person or ship I'd ever seen or heard of. Only a plane could move faster and there were none here for him to race to find out.

"Yes. My Admiral ordered me to turn any criminals into the police. When I told him where I was taking him to prevent him from continuing to resist and harm himself, he told me he was a member of the Empire Eighty-Eight. My Admiral ordered me not to speak to any members of that criminal organization. So rather than disobey her orders I released him into police custody and went on my way."

The superhero Velocity just looked at me for a brief moment.

"The man was black."

I blinked not registering how the color of the man's skin had anything to do with anything.

"So?"

Clearly, I had caught the superhero off guard given he'd switched from German to English in the middle of our conversation. Not that I minded. Wilhelm wouldn't understand but she didn't need to contribute to this part anyways.

"So, the Empire Eighty-Eight are Nazis."

I couldn't resist snorting in amusement and giving a dismissive wave of my hand.

"No they are not. They are criminals. They are certainly not National Socialists."

Velocity crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto one of his foot changing his body posture as we talked.

"And you know what National Socialists are?"

I gave him a look before just pointing upwards at the Eagle and swastika pin on my service cap.

"Of course. My captains, and some of my crew,, were all party members. I am intimately familiar with National Socialism."

There was another long pause. For a man who according to the radio was the fastest man on the East Coast of the United States he sure did take his time to think. Still it was no matter.

"Right… okay we're off topic. So regarding Squealer…"

VELOCITY

I sat back in one of the couches of the lounge for the Protectorate members. I was relaxing after my shift was over. Ethan was currently cuddling/begging forgiveness for whatever latest thing he did to get under Alice's skin, like usual. Shawn was off to the side watching the news.

"Hey Robin! Those Nazi projections you ran into today. What did you say their names were?"

I looked up from my book over to where Shawn was looking at me.

"Nemo, Vityaz, and Wilhelm. Why?"

He just pointed at the news program on the TV that was showing a dock somewhere and had a man speaking in what sounded like Russian. I couldn't be sure since that wasn't one, I'd learned but it sounded right. A voice over translation was going on but the dialogue was already part way through and I'd missed at least some context.

"Well you know how that submarine disappeared in Chicago right around the same time Admiral likely triggered? Another ship disappeared, in Russia this time. And get this, its name is Vityaz! Weird right?"

"Weird…"

It was more than weird. I'd been puzzling over all what I'd talked to those three girls earlier. They'd each looked like teenagers. If it had just been one I would have said it was just a costume and schtick, plenty of heroes and villains alike did that sort of thing. German submarine was certainly weird but it was consistent. More than one ship though? And all the way over in Russia? That wasn't strange. It was worrying.

I heard a noise behind me, the sound of a door opening and turned to look and saw Colin himself walking in. Now this was definitely strange. The man almost never came in here. The man was a workaholic who had to be ordered to take vacations and days off with his Tinker budget being held hostage to enforce it no less. I could count the number of times he'd been in this room in the last year on one hand with fingers to spare.

"Robin. Your report of the meeting with the Projections this morning. You mentioned you spoke German with them. Is that accurate?"

"Yeah?"

I'd only included it as a footnote but it was worth noting because it gave us an idea of how capable Admiral's Projections were.

"Did they all speak German? Did they have an accent?"

I thought about that for a second.

"Yes now that you mention it. They, or at least Nemo as she's calling herself now, had a Hamburg accent."

Thank god I'd dated that girl from Hamburg during my Army days when I'd been deployed to the bases over there or I'd have no idea about that.

Whatever he'd been expecting an answer I guessed that wasn't the answer he'd either wanted or expected.

"Why does the accent matter?"

I asked trying to snap Armsmaster out of his silence. His helmet turned to me a moment later. He didn't answer me, I wondered what he was doing, looking at a report maybe? Talking to Dragon possibly? I couldn't tell.

"Admiral doesn't speak German."

"What? She has to. How could her projections speak a language she doesn't?"

Behind me the TV had been muted, I could only guess by Shawn. Off to the side Ethan and Alice were both watching and listening as well.

"I don't know but Admiral neither speaks or understands German, and yet her projections can."

That… was worrying. Most Master projections were just puppets basically, extensions of a Master's ability and nothing more. If Admiral's projections were independent in this way, it was just the beginning of a worrying trend. I didn't need to slow down my time perception to be able to follow this train of thought.

"You don't think…"

Colin nodded once.

"I do. They are more than just projections. I believe that the three disappearances are all connected to Admiral's power. I believe that U-505's claims that she is the same submarine have merit."

Wait. Three?

"Which was the third ship that disappeared?"

Armsmaster pointed behind me towards the TV.

"Damnit Colin. Every time you do that the TV doesn't work right for a week did you have to connect your suit to it?"

Alice thankfully hit her husband to shut him up. I ignored his customary whining and complaining as I looked at a still picture of a scene surrounded by yellow caution tape.

"That was taken in Germany less than an hour ago. And there's more. I've been attempting to understand how Admiral's projections operate. Dragon noted an anomalous weather pattern the day of her Trigger. I focused the Rig's atmospheric radar and sonar as an attempt to study any future incidents. They caught this this morning."

The picture changed and I could only stare.

"That can't be…"

"Yes."

I looked back to Colin.

"I just finished checking all of the sensors. There is no mistake."

I looked back in the screen with a little bit of fear as I stared at the unmoving picture it showed.

"And she can…?"

"Yes."

The silence lingered as we all processed and realized just what Admiral was doing, without even realizing what she was doing, completely without any conscious action.

"… Mary Mother of God..."

From the side of the room I could hear Ethan speaking up without a hint of humor or joking in his voice.

"Well at least now we know how Squealer found her..."

"Yes."

Colin's answer wasn't a comforting one, even compared to his usual caustic personality. But in this moment I didn't hold it against him in the slightest.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni

Last edited: Mar 21, 2021

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Veriseple

Mar 21, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 28, 2021

#666

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

Danny Hebert

The day had been long and the night was shaping up to be no kinder. The incident with Squealer had taken hours to get out of even with the fastest man on the East Coast doing the interviewing. By the time he had gotten free he'd been ready to drive the girls to the hospital to see Taylor. But, instead they had vanished. He had no way to contact them, and given he didn't have a cell phone himself he wasn't even sure how he would contact them if he did have a method.

He'd wanted to go to the hospital to check in on Taylor but honestly it was well past what it should have been, and he was due back at work already. So skipping going the rest of the way to the hospital he had instead returned to work.

He'd been expecting more paperwork on his desk and a list of people he'd needed to call back. And there had been, but more importantly he'd had every other major person left in the Union waiting outside his office.

The next three hours had been him first talking to them, and then addressing nearly the entire body of the Union. Out of the 343 people still on the books as employed by the Union, 312 of them were present and gathered. Even workers who were off work for the day had come in as they were collectively gathered in a large group in one of the larger warehouses that in years and decades past had hosted everything from cargo, to dances for a membership that had numbered almost two thousand back in the 70's and 80's.

"I'm sure you all are here because of the girls who some of you saw me walking with earlier. I understand that you all probably have questions."

There was a rumbled murmur of confirmation from everyone gathered. I stood before them, standing only on an old wood crate that hadn't rotted enough to be dangerous to stand on. Soap box speaking indeed. But, it was enough to let me see the faces of them all looking to me, judging me.

"The truth is that Taylor, my daughter…"

I hesitated. Was I really going to do this? Just casually tell them all she was a parahuman? Just to save my own skin, and my job? I shouldn't, I was her father, I was supposed to protect her. But then I thought to what Armsmaster had theorized and told me on the first full day she had been in the hospital, when I had accompanied him to the house, and we had together found Taylor's journals.

He'd also asked me questions. Questions about where Taylor's protector had come from. Questions that combined with what I'd seen today let me draw my own worrying, damning, conclusions about what the future would bring for Taylor.

"The truth is that Taylor, the same Taylor you all know is a parahuman. She's a cape."

I just stood there and shrugged where they all could see me and just slipped my hands in my pockets as I dropped that bombshell on them. As I let them digest the information as they were looking to one another, whispering back and forth their thoughts and ideas.

"Two days ago. My daughter was shoved into her locker by bullies, in what they no doubt consider a prank, but the doctors, the police, and even the goddamn PRT and Protectorate have compared to a biological warfare attack to my own ears when I was in the hospital with her!"

Shock, with a touch of anger was the response now as my workers processed that. After all how many of them had known Taylor? Talked to them? Most were family men and women themselves. None of their children were as close as Emma… was…

I still had trouble believing that fact but my one brief talk with Alan hadn't filled my heart with confidence. Oh he hadn't known, of that at least I was sure. But when I'd tried to press him on why and how… well I figured we'd need some beers and maybe a boxing ring to get to the bottom of it between the two of us.

But, of the men and women before me, even though the heat was still on me, the knowledge that someone had harmed Taylor, someone that plenty of those gathered before me had at one point or another babysat or gotten to know.

"They tried to kill her! My daughter!"

My fist pounded my chest as I poured out my anger and frustration at everything for everyone to see. As I finally had a chance to just vent! And the mood of the crowd was shifting. All the anger and frustration I had bottled up, for more than these past few days, but these past few years was boiling out of me and into my words in this moment.

"And Taylor Triggered because of it! Oh you've all have been in this city long enough, you've heard the stories of Capes. You've heard about Triggers too and you all know just what kind of hell she must have been going through when they locked her in her goddamn locker with goddamn hazardous waste! They filled it with bloody tampons and other shit and shut her in and goddamn laughed! They laughed and no one did anything. Not the other students! Not the teachers! No one did a goddamn thing to help her!"

"Do you want to know who helped her?! Huh?! A goddamn Nazi! And I'm not talking Allfather or Kaiser and his fucking Empire. I'm talking an actual honest to God himself Nazi!"

Shock, mixed with anger. I'd led these people long enough that while they had good serious doubts about what they had seen, they also knew me, they knew Taylor too. And they knew what it was to be in this city, where honest men and women like us were stomped on by life and seemingly by goddamn fate.

"My baby girl Triggered. And in her moment of desperation as she pleaded for anyone or anything to save her. She got an answer. Now I'm no cape expert. But the Protectorate is, as they better damn well be. I've talked to Armsmaster himself about this. Now Taylor is what they call a Master."

Instantly the mood shifted, Masters were something they knew about, how could they not with monsters out there reported on the news like Nilbog or Heartbreaker.

"But she's not like those monsters Nilbog or Heartbreaker. She doesn't create monsters. She doesn't kill cities, she doesn't kidnap and rape like Heartbreaker. She creates these things the Protectorate calls Projections. Now I will admit here and now to all of you that I am not without worry myself. Because those girls you saw earlier, the nurse, and the girl wearing a hat with the logo of the Nazi's. That's them too. And I know it's hard to believe. This isn't Crusader's ghosts. But they look, talk, and sound like real people. Hell that singing some of you heard this morning coming from the graveyard? That was Vityaz, the nurse."

I was working hard, to protect how they viewed Taylor, because I knew just how they were feeling, it was impossible not to understand their thoughts when my own thoughts were the exact same. But my thoughts, my reservations and fears, none of that mattered because I had to protect Taylor. I had to advocate for Taylor, to make them believe in her even if I was finding it hard to do myself. Because I was her father and it was my job to protect her. Regardless of any feelings, or reservations, or doubts I might have. Taylor had to come first here.

"These girls all say they are ships. German warships specifically. And she called one, a girl who says she's a submarine was in Chicago just until two days ago. The sub vanished at the same time and I'll admit that's a load to swallow but it doesn't really matter to me because the important thing is that when no one else stepped up. That girl did. A girl with delusions who thinks she's a Nazi submarine stepped up to do what no one else was willing to do, and rescued Taylor."

They were becoming uncertain. Losing their resolve I could see it in their eyes and faces as I told them about U-505, or Nemo as Taylor was calling her now it seemed. After all, I was talking about Nazis now, and connecting them to Taylor. Something I immediately needed to correct.

"Now I can't tell you why Taylor's powers did that. Taylor can't either. She had no choice over what happened. She triggered, that's the fact about all this right there. All she knew was that she needed help. And so her power saved her, without her having any control over it. And this girl may be a Nazi, but she's no Kaiser or Hookwolf. Not once has she harmed one. She has been sitting with Taylor, refusing to leave, insisting that Taylor needed to be protected. The only time she left that hospital room was today. And in doing so she handed Squealer over to the police."

Whispers flew far and fast as the knowledge that a merchant cape, the strongest power of the most degenerate gang in the city was behind bars.

"This was earlier, just hours ago. Squealer is behind bars. Thanks to the girl who originally rescued Taylor, and the one who came out of the Graveyard this morning. She also turned a criminal into the police. A black man. She didn't beat him up; she didn't harm him, or lynch him. She just took him to the local police precinct."

Disbelief and shock continued as my words traveled into unbelievable realms that should have belonged in fiction.

"She did that because Taylor told her, ordered her, not to hurt anyone. She ordered this girl who her power created, to turn any criminals over to the police. So I can't answer you how or why Taylor's power is creating girls with the idea that they are Nazi ships. What I can tell you is that Taylor controls them. And you all know Taylor. You know who I raised her to be. I raised her the same as every one of you. To work hard, and do the right thing, and even now that she's a cape with the goddamn shittiest power on the planet she is."

I paused there, looking down and smiling for a moment as a thought occurred to me.

"I will say I would pay cash money to see Kaiser's goddamn face when my little girl tells her power to go and shut him down."

There was a pause of a moment before laughter rolled through the crowd.

"I mean can you guys imagine what it will be like to all those Empire thugs when actual Nazi's start beating the shit out of them? Because it's going to happen. These girls follow Taylor's words to the letter. If they think someone's E88 they won't even talk to them they'll just drag them to the station and it doesn't matter if it's Kaiser, or Hookwolf or a random neo-nazi on the street."

The laughter continued to build as they all, just as I did saw the humor in it, and of course it was freaking hysterical, the idea that the biggest racists in the Eastern United States might get beaten up and turned over to the cops by actual Nazi's that thought they were warships? Damn funny that.

"Now all humor aside, you're probably wondering why I'm saying all this. After all cape identities are supposed to be secret. Sadly I don't think Taylor's identity will be secret. Too many mouths, too many ears. There aren't enough blood sucking lawyers in the entire world to stop every kid with a phone that has a camera from taking pictures when this all started, and I have no idea that Taylor's time in the hospital hasn't been quiet given Kaiser has already started trying to reach out to me."

"Yeah, I'm telling you this. I'm telling you this because I told his people to go fuck themselves. I don't want his help, I don't want his money. I will never work with Kaiser or anyone who stands with him. And if that means I go fucking broke then so goddamn be it!"

"But the secret is out, and it's only a matter of time. And Taylor has three of these girls now. I have no reason to believe it's going to stop there, every time she gets a new one right there out of the Graveyard…"

I pointed towards the wall of the building in the direction of the Graveyard.

"Every time in the future this happens, is going to come another one of them. And every one of you who works here has earned my honesty and trust. I'm not going to lie. I couldn't lie to you and keep it a secret if I tried. So I'm leveling with all of you. This is how it is. My daughter is the latest person in the Bay who has gotten stomped all over by fate it seems. And maybe now she has a way to fight back but that's not without cost. Well I refuse to let that cost include the people who watched her grow up and helped to raise her."

"I have no doubt that many of you might in time meet one of these girls who calls my daughter Admiral. And I'm not going to do you the insult of trying to tell a lie that can't be kept. So I am going to honor you all as you deserve to be honored, with the truth. This is how it is. Each of you knows my character and you know me. You know Taylor. And you know what happened. Your own decisions from here on out are your own."

And I finally stopped. Stopped talking, stopped defending and just looked out over their faces. I could still see in some faces that they didn't believe me. But these faces weren't just looking at me, they were looking at the people around them, the vast majority of everyone gathered present, and they could see that the others might not be willing to trust me in this, not yet, but they were willing to give me a chance to see if I was telling the truth or not.

I expected I'd be sending out final paychecks to some of the men and women gathered here I knew. Some even I had known all my life. The world was not a place where the truth of the situation alone was enough to ease everyone's fears, anger, and concerns. But most, hopefully, enough, of the men and women before me knew me well enough to have faith. And in time I hoped Taylor and her projections would prove me right.

Turning and hopping down off the crate I began walking out of the enormous warehouse building heading towards the administrative offices while behind me the crowd began to disperse. I had mountains of paperwork and a string of phone calls waiting for me no doubt, and no amount of oratory and public speaking in the world would ever save me from that.

Hours later, with night well upon me now, my predictions were proved right. Before the end of shift I had resignations from four men and women, and I had no doubt more would follow tomorrow after they had a night to sleep on their thoughts. My other predictions of an even larger mountain of paperwork and a slew of phone calls was equally correct as well which was why I was still sitting at my desk when the clock was ticking its way towards 10pm with alarming swiftness.

"Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier

ist des Sturmes gewaltiger Aar."

I didn't immediately register the distant singing. It was only when I realized that I couldn't understand it that I looked up from my bondage and toil of paperwork.

"Die Vöglein erzittern,

vernehmen sie sein rauschendes Flügelpaar."

"Wenn der Löwe in der Wüste brüllt,

so erzittert das tierische Heer."

The voices were female, but not singing in a language I recognized. It took a moment for my tired, coffee deprived brain to realize that this might not sound similar, but I did here something earlier today that in its own way reminded me of it, at least in the words. The song was certainly more martial than the song from this morning.

"Ja, wir sind die Herren der Welt,

die Könige auf dem Meer."

"Tirallala, tirallala, tirallala, tirallala."

As what I assumed was a refrain of some kind was being sung I got up from my desk and walked outside to see what was going on though I already suspected who were the likely culprits.

"Hei, hei! Ja, wir sind die Herren der Welt,

die Könige auf dem Meer."

My coat was waiting for me on the wall hook and after turning off the light and closing the door I made my way out through the administrative building.

"Zeigt sich ein Schiff auf dem Ozean,

so jubeln wir laut und wild."

"Unser stolzes Schiff fliegt dem Pfeile gleich

durch das brausende Wogengefild."

"Der Kaufmann erzittert vor Angst und vor Weh,

den Matrosen entsinket der Mut,

wenn steiget am schwankenden Mast

unsre Flagge, so rot wie das Blut."

I was walking quickly, trying to get there before anyone else might beat me there and possibly cause a problem but it was late and no one else was in sight. I would be closing up tonight for sure yet again. It meant though that when I was standing outside the office I was alone looking down the road where three recognizable figures were walking towards me with two of them singing in unison.

"Wir stürzen uns auf das feindliche Schiff,

wie ein losgeschossener Pfeil."

"Die Kanone donnert, die Muskete kracht,

laut rasselt das Enterbeil."

"Und die feindliche Flagge, schon sinkt sie herab,

da ertönt unser Siegesgeschrei:"

"Die See, das brausende Meer,

hoch lebe die Seeräuberei!"

The song finally came to an end shortly before they stopped right in front of me. The two grls who were submarines chattering away in German at one another. Vityaz gave me a smile and a bow of her head with a curtsy.

"Hello, Herr Hebert."

Suppressing my very strong urge to sigh I gave the three a tight smile even though all of them had ditched me hours ago to go who knows where.

"Okay First I just want to tell you both, Nemo and Wilhelm. Thank you for stopping Squealer and turning her over to the police. Regardless of anything else, thank you for doing that."

Nemo gave me a big smile and nod, as she bounced on her feet while Wilhelm just watched me with that same look of someone hanging on for a clue but not getting it. An expression that confirmed Vityaz's claim that Wilhelm didn't speak English.

"It was our pleasure Herr Hebert. We were just carrying out the Admiral's orders of course but it was still something we were happy to do."

Wilhelm gave a nod but I couldn't be sure if she was just copying Nemo beside her or if she actually understood. Giving them a nod back I looked to the three.

"Okay well what are you three doing here. Do you need a lift to the hospital still?"

Nemo and Vityaz immediately shook their heads, with Wilhelm, probably still copying them following suit a moment after.

"No we already did that, but the Admiral was asleep and well…"

Nemo trailed off and got what I would swear was a sheepish or embarrassed expression. The expression had nothing on her expression when there was a very loud noise immediately after that. I looked around trying to see if one of the loading cranes was about to give way when I realized what I had thought was stressed metal preparing to give way had actually been the growl of a stomach.

Nemo's face was flushed with embarrassment and Vityaz was busy berating Nemo in what I could swear was Russian although she was speaking far too quickly for me to understand any of it with the few (mostly curses) words of Russian I'd picked up from some of my dockworkers.

«Немо! Как ты можешь смущать нас так сильно?! Почему ты не заботишься о себе? Твоё здоровье очень важно для твоих обязанностей! Если ты не можешь поддерживать свои запасы на нужном уровне, ты не сможешь должным образом выполнять задания Адмирала!»

I understood nothing of what was being said but body language and a second quieter growl from Wilhelm made very clear what was going on. I couldn't resist the sigh this time as I gave each of them a weak smile.

"Hungry?"

My response was three eager sets of eyes and nods, even from Vityaz. To be honest I hadn't ever seen Nemo eat once. I hadn't even known if they needed to eat before this, but this was clearly answer enough to tell me that yes they did need to eat.

"Fine. Lets go get food. Put your stuff in the truck. One of you is going to need to ride in the back. Let me lock up and we'll go get you food."

I pointed to where the truck was parked and then headed inside. A quick check showed I was the last person in the building so I turned off all the lights and locked up. By the time I got to the truck Nemo was sitting in the back with their submarine shaped bag case things while Vityaz and Wilhelm were waiting by the passenger side door to ride up front with me again.

A few moments later we were driving out of the parking lot and through the dark and dimly lit streets of the docks. Luckily this time our trip away from the docks towards the rest of the city was far less eventful than the drive earlier today. Fifteen minutes later we were outside a hot dog stand that was still open a bit off the Boardwalk.

This late in the evening few places would be open and the house didn't have much in the way of food at the moment. But I wasn't about to order from even a hot dog joint without doing something first. Turning in my seat back and sliding the rear window of my truck open after I turned off the ignition, but before any of the girls could climb out I gave all three a firm look.

"Hats off."

All three looked at me. Vityaz was the first one to remove the hat like thing covering her head. Wilhelm and Nemo were far more hesitant. At least until I could see Vityaz's eyes move to the hat on Nemo's head as the girl looked at me through the rear window of the truck. Realization passing over her face she leaned back and whispered into Nemo's ear and I could see realization on Nemo's face as well.

Wilhelm just continued to sit there no understanding on her face only confusion. Clearly I was going to need to start learning German just so I could communicate with Taylor's projections if this was going to be regular behavior. And I was coming to realize that this was all likely what I would soon be calling 'normal' behavior.

Luckily Vityaz was taking things into hand and solving my problems, I hoped…

"Wilhelm, Herr Herbert möchte, dass du deinen Hut ausziehst, bevor wir Essen bekommen."

"Warum?"

"Weil er das gesagt hat. Schau, willst du essen?"

"Ja!"

"Dann zieh deine Servicekappe aus!"

A moment later the third and final teenager took off her hat and I sighed in relief that they hadn't fought me on this. Opening the door I got out of my truck and walked towards the small building that housed a hot dog stand that was open as late as 11pm even on cold winter nights like tonight.

The restaurant was built like an old dinner, only a row of stools at the counter gave anyone a place to sit. As we got in I unzipped my coat as I held the door open for the girls as they filed in behind me. Behind the counter the cook, an old man named Joseph who'd been working this place since before Scion had appeared walked into view.

"Danny. Haven't seen you in a bit. Who's the kids? Taylor outside still?"

I gave him a weak smile as I walked up to the counter pulling my wallet from my pants.

"Hiya Joe. No Taylor today, but I've got three hungry mouths for girls who captured Squealer earlier today. So lets get two hot dogs a piece for all of us, and four small cokes."

"Sure Danny. Sure."

It wasn't much but with Taylor in the hospital I couldn't afford to spend much even more than normal. Still Nemo and Wilhelm had captured Squealer and that at least was worth a bite to eat in thanks. I passed a twenty over the counter along with a few coins for the change and Joseph turned around and got to work as I took a seat at the counter on one of the stools as the girls did the same farther down.

Each of them sat there quietly, looking around at the interior of the place in curiosity. In an attempt to make the place be memorable Joseph had decorated the wall with old photos and posters and a thousand other things out of the 50's and 60's going back to when his father had started this place. Wilhelm seemed to be fixated on a cardboard cutout stand up of Elvis in a gold suit positioned in the far corner given she kept looking at it and pointing whispering to Nemo as she kept pointing.

"That there's the King, girlie!"

All of us turned our heads to look at Joseph as he stood by the grill with a chuckle.

"Never heard of the King huh? Well I just cannot let that stand. Everyone ought to know about the King!"

Stepping away from the grill for a moment Joe did something somewhere out of sight and a moment later a radio in the back began to play, and I could hear a familiar sound.

"The warden threw a party in the county jail.

The prison band was there, and they began to wail.

The band was jumpin', and the joint began to swing.

You should've heard them knocked out jailbirds sing.

Let's rock Everybody, let's rock.

Everybody in the whole cell block.

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock."

The music of Elvis Pressley filled the small diner and I could only smile at the reactions of each of the girls I had brought in. Vityaz and Wilhelm were both listening with growing awe on their faces while Nemo was banging on the counter with her hands, and wiggling in time with the music as she danced in her seat, singing along to the song by the King of Rock and Roll.

"Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone.

Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone.

The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang.

The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang.

Let's rock Everybody, let's rock.

Everybody in the whole cell block.

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock."

By the end of the second verse Joe had made his way out from behind the counter and was dancing (Dancing!) on the floor with Nemo, the two of them tearing up a rug on the black and white checkered tile floor while the three of us still in our seats were turned to watch them and clapping along in time with the music.

"Number forty-seven said to number three.

You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see

I sure would be delighted with your company

Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me

Let's rock Everybody, let's rock

Everybody in the whole cell block

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock"

Beside me, as I clapped and sang along, Wilhelm had a look of pure delight even though she didn't understand a word. Past her Vityaz was laughing as she clapped along too as we were all caught up in the moment and the music.

"Sad Sack was sittin' on a block of stone

Way over in the corner weepin' all alone

The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square"

"If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair"

Let's rock Everybody, let's rock

Everybody in the whole cell block

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock"

"Shifty Henry said to Bugs "For Heaven's sake"

"No one's lookin', now's our chance to make a break"

Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, "Nix nix"

"I wanna stick around awhile and get my kicks"

Let's rock Everybody, let's rock

Everybody in the whole cell block

Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock"

The song was drawing to a close and Joe and Nemo were slowing but still hadn't stopped. I couldn't believe how much Joe was moving. He was nearly the same age as my father but dancing with Nemo while Elvis music played had made him move and seem like behind all those wrinkles he was a young man again.

"Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock

Dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock"

With the final part of the song ended Joseph let go of Nemo's hand whooped in delight.

"Well I'll be. Been a long time since a young thing like you appreciated the King. But it's a damn good thing. Anyone who likes the King can't be all bad. Anyways let me get back here. Your dogs ought to be ready by now."

And with a quick hurry he had two hot dogs for each of us all prepared and presented to each of us. I started unwrapping the first of my dogs from the foil it was wrapped in to keep it hot in case we walked out with it. Down the line the others were doing the same as old Joe put cups filled with Coke in front of each of us.

"What's the matter little lady? Don't you be telling me you don't like my cooking now?"

I looked over at where Joe was smiling at Nemo at the end of the counter. Sitting in front of her was a hot dog that was unwrapped but also untouched.

"This. Is an abomination."

What?

"Ketchup! Does not go on a hotdog!"

What? I was plain confused as I took another bite of my hotdog with ketchup and mustard loaded hotdog. Joe though just smiled and chuckled.

"You're from Chicago ain't ya?"

Nemo shrugged in reply.

"Oh I wasn't born there but I spent enough years there."

Joe chuckled again nodding as he took the hot dogs back and even tossed more hotdogs on the grill to cook.

"Never met a person from Chicago that didn't say the same damn thing! Don't know how many years you've got in you girl given you don't look older than Danny's little girl but what I do know is that there isn't a person I've met from Chicago that ain't got the same opinion. I'll know for next time and since you love the King I'll whip up two more special just for you in just a jiffy. So long as you sing along with me."

As the grill cooked the two new hot dogs Joe moved to the radio and started up another song and before long I too was singing along in between bites of my dinner.

"Well, since my baby left me."

"Well, I found a new place to dwell."

"Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street."

"At Heartbreak Hotel."

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Song: Der mächtigste König im Luftrevier

Song: Jailhouse Rock

Song: Heartbreak Hotel

Spoiler: Translations

Last edited: Apr 2, 2021

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Veriseple

Mar 28, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Apr 3, 2021

#787

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

Lieutenant Marcus Fowley

"At ease, Lieutenant."

I had barely come to attention and saluted as the Captain walked into his office and looked at me. Lowering my arm I looked at the officer I'd been ordered to report to as he motioned for me to follow him into his personal office out of the outer office where his non-com aide sat behind a desk. Obediently I followed him in and when he gestured me to do so I took a seat in front of his desk in one of the chairs.

"Lieutenant you're being transferred immediately to my command and I'm assigning you to my Area 4."

I frowned as I processed that.

"I'm going to be teaching kids?"

Yesterday I had been preparing for deployment to a base in Anchorage Alaska. Now I was on the East Coast with no explanation for the change in my orders or why I was now being transferred to Naval Service Training Command.

"Yes you are Lieutenant. As soon as you and I finish you are being assigned to the new NJROTC program being set up in Brockton Bay."

NJROTC?! I was going to be working with high schoolers? What in the… I knew that city. Swallowing my fear and panic down I didn't let it reach my face as I looked at the Captain sitting across from me behind the desk. The black skinned Captain.

"Sir I…"

"Son. You'll get your turn to talk in a bit but I've got a few questions for you. Now I've read your file. Exemplary scores during your time at Annapolis. Graduated and commissioned with honors. However on your first cruise well this report I think speaks for itself."

He held up a file with my name on it. I swallowed nervously again.

"Sir, I…"

"I said you'd get your turn to talk."

I closed my mouth.

"Now this report paints a picture of a very certain type. I suspect you know exactly what I'm talking about?"

I remembered that he didn't want me to talk so I just nodded once.

"Would it surprise you to know that Commander Ferrell has been court-martialed and is now serving time in Leavenworth?"

My jaw dropped. I couldn't help it. The captain across for me gave a grunt of amusement before continuing.

"I take it not. Lieutenant I'm going to speak frankly. You are an exemplary sailor, and except for this one allegation of misconduct that you barely managed to survive through, I suspect that's what you are. And given the light now being shined on your accuser I'd say that shines a new light on his allegations as well. So I'm going to ask you a few simple questions and I want you to answer them just as simply."

I nodded still trying to process, and to find the words to respond to what I had just been told.

"Is your Uncle Billy Fowley the current leader of the Southern Knights of the Cross, a white supremacist biker gang operating out of Baton Rouge?"

I swallowed again.

"Yes, Sir."

"Very good. And is your Grandfather, Richard Augustus Fowley III, a former Grand Wizard of the KKK?"

I couldn't answer that one, my mouth was too dry so I just nodded.

"And is your brother Phil "Zeus" Fowley currently serving prison time in Lebanon, Kansas on hate crime charges?"

I just nodded not able to answer as I hung my head in shame.

"And were you last year awarded a purple heart, as well as a bronze star for your involvement aboard the USS Chicago? An action during which you personally leapt into a burning compartment and pulled out five servicemen two of whom were black?"

I looked up and gave a hesitant nod.

"Son. When I look at your file what I see is a young man who wanted to get out of the shity life he was in. I would say that he chose the only way he could get out by going to college, and joining the Navy to pay for it to claw his way out of to speak plainly, his racist redneck family. Do I have that right?"

I gave another less hesitant nod this time.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. I thought so. But I've got another question for you son. You may have left that behind but I'm willing to bet you still remember it."

My nervousness began to build again.

"Yes, Sir."

"You remember how they talk? How they act? What to say?"

"Sir, I…"

I didn't get a chance, yet again, to defend myself as he immediately pulled open a drawer of his desk and pulled out a folder and tossed it across the desk to land in front of me at the edge. A label at the top read "Potential Asset: Admiral". And on the front was very clearly stamped the word in read 'Classified'.

"Read it. And while you're reading it I'm going to explain."

Obediently I opened the folder and looked at the picture of a black haired girl wearing girl who had to be a teenager on the very front of a military dossier.

"You are to put it plainly, an exemplary sailor. You also have ties to multiple white supremacist and neo-nazi organizations. And given how I noticed you stiffen when I said Brockton Bay, you haven't forgotten much about those ties, and the ties of those ties. You're a good man but I'm willing to bet you can still walk, talk, and quack like the rest of those idiotic bigots."

My eyebrows were quickly rising upwards as I continued to leaf through the pages of the folder reading over its contents.

"That right there quite plainly is going to be your mission. That girl. She's a parahuman. We've confirmed that much for sure. With budget cutbacks NJROTC programs nationwide have been slashed as everything about the budget from recruiting to hardware has been slashed. Not a surprise, it had to be done. After all we're not congress. We can't just write checks we can't pay. Anyways to get to the point the school she's in doesn't have any JROTC programs as of right now and hasn't for the last twenty years. That's changing as of today. "

I looked up at him questioningly for a moment before looking back down at the folder and flipped to the next page and continued to read and listen.

"The Navy and beyond wants her friendly. I'm sure you have already realized why."

I had indeed. And as I studied what was a very incredibly detailed picture he continued to talk.

"Now we can't recruit her. Against the law that. But every law has a loophole. An NJROTC program like the one you'll be at in her school is one of those. You're there to teach those kids. But you're also there to feel her out, and give her a safe harbor. I don't know how much you know about Capes but whatever she's been going through is a hell all its own."

"By all accounts from what little we've managed to dig up she probably doesn't have, or at least didn't have much in the ways of friends or allies. You're going to change that. If she's actually a bigot you reciprocate. If she's not you don't. You feel her out, you report back up the chain, and you give her a port in the storm she can dock at if needed. The principal and school district board jumped on the money we're offering to set up like a Ruskie on a bottle of vodka, so you'll have some leeway with the administration."

"Now the city itself is a mess of gangs that are at least partially divided on racial lines. You're going to need to thread those carefully but your first and primary mission is to be the friendly face of the Navy to her in prep for what's coming down the tube later on."

I looked up to him curiously.

"What is coming later on? For her I mean?"

He just nodded and pointed back to the folder in my hands.

"Last page, son."

I flipped through the remaining pages to the last one and quickly began to read. Then I began to stare. I could hear the Captain chuckling across the desk.

"Yeah I about did the same. Haven't done it in over a hundred years but it never got pulled off the books so its legal and it's our loophole, so long as you convince her the Navy and the US as a whole is in her corner. Now that doesn't exist, not officially, not yet anyways. But if this all works out its going to happen and given you're our skin in the game with that girl for now, you need to know what's at stake. The Navy can't afford any mess ups."

I idly flipped back a few pages just to clear my head. I came to a stop on a piece of paper showing two images side by side. The first photo was of a WW2 German submarine printed in black and white. The second right next to it showing the most highly detailed combination radar/sonar scan I had ever seen. It's readings displaying another near identical submarine, and if the readings along the side were accurate, the damn thing had to be near perfectly to scale.

"I'm not saying this will be easy, stepping into the shoes you need to. But your country needs you. And she might even need you a little bit too if the analysts over at ONI are right. Are you ready?"

Rather than answer immediately I thought about it, leafing back through the folder for a moment, studying and reading everything.

"I believe you were going to answer my questions Sir?"

The Captain gave me a grunt of confirmation as he leaned back in his office chair.

"That I did. What do you want to know son?"

I looked back down at the folder. Some of my earlier questions had been soothed; other new thoughts were boiling to the surface. Curious about something I leafed back to the very first page and read for a moment.

"Sir. This girl, Taylor. She only triggered? On Monday. How are we moving so fast on this? I mean its only been five days and I'm guessing I'm only one small part of this. But is the entire Navy moving on this?"

An amused grunt was my response.

"I'm glad to see your scores at Annapolis weren't just for show. You're right. You and the program will only be the tip of the spear in dealing with the girl. We've got other things in the work but that's not your mission. All you need to know is that the Pentagon has seen a potential strategic asset in young Miss Hebert, and you and your staff will assess if that asset is viable or not before we commit further."

The thoughts about having a staff was certainly raising a question all its own but I put those to the side and instead got back to my previous question.

"No I get that. That tracks. But how do we actually know about this. I mean I've heard horror stories about the PRT mucking things up, how did this information get loose. They cannot be sitting idle on her either."

This caused the Captain to outright chuckle for a moment before replying with a smirk.

"Oh they certainly aren't sitting idle but two things son. First the girl is still in the hospital. And for most of that time in there she's always had one of those girls of hers at her side. Or just been unconscious. The PRT is waiting for her to heal before they move and directly approach her. As for why we're moving. The PRT as you've heard has a habit of running roughshod over other agencies. Warranted or not, justified or not, right or not, it doesn't matter. The end result of all of their past history is why the entire kitchen of alphabet soup is currently co-operating a bit to ease the flow of information for us."

"The PRT has a job that needs doing. But in that doing they've developed a habit of ruffling more feathers than necessary. So back channels, old boy's contact networks, hell just damn drinking buddies and college roommates probably, however it needs to happen now is happening so that the information is continuing to flow."

I could only give my own chuckle of dry amusement as the PRT unknowingly was lying in a bed of their own making.

"And my staff? Do you know who I'll have with me?"

The Captain nodded and opened a different drawer and pulled out another folder, but he didn't pass it to me just yet.

"You done looking at that one yet?"

I took a few final moments, a minute or two more, to look back through this folder that didn't exist, one more time. When I had memorized everything in it that I possibly could I passed it back over to him, and he handed me the new one.

This folder was much larger as it quickly became apparent that it was a briefing regarding my entire posting. The first few pages covered my mission operation description, and personal things affecting me, including my transfer orders. In the staff section farther back I found mentions of my housing and other logistical information. It was after that, that things started to get interesting.

My eyebrows raised as I read the brief dossier on my first staff member. Petty Officer First Class Derek Hanson, a Navy SEAL. There wasn't much, and given he was a SEAL I didn't really expect there to be a full listing of his active duty history. Still ten years of active duty was nothing to scoff at, particularly given how much combat he had likely seen as a SEAL.

Glancing up with a little bit of amusement I jokingly questioned the Captain.

"So Petty Officer Hanson is going to be leading PT?"

That only made the Captain smirk.

"That's your call but I'd check your other staff member's file before you make any final calls."

Curious as to what could possibly top an actual by god SEAL. (And didn't that right there show just how heavy the Navy was committing to all this?) I flipped through the pages regarding the Petty Officer's logistical information to look at my second staff member. Starting at the top I read aloud.

"Gunnery Sergeant Tanya Stri…. Holy FUCK!"

My jaw had dropped as I just stared up at the Captain who was just laughing with delighted sadism at my shock. I got no reply, the man was lost in his amusement at my disbelief. Disbelieving I looked back down and silently began to read again. Then a second time once I finished because it was no more believable that I had HER on my staff.

The following day found me sitting in a chair in the principal of Winslow High School's office. I'd been here for twenty minutes already and I was not at all impressed by the reception I'd gotten. Reactions from the administrator and her secretary both had ranged from nosy, to falsely compliments, to apathy when I'd asked a few questions on the sly about certain things relevant to my new mission and my target's situation.

"Mrs. Blackwell, I thank you for your time but I really must get going. I'm supposed to meet my staff for a briefing so we can figure out lesson plans. As long as you make sure that the school advertises the program's availability I'm sure we'll get along well together."

She gave me a simpering reply that I processed as I got up and walked out. I suppose given everything I should have been more polite but after observing the formalities, I was finding it difficult to muster more for someone I had only just met and so far had no respect for.

Out in the hallway I looked around and saw there were no kids in the hallway. It seemed I was still between classes at the moment. That just made it easier to make my way through the halls. I only had to check the map I'd printed out of the school that morning once before I was making my way outside towards the school's fieldhouse.

Winslow was an older school that dated back to the Depression. It was built as part of FDR's WPA back in the thirty's and its age showed. Rather than have an attached gym like modern schools it instead had a separate field house. The whole school was old and in a rundown state. I could see wear and tear showing everywhere I looked, at a structural level. Not just at the sign of gang tags painted in corners or scratched onto door frames.

My Winter Blues coat was a necessary thing as I made my way around the unused track to the large building of the fieldhouse. I'd already been given keys as several rooms in the building's basement would be the offices and classroom of the program. Waiting outside were two figures that I recognized from my mission reports.

On the left stood Petty Officer Hanson in his winter service blues. I looked him over, assessing before my gaze slid to the side to a face I recognized not just from my paperwork, but from the cover of Time Magazine when she'd been named Woman of the Year a few years back.

As a Marine Gunnery Sergeant she stood there in her Khaki Service Uniform with a gray all weather coat over most of it. My eyes automatically drifted downwards to her feet. When I looked black up I caught her looking at me and couldn't help but swallow nervously at being caught looking even as the pair of NCO's came to attention and saluted at my approach.

Straightening myself out immediately I returned their salute before pulling the fieldhouse keys from my pocket.

"Petty Officer Hanson, Gunny Strickland. Good to have you both. Let's get inside and see what we're working with before we settle in and do introductions."

I probably should have done a meeting to get to know them but of the three of us I had the least experience in the service even if I did have the senior rank. Having a chance to look over my new posting would let me settle myself at being around them.

Both of them didn't argue and I just got a chorus of "Yes, Sir." From both as I unlocked the doors and stepped inside. The inside wasn't much warmer. There was a much smaller track, only an eighth of a mile rather than the normal quarter mile, as well as several basketball hoops raised to the ceiling for a total of four small courts. On the walls were old black and white photos of sports teams from yester-year. And it was almost as cold in here as it was outside.

I took a quick look around the interior before walking back to the entrance in, but rather than walking outside I hung a quick left and trotted down the stairs to the basement where I turned right into a corridor. A quick check showed a number of rooms of varying sizes. At the end I even found a much larger room that I was already wondering if we could use as a weapon range for air rifles.

After a few minutes of poking around as well as cranking up the heat I was leaning on a dust and junk covered desk in the room I had already decided would be our office. There were three desks in here, enough for each of us once we cleaned it out and got it suitable for human use.

My NCO's were both seated on one chair a piece and with her now sitting the right pants leg of my senior NCO had ridden up enough that I could see the metal of the prosthetic that was filling in for her missing foot and lower leg.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

I glanced up and spotted Gunny Strickland looking at me again. Shifting slightly I gave her a confirming nod.

"Go right ahead."

She stood and now that I was actually looking at her and not the building we were occupying I could see that despite her injury she wasn't limited in the least as she smoothly stood.

"Is the fact that I'm missing a foot and part of my leg going to be a problem, Sir?"

I instantly shook my head to the negative feeling like I was back at the Academy getting chewed out by one the senior cadets, not a non-commissioned officer under my command.

"Good. Because I can assure you Sir. It won't be. I have busted my ass these last six months so that I can flip that lizard of the seas the bird the next time I see him. You don't need to worry about me at all."

And she was right. I shook my head wondering how I would even think how the very first woman to ever be allowed to serve in a front line active combat role would ever be the weak link of my team.

"Alright. Well lets figure out our plan for the next few days. The principal wants us active as soon as we can be so she can start getting her Navy subsidy. The next week will be damn busy for us but I want to be ready to start the program in one week's time. Does either of you two see anything that's going to be mission critical we need to focus on first?"

The next hour was spent in meeting planning and preparing, talking. We didn't stop for small time or chatter. The time for trading war stories, of comparing fruit salads would come later. For now we had a mission and were on a clock to accomplish it and that would come first.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: Apr 9, 2021

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Veriseple

Apr 3, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Apr 13, 2021

#917

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

It felt weird sitting in the wheel chair, a nurse pushing me through the hallway. It wasn't the first time. They'd needed to do a few tests that couldn't be handled from the hospital room but apart from that she'd spent days inside that room. Only occasionally going for a walk escorted by a nurse. The real weirdness of this particular moment was that finally I was finally escaping this place.

A rustle of movement at my side drew my eyes and I glanced to the side to look at my constant companion for the last three days. Vityaz, another... I wasn't sure what to call her. Projection didn't feel or seem right.

I'd come to terms with being a parahuman. Vityaz's constant presence in my room had certainly helped as had the once-a-day appearances by Nemo, and Wilhelm. There were still plenty of questions in my mind about my power, and conversations with Vityaz hadn't helped clear up most of my questions. Oh, I now believed I was a parahuman. But they still did nothing to help my confusion over the hows and the whys.

Vityaz had been helpful in intent with her answers, but not always helpful in content. All I had gotten in answer to how I had summoned her was 'You needed me and I came.' Very descriptive and so helpful in explaining how and why two more of these... I still needed to come up with a name. I couldn't even call them sub-girls because Vityaz had been a hospital ship, not a submarine.

But names and all the rest. Confusion, frustration, all of that was secondary to the imminent relief I would feel now that I was finally (FINALLY!) leaving. It had been a full week since the locker. I'd been brought into Brockton General Hospital on a Monday, and now I was leaving on a different Monday.

Dad was waiting outside with the truck to take me home. Vityaz was walking me out. Dad seemed to trust the nurses in the hospital as well as Vityaz to take care of me enough to go bring the truck around to the front door so I just sat in silence as I was pushed down one last final hallway and the glass doors of the hospital's entrance finally came into view.

The sun was bright despite the cold January day. I'd been dressed in sweater, sweatpants, and a winter jacket before being let out of the hospital room so it didn't bother me, much. The sun was far worse as I raised a weak arm to block the light and let my eyes adjust. When I lowered it a few moments later, my eyes adjusting to being outside the building for the first time in a week I looked to the left, then to the right.

"Umm... Dad? What's going on?"

I'd been expecting just Dad with the truck, maybe Nemo and Wilhelm too. And they were all here, Dad, truck, and submarine turned girls still in the same clothes that I'd first seen them. But they weren't alone. Six cars and trucks were also in a line and as I looked at the ones lined ahead and behind Dad's truck, I recognized some of the bearded faces. These were dockworkers, Dad's employees.

Ahead of me Dad gave a tight smile as he walked towards me and around behind me taking the wheelchair from the nurse who'd pushed me out. Pushing slowly, we rolled towards the passenger side of Dad's pickup.

"You don't have a secret identity."

I strained my head upwards looking to him in confusion. Secret Identity? Of course, I didn't have one of those.

"Even the Protectorate have secret identities so villains and bad people can't target them when they don't have a mask on. But the way your power works we can't keep it secret. Too many people have already seen you in the hospital. They've seen your War Gals."

War Gals?

Dad clearly saw the look of question I was feeling because he gave me a smile as he wheeled me into position by the door of the truck and reached down to lock the wheels into place before looking to Vityaz who'd been beside me this whole time still.

"Would you lift her in please."

There was a loud noise, like the sound of a really, really, big truck starting a moment before Vityaz lifted me clean from the wheel chair into the passenger side seat of Dad's truck. The raging loud noise died a moment after as she put my seatbelt on me. Hesitantly I lowered my hands from where they were covering my head.

"Oh god, what the hell was that?"

Vityaz stopped and looked at me for a moment. Confused I looked back at her for a moment before she gave me a remorseful smile.

"My apologies Admiral. I started my engines for a moment so I could safely move you. I will make sure you have ear protection in the future."

Engines?! Whenever I felt like I was starting to get a handle on being a parahuman something like this happened and made me question everything I thought all over again. I spent the next few minutes readjusting my understanding of my power for the umpteenth time as Dad walked around to the driver's side of the truck and got in. Ahead of us Vityaz was getting into the rear passenger door of one of the cars of the dockworkers.

Moments later all the vehicles were beginning to drive out and away. As we turned out onto the street I looked back through the rear window for a moment at the hospital shrinking behind us. When the moment was up I looked to Dad beside me.

"I'm so glad to finally be out of there. It's going to be good to get home."

Dad glanced to the side for a moment before looking ahead to the road in front of him.

"Actually... you're not going home Taylor."

"What?"

Dad's lips were twisted in a grimace for a moment though his eyes remained on the road ahead of him.

"You don't have a secret identity. A good portion of the city knows about you for now. And with the Empire already trying to recruit you it isn't safe for you. They've been polite, for nazi criminals, for now, but that will change. Kaiser won't remain patient forever. Sooner or later he's going to stop sending doctors or lawyers to have a chat with me and he'll send Hookwolf to have a chat with you instead. And Lung and Skidmark have less reason for restraint than him."

My mouth opened and closed several times at the idea that Kaiser would threaten me. I mean sure I was a parahuman now but what did he have to threaten me for?!

"So I made arrangements over the past few days. The house isn't safe for you to stay at, or me really, so I had some guys set up an old building in the docks for us to stay in. It's not much, but we'll be safe there. Some of my guys are always on duty and we have security guards watching. Even if they aren't there to look after us, they'll still respond because we're there too if anything happens."

He glanced away from the road for a moment to look me in the eyes for a brief moment.

"I just want you to be safe okay. I know I'm not the best Dad. If I'm being completely honest I never really have been... Your Mom was the parent of the two of us. I was the one who made sure there was always food on the table and a roof over our heads..."

His eyes were sad and tearing, even two years after mom's death just talking about her was still hard for him. Part of me had hated how much she meant to him even in death, but I didn't say anything.

"I've never been a great Dad to you. I've tried. But I don't really know how. I mean I tried. I REALLY tried."

His tapped on the steering wheel with his hand emphasizing his point and his words as I sat and listened, watching him.

"But, the little things? The day to day stuff that really makes up being a parent? I'm sorry. I know I haven't been filling the gap Mom left there. I'm a provider. I can do the big things. Make sure homework is done. Food. Clothes. Shelter. Right and Wrong. Look both ways before crossing the street. All of that stuff."

With each point he'd tried to do for me his hand tapped on the steering wheel again, emphasizing each word as he listed off the things he tried to do and raise me with.

"But, all the rest... I failed. And I don't know how to stop failing..."

His voice was beginning to break as he continued to talk and I could see tears starting to run down his cheeks a little.

"But this? All of this? What happened to you? I missed it all? I never noticed. I didn't ask why you stopped asking Emma to sleep over. I didn't even think to question it. Your Mom would have asked in a heartbeat. She would have seen this coming. She would have done something... And I didn't."

His hand raised to wipe at his eyes and the tears still continuing to come. Loudly sighing as he wiped his face before focusing back on his driving. Hesitantly I reached over and put my hand on his arm. When I touched him he looked down at my hand and then up at me for a moment, his eyes flicking between me and the road ahead every second.

"Dad. I know. And... Okay I'm not okay with it. I'm really not. But I understand. I'm not asking you to be Mom. And I know you try. Because I've never missed a meal, and the heat has never gone off. My clothes aren't designer stuff or name brand, but I'm not cold in the winter. Going to Winslow. Dealing with Emma since... everything. When we were young and things were better, as long as she was beside me I didn't see other things. Uncle Alan and Aunt Zoe make good money, and when Mom was alive, we had more stuff. So maybe I didn't see, or maybe I was just still a kid."

"But these past two years I've watched and had to listen to Emma and the others. I've seen others they mistreated. And it wasn't just me. I may have been the only one they tried to kill. But I wasn't their only victim. And the others? You never hit me dad. You always made sure I had a hat and gloves in winter time. And maybe I didn't have lunch money for the cafeteria but you did always have a lunch bag in the fridge for me in the mornings even if it was just a PB&J sandwich."

Up ahead the cranes and larger warehouses of the Docks were coming into view. We'd left the Downtown behind and were well into the more run down portions of the city. Everywhere I looked I saw at least one ABB gang tag on each of the buildings around me. Dad wasn't saying anything in response to me. I couldn't really think of anything else to say too. I wasn't over everything. This wasn't some magical fantasy world where all it took was five minutes and estranged family members forgave each other.

So, we sat there in silence, him driving and me just looking out at the city. The farther into the docks we got, the more ABB tags, or graffitied depictions of dragons that clearly were of Lung, that I saw painted everywhere. And the more I looked the more I felt guilt. I was a parahuman now. Even if I was weak I had to be capable of doing something at least against the ABB. Lung was too much. No one could fight him.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Taylor?"

"Do you think I should do anything about Lung?"

He didn't immediately respond. I looked back at him, silently watching and waiting for moments more before he finally spoke.

"I think that just because you're a parahuman, doesn't mean you can instantly solve all the problems this city has."

He glanced back at me, and at least the tears had stopped though his cheeks were still wet from earlier.

"Lung. Kaiser. Allfather. Marquis. Lustrum. Butcher. This city has had plenty of villain capes that got challenged. The Brigade took close to two years to finally bring just Marquis to justice, and they had him outnumbered the entire time. I've seen your projection girls in action a little against Squealer. They aren't to be dismissed. But neither is anyone else in this city."

We turned a corner heading down towards the Boat Graveyard and the port itself now. We were almost there. A security fence was passed and I began to see dockworkers going about their day. Ahead of us two of the cars peeled off making for the parking lots, as did all three of the cars and trucks that had been following us this whole time.

"Taylor your Mother and I tried to shelter you as best we could. From the crime, and capes in this world and city. Your Mom used to run with Lustrum. She wasn't even a proper gang leader compared to Lung or Kaiser. And she still got into thirty-nine cape fights with people in a year and half. That's two fights every month on average. I'm not counting when the people in her movement got involved with the Empire under Allfather and she was forced to respond against the Empire. For every fight with Hookwolf that makes the evening news there are six more than you never hear about. And you don't hear about them because the people who have risen to power know how to keep it."

He came to a stop outside of a large building that didn't look like a warehouse. It was two stories, though a lot of the windows were boarded up. To be honest I wasn't sure what it was as I glanced at it for a moment before looking back to him and continuing to listen.

"I think that with time. You can probably do a lot. But there is no reason to rush this. Moving too fast will only get you enemies you aren't ready for. Okay?"

I nodded hesitantly as he finished talking, and he gave me a thankful nod back.

"We'll talk about that all more later. For now. though I know it isn't much but this is it." He gestured with a hand through the window at the building. "It used to be a dorm room for crews of ships that were impounded. Honestly, it's pretty old but it was never condemned and it still has heat and water after we got everything working again. I had Kurt and Lacey get a bunch of your stuff from the house so you have clothes and all the other things you might need. Books and other stuff too since I don't know how long this will last. If there's every anything else you want or need from the house just let me or one of the others know. and we'll get it for you. Okay?"

I nodded as I got out of the truck and stood there looking at the old run down dorm building. I could hear the noise of Dad closing his door as well.

"Why don't you go inside and pick which room you want. There's plenty to pick from and I can get some guys to move your things into whichever one you want in a little bit. Door's already unlocked."

I looked away from the building to Dad and he just gave me a nod and a confirming nod while Vityaz was standing next to Kurt and Lacey and the other car.

"Okay..."

Turning I walked over to it. Looking at the various boarded up windows as I approached the door. I reached for the handle and turned it, pushing the door open as I did so.

"TAYLOR GET BACK!"

Instinctively I let go of the door knob and took several steps back until I ran into something. Arms wrapped around me. I tried to do something, anything to escape. I'd been caught by Sophia, and some of the jocks the Bitches Three had put up to tormenting me, enough that by now being grabbed from behind provoked an instinctive reaction. I thrashed, trying to escape, do anything to get away and get free. I hit with my hands even as I was pulled farther backwards from the building by my captor. Ahead of me I could see Kurt rushing towards me his hands raised defensively as I continued to struggle.

"Taylor hold on! It's alright!"

"Taylor it's me! I've got you. You're safe!"

I continued to try and fight until the words, and the voice saying them finally sank in through my fight-or-flight instincts. Looking down at the arms holding me I saw Dad's watch on my captor's arms. No that wasn't just Dad's watch. Dad was holding me. But why? I stopped trying to struggle and craned my head to look beside me where Dad's head as he held me against him for a moment. As soon as I stopped struggling he let go, but immediately turned me around, tensely gripping my shoulders. His eyes were frantic.

"Taylor?! Are you okay?!"

I was confused. What had happened to Dad. I tried to look around but one hand raised and held my head still as he frantically searched my face and eyes for... I wasn't sure what but something had him spooked and his nervousness was already beginning to infect me. I stopped trying to pull away, just raising one hand to each of his wrists focusing on calming him down before he panicked me out anymore than I already was.

"Dad. I'm fine. Look I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I'm okay. What are you panicking about?"

Panic and fear turned to confusion and a touch of visible frustration though that didn't fully eclipse his panic even if it did diminish it as I proved I was okay.

"Taylor you froze. You froze. You didn't move and..."

He let go of my jaw letting my head go free as he used the hand now gently holding my shoulder to turn me around and pointed at the decrepit dorm building behind me.

Only... It wasn't decrepit anymore. In fact it didn't even look like the same building. In fact it looked like it was brand new made of red brick. The windows weren't boarded up but were all fully uncovered, the glass clean and new looking unlike the faded and broken windows of the buildings around us.

"As soon as you touched it you froze, and it changed. You only snapped out of it when I shouted as loud as I could but you weren't moving for close to half a minute. Did you need me to not interrupt you?"

I pulled my disbelieving gaze away from the brand new looking building to Dad standing beside me.

"Dad. I only touched the door handle and as soon as you shouted at me I let go."

Dad and I just stared at each other for a long moment before I could see realization dawn in his eyes at the same time as a realization occured to me as well. As one we turned our heads to look at Vityaz standing beside the building looking in through one of the windows examining the interior. As if sensing our gaze she looked to us with a smile.

"Admiral. May I set up a clinic in this room until we have a permanent med bay?"

"Clinic?"

"Why yes. I will endeavor to help any who require my aid, including Herr Hebert's dockworkers here. If I had an area I could use it would be ideal. Your fleet isn't nearly large enough that all the rooms will be needed yet so I shouldn't need to move the clinic out for some time at which point I hope you will have added a permanent medical bay to your headquarters."

Medical Bay... headquarters... All I could do was nod weakly and she beamed at me before walking in through the door I had already opened and disappearing inside. Robotically, disbelief powering every movement I walked forward up to the building inside. A lounge waiting area greeted me filled with old fashioned looking couches and tables. The floors were hardwood, the walls, wood paneling for the lower half and white wallpaper for the upper half starting at waist height and going up to the ceiling. I could see a hallway stretching forward with doors on either side at regular even intervals down the whole length. Vityaz was moving in and out of rooms just looking around, probably exploring and I followed in her wake. The rooms were all identical it quickly turned out. Each was a bedroom with two beds, and closet combinations that had several cubbies, a bar with unused coat hangers. There were also a pair of desks.

Every room had a ceiling fan that wasn't currently in use, and old fashioned lamps and lights. When I moved on to other rooms I realized that each and every room was perfectly identical to one another down to the lamps and colors of the blankets which were a uniform navy blue to each in color. All the beds were made, waiting expectantly. For what I didn't know. I had only three power creations, my War Gals. But there was close to a dozen of these rooms and I could see a stairwell at the end of the hallway that no doubt led to the second floor where even more dorm rooms no doubt waited. After poking my head into a fifth room and seeing no change again I stopped in the hallway and looked back at dad.

"Please tell me this was what this place looked like before?"

I pleaded with him, begging for him to tell me this was how it was, that someone years ago had made all the beds up, and that when they'd fixed up the heat to this place and got the water running, they'd also cleaned for dust, and made sure every light bulb worked still. Dad looked just as shocked as I felt as he looked to me and silently shook his head. I didn't have time to process that as Vityaz came quickly coming back down the stairs from upstairs and I looked to her at the noise of footsteps as she reappeared. She had a disappointed look though which had me confused given she was the one of us who wasn't affected by this up until now. A slight pout on her lips she walked right up to me.

"Admiral. I'm not seeing your room... So you can bunk with me until you make your headquarters building. Okay?!"

And as her mood brightened instantly back to cheerful I just continued to stare at her in disbelief as my power took a turn for the strange yet again.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: Apr 13, 2021

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Veriseple

Apr 13, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Apr 30, 2021

#1,186

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

TAYLOR

I blinked.

One second, I was holding onto the door handle. The next dad's face was right in front of me. Reflexively I let go of the door handle and stepped back.

"Did I do it again?"

Dad stepped back at the same time as I did, giving me my space. When I questioned he gave me a nod of confirmation, the worry clear in his eyes. I only sighed as yet again my power did its own thing. I didn't look at the building just yet, turning to look to the side where Nemo, Wilhelm, and Vityaz were looking at the building.

I did my best to resist the urge to groan as yet again I seemed to have no control over my life and like my projections I looked to the building in front of me. Gritting my teeth, I put one hand to each of the handles of the double doors that had not been there just seconds before, and opened it wide throwing the doors open.

Inside was a tall cavernous hall. What had originally been a warehouse of some kind was now a room that looked nothing like a warehouse. I couldn't even remember the building being as big as this room. With a soaring ceiling that rose up to the second story the room was a long rectangle shape. Its interior was filled with tables and chairs, all wood. The walls were colored a comfortably yellow color.

I walked forward looking, left, right, everywhere, as I took in the latest display of my power. Ceiling fans with lights hung from the ceiling while lights were along the walls. I could see a section thirty feet long that had a half wall to the side. Inside of which I could see what from here looked like it might be a kitchen.

Realization hit me as I realized I'd made a cafeteria. Dad's employees had originally set up the building we were going to stay in with a kitchen and food. But whatever my power had done had vanished all signs of the kitchen. So we were at another warehouse that served as a cafeteria of sorts for the dockworkers.

Except clearly my power wasn't done with me. I was afraid to touch anything now for fear of changing more things. What would happen if I touched the door of Dad's office? Or Winslow…

Okay maybe changing Winslow would be an improvement. But still did I have to worry about ever entering any building ever again?

As I continued to take in the room, I saw something on the wall that caught my eye. After all how could I possibly freaking miss the Nazi flag hanging on the wall!

Walking in between the tables I quickly walked forward to the flag. I had to get around the only round table in the entire room, arrayed right before the flag. I didn't bother wondering why this table was different as I walked right up to the wall and tried to rip the foul piece of cloth down.

Even yanking as hard as I could though just proved how little control I had when it failed to budge from whatever hooks or attachments it had. I tried again and I felt like something might have given a little bit, but the flag still hung there. Other tugs and attempts to remove it were just as useless. Frustrated I just leaned forward pressing my head against the wall and flag.

"Admiral. Would you like my assistance?"

I turned my head looking at where Nemo stood looking at me quietly, hands clasped in front of her. She'd left her 'rigging' those submarine shaped cases things of hers in the dorm room. But she still stood there in her Nazi uniform. Finding myself just tired with everything I stepped back and vaguely waved my hand at the wall and flag.

Taking a few more steps back I pulled out a chair from the round table and took a seat as Nemo walked up to where I had been standing and looked up at the flag for a moment in silence. After a moment she took a grip with both hands on the flag and started to pull.

Nothing happened at first but after a few moments where she did nothing there was a brief tearing sound and the entire huge flag fluttered downwards, finally removed from the wall. Nemo gathered it up and was already beginning to fold the flag up as she looked to me.

"What would you like me to do with this, Admiral?"

The black swastika of the red and white flag was plainly visible and I gave a dismissive wave.

"Burn it."

I didn't expect her to do it but it would at least get the nazi symbol out of my sight which was progress as far as I was concerned. She gave me a single nod and holding the flag in her arms walked away. Turning in my chair I laid my head down on my arms and just took a moment to deal with being so damn helpless.

Of course I didn't get long to do even that as I could hear quiet shouting in both English and what I was assuming was German. Looking up from my arms I couldn't see anyone but I could still hear them.

"Be careful you don't set off the sprinkler system."

Oh god what was going on now? I could smell something burning as I quickly headed into the kitchen. I got there to see my three projections and Dad all gathered around a stove where something was freely burning on the stovetop while all of them watched.

Stepping closer I was able to watch as the flames growing larger and larger, filling the room with smoke, rising from the very flag I'd just been looking at hanging on the wall moments before. The flames had to be easily a foot high now and I cursed as home Ec. Classes and common sense had me looking around for a fire extinguisher. I found one but it was way different in a corner. It wasn't the red slender tubes I was used to but a much larger (and as I found out when I tried to lift it, heavier) cylinder of chrome metal with writing I couldn't read written on its label.

By the time I figured out how I thought it was supposed to work and got turned back to the stove I saw the flag was mostly burned up and the flames were already dying. Vityaz was moving from window to window, opening them all to let out the smoke while Wilhelm was standing beside a black switch along a wall and a fan was sucking more air into a vent in the wall.

My feeling of uselessness reared its head again as I set the cannister back down on an empty counter and walked towards Dad and Nemo. I stopped beside them just watching as the last of flag finished burning up on the stove. When it was finally finished Nemo turned off the stove's burner and turned to look at me.

"Admiral. I have burned the flag. Is there anything else you need me to do."

She had obeyed me? I mean I had seen the flag burning but…

"You're a Nazi. Why did you burn it?"

Nemo paused for only before giving me a response.

"Because you told me to, Admiral."

What?

"Yes, but you're a Nazi. And you just burned a Nazi flag, all because I told you to?"

Nemo nodded to me.

"Of course Admiral. I will obey any order you give me. We all will."

I looked from Nemo, to Wilhelm, to Vityaz over by the windows. All three were looking at me and none of them were shaking their heads or doing anything to do anything to contradict Nemo's words.

"So… when you were leaving the hospital. You were really doing your what did you call them?"

"Sorties? Raids?"

"So you didn't just get into a fight with Squealer and capture her… but you actually spent all day all those days attacking merchants… raiding them?"

Nemo nodded even as she gave Wilhelm a look who silently walked to stand next to Nemo. A moment later several of those tiny fairy people I'd seen before appeared standing in front of a whole bunch of money that just appeared out of thin air.

The money was just scattered about. This wasn't a briefcase filled with neat hundred dollar bills. I could see every denomination heaped together. They were crumpled, dirty, there were brown paper bags, some bills were wrapped with rubber bands. The thing that surprised me even more than its sudden appearance was just how much there was. The counter was big, definitely worthy of a kitchen capable of feeding the entire cafeteria outside.

But, despite all the size and room the dollars and money, bags of what was probably drugs, and more were so numerous it was sliding off the edges of the counter even as those tiny fairy people tried to push it back into a pile. But there was just too much for them to contain as more bills and stuff just fluttered to the ground.

"How… how much did you take?"

Nemo looked to Wilhelm for a moment before looking back to me and giving me a solid look.

"The cash totals to $48,321 and 58 cents. We don't know what the drugs are valued at but the quality is obviously inferior and likely will be minimal."

Forty-eight… that was nearly fifty thousand dollars right in front of me. This was more money than I'd ever seen in one spot before and it had only taken the two of them just four or so days. I glanced to Dad and I could see he was as shocked and surprised as I felt. I looked back to the two of them.

"And you obeyed my other orders. You didn't hurt anyone and turned criminals over to the police?"

Both nodded, Nemo first, with Wilhelm silently following a second later with a less sure nod.

"Yes Admiral, we also followed your order to not speak to any Empire Eighty Eight members."

Dad's head jerked to look at me.

"You told them to do what Taylor?"

I cringed a little but he didn't sound angry, just curious and confused.

"Well I was worried that since they were Nazis they would help the Empire, so I ordered Nemo not to even talk to an Empire member."

I paused for a long moment.

"And I guess they obeyed."

Dad let out a sigh.

"Taylor. I've heard about them and what they've been doing. The Merchants are in a frenzy after the weekend. Every street dealer of theirs has gone to ground now. If Squealer wasn't already in custody I'm sure they'd already have pushed back in retaliation. But its only a matter of time before Skidmark and Mush retaliate. It's the other reason I made sure you had an escort from the hospital. Its not just Kaiser you need to worry about."

"We turned the parahuman criminal known as Mush over to the Police early this morning."

Dad and I both swiveled our heads to look to Nemo as she filled us in on the latest development. Dad's sigh wasn't what I expected. When I looked back to him he had removed his glasses and was rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Now the Empire and ABB are sure to move."

Dad put his glasses back on and looked between me and the girls.

"What you've been doing Taylor is a good thing. But something you need to learn about the gangs is that nothing is without a price. By crippling the Merchants you've opened the way for the Empire and ABB to push them out."

Turning he looked in one wooden cabinet after another until he pulled out a bunch salt and pepper shakers. Turning to a clear counter he laid out two shakers together, then put the other five in a spaced out line away from the first two.

"Okay. Class time Gang Power Balance 101. Taylor these." He put one finger on each of the first two shakers. "Are the Protectorate and New Wave."

He then proceeded to tap each of the other shakers one after another.

"And these are the villains. Empire, ABB, Merchants, Faultline, and Coil. Now. For the purpose of this lesson you see how the good guys are together? New Wave and the Protectorate work together. Even if they are separate groups when things get bad they still work together. Which is important since the Empire alone out numbers the Protectorate all by themselves and the ABB has Lung."

"Now the bad guys don't work together the same way, but they will sometimes. When the Nine were in town fifteen years ago all the bad guys worked together to drive them out. Its kind of like the Endbringer Truce. If something is bad enough Bad Guys and even the Good Guys and Bad Guys work together. But that's pretty rare. Now the Merchants were pretty minor. But, they still are part of the city. Taking them out is going to change things. Both the Empire and the ABB deal drugs."

He picked up the shaker that was representing the Merchants and shook it in his hand for emphasis.

"The Merchants sell more for cheaper than anyone else. That's how they stuck around, well that and Squealer's tanks. And in one week you've removed both of those things. Even if Kaiser and Lung don't care about drugs there are plenty of low level street guys that want the Merchants fully gone so they can make more money."

He pushed the two shakers that represented the Empire and ABB and pushed them right up against the Merchants.

"So they're going to be pushing them out… I think it might be a good idea to have your projection girls help keep the peace. The whole city knows how they captured Squealer and made it look easy. Skidmark is a joke, Squealer as a tinker made everyone think twice about taking him on. So capturing her so publicly means everyone's holding back and assessing. If the gangs see your girls out patrolling they might think twice about shooting up the city in turf wars."

Looking from Dad, down to his crappy teaching props before giving a nod. It did sound like a good idea and I trusted Dad to understand all of this way more than I did. Looking to the two subs I nodded.

"I want you to do what my Dad said. At night instead of raiding merchants I order you to keep the gang members from fighting."

Nemo saluted and Wilhelm imitated her a heartbeat later. I gave Dad a hesitant smile.

"Do you think they'll be enough?

His smile was tight as he gave me a shrug that didn't do much to reassure me.

"I don't know. But it can't hurt any worse than just letting everyone attack each other especially since any fights could spill over to the docks all too easily."

I nodded when a moment later I heard a voice I didn't recognize from behind me.

"Oh, das ist sehr schön. Viel Platz für die gesamte Flotte. Ausgezeichnet."

Turning on my heel I looked at two figures standing in the doorway. One was dressed like she'd hopped right out of an Oktoberfest party wearing a very recognizably German dress. The other was dressed similar to Wilhelm and Nemo. She was a bit shorter than my first two subs, but clearly, they weren't going to be alone. What caught my eye though was that while Nemo and Wilhelm had the Nazi eagle on their hats, this one didn't. She did have an Iron Cross hanging around her neck, and cases hanging off straps from her shoulders looking around until she looked eyes with me.

Déjà vu ensued as much like the fever dream from the hospital she came to attention in front of me. Her heels making a 'click' sound as she saluted silently. The short woman beside her didn't salute, but did curtsy to me. Straightening up as best I could I saluted back, and with a firm crisp movement the new submarine girl's hand dropped down to her side. I followed her gaze as she looked from me, to Dad, to Nemo and Wilhelm.

And seeing the wide eyes of surprise and shock on both of the girls I'd already summoned sent a shiver of worry through me. As she turned her head I could see U-20 stitched on the side of her hat while the short woman in the blatantly German looking dress bustled forward chattering away in German.

"Was sollen wir heute kochen? Vielleicht Wurst und Sauerkraut? Vielleicht ein Braten? Hmmm, was habe ich in der Speisekammer. "Natürlich sollte ich sicherstellen, dass die Admiralin beeindruckt ist..." "

Dad, I, even the other girls all quickly got out of the way of the bustling woman and as she briskly moved back and forth working on… something. I decided it was probably a good idea to just get out of the kitchen entirely, and clearly I wasn't the only one with the same idea. The five of us were standing outside as the sounds of the woman running the entire kitchen by herself filled the air.

Silence and awkwardness lingered for a moment as the new submarine just coolly watched us all. I wanted to talk but… something about her seemed much more uneasy compared the more open and friendly body language of Nemo, Vityaz, or even Wilhelm. Where the other three felt like they were open to me approaching them and just talking to them, this one had a stiffness to her posture. She radiated aloofness even as Wilhelm was whispering into Nemo's ear. I couldn't hear what the two were saying but I watched.

After whispers passed back and forth Wilhelm finally cleared her throat and produced a pencil and notepad from… somewhere and held them out towards the new submarine.

"Kann ich bitte Ihr Autogramm haben?"

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Spoiler: German Translations

Last edited: May 6, 2021

547

Veriseple

Apr 30, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 8, 2021

#1,282

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

TAYLOR

"So, blondes huh? Well, I just want you to know that it's okay Taylor."

I looked away from my current half completed trial of the absolutely massive plate of food. Steak, sausages, a baked potato, cooked cabbage and carrots, filled my plate and I'd barely been able to eat any of it. To my side Dad had managed a little better but even he was clearly struggling to finish the food that Saar had set in front of us.

We were sitting at one of the many small rectangular tables. Both Saar, who was still bustling around in the kitchen (that I was already thinking of as hers), and the other girls both older and new had all insisted that they could sit here but that I, and Dad by extension, should sit at the lone round table. I had refused. Instead, we had all sat at one table. And because I watched all of us be served identical plates, and then watched each girl devour the same meals that Dad and I were struggling with.

"What about blonds Dad?"

I was looking at him in confusion not sure what he was talking about. He took a quick moment to chew before gently waving a fork for a second in the direction of the girls sitting opposite of us. I looked at them and then looked back at Dad still confused.

Dad could clearly see I still didn't understand because his smile was soft and comforting as he leaned in towards me a little.

"Look its okay. If I wasn't okay with the idea that my daughter would be gay I doubt your Mom would ever have married me. It's okay. If you like girls that's completely fine."

My mouth dropped as I realized what Dad was getting at. But why in the hell did he think I was gay.

"Look. I've been prepared since you were born for the idea that someday I'd be giving a boy a scare about the idea of me cleaning my shotgun when he came to pick you up for a date. I'm not going to freak out and rage at the thought of not being a grandfather just because you prefer to look at girls."

His fork waved gently for a moment in the direction of my projections. I followed it for a moment with my eyes before looking back to Dad. And I realized that all four of the girls were silently watching us with Vityaz whispering into Wilhelm's ear quietly. Nemo was busy doing the same for U-20.

"Dad…" I forced my head to turn away to look at dad. "I'm not gay."

Dad had put a new piece of steak in his mouth and was chewing slowly for a moment before he spoke.

"You're not…"

I wasn't even sure if that was a question or a statement judging by his tone. He didn't seem to believe me entirely, but he wasn't mocking me or questioning me. With a sigh he set his fork and knife down.

"Alright. If you're not gay you don't have to be gay." I wasn't even sure what that was supposed to mean. "But, you might want to get used to people expecting it."

I stared in confusion and he just gave me another slight sigh and a smile.

"Blonds. Four out of five of your girls are blond haired and blue eyed. People are going to think you have a type."

I could feel my eyes widening in realization as I quickly looked to the girls in the building. Dad was right. Nemo, Wilhelm, Vityaz, and Saar were all blond. They looked like the vision of Hitler's ideal. Blond hair, blue eyes, clearly Aaryan bloodline. U-20 was my only saving grace as for some reason she was a brunette.

"Look its fine Taylor. Gay, Straight, just experimenting. I don't care. I want you to be happy. If you want to chase skirts that's fine. Or you can let them chase you. I just want you to know I don't care so long as you are happy. Legend has proven that its okay to be gay, or Bi, or whatever you decide you want to be."

How? WHY?! What the hell was going on I…

Looking away I quietly muttered.

"Can we change the subject?" I glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes. "Please?"

After a moment he gave a nod and looked down to his plate. A moment later he pushed it across the table to the waiting girls who had been watching us for the whole conversation. They immediately started dividing it among themselves. With the table space in front of him now cleared he leaned forward on the table.

"Well we should talk about Winslow."

Oh god. I would almost, ALMOST, prefer to talk about Dad thinking I was gay. But I had asked for the conversation change so I just nodded and pushed my plate across the table where once again the girls divided it among themselves and continued to eat.

"If you're up for it you should go back to Winslow. I'm sure you don't want to. But, I've been keeping appraised of what's been going on. Emma and the other two girls aren't going to be there. After what they did, I'd refuse to send you back if they were. But they won't be. So, do you think you're ready to try going back to school?"

The trio wouldn't be there? I was stunned. I hadn't even thought anything would happen to them. I'd hoped and prayed for it while I was in the hospital. But after a year and a half of nothing being done to stop them I didn't honestly expect it. The idea that I would be able to go through a day of school without Sophia tripping me, Maddison taking my belongings, or Emma taking things I'd once told her in confidence and weaponizing them against me. I actually held hope that for the first time in my entire time going to the school I might actually like it.

"Maybe?"

Dad gave a slow nod of confirmation to me.

"Alright. Well, we'll go early tomorrow. I want to have a few choice words and you need your books replaced anyways."

He stopped talking when Nemo, Wilhelm, and U-20 abruptly stood up from their seats. They'd already cleaned their plates, again, and now stood saluting. Knowing what they were likely waiting on I saluted back from where I sat.

"What's going on?"

U-20 and Wilhelm were already walking out of the building even as Nemo stopped her turn, and looked back to me at my question.

"Your orders Admiral. We will go patrol to prevent criminal activity."

After a moment when I was remembering my order earlier to them to try and stop the mounting gang wars I gave a nod of understanding. Nemo lingered for a moment but when I didn't say anything else she turned and followed the other girls out of the building.

When the three of them had fully left the building I looked to Dad. His head was turned away still looking towards the door, but I could see the worried look.

"Do you think they will be able to do anything?"

Dad turned to look back at me for a moment.

"Maybe. I hope so at least. Your girls are strong but there's only three of them. Hopefully seeing them out on the streets will be enough to prevent at least one night of chaos. But you already upset the balance of power."

He paused for a moment before looking at me.

"I don't know how we can possibly feed them all but I honestly am hoping that you will get more of them. This is just a guess, but each of them act like the ships they take their name and inspiration from. Submarines are meant for combat. Vityaz was a hospital ship. She might be able to do something but I doubt she has the temperament for it. As for Saar…"

As if on cue the girl who'd been bustling around in the kitchen was walking over collecting up plates from the table where the subs had left them.

I looked her over. Saar was dressed as I'd first noticed her. But now that I didn't have the shock of newly summoning another building, I was noticing more details. She was close to Vityaz in height, taller than any of the sub girls. Also different from anyone else was the strange… belt? That was around her waist. She had a backpack with what almost looked like a ship's smokestack sticking off the back, but it extended farther down and curled around her waist in a way that Vityaz's didn't.

"Saar."

She stopped. I was starting to get used to the girls all paying attention to me so clearly. With her attention I pointed to the strange belt that curled around her sides but stopped short of coming in front of her.

"What's that?"

She stared at me blankly in clear confusion for a moment before Vityaz started speaking to her in what I was pretty sure was German. The two talked for a few seconds before Vityaz turned to me.

"Apologies Admiral. Like Wilhelm and U-20, Saar does not understand or speak English. I will be happy to translate for you two."

I still had no idea how my own power couldn't understand me but I clearly needed to start learning German.

"I just wanted to know what that was."

I was still pointing at the metal Saar was wearing. Vityaz glanced at it for a moment and didn't even question Saar, she just looked back to me and replied.

"It is her rigging."

There was that word. Rigging. Nemo had talked about it when referring to the submarine shaped cases she and the other girls all carried around. But those were different. Theirs were hung by straps off their shoulders. Hers looked more like a strange backpack… which is kind of what Vityaz wore come to think of it.

"And is that what you are wearing on your back as well?"

Vityaz nodded.

"Of course, Admiral."

Vityaz gave me a pleased smile and a nod. I supposed it made a certain level of sense but why the differences.

"So why is hers different from yours?"

Vityaz once again didn't need to look at Saar who was still just standing there looking down at me.

"Saar was built as a submarine tender. She requires weaponry. I was built as a cruise ship and converted to a hospital ship. I never required weaponry like she did."

"She's armed?"

Vityaz nodded before turning to look at Saar and spoke for a moment briefly back and forth in German before finally looking to me.

"Yes. In addition to all the munitions of torpedoes and weaponry she has stored meant for subs she has her own armaments. She carries three 10.5 cm guns meant for defense against ships. She also has two 3.7cm and three 2cm guns for defense against air targets."

That… seemed like a lot. I glanced at Dad's eyes and he was wide. Clearly he understood the gun talk that had just been mentioned.

"Dad?"

He swallowed and glanced at me.

"Ten and a half centimeters is the kind of gun that goes on a tank. And she's got three. Even if they are just handguns now that's still a lot of weaponry."

Vityaz looked to Dad.

"I did not ask about her crew's sidearms. Would you like me to ask?"

After a moment Dad paled a little.

"That isn't a sidearm."

His voice was tight, like he was worried about something. I could tell that something wasn't good about this but I couldn't tell what even as Dad was standing up from his seat. Worried I also stood even as he glanced at me.

"Taylor get your coat. And ask them to follow us out to the piers. I need to make sure of something."

Dad clearly had an idea, a plan, so I pulled my winter coat from the back of the chair I'd been sitting in and started pulling it on even as I looked to Vityaz and Saar.

"Follow me. Dad wants to do something."

Vityaz nodded and spoke quickly to Saar who nodded before beginning to pull off the cooking apron she wore. Dad quickly led us outside the dining hall building I had created. It was cold and I was grateful Dad had let me put my coat on before we left. Vityaz and Saar had none but they didn't see to mind as they followed us, or well me I guess.

The two buildings I had converted with my power were well back from the piers and water so we had to make our way through a number of buildings. Even though it was now dark out there was plenty of lights pointed in every direction and people still moving about hard at work. I'd seen Dad supervise them any number of times over the years but he wasn't even looking at them as he made a beeline in the Bay's direction.

After a few minutes of a quick walk we were standing at the end of one of the massive concrete piers. This one was at the edge of the graveyard with sunken ships mostly submerged to either side of us from the riots years ago. Dad's eyes were looking around. For what I didn't know. But after a moment he looked to Saar and pointed out at one of the more visible wrecks.

"Fire at that wreck."

And then he stepped well to the side and back. But Saar just looked at him and did nothing. I stood there shivering despite my coat waiting as nothing happened until Dad looked to me.

"I think you need to tell her Taylor. I want her to test her weapons. Have her target the wrecks."

I still wasn't sure what Dad was planning but I looked to Saar. "Fire your guns at the wreck."

Immediately Vityaz translated and a moment later I noticed the 'belt' of Saar's rigging changing a little. I realized she had tiny model guns fixed to the side. They didn't look like much, only a few inches long but they pointed at the wreck and I could swear I could hear an engine whirring as they did so.

Then the air exploded in front of me!

I slapped my hands over my ears but that was too little too late as explosions occurred with bright flashes and booms of noise. A second later I could hear more noise and opening my eyes that I'd squeezed shut against the noise and flash I could see that the wreck had smoke and debris rising up in a cloud.

Hesitantly I lowered my hands from my ears starring at the wreck before glancing at Saar beside me. She was still standing there, her belt guns pointed at the wreck, but she also held a pistol looking gun in her hands pointed at the wreck.

But I had lowered my hands too soon as all of those guns fired again after only a few more seconds. The roar and flash were just as painful as the first time and I slapped my hands over my ears to shield them even as I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away.

"STOP! STOP!"

The noise was still ringing in my ears as I screamed out to get it to stop. After a moment I felt arms wrapping around me, but it wasn't dad. Opening my eyes, I looked down at Vityaz even as she was holding me in a hug. I glanced over at Dad who was lowering his hands from his ears as well, and just staring at the Graveyard, his face drained of blood.

Hours later I was lying in my new bedroom. Dad was still outside talking to the police and Vityaz and Saar were in other rooms. I tried to sleep but I just couldn't. My world had changed again as I realized that all of my power summoned girls that obeyed any order I gave (so long as they could understand me) had tank rated guns. I had sent three of them out into the city. But how would they do that when they were meant to hunt and kill?

And Winslow? If I wasn't worrying about what I had unleashed on the city I was worried about tomorrow and school. Sophia, Emma, and Maddison being gone filled me with hope, but I'd feared and hated Winslow for too long to believe they would not eventually get away with it. What would happen when they eventually came back?

My door creaked open and I turned my head to look and saw Saar standing in the doorway holding a candle in her hand.

"What's wrong?"

I knew she couldn't understand me even as she walked into the room holding the candle in front of her. Worried I started to sit up but even though she couldn't speak or understand English that didn't stop her from making a lie back down motion with her hand as she walked over to beside my bed. She sat the candle down on the desk beside her and just sat watching me for a moment before she began to softly sing.

I didn't understand a word of it. But then I didn't have to. It was unmistakably a lullaby. The words were lost on me, but there is something universal about a lullaby being sung. I didn't even care that I was bigger than her, or she considered me her admiral.

Here in this moment she was trying to sing me to sleep. Just as my own mom had years ago when I was a little girl and couldn't sleep. With a sigh as she continued to sing I closed my eyes and just listened. I let go of my worries and focused just on the music until at last darkness took me.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, RaisethAN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

SURPRISE YOU GET AN EXTRA SEGMENT THIS WEEKEND!

NEMO

"I can't believe how delicious Saar's cooking was."

I looked to my side where Wilhelm was skilling along the side of the street. Giving her a smile I replied back.

"Well of course. She was built to resupply subs like us. She knows what we likes better than almost anyone."

Wilhelm nodded back enthusiastically in agreement with me.

"I know but it wasn't just how delicious it all was but that was a proper sized meal. The Admiral's Father was very nice to buy us those hotdogs the other day but it wasn't nearly enough and I've been hungry ever since I was summoned."

I threw my arms up above me, interlacing my fingers behind my head as we walked ahead.

"I have too but how has that been any different then before?"

Wilhelm was quiet for a little bit and I glanced over at her as she was shrunken in on herself.

"I never properly went to sea like you or U-20."

There was a pause of a moment as I tried to think of something to say.

"And small wonder as you both lack proper deck guns. How were you to hunt English and French merchants with only torpedoes?"

Dropping my arms I looked over my shoulder at U-20 on my other side. I looked down at her hip where I could see the belt holster for her deck gun. I tried to squash the jealousy I felt at seeing that resting on her hip.

"Mine was removed after the convoys were being escorted. The gun was a waste of space and weight was too dangerous for us. By the time Wilhelm was built the war was all but over."

Her eyes flicked from me, taking me in, to Wilhelm. She looked at each of our rigging as well.

"When were you laid down that you were designed so differently?"

"June 12th , 1940."

"October, 28th 1944."

Our replies instantly had the resurrected legend's eyes going wide looking to the two of us.

"There was another war?"

She sounded horrified. I couldn't blame her. In some ways, many ways really I envied her. Her time was the glory days of our kind. When I was young I was able to participate in the early better days but there was no glory for me. And even less for Wilhelm.

"Yes. The English and French beggared Germany until the people were starving in bad times. They blamed Germany after your war was done, for the foolishness of our allies. As if we alone were responsible for all the death and destruction. It was not we who killed the Archduke, nor did we fight alone. But history blames us… for both wars… and they are fair at least in the second regard."

U-20 was paled as she listened to us. It really shouldn't even be us. The Admiral would be best to tell her. But I wouldn't lie, not to an icon of our kind. I didn't even have to ask Wilhelm to know she felt the same.

As U-20 was processing my words Wilhelm, normally so quiet, watching and observing everything, spoke.

"In fear and desperation the people turned to a madman. He rebuilt Germany in glory, only to lead it to ruin and madness. I was built in part by slave labor. In fear and hatred, desperation the people turned on those not like them. Jews. Gypsies. Outsiders. Others. Some of the men who built me had themselves served the Emperor aboard the ships of the High Seas Fleet in the Great War. But their service meant nothing against hatred."

I could see the stunned expression of U-20's face. Disbelief was at war with horror as we told her of what came after her time.

"It is true. I was not built by them. I came earlier and was built honestly by good German men and women. But we fought with Germany and France. War gave us hope for a time. But it was in the end our doom. Wilhelm was built too late. And I was captured by the Americans in the later years of the war."

U-20 moved to lean against the wall of a warehouse. I stepped closer out of worry and concern. But, she held up a hand and I stopped giving her, her space. She stood there breathing deeply and I wanted to tell her it was all a cruel joke. That her deeds had mattered and there had been no war after her. After all what ship knew better than we the costs and horror of war? We hunted in the darkness and the deeps.

Wilhelm would never understand but I knew U-20 would. She had listened to the sounds of her enemies drowning. She had sent men and women who had never been Germany's enemies down to the depths because that was what duty had called of her.

I watched her as she pushed off the wall and straightened her uniform before fixing us both a firm look.

"Then our course is simple. We shall never fail again. We failed the people of Germany. We failed our Emperors. But we will not fail the Admiral."

I gave a firm nod and beside me Wilhelm did the same even as I corrected her.

"After your war. The Emperor was removed from power. The people led themselves for a time until the madman rose to power."

U-20's reply was only a scoff and a firm nod.

"I suppose I am barely surprised. Our Emperor had the right to rule. I doubt your madman did the same. The Admiral is like the Emperor though so we are blessed by God Himself in the righteousness of our cause and our being once again."

In that the three of us agreed. None could command us but the Admiral. Even her father, wise though he seemed at times, did not have that mandate. Only she could command us. And we would listen and obey.

U-20 strode forward to lead and I trailed in her wake. Even though both Wilhelm and I were the bigger, it was she who had the most experience. It was fitting that she would lead our patrol through this city as we hunted our enemies.

Darkness was our companion for over an hour. Wilhelm and I had explored much of the local area in the last few nights when we had hunted the foul Merchant criminals. Now though we did not. Instead, we hunted all criminals. It was what had us stop when we heard the sounds of dogs in the distance. And not simply the barks of a pet. These sounded angry and frightened even from afar.

We altered our course, taking us closer through warehouses and other run-down areas. We passed old houses and other places. The source was an old factory. But unlike so many places that were dark with night, their workers gone home, this place was lit from within.

There were men outside as well unlike any other place. Two men stood by the doors, one smoking, while more stood a ways away. They looked like they might have been lookouts perhaps. But they had poor discipline. We stood in the shadows of an alley as we could hear more sounds of barking clearly coming from within.

"There are many dogs within. I can think of no good reason why they would be. The Admiral commanded us to deal with criminals."

I nodded my agreement to U-20's words and pointed to one of the men, this one with a bald shaved head and pointed at him.

"I do not know them all but that one. He has the markings of the madman's most sick and twisted sycophants on his neck. It is a symbol of one of the gangs of criminals in this city. The Admiral previously commanded us not to even speak to them. I believe she feared we would be corrupted by them against her."

There was a short laugh of derisive amusement from Wilhelm at that. Not at the Admiral's command. But at the idea that anyone might ever sway us against her.

"But she has commanded that we stop all criminals now. So if these are indeed criminals. It is best that we stop them now and prove our devotion and service to her with their capture and defeats."

Beside me U-20 pulled back from the corner and looked to me.

"Capture? It would be better if we simply killed them all. Poor soldiers though they are it would be best if we removed them from the enemy ranks entirely."

I nodded in my agreement but the Admiral's orders were clear and we needed to follow them regardless.

"Yes, but she wishes to show mercy on the degenerate and criminals of this city. We are to bring any criminal we find to the police unharmed for them to be arrested so that they might seek mercy and redemption in prison where the mercy of God might answer them just as the mercy of the Admiral spared their lives."

U-20 had wide eyes as she nodded in understanding even smiling a little.

"Our Admiral is merciful indeed. Very well we will investigate. If there are many criminal scum within it would be best to radio Saar and Vityaz so that they can summon the police for us. It would be unforgivable if some of them escaped because we left to summon the police."

I nodded in agreement as did Wilhelm beside me. And turning U-20 walked around the corner, quickly crossing the street as Wilhelm and I fell in behind her, flanking her on either side. The sentries were clearly unfit as we had crossed nearly half the street before one noticed us raising a shout in English of alarm.

"Hey! Whoa! What are you girls doing here? This isn't a good place. You should leave."

Ignorant man. We were here by our orders. We had every right to be in this place and only the Admiral herself could order us away if we decided our mission deemed it necessary, we stay. As none of us had been permitted to speak to these criminals we said nothing even as the four sentries gathered together.

"Look. Hey. This is just a normal night. No one told us anything about this being a rally or anything."

Ignorant fools. They could not see their enemies right before them. But they would quickly learn. They had gathered together like fat merchant freighters ripe for the picking. U-20 grabbed the coat of the bald man who displayed the tattoo of the military branch of the Nazi party on the side of his neck. She did not even need to start her engines anymore than Wilhelm or I did as I grabbed another one and Wilhelm grabbed the remaining two with a hand each.

In shock or in ignorance they tried to speak with us. We did not listen. Then they tried to beat us into submission. It had as little effect. I smiled only one the man I held broke the bones of his hand against my hull when he attempted to punch my head. I had not harmed him, he had harmed himself. The Admiral's commands remained unbroken.

The other three faced similar situations having hurt themselves against the hulls of Wilhelm and U-20. The man U-20 held drew a pistol and aimed it at her. It went off, the bullet hitting her with a clang. He fired every round of his pistol at her but we were warships. He might as well have thrown the gun at her, it would have just as much effect.

From the inside someone opened the door and I watched as with a swing of her arm U-20 threw her criminal in through the door, one criminal being used to knock another to the ground. We followed her in dragging our captive criminals even as they tried to fight against us and resist.

U-20 closed the door behind us then broke the handle clean off so none could use it to escape from us. I nodded at the good idea. Then she motioned to each side.

"Seal all the other doors. We will prevent the rats from escaping. Then we will subdue them and afterwards we will let the rest of our fleet know to summon the police."

Wilhelm and I both let go of our captives. They would not escape from us now. Giving U-20 a nod of obedient understanding I turned one way while Wilhelm turned another. U-20 headed towards the source of the barking and the shouting cries of criminal wanton of the rats we hunted.

Quickly moving around the interior of the factory building I moved silently in the darkness, avoiding a few wandering men to deal with them later, moving instead to seal all the escapes. I found three more doors, and proceeded to wreck and jam them in such ways each that no criminals would be able to escape when I heard in the distance the sound of a 10.5cm gun firing once. There was roars, shouts, screams, the barking was quickly reaching a crescendo.

I abandoned stealth moving faster and sealed one more door right before running into Wilhelm. Knowing our mission was completed we turned to head inwards to find U-20 for she could be the only source of such a cannon. We were stopped by a wall of men panic clear on their faces, clearly trying to flee. We formed a barrier, linking our hands together blocking the hallway. They crashed into us like a wave against a cliff with as much affect.

When they fell groaning in pain we stepped over them and started to drag them back.

In the central area we found a cage of metal inside which was several dogs cowering. One was being held to U-20's body as she sat next to a strange metal… thing… It looked like a bizarre form of art shaped into the shape of a creature. I could see the hole where U-20's deck gun had pierced it. Several dogs lay bleeding, likely dead. She just sat there holding a shaking and shivering, and bloody German Shepard to her body.

"I am keeping the blood flow down. Please let the Fleet know that the police and veterinarians will both be needed here."

Instantly my heart fell at the thought of what must have happened to these dogs. I was so sorely tempted to give them rats I dragged with me a kick as punishment. But the Admiral's orders were clear so I only let them go. As I did that my radio operator fairy was already beginning to send out the communication transmission.

As my crew attended to their tasks I made my way inside the cage looking to the dogs that were still alive. Finding one that was badly hurt but still alive I sat down beside it and gently began to pet it as I tried to press my hand gently to its largest wound to stop its bleeding. Nearby Wilhelm did the same. The three of us just sat there silently as the shouts and screams of terrified men continued to fill the building along with the whimpers and whines of these poor animals. Just like the others I continued to pet the dog I held even as the police sirens could begin to be heard.

TAYLOR

I woke to the sound of someone moving. Opening an eye I saw Saar moving to my door, the candle much lower now but still burning in her hand.

"Are you going to bed?"

She turned looked to me and bowed her head for a moment.

"Pardon, Frau Admiral, aber Vityaz hat mich um Hilfe gebeten. Ruhen sie sich bitte etwas aus. Ich werde rechtzeitig zurückkommen, um ihnen Frühstück zu machen."

I understood none of it and as I closed my eyes to drift back into the darkness of sleep I put 'Learn German' on my mental checklist of things to do.

Hours later I would find myself not awoken by the sound of my alarm clock but by a female voice I didn't know.

"Alright. Admiral. It's time to get up."

Weakly I opened an eye and saw a platinum blond haired woman looking down at me. Shifting my head slightly I glanced towards the clock. The time clearly said 5:05. I closed my eye and groaned as I tried to go back to sleep.

"None of that now Admiral. It's time for PT. Get up. Get showered and dressed. And meet me downstairs at oh five thirty."

What?

Seriously what the hell was this? I opened my eye to look at the woman standing in my room. She'd called me Admiral twice now. But she didn't look anything like the rest of my summoned projections. This one was standing before me in a dark navy blue suit that after a moment I realized had to be a military uniform. The narrow lines of those military ribbons I'd sometimes seen on fancy military uniforms made that plenty clear.

"Why are you in my room?"

She snorted in amusement.

"Because you summoned me. Now get up and get dressed. If you're not moving in the next two minutes I don't care if you are my Admiral or not I'm dumping a bucket of water on your lazy butt. I let you sleep in an extra five minutes seeing as its your first morning with me but that's the sum total of my mercy. From here on out you are getting up with me for PT every morning at oh five hundred hours on the dot and I'm dragging every other girl in the fleet along with me."

I groaned but really, really, really didn't want to get soaked with water. Sitting up I kept the blankets pulled around me. Glaring at her she just smirked and walked to my new desk.

"I took the liberty of picking out exercise clothes out for you. Get showered get dressed and don't make me drag your ass out of the building."

And with that she turned and walked out of my room. I glared blearily at the door even as I reached for my glasses now able to see much better. Glancing to the side at my bed I looked at it for a moment and I really really wanted to just lay back down, forget the latest madness my power was coming up with. But even without my glasses I could tell just by listening to her that the woman who'd woken me wouldn't let me get away with it.

"I thought my power was supposed to listen to me..."

I grumbled as I stood and walked over to one of the suitcases of my things Dad had brought over from the house that I'd just left open on the second bed in my room. Rooting around inside I found my shower stuff and with robe, towel, and hygiene supplies in hand I made my way to the shower on my floor and proceeded to get ready. When I was finally finished and dressed I found myself shivering in the cold standing outside the building where the platinum blond haired woman was waiting for me with a frown. She glanced down at the watch on her wrist.

She'd changed from what had looked like a formal military uniform to sweats much like my own though hers were still dark blue in color. She had a gray hat hiding most of her hair, on her wrist was a watch that she was now looking at before she looked up at me with a glare.

"You're late Admiral. I don't care that you're my commander. I don't quite frankly. Give a shit. You are going to get your butt out here every morning at oh five thirty and I am going to turn you into the finest officer to ever sail the seas."

I glared at her not giving a shit that I was late. Frustrated and more than a little angry at being woken up so early I crossed my arms in anger.

"Oh yeah. Well if I'm your commander I can just order you to never do that just like all the others."

She paused for a moment going silent but she didn't have the immediate eagerness I'd started getting used to seeing in Nemo. I certainly didn't know the others well enough except for Vityaz and this new version of my power (?) was completely different in her demeanor.

"Yeah you could. You're my commander Admiral. You order, I obey. But before you run your mouth let me ask you something. Do you want to stay like you are?"

Seriously? I got enough of this shit, as she gestured at me with her hand, from the Trio. I didn't get the chance to reply as she continued to talk right over me.

"You're a cape now. Do you think you're never going to get into a fight? Do you think you're never going to get into trouble? You've already got a squadron of ships at you're command and the rest of your fleet will come in time. You think the likes of the Nine, of Heartbreaker, or the other monsters out there are going to fight fair?"

That stopped me cold. I hadn't even thought about villains like that. I'd been doing my best not to even think about Lung or the freaking Empire let alone the Nine or other monsters out there that could come. My anger had fled and I felt fear in me as I looked at her.

"You think I'll get attacked?"

She just nodded and I felt a pit of fear and terror start to build in my stomach.

"Yes you will. You're our Admiral. We are a threat to every punk with lasers coming out of his eyeballs and all the other weird crap powers can cause. Now don't get me wrong. We'll fight for you. And we'll protect you from everyone that comes at you. But I can train you to defend yourself so you don't have to rely on us completely. I can train you to be stronger, faster, and think smarter. I can train you to be an officer so we aren't just calling you our Admiral. But you will really be our Admiral. I will train you to stand tall with pride as the entire world looks on in envy and jealousy as you do what they are incapable of doing."

I felt the terror and sheer stark fear still in me, but right in my heart was a touch of warmth of hope.

"You can do that? Really?"

She gave me the first truly friendly smile I'd seen as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"I've never stopped doing it my whole life. I've helped teach plenty of officers before you. But I promise you that you will be the finest officer to ever learn from me."

I paused just standing there as she hugged me, holding me close.

"Okay."

She beamed in a wide grin as she stepped back from me.

"Excellent. Now its a little cold and icy tonight so we won't do PT outside. But I think I see an excellent future fieldhouse."

She turned sharply on her heel and started walking away. She didn't move to the building immediately next to the dorm building or the dining hall, but instead another building a few down from that. Standing outside of it she looked up at its dark exterior before gesturing at its door with her hand.

"If you would do the honors."

I knew what she was expecting. So I stepped forward and grabbed the door handle. When I grabbed hold it was an old metal door. When I blinked immediately later the door was wood with glass panes. Its interior was lit up. I could see another set of doors inside before a large open space. Opening the door I stepped inside and walked forward. My mysterious new power created companion stepped past me and I realized I didn't even know her name. And I didn't mean like U-20 my newest submarine who I just didn't have a good name for. I literally didn't know the platinum haired woman's name.

"What's your name?"

She opened the inner doors just before turning her head to look back at me.

"Ah. Introductions then? Well my ship name is Horst Wessel. But you can just call me Ms. Adler."

And with that she turned and walked in. Name for my newest ship in hand I followed Adler into the building of what became quickly clear was a large fieldhouse like the one Winslow had. A track was painted on the floor around the inside of the building while at the far end I could see an actual boxing ring set up unused. Adler took a quick moment to look around and I did the same. There were doors leading off to the side at multiple points as well as a balcony circling the interior of the second floor as well. Adler was nodding after a moment.

"This will do very nicely. Well done Admiral. But now. We'll warm up with a quick half mile run. before we get on with the actual excersizes."

I groaned and raised an arm across my chest and mimicked her as we began to stretch out before exercising.

Spoiler: German Translations

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: May 11, 2021

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Veriseple

May 9, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 12, 2021

#1,477

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

"Taylor? Are you ready? For school and going back I mean?"

I looked to my side where Dad was sitting next to me. We weren't alone. The girls still weren't back so it was just Ms. Adler sitting opposite us at the round table. She'd 'politely informed' me, as Dad had called it, that as the Fleet's commanding officer I should not make a habit of sitting with the girls. When I'd given her a look she'd then told me that I could invite them to sit with me if I wanted but that was best reserved to the senior ships in the fleet and members I wanted to honor.

I'd given her a look, told her to sit down at the same table as me. If she was going to make me as sore as I felt she could at least listen to me grumble about it during breakfast. Luckily, she hadn't argued and had just sat down. I wasn't sure if it had counted as an order or she was just going along with it. Frankly I was too stiff and sore to want to know.

We'd been joined by Kurt and Lacey, who had been investigating the new buildings, about ten minutes after that. Right now the both of them struggling, just like Dad and I to consume a Saar sized plate of food. Ms. Adler had already cleaned her plate, of course, and was now just nursing a cup of coffee watching us all.

But as I looked to the side at Dad I thought about it. This past week had been… I wasn't sure that crazy was sufficient a description anymore. But I don't know why but after dealing with Nemo and the others, Winslow didn't seem like the looming jaws of Hell anymore.

"Kinda? Its weird. I know that Emma, Sophia, and Madison won't be there, but I can't help be nervous about going back. Like what if this is all some giant prank?"

I could see he was about to say something so I pushed forward cutting him off.

"I know. I know they're gone dad. But… Back before I stopped bothering trying to report them for stuff they did to me, to Blackwall and the Administration Office, or just the teachers in general… I had more than one time where I thought they would finally have crossed the line and get something, anything to happen to them. And it never stuck. I still don't even know why. And after all that time of them getting away with it… I guess its just a little hard to believe they'll actually be gone. For real this time."

Dad closed his mouth and let me continue to speak for the whole time. When I finished, he sighed and reached his hand over to put it on my arm.

"I'm still trying to be better about all this nurture stuff. But I have always tried to look out for you. You know that? And I just want you to know that I would never let you go back to school if I thought it was going to hurt you."

I gave dad a suspicious look.

"Nurture stuff? What have you been doing? Reading a book on parenting?"

The pause was telling. I laid my left hand on top of his as it gently held my wrist.

"Look. Thanks for trying but you don't have to. We're not a perfect Father or Daughter. Either of us. And we probably never will be, but thanks for trying Dad. I'll try to be better too. About telling you stuff."

I took a moment to think. Dad knew he wasn't a good Dad all nurturing like Mom had been. But clearly if he had gotten a book on being a parent and started reading it at some point. He wanted to try. It was only fair that I at least tried to put in the same effort.

"Maybe at dinner we can start simple? Just talking about how our days were?"

Dad looked at me for a long moment before he smiled and gave me a nod as he gently squeezed my wrist for a brief moment before pulling his hand away. Looking back down at his plate of food he sighed and poked at it with his fork.

"I do not know where she expects me to put all this."

I glanced around the table. Kurt and Lacey both were wearing similar expressions of amused frustration at the portion sizes. Ms. Adler just looked amused as she silently sipped her coffee.

I took a final bite of food before pushing it away slightly and standing up with a quiet oof noise at the soreness in my back and calves. I could hear Dad following after me as I walked out of the cafeteria dining hall.

Half an hour later I was sitting in one of the seats in the waiting room outside of Blackwell's office and as I nervously drummed my fingers over and over on the arm of the chair, I was totally taking back my thoughts of confidence I'd been feeling earlier. Clearly that was an endorphin high from the morning exercise because that confidence I'd been feeling? Completely gone.

All it had taken was the hall of the school going quiet and everyone turning to look at me as I walked through the school with Dad to pop that balloon. No one had said anything to me but I could feel their eyes boring into me. The whispers were there. Like all those times that the Emma would whisper with her flock of gossips hanging on to her.

There weren't any of them in here. Well, there was that one kid that Greg sometimes talked to about video games in Gladly's class, but the kid looked (and smelled) like he was already stoned. I honestly didn't think he was even aware anyone was in the room with him.

I was saved the worry of having to wait much longer when Blackwell's secretary walked into the office from the hallway with a stack of books in her hands. She set it down on her desk and looked to dad for a moment before addressing me.

"Alright Ms. Hebert. Here are your new books. Please do not loose them or damage them. We will not be providing another replacement set for you if you should damage…"

Dad cleared his throat and she stopped for a moment glancing at him before continuing to speak.

"Should something happen to them…"

There was an awkward painful silence that did nothing to help my mood or give her any redemption in my eyes but she'd failed to help me long before now. I hadn't been expecting a change out of her. Standing I walked forward and looked at the stack of books. On top was a sheet saying that I had been issued a replacement set of books from the school's inventory. There was a pen waiting expectantly next to the books on the desk. I picked it up and signed it before taking the sheet off and taking my books into my arms with a quiet grunt as I adjusted to the weight. I was still a little sore.

"Good. Now I hope I won't have to see you again Ms. Hebert."

I didn't answer her. Dad looked like he wanted to say something but I just gave him a shake of my head and walked out. I just wanted this over.

Dad followed me out of the office and we stood awkwardly for a moment in the hallway while everyone around us pretended they weren't staring at us. Dad didn't say anything but after a moment he folded me into a hug and spoke quietly into my ear.

"I'll see you tonight. And I do want to talk. About your day…"

He stepped back and stood there looking kind of sad, worried, and nervous even as he tried to give me a smile. He didn't just turn and leave, but he clearly wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't sure what to say either. This wasn't some teen movie where the main character always had the perfect line for any occasion.

"I love you… little owl."

I winced as he said that before turning away. That was mom's nickname for me. Not his. I knew he meant well. That he was trying. It was part of him trying to fill in for her absence in a way he never had. But it wasn't natural to him and it felt wrong even if I knew he wanted it to be comforting to me.

I didn't say anything as he walked away. No, I love you back or anything. I just watched him until he was out of sight and then looked around. Everyone was still staring. Most of them were at least pretending to do something else but not all of them were. I saw at least one group of kids I knew were the wannabe Hitler Youth squad openly looking at me. I immediately looked away and started walking down the hall.

Of course when I got to my locker, I found I had a new problem. They'd replaced the whole thing. I didn't remember much but what little bits I thought I had overheard was that between the 'prank' and what Nemo did to get me out. The locker as well as quite a few around it had to be replaced entirely.

I could tell it was new. The color didn't quite match the others. There weren't any dents in it like from that one-time Sophia had gotten one of the Jocks to 'bump' me into it so hard it had left a permanent ding in the metal.

My fingers clenched around the strip of paper with the new combination to the lock. But I didn't look at it. I just stood there. Staring…

And remembering…

"Hi Taylor…"

The too sweet and friendly voice pulled me out before I could return to the nightmares that had plagued my nights in the hospital. Glancing to the side I looked to see Kate, Maddy, and Bella standing in a line a few feet away smiling at me.

Confronted with some of the hanger-on's that had helped the Trio make my life hell I turned to face them even as I defensively held my books to my chest. They wouldn't try and take my books from me. I was pretty sure of that. But old habits died hard.

"It's so nice to see you again! You know its such a shame that Emma isn't here right now. I know she'd just love to welcome you back to school after your little trip to the hospital."

I could see some people moving around us but my focus was fixed on then as my breathing started to get tighter and my fingers tightened around my books.

"So we wanted to talk to you. After all she does love you like a sister."

Bitch. Using Emma's words against me like that. I glared even as I shrank in on myself.

"And we thought who better than to talk to about helping us plan Emma's back to school party. Because she's going to be coming back." Kate's smile got wider even as she took a half step towards me entering my space.

"After all how would she stay away. It's not like the school will listen to your stories."

"These girls bothering you?"

The gruff male voice was unexpected. I glanced to the side and instantly regretted it. The same group of four Nazi wannabees were right next to me. They also had one of the school athletes with them. The letterman jacket was impossible to miss. The thing was I knew this guy, who was a Senior and normally would never give underclassmen like the girls or me the time of day, was actually in the E88.

When you attend Winslow you quickly learn the gangs. You learn who's in the gangs. And who's just acting. This guy wasn't like the other four that were just wastes of space playing pretend in the worst game of 'playing grown up' ever imagined. I'd heard of a few things. And I knew that this guy even though he was probably just a street level guy, was in the Empire.

And he was looking at me.

I glanced at the tagalongs who all looked like a mouse caught by a cat as they stared wide eye at the Senior. I could tell they knew who he was too.

As much as it was oh so nice to see them shut up. I didn't want this. Not this way. I quickly shook my head and turned to face my locker once more.

I hated every second I was in front of it, but it was the better than the alternative of having to face the gang member. Because I knew that he wouldn't be like Nemo. Nemo had rescued me because she was my power. I could order her to denounce Hitler and the Nazis on the stairs of City Hall for the whole street to hear and she would do it.

This guy? He thought I was with the Empire. Because of my power. I didn't want to find out what he would do when he learned the truth.

So I clenched my jaw so hard I felt like my teeth would break as I opened my locker and put my things inside of it. When I had stalled for as long as I could I closed it, locked it, and turned around. He was still there as were his friends. And there were still plenty of people staring even as the first bell warning us we had a few minutes to homeroom sounded from the speakers.

"Hey. I know we haven't talked before but I'm Calvin. Calvin Brooks." He held out his hand for me to shake. "I just wanted to introduce myself. And not that you need the help. But if you ever want a break from the girls or anyone else in here. Just let me or some of my friends know and we'll take care of it."

I looked down at his extended hand then looked back up at him as he just stood there waiting. I was warring with the idea of shaking his hand so he didn't realize the truth, when one of his friends quickly elbowed him lightly and gestured down the hallway. He turned to look and I mimicked him and saw an adult I didn't know standing down at the intersection looking at us. The thing that really made this person stand out was they were dressed in blue colored military camouflage.

Calvin's hand instantly dropped and I was saved from having to decided between self-preservation and moral preservation. He looked back at me for a moment and gave me a friendly smile that I didn't return.

"Just think about what I said Taylor. No strings attached just in case you're wondering."

And with that he raised a hand to his head and made a motion like he was tipping an imaginary hat to me before he turned and walked down the hallway. His friends followed after him thankfully leaving me alone minus the still staring students, but most of those had cleared out.

The adult in the military camo was still standing there looking down the hallway towards me. I clutched my books to my chest and hurried down the hallway towards class. The uniformed man didn't move even as I passed. Out of the corner of my eye I could read the nametag on his uniform said Fowley.

I made it to class barely in time and found an open seat. There were no pencil shavings waiting in my chair. Nor glue and juice. Quiet whispers surrounded me on all sides but no one talked to me. Even after the teacher started teaching, they didn't fully let up and by the time the class period was over I was starting to miss being the pariah. Sure, I had to deal with pranks and cruel jokes, but at least then I was ignored if they weren't pick on me. Now everyone was glancing at me when they thought I wouldn't notice.

The second class of the morning was much the same. No pranks, no traps, but lots of whispers. By the time of lunch I was waiting for the shoe to drop. I was halfway to one of the bathrooms I rotated through to eat lunch when I remembered that Sophia, Emma, and Maddison were all gone. Their groupies wouldn't start something without them here.

I froze right in the middle of the hallway causing someone to bump into me from behind when I realized I was actually thinking about eating in the cafeteria for the first time in months. After giving a quick muttered apology to the student I forced to bump into me, I made my way to the cafeteria with a morbid curiosity.

It was probably a bad idea being here, it had to be. There was no way the good could last and what would I even do? Its not like I had friends I could sit with.

I was just entering the cafeteria through one of its entrances when I bumped into someone else. I saw a letterman jacket and with a quick muttered apology I took a step back and realized I'd just bumped into Calvin Brooks again. I tried to suppress my whimper as he just stood there for a long moment studying me while his Jock friends form a dam behind him to keep the two of us from being trampled by the crowds.

"Look… I know what you did… and… thanks…"

I had no idea what he was thanking me for now. He clearly took my silence for encouragement as he continued to talk quietly.

"This isn't me repping or anything like that. This is just from me. And only me. But what you did? It was a good thing. The Big E might have needed Hookwolf's muscle up until now, but that didn't mean he was liked. And the dogs thing…" Calvin shook his head. "I'm glad he's gone. So, thanks. It needed to be done."

I tried to talk. To question. To figure out what the hell was going on.

"I'm sorry what?"

Calvin gave me a pained smile.

"Look there's no need to try and hide it. Half the city probably knows by now and the whole school will soon know you ordered Hookwolf's death because of the dog fights. Everyone knows you didn't like what he did."

He held up his hands defensively in front of him as he continued to talk.

"And from me personally you won't hear an argument. What he did was unforgivable. If I was in your shoes, I might have done the same. So, like I said. From me, to you, on a personal thing… Thanks. It needed to be done."

He lowered his hands and gave me a warm smile.

"And hey! It's not like the Empire will need him now anyways. Anyways. See you around Taylor."

He gave me another tip of the imaginary hat before walking by with his posse in tow leaving me just standing there. Dazed and confused I walked inside the cafeteria. In seconds all the conversation halted and everyone, and I do mean everyone turned their heads to look at me in a wave of movement that stretched to encompass the entire cafeteria.

So Screw me that I panicked and immediately turned around and fled towards one of the bathrooms I normally took refuge in during lunch periods.

I don't know how many minutes I spent inside that bathroom having a panic attack, but either by luck or fate, or God himself no one walked into the bathroom while I was hyperventilating in front of the mirrors. After a while I finally started to calm down, or at least as calm as I could get when something I had no idea had happened and now everyone thought I had ordered Hookwolf to die. I had already worked out that whatever it was that happened it probably had something with Nemo, Wilhelm, and U-20 going out to patrol last night. But, to be totally honest I had no idea what had gone down. I had no ideas, no answers. All I knew was everyone thought I did it, and I was getting thanked by Empire members for killing one of their own as if everything wasn't crazy enough.

When I finished splashing water onto my face and wiping my skin dry with a towel I turned to leave when I heard the door open. Turning to look I saw a blond haired woman in military camo (brown, green and black, not the blue of the guy from earlier) walking in. Looking away I watched her in the mirror like a deer caught in a car's headlights as she walked around behind me to the sink next to me. Turning on the faucet she began to wash her hands. Glancing at her uniform I could see she was wearing a nametag too. Reading the reflection backwards was a little harder but I managed to work out the name was Strickland with a little bit of mental rearranging.

She just stood there washing his hands as the seconds dragged on until finally she glanced at me in the mirror.

"I heard you were out of school last week Ms. Hebert. So you missed the announcement. You may like to know that the United States Navy has restarted Winslow's NJROTC program. If you ever want to talk feel free to come by the school's fieldhouses. Our offices are in the basement and the door should be unlocked any time you'll be in school."

And with that she turned off the faucet. Walked around behind me to grab paper towels, dry her hands and walked out of the bathroom without saying anything else.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: May 12, 2021

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Veriseple

May 12, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 16, 2021

#1,539

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

I ate lunch in the bathroom. I couldn't bring myself to go out and try and eat in the cafeteria so quickly. And the thought of going and seeing the military people… maybe later. Definitely not now. Not yet…

I was only interrupted once. I'd been sitting in a stall eating lunch when I had heard the door to the bathroom open. The lunch period was almost over. I figured they had probably skipped out of class a few minutes early for the next lunch period group. Stopping in the bathroom only made sense.

I don't know why but whoever was out there but, sheer bad luck let them try to open my stall.

"Oh, sorry!"

They apologized to me through the door. I was tempted to just ignore them but they knew I was there. It didn't sound like someone I knew or a trio hanger on so in the end I quietly replied back trying to keep it cool.

"It's okay. No worries."

I replied with a confidence I didn't feel. I heard the door of the stall to my right open and then close as the girl whoever she was used that one instead. As quietly as I could I started slipping the remnants of my lunch into my bag so I could make a quick exit.

"So have you heard yet?"

I stopped briefly in the process of zipping my bag closed when the girl I didn't know started talking to me.

"Heard what?"

I was already pretty sure I knew what but I was just trying to play it cool.

"Hookwolf got killed last night! And get this. That girl that Hess and Barnes picked on was the one who did it!"

I forced myself to laugh, there was certainly no humor in my voice.

"What. Are you serious? Like she killed him herself?"

I was standing up and unlocking my stall door to leave when she replied.

"No. You heard she's a cape? I heard she's in the Empire with some other new recruits and Hookwolf tried to ask her when she was going to kill Hess. Anyways she got one of her cape friends to kill him."

Seriously that was just crazy. Calvin had seemed more on the money compared to this girl. I walked over to the sinks and more out of habit than anything else started quickly washing my hand as I dryly tried to do damage control.

"How could she be the one who killed Hookwolf if someone else did it?"

The girl didn't immediately respond and I finished washing my hand and made a beeline for the towel dispenser before I had to try and think about whatever madness the rumor mill was coming up with.

"I dunno. Maybe she's a Master like Heartbreaker and can control the E88 capes?"

I froze as that was a guess too close to home. I wasn't Heartbreaker thank god. But it was still far more than I felt comfortable thinking. My hesitation though gave her enough time to exit the stalls behind me.

"Who do you think she's going to kill first? Hess, Barnes or one of the others? Or do you think it'll be Trevor for that time Hess got him to…"

She stopped talking immediately and I looked over my shoulder to see her standing there looking at me wide eyed, her hands slowly rising upwards.

"I… I don't want any trouble… please… I never helped them. I swear!"

I couldn't even remember if she had or hadn't. After a year and a half of the Trio tormenting me with the help of various members of the school, I had trouble remembering all the people who had helped them in some small way or another. The sad truth was there were just too many people Emma or Madison had talked into helping them.

Before all this I would have been so happy to have an apology like this. To hear them begging for forgiveness. But she wasn't begging because she was sorry. She thought I was a murderer who would kill her simply as part of revenge.

Her face was getting paler and she was starting to shake as she continued to try and plead. I just turned away and walked out of the bathroom. Immediately as I did so the bell signaling the change between the lunch periods and that it was time to head to my next class sounded. Within seconds kids started rushing out of the classes that were letting out for lunch. The ones hurrying the fastest didn't even stop to look at me but others that came out more slowly did.

I could immediately tell who had heard about Hookwolf and who hadn't. Some of the students stopped and whispered to their friends, pointing at me with varying degrees of subtlety. That was most of them. Others though stopped where they were and just stared, not moving. I didn't look anyone in the eye. I didn't want to look anyone in the eye as I made my way down the hall towards Gladly's classroom. The ones silently staring immediately got out of my way if I so much as looked like I was coming near them.

I started walking quicker just wanting to get into the safety of the classroom. I made it there pretty early. Most kids hadn't arrived and Gladly wasn't in the room either. Probably to get snacks from the vending machine to give out as prizes.

Sitting at two of the desks were Greg and the stoner kid who'd been in the office… Sparky. That was his name. They didn't even notice me come in, instead both of them staring at something on Greg's phone as they whispered at themselves.

"I'm telling you its fake. There is no way this could have happened. Its fake. Just look at the quality, and that bit right there. This is shitty CGI work clearly."

"Man. Its totally legit. You think this would have been faked? Nah. Its real."

I honestly thought they might have been looking at one of their usual video games the two talked about. When I sat down in my usual seat a row back, I had a view of their phone's screen as they restarted the video they were watching.

It didn't look like a video game. It actually looked like a video of some place real. It was kind of hard to make out because I was sitting farther away, but I could see enough. At first the video was showing a crowd of shouting men all shouting and cheering for something. As whoever was holding whatever was filming the video. I could hear barking and growling every now and then. I had no idea what was going on but I was quickly getting a sinking suspicion regardless.

I didn't know what the dogs were doing, but I could see multiple shaved heads in the video and I was sure that whatever this was, it probably had something to do with the Neo Nazis native to my hometown.

The noise and shouting was quickly becoming louder. Whoever was filming this was trying to get a better angle as they tried to move in the crowd.

"Man soll Hunden nicht wehtun!"

The video was still just showing heads and bodies as the person taking it tried to move closer. But even though I couldn't see anything I could hear someone else, someone new shouting over all of this.

"You've got balls coming in here girl! You here to join the Empire? Or are you like me and you're here for the blood?!"

My stomach was in freefall as I realized what this had to be about. Who the man who had just shouted in the video, had to be. My fears and suspicions were confirmed a moment later when the source of the video got a clear shot. Through the sea of heads I could see a cage, kind of what I saw Dad sometimes watch on late night wrestling on the TV. But instead of steroid using men I saw two figures and several dogs.

The quality was blurry but I could tell that the shorter figure was wearing a familiar uniform. And with that hair color the only person it could be was U-20. She was standing, holding two dogs by their colors inside the cage even as they growled and tried to snap at her with their mouths. She wasn't looking at them though, instead looking to the side of the video screen where the second person was standing. I'd never seen him before. But I'd heard about Hookwolf.

Unable to stop or look away I watched as U-20 spoke something in German again and Hookwolf just laughed before replying.

"Man soll Hunden nicht wehtun!"

"Sorry girl. Just because I run with the Empire doesn't mean I speak that shit. Now. What do you want to do. You want a fight yourself? I'll get you a good blooding with six of my best if you want. Or you and I can go a few rounds if you like."

U-20 let go of both of the dogs, pushing them away from her in opposite directions as she reached for her hip and pulled out a gun. I couldn't see it too closely. Whoever had filmed all of this was still inside the crowd and outside the cage. But that gun now in U-20's hand and being pointed towards Hookwolf liked horrifyingly familiar just like the one Saar had used last night.

"Man soll Hunden nicht wehtun!"

"Girl I thought you were going to be fun. But this isn't the place for guns. Here we get up close and personal… Let me show you."

I'd only heard about Hookwolf's terrifying transformations before. I'd never gone looing for information about him beyond what I had always seen on the nightly news. It had always been the aftermath of his fights with the Protectorate or other capes, or just minorities that the Empire targeted.

One second there was a man standing shirtless except for a metal mask of some kind on his face. The next second metal was ripping out of his skin and it wasn't anymore but a massive Thing made entirely of metal that didn't stop curving and twisting in movement like the metal itself was alive. The metal got bigger and bigger spreading out like the worst porcupine in existence until four pillars of metal were supporting it, legs I realized and it had taken the shape of a wolf.

"Man soll Hunden nicht wehtun!"

Hookwolf was no longer capable of sound, just a shrieking like nails on chalkboard sound that made me cringe and had even the spectators in the video covering their ears. Hookwolf lunged at U-20. They made contact and a moment later the video had the sound of U-20's gun firing. It wasn't as loud as I remembered. But it was still the same.

Screams and cries sounded as U-20 had fired and I saw the shape of Hookwolf stagger back before falling to the ground. Screams of pain and agony were coming from the video. Whoever was filming all of this was screaming, the camera now pointed at the ground barely had any light but I could see blood dripping down. And over it all I could hear U-20 shouting the same words loudly.

"Man soll Hunden nicht wehtun!"

I was entranced and horrified by what I had just seen even as the two boys continued to remain hunched over the phone discussing the video in words

They were replaying the video again. I didn't watch it. I didn't want to watch it even if I was still forced to hear the audio from where they were sitting ahead of me and a little to the side. All around us kids were coming into the classroom. I didn't even bother trying to make eye contact with any of them. I just focused on the head of the classroom. Students were taking seats, getting out books and pencils and other stuff. I could see some of them turning their heads to look at me in their seats.

Right as the bell for the start of period rang, I could see Gladly walking in, a few bags of chips and candy bars in his hands, his bribes for the class so he seemed cool with them.

"Alright then class. Now I'm sure you all are excited to present your projects I assigned last week about upcoming parahuman based legislation. But I figured that we have a unique opportunity. Taylor. Why don't you come up here and tell everyone what its like being a parahuman."

Oh fuck no…

The whole class was now looking at me. I could hear Greg as he elbowed Sparky and whispered not particularly.

"Hey do you think she'll say who made the video for her? I'd love to get one made of me like that."

Gripping the desk I stood up shakily, my eyes darting everywhere as Gladly smiled in that way he did when he was trying to be my friend. What did he think, that he could bribe me with a bag of chips and a cookie or a snickers bar to get me to tell how much it sucked being in the hospital.

To hell with that.

I grabbed my books, and everything I'd brought with me and started walking up to the front of the classroom. But rather than turn around and tell everyone how much being a parahuman sucked. How little control over anything it seemed. I turned and walked straight towards the door.

Pushing the door open I walked out because it was clear that even with the Emma, Sophia, and Maddison out of the building, this place was still hell. I didn't know why I had hoped it would be different. Everything had changed for me here and yet clearly everything was still the same.

I made my way through the halls. I didn't go to see Blackwell, I knew how little that would help me. I just headed to my locker. No one was in the hallways to try and stop me so I made it there without interruptions. Just like before even stepping close to it had me clenching my jaw, hard. The door being open as I hurriedly grabbed things like my coat and my backpack, was all the worse as I kept remembering the sight of my locker right before one of the Trio, probably Sophia, shoved me in.

It was right as I was finishing, winter coat on and all that the intercom lit up and I could hear Blackwell's secretary speaking to the whole school.

"Will Taylor Hebert please come to the Principal's Office? Will Taylor Hebert please come to the Principal's Office."

Oh hell no. I was not putting up with this. I yanked my hat and gloves on, slammed my locker shut and locked it. And turned and walked towards the nearest non-emergency exit of the school. No way was I dealing with Blackwell. She had made her attitude very clear and I refused to put myself through that hell again.

Outside it was snowing and I was immediately glad I had grabbed my hat and gloves rather than just storming out of the building. The snow crunched with every step. I could hear the intercom and Blackwell's secretary as the doors closed behind me trying to summon me back to hell. I didn't turn back. I just zipped my coat as much as it would go, stuck my gloved hands in my pockets to keep them warmer longer, and started walking.

I'd gone out of one of the side doors rather than the main entrance so I had to circle most of the school just to get to the street that would take me in the most direct path home. When I'd made the journey around after a few minutes of walking, I didn't see any yellow busses. But the loading area wasn't empty of vehicles.

A pair of black vans with the yellow letters written on the side of PRT were sitting there idling while ahead of them a pair of motorcycles sat unattended. Several gray uniformed figures that were identical to the PRT agents I would sometimes see on the news were standing around. I hunched over hoping no one would notice me.

By luck or fate as I continued to just walk down the path no one noticed me until I had passed the vans. But as I was walking away one of the agents who had been watching the building noticed me.

"Hey you. Are you a student here?"

I was tempted to say no and lie. But I figured lying to the PRT wouldn't help me down the road. So I stopped and turned around, standing on the sidewalk looking towards the PRT vans as an agent walked over to me.

"I am. I'm leaving for the day."

The agent, a man who looked like he might be a little younger than dad stopped in front of me. I could see a pistol on his belt but he hadn't drawn it or even put his hand near it. Instead, just keeping his hands in front of him. It helped that he didn't regard me as a threat. I'd had enough of that today.

"It's cold out. Are one of your parents coming to pick you up?"

I shook my head though in some small way I actually appreciated him asking. It was questions like these that reminded me that even though Winslow had no redeeming qualities to it the rest of the world wasn't necessarily like that.

"No. I had a family emergency. My Dad's still at work. I'm going to walk home."

He visibly frowned at my lie and looked back towards the school for a moment.

"I'd offer you a ride but we're here on official business. I can try and get a Police car to swing by and give you a ride. No one should be out in this weather if you don't mind waiting. Why don't we go inside and you can wait where its warm."

I wanted to just get out of here so I shook my head. The thought of going back into Winslow and dealing with any of that shit again. No I just refused.

My refusal though had him frowning as he dealt with the idea of someone not wanting to get out of the cold.

"What's your name kid?"

"Emma Barnes."

"Alright Emma. Well I need you to stay here for a little bit. I'm sure you want to get home to your family but its not a good idea to be out in this weather. We have a storm coming in and its only going to get colder. Just wait here. We'll call someone to give you a ride so you're not out in storm."

I felt bad lying but I was pretty sure that somehow these guys were here for me. I wasn't about to just go with them even if they weren't the same as Winslow. Trying to run would just be all but admitting my guilt so I followed him back towards the building.

I managed to avoid going inside by just standing under the entrance awning out of the snow. The agent didn't seem entirely happy but he didn't force me inside so I guess that was a win. I saw and heard him as he stepped off to the side and he really did call in to the Police Department asking them to send a car to come pick up a 'student with a family emergency' and take me home. I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes watching the roads, waiting for the police car to come for me.

Eventually a police car did come into view turning onto the street I was watching and was rolling in our direction. It hadn't fully gotten to the school when the main doors opened and out walked Armsmaster himself.

"… is no longer in the school. She left her class without warning or reason just as she was arriving. My radar sensors did not detect any of her projections in the vicinity of the school but it is possible she had an observer that noticed our arrival. Is the one you are tracking still on its current path?"

Whoever he was talking to didn't reply which made me think he was probably talking into a radio of some kind in his suit or helmet. He didn't immediately look towards me.

"Alright keep me informed of its progress. It may just be conducting a patrol pattern and not on an intercept course."

He had walked past me and the Agent looking towards the vans. He did turn to look at me and the agent a moment later and even though I couldn't see the upper half of his face I could see his lips tighten briefly.

"Militia I have found Ms. Hebert. Please come back to the main entrance."

I was toying with how far I could run before they would capture me when Armsmaster turned on the agent who'd called the police car to take me home.

"Trooper Vasquez. Why did you not immediately report you had located Ms. Hebert."

The agent, or trooper I guess looked from Armsmaster, to me, and back to Armsmaster.

"Sir. She didn't tell me her real name."

Armsmaster's helmet remained aimed at the trooper for a moment, but he doesn't say anything else but turned to face me.

"Ms. Hebert. Why did you leave your classroom early and not report to the Principal's office as you were instructed?"

I considered telling him I wasn't saying anything without my Dad present. I thought about saying other things too. In the end I decided the truth was best.

"Because for the last year and a half whenever I told them about everything Emma or the others dd, they didn't do shit. My entire time in this school they have never helped me once. Why in the hell would I listen to them now? Clearly nothing is changing."

Armsmaster didn't reply, clearly processing my response.

"If you would like we can assist in filling a report about the incident today…"

I just shook my head.

"You think I didn't try that before? I did. Several times. Nothing. Ever. Happened."

"Very well. We would like you to interview you about the events of last night. Please come with us."

I sighed as I shook my head.

"Can I refuse and just go home? My ride is almost here."

I pointed towards the police car that was just pulling up next to the PRT vans.

"You can. But if necessary, we will get a warrant from a judge and bring you in for an interview. This would all be more efficient if you come with us now. We can arrange transportation to take you home afterwards."

I just wanted to go home. Not to the docks home. But home home. But that was no longer an option so in the end I nodded.

"Fine. But when I'm done answering your questions you take me straight home. Don't bring me back here."

The door had opened part way through my requirement for going with them when Ms. Militia herself stepped outside. She looked glanced to the police officer and car as it rolled up before looking to me. She didn't say anything from behind her flag designed mask but instead looked to Armsmaster as he talked to me. She did look away though and stiffened. I could see the green gun shaped weapon on her hip change, swirling until it became a much larger gun that her hand was moving too. Looking up and following her eyes I could see someone else walking down the street.

They weren't a police officer or a PRT agent. They weren't even dressed for winter clearly. Instead, they walked towards me with a familiar looking harness even if the clothing she wore was familiar. Around me everyone, the PRT troopers, Armsmaster, everyone, all started reaching for their weapons.

As she got closer, I could make out details of her. She had black hair, that hung down her back. She wore a coat with double buttons running down the front and she had a harness equipment on her that reminded me of Saar's but clearly it was bigger as I could now make out more of those tiny scale guns dotting off of her rigging. She was moving towards us at a quick walk as Armsmaster turned to face me.

"Tell your projection to halt and not come closer."

I turned and looked back at him, looking at my reflection in his helmet.

"She's new. I've never seen her before. But if you want me to come with you. I want her to come as well."

Armsmaster's jaw visibly tightened. I could see that he wasn't happy about this. But he nodded.

"Very well. It will be good to be able to examine the projection in a lab setting."

The new ship was almost to us now even as agents and heroes alike watched it, everyone had a hand on their weapons and I kind of felt like I was in one of the old western movies or shows that dad would fall asleep to at night on TV, the standoff between the bad guys and the good guys.

"Admiralin! SMS Rostock meldet sich zum Dienst!"

But we were all good guys. I wasn't a villain anymore than them. And I was coming with them which was why when she presumably introduced herself to me like the others had and saluted I just saluted back before motioning her to follow me into the van.

"Come on. You're coming with me."

And I let the PRT guide me to the vans where I got in and buckled up so they could take me to be interviewed. Before the door closed I could see in some of the windows of the school I had left, people, students inside, were standing along the walls, watching me. I looked away. Winslow wasn't worth my time.

A moment later the door closed with me and my new ship as well as two troopers inside. And the van started moving taking us to our destination wherever the PRT planned to do their interview. As the van rolled forward down the street I just closed my eyes, trying to sleep a little, just a nap, anything to let me catch a break as my life continued forward out of my control or influence. My new ship sat next to me, awkwardly crammed in with her rigging making positioning her difficult. But she'd managed. Her eyes roamed everywhere, but whenever they lingered on me, she always gave me a smile.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Spoiler: German Translations

503

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May 16, 2021

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Threadmarks Sea Trials 7

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 19, 2021

#1,704

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

TAYLOR

When we got out of the van, I found us in the parking lot of what I realized after a moment was the PRT Headquarters building downtown. I had seen it downtown a few times over the years. Once my parents had even brought me in to see the Wards and stopped by the gift shop. That had been years ago. Back when mom was alive. When things had been better.

As my new ship, whatever her name was, was climbing out of the van behind me, one of the PRT agents who had ridden with me turned and looked to me.

"It's a little bit of a walk but we figured we would take you in through the front entrance. There may be some tourists are you sure you don't want a mask?"

That was now the second time they had offered me a mask. I had barely been in the van for more than a minute when one of the troopers. The same trooper had offered me a mask then. But I still could not see the point of wearing the mask.

What was the point of trying to have a secret identity when my whole school knew I was a parahuman? I was not in denial about being a parahuman like I had all the way through being in the hospital. Replacing entire buildings was kind of hard to fake.

I really hoped dad wouldn't get in trouble for my power remaking parts of the docks seemingly without warning and rhyme or reason…

When I gave my refusal to the mask again the trooper just shrugged and gestured over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Alright. Well, the main entrance is this way. We'll walk you in."

And so, we set off. He led the way kind of as a guide. I was glad it would not look like I was being arrested or anything. We had to walk around the building to get to the main entrance. As we did, I could hear, and see, the blue chromed bike as Armsmaster rode past us. Unlike us he did not park in the normal parking lot but disappeared into the building itself when a gate to what looked like It might be an underground parking garage opened admitting him.

"Why didn't you take me in through that way?"

I asked the troopers after he had disappeared. My finger pointed at the garage gate for reference. The back trooper who had been following me and my new summoned girl answered me this time.

"Security clearance. You aren't authorized to enter that way, so we have to take you in through the front."

That made sense. We were just rounding the building's corner and the main entrance was coming into sight. Since it was the middle of the day still there was not too many tourists. I remembered years ago there had been a special event welcoming a new hero to the Protectorate, the crowds had been massive filling the entire area. The memory was immediately followed by the realization I could not even remember his name anymore. He had been killed by a villain passing through the city before two months had been over.

Now though between the school day and the cold there were less than half a dozen people just standing around taking pictures of the exterior of the building. We were more than halfway down the remaining sidewalk to the doors when someone turned their camera at us, and I could see the flash.

I was tempted to tell them to stop. God I was so tempted. That flash reminded me of that one time back when I had still been eating in the cafeteria one of the hanger-on kids had tripped me causing me to fall and my tray of food had ended up all over me. When I had left to go to the bathroom there had been more helpers at the exit waiting, with cameras.

The pictures had been spread around to what had felt like half the school. I had even gotten one I had been able to use as evidence to take to Blackwell. The photographers had been warned, and only warned, about not taking photos of other students. Because I could not prove, and how hard that word had tasted rolling around my mouth after Blackwell had told me, that it all was not more than an accident combined with bad timing… Nothing had happened.

I had stopped taking pictures with Dad after that. He had retreated in more to his work. I had cut off more of myself from him. The pictures were now just a reminder that Dad was not the only one who had fucked up between us.

But those memories did nothing to deter the tourist photographing me. After a moment, the two other cameras had joined in. I was turning my head away so they would not at least get a photograph of my face. Of course, that just meant I noticed my new summoned girl stepped around me and began walking beside me.

"Admiralin, wünschen Sie, dass ich dieses lästige Gesindel loswerde?"

I did not understand her words of course. Ms. Adler had said she would start German language lessons after school today, so I still knew nothing of what she had said.

But what I did realize and understand was that she was shielding me with her body and her 'rigging'. She was not quite as tall as me, but she was taller than any of the others. Only Saar was of about equal height. Adler was the only one of them taller than me. So, when she walked beside me, with her rigging around her she was able to effectively hide me from the tourists with her body, first by walking beside me, then behind me.

Inside the atrium was spacious after we got through the double set of doors that kept the cold winter air out. It was a large rectangular room. The gift shop was visible immediately off to the side through clear glass windows. I could see all kinds of hero merchandise inside along with more than a few kids of varying ages and their parents.

Next to the gift shop was a broad hallway that had a desk positioned at the front of it. Anyone wanting to go down this way would have to get through a security gate like you might see in a subway in New York. The gates were positioned to either side of a large desk where a receptionist type person in a PRT uniform sat talking quietly into a phone. When we entered, I could see the woman look to us even as she continued her conversation.

To the right of the hallway was another glass wall, this one had a frosted glass that let you see that people were inside, but it was too difficult to make out any details.

I was expecting to be led to the main hallway deeper into the building but instead was led to the side to the door leading into the obscured room. As we approached the light on the door handle turned from red to green a moment before the PRT agent opened it and stepped inside.

I followed in and realized that those figures I had seen through the frosted glass? I knew them. U-20, Nemo, Wilhelm, even Vityaz were all present…

And for some reason Nemo was holding what looked like a German Shepard to her, though there were a few bandages wrapped around the dog's head and one of its legs.

"Ummm…"

I really was not sure what was going on. I mean I was being brought in to talk about what had happened with Hookwolf even though I was sure the PRT knew more than I did. But if the ships I had summoned were here as well this meeting was starting to make more sense.

"Admiral on deck!"

Immediately all the girls surged to their feet, coming to positions of attention. Well except for U-20 who was still holding the dog and hadn't set it down, even as she stood up with the rest.

"U-20 put that dog down. I'm sure it doesn't want you holding it like that."

It was a big dog, particularly given how short she was. Nemo had to translate but after a quick second, with only a pouting expression U-20 set the dog down on the chair she had been sitting in.

"The interviewer will be in shortly. We'll bring another plate as well."

I turned looking back at the PRT agent a moment before he stepped out of the room leaving me alone in the room with my power. It looked like a meeting room. There was a long table with a bunch of chairs positioned around it as well as a lounge area with chairs and couches at the end of the room. That had been where the girls had all been sitting before now. A low table in between them had a few bottles of water and juice boxes while there was a plate that looked suspiciously empty next to those.

I remembered some of the things Adler had talked about this morning as we had been running side by side around the indoor track I had created. Even though we were doing PT she had not let that stop her from trying to teach me. One of the things I did remember was this.

"At ease."

Immediately the girls all relaxed. U-20 going to back to sitting in the chair with the dog once more held in her lap. It didn't look like it was protesting or fighting her, so I assumed it wanted to be there. The new girl who had come with me had walked over and was already engaging in a rapid back and forth conversation in German with U-20. Vityaz was sitting close to U-20, and Wilhelm was being her usual quiet self. It was Nemo that approached me.

"Hello Admiral. The hero Velocity told us you were coming in for an interview. How was school?"

My expression clearly said what I did not as Nemo's smile vanished.

"Would you like us to do anything?"

I had not responded to her earlier question, but I did shake my head now. Having the girls in the school would just make everything worse. Dad wanted me to get my high school diploma so I could get a good job as an adult and maybe go to college. Any of the girls showing up would just be fuel for the gossips and the rumor machine and it would just make everything worse. The best thing I could do was just try to keep my head down. Eventually it would all go away. They would get bored of me.

Or at least that was what I was somewhat desperately currently telling myself…

"No. Well not regarding that. I do need to know her name though."

I pointed towards the new girl. Nemo looked to her, they spoke back and forth for a moment, the new girl halted her conversation so Nemo could talk to her. When they had finished Nemo looked back to me smiling again.

"She is SMS Rostock, a twelve-gun light cruiser. She would also like to know if you want her to do something about the people annoying her outside."

She paused for a moment her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Has someone been bothering you Admiral?"

I immediately started panicking inside my head as all the girls went silent and all heads were looking at me and Nemo.

"No! No one is bothering me. At least anyone you can help me with."

Nemo's eyes remained narrowed but after a moment she nodded.

"Very well Admiral. The hero said he would return after you and your father had both arrived."

That was a surprise to me. No one had told me they'd even called Dad let alone asked him to come here.

"They called my dad? Why? Shouldn't they want to just talk to you? I'm not even sure why they want me present."

Nemo gave a quiet hmm noise of thought before replying.

"Well, we didn't tell them anything that we thought you wouldn't want them to know. So, we reported of course of our capture of over a hundred of the criminal deviants last night, but we did not report the items we confiscated from the criminals. That is not a matter that needs to concern them. It is a Fleet matter."

At first, I was focusing on the idea of them having confiscated something. That was quickly overtaken as the rest of what she had said hit my realization.

"A hundred? You captured over a hundred criminals? How? Doing what?!"

"They were engaged in animal cruelty. I will not dirty you with the knowledge of their acts. Simply know that they will not do so again."

There was a pause of only a moment before I replied. My frustration was building again and I could feel it like a tightness in my chest.

"No."

Nemo blinked, clearly surprised as I continued.

"No. You will tell me exactly what you three did because I refuse to be the last fucking person in my entire damn school to know when you are doing something!"

I went from a quiet tone to shouting at Nemo who was now staring at me wide eyed. With each word I said, spitting them at her that tightness in my chest got better and worse as finally I vented a year and a half of helplessness into my words. I refused to be helpless anymore. Not to the Trio. Not even to my own power.

"You all say you answer to me? That you follow my orders? Well then answer to me! Don't you ever leave me in the dark about what you are doing. I had the entire fucking school thinking I was a goddamn murder who would kill them next because of what you did. The entire FUCKING SCHOOL!"

Nemo was wide eyed, taking a step back. Her face was flooded with emotion. I was not sure if it was fear or something else. Here in this moment. I just didn't fucking care. I took a deep breath and stopped shouting in her face. A whimper off to the side attracted my attention. Turning my head, I glared at where U-20 was still sitting, the dog still in her arms. The dog was now starting to struggle against her as she held it close to her. The girl's face was white with terror as she looked at me with horror and terror clearly on her face.

"U-20. Put the dog down. You're hurting it."

She didn't immediately obey because she didn't understand. I could hear Vityaz beginning to translate but I did not care. My power told me over and over how they served me. But how was any of them supposed to serve me if they didn't even understand me!

"I SAID! PUT THAT DOG DOWN NOW!"

I shouted at the same time Vityaz managed to hurriedly translate my first words to her. And U-20 did put the dog down, practically shoving it out of her lap onto the floor and jumping to her feet. She stood straight at attention and looked straight ahead, not even looking me in the eye as she stood there, unmoving. By her feet, the whimpering dog limped around behind U-20 as it favored the bandage wrapped leg, moving to hide behind Nemo's legs, hiding from me.

Part of me hated that. That the poor dog, who had been through only God knew what kinds of hell was scarred of me. But that mournful part of me was tiny compared to the rest of me that was just fucking done with everything. I stalked forward the short space in-between us until I stood right in front of U-20 glaring down at her.

I was a boiling pot of emotion. The whole day I had been able to keep a lid on it, barely, but it was not enough anymore. I needed to vent. I needed to unleash my frustration and my anger. And I had the perfect target, the one who made the entire school terrified of me, right before me.

I just glared down at her, for once in my life not in the position of the victim. I knew what it was like to be in her shoes, at the hands of Sophia, Emma, and Maddison. But unlike my own experiences. I had never deserved the hatred the trio had hurled at me for a year and a half. U-20 did because she was responsible.

This was all her fault.

"I want all of you to fucking listen!"

I snapped out whirling to look around at the others.

"You all keep saying that you serve me. That you obey my commands. Well, I'm seeing damn little proof. I told you. I freaking order you if that actually means anything! To not hurt anyone. But you goddamn killed Hookwolf. And because of you everyone thinks I'm a goddamn mass murderer."

I could hear U-20 quietly speaking behind me. Furious I spun around even as she spoke to me in German.

"Admiralin, ich muss mich selbst wegen Zuwiderhandlung ihrer Befehle anzeigen. Ich habe ihre Befehle missachtet und einen Verbrecher getötet. Ich werde jegliche Strafe, die Sie für richtig befinden, akzeptieren."

I could hear Vityaz starting to translate through the pounding of blood in my ears, but the words were just noise as I loomed over U-20.

"Get out."

Vityaz stopped translating midword, frozen. U-20 looked up with blatant horror in her gaze as I gave my order. She did not move frozen before me and it was just fuel for the fire of my anger and fury and I screamed in her face my arm outstretched pointing at the door.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

U-20 jolted back, nearly falling into the chair before she caught herself. I could not even find it in me to care. I could hear Vityaz speaking with a shaky tone to her voice, to U-20 who finally scurried away. I just stood there, my body trembling with frustration and anger as I glared down at the now empty chair she had been sitting at.

"Admiral…"

I did not let Nemo get more than that one word out.

"Keep talking and you can join her. You knew my order damn well enough you should have stopped her. Do you want to join her? Huh?!"

Nemo hurriedly shook her head as every girl stared with wide fearful eyes at me. I watched as U-20 opened the door I had come in and let herself out. The poor dog following quickly on her heels before both vanished, nothing more than shapes outside through the fogged glass.

When she was vanished I had sunk backwards slumping backwards into the chair. I was still fucking pissed, and angry, and frustrated. I felt helpless as my own power was out of my control. All I wanted here and now was everything to go back to what it was before. Before my power. Before everything.

On the other side of the room another door opened. I had seen it before. It was clearly positioned so that people from inside the building could enter this meeting room without having to go through the Lobby.

In walked Velocity. A hero. My anger started to fizzle out a little more, but I did not move from the chair. I just rubbed my head with one hand and gestured at my summoned girls still in the room.

"Whatever you want to ask go ahead."

Velocity glanced from me to the girls, and then back to me.

"I heard shouting as I was approaching. Is everything alright?"

He sounded like he meant it. All I could do was shake my head before I answered him.

"No. But I doubt there's anything you can do to help me. Just. Whatever you guys want to know ask me. Or you can ask them. They'll answer you."

I turned my gaze to Nemo and Vityaz, my English speakers present.

"Every question they have. You answer it all. Got it."

Both silently nodded.

For the next half hour, I just sat unmoving and silent in that chair as Velocity sat at the table and interviewed each of the girls one by one. Sometimes he talked to them in English. Sometimes in German. I only stirred from my chair when someone else entered the room. But it was not Armsmaster or any of the heroes. It was dad. He was accompanied by Saar and Adler, but also by a third person I did not know.

It did not take much to guess who she was though. As I stood and ran over to Dad desperately needing a hug, he held me tight to him. I did not have to say why. He just held me until I pulled back. I had been crying a little bit into his jacket, luckily the silent sobs as I continued to work through all the emotions, I did not know what to do with. Dad did not say anything. He probably would not know what to say but that was fine because in this moment all I needed him to do was hug me.

I stepped back and finally looked at the person who had come in with him. She was about my height. And she was dressed somewhat similarly to Rostock. I say somewhat because it was only kind of like the other shipgirl. For one thing the uniform was more elaborate. Like U-20 had, she wore an Iron Cross on her chest. There were other medals too that I did not know. They attracted my attention almost as much as the gold rope that hung from her right shoulder. Of course, the medals, and all the rest of it was nothing compared to what I realized had to be her rigging.

This was nothing like any of the others. Before all the girls had small rigging, just those cases hung over their shoulders in the cases of the subs, or the backpacks that ranged from small in Vityaz's case, up to large in the case of Rostock. But the bulky thing Rostock wore had nothing compared to this woman. I stepped closer and realized I was a little taller than her.

But the height difference meant almost nothing with metal arm like things coming off the rigging she wore on her back. Two ended in turrets that came up on either side of her while the lower 'limbs' came down to form things that kind of like the front and back of a ship, only one had two of those double-barreled turrets and the other had one turret on the ship part of the limb rigging.

I realized that whatever, whoever this was, she had to be something completely different from any of the girls who had come before her.

"Who are you?"

Immediately the woman came to attention. I noticed then that she had a sword hanging from her belt because her left hand was looped around a small chain attached to it and held the I think it was called a sheath, as her right hand came up to the brim of her military officer looking hat, in a salute to me.

"Admiralin! SMS Kaiser meldet sich als Flaggschiff zum Dienst!"

I raised a hand to salute her, more out of habit than because I wanted it. But, I turned my head back to my dad as he started speaking to me.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here. Both the PRT and the Navy JROTC at your school called to let me know that you had left school early and were going to be at the PRT building. Taylor. Is there a reason that I got a call from the Navy and the PRT but not your school itself?"

With a sigh, most of my anger was gone now, all I was left with was frustration and resignation.

"Can we talk? I'm not sure I can go back to Winslow after all dad."

Taking his hand I guided him over to the couches at the end of the room. And after only a moment of stalling I began to tell him about my day. Dad sat, and he just listened. While at the meeting table Velocity resumed asking questions of all the summons my power created for me.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Spoiler: German Translations

467

Veriseple

May 19, 2021

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Threadmarks Sea Trials: Interlude

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Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 23, 2021

#1,871

AN: As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

KRIEG

The meeting place was a ritzy high end hotel in Westminster, London. It was the same place I'd been having these meeting for years now. But, despite it being the same location as always it was still out of the ordinary. After all there was nothing normal about this at all was there? After all I didn't normally get a call of an appointment for a meeting ten hours before it was taking place.

I hadn't been due for another 'business trip' for two more months. But when I had gotten the call, I'd booked myself an immediate flight to London, told Max where I would be, and left. Sitting there in the chair I yawned, still not over my jetlag.

My wait proved to be short as the conference room's door opened and in walked two men. Immediately I recognized them both. I stood and greeted them both with a smile and a handshake.

"Wilhelm, Claus, good to see you both."

The smiles, handshakes and all were genuine but also a prop for anyone that might be interrupting us. As we greeted one another, I noticed a third man standing in the doorway. Where the both of them were near my age in the primes of our lives still, he was far older. His hair was receding, the little of it remaining had silvered with age, and he was clean shaven. The black suit he wore was clearly bespoke and fit his thin frame perfectly. He leaned on a cane, his hand firmly griping it, the sign of someone who needed it, not someone who carried it simply for show.

"Herr Wiedergeburt. I was not expecting you to be at this meeting. This is a surprise and an honor."

And it was. Despite how instrumental he had been in the course of my life I had only ever seen him before on one occasion, over two decades ago now. The fact that he was here, now, was more telling than anything else. He stood there, silently, just watching me.

Despite his extreme age, and his visible reliance of his cane, he walked with slow but sure and steady steps towards the table, stopping only to close the doors behind him. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Claus was pulling something from the inside of his suit. I glanced towards it, and saw that it was no larger than a cigarette lighter. He set it on the table, pressed a button on its side with his finger and a moment later a red light lit up.

I could hear a high-pitched whine at the edge of my hearing as it activated. I knew from experience that anything we said or did now was private only to us. I looked back to Herr Wiedergeburt who was slowly making his way down to the other end of the table to take a seat in the chair near the end. He set his cane down with a clattering 'clack' on the wooden conference table and just sat in the chair. Watching us.

"James. Your report of the new parahuman was… unusual to say the least. At first we believed you might be under Master influence."

Claus had taken a seat around on the other side of the table across from me while Wilhelm sat next to me. As our meeting was begun, I sat back down as well, resisted the urge to yawn far more easily now, and nodded.

"It has been… unexpected is a good word. And unconventional to say the least. Even with the variety of powers I never imagined I would see anything like this. But the past week has been unconventional to say the least. But, as far as we can tell, there seems to be at least the possibility of truth to the claims by these projections, however farcical they seem at first glance."

Beside me Wilhelm gave a nod as he leaned back in his chair.

"We've begun doing our own investigations ever since the disappearance from Bremerhaven. We have confirmed the disappearance of the wreckage of the two newest arrivals as of less than an hour ago. We would need to conduct an in-person interview to further ascertain the truth of the matter. So. What is Max doing to recruit her?"

Ah. The obvious question I had been very much expecting.

"As of right now entirely soft approaches. They are an asset entirely unlike any other, and he has written off the loss of Brad Meadows and over a hundred of the, enthusiasts, that flocked to him. Her dislike of the situation was very clear. But Max remains convinced that she has sympathies."

"And do you agree with him?"

I hesitated at that as it wasn't Claus or Wilhelm who questioned me. But instead Herr Wiedergeburt speaking from the end of the table.

"I am unsure. On one hand it seems inconceivable that her power's influences cannot be anything but a reflection of her own mind. And yet she has made no moves of any kind we know, to seek us out."

Claus and Wilhelm were silent as they sat, just watching me and Herr Widergeburt speak. I didn't look at him just watching the old man at the far end of the table as he studied me with that penetrating stare, I had not forgotten in all the years since I last saw him.

"Perhaps her beliefs are purer?"

His question seemed innocuous but there was a hidden edge to his words, lurking beneath the surface. I could feel it. I paused before speaking wondering if perhaps this was a test for me.

"I do not know… I believe there is the possibility of a question of ancestry. Or it could be as you say. If her beliefs conform to her power. If that is the case all attempts by Max are doomed to fail."

He slowly tapped his finger on the table over and over before finally replying.

"Then let us let him succeed or fail by his own merits. Should he succeed then in time she can be brought into the fold properly. If he fails, we remain untainted. Because of your role, you will stand apart from Maximillian's attempts in case he should fail. It would not do to have your presence be poisoned by his actions. You will stay here for a time. Long enough for the fruits of Maximillian's harvest to show themselves. Claus will keep you busy in the interim."

This meeting was already short notice and I had barely given Max any more warning than the same warning I had received. But I couldn't refuse. Not to Herr Widergeburt. So, I nodded.

Saying no more to any of us he stood. The three of us stood as well at the same time with him. He gave a motion with his hand for the three of us to seat. I glanced at the others as they did the same to me, and after a moment of hesitation we did so. Herr Widergeburt slowly made his way out of the room as Claus deactivated the device he had set on the table and moved it back into the inside of his coat.

The high pitched whine finally gone from the back of my head I looked to the two men remaining and began the business meeting that was the official reason for my trip. All the while wondering just what and how I would tell Max.

VELOCITY

I stared at the computer screen as I continued to type out the report. Even though cameras and microphones had captured every event that had occurred the previous afternoon. It was still up to me to write a report about the event. So, I had spent the last two hours writing out every last thing I could remember.

Colin was no doubt already dissecting the video recordings of the room, after he had been denied the opportunity by the Director, to study one of the projections in a lab setting. I would have written the report sooner but I'd been teaming up with the undercover recon teams that were tailing the rogue projection that had departed early. Now very late into the night to the point that it was morning I was finally getting to my report.

But before I could make my way to a bed to actually sleep, I had to deliver a report.

Finishing the last lines I used my power for a brief moment to quickly study the full content, make sure I hadn't missed anything stupidly basic like a spelling error, before I printed it out. Waiting for the printer with my power active would have been mind numbingly slow so I let my power revert time to its normal pace and a few seconds later I was walking through the halls of PRT Headquarters with the folder tucked to my side.

I was not the only one up late as the Director's office was occupied, not just by the Director herself, but also by the administrative aide who was rubbing at his tired looking eyes. The man didn't even stop from raising his coffee cup to his mouth as he motioned for me to enter her office. He stopped only to mime a phone at his ear. I gave an understanding nod and walked in anyways.

Inside the office Director Piggot was seated behind her desk, her phone held to her ear. She raised a hand silently even as she was nodding along to whatever conversation she was having, before motioning me to take a seat silently across from her. I nodded my understanding before doing as she instructed and taking a seat.

"Good… Excellent… Fine… Very well… Sunday would be better if you can manage it… Alright. Call me in the morning."

She set her phone down on its receiver a moment later, a little harder than she needed to. and shook her head.

"Sanctimonious prick. Alright. What have you got."

I sighed and passed her over the report. Normally I would never have been handling a report directly to the Director. Ordinarily and how it had been for years now, my reports were submitted to my supervisor, Colin, who passed them on to the Director. However ever since the Winslow incident, things had been getting shaken up.

To the outside view, everything was still the same as normal. It sadly had to be. Even a wiff of change and criminals large and small alike would seek to take advantage. Internally however, massive shakeups were still ongoing as Piggot was in the process of hunting a lot of rot and corruption. I only knew bits and pieces of it even now as something had occured or been found that I was in no way privy to.

But that wasn't my business and more importantly the Director was now leafing through my report. I'd submitted one by email, but very early into the change up I had learned that the Director was old school. Not by nature, but by choice as she didn't trust the system to stay secure. The less that was on it, the less that could be compromised. Two weeks ago, I would have said she was paranoid, but that was two weeks ago, not now.

The folder flopped onto her desk and she leaned back in her chair eyeing me over the desk.

"That's all well and good Robin, but I want more. What's your opinion?"

I eyed the Director for a moment.

"My opinion Ma'am?"

She snorted a moment later.

"Cut the crap. I've never hid the fact that I don't trust parahumans. Doesn't matter if they are ours or theirs. But I've made it clear where I stand. That means I don't trust you either. But even though I don't trust you, I do trust those instincts you had back when you were a soldier."

She tapped her finger on the report twice for emphasis.

"That's a report from Velocity the hero. I want the opinion of Robin the Army Sergeant"

Okay this was something different.

"Yes Ma'am… Honestly? This whole thing is weird. And not the usual powers are bullshit weirdness either. Taylor has a power that just doesn't work like others. When I triggered. I knew what I could do. I knew how I could do it too. Sure, I picked up more as time went on. Little tricks I could do, or some new thing I could pull, but that was all after the fact."

"Taylor doesn't operate like that. Her power for all that it seems to be trying to help her judging by the projections she keeps getting, isn't one she understands. She doesn't understand German, over half of them don't understand English. That's a very basic breakdown that flies in the face of what we know about parahumans. On some level every parahuman understands how powers work. But despite this fact, somehow, she doesn't. And because she doesn't, we've got an armory on fire set to explode with a single misplaced word. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was a broken trigger.

The director was nodding along with my words as I spoke. When I finished, she folded her hands in front of her.

"I agree. Something about all this stinks. Regardless we need to go forward. Ms. Hebert is in this bay for now until I can find a way to get her out of it for good."

I nodded slowly in agreement as a thought of one of the ways everything could implode very quickly came to mind.

"Ma'am. What's the status of Shadow Stalker?"

She nodded approvingly for a moment even as she grabbed for the coffee cup sitting on her desk.

"Clear on the other coast. I couldn't get her sent to juvie, someone wants her around. But I will be damned if I keep that powder keg in my city. After the Hookwolf business I rammed it down Washington's throat. She's currently doing time in the Mojave at Alexandria's 'boot camp'."

I winced at that, but at least now we didn't have to worry about Taylor running into Sophia if she got loose. Even if Sophia did manage the unlikely and escaped, she had so many thousand miles to cross that we would have enough time and warning to get something in place to intercept her... Hopefully... I made a mental note to get someone out there my number so that if the unlikely did happen I would know immediately.

"I still don't know what was going through her mind…"

Piggot just snorted a moment before she drained her coffee cup and slammed it down on the desk.

"It doesn't matter what the hell was going through her head. She crapped the bed and we have to clean it up. Your predecessor shat the bed too by not watching his wards. I respect him just as much as I distrust him, but Colin is not leadership material. Speaking of…"

She reached to the side and opened a drawer of her desk and pulled out a folder and passed it over to me. I took it and glanced at the heading on the outside.

"It's not official yet. For the next two months Armsmaster still is on the books. But by March you are running the ENE."

I opened it and leafed through the pages.

"Ma'am. What about Hannah?"

The director just gave a silent harrumph.

"I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep her. If I can I'd say keep her as your number two. She's competent and can do the job well enough. You're going to lose Dauntless as well."

I looked up at her shock and surprise on my face.

"Ma'am. Are you serious that's crazy he's…"

I never got the chance to finish as she cut me off.

"Popular, growing, an icon, and ultimately, useless in our current situation."

I didn't speak, just listening as she spoke to me, still leaning back in her chair.

"Before Hebert, he was a rising star. Someone who might someday be able to take down Lung. As it is now, we've got a Master 8+ in our city and Lung is no longer our biggest problem. Our mission is changing. We aren't trying to keep the gangs anymore. We're changing to an S Class containment zone, just with better PR."

I tried to protest.

"Ma'am, I'll admit that Hebert is dangerous but she's just a kid…"

"With access to twelve-inch guns that fire nine-hundred pound shells. Against that, ten at a time, Lung doesn't have a chance. And that's against what she has now. We have no reason to believe she will remain limited to only that. If Hebert throws a tantrum this whole city will die before we can respond effectively. We are containment. We are babysitters keeping her from going blackhat."

She pounded on the top of her desk twice in quick succession with a closed meaty fist.

"You have two months. I'm getting you three transfers in trade for Dauntless and possibly Militia. Once the news goes public, all hell will break loose. As every gang in the city and beyond tries to take advantage of what they see as chaos. Especially since despite my better judgement Washington has overruled me on Colin. He will be staying here as a possible counter and interact with Admiral and her fleet. So Robin?"

I looked her square in the eyes and I didn't see a woman past her prime with a host of medical problems. I saw a soldier in her eyes. They were the same eyes I saw every time I looked in the mirror.

"Deal with it. This is your city now."

After a moment I nodded and stood before walking out of her office to go and finally get what little sleep, if any, I would be able to manage tonight.

THOMAS CALVERT

I looked down at the body of the latest of my own moles who, following my criminal guise's orders, had committed suicide by cyanide before he could be taken. A few million in bribes paid out in life insurance payments to various family members had been necessary to tie off yet another of my loose ends as Emily continued her purge. I still wasn't sure by what combination of sheer bad luck had let Emily stumble onto my network. My Tattletale was digging into it but even she was having limited successes as Emily temporarily overcame her pathological distrust for parahumans long enough to unleash Dragon on the computer systems of the ENE.

In the real world I sighed for the cameras, and for myself, as I idly kicked the body of my mole agent, making sure he was dead. Truly a waste. I was burning money and parts of my web with disturbing speed. With Dragon's watchful eyes everywhere I didn't even dare yet take advantage of the chaos to insert new moles into the place of my old ones. Years of progress vanished overnight in the space of just days all because of one girl.

Of course that one girl was a prize that made even my Tattletale seem like a participation trophy. I had already tried multiple methods of coercing her assistance to detrimental failure in every scenario. As it was I was biding my time now, letting things progress. Even if I was temporarily back with the PRT to help Emily, I still had my primary responsibilities with my company.

Running a multi-national corporation. Moonlighting as a gang leader. Purging my own spy network. This was a very hectic week for me and I simply could not find enough time to figure out how to deal with the young Miss Hebert. Even two timelines never proved enough. But I was patient. With time the fires would die and I could return to a more fruitful level of productivity and even this rather large setback would not be enough to stop me. Sooner or later I would finally acquire my next pet.

I would make sure of it.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: Jul 8, 2021

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May 23, 2021

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Threadmarks Fitting Out 1

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Jun 28, 2021

#2,252

AN: Sorry for the long delay in getting this out. Health issues, work, and the rest of my life have kept me busy. But we are back at it and moving forward. Special credit to kclcmdr for the idea of using the F class ships to run the base, and the Arsenal in particular.

As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

Taylor Hebert

As I woke up, I could hear the shouting coming from the floor below me. I didn't understand it. After yesterday I had skipped the lessons. I had skipped dinner. I had gone straight to my room and locked it and just stayed in there the whole night.

After barely sleeping what felt like more than an hour or two, I was now slowly sitting up, slowly, in my bed as the voice shouting in German continued. With every passing second, I could hear the person shouting out loudly getting closer even as I could hear the sound of movement on the floor below me.

"Admiral. It's time for PT!"

I was so tempted to shout at Ms. Adler. To order her to go away and leave me alone. But I couldn't make myself forget the words she had said to me yesterday morning. Hating myself I stood up out of bed in the cold air of my room with a groan and reached for the sweatpants.

"I'm coming…"

Five minutes later I was standing in a line with my power's creations standing on both sides of me in the fieldhouse on the track while Ms. Adler stood dressed in dark blue sweats in front of all of us. She looked us all over. The only ones missing from the room were Saar… and U-20…

Ms. Adler was saying stuff in German to some of the girls as we just stood there in a line.

"Admiral. We need your assistance before we can begin properly."

I didn't know what she needs me to do now even as she looked to me now, but I wanted her to do this for me. Having all the others here to suffer with me, did make me feel better. Her head turned slightly to the side and I looked to where she was looking down at the end of the line where Kaiser was standing still, I guess at a position of attention.

"Kaiser's rigging will interfere with PT. We need an arsenal where it can be properly stored."

I blinked in confusion even as I glanced down the line at where Kaiser was standing at attention still, eyes forward unmoving. Ms. Adler was right, those massive turrets and ship shaped things were almost certainly going to get in the way of running, stretches, push-ups, and all the rest. Even I could see that. So, I looked back to Ms. Adler and nodded.

"Alright. So where are we doing this?"

I did have to admit that I'd made enough buildings now that this was something I was just barely starting to get used to. I touch a building, and a moment later it was different. Now dad I hoped wasn't getting in too much trouble for all of this, but it wasn't like I had any actual control. Out of the three buildings I had made so far. I had only known what would happen when I touched the handle on the third and final one.

Ms. Adler led the way out of the building, the others following behind us as I walked behind her lead. As we made our way across the icy blacktop and concrete surface of the dockyards a thought occurred to me.

"Wait… why can't she remove her rigging like you have been?"

Ms. Adler looked back at me as we made our way in the direction of the Bay.

"Some of us can. The subs have a much easier time than most. Vityaz as well has a simple rigging. But the larger and the more complicated we were as ships, generally the larger and more complicated our rigging is. All I have is my hull and it still takes me several minutes to remove it. Saar and Rostock both need close to twenty minutes if they are alone. And none of us are strong enough to be able to help Kaiser remove her rigging. She's had it on all night."

I was looking backwards at where Kaiser where she was following me with the others walking at the back of the pack and standing taller than all of them by just a little bit. The woman… ship… was about as tall as I was. Which I guess made sense if she was supposed to be a Battleship. That was a really big ship, right?

Kaiser's eyes found mine in the pre-dawn darkness shrouding the darkness. Even at the back of the group she gave me a nod over the heads of the others. Silently I returned it before turning my head back to look where I was going.

We reached our destination with only a few more minutes of silently trudging through the darkness. It wasn't hard, just cold. The lampposts were illuminating here and there giving us enough light that we could see. And I could hear dockworkers hard at work elsewhere though none were in sight in the unused rundown part we were in.

Our destination was some kind of old building right along the water. It kind of looked like a boathouse but it was too big for that. Or at least it was too big for an ordinary boat that some of the dockworkers had. It might well be for something bigger though. Ms. Adler looked up at it for a moment before nodding.

"I believe this will be the perfect place for the Arsenal. Admiral. If you please?"

She gestured to the side at the door next to her and I looked at the waiting door handle. With a heavy sigh I stepped forward and reached forward and grabbed it.

I blinked, just like normal and the door was different. But I didn't get a chance to examine it in detail when something loud and high pitched collided into me. I had to grip the door handle tightly just to stay standing as I staggered.

Even without seeing what had collided with me I could hear what had to be German. I still didn't understand it but I was starting to at least recognize the distinctive sound of the gibberish. Dad had freaked out too that one time. Turning my head, I looked to see which of my power had panicked.

Except they were all watching me, amused smiles and grins on their faces. Even Kaiser at the back was smirking silently. The only one missing was U-20 (of course). Confused I looked down. What I found was three dark blue hats covering heads of two blond and one black haired kids. I tried pushing away what I realized wasn't one adult grabbing me but actually three kids.

"Hey. Hey I'm fine! You can let go!"

My hands couldn't move them in the slightest but Ms. Adler started speaking German to the side and after a moment all three kids took a step back and I got a chance to look at them properly. I instantly realized that this wasn't dockworker kids like I had thought.

The blue Navy uniforms and shorts in the middle of winter made that clear, same as the Nazi eagle emblems on their beret like hats. Every single one of them was grinning at me even as they stood there saluting me in a row.

Slightly dazed at this latest curveball I returned the salute. Of course, the moment I lowered my hand I was instantly being tackled against the door again as the three kids tackled me, and I realized, were hugging me as they chattered away in high pitched gibberish. Instantly Kaiser started making her way through the crowd of everyone watching and waded through, her massive rigging and guns making sure everyone got out of her way instantly.

Walking right up to me she instantly picked up two of the boys hugging my waist and lifting them clean into the air set them back where they had been standing at attention with a sharp word of German. The last of the three she lifted clean into the air and turned to face her, by raising the kid into the air until they were both at even eye level.

More gibberish passed between them but by the time Kaiser had finished and the three were back in a line they all had lost their smiles as they stood stiffly at attention in front of me. Their eyes were locked forward, not moving in the slightest and I wondered just what the hell Kaiser had said them to get them to do that.

She turned on her heel to face me, her heels clicking in the darkness of the early morning. She jabbered off more German at me and I just wanted more and more to understand what was being said instead of having to have someone translate for me. Ms. Adler was immediately giving me a translation but it was still annoying that I was at the mercy of my power to understand my power.

"Admiral. Kaiser wishes to apologize for the conduct of the new members of the Fleet. They are particularly… Eager. She assures you that she will have them behaving properly in short order."

I glanced to Adler then back to Kaiser, then finally the three stiff boys.

"I mean… All they did was hug me right? That's not a crime or anything."

There was a pause for a moment as Ms. Adler just looked at me for a long lingering moment of silence. No one not even the other English speaking girls said anything either. Finally she looked to Kaiser and spoke again. I looked to Kaiser who was watching me even as Ms. Adler spoke to her. She glanced from the boys, then to me before giving a nod after only the briefest of pauses. Even without any knowledge of language I could feel like the brief words she spoke probably meant something like 'very well'.

The boys were looking at me with smiles and I felt like they were about to leap at me in a hug again right until Kaiser cleared her throat. They ended up staying where they were but they still watched me with their eyes and smiles on their faces.

With a sigh at that dealt with I finally turned to look at my newest building.

Instantly I realized that something was immediately off about this one. Up until now the three buildings I'd made… or rebuilt? Had all been vaguely like the ones that had been before. In shape and size. Sure there had been some changes in layout or height, and certainly in architecture. But they still mostly fit into the layout of the Dockyards.

This one didn't.

It was way bigger. Also unlike the others this one hadn't been built from brick. Instead this one was a towering monolith of gray concrete rising a good three to four stories above me. It had also been quite narrow before. Now it wasn't. Looking from one side to another I could tell that other old buildings that had been just like it were also vanished, taken up by the space this building thing now occupied.

This didn't look anything like a barracks, or a dining hall, or the fieldhouse. This looked like nothing more than a fortress. It was intimidating and simply… there…

The door handle my hand rested on was attached to heavy metal doors that looked like they wouldn't be out of place in an Endbringer Shelter. It wasn't even a normal door handle. Instead it was a massive door that I could see could be rolled to the side on a track. But when I tried to slide it. It didn't budge in the slightest.

"Admiral. Perhaps it would be best to let the girls handle this? This is what you summoned them for after all."

I nodded in understanding even as I stepped back letting the three pre-teen boys run up to the door and grabbing the massive handles, they began to slide it along the rails opening the entrance.

Wait… girls?

As I dealt with the idea that the three kids were yet more girls, and not the first boys I had summoned, like I had first thought, the three opened the entrance revealing a massive interior shrouded in darkness. Immediately the three raced into the darkness and I could hear high volume shouts from all three in the darkness a few times, always in German.

It only took about a minute before I could hear the sound of a generator starting up, a big old massive one. Moments later lights began to light up the interior starting closest to the entrance and going farther and farther in. The interior now illuminated I began to walk in.

I had seen how wide the building now was, and how high. What I hadn't realized was how long it also was. It was easily big enough to hold an Olympic sized pool inside. I knew that because there was a pool inside! While the entrance didn't immediately drop us into the water, about fifty feet inside the pool started and it extended all the way to the far wall. I also realized why the building had to be so high, there were beams running up and down the length of the building. It looked like some kind of factory. I could see industrial lifts and pulleys with massive hooks that were appropriate to the cranes outside on the docks as well.

I was pulled from my study as Kaiser walked up beside me and saluted me. Automatically on growing instinct I saluted back and she immediately walked out onto the water. Walked ONTO THE WATER! Dad had told me about this but I hadn't seen it myself before now. But she stood there on the water right at our end of the pool. One of the pre-teen girls in the sailor outfits raced by me, not so much as looking at me as she raced for the side wall where she grabbed a massive lever on the wall almost as big as her and yanked it down.

Immediately the noise which up until now had been just limited to the sound of the generator began to get much louder as engines roared into life and sirens and alarms began to sound. Along the walls yellow lights that rotated, warning us all that something was happening flashed and illuminated everything in the yellow strobe lights. Automatically I clapped my hands over my ears at the noise.

I couldn't completely block it out, nor could I fully miss the sound of the high pitched shouts of the three new girls. One of them began pulling on a massive chain hanging down from the ceiling. And I realized that she was operating a pulley of some kind, attached to the beams up above. As the rapidly pulled on the chains, those beams, and the hooks they suspended began to move. On the opposite side of the room another set of chain pulley was being worked by another girl and from side to side those massive cargo hooks began to shift as well.

I watched, in awe, as they moved what I realized was a crane, directly over Kaiser and lowered it and several others over. The third girl, the one who had started it all by pulling the lever on the wall moved out to stand on the water with Kaiser and attached the crane to one of the turrets. I didn't even understand how they were doing this, how they expected it to come off, but with tools, and wrenches, and other things that she was producing from places I couldn't see. She worked with speed and what was clearly precision. It took only a minute or two before the three were beginning to lift the turret clean up into the air, detached from Kaiser and her harness rigging entirely.

I stared as they began to move the turret through the air above us, and then over our heads. I was wonder if they were going to just leave it suspended in the air when they moved it off to the corner of the building to right above a huge metal looking thing in the floor. I hadn't noticed it at first. I'd been so busy focusing on the new girls, and Kaiser and everything going on, that I hadn't looked around the interior of the building in detail. All three girls raced over to this massive metal in the floor. As they passed directly by me I realized that some of the engine noises were coming from the three of them, and not just everything else around, us, the machinery of the crane systems.

Working together the three with some effort began to rotate three different wheels along the wall at a perfect height for the trio. I realized that the metal in the floor wasn't one massive piece of square metal but two as it rose up and apart, revealing a doorway covering a square hole dropping straight down into the concrete beneath our feet. Even when the doors were fully opened, and two of the girls had stopped spinning the wheels around and around, the third one hadn't and was furiously pumping away at it.

Then without warning she stopped and pressed one of two buttons in the wall next to her and I could hear… something. Curious, but still keeping my hands pressed tightly over my ears because of the damn noise, I walked forward and could see something quickly rising towards us. I realized this had to be an elevator shaft. Though it seemed very deep well over a hundred feet down just to the platform, let alone what lay below that.

Stepping back I watched for more minutes as the turret, and then the other turrets, and even the main rigging itself were all moved onto the platform one at a time. Since it did take several minutes I was finally able to look around and I realized this wasn't the only metal covering the floor. There were three more I could see, one I had walked over to look at the elevator without even realizing it.

Looking back at the others who were just watching I realized this had to be so all of the others could remove their rigging for storage as well. There were more cranes as well, but if it took three of the girls just to remove Kaisers' rigging. How in the hell were they supposed to help more than one at a time, and it was a slow process too! Raising my voice to speak over the noise I shouted

"Ms. Adler!"

The woman who had brought me here walked up to stand beside me.

"Yes Admiral?"

I looked to the girls who were even now lowering the elevator with all the rigging and two of their number, down into the elevator shaft. Even as I listened to her words which she was helpfully speaking loud enough I could hear with my ears still covered by my hands.

"Are they going to be enough? It's taking a while to work with just Kaiser, what about you or the others who will need help like you said for Rostock."

She made a quiet noise like a hum for a moment before answering.

"They are enough for now. But no. You will summon more as you need them. You don't have an officer in charge of this Arsenal. Once you do? Then they will be enough for the Fleet in full. But for now they are enough."

She laid a hand on my shoulder.

"We are all growing. Not just you. Its why I brought the others out to join you for PT. Even if we are warships, it isn't just muscle I am granting everyone. I'm instilling unity, comradery. PT may not seem like much but you will learn to trust them. Even as I teach you how to command them. So that there won't be more mistakes like what happened with U-20 and Hookwolf."

I scowled, my curiosity and wonder at all of this being squashed by anger and irritation flaring up still hot from yesterday.

"Admiral, I talked to the other girls. There is more to what happened than whatever videos you had to see. And later I would like to talk with you and Kaiser about it."

I was about to retort, to flatly deny her and tell her exactly what I thought of that but I never got the chance as she spoke more sharply, her voice louder, a bark, but not a shout or a scream.

"Admiral! I can assure you that there are parts of this that you are not aware of. I would simply like to make you aware of them."

I closed my mouth and just stewed in my thoughts for a moment before finally nodding silently. I wasn't happy. I was still fucking pissed. But she wanted to tell me things. Inform me of what had happened when no one else had, and so for that and that alone I would give her a chance to explain things.

"Excellent. Perhaps after breakfast would be suitable for you? You will no doubt be hungry after PT."

I shrugged even as I put my anger away and agreed. If I was going to have to run several miles around a track, I was damn well going to get food after it.

With a smile Ms. Adler looked away from me at the arrayed other girls. Speaking loudly in German to them all she led us back out of the huge fortress building and back towards the fieldhouse. I resolved to push myself a little more on the run today. Ms. Adler was working with me when no one else was. I was going to show her that I was worth her effort, and that she was right to tell me things that no one else was. Outside I finally lowered my hands from my ears and walked quickly across the cold concrete towards the fieldhouse as ahead of us the building rose, being faintly illuminated with the reds and oranges of the sun just starting to rise in the east.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

419

Veriseple

Jun 28, 2021

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Threadmarks Fitting Out 2

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Jul 10, 2021

#2,368

As always please leave your reviews; good, bad, and strange.

Taylor Hebert

"You mean to tell me that I need to start buying everything from fucking oil to bullets for you?"

I stared as across from me Ms. Adler glanced to her side at where Kaiser sat at her side furiously was flipping through what I had been told was an English to German dictionary. We were sitting in the dining room. Breakfast was over, Dad was busy at work, and all the girls were off doing... something. I didn't know what, just that Kaiser had ordered every single one except for Saar out of the building before Ms. Adler had started to explain a few things.

Of course those 'things' were brain numbing new shit I had to deal with. The fact that I was finally being told something was getting completely overshadowed by the fact that I had no idea what to even begin doing to solve this new looming issue. Because of course my power couldn't be normal or sane. No, my power needed to drink diesel or oil. They needed bullets and shells, and Scion only knew what else. Because of course they fucking did!

"Yes... Admiral..."

It was Kaiser speaking, not Ms. Adler. For all that Ms. Adler was trying to help and teach me I could see that she was waiting, even deferring to Kaiser. Was this just like how Kaiser had been able to order every other girl out without any protest I could notice earlier?

Her voice was almost, but not quite masculine. Definitely huskier, deeper. The subs looked and sounded like teens. Ms. Adler looked and sounded like a woman as did Saar. I hadn't gotten to know... Rusty? The other new ship that had arrived yesterday that I couldn't remember the name of. Kaiser looked, and sounded, sterner to me. Her voice seemed to always have a harsher bite that I only heard from Ms. Adler during PT.

But, I watched her and listened. She was furiously flipping between pages even as we talked, studying the translation book and answering me in halting, broken English. I didn't even know where she'd gotten the translation book from. But she was the first example of my power doing this, and it was just a reminder to me that I needed to learn German, just as much as they needed to learn English.

"Fine... I guess. So how do I get it? I don't have that kind of money, and Dad doesn't either."

"Use... Spoils... of... War."

Kaiser's fragmented words did make sense after I thought about them for a moment. Hadn't Nemo and the others pulled a bunch of money out of... somewhere? I could use that. Right?

"Can I use that?"

To be honest even though they had shown me it. It had never occurred to me up until now to actually use that money, to spend it. It didn't feel like my money when I thought about it. Kaiser didn't answer me in this but instead looked to Ms. Adler who was quiet in thought.

"In the short term. Absolutely. There is nothing stopping you from taking the cash and walking into any store you want. However... Many of the things we will need for the Fleet can't be just bought at the grocery store. Gas stations don't just sell bunker fuel. I'm sure your father can get access to some from the port for the ships. Munitions like shells and torpedoes will be harder. I suspect your powers can create factories to make them. But that will not solve the resource issue. Instead it will simply change what we will need from a completed munition to raw materials and labor to assemble them."

I groaned a little at the idea that I was going to have to find a way to get something made.

"Yes. It will not be easy. I'm sadly not familiar with the laws in detail. But there are restrictions preventing Parahumans from simply entering the free market. We will need to research. Your threats Admiral, are not the gangs of this city. It is the laws of this nation, and politicians and industrial magnates."

I could hear myself make a sound that definitely wasn't an intelligent word, but what the hell was I supposed to say to that?!

"How in the hell am I supposed to deal with that? I'm just fifteen! I don't know how to do any of this shit!"

Ms. Adler quickly raised a hand in a calming motion.

"I know Admiral. And we, all of us, not just myself and Kaiser will aid you. But please rely on us. Ask us. We all have years or even decades of ships that we can use for you. You don't need to give individual commands. Instead tell us what you want done. Not how."

I was ready to tear at my hear in frustration.

"Not how?! Isn't that how I got into this mess in the first place? I told everyone not to kill! That is pretty damn simple! And yet it still happened. And you still haven't even told me the thing I don't know!"

Ms. Adler's hands were continuing to motion me to be calm when I was very much NOT feeling calm.

"Before I discuss that I would like to offer a proposal. Let Kaiser handle U-20's punishment."

Punishment? Punishment?!

"Punish? I don't want her punished. I don't ever want to see her again!"

Both ships swallowed, Kaiser moments after Ms. Adler. But my anger, my fury, and my command didn't stop Ms. Adler from replying.

"And did you do nothing you have regretted after your mother died?"

Adler's words were quiet, barely more than a whisper. I froze staring at her.

"Was there never a moment in your life where when everything you knew was shaken to its core, that you never made a mistake."

I could feel my lips twisting into a snarl and I was about to order Adler out of my sight too even as she charged on continuing to talk.

"Because that is what happened to U-20. She had just found out that everything she did. Every soul she sent into the depths of the seas didn't protect her builders and crew, their families, but instead doomed them to the madness of Hitler."

I froze again ready to spit my anger at her.

"You've learned to hate and detest Hitler. What he did. It's been taught into you just as it was into every cadet that sailed over me. Year by year, decade by decade, America and the world has learned to hate Hitler."

She stopped for a moment and looked down at her hands on the table. I followed her gaze and saw the tightness of her fingers as they were clenched together.

"What do you think I think of him? What do you think We think of him?"

"That he was a monster?"

Adler's slow shake of her head sent a chill down my spine, and I was reminded all over again that these were Nazis I was dealing with. But I couldn't speak. I couldn't muster the words into sentences to do anything, to say anything.

"To us. To those that sailed at his command. He was the man who brought the bad times to an end. He brought prosperity to Germany. He brought work and labor. He restored pride in being German. You studied the great Depression in school right?"

I gave a horrified nod, and her own sad nod came in reply as she continued to speak.

"What happened to Germany was worse. In America one out of four were out of work. In Germany that was one in three. Millions starved, whole entire families. The nation that U-20, that Kaiser, and the others had fought for, was dying. The greed of the nations of Europe, of France and England after their war, forced Germany to pay. They tried to take everything from us. They took the colonies that could have provided money for their greed. They took our land. They took our money and our pride. They tried to take our fleets and guns. "

"Tried...?"

I had never heard this history before. It was always Hitler was bad, American was good. America helped England and France. I had never heard these things before. I was having uncomfortable flashes of memory to times where I had eaten dinner, and Dad had not. Were those workers like him? Desperate? Unable to make ends meet, struggling not in a run down city? But a run down country instead?

"We refused. The German Fleet refused to let itself become the prizes of our victorious enemies. The crews sunk their own ships throughout the entire High Seas Fleet."

She looked to her side at Kaiser who was watching me, no longer reading from her dictionary, just sitting there tight lipped. I hadn't even noticed that one of her fairy crew members was standing beside the ship's hands silently reading from the dictionary.

"Kaiser was one of those ships as was Rostock. U-20's crew scuttled her on the shore of Denmark. The crews refused to let their ships become the pawns of greedy politicians and Kings. You see Admiral. One of the most important things we have, all of us, is our pride. Before we would betray you. We would destroy ourselves. We will not betray you."

Frustration, horror, awe, and a dozen other emotions were a storm inside me as I stared at them. I managed to manage to speak, half strangled words of disbelief and disbelief.

"But U-20 disobeyed my order! That means she betrayed me!"

Adler gave a single nod.

"She disobeyed it. But tell me. How do you feel right now Admiral? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Confused? Shocked? So did she when Nemo and Wilhelm her told her what had happened after her destruction. But it was far worse. If Hookwolf was before you right now. What would you do? What would you do if he attacked you?"

What would I do? What would I do indeed. The idea that anyone decent, like Adler, could think of Hitler as anything but a monster? It shook me. If I was shook? What must they be feeling... Could I blame U-20 for defending herself like I would have?

"We don't just remember our crews. We remember the men who built us. We remember them watching over their children, giving their families their food, going hungry so that their children would be able to eat. We remember their defeat. And we remember their hope when Hitler spoke to them. How he gave them work and prosperity again building weapons of war, us. We remember the hatred Hitler stoked against the Jews and the Bolsheviks. We remember his war. And I remember what came after."

Adler leaned towards me her hands reaching out and taking mine in them, holding my hands tight in her own.

"I have had seventy years to come to terms with what happened. With what Hitler did. I ask that you give even just a fraction of that to the others."

Her hands were tight around mine, not so much they hurt me, but strong, desperate as she pleaded with me for U-20. As we sat there I gave a hesitant nod eventually. I didn't want to imagine what it was like to like and admire Hitler. To listen to him and watch him. I didn't want to know and yet I couldn't help but be infected by Adler's words.

"None of us are asking you to just accept that some of us are Nazis. Hitler was a monster. But he isn't just a monster to us, and he never will be. We can't forget the men who built us. The men who sailed us. Their thoughts, their hopes, and their dreams make us what we are. The pride he rebirthed in them with his words. Just as the love, and effort, and actions of your parents helped make you who you are. The affirmations your parents spoke to you as you grew. All we ask, Taylor, as that you give us a chance. A chance to explain. A chance to help you to understand. If you do that. We will be there for you. In every way you could possibly want or need."

The silence lingered on. How was I supposed to do anything, to say anything at that? It was just... too much to take in.

And so we just sat there at the table, Adler's hands holding mine. Kaiser laying one of her hands on top of ours in silent support?

But the moment had to end. Because that's what moments do right? Kaiser pulled her hand back, and Adler let go of my hands to lean back in her seat once more.

"What we want to do Admiral. Is establish a proper chain of command. So you don't have to give orders to every single ship. All you will need to do is tell Kaiser what you want done. And she will give the orders. I will work with you to train you. To help you understand how and when, and what to order, but for now, simply tell her what you want done. She has the experience you don't. She understands how we work. You don't yet, even though you will with our help."

It... sounded like a good idea. This was how the Navy operated right? The president didn't call individual ships from the White House. That's what Admirals were for. Of course they called me Admiral, but what did Admirals do? Did they individually order every ship in their command? Or did they do what Adler was suggesting? To create an order of people that reported down the line until it reached the lowly sailor. That... sounded right?

"Okay... lets try that. But how is any of this going to help the other stuff? How will telling Kaiser what to do get all the things you will need?"

"That will happen, when we meet with some people."

Oh no. This was sounded just like what got me into this mess. Telling Kaiser what to do, and her telling the others was one thing. But this? I said as much of my thoughts.

"I thought you were going to carry down my orders. Shouldn't I be the one talking to whoever you plan to talk to?"

"Do you know how much fuel we require? Do you know what parts we will need?"

Defensively I wiggled in my seat even as I tried to push back. Just because I was fifteen didn't mean they had to do everything for me!

"I can learn that stuff! You told me you would teach me!"

"And I will Admiral. We both will. But this is an issue that needs to be addressed soon. Teaching you this is not just days and weeks. This is months and years of knowledge and experience. Let us meet with some people. And talk to them and see if they are, as we suspect, interested in helping out. We will tell you who we talk to. We will tell you what we plan to discuss. And before we agree to anything we will get your approval."

I chewed my lip in uncertainty as doubt and nervousness warred in my head.

"Who were you thinking of talking to?"

Adler smiled and relaxed just a little. A cynical part of me shouted that she was just manipulating me, with all of this, all of these words, just to get what she wanted. But what did she actually want? What did any of the fleet really want? I didn't know. Could I... I squashed my doubt. I had to trust her, at least a little, at least until she proved unworthy of my trust.

"The Navy, Admiral."

I blinked, my uncertainties shoved to the side for a moment.

"The Navy?"

Adler just nodded once calmly.

"The Navy. It cannot be a coincidence that with almost no notice right after you trigger, the Navy establishes a NJROTC program at Winslow. And only at Winslow. That is the Navy reaching out to you."

I waved a hand vaguely in the air, trying to dismiss her certainties.

"They could just be watching me."

Adler smiled at me again, not patronizing, just a smile.

"Of course they are watching you. They are assessing you, learning if you can be their ally. If I was in their shoes right now I would be learning everything I could about you. I would learn what makes you think, what you want. I would be finding out if you could be my ally."

Wait...

"Ally... I thought they would want me to join. Isn't that what NJROTC is for? Training? All that stuff?"

Adler nodded again.

"It is. For ordinary people. You are a parahuman. By congressional law the military cannot have any parahuman members."

I was confused again, trying to follow the logic here. I was supposed to be with the Navy, but I couldn't be with the Navy? Adler continued to talk giving me an answer to my silent questions.

"But if there is one thing a military is good at doing, us or them, it is finding the loopholes if need be. They cannot recruit you. But they can work beside you, and us. And if my suspicions are correct. I believe I know how."

I had to know. I had to understand. I had too many questions, too many thoughts, too many... everything! Rattling around in my head.

"Then how?! What are they going to do to me? You told me you would answer my questions Adler!"

She was silent for a moment. I couldn't help but wonder if it was how I had addressed her. Dropping the Ms. But if it was she didn't say anything. She just gave a single slow nod back.

"I did say that. I didn't want to, in case I was wrong. But I believe they will make you a privateer. Which will let us attack anyone and anything named an enemy of the United States of America. All it will take is a declaration of war. And a war can be many things Admiral. The United States does not have to declare war on governments. It can declare war on criminals, on cartels. It can name pirates and outlaws as its enemies, allowing us to attack them at our leisure."

I privateer... I was going to become a pirate?

"If we work with the Navy. We will be mercenaries. We can get help, contracts, more. The US is not above employing mercenaries when the occasion calls for it. You would simply be a parahuman mercenary."

A mercenary. A privateer. A pirate? What was the difference if any to all of this? I didn't know. But Adler seemed sure. And she had been part of the US Navy. Right?

"So. I become a privateer. The Navy helps out. And our problems are just solved?"

Adler gave me a sympathetic smile and a little shake of her head.

"There will be more to it than just that. There will be so much more. More work, more effort, more things we will need to do. That you will need to do. But we will be with you. To help you learn. And to stand with you through it all."

Well there went my hope that the Navy could solve my problems somehow but then this wasn't some Aleph movie where the hero miraculously stumbled on the perfect answer to every problem they had. Was it?

"Okay. Lets do it I guess."

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Last edited: Jul 11, 2021

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Veriseple

Jul 10, 2021

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Threadmarks Fitting Out 3

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Jul 29, 2021

#2,519

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

Edited 8-3-21 (Changes are reflected in the second viewpoint)

AKS Kaiser

I looked at the three masted barque, in human form, looking down at me slightly. She was silent waiting for my response as I thought. I envied her in this moment. To know so much of the world I had awoken into. She had survived all these years. I had so much less experience than her. My last memories before my awakened summoning were my death as I was scrapped. The year? 1930.

I lacked the better part of a century of knowledge of this world. I had been awake for not yet a full day. And I was expected to be the Flagship? What madness was this!

I let the sigh escape me as I tried to relax my frustration. The Admiral had summoned me in desperation. I needed to serve her to my fullest potential. To lead and guide the Fleet.

"This is… difficult… to speak of. But I request your aid Horst Wessel."

The taller sailing ship frowned and was preparing to speak. I raised a hand to silence her. It was a simple act, but I was the Flagship. Even a simple action was greater than it seemed to our kind.

"My last memories are almost a century old. My last memories of my scrapping? Less than useless. I am steaming full ahead without watchers aloft. I need your aid in how to proceed. You more than any of the others are prepared to deal with this world we now have been raised into."

I let my hand lower, dropping to rest on the scabbard of my sword where it lay on my lap. Sitting across from me Horst Wessel was freed of my direction and spoke.

"I will be happy to aid you Kaiser. But before we discuss anything else I must insist you call me Adler as the Admiral does."

I frowned at why the barque had discarded her commissioned name. Her smile to me faded slightly as she spoke.

"The man I was named for was not a good man. I was given another name by these United States when I entered their service. They christened me Eagle. It is in honor of that, I keep the name. But I recognize my roots. Like so many to this land, I am an immigrant, and I choose not to forget my beginning."

Respectable. Strange, and not something I would do myself. But at the end still respectable in its own way I supposed. I gave a nod of understanding and agreement for her desire of name and she continued to speak once more.

"The Admiral summoned me to teach her and train her. But the entire Fleet is in need of training for this world."

She sighed and I could see for a moment where her professional mask slipped away. She raised a hand to rub at her neck, a sign of nervousness. I could feel my eyes narrowing as I scrutinized my subordinate ship.

"This world is dangerous in a way none of us were built to deal with. It is descending into chaos with every year as law and the rule of nations slips away. Warlords with powers fit for gods are carving pieces of this world for themselves. To the eyes of the nations watching, the Admiral could be one of these. You alone, by yourself, rival all but the strongest of the parahumans of this world. Even with our needs for fuel, food, and munitions, even the new Tenders are stronger than many of the warlords. The politicians fear these warlords. Both in foreign lands, and in their own. It is why they pass laws restricting these powered people. They fear them. We must be careful or they fear of others will grow into blind ignorant terror at what we would do for the Admiral."

I scoffed. Not at the idea that the politicians would screw things up. I was used to politicians and nobles alike making a mess of things. I had been commanded by them after all even as I had served at their command. But there was a difference between them, and the Admiral.

But politicians were only one of our enemies. After all she had spoken of those who dared at being gods.

"Tell me of these others. These beings with power beyond mortal means that might rival us."

Adler's eyes flicked back and forth, composing her thoughts for a moment even as I watched her fingers twine and intertwine again back and forth.

"They are called Parahumans. There are many in this city. Some that we might call allies. More however are our enemies. U-20 killed one of their stronger numbers. They will fear us for that. But the danger to the Admiral is greater. The one she killed was a vile beast that forced animals to fight for sport. He belonged to a group that holds up the madman that came to power in the second war, as a symbol and ideal."

My lip curled into a sneer even as Adler continued.

"U-20 must be addressed soon. She is out roving the streets. No doubt desperate to regain the Admiral's approval. I fear if she is not found soon she will do something desperate to gain the Admiral's attention. And all she will accomplish will be to make the entire situation worse. She must be found and you must punish her, bring her back into line within the fleet. The punishment does not matter. Even if it is assisting Saar by peeling potatoes for a year. It must be done and the Admiral must see it being done. But more than that, I believe that she should be stripped of her deck gun. As should we all."

I stood at the arrogance of the sailing ship for her suggestion.

"You dare to suggest I disarm?!"

But, my righteous anger did not faze her as she stood to face me.

"Temporarily? Yes! This city is volatile, and our weapons are too powerful for our enemies as it is. If we disarm, we eliminate the possibility of a repeat. The Admiral is emotional and rash. She is not yet a seasoned commander. She reacts impulsively and this city is a festering swamp of rumor and gossip. Self-Defense, justified cause, none of it will matter because every last one of us will lose on that battlefield. So, we must prevent the battle from the onset."

My hand gripped tight to my sword, holding it at my side, but I let her continue, hearing her argument out to its fullest.

"I alone am armored enough that even without shells and fuel, there are almost none in this city that can harm me. The rest of the Fleet is stronger still. We are not threatened by the peasants beyond the walls. Even should they provoke us, they cannot harm us. So I believe all rigging should be stored in the Arsenal, until we have need of it. Additionally, being disarmed will prevent us from provoking those who might be the Admiral's allies in the future, both the American Navy, and those that police the parahumans."

I was silent for a long moment considering the pros and cons of this charted course. I watched and studied Adler, taking her measure. Her face was firm, this was not a plan concocted in desperation. She had considered and weighed it until she stand firm before it. Shifting my jaw from side to side I finally made my decision.

"We will execute your plan. For now. Should I believe it is not working, or the threat is too grave, I will order every member of the Fleet rearmed immediately."

Adler nodded and I slowly sat down.

"So. In brief. Tell me of this madman who seized power."

Lt. Marcus Fowley

I heard the door open and then close to the fieldhouse up on the ground floor. Gunney Strickland and Petty Officer Hanson both glanced towards the door to our communal office that the sound was coming through, and then to me. I glanced up at the clock on the wall.

1:47p.m.

The school was still in session and between classes. It was cold outside with several inches of snow. Whoever was coming down was not a student. The footsteps echoed down to us and I could hear first one then a second set of footsteps walking down the stairs, the sound echoing. Whoever these people were they were not students.

Setting my pen down on my desk I checked my service uniform very quickly to make sure everything was in order. The first thing I saw when the first person walked in through the door was a tall blond woman in a Coast Guard dress uniform. Three rows of ribbons were on her chest and three medals hung below them. Not being in the coast guard I didn't recognize them immediately.

On the other side of her chest was a name tag reading Adler. Her hat was tucked under her arm as she looked over each of us quickly in turn, first myself, then Hanson, and finally Strickland. A moment later she stepped to the side of the open door, her heels coming together in a crisp 'click'. And in stepped the second woman.

This person was not dressed in any uniform I recognized at all. At first. The uniform was clearly officer's dress. The belt and sword, plus the braided gold loop made that clear enough. My clue quickly came however in the form of an Iron Cross hanging on the uniform of this woman's uniform. Instantly my mind came into order as I realized just who was standing in my office.

I stood up from my chair and took a moment to walk around the desk to stand in front of it eyeing the two former warships now in human form. As I did, I studied them both again. And I found myself just a little worried as I saw nothing indicating who they really were. If they had not been in uniform, I would have no way of distinguishing them from a normal human being. That thought, was more than a little worrying as I considered it. I didn't let it show though as I gave both a smile.

"Ladies. I'm Lieutenant Fowley. How can I assist you both today? Actually, before you answer that. How do you wish to be addressed?"

The two glanced at each other for a moment before the one in the German uniform turned her head to the side and spoke quietly to the one named Adler. Her words were quiet but I could make out a few words that sounded German to my ear. Sadly while I could speak Spanish and Italian, I couldn't speak or understand German, yet.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant. You may address me as Ms. Adler, and my companion is AKS Kaiser."

Adler gave me a smile as she spoke, the now identified Kaiser's gaze was unyielding as she stood there, left hand still holding her sword in place at her side in its scabbard. My mind was meanwhile whirling trying to identify what the AKS represented and what allegiances were at work.

The uniform was unmistakably German. WW1 era by my admittedly limited cram research over the last few days. But no German ship had ever used AKS as its abbreviation. I didn't have time to give it more than a moment of thought as the woman in the Coast Guard uniform who identified herself as Adler (a name that did not match any of the ships that I knew had disappeared) continued to speak.

"We've come to speak about arrangements regarding our Admiral. It is our belief that it would be greatly to her benefit if she were to be enrolled in your NJROTC program alongside her peers. However after the events of yesterday we have reservations regarding the school as a whole."

I still hadn't gotten the full story of what the hell had happened yesterday. We'd gotten notice that the PRT was on site. But the administration office was being particularly unhelpful in explaining what exactly had happened in between Gunney Strickland's invitation in the bathroom, and the girl Hebert leaving the school early.

However I wasn't about to dismiss an olive branch. Even if Hebert herself was absent, the fact that her projections was, was a positive mark I wasn't about to ignore. A thought of which ship 'Ms. Adler' might be occurred to me. Glancing to my side at my staff for a brief moment I looked back to the two women before me. I gave them both a nod before looking fully to Strickland.

"Gunney. Can you please get the two ladies chairs, please?"

Strickland nodded and stood, before walking over and getting a pair of metal folding chairs from the storage closet. The pair of former warships accepted them with grace even as Adler was looking over Strickland as she approached.

My theory gained confirmation as when Gunney set the chairs down against my desk, standing before the self-proclaimed Ms. Adler, Adler herself came to attention. Heels clicking sharply together. Her hand came up in salute to Strickland.

Strickland, only hesitated for a moment at the act, before coming to attention and returning the salute. That moment alone was enough however for Kaiser to draw her sword from its scabbard and raise it. Instantly I was stepping back preparing to reach for the locked drawer where I kept a side arm. However, Kaiser was not brandishing the sword at Strickland. Instead, the blade of the sword was under Adler's chin, pressed to her neck.

The blond woman in the outdated German Naval Officer's Uniform looked pissed beyond measure and the words that came from her bled anger and rage as she practically spat in harsh Germanic.

"Was ist dies für ein Verrat?! Ich werde Sie für diese verräterische Aktion vor ein Kriegsgericht stellen und abwracken lassen!"

I didn't understand more than a word or two at most. Proof that I needed to accelerate my studies of the German language. My hand closed on the locked drawer behind me, even as my other hand was already pulling the key from my pocket. My eyes were locked on the scene playing out. Between me and our visitors Strickland was frozen in salute. I couldn't see her face but I doubted this was out of fear. She was simply not provoking them anymore than they had already been provoked.

Adler's face I could see, and I didn't see any sign of fear even as she remained in the position of saluting Strickland. The presence of the sword didn't faze her in the slightest. I could not see any fear in her eyes as she did not even look away from Strickland, remaining perfectly in position.

I had the drawer open and my hand closed on the pistol inside of it. Thumb automatically thumbing the safety of the Beretta even as I smoothly pulled it out raising it up into a two-handed grip aimed at Kaiser. All I got for my action was a single glance. A loaded gun getting no reaction from the uniformed parahuman projection whose eyes returned to Adler.

The room remained frozen as Adler spoke.

"Ich erweise Anerkennung für Gunnery Sergeant Stricklands status. Sie hat sich einen Orden so bedeutsam wie das Ritterkreuz verdient. Obwohl ich nicht mehr unter Amerikas Flagge fahre, ist es immer noch eine Auszeichnung, die Respekt und Anerkennung verdient."

Again, I understood next to nothing of what had been said. But I could see the reaction as the blade dipped away just a little from Adler's neck as Kaiser turned to look at Strickland fully. Her eyes moving up and down over my subordinate, taking her in. Assessing her. Those sharp blue eyes shifted back to Adler and we were all holding our breaths for a moment more before finally the sword was lowered, but not yet put away.

"Adler, ich befehle Ihnen in Zukunft einen anderen Weg zu finden, um Respekt zu weisen. Verdient oder nicht. Die einzigen Individuen auf dieser Welt, denen Sie salutieren sollten, sind mir als Ihrem Flaggschiff und der Admiralin."

Strickland dropped her salute and Adler's hand came down slowly even as she gave a short reply back to Kaiser still in German.

"Ja, Frau Kaiser."

I let out the breath I had been holding and lowered my pistol. On the other end of the room Hanson was doing the same with his own side arm. Immediately I put the pistol away. I kept it permanently locked up for a reason, but the situation had clearly warranted it. As I did that Kaiser was sheathing her sword as well. The metal of her blade sliding with a hiss of metal into the scabbard before closing with a clack.

And then she came to attention, her eyes on Strickland. She didn't salute though, simply giving a bow, bending forward slightly at the waist for a moment. In recognition of Strickland's deeds? In apology? I wasn't sure.

"Ich entschuldige mich. Die Handlungen meiner Untergebenen waren falsch. Aber Jeder, der Taten wie Sie vollbracht haben muß, ist immer noch respektwürdig. Sie haben meine Entschuldigung für mein Verhalten Ihnen gegenüber."

We all glanced from Kaiser, to Adler who had taken two steps back to drop in beside the bowing Kaiser. Adler, showing no discomfort at having just had a sword against her neck (And no scratch or cut either.) gave us all a smile.

"I do apologize for that as does Kaiser. She objected to me saluting anyone outside of our Fleet. She wishes to apologize to you Gunney. And she offers her respect and admiration for your actions in battle."

Strickland gave a nod of the head even as she stepped back and away moving to the side where I could see her face again, taking a seat at her desk, watching us all. I couldn't' read her emotions, she was hiding them too well. But I made a note to question her later.

Clearing my throat I took a step forward towards my desk once more as Adler and Kaiser each took seats in the chairs Strickland had brought over.

"Well thank you for admiring her achievements. However, I'm going to guess it isn't her you came to meet. Are you two are here to discuss Ms. Hebert's future with our program?"

I plucked my pen off my desk and tapped its end with my thumb, clicking it as I simply held it in my hands, watching Adler nod.

"Yes. Taylor would benefit greatly from your program. However, the situation in Winslow itself is… shall we say not ideal. I would like to know if her enrollment at Winslow is a requirement for her participation in this program."

Ah. It seemed the situation yesterday had been as bad as we were fearing. Still this here indicated we hadn't been swept up in whatever mess had occurred, something I intended to exploit.

"We actually have several parents with children attending other schools, both Arcadia, and Immaculata, in the process of enrolling. If you Ms. Hebert and her father decide to seek alternative methods of education, our doors will remain open to her."

Adler smiled at that, as if confirming something she had suspected.

"That's very accommodating, thank you. And it is good to hear that it is not an offer open exclusively to Taylor. Although it would be understandable if it was."

I tried to get a read on both women, studying them intently for a moment as I chose my reply carefully.

"The NJROTC program attempts to operate without any bias or favoritism, if that is what you are insinuating."

"Is. Not."

That reply came not from Adler, but instead Kaiser sitting next to her. Thick German accented words caused me to look at her for a moment, trying to study and assess. This was the first time she had spoken English in this entire meeting so far, short though it was, and I wondered if the projection might be playing up her lack of understanding. If she was following the conversation well enough to interject, this level of diplomatic guile could keep me on my toes even at my low level of interactions. As I wondered that thought, Adler leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Bent forward she watched me back, her fingers gently interlacing in front of her.

"We were more wondering about Naval Command, and the political liaison offices of the Pentagon, not your office here."

Damn, these two were sharp cookies, or at least someone in their group was. This was dangerous territory though. I was only supposed to feel out Hebert, learn her, and shelter her as I could. This was beyond my orders, but if it could make it clear that she did indeed have a safe harbor in this office and with the Navy as a whole…

"I cannot speak for my superiors of course."

"Of course."

"But I would suspect that figures such as yourself and Ms. Hebert would prove loyal allies of the United States Government, if offered the chance to do so."

That was as far as I dared suggest. It was all hypothetical, just words, but the meaning was clear enough, and these two were more than sharp enough to get the meaning. After a moment Adler smiled and leaned back in the metal chair.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now. We should discuss training. I am instituting my own regiment of PT and education. It would be ideal if we could work together so we are not repeating the same lessons."

I released the breath I didn't know I'd been holding as I nodded and grabbed a folder from the side of my desk.

"Alright. So, what we're starting the program with over the next two weeks is…"

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

Spoiler: German Translations

Last edited: Aug 3, 2021

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Veriseple

Jul 29, 2021

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Threadmarks Fitting Out 4

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Aug 15, 2021

#2,660

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

Taylor

'BANG'

"Watch your thumb, Taylor. It's drifting up again."

At Dad's words I obediently dropped my thumb back down to the side of the gun I was holding, away from the slide top thingy before it could take a chunk out of my thumb.

"Now gently pull the trigger again"

I glanced for a moment to where Dad was sitting on a folding chair behind and off to the side of where I was standing in the warehouse basement. He had a half-eaten sandwich in hand. Since I was taking up his lunch break by asking him to teach me to shoot.

Glancing back ahead at the paper target I let out a breath I'd been holding and tried my best to take aim the way he taught me, looking down the barrel at the target. Waiting, trying to control the slight shakes in my hands from my arms starting to get a little sore I took aim yet again.

'BANG'

'BANG'

'BANG'

I fired the last three bullets in the gun. And then felt a little embarrassed when I tried to pull the trigger again after that and it didn't fire. Because it was out of bullets.

"Good job Taylor. Why don't you check the gun is cleared of bullets and make sure the safety is engaged like I showed you. Then go and get the target and see how well you did."

I obeyed dad, my hands turning the gun so I could look into the interior of the gun through the opening in the side, to see the empty barrel. Turning it the other way, I flicked the little tab for the safety. With that dun I walked down to the other end of the basement where the piece of paper was hanging on a hook. Even in the kind of shitty light of the basement I could see how accurate I had been. Or rather the lack of accuracy. The holes were all over the place on the paper, almost none of them actually on the target at the center.

I counted eight holes in the paper. Only two on the target. One of those just barely at that. And I had fired a good thirty times. Hanging my head, I sighed before pulling the sheet down off the hook and walking it back to where Dad was standing up and putting the chair away. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist for a moment before looking back to me and gave me a guilty looking smile.

"Sorry Taylor. My lunch break is up. I have to get back to work. Can you finish cleaning up in here and putting everything away before you leave?"

"Sure I can do that. Thanks for doing this. I know I'm not very good at it, but learning this? With everything that's happened. It feels right."

Dad was smiling as he walked over to wrap his arms around me in a hug.

"Hey. You've been through a lot. And I meant what I said in the hospital. I will be here for you. I don't care if that involves changing where we live, or teaching you how to shoot. I enjoyed spending my lunch with you. You know that right Taylor?"

I sniffed away a tear and gave him a smile as I returned the hug. His arms were tight around me and I returned the tightness in kind as we stood there in the impromptu gun range. Eventually it came to an end and he let go of me and I did the same a moment later.

"Now I really have to get back to work. I'll see you at Dinner. And if you need anything you can always visit me at my office okay?"

I gave him a nod and he smiled in before leaning in to kiss me on the forehead, before taking the gun back from me. And with that he turned and walked out leaving me alone.

I spent the next few minutes cleaning and putting everything back as much as I could. When I was finally finished as much as I could be I found myself standing outside the warehouse looking down at the paper target that looked like a kindergartener had randomly stabbed with a pencil.

I was a terrible shot. There was no doubt about it. But still. Doing this. I felt… better… about myself. There had been something solidifying about firing the gun for myself. My power hadn't done this. Only I had done this. And as bad as I had been at it, it had still been entirely my actions that had resulted in it.

I came to a decision and set off across the dockyard. It was just after lunch now so everything was back in full swing. I could hear plenty of noise from the directions of the piers. A freighter was supposed to come into dock this afternoon and the dockworkers were busy with preparation. As I dodged trucks and forklifts, I was able to briefly forget how slow the docks were. In moments like these it felt like the entire world was busy with chaos.

I didn't go to the piers to see it come in. I'd seen hundreds of ships come in alongside my dad growing up. Instead, I just made my way towards the dorm building I had created two days ago. I quickly entered and headed up the stairs to the second floor. I only stopped a brief moment to grab a push pin tack from an empty corkboard in the hallway. And then I completed my journey back to my room.

The room was still felt so empty. I had the suitcases of my clothes open on the second bed. I'd hung up a few outfits and clothes in the standing closets but everything was still so empty. But as I found an empty spot of wall and hung the used target with the pin, it felt like I was claiming it, finally, just a little. Even if my power was beyond my control this was something I did for myself.

I was lost in my musing for a little bit until I was pulled from my musings by the sounds of laughter from the floor below me. I had a good guess who that would be but I was still curious so I made my way back down the stairs to the first floor. Halfway down the hall I found the source of the laughter inside of one of the dorm rooms.

Peaking around the corner of the open door I saw Nemo, Wilhelm, Saar, Vityaz, and the three new girls all crammed into the same room. Saar was sitting cross legged on a bed with the three new girls all cuddled close around her. Nemo was sitting on a desk, her legs dangling over the edge. Vityaz was sitting in a chair for the second desk, while Wilhelm was leaning against a wall.

Nemo was talking in German, her hands moving, animating and describing whatever story she was telling while the others were all watching and listening. I was struck with a realization that regardless of the fact that they were created by my power, they were still people. They weren't robots following my commands, but people just like me.

I didn't get more than a moment to myself with this thought when Nemo noticed me leaning in the doorway.

"Admiral auf Deck!"

Immediately every single one of them stood up, coming to attention. Or at least tried to. The three smallest and newest girls sitting with Saar tried to come to attention but all they ended up doing was falling to the floor in a pile on top of one another.

I resisted the urge to laugh as every face in the room looked like someone had just walked over their grave. The trio of tangled girls that were trying to scramble up from the floor all looked like they wanted to die from the embarrassment as they got untangled. Three high pitched voices pleading with me as they remained tangled together.

Tut uns leid, Frau Admiral! Bitte verzeihen sie die Schusseligkeit.

Unable to hold back the laughter I was unable to stop laughing so I tried to wave off what had to be an apology of some kind.

"It's all right. Everyone just go back to sitting down. You don't have to stand up for me."

Vityaz and Saar helped the third and final girl to her feet next to the first two, all of who looked so embarrassed that I wanted to hug them all to make them feel better. Saar was speaking softly in German as she brushed them down. However, when she noticed a small tear in the sleeve of the uniform she gently chided the girl.

The girl's reaction of bursting into tears at the tear and crying into Saar's body caught me completely by surprise.

"What's the matter? It's just a tear right. I can mend something like that. Just tell her to put something else on and I can sew it up in a few minutes."

I was just trying to help the little girl who was having a break down right in front of me while Saar was gently rubbing the girl's back. The other two little ones looking on from where they were seated now on the bed with sadness clear on their faces. Vityaz was the one who responded to me in the end as most seemed preoccupied by the sobbing girl.

"There's no need for you to have to repair our uniforms yourself Admiral. But it will be a hard for Jagd to change clothes while she makes her repairs."

Confused I glanced around a moment before realization hit me. The girls were all wearing the same uniforms and outfits I'd summoned them in. They even had gone through PT in these clothes.

"You don't have anything to change into, do you?"

Vityaz shook her head and I just sighed.

"Well lets get that fixed. Get the money. We're going shopping for clothes for you all."

When Vityaz told the others what we were going to do, in German, and every head swiveled at me. I couldn't help but get a little bit of a suspicious sinking feeling.

Three hours later I was standing at the end of the Boardwalk, my sinking feeling was building as the girls took in the rows of stores. Plenty of stores weren't ones we would have any reason to go into. But the little three were visibly vibrating with excitement and energy. I could sense I was about to lose control of everything so before it could all come apart on me I turned to Vityaz and pointed at the triplets.

"Okay. Everyone partners up with one of you that speaks English. I don't want anyone wandering around alone. Saar is going to give each of you money. Feel free to use it to buy whatever clothes you want. Let's all meet back here in two hours, okay?"

We'd been joined by Adler and Kaiser on our walk over. Apparently, Nemo had radioed Adler to tell her where we were all going. So we were all here now. As the girls who spoke English translated for me to the others I couldn't help but be aware of the crowds of gawking tourists pointing at us, and the flash of the cameras.

After a moment during which Saar handed out money to everyone, even the little ones, they broke into groups. Adler went off with Saar in one direction. Vityaz went off with the little ones in another direction, while Nemo and Wilhelm struck off on their own, leaving me standing alone with Kaiser, and she was looking at me.

"Don't you need to go shopping for clothes too?"

She immediately pulled the small German-English translation dictionary from inside her coat and leafed quickly through a few pages while everyone kept taking pictures of us. She only had to flip to one page in particular before replying.

"Travel together. Partner up."

I had said that hadn't I? Nodding in resigned agreement I gave in.

"Alright. You want to be my partner. Sure."

She gave me a firm nod and put her dictionary book away and we set off down the Boardwalk.

I didn't blame the people with their cameras. I looked completely ordinary of course. But Kaiser standing there in her full uniform, complete with sword had to be quite the sight let alone all the others that had scattered off to who knew where.

But the flashes still kept coming now and then, and before I knew it I was opening the door of a shop at random just to get away from the cameras.

I was immediately breathing a sigh of relief, right until I actually looked at what kind of shop I had just stepped into.

Apparel of a decidedly adult nature filled the room and I could feel my cheeks reddening. Beside me Kaiser didn't say anything just looking around and walking over to a rack where she silently plucked a hanger off the rack. Looking at what she had picked all I could think of where the words blue and lace. I promptly turned around and faced a wall rather than look anymore.

"Do you like?"

The words were spoken in that staggered English that I knew it was Kaiser speaking. But I really really didn't want to turn around and look.

"I'm good. Thanks Kaiser. Just, take some time and look around. I'm just waiting for the tourists outside to leave."

I glanced over towards the checkout where a girl who looked like the stereotype of a 'goth' was mostly just paying attention to her cell phone apart from occasional glances at us. I quickly found a chair near the entrance where I could watch the outside and sat down to wait. From inside the store, I could hear hangers being moved, and Kaiser legitimately shopping.

About twenty minutes later Kaiser finished shopping and had a bag in hand. I glanced outside and saw that everyone who had been taking pictures was gone so I got up and made my way out. When I finally left the store I breathed a sigh of relief to be gone from that place. Between Emma and memories of Emma, plus just the idea of… no… I was glad to be gone from that shop.

Our next stop was far more reasonable. It wasn't a conventional clothing store that catered to kids and what was the trendy fashion of the week/month. Instead, it was a high end place that did custom suits for men.

I followed Kaiser in when she gestured making it clear she wanted to stop in and shop here. Inside suits, pants, and shirts, all hung on racks. Unlike the other store that I WOULD NOT THINK ABOUT ANYMORE Kaiser didn't so much as look at any of them, instead making a bee line for the back of the store where an older-ish man was standing behind the counter.

Out came her dictionary book again. But she'd barely managed to say anything at all before he spoke to her in what I assume was German because the two quickly set off on a high-speed conversation. Within a few minutes he had begun to take measurements of Kaiser after she stripped out of her coat.

There was luckily a chair I could sit in again. And I began to appreciate all the stores that had provided chairs for Dad or Alan to sit in whenever Emma would drag us all shopping when we were younger. It was the better part of an hour before Kaiser would emerge from a dressing room dressed not in her uniform, but instead a normal conventional suit. Gray pants, and vest, with long sleve white shirt. Even if women weren't my thing I couldn't help but admire how well she wore it all.

When she saw me looking her only response was to smile and promptly turn on her heel and start handing the old man money.

Kaiser changed back into her uniform, She'd bought several clothes from the man, and most wouldn't be ready for a few days. But she had the vest, shirt, and pants in a bag that joined the first bag from THAT PLACE.

It was almost time to meet back up with the others so when we left we started making our way back up the Boardwalk to the end we would meet at. But one shop did finally catch my eye. Kaiser must have been watching me because she immediately gently gave me a push towards the door. Five minutes later I walked out with a brand-new leather jacket. It was the kind of jacket I'd never had money to afford before but I'd always imagined maybe owning one day.

As we made our way back down the Boardwalk, I felt comfortable and happy with the jacket around me and I didn't even mind the camera flashes Kaiser was attracting as she walked beside me. At the end of the boardwalk, we found the others, and Kaiser was the only one of them still in her uniform. The triplets were all dressed in overalls that had somehow already acquired splotches of oil and grease.

Adler had found blue jeans and was wearing them with a tee-shirt that advertised the US Coast Guard. Wilhelm and Nemo were both wearing pants and matching tee-shirts with a picture of dogs on the front. Vityaz and Saar were both now in dresses that could not have been keeping either of them warm, but if they were cold, neither showed it.

"Did everyone have enough time to find clothes?"

Given the multiple bags sitting on the ground next to each of them, or that they were carrying, the answer was clearly a yes but I wanted to be polite.

"Is there anything else anyone wants to get?"

My answer was a loud growl coming from the triplets to which Nemo just let out a triumphant yell.

"Hot dogs!"

My answer given to me I began to lead us down the street heading towards the hot dog joint Dad occasionally took me to. Beside me Nemo had begun to sing an Elvis song for some reason, but after a little bit I decided to hum along as we went off in search of food.

IDEA TEAM: katamed, BigBadBen, lurking_badger, Lambert Kipling

TRANSLATION TEAM: rask, Magni, Raiseth

TRANSLATIONS (The spoiler collapse is working weird so that is why this is different.

Admiral auf Deck!

"Admiral on deck!"

Tut uns leid, Frau Admiral! Bitte verzeihen sie die Schusseligkeit.

"We're so sorry Admiral! Please forgive our clumsiness!"

Click to expand...

AN: So this is short. Shopping is really not my thing. So here's where I'm opening things up to the general public. I know there will probably be a few shopping Omake coming. So what I'll offer is that if they are good enough and keeping in character with the story so far. I'll make them cannon and threadmark them in the story proper.

Additionally for those that missed it. Edits were made to the second half of the previous segment.

Last edited: Aug 15, 2021

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Veriseple

Aug 15, 2021

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Sep 18, 2021

#2,708

AN: As always please leave your reviews good, bad, and strange.

AKS Kaiser

I had been tapping the wood of the desk for the better part of five minutes. Five minutes ago, I had turned my attention to dealing with the rouge member of my Fleet. The Admiral's shopping trip had been successful. All members (Minus U-20) had secured alternate clothing options, myself included even if I would be picking my own purchases later as well as requisitioning additional articles of clothing from the local vendors.

Now though after an excellent meal served by the tender Saar, I was finally devoting my undivided attention to the largest issue to my command. It had only been a little over twenty-four hours since the incident, but in that time, I had been gathering my bearings and familiarizing myself with my new command and the hulls in my command.

That did not mean I had forgotten the issue of the rouge ship. U-20 had disobeyed the Admiral's command. Regardless of circumstances this needed to be addressed. Adler had convinced me that it was not necessary to label the U-Boat a mutineer. The Admiral had ordered her out of her sight. In that regard at least U-20 had been obeying the Admiral's command to the letter. The problem was that I had part of my command operating outside my direction and if even half of Adler's briefings was accurate, this was not something I could allow to persevere.

Luckily, I had not been idle. Rostock had remained behind to guard our Port among the docks. She had also been attempting to gain radio contact with U-20. Sadly, it seemed U-20 was maintaining radio silence and had not responded to any of Rostock's attempts at hailing. I had relieved the cruiser from her duty station and sent her off to get a meal and rest with the assurance I would take her out to acquire her own attire outfitting later at a convenient time.

Now though I was sitting at a wooden desk as my fairies strained their ears to the radio for any communication from U-20. I had ordered radio silence barring emergencies by all the rest of the fleet so any communications would not be lost in the jumble. But so far despite my station and rank the submarine had remained as silent to me as she had to Rostock.

As the seconds and minutes ticked by I had one of my crew bring out one of my pipe. With just a few moments of effort the comforting familiar smoke was helping to distract me just a little as I cradled the beautifully hand carved wooden pipe and continued to wait, and pray just a little, for a response on the radio.

I was only my second pipe when it finally came. I could almost hear the hesitance of the radio operator serving aboard U-20 as my crew parsed through the naval cipher.

I have made contact with criminal elements per the Admiral's order.

Requesting reinforcements at my position.

I couldn't help as my crew was already locating U-20 with the bearings she had provided. Of course, the submarine would still be carrying out her mission. She had failed a primary objective in grievous fashion. In desperation she would be attempting to overcoming the failing in the only way she could.

By carrying out her mission to perfection in the hopes that the remainder of a successful crew with prizes taken would be enough to overcome the black mark on her record. I checked my kit even as I continued to puff away at my pipe.

My sword was in place on the left side of my belt. On my left my service Luger was in its holster. I had disarmed my turrets both primary and secondary at Adler's recommendations. But I was not going to go out with my uniform incomplete. As I was doing that, I sent out several sets of messages.

Rostock report to duty station immediately.

Adler report to station as base liaison for local authorities.

Vityaz report for patrol duty at Base southern gate.

I felt slightly bad at calling Rostock back to duty so soon but I wanted the Base defended and Rostock was the best suited in the Fleet to carry out this task in my absence. With Adler positioned to advise and consult with the local authorities it should hopefully be enough to prevent any diplomatic incidents. As for Vityaz, as a hospital ship, she was not only unarmed, she was also unthreatening. And I needed an English fluent companion in case I encountered any local civilians on my cruise.

Still smoking my pipe, I stepped out of the administration building the Admiral's father worked in and made my way to the southern gate of the dockyards. When I arrived Vityaz was already awaiting me at anchor, loitering near the chain link fences that surrounded the facility. I gave her a nod and together we set out on foot to patrol for my missing fleet member.

U-20's directions were imprecise at best. Latitude and Longitude ill suited to locate her position in the small labyrinthine confines of the city. Her addition of local landmarks was more useful and with Vityaz's assistance we were together able to locate her rough position in the western reaches of the city. U-20 had drifted well outside of the previous patrol area the subs had been assigned to by the Admiral's direction.

I could only assume U-20 had gone hunting in pursuit of her mission objectives seeking criminals even if they were outside the assigned patrol area. Desperation was affecting the sub more than I had predicted clearly.

When we finally located U-20 she was not as I had predicted in the industrial and warehouse portions of the city but instead at the edge of the commercial districts where buildings changed from stores to homes and residences. U-20 had indeed located the local criminal element. Even from down the street my spotters were able to see the tattoos denoting the criminal was a member or affiliate of one of the local criminal gangs. However, U-20 had not just accosted this criminal, but had also apparently captured another criminal as well judging by her grip on the second criminal's wrist to prevent escape.

The first criminal was a man with a shaved head, the tattoos my watchers had spotted clearly displayed on the man's neck. The second criminal did not seem cut from the same cloth. Where the first criminal seemed almost resigned to his fate despite his fear of the situation, the second criminal was anything but.

The second criminal was in fact a young woman who I assumed was one of the local 'parahuman' population judging simply by the fact that her feet were not touching to the ground as she struggled to free herself from U-20's grasp, her fists and hands still beating at the sub's body. I was surprised to note several bruises to U-20's hull. Clearly this flying criminal was possessed a certain level of strength if she could even dent the sub's hull.

"I'm telling you I'm not a criminal. Let me go right now!"

U-20 didn't even bother responding to the flying young woman's resistance continuing to walk forward. With her left hand she gripped the criminal gang member, with her left she gripped the flying criminal.

"U-20 report!"

Immediately my wayward submarine stopped moving forward and addressed me. Thankfully she did not cease towing either of the captured criminals. Both of whom continued their previous behavior of passive resignation and attempting to resist.

"You are making a mistake! Let me go. I am a hero don't you know that you Nazi fuck?! Do you really think you can do this to me?!"

"This criminal." She lifted the hand holding the wrist of the resigned man slightly for emphasis. "Was in the act of committing a robbery. I caught this criminal." She repeated the action with her other hand emphasizing now the flying young woman. "In the process of apprehending the first criminal. However, she inflicted serious injury and I judged her to be acting in a criminal manner as well. She has resisted all my attempts to escort her to the local constables. Can you contact the constables, they are not responding to my hailing."

I looked over the robber male and noted that he did have numerous bruises and looked like U-20 had administered first aid judging by the torn shirt with bandages wrapped around his torso and chest? Even if this criminal had been in the act of committing a robbery the parahuman had clearly exceeded any level of restraint. Based on the limited information I had available I judged U-20's assessment to be accurate and advanced on U-20 and her captives.

"I'm warning you. If you let me go now, I won't have you arrested for assaulting me!"

As soon as I started to get closer every one of my crew began to feel a stiffness and I was instantly regretting my agreement to Adler's suggestion as every one of my AA guns that I could have manned were absent. Lacking any other means of defending myself against the impending air raid I pulled my sidearm Luger from its holster on my belt and held it at the ready as I looked up scanning the air for my soon to be attackers.

Next to me I could see Vityaz also looking to the skies. I needed to defend the hospital ship as a priority in the situation and I quickly glanced to U-20.

"Report! Have you located the enemy aircraft?!"

U-20 shook her head as the female criminal was continuing to struggle and shout at her and us. I was no longer paying attention of even trying to translate her words instead looking for the impending threat to my squadron and myself.

"It is not aerial bombing we fear my leader. It is depth charges. And I believe this one is responsible."

Her hand raised again drawing my attention to the female criminal and I stared at the young woman in confusion.

"You are in fear of air raids. I am afraid of destroyers hunting me with depth charges in the deeps. Yet I am not submerged, and our scouts see no aerial reconnaissance let alone enemy flights of aircraft. I first noticed the danger of being destroyed when I approached this criminal. At a similar distance to you just noticing the danger from the air."

I stared in confusion at the still flying and struggling young woman who was even now still fighting against U-20. U-20 had several fresh bruises on her face and her uniform was becoming damaged from the struggle even though she was still holding firm to the criminal's wrist not ceasing the towing operation despite the desperate situation.

"I believe she is somehow instilling an unnatural fear in those around her, and uses this to incapacitate those she criminally accosts."

"What the hell are you doing to my sister?!"

"Amy! Thank god you came this lunatic won't let me go!"

The pair of voices shouted in English at the same time. The second shout coming from the captured and still flying, but no longer struggling criminal who was now looking behind me. Turning I looked at where a new arrival wearing a white robe emblazoned with the universal symbol of the red cross was standing in the middle of the street.

I was still standing there just looking at this new arrival as she began to advance on her. My crew were frantically flipping through English-German translation dictionaries to decipher what had been spoken by both. But while they were doing that, I holstered my Luger and stepped in-between U-20 with her captive criminals and this new civilian.

Even if she was a medic I could not risk exposing a medic to the hostile situation and the potentially dangerous effect of the criminal. This clearly was not desired as her expression shifted when I interposed my hull into her course and stopped her.

"Look I don't know what you think you are doing but your friend there is in a lot of deep shit. If you don't let my sister go, I'm going to make your life into living hell."

I had translated part of that. Sister? Well, we were inside the aura of what I was now just calling fear. Was this sister also affected, was that why she had threatened me. Regardless I did not move.

"Fraulein your sister has engaged in criminal activity. I will allow you to tend to her medical needs after she has been turned over to the local constabulary."

If she understood me, she showed no sign of it raising a hand. Instantly I grabbed her as gently as I could by her wrist. I did not want her breaking her hand on my hull after all. Irritated I forced myself to speak as clearly as I could in my limited English vocabulary.

"Your. Sister. Is. Criminal. Taking. Her. To. Constable."

This clearly elicited a reaction of panic as her eyes widened in fright before they narrowed at me beneath the lip of her hood.

"You know what? Fine. You asked for this."

What I asked for I wasn't sure but whatever happened was not clear to me even as she raised her other hand and grabbed past the glove covering my hand for my wrist. She didn't try to fight my grip though so I simply let her hold me. And strangely, her expression went wide eyed.

"What are you?"

Her words were a whisper and I was confused at what she could be questioning me in regards to. I wasn't given time to wonder or answer her however as a roar of wordless rage sounded behind me. I turned to see that the flying criminal had freed herself from U-20 somehow.

Immediately I pulled the hood shrouded medic close to my body protecting her from her criminal sister with my hull. As I did this, I was not alone in acting as Vityaz set an intercept course between me and the criminal grabbing at the flying criminal. The two grappled for a moment, my medic wrestling with the criminal until Vityaz was somehow able to apply a pinning hold to still flying criminal, her arms wrapped around the young woman's neck and body slowly choking the air from the woman as the two struggled.

The medic I was holding protectively to my body attempted to free herself but I held her close. This was an unknown situation and the fact that Vityaz had engaged the enemy was bad enough. I would not let two medics become involved. Regardless of her alignment and what flag she flew a medic was a medic and I would attempt to protect them all if I could.

The flying criminal thrashed more and more but I could see that Vityaz's hold was sapping the strength from the criminal as she struggled less and less with each passing minute until she finally passed out. Looking over my shoulder still I could see Vityaz shifting her hold to press her fingers to the criminal's neck feeling for a pulse. The relief was visible on the hospital ship when she gave me a nod. Letting out a tense breath I began to send a radio transmission. This situation was rapidly becoming beyond my ability to control. We could not risk the time it would take to escort the criminals to the constables. We needed to summon them to us.

Twenty minutes later we were surrounded by the vehicles of the civilian police over a dozen in number. I had let Vityaz take point in provide explanations and accountings to the authorities. Her command of English was necessary and my broken command of the language would only complicate the situation. Instead, I stood against a wall nearby watching it all unfold.

We were not the only ones aware of the situation that had occurred either as a larger vehicle was already rushing towards us on the street only to be stopped by the police. But that did not stop the civilians that emerged as they tried to get closer past the line of agents of the law that even now were shouting question after question at us in English. Turning my gaze away I looked at U-20 who was sitting on the concrete of the sidewalk beside me her eyes to the ground.

"U-20."

Immediately she looked up at me before rising to her feet coming to attention.

"At ease. I wanted to congratulate your control. The criminal's ability to inflict fear was considerable. Despite it you maintained your control and adhered to the Admiral's commands. That fear was so great that if I had been still armed, I would have filled the sky with defensive chaff… Speaking of…"

Turning fully to face U-20 I extended both of my hands to the wide-eyed submarine.

"I have ordered the disarmament of all members of the fleet. Surrender your deck gun to me now. When we return to the base you will surrender your rigging until such time I or the Admiral order you to rearm."

The submarine was wide eyed as she stared at me, her body faintly shivering with fear even as she slowly, clearly agonizing every movement, and pulled her deck gun from its holster at her side and handed it over to me.

"You are ordered to return with me to base where I will discuss your punishment for your conduct."

"That wasn't my punishment?"

The submarine's words were now horror. I had ordered her to completely disarm and surrender her rigging. I did not blame her for her horror. Even now I could hear my crew muttering in the dark corners of my hull of how we should not have surrendered my rigging. But Adler was right and I would not budge, at least until given good reason to do so.

"No. We will discuss your punishment at a later date. For now, you will report back to base and you will report to the barracks for rest and sleep. In the morning I will address the punishment for defying the orders of the Admiral."

U-20's head hung for a moment before she fearfully nodded and I released a mental sigh now that I had contained the errant member of my fleet. I wasn't given the opportunity to reassure U-20 as I noticed Vityaz approaching, her interview over. Pushing my shoulders off the wall of the building I looked to the hospital ship.

"Can we leave. Have you answered their questions to their satisfaction?"

Vityaz's response was a grimace.

"No. The medic who accosted you and her sister are both recognized heroes in the city. Their presence complicates things. We will likely be here for hours. The government officials overseeing the parahumans are on their way and we will need to interview with them again."

Sighing in frustration I produced my pipe and lit it. Clearly tonight was going to be a long night as in the darkness of the night my eyes watched even more vehicles rapidly approaching, these with flashing sirens heralding their approach.

After smoking silently in thought I saw the familiar form of the red suited enforcer run into position at the edge of the police cordon appearing out of nowhere as if a blur. Pulling the stem of my pipe from my mouth I looked to Vityaz.

"Continue to answer their questions and supervise U-20. I will address the authorities."

I kept my pipe in hand as I approached Herr Velocity, a recognizable figure I remembered from the interview at the government facility the previous day. Well at least I wouldn't have to resort to broken English. I took another smoke from my pipe as he noticed my approach. I had my crew move U-20's deck gun inside my hull as I approached and prepared myself for that most annoying of my duties.

Politics. AN: As always please leave your reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Taylor Hebert

Being awoken even earlier than I had been the previous day by Adler, was not fun. I'd been tempted to order her to go away, but the tiny sliver of my brain that was working had dimly noticed that Adler wasn't in her morning exercise sweats. So, I'd squashed the urge to just order her away, I'd gotten up, quickly gotten dressed, and listened to what she told me.

Then we got Dad up and told him what Adler had told me. When we were done, he got dressed just as quickly as I had. We had to walk a little bit. Dad was still parking his truck outside the union building rather than outside the barracks. Adler came with us for our early morning journey in the dark. In addition, she woke Nemo up and told her she was on guard duty before ordering Rostock to accompany us as well. For 'security' she said. The fact that Rostock wasn't carrying her equipment apparently didn't mean anything to Adler in the slightest so I didn't argue and just let them both come.

I rode in the cab of Dad's truck with him. Rostock and Adler sat back in the bed as we drove silently through the city as fast as we could without breaking any traffic laws.

Twenty minutes passed before the flashing lights became noticeable off buildings ahead of us down the street. The scene itself hadn't come into view, but we were close.

"Dad, please pull over."

And he did just that. He didn't question me or ask why, he just pulled over to the side of the street and put the truck in park. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out to stand beside the back of the track and look Adler and Rostock squarely in the eyes one at a time.

"Everything that happened is what you told me. I'm not going to get there and find out I'm being questioned for someone's death again. Right?"

Adler shook her head with a grim smile.

"No, Admiral. Kaiser has been in communication with me the whole time. Vityaz performed first aid with what she had on hand to keep the criminal thief from dying. Kaiser has been restraining the other criminal to prevent her escape until the PRT and Protectorate are ready to take her into custody. She also wishes you to know that U-20 is still present on the scene, and wishes me to pass along her apologies for defying your orders regarding Hookwolf. Kaiser also wishes me to add that while the matter of U-20's punishment is unaddressed she is disarming as we all have, and U-20 will be confined to base until further notice. She will also be assisting Saar and the F classes in any and all tasks they require her assistance for. Even if that means she is peeling potatoes or handing them tools for the foreseeable future."

I… I paused.

Rostock was silently listening to Adler and watching us, and I could see through the window that Dad's head was turned so he could listen too. I really, really, didn't want to even see U-20. Not after everything that had happened. But I couldn't run away from this. She was my power. They all were. I couldn't run away from that. Hell, no one was going to let me run away from that. The PRT had proven that when Armsmaster had brought me in for questioning. I hadn't been charged. They'd let me go home. But because they were my power, I was still involved.

"Ok."

Adler looked at me for a long moment before slowly nodding. She didn't say anything else and Rostock remained as quiet as always as I got back into the front of the truck with Dad. He didn't immediately put the car into drive, just looking at me for a long moment.

"Hey."

I looked to the side at him and he smiled at me in the darkness even as his hand moved to rest on my hand, gently squeezing it.

"It's going to be okay. We will get through this. You will get through this."

After a brief moment, I smiled, just a little bit. His hand squeezed mine. A moment later he let go and was shifting gears to get us moving again. It was a short distance, not even a full minute before the first cop cars came into view. I didn't have to say anything as Dad pulled over to park along the side of the road. Turning he looked at me.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I looked back through the windshield at the cop cars surrounding the street.

"Please? It would help if you were there."

He nodded and turned the truck off. A moment later we were all getting out of the truck and making our way towards the police line. I could see more than just BBPD. While they were holding the perimeter, past it I could see vehicles with the PRT initials on them.

"We've got more of them approaching!"

Someone from the police line shouted and several guns were raised in our direction. Immediately Rostock stepped in front of me, and I could see Adler doing the same for Dad. Before I could do anything to tell them who I was and why I was here though I heard someone else shouting.

"Stand down and let them through!"

A moment later Velocity was standing right beside me. Or he was for a brief moment before Rostock tried to grab him. She wasn't fast enough though and in that recognizable blur of movement, he'd moved back.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to spook your projections. Thanks for coming Admiral. Both of your projections Kaiser and Vityaz said they had contacted you but I'm glad to see that you actually came. Your projections have kept from escalating anything, but we do have a bit of a situation."

Velocity was walking us all past the police line and into the cordoned-off part of the street. I could there were a few different groups gathered around in the space of the street. Off to one side was Vityaz standing with Panacea. U-20 was standing along a wall all by herself. And on the opposite side of the street was Kaiser leaning against a different building a wall, smoking a pipe, while Glory Girl sat on the ground and was visibly sulking. And everyone had 2-3 PRT troopers standing near them as well keeping an eye on them but I didn't think that really counted.

Taking it all in I squared my shoulders and took in a deep breath as I mentally prepared myself for this. Prepped as I could be I looked to Velocity.

"Okay, so what can I help with?"

Velocity gave it all a quick look over as if he hadn't just probably been looking at the situation before he looked at me.

"So, there are a few issues here. The minor one that started all this is, is that guy robbing a shop near here."

He pointed to where an ambulance was parked with a bandaged-up person getting loaded inside while a pair of cops joined him.

"Glory Girl got to him first and stopped him. The problem is that as I'm sure your projections told you, her stopping him went beyond any reasonable level of force. Your other projection U-20 got to him and administered first aid to her limited capabilities. Glory Girl, however... attempted to escalate things, and anyways now we have a mess. I'd like your help bringing Glory Girl in. Your projections can easily control her. Up until a few minutes ago, Glory Girl was occasionally attempting to fly away and your battleship would just grab her hand to stop her. But I can't just have them walk Glory Girl through the city. Regardless of what Glory Girl did, we don't want that kind of press. She needs to face accountability for her actions, but in a way that doesn't plaster this over the news any more than it already is. I'd like to ask you to have your battleship accompany her to PRT HQ for holding in the short term."

And wow. Glory Girl had actually hurt a criminal! I mean he was a criminal. And if the tattoos I could see were correct, probably Empire. But that didn't mean she could beat him up any more than my ships could beat someone up. It didn't matter how guilty someone was, they needed to face justice. Actual justice.

I was also glad that Velocity and the PRT weren't pulling a Winslow and just letting Glory Girl get away with this like Winslow had for Sophia and Emma. But I could see why he didn't want the news getting all over this so I nodded and looked to my side where Adler was standing ready and waiting.

"Please tell Kaiser I'd like her to escort Glory Girl to the PRT HQ. She can ride in the truck to get there."

I turned my head to look back at Velocity.

"Can you guys give her a ride back to the Docks afterward?"

Velocity nodded.

"Sure thing. I can have someone run her back. Although I know a few people who would like to get some power testing done on her with her there. But I don't think now is the time. Why don't I talk to her while we have her and get you down for an appointment to do some power testing for us so we can help with figuring out how your power works.

"Yes please!"

Did I sound too eager? I definitely felt like I had sounded too eager with how quickly I'd blurted out my agreement. But really. The idea that they would help me understand my power? The PRT and Protectorate may not have helped me before now with Winslow. But then they never had a reason to even notice me before now either. Velocity took my reaction to all this in stride by just chuckling as Adler walked over to Kaiser to give her my orders.

"It's always good to know what you're capable of. Anyways I'll let the guys know and... shit."

When he swore, I turned my head to look back around past the police line. He was staring at something, or at least I thought he was staring at something.

"I need to handle this. Just hang back here and I'll take care of this."

Velocity moved past us back towards the police line. There were still the BBPD cruisers and officers at the line. And beyond that were a number of people spectating despite the early hour of the morning. It was when one of the police officers shifted to the side a bit, I could see that it wasn't just local residents. There was someone I had seen before on the news, and even once in person years ago at one of the Barnes family summer cookouts.

Brandish of New Wave was standing just outside the police line talking to the officers. I watched as Velocity approached the line even as the officers stepped to the side to let her through. It was at that moment that I felt a wave of cold and nervousness that wasn't from the winter air, but was from the realization that it was her daughter that my power had caught in the act of committing a crime.

Velocity stepped in front of Brandish as he reached her and I could tell they were talking but not hear what they were saying. Velocity at one point took a moment to wave to the crowd, even posing for a picture with Brandish from people watching before the two of them turned and started walking towards my dad and me.

Dad reached over and put a gloved hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It'll be alright. You didn't do anything wrong here."

I nodded and looked back to the approaching heroes as they got close enough that I could finally hear a bit of their quietly spoken conversation.

"... looks bad. At the very least even if nothing illegal happened we will still want to keep Glory Girl in M/S confinement. But as I said, I have no reason to doubt Admiral's projections and their allegations. Their story matches up with the evidence we have so far, and Vityaz is fluent enough in English that even before I arrived, the officers first on the scene were given a report that holds up with the timeline and account they have established."

They were getting close now and even though Brandish was talking to Velocity, it was me I could see she was looking at. She did not look happy in the slightest. Rostock moved in front of me so that I could only see Brandish if I peered around her head and over the ship's shoulder.

"You are legitimately accepting testimony from the projections of a cape with obvious Empire leanings? Velocity this is a worse joke worse than anything Armsmaster has ever come up with. I want my daughter released from custody right now. If she has done anything wrong, I will get the truth from her and see to her punishment as her mother."

Rostock was blocking my view of Brandish, but not of Velocity and I could both see and hear him as he sighed.

"Yes, I am. Admiral is not Empire or Empire affiliated in the slightest. I also have no reason to believe she ever will be, regardless of what the optics of her power appears to be."

I felt a flutter of hope that someone (a hero like Velocity no less) was actually saying aloud that they didn't think I was Empire or a Nazi.

"I've seen the footage of the Hookwolf incident. I've been kept up to date on all investigations ongoing at Winslow. Not to mention I have spoken to her projections at length. Admiral's power is unlike almost any other, and because of that, I am willing to take her projections at their word as long as the evidence corroborates their story. And Brandish? I told you the evidence backs them up."

Velocity turned and shifted so that his back was to the crowd and he faced Brandish, while opposite of him on her other side was Rostock who hadn't moved in the slightest ever since Brandish had approached me. Even I could see that she was literally outflanked here, and Brandish was forced to turn away from me to look to Velocity. Though she did step to the side a little so that she could clearly watch Rostock and me out of the corner of her eye.

"Glory Girl stepped over the line on this, and I doubt I want to know why Panacea was on the scene before the cops arrived either. But we will investigate. Now. I am going to bring your daughter in. Admiral has already offered her assistance in this matter. You won't get Glory Girl free even if you tried. All that remains is the optics. Amy Cho and the channel 15 morning eye crew are going to be at the front of that line of spectators in less than two minutes. You get to decide what they see. Is New Wave going to cooperate with the Protectorate, PRT, and all legal authorities? Or do I need to have you escorted outside the police line?"

Brandish's helmet turned looking from Velocity, over to Kaiser and Glory Girl, then to me, and finally around to the crowd. And just like Velocity had prophecized I could see a news crew pushing their way to the front of the crowd, cameras on that shoulder.

"Fine! Alright! But I'm going with my daughter and if Admiral's projection is going I want her to come too so she can control her power."

"Brandish there is no need..."

"It's alright! I'll go."

Velocity, Brandish, even dad all looked to me as I looked over for a moment to Kaiser and Glory Girl, then back to the adults around me.

"They are my power. I am responsible for their actions. If it helps the situation. Then I'll come along too. Dad, can you take Vityaz, U-20, and Rostock back with you?"

Dad looked from me to the girls, and then to the heroes. Finally, he nodded.

"Alright, Tay... Admiral. I'll take them back to the Docks and then I'll meet you at the PRT HQ. Okay?"

I looked to Velocity and Brandish. Velocity was just watching me quietly. Brandish's mouth was a tight line but she wasn't arguing so I considered this to be at least somewhat of a win on that alone.

"Will that work for both of you?"

Brandish and Velocity shared a long silent look for a moment as if they were having a private conversation with each other before Brandish finally gave a jerk of a nod and turned away walking towards Glory Girl. Velocity looked down at me and gave me a smile and a nod.

"Thanks for cooperating. The last thing anyone needs is a fight breaking out between New Wave and the Protectorate with the cameras rolling."

I shrugged and glanced towards Brandish who now looked like she was trying to talk to Kaiser, only Kaiser was just silently watching her while smoking that pipe of hers, and not replying in the slightest as far as I could tell.

"I think she'd attack me before any of you. I'm the reason this is happening after all."

Velocity hummed in thought for a moment before he shook his head and motioned towards one of the PRT vans and we started walking towards it together.

"No. You aren't the reason. Glory Girl is the reason. You are the reason she got caught. And if Brandish tried to attack you over that. She'd need to get through me first."

We stopped outside the van and he held the door open for me to enter, even holding a hand out for me to use as a handhold as I stepped up and in, and Adler followed in behind me.

"Ms. Adler already told Ms. Kaiser What she needed to do with regards to Glory Girl, and I can smooth out any language barriers. We'll meet you at HQ."

Velocity raised his hand to his mouth and whistled to someone out of sight. A moment later a PRT trooper jogged into view and he pointed into the back of the van and me.

"Take Admiral and Ms. Adler to HQ and give them a space in one of the conference rooms. I'll be along shortly after I see all of this wrapped up and moved out."

The trooper nodded and began pointing at more people who were out of sight. A moment later four troopers in the same identical Trooper armor came into view and piled into the back of the van as well. One sat next to me while the other three sat on the bench on the opposite side. A moment later the doors on the back of the van were closed leaving us alone in the lit interior of the van.

There was a lingering silence for a moment before one of the troopers opposite us pointed to Adler.

"So, which of the ships are you supposed to be?"

Rather than answer his question, since he wasn't looking at me for an answer but instead Adler, I glanced at her and waited for her answer. She smiled and straightened a little in her seat before responding.

"Well, what ship do you think I am?"

The troopers, shared looks for a moment, one even leaning in to whisper to the other's ear for a moment before the trooper finally responded.

"USS Eagle?"

That got a quick and immediate snort of derision from Adler.

"Even before the Admiral called me into service, that was incorrect. I was previously the USCGC Eagle."

One of the troopers laughed at Adler politely chewing out his mistake while he seemed to take her admonishment in good-natured embarrassment. The third sitting on the other side opposite of us just looked at Adler curiously.

"Previously. You don't think of yourself as that ship anymore?"

Adler spent a quick moment eyeing the trooper before she replied, leaning back against the wall of the Van as I could feel it moving and speeding away from the crime scene with us inside it.

"I suppose that it is different for you than it is for any of us. The Admiral calling us into service isn't like being born to us. It might be better to compare it to immigrating to another country than the one you were born into. Only in my case, I wasn't even American built. I simply have a new flag atop my mainmast instead of the Stars and Stripes."

I was curiously watching and listening to Adler as she talked. As much as I had tried to learn from her and the others, somehow this had never come up. I had somehow never even thought of asking them what it was like being German ships, or not even in the case of Adler who had spent way more time as an American ship than she ever did as a German one.

"Then what flag do you fly now if you don't mind me asking?"

The same trooper that had picked up Adler's mention of no longer being American questioned again, following through on the thought process that had started the questioning in the first place. Adler gave him a smile for a moment before replying.

"The Admiral's of course. It is the same reason I am no longer USCGC Eagle. Now I am AKS Adler when in service, regardless of any name I choose to use outside of that. I am still a ship regardless of my new body."

I could see all the trooper's eyes looking Adler over but the same curious trooper had one more question to ask as the van continued to move through the city taking us to our destination.

"AKS?"

Adler turned her head and no longer was looking at the troopers, but instead at me.

"Admiralins Kriegsschiff."

Adler's lips curled into a smile as she looked at me, looking back at her.

"Admiral's War Ship."

After a moment my lips smiled back in return and leaning into her side I closed my eyes and yawned. It really was so early, and regardless of everything else I was still tired. The van's rocking set me into a nap within a few minutes, and Adler's arm did make for a good pillow when push came to shove.

Last edited: Dec 1, 2021

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Veriseple

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

May 30, 2022

#2,984

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Taylor

I was awoken to someone shaking me. Opening my eyes, I blinked a few times and stared at the face in front of me. Adler's face was maybe a foot in front of mine and after a second of thought it became clear that she was in the process of gently shaking me awake. The hand on my shoulder certainly helped.

"Admiral. We have arrived. Its time to wake up."

I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep but, after covering my mouth for a moment in a yawn, I nodded. I followed her in standing up from the bench inside the van. The PRT troopers who had been riding with us were already gone. They must have left when we'd arrived. Hoping out of the van I found we were in front of the PRT Headquarters once more. This time they had dropped us in front of the door.

Because it was so early in the morning, still dark in the sky with no hint of the morning sun in the east yet, there were no tourists outside the building like last time. I felt my stomach flutter just a little at the memory of those cameras flashing at me. While most of the troopers had vanished to parts unknown, probably inside, there were two still standing outside the doors of the building who looked like they were waiting for me, well us. I glanced at Adler, and she gave me a smile that I took as reassuring. Nodding, and yawning one more time, I walked forward watching the troopers as they held the double doors open for me.

Inside the building I took a quick look around. Everything looked about the same. The gift shop was closed, no surprise there, but there was someone sitting at a desk at the front just like last time. I was about to ask one of the troopers where we were supposed to go, when the one I looked to gestured to the hallway behind the desk.

"This way, Admiral."

We were led through one hallway after another. Several times one of the two guards that accompanied us for the whole time would have to swipe a security keycard, enter a password, or do something else entirely to get us through a security checkpoint in one form or another.

Eventually we were brought to a meeting room. It was a lot like the other meeting room we had been in before. A few photos of famous scenes hung on the wall. That one photo from a few years back of Eidolon carrying a child's body in his arms. A photograph of Hero diligently at work in a high-tech looking factory. That one photo of Velocity mid run down a street Downtown, photographed as part of a PR push a year back. There were others too. Some were heroes I did know like Legend, Armsmaster, and local heroes. Others were heroes from elsewhere I didn't recognize. The one of Alexandria shaking hands with someone I think was maybe with the Kingsmen was a good example of this. And the only reason I thought it was an English hero was because the ruins Big Ben in London were clearly visible in the background of the large picture.

In the center of the room was a large meeting table. Unlike the last room that had several sitting areas, while this one did have chairs around the sides of the room, this large and long table was clearly the focus here, whoever was sitting here was clearly important.

Adler walked forward past me and pulled out a chair but didn't sit. As she looked at me, I realized she was waiting for me to take a seat. I turned my head to side looking for somewhere else to sit but the chairs at the table looked far more comfortable than the ones around the sides. After a moment of futility, I eventually walked to the chair and sat. A moment later Adler took a seat next to me.

The meeting table might have been wood, then again it might not have been. It didn't feel like wood under my fingers as I placed my hands on it, no matter how much it kind of sort of looked like wood.

"What do you think they are going to say?"

I didn't look at Adler as I asked, just looking down at the table that my fingers were slowly tapping. Adler didn't answer immediately, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, through the hair and she had a look I thought would be called thoughtful. After a moment of looking at her she finally responded.

"It was not their request that you come. It was the other hero, Brandish, who demanded your presence. The PRT is not looking at you. They want Kaiser here, but only so she can control Glory Girl through force since it seems necessary. Velocity seems to realize that your presence is not necessary to interact with us, your fleet. So, while you will be here, all of their attention will be focused on those in the wrong. Glory Girl."

It was easy to understand that Glory Girl hadn't meant to hurt the criminal she'd been dealing with. After all, I hadn't meant to kill Hookwolf but that had clearly still happened...

But Glory Girl didn't have my power. She knew what her power did and how it operated right? She wasn't like me. She hadn't been asleep in her bed while her power killed someone. She had hurt someone with her own hands...

Were we the same really?

I didn't get the chance to think any further on this as the doors opened. Turning at the sound of someone entering I watched as Kaiser walked in. She was holding that big smoking pipe of hers in her right hand, and her left hand was guiding, or maybe holding Glory Girl by the shoulder. Whether she was pushing or not she walked Glory Girl clear around the table to sit at the end.

In doing so as she walked by, I couldn't help but start to feel nervous about what Glory Girl was thinking about me. Sure, I wanted to be a hero, but if she was in the wrong. I wasn't going to be Winslow. I wasn't going to sweep something under the rug just because she was popular with people the way Emma had been. When she was right behind me, I was more than nervous, I was starting to get scared that she would lash out. But Adler's hand moved to mine and although I was still scared that I was going to end up like that criminal earlier, I knew Adler, and Kaiser both, would protect me.

But Glory Girl didn't punch me, she didn't even say anything to me as Kaiser escorted her down the length of the table to sit at the very end as far away from me as she could put Glory Girl. Kaiser did give enough agency to Glory Girl that the heroine at least pulled her own chair out before my warship turned person pushed her down into it. And then once she was seated, Kaiser remained behind her chair. My fear was still there, but it wasn't as bad. Kaiser was here, Adler was here. I could trust them to keep me safe. So, I tried my best to ignore the fear filling me, and looked at Kaiser instead of Glory Girl.

Kaiser was still in her full uniform as her eyes moved to mine and she gave me a deep nod. I nodded back and after I did so her posture relaxed a little bit. The pipe she was still holding in her right hand was raised to her lips. She held it there with the tip or the stem or whatever it was called in her mouth. Not smoking, but just holding it there.

Glory Girl at the same time was scowling at me and after a moment opened her mouth like she was going to say something. But then she stopped. Her mouth snapped shut and she glanced at Adler sitting beside me, then her eyes turned to the side, as if glancing behind her, where Kaiser was standing behind the chair. Glory Girl groaned, crossed her arms in front of her chest and slumped backwards, slouching in the chair.

I didn't want to provoke Glory Girl, so I didn't say anything to her, or to either of my creations. So, I just sat there silently as well. And that was how it was when the doors opened again, maybe a minute later.

Now a bunch of people were entering. In the lead was Velocity. Behind him walked Brandish. There were several people in suits I didn't know. I assumed they were PRT employees of some kind given how they were taking a seat near Velocity. And behind all of them came Panacea herself. She looked just like how I had seen her in the alleyway. Finally, behind her came for PRT troopers and Miss Militia was the final person to enter as she closed the doors behind her.

Brandish immediately walked towards Glory Girl. But seemed surprised or perhaps angry when she was walking around the table to sit to Glory Girl's right, and Kaiser didn't step out of the way. Kaiser's head turned for just a moment. Clearly a glance at Brandish, but she didn't move in the slightest. Just pulling her pipe from her mouth, holding it in her hand, and looking down at the back of Glory Girl's head.

"Will you move out of the way so I can sit next to my daughter. Go join your mistress over there."

She waved a hand in my direction, pointing towards me even as she stared at Kaiser. Kaiser on the other hand didn't give her gesture so much as a glance continuing to remain exactly where she was.

"My Admiral command me to assist the Protectorate and PRT. She not ordered me to stop."

Compared to the practically stop-start way of speaking she had previously Kaiser was improving her command of English at a rate that was honestly more than a little scary. Though I hoped this was just a sign of how fast the others would improve after her. Kaiser raised her pipe back up to her mouth and I had the profound belief in that moment that if it had been lit, she would have blown a mouthful of smoke out right then. Instead, she simply stood there, tip of the pipe's end in her mouth as Brandish glared at her without any meaningful effect.

Brandish's head turned towards me slowly and I could see a lingering glare. For a moment I thought she was going to start addressing me. But her she looked towards Velocity, then Miss Militia and all the people of the PRT and in the end said nothing.

There was plenty of room to get around her so after a moment that's exactly what Brandish did. Almost immediately my heartbeat slowed, a weight lifting from my chest as the threat of those two attacking me got lower. Oh, I was still terrified, but I knew that Kaiser could stop either of them and that security was doing wonders for my terror levels.

She walked around Kaiser, and took a seat. She glanced up at Kaiser, glanced over at Velocity who was taking a seat at the other end of the table opposite from Glory Girl, and I could see her lips as they tightened. Finally, she looked at her daughter and after a moment scooted her chair a little closer to Glory Girl.

"Vicky. Your ear has blood on it."

Glory Girl seemed surprised by her mother's words, her hand reaching with hesitance for her ear and touching it. Brandish's gaze left after a moment of watching her daughter clean the blood drops on her ear, she'd properly gotten from nearly killing someone. The super powered lawyer glanced at me for a long moment and the fear of Glory Girl hurting me was for just a moment overwhelmed by the thought of what Brandish might do to me. But then she looked away and I went back to being afraid of Glory Girl.

Miss Militia to a seat across the table from me, and even though her American flag bandana covered her face I could tell she was giving me a smile for a moment. Something about her eyes was how I knew. The three people in suits sat on both sides of the table between Miss Militia and I, and Velocity. And finally, the four troopers spread out around the room, two behind Velocity and the other two taking up other spots of guarding.

I realized after a moment that the final person in the room was the only person sitting, who wasn't sitting at the conference table. Panacea was over by Glory Girl. But she wasn't sitting next to her sister, or by her mother. She was sitting alone at one of the chairs around the walls of the room. The hood of her costume hung low over her face and I couldn't make out what she was looking at. Was she looking at me? At Glory Girl?

"Alright. Since we are all here. Before we get started, Glory Girl, would you like your mother to serve as your lawyer for this meeting, or would you like to retain a different lawyer without the inherent conflict of interest."

Velocity had been talking to Glory Girl. He had been looking at Glory Girl. But it wasn't Glory Girl that answered him.

"My daughter does not need a lawyer. This farce has gone on far too long already. I may have played along in front of the cameras because the last thing this city needs is to think there is a feud between the Protectorate and New Wave. But make no mistake. My daughter did nothing wrong and I will not stand for this."

Brandish didn't shout, she didn't have to. Sitting there, hands folded together, leaning forward on the conference table as everyone in the room looked at her, I could hear the quiet confidence in her voice. This was a woman Mr. Barnes had waxed eloquent about at family barbeques on more than one occasion, and as she casually dismissed everything the PRT and Velocity were here to do. This was the lawyer and I felt a shiver roll through me as she glanced at me for a moment.

Velocity's reply was almost immediate. It was like he didn't even have to think as he responded immediately as soon as she was done demanding this all be forgotten and swept under the rug.

"Brandish, your daughter is facing allegations of violence well in excess of anything reasonable when apprehending the criminal. The man your daughter harmed may well even have died by now if Admiral's projections had not been out patrolling and provided medical assistance. Now it's entirely possible that this was an accident, and that in a moment of panic Glory Girl inadvertently hurt the man, but he was still hurt. Panacea might have been able to heal him by the time she arrived, but what if she had not? A man might have died. Given the nature of Glory Girl's power and invulnerability and her clearly unharmed state, I am not willing to simply dismiss these charges. We will investigate this incident. We are conducting interviews of all witnesses including both of your daughters regarding their actions. And with Admiral's approval we will continue conducting interviews with her projections."

Brandish's hand slammed open palm onto the tabletop, the crack of noise surprised me and I jumped a little in my seat, my head snapping over to look at Brandish.

"Velocity this is enough! Have you even conducted official power testing on these projections? Because as far as I am concerned, or any judge will be for that matter, you have no legal basis backing you up in your charges against my daughter. The man she captured robbing the store is a repeat criminal who I've captured myself previously. His words could easily be a lie or fabrication, he could have sustained that injury prior to meeting my daughter. When he realized he was cornered he could easily have concocted a story either as a grudge against her for capturing her, or simply because he knows that she is my daughter in petty revenge for the time I captured him."

The three people with the PRT were all making notes on their notepads or laptops. Velocity was sitting there his hands folded on the table in front of him. I sat in the middle in between him and New Wave just waiting and watching as this all-unfolded right before me.

Velocity stared Brandish down for a moment before he turned his gaze slightly to the side to look at Glory Girl.

"Glory Girl. What time did you encounter Mr. Donaldson this evening?"

"Vicky, you don't have to answer that."

Brandish's response came immediately after Velocity's words, her hand waving in front of her daughter. Glory Girl, Vicky though did quietly answer after a moment.

"It's okay Mom. I want to talk."

The feeling of fear, that either of them was going to attack me. That even the others would feel I was somehow to blame for what happened because my projections had been present was growing again.

"So, I was flying back. It was late and since I have, had I guess given what time it is, school today I was heading back home to get some sleep. Anyways I almost missed it happening but someone shouted out for help. With how dark it was I didn't immediately see them or where the shout came from, but when I did, I could see the criminal forcing him inside his shop.

Naturally I flew in closer to investigate. And when I saw him pointing the gun at the old man's head I flew in through the open door. I slammed him against the wall but he still had the gun in his hand and he just shot me immediately, twice. He got my ear and I guess I must have panicked. Anyways I threw him into a shelf but it must have been harder than I intended because when he fell, he didn't get up and he started bleeding.

Anyways after I checked on the store owner, I checked on the perp and when I realized how slow his heart was beating, I called my sister to come heal him so he wouldn't die. He may be E88 scum but I never intended to seriously hurt him."

Glory Girl looked remorseful and apologetic. She even sounded apologetic. And it was getting harder and harder to be fearful she was going to resent me and hurt me in retaliation when I felt sorry for her and how she didn't mean for any of this to happen.

But I had heard things like what Glory Girl was saying before. How many times on the rare early occasions that I had reported Emma and the others, and when I had even occasionally had witnesses take my side, they had spun a similar story? How many times had they used their popularity and looks (a popularity and looks that were similar to Glory Girl's status as a hero) to get away with ruining my life?

As Glory Girl sat there looking so miserable and remorseful all I could see was Emma's face when she'd been putting on an act.

"While Mr. Donaldson was committing a crime in robing Mr. Jing you fully exceeded any reasonable standard of force. I will be submitting a report to the Director that I think you be required to take classes on the use of reasonable force and conflict resolution as well as community service. That is if the facts of your story are true and the narrative you present is correct. If it is not, you will be arrested. As it is we want you to stay here for the remainder of the night until we are finished with the investigation and your story is confirmed. Understand?"

"Absolutely not! Vicky will..."

"Yes. I do."

Brandish had been clearly been preparing to argue even the slap on the wrist Glory Girl was being given for nearly killing someone when Glory Girl stopped and her head snapped to look at her daughter.

"Vicky that's not necessary. There is no reason you..."

"Mom, its fine. I'll spend the night."

"Miss Militia please escort Glory Girl to a holding cell for the night. Brandish I'll escort you out. Assuming Glory Girl's story is true we'll contact you when you can come pick her up."

Everyone was starting to get up and start moving and I just sat there staring at the end of the table where Glory Girl was going to get away with near murder. And why? Because the person responsible was a criminal? Two wrongs didn't make a right.

This isn't how the Heroes are supposed to operate.

Multiple heads around the table turned looking to me and I realized that either everyone was suddenly psychic like the Simurgh, or I had said that out loud. From the end of the table, I could hear Brandish quietly scoff before she replied to me.

"You clearly don't understand the situation here Admiral. My daughter did not intend to harm the robber. And attempted to aid him to preserve his life. While unfortunate what happened, the damage will not be permanent. Panacea will heal him in the morning and he will proceed through the justice system for his crimes."

My hands gripped the arms of my chair as I glared and had flashbacks to Principal Blackwell's dismissal of the Trio's bullying. Putting Glory Girl in a cell for a night was simply the hero version of a detention. And when it was done, she would be back out there, hurting and nearly killing other people. Just like Emma. My eyes flicked to Kaiser still standing unmoving behind Glory Girl.

"Kaiser. I am ordering you to make sure that Glory Girl is not released. She is a thug and a criminal and I want her in jail where she belongs for what she did. Even if I have to make a citizen's arrest to do it."

The room erupted around me. Glory Girl wasn't protesting just staring at me with wide eyes while Kaiser laid a hand on the fallen heroine's shoulder. Brandish was on her feet and shouting at me but as Velocity, Miss Militia and the people from the PRT were doing the same all at different levels of volume. Miss Militia was the one to restore a semblance of order by her power flashing green until she created a megaphone and shouted the whole room into submission.

"EVERYONE BE QUIET AND SIT DOWN! YOU WILL ALL HAVE YOUR CHANCE TO SPEAK."

When no one, not even the raging Brandish could match her all the others sat down all around me, well except for Kaiser at the end hand still on Glory Girl's shoulder, and Adler who had stood up during the shouting and was standing silently beside me trying to seemingly glare everyone else into submission.

With a false peace restored Miss Militia let the megaphone disappear and looked me directly in the eye.

"Admiral. Thank you. But this is not necessary or helpful. I know you believe you are doing right but this is not the way to..."

"Miss Militia. Stop."

The star-spangled heroine's head turned to look at the head of the table, at Velocity. I turned to look as well and he turned his head to look from her to me.

"Admiral. You clearly have an objection to my current recommendations for Glory Girl's punishment. May I ask why?"

Even though he was clearly about to let Glory Girl off with nothing more than a warning it was good to know he wasn't as corrupt as Principal Blackwell.

"Because I don't care that she's a hero. She nearly killed someone. If someone without powers did the same they would already be in jail. Instead, because she's one of the good girls you're going to let her get away basically scott free. I think that's wrong. And I think that if you won't treat her as the criminal she is, accidental or not, then I'll find a judge, or a police officer that will."

I tried to communicate every feeling of frustration I had ever felt at never being able to do more than a pointless attempt to stop Emma. But now I had the power to stop someone too much like Emma from hurting other people. And there was no way I was going to stand by like others had when it had been me as the victim.

"And if you were the judge of her actions, what would you consider a fair and reasonable punishment?"

I shrugged because I hadn't thought that far. I simply didn't want her to get away with it. I had never expected someone would actually listen to my protests for once. Frantically thinking I tried to think about it for a moment to give him a good answer to his question.

"I don't know. Whatever a person without powers would get for doing the same thing. That seems fair. Why should having powers make her get special treatment?"

My dread was returning again, the idea of being beaten to a pulp like the criminal had been was returning but I managed to keep it at bay by reminding myself over and over again that there was no way she could hurt me. Not when Kaiser was stopping her from even leaving her chair.

"This is absurd there is no reason for any of"

"Brandish, be silent. Let me talk to Admiral."

I wasn't sure how Velocity managed to shut Brandish up with just his words but he did, somehow. He looked back to me giving me his full attention.

"Admiral, I know you want her punished properly. But there is more to this situation than you may realize. And it is very important for the city's safety that all of us in this room are working together to protect it. We need Glory Girl just as much as we need your help. So, is it possible you can think of a way for Glory Girl to be punished that also lets her help defend the city from the villains and the gangs?"

I hated, truly hated that he was asking me that question. But he was asking me. He wasn't just ignoring me. And he had backed me up and been friendly until now. I guess it was just time to see where he really stood. Was he really a good person? Or was he just putting on a better act about it than most?

I glanced back at Glory Girl who was still silent her eyes wide in terror, silently pleading with me. All I saw were the crocodile tears. I looked back to the front and shook my head.

"No."

Velocity grimaced but gave a single nod.

"Glory Girl. You will be held until you can receive a trial for your actions tonight."

Relief, satisfaction, joy, ecstasy, and a hundred more emotions that were a roller coaster twisting in a hundred different ways all at once erupted in my chest. I leaned back in the chair my limbs weak as the tensioned vanished from them as soon as Velocity took my side for real. I did feel sorry for him. I even felt a little sorry for Glory Girl. She probably actually hadn't meant to harm the robber. But I didn't feel sorry enough to become Emma and let her get away with it.

Miss Militia was looking at me silently but her eyes were a mystery. Velocity was quietly talking to one of the suits next to him and all around us the PRT armored troopers were walking towards Glory Girl. Brandish was shouting at all of them at once and trying to get them to stop. I just looked away from her. She was just another Emma, trying to get her way by intimidating anyone she could. I wanted nothing to do with her.

The person I was looking at was Panacea. Through all of this she hadn't left her chair. She hadn't spoken. She hadn't done anything at all. If I couldn't see her face, see her eyes looking right back at me silently from inside her hood I would have wondered if it was even her. Then my sight of her was broken for just the space of a moment by a blur of movement, red movement.

The color caught my eye and I heard a sudden abrupt cacophony of noise followed by a crunching slam.

There at the end of the table with Glory Girl and Brandish was Kaiser. She wasn't holding Glory Girl anymore. Her right hand, the one that had been on Glory Girl's shoulder was clutching at the left side of her face, over her eye, while something black was oozing from between her fingers. Her left hand however was holding Brandish to the table by pressing her body down and into the table and all around me chaos erupted and a moment later something erupted from nowhere, sprays of a liquid that as it touched me restrained me in place.

Adler's hand grabbed for mine just as our hands were covered and soon the rest of me was covered and I couldn't move any of my body no matter how much I tried.

I couldn't move my hand. I couldn't even move my fingers. Everywhere the stuff touched I was paralyzed. I could only feel it, vaguely wet, and pressing all around me. And Adler's hand holding onto mine in the darkness I was now trapped in.

Last edited: Jun 3, 2022

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Veriseple

May 30, 2022

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Threadmarks Fitting Out: Interlude

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Jun 4, 2022

#3,167

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Clockblocker

Dennis was used to getting texts in the early morning on his Wards phone. Usually, they were just updates. Reminders of patrol schedules for the day. Messages for the day. Training announcements. The usual.

But those texts would usually come out shortly before he would leave for school every day. He would check his Ward phone everyday right before he walked out the door to go to school, before anyone else out in the normal world around him would see.

It was unusual to get a message waiting for him even before he woke up. Not unheard of, but definitely out of the norm. What was really out of the normal, to the point of moving into worrying was a directive calling him into the PRT headquarters BEFORE school.

The message was straight and to the point. It didn't name him by name, either his civilian identity, or his hero identity. It didn't even request the Wards team more generally. Instead, it was addressed to 'All On Duty and Off Duty personnel of the PRT ENE and Protectorate ENE. A group that was incredibly vague, and almost as worrying.

The was a second message that was personally addressed to him. But it just included information about his cover about how and why he was supposed to be missing school that morning. The excuse this time? A mass case of food poisoning from yesterday's school lunches.

Let's see yesterday had been chicken with peas, carrots, and rice. He was already forming a few jokes in his head he would use tomorrow when everyone miraculously returned. Blaming the chicken was too easy. But the peas, there was potential there.

See the trick about pretending to just be one of the 'Ward stunt doubles' as he liked to call the several dozen or so kids that were going to all be skipping school today, was to lean into it. Everyone knew without a doubt that Clockblocker was the wise-ass smart-ass joker. But he was always cool and his delivery lines were on point every time. Poor old Dennis Kelly was a joker too, but his punchlines were usually just a little bit off. Like he was trying too hard. Or he was over thinking it. Clockbocker was the joker and comedian. Dennis was just the joke.

Even the one time to make sure no one ever thought he was his heroic persona he'd actually dressed up in one of the PRT gift shop versions of his own costume (a size too large of course). You'd think walking around pretending to be himself would have clued everyone in, but he had still just been Dennis the kid with the sick dad trying to be the funny hero and failing at the punchline. That wasn't Clockblocker, the hero that would casually start a game of tag with Empire Gang members simply because he could.

So, he told his mom he needed a ride to the pickup place. And then he got dressed for school. The pickup point for him happened to be a grocery store where he had a job in the back moving boxes out of sight of customers. The owner and staff were pretty much all retired PRT, and the few that weren't were tied up with so many NDA's that if by some stroke of cruel fate, they met someone else named Dennis Kelly and said their name aloud, the sharks in suits of the PRT legal division would send them to a pit of perpetual darkness... or Canada. Whichever was harder.

He clocked in for a work shift to prove he was there quietly working in the back moving boxes. Grabbed one of those boxes and promptly walked it into a delivery truck that he took a seat in a moment before the door was closed on him by one of the workers who was very deliberately and equally unofficially paid by someone who was definitely not the PRT to not make sure that Clockblocker made it to the PRT HQ without being spotted or noticed.

One always bumpy ride later he was in the changing room for the Wards. A few steps away from him Dean was putting on his helmet, he had clearly arrived first. Vicky must have stood him up last night judging by how little sleep he had gotten if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by.

Rory, Chris, and Carlos were also putting the last touches on their costumes as well. For Dennis seeing Rory was... a little odd. His fearless leader, he of the shiny golden pauldrons and booming voice, was turning 18 in literally two more days. When they'd been on patrol last week Dennis had thought that would be the very last time, he'd ever share the Wards locker room with him. But nope, clearly fate, destiny, or Mr. Rogers thought differently given here they all were, once more.

"So, does anyone have any ideas why we're here? I mean I'm happy to skip school but did we have to dress snazzy just for a school assembly?"

All four of the others said no. But of them only Chris and Carlos actually seemed like it was true. Dean had barely said the word at all, and Rory had been suspiciously slow to answer. But Rory was still team leader for Thirty-Eight hours and change more, so he got read in on a little bit more than the rest of them. As for Dean, well it was harder than you might think to keep secrets from someone who could see your emotions.

And sure, an emotion sense wasn't the same as a lie detector, but it wasn't nearly as far from one as you might think, especially if you didn't know the other person had it. Dean had tried once to confront him a few hours after visiting the hospital a year back. And Dennis could have asked him to put in a favor for goofy Clockblocker to his girlfriend's sister of 'could you pretty please heal my dying dad?' He almost had that day. But Dennis hadn't. He'd made some wise-ass remark he couldn't even remember and he'd turned and walked away. Because if you were smiling and laughing, no one could see how much you hurt on the inside. No one except the guy who could see your emotions.

Dean hadn't yet asked again. Dennis wasn't sure what he would say if Dean did confront him a second time.

But denials had been given and they were all ready. So, the five of them trooped on out of the locker room, meeting Missy in the hallway outside of the Girls Locker room, or well just girl locker room since it was just her using it now that Psycho Stalker had requested a transfer to Los Angeles of all places a week back. And clearly Piggy had been just as eager to see Sophia gone as Dennis had been with how fast the darling little edge lord had been gone from the halls of the ENE. (Although the rumors of Sophia being the psycho they all knew she was at her civilian school probably had something to do with the move.) All it had taken to forever remove Sophia's unwelcome presence from his life was the usual round of 'do not ever mention so-and-so's name NDA's which Dennis had gladly put his John Hancock to. Honestly if Sophia had come back, he might just blab her identity to the press or someone just to get away from her.

The PRT HQ had a large auditorium room that he'd been in many times as part of tourist shows. Usually, he'd either sit in a special area back stage or in a Tinkertech chair designed to be as uncomfortable as possible. So, the fact that he and the rest of the wards were actually sitting in the audience (Third Row, Right Side) was just another sign of the unusualness. There was also the fact that rather than there being several hundred tourists, it was filled with nothing but PRT staff and most of the members of the Protectorate ENE. The only people missing he could, see? Piggy herself (No surprise) Armsmaster (Also no Surprise) and Velocity (A little bit of a surprise).

Still the Auditorium Hall wasn't as full as it would have been a few weeks previously. A lot of faces he would sometimes see passing in the halls were missing, and the only reasons he could think of why that was didn't fill him with much comfort.

"Hey did anyone see if the concession stand had popcorn?"

He called to the others. No one gave him a straight answer, apart from Assault, sitting in the row behind him giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Tell them if you see the popcorn guy, I'm still waiting on the peanuts he promised me."

That got a snort of amusement out of Dennis and he settled in for whatever was the day's World Shattering News™. It didn't take long before it started. The lights dimmed and the spot lights came up. Out walked Director Piggot herself. And boy did she not look good.

Other people if they had been privy to Dennis's mental monologue might have thought he was making fun of her weight, or something else. However, that wasn't what had Dennis's attention. It was her eyes. She looked like she'd been staring into the abyss and if not that, she clearly needed a new mattress because it looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Thank you all for coming. I know this is short notice for all of you but there have been several major developments in the last few hours and we are implementing new policies immediately. To make sure there is a minimum amount of confusion we will be addressing the highlights here. First, for reasons that will be made apparent in the next few minutes, the use of containment foam is now strictly prohibited in any location or situation that the Independent Cape code named Admiral is present for."

Dennis's eyebrows shot up behind his helmet as Piggot continued.

"If the situation requires it or you are directed appropriately by your supervisors and commanding officers you may detain her, but the use of containment foam I strictly forbidden as of Oh Three Hundred this morning. This order is effective not only here in the PRT ENE but for all branches of the ENE and has been signed off by Chief Director Costa-Brown."

Admiral. Dennis frowned. Admiral had first shown up nearly two weeks ago. His dad been in the hospital (again) and Dennis had been visiting. The cancer wing was usually a quiet place. While Cancer was serious, it wasn't the fast pace Emergency Wing. So usually, it was just sitting around uselessly fighting the urge to just endlessly freeze his dad over and over again while he watched the chemo or cleaned the spittle his dad would cough up during his sessions.

But nurses gossiped just as much as anyone else. And while they wouldn't tell visitors what was going on, in a wing as quiet as the one his dad was in, he'd been able to overhear most of the gossip. And lone behold there was a new Nazi cape with the E88. Armsmaster and Miss Militia had visited and everything only they were still in the hospital and not in jail or custody.

More than a little curious he'd listened in until he'd overheard the room number being said in a hushed voice that still carried farther than the nurse had intended. And when his visit was up, Dennis had decided to take a different route out of the hospital than usual. Sure, enough he'd spotted the teenaged Hitler Youth wanabe standing in the hallway talking to a nurse. Only the nurse wasn't one of the hospital's nurses. In fact both of them had been speaking what he'd wager his entire Ward trust fund was German, and fast too like they'd spoken it all their life. The Empire had a healer, but Othala didn't dress like she was straight out of a WW1 period movie set about the Red Cross.

They'd been standing just outside a door. He'd passed the pair by, the nurse and the Nazi only glancing at him as he passed. Since he never slowed or stopped, he only had a glimpse. But he'd seen a girl about his age, asleep in a bed.

It was only later that he'd learned that it was she, not the Nazi in the hallway was really the cape.

Days later she was gone from the hospital. Hurray!

Only...

Her departure had simply moved the chaos and whispers from the Hospital, to the PRT as new buildings were popping up in the Docks, seemingly created by her. Her projections were roving the streets every night, few in number but always on the move from dusk until dawn. They dragged every criminal they found to a police precinct regardless of any gang affiliation, (rather suspiciously including E88 gangers) or even if they were not in a gang at all. One very notable example of a non-gang arrest had been a pickpocket operating on the Boardwalk. Any kind of crime they found, from the lowly pickpocket all the way up to the Parahumans from that one pseudo-gang that were always on drugs, they all were turned over to the police.

It was the strangest thing ever and Dennis would have expected the Empire to be heralding this new recruit. This Admiral as the newest, brightest, and whitest of Neanderthalic morons. But they didn't. And then came Hookwolf. One day, Hookwolf had been one of the most feared capes in the city. The next he was dead. And Admiral was the one responsible.

Even the PRT didn't seem to know why she had done it. Some said she was cleaning house before she would join the Empire, that a real Nazi wouldn't put up with the scum of the gang. Others said she wasn't a villain at all. Rumors flew fast and furious from people who were supposed to know better. It was almost as if the cloud-cuckoo landers of the PHO had started pretending to be normal people holding jobs at the PRT.

And still the PRT didn't move. Oh, they'd brought her in. But she'd walked out a few hours later along with every last one of her projections minus one that had gone off to patrol part way during the meeting.

And now Dennis was staring up at a projector board of the girl he'd seen lying in that hospital bed. She had curly black hair, and she seemed to see right out at all of them from behind her glasses. She wasn't dressed in any uniform, the photo looked like it had been taken from one of the hallway security cameras. But then, rumor had it, that Admiral didn't have a secret identity (given she was pictured sans costume). Like pretty much everyone else Dennis looked up at her picture, studying her as Piggot continued to talk.

"While the details will be kept private. Containment foam replicates the conditions of Admiral's trigger event. And as such will never be used on her."

The picture of Admiral up on the projector screen slid to the side and five figures similar to the one Nazi he'd seen in the hall of the hospital appeared.

"Last night Admiral was foamed as part of an ongoing incident. As a result, she created five new summons through her power. All five of these new individuals are now part of the force that we have code named 'The Fleet'. Each and every one of them is a Master summon that believe themselves to be the resurrected and reformed embodiment of German warships from the first World War."

"At this time what is known about these summons is as follows. Because of the unique and differing nature of these creations, as well as their own insistences that they are not a projection but instead have been summoned from their 'retirement' they are now being classified as summons. Pending full testing that has been scheduled with Admiral for later today, we believe the following to be true."

"Each summon is fully sentient. Each summon is seemingly capable of fully independent action. They have unique personalities and mannerisms. They are near human in almost every way and if not for radar, sonar, and tinkertech could at times pass as completely human."

The picture of Admiral vanished up on the screen and the picture of the five Nazi summons (whatever that specifically meant) slid downward to make room for... a computer image of five ships?

"Radar, Sonar, and Tinkertech are all capable of detecting each of these summonses. They do not register as human, but instead as the German warships they claim as their identities. Additionally, while full testing has not yet been conducted, each of them appears to be in possession of Tinkertech weaponry that replicates through an unknown Shaker Effect, the offensive capabilities of each of the stated warships."

A picture of one of the 'summoned' projections with something that looked almost like a series of warship turrets suspended from metal arms coming off a backpack.

"So far the list of known summoned 'warships' in the city are as follows. U-505 a German Nazi submarine. The first and original of Admiral's summons. U-2540 another Nazi Submarine as well as U-20, a German Submarine dating back to the first world war. U-20 is famous historically for being the submarine responsible for sinking the passenger ship the Lusitania which acted as a catalyst to bring America into the war. As a summon she was responsible for killing Hookwolf. She also has Rostock, a cruiser, and Kaiser a battleship. Rostock and Kaiser both are ships from the original world war."

There was a murmur through the crowd at the name Kaiser. The fact that anyone in the bay had dared take that name and wasn't crucified on a sword was a statement in and of itself. Either Admiral really was a Nazi who had Kaiser cowed and in line. Or, he was so afraid of her that he didn't protest someone stealing his name...

Although was it really stealing if the ship had it first?

"Prior to today these represented what we are considering the offensive and militant arm of Admiral's 'Fleet'. Additionally, she has in her service the summons Mars, also known as Vityaz, a hospital ship, Saar a submarine resupply ship. Horst Wessel, also known as Adler a training ship, and three destroyer escort summons that are named F1, F2, and F3. All of her support summons do originate from the Nazi navy of the second world war.

The original line of five new summons vanished, replaced by a scrolling array of pictures and scientific computer images of warships. It made sense to Dennis that they were most likely the very tinkertech radar signals that these projection summonses were supposedly giving off.

"Each of these summons has so far been assigned a Brute 5, Blaster 5, and Mover 3 ratings. At. A. Minimum. Summons such as Kaiser have considerably higher ratings. Let alone to additional other ratings such as an estimated Master 1 rating for her ability to command and order her fellow summons."

"Which brings us to the events of this morning. Due to the incident which is still under investigation into the underlying causes, Admiral was exposed to conditions similar to her trigger event. Because of the stress of the situation, she created a record five new summons. All five immediately appeared in the same spot as all previous summons, inside the Boat Graveyard. They immediately oriented on and sought out the location where Admiral was being held and approached and demanded her return."

The scrolling images ended and the original image of the five figures returned. They were five women standing in a row. Their appearances varied somewhat. Two looked to be twins or so close that they would be mistaken for such. These two had black hair and blue eyes. They wore dark blue navy uniforms that matched the cut and coloring of the summon Kaiser that had been pictured earlier. Albiet the uniforms were not as elaborate. The backpack harnesses they wore were not as significant but they were still quite noticeable with how the multitude of small turrets were pointed almost entirely in the direction of the camera that had recorded the image.

They were joined by the other three women, all of whom looked like the first two to be pretty young, but probably an adult. They were slightly shorter and their turett backpacks were less impressive than the main two standing near the center. Two brunetes and a blond with even more simple of uniforms. Two had basic uniforms, the third, one of the brunettes was almost the same, except Dennis could see an iron cross hanging on the chest of her uniform. She might not have been wearing any swastikas. But there was no doubt what this summon's 'beliefs' really were... As was Admiral's beliefs.

"After Admiral was freed from containment foam and escorted out to them along with another of her summons, we were able to communicate with the newest summons and have identified them as the cruisers; Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Emden, Leipzig, and Nurnberg. All five ships not only date from the first world war, but also served together in battle. Each of these summons alone possess blaster ratings that are estimated to be at or superior to a company of military tanks. Collectively they represent the largest summon of power increase for Admiral and a considerable portion of her offensive military might."

"We also believe that her summons has a way of locating her as all known summons have immediately sought her out after their appearance and arrival regardless of her location. This makes attempting to restrain or hold Admiral by any means an option of last resort."

"Additionally, the firepower of each of these summonses is comparable to military hardware of the appropriate time period. If Admiral were to assume hostilities, it is our estimate that outside intervention by other Protectorate Branches, and possibly by members of the Triumvirate would be necessary to stop her. As such you are hereby directed to immediately ensure that any and all action never antagonizes Admiral. If your actions result in her agitation or sufficient alarm you will immediately be placed on probation pending review and if there is evidence you did so maliciously or deliberately, you will be fired immediately."

"Make no mistake. Admiral is without dispute the the most powerful cape in this entire city. While she is reluctantly willing to work with us, mistakes have been made. As such every effort will be made to ensure that no other mistakes will be made. Effective Immediately. Armsmaster is relieved of his position as the head of the Protectorate ENE. Velocity will be assuming the role of the head of the Protectorate ENE. Additionally, the PRT ENE and the Protectorate will no longer conduct patrols or operations with the hero team New Wave until after a full investigation into matters still being analyzed is being completed. All PR releases regarding any of these matters will be handled exclusively by members of the ENE PR Staff. Any employee or Cape caught talking on, or off the record, with members of the press will be terminated and investigated."

The room was silent as bombshell after bombshell was unleashed. Piggot was hard eyed as she spoke even as on the stage. Behind and off to the side Velocity slowly walked out onto the stage to stand slightly behind and beside her with a posture that Dennis could only describe as militant.

"This is not how this was planned. But this is the position we are now in. It is up to every one of us to safeguard the people of this city. As long as Admiral is safe, and secure, you are protecting not only the lives of your own families, but also the lives of your neighbors and everyone you know. Now, your supervisors and Team Leaders will have further details. Protectorate and Ward Members please remain behind. Everyone else you are dismissed."

As the reduced ranks of the PRT ENE rose and made their way out through the room's exits Clockblocker found himself looking towards his fellow Wards and for one of the very few times in his life he couldn't think of a single funny thing to say.

Last edited: Jun 5, 2022

382

Veriseple

Jun 4, 2022

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Threadmarks Interlude: Calvert

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Sep 11, 2022

#3,343

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Thomas Calvert

The corridor strobed in red light from the alarms. Emergency power at the end of the hallway flickering like a faulty halogen bulb. He panted, pausing for a moment as he gasped for air, forcing himself to breathe, to suck the salt, copper, and diesel-smelling air down into his lungs.

His hand pressed against the rough of the poured concrete wall that was dyed blood red by the lights. His arm shook, quivering. He forced himself to continue to breathe in and out. His right hand held the cold steel of the gun in his hand by his side. It was light, too light, he could tell by the weight he did not have enough bullets.

As if bullets would possibly be enough.

A simple gun wouldn't be enough. He knew it far too well. He needed more than gunpowder and steel to save him. With a strained gasp, he pushed away from the wall of the concrete hallway. His shoes, soaked by the sea water sent splashes of water with every uneven step. His body ached, bruised, and battered, and he limped, but despite it all, he refused to just give up. Instead, he pushed through the pain forcing himself to move forward.

If he could just make it, maybe he could survive...

Up ahead the corridor turned ninety degrees at a T intersection. With the inches of water and the murky light of the emergency lightning. He slipped on something beneath the water and fell forward. Only by scrambling, each foot scrambling for anything more to step against, did he keep from falling into the seawater filling up the floor, instead reaching the far side of the underground corridor to hit the far wall. Hard. Slamming into it.

His head hit the concrete, he felt dizzy even more. And he couldn't help but pause. The urge to just rest, even for a moment, to stop, was so powerful. Everything hurt. If he stopped for just a moment if he just caught his breath...

The sound came from behind him, the corridor he had just came from. A sound he knew in his nightmares, in his memories. That warbling screech. He looked back over his shoulder and could see movement for a moment at the far end before the flickering red emergency light died completely.

He had seen it though. Turning. Bracing his back against the wall he raised the pistol, cradling it with his other hand, trying to control the shaking. He pulled the trigger and the roar of the gun in the concrete rang in his ears even as he corrected his aim, countering the splash to the side of the shape at the far end.

He fired again, and this time his ears rang with the pain not only of the noise but also the pain the thing at the far end felt as he hit it. But it wasn't dead. He fired again as it moved closer. He missed for a second time. Closer, but he hadn't hit. He fired a fourth time and the slide locked open as the final bullet slammed into the small shape and its screams were silenced.

Its scream was stopped, but an echo of other screams and screeches was crying out in reply to the gunfire. He let the gun fall into the water on the floor. He didn't have any more bullets anyways.

The only hope he had now was if he could reach the Armory.

His body screamed with pain as he pushed off the wall again. But the armory was close, only two more corridors. He could make it, maybe. If the armory was even intact. If the power didn't give out...

No.

He had survived Ellisburg. He would survive this too.

Gritting his teeth, he forced him to slosh on through the seawater. His hand pressed to the concrete walls, bracing himself. He couldn't tell if he was leaving bloody handprints or if it was just handprints of water. It didn't matter though. He needed to keep moving.

Five hundred feet.

Three Hundred Feet.

The turn. He could hear the splashes of more of them coming from behind, farther back.

Two hundred and twenty feet.

There were too many screams and too many splashes. They were coming for him. He didn't even know how many.

One hundred and twelve feet.

He glanced back and he could see them now. Their mottled stitched flesh could not be hidden. The red light bathed their patchwork bodies in bloody colors but he knew too well the monstrous colors.

He sprinted for the end. A race for survival.

Something popped in his leg and he only prevented from screaming by biting into his arm as he flung himself forward. The armory door was so close. The keypad was the finish line, its keypad still glowed with power, green buttons standing out starkly against the bloody surrounding of the walls, the water, and the monster's clawed hands reaching for him.

He punched at one of Nilbog's abominations even as it tore at his suit. Another sunk its teeth into his ankle. He kicked it away, his foot planted into its chest sending it flying even as he nearly collapsed from the pain in his other leg.

He pressed the combination one button after another, his hand shaking more than it ever had before.

He missed a button, pressing an eight instead of the nine on the very last number. The keypad flashed red as the wrong code was entered. Something clawed at his back as he entered the combination again. The doorway opened this time and the bright shining light of the armory was the light of heaven itself as he threw himself to the floor inside even as the seawater rushed in. His hand grabbed for a rifle. Rolling he pulled the trigger spraying the opening of the doorway with gunfire felling the abominations that hunted him.

Then the doorway closed cutting them off from him. They couldn't reach him here.

He was safe.

"DiD YoU ThInK YoU WeRe SaFe FrOm Us?"

He should have been alone. But he wasn't. Dread filled him as he heard that distorted multi-tonal voice coming from inside the Armory. From inside with him.

He couldn't miss her there, at the end of the armory standing in between the racks of rifles and crates of grenades. She stood there, black hair dripping with foul black liquid or ichor. Her skin was white, like a corpse that had been dead in the water for far too long. Her eyes were hidden by her hair. She wore a tattered military uniform, ripped, torn, bloody, and stained black in spots.

"DiD YoU ThInK YoU WeRe SaFe FrOm Me?"

Ribbons and medals decorated the uniform, the colorful ribbons ragged and frayed. The metal medals and accouterments rusted over. But even rusted over he knew what an Iron Cross looked like. He could see what had once been the symbol of the Nazis.

Spitting into the water he rolled over and forced himself to stand up. His knee buckled but he caught himself with a storage rack as he pulled himself up.

"You Nazi piece of shit. I killed your Admiral. I'll kill you too."

He grabbed a tinker tech rifle and swung it to point at the fucking racist war hulk disguised as a human woman and pulled the trigger. The green laser lanced out and he had to shield his eyes. This was why he equipped his mercenaries not just with tinker tech weapons, but also with protective gear to let them safely use it. But even with his eyes clenched shut he pulled the trigger again and again over and over until the weapon couldn't fire anymore.

Only then did he open his eyes again.

At the far end of the armory, she was still there. But she wasn't just the standing corpse with the long black hair. Her 'rigging' her turrets were arrayed in front of her. Four of them, their tops painted yellow formed a wall shielding her from his attack. From each turret jutted out two massive gun barrels. They peeled apart, opening like the jaws of a monster to reveal the corpse ship inside and he looked into the black pits of what should have been her eyes, as she opened her too-wide mouth.

Pushing off the wall she didn't attack him instead rushing forward. He raced backward, backpedaling away from her for space. He grabbed a grenade and through it, stupid in the confined space but he wouldn't go down without a fight.

His back hit the far wall and he grabbed a new tinker tech rifle even as she stopped halfway from him. Just beside the armored door. He pointed it at her again.

"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of just dying for it. You want to kill me you're going to have to work for it."

"Im NoT tHe OnLy OnE wHo WaNtS YoU dEaD. I'm NoT tHe OnLy OnE yOu FeAR."

Her arm lashed out to the side and he pulled the trigger as he heard the sounds of metal shrieking and groaning.

"ThEy WaNt YoU TOo."

There was a heavy bang that made the concrete floor beneath his feet shake with how heavy it was. He peeked open an eye wondering if he'd hit something vital. But his stalwart resilience in the face of death died its own death as he saw that it was not she who had fallen from his attack.

It was the door.

They came through the gap like a tidal wave. Nilbog's beasts, a wave of teeth and claws and yellowed eyes and mottled colors stitched together. And over the top, those black eyes watched him as they began to eat him alive right there.

He screamed as he sat up in his bed. His hand reached for the gun he kept on his nightstand and muscle memory had the safety off and he had put a hole in the wall before he even realized he wasn't in a besieged bunker.

He was bound and restrained. But it wasn't the claws of abominations and monsters but silk sheets and blankets that restrained him. He was wet, but it wasn't the salt of seawater and diesel. It was just the sweat clinging to his body as he hyperventilated.

He was in his home. In his bed.

He grabbed his phone and typed in a specific number. Two rings later it was answered.

"Status report."

"All quiet sir. No issues or anything to report."

He wasn't breathing as he listened to the watch officer of his mercenaries reported in. He listened in silence and didn't say anything more as he ended the call.

He didn't let go of the pistol, but he did flick the safety back on even as he held it in his hand and hunched forward resting his head in his other hand, his elbows on his knees. It had just been a dream. Just a nightmare.

Admiral's summons would never let Nilbog kill him. They would reserve that pleasure for themselves if he killed Hebert. It had never been anything more than a nightmare.

Just like all the others that plagued his nights these days.

He continued to sit there on the bed, controlling his breathing and getting his heart rate down. As he sat in his bed, cradling the gun in his hand, still keeping it close, finger still on the trigger, he plotted.

Admiral was the prize he wanted. He wouldn't need mercenaries working for a paycheck if he had a Master's army of projections. But they always found out when she died. It didn't matter if he used catspaws. If he fed certain members of the Empire the information they still would find out. If he 'arranged' for Lung to rampage into her 'Fleet' they would still find out.

He could not scare her; she possessed more power and force than he ever would. Even with decades of time and billions more in money he wouldn't outmatch her in that regard. He could not kidnap her. Her word was not absolute. He could not drug her to make them obey her as a puppet. There was no way he could force or compel her. She was too ideologically attached to the city to simply move and now she refused to move. Bribes of cash were met with suspicion.

How could he buy off someone who could repurpose ruined buildings into a military complex or field some of the most powerful artillery ever made by the hands of man? Even when it came to capes there were few who could match her with sheer destructive power. Legend, String Theory, and a handful of others, half of whom were dead anyways. It was a very short list.

The US military would be able to outmatch any dollar amount he could offer her once they took the plunge. He was pretty sure they were just waiting on power testing at this point since it was painfully clear that Admiral's power was a callous joke with how much she... hated nazis...

A thought occurred to him. Something he hadn't considered before. Hardly a surprise gave it was a tactic quite unlike one he had ever employed before. But then desperate times called for desperate measures. Getting out of bed he walked out of his bedroom, ignoring the bullet hole in the wall, and walked to his home office.

Settling into his office chair, feeling the leather give around him he turned his computer on and was quickly scrolling through a dozen different windows. He chewed at the flesh of his knuckle, a nervous habit he had suppressed years before if he even realized he was doing it. But he was so focused that he didn't even realize he was doing it as he continued checking one thing after another.

And then he leaned back in his chair letting out the breath he had been holding.

It was a long shot. But it might actually work. This wouldn't work for most other capes but Admiral was a special case. The unique nature of her power meant that it might just actually work. He eyed the lines of numbers in his bank accounts and started doing the math of how much this would hurt his other operations, how much he would need to funnel other... no. The best way this would work would only be if he used legitimate funds. He grimaced. He would need to use Fortress Construction for him. That was too much money to do this any other way.

But then maybe that could work out too. She would be looking at him with suspicion. His skin color would only get him so far in the door with her preconceptions. She needed to see a way that he could benefit from this. A deal too good to be true was just a devil's bargain. He would need to haggle with her, to entice every value he could get out of this. But as he reclined back in his office chair, continuing to plan and strategize he knew that he finally had a plan that would actually solve the Admiral problem.

But there was one other thing that would need to be handled. Something he couldn't do himself. Something he would need help with. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. It was late but she would still be awake. Three rings before it was answered. He didn't hear her speak. He had called her. He needed to make his plea, his request that they change the plan.

"We need to change the arrangement. I'm going to need you to greenlight and fast track the transfers on your end rather than letting them die in bureaucratic limbo."

There was silence before he heard the voice of Rebecca Costa-Brown respond.

"Explain."

Last edited: Oct 10, 2022

307

Veriseple

Sep 11, 2022

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Threadmarks Launching 1

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Sep 21, 2022

#3,536

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

EDITED: 10/18/22; email addresses finally included. Minor inclusions in later half.

From: PRT-ENE Information Department (noreply .gov)

Sent: 06 February 2011, 4:33am

To: Mayor Christener (rchristner .gov); Deputy Mayor (gfender .gov); Brockton Bay Office of the Mayor (admin . ); Brockton Bay Fire Department (admin ); Brockton Bay Police Department (info ); New Wave Email (lady_photon ); +11 others

Subject: Power Testing (Courtesy Warning)

This email to inform you that our Power Analysis department will be conducting power testing in the Boat Graveyard and at the mouth of the bay starting at 11 am today. Please disregard any noises, sights, and disturbances.

Thank you.

Taylor

I stood on the forward deck, I think it was called a bow, of a speedboat. Or maybe a patrol boat? Whatever it was, I was standing on it just outside the entrance of the bay. I wasn't alone as Velocity was standing close by on the same boat as me while Armsmaster was standing on the deck of one of several other boats nearby.

Ahead the full complement of my summons were all standing on the water doing a decent imitation of Jesus. In the center was Kaiser of course. After the events of this morning and what Brandish had done she was wearing an eyepatch over her left eye, but seemed no worse for the wear otherwise. Adler was standing next to her and fanning outwards on either side were the all the rest of them ranging from Nemo, Wilhelm and U-20 at one end being the only present not actually standing on the water, but instead floating in it. While at the other end of the line my newest five summoned girls were all standing at attention waiting. Even at this distance I could see how stiffly they stood, their eyes locked straight ahead.

In addition to the five boats floating near the boat I was on, there were two more moving about far out to sea in the Atlantic. I'd been told by Velocity that they were setting up targets to shoot at but that had to be too far out, right? Was that boat a mile away? More? And the other one was even farther out.

Those two boats weren't alone as other boats were supposedly setting up an obstacle course of floating buoys somewhere nearby and to top it all off there was a plane that had been circling high above us for a while. Supposedly it was Dragon herself but even with all the craziness in my life I was finding that one a bit much to believe so I'd just nodded and said nothing.

The girls were all still standing in a line, waiting, waiting for me to give them an order. Every last one of them from Kaiser on down was wearing or carrying those strange mechanical backpacks they called their rigging. I had no idea how Kaiser was even standing up straight with how off balance she had to be with the massive turret mounts jutting off of hers let alone some of the smaller ones like U-20 or the F class kids carrying their handgun like 'deck guns' along with their small backpacks with tiny smokestacks jutting out the back.

I continued to watch the boats far in the distance as they finally stopped zig zagging back and forth setting out targets, and were finally charging across the waves at full speed far off to the side, to the right or south or whatever it was. Velocity, standing next to me was also watching through a set of binoculars similar to mine. He lowered them and looked to me still standing beside him.

"Alright then. They've finished setting up. The worst of the morning glare should be over so I'd say this will be about as perfect of weather as we are going to get. Please give the order, Admiral."

I nodded, squared my shoulders and looked out across the gentle waves of the Atlantic here in the mouth of the bay and looked to Kaiser.

"Kaiser. You may begin firing at the targets. One at a time please have each ship fire ten shots for accuracy tests to start."

She raised her hand to her brow, saluting me at my words. A movement I returned. And then as soon as my hand lowered she turned about on her heels to face out to the east across the Atlantic and began to shout in German. I could hear the noise building as the 'engines' of my summons started up one after another, just like when Vityaz had lifted me into my dad's truck, but so much louder because there were so many more of them.

I'd been given protective earmuffs to dampen the sound practically as soon as I'd gotten on the boat with Velocity. And now that we were starting I moved them from where they'd been hanging around my neck and put them firmly over my ears.

From: Mayor Christener (rchristner .gov)

Sent: 06 February 2011, 11:45am

To: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Subject: Noise Complaint

Frank,

WHAT THE FUCKING HELL IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!

I have my windows shaking from whatever the hell you lot are doing and my phone is ringing off the hook from citizens getting the same. I have people screaming their heads off asking for answers. So you better damn well tell me what the freaking hell is going on!

Roy

I had thought the noise and force of Saar firing her guns late that night had been loud. I had been prepared for nothing. Gun after gun fired. The subs launched their torpedo's at the targets and I could see the lines beneath the water, the path of the sub-nautical war munitions as they streaked just beneath the surface of the water. I could see the explosions erupting from beneath the waves as they found their targets time and time again.

And while Rostock, the subs, and the F ship girls all blasted away with their guns, they had nothing on the noise of my newest summons. The five cruisers who Kaiser had told me were all veterans of something called the East Asia Squadron had power and force like nothing the rest of them had.

But then it was Kaiser's turn and everything I had seen, heard, and felt standing there on the boat was as if it had just been practice for this. Every shot of her guns even though they were aimed out to see felt like a burst of force slamming into my body from the sheer volume and air pressure of her shots.

I did feel a little bad for Kaiser when her accuracy was so poor compared to the rest. But then I supposed she really did have a handicap given she only had one eye and they all had two eyes to aim with.

From: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Sent: 06 February 2011, 11:49am

To: Mayor Christener (rchristner .gov)

Subject: RE: Noise Complaint

Roy,

We do apologize that the noise has caused an inconvenience. We will be moving the testing area out to sea. We are conducting power testing with a local hero and certain aspects of the hero's power are exceeding previously recorded measures.

Frank

The testing of the guns was over. Now I watched as one after another the girls were all skating back and forth between buoys. I couldn't help but think of gym class learning to roller skate around little cones, but this was so much faster, so much more graceful as they all moved on the water as if they had all existed on it for all of their existences.

From: Mayor Christener (rchristner .gov)

Sent: 06 February 2011, 11:54am

To: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Subject: RE: Noise Complaint

Frank,

Exceeding previous recorded measures? What the hell is that double talk? I don't give a damn how inconvenient it is for you. If I ever find out you lot are ever planning on doing this again, I'm going to make your lives a living hell! Don't ever do this shit within ten miles of my city ever again!

Roy

I couldn't look as the gun fired. I knew Kaiser would be okay. She had assured me she would be okay. That her armor was thick enough. But that didn't mean that I wanted to watch as Kaiser just stood there and let Dragon shoot her. (As it turned out it had actually been Dragon flying so far up above us all this whole time. Now she was peppering Kaiser with gunfire and missiles. I peeked between my fingers and while Kaiser was certainly moving in a way that even I would consider 'evasive' I couldn't help but notice how much of the gunfire and missiles Dragon was launching at her seemed to be just splashes in the water so very far away from Kaiser in all directions.

Was Dragon trying to miss her?

From: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Sent: 06 February 2011, 11:59am

To: Mayor Christener (rchristner .gov)

Subject: RE: Noise Complain

Roy,

Understood. We won't be responsible for this happening again. However, we cannot guarantee it won't' happen. I recommend reaching out to Admiral over in the docks as she is the responsible party and will be the one determining when or if it will happen again.

While I do not have her contact information on hand for you, I'm quite sure you know how to get hold of Daniel Hebert down at the Dockworkers Union. He should be able to get hold of her for you.

Frank

My ears were still ringing just a little bit even though it had been hours. I was back on land, Velocity had returned to the Rig and I was now standing next to dad as I watched my Fleet (as they were calling themselves) file into the Arsenal one after another. The huge rigging of Kaiser, down to the small backpacks of the little girls the F classes getting put away safely. I could see the crowds of dockworkers watching us out of the corner of my eyes. But I didn't look.

Instead I just stood beside dad as we watched it unfold. There was silence between us, had been for a while before Dad spoke, breaking it.

"Yeah. That's what they're capable of then." He paused. "You are the most powerful cape I've ever met honey."

My mouth was dry as I replied. "Yeah.." I'd seen Saar testing her guns on the wrecks of the Graveyard. But that had been nothing compared to seeing Kaiser or Rostock. Standing on the deck of a boat at the entrance of the Bay just past the sunk tanker watching them all skate around on the water, shooting at floating targets from a mile or more away, it had been eye opening, and headache pounding just from the force of the sound as their cannon had roared over and over again.

I had watched Kaiser lift a ruined wreck out of the water for a moment before the weight of the ship had been too much for rusted steel to hold and the whole thing had crashed down into the water. I had watched Nemo and the other subs breach up from under the water with the grace of dolphins.

It had been wondrous to behold, and terrifying to witness.

And now they were back on land, same as me. But I couldn't forget that they were still not the humans that they looked to be. A human couldn't withstand gunfire like that. Couldn't take a missile to her body and shrug it off like it had been nothing. A human couldn't hit a target that was miles away. It had been too far for me to see but Dragon had been recording everything from the sky and during the final weapons test at the end of the day Rostock had succeeded in hitting a target that had been over eight miles away from her. It was a distance that even now I couldn't comprehend.

"You may want to talk to your girls though. Now that everyone's seen what you are going to do. You are going to have people starting to try and beat down your door. This won't be one or two phone calls or letters either. Even I haven't missed that they seem to be doing what you need them to do. So talk to Adler, or Kaiser, or maybe even Nemo about it. And let them know what you need..."

He trailed off and I looked at him. His head was turned to the side, looking towards the Graveyard. Leaning around him to look I stared at the fog hovering around the ships. Dad had said this was how they all showed up wasn't it? Walking out of the fog like ghosts? I had so many! What was I supposed to do with another?

Sure enough though after a bit I watched as someone new, a girl I didn't know and hadn't seen before walked out of the fog. As she got closer though I couldn't help but notice how she seemed... older? Her black hair was peppered with gray and even stray strands of white, and once she was really close she even looked like she had wrinkles hiding around her eyes. Her uniform was a rather different design from any of the others as well. It seemed, aged, as if it was something someone in the American Civil War might have worn... Just how old was she?

"Admiral! SMS Hansa reporting for duty!"

I understood what she was saying, so I raised my hand and returned the salute as she stood there standing before me. Still I understood that one because every new ship always said it when they first came to me. Have enough people say the same thing over and over again and anyone will understand it eventually. That didn't mean though that I was ready to have a conversation with yet another summon that almost certainly didn't speak a bit of English. So I pointed towards Kaiser and said one of the few other words in German that I had learned under Adler's tutelage.

"Report for duty."

Sure enough she saluted again. I saluted back, and then she immediately started trotting off towards Kaiser who was watching her with what might have been a raised eyebrow. It was hard to tell with the eyepatch and the distance.

From: Taylor Hebert (tayhebert .net)

Sent: 07 February 2011, 3:20pm

To: Brockton Bay City Public Library (info )

Subject: Computer Learning Classes

Hello,

I am inquiring about enrolling in classes regarding how to use modern technology including but not limited to cell phones, computers, the internet, electronic mail, and other modern technologies.

AKS Hansa

P.S. I am currently having help with this electronic mail and will require considerable assistance. If any of your staff speaks German they would be most helpful as I am currently learning English. Additionally if you offer English classes for German speakers this would also be greatly appreciated.

The Public City Library of Brockton Bay was usually a quiet place. You could go in there, find a book, sit down and read without being disturbed or people coming up to you. Or you could use a computer for a short time. There were two areas to use computers in the library. The general area where anyone with a library card could check in and get time on the machines. But there was a second computer lab in a different part of the library. This was not private cubbies giving users privacy. This was a place with a dozen computers arrayed on tables, open space in between so staff could freely move between.

Seated at each computer was a person. And without fail they all fit a certain type. They were old. Usually with graying hair, or even no hair at all. This was a class for beginners to learn to use computers. Staff would use power points to demonstrate how to turn on a computer. How to open programs, how to enter passwords. How to write and send an email, and even how to browse the internet.

All in all there was exactly one computer that had someone that didn't look like they belonged at it. And it wasn't so much that the middle aged woman sitting at it slowly typing away using two fingers with a look of furious concentration, but instead the teenaged blond boy... or perhaps girl crouching next to her that had been pointing and trying to help the whole time. The staff member was grateful since the older woman didn't seem to speak a word of English at all but luckily the kid did. Still there was this furious intensity from a woman who wasn't nearly as old as some of the senior citizens sitting. But she methodically poked away at the keyboard with one finger at a time as if she had never seen a computer before.

It just reinforced that there was a purpose and a reason for these classes helping the elderly learn to use modern technology. And at least this one had the polite young family member helping her unlike some of the other folks attending and struggling on their own. Trusting to the young family member to help the staff member hustled to help the other class takers struggling with their computers with nary a further glance at the old woman glaring away at the keyboard as if it had personally offended her.

From: Josephine Mathews (josmathews .mil)

Sent: 08 February 2011, 7:21pm

To: Gary Jones (gjones .gov)

Subject: Power Testing Location Proposal

Hey Gary,

I heard about that hubbalo up your way. News is talking about it quite a bit down here. Anyways knowing you they've got you doing the actual work while the bigwigs get all the TV time with the talking heads. Look I can put 2 and 2 together and get 4 just as easy as anyone else.

Look check the attachment. There's an island a few miles out to see from that cesspit they have you working in. Barely more than a few feet above water but there are a few buildings the Coast Guard keeps active as a rescue station and I know about it because the Navy has a weather monitoring station there. Nice Quiet, out to sea, and the perfect location for what I'm guessing your bosses have you checking for.

Check it out, vet it, and once you know I'm right like always kick it up the chain and have a beer.

Josie

On a certain tiny island out to sea a motorboat came to a stop on the gravely beach of an island that had next to nothing on it. The only thing of note at all was a lighthouse that rose up two stories with a small lightkeeper's hut built up against it. And another shed nearby for wood storage from the old days when the lighthouse had still burned wood.

The officer in charge, for he was an officer of the United States Navy looked around and nodded before pointing towards a clear area just past the wood storage shack.

"We'll put the weather observation building right here. So lets hop to it!"

From: Gary Jones (gjones .gov)

Sent: 09 February 2011, 9:06am

To: Josephine Mathews (josmathews .mil)

Subject: RE: Power Testing Location Proposal

Hey Josie,

You have no idea how much of a life saver this is. This place looks perfect. I'll vet it but I'm betting this will be just the thing to get them off my ass.

Gary

P.S. You still like my old man's Peach 'shine right? I think I owe you a jar or three for saving me from all the stress.

The staff member of the library smiled when she saw again the old woman back in the class being helped by her young relative. As always they started with instructions and she stayed up at the front demonstrating the process of how to go through a computer and go through each process. It was the same thing they had been taught before, but then with how much the older woman had been struggling another day of classes would only help. She made a mental note to walk over later and check in and see if they needed any help.

Half an hour later she finally walked around to that desk of the computer lab and almost stopped staring as the old woman typed away furiously at the keyboard. She was typing the same thing over and over again. But rather than stop her and correct her the staff member realized it was a typing drill to gain familiarity with the key placement of the keyboard...

This woman had been pigeon pecking one key at a time just days ago... had she spent the entire time since sitting at a computer learning to type and use a computer and nothing else?!

From: Taylor Hebert (tayhebert .net)

Sent: 12 February 2011, 12:01pm

To: Lt. Fowley (marfowley .mil)

Subject: NJROTC Enrollment

Attached is the paperwork for the entry of Hebert, Taylor into your Junior Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. Please let us know if there are any issues. Any communications for Admiral can be addressed to this email.

AKS Hansa

Secretary

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

P.S. Apologies if I have mismanaged any of this communication. This new form of letter writing is very new to me.

P.P.S. Please confirm that you have received this electronic mail.

It was becoming a routine. The PRT would notice a bit of fog cropping up in the Graveyard regardless of what the weather forecast of the day was supposed to be. A short while later they would get a call from Admiral notifying them of the new summon and request to arrange a testing time and date for her newest member of her Fleet.

They were starting to get very good at this. After the first test at the entrance of the bay the testing area had been moved well out to sea and to the south. But that just meant everyone needed to schedule longer periods for the testing process for the new summon. The location that had ultimately been selected had been chosen because it was far and out of the way with no one around to be bothered. Only an old lighthouse that warned boats of the shallows on their way in to Boston. The first time they had gone out to the remote islands it had been as expected. Not much to see with just a single figure watching them by binoculars from the lighthouse. Probably just a maintenance man looking in on the lighthouse enjoying the show.

From: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Sent: 17 February 2011, 11:49am

To: Cpt. Travers (dertravers .mil)

Subject: Observers

Cpt. Travers,

I'm just reaching out because several members of our testing staff have commented on a large number of observers at your Duck Island rescue station. My understanding was that the station was largely automated and would have few if any people present that we would be disturbing during our off-shore power testing exercises with a local parahuman.

This morning my team noted the presence of no less than seven individuals moving about on the island in the process of setting up what looked like observation equipment and constructing new buildings near the lighthouse.

Frank Rennick

Deputy Director, Public Relations

PRT ENE

The next time however they didn't see the man from before standing all by his lonesome. Oh he was certainly there. But he wasn't alone. A half dozen figures were watching the testing of the newest summon that had just come in that morning as her cannons roared deep and loud. And even those half dozen weren't the end of it. There was what looked to be a brand new shiny satelite dish mounted on the outside of the lighthouse and another building nearby with wires from the dish running to it.

The how of how all of them had gotten there was explained not by the presence of some little motorboat but instead the presence of a United States Coast Guard Cutter slowly cruising in a circle slowly around the island. And of course there were even more people on the deck of the cutter also watching the testing as it went on through a great many pairs of binoculars that were pointed solidly in the direction of the newest member of the Fleet.

From: Cpt. Travers (dertravers .mil)

Sent: 17 February 2011, 1:01pm

To: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Subject: RE: Observers

Hello Dep. Dir. Rennick,

Thank you for your concern. My subordinates were out on the island performing maintenance and doing rescue drills. We were also testing the maneuverability of our cutter to make sure its maintenance is up to code.

Captain Derrick Travers

United States Coast Guard

Taylor

I looked up from where I'd been doing my homework. Even though I was now being homeschooled through tutors Dad and Adler had found (plus Adler herself of course) to where Nemo was standing in front of me.

"...why do you ask?"

Nemo smiled and gestured with a hand towards the wall of the building.

"Well I was just figuring that since we are getting here and with Von der Tann now helping Kaiser everyone's getting free enough that we can do more than just patrol the city now. Kaiser still has U-20 helping out your father's workers but everyone else has just been patrolling or on guard duty and not much else. Why not work on clearing out the Graveyard as well? It gets cleaned up and its not like it actually has to be there for when you summon us. So we clean it up, the city looks better, and if no one actually owns those ships anymore we can sell the scrap for money.

I thought about it for a moment as I took a break from Geometry... It would be nice to have more money. The patrols just weren't bringing in as much as they had at the beginning. With so many girls out patrolling both the Empire and the ABB had pulled themselves in rather than continue to have their dealers and thugs keep getting picked up by my patrols. Dad and Kaiser were both sure it wouldn't last. Something would snap and someone would do something. But for now there was a weird sort of quiet in the city. Not peace. There could never be peace in a city with the Empire in it. But it was quiet... for now.

But that was a different issue and this and my finances for the Fleet were far more pressing issues. So after a moment more of thinking of if I'd ever heard of anyone else ever purchasing the wrecks or if maybe they were ownerless now and I could sell them for scrap.

"Alright... take it to Kaiser. And if she thinks its a good idea have Hansa start finding out if anyone actually owns the wrecks and ships in the graveyard."

Nemo grinned at me before saluting which I reflexively returned before she turned and skipped out of my office leaving me to resume struggling with Geometry. I swore I would try and do this myself just a little bit more before I caved and called in Adler.

From: Taylor Hebert (tayhebert .net)

Sent: 18 February 2011, 11:00pm

To: Brockton Bay Office of the Mayor (admin . )

Subject: Local Salvage Rights

Hello,

I am inquiring what the current ownership status of the hulks and wrecks collectively known as the 'Boat Graveyard' is. Your prompt response in this matter is appreciated.

AKS Hansa

Secretary

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

Hansa the ironclad was the oldest ship in the fleet by a long and big margin. She wasn't the smallest by any means. Between her masts and her tonnage she had a stature and grace to her. But she was old and set in her ways. Or so a snot nosed Destroyer might think. But Hansa was also an innovator, she had been the cutting edge of technology in her time. The very first German-built ironclad. And she knew more about innovation and adaptation than any of the whippersnappers that surrounded her might think.

And so it was that she did war with her hated enemy, this confounded piece of technology designed by Satan himself called a computer. She would beat this fiend and master it as she sent out email after email sending them out like the shells of her cannons conveying the power of her messages with a ferocity that left a wicked smile on her lips as she sat at the computer (with perfect posture of course) and her fingers blitzed away at the plastic keys.

In the shadows of the doorway the smallest member of the fleet stood watching her. Her name and designation was S-145 holding a pixie stick in one hand and a torpedo in another stopped for a moment and thought about interrupting the old Granny and asking her to play. But that smile... no she thought better of it and decided to go off and find Von der Tann. She never complained about it when the little fast attack boat shrieked with the delight and energy of a sugar high and demanded to play tag!

From: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Sent: 20 February 2011, 2:13pm

To: Cpt. Travers (dertravers .mil)

Subject: RE: Observers

Capt. Travers,

It is rather concerning that on all three occasions that we have conducted our off-shore power testing you have had your personnel present on the island in growing numbers. I went out myself last time as part of our outreach with the local hero doing the testing and I myself noted not only yourself watching us with binoculars, but also a US Navy officer standing next to you.

Frank Rennick

Deputy Director, Public Relations

PRT ENE

From: Cpt. Travers (dertravers .mil)

Sent: 20 February 2011, 3:01pm

To: Deputy Director Rennick (frennick .gov)

Subject: RE: Observers

Hello Dep. Dir. Rennick,

Our rescue station and lighthouse also serve as a weather monitoring station for the US Navy. You are welcome to reach out to them and inquire about their maintenance schedule.

Captain Derrick Travers

United States Coast Guard

AKS Kaiser

I stood on the docks watching as my command moved in one unison in the graveyard. Submarines beneath the surface worked with underwater cutting torches cutting away pieces of wreckage, breaking them into pieces and then bringing them up to the surface. Each piece was handed off to a destroyer or a cruiser who would ferry the piece to a different dock where other ships took the pieces up onto the land and walked them inwards into the base where each piece would be categorized and weighed before being loaded onto train cars to be taken away and sold at scrap.

I felt the satisfaction of a job well done as I lit the tobaccos of my pipe and raised it to smoke, continuing to supervise as my command worked as a welled oiled machine with proper German precision. Nary a word did i need to say. And the few that I did Von der Tann often beat me to. But I did not begrudge my second in command her duties. It was her job just as mind to see to it that the Fleet functioned as it should, no matter the task before us. We would carry out the Admiral's will with all the skill and rigor the hands of our builders and God himself gave to us.

From: Taylor Hebert (tayhebert .net)

Sent: 21 February 2011, 9:02am

To: Johnsonville Metal Recycling Corporation (info ); Brockton Bay Scrapyard (bbscrap ); Boston City Recycling (sales ); +8 others

Subject: Commercial Inquiries

Hello,

Please provide best pricing estimates for quantities of scrap steel as measured in tons. We also require a disposal service for degraded bunker fuel. If you provide this service, or can recommend a company that does, it would be appreciated.

AKS Hansa

Secretary

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

From: Taylor Hebert (tayhebert .net)

Sent: 21 February 2011, 10:43am

To: New England Mining Corporation (sales ); North East Mining Corporation (sales noreastmc); White Mountain Mining Corporation (sales wmm); +31 others

Subject: Commercial Inquiries

Hello,

Please provide best pricing estimates for 100 tons of ship grade coal and bunker oil.

AKS Hansa

Secretary

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

From: AKS Hohenzollern II hohenzollern2 )

Sent: 23 February 2011, 1:15pm

To: AKS Kaiser (kaiser ); AKS Von der Tann (vondertann ); H.W. Adler (hwadler ); Muâvenet-i Millîye (S165 ); Gayret-i Vataniye (S168 ); +19 Others

Subject: Mandatory Movie Attendance

By order of the Admiral; Tonight's movie will be Schindler's List. Attendance for all Fleet members is required.

The movie for tomorrow night will be an American silent film titled as The General.

AKS Hohenzollern II

Morale Officer

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

The dockyards continued to grow and adjust to the growing presence of the Fleet. New girls were continuing to arrive at most a few days from the previous arrival. Sometimes with even less than twenty four hours between arrivals. Dockworkers were growing used to the presence of the summons running around. Sometimes they would be assisted. The diminutive U-20 was a daily assistant to the workers of the docks helping to move weights and loads that normally would require the use of a forklift.

The Fleet as it was known in the Docks and beyond had grown to the point that more vehicles had become required. The first had of course been an additional barracks building to house all the new arrivals. And it wouldn't be long before there would be enough ships for a third barracks at which point each building would be designated between the growing submarine corps to one building. The second building holding the destroyer and torpedo boat complements. The third barracks was already planned to house the remaining surface ships not housed in the first two dorms.

The second actual building to join the naval complex sprouting up amidst the dilapidated warehouses and facilities was the Recreation Building. It was here that girls in their hours between patrols, sleep and other duties, were permitted and encouraged to spend their free time. Billiards, darts, board games and card tables had been included with the building's appearance. At the Admiral's generosity several TVs had been set up as well. Of course the key feature was the large dance hall that filled the largest space of the building. While no dances had yet been hosted it had seen service as an impromptu movie theater. Every night all off duty girls were permitted to attend and watch a movie on a projector set up.

Not only were various dockworkers occasionally in attendance, but so was the Admiral which ensured that even if a movie was of inferior quality, it was always a packed event.

(There was also a tavern in the basement, but that had been closed immediately by the order of the Admiral. A fact that saddened many a ship.)

The third and final new addition was the Admiralty Building. One wing of the building was the administrative center of the Fleet both for internal matters and external as well. It was here that members of the Mayor's office had come to speak and meet with the Admiral. Additionally it had offices for all key members of the Headquarters' Staff from the Flagship herself to her recently acquired second in command Von der Tann. It even had offices for Hohenzollern the Fleet Morale Officer, and Hansa the Fleet Secretary.

It was from the window of the secretary ship that was cracked ever so slightly to take advantage of an unseasonably warm February day passing dockworkers could hear the following.

"I am the first of my kind built for the Fatherland, a marvel of engineering for my time. You are a stone which has been bribed to do math."

A loud series of noises as if someone were attempting to repeatedly type on a keyboard emerged from the room.

"I refuse to be defeated by a glorified paperweight. Need I remind you, the window is right over there?"

More noises from a keyboard, or perhaps a mouse. A not so quiet crunch of something wood creaking and breaking sounded immediately after.

"I have over one hundred rounds for each of my guns, and I can shoot out to almost six thousand meters. My gunners are German. They are very good."

An inarticulate scream emerged from the cracked window a moment later.

"Work, damn you!"

From: H.W. Adler (hwadler )

Sent: 27 February 2011, 2:55am

To: Lt. Fowley (marfowley .mil)

Subject: A Disciplinary Matter

Hello Lt. Fowley,

It seems that while out in the city with AKS Nemo and several others last night, AKS Rostock while off duty engaged in Conduct Unbecoming a Warship. While the incident was minor, and she was off duty, I find it best to make sure she does not do so again.

As Rostock remains on the duty rotation as an escort for the Admiral today; it would be greatly appreciated if you could assist by using her as a training aide today.

AKS Adler

Chief Training Officer

Office of the Admiral

Brockton Bay

P.S. Smoke her.

AN: Special credit goes to Lambert Kipling for the bit featuring Hansa struggling with technology.

Last edited: Oct 18, 2022

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Oct 9, 2022 Awarded ×1

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AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Taylor

I sat along the building with all the others dressed in sweats over shorts and a tee shirt. Exercise clothes. There were six other teenagers passing the time with me. None of them were sitting close to me, instead giving me my space. Given that Amiral Sénès was sitting on one side of me and Premuda was standing on the other it was a requirement they be farther away.

The destroyers weren't one of my permanent bodyguard 'escorts'. They were part of a daily rotation (and slowly growing) number of ships that never let me be actually alone. I'd chaffed at first but after the first time an Empire cape had tried showing up at the docks, I'd stopped protesting out loud about it. Now I just did my best to ignore how even when I was inside the confines of the docks I always had someone either just outside a room or in the room with me.

They weren't my only guards by any means. With how large the Fleet was growing Kaiser had ordered that anytime I was away from the docks, such as right now, I should be accompanied by at least four of my summoned warships. Amiral and Premuda were with me while one of my submarine girls, U-21, was outside (probably hiding in a bush or up a tree to avoid being seen by people). The fourth and final member of my escort was the girl we were all watching.

Today had actually been pretty easy for us. Lieutenant Fowley had changed the plan for today because of the freak snowstorm going on outside. So we were in Winslow's fieldhouse and had been doing exercise. The Lieutenant had made it interesting though when he'd told us that Gunney Strickland was joining us for the exercise and for every wind sprint, pushup, jumping jack, pull-up, rope climb, and as long as even one person was still going. She would be doing one too.

And then just before it started Rostock had surprised me and everyone else by stepping forward and saying that she'd be joining the Gunney. That had gotten funny looks from myself and all the other kids. But I'd been looking at Rostock and the Navy staff. Most of the kids had been looking at me. And I was just wondering if this had anything to do with whatever Kaiser had pulled Rostock aside to talk about right before we'd left to come here.

After just five minutes the kids had started dropping out as Gunney Strickland and Lieutenant Fowley had set an unforgiving pace. If I wasn't spending three mornings a week with Adler I'd have been with them. But after weeks of early morning PT, I was proud to say I had lasted for almost twenty minutes before it had been too much. I'd tapped out, raising my hand to signal I'd hit my limit. Petty Officer Hanson was the one keeping an eye on the kids that were done, myself included who were done. I had sat down in between the destroyers who'd been exercising with me the whole time and only stopped when I had.

And then I'd watched as all the remaining kids had slowly been eliminated. There had been a few surprises. Theo Anders had lasted longer than me by just a few minutes. He'd struggled to stand, it had been like he'd been trying to prove something. But to who he was trying to prove it so I didn't have a clue. He was one of the several kids like me that attended that didn't go to Winslow. But he didn't seem to talk to anyone more than was necessary. I'd almost have said he didn't even want to be here but someone who didn't want to be here wouldn't have pushed himself so hard that his limbs were shaking and he was dripping sweat. Lieutenant Fowley had actually helped him stand up when his arms had finally given out during yet another set of pushups. And then he'd staggered over to the other end of the group of kids along the wall and just sat there silently watching the remaining kids give up one by one.

Forty-three minutes after we had started the last of the other cadets had been eliminated. But Gunney Strickland hadn't stopped pushing out exercises, nor had Lieutenant Fowley stopped counting out reps. No instead they had sped up the pace. I thought it was hard when we were all doing the exercises. But now that it was just Gunney and Rostock said by side they were going even faster. Pushups, jumping jacks, burpees, flutter kicks. They just kept going. We all watched as Gunney was a machine that just continued to sweat and push herself harder and harder. And we watched as Rostock struggled to keep up.

That's when Petty Officer Hanson told us we were done for the day. That everyone could hit the showers, and leave early. While in the background Lieutenant Fowley hadn't stopped calling the exercises. As Gunney kept being a living machine of tirelessness. And I watched as Rostock whimpered holding back tears as she tried to keep up.

Some kids left immediately. Others stayed to watch the whole scene play out. But as the minutes started to drag out again more and more kids started leaving. I waited, partly because Rostock was still doing exercises. And partially because I didn't want to be sharing a shower with my fellow cadets. None of the trio's sympathizers were part of the program. But old habits died hard. I'd learned to dread the showers at Winslow, and a few weeks wasn't about to erase the habits and fears I'd picked up thanks to Sophia's bullshit.

"Thank you Lieutenant. I think that's been enough."

I turned my head as I heard Von der Tann speak. I turned my head looking to where the platinum-blond battle cruiser was standing at the entrance of the fieldhouse next to Dad who I swear was trying to hide a smile.

Immediately Rostock stopped mid-pushup as if she was a puppet whose strings had been cut. Laying there on the floor she started actually dragging herself across the floor to Von der Tann and hugging the senior ship's legs.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!"

As the cruiser clung to the senior battle cruiser like she had been saved from hell itself I stood up from where I was sitting. Premuda extended her hand helping me up and even though I was over a foot taller than the destroyer she didn't shift in the slightest as she pulled me to my feet. A moment later she repeated the movement with Amiral helping her sister ship to her feet as well.

I walked over towards Von der Tann and the whimpering cruiser that was still shaking and quivering on the ground clutching her leg. A glance towards Gunney showed the marine woman was walking off the grueling exercise already. Gunney was covered in sweat but compared to Rostock it was a difference between night and day in how they handled it. And it was just a reminder that Gunney had been picked to be the first woman to serve in the infantry of the marines for a reason.

My eyes lowered to look at her leg where the prosthetic was clearly visible and I just shook my head. Every jock in the corps had tried to show her up figuring they could do better than a crippled woman. But Gunney hadn't let a missing foot stop her in the slightest and had outperformed us all. She looked like she was ready to do it all again. Casting a glance down at Rostock who was still sniffling and quivering and begging Von der Tann for forgiveness I actually felt a bit of pity. At least until I remembered being woken up at 1 am this morning because Rostock had snuck a bunch of sugary past Hohenzollern's watchful eyes during the movie last night.

The shrieks of over-sugared destroyers would wake up anyone and I had been no exception as the little hellions had scampered frantically all over the docks and in the halls burning off their sugar high. Their shrieks of delight as they had played 'tag' with the rest of the fleet trying to put them to bed would have been funny if they hadn't been keeping me from actually getting any sleep. Adler had at least shown mercy by canceling PT this morning for me.

As I stopped in front of Von der Tann she saluted. I raised a hand returning the movement while Von der Tann nudged Rostock firmly with her foot. Rostock finally stopped begging for forgiveness and pleaded to never have to go through that again as she climbed to her feet. But her body was still shaking and she was still soaked in sweat.

"Rostock, go ahead and make sure the shower has cleared out before the Admiral enters."

I was still only getting some words. But mentions of showers and obviously my title of Admiral were stuff I heard regularly. Even if I didn't know every exact word I was starting to pick up some of the common words. Being surrounded by over two dozen warships that spoke german meant I was surrounded by it. And I was putting more effort into memorizing and learning German than I was with any of my other classes with Adler or my at-home self-study.

Rostock was still shaking and I didn't think it was at all an act. Just how Kaiser or whoever had gotten the Navy to play along I wasn't sure, but I had a gut feeling that this was all because of last night. So I stood there silently with Dad and the girls while we waited. After a few minutes, Rostock came back up and signaled the showers were empty for me. So I went down into the basement of the fieldhouse. The showers were actually part of the locker rooms for the sports teams so they were communal. The destroyers waited upstairs with Dad and Von der Tann. Rostock waited outside the shower entrance so she could stop anyone from attempting to join me. It was one of the few moments that was almost private.

Still, I didn't linger. The hot water didn't last long for these showers in winter I'd learned. Especially after the few girls that were in the NJROTC program had already used them (let alone all the boys in the male showers.)

I made my way to the locker I stored my clothes in. The lock wasn't broken off, no one had stolen my things. It only took being a parahuman to make me safe from my fellow students.

Rostock followed me back out of the basement. She hadn't showered but I knew she'd ride in the back of Dad's truck and just shower back at the docks. I stayed a few steps ahead of her because despite the cold (one of the many things that hadn't changed about Winslow was that the heating was never enough) she was pungent.

When I got to the top of the stairs I noticed Dad and the others. But they weren't looking towards me waiting. They were all looking out the doors. Dad's expression was particularly tight while Von der Tann's face might as well have been carved from stone. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I walked fully up and peeked around the corner. There standing in the blowing stone was a member of the E88. It wasn't even some street guy wearing their colors. No, it was actually Rune, I was pretty sure it was her at least, standing right outside holding an actual white flag on a metal pole.

The flag was whipping about in her face and I could see her shaking in her robe but she still stood there. I didn't see anyone else out there, and U-21 wasn't inside with the others which meant the sub was still hiding somewhere outside no doubt freezing her butt off. Then again I had seen all of the subs dive into the bay and the freezing cold water so maybe she really didn't mind the cold as much as I or some of the rest of the fleet did.

"Dad?"

Dad turned to look at me, as did Von der Tann. I kind of hated that the battle cruiser insisted on always being in uniform. It was impressive and had gotten more than one person to back away from me. But it also made me incredibly easy to spot if she was near me. Although I supposed given how much my face was on the internet it was a lost battle anyways. The whole city knew who I was the same way they knew who New Wave was.

"She's not surrendering. I wish she was. This is worse. She has a message for you. From Kaiser. He wants to meet under truce."

I gritted my teeth at the thought of Kaiser. That Kaiser wasn't my Kaiser. He was a criminal, a thug. A Neo-Nazi. The only thing I wanted to have to do with him was hand him over to the PRT so they could throw him in prison. But everyone including the neo-nazis wouldn't leave me alone.

"No. I refuse to even talk to him. In fact, go outside and capture Rune just so he loses another cape. That will make it very clear what I want to do with him."

Dad had a relieved look. Von der Tann frowned however and I had a new sinking feeling in my stomach as she looked at me. The other girls were all looking to Von der Tann, looking and waiting for direction from her on how to proceed in capturing Rune. The destroyers in particular had eager hungry smiles on their faces in anticipation. Compared to how the pair normally looked so innocent it was downright disturbing. Like looking at a smiling shark.

"It is your decision Admiral. If you wish we will do so. However. Criminal or not she did approach under a banner of peace. If we ignore that now then it will set a precedent for all future negotiations. Regardless of the criminal or your feelings for them, there are ways things are done. They are our enemies. But if we ignore their flag of neutrality. Others will ignore our own in the future."

I glared up at Von der Tann. And she did visibly swallow as I looked at her. But she held her ground. This was probably why Kaiser had picked the battle cruiser as her number two in the chain of command of the Fleet. Because like Kaiser she would say what needed to be said regardless of if I wanted to hear it.

I hated that she was right. I hated that Rune was right outside and as long as she was holding that stupid white flag I couldn't have the girls capture her. It would be so easy. But Von der Tann was right. And I knew it.

"So you're saying I should actually talk to them?"

Von der Tann silently nodded. I glanced to Dad. He had a sour expression on his face but he wasn't disagreeing with the warship. I heard something behind me down the stairwell. Turning I saw Lieutenant Fowley standing there holding a cell phone.

"Ms. Hebert. Would you like me to call the police for you?"

I wanted to say yes. TO just duck back out of sight. But there was that part of me that had been dreading this day for weeks now. I knew I was going to have to deal with the Empire. They wouldn't just let me have the girls capture their drug dealers. I'd been expecting them to retaliate after U-20 killed Hookwolf but everything had been too quiet. All they had done was continue to send people to try and talk to Dad or try to talk to the girls. They'd never approached me directly. And now, at last, they were.

Fine, if they wanted to have a meeting. We would have a meeting. I looked to Von der Tann.

"Fine. Talk to her, get a time and a location, then message Kaiser. I want her to bring everyone. If they want a meeting. I'll give them a meeting."

The empire had more capes than any other gang in the city. If they were going to force me to have to talk to them, I was going to show them just how little I cared for their numerical superiority against me. Von der Tann saluted me and then walked towards the door out into the snowstorm. And I glanced at dad as he silently gave me a tight nervous smile. But nodded, reassuring me nonetheless.

Last edited: Oct 9, 2022

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AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

Taylor

The building in front of me was what I might have described if someone had asked me to describe a place where the Empire would hold a meeting. Crumbling stonework, peeling paint on the sign, exterior lights that even in the daytime flickered and needed to be changed. The whole street was run down more than the rest of the docks. It was the kind of place I could imagine a biker gang frequenting like in movies. But biker gangs didn't exist in the Bay outside the Empire.

A dozen trucks and cars, one expensive looking with the logo of some car company I didn't recognize while the rest looked more like they belonged here. In between the row of cars and the building walls were easily fifty men (and women). Most looked like your stereotypical skinhead, but not all. Here and there a few of them looked like if you put them anywhere else in any other situation you might mistake them for a lawyer or a doctor. Something. And they were all armed. Pistols, shotguns, even a few rifles.

I was desperately wishing the Empire hadn't sent Rune under that white flag so I could have just called the PRT and police and told them where to show up. They could have handled this better, and I could be at home suffering through Adler's PT. Instead, I had to be here staring at the thugs lined up outside the building as they looked back at me.

But none of them looked happy to see me. There were no smiles to be found. It might have been the dark blue sweats with the yellow letters on the front that I'd chosen to wear. Or failing that I'd like to say they were afraid of me personally. But I'd seen how Winslow and the nazi thugs there had reacted after Hookwolf. It wasn't me they were afraid of. It was my fleet of girls all around me. Girls that Kaiser had ordered to rearm with their rigging.

Every. Last. One.

I was surrounded by more firepower than any gang in the city. While I certainly didn't know all the capes in the little towns outside of the big cities. But I probably had more power surrounding me than every cape in all the Northeast outside of New York City itself.

(Proud boasting by the girls aside I didn't think any of them could outgun Legend.)

But Legend wasn't here. More importantly Legend wasn't a criminal. Kaiser and Adler had been educating me on what the threats in the city were. WHO the threats in the city were.

(I rather doubted the Empire had called Lung to this meeting.)

So, there I was staring at the skinheads as they stared back at the forest of gun barrels pointed in their direction. I was tempted to see who flinched first. They, or my girls? I knew well one of the girls could stand unmoving in the same spot for hours if I even hinted that it was an order. A bunch of racists wouldn't have the same discipline.

I could hear the whir of turrets rotating beside me on Kaiser's guns when the thugs flinched first. I hadn't said a darn thing. But they knew who I was, and they could see the grim faces on all the girls standing arrayed around me.

One of the few that didn't fit the stereotype of a skinhead stepped inside. Smiling, I spoke quietly.

"Kaiser, advance."

"Von Der Tann, for a perimeter with second Division. Prevent anyone from entering or leaving this building. First Division! Clear a path for the Admiral."

Immediately the girls moved. Most of them moved quickly forward their gun barrels pointed at the skin heads who appropriately backed up some even comically tripping over each other. Guns were raised and then yanked down by the few more disciplined members as the cruisers formed a cordon in front of the door preventing any skinhead from getting in distance to touch me. Kaiser remained beside me on my left, Adler fell in beside me on my right, both women using their height to protect me from anyone that shot me.

Adler's rigging had been perhaps the simplest and most minuscule. She had a backpack just like the others that clung to her back over the Coast Guard uniform she was wearing. But protruding from the top of the backpack was a long white fabric cloak that when she moved forward looked like the sails of a tall ship out on the water.

I ignored the shouts, the curses. I wasn't here for the skinheads. I was here for the capes waiting inside the bar ahead of me. I was here for the Empire.

To prepare for this meeting Kaiser and Adler had spent several hours last night pretending to be members of the Empire. They had used profanity. They had pretended arrogance and pompousness. We hadn't known how Kaiser intended to react. The one thing that Adler and Kaiser had made clear was that it would be best if we kept the Empire off guard as much as possible.

Inside the bar looked even worse than the outside of the building did. All the lights were old with that faded yellow color that made everything somehow seem even worse and more run down. The interior of the bar had a dozen or so mismatched tables. Eight of them had all been pushed together to form a long line in the middle of the room. On the far side were ten chairs. Behind them stood ten of the capes in the Empire.

Kaiser stood in the very center with Purity on his right. Arrayed outward were the others. I didn't see Krieg, but all of the rest down to Rune sitting at the wing of the tables were present. Krieg's absence worried me, as did the missing Fog and Night. But even if three of their members were absent the bulk of their forces being here meant they were taking me seriously. Kaiser was trying to impress me even as he tried to cow me.

Case in point was the single chair on the other side of the table opposite Kaiser.

And if the others were waiting to ambush dad to try and hold him hostage, well U-20 would just get a chance to prove how sorry and ready to serve me again she really was.

The numbers were impressive and the fact that my apparent chair was opposite from Kaiser seemed impressive as well, but I knew it really wasn't. If they were treating me as an equal there would have been more chairs for Kaiser, Adler or anyone else I might have brought. Well, that was fine. The Empire weren't my equals anyways. And if they wanted to play a power game. We could play a power game too. I glanced left at Kaiser and nodded slightly to Kaiser. She gave her own subtle nod. A moment later her commanding voice in near perfect English filled the room.

"Nemo. Pull out the Admiral's chair for her."

My very first summoned girl saluted at the edge of my vision before she strode forward. Behind and around me the rest of my girls continued to file out along the wall behind me and Amiral and Premuda stepped in front of me forming a wall. The empire had a dozen capes. But I had more at sixteen more (besides Kaiser and Adler) here inside with me as part of my First Division.

Turning and glancing back towards the door behind me I watched Von Der Tann salute me from the opening just before she closed the door sealing us all inside.

Nemo's stride was sure and steady as she walked at an angle towards the center of the arranged table. Reaching the side opposite from the Empire she pulled the rickety chair meant for me. But instead of holding it for me she instead turned it ninety degrees before using it as a stepping stool to step up onto the table itself. Immediately all of the Empire capes were taking a step back. Followed by another as Nemo hopped down off the table on the far side right in front of their leader.

The height difference between the two was clear as the villainous leader stood a head taller than the submarine, but it didn't stop him from taking a third step back giving Nemo all the space she could possibly have wanted. I watched the submarine's back for a moment as she looked upwards at the criminal. He said nothing though, not even a question, just waiting silently, and so followed every cape he had brought with him.

(For my own mental wellbeing I refused to call their leader Kaiser.)

Turning her back to him Nemo grabbed the chair opposite the one they had set out for me. She smoothly pulled it out and picked up the chair hoisting it clean over her head before turning and started walking the long way around the arrayed tables.

And every cape. Just. Stared.

It was hard to restrain the urge to giggle in the ridiculousness as the power play Kaiser had planned for actually worked. She had laid out this idea as one of several power play moves to make it very clear to the criminals who had demanded this meeting. And now I was watching as the eyes on the other side of the tables as they stood frozen, unable or unwilling to do anything to stop me.

I had successfully hidden my laughs. But I didn't even try to hide my smile at the scene playing out as Nemo turned back around the table and began carrying it along our side. Still carrying the chair over her head, her rigging swinging by the straps slung over her shoulders. She reached the center of the table, shifted the chair that had been placed for me to the side and set her procured chair down for me. As Kaiser had ordered, pulled out and waited for me to sit in it.

I tapped the twins on the shoulder and immediately they walked forward, separating. Amiral stood to my left, while on the far side of both chairs on my side stood Premuda, though small each both stood in roles similar to the villains Fenja and Menja opposite on either side of Kaiser and Purity.

I walked forward as did Kaiser and Adler beside me. I took a seat in the chair Nemo had taken and let her scoot the chair into the table with me in it. Beside me Adler took a seat as well while Kaiser stood behind us both her turreted rigging looming above us still generally pointed in the direction of the Empire. And behind us none of the rest of my fleet moved in the slightest.

I could see everyone on their side turning their heads to look at the metal wrapped criminal opposite me. None of them dared to say anything, just as none had dared to so much as step in the way of Nemo or try to block her. I looked Kaiser over and I could see his gauntleted hands clenched into fists. I leaned back in the chair so he could fully see the word NAVY written in big yellow letters on the blue sweatshirt I had worn to this meeting of his.

"Well?"

My demanded question for him to respond finally snapped him out of... whatever he was struggling through. The helmet shook slightly. Like he might have been struggling through the urge to kill me or something.

I wasn't even sure when the idea that he might try to kill me stopped scaring me. Maybe it was watching his fear of me that made it possible for Nemo to take his chair right out from in front of him.

Regardless of what he was thinking or feeling he seemed to pull it together. He spread his arms out in front of himself in an open-handed gesture that if he hadn't been a monster and a racist might have seemed inviting and welcoming.

"Admiral. Thank you for accepting my invitation."

I snorted derisively as if it had really been a choice, but he ignored it and continued speaking.

"I hope you've recovered well after your cruel treatment at the hand of your former classmates and friend. It was an unfortunate affair that I hope with your help will never be permitted again in this city."

"The Empire is a union of individuals with similar if not always identical goals for what we hope to bring to this city. We have worked to ensure that the world is pulled back from this near anarchy and chaos in which people such as yourself have been forgotten by the system. This city is a mired swamp of corruption, decay, and failure. We work to push back the tide. We are this city's best hope for order and purpose. With your help and the addition of your Fleet to our ranks we will have the power to push back the sex slavers of the ABB. Your power is capable of holding the false heroes of the Protectorate at bay letting us guide and shelter this city so that it can finally prosper."

"I ask that you ally with us. Join your force with ours and let us make this world a better place. Your military might, and our resources, are what we need to drive out every degenerate that calls this city home. You have already excised some of the rot within our own ranks. Hookwolf was a useful beast, but a beast all the same. His removal from our ranks is only a signal of what will come as you help the Empire purge the rot not only from our own ranks but from the city whole."

He extended his arm towards me, his gauntleted hand open and turned upwards as if I was supposed to take it and join him. I was surprised though that he was so positive about Hookwolf's death. Maybe he believed what he said. Maybe he simply thought I believed it. It didn't matter. I wasn't going to join him no matter what. But that wasn't something he knew.

"There is an issue I have before we discuss that. We have an issue of identity. You see one of my fleet is also named Kaiser. And not only has she had the name longer, but it was a name given to her by the government of Germany when she was commissioned. Given that history she is rather attached to the name and loath to change it. Perhaps you can help us solve the issue of having two Kaisers in this city?"

Silence reigned again as every criminal before me stared in shock at what I dared to ask. I could hear metal groaning, the sound coming not from the ships behind me, but from the man across from me. I would have given anything to see the face of the monster hiding behind the metal armor. But sadly, I couldn't. So, I simply had to savor the silence in the room.

"Yes... Yes, I can see how that would be confusing particularly should we be in battle together. In recognition of your Kaiser's service to noble Germany I surrender the name to her. From now on I will bear the name Siegfried. I would hope that I will wear it well as we do battle together and finally put down Lung and rid the city of his parasites."

He pressed his hand to his chest and bowed slightly to Kaiser as she stood behind me. His voice sounded smooth and suave as if I hadn't just forced him to bend over backwards to appease me. The sight of one of the most powerful capes groveling so fully before me proved too much and I felt it begin.

Every Empire cape stiffened as I began laughing in my chair. These were the capes of the Empire. They had been in this city for decades without ever being driven out. Not the Teeth, not Marquis, not even the Slaughterhouse Nine or even the Protectorate had been capable of beating them. They had survived everything and everyone to come at them, and now their leader was metaphorically kissing my gym shoes just to appease me!

"I'm sorry. That wasn't polite, was it?" I said when I finally managed to get my laughter at the ridiculousness of it all under control. "That was very generous of you, Siegfried." I said purposefully using his new name. "But I won't be joining you. And before you get any ideas you won't be joining me either."

I stood up placing both hands on the table leaning forward to look straight into the eyeholes of Kaiser's helmet. Were his eyes blue? They looked blue.

"I accepted this meeting because you sent your errand girl to me while I was in public." I raised my finger in warning. "Not in costume, not in uniform. In public, at Winslow." I focused on Siegfried glaring at him letting the fleet focus on the rest of the neo-Nazis. "You broke the unwritten rules. By rights I could tell my fleet to find you in your civilian identity too now."

I could hear the Empire capes shouting but all my focus was now on just Kaiser. Shouting, the whirring of rigging and turrets and Kaiser just stood there staring back at me with his blue eyes hidden inside of that helmet of his.

"But I'm not you. I'm not a criminal. So, I'll give you my peace offer now. Surrender."

Silence. The empire was silent at my demand as if they couldn't believe it.

"But I'm not telling you to surrender to me. No. I want every last one of you to surrender to the Protectorate. To the police. Because you aren't noble. You aren't heroes. You aren't trying to save this city. You are part of the problems plaguing this city and until you are removed this city will not be able to heal."

"And before any of you get any ideas, that does not mean I want you to leave either. Because this is not my city to rule any more than it is yours. This city belongs to the people of Brockton Bay, and you are done lynching them, extorting, killing them, and hurting them. The Empire is done. And I will see you behind bars, or I will see you dead."

"Kaiser!"

"Yes Admiral!"

I looked them all over, running the length of the table as I looked each Empire cape in the eyes. "I am declaring War upon the Empire starting now. They have twenty-four hours to surrender to the police and the Protectorate. Every cape and every unpowered member. You are to offer a single chance to surrender if confronted. Any member that resists and does not surrender is to be killed on sight. I do not care what city they flee to. I do not care what country they run to. Anyone that harbors or protects them knowingly is an enemy too and to be dealt with appropriately."

"And before you get any ideas. That twenty-four hour period is only good if you go peacefully. If you attack me now. If you attack my dad. If any of your skinheads attack anyone anywhere the timer ends. Immediately."

Blue eyes filled with rage glared back at me as I spat one final bit at Kaiser.

"Now get out of my sight you thug."

I sat down as Kaiser's turrets wrapped closely around me as a shield and wall and I could see a full spectrum of reactions. Purity looked terrified as did Rune on the far end. Fenja and Menja both were practically spitting and looked about ready to leap across the table to try and kill me. But none of them broke the fragile peace. Whatever else could be said of Siegfried, he at least had excellent control of the capes in his gang.

Through all of this not one of them had dared to sit after I had taken Siegfried's chair right from in front of him. They were not permitted to sit with me and the man had never dared. I waited to see if they would finally break. Or if they bow to reality and the inevitable.

"We will see you on the battlefield Taylor Hebert."

I sneered back at him as he used my name. As if his knowledge was some weapon or secret. Of course, he knew who I was now. But he had no power over me here and he knew it. He could try to kill me but he and everyone with me would die in the attempt. He could try to attack me in the docks. But he would need to get to me first there.

In the end the would-be dragon slayer simultaneously proved his intelligence and his cowardice as he turned and stalked down the line behind his capes. But my Kaiser had one more power play prepared. Assuming the Empire never tried anything stupid she had arranged to make sure they didn't leave in dignity.

From the wall nearest the door started up Nemo in song.

"The mightiest king of the heavens, is the storm's powerful Eagle.

All the birds start to quiver when they see his rushing pair of wings."

Quickly in chorus came Wilhelm's voice along with the other subs U-21, U-31 and U-151 joined into song as well each of the subs from the first world war joining the younger sub in song.

"When the lion roars in the desert, then the animal army trembles.

We are the masters of the world, the Kings of the sea."

And I watched as every one of my ships including even Kaiser and Adler joined in song with blood lust in their eyes as they sang the neo-Nazi criminals who had until now fancied themselves the strongest force in the city, now cowed and fleeing before me and my singing fleet as silent drums of war beat behind the song signaling their impending death and doom. All to the sound of cheerful and joyful sounding German song.

Spoiler: Song

Last edited: Feb 19, 2023

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Veriseple

Feb 19, 2023

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Mar 26, 2023

#4,169

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

19 hours until the meeting.

Marcus Fowley watched as young miss Hebert was escorted out by her father as well as members of her fleet. In his hand his cellphone was heavy with looming weight, unused. He watched as the last of the summons, a diminutive girl that identified as the Italian torpedo boat Premuda. As soon as they disappeared from view he turned, walking back down the stairs to the NJROTC offices, the cellphone tight in his hand.

At first they had thought this was an expansion of Admiral's power but a quick bit of research had discovered that like Vityaz, Premuda, along with her 'sister' Amiral Sénès (who identified as French) all had all been built as ships built in German shipyards. He knew command was hoping that at some point Admiral would be able to summon American ships. But now that they had a large enough test group they were able to see the patterns. The ships didn't need to necessarily identify as German by nature. But they did need to originate in German shipyards for reasons unknown.

This knowledge though was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it was knowledge of how Admiral's power worked to some degree. It helped to understand what to expect in the future. Unfortunately therin lay the curse of this knowledge. So far in the roughly month-and-a-half period that she had been a parahuman, Admiral had summoned at last confirmation twenty-eight 'shipgirls'.

Stress had proven a consistent accelerator for their summoning. If Admiral was perfectly calm and peaceful a new shipgirl would show up at a rate somewhere around one a week. This being Brockton Bay on Earth Bet Admiral had been creating them at a much higher rate. Since the New Wave incident she had mostly been summoning smaller ships that equated somewhat to a Destroyer. The notable exceptions had been ships like Von der Tann who had immediately slotted into a command role alongside the formidable AKS Kaiser, as well as Hansa and Hohenzollern. Hohenzollern not being a warship at all had settled into a role that he considered equivalent to a morale officer, and Hansa (who looked to be a grey haired old woman in contrast to all other summons), had strangely settled in as the fleet's communications officer.

His feet carried him down the hall towards his offices as he ruminated on the Fleet, and most importantly how much and with what it would grow now that the Empire had turned up the heat. Stepping inside he looked to Strickland first.

"Gunny get your coat and get over to the docks. Cadet Hebert was just approached by a junior member of the Empire. I want you there to observe her home life and make sure she doesn't behave in conduct unbefitting the Navy."

Strickland's eyebrow rose with the same speed she rose from her desk. She grabbed her coat from the hook on the wall, but not before grabbing her shoulder holster and pulling it quickly on. A moment later on went her winter service coat and Marcus couldn't even tell she was armed. She was already making her way out the door as he turned and looked at his other subordinate.

"Petty Officer Hanson, call the Police and let them know they may want to call in their off duty officers. Then the Mayor and finally the PRT. In that order."

The Navy Seal nodded in understanding as Marcus turned and stepped into the small room that was nominally his private office but served as much as storage for equipment as anything else. As soon as he had stepped inside and closed the door he opened his flip phone and dialed a number. He got two rings before the phone answered.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the Empire just approached Admiral under a flag of truce and requested a meeting. Admiral is ordering her Fleet to re-arm and will be meeting the Empire leadership at an unknown time tomorrow under a flag of truce."

There was a moment of silence before he heard the Captain shouting orders at other people on the other end.

"I ordered one of my subordinates to proceed to Cadet Hebert's home to make sure she is living in conditions and a manner consistent with the US Navy. Additionally, we are informing the local police, Mayor, and PRT of the situation, Sir."

A pause and the Captain's voice returned to the phone as his attention refocused on Marcus.

"Right. I'll call you back. I need to make a few calls Lieutenant. Keep me in the loop of any developments."

16 hours until the meeting.

He sat there listening to the dial tone of the cellphone in his hand. The tone rang, and then rang again. After an agonizing time during which he sat there feeling helpless while around him the Admiral and the Empire were circling one another, the phone finally answered.

"You have reached the office of the Admiral. AKS Hohenzollern speaking. How may I direct your call?"

The projection that had once been the luxury yacht of the German Emperor. Interesting.

"Hello. My name is Thomas Calvert. I would like to set an appointment to speak with your Admiral tomorrow at her convenience."

Normally in discarded timelines the phone would be answered by Hansa the geriatric ironclad. If the old woman was too busy to even take a phone call. Well, that said plenty of things about how accurate his observers had been in reporting the Empire's suicidal play earlier today.

"I can check her schedule and see when she might be free. May I ask what the meeting is regarding?"

He licked his lips for a moment as he leaned forward in his office chair before speaking.

"I am the owner of Fortress Construction and I would like to contract with her for security. Additionally, I own most of the land that her facilities are sitting on."

There was silence from the other end, and he tensed readying to drop this timeline if need be.

"The Admiral has a meeting in the city tomorrow at noon. But she should be back by 12:30. Would 1pm work for you?"

Assuming the Empire stuck to habit and picked Somer's Rock for the meeting, it would be a twenty-minute drive to the bar one way from Hebert's base Docks. That left maybe fifteen minutes for any sit-down. Which wasn't nearly enough time for a negotiation.

But that was more than enough time for an ultimatum.

"Certainly. I'll be there tomorrow. 1pm."

"Very good Herr Calvert. We will see you tomorrow at one."

And with that the line went dead as the warship ended the call. Slowly he set down the phone and breathed out slowly, assessing. In the other time he was waiting unmoving as he analyzed the reactions of the fleet.

After a moment he very deliberately ended the alternate timeline and began setting an alarm in his phone for tomorrow's meeting. Now that he was committed he certainly wasn't about to miss it.

11 hours until the meeting.

The bedroom was dark. At this early hour of the morning its occupants were asleep. It was disturbed by the light of a cellphone and a buzzing noise as the phone rang. Despite the fresh illumination the arm reaching from beneath the blanket of the bed fumbled in the near darkness for the phone. After the third grabbed it, he successfully grabbed the phone and looked at it. A moment later there was the sounds of rustling as the figure, a man, sat up in the bed and answered the call, raising the phone to his ear.

"General? What's going on?"

"Senator, we need you to come in."

He wiped his fingers at his eyes even as he moved the phone to look at it in front of him as if it had no answers for him. Failing to find any he pressed it back to his ear.

"Come in? Come in for what?"

"The Brockton Bay situation. It looks like we're headed for a storm, and we need everyone wearing life jackets."

Brockton Bay? What the hell did a city up in... Oh.

Immediately he stood up and was already reaching for the pants he had left on the chair by his bed.

"I can be on a plane in three and be there by..." He stopped to check the clock on his nightstand. "Nine."

"Skip the plane, Bob. We've already contracted with Strider for transport. He'll be outside your house in twenty minutes."

Strider?

The parahuman?! Shit. Whatever the hell was breaking loose in New Hampshire had to be shaping up fast and nasty.

"Right. I'll be ready. We still don't have the votes yet though."

"We're working on it Senator. Just be ready for Strider."

The Army Chief of Staff hung up with the Senator who was the chairman of the senate Defense committee. Rubbing at his eyes for a moment he looked over his shoulder at his wife who hadn't so much as stirred. And then stripping his pants back off, he headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower while he could.

5 hours until the meeting.

"Yes Ma'am. I've got my team reading up on it now. We will be flying out in one hour and we should be landing just before the girl's meeting. Hopefully the city doesn't explode before we can do anything. I've also got twenty other agents on the flight with me. Anymore you can cut loose to assist will be appreciated."

3 hours until the meeting.

"Hey. You guys got the alert too?"

Gallant looked over at where Clockblocker was already sitting on the couch. Behind him Vicky stepped around him and began making her way to the kitchenette. Letting his girlfriend go grab something to drink he sat down on the sofa Vicky, and he usually sat together on these days.

"I did. Vicky didn't."

Clockblocker looked from him and turned his head around to glance at Vicky.

"Why wouldn't she get... Admiral. This has to be about Admiral."

Gallant nodded since that was the same conclusion he'd reached within a minute of heading over. Vicky was the brute on the Wards now. Aegis didn't need to play backup when Glory Girl was on the lineup to take the hits anymore. The only reason they wouldn't call her in as part of a general alert would be if having her out in the streets would be 'problematic'. And the list of those possible problems that would warrant a general alert to all the Wards calling them in was a short list.

"I'm only going out if they let me. If Admiral is out on the streets I'm fine staying in here on console or something. It's still better than being stuck at home."

Clockblocker was already asking even as Gallant tried to silently signal not to ask but it was too late.

"Wait, what's going on at home?"

Vicky floated over the couch and sat next to him and curled in close, just like she had for most of last night when she'd told him.

"The Bar is trying to take away my mom's license to practice law."

Silence filled the room before Clockblocker sighed breathing out a heavy groan.

"Vicky, I'm sorry."

The girl who had for as long as he'd known her been a beacon of hope and positivity just curled into his side wrapping her arms around him for comfort. He raised his own arm and wrapped it around her shoulder. Taking care to not touch the tinker tech necklace she had to wear now. He didn't want to remind her of it any more than he already had today.

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

Clockblocker asked the same thing he'd asked. Vicky's response was the same. She just shook her head. And really what could any of them do? An easy answer would have been to blame Admiral, but she hadn't said a word of opposition when the judge had handed down rulings of misdemeanor crimes for both Vicky and Brandish. Sure, both of them had to take anger management classes as well as a LOT of community service. But that had been a slap on the wrist. Community service just meant volunteer work and more patrols. The worst thing to happen to Vicky was having to wear the necklace that blocked her aura.

The Bar though. That was worse than if Brandish had been sent to jail, or Vicky. That was cutting right down to hit Brandish in a soft spot and the result...

There was a reason Panacea had started sleeping at the hospital every night. He'd offered her a guest room in his home even on days that Vicky wasn't spending the night. So far she hadn't taken him up on the offer.

And despite it all he rather doubted that Admiral had anything to do with the Bar finding out at all. So, he couldn't even properly blame her as Vicky's life came apart around her.

5 minutes until the meeting.

"Velocity. Activity on the airwaves on one of the Fleet radio channels. They've started broadcasting in the clear with audio."

The superhero, who had been in his office filling out paperwork looked up at Miss Militia as she stood in his doorway.

"All of their radio channels?"

"No, just this one."

He frowned considering that fact. Ordinarily the Fleet communicated through encrypted Morse code by radio. The fact that they weren't was strange and he thought about it for a moment before he cursed. Standing he began hustling out of his office.

"They're broadcasting unencrypted audio because they want us to be able to hear it. They want everyone to hear it..."

He looked grimly at Hannah who was beginning to have the look of horrified understanding spreading on her face.

"Where is Admiral supposed to be in just a few more minutes? She wants everyone to know what is getting said... Call them in. Call everyone in."

Miss Militia nodded and quickly turned and exited his office to began sprinting down the hallway. As she departed he reached back for his office phone. Picking up the handset he pressed the speed dial to connect him directly with Director Piggot.

"Ma'am. Admiral has started broadcasting in the clear ahead of her meeting with the Empire. She wants us to know what's about to happen. We need to call in support from Boston if we are going to hope to contain this. Maybe even Philly or New York."

"God-fucking-damnit."

2 minutes until the meeting.

U-20 suspiciously watched as the Black SUV rolled into the parking lot of the dockyards. It's pristine black paint, the fully tinted windows. Every bit of it screamed suspicious when surrounded by the rundown Docks. Stopping right in front of her she shifted her hand a little closer to her deck gun.

The doors opened and out stepped four men. The first three were very clearly soldiers. They were openly wearing body armor. Their hands cradled rifles in the low ready position, all it would take was just the time for a heartbeat and they could be raised and pointed at a target. The fourth figure didn't fully emerge until one of the first three opened the final door.

As the one soldier held the door for the fourth occupant of the vehicle, the other two were vigilantly watching the perimeter, their eyes moving with the same alertness of a sailor standing watch.

The fourth man was not a soldier, but instead a man with dark skin in a three-piece business suit. He was taller than the Admiral by a little bit, and rather thin in a way that even the suit couldn't hide. He stood there for a moment adjusting his tie and buttoning his suit's jacket. A moment later he looked at her and started walking towards where she stood on guard at the gate. The three soldiers, or perhaps mercenaries as none of them wore the flag of a nation, flanked and escorted him.

"Hello. I have a meeting with your Admiral at one."

There was a meeting for one with someone named Thomas Calvert. Hansa had briefed her that it would happen shortly after the Admiral gave her ultimatum to the worshipers of the madman.

"What is your name?"

She did not address him with any title. He was just a stranger to her until proven otherwise.

"Thomas Calvert. President and CEO of Fortress Construction. The company that owns the land you are standing on right now."

She had to clench her jaw to keep from speaking out of turn. It was not her place to deal with this man.

Turning she stepped to the side letting the men proceed along the road.

"Very well, follow me and I will escort you to the Admiralty building."

She glanced to the side at the three mercenaries that were flanking him as she walked them down the road.

"Your escort will need to remain outside." She paused as Hohenzollern's orders bubbled up in her mind. "We can provide chairs for them while they wait."

He looked to the three men following him and gave them a nod before looking back at her. Turning she led the way inside. Immediately to the left was the waiting area, Gunny Strickland (she had been very specific about how she wished to be addressed), sat on a couch reading a periodical magazine her latest cup of coffee sitting on the coffee table before her. The US marine had been very clear that she would remain here for the Admiral's return. Raising a hand she gestured to the other available couches and chairs and after a moment of looking at the female soldier. Herr Calvert took a seat. The last thing she heard as she departed was the yacht addressing the new visitor.

"Herr Calvert, you are early and the Admiral has not returned yet. Can I provide you with tea or coffee while you wait?"

She eyed them both for a moment before she heard the sound of Hohenzollern approaching. With visitor taken care of she walked back out eyeing the three guards who watched her back with professional discipline. Walking over to the side she took up a new sentry position from which she could watch both Calvert's guards, and the main entrance.

1 minute after Somer's Rock

The mist began to gather in the Graveyard. Even with weeks of effort by the fleet until some of the sunken ships and hulks had been extricated for scrapping. In the spaces between the rusting metal four shapes began to move, swimming beneath the surface, heading for the docks and the shore nearest to them.

On the Protectorate Oil Rig near the center of the Bay a computer and sensor system that was always tuned and watching the city began to register and log four new signatures swimming beneath the surface of the water.

2 minutes after.

He had been in the middle of a phone call with one of his more notable political donors when the door of his office opened. Taking one look at the aide's face he interrupted his political backer.

"Barry, let me call you back. I have something that needs my attention."

Normally he would have spent a minute or two soothing ruffled feathers but this particular aide had been with him since his days a state congressman and he liked to think that he knew the kind of expression that equated to 'shitstorm incoming'. Ending the call, the aide immediately walked over and passed a cellphone into his hand.

"Major General Craddock for you Sir."

Well if the head of his National Guard was on the phone, something had to be damn serious. He raised it to his ear.

"General. What are we dealing with?"

"Governor, I'm calling to advise you that you activate the National Guard and declare a general state of emergency."

"Emergency? What emergency?"

He looked to his aide for clarification who just shook his head equally uncertain of what was being discussed.

"The military cape in Brockton Bay just broadcast her parley meeting with the neo-Nazis. She's calling for open season on them starting in twenty-four hours."

The phone clattered on his desk as horror crashed over him like a wave. Laying on the polished mahogany of his desk he could still hear the commander of his national guard continuing to speak.

"Governor, we need to move now. Any criminal or cape in police or PRT custody gets knocked off her list but that's still a lot of stupid thugs she's going to be dealing with. So, I'm advising that you declare a state of Emergency for Brockton Bay and order the Guard in. I called the local police, and they say that the FBI is sending every agent they can spare but there just aren't enough bodies to keep order. We need the Guard watching the streets so the cops and the bureau can get every one of those thugs off the streets that they can."

He didn't want to. He really didn't want to. But he picked up the cellphone with a hand that had a slight shake of a tremor to it as he imagined the headlines that would be coming out of this.

"Do it."

5 minutes after.

"Everyone stop whatever you are working on right now unless it involves the Empire."

The sergeant's voice echoed through the bullpen of BBPD headquarters as every cop and detective alike turned looking at him.

"New priority everyone! Admiral just gave the Empire an ultimatum. Surrender to us or the PRT and get behind bars or she was declaring open season on skin-heads. So, I want you to grab every Empire suspect you have and bring them in for questioning right fucking now. Any of you that don't have an Emp suspect grab a cold case. Bring them all in, get those confessions. We need those fuckers off the street before this time tomorrow! The FBI are already on their way here to assist but we can't wait for them. So I need all of you out on the street finding Empire suspects that we can bring in for questioning. I don't care if it's for a lynching, arson, or a fucking parking ticket. We need them off the streets and out of Admiral's crosshairs."

"Additionally, the Governor just declared a state of Emergency and is mobilizing the National Guard to assist. So don't panic when you start seeing Army camo in the streets. It's supposed to be there."

The bullpen descended into chaos.

12 minutes after.

Six men sat silently around the conference table listening as a smart phone sitting in the center of the table played recorded audio. They were silent and did not verbally react as they listened to a teenage American girl make a laughingstock of Max Ander's villainous parahuman persona.

It was as the sounds of song began to play that one of the men tapped the phone ending the recording.

"It seems that Anders has failed."

Normally the man would have referred to their American ally by his chosen identity. But then normally that very man hadn't just surrendered that identity in such an embarrassing manner. And it was hard to call a man a dragon slayer when it was unlikely he would be living for more than a day or two more.

"So, it seems. The question is now if we should help him in killing her. We pulled back Krieg, Night, and Fog specifically for this scenario, if he failed to recruit her. It is clear she will have nothing to do with us and so must be eliminated?"

"Must she?"

The five men sitting around the table looked to the end where the oldest of their number sat at the head of the table.

"Maximillian has failed. But listen to the child's words. She refuses to accept his surrender. For she does not believe herself a warlord. She orders him and his followers to surrender to the police, to the American heroes."

"She respects and bows before legal authority. Her words, calling out Ander's so-called crimes."

The old man nodded as one of the other men realized what he was getting at.

"The child does not see herself as a queen or conqueror. And so that is our course. We must present her with true authority over her and her forces for her to bow."

48 minutes after.

The interrogation room was just like all the others he had sat in before. None of them had scared him, this one wasn't about to break that streak. He opened his eyes as the door opened and in walked not the pig that had arrested him but some slick in a suit holding a folder in one hand, and a cell phone in the other.

"Hello Alex McGavin. Lets talk about last summer and Sarah Goldstein"

He snorted even as he fondly remembered.

"Sorry. Wasn't me."

The suit didn't even slow in taking a seat.

"See that's what you said last year. And your alibi backed you up even against that circumstantial evidence. But I'm going to give you the chance to confess anyways."

He just laughed as this stuffed shirt tried busting his balls.

"Confess to what? I didn't do anything. Ain'tchu read that paper?"

Normally a cop would bluster, or threaten, or seem like they were his friend at this point. The suit though just smiled leaning forward.

"Oh I have. I just figured I'd give you one more chance to do the right thing. Otherwise if you say you're innocent again then I'm sorry to say that I can't help you, and I'll have to let you go."

What? No seriously what the fuck?

"Oh you must not have heard. Siegfried just kicked over the hornet's nest and now hell is coming for you and all your racist friends."

He tried to figure out who the fuck Siegfried was supposed to be even as he blustered.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

The suit was smiling even wider as he reached into the folder and pulled out a confession paper and a pen and set them in the center of the table. And then he tapped the phone and audio began to play.

"There is an issue I have before we discuss that. We have an issue of identity. You see one of my fleet is also named Kaiser. And not only has she had the name longer, but it was a name given to her by the government of Germany when she was commissioned. Given that history she is rather attached to the name and loath to change it. Perhaps you can help us solve the issue of having two Kaisers in this city?"

He couldn't hear anything for a moment as whoever the girl in the recording was talked.

"Yes... Yes, I can see how that would be confusing particularly should we be in battle together. In recognition of your Kaiser's service to noble Germany I surrender the name to her. From now on I will bear the name Siegfried. I would hope that I will wear it well as we do battle together and finally put down Lung and rid the city of his parasites."

There was a moment of silence before the girl in the recording began to laugh. In his stomach a cold not began to form as he started to suspect who the two people talking were.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't polite, was it?" The laughter died. "That was very generous of you, Siegfried. But I won't be joining you. And before you get any ideas you won't be joining me either. I accepted this meeting because you sent your errand girl to me while I was in public. Not in costume, not in uniform. In public, at Winslow. You broke the unwritten rules. By rights I could tell my fleet to find you in your civilian identity too now."

There was noise of people talking and shouting. But the voices were farther away from the recording. Through it all he could hear the girl continuing to speak clearly.

"But I'm not you. I'm not a criminal. So, I'll give you my peace offer now. Surrender."

Silence filled the recording as well as the interrogation room.

"But I'm not telling you to surrender to me. No. I want every last one of you to surrender to the Protectorate. To the police. Because you aren't noble. You aren't heroes. You aren't trying to save this city. You are part of the problems plaguing this city and until you are removed this city will not be able to heal. And before any of you get any ideas, that does not mean I want you to leave either. Because this is not my city to rule any more than it is yours. This city belongs to the people of Brockton Bay, and you are done lynching them, extorting, killing them, and hurting them. The Empire is done. And I will see you behind bars, or I will see you dead."

The suit tapped the phone as some stupid foreign song began to play. Silence returned to the interrogation room and the suit just smiled at him.

"In case you can't put it together. Siegfried there was your 'buddy' Kaiser. He just pissed off Admiral. So really the choice is simple either you sign that confession right now. Or I'm going to let you go back out on the streets. You can deal with her, or with me."

He froze in indecision his mind waring between instincts.

"Oh and in case you have any ideas about fighting Admiral. I thought you'd just want to know something. Hookwolf died when her power went off the reservation."

The damn bastard leaned closer as if he was about to share some secret when all he wanted to do was get away with that fucking smile.

"Do you really want to find out what happens when she actually wants someone dead?"

The fucking suit was still smiling at him as he pushed the confession sheet and pen forward.

"All you have to do to get away from Admiral is sign that. Heck I'll even be nice. If you were nice enough to give up a few of your friends we could co-ordinate a shorter stay at a different prison than all your friends who are going to be joining you."

The suit just held that fucking pen smiling at him.

Last edited: Mar 27, 2023

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Veriseple

Mar 26, 2023

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Veriseple

Veriseple

He/Him/Idiot

Apr 14, 2024

#4,322

AN: As always please leave your thoughts and reviews: good, bad, and strange.

VICTOR

His knuckles were tight as he gripped the steering wheel. The car was silent but for the sound of the engine. He was speeding. He knew blatantly attracting more eyes in even a mundane way was stupid. But, today of all days it seemed that lawbreaking was the order of the day. As the car rounded a curve, he was immediately forced to lift his foot off the gas pedal and slow back below the speed limit. Not by the turn. He was far too good a driver, he knew he was too good, to lose speed on a turn if he didn't want to. But all the skill behind the wheel meant nothing at the sight of flashing lights up ahead.

Flashing red and blue from a trio of cars filled the intersection. They drew his eyes for a moment. How could they not? But these cars weren't here for him. They weren't even there for the young woman beside him. They were there for the SUV that had crashed into a building. Six police officers in uniform were wrestling with a man and a woman.

"Oh my god. It's really happening."

He glanced to his right for the briefest moments. The woman sitting in the passenger seat had her hand raised to cover her mouth. He knew why. The faces of the man and woman being arrested were faces she knew. That he knew. They were unpowered. But they were members and even friends all the same.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. It wasn't hard to work out what was going on. The police were whipped up and acting as the catspaws of the Admiral and the PRT. That girl had called them all out at the meeting. If things had been different maybe something else had happened. Maybe it would have gone differently. But just one of her projections had been enough to kill Hookwolf in all his glory.

Just one of them, one that hadn't even been present for the meeting. Instead, the girl had brought thirty others into that meeting and held the entirety of the Empire at literal gunpoint. She hadn't parlayed like she was supposed to. She hadn't even attempted to make them bend the knee to her like she could have. Instead, she had demanded their surrender.

The gall of it all was it wasn't even a surrender to her. But to the Protectorate, the PRT, the police. The corrupt and inept bodies proclaiming themselves the defenders of America when they were the enablers of the rot that corrupted and was infecting every level of society.

His hands were shaking as he slowly turned the wheel and the car he was driving pulled away, abandoning his allies to the jackboots of the police. It smoothly navigated around the cars in the intersection without incident. His eyes were locked forward on the road before him. But he could see the woman beside him out of the corner of his eye looking back out the window, behind them.

"We could have…"

"No."

She immediately stopped and his lips pulled in a grimace at his tone. She didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve his frustration and anger any more than the people he had abandoned behind them to their fates.

"I'm sorry. But no. We can't. It wouldn't do anything. The police would know where we were. They would hunt down Williams and his wife again. And then they would be after us, with Her on the hunt too."

"I could…"

His eyes glanced away from the road to glare at her. The woman wearing a band of gold on her left hand that matched one on his own quieted. She didn't deserve this. None of the hardworking citizens of this city did. Admiral didn't care about any of that though. The PRT and the Protectorate certainly didn't care. They would all cast open the borders to the waste and refuse of other countries who didn't care to learn a proper language or fit in.

"We will act. But we need to act smart. We need to think tactically. Right now, if we lash out, we are only playing into their hands. That's exactly what She wants. It's what They want. So, we won't lash out blindly. We need to strike effectively. With surgical precision and cut out the rot."

As they were again accelerating and pulling out of sight, he reached for the smartphone resting on the center console. His fingers quickly tapped at the screen. Immediately the phone began to ring aloud.

It took longer, far longer than normal for it to be answered.

"Yes?"

"Max. I just wanted to check on the corporate outreach plans you are working on. Any good news?"

There was a pause of silence on the other end as his hands continued to smoothly steer the car. The woman, his wife, listened in silently desperate for good news, any good news.

"Some. I've reached out to subsidiaries in Virginia, and Maryland. They can have several shipments here in twenty-four hours. Others in Georgia through Texas will be a day or two after."

"Max. Virginia and Maryland are good, but they are just subsidiaries. What about the factories in Europe? Subsidiaries aren't enough. We need to cut out the middleman and go direct to the manufacturer."

The pause of silence was a damning answer.

"I'll handle Europe. I need you to handle the subsidiaries and the shipment arrivals. Can you do that?"

His knuckles tightened until they were white as they gripped the smooth leather of the car's steering wheel.

"Yes. Sure."

His hand reached forward tapping the screen. Then he grabbed it entirely and threw the phone down into the footwell of his car.

Was it a smart thing to do? Certainly not. But all the self-control taken from those who didn't deserve it didn't mean a thing when the entire world was stacked up against you and you were playing a losing hand.

"Won't that be enough?"

He glanced at the young woman beside him for a brief moment and considered lying. But his wife knew him too well. For all his skills, taken from those who did not deserve them and used them to cheat and steal from decent folk, she could still read him with uncanny accuracy.

Besides, he would need her in this. They would all need her in what was to come.

"Max is getting support from the southern states."

Her head tilted ever so slightly, clearly not understanding but still wanting to.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

He shook my head to the negative.

"No. It's not nearly enough. Six or seven friends with a hundred supporters would be enough to turn the tide if this was just the usual actors, sure. But our competition has us outgunned so much it's laughable. She's the anvil, the usuals are the hammer. And we're caught between."

She still didn't understand. Too young, barely more than a child no matter how much she tried. Enthusiasm and fervor weren't enough to equal experience and his lovely little wife just hadn't seen enough years of the world. She couldn't see the writing on the wall. How Admiral and the PRT were working in concert to bring about the end of the Empire.

Of everything it stood for.

"But six or seven friends will equal twenty of us. That has to mean something."

He sighed as he realized that he needed to explain. She didn't see it. So, it was up to him to paint the picture for her as much as he didn't want to.

"Where was James at the meeting? Where were Geoff and Dorothy? They weren't at that meeting with us."

Realization dawned and she saw what his words meant. What he really meant beneath the double talk they always used when not dressed up for a 'party'.

"Europe" Gesellschaft "has abandoned us."

Gesellschaft had abandoned them. Why he didn't know. And while he certainly cared. Because fuck anyone who just abandoned him when he needed it. It left the writing on the wall clear. Had Gesellschaft abandoned them to parley with Admiral? Was she one of theirs after clearing the table? It didn't matter.

What mattered was that the Empire was running out of time with every ticking second, and the lifeline it should have had was gone. Their only options now were to run, and forever fear Admiral would have her projections hiding in the shadows. Or to fight.

Fighting Admiral was suicidal. They couldn't take her in a straight fight. She outnumbered them already. And she certainly outgunned them as well. Even just traveling the streets while dressed up would now become a hazardous roll of the dice.

But they would need to fight her anyway. If they could stop her, then all of this would crumble. They could deal with the PRT, the Protectorate, the Police, and even Gesellschaft another day. With time, resources, planning, and conviction they could handle anything that challenged them. But only if the Admiral wasn't just defeated and left to lick her wounds.

Their backs were to a wall, their enemy was before them and if they abandoned the city, their power base, they would be on the backfoot forever more. They would be hunted with every advantage stripped away.

The Admiral needed to die.

"What are we going to do?"

His wife, his Amanda, looked at him, fear in her eyes. His right hand left the steering wheel reaching for her hand, as he drove by the ignorant and the unworthy around them, he extended his power, taking ever so slightly from their self-control, taking it for himself to harden his will, to fortify his nerves. His hand no longer shakes, gently but firmly, reassuringly holding her fingers in his.

"What we have to."

Taylor Hebert

Our return to the docks was to my surprise completely uneventful. We weren't bothered by the Empire, the ABB, or even a pickpocket on the drive back to my growing base. The dockworkers Dad had gotten to volunteer to drive us there and back, were already paid for the trip. So, they drove off and away, or parked as they needed to, leaving me with Von der Tann and her Second Division surrounding me.

Kaiser and First Division had already headed inside the base area to deal with new wargirls that had arrived. I should have been curious about who had arrived. But the adrenaline and spite I had been running on when I had metaphorically spat in the Empire's face had vanished and I felt hollow.

I wondered if this was what it was to be a soldier or sailor in the military. After the firefight and the battle did, they feel this way too? This empty feeling where all the adrenaline was gone?

Von der Tann and her girls were patient. Reaching out I wrapped my arms around the battlecruiser and held on to her. Her arms wrapped around me, holding me close.

"Thank you."

"Of course, Admiral."

She was slightly taller than me, almost as tall as Adler making her one of the taller summons I had. It made it easy for me to just tilt my head forward and rest my head on her shoulder and just let the physical touch reassure me. With my eyes closed I didn't see them but I could feel as others, multiple others also came close and joined in the hug encircling me. I didn't know which ones, but I could tell they were all shorter.

That was just details though.

Before Nemo, before all of this, I never would have just hugged someone like I was now. Years ago, sure, when I was a kid. But you could only wake up from a nap during a movie so many times to find a destroyer using your lap for a pillow before even my fear built up thanks to eighteen months of Emma's betrayal being eroded. I probably couldn't have hugged anyone else. But the girls weren't anyone else. They were mine. And no one, not the PRT, the criminals, or the Empire, could do anything to change that.

Emma, Sophia, Maddison, and their minions could jump in the bay. My girls were Mine. And no one would take them from me.

I didn't keep track of how long the hug pile lasted. But when I loosened my hold on Von der Tann she cleared her throat and almost in unison the rest of them let go. I was left standing there as the others stepped back with only one small pair of arms trying (failing) to encircle my waist. I looked down at F-2 and patted her on the head. She squeezed me a little more with her slender arms before also stepping back giving me space in the parking lot.

"Right, I have a meeting now, yes?"

Von der Tann nodded.

"Yes. An appointment was made to meet with you last night. The timing was set for when you returned from the parley. A local businessman wishes to meet with you. He made claims that he owns some of the property our facilities are located on and has a business proposition of some kind.

I didn't let the sudden dart of fear stop me. Sure it wasn't good. It would be a little hard to let it all go. I had started to think of it all as mine, all the buildings, just like the girls. But I knew better. These properties had to belong to someone. The dockworkers only had so many warehouses, so many machine shops. If he wanted us to vacate, well we would see what happened. If worse came to worse power could make more places for the fleet elsewhere if need be.

"Where is he?"

"Hohenzollern radioed us right before your last meeting was set to begin. He arrived and was let in to wait in the same room as Gunnery Sergeant Strickland."

I firmly nodded and came to what I had begun thinking of as 'command posture'. Shoulders back, back straight. It was like standing at attention during JROTC. Something I'd learned not just from Fowley, Hanson, or Gunney Strickland, but also from Adler. It wasn't just so that I looked confident to others. If I carried myself with confidence, with surety, I would begin to feel it myself Adler had said. I hadn't entirely believed her at first. But it was so much easier to do what she said.

Weeks later of walking not just around the docks, but the city as a whole with my Fleet accompanying I was starting to understand what she meant. I wasn't just a kid playing dress up and pretending to be a military officer. I really was one, with over thirty ships at my command even if those ships liked to wear dresses and cried at how cute puppies were.

The walk into the docks to the area that was 'mine' was quick. We soon transitioned from battered old warehouses and loading cranes, to old but pristine buildings of concrete and brick that still had fresh paint on every wall.

Around us but mostly in the direction of the bay Dockworkers working weekend shifts gave us an easy berth. With the work my girls had been doing clearing away at the Graveyard the Docks had more ships present than had been in a long time. They were still small. The Panamax blocking the deepest channel still remained where it was, we had been leaving that for last once Kaiser had the Fleet salvaging efforts down to well oiled German precision, focusing on the many smaller wrecks on the Graveyard.

Every day though there was less in the graveyard as more and more ships were cut away by my work crews to sell for salvage. It was too much for even the full amount of my full Fleet. Dad had been practically eager to offer his advice that the Union could help solve the problem. My girls would handle the parts underwater, and the moving of the really heavy pieces. Letting them stand in for specialists let the ordinary human dockworkers take part in cutting steel into scrap to be sold. And so I was employing the Union to provide me with three eight hour shifts of twenty men and women in each shift. Their salaries came out of what I was making by salvaging the Graveyard.

My eyes could only wander on our walk through the docks for so long though as our destination was coming into view as we rounded a corner. My girls called it the Admiralty Building or Headquarters. I just called it home. Three stories of wood covered in fresh white paint with a flagpole out front proudly flying the American Flag out front. It was basically a small office building with a porch.

The center square of the building rising up three stories was all offices and meeting rooms. One of those offices up on the third floor was mine. Hohenzollern had made sure it even had a brass name plaque on it that read Admiral Hebert so there was no confusion. I only used it when I wanted privacy since it was one of the only places that my escorts wouldn't follow me into most of the time. The rest of it was offices for the others with Kaiser, Von der Tann, Adler, Hohenzollern, and Hansa all having their own offices even if some like Saar or Vityaz barely ever left their buildings they actually worked out of.

Unlike normal in front of the building were a pair of vehicles parked in the designated parking spots. The one that really caught my eye of the two wasn't the one with the Marines bumper sticker, but instead the big black SUV next to it. It probably was because of the four figures loitering around it. All of them were dressed identically. They openly wore body armor on their person and held rifles openly. The weapons were pointed safely to the ground, and I could see their trigger fingers safely off the trigger. Body armor, dark safety glasses, black clothing. Their heads turned to my approach, and then after a moment looked away, looking back towards the roads and entrances.

From my classes with Kaiser and Adler I knew who these individuals had to be. Coil's mercenaries. It was hard to miss the distinctive unit patch on their shoulder of a white downward pointing snake on a black background. My visitor and guest obviously felt he needed protection. But it didn't seem to be from me. His hired mercs weren't watching me openly. They were looking elsewhere, not at me, not at my girls. For something, or someone else.

Standing between the SUV's and the front door was U-20. She stiffened as we approached, and her hand raised in salute. Her raising arm shifted the straps of her rigging. A small lingering part of me was tempted to ignore her. But that was petty spite that wasn't fitting of my role. No matter how much I felt she still didn't deserve to be here, to be carrying that rigging, I heard Adler's words echoing in my memories.

My hand raised, I returned her salute as I passed. And as I did, she too returned to watching her perimeter.

I easily walked up the steps and entered. Inside the large waiting room where any guests or wargirls that had business in the building could wait was a number of characteristically old couches that were perfectly comfortable to sit in despite their looks. Gunney Strickland was sitting in one reading a newspaper. A full coffee cup still steaming with fresh coffee sitting on the table in front of her. She looked up over the edge of the paper at me and gave me a slight nod in silence.

I nodded back before turning my attention to the other man sitting there. Gunney was comfortable. He was not. The dark skinned man wearing a suit was watching me from the moment I had entered. As my eyes moved to him he folded the newspaper that he had also been reading.

He didn't speak though just watching me as I could see Hansa approaching. His dark eyes were just watching me in calm silence.

Hansa was in many ways an outlier when it came to my girls. Most were my age by appearance, sometimes a bit more. Kaiser looked like she was maybe thirty, same for Adler, most looking younger still. For Hansa though it was very much the opposite. Every hair in her head was gray or even white from age, and her face was covered in lines. If she weren't in that archaic Prussian uniform someone would have thought she was a little old grandmother. But little old grandmothers couldn't arm wrestle a dozen dockworkers in a row or drink my fleet under the table as I'd found out the hard way. There was steel in her eyes and in her spine even if she looked like a stiff wind or a good fall would kill her.

"Guten Tag Admiral. Four new girls U-34, U-35, U-38, and U-39 have been summoned. They have already reported for duty and been sent on to the Schoolhouse for training on Operation Protocol, Rules of Operations, Social Customs, and English with Adler. Herr Calvert is here for his appointment with you. Shall I see him in the first meeting room, or shall I tell him you are busy?"

Her accent was atrocious in how it butchered her English. But she was working on it just as hard as anyone else in the Fleet. She stood there caring not that Mr. Calvert was sitting right behind in the very same room. I knew if I had said I was busy and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing she would throw the businessman physically out of the building before letting him so much as try and talk to me. But Mr. Calvert wanted to meet me. I'd been dreading this moment. So had dad and even Kaiser and Adler though they wouldn't admit it unless I ordered them to tell me.

Rather than letting Hansa play secretary I turned and looked at Mr. Calvert sitting there in his expensive suit, while I stood there in my Navy exercise sweat suit.

"If you don't mind me wearing this, we can start right now. Otherwise just give me a few minutes Mr. Calvert and I can get changed."

Mr. Calvert's dark eyes shifted slightly as he judged me, then his lip curled into a faint smile.

"I have no issues being the overdressed one for a meeting. I simply wish I'd brought a change of clothes."

He then stood and I got my first impression of him. It felt a little bad to focus on the fact that he was taller than me, and yet somehow thinner. I'd seen plenty of heavier men wearing dark black suits to make them look thinner. Mr. Calvert might have weighed less than I did for how the suit he wore made him seem so slender. Extending a hand gesturing inward he smiled a little more.

"After you Miss Hebert. This meeting has been a long time coming, too long in truth. But hopefully we will reach an agreement that will be to the benefit of us both in ways we find satisfactory."

His voice was confident I would give him that. Deep in a masculine way, but hardly gravely, just smooth, the kind of voice that Siegfried wished he had. (I had to suppress the idea of the neo-nazi being jealous of how a black man sounded.) His words though. I gave him a nod. "Yes. I don't want to move. But I will if we have to."

If I could have raised an eyebrow at Mr. Calvert's chuckle I would have, on me it would have just looked weird. "I am not planning on trying to evict you. But let's talk about rent before we get to more drastic measures shall we? Either way. After you please Miss Hebert. This is your home after all."

I didn't reply, just giving a quiet humm in thought as I began walking towards the meeting room. In my wake followed Von der Tann while behind her came Mr. Calvert. Hansa was bringing up the rear holding one of Hohenzollern's silver serving platters already loaded with coffee and tea that she had gotten from somewhere. Meeting Room 1 had a brass nameplate just like my office two floors above it. I opened the door and walked in, taking a steadying breath as my hand turned the handle.

It was time for another reckoning.

AN: I am so very sorry to everyone on how long this one took to produce. I've been trying for months to get something that worked, and it just wouldn't come together. So, I stopped trying to write anything for any of my fanfics (not just Admiral) for months. I know exactly where I'm going with the next installment. But I also knew that with this one. So hopefully this will be faster than the last wait. To everyone somehow blessed with the patience of literal saints and sticking with this. Thank you. And to the folks that keep poking me with naval stuff (you guys know who you are) thank you for keeping the embers burning.

Hopefully you all like the installment. This has caused me so many headaches in ways I just cannot explain. At this point I may even hate it come tomorrow. But it's now up. It's posted. It's time for me to move on to the next installment or I'm never going to get anything written.

Last edited: Apr 15, 2024

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