Yamada

Jessica Yamada observed the thin girl sitting on the couch before her. Lily had barely spoken, which was unusual for her – Yamada could admit that her memory wasn't always perfect when it came to patients, courtesy of the PRT's rotating schedule, but she remembered broad strokes and had her notes to remind her of details.

Lily – she'd managed to get her to agree not to be 'Flechette' when she was in Yamada's care – was typically prepared to talk as soon as she came through the door. They'd talked about...a large number of things, before. Lots of relatively typical teenage problems, more than anything else.

Now, though...

"Something's clearly on your mind, Lily. You know you can talk about it, if you want – and if you'd prefer to talk about something else, or not to talk at all, that's fine as well."

Lily continued staring at her knees for a moment before she looked up. "...I don't know if I did the right thing."

Yamada hummed for a moment. "You'll have to be more specific. Are you referring to your transfer to Brockton Bay, or...?"

"In the battle. I...you know what happened, right?"

"I have a general picture, yes, but I wasn't there. Why don't you give me context?"

The girl slumped slightly. "We...I wasn't there for all of it. I've only heard stories about how it was early on, but I can imagine it. I've...worked next to Legend before, you know? I can imagine what it looked like when that thing first copied his powers."

Yamada could imagine it, as well. Twisted as it was to imagine Legend operating without any moral restraint...it was not a pleasant picture. "Go on, Lily."

"Well...when we finally did make it, I got a pretty good look at what was happening. My power...I was waiting for the right time to shoot, you know? So I was paying pretty close attention to what was going on. I watched that cape...Majesty, I guess? Everyone's been talking about what happened afterward, but the thing I remember most is from before it all. Watching that thing wearing Legend's face fire everything it had at us on the ground, and...he kept getting in the way. Not everybody was lucky, but..." She trailed off, shrugging.

"I'm not an expert, but my amateur understanding is that a lot of lives were saved with his powers, yes."

"What are...what have you heard about him?"

Yamada raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting question to ask."

"I've heard a lot of opinions. It's...related to what's going on in my head. I promise I'll talk about it, but I want to hear your answer first. I...don't remember all of the PRT therapists that well, but I think I remember you being willing to give your input on stuff like this."

Yamada crossed her legs and considered her words carefully. "Well, I wouldn't say I've followed the news any more than the average person, but you aren't the first person I've heard mention the shields. Still...I'd say most people are either talking about what he did in the end, or...what came after him."

Lily's shoulders slumped, and Jessica suppressed a sigh, unsure she'd said the right words. "Yeah. That's...been pretty much my experience, as well." For a moment, the teenage girl stared off into space, face twitching slightly as she sorted through her thoughts. Finally, she took a breath and released it. "I was...I was so angry when I watched that thing grab him. I wanted it to pay, you know? Even when...even when the Simurgh showed up, I was more angry than afraid."

She nervously wrung her hands, toying with her fingers and tapping them against each other. "Then they started...really fighting. And I wonder – I wonder how much more they could have escalated, if we just let them keep going. If I..." Lily visibly bit back her words, falling quiet again.

"Lily?"

The girl shook her head. "Nothing. I just...when I was offered a chance to help again, I hesitated a little, you know? But not as much as I think I should have."

"What makes you say that? Do you think you made the wrong decision, that you should have stayed out of it?"

That finally made the girl rise to her feet and start pacing back and forth. "I don't know! I was still so...so fucking pissed about what had happened, and then that girl called my name and told me to assist, and...and she'd been right before, and I just wanted to do something, so..." She raised her trembling hands for a moment, as though grasping something in the air ahead of her...then threw herself back onto the couch.

Jessica waited a moment before she interjected. "My understanding is that you were the reason the fight ended, Lily."

"Yeah. Because I helped one Endbringer win against another one. Hah. Any other situation, I'd be cheering, you know? Overjoyed. But..." The silence was heavier, suddenly. The way Lily's body tensed...Yamada had seen this before.

It was how people looked right before they revealed some secret. The first time it happened, this was when patients asked her how confidential she was about her sessions...but she'd had Lily before. She should already know.

"...the Simurgh looked right at me, you know? At the end." Yamada's eyes widened a bit at that revelation. "After the other two had left, and it was just it and Majesty up there...it looked me right in the eyes, then I looked away for just a second and they were both gone. And now I wonder if helping it was the right decision or not."

It was a moment before Jessica could find any words to answer with.

The Number Man

Kurt twirled the pen between his fingers, observing the vectors and speed with his power. It was the one and only concession he'd ever made to impatience, in those very brief moments where he waited on something without other work to occupy him in the interim. Doctor Mother was glancing over a number of folders, the dark-skinned woman focused quite intently. Most likely client information. At her right side sat Contessa, silent as usual.

Then the air pressure in the room changed very slightly as Doormaker opened a portal, and Alexandria stepped through. He set the pen down on the table with a soft click as their last member took a seat at the table.

"Excellent. Everyone is here. Rebecca, how are things on your end?" Doctor Mother began concisely as always; it was one thing Kurt had always appreciated about her. While she was prone to verbosity on her own time, she always kept their meetings short and to the point.

"The Protectorate is reeling slightly, but it's manageable. Seeing an Endbringer soundly defeated was helpful in raising morale, even considering the...unique circumstances. Still, the battle escalated to the point that a number of capes are shaken."

Kurt nodded, folding his hands on the table. "We're projecting a decrease in participation for the next Endbringer attack, especially from those few villains that have sought fights before. However, if Majesty's information continues to be accurate, then assuming they only escalate in response to threats participation levels should return to relative normality afterwards."

"On the other hand, several Thinkers have been poring over Dragon's recordings with great interest. That sphere exposed at the end of the fight...there are a number of theories being discussed about it. Additionally, there's a specific power that was used to great effect – after the Ward Flechette charged the Simurgh's weapons they became substantially more effective. I approved her transfer to Brockton Bay for now; there's some hope that Armsmaster may be able to replicate the effects given time to study it. We may wish to consider assigning other Tinkers to study her abilities, as well."

"Agreed. In terms of offense, that was one of the more effective we've seen. The girl herself is rather fragile, though, I take it?" When Alexandria nodded, Doctor Mother turned to her right.

"No immediate danger," Contessa said before falling silent once more.

"Good. Then, one last thing: Majesty's other information. Everything he mentioned so far was correct?"

Alexandria hesitated for a moment before nodding. "His description of the 'Twins' and their abilities was accurate, as was his assessment that they would escalate. Additionally...it does appear that he was telling the truth about the Simurgh, although there's no way to be sure."

"I hesitate to trust anything that has to do with that particular problem, but I don't believe there's harm in assuming the broad strokes of his information were true," Kurt supplied. "On that subject, those favors he mentioned..."

"I'll want more details before agreeing to anything," Doctor Mother interjected and received an immediate nod from Alexandria. "Still, it is mostly in line with how we've operated in the past, and depending on what he specifically requests...he could be quite valuable to maintain contact with. I'll not turn down a potential resource lightly."

"Agreed," Kurt said. When there was no immediate response, he tapped the paper in front of him. "I have a few things to report as well, regarding the potential fallout of the casualties of the battle and the subsequent power imbalances. . ."

Lisa

Lisa rewound the video again.

The Simurgh looked down at the cape in her wings and her face shifted.

Affection, regret, protective instinct. Similar to observations of Heartbroken; Simurgh mastered?

She rewound the video.

Majesty's chest exploded in gore a split second before a flash of light engulfed him, abating to reveal the Endbringer cradling him.

Sudden appearance; Simurgh summoned? Secondary Mover effect of Master power? Majesty's body slack, consciousness abated; active use impossible. Reflexive defense? Possible.

She switched tabs to an edited collection; every moment the Simurgh was actively attacking the other Endbringers in quick succession.

Attack intensity variable; Simurgh holding back. Prioritizing healing of Majesty. Simurgh remaining in combat despite prioritizing Majesty; emotional decision? Long-term plan?

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and forced her power to refocus before it went off on a tangent.

Core exposed. Tohu escalates instantly upon exposure; core of critical importance. Core only 'vital' organ. Simurgh takes attacks instead of dodging, creating opening for Majesty; teamwork. Simurgh mastered.

Her eyes narrowed, her head starting to throb as she rewatched a single section over and over. But...there was something there. She opened the doors on her power, accepting this as her final usage before she was worthless for the day.

Tohu reaction to Majesty's attack erratic. Body language shifts immediately upon completion.

Her eyes widened.

Tohu mastered; Majesty's power not single use.

She leaned back in her chair, hands coming to cradle her head not only because of her headache.

She glanced at her phone, for a moment expecting the voice of 'Songbird' to order her to forget what she'd just learned.

She would do her best even if she never received that order. For her own peace of mind, if nothing else.

...

...A moment later, she clicked play on the video once again.

Faerie Queen

She walked, unseen and unheard. Her faeries walked beside her, masking her from the senses of the props on the stage around her.

She walked past the cordon around the labyrinth;

she walked down the streets and across the traps;

she walked through the twisting passages, pausing for just a moment to collect the faeries that had fallen there.

She walked until she could see the cracked and broken tower where the stage had been set.

She called upon a third faerie, and looked into the window it carved in the sky.

She watched through that window as the princeling danced in the sky;

she watched as he was plucked from the jaws of death by the queen of air and darkness;

she watched as the queen and the magician fought;

and she watched as he twisted the magician, caging it in its prison of flesh forevermore.

"Hmm," she said to no one in a voice of many.

"I think I should like to meet this princeling who plays upon a stage not his."