As I followed after Victoria, I stepped down into a large refurbished basement. I paused there for a moment, scanning the room and its occupants. The walls were covered with framed pictures, some of the family, some of what appeared to be publicity shots, and a few framed newspapers. In the center of the room was a large, rectangular table, big enough for two families to fit around. Victoria flew over and sat next to her sister, Amy, while Crystal flew and sat beside her father. The only person I didn't recognize was a younger guy with blue hair, but a simple process of elimination meant he was likely Eric Pelham. The only member of New Wave I didn't see around the table was Carol.

As I looked around, I could see that save one person, everyone had an interested and curious expression on their face. Amy Dallon, the only one who didn't, had a more complex expression on her face, which I purposely ignored. I could talk to her more privately if she had something to say, but for now, I needed to focus on getting New Wave on board.

Once everyone had settled into the table, I approached, doing my best to come off as confident and professional.

"Hello, everyone," I said, nodding and smiling. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me like this on such short notice. I really appreciate it."

"We've pulled pretty close over the last week, getting everyone one together was pretty easy," Sarah explained, with Mark nodding in agreement. "It sounded urgent and, well, we clearly owe you."

"I appreciate that," I said, biting back a wince. "Before I start, I'm sure you're wondering about this?"

I gestured to my face, reaching up and once again tapping on my mask. Just as everyone else had been, they seemed surprised to hear the sound of my mask rather than my face.

"The short answer to what I'm sure you're wondering is no, I'm not an open cape, at least not yet. At some point, I probably will be, but for now, I have what is basically a stranger effect on my mask," I explained. "It makes it impossible for people to connect my civilian persona with Arcanum. That way, I have the benefits of maskless interactions without losing the ability to go shopping without being mobbed."

"That… is impressive," Sarah said, the rest of the group digesting that I suddenly just added a new ability to my repertoire. "We understand the desire to stay anonymous, even if we believe in transparency.

I nodded at her diplomatic compliment before leaning forward slightly and putting my hands on the edge of the large table everyone was sitting at. There was a chair in front of me, which I'm sure I would take eventually, but for now, I wanted to stay standing for added dramatic effect.

"I don't know how far the news has gotten, but two days ago, Oni Lee and I got in a fight while I was trying to save civilians from an apartment he firebombed," I started, watching as people nodded. "My brute rating and other abilities allowed me to fight him off and eventually injure him, at which point he retreated. That night, in retaliation, Lung and Oni Lee both attacked the docks community, the one I have been working with and helping out."

The news was met with various gasps and worried looks. I tried my best to wave away concerns, but Victoria steamrolled through.

"Why didn't you call us?" Victoria asked. "We would have come to help!"

While they didn't openly agree, the other adults clearly thought similar thoughts and looked to me for my reasoning.

"Honestly? I was worried about turning the community into an even bigger warzone," I explained with a frown. "The PRT had already tried to overwhelm him with numbers, and all that did was make him get bigger, faster. Not to mention burning out several blocks. I was desperate to keep that from happening and."

I had also been overwhelmed and not thinking very straight, leading me to just not think of them until it was far too late to get them involved. Unfortunately, I couldn't openly admit that to them, not without looking like an idiot. That said, the fight had been a close thing, and while I had simply not thought of them, not getting them involved might have actually been what made our victory possible. Past conflicts with the raging dragon had shown that the greater the threat, the quicker he would grow. There was a very real chance that being underestimated was what kept me alive.

"Either way, with the help of another friendly cape, who focused on taking down Lee, I was able to fight Lung, pin him down, and do enough damage to his nervous system and brain that his body gave out, and he collapsed. The PRT currently has him and Lee in custody right now.

The room hung on the moment, as they clearly expected me to explain that I had barely survived and the community was no more. When they finally realized what I had said and what it meant, several questions were flung at me at once, too many for me to keep up with. After a moment, I held up my hands in defeat.

"Woah, please, one at a time!" I asked.

"Why hasn't this been announced yet?" Sarah asked, cutting off several other questions with a look. "The PRT usually makes official announcements, and the local news picks them up pretty quickly."

"I don't really know," I admitted with a shrug. "Though it might have something to do with avoiding repercussions for as long as possible. Which is actually why I'm here."

I took the messenger tube off from around my shoulder and opened it up, spreading the map out on the table. Mark and Eric quickly placed some small weights on the map corners so it would stay open without me holding it.

"With Lung and Oni Lee both captured, assuming they stay that way," I added, knocking on the wooden table as I did. "The ABB is going to struggle. Not only were their two capes the only thing keeping the E88 from pushing on their territory, but they were also the only thing holding the gang together. With them gone, I expect a lot of in-fighting and a lot of the E88 pushing in to try and claim their territory."

"You want us to help you patrol the area, crack down on the fighting, and keep the E88 from pushing into the new territory," Mark guessed as everyone looked down at the map.

"Exactly. The Protectorate is going to be expanding the patrols into this area," I explained, gesturing to part of the map that Miss Militia marked. "It's about two-fifths of ABB's territory. Now, I can patrol a good chunk of space, but I do have other responsibilities, and I need time to work on my projects. This…"

I gestured to the large chunk of the city that the Protectorate could not patrol, tracing it out on the map.

"My partner and I would have to dedicate every waking moment to patrolling to even come close to locking down an area of this size," I explained, shaking my head. "Not only would that still not be enough, we wouldn't be able to keep it up for very long, especially not against the full force of the E88. Not to mention that, according to Miss Militia, the Merchant leader is ambitious, meaning he and the Merchant tinker might pop up and start causing trouble as well."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Do you have some sort of plan?" Neil asked. "A patrol rotation or any sort of specific goal?"

"The general goal is to keep the E88 out while also slowly sweeping up the worst aspects of the ABB as they expose themselves through infighting and normal activities," I explained. "This will, almost inevitably, bring us into direct conflict with the Empire."

"Like that's any different," Victoria said with a scoff. "The Nazis get into conflict with everyone who doesn't toe their line."

"And that isn't likely to stop until the E88 is either gone or we teach them a lesson severe enough, like capturing enough of their capes, that they pull back on their territory grab," I pointed out. "While I hope the latter happens, I think it's much more likely that the former is what it actually takes. But, honestly, for now? That's too far in the future to be concerned about. The most important objective is to keep the ABB territory from becoming a warzone. And I need your help to do it."

The room was quiet for a long moment before Sarah finally spoke up, leaning forward in her seat.

"I think that for something like this, even if technically, I am the leader, we should vote as a family," She suggested. "This will clearly not be random, casual patrols. We will need to set up schedules, cut back work hours, and volunteer our free time. It's quite a different step than what we have been doing for the last few years."

"My vote is to help," Victoria volunteered easily. "Even if you guys don't, I'll help out when I'm not at school and on the weekends."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Victoria," I said, giving her a smile before turning to her father. "But you need permission from your father. I can't have a minor working with us when their parents don't want them involved."

"Parent," Victoria said, an edge in her voice. "It's parent."

I looked around with wide eyes, trying to figure out how to respond to her statement. Eventually, I simply nodded, as no words came to my head. After a few seconds of awkward silence, and quite a few winces from the family members around the table, I spoke up again.

"While I appreciate Victoria's enthusiasm, I'm happy to step out and let you guys vote," I explained. "And you should be aware that even if you decide not to join in, my healing is not on the table as a bargaining chip. I'll still help you guys regardless of your choice."

"I don't think that's necessary," Sarah said, looking around and checking that the rest of her team agreed. "Personally, I think that it is high time that New Wave started patrolling more regularly. This is the perfect opportunity to do some good."

Everyone, to varying degrees of exuberance, agreed with their leader. Crystal was the most reluctant, not because she didn't want to help but because her college classes had just started up again and had her swamped. She did agree to patrol when she could, most likely during the weekends. Her younger brother, Eric, was perhaps the most excited, clearly happy that he would be able to be a hero again. When the official vote was done, Sarah spoke up with a nod.

"Well, seems like it is unanimous," She concluded after sharing a look with her husband. "New Wave will help patrol ABB territory. We just need to figure out scheduling."

The conversation quickly devolved into a much more confusing, near-constant debate of who should patrol when. For a moment, I was pulled back to my old home, to family discussions of future plans. People talking about this day or that day, this time or that, all in a chaotic jumble that barely anyone could follow. I say barely, since Sarah seemed to be on top of it all, writing down things down, before frequently erasing them as they slowly puzzled together when each person would be patrolling.

After nearly twenty minutes of planning, we managed to work out a schedule that worked for everyone. Of course, we were all basically on call, especially the rapid flyers, but that was more about reacting to fights than anything. Sarah even discussed reaching out to a few independents in the area to strengthen our patrols. On the note of strengthening, I pulled attention back to myself.

"I also would like to help each of you by crafting a custom bit of gear," I volunteered. "Something to take your powers to the next level."

"Like your mask?" Mark asked.

"Or my boots or cloak," I added, pulling at my coat.

"While that certainly sounds interesting, will you need to maintain them?" Sarah asked. "What sort of effects could you create?"

"My creations don't need to be maintained," I responded with a frown. "Is that something that other tinkers have to deal with?"

"Yes. Most tinker creations need regular intense maintenance from their creator, or occasionally another tinker with a similar specialty," Sarah explained. "But if that's not a problem for you, then that's great."

"There is something you should know, however," I said, wincing slightly. "If you want something truly special, I'll need a little vial of your blood. It's how part of my power works, and it will take whatever I end up making for you to the next level. Plus, it will make it more difficult for other people to use should someone take it from you. So it's a boost plus a deterrent."

"A vial of blood?"

"Yes. I know it's a bit strange and not exactly comforting," I admitted with a frown. "But my powers insist on being as…Mystical as they can. I've clearly leaned into it, but sometimes it feels like it's doubled down and called my bluff."

That got a round of polite chuckles, but I waved away the attempts to make things less awkward.

"I know it's a weird request, and it makes most people's minds go to some pretty upsetting places, so if you don't feel comfortable, that's fine," I assured them. "I can still make something for each of you. It just won't be as powerful as it would be without it."

"I… think that at this point, we can trust you," Sarah admitted after giving her husband a long, serious look. "How would you take our blood? How much do you need?"

"Just a small vial, less than a vacuum sample tube at the doctors. And I have some vials outside with Troy," I explained, continuing when I got a few blank looks in return. "Troy is the golem horse I ride around on."

After a few more words, I quickly walked up the stairs and out the front door, making my way to Troy. I used my druidcraft spell to open his chest. First, I pulled out a handful of normal, untreated vials, which were for everyone's blood. I then pulled out a much larger box of containment vials, the ones I ritualized to hold and store things that usually couldn't be stored. With those, I was hoping to get some more exotic samples, both for New Wave's future creations and for my own projects. As I was using a spell to close Troy's chest back up, I could feel Alya teasing my neck with a breeze, prompting me to turn around quickly. Amy Dallon was climbing down the front steps, looking a little lost and nervous but still determined.

"Hey…" She said, stopping while she was still on their front walk. "Could… we talk for a minute?"