Interlude 2.a – Ice cream & Discussions
101 Granby Street, Brockton Bay
"—Medhall cares about your health, first and foremost. Our patients enjoy—"
Irene Copper was a stern woman. All her students and colleagues could attest to that.
She had a 'no-nonsense' attitude that kept all her students in line. It was perhaps because of her McGonagle-like presence that people found themselves looking forward to the rare instances in which they earned her approval, support or compliments. This worked particularly well for her as an educator at Crestview Middle School.
"—or Town's cape population, heralded as the most disgusting parahuman in America, Pearl continues to—"
Naturally, such a thing came at a cost.
Namely, exhaustion.
While others only ever saw Ms. Cooper, the woman who held herself with poise and gravitas befitting that of an educator at a prestigious academy, it was only at home that she could truly let loose and tear away the mask she presented to others.
"—Yet another attack on the Teeth by the violent 'Hero' team Super Magic Dream Parade leaves several gang members killed, with all three parahumans fleeing the scene when accosted by the Teeth leader Butcher. Boston PRT Director Armstrong cautions civilians from interacting with the eccentric parahuman team regardless—"
Lying upside down with her legs holding the back of her couch, Irene kept cycling through TV channels with one hand as the other busied itself with petting and stroking the purring pile of feline fur sitting on her stomach.
"–Smokey Bandit takes to the skies! The infamous–"
'Blessed Saturday~! No noisy kids to deal with and with all the tests graded yesterday I don't have any more work!'
"—Freedom California continues to be a dead end for communication with the outside world as the PRT and Protectorate zealously guard the borders of the quarantine zone. PRT officials have not yet revealed just what has happened—"
"I'm craving blueberry ice cream today, Mister Mittens, I think I'll treat you to some catnip—"
*Ding-dong*
Setting Mister Mittens onto the couch, Irene stood up and straightened her clothes.
'I don't remember ordering anything…? Who could it be?'
Subconsciously shifting back into her educator persona, she opened a drawer on the path to the front door and palmed her licensed firearm after making sure it was loaded and continued walking. One could never be too careful in Brockton Bay after all.
Peering through the door's peephole, at first glance Irene spotted no one, something that made her frown even as her grip on her gun tightened.
However, looking further down simultaneously eased her worries and elicited a groan out of her even as she stowed her firearm away in the closest drawer.
Standing outside her door was an impossibly handsome boy with somewhat tanned copper skin, raven black hair and bright green eyes: her latest transfer student. The only thing that detracted from his appearance was how he was nervously shifting around while seemingly deliberating whether he should just leave. Internally, Irene thought it was quite in character for the boy who showed just great shifts in confidence for outwardly random things, then again who knew what went on in that head of his?
"I understand that you've been through some trying times recently, if you ever have anything you need or wish to discuss something, do not hesitate to reach out to me."
Irene couldn't help but curse her past self for her words. While she cared about her students greatly, she wasn't one to connect to them on a personal level, only ever making sure that they received the help they needed through other people. It was how she kept her career and home life separate.
Psychoanalyzing herself was something she found distasteful, but she had to admit that it was more than just a slip of her tongue when she offered to speak to him if he felt troubled.
She would've liked to believe that it wasn't just his appearance that prompted her to reach out to him, that his tragic situation was the only deciding factor there, but her studies in Psychology happily reminded her that people did indeed treat attractive people better, subconsciously.
'Let's hope that Pych minor from college helps with the coming conversation because I am NOT a therapist…Although, I'll find out if he needs one. Wait a minute…how the hell did the kid find out where I live? Did another one of the teachers tell him?'
Just as Daniel was about to turn around and leave, Irene realised that she might have kept him waiting too long and opened the door.
"Mr. Hill. I take it you're here to speak with me about something?"
"A-ah, Ms. Cooper! Um, that's not what I'm here for. I mean I guess I am talking to you, but I just had a question about something related to one of my classmates not like…uhh therapy or counselling."
Arching an eyebrow, Irene lied. "Rest assured; I wasn't thinking of forcing you into anything of that nature."
Pinning him with a stern look, she continued. "While I do not mind answering your question now, I'd like to remind you to make your enquiries when we are at school in the future, though I would like to know how you knew where to find my home."
Shifting nervously, the boy handed her an envelope, that on further inspection was addressed to her. "Well, I'd stayed back a little late in class on Friday and found this on the floor. I had a question and your home is within walking distance from my uncle's home so I thought I'd just give it to you. And uhh, as for the question I wanted to visit Di–one of my friends, but I don't have their address or contact information and thought you would know….?"
Irene was almost tempted to snort. Oh, she didn't, but it was a close thing. Was that supposed to be a way to hide who he was speaking of? There was only a single student in her class that he could be looking for. After all they'd practically been stuck together all week.
"If you'd like to know Ms. Alcott's home address, I might be able to help you if you're willing to wait for a few minutes. I'm sure I have it in one of my files. However…this is an exceptional circumstance, that will not be repeated again and will not be spoken of again. Am I understood?"
Flashing a bright, excited smile, the boy nodded and Irene despite herself felt her lips twitch upward.
She wasn't supposed to give out information like that, but she thought that meeting over the weekend would support their budding friendship and would overall be a good thing for both Daniel and Dinah.
What was the worst that could happen?
-(–)-
"–The Alcott residence, home to the Alcott family, close relatives to Mayor Christner of Brockton Bay, just went up in flames, in what the Fire department believes to be a Dust Explosion. Mr. and Mrs. Alcott were attending a gala with the mayor and were able to avoid the incident, however, their 13-year-old daughter was said to be at home at the time.
Suspecting Parahuman involvement, some assistance from Thinkers was levied and it was confirmed that Dinah Alcott was not inside the residence at the time. Instead, the remains of an unknown adult male were discovered. This however brings us to the question of what exactly happened–"
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Dropping the spoon filled with blueberry ice cream onto the floor, Irene could only continue to stare at the TV with her mouth hanging open.
"…What the fuck!"
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PRT ENE Headquarters
Once every month, different PRT departments were required to attend an online meeting with all the directors present to discuss larger threats, changes in policy or simply events that would affect the PRT as a whole.
Today, however, was not one of those days. Instead, today's meeting was an emergency that was called in to discuss larger S-class threats that were not expected at all.
All members of the Protectorate, including the Wards along with some vital PRT staff members were present in the biggest PRT ENE Headquarters' meeting room. Of course, only ENE Director Emily Piggot and ENE Protectorate Leader Armsmaster were facing the camera's and were able to speak without explicit permission.
The Wards were generally not part of meetings discussing S-class threats, but when the threat in question was capable of reaching anywhere across the world in an instant? Policies were changed.
The meeting had gone on for nearly 2 hours and was just about winding down.
["–AND THAT'S IT?! THAT'S ALL WE HAVE?! People, that fucking THING just took out The Simurgh! And we know nothing about the literal ENDBRINGER EATING WORM, WITH POSSIBLY THE HIGHEST MOVER RATING WE'VE EVER SEEN!!!!
I was there at Lausanne! I've seen what the bird bitch can do! She was already an unsurmountable enemy for mankind, by making such short work of her Mephistopheles is on another level of its own! Even as we're on this call that thing could come out of nowhere and KILL US AL–"]
["…"] / "…"
Everyone was silent. Not just those sitting in the PRT ENE but all the directors and branch leading heroes in the meeting.
Even the unflappable Chief Director Rebecca Costa Brown appeared to be somewhat taken aback, though that was something very few of the participants were able to make out.
["…I've taken the liberty to disconnect Director Tagg from the call. While he is usually quite heated and has strong opinions that he does his best to back up…he's never been quite so…unprofessional. I'm sending his department into Level 3 Master-Stranger lockdown and getting Watchdog to investigate.
As Director Tagg reminded us, he was indeed one of the first responders in Lausanne when Ziz attacked there. He was never truly suspected to have been affected…but it pays to be careful at a time like this.
The case of the newest Endbringer was the final listed agenda for this meeting, so we'll be ending it now. Continue maintaining the Emergency State for each of your departments for the week. We'll begin disseminating controlled information about the Endbringer designated as Mephistopheles to the public before any of the independents can do so. Which means I want all of you on your best behaviour, we can't afford any big incidents right now."]
"Ma'am, I believe–" In the PRT ENE headquarters, Emily's gaze was drawn to her side as Armsmaster suddenly spoke up only to be pinned with the Director's gaze. It never ceases to amaze her how one woman could be so intimidating. It was also eerie, how quickly she reacted considering how many people she had on screen.
["I've received your written input for today's meeting Armsmaster. A large-scale collaboration between multiple Tinkers has been Taboo ever since the creation of the Three Blasphemies. However, one of the primary reasons why such a meeting was discouraged was because of the Simurgh's presence, we couldn't afford to let her have access to so many Tinker Powers. Now with her gone and a greater threat in view…considerations are being made. For now, forget about this, you'll be sent an email if the proposal is accepted.
Meeting adjourned."]
Nodding his head, Armsmaster settled down as the Chief Director disconnected from the meeting and the other Directors also began to leave, unaware of the glare Emily was sending his way, not just for speaking unprompted but also for failing to inform her of making such a proposal in the first place. She'd speak to him later, probably make a cut in his budget after verbal punishment.
"Man! I thought that would never end!" Abruptly sitting up, Dennis or Clockblocker cried out and started stretching while arching his back.
"Clockblocker." Emily spoke in a low tone, almost growling, and it was enough for the jokester Ward to sit back down between Vista and Triumph while gulping fearfully.
"Before any of you get any ideas, know that the meeting isn't over. You were called to observe this Director's meeting to stay informed of the threat that the newest Endbringer poses and get more experience for the future. Since all of us are already here, we will also go over matters for ENE, the Wards will stay for the first half after which they will leave." As she spoke, she made sure to stare everyone in the eye, an unspoken challenge to question her. No one did, but Clockblocker did somehow gain the courage to speak up first after listening to her.
"Ma'am, um I'm not trying to leave or something like that, but uhh…all of us aren't here yet. I mean Soph–Shadow Stalker isn't present for the meeting."
"I'm glad you brought it up Clockblocker, since that is the first thing we have to address today. Armsmaster if you will." Emily smiled at the Ward and enjoyed the way he flinched.
With a hand motion from the Tinker, the screen that previously displayed the members of the online meeting switched over showing Shadow Stalker's file. 'I wonder how much of his Tinkering budget the buffoon spent to make operating the screen more 'efficient'.'
"As I'm sure all of you are aware, Shadow Stalker has always been the problem child of the ENE Wards and had a Vigilante stint before joining us. What you might not be aware of is that she was apprehended after pinning a man to a wall by piercing him with crossbow bolts and nearly killing him. Instead of juvie, she joined the Wards. That is the reason that she was on parole." Emily enjoyed the reactions the Wards had. Ranging from surprised to resigned.
"She was thought to be redeemable and given a second chance and after a while, it seemed to work and no one gave the matter more thought as long as she stayed in line. What you'll see now will be a look into Shadow Stalker's personal life. All of this information on Sophia Hess was uncovered recently."
A new file showed up on the screen and Emily enjoyed watching the faces of every cape contorting as they read on, including the other Protectorate members since only she and Armsmaster were privy to it prior to this meeting with all the evidence uncovered by Armsmaster (possibly with Dragon's help, not that he would ever volunteer that information without prompting).
The only one who didn't react much was Triumph, but he'd been like that all day.
"How did she get away with doing this for so long!" Vista was the most vocal in her reaction.
"…I knew she was a bitch to everyone, but I always thought she focused on Villains."
"…Her emotions…I could see but…but…" Gallant was the most shocked. The Empath realizing that he probably didn't understand the people around him nearly as much as he thought he did.
Taking a deep breath Miss Militia, turned to Emily, most likely already having read and memorized the contents on the screen. "Director, I was the one she opened up to the most. I was the one who trained her. I'm willing to take responsibility for this…incident. But this file doesn't show what happened to her."
Emily raised an eyebrow at the cape. "You won't be taking any responsibility for this, at least in an official capacity. As far as the world is concerned, all the crimes against Taylor Hebert have been committed by Sophia Hess. Any connection being formed between this and the Wards program is one that we cannot afford, especially since we've uncovered possible evidence that suggests that Shadow Stalker might have actually committed murder when we weren't looking. This had to be dealt with in-house, but at the same time, we can't divert any major resources to finding her, considering the current circumstances. So at least until things settle down, we won't be actively trying to capture her unless we can do so without anyone noticing."
Battery, used to focusing and analysing on her words spoke. "Finding her? What happened?"
Emily grimaced. "She's gone AWOL. Originally, this wouldn't have ever come to our attention, considering how her 'caretaker' collaborated with the school staff to keep it quiet, but the victim's father roped in a bunch of dockworkers into poking their noses into the matter. We believe Shadow Stalker thought her identity was compromised after seeing them look into the matter and attacked them briefly, before aborting the attack and fleeing. She's been missing since and considering her power we don't think we'll find her unless she wants us to or she's desperate. She has secret caches of food, money and weapons hidden around the city in places only she can reach easily, she'll stay hidden for a while if she's smart and delaying this matter is good for us so we won't be doing anything else."
"But–"
"But nothing. If you see her and are absolutely sure that no one will see you then attempt to capture, otherwise talk to her and try to convince her to come in herself.
Moving on, I'm sure all of you've been waiting for an update on Velocity. He's been cleared as safe from the Simurgh's influence and had been given a perfect bill of health. However, due to special circumstances, he's been granted leave so don't expect him for a while."
Looking at all the relieved smiles, Emily wondered how they'd feel if they knew what actually happened. Emily shuddered as she thought back to Velocity's situation. An already broken Cape, breaking once more…she almost didn't want him back. A quick glance at Gallant showed that he'd missed her feelings entirely before she composed herself.
"Alright, settle down. You can celebrate later at your own time. We have more to discuss, like how the mayor's sister's house was blown up and how his 13-year-old niece is missing." At that Triumph was immediately listening attentively. He had probably been waiting for this since the beginning, then again, she had been the one who told him to wait for the meeting to discuss it.
"As of now, Thinker assistance from Watchdog has only given us enough to conclude that the girl is alive. They've been having trouble getting anything from her directly and at times she becomes a complete Thinker Blindspot. It's safe to assume that Dinah Alcott is a parahuman, but right now we need to focus on the three other parties."
"Three? I thought…" Triumph looked confused.
"That's right three parties. WEGDEG has confirmed that it was Coil's mercenaries that attacked the Alcott residence, but it wasn't the girl who repelled them, but someone else who also received assistance from a third party. The rescuer, in this case, is also somehow confounding the Thinkers to some extent, but according to them the 'flavour' of the interference is completely different so they're sure that it wasn't Dinah who saved herself.
The Parahuman in question was capable of generating enough water to flood an entire block and somehow managed to create a Dust Explosion right after to cover their tracks. For now, know that they've 'rescued' Dinah and might be an extremely powerful hydro and pyrokinetic.
As for the third party, they've used deliberate lethal force to kill one of the mercenaries so caution is advised. The problem here is the way they killed the mercenary was with a crossbow bolt to the skull. The same type Shadow Stalker used back in her vigilante days. Thinkers can't confirm that it wasn't her due to the interference, but they're also not sure that it was her. Since none of this information is being made public anytime soon, we'll move forward keeping the possibility of a new player in mind.
In the unlikely event that you come across either the new Cape, Dinah Alcott or the crossbow-wielding cape you are to call in assistance before any contact. Since we can't go looking for them with any guarantee of success, we'll be focusing our attention on Coil, you'll be sent refresher files on his organization after the meeting and I expect each one of you to read it. Next, we have–"
"Wait, wait! That's it?! Are we not going go looking for her?!" Triumph sat up from his seat and practically yelled.
Emily turned a gimlet eye towards the oldest Ward. "We have no leads to follow Triumph. Patrol routes will be adjusted for this considering we have the mayor breathing down our neck, but the Thinkers are doing their best to get more, so unless you have a better plan, keep quiet and continue listening. You're still a Ward for a few months, and even after becoming an official member of the Protectorate, you'll still be answering to me. Do not act out and jeopardize your chances."
Triumph visibly struggled, before gritting his teeth and falling back into his seat impotently.
Holding her glare for a little longer, Emily continued. "…As I was saying, one of our PRT consultants has been completely unreachable for a while. Considering Thoman Calvert's punctual nature, this is an oddity that has to be made note of. All Protectorate members here are familiar with him and I believe he has interacted with the Wards before, so for now, just keep this information in mind and call it in if any of you come across anything."
Emily knew the man was good at his job, but he was someone she wanted to get rid of regardless. She'd never lost the disgust she felt for the man who had bragged about killing his superior officer right after getting out of that place. She'd never really had a good reason to find trouble with him before, but she could and would use this against him.
Getting reminded of her experiences from that hell on earth made her insides hurt even more than usual, making her all the more aware of her injuries.
Grimacing she looked down and shuffled through some papers, Emily pulled out another file, before taking a glance at her wristwatch. "There's also the matter of the Case 53 that's set up shop selling clothing near Boardwalk, but it's getting late so I think I'll leave this matter for our actual scheduled meeting. All of you can leave."
'Two capes setting up a shop making clothes and living peaceful lives? As if something like that was possible in this mad world. It'll devolve into chaos and violence like everything else that involves parahumans and I'll be the one to take care of the aftermath.'