February 14,1994, Riverford Mississippi
It was quiet in Riverford as always. The small town of a thousand people was spread out enough where privacy wasn't hard to find and the cemetery was empty except for me. The casket was pure steel and buried quite far in the ground since people knew our names now. I had erected a small statue for her and a sign that simply said “ Holly Hollions, hero, wife and the best player of Mario kart around.” The funeral was just me, most of our family had been gone for years and the friends we had didn't deserve to be here in my mind.
The melancholic song “sound of silence” played in the air even when all I wanted was quiet. I could feel the moving air molecules before I heard the flier land behind me. A hand fell on my shoulder a few seconds after.
“I’m sorry Ben, I should’ve been there.” The voice of Legend hit my ears like a slap. The audacity of the man baffled me, he was a good man I knew but couldn't believe he had shown up knowing he was still a part of the problem.
“Why are you here Keith?” I asked my voice just drained at this point after the outpour of emotions over the last few days.
“I didn’t want you to be alone, you shouldn’t be. I know you're angry at us Ben but that doesn't mean that we don't care.” He said, god he was too nice for this world but that hadn't stifled my anger.
“You can’t say you care if you haven’t fixed the problem Legend, the PRT is the problem and notice that you're the only one who tried to comfort your friend. The others must have been busy doing paperwork.” I said a sneer entering my voice. “I appreciate that you can take time out of your busy day to be here but I have work to do so I'll be leaving.” I said as I began to walk away to my waiting car.
“You know where I am if you need to talk Ben! And Don’t cause too much trouble please.” He said, beginning to fly away as he did.
I let out a sigh as I went into my old beetle and drove away, time to start work.
February 20th, 1994 Philadelphia
Philly was as much of a shithole as I remembered I thought. Entering my newly purchased office building and heading to the front desk taking a seat. My new costume still squeaked as I sat down a few dozen profiles in front of me. The conductors suit, top hat and white gloves looked good enough, the solid black mask matching the aesthetic. I’d purchased the office building cheap from a guy I had saved months back and owed me a favor in his mind.
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I had gotten contacted almost immediately after I got the phones put in by dozens of capes. Most were independent’s curious about my plans, others were petty criminals looking for a legal opportunity that wasn't government associated. The last group was the most surprising, several current members of the PRT who seemed unhappy with their current situation. I’d told them all to send me their resumes and contact information.
Ironically the profiles in front of me were not that of capes but secretaries and administrators since I had no means to run an organization alone. My banker was probably ripping his hair out at the money flooding out of my account but I wanted the best equipment and training available. Brute tested weights, mover treadmills, combat trainers and an in-building range for blaster testing.
I’d also put together a small folder for the plan for the company. My model was essentially a hero for hire service. I would connect like minded heroes together, train them, supply them and let them select jobs based on their morals. They wouldn't be obligated to do anything except for the training and were fully allowed to continue their independent actions as long as they were not criminal in nature.
I felt like it was the closest thing to a balance one could get with being a hero and having a job. I was simply the broker between people and provided them support. There would be opportunities for full time employment if they wanted, on-call capes were a must. The other point of the group would be Protection, any associates of our group would be under our protection whether on a job or not and they were not to be fucked with.
I would start calling in the first capes for assessment in a few weeks after logistics were sorted. I wanted to start small and within the Philly area to start and expand, hopefully country wide. I heard the phone ring for the first time today and picked it up waiting to answer the same questions.
“Ben, we need to talk.” The voice of Alexandria greeted me
“We have nothing to talk about Becca.” The music that constantly surrounded me playing louder now with “Ring of Fire” playing out.
“Ben you are starting something you don’t want to.” she said, voice entirely business like. “You are directly contesting a government agency. One I helped found, you know I want to help you but I can’t do anything if you insist on being difficult.”
“I have nothing to explain to you Becca. We are a private security company who happens to employ parahumans, no laws against it and especially no laws against doing it simply because it’s you.” I said the tenseness over the phone was palpable. I heard the sigh come from her after a few seconds of silence.
“Ben I know that you never approved of the Protectorate but it’s necessary to keep parahumans in check. They need to be held at a different standard than normies; it's how things must be.” She said her tone resolute in a way that I knew she had reassurance from the pathfinder.
“Contessa is not absolute Becca. And I will not be a party to her insane plans anymore. No Thinker can plan everything, especially not her otherwise you would’ve been in St.Louis.” I said the argument over Contessa had been a repeated affair between us. “Did you even call without her telling you too?”
“I wanted to say my condolences anyway but you’re being irrational about things.” She said her tone was getting frustrated. “She hasn't said anything about your new organization yet except that it’s “Changed the paths.” But who knows what that means.”
“Just what I mean, she can’t be relied upon even if her shit usually works. Listen Becca I’ve got to go, got people to hire and things to do, next time you call make sure it’s of your own volition.” I said as I hung up the phone before she could reply.
I could feel my headache grow as I looked at my watch, the first applicants would get here soon. I glanced at a small photo on my desk of me and Holly on our first day patrolling after we saved a kitten from a tree while giggling at the cliche. I felt the ache in my heart rise as I looked at the photo and I could almost hear her laugh coming through the music as I sat in my empty office.