Chapter 161: 158 Ramifications
Boston, Massachusetts, November 24th, 20:08.
Whistling a jaunty tune as I walk through the streets of Boston even as smoke and fire rise to the sky behind me, I can't help but feel glad for Fast Travel, because Freedom is literally on the opposite side of the country from Ellisburg.
And considering that I might have slightly failed in the original plan of being quick and quiet with the cultists, I figure It's best I get to Ellisburg as quick as possible.
But the closest arcades were New York and Boston, who are both a decent drive away from Ellisburg, and I was in such a good mood after the fight, still am to be honest, that I couldn't help but fuck with Accord a little bit while I'm here.
Not that I really did much. I just set fire to one of his storehouses with a liberal amount of gasoline, then waited for one of his parahuman subordinates, the Ambassadors, to show up, snuck up on them and crippled them.
Not just because I know Accord will have an aneurism trying to figure out why one of his Ambassadors is suddenly out of commission and a warehouse destroyed, but also because he'll probably hire us to fix them, since I have no doubt that he's already assumed that I kept Bonesaw.
Uppercrust hinted at the same too. It seems that anyone who knows me even slightly is pretty much certain that I kept her. Am I getting predictable?
Considering the fire and comatose villain behind me, I don't think so.
...I might have also taken an arm, but I was feeling snakish so sue me. I had to eat like fifty people after my fight with the cultists just to get back to proper health, and I'm still a little hungry.
That last attack sure did a number on me, it was definitely stronger than what Extinction did, but I am stronger still, so I was more or less okay.
I had both my legs and all the parts needed to eat, so that's all that really matters. And I must say, for a bunch of cultists, they sure know how to party; I had a blast with them.
Then it was just a case of recovering and taking my bike with me San Jose, because my bike can fit through doors, which makes Fast Travel way more useful, and coming here.
Now I just need to get back to my bike and start the four hour drive to Ellisburg. Though, with my new upgrades, I could probably complete the journey way faster without the bike, but that's effort and I'm still hungry.
But Ellisburg should have more food and less explosions, so I'll just eat there.
See, I've thought long and hard about what to do with Nilbog, the Goblin King of Ellisburg, because it 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be really funny to just stir him into a frenzy and unleash him on the world, but at the same time there is still a bunch of stuff I want to do that such chaos would ruin, and I've always got Riley as a back up if I want an apocalypse.
Besides, I'm kind of insulted that I'm not officially classed as a Class-S threat yet. Though to be fair, expecting the PRT to make any formal changes to my profile in less than a full day is a little unrealistic, but still.
I've decided that I'll just kill Nilbog, because he's a Class-S threat, so at that point they can just be like, 'she killed a Class-S threat, so she is also a Class-S threat,' and voila, easy.
It's the least they could do, considering how much I'm helping them by dealing with these dangerous entities.
Ah well, for now I'll just focus on getting to Ellisburg. I should be able to make it there by about midnight, then I'll take a power nap and go in around early morning.
Besides, while I didn't hang around to check, I'm sure the town, Witsonhill or whatever, is fine.
========
"Watsonville is in ruins. Whatever power caused that final explosion was comparable to an atomic bomb going off, thankfully without the radiation. The damage even spread to the nearby town of Aptos and a large number of people, especially in San Jose are reporting varying levels of blindness after seeing the explosion, even twenty miles away."
Alexandria's words wash over conference room with intense severity even for her, who is known to be incredibly stern.
All the while, Battery can't help but feel out of place, nervous. She's inside of her branches main conference room, alongside Armsmaster, Assault, Miss Militia and the Director, Emily Piggot, who are all standing around the walls of the room.
That in itself is nothing new, in the year she's been a member of Protectorate proper, she's been in plenty of meetings. Except this time she is sitting at the head of the table, where Director Piggot or Armsmaster usually sit.
Even worse, is that the only other people at the table are six holographic projections of some of the countries greatest Heroes.
From Alexandria at the other end of the table, to Cinereal, leader of the Atlanta Protectorate. Rime, a Hero under Alexandria and nominal leader of the Los Angeles Protectorate whenever Alexandria is gone, as well as Exalt, who is much the same as Rime but for Eidolon in Houston, who are all taking up the left of the table.
Then there's the less intense, but still just as reputable, if not more so, Legend and Dragon on the right.
So as someone who has only been an actual member of the Protectorate for a year, Battery is feeling 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 out of place, and the worst part is that she doesn't even understand 𝘸𝘩𝘺 she's here.
"However, despite what we have been telling the public, this is more than just the Quarantine Site of Freedom imploding on itself," Alexandria continues, before raising an arm in Dragon's direction, "but Dragon was the one who witnessed the events herself, so she will take it from here."
With everyone's attention on her, the holographic face, as Dragon's hologram only has the head for some reason, gives a quick smile, followed by a serious frown.
"Yes, at exactly 23:00 yesterday, one of my monitoring systems pinged me about movement in a Class-S Quarantine Site. After checking the location to be Freedom, I first believed it likely that it was simply some adventurous teenagers sneaking inside, which has happened a few times in Freedom alone."
Dragon's faintly amused, if exasperated tone suggests that it might be a more common occurrence than she is letting on. No doubt because trespassing in a Quarantine Site is a serious crime, yet she probably let them go with only a slap on the wrist, being notoriously soft hearted.
"Normally, when this happens, at least in Freedom, I simply send a drone to pick the kids up and take them out, with the residence of the Quarantine Site doing nothing to stop me, simply keeping to themselves. However, this time, while on transit my drone caught an incredible beam of blue light shooting up into the sky."
Battery abruptly realises that she's getting too invested in the story telling and tries to subtly lean back and act casual, to which she fails miserably if the way everyone's eye flick to her and her partner grins.
"At that point I mobilised more drones, and reported a potential incident. However, when I made it over the town, I was met with the sight of a large number of parahumans, each with powers based on the same blue energy, all fighting against a single being."
A sudden sinking feeling grows in Batteries gut as she starts to get an idea of why she is here.
"After a particularly large blast, there was a moment of quiet during which said figure noticed my drone, allowing me to get a clear look and identify them as the Villain known as Tear. She proceeded to warn me off of interfering and destroyed my drone."
Battery tries not to cringe at the information, and does her best to ignore the worried look of her partner.
She's still struggling to come to terms with the fact that her first proper friend has turned into such a monster.
"Due to this, I didn't manage to catch the whole fight, but luckily I had a drone nearby for another matter, and still managed to capture a large portion of the fight, which I will play for you all now."
Twenty minutes later, and a sombre mood has overtaken the meeting, with nobody saying a word even after the video ended.
Destruction like that; it's not the kind of power you see being thrown around often. In fact, the whole thing was reminiscent of a miniature Endbringer battle.
Just with Tear taking the place of the Endbringer.
Irrationally, Battery starts feeling a freezing feeling that her old friend might come looking for her at some point.
"As you can all see," Alexandria starts, breaking the silence, "Lusia Abel is a growing threat, and one who clearly does not care one bit about collateral damage. She is like a child, going around and doing whatever she feels like without concern for the destruction she leaves in her wake, and now, we need to figure out what she will do next."
Picking up from her leader, Rime speaks next, her voice just as cold as her power.
"We should organise a strike team to Birdcage her, worst comes to worse, the Faerie Queen will finish the job, and if she cannot be contained, then she should be eliminated. She's clearly not much better than her old associates, but she is only one parahuman."
Her subtle reminder of Lusia's time with the Nine hits Battery like a punch to the gut, but she is not the only one to react, as Dragon too, frowns at her cold words.
"While I do agree that something should be done, and I truly don't mean to defend the woman, but as Alexandria said, she seems to be like a child. I do not think she is malicious in any sense, she just doesn't truly understand the harm she's causing."
Cinereal speaks next, her voice the complete opposite of Rime's, being hot and impatient.
"Who cares if she understands the consequences of her actions or not? Her kill count is effectively in the thousands with all the collateral she's caused. Eliminating threats like her is our job as Heroes."
Despite her harsh words, no one seems to disagree, causing Dragon to let out a soft sigh.
"As I said, I do not intend to defend her actions. I only mean that if not for her considerable power, she would be more fit in the Asylum than the Birdcage. I don't believe anyone should be defined by their past, and the possibility of convincing her to switch sides is alluring, so forgive me if I am being too hopeful, but I dislike the notion of condemning someone so misguided to death."
No one can really argue with that either, but it's clear that Dragon is the only one still considering Lusia to be a person.
"Be that as it may," Legend says, bringing things back on track, "I believe there were two specific reasons for this meeting?"
"Right you are," Dragon says with a smile, "the first being the transformation that took place during the fight, I'm sure you all remember it, when Tear exuded the same blue energy of those she was fighting from her wings in a manner not dissimilar to thrusters. I believe this to be clear enough confirmation of her Trump rating that, combined with her general growth, makes me think we should update her threat rating."
"I trust you have an estimate already?" The previously silent Exalt asks, making Dragon grimace slightly.
"Ah, yes. However I'm not sure you'll like it, especially if you do intend to form that strike team. I would rate her Changer 10, Brute 9, Mover 7, Trump 7, Blaster 5, with a sub-rating of Shaker 2, Thinker 2, Master 1 and Stranger 1. A wide spread with very high levels, in fact she's only missing Breaker, Striker and Tinker. If you intend to go after her, I suggest you do so with the same caution you did against the Faerie Queen."
Battery's heart skips a beat hearing all of the high ratings, truly coming to understand just how powerful her old friend has become. According to protocol, a threat rating of Brute 9 allows for inter-city missiles to be used, and with anything rated 10 or above, you're just supposed to evacuate the area and only engage when a plan has been made and multiple extra teams have arrived to help.
But while Battery is focusing on the ratings, the warning about the Faerie Queen is what garners the attention of Legend and Alexandria, having fought the legendary boogeywoman themselves.
A brief discussion follows, before Alexandria silences it.
"I concur with Dragon on her ratings, they will be updated shortly, and we will consider adding her to the list of Class-S threats. But moving on, what's most important now is figuring out what she will be doing next. You had a theory, Dragon?"
Once more, Dragon frowns with clear sympathy, and when she speaks, it's clear that she feels nothing but sorrow for the woman of whom she speaks.
"Yes, I believe that this attack was motivated by her own personal history, as her father left her when she was young to join a cult, later founding his own. I believe that she saw her father in Pastor and attacked out of repressed anger. I believe it's likely that she will either look for a powerful parahuman nearby to fight, sit back for a short while or move to a different Quarantine Site."
That's not something anyone wants to hear. Quarantine Sites are locked away for good reason after all.
Dragon's words cause another round of murmuring, with each person, bar Alexandria, clearly speaking with other people that are in the room with them, but not a part of the meeting.
"What do you think Battery?" Alexandria asks, causing Battery to jerk, not having expected to be addressed.
"Uhm, me?" She nervously asks, immediately berating herself for asking such a stupid question.
"Yes," Alexandria follows, answering the obvious question anyway, "you are effectively our foremost expert on Lusia Abel's psychology. What do you think her plans are?"
She should have expected it, but Battery is still somewhat shocked that Alexandria knows her by name, and that she believes her to be an expert in 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
But still, she's been asked a question, and she thinks back to her time with Lusia, thinking hard about what she would do.
"W-well," Battery stutters out, growing more confident the more she speaks, "it's been a while, so I don't know if she's changed much. But I think Dragon is right comparing her to the Faerie Queen. She gets bored 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 easily, and, and it's like a drug to her, entertainment that is. She'll do anything to not be bored, so she'll probably look for more 'fun' things to do."
Battery pauses for a moment, thinking further. She knows Lusia never liked repetitive things, so she keeps that in mind as she continues talking.
"Considering she just had a big fight, it'll probably be something less explosive. She wouldn't want to do the same thing over and over, so she won't go for anyone strong in a fight. I'd guess that she's going to go to another Quarantine Site. The Machine Army? Maybe? It's new enough to her to be interesting, and Dragon's drone might have made her want to see more robots."
At her suggestion of the Machine Army, Dragon lets out a sigh, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hep if that were the case. The potential of the Machine Army getting hold of her tech is far too dangerous to be worth the risk, but it is actually Director Piggot who reacts the most to Battery's finishing words, flinching back as if she was shot, followed by an incredibly complex expression.
"Maybe she'll go to Ellisburg, but I don't see her driving across the entire country without getting distracted by something else."
With her piece said, Battery leans back, trying to will her superiors into going back to ignoring her presence, something that seemingly works as they continue to discuss, mentioning increasing guard over Ellisburg and sending out a missive to all Heroes, both Protectorate and non-affiliate, to warn them about Lusia's proclivities.
As for the Villains? Well, they can figure it out themselves.
However, right as the meeting is about to be adjourned, a loud pinging noise rings out. Everyone's eyes turn to Dragon who seems to be looking away, checking something.
A moment passes.
"Oh my," Dragon says, "it seems that she may have a teleportation power available to her, as she has just entered Ellisburg's walls."
As if expecting to be doubted, Dragon's hologram is suddenly replaced with a camera's recording on top of Ellisburg's walls. The film shows the night sky and an empty wall, until a woman dressed up as a typical court jester suddenly lands in a crouch, notices the camera and freezes like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, only to give the camera a peace sign and a sheepish smile before jumping inside the walls.
"This was recorded seven minutes ago, as my program only checks in every ten."
"...Legend."
Nodding at Alexandria's voice, Legend seems to catch her meaning even without her needing to say anything.
"I can be there in two minutes." He says before standing, his feed cutting before he even finishes getting to his feet.
"I can have one of my suits there by five," Dragon adds before disconnecting her own feed.
"This meeting is dismissed." Alexandria says before ending her own feed, swiftly followed by the others until Battery is the only one sitting at the table.
It's only when the door slams open and shut that Battery snaps out of her daze, barely catching Director Piggot storming off before Assault is by her side with a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
Leaning into his touch, she lets out a sigh and relaxes her taught body.
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay."
=================
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
So, I was unsure whether to do a reaction thing here, because I don't want to do too many of them, but I wanted to get a lot of these bits in that would be irrelevant after Ellisburg, so I prolly just won't do another one until a certain event that'll happen in a while.
Also, it's so funny to me how many ratings she has, also Faerie Queen is still scarier (and will always be, cuz she has Grey Boy in her court) but Lusia is basically another Faerie Queen at this point.
Just less insane, ironically enough.
(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!
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