章 2545: 7
Trump Card
Part 7
I didn't like Uber and L33t; nor did I understand why they did what they did. But I did understand two things; one, that a place on their team meant a sanctuary from which I could work without fear of forcible recruitment into one group or another, and two, that I could accomplish great things with L33t's power.
Truly great things.
It told me so.
I could change the face of Brockton Bay.
I could change the world.
All I needed were the tools to build the things I needed, and a place to build them.
"Okay," began Uber, once we got back to their base. His voice was still resonant, impressive. Less impressive to me, now that I realised that he spoke in no other way. "There's a game plan we've been wanting to try out, but it needs three people, so we've had to shelve it until now. But with you here -"
I cut him off. "Sorry, boys, gonna have to call a raincheck on that one. L33t, your power's been throwing ideas at me, and I really like some of them. But I'm going to need more components than I think you have on hand. So we're going to have to go out and get them." I dusted off my hands and beamed at them.
"Wait a minute," objected L33t, looking like a ten year old boy who's found that a pushy girl has invaded his clubhouse, and he doesn't know how to throw her out, "you're not the boss of us."
"No, I'm not," I agreed. "But if I'm a part of this, then we're a team. And a team works to help each other out. Right now, channelling your power, I'm a tinker sadly in need of equipment to build with. So you're going to help rectify that, right?"
I grinned winningly at him; the skills to manipulate males into doing what I wanted were coming along nicely. "Besides, do you want the team of Uber, L33t and Hax to keep being bottom-drawer, or to become a name that people fear and respect?"
L33t looked at Uber, and they both looked at me.
"Now, listen," objected Uber. "We do the video game theme. It's what we do. It's who we are."
"And how far has it really gotten you?" I argued. "Far be it from me to change a winning formula, but you have to admit, what you have right now hasn't really turned out to be a winning formula after all."
"But … video games," whined L33t. "We can't just … not do them. People expect us to do them. They watch our channel faithfully. Our fans are depending on us."
I snorted. "Most of your so-called 'fans'," I told him acidly, "are watching to see how spectacularly you crash and burn on any given show."
The blunt words, forcefully delivered, hit L33t perhaps harder than my fist would have done.
"They don't," he almost whimpered, then turned to Uber. "They don't … do they?"
Uber put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it supportively, but he addressed me.
"We don't always crash and burn," he informed me steadily. "And L33t is right. We can't just drop the video game theme. It's integral to who we are; without it, we're just another couple of supervillains."
With it, you're like just another couple of supervillains, only less successful, I thought. But I didn't say it; I needed them on side.
I shook my head. "I'm not saying that we have to drop it. Just that we might be wanting to pull a couple of less than public heists, where we don't actually have to use it. Sometimes it's better to be subtle than loud and flashy."
At this, L33t looked a little confused, but Uber's expression turned thoughtful.
"You're working on more than 'a few ideas' from L33t's powers," he charged me. "You've got a specific plan in mind."
I worked at keeping my expression bland. I was getting better at that, too; however, Uber was no doubt getting better at reading it.
"Maybe," I admitted, pretending reluctance.
Despite his misgivings, L33t was drawn in. "What plan?"
I grinned; or at least, I showed my teeth.
"By the time we're done, no-one in Brockton Bay is gonna want to mess with us."
If Shadow Stalker had known that the Hebert case would draw the attention of the Chief Director of the PRT, then perhaps she may have thought twice about her actions. But then again, perhaps not; Sophia Hess was an arrogant young woman who believed implicitly in the privilege granted her by her powers, and its utility in keeping her out of serious trouble.
In any case, she was unaware that when the report of the incident – specifically, the description of Taylor Hebert's powerset – went online, Dragon ensured that it came to Rebecca Costa-Brown's attention as soon as humanly possible.
And so, when Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown initiated a video conference between herself and Director Emily Piggot, the former was understandably concerned.
"Emily," she began brusquely. "Tell me about the Shadow Stalker incident. The one with the Trump."
"It should all be in the report -" began Director Piggot.
"I have read the report," Costa-Brown cut her off harshly. "There is a great deal missing from it."
"The entire incident was documented -"
"Everything that was done and said, yes. But I fail to see exactly whyyou allowed such a valuable cape to literally walk out the door. Worse, you allowed her to gain such a negative view of the PRT and the Protectorate that she's likely to never trust us again."
"- never trust us again."
Emily Piggot felt that she was squarely on the back foot. Chief Director Costa-Brown's acid tones, carrying clearly through the audio link, made that extremely obvious.
"Uh, we tried our best -" she ventured weakly. It wasn't quite a lie, but it wasn't really the truth either. She knew that she could have done more, worked harder to gain the Hebert girl's trust. But she particularly disliked being put on the spot, and the girl's tantrum hadn't helped her case much.
"Indeed." The pitch and spin that Costa-Brown gave the word made her wince.
Piggot decided not to elaborate on exactly why she had let the girl storm out without making more than a token protest. Costa-Brown already knew about one lapse of judgement; she wasn't about to commit a second one, in order to alert her boss about a third. "It was basically Shadow Stalker," she explained, deciding to fall back to the truth. "The rules about not firing a Ward immediately -"
"Did you think perhaps that you may have simply had Shadow Stalker arrested on the spot?" snapped the Chief Director. "She is definitely guilty of several crimes already, just from reading the report."
"Uh … ma'am … PRT East North-east is already on relatively thin ice, as far as the locals are concerned," Director Piggot explained. "One bad PR situation may cause us to lose what control we have over the local cape situation. Besides, regulations -"
"Screw regulations!" snarled Costa-Brown. "Because you missed the signals from a sociopath, then decided to soft-pedal her punishment, you missed out on recruiting someone who had the potential to be a second Eidolon, or a second Alexandria! Can you imagine what that might mean when it comes to the next Endbringer fight?"
Piggot felt her world sinking away beneath her feet. Costa-Brown was correct, of course. She had handled the Shadow Stalker situation badly.
The trouble was, she couldn't think of any other way she could have done it without having Youth Guard putting pressure on her to accept a watchdog into the Brockton Bay PRT building. And Emily Piggot had long ago sworn a private vow to never let that happen.
"I will attempt to re-establish communication with the girl in question," she promised. "I'll tell her that Shadow Stalker's punishment is being fast-tracked."
Costa-Brown's voice was flat. "And will it be?"
"It will have to be," Piggot admitted. "Which will cause a whole new range of problems, all by itself. But as you say, a Trump with that level of capability is worth it."
Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown was silent for a moment.
"Do not make me regret this conversation."
And then there was just a dial tone in Piggot's ear.
She put the phone down, and booted up her computer. She had work to do, and not much time to do it in.
End of Part Seven
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