Summoner Quest (Celestial Menagerie)

Two new creatures this time, including a second giant beetle but much bigger than Atlas.

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When we finished our round of interrogation, Director Piggot had lost her smile. She was visibly furious, clenching her fists and audibly grinding her teeth. Considering the situation I could understand the feeling.

Of the dozen people that were interrogated, four turn out to be spies or at least have strong ties with the gangs. And a fifth one, an engineer in charge of the procuration and maintenance of the gear used by the troopers, was also a traitor.

While he was not a spy for a gang, he was still selling the confidential information he had access to about various tinkertech pieces of equipment used by the PRT to a number of high-tech companies. Despite the difficulty or even the impossibility, to reproduce tinkertech, there was still a market for information about it in the hope of a breakthrough.

He was the only one arrested today. The other four were let go none the wiser and would be put under heavy but discreet surveillance.

Finding five compromised people among only twelve persons, was a catastrophic result. So yes, I could understand the Director's feeling. One of them wasn't even suspect of anything when she was selected to be interrogated, she was just there because they wanted to add plausibility to the randomly selected excuses given for this operation.

I was glad to leave when it was finished. This whole exercise has shaken my faith in the PRT, but it helps explain how the organization could have so much difficulty combatting the gangs. It wasn't easy to combat organizations that knew your every move the moment you start planning them.

To avoid thinking about it I focused on the newest addition inside my soul, another weird hybrid animal, this time a cross between a squirrel and a frog. It should have been ugly as sin, but no, it was in fact weirdly cute. Its weapon was a yo-yo, it seems ridiculous at first glance but after summoning it in my hand and gaining the instinct to use it I discovered that it could be an effective weapon. The element of surprise played a big role in that but also the unexpected angle of attack and the force it could deliver.

I then turn it back into an animal. He, no she, was indeed a pretty cute creature. She emitted a croak of pleasure when she saw me and clambered on my shoulder to look all around.
I addressed her. "Your name will be… Greenie." Her only response was another croak.
I left her on her perch while I walked toward the garage for the second patrol of the day.

When I arrived I found Battery already waiting and gearing up. I waved in her direction, Assault should join us in a few minutes. While waiting I need to decide on who to bring with me, in addition to the usual. While I would still play overwatch on a flying mount, my companions would be walking, so the patrol would cover less ground.

As mount, I decided to bring Hercules, it would be a good occasion to test him. I would call on Baby Rex to be with Assault and Battery, as Armsmaster said having him being seen in public could soften the blow when we inevitably reveal its true size. I dismissed Aylamon earlier in the day because she was tired and bored alone in the PRT building with the wards in school, so she was out. I want to call on Buoy, but he was the most affected by killing Hookwolf, and I need to talk with him before I call on him to fight again.

We didn't have to wait long for Assault to join us. He immediately zooms in on my new partners. "What do we have here?" He tentatively approached his finger toward Greenie who looked at him curiously before emitting another croaking sound. "What does this little thing do?"

"This is Greenie, she's new. She doesn't do anything besides being decorative. And catching flies I guess."

"Hey, don't underestimate the ability to catch flies, I would love to have that at home in the summer."

I nodded at that. "True, I'll remember that."

We were interrupted by Battery. "Hurry up boys, we got a patrol to start."

Assault just shrugged and moved to follow her, I followed in turn. Once outside I warned my comrade that I would be summoning my mount and to not be alarmed.

I called on Hercules and the giant beetle immediately appeared before us. I immediately noticed that there was something wrong with it, but it took a few seconds to pinpoint what exactly. It wasn't moving, at all, it was completely motionless, with no unconscious or reflexive movement at all. This gave him a creepy aspect that wasn't helped by the fact that it was a bug of enormous proportion.

The hesitant voice of Assault sounded behind me. "Are you sure about that one Compendium?"

"Yes, I must agree with my… partner here. This thing is creepy. Not sure it's good for PR."

"No, it will be fine. I admit it's not my friendliest-looking creature. But he's not that bad, I'm sure edgy teens everywhere will love him. And a flying mount smaller than Red can only be useful. More discreet against the night sky too."

"Very well, if you insist. In any case, we should get going."

I nodded and got on Hercules' back. Before we depart I also called on Baby Rex. He was much better received than Hercules. I ordered him to follow Assault and Battery and to follow their order.

My riding instincts proved their usefulness once again because my giant beetle did not seem to possess any instinct. I need much more effort to direct him, including giving verbal orders. Thankfully once a particular order was given once, he remembered it and could be directed by my own movement.

The patrol itself was mostly uneventful. Numerous people took photos of me flying on the back of Hercules. Rex was much more popular and a fair number of children ask to ride "the dinosaur". They were disappointed each time because Battery put her foot down, but she agreed to a few selfies with him. My baby Kaiju seems to enjoy it in any case.

But apart from that sort of attention nothing much happened. Toward the end of the patrol Assault and Battery did stop a bar brawl that overflowed in the street. Seemingly nothing gang-related, just an altercation that degenerates.

During the patrol, the Menagerie triggered again and I was surprised to receive a second giant beetle but a giant compared to Hercules. A little bigger than Rainbow, so using him in town might be difficult. I'll need to summon it at some point and test what it could do.

At the end of the day, I was glad to return home and rest. This was far from the worst day I had as a hero but still eventful. I could only hope that things would be better tomorrow and that nothing happened during the night.

Wordcount: 1182
Excess word: 719
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Something did happen during the night, it involved:

[] Mush

[] Circus

[] Shielder

Pretty calm chapter this time but things may pick up soon.

For the roll, 160 points.

[] Creature

[] Power

Voting will be closed Monday at 1 PM GMT

Edit: I forgot to include Rex during the patrol so I add a few words about him.