[] Bone of the Father, part 3 – The view you got of the Wolfheads' cape was far too familiar to powers of the Empire for your tastes. Take the rest of the Arcana on a wolf hunt.
Realign 14.17
Tuesday, August 21
"Mistress? Communication from Laura."
You look up from your trigonometry homework. There was something interesting about triangles and angles, something that you attribute to the last seven months being a one-woman aerial bomber. Still, a call from Laura of all people is even more interesting. She does not normally initiate contact like this. A text is one thing, but a call is something else entirely. "Weird. Bring it up."
The screen appears, showing the side of Laura's head. You silently ask yourself what help Laura's ear apparently could need when the girl in question turns her head back to you.
"Hey," she whispers,
"you got a minute? I heard some stuff out listening in on Jotunn, and I figured this was something you wanted to know."
That catches you by surprise, and not a pleasant one either. "I thought you said you quit Winter Hill?" you ask in a hard tone.
"I did!" she hisses back.
"But just because I quit doesn't mean I forgot where they meet. They're even okay with me popping in every now and again because 'some awful Trump took away all my powers and now I'm useless'." The last bit she says in a fake whine.
"That's not the point, and it definitely helped out now. Some of the street guys say they spotted a bunch of new capes hanging around a few specific blocks in Kensington."
"Okay? And that matters because…?"
"One other detail they found out when somebody got close enough," Laura replies with narrowed eyes and a small smirk.
"Some of those capes apparently had strong German accents, and another one was a fat kid made of metal."
A fat kid made of metal? You sit up straighter and give her your full and undivided attention. "That sounds like the guy I saw when Sam and I looked into a Wolfhead drug lab. If it's the same guy and the Wolfheads are a bunch of Empire survivors, that means they might be in contact with white supremacist groups in Europe."
You cannot remember all the details you once read on PHO, but you remember that there were rumors floating around that a bunch of these neo-Nazi groups were connected and shared capes, sending them wherever they were needed to oppress minorities or stand up to law enforcement. If that is the case, there is no telling how many capes the Wolfheads have at their disposal now or what their powers are.
"They were spotted along the riverfront," Laura continues now that you are focused on her.
"I thought maybe we could head over and take a look at it. All five of us."
"Sounds like a good idea. I'll message Samantha and Missy. You get Kayleigh. We all head to Dragon's and then return as one group to Philly." Laura gives you a nod, but before she can close the window you add, "And Laura? That was good work. Just be careful if you're going to spy on your old team, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."
She does not appear to know what to say in response to that for several moments, but after a beat she shakes her head.
"I don't plan on it. But… thanks."
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
You reach out your hand, and three others meet you. In a whirl of light, all the human members of your team vanish and reappear on the top of a dilapidated building. To your left, the Delaware river flows almost sluggishly onwards to the southern part of the city. Standing to one side, Samantha melts out of the shadows and then out of her war form. It had been her idea to start casing the riverside blocks for any hints on her own while the rest of you assembled and made your way over. As she pointed out, she could transform into an innocent raccoon if she wished, and she was also always armed even without her weapons.
"Any luck so far?" you ask as you unseal her sword and toss it to her. She had not had much time to look around for the headquarters you suspect is there, only the few minutes it took everyone to teleport to the assembly plant, so you are not expecting any results, but who knows? Maybe she got lucky.
A shake of her head proves that is not the case. No surprise.
"What's the play?" Missy says, looking around at the various buildings. "Do we have any idea besides splitting up and searching building by building?"
"We could stick together and search building by building," answers Laura with an abundance of sarcasm.
Kayleigh raised her hand. "Hey, guys? Does anyone know what the capes we're looking for look like?"
"No," you tell her, "but I figured looking for people in costume would be a good place to start. Why do you ask?"
"Could it be them?"
You follow her pointing finger, and your eyes land on what have to be a dozen people flying through the sky. That is… concerning. You are okay with being a little outnumbered, but two to one or more are not great odds, especially when all your enemies can fly. That takes away one of your big advantages and puts Kayleigh at a disadvantage, even when you take into account the gravity-manipulating harness Tim built for her. It lets her have some degree of three-dimensional movement, but that is not the same as real flight—
Your eyes focus on the object in the lead flier's hand. Is that a
staff of all things?
"Storm, try opening a channel to that group," you tell your Device after a moment.
"Wait, what are you doing?!" demands Missy.
A screen appears in front of you before you can answer, and you give a smile to the stony face that is shown. "Hello, agent," you tell the woman wearing a tactical helmet. Looks like your guess was on the money. Up in the sky, the group of figures slow to a stop. "Where are you headed?"
"That's confidential, Calamity Witch."
"Who the hell is that?" Laura whispers to nobody in particular.
You give the PRT mage a small grin. You think you know what is going on, and if you are right again, some villains are about to have a very bad day indeed. "Okay. I understand." The woman nods, and you continue, "I hope you don't mind if we fly around for a while. We got a lead that the Wolfheads might have either their main base or at least a secondary base here. A bunch of capes were spotted nearby. We'll stay out of your way, and you stay out of ours."
The woman closes her eyes and sighs through her nose before looking at you again.
"Then it seems we are going after the same target." Your smile is guileless, not that she seems pleased about it.
"Where are you? We'll come over and meet you."
"Look to your right." You raise your hand and wave, and it becomes obvious when they spot you because the screen vanishes and the group starts flying your way.
Three flashes of light come from behind you, and Laura all but orders, "You know who those people are. Mind sharing with the rest of us?"
You had planned on mentioning these allies of yours to the rest of the group at some point or another. Now is as good a time as any. "They are mages employed by the PRT. Legend asked me to help find any who were already working in the Philadelphia office. I taught all of them how to create Guardian Beasts, too, which immediately doubled their numbers."
"…Oh. Uh,
how many mages did you find?"
Was that nervousness you just heard? A sign that Laura realizes how closely she came to being on the other end of this big and growing stick? A wicked smile crosses your face. "Oh, not many. Just three dozen or so."
"Three. Dozen?" she squeaks. "Okay."
"Why are you so nervous?" Missy asks, her mask distorting her voice.
You turn to look at them, but your gaze is immediately drawn to Kayleigh. When did she alter her Barrier Jacket?
Laura, or more properly Scathach, grimaces. "Before I joined up, when I was a cape, I… Some of the things I did weren't really on this side of the law, if you know what I mean?"
Missy nods. "I get it. Kind of what I figured about you, honestly. You're not the first villain Calamity's flipped, if what I heard was true."
The group of PRT mages have made their way over by now, and you rise into the air to greet them. "Nice to see all of you again," you tell them. The tails that are visible from some of the fliers wag slightly. "We know roughly where the Wolfheads were spotted. From the intelligence we have, they also have other capes in their employ who speak with thick German accents."
"Fucking Gesellschaft," a man with a red gauntlet mutters, to which a few other people nod.
"That is more information than we had," the lead agent admits. "It also makes things more complicated. We had only heard of four capes, but if they are borrowing capes from Europe, there is no telling how many they have on call." She raises her head and gives the rest of your group a nod. "You can call me Alpha. This is my partner, Rifle."
The PRT mages all introduce themselves and their Guardian Beasts, and Missy, Laura, and Kayleigh do the same. As soon as everyone knows who the others are, the other girls take to the air and start moving along the riverside. Kayleigh chooses to ride in Samantha's arms rather than float or fall sideways on her own, and you take the time to look over the changes in her outfit. In the simplest description, she seems to have flipped some of the colors around.
Her half-corset used to be a normal brown leather, but now it looks almost like shiny purple pleather though still cinched with white threads. The skirt is gone, replaced by heavy brown pants that disappear beneath white boots with black buttons running up the outsides. You also cannot help but notice that the heel is higher than it once was, now an actual high heel rather than the pump of her old combat boots. Both her guns are now visible, slotted into holsters that hang from the sides of her lopsided belt.
«
Okay, I have to ask,» you tell her. «
What made you change your outfit?»
She shrugs. «
I figured if I could, why not? One of the comics we found had a character who dressed kind of like this, and she was a gunner too. Thought it would be fun to add some of those elements. It's not like I can't change back if I don't like it.»
Bonus points if you can guess what anime character she's based on. Shouldn't be hard.
It is hard to argue with that. The big thing about cape costumes is recognition, but you have a feeling Kayleigh will make herself stand out no matter what she is wearing. And if she is always running around with another member of the team, it makes it even easier. «
Are you planning on changing your Jacket every few days, though?»
«
Maybe, maybe not. Depends on if I get any ideas.»
It takes half an hour to track down the hideout. It turns out that one of the PRT mages knows Wide Area Search as well, but you both agree that using that will not necessarily be the best plan. You would find the gang faster, that is true, but you would also alert them to your presence and might spook the people who are just living their lives around here. Better to keep the element of surprise until you have a chance to take advantage of it.
In the end, though, you drift downwards to take a look through a grimy window of an old butcher shop. Unlike the warehouse that was really a drug den, this is a weapon storehouse. Crates are pressed against the walls, handguns and assault rifles and lots and lots of ammunition visible inside. There are a couple dozen of tough guys standing around as well, either looking at the weapons or stripping them down or doing something else. It looks like they are getting ready to go to war.
Then there are the capes. Two of them you immediately recognize. In the middle of the room moving around the groups of men is a youngish woman with close-cropped blonde hair and a mask that looks more like a cage. Small sickles are hanging from the sides of her belt. Cricket, one of the members of Empire Eighty-Eight.
Any doubts you might have had about the Wolfheads being an offshoot of the Empire are gone.
The other cape you know stands off to the side. It is the same pudgy boy made of metal who walked in on you while you were exploring the drug den. Leaning against the wall next to him is a statuesque woman dressed in black and blue plate armor, a Viking helmet with wings on the sides sitting atop her head. She is speaking, presumably to him, but from the way her head moves she is also keeping an eye on all the men. A man on the other side of the building drops one of the rifles, and she lifts her head to bark something at him. He immediately picks up the gun and puts it back in the crate with hurried movements.
"Looks like somebody's in charge, and somebody else is just playing at it," the middle-aged man with twin pistols mutters. Delta, you believe he introduced himself as. He points to the knight in blue. "She's the real boss, I bet."
"I bet you're right," Alpha answers. "Three capes doesn't seem like a whole lot, though—"
She cuts herself off when a door to the side opens, and a man in a dark coat with a mask like a cartoony skull covering the top half of his face comes out. He scurries over to the knight and leans close to mutter something to her before backing off. Cricket, you cannot help but notice, sees this but scowls rather than say anything.
"You mean four," Charlie says. "Four we know about, anyway. No telling how many they really have, or how many are even in this building."
"That's true." Alpha looks away from the building at all of you, then over her own team. "But I have a plan, one I think you girls can help out with."
This is going to be fun. You have a total of SIXTEEN combatants on your side going up against a group of capes of unknown number (you can SEE four, but are there more?) and mostly unknown powers. Because you probably still have overwhelming force, I'm not going to give you any OOC hints about what your enemies can do.
Anyway, this would be a good time for battle strategies. Some ideas are below. Add whatever further details you wish as subvotes.
- Law and order – Bust through the doors and give the dastardly villains a single opportunity to surrender. You can keep a subset of your mages in reserve for a pincer maneuver, but the majority are going to be immediately visible.
- Surprise attack – You know these are villains. Don't waste words when you can fly through the windows and start shooting. Everyone will start fighting at the same time.
- Sneaky sneak – You have Missy, and Operation Pentagram has Agent Charlie and Jeremy. Send the ninjas in first to strike from the shadows, and only once they are spotted should the rest of you head in.
AND, since this isn't a split second decision you're making in-character, out of character I'll give you a 24 HOUR moratorium to think on things.
