Assault groaned as he slouched over the table, his hands holding his coffee mug in a death grip. The entire last month had sucked, but six AM meetings did nothing to make this better.
He wasn't the only one pulling himself together. Around the room, the rest of the Protectorate, Aegis, and both the PRT leaders were working through their own morning rituals, with the exception of Armsmaster and Miss Militia. Cups of coffee and tea, half-chewed pastries, and protein bars were scattered between sheaves of paper and electronic devices.
Oddly enough, Assault felt heartened by the presence of food; if Piggot was going to read her troops the riot act, she'd have kept things tidier.
His thoughts were confirmed when Piggot grunted, her nutrient shake half finished. "Alright, people. Some of you weren't here two nights ago, so we'll go over the facts
once." Her normal dour expression tightened. "Pay attention." She waited for the normal round of 'yes ma'am' and 'yes Director' to quiet down before she gave a sharp nod at Deputy Director Renick.
"At 3:14 PM Thursday afternoon, the downtown headquarters of the ENE branch suffered a major cyber-attack, at a time when Armsmaster and Security Chief Jacobs were both out of the office. The attack took down the active monitoring of the internal cameras, and shorted out the inner defenses for a few minutes. During this time Shadow Stalker removed her ankle monitor, phased through the deactivated barriers on her door, and fled out through the windows on her floor. The attack was originally thought to be incidental to her escape, but Armsmaster has since discovered that the attackers made use of a long-hiding security breach, which may be only one of many."
Armsmaster grunted as he slurped a brown concoction from his mug. "It seemed wasteful to use what could have taken down the entirety of the local defense grid to free one prisoner. It seems they were using only one backdoor they had available. As of yet, it's undetermined when we'll find the last of them."
"Right. In any case, reconstruction of her probable movements tracks Stalker to a hidden stash of supplies in a buried basement. There, she retrieved a copy of her old costume, a pair of modified crossbows, and a backpack of medical equipment, cash, and spare clothes. She then proceeded to head in-town, and waited for nightfall."
"Waited for what?" Triumph ventured, only to be glared down by Piggot. The Director was still mad a the former Wards leader, after he'd utterly failed to act appropriately to contain Sophia.
"Waited for a chance to kill the girl who confessed." The Director spat. "Madison Clements, one of her little band of bullies at Winslow."
"During the Clements' supper hour, Stalker burst through the walls, and was only prevented from killing Miss Clements on the spot when her mother swung a hot basting pan at her. Madison fled out the front door, and was pursued by Shadow Stalker. Stalker put a bolt in her right leg, in the calf muscle. She then moved to finish her off, before being intercepted by a new Cape."
Renick tapped several keys, showing a blurry image of a green and silver figure leaping across a rooftop, interposed alongside one taken on a cellphone camera of the same figure at rest. The Cape was garbed in a full-face helmet, an upper-torso breastplate which obscured their body shape over a cloth gambeson, a steel skirt, and armored chausses and gauntlets. The gambeson and the scarf coiled around their neck was dark green. Most curiously, the figure carried no weapon, but had a serving-platter sized shield in a shining silver, with a triple circle around a three-pointed star emblazoned in the center.
"...someone went all out on the knight theme." Assault muttered.
Armsmaster's assessment was a bit more descriptive. "Without chemical analysis I cannot say for certain, but the armor seems rough-made. Likely hand-crafted." He stroked his chin. "They could have purchased it, but that would be relatively easy to track if it was bought online, and there aren't many active blacksmiths in Brockton. None who do armor, anyway."
"We
have blacksmiths?" Triumph asked.
"One or two. Mostly dealing with custom craft projects. No weapons, no armor. The Empire sources their gear for Fenja and Menja by supporting the local renaissance shops near the boardwalk."
Piggot cut off further discussion. "According to Miss Clements and what little Shadow Stalker revealed to us, this cape called himself Heraldry. He's reported as running at what must be twenty or so miles per hour, for hours on end, can jump far enough to clear single-story buildings, and hits hard enough to knock a man twenty feet. He also can throw lightning." Piggot stopped, turning to Dauntless. "Do you have any relatives who might have Triggered recently?" She asked tiredly. "It's be nice if we could find him that easily."
"No, ma'am."
"More's the pity." Piggot groused. "So, we've got a probable Brute and Blaster with limited Mover abilities running around. Any more details?"
"Police reports indicate Heraldry was courteous, but used an uncommon diction. During the first meeting Heraldry expressed significant antipathy towards the PRT, likely for having to 'clean up our mess'." Renick's voice was sour as he continued. "He made his opinion quite clear when he left the scene ahead of any PRT agents, and returned to give a statement at the South Docks precinct, rather than come here."
"Has anyone in the PRT encountered him yet?"
"No. And perhaps with good reason." Piggot snarled. The whole room turned to look at her. "Somehow, he knew when and where to go to intercept Stalker, knew Stalker was loose and a threat, and came equipped with the right tools to take her down."
"You think he's a setup." Battery surmised. "A plant or using us as a false flag?"
"Actually… no." Piggot clarified. "If he was trying to smear the Protectorate, he'd have let Clements die, then taken down Stalker as a murderer." She grunted. "We dropped the ball on Stalker, and someone tried to take advantage. But whoever plans this deep wouldn't let a girl's death obstruct him from getting the biggest impact possible."
"Whoever arranged Stalker's release wanted chaos on the streets, and a chance to discredit the PRT. Stalker was apprehended the first time she tried something, undercutting the narrative, and no-one has claimed Heraldry as a new recruit yet." Renick said. "However, someone might have leaked that Stalker was loose to Heraldry, and be propping him up behind the scenes."
"For now, Heraldry is to be treated as a new independent hero." Piggot said. "The Clements family is singing his praises, and the BBPD are willing to give him a shot. Until he does something obvious or screws up, we'll give him as much rope as he could want."
"...and if he's just an independent hero?"
"Then we send Miss Militia to give him a talk." Piggot shrugged. "She'd be best at it."
"...why me?" The America-themed cape asked.
"He talks like an old-school knight. It's the one consistent thing we got out of Shadow Stalker, and what was observed in both BBPD connections. He never broke character, even when surprised."
The whole room froze. "...did Mouse Protector get a squire?" Assault muttered.
The visible parts of Miss Militia's face visible paled dramatically. "I hope not…"
--[0]--
Patient Report: Emma Barnes
Current Therapist: Dr. Brockstein
2/8/2011
Current Diagnosis: Severe Anxiety Disorder (undetermined), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Induced Antisocial Personality Disorder (self-induced), Parahuman Idolization Disorder
Major Talking Points of Today's Session:
- Discussed past, including the incident with ABB
- Monologue about Sophia Hess, strength, difference between savior and hero
- Discussion on hunter-survivor-prey mentalities in real life humans
- Answered questions on recent leave of absence from St. Judith's
- Discussion on nature of heroism
Therapist's Notes:
After weeks of being stonewalled, Emma has finally been shaken enough to actually talk to me about her issues. There's a lot to confirm some of the things I'd previously suspected, though I'm happy to say her initial reaction to being 'saved' was more a reflection on her own weakness, rather than an intrinsic fascination with violence. I'd been wondering about that.
Regardless, Emma seems to be far more withdrawn than before, but also less reticent about talking to me. She's admitted to a number of minor offenses, times she tried to prove to herself by threatening others, and alluded to a number of times she was in contact with her 'savior' after the ABB incident. She's acknowledged that at least part of her issues are self-inflicted and unhealthy, but is still defiant on the subject that one needs to stand strong alone, and damn the consequences. This may be slipping, but it's very well entrenched.
It'll take time to let her release her empathy, I think.
Emma fled our care to prove that she was strong enough to stand on her own; the fact that she was nearly assaulted again even when armed and 'ready' seems to have shaken her resolve. She isn't deep enough in anxiety to need suicide watch, but I suspect we'll see some depression once her worldview is completely discredited, if it ever is.
Emma is still fixated on heroes; she seems especially interested in the recent PHO posts on the hero that retrieved her, although she seems more tentative. She revealed that she believes in saving oneself first and foremost, and that those that rely on others to help them are weak. These ideals were given to her by her 'savior', who was her longtime partner in crime. Latching onto a powerful figure in a time of distress fits many of the observed patterns.
...on a personal note, Emma has referred to Shadow Stalker as Sophia several times, and vice versa. I'm going to need to erase the recording of these interviews, or have them sealed very well. For once, I'm very glad of patient confidentiality.
For now, I think I'll see if I can keep her talking. We'll see if her new openness lasts through our Monday session.
Treatment Notes: Continued Talk Therapy, continued confinement in the Medium Security wing. At this time, I cannot recommend giving her internet access or TV privileges, though she is allowed to check out as many books as she'd like from the library. Have advised her to keep up her exercise routine. Inter-patient interaction is to be closely monitored.
Treatment Time Table: Two more months at least before we give her any on-site freedom. Will reassess current stance on medication and therapy at that time.
--[0]--
Thomas Calvert sighed as he looked over his written notes of the last collapsed timeline. As usual, his attempts to corner and acquire his newest asset had failed. Making a kidnapping attempt on a precog was always dicey, though Alcott's circumstances helped a lot with his plans.
That failure had been almost expected. The other failure was slightly vexing, but worse, had been unexpected. He'd known Shadow Stalker would cause chaos once she was poured back into the cesspit of Brockton Bay, and he'd been hoping she'd leave enough of a blood trail that'd he'd be able to bargain with her to join the Undersiders. Blackmail would make people say yes, after all. And with the PRT scrambling to retrieve an asset they'd claimed was a heroic figure, they'd look much weaker, if not outright incompetent.
Instead, Stalker had been captured before she'd managed to do anything, besides assaulting one of her former classmates. His carefully primed media surge over Stalker's release had sputtered out on a story about her recapture, instead of flaming the PRT for its incompetence. The info he'd leaked about Shadow Stalker's previous crimes would put egg on their face, but Piggot already had a well-developed paper trail justifying her actions, and without an ongoing crisis the issue would become just one more little failing. On the Alcott side of things, the PRT and BBPD had intervened in both side-timelines he'd tried to catch his new pet, so his attempt to stir up enough chaos through Stalker to complete his grab had been a bust.
But in the process, she'd revealed a new player in the game. Heraldry, whose patrol tracked down and retrieved a runaway over her head, and then had gone and taken down Stalker with little effort. He'd be an excellent recruit, if he could track him down.
Still, that was a long-term plan. He was likely one of Miss Barnes' paramours, who'd intervened to pick up his girlfriend and then saved her friend out of altruism. Heraldry was a dedicated heroic type, so unless he had proper leverage, recruiting him was going to be tricky. Maybe more so than it was worth, since recruiting a Brute wasn't on his list of needs.
Well,
another Brute. His bait should pull Trainwreck into the fold. Offering the monster a hint of his old identity and a few payments would be child's play, and soon he'd have a Tinker-Brute on hire and a mole in the Merchants.
Calvert flipped the notepad to one side. Getting real info out of Cauldron was nigh-impossible, but from what he'd inferred of their operations, it should be easy enough to lead the dirty man by the nose.
For now, it was time to indulge in one of his guilty pleasures; gorging himself in one timeline while eating these noxious Armsmaster protein bars over a working lunch in the other.
--[0]--
Aisha Laborn was never a demure girl. She never passed up the opportunity to annoy, encumber, or needle those around her, unless things were really messed up.
When she'd thrown up the pictures of the new girl on the block, she'd done so simply to garner a few moments of internet fame. She'd only put up a general caption, since she couldn't remember who the girl was and she didn't accidentally want to break the Unwritten Rules. But when the early responses had been all about the new
guy? Well, that was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
Aisha paused as her brother popped his head into her room. "Aisha, are you done with your homework yet?"
She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "I got all the stuff that matters done, bro. Now I'm taking a break to shitpost all over these geek faces." She started typing as Brian wandered in a little closer.
"Huh. This thread is about that new Cape, the one who took down Shadow Stalker." He snorted. "Good riddance; Alec is still salty about the couch."
Aisha looked at her brother. "What's this about a couch?"
"The bitch pegged me with a crossbow bolt once. I bled all over Alec's white couch." Brian said softly. "Don't tell anyone."
"...got it." Aisha turned back to the computer.
Well.
If this bitch was taking down cunts like Stalker, maybe she could muddy the waters a little more. She could probably get someone to write a Glory Girl/Heraldry cuck fic, which would help solidify things on the 'Heraldry is a guy' front. Would make Gallant out as a limp-dicked little prick, but he probably deserved a little needling if he let Shadow Stalker run around.
...now if only she could remember who that girl actually was. She might be able to thank her if they passed in the halls.
Aisha frowned as she tried to think back. Not in the lunchroom, not in any of her classes… where did that voice come from? Having a superhero friend would be a good counterpoint to having a supervillain brother, and it'd give her options if she ever got powers of her own.
Eh, it'd come to her. Not something she needed to worry about right now.
Author's Note: I have no idea how Psychologists or therapists record their treatment plans, interactions with patients, or record what they suspect a patient is suffering from. Please disregard the specifics if they're wrong, and focus on the story, please.
