Chapter 56: Plan of action

RexKnight - Didn't notice I'd been using it so much, but I see the point. I'll try to keep it realistic in the future.

Guest - I don't think so, but at the end of the day there aren't many bulletproof capes. The idea of recruiting New Wave for The Guild is one I haven't thought about, but am kind of liking the more I think about it.

TK - Yeah, I can see that. My main cast is kind of unhinged when it comes to emotions, but then again so am I.

Dbanksischillin - Yes, it's just a prank. 100% believe me bro.

SixFtWookie - I'm a little sad this has been done before, couldn't even be special or anything, but still interesting to know someone else did it too.

BlindAsABat95 - All of New Wave is going to be in for a bad time when that comes out.

Thorfaxdragonkin - Sorry about that. Would it have been better to put a proper TW for it? Like, instead of what I put before?

ZeroSpearow - She will. She's always had that hangup about being able to fix him, but never doing it because of her whole 'No brains' rule. So she's about to take a gut punch when she's told.

Kinda hit a writers block, so after this and the other chs of the Bakuda arc are up, It'll be a while before more chs come out. Also for the art of Ghostfreak and a few of the other 10, they're on artstation . artwork/LeXG0P

You all can fill in the rest, ye know what it should look like. And if that doesn't work just check Tim Sheward's profile.

[Phoenix's POV a half hour later]

Dropping down onto the floor, because I was too lazy to go over to the chairs, I groaned and tried to sink into the ground. "Ugh, next time we gotta do S&R I'm bringing my duel disk. Fuckin tail is sore, and I don't even have it right now." Twin snorts were the responses I got, making me look towards Taylor and Amy. The former was dragging two chairs over towards where I was, while Amy had dropped her fat ass down onto the nearest one, a cup of coffee in one hand and the other gently trailing along our daughter's crown as she slept. "Oh fuck off." My Other Half's Amusement was not appreciated.

Unknowing of my thoughts, we were still Muted at the moment, my girlfriend stopped in front of me and sat down on her chair, weakly kicking the other one over to me. "Maybe next time you'll figure out a better way to carry people then by wrapping them up in your tail and going at the speed of fast." The fact she said 'Next time' only served to fuel my Annoyance with the whole thing.

Amy scoffed at that, bringing up the cup of shitty coffee she had to take a sip. "Or he'll still bitch about it. That's still a viable option"

I just rolled my eyes at them, not they could see it under my mask. "I can bitch about anything if I feel like it, so yes, I probably will." Granted, I never actually did that because it would involve putting unwanted attention onto myself and engaging in conversation with people around me, things that a sociopathic introvert wouldn't exactly want, but those didn't matter now considering my current circumstances.

"I don't think you're supposed to admit to that." I just turned my head to look at my Other Half, raising a brow beneath my mask. She just rolled her eyes at me though. "Don't give me that look, I'm right." I raised it higher. "Why are you the way that you are?"

"Do you want a list? I can go chronological or alphabetical if you want." The living plague snorted, getting me to look over to her. "I'm pretty sure your list has multiple pages, so hush." She stopped stroking Scylla to flip me off, so naturally I flipped her off in retaliation.

Really, we were the height of maturity.

Taylor sighed, though I could feel the Fond Amusement coming from her. "Children, the both of you." I mentally stuck my tongue out at her for that, I could be a brat if the situation called for it. |Some days I wonder how I fell in love with you.| I sent the image of us in Brazil, the waterfalls in the background and forest surrounding us. |And then I remember you're a capable romantic.|

That just made me grin. [It feels good to be appreciated.] I could feel the eye roll from here. [By the way you takin the next one or am I?] Bringing my hand/finger down I made myself comfy on the floor.

My girlfriend mentally raised a brow at me, both at the question and at what I was doing, but went on. |1) Is this really the right time to ask who takes who on a date? And 2) Why are you still on the floor?| Both good questions in my opinion.

And like usual, I had good answers. [1) Who cares? And 2) Because it's a good temp and laying on a hard surface like this feels nice to some of my newer instincts.] Sources of said instincts came from Wildmutt and Blitzwolfer, for obvious reasons. It wasn't just them though, Armodrillo had some influence there too, also for obvious reasons.

|Okay... Now what's the real reason?| And of course she called me out on my bullshit.

Those bits weren't a lie, just not the full truth. [I got to the floor first and I'm too lazy to get up just to sit down.]

My girlfriend mentally snorted at that. |Sounds about right.| I wasn't sure how to take that, so I was just going to ignore it. |And I guess I'll take it. You've done the lions share of them so far, so I'd might as well step up.| That sounded nice... And also made me Curious about what kind of date she would plan. While I was thinking that I felt her smile, probably feeling my Curiosity and knowing what it was about. |You'll find out later.| That was not helping my Curiosity.

"You know, it's kinda freaky when you two just go all silent out of nowhere." We shared a blink, then turned to Amy, I had to lean up a bit to look at her though which fuckin sucked. The healer was just looking at us, a small smirk on her lips as she kept petting our daughter. "If you're giving me looks, I can't tell... Cause, ya know, the masks."

At the reminder that not everyone could just cold read expressions or know due to some soul link thing, my Other Half and I retracted both of our masks, the fibers receding and leaving us with our bare faces. Feeling my hair spill out was nice, and after a small shake, I stared at Amy. "You're just jealous that we can talk without having to open our mouths."

The brunette blinked at that, then raised a brow at me like I was an idiot. "Where the fuck did you get that from? What does that even mean?" I side eyed my girlfriend when I felt her mentally nod in Agreement. Traitor that she was.

Her aside, I looked back to Amy. "We all know you're as introverted as we are." And she was, one of the reasons we got along so well was because we all hated everyone, my Aunts/Mom and family aside, and that helped us bond... And the fact I pulled and extrovert and declared us her friends, but I could be forgiven for my blasphemy.

Amy rolled her eyes though, looking ready to say something. "If you try to say you're not I'm getting a mosquito to buzz around your ear." And promptly closed it, glaring at my girlfriend, who just raised a challenging brow.

The healer clicked her tongue, bringing up the coffee to take another sip. "Annoying bastards."

My Other Half and I just grinned, the quick mental check that we were going to synchronize going off in a mere instant. ""You love us anyway."" Amy brought her hand away from Scylla just to flip us off again.

After that we just chilled for a bit, well, Amy, Scylla, and I did, Taylor was still keeping an eye on the hospital and her Swarm. Which was fine, she could be watching something on Netflix or reading a book and still be able to create a fucking kaiju made out of bugs a mile away. (... Note to self, see if Taylor can make a kaiju of bugs. We live in a goddamn forested mountain, there should be enough bugs for it.)

While I was thinking about the logistics of the equivalent of a kaiju Lekgolo, I also had a thought about Amy making us a Mothra because holy shit that would be awesome, my Other Half decided to start a conversation. "So," We both looked at her. "Since we're here, you sure you don't have anything at home you want to bring?" Amy paused, her body going stiff as she registered the question. A brief pulse of Alarm passed through the Bond, no physical indicator that my girlfriend recognized she'd long jumped onto a landmine. We both knew Amy was basically ignoring what happened, which while unhealthy, was good since we couldn't afford for her to breakdown at the moment. "You don't have to answer if you don't want too." Ah, excellent backtracking. |I don't need to be in your head to hear your sarcasm.|

My response was instantaneous. [That'd be terrifying if I didn't love you as much as I do.] I mentally grinned at the bit of Love that response got. She was growing immune to my bullshit, but it still effected her, so I would take the win.

"I..." Refocusing on Amy, we saw the conflicted look on her face. "I don't... Think so..." Her face scrunched up, obviously thinking this shit through better now then last night. Then she blinked, and even without a Link or Bond we could both tell she had a 'I'm so stupid' moment. "Clothes. I need clothes."

I snorted. "No shit Sherlock." Amy glared at me. "Say I'm wrong. I dare you." When she didn't say anything, only trying to manifest Omega Beams, I grinned with my teeth. "That's what I thought."

Her eye twitched. "If I didn't have Scylla literally right here I'd throw my coffee at you." I just kept grinning at her.

My girlfriend sighed though, turning away to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I'm surrounded by children."

"Pedophile." Amy choked, while Taylor snapped towards me, jade eyes locked onto my Amused emeralds. "Ye...-" Before I could finish she raised a foot and brought it right above my dick, the message clear. 'Say anything and I hurt you.' I ran the chance of me rolling away and avoiding the kick, maybe even putting up Shields, then decided that that required a bit more effort then I felt like putting in for this bit.

Probably Understanding that I was done with it, she let it be, bringing her foot away and back down to her side, letting out a small huff as she gave me a nod. "Good boy." I raised a brow at her, sending a clip of her being submissive during one of our sex sessions, then immediately rolled to the side when her leg shot out towards me. When I stopped rolling I propped a knee and arm onto the floor, ready to move on a dime if I needed too, and took in my girlfriend. Embarrassed Annoyance pulsed from her, her cheeks getting just a hint redder as she glared at me. "When we get home..." I took a moment to consider that maybe I should've just shut the fuck up when I had the chance, then remembered that I actually enjoyed riling up my Other Half and Amy and wouldn't have missed out on the chance to do so.

My girlfriend and I stared at each other for a bit, a lick of her lips as brief flashes of 'Punishments' went through her mind/our Bond that were making me keep the building reaction down... Which was more difficult then before, mainly because I was a teenager again and my expertise in not popping a stiffy for no reason at all had taken a hit, especially because I was in a sexually active relationship. Bringing myself back down I laid against the ground and mentally shook my head. (No regrets, but maybe I should've shut the fuck up.) Her lips twitched at that, most likely guessing my thought going by what I was feeling and knowing me as well as she did.

I rolled my eyes at her, re...- "... Nice." Surprise was our first response. The second was to turn to Amy, seeing that the brunette was blatantly staring at my crotch. A quick feel told me I was at full mast, no idea when that happened, and since our Suits were basically skin tight, she could see it.

Amused Interest pulsed from my Other Half, making me look at her from the corner of my eye... Which led me to see the Mischievous spark in her eye. I only had a moment to think about what she would do before she did it. "You know, if you're going to ogle my boyfriend then you can atleast pay us for it." Amy froze at my girlfriend's drawling tone, her marigold eyes slowly turning to lock onto Taylor's jades.

The two stared at each other, my girlfriend smirking at the brunette, and again I had to admit how Proud of her, and how I'd managed to turn her into a little shit, I was. Not one to leave a perfectly good chance go, which was pretty much the reason I was in 'Trouble' in the first place, I went for it. "I mean, gimme 20 bucks and I'll give you a lap dance. I'll be shit at it, but I'll do it. Anything else though..." Grinning at her, I made a show of wiggling my brows, Amused Surprise coming from my girlfriend at the bit, which was immediately followed by a mental snicker.

If Amy hadn't been blushing before then she totally was now, her ears going a little red as she turned away from us, doing her best not to meet either of our eyes. "Fucking green haired bastards." I snorted while Taylor audibly snickered.

While all that was going on I almost missed the movement coming from Amy's waist. Though distracted as I was I couldn't miss something happening right before my eyes. Though if that didn't clue me in to something happening then the low hissing that started coming from my daughter would have. We all ended up looking towards the little danger noodle, watching as she raised her head from Amy's stomach till she was above the table, her eyes slowly opening to take in the room as she yawned... Which was an Interesting thing to see a snake do.

It didn't take her long to figure out who was around, and despite not having any snake aliens I was somehow able to tell she was both happy, and somewhat confused to see me. "$Daddy? Why are you on the floor?$" Okay... That might've been a good question.

I opened my mouth to answer...- "Your Father's just being dumb right now sweetie." And paused to blink, then look over to Taylor... Who was suddenly holding a fucking wasp?

(Fuckin when?!) I was slowly but surely being reacquainted with the justifiable Fear of my girlfriend... Because I had no idea where she got a wasp and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

My Other Half side eyed me, she was no doubt feeling my Confused Fear. |You're fine... For now.| Well, that wasn't intimidating or anything. "Wanna snack?" Nevermind, she lost the intimidation factor when she raised her hand towards Scylla, the wasp not even moving as my daughter zeroed in on the 'Crunchy snack.'

Speaking of said daughter, we watched as she looked at Taylor, then turned to look at her Mother, who was looking both Exasperated and Amused. Knowing what she wanted, despite not being a Parselmouth, she nodded, getting a Happy hiss from the little snake. "$Yay!$" Nearly faster then we could perceive, lesser then mine it may be she still had Kineceleran bleed over, Scylla snapped forwards with her maw wide open. My girlfriend had seen it coming though, flicking the wasp towards the little snake's mouth with a speed that base humans couldn't have.

My daughter chomped down the moment the wasp landed in her gullet, a crunch going out as she munched on the poor sacrifice to our eventual serpentine overlady. |I don't know what you just thought but I'm pretty sure it's stupid.| I mentally snorted at that, then decided to share said thought for the fuck of it. She mentally snorted at it, Amused at the thought. |Yeah... Stupid.| I rolled my eyes at that, though she easily ignored it so she could focus on my kid. "Now Scylla," Amy and I froze, the instinctive reaction seemed to be universal.

(Oh shit, she's busting out the 'Mom' tone...) I paused, for a different reason this time though. (Why does that turn me on though?) Curious Interest Pulsed from my Other Half, for good reason too because I just found out something I would need to speculate on later.

The sudden discovery aside, she went on after making sure the little one was looking at her. "Unless you have our permission, are out hunting, or someone is threatening us or your Mother, you will not lunge like that, especially when you're striking at one of us or your Grandparents." There was a flicker of Fond Embarrassment, probably from consciously recognizing she was referring to our mutual Mother/Aunts as Grandparents. "Do I make myself clear young lady?"

It was fascinating to see a Methanosian Serpent literally wilt under the look Taylor was sending her, her 'Feathers' grew darker and her scales seemed to blend into each other, eventually resulting in her lowering her head and averting her eyes. "$Yes Aunty.$"

(Shit, my heart!) I'd only had my daughter for a day but I didn't like how downtrodden she sounded. Going by the narrowed look Amy was sending my girlfriend, she didn't like it either. Though before either of us could say anything about it my girlfriend nodded, the sounds of insectoid wings reaching our ears as a pair of wasps flew out of her hair... I choked. [FUCKIN WHAT?!] The sharp look she shot me didn't deter me at all. [What the fuck?! Why?]

|Because why not?| Jesus Christ, I'd made a fucking monster... "That's a good girl." Snapping back into focus, I watched as Taylor made both wasps land on her outstretched hand, then move said hand towards Scylla, who was staring at the wasps in Hunger. My daughter's tongue flickered out, eyes locking onto Taylor's as she asked for permission. When she got said permission she leaned forwards and opened her maw, the wasps flying into it one after the other before she closed her mouth and started munching. My girlfriend gave my daughter chin scratches at that, a Satisfied smile on her lips as she looked at Scylla. "Good girl."

Amy and I just watched the entire thing go on, a quick look confirming that we both had similar thoughts. "So the first part, that was hot, right? Wasn't just me?"

Without even missing a beat, the brunette nodded. "Is it weird I thought about her stepping on me?" She paused after that, going still as she seemed to process what she just said. When it went through, her eyes went wide, ears and cheeks going red. "WAIT! NO!" It was too late though, she'd said it and we all heard it.

My girlfriend physically smirked at Amy, her ears reddening slightly. Mentally though she was a hotpot of Amused Interest with a dash of Lustful Fascination. On my side I was just cackling, the whole thing was way too funny not too.

Granted, I also had a thought of my girlfriend in full leather, a tied up Amy at her feet. (... Just gonna file that away and just not think about it.) Fantasies were all well and good, but I already had Taylor so they weren't really necessary.

Though the bit of Interest I felt coming from my girlfriend was something I made a mental note of for later. I knew we both influenced the others sexuality a bit, while I had never been Bi I eventually ended up not caring about gender when I grew older, managing to appreciate both forms despite being solely attracted to the female form. For me that meant nothing changed, but for Taylor that might've led to her being Bi curious... (And I'm just going to stop this thought here. It's not relevant at the moment, probably won't ever be. Amy's a friend. If it changes then great, if not then it's whatever.)

That thought I decided to just chill for now. We would be deployed again later, so getting as much rest as I could now would be best...

And if said rest involved teasing Amy over wanting to be stepped on then who would stop me?

[Taylor's POV a half hour later]

If this had happened before everything changed, then I'd probably be freaking the fuck out. The Rig had been unharmed from the storm/explosive Bakuda employed, the rooms being fine enough to have a meeting...

A meeting like what was happening now.

Discreetly looking around the room, I took in who was here and what they were doing. Sitting at the head of the table was Director Renick, the man had his hands folded with a grim look on his face as he eyes the room. I knew a little about him, after the train wreck that was Piggot's administration I made sure to keep an eye on who was in charge. So far he'd been doing a good job, but when his predecessor was Piggot that wasn't saying much. (Atleast he's working with the Heroes and staff.)

Putting that thought aside, I moved on from him and looked at the Heroes on his side. Mayday was on the left, the Veteran Hero looking somewhat exhausted, which made sense since he'd been helping out in S&R, and nursing a cup of coffee. I didn't mind the guy, he was a good leader, had a decent head on his shoulders, and was easy to work with whenever we crossed paths.

On Renick's right, and sitting in the same side we were, was Miss Militia. The Hero looked alert, but not so much that'd make it look like she would jump at the first loud sound she'd hear. I was kinda iffy on the woman, she was partially responsible for Sophia and her bullshit... But at the same time she was one of the better Heroes, and one of the few we had in the Bay. I wanted to like her, but I didn't because of what she missed and what happened because of that. The sudden flicker of Curious Concern made me pull my eyes away from the Hero, turning them towards my Other Half.

At the moment he was on my right, his body slumped against the table and head laying on his arms.(Ya know, the L thing) Despite the mask, I could practically see the sole eye cracked open to look at me, getting me to smile a bit. |I'm fine.| He mentally rumbled a bit, sounding a little like Gravattack, obviously knowing there was more to it. |As long as Armsmaster doesn't spontaneously appear I'll be okay.| I'd made... Not peace, I'd Happily kick Armsmaster in the dick if I was given the opportunity, but some form of acceptance with his failures as a Hero and person was good enough enough for now.

I didn't like him or it, but that was where I was.

The mental rumble from my Other Half petered out after that, his eye closing as he went back to 'Waiting.' I was only mildly Surprised that no one was calling him out on it, but realistically, who would have the balls to do it? That, and we'd been the first responders to this situation, so we were owed a little leeway. (It says something that I don't exactly know if it's because we're the most powerful people in the room, or because of how much we helped.) That would be something I'd muse about later.

Looking away from him I turned to look at Amy, who was on my left. Her hood was up, the necklace that held her Shielding and teleport out and visible. (That's probably going to end up becoming her Suit container.) There was not a single doubt in my mind that she wouldn't join us, which meant she would eventually need a Suit. (Because honestly, why the fuck do they send out the most powerful healer in the goddamn country in simple cotton. Atleast give her leather or something.) Thankfully she also had a Hawkmoon strapped to her thigh, the Sentinel would just make things uncomfortable so it was in my inventory, along with my main one.

She also had extra protection in the form of Scylla, who was camouflaged underneath her robe, her head resting by Amy's neck, which was covered by the scarf she wore. None of us thought letting her be seen would be a good thing, sure she was seen in the hospital, though if no one knew she was here now then that'd stave off any questions since there was something more important going on then figuring out what she was.

Though the option of just not bringing her along was there, but none of us were going to let her not be with Amy.

Probably feeling my eyes on her the healer turned to me, our gazes locking for a moment before we both turned to the door. I was slightly Annoyed that they'd apparently outfitted the room and hall against bugs, getting a dozen or so insects out of my hair had gotten me a few looks but I easily ignored those, but seeing who came in made that Annoyance spike. I'd expected them, and had hoped that I could have a heads up before they came in, but seeing New Wave come in was different. Amy had stiffened by my side, while my Other Half had become Alert, his shoulders and legs tensing in the event he had to move.

Though, watching them come in, I had to admit that the rift between them was blatantly obvious. Brandish entered first, Vindictive Amusement pulsed from my boyfriend at that, most likely because of the split lip and bruises hidden by makeup she had. Still, she was the leader after all, and had to come in first. But the rest of New Wave entering separately, Lady Photon was stoic as she came in, Manpower, who had visible bruises around his face, and bandages on his nose, trailing after them. (Damn. Props to Lady Photon.) The woman didn't seem to have any visible injuries, which just made me respect her more.

I was a little Curious about why the younger members of New Wave weren't here, but it was probably for the same reason the Wards weren't present... That didn't explain why Flashbang wasn't here though.

Suddenly, New Wave stopped, Brandish's gaze zoning in on Panacea. I set aside the Territorial Annoyance coming from my boyfriend and narrowed my eyes at the woman, a hand absentmindedly landing on her own, reassurance that she wasn't alone. Her shoulders relaxed a bit, which was sign enough that she got it, and stared ba...- The sound of the Ultimatrix activating startled everyone, our eyes snapping towards my boyfriend. I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it, but at some point he'd retracted the fibers on his arm, the Ultimatrix visible and dial out as the projection of Wildmutt, Amy had gotten another ride since our bikes were being used, appeared.

But of course he didn't stop there. My Other Half was pulling a Venom, half of his mask gone so one of his emerald eyes was visible, openly glaring at Brandish. The threat was unmistakable, and after a few seconds of said threat hanging in the air, Brandish looked away. He let out a low grunt when she did, going back to his previous position as his mask started reforming and the dial was reset and hidden. [Stupid bitch.] I mentally snorted at that, but kept myself from physically reacting.

With Brandish backing down I was free to take in the room's reactions to what happened. (Not that I wasn't free to do that before. Multitasking helps in more then just commanding an army of bugs.) Starting with Amy, she was the reason my boyfriend had gotten defensive in the first place after all, I did my best to figure out how she was.

Figuring out what my brunette friend was feeling was easy. We may not have had some weird soul fuckery going on, but thanks to my own experience with said fuckery, and with who I was Bonded with, I could recognize emotions/expressions better. There were alot more upsides to being Bonded to a sociopath then I'd expected, and wasn't that a fucking thought? Anyway it wasn't 100%, I wasn't there yet, but I could tell Amy was both Surprised at the assistance, and touched by it at the same time. Those were fair reactions, so I didn't think on them too long.

A quick look to my Niece let me see her tongue flickering in and out, her camo still up but faltering for a second as she glared at Brandish. I doubted she knew what was going on, but her Aunt, Mother and Father didn't like the woman, so she probably just took after them and decided she didn't like her either. It made sense. (Thankfully she didn't start hissing or else there'd be a fucking war in here.)

Despite 'The Goblin King' being dealt with, I doubted the Heroes would take Scylla's existence well, especially Brandish, which would lead to my Other Half and I defending Amy and Scylla, and things would deteriorate from there. (Aka we'd beat the shit out of everyone and have to deal with everything on our own.) Taking a second to process that thought, I internally sighed. (Yeah, he's rubbing off on me a little too much.)

I ignored the hormone driven part of my brain that thought he could 'Rub off on me' more, because being in a room full of Heroes to take part of a meeting relating to my city being bombed was not the right time to be thinking about fucking my boyfriend. [Horny jail?] I also ignored his Amused question. Sometimes having a boyfriend that could feel what I was feeling wasn't all it cracked up to be.

Looking away from those two, and focusing on the PRT side of the room, I zeroed in on Miss Militia. She was undoubtedly the most dangerous woman in the room... Aside from Panacea, Dragon, and I of course. Now that I was actively looking at her, something I was pretty sure she was able to tell given the way her eyes flickered over to me, I saw the tension practically sufficing her form. (Doesn't help that her Power is settled on a fucking double barreled shotgun.) A part of me was Impressed, if we weren't protected by Shields and our Suits then that'd blow our heads off. The rest of me was Annoyed... Because that could blow our heads off.

Not that any of us would let that happen though. (Phoenix is closer, so he could just lunge over towards her and slam her head into the ground. Best case for her is a concussion, while the worst would be she gets knocked out... Or dies, but we're not trying to add Heroes to our body counts.)

When I was sure Miss Militia wasn't going to start blasting, I looked away and appraised Mayday. He didn't seem to have much of a reaction, though his hands were glowing red, his Power active in case he needed it. (If something happens I could probably equip my Peacekeeper and get off a scattershot on him. He'd probably live, but it'd get him down.)

Staring at Mayday for a bit longer, and seeing his hands start to lose their glow, I moved on and checked Director Renick. Surprisingly he hardly reacted, looking nearly the same if not for the increase in tension. (Got to respect the fact he could keep his cool. Probably one of the reasons he got the job.)

While I wanted to analyze the rest of the room some more, double checking to make sure no one would try something would be the responsible thing to do, the familiar sound of a drone activating caught my attention.

It wasn't just mine either going by the Curiosity coming from Anubis.

Turning to the source, we saw one of the drones powering up. After a moment, the costumed form of our Aunt appeared by the director's side. Said costume made something in my brain twitch, like I knew what I was looking at but couldn't remember the name. It took a second or two of thinking for me to remember what it was, but when I did I blinked, and mentally looked at my boyfriend, who was fucking cackling like a loon over our Bond. [Oh my fucking God she actually went for it! You see this shit Mi Reina?!] I had to admit, the fact his body showed no sign of his insanity was impressive.

|Yes, I see it.| He just cackled louder, making me roll my eyes. Still, I got why he was reacting the way he was, Dragon's outfit was practically stolen from one of his favorite games. Our Aunt had basically taken a look at the Beta version of the Odogaron set and said 'Mine.' There were a few differences though, it matched her color scheme, her thighs/legs weren't exposed, The Guild's emblem was proudly displayed on her left breast, and the mask was a dragon instead of the canine Wyvern, but that was it. (Still though...) My eyes ran over my Aunt's form, taking it in. (It works. It works really well.) That wasn't even my horny brain speaking, it was just a fact.

"Now that everyone is present and seated," I narrowed my eyes a bit at that. Flashbang wasn't here, but the fact she didn't question it was a little Suspicious. "We can get to the meeting. For those who do not know, I am Dragon." I was Confused for a moment, also tuning out t he small reactions that statement earned, everyone knew who Dragon was, but then I remembered that no one had known what she looked like due to her not being able to show herself due to her nature as an A.I.

Though for some reason, I actually knew why, the clip of 'I am Ironman' played through my mind. I looked at my boyfriend because of it, getting an Amused mental snicker from him in reply. Luckily, for who I wasn't really sure, Dragon went on. "Now, we all know why we're gathered here."

[Obvious statement is obvious.] I rolled my eyes at that, mentally Agreeing with him.

After a round of nods from the rest of the room, Dragon continued, multiple screens opening up to show the city from a birds eye view. The fires were gone, but the destruction was still obvious to all. "At 6:03AM eastern time, multiple explosions hit Brockton Bay. The targets were Medhall," A screen showing the Medhall building appeared, showing the damage. "The Boardwalk," Another screen showed that area... And damn it was fucked. The only good thing was that my house was fine, and Dad wasn't involved. I'd need to check in with him again by the end of the day, but I knew he was fine for now. "Near Brockton Bay General," The hospital was fine, but the area around it was just as fucked as the Boardwalk. "And a residential area," I winced at that one, it was one of the glass bomb locations... Which said enough about the kind of damage that did. "All high population centers. At this point in time casualties are listed at 8,513."(No fuckin idea if this sounds right, I just threw numbers here until I had something that seemed right to me.) I grit my teeth at that, that'd been too many.

The casual Indifference I felt from my Other Half only made me grit my teeth harder, despite the fact I logically knew I couldn't hold that against him.

Logically, I knew that.

But emotionally it was different. This was MY city, these were MY people, and he didn't care that they were dying. I knew I was being hypocritical, I'd essentially let one of my teachers die because I didn't like him, but this and that were completely different thi...- Shunting my mounting Anger away, I focused on the meeting, idly recognizing that his eyes, physical and mental were on me. Neither of us said anything, him because we both knew it wouldn't be genuine, and me because I didn't want to talk about this. It'd come up later, XLR8 therapy was a real life hack, but we weren't there yet.

Thankfully Amy squeezing my hand, I only remembered we were still holding hands, at some point we transitioned from my hand on hers to holding them, when she did that, helped me set those thoughts aside and take in the room. It was safe to say that everyone seemed as distraught as they should've been at that kind of news, but Dragon was quick to go on. "Luckily, if that word could even be used, this figure is the best case scenario for a situation such as this."

Despite most of my more distracting emotions being Shunted away, I still felt pissed and Sad at that. (We did our best bu...-) I forcibly cut that train of thought off. (Better. We'll just need to do better.) I'd just need to figure out what I could've done better and go from there.

"And how exactly is a 4, nearly 5, digit casualty count 'The best case scenario?'" All eyes trailed to Brandish, who was focused solely on Dragon. "8 thousand civilians lost their lives. That doesn't sound ideal to me."

Irritation bled over from Anubis, and I felt my own feelings match his. It didn't help that Panacea gripped my hand a little harder, probably thinking something along the lines of 'I could've done more.' Just thinking that made me internally frown. "You did your best. That's all we can do." I hoped that helped, because she really didn't need to beat herself up over it, it wasn't her fault after all. Panacea twitched, which confirmed she heard me, while the small and cute smile she gave me helped relieve my Worries.

A wave of Comfort washed over me, the feeling of a leg wrapping around my own following it. I let it happen, not about to deny the reassurance being offered. "Considering the white phosphorus, its use near civilians constituting to a war crime mind you, was neutralized before it could truly spread, I'll count this as one of the only wins we can earn." I blinked at that, not knowing that little tidbit. Going by the Interested Surprise neither did my boyfriend. Brandish just scowled at that, a short nod being given to show she conceded the point. "Setting that aside for now, the perpetrators of this attack are these two."

A pair of screens appeared, one showing the modified Oni Lee, while the other only had a name. Seeing the looks she was getting, Dragon spoke up. "As of this moment we do not have a visual of the Tinker known as Bakuda, but what we do know is her specialization... Which, if it wasn't obvious, is bombs." The room tensed, "Ah shit." And Mayday's whisper was almost enough to make me snort. Dragon didn't say anything about that, continuing her briefing. "From scans done around the city we can confirm that there are no hidden bombs waiting to blow, another positive out of this whole situation." Not even Brandish could deny that was a good thing. "However that leaves the main issue as the most problematic one." The screen showing Oni Lee expanded, while also being joined by a few more, showing his clones. "Oni Lee's Power is well documented, yet today we were shown something worrying."

The 'Fight' we had earlier began playing out, and after a few moments everyone seemed to understand what the issue was. "His clones. Their time limit seems to be gone." Miss Militia was right. I hadn't really thought about it in the heat of the moment, and after I'd taken some time to wind down, but Oni Lee's clones hadn't disappeared after 10 seconds.

Dragon nodded at that, the screens replaying the altercation. "While we're unsure if the limit is truly gone, or just expanded, the fact of the matter is that this is a new development that must be taken into consideration. With the inclusion of Tinkertech grenades, as well as what seem to be bombs within Oni Lee and his clone's skulls, he has become a threat that must either be subdued in an instant, or put down." As she said that the screens showing Bakuda's name, and the figure of augmented Oni changed, displaying forms I'd seen before, but hadn't actually expected to see again on a non Guild affiliated mission. "To that effect The Guild has put out Kill Orders for Bakuda and Oni Lee. Submission is still the go too solution, but due to the literal war crime being committed, putting them down is now open to you all." I doubt anyone missed the brief look she shot Anubis, nor the Expectant thrum coming from him.

There was a small scoff from Brandish at it though, but she was glared at by me, Panacea, and Lady Photon, which seemed to get her to back down. (Kind of wish she didn't though, I could go for giving her a good smack.) Granted I wouldn't stop at just one, but they'd be earned.

Anyway, Director Renick took it from there. "The Guild aren't the only ones that have authorized the Kill Orders either. After the situation was relayed to Protectorate HQ they fast tracked them through the system. Effective 10 minutes ago are our own Kill Orders. Should Bakuda and or Oni Lee die there will be no consequences." If my Other Half wasn't Eager before, then he was now.

Watching as the room took in this new bit of information, and after no one spoke up, Dragon nodded and snapped her fingers. The screens changed, showing another aerial view of the Bay, but this time more centered around the Trainyard. "With assistance from a Thinker familiar with the Bay," Didn't take a genius to figure out who she meant, so I made a mental note to do something nice for Lisa. "As well as scanning equipment, we've narrowed down Bakuda's location to the Trainyard." I frowned at that.

On one hand that made sense. A Tinker setting up in the Trainyard, even with most of the resources depleted to make our own gear, would have easy access to materials for their tech. On the other hand this was fishy. Bakuda hadn't claimed responsibility for the attack, wasn't set up in ABB territory, and didn't seem to be conscripting people to turn into bombs. From what Phoenix had said about what he knew of Bakuda, none of this made sense. (Something's wrong... But what?) I didn't know, and that Worried me.

Predictably, my Other Half felt it, a Curious thrum coming over our Bond. [I dunno either, but we'll be fine. Worst comes to worst and I'll just go Geb.]

While I knew he was reassuring me in his own way, I couldn't help but feel my eye twitch. |I swear to God, if you spawn a black hole in my city we're not having sex for a year!| An exaggeration to be sure, but he Understood the sentiment.

Mentally raising his hands in surrender, he started backtracking. [So, not Geb then... What about Cabrakan?] My eye twitched again... But then I recognized what he was doing, letting out a small huff as I did. The Amusement that pulsed from him let me know he realized that I caught on. [Oh, how about Ymir?]

Mentally and physically rolling my eyes, I got ready to reply, but Dragon was far from done. "Now, the plan is thus." A few more screens appeared, as well as a mapping display of the Trainyard, showing off where there screens were located. "You all will be working in 2 teams. Assault and Containment. Everyone here, with the exception of Panacea, will be on the Assault team."

My boyfriend's Annoyance matched my own at that statement. Amy clutched my hand tighter at it though, so I gave her a small squeeze. It made sense, I could tell she knew that at least, but none of us liked it. (Atleast she'll have Scylla. That, and we'd both run through anything that's in our way if she needed us.) While a small part of that was because we were both attracted to the brunette, the major reason was because she was one of ours, and we were both possessive as hell.

"The Assault team will be primarily responsible for locating Bakuda's lab, and surrounding it. Securing Bakuda will hopefully allow us to find how she's controlling Oni Lee, and getting him out of the fight. When her lab is found everyone will form up and close in. Should Bakuda make herself known then you all must take her down as quickly as you can." Sounded simple enough. "The secondary, but no less important, objective will be Oni Lee. If at any point he, or his clones, are spotted, then you'll need to fall back. The only ones who can safely take them down are Khepri, Anubis, Miss Militia, and Panacea."

That last one earned the healer some looks, "She's gotta sniper." But at that deadpanned answer from my boyfriend, they accepted it. Well, not everyone did.

Brandish disagreeing was expected, though I could also tell Miss Militia wasn't on board either. (Well, maybe it's because of her age?) I had no idea, though it didn't really matter at the moment.

Nodding at him, Dragon went on. "That had nearly made me reconsider putting her in the Containment team, but her lack of formal, or any kind of training really, made me decide that she would stay with the Containment team." Again, that made sense. Amy had only used the Sentinel once, and while she had hit Burnscar, putting her in another situation like that without really teaching her how to shoot on her own was a bad idea. "Speaking of them, they'll be responsible for watching the borders of the Trainyard to ensure that Bakuda can't slip through the cracks."

We all, the obvious exception was obvious, nodded at that. The plan made sense, and with the entirety of the Bay's PRT backing us up, it would be a simple operation...

(Wait... Shit.) I mentally groaned to myself, privately promising to myself not to let my boyfriend know I might've jinxed us. (Hopefully this doesn't bite me in the ass.) I wasn't sure if it would or not, but I hoped it didn't.

[I sense a disturbance in the force, and I don't like it.] Double shit.