Just a Phase [Worm]

[NooneImportant]

Nope. That would require the existance of the fanon console to be canon.

Click to shrink...

Not sure if it was specifically named the "Console," but it was a thing in the Sentinel Arc, (Chapter 9) and the Wards do sit at it. (I think Clockblocker or Kid Win, specifically.)

In the name of not necro-ing: Threw this together in about two hours.
(Look, I know the set up to this's spotty, but let me have my escapism.)

Spoiler: Tailwind Flight Plan.

"Here's your band. Remember: Phase, Boston Wards, Hero." Nebula hands me a snap band with a box stuck in the middle. I idly swipe it from his hand, looking at the mess that used to be the Boardwalk.

So, a supposed evacuation drill was actually an Endbringer alarm, and I've just been voluntold under false pretenses. It took me turning around and being shocked at Strider of all people performing the mock "Emergency Teleport" that was actually real to realize something's wrong before I'm back here. In Brockton.

I survey the scene. Everyone else was in professionally tailored costumes, power armor, or some handsewn handicraft. I, however, was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, long pants, running sneakers and a standard black eye-mask the Wards get when off-duty, being handed to me by a fuming Weld after Strider left to pick up other people from a different zone. I'd like to believe that he's mad for me and not at me, this time. I'd like to.

A polite woman's voice echoed from the yellow and black band after I snapped it over my right upper arm. "Please state your Cape Name, Affiliation and Disposition."
No point tying Ghost to me, and I know that they want me to "accept my place" in the Wards if I want to have backup going into this Endbringer Fight. I thought they couldn't get lower but, wow.

"Taylor Hebert. No Affiliation. Unwilling Conscript."
Honestly? Have they forgotten how stubborn I am? There's no way I'd trust them to have my back even if I was in the Wards proper.

Legend's gotten through his spiel of "Thanks for sacrificing yourselves, don't expect to come out alive, but celebrate if you do, don't kill each other, we quite literally have bigger fish to fry."
I flickered through two buildings when I saw Ampere headed towards me, Shadow Stalker in tow. No way in hell am I going to stay there.
I'm currently sitting on a rock looking over at the E88 and ABB, since I lived in the same city but never saw them in person before.
The constant ringing in the back of my head identifying that someone's trying to spy on me again is back, and really, can't they give me a break, it's an Endbringer fight I'm forced to participate in. I'm pretty sure that's in violation of the Truce, but it's not like this is the first time someone's gotten away with committing a crime against me. It's probably the Protectorate Think Tank this time.

I see a shadow covering me and look up. It's Alexandria floating down to me! I hop up and turn towards her.

"Hi, Alexandria, so, I'm not supposed to be here, there was a mix-up on the roster and-"

...She just snatched me on the back of my collar and flew straight up into the air.

"Phase, you will do great things today. Your position will be with your fellow Wards on search and rescue."

Something's up. "Hey, I'm not supposed to be here! There was a mistake!"

She floats over towards a different section of the city.

"You have been obstinate for far too long, Hebert. We need your power. The world needs your power."

Ah. I see how it is. "But it doesn't need my rights or freedoms like the other human beings?"

The silence is too telling. When she looks for the Wards near where she wants to drop me, I drop down, phasing through her grasp and the roof of an apartment.

"Come, your friends are waiting for- where did you go?"

It's been about 3 hours since the waves started, and I haven't seen a chance to make a move yet. I've been sticking to Search & Rescue as they intended, but I have managed to attach myself to Rune, an E88 villain about my age, after dodging Emma, Weld, Nebula, and even Alexandria when she was distracted by a particularly large tsunami.
I chat her up on the ride across the waterlogged ruins, interspaced with diving through concrete and water to pick up bodies, corpses and armbands. It feels a bit scummy to talk so casually with a nominal villain, but I haven't been able to spill the truth to anyone since Lisa back in Boston, and live or die, I'm probably never going to be able to talk about the unfiltered truth to anyone again, so I might as well.
Rune filled me in on what I missed in Brockton Bay since I was transferred: apparently a team of three small timer villains named the Undersiders faced an unfortunate end to their careers against Lung, and only after their deaths were certain details that the powers-that-be decided to cover up were released.
Apparently, Grue could've been convinced to work for good if he was given a chance to support his sister, who vanished soon after the PRT came to recruit her after his death.
Hellhound, who preferred Bitch, was persecuted for the death of the matron of her orphanage... who tried to drown her puppy right before. And apparently, Regent was Hijack, who just ran away from Heartbreaker. It really reinforced that I wasn't the only one the PRT pulled this shit on.
Soon after their collapse, the mayor's daughter went missing without a trace, and the Wards in Brockton Bay were placed back on active duty despite the investigations into the ENE division, as the ABB got a fucking BOMB TINKER, who naturally went nuts the moment she got here. Uber and Leet died live on camera during a collab episode with her, and Aegis died to being an idiot that wasn't careful around explosives that were not just regular bombs, but Tinker Bombs.

The relatively peaceful conversation wouldn't last; the 'water-echo' of Leviathan flicked his tail mirroring what a swiping Leviathan did a few seconds ago, catching Dauntless, who was flung mid-air, on his unprotected side. We didn't have time to react before his body crashed into the chunk of rubble we were surfing on, folding over backwards and splitting it down the middle. I fell off and phased through and into a ruined building, Rune was forced to retreat after a crash landing.
"Dauntless Deceased, 0-4." He was gone just like that, sent flying as an afterthought...
Picking up his spear, I hurried off towards the action, with a very stupid idea.

I head up towards the beachfront, where I could see Armsmaster on the Leviathan's forearm. He was driving his halberd deep into the skin of the beast, but not deep enough to slow Leviathan down. The Leviathan shakes him off, sending him towards a leaning building next to me. I leap up to catch him.
This was not a good idea. It felt like I was the one crashing into him, and I even felt the edge of a square pillar right before I went intangible, popping out the other side. I get up, but he's stuck in the pillar, folded in a way where he cannot get leverage to pull himself out. I plant one foot on the floor, one on the pillar, and try to pull him out by the arm, but after a few seconds of ineffective effort, Armsmaster stopped me.
"Useless. Get my halberd."

I guess he loses his ability to be polite when he's in a lot of pain. There's an issue with his request, though. I look over to check.

"Problem. Your Halberd's stuck in the Leviathan's arm. And he's healed around it. I've got Dauntless' spear right here though."
"That will do."

I hand the spear to him, and he cuts the sides of the pillar before wrenching himself out, the top part of the pillar falling behind him. He looks up at me.
"You are not Dauntless. Why do you have his spear?"
"He's dead. Crashed into the platform Rune and I were on at high speed."
"Oh. That is... very problematic."
"Yes."

The awkwardness was forcibly ended by Armsmaster hopping onto the broken pillar and stabbing Dauntless' spear into it to brace against the incoming wave. I just stood there and let the water pass over and through me.

"You are... Phase."
"Yes, Taylor Hebert."
"Where's your costume?"
"I did not attend this Endbringer willingly."
"That's illegal."
"So is what Sophia and Emma did. Apparently Alexandria approves."
"Of bringing you here or covering up what they have done?"
"Definitely the first, probably both."

Armsmaster pulled himself up by the spear, looking down at his arm and ponders. Checking his armor's stats, I guess. But a blast and rumbling was heard around and above us.

"Bakuda's leftovers! Shit."

Thankfully, an off-balance man in blue armor is easier to pull than a hurtling-towards-you man in blue armor, so I was able to pull him off the pillar and into the hip high water, before the concrete fell on top of me... And through me, and around me. After fifteen seconds of waiting, the rumbling stopped. I climbed through the rubble, and pulled out Dauntless' spear to see Armsmaster replacing a plate on his mud-encrusted boot.
"Thank you. My Boot Thrusters were not operational. I have rebooted them and will not need more of your help."

That's good. He could've been nicer, but he's probably still a little shocked. Either way, one less person needing her help means two less eyes on her.

"It's fine, shame this isn't the time to ask for an autograph. So, what are you planning now?"
He stares out to the south end of the beach, where Lung is sent sliding back towards the heart of the city from a double shoulder check from the beast and the echo. "My halberd cut it's way into Leviathan's flesh. It can cut it's way out."

Sounds... cocky? But also cool. He's probably got a plan, then. "Alright. Will you need this spear then?"
He shakes his head before clambering up the rubble and along the flooded street.
"No. You would be unarmed, and soon I will be armed. I just need to hold out for an opportunity."
Hold out for an opportunity? I can get behind that.
Now that that distraction was done with. I head south, through the blocks. I had an overgrown fish to hook.

I pulled a couple more people out from rubble, on my way which unfortunately included Weld. It would be rude to dunk him back in, so I vanished through another building looking for a better position to set up.

And sure, I could survive this Uriah Gambit attempt to rake them over the coals online for forcing me into an Endbringer battle under false pretenses, but the only thing you could trust the Protectorate to do well is cover up their ass. Even if they let Danny know of my involvement as probably per law, he wouldn't make enough of a fuss to do anything about it. But then again, sticking it to the PRT was never my goal...

Armsmaster has finally pulled his catch out from the sea colored flesh of the Leviathan, before the beast spins around, hurtling him clutching his halberd through two windows, into a balcony. Other capes are also sent flying, either from a limb, tail, or high volume of water hitting them like a wrecking ball. I think one tiny slip of a girl in all green ended up being sent into the sky. A wild guess from the trajectory: Her corpse will crash land in Boston.

"Armsmaster Down, 0-1" rings among the many other names I do not recognize at the moment from my band, and a crowned and curvy figure clad in white and gold flies over to the balcony he crashed into.
Glory Girl doing the glamourous job of Rescue? More likely than you think.
While the Blue probably-not-steel-clad man is ferried off to the Med bay, I am close enough to Leviathan while no longer have any eyes on me.
I lie in wait, Waiting for the chance to strike at the Leviathan. Knowing full well I won't get nearly as deep as Armsmaster did.
It may look like I'm stupidly trying to spearfish the Leviathan, but I'm actually trying to bait the Leviathan to hook me.

As the Leviathan passes by, I phase up through some rubble and leap, hoping to stick him and get him to spin in place again, when I feel a searing pain, ripping in and out my left shoulder. I scream and turn, seeing a stick in the back of my arm, and a broad arrowhead sticking out.
"Well, this wasn't planned."

I look up and see the Leviathan's three sea-green eyes staring at me in an unidentifiable expression I think is confusion, before turning away. I react right at the tail's impact, and am sent flying through buildings.

After two buildings, (I assume because I felt at least four crashes against the spear,) I phase the armband through my arm, where it's caught on the spear. Once the light glows red, I smile, and I let go of Dauntless' spear and clutch my bleeding shoulder, as I let the world pass by me.

"Taylor Hebert deceased, A-4."

When I'm fully intangible, I can pass through the air itself. That means no air resistance.
I can even skip across the water at this speed or just hurtle through it if I crash into the ocean on my way, and I can selectively use my power to negate injuries other than that arrow for some weird reason.

Burning the PRT to the ground was never my goal. It was always about getting out of their clutches.
What comes next depends on my flight path: If I was smacked north, Canada. If south, Mexico.
I never got to finish Physics or Geography, so I don't actually know where I'm going, only that it's away from Boston, Brockton, and those Bitches.

I'm not sure what I'll do next, but I'll figure something out, later.

Help, @FirstSelector ! It seems I have written an omake in my need to "um… actually" someone!

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Tailwind Flight Plan.

Click to shrink...

Omake: Air Traffic Control


Rebecca Costa-Brown leaned back in her chair as she hung up on her twentieth phone call of the day. The aftermath of an Endbringer attack on U.S soil always sent the entirety of the PRT into overdrive, and made Rebecca constantly thankful for the fact that her power made her immune to headaches and migraines.

And speaking of headaches the experiment with Phase turned into a complete disaster with the girl having been killed during the battle. Not only had her official designation thrown the Youth Guard into a frenzy but the girl had managed to put the truce in jeopardy. The girl apparently hadn't kept her mouth shut and went against the typical parahuman response of avoiding mentioning her trigger event. So when a friendly fire incident between her and Shadow Stalker took place more than one person was quick to claim foul play. It also didn't help that said friendly fire incident took place moments before Leviathan flung the girl into the afterlife.

Such a shame to Rebecca had placed a fair bit of hope into the Phase experiment. It was by chance that Rebecca had unknowingly run into the girl during a visit to the Boston department, and by unknowingly she ment she had accidentally run into the girl because she couldn't actually see her. After playing off that incident to avoid suspicion Rebecca had decided to do an investigation of her own and low and behold the girl was also immune to both the Clairvoyant and more alarmingly Contessa herself. Further investigation revealed that their was perhaps a chance that like Rebecca the Endbringers would also be unable to properly perceive the girl.

So Cauldron made a plan and cashed in a favor from their plant in the Boston Protectorate to get Phase to the next Endbringer battle. From there their plant would remain close to the girl and make sure she stayed alive while Cauldron collected their data. Unfortunately it seemed that the girl's file had understated just how disobedient she was and Rebecca had to step in, while relying on an audio recorder and shadow placement to interact with her, when she attempted to separate herself from her group only to lose her in turn.

In the end though it seemed that Phase had the last laugh, dying while kicking up one final shit storm for the organization. The worst part was that based on Cauldron's best analysis of the battle their hypothesis had been correct about her invisibility to Endbringers. Not once had Leviathan made an attack directly against her even when she was essentially right in front of the monster or even when she was riding on top of it. In fact it had only tossed her off after Shadow Stalker's bolt had pierced her, so the claims that Stalker had gotten Phase killed weren't completely inaccurate after all.

Not that it mattered the girl was dead and any use she could have given the PRT or Cauldron against the Endbringers was dead with her.

Rebecca was broken out of her musings by another call.

"Hello Chief Director Costa-Brown speaking what is it?" She asked.

"Rebecca I have news you will want to hear." The voice on the other end said.

"Armstrong." She said recognizing the voice of the Boston Director, "This better be good after the mess you and Piggot got the organization in."

She knew he was innocent, at least more innocent then Piggot in this mess, she had sent the order after all not that he needed to know that is.

"It is about Phase I think she might be alive." He said.

Now that got Rebecca's attention.

"I'm listening." She said.

Maybe this latest experiment wasn't a failure after all.

***

Emma wished she had died against Leviathan as shivered in a fetal position in the dark of her Ward's quarters at least then she wouldn't have to feel like this anymore. When the sirens alerted them that Brockton was about to be struck by Leviathan she had been terrified to the point that Sophia and Dean had to snap her out of it. It was thanks to them she had been able to muster up the courage to volunteer for the fight against her parents' wishes.

Even then she had almost chickened out until she met up with the Boston Wards and found out that Taylor was also there. So she decided to go and wish her luck and apologize again just incase the worst happened, she even convinced Sophia to come along and do the same. But Taylor must have spotted them because she ran off before they could get close. She attempted to run into Taylor again during the battle when she spotted her again but ended up getting knocked out by a wave for her troubles and getting evaced out spending the rest of the battle unconscious in the medical tent.

When she awoke everything had changed.

There was yelling all around her as she watched Sophia get dragged off by security guards armed with tasers. She tried to get answers but was stone walled by the nurses who refused to speak to her. It was only after she was cleared to leave did she find out what happened.

Sophia had been taken into custody after several people had come forth saying she had gotten Taylor killed. They say she deliberately shot Taylor with an arrow while Taylor was fighting Leviathan distracting her allowing Leviathan to hit her.

Emma didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it. She had talked to Sophia convinced her to at least give Taylor a chance when she next saw her, and she had said as much to the investigators when they came to question her as Sophia's best friend. Though considering they had also been read in on what she and Sophia had done to Taylor she doubted they had believed her. Hell they probably thought she had planned to kill Taylor with Sophia based on how they had treated her during the interview.

After that she hadn't heard anything else about the investigation nor had she seen Sophia. She had attempted to talk to Director Piggot or Miss Militia about it but they had refused to talk, but based on how they looked at her when she brought it up odds were she wouldn't be seeing Sophia again. The other Wards were to busy dealing with their own issues after Leviathan to help either and she couldn't blame them besides Sophia they had also lost Dean and Missy during Leviathan. That left the only remaining members of the team as her, Dennis, and Chris.

From what little she had been able to pick up after the Youth Guard investigation, Aegis dying to Bakuda, and now Leviathan it was very likely that the Brockton Bay Wards were going to be disbanded. Already her dad had tried to talk to her about transferring to Boston, Taylor's former department, it was almost enough to make her laugh.

Instead she came here and locked herself away praying to herself that this was all just a nightmare that Taylor will wash up on shore the next day alove and well and the mess with Sophia would be over and they can be friends again.

But she couldn't keep deluding herself she promised she wouldn't after Taylor cut her off after the locker. Taylor was dead and it was her fault if she hadn't been so obsessed with proving that Taylor was strong when it was clear she already was then she would never have triggered. She would have evacuated with her dad never having faced Leviathan, and Emma would still have her friends.

"I promise Taylor we will see each other again even if I have to go to a hundred Endbringer battles I will see you again." Emma said to herself as she slowly drifted off in the darkness.

***

Taylor was having a good day, sure her arm was in sling for the next week or two after that underground doctor got the bolt out, but Leviathan had managed to sling her all the way to Miami of all places. Which if Taylor was being honest a major step up compared to Brockton or Boston; sun, beautiful sandy beaches, and an active yet laid-back cape scene was all Taylor needed to be happy it seemed.

She had to remember to thank Lisa for showing her how to locate the those unlicensed doctors. Having to deal with the bolt in her shoulder on her own probably would have soured her mood a bit.

Speak of the devil and she will appear it seems as Taylor watched a purple and black camaro pull up to were she was sitting. She smiled as her favorite blond popped out of the driver's side.

"Hey Taylor so glad to see you're okay." The freckled Thinker said pulling Taylor into a hug, "I know you called but I just had to see fpr myself."

"Thanks Lisa it really means a lot coming from you." Taylor said returning the hug, "Also are you sure you are good coming all the way out here what about your set up in Boston?"

"Oh it's no big deal Boston was starting to get a bit stale anyways, and I really didn't wanna stick around for what was about to go down." Lisa explained.

"Has it gotten that bad over there I haven't really been paying much attention since leaving." Taylor asked while the two of them got into Lisa's car.

"Taylor baby sweetie I love you but you put unwilling conscript for your designation and people noticed that. The Youth Guard couldn't lockdown Boston fast enough, and a little birdie told me that a certain Brockton Bay Ward landed themselves in some pretty hot water due to a friendly fire incident." Lisa said with a vulpine grin.

"Wait seriously? I wasn't even trying to screw the PRT over there I was just trying to piss off Nebula."

"And that is why I love you." Lisa said, "But yes seriously and when the Youth Guard finally clears out the PRT will start busting all the minor villains and villainous leaning rogues to recoup the lost PR and I wasn't staying around for that mess."

"Sorry I know how much you enjoyed things in Boston." Taylor apologized.

"Eh no biggy I was wearing on Accord anyways and we both knew it so this was probably my best time to get out anyways. Plus I can't really blame you for sticking it to them after they dragged you to an Endbringer fight of all things, I mean seriously who even does that." Lisa exclaimed.

"The PRT apparently." Taylor snorted.

"Leave it to them to sink lower than most villains, but enough about that Miami cape capital of Florida and two girls with their whole futures ahead of them I bet you we will be running this place in a month tops." The Thinker happily announced as the two of them drove off into the city.

---

A.N: Decided to write my own continuation of the omake and like the original author said it is free for anyone to add their own contuation on. Besides that please let me know what you all think.

Also @FirstSelector got a new omake and don't forget the one above.

 

[KingCrimson1081]

Omake: Cat's Out of the Bag


Kamil Armstrong adjusted himself in his seat as he looked out to the multiple projectors in front of him. In each one was a fellow PRT director and Protectorate leader each with a severe expression on their faces, at least those with their faces unobstructed, and at the head of this meeting was Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown her self with Legend standing to her right.

"Now that all of us are here let us begin." Costa-Brown started, "Piggot since it is your department that caused this mess why don't you begin."

At the sound of being called out Armstrong watched as Piggot grit her teeth before replying.

"At approximately 1500 East Central Time on February 30th we were alerted us to a massive security leak. There was a release multiple classified documents to local news agencies and on multiple websites. Unfortunately, by the time we became aware of the breach it was too late to prevent the information from being exposed." Piggot said struggling to keep her voice at an even level.

"And what exactly was in this leak?" Costa-Brown asked.

Piggot took a breath as Armsmaster visibly stiffened beside her, "It contained the identities of two of our local Wards, Shadow Stalker and Ampere, as well as information on an ongoing investigation regarding them."

"I trust that everyone here knows what that investigation was about." The Chief Director asked rhetorically to the grumbling of the other directors, "Right so it is now public knowledge that two Wards attempted to kill a classmate and the PRT covered it up."

This admission made the already tense atmosphere in the meeting even more potent, enough so that Kamil genuinely believed in that moment he would find it hard to move if he tried to stand up.

Before anyone could say anything Costa-Brown let out a deep breath and continued, "Has the leak been tracked down at the very least?"

This time it was Armsmaster who responded in his usual mechanical fashion, though to those who knew him it would be pointed out their was an unusual tenseness to his speech.

"We have it was one Luis Sanchez a mid-level clerk in the PRT. Currently it is unknown whether he did it due to a connection with one of the gangs, but due to his Puerto Rican heritage we can rule out both the Empire and ABB respectively. However, that still leaves Coil as a possible backer behind this action, and questioning is still ongoing as of this meeting."

"Good keep on it and inform us of any developments going forward." Rebecca replied.

"There is another option," Kamil was surprised to hear himself talk even as words came out of his mouth, "And that is this leak did it for purely moral reasons upon finding out the ENE department covered up an attempted murder of an innocent girl."

Kamil could almost hear the servos in Armsmaster's armor whine through the projector screen as the man visibly grit his teeth.

"Yes that is possible." He admitted, "The man does have a daughter around the same age as the victim who also attends the same school as Shadow Stalker and Ampere. It is entirely likely that he objected to the disciplinary actions taken by the the department in regards to the incident."

"You mean the fact that those two brats are still going to the same school." One of the other directors spoke up causing the others to add in their own comments on the issue.

"Yes."

"Regardless the information is out there now and the PRT has been getting calls on both local and national level asking us what we are going to do about it." The Chief Director spoke up interrupting the bickering.

At this point Piggot decided to take over from Armsmaster while shooting a glare at the other director, "We have taken Ampere and Shadow Stalker's families into protective custody following the leak, and not a comment too soon as Shadow Stalker's apartment complex was burned down by what we believe is Empire agitators attempting to incite a riot. Thankfully there were no casualties beyond smoke inhalation, but that was just the start."

"The one black Ward on the team gets caught attempting murder and the PRT covers it up the local neo-nazis must be having a field day over there." The Miami director said.

"They are." Piggot revealed, "Already I have had to pull troops and reroute patrols to Empire territory to avoid full blown race riots, and Kaiser has been holding rallies about the topic since the release."

This caused Armstrong to visibly grimace in his seat, and be privately thankful that Accord was proactive in nipping any similar gangs in the bud whenever they attempted to expand into Boston.

"And what of the two Wards who caused this mess what are you intending to do with them." The New Orleans director asked.

"Currently both Shadow Stalker and Ampere are confined to base and are on a complete media lockdown to keep them from causing anymore issues. We were awaiting further orders before committing to anything else with them." Piggot admitted.

A complete non-answer from Piggot Kamil thought in the same breed as the ones he had gotten used to hearing from her whenever he asked about the status of the investigation.

"Fine, but I expect a report about why something wasn't done sooner about them later." Costa-Brown ordered, "But as for their victim what is her status Armstrong she is a Ward in your department."

All eyes turned towards Kamil as he cleared his throat, "The Ward Phase, permanent name pending, is currently on base and I have Gauss and Weld keeping an eye on her in shifts so she doesn't do anything, but there is a noted agitation to her due to this mess and she has refused to give her opinion on the matter. Though if there is any silver lining to this it is that her identity wasn't also released in the leak, but it remains at risk."

"The last thing we need is that brat blabbering to a reporter." Piggot muttered.

This caused Kamil to growl, "May I remind you Emily that we are in this mess because you couldn't control your own damn Wards when they thought it would be fun to torture a classmate for months! One of whom was on probation for murder already!"

"Don't act high and might with me Kamil!." Emily spat out, "If you had simply laid down the law with that brat who couldn't handle a little schoolyard hazing and harsh words it wouldn't have become a major issue. And don't pretend that I am blind to that girl's activities in Boston I am not a fool."

"Hazing! That was an attempted murder worthy of any Teeth initiation if it was up to me you would-."

"ENOUGH!" Chief Director Costa-Brown shouted, "You two are acting like children and your bickering won't solve this problem. Now will you two act like adult or will I have to remove you both from the conversation."

Kamil took a deep breath to steady himself, "The issue still remains that Phase's identity is at risk if someone connects her to Shadow Stalker and Ampere's victim if they haven't already and remained quiet about it. We are already in hot water for covering up the crime we do not need for them to also find out we took custody of her and transferred her before any form of investigation could take place. The only reason she hasn't left already in my opinion is that she believes she will benefit more from letting the tension build more, and intends to use her statement as a guillotine over our heads to get what she wants."

"Agreed." Rebecca said, "Now if no one else has anything to add I will call this meeting adjourned we will contact ENE with a press statement and an official sentencing for both Shadow Stalker and Ampere soon."

With that the other projectors shut off and with one final glare from Piggot Armstrong was alone in his office.

"What a fucking nightmare." Kamil said to himself.

***

Rebecca leaned back in her seat as she flicked the recorder off as she looked towards Legend and Glenn Chambers each situated at either side of her.

"So what are our optics on this Glenn?" She asked the head of the national PR department.

"Not good, it was already an open secret that the Protectorate and Wards rebranded former villains but most people were willing to look the other way provided their crimes were minor and they stayed on the straight and narrow. This whole crisis puts the whole probationary program at risk because if one can do it."

"They all can." Rebecca finished for him.

"Exactly, and that doesn't even touch the fact that their victim suffered a trigger event because of them. If that got out then it would kill our relationship with independents the majority of which already have issues with the PRT."

"And we need those independents to pick up the slack that Protectorate teams simply can't on their own either due to powers or bearacracy." Legend added.

"So my suggestion provided it gets cleared with legal is to make this seem as much as an issue with local corruption rather than a national issue. Piggot will have to be removed of course either have her willingly step down or be forced to both have their benefits, and luckily the Youth Guard investigation Phase kicked up gives us plenty to work with in addition to the cover-up. Also Shadow Stalker and Ampere both need to go with her preferrably to different prisons since they can't be trusted together, and make it public when we do it we can't afford to waste time on this."

"No chance to station them at a containment zone they are just kids after all?" Legend asked.

"Not possible with this. If it had been anywhere but a school then maybe we could have swung assigning them containment zone duties but attacking someone in a school even if it was without powers isn't something the public will accept and if that girl had died we would be talking about a Birdcage sentence and not juvie three strikes be damned."

"He is right we can't afford to go soft on them because they are Wards the public when the public is already accusing capes as having a two tiered justice system." Rebecca confirmed.

"But that still leaves the question of what to do about Phase?" Legend asked.

"The best option would be to work out a settlement with her and tie it to an NDA." Glenn suggested, "Do we know what we want so we have something to tell the lawyers."

"Based on all reports about her the only thing she wants is out of the Wards the sooner the better." Legend said.

"Makes sense considering what happened." Glenn said, "And are you sure we can't just let her go then. Give her a cash settlement and send her on her way."

"Her powers are both rare and valuable, already other notable departments such as Vegas, Los Angeles, and D.C. have requested her be transferred, so ideally we should convince her to remain with the program." Costa-Brown explained.

"If it helps I can swing by Boston to talk to her convince her that she gets more by staying with the program then by leaving it." Legend offered.

"Yes do that, and I will go to Brockton to deal with Piggot's mess." The Chief Director answered, "And Glenn make sure that press release is ready by tomorrow and send it to me I need something to say when I arrive in Brockton."

"Done." The PR manager replied.

"Now we all have our jobs lets get to them and hopefully we will have this dealt with shortly without further incidents." Rebecca said as the other two nodded.

***

"Gauss what is it? Phase? What do you mean she is missing?!"

---

A.N: I decided to write something since classes start for me again in a day or so and I came back to this with a what if it all got exposed. Anyways let me know what you all think.

@FirstSelector