The Rig, Meeting Room, Brockton Bay
The large screen on the meeting room wall was occupied by four gentlemen and one very severe-looking lady. The men on the screen looked visibly uneasy as Emily Piggot gave them a thorough briefing on what she believed was the latest and greatest threat to Brockton Bay, and perhaps even national security.
The briefing in question consisted of Threat ratings and power classifications, Dragon's drone footage, reports of estimated property damage, and a hastily assembled pysche profile by Dr. Yamada, since most of the Thinkers at Watchdog were… currently indisposed. Those that weren't, refused to prode Nemesis, citing memetic hazards.
During this, Armsmaster, who sat by Emily's right on the oval table, was surprisingly calm, which was in stark contrast to Assault, Battery and Triumph. Their impatience and desire to bring such an evil person to justice was apparent, yet were held back by regulations and decorum. Aside from a subtle flash of green by her side, Miss Militia too showed no outward indication of her brewing rage. Behind his silver gladiator helm, Dauntless was speechless, and mouthed "cannibalism?" to Velocity, who grimly shook his head.
Emily closed the thick folder and clasped her hands. Her back straightened, "And that is why, Ma'am, I urgently request the support of the Triumvirate. We cannot stop this menace by ourselves, Chief Director. It would simply be too much to expect us to deal or make any kind of difference against this kind of firepower. Brockton Bay needs urgent aid."
The Chief Director was silent for a while, her hard brown eyes did not give away any of her thoughts. Then she responded, "I understand Emily, I really do." Emily Piggot clenched her fists, sensing the refusal before it came. "You're all in a tough spot. The Protectorate and the US Government knows that Brockton Bay is currently within the eye of a storm out of which there is no safe exit. Regardless, we urge you and your heroes to remain calm and not unnecessarily antagonise a villain that we do not know the full capabilities of." Piggot was about to protest at that, before she was cut off by her boss.
"No, Emily, sending the Triumvirate to arrest a villain that can steal powers with a touch, is not the best course of action. I'm sure you can understand why?" Emily nodded, her eyes tracing the ridges of the file she had put down. "We can't put out a Kill Order on him, as that would be akin to sending parahumans into his arms. There's also the not insignificant fact that doing so might make him an open enemy of the Protectorate. We don't want an angry Fairy King."
'We already have an 'angry Fairy King',' Piggot thought to herself but stayed silent, only nodding once in a while. "With that said," Costa-Brown clasped her hands, "I have notified Strider. He'll be arriving in twenty minutes or so. Prepare the landing pad and make sure the Wards and their families have their bags packed. Necessities only. Miss Militia, Velocity and Dauntless will be accompanying them to New York."
"And the rest of us, Madam?" Armsmaster asked, unwilling to tiptoe around the obvious question.
Costa-Brown's eyes were now on the armoured hero's fibreglass faceplate, he did his best to repress a shiver. "They will continue performing their duty to their city until further notice. Legend is only a quick flight away if Nemesis attacks." No one said anything after that and the screens went dark.
For a while there was a heavy awkward silence. Then a cacophony of voices erupted across the table. Some pleading with Emily to let them go out and help off-the-books, while others expressed their confusion and disbelief at being denied any aid or evacuation.
"Enough!" Emily slammed the table once and the room fell silent.
"Director?" Armsmaster asked.
Emily turned to him. "What are your orders?"
"You've heard her loud and clear, Armsmaster. The Protectorate sends us their prayers and best wishes from the comfort of their very low-risk cities." She laughed hollowly and they all shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to say.
"They're not wrong, y'know?" said Dauntless, Armsmaster was almost about to snap at him for it. Emily raised her hand and motioned for him to continue. "So far, Nemesis hasn't shown any power stealing inclination towards heroes, as seen by his interaction with Glory Girl and her family. We- we don't know if this trend will continue, but I can see why they don't want to push him. We really don't know what powers he has besides those he stole from Brockton Bay. It's a slippery slope, ma'am." He pursed his lips.
Assaults let out a grumble, "Buggered if you do, buggered if you don't."
Velocity chuckled, "I don't think that's how the saying goes, Assault."
The heroes and analysts chuckled and the tension bled out a pinch.
Emily did not smile. "You're right," she said and every eye turned to her. "There's too much at risk and we must pick and choose our battles." Assault and Triumph were not happy about this at all. "You're all forbidden from going after him. The PRT has been ordered to liberally foam any hero that tries to force their way out. Stay inside and sit tight until the storm passes." Then she addressed Miss Militia, "Make sure the Wards are ready to leave." Then she walked out, Armsmaster a silent shadow following her.
"So… you're getting shipped out to new horizons, eh?" Assault teased Dauntless and Velocity, but everyone could see that his smile did not entirely reach his eyes. Dauntless frowned and was about to argue before Velocity's gloved hand on his arm stopped him.
Assault smirked, dusted away invisible specks off his suit and got up, "Don't be a stranger, eh? Pay us a visit every so often." With that parting shot, he walked off with his arm over Battery's shoulder.
Dauntless and Velocity looked at each other, feeling wronged but also frustrated at the juvenile behaviour of their comrades. Alas, there was nothing either of them could do to change minds already made up.
Such was the nature of storms. They frightened a deep animal part of the human mind. Made them lash out at shadows, jump at every flash of lightning and cower with every roar of thunder.