Crystalized Munchkinry - Act V - Chapter 66 (Patreon)

They stood on a hill near the hustle and bustle of the camp, with activity happening all around them while still leaving a wide, empty area surrounding them. A few people were blatantly staring at them, some even filming, while others glanced at them from the corners of their eyes as they went about their jobs.

Taylor and the rest of the team stood in a loose circle, silently looking at each other. After everything that had happened, nobody seemed to know what to say.

Finally, Taylor had enough of the silence and turned toward Tess. “Hey, Dragon, do you need me for anything else?"

“No, Lux. I think we can handle the rest without you,” said the AI with a chuckle, glancing at the enormous, perfectly spherical hole where Ellisburg had once stood. “Thank you for your help.”

“Anytime!” she answered. Then she turned to the others. “Cardea, chin up. It could’ve been worse!” The woman nodded nervously, and Taylor could see she was itching to get away from them. “Give your contact information to Dragon. I want to talk to you later.”

Not waiting for a reply, her next target was Nero. “I would like to request that you stay away from the United States for as long as possible.”

“You are just jealous that I can explode things better than you!” answered the bomb Tinker indignantly, crossing her arms.

“I don’t care if you’re better at it. I’m just deeply afraid of how you do it!”

Ignoring the Tinker’s sputtering denial, Taylor turned to Narwhal and Armsmaster. “It was a pleasure fighting alongside you, Narwhal, Armsmaster.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” replied Narwhal with a smile.

“Indeed,” said Armsmaster, his previously gruff voice nowhere to be heard. “Are you sure you still don’t wish to enlist with the Protectorate?”

“Or the Guild?” Narwhal added playfully.

Taylor laughed softly before answering. “Thank you, but no. I’m a lone wolf."

“Pity,” replied Armsmaster flatly. He nodded to the others, then began walking toward the command center, presumably to report to Director Piggot.

Taylor then finally turned toward her personal hero, Alexandria. “Keep the sword. It suits you!"

With that, she jumped into the air and, to the surprise of everyone watching, vanished in a brief flash of yellow lightning.

“Well, can’t say she doesn’t have style,” remarked Narwhal, looking at the spot in the air where Lux Arcana had disappeared.

Alexandria also looked at the spot where Lux had abruptly vanished, then let out a quiet chuckle. Dragon joined her a moment later.

Cardea, however, spoke up. “I’m sorry, everyone, but I have to go. I want to check on my friends."

“Of course, Cardea. Thank you as well for your help,” answered Dragon in a gentle voice. “I will be in contact with your superiors about an appropriate reward for your actions.”

“Th-thank you!” replied the nervous healer, then she beat a hasty retreat.

They watched her practically run away from them before Narwhal spoke up. “Come on, Nero. Let’s go check on the Guild people.”

“Oh yeah, I wonder if Glyph got more kills than me?” wondered Nero out loud as she followed her boss down the hill.

Alexandria waited until they were out of earshot, then turned toward Dragon, who was quietly observing what remained of the battlefield.

“Dragon.”

“Yes, Alexandria?”

“You could have taken care of this entire thing with only Lux, am I correct?"

There was a brief pause before Dragon answered.

“More than likely, yes. But not this cleanly or efficiently.” She then spread her arms, motioning toward the crowds before them. “And that would have been a victory for us, but this way, it’s a victory for everyone. Much better, if you think about it."

“Indeed...” murmured Alexandria in response as she looked over the celebrating people.

Piggot sat in her ultra-ergonomic medical chair, which was required because of her condition, and for the first time, she thoroughly enjoyed everything it provided.

It wasn’t just her rapidly improving health that allowed her to experience comforts she had long ago given up on. The fact that the city of Ellisburg was gone had also removed an invisible weight from her shoulders.

Seeing the frankly terrifying empty space where the city had once stood (she made a note to have an official warning placed on Nero, just in case) and then rewatching the explosion several times with a small glass of scotch had been cathartic beyond reason.

Unfortunately, while the battle had ended with a victory, it didn’t mean her job was over.

She still had to organize the cleanup, oversee research into whether Nilbog had left anything behind, and handle communication with the relevant government agencies that, now that the danger was gone, had arrived demanding explanations or, in some ludicrous cases, credit.

She rebuked them with great relish, confident that her victory here had earned her enough political capital to do so. She could barely wait to capitalize on it.

Though, if history was anything to go by, she would probably need to kill the Nine, solve world hunger, and figure out the Grand Unified Theory before getting even a slight budget increase.

But a woman can dream…

So when everything was finally settled at the crater formerly known as Ellisburg, she packed up with her tired but content troops and hightailed it back to Brockton Bay, half expecting to find that it had burned down while she was away.

She returned to a very smug Vista, some strange rumors about Hookwolf, and an immeasurable amount of paperwork.

With a heavy heart, she sat down in her chair (already missing the battlefield) and began a new fight – one where she wished she had more of Nero’s creations at her disposal.

Her job was made even harder when, shortly after the battle ended, someone leaked her connection to the city. The journalists began besieging her office even more aggressively, despite her promise of an all-day press conference.

She was fairly certain it had been someone in the PRT who leaked it, because the PR department had pounced on the opportunity suspiciously quickly. She had already heard rumors of posters and even her own figurine appearing in the gift shop...

She was about to get into the report about Vista and something involving excessive force when her door opened and her secretary entered.

“Director, you asked me to remind you an hour before the press conference begins."

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

The secretary nodded, then left, closing the door behind her. Piggot reluctantly put away the document and took out the one prepared for the conference.

She had some reviewing to do…

She walked through the back door of the building, surrounded by countless agents and even Armsmaster, as she headed for the conference room that the Major had loaned them because their biggest one was too small for the number of people attending.

She wasn’t even near the actual hall, and she could already hear the murmur of the crowds gathered inside. According to the report she received, at least several dozen film crews and over two hundred journalists were present, not to mention government officials, security personnel, and staff.

She wasn’t really looking forward to it. Emily would have rather stayed in her office, watching the explosion once again, or now that she was capable again, down in the gym trying to get back into shape.

After a few minutes of waiting, a nervous staff member approached them and directed them towards the podium.

She stood behind a wall, waiting for her cue, when the presenter finally spoke.

“And ladies and gentlemen, the woman you’ve all been waiting for, Director Emily Piggot!"

She fought down a scowl, checked her ensemble one more time, then stepped forward…

Rebecca finished signing the last paper in front of her, then threw her pen aside in disgust while stretching her hands above her head. It didn’t really do anything, thanks to her power, but it still felt nice.

She had been in her office ever since she returned, and she had done nothing but answer calls from increasingly important people and review and sign documents. While the fight had indeed gone well, there were still hundreds of issues she had to deal with.

The people they had left behind in Canberra to help return the evacuated civilians and search for those who may have suffered some kind of accident during the evacuation process.

The reorganization of the Madison containment zone, while Tagg bleated in the background about unimportant issues.

And so on.

Issues kept coming in while she tried to stay on top of them.

But as of now, she was done for the day, though she expected that as soon as the press conference in Brockton Bay was over, she would get even more calls. But that was tomorrow’s Rebecca’s problem.

At least she didn’t have to be present.

She once again congratulated herself on leaking Piggot’s past, thereby pointing the jackals in her direction. Then she stood up and walked over to retrieve her sword, which was leaning against the wall. She picked it up, swung it carefully a few times, then returned to her desk and pressed a button on the phone.

“Esther, make sure nobody bothers me for the next… three hours. I will be on a secure conference call.”

“Yes, Director,” came the prompt answer from her secretary.

She pushed another button on her desk, and the door locked while the window shades darkened the room.

After she was satisfied once again with the security measures, she spoke aloud.

“Door to Cauldron."

She arrived in the usual meeting room, where Doctor Mother was waiting for her alongside a technician standing next to a small rolling table. Alexandria immediately placed the sword on it, and the technician, without a word, wheeled it out of the room.

"How was the fight?”

“Simple. Where is Contessa?”

“Resting.”

“Why?”

The older woman motioned for Alexandria to take a seat, and she did the same.

“She has been run ragged protecting the Battle of Ellisburg.”

"From what?”

“Basically everyone.” Doctor Mother sighed. “According to her, when the Simurgh broke the pattern, a lot of groups appeared on the Path, but their plans only solidified once the Simurgh descended on Ellisburg. She and Numberman spent the entire time putting out fires and preventing people from interfering."

Alexandria scowled upon hearing that, finally understanding why Contessa hadn’t answered any of her messages.

"Who tried to interfere?”

“Who didn’t?” replied Doctor Mother in a slightly sarcastic voice. “The Nine decided they wanted to cause trouble somewhere that would require people to leave the fight and cause the defense to collapse. The Butcher wanted to get killed by Nilbog and take over the entire thing. The Fallen wanted to protect the city as a holy site, and so on. There were around two dozen groups, both small and large, who wanted that battle to fail, and not all of them were parahuman in nature."

"But she took care of them?”

“Yes. I think the last one happened when the explosion went off. Blasto decided he wanted samples. She simply called Accord and told him to stop Blasto."

“That explains a lot,” said Alexandria. She then retrieved a flash drive from her pocket”But now we need to talk about Dragon and Lux Arcana."

Taylor sat in their living room, stuffing herself with greasy burgers that her father had made in their super-Tinker-tech kitchen while she watched dozens of newscasts on mute. Some were showing highlights from the fight; others were covering the press conference with Piggot or another one with the Guild. She was even tuned to an Australian station where a ceremony was being held to honor Cardea.

The poor woman looked incredibly uncomfortable, so Taylor reaffirmed her decision to build something cool for her as thanks for her help (not that she needed it much).

The central part of the screen, however, was filled with a comedy movie. She took another bite of the greasy goodness her father had somehow magicked up, then checked her phone and answered the half dozen messages Vicky had sent in the last two minutes.

“Taylor, how many more do you want?” yelled Danny from the kitchen.

She took stock of herself and the carnage in front of her before answering. "Two more, Dad!”

“Coming right up!”

She smiled, then returned her attention to the movie.

Vicky walked into the kitchen, grabbed herself a drink from the fridge, then turned around and floated back towards her room. PHO was practically melting down, and she didn't want to miss anything.

Sadly, she was waylaid by her own treacherous mother…

"Is she still sleeping?"

"Yeah, I checked on her before I came down. I think she took a bathroom break, but she’s still out."

"I have to go into the office, but call me if there’s a problem," said Carol with a frown.

"Sure, mom!"

They said goodbye to each other, and Vicky returned to her room. She plopped down in front of the computer and began reading through everything she had missed, sending the funny ones to her friends as she went.

"Bro…"

"I know, bro…"

"We missed it."

"How could we miss something so epic?"

"Well, we are villains."

"That doesn't matter. That was straight out of D&D. That's our expertise! They should've called us!"

"And we would've done what exactly? Told them to use a +3 vorpal sword?"

"I could've built something…"

"More than likely, that's the reason they didn't call us."

"Ugh, you're such an asshole."

“How about we get a beer and pizza and edit together what Vista did to Hookwolf?"

He let out a long groan while the other man watched him with amusement.

"Fine! But no anchovies this time!"