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Chapter 6 - chapter 6 (~5000 words)

Chapter 6:

– Silas –

Miss Militia surprised me. When she'd first pulled up on her motorcycle and hopped off gracefully, I'd prepared myself for an interrogation. Instead, she extended a friendly hand.

"Hello there," she said warmly. "I'm Miss Militia, with the Protectorate. Welcome to the cape scene here in Brockton Bay—our wonderfully crazy city."

I chuckled softly at that, shaking her hand. "Crazy feels like you're underselling it a bit, honestly."

She smiled beneath her American flag scarf. "I suppose it does. Still, welcome."

Next to me, Shadow Stalker shifted uneasily, probably waiting for some kind of reprimand. She looked openly surprised when Miss Militia turned towards her and nodded approvingly.

"And you, Shadow Stalker—good job looking out for our new cape here," Miss Militia said. "Nice work."

Shadow Stalker flinched in shock. I figured the compliment was unexpected since I knew Sophia was on some kind of probation. She recovered quickly though, folding her arms confidently in front of her chest. "Damn right I did a good job," she declared, clearly pleased with herself. "I'm the best Ward you've got, after all!"

Miss Militia rolled her eyes in playful annoyance before turning her attention back towards me, her eyes catching sight of Rune, still sprawled unconscious on the ground.

"Oh," Miss Militia said mildly, gesturing towards Rune's twitching, unconscious form. "And what exactly were the two of you planning to do with her?"

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. I honestly hadn't thought that far ahead yet. "Not really sure, actually."

Shadow Stalker made a frustrated noise in her throat and grumbled darkly, "Could always dump her ass in the bay. Nobody would miss her racist bullshit."

Miss Militia sighed patiently, clearly used to this kind of suggestion from Shadow Stalker. "Unfortunately, we can't do that," she explained calmly. "Heroes, remember? What we can do is bring her back to the Rig. She'll be interrogated and face justice properly."

She turned towards me again, clearly considering something. I noticed her eyes studying my sleek black armor with curiosity and approval. "You know, new guy," Miss Militia said thoughtfully, "You seem capable. You might do really well in the Wards program. You'd always have a team at your back, access to Protectorate resources, and you'd even get paid." She smiled encouragingly, clearly giving me the full recruitment pitch.

I tapped my finger thoughtfully against my masked chin, genuinely considering her offer. 

Did I want to operate solo in this city, facing gangs and villains alone, or would it be smarter to have government backing—especially knowing all the shadowy strings being pulled in the background by Cauldron and whoever else might secretly run things?

Honestly, the answer to that question felt pretty obvious to me. With New Wave already knowing my identity, and half the Protectorate probably about to find out anyway, going solo didn't seem like a particularly smart option.

After a moment, I nodded firmly. "You know what? Sure. I think I'll give the Wards a shot. Can't hurt to see what you guys have going on."

"Kick ass!" Shadow Stalker exclaimed, sounding genuinely pleased that I'd said yes. "Finally a teammate that's not an idiot or a pussy!"

Miss Militia seemed mildly surprised, though clearly pleased. "Huh… Most new capes usually say no when we first ask," she muttered quietly to herself. She didn't seem to realize I could clearly hear her. "And things usually don't work out so well for them later..."

I winced slightly, hearing that little observation. Considering the villains Brockton Bay had, I wasn't exactly shocked that solo capes rarely lasted long around here.

Miss Militia pulled out a phone, already moving into action mode. "Alright, let me call in some backup to help transport Rune, then we'll head back to base together." Miss Militia finished calling in backup and turned to us. "Alright, they'll be here shortly. Let's get moving."

I gave one final glance down at Rune, who was still out cold, the occasional involuntary twitch running through her body from the lightning I'd shot through her. Honestly, I wasn't feeling any remorse. She'd been an arrogant, racist asshole who completely deserved the shock.

Some of what Miss Militia had said earlier hadn't fully registered with me until we were already in the armored van heading towards the Rig. It suddenly clicked into place, and I blinked under my cowl, looking at her in surprise.

"Wait a second," I said, interrupting the silence as the vehicle rolled steadily onward. "Did you say earlier that you're the leader of the Protectorate now? I thought Armsmaster had that job?"

Miss Militia nodded, turning towards me with a patient expression. "Until recently, yes. That's a very new change—actually just a few days old. Director Rebecca Costa-Brown ordered the switch herself."

I raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Costa-Brown was Alexandria, the leader of the PRT, and a member of the "illuminati!"

If she was personally stepping in to shuffle stuff around here in Brockton Bay, that had to be significant. I wondered what the reason was? Canon was officially out the window at this point already. 

Miss Militia must have noticed my surprise because she smiled a little beneath her scarf. "It caught all of us off guard too," she admitted. "Armsmaster wasn't happy about it at first, obviously—getting demoted never feels great. But once it sank in that he didn't have to babysit everyone anymore and could focus entirely on being a Tinker and a frontline hero, he warmed up to the idea. Honestly, he seems relieved now."

Shadow Stalker chuckled quietly from her seat beside me, leaning back casually and crossing her arms. "He should have fucked off sooner. He was a pain in the ass when he tried to boss everyone around!"

Miss Militia shot her a warning look but didn't reprimand her for the comment. She just sighed softly and turned her attention back to me. "Anyway, that also means I'm directly in charge of the Wards now."

Shadow Stalker snorted again, louder this time. Under her breath, just loud enough for everyone to hear, she muttered, "Great. Mommy Militia strikes again."

Miss Militia groaned softly, rubbing her temple with one gloved hand. "Please don't call me that," she said tiredly. "I'm never going to escape those PHO memes, am I?"

Shadow Stalker laughed openly this time. She was definitely acting differently than I had expected. She was still dark and broody, but not THAT dark and broody…

Unless this had all been an act or something…?

But I didn't think it was at the moment.

The van slowed briefly as we passed smoothly through the shimmering force field surrounding the Rig, and I turned my attention toward the reinforced windows, half expecting trouble. Miss Militia visibly relaxed as we crossed the threshold safely, breathing a small sigh of relief.

"Glad the Empire didn't try anything crazy to get Rune back," she said quietly, glancing at the unconscious girl secured firmly in restraints at the back of the vehicle.

I leaned forward a bit, lowering my voice cautiously. "Do they even know you've got her yet?"

Miss Militia's expression hardened slightly, her eyes narrowing in frustration. "We're not entirely sure yet. Unfortunately, the local PRT has been dealing with some internal issues lately. We're finally in the process of clearing out moles from the organization." She growled the word 'finally' with palpable irritation. "But we haven't gotten them all yet. There's still a possibility information leaks back to the Empire."

I blinked, processing this new information. More surprising changes!

Did that mean Coil was fucked too!? He was honestly the only reason I was hesitant to join the Wards in the first place, but I would honestly have not cared about outing him immediately if it meant protecting myself.

Clearly, things were shifting dramatically behind the scenes here, and fast.

I was sitting in Director Emily Piggot's office. She was a round woman with a stern, serious face, and sharp, assessing eyes. From everything I'd heard before, Piggot was notorious for not liking parahumans all that much—and honestly, just sitting there across from her, I was definitely getting that vibe.

Armsmaster and Miss Militia stood quietly behind her, watching me carefully. Armsmaster stood perfectly still in full armor, while Miss Militia seemed more at ease, casually leaning against the wall and watching the exchange with interest.

Piggot folded her hands neatly in front of her on her desk, and stared straight at me. "First things first. Do you have a hero name selected yet? And would you prefer to unmask during this conversation, or remain masked?"

I hesitated for a second, glancing towards Armsmaster. "Do you guys already know who I am under here?"

Armsmaster nodded once, his voice crisp behind his helmet. "Affirmative. We're aware of your civilian identity."

I sighed heavily. Honestly, I expected as much. Keeping secrets from the Protectorate would have been nearly impossible at this point. "Alright, fine."

I raised one hand and summoned my inventory screen. The translucent, glowing blue interface popped into existence right in front of me, causing everyone in the room—including Armsmaster—to flinch slightly in surprise.

Ignoring their startled reactions, I clicked calmly on the armor icon. Instantly, my Nightingale armor disappeared, leaving me in my leather clothes from skyrim. 

Armsmaster immediately leaned forward. "Impressive," he murmured eagerly, immediately entering 'Tinker mode' and speaking half to himself. "Some form of extra-dimensional storage combined with a holographic control interface? Very useful—perhaps some form of dimensional pocket manipulation or spatial distortion—"

Piggot cleared her throat sharply, bringing him back on topic. "Armsmaster, please. We need to stay focused here."

He straightened up stiffly, looking mildly embarrassed at being caught rambling. "Apologies, Director."

Piggot turned her stern gaze back towards me, her expression carefully neutral. "Now that we're properly introduced—I'm Director Emily Piggot of Brockton Bay's PRT branch. It's good to meet you officially, Mr. Thorn."

"Nice to meet you too, Director," I replied politely, trying to keep the mood civil.

She nodded slightly. "Your trigger event wasn't exactly public, but the hospital where it happened does have security cameras—probably not as secure as we'd prefer. You should consider being careful moving forward. The Protectorate and New Wave may not be the only ones aware of your identity."

I shrugged slightly, resigned to that possibility already. "Yeah, I kind of figured that would be the case."

Piggot studied me silently for another long moment, clearly assessing me before she continued. "And am I correct in assuming your intentions are to operate as a hero?"

"Yes," I replied immediately, without hesitation. "That's the plan."

At that, Miss Militia spoke up gently from her spot near the wall. "Shadow Stalker mentioned Silas did a very efficient job taking down Rune. He also showed interest in joining the Wards program."

Director Piggot actually looked pleased to hear that news. She gave me a small, approving nod. "That's good to hear."

Armsmaster took the brief lull in conversation as his chance to speak again, clearly intrigued. "We do have some questions regarding your powers, Mr. Thorn. Specifically, everyone would like to know exactly where you disappeared to with Panacea for several days. We've just received confirmation that she's safely returned home, but we've been unable to get a clear explanation yet."

I sighed again, scratching the back of my head. "Honestly, it's kind of a long story."

The three of them stared at me expectantly, clearly waiting for details. I still didn't know exactly how or why I'd gotten the system—whether it was a power granted by a trigger event or something else entirely. 

For now, I figured it was best to keep those details vague.

Instead, I leaned forward in my chair and began explaining in the simplest way I could think of. "Amy—Panacea—and I were in my hospital room after I'd been injured. Some gang members burst in trying to kill us. I guess that's when I 'triggered.'"

I paused, gauging their reactions. Piggot nodded slowly, gesturing for me to continue.

"My new power apparently decided to give me a kind of… 'tutorial mission' right after triggering. It teleported me and Panacea away—to another world entirely."

Miss Militia's eyes widened slightly, and Piggot's lips pressed together skeptically, but neither interrupted me yet. Armsmaster stood silently, unreadable behind his helmet.

"Anyway," I continued, forcing myself to sound as calm and rational as possible, "We found ourselves in this medieval fantasy world, but not a different Earth. And we were given a clear task. Survive and then slay a dragon..." There was no point hiding any of this since Amy had read it all too.

Director Piggot and Miss Militia stared at me in open disbelief. Piggot's mouth was actually hanging slightly open. "What…?"

"Huh…" Armsmaster said and cocked his head. "My lie detector tells me he's telling the truth…"

After that, Miss Militia led me to a spare room located in the Wards' section of the Rig. Every Ward and Protectorate member had the option of living here if they chose to. It was convenient, secure.

Considering nobody knew for sure if villains had already figured out my civilian identity, Piggot had decided it was safer for me to stay here for now, rather than risk heading back to my apartment. I didn't argue with her. It wasn't like I had any real attachments waiting for me back home anyway.

My family was…

I shook my head sharply. Nope. Fuck that. I wasn't going to waste energy thinking about those assholes tonight.

Instead, I turned my thoughts to how things had gone back in the Director's office. All things considered, it had actually gone better than expected. 

I'd even signed a "provisional" Wards contract. 

It wasn't permanently binding until I had a lawyer review it and signed a full agreement later. I was planning to get Carol Dallon involved for that, but it was already getting late and this wasn't really an emergency situation or anything. I could call in the morning.

Walking into the room I'd been assigned, I spotted a dresser in the corner. I opened it up and was pleased to find an assortment of plain, generic workout clothes provided in just about every size. 

It was a huge relief to finally ditch the scratchy Skyrim-style leather pants I'd been wearing and slip into something modern and actually comfortable. The scratchy clothes didn't have bugs or anything but it had felt like it these past few days!

Seriously, the first thing I planned to do with my future ward's paycheck was stock up my inventory with spare clothes, food, and gear. If another sudden teleportation "quest" hit, I refused to get caught off guard again. That first tutorial mission had seriously blindsided me. 

Of course, I supposed that was probably the whole point of a "tutorial" in the first place.

I had just finished pulling on a pair of soft cotton sweatpants—leaving my chest bare for the moment—when there was a gentle knock on my door. I quickly grabbed a plain white domino mask sitting on top of the dresser and slipped it onto my face before answering.

When I opened the door, Shadow Stalker—or rather, Sophia Hess—stood there. No longer in costume. She was dressed casually, wearing tight black sweatpants and a matching black tank top that clung to her athletic figure. The tank top showed off toned, slender arms, and even clearly defined abdominal muscles. She had the same simple white domino mask covering her face, identical to mine.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. Sophia's eyes slid slowly down, openly checking out my bare chest and stomach. Her gaze lingered for a few seconds longer than strictly necessary.

I felt a faint heat rising to my cheeks under her gaze, but forced a confident smile. "Like what you see?" I asked, doing my best to sound teasing rather than awkward.

Sophia's lips curled upward into a faint smirk. "Hmph," she scoffed lightly, clearly amused by my question. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Thought you might be bored after getting grilled by the old people in suits. Figured I'd see if you wanted to hit the gym with me. Blow off some steam."

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure. Just let me put on a shirt first."

She leaned casually against the doorframe, openly eyeing me up again, looking completely unconcerned about being caught staring. "Honestly, I'd say you could leave it off," Sophia drawled casually. Then her voice lowered, becoming conspiratorial as she leaned a little closer. "But Vista's still around. And trust me, you do not want that brat crushing on you. She was bad enough when she had a thing for Gallant. I'm still convinced she used her space-warping powers to peek at him in the shower." Sophia paused briefly, then added with a mischievous smirk, "Little pervert."

An angry, squeaky voice suddenly echoed from down the hallway behind Sophia. "I am NOT a pervert!" The air shimmered briefly. I blinked in surprise as space visibly twisted around itself, and a young blonde girl in a green costume abruptly appeared right beside Sophia, her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment and irritation. She jabbed an accusing finger directly at Sophia's face, scowling fiercely. "Stop trying to turn the new guy against me!"

Sophia just raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Relax, Vista," she drawled, completely unfazed by the girl's sudden appearance. "I was only telling the truth."

Vista huffed again, crossing her arms in indignation before she turned her eyes toward me. Her angry expression froze the instant she noticed I wasn't wearing a shirt. Her eyes widened, her mouth snapping shut mid-protest. Vista's face rapidly turned an even deeper shade of pink, and she quickly looked away, embarrassed.

I chuckled quietly at her reaction and took pity on her, reaching over to quickly slip my T-shirt on. Then I extended my hand with an easy smile. "Hey there. I'm Silas Thorn."

She hesitated for a moment, then shyly shook my hand. "Oh. Um, hi. I'm Vista." After a beat of hesitation, she added in a smaller voice, "Are you really supposed to tell me your real name already?"

I shrugged casually. "Honestly, pretty much everyone here already knows who I am. I haven't picked a hero name yet, either."

"Oh," Vista said softly, nodding thoughtfully. Then she remembered her original mission and turned to glare playfully at Sophia again. "Well, either way—don't trust anything Shadow Stalker tells you. She's a meanie and a bully!"

Sophia rolled her eyes, clearly unconcerned by the accusation. But the word "bully" caught my attention, and my smile faded slightly. I turned toward Sophia with a mild smirk, folding my arms across my chest.

"Is that right?" I said slowly, making sure my voice held a clear note of warning. "You know, I really don't like bullies. Maybe you should apologize?"

I'd intended the comment to be teasing, playful. But the instant the words left my mouth, I saw Sophia visibly flinch. Her expression shifted rapidly, a series of conflicting emotions flickering openly across her face—surprise, defensiveness, discomfort, even genuine hurt. 

Clearly, I'd hit a nerve without meaning to. Or did I…?

An awkward silence stretched for a second, and I almost started to backtrack. But before I could, Sophia sighed heavily and turned grudgingly toward Vista.

"Fine," she muttered, clearly uncomfortable but forcing herself through the words. "...I'm sorry, okay? Now beat it, squirt. Silas and I are going to hit the gym."

Vista puffed her cheeks out again in annoyance, looking ready to argue more, but I couldn't help but chuckle quietly at her expression. Despite her young age and cute appearance, I reminded myself firmly, Vista wasn't just the team's adorable mascot—she was genuinely powerful. Underestimating her because of her looks or age would definitely be a mistake.

Vista finally released an exaggerated sigh, clearly deciding it wasn't worth pursuing further right now. "Whatever. I was heading home anyway. I mostly just wanted to meet the new Ward."

Her irritation melted slightly as she smiled shyly at me. I returned the smile warmly. "It was nice meeting you too, Vista. Maybe we can properly talk a bit more tomorrow?"

She nodded eagerly, looking pleased at the suggestion. "Yeah, definitely!"

The air rippled and distorted again, and a moment later Vista was simply gone, vanished through folded space. I stared at the empty spot for a second, still impressed by just how casual she was about using such a powerful ability.

Sophia had regained her composure quickly, and now she turned towards me with her usual cocky smirk firmly back in place. "You're definitely gonna regret being so nice to her," she teased lightly. Then, lowering her voice again conspiratorially, she added, "Seriously, rookie, I wasn't joking about the whole shower-peeping thing."

I swallowed nervously, deciding right then that I was definitely bringing this up with Miss Militia later, just in case. "Thanks for the heads-up," I muttered dryly.

Sophia just laughed softly under her breath and began leading the way toward the gym, walking ahead of me down the hall. I followed behind, my eyes unintentionally dropping downward to appreciate how those tight sweatpants hugged her firm, toned ass. Sophia clearly noticed, because after a few steps she deliberately began swaying her hips, teasing me openly and daring me to comment.

I couldn't help but grin to myself as I followed along. Sophia Hess might actually be a bit of a bully, like Vista said—but fuck if she didn't have some amazing cheeks.

– Amy –

Amy sat quietly at the dinner table with her family, feeling a bit uncomfortable under her mother and sister's curious stares. She had just finished explaining—carefully leaving out certain private details—exactly where she'd vanished to over the last few days.

Across from her, Vicky leaned forward, eyes wide with pure envy. "Seriously? You got to see magic spells, actual fucking dragons, and real elves? Amy, that's literally the coolest thing I've ever heard! Why couldn't I have gone to Skyrim instead?" her sister whined dramatically. 

Amy sighed, giving her sister a mild pout. "It wasn't exactly all fun and games, Vicky. The place was crazy. Everyone there was caught up in some horrible civil war, there were giant animals everywhere trying to eat us, and that dragon was definitely not friendly. People died fighting it!"

Vicky huffed, clearly unimpressed by Amy's downplaying. She still looked jealous, but at least she'd stopped openly squealing.

Then Carol spoke up unexpectedly, catching Amy completely off guard. "I'm honestly very glad you're safe, Amy," her mother said calmly, voice surprisingly gentle. "It sounds like you handled yourself very maturely while you were gone. Good job."

Amy blinked in genuine surprise. Praise from Carol wasn't exactly common. Her chest warmed slightly, but she quickly glanced away, hiding the faint blush rising to her cheeks. Amy silently thanked every deity she could think of that she'd kept her mouth shut about certain other events—especially the almost-threesome with Silas and Hildra. Her mother would never have described that as mature behavior. In fact, Amy planned on keeping that particular memory to herself forever.

Unfortunately, Vicky probably suspected something had happened, seeing as how Amy had appeared stark naked back in her room. That wasn't something easily explained away. Amy quietly resolved she'd have to bribe her sister with ice cream or shopping later, just to make sure Vicky kept quiet about those specific embarrassing details.

Amy turned her head slightly to look at her father. She hoped he might say something comforting or supportive as well, but Mark just sat there silently, gaze distant and unfocused. It looked like he hadn't even registered half the conversation. His depression remained unchanged, something that Amy had long grown accustomed to.

Sighing softly, she reached down distractedly to pick up her knife again. Amy hissed suddenly in sharp pain. Lost in her thoughts, she'd managed to slice a shallow cut into her finger.

Vicky immediately perked up, eyes darting toward her. "Hey, you okay?"

Amy winced slightly, shaking her head to dismiss her sister's concern. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. I'll just go grab a Band-Aid."

She started to stand, but before she could even rise from her seat, something completely unexpected happened. Her hand glowed suddenly with a soft golden light, clearly visible to everyone at the table.

Amy stared down in shock. Right in front of her eyes, the small bleeding wound on her finger began knitting itself neatly closed, the pain fading away in seconds. Within moments, her skin was whole and unblemished once again.

Amy blinked, utterly stunned, holding her healed finger up to stare at it in disbelief. She had just healed herself—something she'd never been capable of doing before. Her bio-manipulation powers had always worked exclusively on other people, never herself. 

Yet now she'd just casually fixed her own injury using genuine Skyrim magic!

"What the actual fuck…?" Amy whispered.

Next to her, Vicky jumped up from her seat in excitement. "Oh my gosh, Amy! That was so cool!"

– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –

Rebecca sat at her desk, studying the report Director Piggot had just sent her from Brockton Bay. Piggot had actually managed to handle things smoothly for once, successfully recruiting Silas Thorn to the Wards without causing any major disasters. Rebecca was genuinely surprised.

To be fair, though, it wasn't entirely Piggot's fault that Brockton Bay had devolved into such a mess. Rebecca herself had intentionally allowed the city to decline. Cauldron needed certain conditions in place—chaos, instability, and a concentration of parahuman conflict—to test some theories on trigger events and parahuman population growth. Unfortunately, that meant she'd been willing to let Brockton Bay become a volatile shithole to serve as their laboratory.

However, the appearance of Silas Thorn changed everything.

The moment Rebecca learned about his value from Contessa, she immediately issued a series of urgent orders to Piggot. First and foremost, she commanded that the Brockton Bay PRT office clean house and remove every single gang mole embedded within their ranks. She wasn't about to let Coil or any other ambitious idiot get their hooks into someone as potentially important as Silas.

She'd also instructed Armsmaster to step down as team leader, replacing him with Miss Militia—a calmer, steadier leader who could handle delicate situations better. Armsmaster had objected initially, as expected. But once Rebecca explained he would now be free to tinker–with a higher budget–and fight unhindered, he quickly saw the benefits. It was exactly the kind of straightforward approach Armsmaster appreciated.

Regarding Coil specifically, Rebecca had authorized a clear and uncompromising message delivered directly to him. Either he voluntarily left town, or Cauldron would remove him permanently. Coil's survival depended entirely on his own common sense. Whether or not he chose to follow their orders would be up to Contessa's Path to Victory to determine. Rebecca honestly didn't care either way—she'd dealt with far worse than Coil over the years.

Rebecca's thoughts returned firmly to Silas Thorn, and she leaned back thoughtfully in her chair, carefully considering the implications of his existence.

If the reports she'd gotten from Piggot were correct, Silas Thorn's trigger event had transported him—and Panacea—to another world that wasn't simply an alternate Earth. That single revelation had staggering implications.

Ever since Scion and the Entities had arrived, they'd fundamentally altered the multiverse, restricting dimensional travel exclusively to different parallel Earths—each Earth firmly under their direct influence. Travel to completely separate worlds—worlds not bound to the Entities' influence—had always been impossible after their arrival. Cauldron and other leading researchers had theorized for years that infinite other worlds existed beyond the Earth multiverse cluster, but every attempt at reaching them had consistently failed.

The Entities' dimensional lockdown was an enormous barrier. Everyone within Cauldron, especially Rebecca, had instinctively understood that it meant bad news for humanity. Being trapped within worlds controlled or influenced by Scion and his counterpart inevitably placed humanity at their mercy.

But if Silas Thorn could genuinely break that limitation—if his new, unprecedented power allowed him to access entirely separate worlds—that changed absolutely everything. It opened countless opportunities, from access to resources and allies beyond the Entities' control to entirely new ways of combating the Endbringers and Scion himself. Hell, it might even give humanity a genuine chance at survival.

Rebecca's schedule for the coming week was always brutally busy. As both Chief Director of the PRT and secretly Alexandria, her days were tightly packed with meetings, crises, and constant juggling of duties. But there was no chance she was leaving a cape this potentially critical to Piggot's oversight alone. She trusted Miss Militia's judgment far more, but even then…

Rebecca nodded firmly to herself, decision made. She was absolutely making time for a personal visit to Brockton Bay at the earliest possible opportunity. Meeting Silas Thorn face-to-face and evaluating him personally had just become one of her top priorities.

She picked up the phone on her desk and dialed the number of her personal assistant.

"Clear my schedule as soon as possible," she instructed calmly. "I need you to arrange a trip to Brockton Bay. I'll handle this one personally."

XXX

Yep, Silas is going to join the Wards. Although the older Wards are all aged up and will pretty much be treated like mini members of the protectorate. Silas wasn't the only one to get a reward for beating the tutorial either. Amy got healing magic that she just discovered.

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