Got the Grimoire, Chapter 44

Chapter 44

I rolled out of the shadows and straight into the Wards’ common room. I instantly had half a dozen containment foam sprayers pointed at me before I shouted out my Protectorate authorization, causing them to retract.

“Magus!” Kid Win nearly fell out of his chair getting to his feet. They’d put him on the Console. Why him and not one of the PRT agents who were supposed to be trained for the role during an emergency, I wasn’t sure. Maybe they just needed every able body? “Thank God you’re here, the world is going to shit, man!”

“I gathered,” I said with what I thought was reasonable calm, approaching the young man and clasping his shoulder in as reassuring manner as I could. “What’s the situation like?

He grimaced in response. “Not looking good. Empire rolled up with a bunch of their guys and most of their capes. They’ve got the front entranced blocked off, Rune in the air to keep anyone away from the roof, and even a few cars full of armed skinheads at the parking garage entrance. Bit of a siege.”

“Any attempts to break-in?”

“A few probing attacks, but none of their capes have tried anything yet,” Kid said.

“Hm. Where’s the Director?”

“Her office. She’s put the building into an emergency lockdown, put foam sprayers and guns into anyone trained with them and have given the Wards orders to engage if necessary,” he explained.

“Then why are you here at the Console?” I eyed the static filled screens and blinking red lights. “Looks a little… pointless.”

His eyes dropped. “You know I’m not the best Tinker around. Piggot wanted me here in case Console comes back online, said she couldn’t spare anyone and since I’m the least effective in a straight fight…”

I smelled B.S. As much as I respected Piggot, she was sometimes wrong and I doubted Kid Win was worse than Gallant and his little emotion beams. “Is your alternator cannon ready yet?”

He blinked. “How did you know…- No, not yet, I’m still in the prototyping phase with that.

Well there went one idea. “Alright, stay here until you hear from someone. I’m going to go talk to the Director.”

“Okay. Good luck, sir.”

I gave him a nod and then began marching through HQ. Natural light was all but gone as all the windows now had armored shutters over them and the normally bustling offices were empty wherever I went.

I almost thought that maybe everyone was gone when I started approaching Piggot’s office and two troopers stepped out of a concealed position, one with a foam sprayer and the other with a rifle. They weren’t playing around.

“Magus,” the lead one said, tone tense. “Going to need today’s M/S password.” I gave it easily and then stood in tense silence as one trooper stepped back and into Piggot’s office, returning a moment later. “Director said you’re clear.” His rifle lowered. “It’s good to see you here.”

“Glad to be here,” I returned as I walked by. “Just sorry about the circumstances.”

I entered into Piggot’s office and the Director gave me a terse nod of greeting, her eyes fixed to her computer screen. “Magus.”

“Director. My apologies, they cut off all comms and I prioritized the Rig as that was where we were keeping the parahuman prisoners,” I explained.

“You noticed too late it seems,” she said humorlessly, waving me over. “Take a look.”

I peered over her shoulder, seeing that she had the feeds from the external security cameras pulled up. The Empire weren’t stupid and had shot or smashed the more obvious ones, but there were plenty that they had missed. The Empire had brought dozens of their foot soldiers, a lot of them outfitted with tactical gear and assault weapons, though just as many with only regular clothing and civilian weapons like shotguns and hunting rifles. I could see that Kaiser had brought the Empire’s remaining strength, including some of the members I’d put in prison.

I eyed the forces arrayed against us. “A bit short sighted of them.”

“Yes,” Piggot agreed. “I’m being forced to take your theory about Valefor having compromised the Empire a lot more seriously. I was hoping it was just conjecture, but… well the situation speaks for itself. Kaiser is too careful of a schemer to outright attack us like this. Too much heat. Even if he takes us out, then Legend is up in New York and Eidolon or Alexandria could be across the country within a matter of hours. The federal government would have to intervene if things got that bad. While I doubt Valefor could have gotten to every single one of these people, he just needs access to Kaiser and one or two of his lieutenants, then the rest will fall in line. How strong is his control?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I replied. “Strong enough to be extremely dangerous, but it’s limited, in that it’s more subconscious commands that he implants. He probably isn’t even here, just put the idea into Kaiser’s head to attack, if that is what’s happening.”

“It fits,” Piggot sighed. “And explains why we’ve had a hell of a time catching him.” She tapped a finger thoughtfully on the desk. “You could defeat them, couldn’t you?”

“Of course,” I said without hesitation. If I could fight the Simurgh, a group this small wouldn’t faze me, unless they were all Triumvirate-level capes. “But I’m not sure how well the city would fare.”

She grunted an acknowledgment. “No full on assault as of yet. Time is on our side in this case, seeing as the longer this goes on, the more forces we can gather to counterattack. If they just wanted chaos and destruction, then one of the twins would have tried busting in by now…”

“Isn’t one of them in a coma?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear?” Piggot smiled grimly. “Seems you only got Victor. Othala survived that attack the other week. I’m guessing that’s at least one reason for their delay, seeing as Othala’s healing isn’t as quick as Panacea’s.”

I hissed through my teeth, considering things. As I’d told Piggot, in a straight fight, I could overwhelm the Empire by virtue of sheer power. But doing so could cause incalculable damage to the city and it’s people. PRTHQ was in the heart of Brockton Bay. A serious fight would cause a lot of deaths if I wasn’t careful. And I was loath to fully don my Vestments again. While I’d tapped into their power, fully assuming my mantle as a Lord of Balance… Well let’s just say the memory of soul searing pain wasn’t easy to forget.

“Have they made any kind of threats or demands?” I asked.

Piggot shook her head. “None. Just a few probing attack of our defenses.” A bit of a smirk passed over her face before returning to stoic professionalism. “I have Clockblocker on standby to freeze as large a chunk of the building as he can if Fenja or Menja tried to break through the front. See how they like that.”

Oh that was a clever and dirty fighting trick. I approved. “Alright, any ideas on how they’re jamming us? The Rig had a tinker-tech device implanted in the server room…”

“They might have something like that, but higher spec for this location,” Piggot theorized. “I already sent teams to secure all of our critical infrastructure. There’s no way they pulled something like that here.”

“Mhm. I’m sure that’s what they said over at the Rig.”

“Now is not the time for sass.”

“Yes, ma’am. But seriously, you have verification that everyone in the building is clear?”

Piggot gave me an unimpressed look. “I’m not stupid, Magus. We managed to catch and contain several agents and troopers who had orders from Valefor. It wasn’t easy, but we have them in holding now, until their orders wear off or otherwise.”

“Alright… What about all the usual tourists and general staff?”

Piggot’s face soured. “We had to herd them into the parking garage. It’s the furthest from the potential fighting, but we don’t have a way of evacuating them at this time.”

I felt my palms tingle as the thought rose to the forefront of my mind, but… “I can get them out, Director.”

“We need you at top capacity for this situation.”

“And I will be. I just might be out of action for an hour or two afterwards.”

Piggot frowned, mind already making connections. “What you did at Canberra… That wasn’t a total power boost, was it? It was a temporary boost?”

“I can overclock my powers and temporarily draw upon more, but it’s… painful. More than my body can handle,” I admitted, simplifying what it had been like to fully tap into my mantle. Perhaps I’d adapt to it over time? Either way, I wasn’t looking forward to the pain. But I’d signed up to be a hero I guess…

“You need to share these things with us,” Piggot sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Very well. Get the people out, then I want you to head out front and talk to our uninvited guests. If things go south… Just try and limit the damage until the rest of the Protectorate can get here.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll also try and restore communications while I’m at it. One thing though…”

“What?”

“Kid Win shouldn’t be on Console. One more person with a gun won’t accomplish much, but another Tinker in play might make the difference, even if it’s just a psychological advantage. He should be with his team.”

“Kid Win is by far our least effective Ward these days,” Piggot grunted. “You really think he’ll make a difference?”

“I do, ma’am. With the other Wards, if nobody else.”

“… I will trust your judgment in this matter, Magus, seeing as I’m not a cape. But the consequences be on your head. Get to it.” She made a sharp dismissive gesture.

I complied and headed down to the parking garage, still feeling a little tense at the crowd of villains and their small army out front. Knowing I could beat a group and then actually doing it were two different things. Confidence, I had to work on my confidence…

Once I’d reached the large group of civilians, I gave them my best smile. “Hey there folks! I’m Magus and I’m going to be getting you all out of here. Sound good?”

That earned me some half-hearted smiles and a weak cheer or two from the children present.

“Alright, line up and go on through the portal I’m going to create. Kids and their caretakers first. Orderly line, because I swear I won’t be responsible for what happens if anyone gets trampled just because someone gets impatient. You’ll all have enough time to get through, I promise.”

At my urging and the prompting of some of the PRT personnel, the small group began to form into a somewhat coherent line, prioritizing children like I’d ordered. I took a breath and then began to draw upon my magic, muttering the familiar words of power that had I’d used before to part space and form a portal out onto the Boardwalk.

“Go,” I ordered.

They began walking through quickly, passing through in twos and threes as I held space open. Once again, it at first felt no heavier than a curtain, but quickly began to grow heavier with every passing moment. I had a strong magical foundation though and kept the portal open as long as possible, knowing that I had people counting on me. I couldn’t afford to fail.

By the time the entire crowd had passed through, I had beads of sweat on my forehead and my arms felt sore and tired, but I shot one of the PRT troopers a look. “Now would be a good time to get out now,” I offered.

“All due respect, sir, but this is what we signed up for,” the lead trooper said after sharing just a single glance with his fellow troopers and agents.

I nodded, hopefully conveying my respect for those brave men and women and then allowed space to reassert itself. My arms were trembling only a little bit, no matter what anyone else claims. “You all deserve a raise, I swear.”

That earned several rough laughs and a few calls of ‘Damn right’ or some variation of such from all the remaining PRT personnel. I didn’t waste anymore time as I stalked out toward the front of the building, different scenarios filtering through my head.

The lobby had been turned into a veritable fortress, several barricades and kill zones having been established, foam sprayers and automatic weapons alike glinting in the building’s harsh emergency lighting. The Wards were also present, all of them looking far more grim than they should have been. Or maybe they were looking just as grim as was called for, considering the situation, but it still shouldn’t have been necessary on kids so young.

“Aegis,” I shook the leader’s hand. “Gallant, Clock, Kid, Vista,” I greeted the rest in turn. “How are things looking?”

“Nothing yet,” Clockblocker said with downright cheer. “They’re just sitting there like a bunch of pansies.”

“Which could change at any moment,” Vista said a little cynically. “I’ve been twisting space outside while I can. Should tie them up more than a little for at least a few minutes when they decide to charge.”

“Direct assault won’t be their go to plan,” I said. “Too many casualties, too many chances for you guys to spring nasty surprises on them.” I glanced to Gallant. “How are their emotions looking?”

“Fairly standard for a group getting ready for violence,” he answered. “Anger, fear, anticipation, the whole cocktail. It’s a mess really.”

“Anything on Kaiser?”

Gallant shook his head. “I’m not close enough to see the individuals, just the haze made up of their collective emotions. Once we get face to face I could tell you, but by then I’m sure it won’t matter.”

“Yeah…” I sighed and looked out at the Empire’s gathered might. “Welp, no point in just sitting and waiting.” That earned me a chorus of panicked shouts and protests from the Wards, but I held up a hand and exerted my magical presence, filling the air with it’s weight. “Odds are they’re either here for me or because of me. I’m our heaviest hitter right now, I can keep them occupied at the very least. Protect the building, but do not interfere under any circumstances, am I clear? I don’t want any of your blood on my hands.” I glanced out once again at the Empire and then back to the Wards. “I can do a lot, but resurrecting is beyond my abilities.”

The Wards were still looking rather rebellious, but Aegis stepped in with a firm look at Vista and Clock, the two most visibly disgruntled. “We’ll handle things here, sir.”

“Good. Protectorate should be inbound, so even if I go down, they’ll step in.” I gave them my best grin. “Not that I’m planning to or anything. These bastards got nothing on Ziz.”

With one last nod to them all, I stepped out of the building to face the music.
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A/N: A bit on the short side, but its more of a pacing issue than anything else. If I kept going, it would keep going way too long and I'd rather not do that to myself or else risk cutting off the chapter at a weird point to preserve my sanity. Plus, more for next chapter. See y'all later :)