pretoria, meet behemoth

[mxglam]

Glam talks to Armsmaster about the possibility of maybe being given access to confidential files on the Slaughterhouse Nine and is, somewhat predictably, completely shut down, on grounds that the rules are there for a reason. They try sharing their strategies, Armsmaster thanks them for it and assures them he'll look into the raised matter, but they still need to wait until they're a full member of the Protectorate to take advantage of these resources.

And is that supposed to make them more likely to want to stick around? Ugh.

The three following weeks are fairly quiet and peaceful for a change. No major engagements, the Empire Eighty-Eight has been keeping quiet, the various Asian gangs reduced once more to fighting each other, the Teeth haven't yet rebuilt. Blasto, Lung, and Oni Lee are still awaiting trial, though it's likely the tinker will be given a lighter sentence in some parahuman containment center while the other two will be sent to the Birdcage.

And then, somewhat earlier than would normally be expected, telltale seismic activity is registered in Pretoria, South Africa. The capes wishing to help must make their way to New York, to depart in an hour - small aircraft is waiting at the PHQ for the trip there.

Comments

[thinkering]

Eventually it seems pretty clear the city's out of live people.

[mxglam]

And the planes start landing in the actual city as opposed to off it, to start bringing the capes that are not being medically treated.

"O- okay. I- guess I'm ready. Who did we lose?"

[thinkering]

Lorica puts her arm around them and lists them off. Velocity. Glimmer. Armsmaster.

[mxglam]

They lean against her shoulder.

[thinkering]

Cuddles insofar as armor can cuddles.

[mxglam]

It's enough cuddle.

Their shoulder starts rocking lightly as they sob.

[thinkering]

Pat pat cuddle cuddle.

[mxglam]

A much smaller number of capes will be in the plane once it takes off. And Glam will spend most of the trip cuddling Lorica, dozing off every now and then and waking up with a start a few times.

[thinkering]

Lorica doesn't doze. Her armor's comfy but she wouldn't like to sleep in it.

Eventually they get back to Brockton Bay. One of the surviving bots goes for double chocolate muffins and hot cocoa and brings them back and they retire to Sadde's room.

[mxglam]

There is a strange mood permeating HQ. On the one hand, Behemoth's dead. On the other, they lost three team members. People don't know whether to celebrate or mourn, and Sadde isn't really in the right headspace to figure it out for them.

And in Sadde's room, they go lie on their bed and don't unmask.

[thinkering]

Bella gets out of her armor for cuddles.

[mxglam]

Cuddles!

(Sadde: still in costume.)

[thinkering]

"Sadde?"

[mxglam]

"Hm? Oh. Um. It's a girl day," they say.

[thinkering]

"I'll still hug you."

[msglam]

"Okay."

[thinkering]

Hug.

[msglam]

Hug!

"I guess Leviathan's next, huh?"

[thinkering]

"Yep."

[msglam]

"Hopefully he won't explode."

[thinkering]

"He'll probably flood the shit out of everything for miles around but, you know, he's already done that, another one and last is worth it."

[msglam]

"If he goes inland he can cause way more damage than he already did, not that completely destroying a country isn't pretty extensive..."

[thinkering]

"And he's fast, too, so it might be even harder than it was with Behemoth, but - uh, I think if you kill one you need to kill the next one or people start thinking you can't for some reason -"

[msglam]

"Well, I'm gonna try anyway, and if the reason that stands out is 'he's really ducking fast,' well. No one's ever called the Siberian a speedster."

[thinkering]

"Yeah. I think we can do it but there will be collateral damage."