Cele

The media reports over the weekend had been as positive as we had hoped. There was some controversy about us operating at a school, some people were worried about Concordia turning into a gang. Especially since they correctly speculated that my powers could be used to make the teachers overlook anything we did. But they were mostly dismissed - we were acting heroically and heroes weren't seen as spontaneously turning into villains.

I had mostly hoped that Watchwoman's action would overshadow my own, and they did. But what people said about my own actions was better than I had hoped, too.

New Wave seemed to believe me too. At least they had been fine with me meeting Amy on Sunday.

My worst fears alleviated, I was able to actually put my mind to plans that would require acting openly.

Most of the plans involved prayer somehow. It still felt awkward, consciously trying to attract worship. But it was just too useful to ignore. More prayer meant more power to create gods with and for me personally. But it would also mean more funds - and since so many different things could be made from Quintessence and Ambrosia, we could use it for disaster relief too.

"Tu Yu, did you finish the report on the prayer generated by the press conference yet?"

My sanctum contained a fancy high-tech version of an intercom - I and anyone who I allowed to could talk to anyone else inside it by just wanting to address them. Infinite Lotus was smart enough to handle the rest.

"I am almost done your Eminence. Your Eminence should have a notable amount of prayer directed at you, judging by the amount of ambrosia produced."

I would have done the accounting on my own, but Tu Yu had insisted on it. And delegating the work really got a lot more done. Kurt and the others had proved that organizing the press conference.

Which had allowed Tu Yu and I to figure out a way to get some prayer-energy out it.

Any effort dedicated to a deity counted as prayer, but we certainly weren't going to label it as such.

So the brochures that contained information about Watchwoman's powers explained in detail how she would have an easier time noticing specific behaviors with her sensory power. That she would notice you more easily if you combined a few specific gestures and how that could be used to thank her, as well if you needed help. It looked like a martial arts practice, so it fit the theme we had crafted for her and people would not associate it with prayer at all.

I was looking forward to see how well that would work.

For myself, we had devised a different method.

Concordia was going to accept donations. New Wave did it too, as well as most other independent hero teams. But we had asked people to include a written expression of gratitude.

Those were important to us - so important that you could just send the gratitudes without any money.

We even provided a template for that. A formalized expression of gratitude toward someone obviously counted as prayer. Since I was the leader of Concordia, all such prayer would be directed at me.

As expected, Hu Dai had by far reaped the greatest benefits. It wasn't even from our designed prayers, according to Tu Yu's report just the general chatter and recognition she had gained contributed a lot.

My designed prayers fared better, but my appearance hadn't been as memorable to the public. The combined gains were still far less than what I got from the hospital, which I hadn't even mentioned.

Actually affecting peoples lives simply had the biggest impact. Which got me to the second part of our plans.

I had promised that I would not use my Divine Decree to affect human beings without their consent. The wording had been deliberate, I wasn't planning to stop using my powers altogether after all. But using my less overt powers too often right now would attract the wrong sort of attention.

Time to deal with the city bureaucracy.

Amy had been reluctant, but with her help I had a doctors note allowing me absence from school. It was still possible that someone would connect the dots and put my absence together with Concordia hiring some of my dad's co workers and other facts. I didn't have to keep my identity secret forever, but I wanted some time to establish myself.

Either way, I had the time to spend Monday morning filling out all the forms necessary. I had to register as a parahuman - with the city instead of the PRT, a deliberate statement. Sign forms for every possible liability I could incur. Establish a legal persona for Aedile that was still linked to Taylor Hebert for criminal acts - without actually stating that name anywhere. Enter the sworn statements and PRT test results from dad's coworkers about the effects of my blessing, which still didn't remove all my liability for acts performed under it. Which was all still more transparent than dealing with how Aedile would pay taxes.

The staff at the mayors office clearly hadn't expected me to fill out the forms right then and there. Without the knowledge gained from my powers, I wouldn't have even known where to start without a lawyer. With my powers, I managed before lunch and asked whether it would be possible for me to talk to the mayor.

"So, it's Aedile, right? From what my secretary told me you didn't exaggerate about your powers. Even lawyers usually handle such things in teams, or at least with staff."

Mayor Christner had taken some time out of his schedule right after lunch. I had expected an appointment later this week at best, but it was easy to tell that he was interested in my powers. Very interested in fact, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't approve of some of the reasons for that - though I couldn't be certain. But then, if I was given consent to bless his office, it would be easy to root out anyone who used my blessing for illegal acts.

"I hope you don't mind if speak frankly. Your power could do a great deal of good for our city. Of course it would help if city offices run smoother, but the real benefit would be if we could handle interaction with other bureaucracies better. That would allow us to acquire corporate investments, state and federal funds, and give us an edge in making deals with other cities."

Not a word about preventing corruption. I had looked at the bureaucracies of Brockton Bay - there were at least three major factions for whom city employees turned a blind eye, and a great deal of embezzling going on. Any competent mayor had to be aware of that. Not wanting to fix it meant he either profited off of it in some way or was afraid of the consequences if he did anything.

Still, I could work with that for now.

"You're right, Mayor. I can make a whole organization run smoother or give individual people greater understanding of any paperwork. Not exactly a flashy, heroic power, but I am sure with your help I can do a lot of good. And I need your help, to get people's permission and to make sure everything is legal."

A nice half-truth packaged in a lot of schmoozing. It seemed to work on him though.

"Well, that's great news! I'll ask amongst my staff for volunteers to test out your powers. I don't really need it myself, my job is mostly making decisions after all."

Ah, so he was afraid that I'd brainwash him. Or that I'd find out things I should if I worked directly with him. Probably the latter or we wouldn't be sitting here at all.

"Oh, of course you'd want to test it. And I'm sure your time is very valuable, so just contact me when someone wants to. Or have them do it, that works fine too."

He nodded and smiled happily at me. Of course, I had just given him everything he wanted. Anything else would come after he relied on my powers.

The backing of the mayor, however inofficial, made it so much easier to deal with the school. The principal would ask the teachers what they thought, but unless there were any real objections I would simply modify my Decree. Bullying would have to be reported to the principals office, but the teachers didn't have to act against it on their own anymore.

I didn't trust the principal to actually act properly against the bullies, but we had already cracked down hard on them and with the public's eye on the school she couldn't just throw out all the measures. For everything else there was Hu Dai.

"Now that we have talked about your own, ah, misdeed Aedile, we should discuss Watchwoman."

For someone who had tolerated Shadow Stalker, Principal Blackwell seemed pretty reluctant to have a cape acting openly at her school.

"We already had a lot of complaints about her actions, and some parents are threatening to sue the school. I want to keep my students safe of course, but I'm afraid under the circumstances we will have to ask her to stop intervening."

Ah, there it was. I had expected this and was thus prepared for it.

"If it is a lawsuit you are worried about, you shouldn't be. Mayor Christner has assured us his full support at the school as long as nobody gets hurt, I am certain he will extend his support to you as well. Moreover, our lawyers have assured us to any responsibility for our actions here lies fully with us so you don't have to worry about that. And while I am certain some parents are concerned about our actions, lots of others would be just as concerned if we stopped looking after their children at school."

That pretty much shut her down, though she still made me promise to sign a statement that we were acting completely independent of the school's faculty.

Tuesday was spent double-filing a lot of forms, formalizing contracts and drawing up the legal assurances I had promised. I was waiting on reports from Hu Dai on the situation at school, specifically any students we could help out of tough situations with gangs. In exchange, she insisted that I started training martial arts with her.

I managed to stay busy until Tuesday night.

"So, lets see. Chris Wallis, coerced into the empire after he had a confrontation with an asian student. Say they're the only ones that can keep him safe, pushed him into further confrontations. Aisha Laborn, mother has an abusive boyfriend. I'm not really seeing how this is a gang-related problem, but we can probably get her into contact with CPS. Poong Sae-Young, got into conflict with the empire several times. ABB promised to keep her out of legal trouble after she sent two men who attacked her to the hospital. That's a pretty good start Hu Dai"

She had started stretching exercises on the floor of the Dojo as soon as she had handed me the report.

"Yes, and we should be able to help all of them. And as a bonus, that report finally gets me some alone time with you, Taylor. Now come here."

The reports Armsmaster had following the press conference weren't great. But we had a name now: Concordia. Roman Goddess of Harmony, specifically in regards to agreement in society. An interesting name for a group with a mission statement as uniquely insane - some would say courageous, they'd be wrong - as theirs. And yet…

Watchwoman's draw with Rune had been analysed before the press conference, and the results of the study were very impressive. She hadn't been overmatched at all by the Empire cape, she's just not been fast enough in the air to catch her. And it was clear in the first responder reports that Rune had thrown everything she had at her. Some even suggested that she'd been getting desperate before the Protectorate response arrived and forced her disengage. Not losing perhaps, but far less comfortable than it was common to see her. Watchwoman's steady focus on destroying her emblem on the objects hurled at her had probably had something to do with that.

But that was, in fact, part of the problem. She'd admitted to some degree of Thinker capability, but the precision - and more, the calm - that she'd demonstrated under fire simply did not make sense for a newbie. Armsmaster had said as much after watching the recordings of the fight.

"She's too calm, Director, you can see it in the interview we have with her afterwards. She wasn't even worried about the possibility of losing that fight, and there're none of the post fight jitters that you'd expect. Especially if that was meant to have been her first fight against another cape."

Ignoring entirely the data gathered by Shadow Stalker, Watchwoman's level of competence would have set off at least three alarm bells. With it, she set off that many dozen. There was nothing to object to where it came to a new parahuman group like Concordia - the Bay could use all the Heroes it could get. But my worry was how much chaos their presence was going to cause when they started trying to follow through on their plans to dismantle the gangs from beneath. It wasn't as if everything they were saying hadn't been tried before, but the gangs had a pronounced habit of getting downright murderous where it came to holding on to their turf. And I really did not know if the Protectorate here actually had the manpower to deal with the type of chaos Concordia seemed to be courting with their damn 'mission statement'.

Besides, if they were lying like that we couldn't trust their mission statement either.

Still too many unknowns, but this time I had somewhere to go with them. And maybe I could use that opportunity to find out why Aedile was lying with that glib little 'just two parahumans' statement of hers. Of course, given that she was lying about that - and hadn't even mentioned what we were pretty sure she'd done at the hospital, or to Panacea - who knew what we still might not know.

So...Armsmaster or Miss Militia. Either of them would send a message to Concordia, but they'd be very different messages. And yet despite our knowledge of who Aedile actually was, I didn't want to use it, not unless we didn't have a choice. I just wanted - needed - to know that she and her team weren't going to plunge the entire Bay into a five-way parahuman street war. Armsmaster it was then - and it helped that he was pretty sure he could take Watchwoman, assuming she was not in fact holding back. Not that that was the intent of sending him, but it was nice to know. And with Aedile moving around between public offices putting together...well the legal office said that she was putting together legal identities for Concordia, but they also noted her meetings with Mayor Christner and Principal Blackwell - the latter no doubt to ensure that they could continue to operate at Winslow. Given the public backing they'd netted from the press conference, it probably hadn't even been much a discussion.

Yet regardless of her reasons, moving around like that presented the perfect opportunity to spring the offer of a spontaneous...chat about her plans of the Bay. Who knew, she might even have something that could work. But if she was going to just go straight ahead and ignite a war on my bailiwick, I wanted to know about it yesterday.

---

Armsmaster

---​

It wasn't a long drive to the Mayor's office from the Protectorate base out on the Bay, and from Aedile's previous visits it wasn't hard to evaluate how long her meeting would be. And putting a system in place to tell us when she arrived had been easy - there was one of my microcameras watching the main entrance to the building. When she arrived this afternoon, I'd been told immediately. Whilst the Director had made it very clear that she didn't want a fight over this, I wasn't going to go in without some preparation. We already knew that Concordia was lying about its basic structure if our data was anything to go by, so I wasn't going to go talk to its leader without gearing up. And on that I'd had full agreement.

The drive out once she'd settled had helped too, let me clear my head and focus - it was something that I did a lot, half the reason I had gone with a motorcycle in the first place. The hardest question was how to get her to come in to talk with us, instead of blowing me off. Director Piggot had been very clear on not wanting a fight, so if she did blow me off there was information that we could use that might prevent her following through with walking away. Like predictions for the likely gang response. And unless Watchwoman had been holding back in a big way, if Empire or the ABB came down on her as hard as they could, she'd be in serious trouble.

And, even if she had been, at that point so would a significant section of the Bay. The gangs played rough where it came to their turf, and they all were known to count their recruitment stream as part of that. The lies about their membership - no doubt their powers too - it was all secondary compared to what Concordia's direction could unleash. Yes, it was admirable. But admirable things could - and had - killed millions.

Which, if their mission statement was true even in part, gave me one hell of a lever.

I'd kept an eye on my cameras as I drove - although not too much of an eye - and as Aedile didn't look like she was moving as I started to get close, I turned into a patrol circuit that kept me within five minutes of the Mayor's office. It didn't take long - that prediction we'd had run had been very close indeed. Movement towards the front of the building, someone of import getting ready to leave, all of the 'required' social graces. Normally that sort of thing still annoyed me - although I'd had to adjust to it as leader of the Bay's Protectorate team - but this time it was an aid, giving me just enough time to get into position and drive up in front of the building right as Aedile walked out onto the curb.

I stopped beside her and looked across at the distinctive outfit - her veil would have given my early model lie detector fits. Given that she'd all be declared war on the gangs in her opening statement on Saturday, it was gutsy to walk around like that. Except, of course, we knew that she could turn intangible, so maybe it wasn't quite so crazy. She looked at me, took a half-step back. That was my opening.

"It's Aedile, correct. Leader of Concordia?"

She nodded.

"Director Piggot wants you to come in for an interview."

Silence for a few seconds, no doubt composing an answer.

"Why?" Simple question with a simple answer, one I'd given many times before.

"It's standard procedure to interview all independent capes to ensure that they aren't a threat."

She didn't take that well at all.

"Tell your Director I will make an appointment with her when I can spare the time. Right now I have more important things to do than one of your procedures."

"I'm afraid this isn't something that can wait." And that was completely true. It couldn't.

"Well I'm afraid that it's going to have to. I have other pressing appointments today and I cannot find the time between them." And that was lie number one. There were times when Director Piggot sent me out when I wished she'd have sent Miss Militia. This...was one of them. I shook my head.

"No, you don't." Another one of those half-steps back. "Miss, you need to come in to talk to us. I understand that you're trying to do good, but are you sure you know what you're doing? There's a reason the Wards program was started."

Didn't like that either.

"I don't need your damn 'program' to help me do what's right. Director Piggot can either make an appointment with me or she can go without."

"Like getting a civilian stabbed?" She clearly wanted to shoot back to that, but I overrode her. The anger was like a wall, but I just had to reach through it - or so I'd been told. "Aedile, the PRT has seen independent capes try to fix things like this. We understand that you're powerful, and that the three of you are holding things back. But you already made one mistake, and that almost got someone killed. Make another, and it could be much worse."

She froze as I finished speaking - I'd prepared in advance in case of a reaction like the one she'd given me. It was from something that had come out of the planning meetings, that it was very possible she hadn't realised what she was heading for. And I could almost see the picture in her head expanding as she slotted in new data. And then the number I'd spoken registered.

"What do you mean, three of us?"

That was a fast recovery, but the edge wasn't there, regardless of how hard she was trying to project one. I shook my head.

"Not here. But if we know more than you think, who's to say that others don't?"

She really was young. It wasn't something I usually picked up on, but it came through clear when she recoiled as if I'd just stung her. I didn't need to see her face to know that there was shock on it.

"All we want to do is talk. My word on it."

"Fine. You get one free interview, but in the future you better make an appointment. I'll just make a call and we can be off."

"Then make it." I replied, thinking it best to let the appointment comment pass. "I can wait."

She looked at me, as if expecting me to move away, then shook her head and moved back herself - maybe she was afraid that I would listen in? I didn't really have the heart to tell her that if we'd needed to, I could have tapped her call from where I sat.

It wasn't a long ride back to the base once she'd finished, although Aedile seemed rather less used to motorcycles than I was. Given her history it wasn't really surprising - although the fact that we even knew that history could be...an interesting conversation. Luckily, it wasn't one that I was going to have to have with her.

The Director had observed the entire contact and whilst she would have preferred it if I'd not played part of the hand we'd dealt ourselves, getting Aedile to the table on our schedule was judged as more important.

"Good work on getting her to come in. The interview room is set, we'll be ready when you get here. And I want you in the room with me, so that we'll know when she lies."

She knew that my detector couldn't catch half-truths, of course, but being able to no-sell actual falsehood was often a godsend in first time meetings. Perhaps the when was a bit unfair, but given what we knew, maybe it wasn't. She seemed nice enough, if caustically defensive. But I'd misjudged people before.

Across the water, into the base, park up and lead Aedile to the interview room. I'd done it dozens of times. She didn't seem all that interested in her surroundings as I led her through the base, but that was part of the design of the place. The route from vehicle bay to interview rooms was deliberately lacking in features that might draw the eye. It helped when we were bringing in villains, as it prevented distraction. And it looked professional, at least in my opinion.

A voice whispered at my ears, informing me that the Director was on her way down. Her timing was impeccable, as per usual. I swore that she'd timed how long the walk from her office took so that she could be certain of her own arrival time. I honestly didn't really understand why she thought it was so important, but she was the Director - and it wasn't like punctuality hurt anyone.

I lead the way into the room set aside for the interview, and gestured at one of the chairs around the table at its centre. Aedile looked up at me, the movement abrupt and sharp.

"Where is Director Piggot?" That was an easy question.

"She's just on her way down now. If you'd like to take a seat?" I nodded at the chairs again.

She kept staring at me, and for a moment I saw her begin to tense, but then she shook her head and slid into the chair facing the farthest away from the door. I shrugged, and stepped back to beside the door. I preferred to stand in the background of meetings like this - and something told me that this was going to be one meeting that I was going to want to be in the background of.

---

Director Piggot

---​

I'd reviewed the recording of Armsmaster's meeting with Aedile as he made his way back - I'd had the time. The idea that she believed that Concordia rated the same treatment as New Wave right off the bat was a display of arrogance so great that it was hard to believe she'd tried to enforce it, but Armsmaster had dealt with her reply as well as he was able. I could tell that it was something that was going to come up in the interview already though. Concordia didn't just want their independence, they wanted to be treated with the respect and trust of a cape group many times their age. That had a very short answer.

Not. Happening.

Oh, we'd be polite as hell about it, but they weren't getting that sort of status without working for it.

But thankfully, whilst I would have preferred that Armsmaster not have used part of the data we had on Aedile and her group, I had an idea of what sort of things would in fact act as leverage. I'd already started the process on one piece of it - the one thing that I would probably end up apologising for in the meeting, and something that was very personal to the girl behind Aedile's veil. Yet Shadow Stalker's actions - and the punishment I'd levied for them, now that they'd been brought to my attention - weren't the core point here. At least not for me.

I had a war to prevent.

And with that thought in mind, I opened the door to the interview room. Armsmaster at the side, and that would mean...ah. Very interesting. Perhaps the idea that bureaucratic Thinker powers had enough crossover to social analysis was correct? I walked around the table to the seat opposite, and faced her across the table.

"Good afternoon, Aedile. Thank you for coming in for this interview."

"Armsmaster insisted. And as I told him, I do have other things to do, Watchwoman is waiting for me. So, what did you want to talk about Director Piggot?"

Short sentences, to the point, little diplomatic language. Made sense. She might have skill - the press conference was a clear sign of that - but she didn't have experience. Set pieces were easy, but this wasn't one.

"I'm afraid you may need to clear your schedule for this." I could almost feel the glare. Temper, temper, girl. "I will be blunt, Aedile, as I believe verbal sparring will get us nowhere." I did my best to match her gaze - hard, with a veil in the way - and went for shock. "Are you trying to start a parahuman street war?"

She was glaring at me for a few more seconds before responding.

"You say you don't want verbal sparring, but then you do it anyway. This is about Concordia's goal. Yes, we want to take on the gangs in this city. Not just the Parahumans, but their normal members."

"And it is an admirable goal." Accusing her of insanity was unlikely to get us anywhere, and if nothing else it relaxed her a little. What I said next, on the other hand. "But what you've done so far has suggested that you're unaware of how violently the gangs are likely to react to what you are attempting to do." I gestured out the window to my right, at the skyline of the city I was bound to protect. "You've already gone up against the Empire, do you think they're going to ignore that? Or that they and the other gangs will sit by and watch whilst you go after what they consider as 'their' recruitment stream?"

I looked back from the window to Aedile. She was staring straight back, not giving ground.

"I see." I sighed, then leant forward. "Let me explain then. They will come down on you, Aedile. On you, Concordia, and everything you are trying to build. And if you anger them such that they are willing to work with each other - or even simply leave each other alone whilst they deal with you, a threat to them all - then you will lose. Watchwoman is powerful, her battle with Rune is simple proof of that. But she is only one woman."

"And you really think we don't know that? I'm not worried about me or Watchwoman, and I doubt they will go after civilians on a large scale just to get at us."

"You really think they have to?" I shook my head. In another scenario her belief would be treasure. But here it could only get people hurt. And killed. "Say one of Winslow's teachers, a supporter of what you're doing - I know there are several, given the benefits of your 'blessing' - is attacked out of hours and you become aware of it. What happens?"

"Watchwoman goes and saves them." The unsaid 'duh' was deafening.

"And what if they attack another teacher at the same time? Or two? Or all of the ones who support you? Can Watchwoman defend them all?"

"Ah, so this is what this is all about. You're worried that the Protectorate will have to take on the gangs with more than just patrols. That the city is so bad that the gangs will start killing civilians just to keep the upper hand. The city you were supposed to protect."

"No. I'm worried about the fact that you're going to get people killed."

"And so am I. But if you're just here to tell me that our idea is wrong and that you know better, I might as well leave. So offer us support, offer us advice or stop wasting the time of both of us."

"It's not wrong." She was lashing out, of course. I should have considered that better, given her Thinker abilities. "It's just...flawed, like any plan often is when first proposed." I was being very deliberate with my tone, trying to strike a balance between calming and authoritative. "Whilst my method of explanation may have been in error, the fact does remain. The gangs will do everything in their power to stop you if you continue your attacks - in their eyes, I must emphasise - on what is theirs. Given that neither of us want to see a war on the streets of Brockton, surely it would be in the city's best interests if we worked out as many ways as possible to make them believe that such a response is not required."

That seemed to get through to her, at last, and as she began to reply I started reevaluating some of the assumptions made about her. Some were good, but some weren't - we'd just have to see how capable of being independent she actually was. But then, if she'd accept our advice, we could help her with that.

"I...see." She nodded slightly - only a little, but it was something, and her tone had stabilised. "And this would happen...how?" The edge was back, of course.

"Talk to us about what you're trying to do," I held up a hand to preempt response. "More than what you've been feeding the press and the politicians." And listen when we give you advice. I left that sentence unsaid, but the intent was obvious. I wasn't asking for control - she'd made her opinion on the Wards program quite clear, and I had no doubt there was more she had to say on that topic. But I wasn't asking her to join the Wards. I was asking her to work with us - the exact mechanics of how that relationship were secondary beyond getting her to just agree to it.

"It's simple. I want to give people alternatives to the gangs. Not just for Parahumans either. You know that I'm a student at Winslow High, I've seen how many people join the gangs simply because they have nowhere else to go. I will change that. Start youth programs. Help those who are pressured into joining. For now, we don't have plans to engage the gangs otherwise. If that will already draw too much attention, we might as well not do anything at all."

"It's not what you're doing. It's how you're doing it." I shook my head - it wasn't dismissive, but it should get the point across. "You've already painted a target on Concordia. Right now they'll be focused on you, but if you give them what they'd consider soft targets they'll go after them." I paused, thinking for a moment, then nodded. "Put yourself in the background for the youth programs, as a silent partner except when needed, like with your plan to have Watchwoman start teaching self defence."

"Use the connections you've started building - we can help with that, as even if you aren't a part of the PRT you fall under part of our purview in some ways - and ask the municipal government to take the lead on these projects on an official level. The gangs will try to fight that, but they'll do so in different ways. And those are far easier to counter without making the crosshairs on you even bigger."

"That would work. But I won't work with your so-called heroes. I've seen what they do, and I am done with bullies!" I saw Armsmaster stiffen at the door at that accusation, but he held himself back. And really, I'd almost expected this earlier. A good thing, then, that I had a solid reply.

"This would be in reference to Shadow Stalker, I assume?" Rhetorical questions were wonderful things. "It may surprise you, but we are in fact taking her actions very seriously. I am taking her actions very seriously. They reflect on the Protectorate, and the Ward program as a whole. And I will not countenance her continued slander of what those organisations were built to do. As such, I have taken action to ensure that she will be constrained from doing so, within the bounds of my authority as Director."

"Shadow Stalker has been placed on indefinite internal probation. Given the circumstances that we believe lie at the core of what she has done, we are removing those circumstances from her life." I could almost feel her blink in surprise. Had she really thought...well I guess she might have, given the data her power could conceivably give her access to.

"Given your abilities, I'm sure you'll be able to verify what I'm telling you. Under authority granted to the Protectorate in the case of criminal activity within the Wards program, we have requested and been granted custody of Shadow Stalker. Beyond that I can say little without breaching confidentiality agreements but that we will do all we can to fix this."

"You are taking her actions seriously now that I have exposed them. You knew about her record, yet you barely monitored her activities. That does not exactly inspire trust."

"I believed the reports that were handed to me." I felt the anger in my voice, and tried hard to suppress it. I still couldn't believe… "We are currently in the process of explaining to Principal Blackwell that her choice to not pass on to us the actions Shadow Stalker took at Winslow were not within the purview of 'accommodating Ward activities'."

"And whilst I am aware it likely will not mean much right now, we - I - am truly sorry for what was allowed to happen at Winslow."

"Thank you for the apology. But that does not restore my damaged trust."

"I wouldn't expect it to." And I didn't. "I'm not asking you to trust us, Aedile. I'm just asking you to listen, and accept that - despite our mistakes - we know this city. How it works, and how it reacts. But, as we're on the subject of trust," she stiffened abruptly, maybe she was remembering what Armsmaster had said to her.

"We know that you lied at the press conference. Concordia has more than two parahuman members. Would you like to tell us about the third?" It wasn't really a question.

"Ah, so it was your people who were snooping around our...base. Well, I might as well tell you. We didn't mention Tu Yu because he has no interest in fighting or dealing with the public. He built our base and is only acting in a supporting role. Keeping him out of the public eye also ensures he won't be targeted by the gangs. So he is not officially part of Concordia."

"A supporting role." I let that rest for a few moments. "Where exactly does animal sacrifice come into that?"

"You wouldn't believe me when I told you it was part of his powers, right? I know its weird, but it's his religious belief that those were necessary to properly consecrate the base. I actually have all the forms necessary to prove that, and that nothing we did with the animals was illegal."

"I see." Well that was going to get passed up the chain. Cultism and powers that seemed to function with it were...dangerous. "And his own goals? Or are they the same as those you have already stated?"

"When we first met, he asked me how he could help me. I was pretty new to being a cape, so I asked for advice and got it. If he has any goal beyond helping me and Watchwoman, then I don't know about it".

"And when did you first meet? All three of you, I mean. Your group seems rather more practiced than one that has only just formed." The last was said with no ill will. It was true. They just didn't quite seem to know where they were exactly.

"Both Tu Yu and Watchwoman had a lot of experience when I first met them. As I said at the press conference, I met Watchwoman shortly after the teacher from Winslow got stabbed. Which was on the twenty-second. I had just met Tu Yu a week before, and despite his advice was pretty clumsy using my powers."

Well that was convenient. And given the whole 'supporting role' business...I might not be able to push this right now, but we were going to keep a very close eye on her enterprises. But she'd given me answers, regardless of if they were full truth or not. And it was better to get her working with us where we could keep an eye on her than alienate her completely.

"Very well. Thank you." It grated a bit to say that, but tit-for-tat worked. "Can we come to an arrangement then? You don't have to work with us," I wasn't sure I wanted her to, beyond what was absolutely necessary, "but some degree of coordination seems wise given your goals."

"To be honest, I don't believe our current projects will overlap with yours. But I am willing to report on any actions we take directly against any villains. And we will seek approval and support from the city government where our other activities are involved."

"That would be acceptable." It wasn't what we wanted, but it would do. And it would make sure that the city wasn't turned into a bloodbath, which was what I'd walked into this room to prevent. I might not have everything I wanted, but this would do. And it wasn't as if we were going to stop watching her like a hawk. "I have no further points to raise. You are free to go."Hu Dai turned the next few days into a blur.

They didn't solely consist of training with her - there were meetings with the mayor, an unpleasant meeting with the PRT and a very long discussion with Tu Yu . But all of that got buried under Hu Dai's relentless attention.

Since I didn't really need to sleep or eat, I couldn't even use that as an excuse to take a break. So only the few hours I was genuinely busy with other things did not consist of stretching exercises and the endless repetitions of the same Katas. The only variety was when Tu Yu or Dad were watching me - then Hu Dai insisted on sparring with me, which always ended pretty much like the first day we had met. At least I learned to anticipate some of her movements, though I only managed to land a blow on her on the last day of our training.

At least she showered me with affection and praise whenever I did things properly - though it was pretty embarrassing when she would go all-out after I blocked a hit just to drag me off my feet and smother me in a hug.

Her praise and the knowledge that the training wasn't just to improve my combat capabilities made the entire ordeal acceptable. Hu Dai had suggested to open a Dojo, training me would be good practice. We all agreed that it would be a good way to reach out to teenagers, possibly even those who would join a gang otherwise.

We had originally planned to organize the whole thing under the banner of Concordia, but after the promises I had made to Director Piggot we changed our plans. Officially, it was now a new youth program offered by the city and Watchwoman merely happened to be its instructor. Convincing the mayor of our plan had not been hard - as long as our reputation was good, he was very eager to be associated with us. Getting past all the red tape quickly had taken several miracles, but I handled that quick enough that the first classes could be on Saturday.

The turnout was smaller than I had hoped for, but Hu Dai seemed to be pleased.

Six students from Winslow, four others. Five were clearly gang members, four from the ABB and one from the Merchants. Nobody from the E88, but that was hardly a surprise given Watchwoman's asian appearance. There was also the current substitute teacher transferred until Mrs Knott was given leave to return to work. I still had trouble remembering her name, but she'd asked to be called Hannah outside of class anyway. Hu Dai did of course take that as an invitation to flirt with her.

There was no reason to break them up into smaller groups for now, especially since there would be no sparring between students for now. So Watchwoman just went straight to her introductory speech.

"I'm glad you all came. You probably already know who I am, but let me start on introductions anyway. I am Watchwoman, and yes this is my partner Aedile. But here she is just another student, for now at least. I've already given her some training, and when I think she's good enough she might teach others. The same goes for anyone else though. Over there is Hannah, she normally teaches at Winslow but since not everyone here goes there, she is okay with a first-name basis. Now, just a little exercise - you say your name and then the name of everyone who already introduced themselves. I'll start."

Most groaned at the silly exercise, but we did it anyway. At least it embarrassed everyone equally.

"Well then. I'm afraid there are some rules here. First, no gang colors. We won't kick you out if you are in a gang, but we want everyone to feel welcome here. You should probably bring some training clothes anyway. No violence, obviously. We will do sparring, but I don't want anyone fighting outside of that. Third, no gang recruitment. And that's it. I won't make you address me as sensei or with any other honorific. You don't even have to show up on time if you don't want to. Now, shall we get started? I'm going to show you a simple block, try to copy it as best you can."

Hu Dai took her students through various stances. She took the time to correct the inevitable mistake everyone made, individually where necessary. Hannah just watched at first, but soon took to the exercises pretty eagerly.

After about an hour, one of the younger students spoke up. Only thirteen or fourteen as far as I could tell.

"Come on, show us what you can really do! That's what we are all here for anyway, some real action!"

Hu Dai laughed at that.

"Oh my. You're pretty eager, aren't you? Well, do you want to fight me Aisha?"

Aisha hesitated slightly before answering, but didn't back down.

"Uh, sure. I'm ready, let's go!"

Instead, Hu Dai snapped one of the ribbons in her hair towards me which I narrowly dodged before it could wrap around my foot.

"Naah, I think it's better if I have fun with Aedile here. Trust me, it will be much more interesting that way.

Taking the cue, I immediately stepped closer to Hu Dai. I had learned all too well that I had to get inside her range to stand any chance at all.

Of course, she knew that I knew. Her arms were in a guard position as soon as I launched my first strike. My attack got caught and her leg swept towards my knees in the blink of an eye. I managed to jump over it.

"Don't lose your footing like that."

As soon as she said it, I realized my mistake. The moment I landed I was unable to block any of the rapid blows she threw at me. I staggered back, let myself drop to the ground and aimed at kick at her chest.

That bought myself a second as she had to block it, and I jumped back up and into a defensive position.

"Good, you're learning. But be more careful, I could have caught that kick and pinned you down."

I nodded as I rose, but this time I was more careful, not giving her an attack to capitalize on. She'd told me before, that this style was all about waiting for the enemy to strike and then using that against them. So this time I wasn't going to strike first. We circled for a bit, and I could feel the tension in the students rising as Hu Dai tested my defences. But she wasn't committing, and until she did I didn't want to respond.

"You remembered. Good girl," she said, and then lashed out in the same instant as I flushed at the praise. Somehow I got my hands in front of her foot, but it was more luck than skill - that and my enhanced reflexes. But I had her leg, and she'd drilled me on the counterattack from this block ruthlessly - mostly through my being on the receiving end. I twisted away from Hu Dai, and at the same time, pulled.

I should have known better, really.

Hu Dai twisted in towards me as I pulled, showcasing the flexibility that I still sometimes couldn't believe, and grabbed me squarely by the shoulders as I tried to spin her onto the ground. A moment later, she had me wrapped up in a hold. The moment after that, I was staring at the ceiling.

And she was smiling down at me.

Stupid Protector Goddess.

"Well done," she said, extending a hand to help me to my feet, before winking at our audience. "Aedile's still not quite at my level, but she's getting there. Of course, as we're teammates, her training has been rather more intensive than yours will be, but there's nothing stopping you becoming just as skilled."

"Really?" It was the same girl, Aisha, asking, her eyes wide with amazement. It took me a moment to realise that she wasn't the only one. "You mean one day we could be as fast as you two?" Hu Dai nodded, smiling gently at her students.

"Of course you could. But!" She shook her head. "If you want to be that good, you'll need a lot more practice." There were a few groans as the class returned to their places, but most were lighthearted. And it made sense too, I realised in a sudden flash of insight. Hu Dai had shown them what they could aspire to, and had told them it was possible. "Now, where were we?"

Hu Dai closed out the class about half an hour later, with most of the students in varying states of exhaustion. The only one who wasn't, in fact, was our school liaison, who came forward as the rest of the class started filing out.

"That was a great class, Watchwoman." She smiled - she had a nice smile. "I've taken martial arts classes before, but I've never seen techniques like the ones you've started teach here. Where did you study?"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! And, well, I didn't really study with anyone. Part of my power allows me to understand the flow of battle, I just trained myself using that. It worked pretty well. And as you can see with Aedile, my style seems to work for other people too."

"Very impressive. If that's how you learn, I'd love to pick your brain on the subject sometime. I know some people who'd be very interested. Not tonight however." She chuckled ruefully. "I've got a stack of marking a foot high - or at least that's what it looks like - to get through. But if you have the time?"

"Sure, I'd love to. You're quite the interesting woman yourself. I have a business card somewhere around here, let me fetch it to give you my number."

I actually allowed myself some sleep that night. I had earned a treat, and it was a nice way to relax. Several hours of doing nothing, letting my mind rest and just being calm.

Despite having no physical need for it, it felt nice.

My mind felt clear after I woke up. I'd been so focussed on dealing with the situation at school, the press conference, all the meetings and training that I hadn't really stopped constantly thinking about something. It was like a breath of fresh air after sitting in a room for too long.

For now, I didn't have to do anything. But I still wanted to.

Using my powers felt good. I just sat down and opened my mind. And looked across the city.

It all formed a beautiful picture. I could look at the city as a whole, seeing all the paperwork that had been generated in the last week. The complexity of its interplay was breathtaking. But I could also focus on smaller parts. How the teachers at Arcadia had kept records, or how the business decisions of Medhall had spread over the city.

Of course I couldn't help but notice all the inefficiency in it either, especially when I compared it to the smooth workings of the hospital.

After some time, I wondered how far I could 'zoom in' on things. So I did a quick test run on my father's office at the Dockworkers Association. At least I wouldn't violate any privacy there.

I couldn't look at his office. I knew what it looked like, I could form an image of it in my mind, but if I tried with just my divine senses I didn't receive any information about the state of the room. What I did notice was how many documents were in it. I tried reading one, but no information came forward. But it felt like this one was a report about workplace conditions. With a bit of concentration, I got the impression that it was generally positive but mentioned a few points that could be used as leverage for improvement or concessions. I tried with more papers and it worked just as well. Employment disputes, bargaining about benefits and health insurance.

I just had to see if I could use this power on other places as well. After all it was my Dad's office, it might have just worked because I was familiar with it. After a while, I came to a decision: find out whether Director Piggot had been telling the truth about Sophia.

That damn school. My power had worked just fine, the PRT had gotten regular reports on Sophias behavior from the school. It would have been one thing if they had been neutral and just not said much. But no, they contained just the right amount of negative tone to avoid looking like whitewashing while praising positive sides I was certain Sophia had never displayed at school, let alone anywhere else.

To hell with it, I needed to let off some steam now. I grabbed my jacket and went outside for a run.

After about an hour of running, a small winged construct popped up before me.

"Your Eminence, the honoured Daimyo asked me to send you this message. One of the students from school has directly requested our aid. They asked for a meeting with you, at small park north of Winslow High. It is set in an hour. I must beg your forgiveness for informing you on such short notice. If you wish to delegate this, I will gladly go in your stead."

It's message spoken, the cherubic figure vanished. No, I wouldn't delegate this. This was exactly what we were working towards, and if they asked for me personally I would gladly go.