Wildcard Assembly's Squad Base,

Multiple Locations

Current Phase Points:

135705

Current Ascension Tokens Applied:

25

End of Phase Two: 25

D:22H:03M:26S

Although we were all more than ready to start opening loot boxes, while Duskbreaker went through the process of transporting us back to the city, BrainCraft excused himself to take care of "some personal matters" that he didn't care to elaborate on. I'd thought he would have been back to the base by the time we had gotten back but he was nowhere to be seen as we entered back into the base through our Central Park entrance.

While that might have been worrying, the way Pinky told us not to worry about it left me relatively sure he was just checking in on some family, or maybe even a girlfriend. Honestly I wasn't exactly sure what his deal was and I wasn't about to pry into his personal life either. Swan was happy to take the moment to slip back through the door into her Safe House though, leaving the room mostly empty after Pinky disappeared down the hall and Duskbreaker headed back and into the Team Book Nook, citing a desire to take a look at the Quantum Mechanics book I had created with my Level 6 knowledge just to see if it might do anything for his powerset.

When he had that done, he quickly made his way back through the base, telling us not to worry about waiting for him to open loot boxes since he only received one of his own and wasn't all that concerned with upping the loot out of a "simple A:Tier." He hadn't been through his door for more than a minute before Freak broke the silence.

"Man that dude's gotta be the most anti-social one of all of us," he said.

"He's been through a lot and the last "team" he wasn't exactly voluntary," I replied, eliciting a shrug from Freak as he headed for the fridge.

"Yeah, just give him some time. You and Pinky are pretty boisterous, he's a lot more talkative when it's just Brain that he's dealing with I've noticed," Jon said, looking over at us as I walked up to the long bar separating the kitchen from the rest of the room.

"Has Miss Mist been back at all?" I asked, turning to take in the rest of the space as if I wouldn't have already seen her. Freak quickly fished a beer out of the fridge, though when he had added those I had no idea before he headed back for the center of the room and onto one of the couches that surrounded our hologram table.

"Not yet. She's gotten through almost all of the Droid Forges though," Jon said, leaning back in his chair. "I don't think the school was ever as thorough searching our lockers as she's being with each of these places. Nothing seems to be out of place for what it's worth."

"Well that's something…" I said, though I wasn't really sure if something being out of place would have really been suspicious. "I guess I can't blame her for being thorough since she does seem to be specifically after Hydramental, though I won't lie I had kinda hoped we could have leaned on her and Pinky to start recruiting a few more people with the Phase Lounge we haven't even started to use."

"Someone say my name?" Pinky asked as she walked back into the main base area in nothing more than a fluffy pinky robe and a towel wrapped around her head, winking at Freak as he whistled at her.

"Loopie did. Apparently he wants to trot out the ladies of Wildcard Assembly to tempt some more people onto the team," Freak said before he looked over at me with a smirk. "Though he did leave his lady out of it."

"She's not my- we haven't- that wasn't-" I said, stumbling over my words as my cheeks burned. It only took a moment before Freak and Pinky burst out in laughter.

"He's as red as Swan's hair," Freak said, slapping his knee with his free hand.

"I think it's kinda cute that he gets flustered so easily," Pinky said, reaching up and scrubbing at her hair with the towel before she let it fall out down her back. I let them have their moment as I calmed myself down and moved to explain what I had actually meant.

"Pinky's our most personable member, though you might give her a run for her money Freak, and I figured having a high level Augment on our side would attract some folks who might see that as a benefit," I said, looking back at Jon who quickly suppressed a laugh of his own.

"I mean, that's actually not terrible logic," Jon said, pretending to cough as he sat up a bit straighter. "Although, and I know this might be weird to say, but I don't know if Axio really thought that room through when he handed it out, especially when you have to assume at least a few more squads formed after the appearance of a whole bunch of Kaiju. I've almost been wondering if he gave them to us just as a distraction."

"Doesn't that seem just, I don't know, a lil bit pointless as far as distractions go? I mean, it's not like we've spent a whole lotta time talking about it or even using that room. Hell until the end of this Phase I can't even use it to get into that guild hall when the whole probationary period is done with," Freak said, taking another sip from his beer.

"What part of any of this makes it seem like Axio has a point behind what he's doing?" Pinky asked, walking over and plopping onto the couch next to him.

"Ah yeah, that's a good point," Freak said with a shrug before adding "Hey!" when Pinky snatched the beer out of his hand and took a sip. "If yah wanted a beer I stocked the fridge up y'know."

"Why would I need to go all the way over there when I have a beer right here," she said and he let out a sigh.

"You're a lil bit of a diva, aren't'cha?" Freak asked, though he noticeably did stand up and start wandering back toward the kitchen.

"If you're only just now figuring that out about Pinky, you're behind the curve Freak," Jon said. "But that's besides the point. Getting back on topic, I'm not entirely sure if the Phase Lounge is pointless, I just don't know if we've figured out quite what we're missing yet either. It's not like you guys have been stockpiling a bunch of tokens as a way to tempt others in and quickly boost their levels."

"Hmmm, maybe we should have been… though the extra couple of levels and the points we've been able to collect have been hard to ignore," I said, leaning against the countertop and rubbing my chin. "Maybe we should take a bit of time to work on this over the next few days if things quiet down again."

"You know Loophole, all work and no play makes you really dull, don't you have a date you should be getting ready for instead of picking random things that we've been happily ignoring to focus on?" Pinky asked and I squirmed just a bit.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Eh cut him some slack, it's how his brain works," Jon jumped in before looking at me and adding, "though… I don't think taking her out in your whole get up is the best idea."

"Okay, okay, I'll change, sheesh," I said, holding up my hands defensively. I had pushed off the bar and was just starting to walk toward my door when Jon took in a sharp breath. "What's up?"

"What the hell is this idiot up to…" he muttered, clicking a few buttons on his keyboard before a window opened on the hologram table. Two familiar faces were standing in front of what looked like a bank and Freak let out an audible groan as Jon turned the volume up.

"-with another local Augment, Hydramental," James Grigsby said. He looked far more composed than the last time I had seen him, as he tried to control the narrative of the fall of Perry and Clockwork Tyrant. He wore a crisp blue suit and his hair was expertly styled as he held a hand to his ear. "You were first on the scene here, can you tell us what happened?"

He held the microphone over to Hydramental, who had apparently decided it had been time for a costume change. He no longer wore a shirt that had slowly turned into a color wheel. Instead, he now sported a jacket that looked almost like it belonged on a tracksuit. The main body of it was black, though much like the pants he had recently added, this jacket now had small bands around his upper arms, each sporting five different colors.

"Well I was out, patrolling the city when I noticed a handful of those Gorilla robots rampaging in front of the bank, next thing I know half a dozen more came out the front window. I took down as many of them as I could, and thankfully it doesn't seem like anyone got hurt, but I know a few of them managed to get away," Hydramental said, none of the irrational anger I had been so used to hearing in his voice.

"What the fuck, but isn't he working with Mr. Factory and controlling the droids?…" Pinky said, her head cocking to the side.

"That's very interesting," James said, the fake smile never leaving his face. "Am I to be correct that these robots are the very same ones that had been a part of Clockwork Tyrant's army? We haven't seen them in several days since the fall of the giant pangolin at the hands of Wildcard Assembly. If their leader Loophole were to be believed, you are just as responsible for the actions of that night. Do you have any comment?"

"Damn straight! Get 'em Grigsby!" Freak cheered. Hydramental's lips briefly turned downward, his brow furrowing as he looked from the camera over at James.

"Loophole is-" he started, anger clear in his voice before stopping himself and taking in a slow, deep breath. Although his mask covered most of his face, his ears were still visible and in the brief moment he turned his head, I was pretty sure I noticed an earbud pushed into his ear. "Sorry, sorry. Loophole and I started out close to each other and we have had a rather contentious relationship so far to say the least."

"Are you claiming that Loophole misspoke and you don't have any relationship with Clockwork Tyrant or this Mr. Factory fellow that he mentioned as well?" James asked. Unlike when he had interviewed me, there were noticeably few civilians anywhere nearby or shouting between questions.

"No, I'm sure Loophole knew exactly what he was saying. I'm claiming that his entire goal was to warp my reputation by lumping me in with the asshole that brought these droids to our city. I mean, where was he when these things attacked tonight? Maybe they wouldn't have gotten away if I had had a hand."

"What the- you got fucking ten hands dude!" Freak jeered and I couldn't help but agree.

"Is he… trying to make me look bad?"

"He's not exactly doing a very good job at it," Jon replied, giving me a reassuring nod.

"Loophole was last seen over an hour again assisting his team members in the defeat of a giant moth that had been heading directly toward San Francisco. I'm sure after the last few days of peace in the city, he only left because he knew he was needed elsewhere and assumed that things would remain quiet."

"Oh sure, make excuses for him not being here," Hydramental said, the mask slipping ever so slightly.

"Are you saying the robots that you were unable to handle were more dangerous than the giant moth his team encountered?"

"Look, you wanted a comment, I gave you a comment. I took down the droids, I protected this city tonight. If you want to think I'm a villain because some asshole claims I am, than I don't know what to do for you," he said, a light slipping off his body as a second Hydramental, this one's black jacket noticeably red, appeared. When he began talking again, his voice echoed as they both spoke. "I'm not here to talk to the press and jockey favor. I've got shit to do."

The red Hydramental went rocketing upward as twin jets of flame appeared under his hands and he flew up and away from the camera. Just as he left the frame, his main body dissolved into light and went chasing after the red form as the camera turned to try and follow him. A second later the camera dropped back down, recentering on James as he stared directly into it, almost entirely undisturbed by Hydramental's sudden departure.

"Well there you have it. His actions tonight are undeniable though the mystery remains, what secrets are he and the other Augments hiding? Is the leader of the squad that saved our city lying to us about who Hydramental is? These are just some of the questions I and I'm sure many of my fellow New Yorkers have. I am currently offering an open seat at my desk to any Augment in our city who wishes to come forward and tell their story. I'm James Grisgby, coming to you on the scene for yet another special edition of Frontline New York reminding you to stay safe out there."

"Damn, I honestly kinda assumed Grisgby might have had a chip on his shoulder after Loophole took over this show after we got him out of the Pangolin but that almost seemed like he was as big of a cheerleader as Pinky supposedly was," Freak said with a look of approval.

"Excuse you, I was one of the best cheerleaders, my squad went to states twice thank you very much," Pinky shot back, elbowing him before he could take another sip of his beer.

"Loophole is popular right now, I've seen more than a handful of shops displaying his shirts and keychains in the few times I've walked over to Tio's. Hell, Tio's got an entire wall dedicated to him, though the shirt racks were damn near empty already," Jon explained.

"Wait really?" I asked.

"Yeah, you should actually get back out into the city some time, hell we need to figure out how and when you get royalties for that merch too," Jon said as a door opened, drawing my attention back to the other side of the room.

Swansong walked back into the base, though only her white mask remained of the normally skintight outfit she wore. In place of her normal hero costume, she now wore a black dress that stopped just short of her knees. It was covered in a pattern of daisies and was held onto her with thin straps over her shoulders. The moment her eyes met mine, it felt almost obvious that I must have been staring as a blush quickly spread over her cheeks under her mask. Freak let out yet another whistle of approval as Pinky started to laugh.

"Well I think I know Loophole's type now," she said as I quickly tried to compose myself.

"I, um, well I wanted to look nice," Swansong said a bit sheepishly, reaching up and brushing some of her hair behind her ear.

"You look great," I said quickly before anyone else could chime in.

"Thank you," she said, her hands clasping together in front of her as she came to a stop in front of me. She looked me up and down before meeting my eyes again, "Ummm…"

"Ah sorry no, I was gonna go change really quick, just got uh… distracted a bit," I said, rubbing the back of my head.

"This is like watching two kittens fight over a ball of yarn," Pinky giggled and Swansong stuck her tongue out at her. "Hey I wasn't saying that like it was a bad thing."

"Do we know where Brain is?" I asked, realizing he hadn't gotten back yet.

"I messaged him after I got out of the shower but he hasn't gotten back to me yet," Pinky explained. "Go get changed lover boy and if he's not back by the time you get back, well I think we can be patient and wait a bit longer to have a loot box party."

"I'm not-" I started to say as Swansong met my eyes, a slight hint of blue eyeshadow apparent under her mask which made her eyes pop even more. Just looking at her I felt my cheeks start to burn again. "Give me five minutes, I'll be right back."

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