The day before

Aegis waved at Missy as she left the Ward's room in her civilian clothing, freshly showered and a smile plastered on her face. He was the last Ward still in costume and in the building. It had been a long day and everyone else seemed more than eager to head home. Although, Dean had mentioned something about meeting with Victoria and catching up. He supposed couples did that a lot. Not that he had time for that these days.

He spent the next fifteen minutes carefully reading through all the paperwork that was sitting in front of him, signing his name where necessary and filling in blanks with the correct details. The nice thing about the paperwork was that it was almost uniformly fill-in-the-blank. It made it easy, if still a little time consuming.

Finishing up, he rose from his seat and tapped the papers on the table to straighten them before heading for the door. He would drop these off at the front desk and then it would be home for the night, and he certainly needed it. Piggot had even mentioned something about a day off if there wasn't too much trouble in the following days. And Aegis knew how hard it was to get Director Piggot to gift a day off.

He stepped out of the Ward's common room and into the hallway, taking the first chance to go right, leading away from the Tinker elevator and heading for the Ward's administration office on this floor.

He was struck by how empty the hallway was. Even on normal nights, there was still a few people bustling back and forth down the wide hallway. It was even stranger because of all the fighting The Sentient have caused in recent days.

Pushing the thought out of his head, Aegis walked up to the Tinker door and held his eye to the retinal scanner. He gave it an odd look when it didn't start scanning immediately. Frowning, he tried the doorknob. It was still locked. It was then he noticed the slip of paper taped to the door. Slowly, he pulled it off and read it.

Director Piggot was warned.

He barely even heard the guns cocking before several dozen machine guns opened fire on him.

Several organs had already failed when Aegis turned around and looked at the line of men dressed in PRT uniforms firing at him. His eyes were shot out a moment later and all he could see was the light he was sensing from his skin, which was slowly getting eaten up by bullets. Aegis couldn't think fast enough, it was all too much. He couldn't fly through the roof, the door was a locked Tinker door. The only way out was through them.

Aegis took off the ground in the direction he thought was the men and immediately fell to the ground as he felt his body go cold. He couldn't see anymore, there wasn't enough skin left. Most of the bullets had ripped straight through him. His heart wasn't beating, he realized, and neither was anything else. He didn't have enough organs left. If he had the lungs, throat, or mouth to do so he would have laughed at the final thought to go through his head.

'Paperwork was the death of me after all.'

The next day

---

Vista fought off the urge to hang her head. She was on the stage with all of the Wards and all of the Protectorate. It was important to at least pretend to be united after what happened to Aegis. She wasn't told what Piggot was going to say, only that she needed to stand strong with the other members. She could do that, she knew she could. The others might not think so, but she was strong.

Piggot walked onto the stage, throwing a silence over the crowd. Dozens of reporters pointed their microphones and cameras and whatever else at her as they prepared. Vista glanced at Clockblocker to her left and Kid Win to her right. Clockblocker was completely still, Kid Win was frowning deeply. She looked back at Piggot and noticed a shadow next to her. Looking up, Vista watched Alexandria descend from the sky and gently land on the ground just next to Piggot as she adjusted the microphone on the podium. Then, Piggot began to speak.

"Last night, the unthinkable and unspeakable occurred," she stated seriously. Vista felt a flare of sadness shoot through her at the mention of it. She knew she should have been strong enough to have accepted it by now, but it still hurt.

"As you all know, The Sentient threatened me several days ago in their video message to the city. They had said that if I interfered with them, they would 'divide' us. But undeterred, we sent our Protectorate and Wards out to protect the city just as they promised to do when they became the protectors of Brockton Bay. Unfortunately, The Sentient decided to make good on their promise.

"After we arrested over a four hundred of gang members associated with The Sentient, traitors within the PRT manually shut off our security and ambushed Aegis and killed him by firing so many machine gun rounds into him we were only able to identify him by what was left of his costume."

Piggot silently scowled as she let that statement settle on the crowd. She gripped the edges of the podium tightly.

"I assure you all, this attack on this city's heroes will not stand. The Sentient is more dangerous than any group this city has encountered in its entire history. They have power, resources, and are willing to kill anyone who opposes them. They are delusional radicals with no semblance of rational thinking, operating on a platform parahuman hatred. That is why today, Alexandria is here to speak to us on how to solve this problem." Piggot stepped off to the side and allowed Alexandria to take the stage. The hero was frowning, much different from the normal pictures and press conferences.

"Aegis' death yesterday revealed a damning issue within Brockton Bay's PRT," Alexandria stated seriously. She glanced briefly over the crowd before continuing.

"More than twenty PRT officers were able to get multiple machine guns into the PRT headquarters and they were able to organize and kill one of our own without a single person noticing them. This level of corruption and infiltration is unacceptable and when determining how to deal with it, an order came down from the Head PRT Director, Rebecca Costa-Brown. She said, and I quote, 'The local PRT of Brockton Bay is compromised on levels far beyond anything we have ever seen or dealt with before. If we cannot protect our Wards within our own building, then clearly we are not prepared to protect this city,' end quote.

"It is for this reason," Alexandria said, raising her voice, "That the PRT will be temporarily suspended in Brockton Bay. For the next few weeks we will have our best Thinker, Tinkers, and otherwise purging our ranks of the corrupt and traitors. And in the meantime, our heroes will act as independents. PRT services will still be available for securing dangerous criminals and villains, but it is clear the Brockton Bay's heroes are in too much danger working alongside the local PRT currently. We will have to trust in their ability to act without restriction to go after The Sentient.

"And I implore you, if you see a member of The Sentient report them immediately. If you are invited to join their ranks, do not do so. These people are terrorists in no uncertain terms."

Alexandria raised her hands placidly and stepped away from the podium, allowing Piggot to step back up to it.

"I will now accept questions."

Vista tuned out as the press began throwing all the questions in the world at Piggot. Clockblocker tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She looked his way and noticed that he and the rest of them were walking off the stage. Looking back, she saw the Protectorate doing the same on the other side of the stage, slowly and in single file.

Vista followed them silently as she and the rest of the Wards walked off and circled around to the back of the stage. With all of them there, Clockblocker, Kid Win, Shadow Stalker, Grue, Thusly, Self-Made, Gallant, and herself, they stood awkwardly, unsure what to do.

"Hey," Self-Made said after a minute. "Shouldn't we be like, going out and fight some criminals? Or taking some of their organs? Or both?"

"Hush now Self-Made." Thusly said in a kind but firm tone. Self-Made hung her head.

Their silence was finally broken when Armsmaster and Miss Militia walked up to them, holding several armbands.

"Shadow Stalker, Grue, Thusly, and Self-Made," Armsmaster stated. "Step forward." The four of them did so.

"Hold out your arms," Armsmaster ordered. When they did so, he placed the Tinker tech bands on the wrists of Shadow Stalker, Grue, and Thusly. Self-Made got a band around her neck, the only part of her she couldn't separate completely from herself.

"These bands will track all your movements while the PRT is getting purged." Miss Militia explained. "If for any reason we have reason to believe you've gone rouge or performing illegal acts, the bands will turn on and electrocute you to the point you're unable to move. At that point, a Protectorate member will come and retrieve you and hold you until the PRT is ready to deal with you.

"If for any reason you get rid of these armbands or tamper with them in any way, then we will hunt you down and arrest you again. Remember, the Wards is your second chance, you won't be getting a third."

The four previous criminals gave their confirmations, a series of nods and annoyed grunts. Miss Militia nodded to them and turned toward Vista and the others while Armsmaster went through and double checked the bands.

"As for the rest of you, you can do as you wish. You don't have to fight, but be careful if you do. I'll be giving you these," Miss Militia held out strips of paper to the four of them. "These are the numbers of all the Protectorate members and your fellow Wards in case you've forgotten them. If you need assistance doing anything, use them. You're technically independent now, but please be safe. Get some back up and don't pick fights with Lung or anyone else for that matter." Miss Militia heaved a sigh and shook her head. She looked back up at them and said,

"You're free to go. And again, be careful."

They all turned and left as a group, each splitting off and going their own way. She started walking back towards the PRT building to get her stuff when she noticed Assault waving at her. He was standing next to Battery and a little girl she hadn't seen before. Curiously, she walked towards them.

"Hello Vista," Battery said kindly.

"Um, hi," Vista answered unsurely.

"We have a question for you," Assualt said. He placed a hand on the shoulder of the little girl standing with him. "This here is our recently adopted daughter, and we were wondering if you could take her out for a little bit of heroing."

"Your…. Daughter?" Vista asked, a little confused.

"Yeah," the girl said. "I haven't picked a name yet, but I was thinking Arsenal. Nice to met you." She held out a hand to her. Vista took it.

"Arsenal is a Tinker," Battery stated.

"Really?" Vista asked, looking the girl up and down. She didn't have any of the tells of a Tinker. Her costume was a black and red dress, with a corset like a piece that was seemingly armour for her. Her mask was a bird-like masquerade mask with just a touch of glitter. The theme didn't really fit with the name she had chosen, but it sounded like she might change it later.

Arsenal pulled out what looked like a cellphone and said, "Yes I am." She pressed a button on it and suddenly it transformed in her hand.

"It's also a taser," she stated proudly. Vista stared at it with wide eyes.

"So, you make things that transform into other things?"

"Yep, take a look at this." She reached behind her and pulled out another device from some unseen pocket. "It's a lithium-ion battery, that is also a taser." It transformed in her hand to prove it.

"Does everything you have turn into a taser."

"No, I just really like tasers. Like this taser." She pulled out a third taser matching the design of the others. "Only this one turns into a knife."

"So," Assault said, clapping his hands together happily. "Think you can show her the ropes?"

Vista looked Arsenal up and down for a moment and considered.

"How old is she?" Vista asked.

"Only ten," Arsenal answered. Slowly, Vista smiled.

"I think we'll have fun."

---

Two hours later

"Hey bro?" Amber called from the other room. "What legs should I put on for this?"

"Use your agility model," Steven called back as he performed the final tune-up on his Tinker costume.

"Alright! Have you seen my heart?"

"Which one?"

"The Work Horse!"

"You left it the refrigerator."

"Thank you," She called, skipping into the main room wearing less than nothing. Steven pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Amber, put your skin back on."

"But I can't decide what skin I want to wear," Amber whined.

"Put on the Adamant model on."

"It's getting dry cleaned."

"Then put on your mobility arms and legs and put on your stretchy skin."

"The black one or latino one?"

"Is there something wrong with your caucasian one?"

"But I've been white every time we've gone out," she protested. Steven rolled his eyes.

"Just put on the white one on, we want people to be able to recognize you."

"Fiiiiiine." Amber turned away from him and got her heart out of the fridge. She placed it on the counter for a moment and pulled back some exposed muscle on her chest, exposing her ribs and her beating heart behind them. She reached in, opened the clasps on her rib cage and pulled it open. She then disconnected the various connections of her heart before removing it and putting the new one in. The whole process took about five minutes and not an ounce of blood was spilt.

"Alright," she said as she walked back toward her room in the apartment. "Now where did I leave my emergency grenade appendix?" Stevens heaved a sigh as she walked out the room. He worked on his gear for another fifteen minutes when there was a knock on the door.

Moving away from his work, Stevens stood up and strode across the room to the door. He opened it up to see a familiar face on the other side.

"Lisa," he greeted, having seen her face at the unveiling.

"Steven," Lisa stated despite having never met his civilian identity before. She gave him an odd look for a moment. "That isn't your real name." She decided.

"And Lisa isn't yours." Stevens countered.

"Fair enough," she said with a nod. "I'm running from my family and a lot of really rich people I stole money from. You?"

"The Boston mob and the Saudi Arabian government. It's mostly Amber's fault."

The two grinned at each other for a moment.

"Nova sent me over to make sure you're ready," Lisa stated after a minute.

"Almost," Steven said. "Amber is still putting her face on. As soon as she is done, Ergo and Biohazard will be at your service. However, I could use some help with my suit if you wanted to come in."

"Sure," Lisa said with a grin. "Sounds fun."

---

Amy frowned as she increased her focus on her suit. She was giving the name Flower Knight more of a purpose with this costume, but she couldn't just throw on any old plant. It would be better if it was something that Taylor could use if she needed a boost in battel. She went through and started selecting the more useful plants.

The biggest issue was making the suit all one creation. Currently, she had a massive tree root coming out of one of the potted plants in Taylor's basement and connecting to the armour's chest plate, using that to feed and provide for the living material of the armour.

She began giving it a cape. The nice thing about the armour was that it didn't look like her at all. She had spent several hours going over it in detail, making it look less blocky and more heroic. She didn't give it much indication that it was a female wearing it for more better cover. And she wasn't telling Victoria where it was she was going, only that she was leaving town for a bit. They might be suspicious, but no one would know it was her.

With the cape made of flowers and a tough organic kevlar finished, she sat back and admired her work. The suit really looked heroic. And honest to god hero the way Amy imagined it. It caused a small bit of joy to rise in her chest because of it.

"It really does look good doesn't it." Will said, causing that feeling to drop. Amy turned and looked at him. Meeting his eyes, she felt a little conflicted. When they first met, Amy didn't like him at all. But things change and these last couple of days had left her feeling less hostile towards him. At this point, she didn't know what to make of him.

"Hey, can you do me a favour," Will asked.

"What?" Amy asked cautiously.

"Don't die, or let anyone of your band of merry heroes die when you head out." Will said seriously, his smug grin disappearing from his face. "Quite honestly, I enjoy staying here. It is much better than what I had been anticipating. Wouldn't do for things to get sad around here because someone got hurt or killed."

"Why do you do that?" Amy asked. Will blinked.

"Do what?"

"Pretend you care," Amy said with a frown.

"But I do care, why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're a villain," Amy pointed out. "Because we captured you, because you admitted to being a criminal all your life before the Sentient."

"Really?" Will asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's what you're going with? I turned myself into you guys because I was trying to escape supervillainy. Am I supposed to be mad that you have done your jobs? Look, even if you took this cage down right now and did nothing to restrain me, I wouldn't leave. And not just because this house is currently the safest place for me."

"Right," Amy said sarcastically. "Because you're so trustworthy."

Will frowned and leaned back. "No," he said. "Because I'm loyal. At the risk at sounding cliche, I have always done what I thought was right."

"So all those crimes, not to mention leading a terrorist organization, that was all you doing what you thought was right?"

Will paused for a moment and frowned deeply then took a deep breath.

"Don't you high road me, Panacea," he said darkly. "I'm just as much a hero as you are."

"A hero?" Amy scoffed. "You're a criminal!"

"Is that what you really think," Will asked sourly, standing up and leaning against the bars of his cell. "Well, since you seem to not have gotten the message, let me be the first to tell that criminal and hero aren't mutually exclusive. This life of crime you referred to? I did that to support my daughter. I dropped out of high school to support her, and when I couldn't make enough money, I made a promise." His tone was uncharacteristically serious. All the smugness was gone, only tense firmness filling the way he spoke. "I promised that I would always do what was right no matter how bad I had to be to do it. I started stealing to support my daughter. When I got wrapped up in gangs, I started conning and tricking people to make sure I could keep doing that. When I was arrested and sent to prison I manipulated and conned people until I was on top so that the actual good people in prison didn't get bullied and attacked by the mean ones. When I was plucked from prison by Archer and forced work for him, when I saw just how terrible his end goal was, I went out of my way to get as much information as possible so that if I was ever captured by some villain like Coil I could hand it over to help stop them.

"I didn't turn myself over to Nova and Cheshire simply because I was looking for a way out of the Sentient even though I tried to make it seem like that. I did it because I know that if Archer's plan ever worked this city is going to go under a Stalinist rule with French Reign of Terror enthusiasm to execute 'villains'. I knew from the very start of this that if it ever worked a lot of people and parahumans were going to die. So don't call me a villain Panacea, because I'm not. I'm just a man who is loyal to one simple idea, to do what is right no matter how bad I must be to do it. And if you destroyed this cell and let me go," Will waved his arm angrily through the air, "I wouldn't leave. I want to stop The Sentient. I want to help you!"

Will turned away from her and walked towards the cot he was provided. He didn't sit down though. He put to hands against the wall and leaned against it, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Fucking Master effect," he muttered under his breath, just quite enough Amy didn't hear it.

Amy watched him for a moment and tried to decide how she felt about his outburst. It was probably the only time she was ever going to see him not acting like a smug know-it-all.

She turned back to her plant armour and started adjusting the small details as she mulled over what he said in her mind. It wasn't enough to change her opinion of him, not completely. But it was something. Something to think about anyway.