Unsurprisingly, we were quickly escorted inside, PRT officers lifting the Empire thugs up and carrying them away while Assault and Battery greeted us, guiding Crow, Flashbang, Glory Girl, and myself into a familiar conference room.

  "Listen, before the boss lady gets here, I just wanna say… good work," Assault said as we sat down around the table. "Four Empire capes in one move is not a bad bust."

  "It's just a start," Glory Girl said with a smirk. "We plan on taking the Empire down completely."

  "Are you already targeting them specifically?" Battery asked, her raised eyebrow somehow audible in her voice.

  "Yes, I thought that was pretty clear," I responded with a frown, glancing at Flashbang, who looked equally confused. "With the ABB gone and their territory guarded and patrolled by the guardians and golems I've built, it was time to move on to the Empire."

  Before Battery or Assault could respond, the door opened, and Director Piggot entered. The large, stern woman walked into the room and nodded to us before taking a seat opposite us, on the other side of Battery as Assault.

  "Hello, thank you for waiting," She said, placing a file on the table and opening it. "And to answer your question, we were aware of your plan, but we were hoping you would give us a bit more time to prepare."

  "We weren't aware of that," I responded. "For the right reason, we could have been convinced as well, but we didn't know."

  "Yes, an internal miscommunication," She said with a scowl. "The source of which is being investigated. Either way, I'm not blaming you."

  "What exactly were you hoping to communicate?" I asked with a frown. "What exactly do you need to prepare?"

  "For one, we were hoping to set up transport out of the city before the captures happened, so they could be sent out before the rest of the Empire has a chance to attack and attempt a breakout," She explained. "We do not have the capabilities to fight against the full cape forces of the Empire, so when they attempt to break out their friends…?"

  "There's not a whole lot you could do to stop them," I said, wincing in understanding. "Would they so blatantly attack the headquarters?"

  "Most likely not, why would they?" Assault asked with a shrug. "They just wait for us to ship them out, then strike. Much easier to catch them while in transit. They are practically sitting ducks, no matter how many capes you add as protection."

  "Thank you for your security critique, Assault," Director Piggot said, giving the older hero a harsh glare that seemed a bit much to me. "He is not incorrect. The transport between our facilities and more long-term ones are dangerous and will likely fail under the large range of capes the Empire had access to."

  "You guys really can't keep a secret long enough to pass off a couple of nazis?" Crow asked, her voice dripping with disappointment. "You need to work on your Opsec."

  "We are... aware of our security issues. We have been attempting to clean up our internal structure but have found it difficult to discover everything," Director Piggot explained, though it was through a clenched jaw. "Progress is infuriatingly slow."

  "It isn't entirely people blabbing either," Assualt said with a shrug. "Don't underestimate the power of a stakeout."

  "Well… I can't help with security, but I can solve your transport issue," I admitted with a smile. "I bribed Strider to show me around the country after I was done healing at Canberra. I'm pretty sure I could get our first batch of Nazis to any PRT base in the US."

  “...That… would work… I could call in a favor to Boston… but that's a bit too close," Piggot said, a frown on her face as she tried to figure out what to say. "Everyone else would need convincing… And we don't have much to trade."

  "Tell then to gather everyone that is injured, short or long term. As long as it's not cancer or amputated, I will fix them up," I responded with a shrug. "I don't mind spending a day healing some PRT troopers, Protectorate heroes, or Wards if it means the E88 can't get their hands on these guys."

  "That is definitely something I can work with," Piggot responded, an eager, dangerous enthusiasm flashing in her eyes as she stood. "I need to make some phone calls. Flashbang, Glory Girl, well done, you are free to leave if you'd like. Arcanum, if you wouldn't mind hanging around for a while?"

  "Yeah, sure, just need to make some calls as well," I nodded, pulling out my phone and pausing. "Could I also talk to Velocity?"

  "Panacea already fixed his arm," Glory Girl assured me.

  "I wouldn't be able to fix it even if that's what I mean," I pointed out, shaking my head. "But that's not it. I heard he was injured at the fight… and I've heard he is a bit hamstrung by his powers? I made something to help him with that. Nothing major, just a little something to make him more effective."

  "Why?" Director Piggot frowned, studying me, waiting for my answer.

  "As... well, not quite a reward, but... But he was injured at an Endbringer battle. That kind of sacrifice deserves a positive turnaround," I explained, shrugging at the end. "Plus, as a speedster, he should be one of your more capable heroes, not a glorified scout."

  Piggot frowned, half standing now, narrowing her eyes at me as she thought. Eventually, she nodded, standing back up straight and gathering the folder she had brought with her.

  "You can talk to him, but it's up to him if he will hear you out. I can't make him accept whatever you've made for him."

  I nodded in agreement, remaining seated while Flashbang and Glory Girl headed out. Flashbang offered to stay, but I assured him I was fine. I knew Crow wouldn't leave, so I wouldn't be alone.

  With Director Piggot gone to make her calls, I called Smokey to let him know I would likely be busy for the rest of the day, healing people wherever Piggot managed to convince them to take the bastards. I was just hanging up when Velocity knocked and stepped in. He seemed a little confused and hesitant but still crossed the room and shook our hands. He was dressed in his usual skin-tight red uniform, which, at a closer look, was clearly not a normal type of cloth. While thin, it was clearly woven, very densely so, and more form fit rather than deforming naturally. It was extremely thin, not much thicker than lycra. \

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  As the speedster hero sat down, Assault and Battery left. Battery needed a bit of convincing, but Assault managed to tug her arm and get her out. When they were gone, I turned and smiled at the hero.

  "Velocity, it's good to see you're doing better," I said with a nod. "I hear you were injured, and well… hearing kind of inspired me to take a crack at improving your power situation."

  "My power situation?" He asked, now even more confused. "What do you mean?"

  "It was my understanding that, while allowing you to run and move at great speeds, it greatly handicaps what you're capable of at that speed," I explained. "And it makes it next to impossible to carry things with you."

  "Yes, it's a problem that Armsmaster and I have been working on solving, but his tech doesn't play well with the field I generate," He explained, now sounding curious. "You have a way around that?"

  "I believe so. I'm sure you know by now that my method of tinkering is a bit strange?" I asked, the speedster nodding. "Well, I was able to work my magic…"

  From my jacket, I pulled out a pair of well-worn black leather gloves. One of them was marked with a golden cross on the back of its hand, while the other, the left glove, had an electric blue lightning bolt. When he saw them, he frowned, shaking his head.

  "I'm afraid those won't work. We tried materials of similar thickness when they were first designing my uniform. My uniform is made from specially designed materials." he admitted, shaking his head. "I appreciate the effort, but-"

  "Hold on, before we give up, there is something I can do, if you are willing," I said, holding him off. "There is a final step that I wasn't able to take, one that finely tunes one of my creations to its owner, makes it fit perfectly, and even changes a bit to better suit them. It makes it easier for them to use, and more difficult for anyone else to use. But to do it, I would need some blood… and maybe a sample of the cloth from your uniform."

  His eyes went wide, leaning back in his chair. Before he could answer, Crow spoke up.

  "It sounds crazy, believe me, I know," She said, giving the hero a sympathetic look. "But it really does make a big difference. It's well worth the vial."

  After listening to Crow talk, Velocity studied my face, at first trying to decipher if we were being honest, then trying to figure out how to react. After a few more seconds, he nodded, letting out a long breath.

  "A few days ago, I would have likely said no. But running around, feeling useless during at Canberra? That was terrible. And I know that you spent almost two days there healing and helping," he said with a smile. "If I can't trust that, what can I trust? How would you take the sample?"

  I ran him through the process of filling a vial with blood before healing his finger once I was done. He then blurred away, returning a few minutes later at a walk, carrying a small roll of the interesting-looking fabric.

  "That will work nicely," I said with a smile. "Just sit tight, I'll be back in a flash."

  I gave Crow a look, silently asking if she wanted to come, but she waved me off. A few seconds later, I was back home, standing on the ritual platform.

  The ritual of ownership, without any bells and whistles, was straightforward, made even easier by the fact that I now had a streamlined version of it from arcane focus crafting. I quickly wrote it out, modifying it a bit to accept the cloth material as well, before finally performing the ritual. When it was done, I grabbed the gloves, said a quick goodbye to Kali, and explained I would be busy for a lot of the day, before teleporting back. I let out a huff and dropped back into my seat, giving the hopeful-looking hero a smile.

  "Congrats, it worked perfectly."

  I held out the gloves, placing them on the table. The previously black leather gloves were now red, which matched his uniform, and were much thinner. The symbols on the back of the gloves were the same, but now they seemed to glow and shine with an inner light.

  "So. This one here," I started, pointing at the one with a golden cross. "It's a healing glove. Its primary function is to stabilize people, things like staunching bleeding, softly setting bones, covering holes in organs and reducing swelling in certain areas. Basically, anything that will kill a person right then and there."

  I fought back a chuckle when his eyes started to widen as I described the healing glove. Having an on-staff healer of any kind would be a huge boon to the PRT and Protectorate.

  "When you use that function, it will keep people from dying, but if you start bouncing them around, that's gonna change," I said, continuing to explain. "The idea is that you tap injured people to stop any immediate risk of death, then once the danger is passed, EMTs or someone else can move them somewhere safe. Its other function is full healing. It will dump as much healing energy as it takes to bring someone to full health. It's not efficient or fast, but it will fix just about anything I can. That said, you're only going to be able to do that twice from a full charge."

  "How do I charge it?" he asked, looking down at the gloves, looking a bit dazed.

  "It will recharge over time, but you can speed that up with the second glove," I explained, gesturing to the other glove. "This one gives you some not-too-shabby control over electricity. It can stop it, guide it, and even generate it and That absorbed electricity is turned into the energy the gloves use to function. You could fire it back out as blasts like I do, or you could feed it back into your healing glove, just by slapping your palms together."

  I demonstrated by clapping my hands together like I was praying.

  "Getting a handle on the strength of your control will take some practice, and considering you should be able to range from a static shock to some of the sparks I can throw around, you're gonna want to work on that. But once you do, you should be able to do some damage and help people. Assuming that you can use them with your powers, of course."

  The gloves were a fascinating and complex design and actually consisted of both rituals and enchantments. The latter part was what took the most time, as my knowledge of enchantment was limited, but by putting together what I knew from both my druidcraft knowledge and my arcane focus crafting knowledge, I was able to figure it out. It also took five separate rituals, not including the last one I had just performed.

  As I mentioned the glove working or not working with his powers, he frowned and reached out for one, the healing glove. After giving me a look, to which I nodded encouragingly in response, he picked it up and carefully put it on his hand. After a moment of making sure it fit, he held his hand out. After another second, he started waving it back and forth, moving faster and faster until his hand was a strange hazy blur. He stopped and laughed, unable to contain himself, a massive smile on his face.

  "That is incredible," He said, reaching out to shake my hand. "This changed everything. I can actually help now!"

  "I'm glad you enjoyed the gift," I explained with a smile. "I plan on making some more toys for the rest of the local Protectorate and the Wards, but I have no idea when I will get to that. In the meantime, I think you have some practice to do."

  I gestured to the other glove, and he nodded. Rather than put that one on, he picked it up, holding it in his left hand. After another excited nod, he quickly walked out of the room, clearly eager to get to know his new abilities. I expected Assult and Battery to return after he was gone, but instead, Miss Militia walked in, stopping in the doorway to watch as Velocity walked away with some spring in his step.

  "He seemed happy. Did you really fix his problem?"

  "Not quite. I just offered him some alternatives," I explained with a shrug. "I'm not really familiar enough with his powers to try and "solve" whatever is wrong with them. But considering I can just basically hand out new powers on their own in the form of my gear…"

  "Of course, just handing out new powers," Miss Militia said, shaking her head as she stood by the entrance. "Well, Director Piggot will likely be a bit longer. I wanted to check if you guys had had lunch? The food at our cafeteria is actually pretty good..."

  I chuckled, looking at Crow, who nodded.

  "Sounds good. Lead the way."