I ended up staying awake all night, talking with everyone. At first, we were simply continuing the process of filling Piper in on current events and the state of the world. Eventually, however, the conversation shifted to our current situation, as well as what my plans were for the future. It was gratifying to see my determination to find sentient help pay off, as both of my newest creations happily poked and prodded at the general framework I had created so far.

  Honestly, it was exactly what I hoped for. Active minds working to solve problems rather than mindless automatons just following my orders, even when they didn't apply. My confidence in my plan rose, knowing that I could trust them to apply their judgment when patrolling alone, rather than just coldly following the letter of the law. Even just having someone voice their opinions was invaluable, as Alya, who was more than willing to voice concern when my safety was at stake, usually remained passive for most decisions. Smokey had already actively challenged my thoughts on how many spirits I should awaken.

  While I had never really doubted my point investment gamble, it was good to see it working out. In a world that had shown over and over again that, at any moment, it could spiral out of control into chaos, knowing that the people around me were capable of functioning without micromanagement was invaluable. I'm sure I would disagree with some of their actions, but considering I had such an in-depth look at the core of their being, I trusted the spirits to at least be good and kind.

  It didn't hurt that they both agreed with my choice to create them.

  "I can see why you needed guardian spirits like us," Piper said, glancing over at Smokey. "Being able to simply conjure mid-tier brutes with mid to high-tier powers certainly makes you a powerhouse able to protect a whole city."

  "It also makes him a target," Smokey pointed out. "It was probably unavoidable, but we need to keep that in mind."

  "Which is why I wanted to push for more of you as soon as possible," I pointed out, gesturing at both of them. "Having a dozen brutes or more, all with their own powers, ready to fight and defend the city, defend me, would put a lot of threats off the idea of coming here at all."

  "I'm not sure. I think you're stuck thinking like a normal person," Smokey responded, shaking his head. "Happens all the time to rookies. They have the mindset of reasonable people, but criminals aren't reasonable people. You can't expect someone who has killed two dozen innocent civilians to surrender just because you outnumber them. They won't stay away just because we outnumber them."

  I chewed on his words for a moment, accepting that they did make a certain amount of sense. I hadn't even considered that they would somehow function off a different mindset.

  "Some of the small-time villains might be dissuaded, but what about groups like the Teeth and the Slaughterhouse 9?" Smokey continued, making me wince. "They will see it as a challenge or just assume that we can't possibly defeat them because they are just that good. You could make a hundred of us, and they would still think they are too much hot shit to get beaten by a couple of talking statues and a nerd who shouts out his attacks in Latin."

  I couldn't help but snort at his description of us, mostly because that is exactly what a meathead criminal with delusions of grandeur would say. Even with that, I couldn't help but feel a heavy weight settling into my stomach. Everything he had said was true, after all.

  "It would be even worse for parahumans," I admitted, nodding to Smokey in acceptance. "They have long been observed to have a need, or at least a drawing to fighting and general conflict."

  "So we cannot rely on scaring them off at all," Piper said with a frown. "Even the ones who are hopelessly outclassed might still attack, even if we outnumber them a hundred to one."

  "Especially not without forcing the PRT to try and take you down," Smokey added. "I'm not saying you should hold off forever, Arcanum. I'm just saying you should give them a chance to adjust, maybe a few weeks or a month, just to be sure."

  "I know, I know. I already agreed you were right," I said, not happy about it but at least accepting. "It's just… I feel like I am wasting time. Pulling back to keep the PRT from freaking out feels like I am submitting to bureaucracy while people suffer."

  "Perhaps… There is a way to help them adjust more smoothly and decisively," Piper said, grabbing our attention. "What if I submitted to an interview and power testing?"

  I frowned, disliking the idea off the bat, but holding back to hear what she was suggesting.

  "I know you have a poor history with it, but if our goal is to keep them from panic, letting them get to know me and my powers would be a quick way to do so," She explained, continuing her suggestion. "Satisfy their curiosity so that they no longer fear the worst."

  "Not a bad idea, but if anything, I should go," Smokey said with a frown. "It's unlikely, but if they ever did anything stupid, my power is much less potent than yours, so losing it won't be much of a setback."

  "Woah, hold up. You guys are awakened sentient beings now. You are more than just your useful powers," I said, making sure I was clear and my voice was steady. "I know I woke you with a specific intent, but you are not and will never be pawns to trade, understand?"

  Both of them looked at me, surprised by clear-cut words. After a moment, they shared a look before focusing back on me and nodding.

  "Good. Piper… while I wish it didn't, your idea has merit," I reluctantly admitted. "I would say that Smokey is a better option for his tangential familiarity with interrogation and interviews, as well as the fact that his power is considerably more simple, which will make power testing a lot less complicated. Not because he is somehow more disposable."

  They both nodded, and for a long moment, we were silent. I could feel Alya floating around in the background, keeping watch and silently supporting me. Kali was still tending her new trees, poking and prodding the seeds magically while also keeping an eye on Olivia for me. Eventually, we continued talking, continuing even as the sun began to rise. Having missed any opportunity to sleep, I cast the anti-sleep spell on myself, feeling my fatigue fade away to nothing.

  "I'm gonna make a visit to the junkyard really quick for some more metal, then-"

  "Why not use the Boat Graveyard?" Piper asked. "I was under the impression tinkers, or any cape that needs resources would try there first."

  "... I could for some of the general metals, I suppose," I admitted, scratching my chin. "But I make the golems from a mix of more than a half dozen metals in order to get the best results. I could make an all-iron golem or something, but it would be slower than the others… well, and you guys, too. If I ever needed a bunch of them, though, it's a good idea."

  Pipe nodded and accepted the reasoning while I put on my costume. I was about to leave on my own when Smokey grabbed my shoulder, not to stop me, but to accompany me.

  "You really shouldn't be going anywhere on your own," He pointed out. "I know you can handle yourself pretty well, but having someone accompanying you will just make you safer."

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  "Fine, alright," I agreed. "I mean, I always have Alya with me, keeping an eye on me. And I usually have my golems with me…"

  As a response, he simply raised his eyebrow, and I snorted, opening my spellbook and casting the teleport spell rather than responding to him when I knew he was right. Of course, it was smarter to have someone come with me, that was obvious. Didn't mean I liked having a babysitter follow me around.

  Visiting the junkyard did not take long. I paid the manager a large stack of bills and ended up making two trips of golem metal mix, bringing back eight frozen metal statues, all of them headless. I quickly prepared a single frame, inserting the extra golem core, before settling in to make more. I continued to work on them until Olivia woke up, ending up with eight golems in total. I felt a slight warning from both Kali and Alya that Olivia was awake and was doing fine. I had been afraid she would panic, but she thankfully recognized my room pretty quickly. Eventually, she came outside, finding me putting the finishing touches on my last golem.

  "Woah… you got a bit of work done," She commented, before looking over and spotting Piper, her eyes widening a bit before looking back at me. "You made another one?"

  "Yeah, her name is Piper," I said, waving her off when she opened her mouth, clearly about to let loose. "Before you say anything, Smokey convinced me that making any more right now would be a bad idea. Smokey and I plan on visiting the PRT to let him do some power testing and answer some questions. We hope that convinces them that they aren't dangerous so that I can awaken a few more."

  For a moment, she was a bit overwhelmed before she shook her head clear and nodded.

  "Right, well… Nice to meet you, Piper. Will you be joining us on patrol?" Olvia asked, glancing at me as she did.

  "I will, at least until people are used to Smokey and myself," she explained. "After that, I believe the plan is to patrol separately, with golems as support."

  "Right, yeah, Arc mentioned that before."

  "The sooner we are ready to fight the Empire, the better," I said with a frown. "And having the former ABB territory taken care of without our involvement is the first step of that."

  "Well… I'm glad you've got a plan," the shadow-themed cape said. "And you know I'm up for taking down the Empire. Beyond that... What's up for today?"

  "I need to take Piper to a shop to get her some clothes," I responded, the copper-bronze spirit guardian nodding at my words. "After that, we have a patrol. Then I have healing at the hospital. Once that is done, I'm going to reach out to the PRT. The quicker we deal with them, the faster I can get back to work. But, before we do any of that… We need to have some breakfast."

  Olivia rolled her eyes, nodding anyway as I put together a very simple meal of fruit, toast, and eggs. When we were done eating, all of us teleported to the same used clothes store as before. This time, Smokey and Crow stayed outside with the two golems while Piper and I went in.

  Piper took a bit longer to shop for an outfit, though through no fault of her own. The options for cool clothes for men were a lot more plentiful, while most of the women's clothes felt… unsubstantial.

  Eventually, after about twenty minutes, she settled on a pair of black pants, a simple red shirt with some sort of band Logo I didn't recognize, and a short-cut leather jacket that she left open. It was significantly more punk than I thought an English professor would rock, but it matched her pixie cut and looked pretty good.

  When she was done, I paid for her clothes, and we left, only to find Smokey shaking hands and taking pictures with a small group of people, with Crow nowhere to be seen. As we approached, Smokey apologized to the crowd and shooed them away, the group clearing out before Crow appeared from an alleyway.

  "What was that?" I asked teasingly, raising an eye at Crow. "You leave Smokey to talk to the public alone?"

  "It's better this way, trust me," She assured me. "I haven't had my coffee yet. I'm not prepared to be polite."

  I rolled my eyes and cast the anti-sleep spell, wiping away any of her lingering fatigue or tiredness. She perked up considerably, giving me a thankful nod.

  With Piper's new outfit and uniform purchased, it was time to go on patrol. At this point, we were a known quantity in what was once ABB territory, so even though we now had two strange people walking with us, talking and greeting people, nobody was freaking out. We walked around in the deeper parts of the area before staying along the line between territories.

  Thanks to Alya's hard work, we managed to stop a few muggings and one break-in. It was far from a busy morning, but that didn't mean it was boring. Instead, the tension was as ever-present, weighing down on all of us, with Empire goons watching us from just on the other side of their line.

  They clearly thought they were safe, and I was desperately awaiting the next few days when we got to prove that they weren't. Just a few more days of letting the civilians get used to Smokey and Piper, until we could let them take over the ABB patrol. Then, finally, we could start pushing into Empire territory.

  When Manpower and Lady Photon finally took over the patrol, their own Golems following them silently, I teleported Crow home and the rest of us to the hospital. Both Piper and Smokey asked if they could heal people, but I suggested they hold off for now. I wanted both of their healing abilities to be vetted by the PRT before they started helping people.

  While I knew that the PRT wasn't the complete caricature of ineptitude and uselessness that I accused it of being, I also knew they weren't afraid to play dirty. I did not want some paper pusher to have the brilliant idea of using Piper and Smokey healing before they were vetted to try and force concessions from me. I might have been able to convince the hospital it was fine with my reputation being what it was, but it wasn't worth the risk, not when I was handling the current load.

  When I was done with my healing, I dropped Piper and the golems off at the compound before teleporting to a park bench not too far from PRT headquarters. There, we sat down, and I gave them a call. The conversation with the first person on the phone was brief before I was handed off to Miss Militia.

  "Arcanum, it's good to hear from you," She said, her smile audible. "What can I do for you?"

  "Well, as I'm sure you've heard, I've been walking around with some newcomers," I answered. "I'm sure you and your boss have a lot of questions."

  "...It may have come up before, yes," she admitted.

  "I'll bet. Well, it's your lucky day," I responded, smirking to myself. "In order to head off any assumptions or misconceptions, we wanted to come in, talk, and even get my friend Smokey some power testing."

  "...Power testing?" She asked, sounding like she wasn't sure what to say or think about the idea. "I… well, I'm sure Director Piggott would appreciate the chance to ask some questions."

  "I bet she would. Any idea when we could make this happen?"

  "Give me a few minutes to make some calls, Arcanum," she responded. "I'll see if we can set something up quickly."

  "Sounds like a plan."