Smokey and I settled in to wait for the PRT's response, only to immediately realize we had made a mistake. It was early afternoon, and the streets were populated by people walking around, heading to lunch, or just going about their day, and it didn't take long for them to notice us. Almost immediately after settling up the call, people began to approach us, and soon, a large crowd had formed, with people asking for photographs and signatures. It appeared that, to the public at least, that a patrolling cape meant that they were working, but a stationary one suggested they were just waiting for you to come by and say hello.

  To be fair, it wasn't actually that bad. There were a few people who asked awkward questions or tried to get a bit… closer than I preferred, but for every one of them, there were twenty people just happy to meet someone that they admired. Apparently, I was more popular than I thought, as quite a few people insisted I was their favorite hero in the Bay, a concept I found surprising.

  People were also interested in Smokey, quickly realizing he was not just another one of my golems. It appeared that the news of his and Piper's existence was still spreading among the civilians. Despite him being new, people quickly warmed up to him when he summoned his golden retriever, the lovable dog quickly becoming the focus of the gathering. He did a few tricks, including rolling over and playing dead, and was just generally adorable.

  Eventually, I started to get worried that when Miss Militia finally called back, I wouldn't be in a good position to answer. So, rather than asking people to leave, we began to move, essentially pretending to go on patrol to escape the crowd. It was a good thing we did, too, because shortly after we made it past the second block, my phone rang. The conversation was brief, with the military-themed cape explaining that Director Piggot had cleared her schedule for a conversation and that the hero herself was waiting for me by the front entrance of PRT headquarters to make sure there was no confusion.

  I resisted the urge to correct her and point out that it was overzealous agents, not confusion, that I was worried about.

  A quick detour down an alley, then a single teleport later, Smokey and I were stepping into the PRT headquarters, Miss Militia quickly making her way forward, holding her hand out as she approached.

  "Thank you for volunteering to come in, Arcanum," she said as I accepted her handshake. "I know we've had a few moments, but I'm hoping we can use this as an opportunity to move past them."

  "I would like that as well," I said, shaking her hand firmly, before gesturing to my companion. "This is Smokey. Smokey, this is Miss Militia."

  "It's good to meet you, Miss Militia," he said with a smile, stepping forward and extending his hand. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

  Whether it was his appearance, his speech, or perhaps the smoothness and livelyness of his movements, Miss Militia was shocked by Smokey's introduction. It took her a full ten seconds, during which Smokey stood there, with his hand out, patiently waiting for her to recover and take his hand, shaking it wordlessly. When she finally did, she reached forward to take his hand, shaking it once slowly.

  "Right… umm… well, follow me," She said after another few seconds, almost visibly pushing Smokey into the "above my paygrade" category. "We wanted to start off with the meeting, so Director Piggot is waiting."

  "Lead the way."

  We were quickly guided through the halls of the PRT, the journey only taking a few seconds before we were let into a conference room. On one end was Director Piggot, with Armsmaster standing to their left. As we entered the room and took seats across from them, Miss Militia joined them on Director Piggot's right. Once we were all settled, the director leaned forward.

  "Arcanum, thank you for coming in," She said, shifting the top paper of a stack that stood in front of her. "I understand you wanted this meeting specifically to discuss the… golem beside you?"

  "Well, yes. I'm aware that I probably seem to be pulling a lot of strange things out of nowhere, and while I am happy to retain my mystery in most instances, I do also understand leaving the PRT in the dark can be a mistake in some instances. Especially when something might be particularly… worrying if misinterpreted."

  "I see…" She said, trailing off, moving her eyes off of me to focus on Smokey. She studied him for a moment before looking at me once more. "I suppose you have the floor then, Arcanum."

  "Thank you, Director," I said with a nod before gesturing to my companion. "This is Smokey, he is a sentient being I created to assist in protecting the city."

  "Hello, Director Piggot," Smokey said, nodding to the large woman. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."

  The room was quiet for a moment, both the director and Armsmaster staring at us. Director Piggot somehow managed to keep her face and body clear of nearly any reaction while Armsmaster tensed considerably.

  "You created an AI? What safety precautions have you taken? What restrictions are on it?" Armsmaster asked, his voice demanding and urgent. "Have-"

  "Woah, no, he is not a computer AI," I assured him. "I did not program him, he does not contain computer parts, and he cannot interface with technology. Further, he is locked to this frame, and cannot drift into another form like a programmed AI could."

  That seemed to throw the armored tinker for a loop, his brain unable to process the idea of an artificial lifeform that wasn't AI. He frowned, clearly trying to decide if he should push for details or let me continue. While he was struggling, Smokey made the choice for him.

  "I understand your concern, but I am not an AI," Smokey repeated. "At least not by the current definition. If you would like, I would allow you to scan me so that you can confirm I lack any computer parts."

  Armsmaster moved as if to step forward, before remembering where he was. He looked back at Director Piggot, who was focused on Smokey.

  "We can handle scans once we finish our conversation here," she said smoothly, the blue-armored tinker moving back without another word. "For now, we will take your word. My question is...why?"

  "As I'm sure you're aware, taking down the ABB has left a power vacuum," I explained, Piggot and Miss Militia nodding. "So far, we have kept the Empire from moving in, but they aren't the only ones we need to worry about, especially as Crow, New Wave, and myself start to work on taking them down."

  "You're worried about out-of-town gangs?" Director Piggot asked, sounding surprised by my forethought.

  "That's right. Smokey here is the first step to protecting and keeping out incoming gangs," I explained. "He may be artificial, but he is also sentient, meaning he is perfectly capable of patrolling and reacting to situations intelligently, not just following a set of potentially dangerous commands."

  "A lofty goal, but at least you understand that clearing out gangs just invites more to come to fill the void," Armsmaster responded. "You believe these constructs can hold off the likes of the Teeth or the Elite?"

  Miss Militia looked to us, clearly wondering the same thing, but Director Piggot remained unmoved, waiting for our response.

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  "Well…. That depends on how many I make," I responded, pausing as Director Piggot suddenly became very interested. "Smokey and Piper, my second awoken creation, should be able to patrol the newly open territory with the help of my usual golem. I envision them being able to keep it clear and fight off two or three Empire capes at once, assuming they don't pull out a power interaction that trumps them. And no, I don't believe Kaiser's power will work on them. However, I would like to create more of them, both to help us with the Empire and to work on driving out incoming, opportunistic villains."

  "That's why you're really here," Director Piggot said, shifting as she realized our intent. "You want us to scan and poke and prod your… creation so that we can give you permission to make more."

  "Permission? Not quite," I said with a frown, leaning forward. "I don't report to you, Director Piggot. I don't need your permission. We are here because I'm hoping that sating your curiosity will keep you from freaking out and making some sort of knee-jerk decision or action. We-"

  Smokey reached up and put his hand on my shoulder, bringing me up short and stopping me mid-sentence. I had begun to build up some steam, aggravated by the implication that I would need her permission to help the people of this city out from under the thumb of the gangs and capes that plagued them. I let out a long breath, looking back at Director Piggot.

  "Apologies. As I was saying, we are hoping that allowing you to familiarize yourself with Smokey and what he can do will prevent you from reacting poorly," I explained, this time making sure to stay calm, already regretting my outburst. "I am trying my best to keep on the PRT's good side while also continuing to push the gangs out of the city."

  Piggot's eyes narrowed slightly, no doubt picking up on the implication that they were what was keeping me from cleaning up the trash, that they weren't helping but actually making it worse. Perhaps not the best time to be making such implications, but I could only hold back so much.

  "I see. Well, I must admit, Arcanum, you have posed us with an… complicated issue. We do have a protocol for determining the level of sentience in tinker products, and we can certainly run… Smokey through power testing," She admitted. "Does he have any abilities beyond those of your… golems?"

  "I do," the spirit guardian answered for himself. "I have the ability to summon a pair of canines, a Golden Retriever and a Doberman Pinscher. The Golden emits a healing field that can stabilize or slowly heal non-lethal injuries, while the Doberman is basically a dog brute."

  "That is an… interesting combination," Piggot responded, writing something down in her notes. "You realize that, even if you aren't looking for 'permission,' this is not going to be a normal power testing. This is… I'm going to have to reach out to some people. I can't make a decision about this without input from my superiors. You are talking about the ability to simply make reportedly high-power capes. I would have already put you in a cell if it involved other people, but since they are creations, you are skipping over a dangerous issue, though you are far from in the clear."

  "What issue?" I asked, suddenly itching to reach down to my staff after her admission of throwing me in a cell.

  "The ability to make capes or hand out powers is, as far as we are aware, always accompanied by some sort of master effect, addiction, horrific side effect, or some other issue," She explained, a stern frown on her face. "They are never simple. Now tinkers can create equipment that can do power-like things, but you are far from what I would consider a normal tinker, correct?"

  "You could say that."

  "... Vagueness aside, between the equipment you provided New Wave, and now this? You are walking a very fine line between things that we usually respond to with the Triumvirate on standby," Director Piggot explained. "The ability to pump out man-made capes? This is…"

  She sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms, and once again, I was struggling to not grab my staff. I had a slow, creeping suspicion that, in an attempt to do the right thing, I had actually screwed myself over. I might have been being paranoid, but I could tell the director was struggling not to sound threatening, trying to not escalate the situation, despite clearly wanting nothing more than to lock me up and control every aspect of what I was doing. This was spiraling out of control, and only the fact that I could teleport out of there with a single word kept me from panicking completely.

  For a long moment, Director Piggot stared at me, and I fought to remain calm. Finally, after nearly a full minute, she spoke, looking at the capes on either side of her.

  "Armsmaster, Miss Militia, please accompany Arcanum and Smokey down to the primary power testing lab," Piggot finally said. "You have about thirty minutes before the testing team arrives, so I want you to do every test you can think of on our new friend. The more thorough you can make your report, the better I can assure my peers and leader that Brockton Bay isn't going to explode into a mass of metal, sentient villains."

  My escorts nodded, with Miss Militia standing from her chair before both of them heading towards the door. I was about to stand and join them when Piggot spoke again.

  "Arcanum, I do want to make something clear. While we might have very different opinions of the many abilities you seem to pull out of your ass, I do not dislike you," She admitted, her words clashing heavily with her frown. "Not only have I found you to be very level-headed, despite a few unfortunate instances, but you have made incredible progress clearing this city of its gang issue, somehow managing to avoid a massive gang war in the process. You should be commended for that, and if you hadn't just admitted being able to make cape equivalents, I would be shaking your hand, maybe even thanking you."

  "Sounds like both of us are cursed to deal with groups that keep making things complicated," I said after a moment, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

  Rather than a frown, scowl, or even look angry at my comment, Director Piggot, a woman who looked like she had forgotten what fun was, snorted and laughed, shaking her head as she shooed me off.

  More than a little stunned, I turned and headed to the door, both of my escorts frozen in place. They were clearly even more shocked than I was at the director's reaction. I cleared my throat as Smokey and I stepped into the hall, both of them coming to their senses and following after. Armsmaster quickly pushed ahead once he had recovered while Miss Militia stayed by my side. After a moment, she spoke up, a rather pleading tone in her voice.

  "Please never tell Assault you managed to make her laugh," Miss Militia asked, almost begged as we walked further into the headquarters. "He already tries too hard to get her to, but he will get even worse if he learns it's possible."

  I couldn't help but chuckle at her tone of absolute dread, which only got funnier when she gave me a rather unhappy look.

  "I'll try my best," I assured her, though it was clear my words didn't fill her with confidence.