In the rush to produce the three new patrol groups, I had gotten a bit focused on my task. While I managed to maintain my responsibilities, I completely forgot to explain the situation to New Wave. Laserdream and Manpower had briefly met Smokey during a patrol switch, but I hadn't really updated them on what was going on or explained what he was. Thankfully, they seemed to trust me and my creations, at least enough to call me and ask for an explanation rather than just assume I had gone off the deep end. After a quick discussion over the phone with Lady Photon, we both agreed that a meeting was in order.

  A few hours later, I teleported Crow, Smokey, Piper, and myself to the Dallon household, this time landing in their backyard, which had a sufficiently high fence to hide our presence. It wasn't strictly necessary, but keeping people guessing was an advantage we wanted to keep at the moment. Almost immediately, Lady Photon opened the back door to the house and ushered us inside, leading us to their planning room, which was the same remodeled basement as before.

  "Will Alya be joining us?" She asked, her eyes skipping around us as if trying to spot her.

  "Unfortunately not," I said with a frown. "We are beginning to realize that her dislike for being seen might run deeper than just normal shyness and might have something to do with her state. We are working on it, but it's not time to push her boundaries too hard at the moment. She is around, can chime in if she thinks of anything, and will be keeping an eye on the perimeter, just in case."

  In truth, Alya was beginning to struggle with showing up at all. With both Piper and Smokey, as well as all the other guardian spirits, hanging out at the compound, Crow becoming a more frequent guest, and Kali becoming even more active, she felt less and less comfortable becoming corporeal. If she had felt that that was a problem, I would have been much more proactive in solving the issue. However, as she was quick to remind me, her corporeal state was only something she could do because of her binding to me. Her natural state was being one with their wind and air, so she felt no discomfort or loss at remaining in that form more frequently.

  Still, we did discuss the issue a bit, and she admitted it was likely due to her nature as a pure air elemental. Their strength and only defense came from the fact that their primary survival strategy was that they were stealthy and almost impossible to see, catch, or hit. But becoming corporeal defied all of that, and doing it in front of people was driving her a bit crazy.

  Of course, in that discovery lay a solution as well, one she was quite interested in. Her issues were due to being a pure air element, so if she were to evolve into a different form, that issue would likely fade. This was something they could do naturally after a long time or if their affinity or environment changed enough. However, with the proper ritual, I could drastically reduce the bar typically needed for evolution, making it possible in significantly less extreme circumstances.

  As we stepped down into the basement, we quickly greeted everyone, and I introduced Piper and Smokey. It seemed that Manpower and Laserdream had at least described Smokey, so they weren't overly shocked, but Piper did catch them off guard.

  After the introduction, I outlined what they were, keeping it vague and cutting out the magic parts. I then discussed the general plan, as well as the purpose the guardians served. I explained that the three patrol groups would truly clear us up to start working on the Empire. While they were all clearly thrown off by the sudden increase in manpower, having Smokey and Piper seemed to stem their unease. While the PRT had to go through a lengthy process to declare them sentient, normally, people could tell they were alive just by interacting with them, especially with Smokey's natural ability to put people at ease.

  When I was done outlining the general plan, the two metallic guardians explained their current patrol schedule for the guardians. Both of them had taken to leading the guardian spirits rather well, planning patrols, cooldowns, and breaks well enough that even before I could hit the limit that the PRT imposed, they had the situation pretty much under control. I was still going to make the other golems and guardians once I had recovered a bit. I had skipped too many nights of sleep and spent almost all my free time building and preparing the patrol groups.

  "While we do not need to sleep, we do appreciate downtime," Smokey explained after Manpower inquired about the schedule. "This is why the public, but less active patrol, as well as the downtime back home, is necessary. Still, that is only a few hours long, allowing us to maintain a constant presence of two teams in the former ABB territory. It's a bit tight, but we can cover the entire area, and with the fourth group Arcanum still plans on making, it will get even easier."

  "Four teams?" Eric asked. "Why that number?"

  "The PRT explained that eight guardians were all they were comfortable with me making, and I agreed that would be enough... for now," I said, chiming in to explain. "I'm hoping that they will prove themselves over time and that they will allow me to make more to help in other cities, but that's a future thing. For now, three teams of two guardians and four golems should be enough to reinforce the pacified areas, while we focus on pushing the E88 out. I'll be making the last group in a few days once I recover from making the first three."

  "And these teams can work on their own?" Manpower asked, looking at both Piper and Smokey. "What about maintenance? What happens if they are damaged? Is there a danger or anything we need to know about?"

  "The guardians don't require maintenance the same way normal tinker creations do," I explained confidently. "They are closer to Dauntless's creations than they are Armsmaster or Kid Wins. The same goes for the gear I made you. That isn't to say that they can't be damaged, just that they won't need the constant, sourceless maintenance that other tinker tech needs."

  "Well… That's good," the older man responded. "Having the patrol load lessened will help keep us sharp. Overwork has a way of getting people in trouble and doing more harm than good."

  I nodded, fully agreeing with the more experienced cape. I opened my mouth to verbally agree when I was cut off.

  "I want to talk more about finally taking the fight to the Empire!" Glory Girl said excitedly, rising out of the chair slightly. "About time we could do something about them!"

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  "I…I agree with Glory Girl. We are, at the moment, the best off we have been in quite some time," Lady Photon said, nodding to her niece. "Tackling the E88 seems like the logical progression of our work."

  "I'm glad you agree. The Empire has gotten away with too much because they had such a large group of capes," I said with a scowl, shaking my head to clear the frustration. "But now, if we include the guardians, we outnumber them. They won't be able to outmaneuver us with pure numbers. The territory we are responsible for will be safe under the guardian's eyes, which means we can push forward to the next step. They can also provide support if something goes wrong."

  "So… what's the plan then?" Shielder asked, looking between his parents and me. "If we are gonna be taking on the Empire… how are we going to do it?"

  "Well, first… we shift our patrols. The guardians can handle the freed territory," I pointed out. "We should patrol directly around E88 territory."

  "That's bold," Flashbang said, rubbing his chin. "They won't take that sitting down. Kaiser won't be able to ignore the obvious statement, and Hookwolf wouldn't be able to stand being made to look weak."

  "Cricket would be right behind him, as usual," Panacea added, rolling her eyes. "They rarely show up without each other."

  "Huh… I want to ask questions about that, but it would definitely break the unwritten rules," I joked rather lamely, still getting a few chuckles. "Either way, I think the patrol is a necessary statement."

  "If we did start doing such a close patrol, I don't think we will have to do much else," Lady Photon commented, frowning a bit, looking down at the map spread out over the table. "No reason to try and hunt them down if just patrolling the outer limits of their territory is enough to get their attention. In fact… it would be a good way to set up a trap."

  "Have people waiting in the wings for them to come to us?" I asked, Lady Photon nodding in agreement.

  "New Wave could go on a patrol, then you and your golems could come when the E88 sticks their noses where they don't belong," she suggested. "We could turn a hard fight into a quick route."

  "An ambush isn't a bad idea," I agreed, wincing slightly afterward. "But I think they might see through that. My ability to teleport is widely known, and I've even used it before to save Miss Militia from Hookwolf and Cricket. If you guys go wandering too close to their territory, they might respond with the assumption I'll be showing up. Which would be bad, as I'm sure you could imagine."

  "I would also worry about them showing up in force," Smokey pointed out, catching most of New Wave a bit off guard. "You will have to randomize your patrols. Otherwise, they might try to ambush you with the whole Empire in tow."

  "I think you should increase the size of the groups as well," Panacea said after a few seconds. "Since this patrol doesn't have to be twenty-four-seven, we can cut some of them and make the others bigger since you would be safer in a bigger group."

  "If it's too big, that would encourage them to show up in force, potentially overwhelming us," Crystal pointed out. "We would have to find a middle ground."

  We brainstormed and discussed potential strategies for another hour, before finally writing them down and working them together. We agreed that our patrol size should increase, and until we had a chance to whittle down the gang to a more manageable size, we would only patrol during the day. We finally decided on four capes and four golems for the patrol size, mixing and matching people to create workable teams.

  We also agreed that the ambush idea would be better off as something we kept up our sleeves rather than actively engaged. If the Empire provided us an opportunity to do some severe damage by offering up a good amount of their capes, we would take it, but otherwise, we would attempt to chip away at them.

  When the meeting ended, Crow, Piper, and I left immediately after. Victoria attempted to convince us to stay for lunch, but between my invisible mask and Crow's hesitation to expose her real identity, it would have been difficult to eat. Instead, I sent Crow back to the Docks community before heading back home to the forest. There, I was met by Kali, who almost immediately pulled me to the orchard. She happily showed off the little saplings that were growing where we planted the pears of strength only a short time ago.

  "Well done, Kali," I said with a smile, feeling her excitement, which was so potent it was coming through despite her inhabiting her living wood golem. "That is much faster than I expected."

  She preened at the compliment before pointedly gesturing to the rest of the spaces, not so subtly poking me to make more of the druidcraft divine fruit trees. Seeing as I had the rest of the day off, I agreed.

  "Sure, alright. I'll make a couple of the thought-clearing apricots," I said, the Genus Loci giving me a happy hug before I could turn to head back to the ritual platform. "Okay, Okay, don't get too excited, I'm not making more than two. They are on the more time-consuming side."

  She gave me one last squeeze before releasing me, exiting her solid golem body after laying it against a flower-covered tree, on the exterior side of one of the many supporting canopy trees. This way, she could more directly help my ritual and my magic, improving the quality of the seeds. I was all for the extra hand, as well as whatever bonus she could manage to squeeze out of my rituals.

  It took about twenty minutes to gather the ingredients and another fifteen to draw out the ritual. As usual, I placed out all the ingredients when the lines were done, before gently sitting around the exterior line. Just as with the pear seeds, I slowly fed the ritual power, the entire process taking another twenty minutes. When It was done, as usual, I could feel Kali assisting, feel her nudging and poking at the magic.

  I crossed into the burned-out ritual, Kali washing away the soot as I picked up the now slightly glowing apricot pit, looking at it closely. The thought-clearing apricots were a divine fruit that helped refine and tune the pathways of the brain. It wasn't quite a literal intelligence boost but rather an enhancement of focus and concentration, as well as mental self-control and discipline. It was prized among mages and scholars alike for obvious reasons.

  "Well… It looks like it worked," I said with a smile, feeling Kali's excitement. "Do you want to plant it, or should I start-"

  Before I could finish my sentence, a distant noise began to fill the forest. It was droning and loud, sounding like a distant calling beast, calling out in despair. It only took a moment for me to realize it was an air raid siren coming from Brockton Bay.

  I turned to the city, even if I couldn't see it, listening to the sirens rise and fall, a distant warning that danger was approaching. Soon Piper, Smokey, and Alya were standing and floating beside me, listening to the sound. Finally, it trailed off, fading away at a low pointing in the haunting sound. The attack wasn’t here, a small mercy, bought at the cost of other people's lives.

  "Was…" I said, unable to speak,

  "The Endbringer sirens," Piper confirmed, nodding her head while equally dazed. "It was."

  For a moment, we were all frozen. Then, like a switch being flipped, I was moving, rushing to where my gear was.

  "Alright, we can handle this," I said, roughly putting on my boots. "Piper, get the golems together, Smokey, start calling the patrol teams in. I'll pop over to the Docks community and grab Crow. I'll call New Wave to see what their plan is. If they want to go, they can bring their golems, but if they aren't, I will teleport to their houses to collect them, we need every extra hand."

  I was about to put my jacket on when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Looking back, I could see that neither of the guardians had moved and that Smokey had stepped closer. There was a serious look on his face as he gave my shoulder another gentle squeeze.

  "Guys, come on, we need to get moving," I said emphatically. "Now is not the time to fuck around. We need to get moving!"

  "And we will," Smokey assured me. "After you agree."

  "Agree with what?" I asked, confused by his tone.

  "That you need to stay here."