Shard Protective Services. (Worm/Crack)

Shard Protective Services.

…

Commissioned by Muse

Wordcount: 2038

…

Lung looked at the suited, curly-haired girl standing before him holding a form before him.

Then, he checked if her threats had any merit.

He thought about many things to make himself angry.

The woman in the fedora.

The Nazis.

Leviathan.

Usually, the last one always got to him, but this time… no.

There was no response from his power at all.

And, it just happened that he couldn’t move either, and all his men were unconscious.

So, the girl was telling the truth. 

“Hmph, I suppose silence is one way to confront the situation, Mr. Lung. However, rest assured that silence will not get you anywhere.” The suited-girl opened her briefcase, slipped in the form she’d show him, and pushed up her glasses. “If you wish to have custody over your Shard again, you will contact me, arrange for a plea deal, and make your case. Should you properly convey to me that you’ve been properly treating your Shard, it will be returned to you. Until then, good day.”

The words he’d earlier disregarded as lunacy had deeper connotations this time around. Shard. Plea deal. Testimony. The words were familiar to him as anyone who has spent more than an hour watching daytime television in America. American fetishizing over melodramatic recreations of courts of law finally had some use. Lung was aware of his current situation completely and utterly.

“How and where.” 

Lung didn’t trust himself to utter more than a few words. He had an image to uphold. One that normally required on copious amounts of firepower, strength, and regeneration. All of those were currently not available to him, and some of his men could easily be feigning lack of consciousness. He had to be careful, as careful as he was before he received his powers. Thankfully, he wasn’t the type to forget lessons. 

“Here is my card. My name is Taylor Hebert. You can contact me from nine to five on any business day to schedule your plea deal. Call early to set your appointment. You may not schedule an appointment more than a week ahead of time.”

He was going to say nothing until he had a lawyer by his side.

…

Lung arrived on his scheduled day, five minutes ahead of time, and with the best lawyer he could get on his side. Hebert didn’t allow for consultations, but forwarded him and his own draft. Said draft contained certain facts Lung was sure that would see most people dead or dying. The Shards were offshoots of two alien Entities. Upon the passing of one Entity, only one remains, and that Entity is interested in ensuring the remaining offshoots are taken care off.

Taken care off means provided with a healthy diet of conflict, constant stimulation, and new challenges.

Lung was intrinsically aware that the basis his power was removed from his possession because of his choice to not seek out new challenges after Leviathan.

However, he had a case.

A good, solid case.

“So, Mr. Lung, remember the blame must be pinned squarely upon the Endbringers.” His lawyer was a professional man. Not close to the ABB. Not even from Brockton Bay. Legal representation, even unofficial, required professionals with good credentials. It almost felt good fall back on older lessons of a bygone time, rather than simply use his power. “As challenges themselves, they’re the upper limit, and there’s no course of action that allows one to be victorious against them. Believe in this firmly and completely, state it, and I’ll handle whatever subtleties Ms. Hebert utilizes.”

He had a simple path, one that he had investment in, and he was sure he would be able to regain control over his power.

Lung luxuriated in his control whilst the rest in the simple, air-conditioned waiting room fretted frantically.

Kaiser was in the corner, whispering into his phone, while his two lovers hung near him. Lung couldn’t hear the exact words leaving the Empire’s leader’s mouth, but he knew that his rival gang leader began speaking into his phone after hearing his exchange with his lawyer. For a man with such immense wealth and a myriad of connections, it baffled Lung to think that the man only came with bribes, instead of actual legal advice.

Still, while the Empire’s leader had bribes, the man was still better prepared than the last gang “leader” in the room. Skidmark, an addled addict barely worth calling a nuisance who controlled the narcotics trade in Brockton Bay, was banging on the door of the meeting room. The man with chipped teeth, who stank of piss, booze, and many other things, screamed obscenities against the door that had locked him out.

Lung felt that the only individual who was as prepared as he was sat across from him in silence.

Armsmaster obviously still had access to his armor and Tinkertech. However, Lung knew Tinkers well enough that the Protectorate hero required his powers back as quickly as possible, in order maintain his equipment. Without maintenance, Tinkertech degraded rapidly, and Armsmaster would be useless without his equipment. 

Lung was sure that it perturbed the hero be incapable of arresting him, since Hebert instilled that those she’s investigating are removed from any fighting whatsoever, and that she’d take action against all that attempted to involve them in conflict. More like a divine monster that had its own rules and laws, Hebert insisted on protocol and procedures that protected those she targeted herself from others with her own strength.

It was like she looked upon the system respected by Capes all around the world and ground it beneath her heel without a second thought. 

Some might say her power was ludicrous, but Lung knew better than to weep and whine about power.

Power was power.

And, it was in his interest to respect power, lest he found himself broken by it.

Abruptly the door Skidmark had been banging against burst open, sending the Merchant leader sprawling on the ground.

Hebert entered the room with no fanfare whatsoever, but Lung was sure that he now faced the greatest battle he’d ever face in his life.

“Mr. Lung, I’ll be seeing you now.”

He fixed his tie before rising.

…

The girl seated before him wore a suit, had spectacles that sat on her nose, and stood and greeted him when he entered the room. She looked the very picture of an adolescent playing a game at being at some sort of boss in her father’s office, except for the fact that her features showed no sign of a youthful temperament.

No, Lung only saw someone who was doing their job, driven to the best at their job, and was very, very good at their job.

“Mr. Lung, your attorney has made a very good case. The fact that you were assaulted and driven off by an Endbringer, which is beyond the scaling meant for your Shard, is seen by myself as a compelling argument towards your actions not wholly being due to your own design.” And, so, Lung couldn’t help but relax at the words he heard. Though he didn’t deign himself to breathing outward, he allowed himself to sit just a little less straight. “However, there remains the fact that your Shard has been neglected since then, and I cannot return it to you unless I am convinced that you will raise it, nourish it, and continue expanding upon its potential.”

Lung looked and silenced his attorney, who was undeniably about to speak in his defense. The man had proven himself during the negotiation, managing to convince the iron-will and concise Taylor Hebert before him, but that didn’t mean Lung would hide behind him forever. If he were stronger, he’d have not been tarnished by Leviathan defeating him, and this would never have occurred. 

So, he would accept the restitution asked of him.

If not for his pride as a man, but for the power that saved him and what was his time and time again, which he abandoned when it failed him a second time.

“A very, very good mindset, Mr. Lung. I approve. That will get you far in realizing the potential of your Shard and undoing some of the atrophy that has collected upon it.” Rapid typing followed the words, so rapid that Lung was sure it was a power, and he was even more sure as the printer produced several sheets of paper at the merest beckoning. Was it a Shaker power, or perhaps a Striker power, that allowed her to command such a blasted, devilish thing with not respect for time with such contemptuous ease? “The details for strengthening your power are within these pages, however the basics of the matter that you’ll be going to Africa.”

Lung awaited for the explanation, but he looked at his attorney and motioned for him to be ready to come to his aid. 

“As you are possibly aware, Africa is a massive battleground, in which those with Shards and those who do not fight continuous wars. There you will be tested, strengthened, and empowered, with no chance of interference from the Endbringers, due to their focus on assaulting locations which are stable.” Hebert’s words made Lung blink not once, but twice. He listened intently, leaning forward despite himself, and waved down his attorney. In essence, he was lowering his only weapon for the current battle, but he was intrigued by the path he was being offered. “Brockton Bay is too small for your power. The conflict here is artificially constructed and maintained by outside thinkers to be an artificial arena from which the victor will emerge. That will not do for your Shard.”

But, not Africa?

“Africa is a chaotic mess that requires order through strength of arms on the scale of a whole continent. After being beaten by Leviathan, after facing the stagnant set of powers and abilities within this city, you can see the appeal of this massive undertaking, correct?”  Lung stayed silent, but he did agree. The conquest of a whole continent. Continuous fighting against thousands and thousands of regular men and women, whilst hundreds upon hundreds of parahumans assail him, and with more and more arriving unless he thoroughly secured where he won his victories… it would be a matter of endurance and speed, both of which his power lacked at the beginning and end of battles. “Within Africa, under continuous conflict, your Shard will grow in strength. I expect that you will be able to grow in strength faster, maintain the height of your strength for longer times, and perhaps even be able to maintain a minimal transformed state instead of reverting to your human form.”

Lung was more than willing to accept.

So, he rose up and offered his hand to Taylor Hebert.

Which she stood and shook with a nod.

“I look forward to the growth of your Shard and yourself as an individual, Mr. Lung. Simply follow the instructions within the folder and you will never hear from me again.” That alone was worth every reason to follow the directions given to him, however he would now also become stronger because he did, and he’d be leaving a city which was created to contain and cage him. He would be free again, be able to fight again, and grow stronger. He will have to begin anew, in a war torn and savage land, but when he considered his stay in Brockton Bay… those were benefits as well. “You flatter me, Mr. Lung. I’m merely doing my job.”

As Lung was about to leave, to pack, gather his loyal subordinates, and his personal funds, he stopped at the door as he felt his Shard return to him.

He couldn’t help but ask what happened to those who refused to do as she said?

It was both due to curiosity and the memory of so many unprepared fools within the waiting room.

“Their Shards are passed onto better hosts, of course.”

And, if she is attacked by those individuals through some other means?

“I forward their actions to my employer.”

Lung stilled at that, allowing his unsaid question to remain unsaid.

“Scion greatly appreciates my work, and wants me to continue working for him for many, many years, so he’s quite cross with anyone who attempts to harm me.”

Lung could only give a nod and flee at those final words.