Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
Piggot POV.
"No sign of Hess?" I asked with a sneer. She's a miserable little thing.
"None, after disappearing with the Travelers at the youth center, she wasn't seen anywhere," Armsmistress said immediately.
"Can we believe she joined the League of Villains?" I asked coldly.
"Sophia... reports say she started a fight with the other detainees when the news showed Hebert. She was put in solitary confinement; that... wasn't her first offence." Miss Militia said it as if she were hurting, and I grimaced. Hess wouldn't have my sympathy in the slightest.
She had ruined so much in so many ways, it was unbelievable. If she wanted to become a villain, she had certainly earned that label.
"Then it's safest to say yes. The cameras show her going with them without resisting. Classify Shadow Stalker as a villain and ready her file. I'll send it immediately to everyone in charge of the League of Villains, especially Japan." I said immediately with a grimace.
"Is this really a good idea?" asked Miss Militia. "If Miss Hebert finds out..."
"Hebert has nothing to do with this. I tried to help Hess and all I'm doing is not shooting myself in the foot. That's enough. I'm washing my hands of it. Let Hebert find out. It'll be worse if we keep this a secret." I immediately scoffed.
"It will be done." Armsmistress said, and I nodded.
"Do a cleanup and change the passwords. I want all the systems Hess had access to updated." I said quickly, and Armsmistress nodded.
"On that note, I will ask Dragon for help to speed things up before the League of Villains can exploit any loopholes in our systems," Armsmistress said without hesitation, and I nodded.
"Good. Barnes still isn't talking?" I asked with a grimace. Armsmistress shook her head.
"No, we locked her up temporarily because she was the closest to Hess, but she keeps saying that Hess didn't contact her, which, according to my helmet, is a lie, but we have no proof to show otherwise, sooner or later we'll have to release her." Armsmistress said with a grimace, and I snorted.
"Damn headaches. Put her on patrols with the most experienced heroes, warn them about a possible ambush by Hess or betrayal by Barnes, tell them to be vigilant and keep one eye open. Remove her from all console rotations, limit her access to the PRT and Protectorate databases. We can't dismiss her without any proof, but I don't want any loopholes when she eventually betrays us and turns villainous." I said coldly.
"Do you really... do you really think Emma will do that?" Miss Militia asked, as if I'd kicked her puppy. I snorted.
"Barnes has a smug grin on her face while she's locked up right now, when the last few weeks she was pale and looked like the world was ending. So yes, she'll join Hess, no doubt about it. The question is when." I said with a grimace. "Also, have them monitor the League of Villains. Any clue could lead us to Hess." I added with a grimace.
"Done," said Armsmistress.
"Is it possible to transfer Barnes to another branch of the Protectorate?" I asked, almost hopefully.
"Without any good reason, or without her own permission, no, we cannot." Armsmistress said immediately, and I grimaced.
"Transferring Emma... isn't that a bit much? Especially if we think Sophia is looking for her, wouldn't it be better to keep her under surveillance here? " Miss Militia asked, frowning. I grimaced.
"Normally, yes, but there is… a situation that requires Barness to be as far away from Brockton Bay as possible for the next month," I said coldly. "And it's the same reason I asked you to hold that meeting with the rest of the Protectorate, Armsmistress," I said, looking at her intently.
"The meeting? Are you talking about Herbert? I thought it was just for public relations. And how would she have anything to do with Barnes leaving Brockton Bay? " Armsmistress asked immediately. I wrinkled my nose.
"Yes, that meeting, and in part, I needed an excuse to keep all the heroes of the Protectorate-ENE informed about Hebert," I said with a grimace.
"Did something happen?" Miss Militia asked with a frown, I nodded.
"Yes... we found a way to bring Hebert to Brockton Bay." I said immediately, I could see the surprise in both of them, even in Armsmistress despite her helmet.
"Bring... Hebert? Are they forcing her to return? " Miss Militia asked worriedly.
"Nothing permanent, but this way she'll be forced to set foot in Brockton Bay for days at a time." I said with a weary sigh. "Looking through the UA curriculum, there's something called Hero Work- Studies. They're essentially internships, a real heroic experience at a hero agency. They should start in about a month and last another full month." I began to explain.
"Wait, I read about it, but I'm sure it doesn't say anywhere that they can choose a hero agency outside of Japan, not to mention that Hero-Work Studies is extracurricular, they still have to attend their regular classes." Armsmistress said immediately, and I nodded.
"You're well-informed, as I expected. But yes, Brennan and Costa-Brown really want her to set foot in the United States and start forming ties somehow with the PRT and the Protectorate. Director Costa-Brown assured me that she would take care of convincing Director Nezu that this whole charade is possible." I said with a grimace.
"But... what about her studies?" Miss Militia asked, worried. "I don't think she can delay her studies for weeks," she added. I grimaced.
"That's why she won't. We'll be negotiating a long-term contract with a teleporter to bring Herbert here and back every day; Strider is among those being considered." I said bitterly.
"Strider?! They want to hire an independent mass teleportation just to bring Herbert here? Besides, doesn't she charge a fortune for private teleportations? Even if the request comes from the PRT, outside of S-class emergencies, Strider's rates are exorbitant," Miss Militia asked, surprised and concerned. I sighed and nodded.
"Strider came into the picture because of the whole problem with Hebert and her army of insect monsters—they really want to bring that kind of plague to Brockton Bay." I said with a grimace before smiling mockingly. "And guess what? Costa-Brown finally decided to give us a massive budget increase to hire Strider."
"After years of pleading and begging, we finally got a budget increase simply because they want to sweet-talk a 19-year-old girl," I said bitterly. It was hard not to be annoyed by such a situation, yet I swallowed my annoyance hard, as I had been doing for months, no… for years.
"But... even with an increased budget, will it be enough to hire Strider for a full month, round trip, without affecting us completely?" Miss Militia asked worriedly, and I nodded.
"For that reason, Hebert will only come here for half the days of her Work Study. On paper and for the public, this is supposed to be joint training with the Japan Hero Public Safety Commission. Hebert will still choose a Japanese agency where she will conduct her Hero Work Studies, which will rotate between us and them."
"Once again, for the public, this is how Hebert gets all the heroic experience possible, both Japanese and American. She will be assigned the task of writing reports and pointing out the differences between the two systems, and what were some of the practices and differences that stood out and that she liked the most and all that shit."
"I think they also want to make it public so people can see it and all that; it's really a mess that's about to explode."
"In practice, Hebert will do the first half of her Work Study in Japan and the second half here, or it will be every other day, one day she will come here to Brockton Bay and the next to her chosen Hero agency in Japan, and she will continue like this until she finishes the Work Hero Studies."
"Costa-Brown and the others are still drafting the final idea," I said with a grimace.
"That... sounds very complicated." Miss Militia said with a frown, and I massaged my temple.
"Because it is, but Watchdog is sure this is the only way to get Japan to agree to let Herbert do half of her Work Study here in Brockton Bay, and once again, my hands are tied; this is an order from Director Costa-Brown."
"Director Piggor... I cannot stress enough what a bad idea it is to bring Miss Hebert to Brockton Bay." Armsmistress said firmly, and I laughed dismissively.
"You think I don't know? You think that after the whole Barnes and Hess fiasco I'd want Herbert on my team? I know I screwed up back then, and badly, but I'm not stupid enough to try and bring a damn time bomb into my house, especially not after one of those two idiot girls ran off with the League of Villains."
"But what I believe doesn't matter. I have orders from Costa-Brown and Brennan, orders I cannot disobey. They want to try to secure Hebert by any means necessary." I said through gritted teeth.
"But... even if Miss Hebert comes back, it's obvious she won't want anything to do with us. In fact, if we force her to do the internship with us, she'll hate us even more," Miss Militia said immediately. I nodded.
"I know, and blame it on me," I said with a grimace. "Demonize me if you must; all of Hebert's hatred and annoyance can be directed at me. After all, she already has that opinion, as long as I maintain a good image of the rest of the Protectorate and the heroes of the PRT." I scoffed.
"Even so, it's unlikely she'd decide to stay in Brockton Bay. It would have been better for her to do her Work Study in another branch of the PRT. From what I understand, Miss Hebert might like Alexandria, Los Angeles. It would be an excellent branch to show Hebert, or even New York with Legend; I'm sure he could win Hebert's goodwill." Armsmistress said, and I snorted.
"I know, and I suggested those ideas several times, but they strongly refused. Honestly, the last thing I want is to bring Hebert, 'Ryuma's Heir,' while she's using Shusui, anywhere near that damned Lung." I said slowly through gritted teeth.
"Do you really think that…?" Miss Militia said, paling slightly.
"Do the higher-ups want me to do what Ryuma couldn't, just to give him more fame? I'm more than sure of it. Lung thought she was all-powerful, until Ryuma came along and casually cut her to pieces countless times."
"Lung survived by sheer luck and fled with her tail between her legs as far away as she could from Ryuma and Japan. Bring his heir? The sword that left her, so far, with her only permanent scars? This will explode, all of Brockton Bay will explode when Herbert arrives." I said with my eyes closed.
"Oh goddess," Miss Militia murmured breathlessly.
"We need to prepare, make contingencies, prevent Herbert from patrolling or approaching Azn Bad Girls territory," Armsmistress said immediately. I sighed.
"Do you think that even then, Lung won't go looking for Hebert? None of our heroes can stop her completely; we'll only make her quirk bigger and stronger, and she won't stop until she kills Hebert, or until Hebert performs a miracle and kills Lung."
"And for our safety, I hope Ryuma has trained her enough to do the second thing." I said as I closed my eyes tightly.
"Really... would Director Costa-Brown and Director Brennan really let Brockton Bay blow up?" Miss Militia asked wearily. I opened my eyes and looked at her without any emotion.
"They plan to involve Selner." I spat out sharply, and both of their eyes jerked slightly in surprise.
"Selner? Norman Selner!?" Miss Militia asked incredulously.
"The Upgrader Selner? Yes, Selner himself. They want to offer Hebert the Selner upgrade as a form of 'reward and apology' after the disaster Lung caused, provided I sign the papers to return to the United States in the future, obviously."
"They'll even be 'benevolent' enough to let her finish her studies at UA and her mandatory service and continue her relationship with Miyamura, just to keep her happy and on their good side," I said mockingly. "In fact, they want Miyamura to come along too, on the same condition."
"Japan will forbid it. There's no way they'll let Miyamura escape," Armsmistress said immediately, and I snorted.
"Of course they do, but do Brennan and Costa-Brown care? Of course not, they're not the first S-rank they've stolen from another country." I sneered. "Even if they're a problem like that idiot Hwang Dong-Mi from the Scavengers guild." I started massaging my temple.
"Is there something wrong with Huntress Hwang?" Armsmistress asked flatly.
"Apparently, her older sister in Korea was murdered in a dungeon. Hwang Dong-Mi doesn't believe it was an accident and is certain she was killed by another Hunter. She recently went to Korea to try and kill the one she believes is responsible. She failed and was called back, but even so, it's obvious she's still seeking revenge." I sneered. "Thomasin Andre and Brennan are trying to stop her, but Hwang is a bloodthirsty idiot. She won't stop for anything."
"And who is the alleged murderer?" Armsmistress asked. My mouth pressed tightly together.
"Sung Jin-Woo, son of National Rank Sung Il-Hwan," I said slowly. Once again, the heroines in front of me were greatly surprised.
"Is Hunter Hwang really that crazy to try to kill National Rank Sung's son?" Miss Militia asked incredulously. I snorted.
"Why do you think Brennan and Andre are acting so crazy? They'll try to stop her, but Hwang won't stop. She'll be waiting for the slightest slip-up to try, so relations with Korea are getting strained... even more strained than they already were after Hwang's theft." I said with disdain.
"That... that's worrying," Miss Militia said. I nodded.
"It is, but for the moment we're not interested. The important thing is to focus on Hebert's arrival. As you've probably noticed, they really, really want this." I said, trying to return to the more important and immediate topic. If I kept thinking about that idiot Hwang, my headache would only get worse, much worse than it already was.
"We have to take down Lung before Hebert arrives," Armsmistress said without hesitation. I stared at her.
"If you can do it without the city exploding, do it. I don't care if it angers the higher-ups. I don't want my city to burn down because of some damn game they want to play with Hebert," I said firmly. "Meanwhile, I want all the heroes of the Protectorate ready. I don't want you to mention anything about Hebert's Work Studies for the time being; they're still a secret."
"But prepare yourselves discreetly for what will happen next month, prepare yourselves to fight against Lung, against the ABG, and God forbid, against e88. Because I am sure that you will not remain silent and quiet in the face of whatever happens with the ABG." I said solemnly.
"Understood." They said at the same time, I sighed as I nodded.
"You have your orders, carry them out. Now, go, I have a terrible headache," I grumbled as I dismissed them both. The two leaders of the Brockton Bay Protectorate left immediately, and I sighed.
"All I can do is pray that Japan refuses to release Herbert somehow." I sighed wearily to myself. I opened the drawer and took out a bottle of aspirin, swallowing a few before taking a long drink of water. There was still a lot of work to be done to prevent the city from being in flames within a month.