CotB 39: Aftermath

[center]Cult of the Bay

Chapter 39: Aftermath

<<<Rebecca Costa-Brown>>>[/center]

“She actually did it…” The sounds of the other Directors didn’t register as she focused on what… for so many years she thought was an impossibility.

How many decades had she and the others struggled, knowing that they weren’t fighting a winning battle? The numbers laid it all out, as Numberman would say, but the numbers showed that the Endbringers would inevitably cause the collapse of society which in turn would hasten the gradual extinction of humanity on Bet. 

Year after year she and the Triumvirate fought, bled, and died alongside Heroes and Villains. Year after year she lost bits and pieces of her soul, the loss and grief slowly grinding her down to a… woman that didn’t even flinch when committing crimes against humanity.

Anything to save humanity, and if by some miracle they actually won? She would gladly accept the condemnation as a monster. If her life was required, she’d lower her head and let them have it. As the Siberian had established, she wasn’t truly invincible… funny how that horrible event was actually something that gave her so much peace back then.

During the Golden Age, back when she was… so hopeful for the future. 

“Chief-Director! We should bring Lamb in for her wide scale use of a Master power!” One of the Directors insisted, “There are countless reports of people claiming to hear a woman talking to them! Such a widespread Master power hasn’t been seen since the Simurgh!” He added… and Rebecca nearly snorted.

Was he hoping that invoking the youngest Endbringer would make her react as he wished? Unfortunately for him she was much too invested in Lamb, who cared if she Master’d an entire city when she could potentially save Humanity across countless dimensions?

The other Directors made sounds of agreement, most of them from a purely logical basis, and a few from a distaste or hatred of parahumans in general. The only one that didn’t seem invested was Emily, which she found interesting as she was aware of the woman's personal feelings about parahumans.

“Director Piggot? Do you have something to add?” Rebecca asked, genuinely curious more than anything as she planned on shutting down any talk of having Lamb thrown in the Birdcage out of paranoia.

“We have no way of holding her,” She said, bluntly, “Nor a way of killing her that wouldn’t cause riots in the streets in every major city on the planet. If she wished to simply control all of us, there isn’t a whole lot we could have done to stop it. That she waited until killing an Endbringer before this means that it was either a show of power or, and this is more likely in my opinion, a side effect of what she did to kill Behemoth.” The director’s hand was messing with something, possibly her dialysis machine, before she continued, “Others that have been exposed to her power, including a member of my research staff, have stated that this ‘Selene’ does verifiably exist and is likely responsible for Lamb’s powers. I think it would be wise to make a new Case for her.”

Her words were like setting a fox loose in a hen house with the way the other Directors started speaking.

Rebecca let a small appear on her lips and with a simple clearing of her throat brought the other Directors down, “Well said,” She said with a simple nod, “The truth is that Lamb has done something we thought impossible. The sheer amount of positive PR she has now practically makes her a saint in the eyes of the public. But I think, Directors, you’re missing the bigger picture. What if she can do it again?”

That did give them all a pause, not that Rebecca cared as in her mind anything resembling Caging or otherwise limiting Lamb’s growth was off the table. And if some hotshot Director thought he or she could do something without her knowledge? 

She would kill them herself!

“How is Lamb, Director Piggot?” Rebecca asked, legitimately concerned, “I heard she passed out after what she did.”

Emily shifted slightly in her seat, “Physically speaking? She’s completely fine if extremely exhausted.” She answered, “Dr. Alina says Lamb’s experiencing what she called ‘Severe Power Deficit’ a lot of the terminology was lost on me. But according to her, Lamb produces more power than she can realistically use, and this is the first time she’s ever ‘emptied the tank,’ resulting in extreme lethargy.”

“Will she recover?” And that was the most important matter in Rebecca’s mind.

Emily nodded, “She’s already up and moving, Dr. Alina said in a few days, maybe a week at most she’d be back to normal,” She said, “Though it’ll be a while before she could do a repeat performance. Though now I’ve got to deal with a horde of nuts coming into my city thinking Lamb is the new messiah…” She grumbled, “And plenty that already live here. We’ve been able to determine it wasn’t a master effect beyond light emotional manipulation to ease grief and bolster positive feelings, for the record.”

Rebecca’s smile widened a bit more at that, well that certainly explained why Contessa had been so amused. She wondered if the Thinker 12 had anything to do with it, but dismissed the thought.

“Of course she did.” Since Lamb had come into the fold, Contessa had been more… human; something she thought the Thinker wasn’t capable of doing without leaning on her power.

“Well, I’ll see that some additional funding is allotted to your post,” Rebecca said, “Keep up the good work Emily.”

The brief look of befuddlement that flashed across Emily’s face made Rebecca’s day!

Who said being at the top meant you couldn’t have fun with it?

[center]<<<Lisa Wilbourn/Kitsune>>>[/center

Lisa decided she absolutely loved her life!

Not only because Coil was dead and gone, not only because Lamb got her out of a life she never wanted to begin with (and routinely fucked her into a stupor), and not because Lamb even fixed her powers! Though all of them are very much true.

No, she loved her life because Lamb asked her to deal with all the journalists, paparazzi, tabloid reporters, and anyone else that wanted to see her. Which was understandable, though Lamb was up and moving she was still very tired. So obviously with Lamb being in ‘Low Power mode’ she couldn’t actually deal with all the questions when it was entirely possible for her to fall asleep in the middle of an interview.

And that’s where the wonderful and sexy Kitsune came in to handle everything!

“Are the rumors that she runs a sex cult true?” One of them asked, “And if so, what would she say to the children wishing to join her?”

“Okay, on the record for any children wishing to join? They would have to be much older before getting involved in such things,” Kitsune said, “And secondly, The Coven and what we do in private are two very separate things.”

“But is it a sex cult!?” One particularly demanding reporter asked, from the tabloid Bizzare Bay Weekly if Kitsune wasn’t mistaken.

“No, I just said what we do in private is just that, private. It and the coven are two separate things,” She repeated as she crossed her arms looking unimpressed. “The Coven is a charity organization, first and foremost. Lamb created it to help the people of this city. Now does anyone have any pertinent questions?”

“Who’s Selene? Is she a trump that’s given Lamb powers?” Another asked, “Will she ever show her face?”

“Yes, she will and she’ll do it when she feels it is right,” Kitsune answered, “Not that Lamb doesn’t have her own power, but yes Selene has empowered Lamb beyond what she was originally capable of.”

Kitsune wasn’t sure why Selene wanted her to say that, but who was she to question a goddess?

That set off a storm of wild conversations, but another reporter stepped forward to ask, “When will Lamb’s next public appearance be?”

Kitsune tilted her head, her ear flicking for a few moments, “Currently she’s extremely drained, so in a few days, a week at most,” She said.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” another asked, a cute girl that looked far too young for this, a mere twenty years old, “is it true that several students in the Columbus Institute College were helping run a food drive at the time of the attack? Did they manage to escape?” That explained it, she was interning and getting a journalism degree while running the school paper as a side gig.

“They managed to get away,” Kitsune answered, “I believe they’re all spending time with their families.”

“Is it true they’re all members of Coven?” She continued, “Readers want to know!”

Kitsune chuckled, “Yes, though other than the goth quartet the others are new members,” She said, “They all have their own reasons of course, some probably just joined to help the community in their own ways. I don’t know their reasoning, well… I could but I won’t. That’s an invasion of privacy after all.”

That was a dirty, dirty lie. She knew all their secrets. Lamb had asked her to vet them, after all.

“Will Lamb be killing another Endbringer?” Another asked, pushing forward to the front, “If not, why?”

“She said she will, so she will,” Kitsune said, “What more can I say?”

A very stacked asian woman Kitsune vaguely recognized from a talk show Alec enjoyed watching raised her hand, “Will Lamb be interested in doing a live interview after she’s recovered?”

And that just stirred up the others, and Kitsune had to stop herself from giggling.

She was simply enjoying this far too much, maybe she should’ve gotten into media?

“I’d have to ask her, but I don’t believe she’d be uninterested,” Kitsune said, “As long as the questions are pertinent and simply not a witch hunt to tarnish her reputation.”

She scoffed, “Of course not. That would be impossible to do anyway, she killed Behemoth,” She was not lying, “Tarnishing her reputation is just about impossible.”

“True, however I felt it was only reasonable to mention it,” Kitsune said, “You’ve been in the media long enough to know what some will do for ratings.”

“Believe me girl, just having someone like her on the show at all is enough to get ratings!” She laughed, “Coven has an email address, right? My agent will be giving you contact information through that! Look forward to having you on!” And like that, she turned to leave… though another explosion of chaos took place in the crowd.

“This is so much fun!” Yes, she decided, she had definitely missed her calling in life.

Either dealing with the media or being a lawyer, she wasn’t sure which sounded more entertaining!

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[b]♦ Topic: The HERO KILLER HAS BEEN KILLED!!![/b]

[b]In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► Recent Events[/b]

[b]Bagrat [/b] (Original Poster) (The Guy in the Know) (Veteran Member)

Posted On May 15th 2011:

I’m sure everyone knows what happened by now, lord knows the parties are still going strong across the city and maybe even the world. But as the Guy in The Know I’m here to break it down for y'all. And, honestly, I needed to take a break from celebrating so I welcome this.

Now as I’m sure everyone here, at least the locals, know of Lamb the Leader of Coven… which is also a cult apparently. But not one of those documentary ones or anything like the Fallen thankfully, from my research Lamb’s planning on opening a church (for the lack of a better term) so that people of unconventional faiths can worship in peace.

And of course, welcome anyone into her own faith, but she ain’t pushy about it so no problem.

But back to the topic at hand, why is she being brought up? Well simply put, if you’ve been living under a rock, she did what everyone thought was impossible and Killed the Hero Killer!

Now I didn’t see it myself, I was already in a shelter kissing my ass goodbye. I don’t have a sound bite but I’m sure someone in the thread will provide one.

Edit: NO FLEEING, NO HIDING, ONLY NOTHINGNESS thanks Acree!

Now I didn’t learn this until later, but according to my sources Lamb ripped reality open and something on the other side pulled the Hero Killer into it! I’m sure everyone heard its roar just get cut off suddenly!

But… yeah, our Lady Lamb has done the impossible and… hopefully she’ll repeat it two more times!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a drink calling me and afterwards I’m going to see about converting to… Lambism or whatever she calls her religion.

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[b]►Brocktonite03 [/b] (Veteran Member) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

I for one welcome our new Fluffy Overlord and Savior!

I'm one of the unlucky fuckers to not make it to a shelter in time, I thought I was as good as dead!

Fucking voice got it right, Praise the Lamb!

[b]►Chilldrizzle [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Fucking... what the HELL is in the water down there!?

Why the hell does your city have so many crazy capes!?

[b]►ArchmageEin [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

If we knew that we'd do something to fix it

Alas we don't so we have to live with it

[b]►SpecificProtaginist [/b] (Verified Lurker)  (Fanfiction writer)  (Rabid Shipper) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

I wonder if Lamb would enjoy me PRAISING her?

wiggles eyebrows

[b]►Bruce Lao [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Of course, as expected from you Protag

[b]►BadSamurai [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Bold of you to assume that she isn't getting PRAISED right now

[b]►XxVoid_CowboyxX [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Hey!

Maybe Lamb's actually the one that actually controls the Endbringers!

And they somehow went rogue and what really happened was that Lamb reclaimed her rogue property!!!

That means it was planned!

[b]►Acree [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Message Deleted

[b]►Antigone [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Message Deleted

[b]►SpecificProtaginist [/b] (Verified Lurker)  (Fanfiction writer)  (Rabid Shipper) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Message Deleted

[b]►Dragon_Mum (Moderator) [/b] (Moderator) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Okay, okay everyone cool it! You all know the ToS! Take a three-day ban!

Void! Take a 7-day ban! Hopefully you'll realize insinuating what you did could get you in serious trouble if not worse!

[b]►Chrome [/b]

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Jesus Fucking Christ Void, do you have a death wish!?

[b]►SmugFox [/b] (Verified Cape)  (At Ground Zero: Brockton Bay)  (Coven Member) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

Oh?

crackles knuckles

So... this is how I return to my Villan Arc?

[b]►Dragon_Mum (Moderator) [/b] (Moderator) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

SmugFox no!

[b]►SmugFox [/b] (Verified Cape)  (At Ground Zero: Brockton Bay)  (Coven Member) 

Replied On May 15th 2011:

SmugFox YES!

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