CotB 37: Bread and Circuses

[center]Cult of the Bay

Chapter 37: Bread and Circuses

<<<Lamb>>>[/center]

Lamb hummed happily as she flitted about the kitchen in their lair, turned out the building used to be a bakery before it closed down and, while most of the appliances and the like were looted for scrap or what have you, the set up was already there. Just needed to replace some of the outlets and wires, because some junkie stripped the wires for copper.

Either that or it was just vandalism.

Now, she hadn’t managed to get all the stuff you’d find in a bakery, but it was only a matter of time really.

Sabah, who had been helping her in the kitchen, just smiled as she watched Lamb move around.

“Eager for the food drive?” It came out as a question, but it was more of a statement.

“Yep!” Lamb said, “Besides, I enjoy baking. Well, cooking in general really. I used to help mom all the time growing up, and I guess it just stuck,” She added, “Besides, it’s for a good cause.”

“True, but you know that most of the fresh stuff is going to vanish in like an hour, right?” She asked, “The cans will go a lot further.”

And there were a lot of cans, Tammi had had to use her power to just move them into their rented truck and that had made her beat for the rest of the day. Which Lamb found odd considering when she was with the E88 they’d used her as a glorified taxi, but she certainly wasn’t going to comment about it.

She might have just been feeling lazy.

Lamb actually wasn’t entirely sure if Tammi even wanted to return to the cape scene honestly, they never really talked about it beyond her presence at Annette’s resurrection..

“I know,” Lamb said, “It’s probably foolish of me, but I think everyone would appreciate something warm and fresh to eat.”

“And you wonder why you accidentally seduce so many people,” Sabah teased with a smile. “Now, I think the next loaves of bread are ready for cooking, they look risen enough.”

“Lemme check!” Lamb said as she rushed over to check, “You know? I think next time I'll try some old recipes. Some of them were simple yet tasty, Peanut Butter Bread from the Great Depression was amazing! And it was just three ingredients!” After looking she nodded and removed the loaves from the oven and carefully put them on a cooling rack before replacing them with more uncooked dough.

“Sounds good,” Sabah agreed, “Should we check on the jerky you were making out back? And should I ask where you got the meat?”

“Mmmh, sounds like a good idea.” Lamb said, “And… well Amy, actually. While mildly disturbing to watch, Amy’s power is frightfully potent.” That said, the concept of ‘Meat Trees’ still left her feeling mildly queasy.

Still free meat, if free meat. Besides, it was all naturally grown without any additives or steroids!

“... I’m not going to ask,” Sabah said after a few moments, “Anyway, jerky!”

“You really shouldn’t.” Honestly she was still mildly concerned about Amy, though Selene assured her that she was fine and just going a ‘little power mad’ in her words (which only made her more concerned). “I think people will appreciate the hickory taste, though honestly I think they’ll just enjoy having fresh meat, period.”

“Probably,” She agreed with a nod, heading out back to where the meat trees used to be.

Though if she had her way no one would ever know about the meat trees, the PRT got pretty twitchy about stuff like that. Especially given how the local PRT Director was just a bundle of issues and PTSD, she’d probably be screaming for the Bird Cage or a Kill Order before they could even explain that the meat trees couldn’t even propagate or reproduce!

Still entering a little smoker hut she’d made she checked the jerky and after nibbling on one piece she nodded, “It’s ready!” She said as she exited, offering Sabah a bite of the piece she grabbed, “Care to try? I think I’d like to experiment with different meats and flavors on my own time.”

The arabic woman nodded, “Tastes good, nice and salty. I think they’ll love it, all three hundred pounds of it.”

“Lisa? Everything set up on your end?” Lamb asked, as the thinker and Taylor went ahead to where they would be having the food drive and preparing for the food.

“Yep! We’re all good here, no criminals to speak of,” She reported happily.

“Okay,” Lamb nodded, “Now to portion all this out and bag it. Then we should be good to go!”

Thankfully Selene shared a very useful spell, which also made her wonder if Selene was just messing with her or was a massive nerd (or was it geek) seeing as the spell was called Unseen Servant. It did what you’d expect it to do, and they were fairly easy to instruct and control so she could  just summon a few and have them do the portioning and bagging for her.

Summoning up half a dozen Unseen Servants and putting them to task, she looked at Sabah, “Okay, now that that's taken care of, what next?”

“Transport?” She asked, hips cocked, “Oh, and getting the bread in containers.” Doing things properly was, apparently, a lot of work.

Lamb considered that they should get a homeless shelter built nearby to solve things…

Lamb nodded and as they went to get the bread ready she decided to talk to pass the time, “So, how have you been Sabah? We haven’t really hung out much, but things have been pretty crazy,” She said.

“Oh, I’ve been well,” She started, “I, uh… was experimenting with my powers a bit and they’re a bit… odd.”

“How odd?” Lamb asked curiously, with the connection she shared with them all she tried not to pry at most just using their emotions to find out how they were feeling.

The connection made the concept of privacy pretty shaky anyway, but Lamb liked to think she was managing it rather well.

“... I can control flesh?” She started, “My power really, really likes leather for some reason, Tammi and I discovered it.” Then she coughed. “And I can infuse it into people?”

“Wow, that’s… huh…” Lamb looked at her curiously, “And… How exactly did you two discover it? And infusing?” It might be her horni brain or maybe she caught some brainrot from Selene, but her mind immediately went into the gutter.

“I turned her into a puppet,” Sabah noted, “And I’m pretty sure I could have really, really hurt her if I wanted to.”

That took Lamb out of the gutter as she nodded, “That’s a helluva upgrade, not something you’d want to advertise I imagine,” She said.

Sabah nodded, “Other than you and Tammi, no one knows. And I want to keep it that way,” She said, “I can only imagine what people would think if I started controlling peoples skin!”

“Master or something similar,” Lamb said dryly, “Though, and pardon my horny, but… how’d it feel having Tammi under your control?”

“Hot as fuck,” She replied, “But I don’t want to experiment with it without, you know, you or Amy around.”

“Fair, and fuck it I’ll watch.” She was down to be an observer in this situation, “We should do something, go out on a date somewhere… oh! Maybe I could take you to a fancy place somewhere! It’s not like my teleporting has limits after all.”

“That sounds lovely,” Sabah replied with a smile, “Now, let’s get this stuff moved and stored…”

“Oh, let the Unseen Servants deal with it. I wanna cuddle my beautiful seamstress!” Lamb exclaimed with a huff that made Sabah smile and roll her eyes.

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Lamb hummed as she, with the others' help, started getting the food out.

“Hmm, so now I guess we wait?” Lamb asked, “... I didn’t forget to make a post about this on PHO did I?”

“No, you did,” Tammi replied, “Parian and Fox are running security, the Lady of all things tentacled is is distributing cans to the various tables when I give’em to her.”

“Parian on security wh…. Oh… I know why,” Taylor said with a nod.

Tammi just nodded, “A puppet by itself ain’t that intimidating, over a dozen? Common criminals will think twice,” She said.

“But won’t that, like, ruin her rep for neutrality?” Taylor asked curiously, “She mentioned it once,” She added when she noticed the curious look Tammi was giving her.

“It’s for a charity,” She replied, “Also, they just look like advertisements, so no one will know otherwise.”

Lamb shrugged, “As long as it keeps the creeps out, I’m happy. Oh, and why’d you choose this spot for it, Lady?”

“Well, it’s bordering the divide between the Boardwalk and the more impoverished neighborhoods, for one. Two, at least we have the safety net of a random Wards patrol coming around. And three… it's like the only place I could find on short notice.” She explained.

Lamb nodded, “Makes sense,” She said, “Though do the Wards even patrol this far out?” 

“No, but it is near that highschool they’re rumored to go to,” She replied easily, “So basically the next best thing.”

“Though, I imagine if a Ward did drop by it’d attract a lot of attention,” Tammi commented, “People love the Wards, so they’d probably follow.”

“Which… isn’t exactly what I want to happen,” Lamb said, “This food’s for the people that actually need it, not for lookie loos Ward-watching,” She added with a huff.

“That’s why Fox and Sabah are out there dealing with it,” Tammi replied with a shrug, “Oh, hey, here’s the first group of vetted people, look sharp!”

Lamb just snorted faintly before looking at the people, “Hello!” She said with a smile, “Do you need any food? We got fresh bread, some canned veggies, and a lot of jerky!”

One woman, looking relatively nice, nodded, “Um… can I have some?” She asked, looking mildly concerned, “Um… I was told by the fox girl to go to you…”

“Of course you can,” Lamb said with a smile to put the woman at ease, “We’re holding a food drive to help people, after all, Ashley and her friends will happily help you get what you need,” She added gently, sensing the genuine gratitude radiating from the woman.

She was curious as to why such a nice looking woman needed food from a food drive, but didn’t ask. She was well aware that just because you cleaned up nice didn’t mean you were in a stable situation.

“Come over here ma’am and we’ll get you sorted!” Ashley said with a smile, the woman had elected to forgo her usual goth aesthetic and decided to dress casually.

The woman just smiled gratefully, “Bless you all,” She said before she hurried over to Ashley.

Lamb looked at the others, “If you need some food just ask,” She said, her little sheep tail wagging eagerly almost like a puppy.

Selene just cooed over how adorable her Lamb was being.

People moved forward, though were relatively ordered for the most part. One homeless man wasn’t, but he was told off by another. The second was… limping and heavily scarred, like he’d been hit by a bomb blast at some point.

“Sir? Are you alright?” Lamb asked as she approached the scarred man, “What happened?” She added as she got the man a seat.

“Oh, no, I don’t need that,” He replied, eyes a touch distant, “Just old wounds, our platoon hit an IED, I lived and some buddies didn’t. Got discharged, but finding work is a little… eh, you don’t need to know about this, thank you for the help you’ve given already.” He lifted a bag of food he’d gotten. “And, I must say, good work on the gangs.”

Lamb could feel the man’s grief and wanted to help him, “Thank you, I could at least heal your scars,” She offered, she wasn’t actually sure if her healing could affect old scars or injuries like this though, “And… maybe I can help you find some work? I think the DWU is getting more work now.”

“I… would appreciate that,” He replied, “But I don’t want to impose, you’ve done enough I think.” He seemed like he was being honest by his emotions.

“It’s no problem,” Lamb said with a smile, “Just hang around and I’ll call him after the Drive, okay?”

The man just chuckled, “Stubborn as a goat, ain’t you?” He asked before shaking his head, “Fine, fine… my leg would appreciate the rest at any rate.”

Lamb smiled and helped him get situated before turning and seeing her girls and minions helping out the others. It made her smile even more, especially when she could feel the gratitude coming from everyone.

One woman with a little girl nearly cried in gratitude.

“I’ll put the church on the backburner and get a homeless shelter up next.” She decided she'd also flex her magical muscle after the DWU went through to check on the wiring and utilities.

“Why not both together?” Selene whispered in suggestion, her voice low and seductive, “Having them living under you would inspire such loyalty and love…”

“Huh, there’s an idea…” She mused, and it wouldn’t really be indoctrination would it?

It’s not like she was forcing them into her cult after all!

Contessa slipped in at… some point, walking over to her and saying, “The paperwork is all done for your religion,” She noted, “Your new lawyer asset was quite helpful, she may wish to convert to it as well.”

“Thanks, Contessa!” Lamb said with a smile, “Want to hang around? I believe we have some snacks along with all this food.”

“I would enjoy that,” She replied with a smile, reaching for a bit of jerky, “You won’t be able to give away all of this.”

“We can try,” Lamb said with a smile, “But help yourself.”

She smirked and started helping out, distributing food, water, and cans out. “Oh, and we’re going to have some more guests soon, you know them. No hostilities.”

“Oh, lovely,” Lamb said with a hum as she started helping out as well, sure there was delegating but it just wasn’t in her to let her girls and minions do all the work!

The guests didn’t take too long to arrive, the sound of a motorcycle engine announcing the arrival of Armsmaster and Miss Militia. “I hope you have the right permits for this,” Militia asked with a grin, “I’d hate to be forced to give you a citation for charity work.”

“Everythings in order.” Lamb said, “I’m a fool, not stupid.” She added with a snicker, “So how can I help the Heroes today? Or is this just a social visit?” She asked as she gave a little boy a bag of jerky as his father got some food.

“No problems?” She asked as Armsmaster looked around, inspecting everything going on.

“None whatsoever.” Lamb said, “Parian and… oh, Kitsune is a perfect name for her! They’re working security. Kitsune’s vetting people to keep trouble out, and well… a small puppet army is good security, that doubles as an advertisement for Parian!”

Armsmaster nodded, “Everyone is clean,” He noted, “And wearing hair nets, I can’t see any health violations.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t shed,” Lamb commented, “It would’ve been miserable otherwise, oh how have the Wards been?”

“Same as always,” Miss Militia said, though Lamb didn’t miss the fact she didn’t answer the question.

That was fine, she figured it was against regs to talk about how the Wards were doing when they were on the clock or something.

It was at that moment Contessa came out helping someone with their food, causing Miss Militia to stiffen up and stare at the boogiewoman. Lamb didn’t giggle, but she certainly wanted to.

Armsmaster wasn’t much better, but he didn’t show it as much. Still, his hand went to his halberd in preparation.

“You just love messing with people, Fortuna,” Lamb said over their connection.

“Well, a girl has to find amusement where she can,” Said boogiewoman replied airily. “And I said I’d visit you before the next Endbringer attack, this was just the easiest time I could manage.”

“Fair enough,” Lamb thought before speaking up, “Armsmaster? Miss Militia? Are you fine?” She asked genuinely curious despite being amused.

She had no idea what sort of reputation Contessa even had, but it had to be something terrifying to get two veteran heroes to react like this.

“... It’s fine,” Militia replied, “Has that woman been causing any trouble? Threatening you at all?”

“No, honestly I’m surprised that she showed up so suddenly though,” Lamb answered honestly, “I think she enjoys surprising people actually, it must be hard to entertain yourself when you're a thinker. But she’s helped me out a lot so she’s free to visit whenever the mood strikes her.”

“I see, I’am aware she’s interacted with you before but… Is she an ally of yours?” Armsmaster asked.

Lamb opened her mouth only to pause and give it some thought, “I… guess? I mean we’ve had tea and talked. And she helped me with my costume and setting up a base.” She said thoughtfully, “Personally I’d prefer to think we’re friends really, besides it’s not like I ask her for help much.”

Armsmaster nodded, “That will be noted for future reference.”

Lamb wasn’t entirely sure why it needed to be noted, but maybe it was a Protectorate thing or something?

“Anyways, would you two like some jerky? We’ve got an… excess,” Lamb looked chariganed, “I maybe been a bit too overzealous with making it.”

“I’ll have some for the road,” Militia replied, picking up a bundle of it, “Do you need any assistance?”

“No, I believe we got everything in hand. But thanks for the offer.” Lamb said with a smile, “Oh tell Vista I said hi next time you see her!”

Miss Militia just chuckled, “I’ll do that,” She said smiling with her eyes, “How about you Armsmaster? You going to take any?”

“Very well,” Armsmaster said as he took a small pack himself, “Thank you.” It sounded stiff, like he was reading it from a script but Lamb knew he was being genuine.

Being an empath was so goddamn useful!

Still, the crowd was slowly dispersing, alongside all of the canned food and bread, so the day was reaching its end. At least for things she’d planned.

“It’s almost time for you to take your first step, my Lamb,” Selene said cryptically.

Before she could ask what Selene meant by that, sirens started wailing and Lamb’s heart started thudding.

An Endbringer had come.

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