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Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character Death

Categories:

F/MGen

Fandoms:

Parahumans Series - WildbowSuperman - All Media TypesSuperman (Comics)

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Additional Tags:

AngstCrossoverNot a Fix-ItAmnesiaTrying to do gooddumb main characterNot a stompficIn character LisaAntagonist Lisa

Language:

English

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Published:2025-02-21Updated:2026-07-01Words:146,552Chapters:49/?Comments:137Kudos:230Bookmarks:90Hits:12,983

...But I was Superboy

Leotholdus

Chapter 21: Interlude - Piggot

Chapter Text

'Fires still rage at the corner of West 13th and Dockside avenue, at the site of this morning's battle between Lung and the PRT. Firefighters are on the scene now attempting to combat the blaze, while PRT clean-up crews finish their work. Twelve have died from the fire, with two more in critical condition. We have yet to receive a statement from the PRT, but one is expected by five this evening. This fight saw the use of some of Brockton Bay's rogues in assistance to Armsmaster, a practice that remains controversial due to the rogues' unknown-'

Piggot shut off the TV, arms folded. A single finger tapped on her bicep. Her teeth ground against themselves like a mill, her jaw clenched tight. She turned to face Armsmaster. Each movement had a mechanical quality to it. Slow. Filled with a singular purpose. The Tinker's head was in his hands. His power armor had dents and burn marks, whole sections of it ripped or clawed into. Better than he had looked after his first encounter with Lung all those months ago, but still damaged. Despite the armor's protection, the man was doubtlessly nursing full-body bruises in addition to the sprain and minor cuts she had seen in the medical report. Good. He needed the pain. He needed the lesson it would teach.

God knows her pain had taught her much.

"Armsmaster."

He looked up, helmet and beard singed.

"I would like an explanation."

"Calvert's team were able to contain him initially, but-"

Piggot held up a hand. "Not of the fight. I can read your report."

She paused with a grimace. Her leg twinged, a spike of hurt sent through the damaged nerves. The painkillers never did as much as she wished. Her emotion and professionalism fought against one another. On one hand, Calvert was dead! On the other, Calvert was dead. The negatives unfortunately outweighed the positives.

"I need to know how and why you and Calvert attempted this behind my back," Piggot continued. "No papers crossed my desk. I gave no literal or metaphorical stamp of approval. There is no paperwork trail. Do you know how that looks to my superiors? To yours? Let alone the media. Journalists will be all over this once they find out how it was done. Twelve civilians dead, Armsmaster. Not counting our own casualties."

"I understand. I know it was a risky move-"

"You understand? You UNDERSTAND? I am about to have half the press in this city breathing down my neck, wanting to know why two buildings will have to be demolished. Why there's going to be funerals for civilians, why we lost several of our highly trained operatives. I have to write out letters to their families. I know that capes often leave behind PRT troopers on the field, and I am highly disappointed to learn that you have done the same. Not surprised, just disappointed. While I may not have had personal affection towards Calvert, his company has been an effective and co-operative resource for the PRT and for ensuring public calm. People are going to ask why and how he died, even with that footage. Hell, you brought a rogue on with virtually no background checks. A Klansmen! Do you know how that's going to play with PR?"

She caught her breath, and slicked a loose strand of blonde hair back behind an ear. Her hands clenched the table and squeezed, until her knuckles turned white. The doctors had warned her about her blood sugar. As stupid as she found them, she still followed through with the breathing techniques she had been taught. Clenching her hands on the table, then a release. Slowly, she felt the forced calm spread across her.

One glance at Armsmaster showed his anger. The way he sat, his rigid posture, his tight jaw. The man was proud. Arrogant. He had the competence to back up his pride, most of the time. Every time she found herself starting to rely on him, something like this happened.

"I know it is our duty to bring in parahuman criminals. However, we must be strategic about our mission. We're outnumbered, Armsmaster. Every day there's some new threat, some new worry. Our job is not to save the world. It's to stave off the apocalypse." Piggot sighed. "Lung and his gang did not often range out of their territory, and what territory they did hold was minimal. Yes, they've caused problems and deaths in the past-"

"Are you about to reprimand me for doing my job?" Armsmaster interrupted.

"I needed Lung," Piggot snapped back. "Not forever, but for God's sake look around this city and try to understand the bigger picture. Almost every single attempt to disrupt Coil's activities has ended in failure or disaster, to the point that there are concerns about a possible mole. The Empire has recruited half the white teenagers of this city, and we're just a few skinheads shy of a Nuremberg rally. Recruitment is down, crime is up, and the likely new mayor has openly spoken against our organization. Lung's shitty casinos, tiny brothels, and pathetic protection rackets have been the least of my worries, but that stupid Brute has been a solid counterweight to the other gangs. The ABB will fall apart, no doubt, but who will swing in to sweep up the ashes? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the Teeth came back."

The room was silent, aside from Piggot's heavy breathing after her rant. She sat down, and tried to repress the rage once more. Why couldn't people understand the politics of it all? Capes thought they could just punch the trouble away. That was the problem. No understanding of how this city functioned, the intricate ties that kept some semblance of a peace.

One look at Armsmaster's rigid form confirmed her suspicions. She had been too harsh.

The morning had not been a total disaster. Armsmaster was a powerful asset, and not one that she wished to lose to her own anger problems. He needed to understand just how and why he fucked up, but he wasn't some fresh-faced Ward. Part of this job was working with people she detested. She needed to play to his ego in some way. Keep him as some sort of ally in this office, as she had quite few. With gritted teeth, Piggot gave the compliments she knew she needed to say.

"I am happy that we've captured Lung, and that Oni Lee has been taken care of. It's good that you were able to bring them in. I do not mean to diminish your accomplishments." A deep breath filled her chest. Calm. She had to be calm. "But you do understand that we could have accomplished this with little to no loss of life if you had shared this information with the rest of your team. As a leader should. You are in charge of the other heroes. Act like it, and lead them. Bring them out on missions like this."

The stupid decaf coffee wasn't enough. The coffee at the Rig tasted like warmed over motor oil, but it was free, even if they only had decaf half the time. Piggot took a sip of it anyways, wrinkling her face in disgust.

"Hell, we could have just had Velocity run in and stab Lung with a syringe," she muttered.

Armsmaster winced. She hadn't known him to get this quiet in quite a while. Though she did not like most of the capes she had met, Armsmaster had earned a degree of begrudged respect. He was competent, did much of what was asked of him, and kept out of any scandals. And, until now, had made very few poor decisions.

"There were… other reasons I went with Calvert's plan." Armsmaster said. "Conditions that he set, something about Question and why he was willing to give the information."

"I'm aware."

The man in blue looked up at that.

"Lady Photon and her daughter came through before you," Piggot explained. "I had quite the illuminating conversation with them. Laserdream explained what she could, and I have been made aware of the circumstances."

"Then you understand why I-"

"No, Armsmaster, I don't. Laserdream is practically a kid, and this Question does not have a proven track record of solid plans. You could have agreed, and had backup on standby. You could have convinced Question to give up the information another way. You had many options available to you, and as a veteran hero and the leader of our branch, you should have taken them."

The conversation had shed light on far more than just the circumstances of the battle against Lung, as Crystal had explained Questions' investigation into Grand Scorpion. The information had not taken long to verify. Mathew Riggs, white nationalist, head of the Klan of the Fiery Cross. A Klu Klux Klan splinter group. Same ideals, just a tighter cult of personality around their leader - the ever helpful Grand Scorpion. Courts had found him guilty of several counts of murder, manslaughter, and terrorism, all before his trigger. Yet another white nationalist cape was the last thing this city need. Current laws and procedure would keep most journalists from finding the information out, but no organization was airtight. Besides, it wouldn't take a genius to make the link. Certain outlets already had complained about her branch not doing enough to fight the Empire. One of ENE's most famous heroes openly working with a domestic terrorist would not do their image any favors.

Whatever Question had done to him had landed him in the Rig's medical wing. She had too much to deal with today to remember the report on his injuries. Perhaps the PRT would try to rehabilitate him and ship him off to a new location, or perhaps they'd just toss in him the Birdcage. So long as no one associated him with ENE in a few weeks. The PR department would likely want some small raises at the end of all this.

She knew that Armsmaster knew what thoughts floated about her mind. It did not take a genius to figure it out. He tried, in his own ways, to hide his discomfort with his position. The allure of fame, the promise of recognition, all of what all the capes chased. It disappointed Piggot. Then, to ally with Calvert and go behind her back - it stunk of a coup. Piggot had not reached her position through trust, honesty, and openness. Backstabbing was simply part of office politics at any organization as large as the PRT. A backstab from Calvert was expected. One from Armsmaster disappointed her. She wondered if he had joined in as a conscious choice, or had simply not thought ahead. He should not have done either. She did not know if it would give her greater comfort to know whether he had simply been incompetent or malicious.

"I could demote you. I could, but I won't. I can't even discipline you too strongly. Like it or not, you've built up a strong enough brand identity with the PRT, and the truth is that we still need you. The public will be upset, the PRT might chastise you in other ways, but things will spin on as they always have." She tapped the table, thinking. She could not do too much in the moment. Any serious move against Armsmaster could suffer from public backlash, and she did not want to do anything too aggressive or permanent without support from other members of the PRT. At the same time, she could not just let him off without any sort of punishment. He had failed in his duties as a leader. He had failed to do his job.

"I can demand that you keep away from recruitment. Someone else will search for this Question, if he's even still interested. Any other rogue interactions will be documented and sent to me, for another hero to contact. I cannot have you forming hairbrained schemes that have far too many failure points with inexperienced heroes."

Armsmaster inclined his head. Some anger was still written across lower face, but it was a relatively light reprimand.

"Furthermore, I want you to start walking Dauntless through your paperwork. Going forward, I want him on more patrols with the other members. I need someone to actually lead our capes, not go off on their glory-seeking missions. You'll still be the official leader, of course. With Lung's arrest, you might even be transferred to a location more fit for you soon enough. But our little department will still need someone to inspire and direct our capes, whether you leave or continue with your own unique style of leadership."

Every word she spoke dripped with sarcasm and venom. She shouldn't have said those things, of course. She should have held it in, and given him the instructions without the rest of it all. But her leg was hurting, the coffee was shit, she had woken up far too early, and she had to give a speech in a few hours.

Piggot opened her laptop and began to type. If the public expected a speech, it had better be a good one. She shook her head, muttering the last sentence to herself. "I thought you were smarter than this."

Armsmaster stood up. The chair fell to the ground behind him. He stalked out of the room, each step a clank against the floor.

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Chapter 1438 - superboy 21