Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Priapus, Malcolm Tent, Mike God of Lore, Beans
Guild of Gamers: The Card Master
Chapter 04: PR
— Charles 'Charlie' Barnes –
"So, has PR gotten to you yet?" Missy asks, still playing with Floodhound as we relax. I'm not even sure she knows she's doing it, one hand scratching his head as she sits down.
"No. I think that's tomorrow from what I've been told," I admit with a shrug. "I'm being 'fast-tracked', according to Miss Militia."
Carlos whistles at that, looking mildly impressed.
"They must really want to announce you as soon as possible, then. Most Wards can spend weeks waiting for all the paperwork and their costume to be handled," Carol admits.
"Don't let them push you into some stupid fucking outfit, or you'll never escape it," Missy adds, tugging at her dress with a scowl. She's got more of a foul mouth than you'd expect her to have given her cutesy girly reputation.
…I get the feeling that's exactly why she has a foul mouth.
"Meh. Fifteen months isn't the end of the world," I shrug, almost feeling the room freeze. Sophia, the quietest of the group (which is odd given how she acts at school), also pauses before she smirks knowingly.
"Fifteen?" Dean asks, but there's a look on his face that tells me he's worked something out.
"Until I turn eighteen," I clarify easily. "At which point, Dad signing me up to the Wards doesn't matter anymore, and I can skedaddle."
"You aren't planning on moving up to the Protectorate?" Missy asks, almost sounding baffled by the idea. I guess in her mind, everyone wants to be a hero or some shit.
"We'll see. I'm here because my dad took the choice out of my hands after I accidentallyturnedmysisterintoafrog," I finished quickly, getting a snort from Sophia. "For the record, Sophia. It was Emma's fault. Dumbass was trying to pull the card out of my hand. Anne came in because she heard us arguing and I accidentally triggered the card trying to get it away from Emma."
"Not how she told it, but can't say I'm surprised either," Sophia admits with a shrug.
"Also, how many of your little group did she even tell? She's such a gossip," I sigh.
"Just me and Mads. Me, because I'm already a cape, and Mads, because she knows how to keep her mouth shut. Hasn't said anything about me being Shadow Stalker, after all," Sophia says, almost trying to reassure me. "My mom agreed to me being here too, sure as fuck wasn't my first choice."
The other Wards give Sophia a look at that, and I get the feeling that's not the whole story. Unfortunately for her, I grew up with Emma and am well aware of when someone is twisting things to suit their narrative.
"Fair enough. I sure as fuck won't be telling Greg. He'd tell everyone on PHO that he knew the new Ward by lunchtime," I laugh, getting a smirk from her.
"Yeah, probably for the best. Fucking Void Cowboy. Didn't he get banned again? Heard him bitching about it at lunch," Sophia asks.
"Tried posting fake nudes of Laserdream. Again," I agree.
"Wait, you know Void Cowboy?" Missy asks, a hint of distaste in her tone.
"His name is Greg Veder. He's as annoying in real life as he is online. I don't know how you tolerate him, Charlie," Sophia grunts.
"You try finding nerdy friends in Winslow who aren't connected to a gang," I reply bluntly. "You remember that Asian kid I used to play cards with at lunch last year? Yeah, he joined the ABB. Was boasting about having been taken to their brothels as a signing bonus. The quiet guy I sat with for math? Empire fanboy. Greg and Sparky are just nerdy and definitely neurodivergent, which is an improvement. Greg's worst trait is being an Uber and Leet fanboy, even though their show fucking sucks. They don't even get half the references right, fake-ass posers giving us nerds a bad name."
"I knew that creep was with the Empire. He always glared at me when he thought I wasn't looking," Sophia says triumphantly. "And fair enough. Guess I'd choose Greg too."
"Winslow is that bad?" Dean asks, surprised.
"Arcadia, right? You have no idea how good you have it. At Winslow, it feels like half the students are gang fanboys, and that's ignoring the upper-years who are just straight-up gang members. It's not as bad for the girls, since the gangs tend to recruit mostly guys," I shrug. "I've had Empire fanboys and recruiters sniffing around me, but my sister's friendship with a 'lesser race' did a lot to stop that. Plus, Sophia has a rep as someone you don't fuck with."
"Damn right," Sophia snorts. "I keep telling my handler that Winslow is a cesspool, but does she ever fucking listen? You'll probably get the same handler. Don't expect much, half the time I'm not even convinced she reads my 'reports'. The rest of the time, I know she didn't."
"Why don't you two transfer then?" Missy asks curiously. She still seems a little put out by my comment about leaving when I'm eighteen.
"Yeah, like Piggy is gonna let that happen," Sophia snorts derisively. "Maybe Charlie could pull it off, but she likes having a Ward in Winslow. It's 'deterrence' or some shit. The gangs can't act openly in Winslow without risking hitting a Ward and bringing the full force of the PRT down on their asses. Why do you think you don't have gang activity in Arcadia, with almost every Ward known to go there and New Wave on top of that? If word gets out that Shadow Stalker left Winslow, the shithole becomes ten times worse. Why do you think the PR patrols I'm on always have us go to Winslow? Gotta remind them that we're there, right?"
"I wouldn't have put it like that, but Sophia is right," Carlos admits. "Having a Ward in Winslow does a lot to keep the violence to gang on gang, rather than gang on everyone. Read a report on it when I got my clearance increased. I'm sure they could get a transfer if they pushed for it, but if Winslow is that bad with a Ward, I don't want to think about how it'd be without one."
Dean and Missy don't respond for a good long moment, sharing a look as they glance at Sophia. I might not be Emma, but I'm pretty good at reading the room, and I get the feeling there is a divide between Arcadia Wards and Sophia. She even sat further away from everyone else. Dean looks almost guilty for a moment, but Missy just scowls. Given how Sophia is in school, I'm gonna take a wild guess that the twelve-year-old is her favourite target for her usual bitchiness here.
Missy clearly doesn't like her, and I'm guessing it's not a race thing, given how she's sitting happily next to the very clearly Hispanic Carlos. It really is just peak Brockton Bay that you have to ask 'is this white chick a secret nazi fan' for damn near everyone you meet. The Empire are generally seen as the 'safest' of the three main gangs, compared to the junkies of the Merchants and the brutality of the ABB, so they have way more fans than you'd be comfortable with a literal neo-nazi organisation having.
"Man, that sucks," Missy finally says, not looking at Sophia in a very childish way. I think this is the first time tonight she's acted her age.
"That's Winslow," I shrug. "Don't wander from the main building, and avoid the usual hangouts of the gang fanboys, and you'll be fine. You can tell who hangs out where by the tags."
I hang out in the cafeteria, which is neutral, or the library, which none of the groups bother with. Odd that prospective gang members seem to avoid a place of learning, but I'm sure it's a coincidence and not that you'd have to be an illiterate moron to join a gang.
As for a transfer? Do I want to push for that? I mean, Arcadia is supposed to be better in every way, but as much as I shit on Greg, he's still my friend. Emma wouldn't do the same unless Sophia did, because the pair are attached at the hip. I still think Emma is super fucking gay. I have literally never seen her without another girl by her side. Can't say Sophia was an upgrade over Taylor, but Emma and Taylor used to do literally everything together. I think Taylor spent more time at my place than I did.
…maybe Emma made a move on Taylor and got turned down? Would explain why they went from thick as thieves to archenemies. I had my own things going on at the time and couldn't care less about Emma's drama, so I more or less ignored it and barely even noticed before Anne asked why Taylor didn't come around anymore. It's not like I hung out with my annoying sister and her friends enough to notice. Our interests are too wildly different for that.
Plus, anytime Emma and Taylor roped me into playing with them, I always got stuck at the villain. Emma was the damsel in distress and Taylor was the hero. Damn it, I wanted to be the hero but Emma has always been a crybaby when things don't go her way.
Passing the time, Sophia and I share some Winslow horror stories with the far too innocent Arcadia boys. Missy goes to a middle school connected to Arcadia, and is soon to move up to the 'nicest school in Brockton Bay'. I've heard Immaculata High is better, but it's also very much the 'rich kids' school. Dad wanted to send me and Emma there since a lot of his coworkers do the same, but things didn't work out.
Checking my watch, I rise and dismiss Floodhound much to Vista's barely hidden disappointment.
"Think it's time I got going, close to the time Miss Militia said she'd be taking me back to Daddy Dearest," I shrug, stretching. "Nice meeting you all, and I guess I'll be seeing more of you soon."
"Yeah, it was nice to meet you, Charlie," Dean agrees, giving me a firm handshake as Carlos parrots his words. Missy waves goodbye as I message my dad to see if he's finished signing my freedom away. I didn't use those exact words, but the subtext is more or less there.
"Hey, Charlie. Wait up a second," Sophia says. I've had the feeling something is on her mind for a while, and again, the others look surprised at her speaking up. She's not very social with them, is she? Any time she told a joke or joined one of my Winslow horror stories, they looked like they were told hell froze over, the sun rose in the west, and the sky turned purple.
"What's up, Sophia?" I ask, surprised as she grabs my hand and drags me to a side room. A bedroom, as it turns out. Hers, given the fact that I doubt any other Ward has crossbows just lying on the bed. "At least buy me a meal first."
"You're not funny," Sophia counters with a roll of her eyes, but I swear I see her cheeks grow a little darker. It's hard to see if she's actually blushing given her dark skin, but her almost shy look is kinda cute. Cuter than her usual glares, anyway.
…I'd be lying if I said her glares weren't kinda hot, in a fucked up way, though.
"Sorry, sorry. What's up?" I ask, looking around the room. I don't know why but I half expected it to look like a dungeon, but it's a fairly normal bedroom besides the crossbows and weird looking bolts. Sophia sees me looking around, doing the same before her cheeks definitely darken as she kicks a sports bra under the bed. I see her approach to laundry is the same as Emma's. Sometimes I swear that Emma thinks we have a maid with how she just leaves her shit all over the place and expects other people to clean it up for her.
"Look, don't make this weird but if you need any help with this Wards shit, you can ask me. Your dad did me a massive favour in making sure my 'contract' wasn't nearly as punishing as the fucking PRT lawyers tried to make it, and I told Ems I'd look out for you if you needed it. I know you two argue all the time, but she is worried about you, and super fucking jealous," Sophia admits with a soft snort. "She's wanted powers for ages, now her twin gets them, and she doesn't?"
"And Emma isn't used to not getting her way," I agree with a lazy smirk. Sophia just shrugs, not commenting either way.
"The point is, I've got your back. Don't let the PR guys or worse, fucking Youth Guard, push you around. If they're fast-tracking you, it's because they're desperate for your power, and your dad might have agreed, but they can't really make you do anything if you learn the rules. Youth Guard are a bunch of helicopter moms screaming 'won't someone think of the children', but don't be afraid to use them to get out of shit the PRT is pushing you to do," Sophia advises me quietly. "Besides PR patrols, some meet and greets and some mandatory training, they can't force us to do anything, and they hate the Youth Guard way more than most Wards do. For us, it's just a bunch of Karens trying to baby us. For the PRT? It's an organisation that can really fuck over their efforts to use their wards for literally anything but the safest PR events."
"And if the PRT want my power, they're gonna be willing to bend some rules to make sure I don't spend the next fifteen months sitting on my ass, doing nothing but kissing babies and shaking hands," I finish. "How'd you end up in the Wards, anyway? Can't help but think you're not thrilled to be here."
"Because I'm fucking not. I started this cape shit as an indie hero. Shot an empire asshole who was trying to rape a black chick with a bolt and left the asshole pinned to a wall. Wasn't the best move, not going to lie, but after dealing with the Empire fanboys and their comments and stares in Winslow, couldn't help but think it could've been me if I didn't get my powers," Sophia admits with a deep sigh as she slumps down. "So the PRT cried about excessive force, and suddenly it was this or juvie after they captured me and unmasked me, rules be damned. Fucking Armsmaster. Watch out for him, he's a real bastard."
"And my Dad got you a better deal?" I ask, she pauses before patting the bed beside her. Taking the hint, I sit down next to her as she nods.
"After that mess in the alley, he and Emma learnt my identity. When the PRT grabbed me, he was the person I called as my lawyer because… well, he was the only lawyer I knew, and my mom would have just let the PRT push me into whatever they wanted," Sophia agrees.
"...the mess in the alley?" I ask, blinking. Sophia goes quiet before turning to me in surprise.
"Wait, you don't know?"Sophia realises, before sighing. "Fucking hell, Ems. Long story short, your dad took a shortcut through a shitty one-way street in ABB territory like a dumbass. Predictably, some ABB thugs blocked off the exit and entrance to ambush them. Some thugs looking to initiate a new scumbag into their ranks. We're talking about sending Emma to one of their farms. I kicked their asses. It's how I met Emma and your Dad. They helped patch me up later after I got fucked up, which is how your Dad learnt my identity."
"Wait, was this during the summer break?" I ask, frowning as I think back. "I remember her locking herself in her room for ages, but nobody would tell me what was going on. I thought she was just missing Taylor since she'd gone off to some summer camp or something, and it was the first time the pair had been apart in years."
"Yeah, think so," Sophia agrees with a shrug. Guess those kinds of things blend together when you're doing real hero work. "The point is, it fucked Emma up, and she's wanted to be like… well, me, ever since. Then, her dorky brother gets badass powers, and she doesn't. Anyone else would just sting, but you're her twin, so she's going through some 'why not me' shit, but she also knows this life is dangerous as fuck, and while you two don't exactly spend time together, it doesn't mean she wants anything to happen to you."
"So, she ran to Dad and told him before I could get fucked up?" I ask grimly.
"Pretty much. She's seen me in bad states, especially before I joined the Wards. Hero work ain't a joke," Sophia agrees. "The PRT is probably gonna hit you with the statistics on indie heroes soon, especially when the kiss-asses out there go running to them and tell them you're planning on dropping the moment you can. They inflate them, but they're not entirely incorrect about the danger. I'm ditching the moment I can as well, once my probation ends. It's only thanks to your dad that I can, so I'm sure he's got you a good contract. The closer I get to freedom, the more they keep pushing for me to 'integrate with the Wards' more, with all the lectures on the danger of independent heroism and reminders of all the benefits of the Wards and Protectorate. Those three have drunk the PRT Kool-Aid. You saw the looks when you mentioned not sticking around, like you'd said you were going to skin puppies in your free time. Carlos has probably already ratted you out in his super-important Team Leader chatgroup. He's been the head of the Wards for like a month, purely because he's the oldest, and suddenly, he thinks it makes him so super special. Everyone will be the leader at some point as the old one graduates."
"Yeah, I think Missy was the worst. She acted like she couldn't comprehend not wanting to be here," I agree after a moment.
Is Sophia telling the truth? Probably, but sure as fuck not the whole truth. Like I said, I grew up with Emma and she's always been good at sidestepping the truth. Sophia isn't quite as good.
"Tell me about it. She's the worst when it comes to kissing the ass of the PRT. If she could move in and be Vista 24/7, she would. I give it a week before you're sick of hearing her crying about the Youth Guard limiting her hours. A day before, you're sick of hearing her complain about her costume," Sophia agrees with a roll of her eyes, unknowingly confirming my suspicions that she's bullying Vista. She acts the same around the girls who aren't a part of her clique in school, and that's the same tone she bitches about them to Emma. "Don't even get me started on her one-sided thing for Gallant. Watch her the moment Glory Girl finds a reason to show up and engage in a disgusting amount of PDA with her boytoy. Even earlier, the mere mention of Glory Girl had Missy scowling. Every time those two break up, Missy struts around on cloud nine like Dean is suddenly gonna be interested in a kid, and when they get back together, she's fucking intolerable. Honestly, it'll be nice to have someone tolerable around."
"How long have you got left on your sentence?" I ask playfully, getting a laugh.
"Fitting. Sixteen months, my birthday is five weeks after yours," Sophia answers easily. Of course she knows my birthday, she was over for Emma's party this year. I had mine the day before because mixing my friend group and Emma's friend group is like mixing oil and lit matches. We alternate who has their party on the actual day and who has it the day before (or after, depending on schedules).
"Then here's to surviving our sentence as painlessly as possible. Thanks for the advice," I say, genuinely no less. So, the Youth Guard is the PRT's secret weakness? Interesting. As for Carlos snitching?
Why do you think I said it in the first place? I will play along. I'll do the bare minimum needed to keep getting more cards, but in the words of Sophia? I'm not drinking the kool-aid unless they make it real fucking tasty.
Sophia gives me a grin as we head out of her room, and predictably, Miss Milita is waiting for me. She doesn't look upset, so they probably weren't listening in. In fact, she seems pleased and gives Sophia a look that seems… proud? Huh. Saying goodbye to Sophia, I follow behind Miss Militia as she explains that some expert is coming in tomorrow to help design my outfit, and they'll be taking me out to my island so I can place my hedge-maze down.
Still, there's something in her tone that tells me she has already heard of my plans to ditch. Time to see how correct Sophia is, I suppose.
– Next Day –
"From Vista's… opinion on her outfit, I'll admit I didn't have great hopes," I say as I look over the rough drafts before me. Glenn Chambers, some bigshot PR guy in the PRT grins easily at my words.
"Ah, but Vista was a different matter. She triggered very young compared to most, and when working with an actual child instead of a teenager, it does greatly limit just what we can do," Glenn admits. He's an overweight dude in a Hawaiian shirt that has what I think is a mayonnaise stain on it. God I hope it's mayo. "And once an image is established, the public is highly… resistant to change. To actually change her outfit in any meaningful way, we'd need a full rework but she's attached to the Vista name and has too much popularity due to her sheer power to reinvent herself in another city. As such, we just make it a little more mature each year. Gradual change is always accepted better than sudden switches."
Humming, I look over the suits.
One is the very cliche hero, spandex bodysuit with bits of armour. It's what you'd get if you googled 'hero costume' and that alone has me discarding it.
"Yeah, that wasn't a popular one with the staff or test audience either, but it's a cliche for a reason. You have no idea how many heroes refuse anything but some variation of this," Glenn agrees easily. "So, we always offer it regardless and then if it is chosen, we customise it and make it fit that hero's intended image."
"I don't want a skintight anything," I admit, looking down at my stomach. I'm far from fat, but wearing skintight clothes would just make me self-conscious. Next, I pick up another. It's… classy, something between a mage and a librarian with a nice suit and tie, but…
Ugh, wearing a suit and tie that often? I don't even like wearing them for the galas Dad drags me to. Putting it in the no pile, Glenn nods again.
"That one was popular, especially with the female audience, but it wasn't my favourite. Frankly, you're too young for it, so it'd either look juvenile, risking the Vista situation, or like you were pretending to be something you aren't until you're a couple of years older… and the first year is the most important when it comes to building an image," Glenn explains. Either he hasn't heard or he thinks I'll change my mind on the whole leaving thing.
"Huh," I mumble, picking up the next two. They're similar, but while one is very typical fantasy wizard with blue robes and a hood (with a hat drawn next to it), the second one catches my eye. It's similar enough in design, at a glance, but the outfit itself is far more elegant and seems easier to move in, with the cloak and hood being a removable part. What stands out to me is how… well, gothic it looks. Is that a raven skull necklace? connecting the two sides of the cloak? It's undeniably wizard-adjacent and looks like someone's edgy D&D character, but… I kinda dig it.
"Ah, I see your confusion," Glenn says cheerfully. "And you would normally be right to be confused, given that we prefer more… typical hero designs, but there are several factors in play for this one. Firstly, Shadow Stalker actually polls surprisingly well in Brockton Bay, but there's no male counterpart to her more edgy persona. If you go that route, you'll likely have plenty of duo patrols and events with her to cater to that audience. Secondly, your powers. While we can do a lot with the cards and spells style, you do have a raven familiar and several ghosts under your command. If we go the other route, it'll make it look like you're trying to be edgy anyway, whereas this way makes your use of them more natural. Floodhound will do a good job of dampening the worst of the fear toward you from the public because people love it when capes have animal companions. Obviously, we don't do it often because cape life is dangerous, the pets could be used to identify them out of costume and even those who have known pets can't risk taking them on patrols for obvious reasons."
"But Floodhound and the Foul Watcher are at no real risk, even if they are 'killed'," I finish.
"Exactly. Given that your power seems to lean toward the gothic and even the horror-side of things, there's no reason not to make it a part of your image. In addition, the outfit is more manoeuvrable than the earlier suit and the robes. Obviously, it's less of a concern for Wards as you shouldn't be in danger to begin with, but the cloak would be made for instant removal, so it doesn't hamper your agility in any dangerous situations that occur," Glenn explains. Why do I get the feeling he chose this one before I even got here? The rest weren't as detailed, and each had issues that would drive me away from them. "Finally, it distances you from Myrddin. While having a costume similar to that of a well-known hero can help in some ways, it also has downsides, as it ties your reputation to his, even though you've never even met him. The similar powersets, at least from the outside, only make the downsides more pronounced. It's generally preferred to avoid styling new heroes too similarly to existing, well-known heroes, and Myrddin certainly has a reputation. He isn't quite Triumvirate level, but he is known nationwide and Chicago is close enough to Brockton Bay to have spread his reputation here."
They know I'm upset at my dad making a choice for me, so they're giving me the 'choice' here but making sure the choices are tailored so I'll go with what they want? It's a little annoying, but at the same time, I do like this one best.
"I like it," I decide, glancing through the others but none stand out to me. Glenn gives me a pleased look as we go over any changes I want for it.
For some reason, I get the feeling Missy is going to be pissed about me getting an edgy outfit.