Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 104

Once both Cricket and Hookwolf, or rather the metal core that Hookwolf had retreated into, were dragged into the cage, I very quickly moved on to taking care of the dogs. I had to make my way through the warehouse and into the kennel, almost vomiting as I approached it. The stench was horrific, and every step closer made it worse and worse. The smell of feces and urine was like a physical wave as I opened the door and stepped inside, wondering how the hell Crow had withstood the smell and not complained.

The conditions of the kennel did not improve as I approached the cages. On top of their canine occupants, they were also filled with shit, blood, and at least one dead dog. The dogs themselves were in horrible condition as well, many with twisted scars and leaking wounds, almost all of them missing chunks out of their ears or jowls. Unsurprisingly, all of them went berserk when they spotted me, howling, growling, and barking aggressively. I had no doubt that if the cages had opened, they would have done their best to kill me. 

As quickly as I could, I knocked them out, one after the other, before the golems dragged them out of their cages and carefully laid them down around me. I then teleported each of them back to the forest around our home, where the golem form of Kali, as well as her living wood wolves, were waiting. I ended up burning through more than half of my stored teleport spells getting the dogs out of the building as quickly as possible, before ending with a massive load of dog food. When I came back I showed up back in the cage, where Crow and the golems were waiting. 

"Is the building clear?" I asked Crow, who nodded.

"We made a sweep already," She responded, covering for Alya, who pushed a feeling of confirmation through our bond. 

"The employee area?" 

"Nothing interesting except a mostly empty safe," She responded with a shrug. "Must have emptied it recently." 

"Alright, not sure what we could do with that anyway. Well, if it's clear, then grab these two idiots," I said, gesturing to Hookwolf and Cricket as I was walking towards the door. "It's time for a repeat performance."

Once we were all outside, and Alya once again confirmed the building was completely empty, I carefully planted an iron oak acorn outside the building. After letting out a long breath, I cast the metal manipulation spell, getting to work immediately as the large warehouse began to shake and tremble. 

The warehouse had considerably more metal to pull from than the house I had first done this to, so rather than using every little piece of scrap like I did before, this time, I focused on the structurally essential parts. I loosened and pulled free supporting beams, bolts, and anything else keeping the building together. Just as I had done before, all of the metal I pulled out was infused into the acorns.

As I fed it more and more metal, the tree grew and grew. Despite being choosy with what I took, it still ended up larger than the Star of David tree. As the large building began to crumble and crash to the ground, sending out billows of dust and debris, I pulled the dog cages, as well as the fighting ring itself, out of the crumbling building, bending and flexing them together. I wanted it to be obvious what the tree was made of, just like I had the guns from before, but I also didn't want the tree to look like a cage tree, so I pulled and stretched the bars, weaving them into the core and branches, until the entire tree had grown, its roots deeply secured in the ground. 

The last step, as I infused the metal tree with deep magic to sustain and control its growth, was the hundreds of pink metal triangles, a symbol for LGBT rights, hanging from its branches. 

"Ooohh boy, that was a bit harder the second time," I admitted, letting the magic fade, my staff glowing for a moment as Crow stepped forward in case I needed help. "Alright, we need to drop off the two Nazis before I pass out."

Crow nodded and gripped my shoulder, both of us grabbing Hookwolf and Cricket before teleporting to the PRT. Thanks to a phone call from Crow, they were ready and waiting to take the two capes in. Just a few seconds after we arrived, PRT officers dragged them away, four of them carrying the strange metal core that Hookwolf was somehow inside. I gave a brief description of the fight and what I did after, the officer visibly hesitating as I mentioned a second living tree, before he agreed I was free to go. By then, I was dead on my feet, barely able to play mostly normal. I gave Crow a look, and she perfectly picked up on my intent. 

"Ready when you are," She confirmed, putting her hand on my shoulder. 

After a moment, the golems quickly followed suit, holding onto my shoulder and arms. I took one last look at the PRT headquarters before tapping into another charge and teleporting home. There, Smokey and Piper were both waiting to confirm the guardian missions had long since been completed, since they only needed to take down some thugs and thoroughly destroy some stuff, rather than fight off two capes and everything else we had to do. 

By the time the guardians had finished describing how their two missions had gone, it was starting to get very late. Olivia claimed her usual room while Alya went off to watch the area and talk to Kali, who was with the newly rescued dogs. I could only imagine that her new canine companions must have still been sleeping, since I was pretty sure I would be able to hear their barking from where they were.

The following morning, my theory was proven correct. While my room was silent, stepping out into the compound itself, I could hear the semi-distant sounds of dogs barking, yipping, and occasionally growling, though none of it sounded overly hostile. In fact, most of it sounded playful. Whatever Kali was doing to keep the canines calm, it was working. 

"They sound like they are having fun," Olivia commented, both of us listening to the sounds of twenty-plus dogs enjoying their breakfast. "How long until they are safe to be around?"

"I haven't the foggiest," I admitted with a shrug. "I have a feeling she will do fine, though. I used a female wolf skull when I created her, mostly to foster her protectiveness but also to work with a few other aspects to foster her mothering and caregiving aspects. It's not exactly a surprise that she feels a connection to the canines. If there were wolves anywhere close by, I have no doubt she would have already adopted them."

"...okay, but how long until she will have them quiet?" She asked after a particularly loud howl reached us loud and clear. 

"They are living creatures, Olivia. They aren't meant to be quiet all the time," I pointed out. "I'll see if she can move them further away."

Olivia nodded, giving me a thumbs up in appreciation. I couldn't help but chuckle at her expense, getting an evil eye in response.

"So, not a dog person, huh?" I asked with a smirk.

"Not really. I mean, I don't hate them, but they always seem so… extra," She said. "Always dirty, always needy… to be honest, I don't like pets in general. Some are okay, but it's not for me." 

"Don't let Smokey hear you say that," I said with a smirk. "I expect him to ask about spending his free time out there with them any minute now." 

She rolled her eyes, getting a chuckle out of me as we finished our own breakfast. I, as usual, had a few standard tasks to get done in the morning, mostly healing and visiting my orchards. First up after that, however, was figuring out how to grow a fruit or vegetable that Kali could use to feed the dogs. I didn't expect any issues. After all, I could grow a living metal tree or a tree that permanently increased a person's strength or cognitive abilities. Making a viable, healthy, safe vegan option for dogs would be easy.

I teleported Olivia back to the docks community, taking some time to refresh their orchard before heading to the hospital. After I was done there, I headed to a pet store, where I picked up a couple of pamphlets and one book on how to feed your dog homemade food. It was full of information, and within a few hours of getting back, I had grown a large patch of custom vegetable bushes that would feed more than thirty dogs. It was far outside the forest compound, along the very outer limits of Kali's range.

I also spent some time growing a few dozen dog houses, simple structures that would keep the dogs dry and relatively warm.

I had no idea how Kali was going to convince the dogs to eat the double fist-sized, apple-shaped fruit or live in a ground-based tree house, but she thanked me profusely before shooing me off so she could get to work rehabilitating the poor dogs. 

I was just settling in to basically wait for the Marvelous Mage cycle to reset, planning basic ideas for my points, when my phone rang. A quick conversation with Director Piggot revealed that the supplies for my promised luck-based items had come in. I quickly put on my costume again before teleporting over with four golems. Unsurprisingly, as I arrived, a member of the Protectorate was waiting for me. Surprisingly, rather than Assault or Miss Militia, who they usually had me working with, it was Armsmaster.

"Arcanum, you arrived quickly," He commented, a slight tone of appreciation in his voice as he reached his hand out. "I must admit, I am jealous of your ability to teleport. There is much I would give for the ability to study the ability."

I reached out and shook his hand, his request running through my head, considering if there was some way I could do that for him. 

"Unfortunately, between my order for the PRT and my own future plans, I do not believe I have the free time at the moment," I admitted with a frown, keeping the fact that I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to figure it out to my self. "That said, in a week, feel free to ask again. I don't mind demonstrating a few times while you run scans." 

That seemed to catch the tinker off guard, but he nodded. 

"I will set a reminder," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Would you mind if others observe as well?" 

"As long as you trust them, I don't see why not." 

He nodded, pausing for a moment before turning to lead me into the PRT headquarters. Eventually, we arrived at a secure storage room, which he opened with a security card. After a moment, he stepped to the side and allowed my golems and me into the room. 

"This is everything you asked for, double-checked and confirmed," he said cleanly, stepping in behind me. "I find the more eclectic style of tinkering to be difficult to understand, but I cannot deny the results. Velocity's new equipment has increased his rating significantly. His blaster rating now rivals some of New Waves, and his ability to heal is incredibly potent." 

"But not without limitations," I pointed out, looking back at Armsmaster as the golems started to pick up the crates of materials. "His ability to heal is potent, but it's not as refined as mine. Anyone with serious injuries should still be checked over by a doctor. I know I already explained that, but it bears repeating."

"Yes, it does," He confirms seriously, looking around and watching my golems move. "We have already created SOP while dealing with his healing. Will you need assistance?"

The last part, he asked while looking behind me, watching my golems work. It took a moment for me to keep up with the whiplash, but when I did, I shook my head.

"No, but I'll need to bounce back and forth a few times to get it all," I explained, the man nodding in understanding. 

The golems and I worked together, picking up a crate or box before teleporting back to the base. We would then offload the boxes around the storage trees before returning and grabbing more. It took a few trips, but everything was moved over in less than ten minutes. When we were done, I once again shook hands with Armsmaster. 

"I can't work on this today or probably tomorrow," I admitted with a frown, rubbing the back of my head. "My team and New Wave are really focused on putting the tacks to the Empire. It will likely take a few days to get done, even once I start working on it."

"Very well," Armsaster confirms. "Please keep us informed of your progress and when you will be able to deliver the agreed-upon tinker tech. Also, we will be in touch when we are ready to move Hookwolf and Cricket to a new facility, assuming you are still willing to do so."

"Of course, just give me a call."

Armsmaster nodded and, after a moment, stepped back to give me some more room. After that, I teleported back to the forest, letting out a long breath as the relative quiet surrounded us. My promise to make a large shipment of luck-enhancing items was actually twice a blessing. Not only would I be helping to fight Endbringers, improving my reputation with the greater PRT and Protectorate entity, but it would also give me a chance to prove the mass production capabilities and have something to showcase when bringing up my idea for a large-scale anti-Endbringer army. 

And it was definitely something I would need to showcase. The plan I had in mind was a legion of magically enhanced troops, all with tools specially designed to kill Endbringers. If I attempted to do that without the PRT's approval, I would probably get a kill order as fast as they could sign it. Not to mention that arming a literal army was going to take resources that, while I could eventually obtain on my own, would l likely stir up some issues if I tried. No, if I wanted to make this idea a reality as quickly as possible, I needed the PRT and Protectorate to be in on it, with at least their permission, preferably with their sponsorship. 

Don't get me wrong, if I tried to make my pitch and was denied, really denied, not just casually shut down by the local powers that be, I wasn't going to just roll over and give up. I could make this idea, or an eventual variation of it, a reality without their help, and while hiding it from them. I didn't want to because it would make literally every step of the process more difficult, but I could and would if forced. 

I wasn't dumb enough to stop a plan I knew had a solid chance of working just because it made a few people nervous. 

I ordered the golems to shift and move the crates of materials into a tighter pile so they could be covered with a tarp in case it rained severely. After making sure the golems had done a good job, I walked away from the ritual platform. As I had explained to Armsmaster, tonight was not about making things. Instead, I needed to focus on my approaching cycle refresh and what I planned on doing with it. Until then, everything else could wait.