Orb Weaver: Wrath of God: The Father and the School.

Danny sat in the living room. He was home early and Taylor was out. Maybe as the Investigator, but…

Curt and Lacy gone. Someone like fucking Gray Boy in the Bay. Everyone knew that Orb Weaver was probably an older guy, so he knew who and what Gray Boy had been. To drop that name…

No wonder Kurt and Lacy had taken off.

Orb Weaver’s clearing the decks.  Danny had checked. Blackwell was gone. Along with a few others. Bulwark was still in Texas… But even some of Taylor’s old classmates were gone. The principal of Winslow had actually called him, mentioning that Gregory and his family were out of town unexpectedly.

“They may have heard a simple daemonic voice,” the man had said. “And even in the bad old days, targeting families and kids wasn’t exactly common. So something is up, and I think, Mr. Hebert, that you might want to consider a trip—for you and your child’s health, since she might be closer to the business than is safe.  Some of the students who ah, are dedicated on the subject of purity, were at a rally where certain threats were made by Orb Weaver. I’d take this situation seriously.”

Then he’d hung up, after casually mentioning that a number of students had left Arcadia for “personal development” in New York.

Arcadia, where the Wards go.  They’re pulling out the Wards. That hasn’t happened since…

The Slaughterhouse showed up.

Danny sat down. It was like a thunderstorm, the air heavy and hot. Or like the time he’d been in the Bay when the Nine and the local gangs fought. Everyone wondering where the hell the blow would fall. The street where he’d lived had been half abandoned, families driving out of the city.

He looked at his bags, packed. Taylor was a brave girl, hell, as much as the footage still stopped his heart, she had stood up against Leviathan.  His manager side was as proud or prouder on how she had organized everything, keeping the refugees moving.

But she wasn’t bulletproof. And she was an associate of Orb Weaver, and God knew how that Son of a Bitch was going to pull Taylor into this.

Hookwolf, Purity, Kaiser… Any of them could kill Taylor.

So when she got home, they were going to have a discussion and then head to the airport for a flight out west. Taylor had done enough for this city. This fight, she could sit out.

****

Thomas sat in his office, frowning. The school was quiet. Everyone was quiet. You got that sometimes, the room going still, as if everyone was holding their breath.

Two notes on his desk. One he’d gotten from the PRT.

Be advised that there is a high probability of increased gang activity in the next several days. All schools should take enhanced safety measures. While we do not believe there will be parahuman attacks on any school, there may be substantial civic disorder.

“That’s a fat lot of nothing.” Thomas looked at the other note. It had been on his desk. A playing card, with the orb weaver on it. And an odd scratchy bit of text:

“Fear not, for I shall maintain our agreement and will not bring conflict to your school. If any are so unwise as to do so, I shall enlighten them as to the foolishness of their actions.”

So both the PRT and Orb Weaver felt the need to warn him. And then he’d gotten some news from his E88 informants. People might be surprised, but Thomas did keep a few kids at school on his “payroll” (mostly gift cards, and he made it very plain this didn’t extend to leniency on the rules at school) to keep their ears out. He was comfortably certain the ABB knew about it, he couldn’t be sure about the Empire, but he kept his questions very simple—just things that might hurt the school, like if a senior had just been disrespected and might feel the need to lash out.

And according to one breathless Sophomore, who wasn’t wearing his “how close can I get to E88 colors without getting in trouble” clothes today, Orb Weaver had shown up at a rally with Kaiser, terrified the shit out of the crowd, made death threats, and then casually waltzed out.

And the kid was wearing normal, inconspicuous clothing.

Terrified the shit out of, indeed. But Kaiser would respond. He’d have to respond. But if he didn’t know who or what Orb Weaver was… Time for a meeting.

*****

The staff meeting was quiet. Thomas had called them all in, and he made certain to have his number 2 "Marquis sent me" look.

He waited until everyone was seated, looking at him. "First of all. Any hint of open E88 sympathies is to be reported to me. Immediately. as in, you get me on the intercom right that minute." He looked around. "They're scared, they'll lash out, and the last thing we need is Orb Weaver dropping by."

The room was dead silent. Then one of the new hires raised her hand. "What about the ABB affiliated students?"

"They're in hand. The ABB is keeping their heads down. So is everyone else." He looked at them. "But whatever the hell happened, Orb Weaver is on the warpath."

   "Do you know anything... confidential?" Gladly asked.

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Yes, If I had been given information on a confidential basis, I'd certainly talk about it right now. All you need to know is that our job is to ensure no students make a life changing--or possibly life ending choice. All off campus lunch permits are canceled until this is over, and teachers are to remain at the bus stops until all students are on buses and out.  Unless parents can provide transport or a written agreement for their children to drive to and from the school, all after-school activities are canceled." Normally, not something you did with high school students, but..." There was some grumbling at that, since no off-campus lunch permits meant angry students and overloaded cafeterias, but they'd deal. For now, Orb Weaver seemed to be honoring the fact that schools were off limits. "If you see any capes, immediate school lockdown, and call the PRT. Don't phone me to get permission."

He looked up at the bell. "Okay, get ready to meet your kids and remind them of our security measures. Do not," he glanced at Gladly, "Let them think this is some kind of game."

As the teachers dispersed, Ms. Knott came up to him.

"Yes, Ms. Knott?"

"Ah..." She looked at him. "Without betraying any secrets, given your history. How bad do you think this is, Principal Thomas?"

"Well, Ms. Knott, when you have history in the business you get an instinct. And my instinct is telling me that this feels like the situation when the Slaughterhouse came to town."

Her eyes widened and she turned and left.

Kaiser, what the Fuck did you do?