Holy crap, Captain Monroe had taken this situation seriously. As soon as that massive hover-transport landed in the street, a dozen Vanguard troops of various Altered species poured out of it, each armed to the teeth. They immediately surrounded our two unconscious attackers and the first thing they did was to have one of their team members slap these flexible metal bands around their upper left arms.

Those strange-looking metal bands immediately tightened as they wrapped around the upper arm until they were secure, and it looked like they would be very difficult to remove. Strange, glowing symbols ignited with cerulean light along the length of the bands to encircle their arms and I could sense really strong magic emanating from the devices. Were they magitech? Once the bands were secure, they called in a medic from the transport to look over the Dark Elf and treat and bandage her injuries, especially the neck wound.

While this was going on and the prisoners were then being loaded onto the transport, Ainslee and I both just stood off to the side quietly and let them handle things. The Baobhan Sith found my bottle of nectar, which had been dropped in the chaos, which was great because I was feeling really drained after using Blood magic to take down that giant bastard. Thankfully, the bottle was made of sturdy plastic and only suffered a few scuff marks from its encounter with the ground. Now I just needed a Sprite-sized cup for Ainslee to pour some into for me.

I was just considering that issue when the sole Sprite on the team flitted toward us with a large man with dark red skin and a pair of demonic-looking horns sticking out from his short-cropped black hair. The latter was carrying what looked like a med kit, which made sense since he had been the one patching up the Dark Elf. The green-haired Earth Sprite said gently, “I’m Corporal Nelson, and big red here is Private Armstrong. You look like you could use some of that nectar, Miss Pierce.”

“Yeah,” I agreed tiredly, “taking down that big bastard took a lot out of me.”

To my surprise, Corporal Nelson laughed. “I can imagine so. Still, not bad for a fresh-faced recruit. Captain Monroe has been teaching you well. There’s a Sprite care kit on the transport, it has some small drip bags of nectar and some granola and stuff in case one of us starts going sugar-low. We can get you refueled before we make the flight back to headquarters. I’d like Private Armstrong to have a look over Miss Mackenzie as well, to make sure she’s fully healed from her injuries.”

“Wait, you know who I am?” Ainslee asked, not looking too happy about being on the Vanguard radar.

“Of course, Miss Mackenzie,” the Earth Spite replied candidly. “We were fully briefed on both of you, and the two who attacked you, on the way over. Miss Pierce is already a recruit and a person of interest due to her unique circumstances and her special ability. You are the only known Altered of your kind so far, our scientists have studied you and your sisters, and your feeding needs have been concerning. As for your attackers, the Vanguard keeps tabs on all possibly dangerous individuals in the city in case they go rogue, as those two who attacked you did. It doesn’t happen often, but…”

“But it does happen,” I finished as she trailed off. “So that’s why you had those magical thingies that you put on their arms.”

“Restriction bands,” Corporal Nelson agreed with a nod. “One size fits most human scale Altered and some bigger ones like that Frost Giant too, and the enchantments on them prevent the use of any Altered or special abilities. Now if you’ll come with me, we can give you both a checkup and get some nectar into Miss Pierce before we head back to base. You might want to call home too and let them know you’ll be a while. Your testimony might be needed, and we’ll probably have to test Miss Mackenzie as well. Today was the first time that you used that ability, right?”

Ainslee, who the last question had been directed toward, nodded with a concerned look on her face as she answered. “I… uhh… yeah. I’ve never done anything like that before. She just threatened Lily, and I was so angry and wanted to keep her safe. I didn’t mean to maim the bitch, I just… and then I was bleeding out and needed to feed to regenerate.”

The demonic-looking man, Private Armstrong, gave her a reassuring smile. “Special abilities don’t come with a user manual, Miss, and you were defending yourself and your friend. Given that she’s only missing some blood and part of her arm, and she’s still alive, I’d say that you showed remarkable restraint. We were all connected to Miss Pierce’s video stream to keep tabs on the situation on our way here. Given the situation, you could have done far worse. Now let’s make sure that you’re all healed up.”

Despite Ainslee’s protests that she was fine and was even feeling full, Private Armstrong insisted on looking over the area where she’d been blasted with that beam and checking her over for any other injuries as well. She was perfectly fine, save for her ruined dress, but it took several minutes for him to confirm that. While he was looking over Ainslee, Corporal Nelson took me to the first aid area as well, where she guided me to what looked like an IV bag full of nectar. The tube attached was connected to a little nozzle, which she turned to fill two fairy-sized plastic cups that she had gotten from somewhere.

While we both downed our nectar and had some honeyed granola to give ourselves an energy boost, I looked toward the cargo area of the craft, where our two attackers were now firmly strapped down onto some sort of super secure medical beds with thick metal restraints holding them down. They were both awake now and struggling against their restraints, and the Dark Elf was bitching loudly until someone shoved something in her mouth to shut her up.

I was so tempted to ask Captain Morris exactly where we were going as our large procession made its way through the wide hallways of Vanguard Tower, the global headquarters for all Vanguard operations. Captain Morris had met our transport as soon as it landed and had barely greeted us all before she began leading us through the hallways to wherever it was we were supposed to be going. I thought that Ainslee and I were just here to give a statement or something before they dragged her away for powers testing, but the team that had come to get us was accompanying us and pushing the beds with the two captives.

Somehow, the Dark Elf bitch had managed to work whatever she had been gagged with free and snapped, “I want to talk to whoever is in charge here. That redheaded bitch attacked me and cut my fucking arm off!” Oh right, she was unconscious when I did the whole reveal that I had been recording everything.

“How fortunate for you, Miss Smythe, that’s exactly who we’re going to see,” Captain Morris said with a cold smile. “I don’t imagine they’re going to be very happy about having to take time out of their busy schedules to deal with this mess though.” The Dark Elf probably couldn’t see it, but I could, and there was no humor in it at all. Smythe, or whatever her name was, had just enough time to look smug before someone shoved something in her mouth to shut her up again.

Our destination turned out to be a large room that looked suspiciously like a courtroom. There was a large dais along the back wall with a frankly imposing desk atop it, another dais in the center of the room, what looked like a juror’s box off to the right side of the room, and some benches or observers with a wide aisle between them originating at the door we had entered from. The entire room was dominated by glossy, dark wood, including a decorative barrier between the central dais and the main dais at the front of the room.

Sitting at the desk on the main dais was a raven-haired Elven man with an aura of authority and a very fancy uniform, and standing beside him and leaning over the desk was a blonde woman with large, angelic wings on her back in a uniform that was only slightly less fancy. They both seemed to be reading the contents of a pair of dossiers on the desk. Captain Monroe turned on the voice projection of her comm crown so she could be heard across the large room and reported, “Commander-General Kline, Vice-Commander Carpenter, we have brought the prisoners, Miss Pierce, and Miss Mackenzie, as ordered.”

Holy shit. Those two at the desk were the two at the very top of the Vanguard chain of command, the very founders of the Vanguard. Terry, the asshole Frost Giant and his Dark Elf accomplice were wheeled to the smaller dais as Captain Monroe got the attention of the pair of commanders and their beds were adjusted so that the pair were almost entirely upright and facing the main dais at the front of the room. The first words out of Terry’s mouth were, “I want my attorney.”

The Elven man, who I could only assume was Commander-General Kline from what Captain Monroe had told me of him, snorted as he turned his serious gaze upon the Frost Giant. “I imagine you would, Mr. Lundburg. He has proven very adept at navigating the civil courts to keep you from facing the consequences of your previous actions, including your last assault on Miss Mackenzie. This, however, is not a civil court.”

“What? But I…”

“I make it a habit to stay informed about everything going on with Altered in my city, Mr. Lundburg,” Commander-General Kline stated, interrupting the Frost Giant’s protest. “And make no mistake, this is my city. Our civil court laws may be based on those of other North American countries, but Amethyst Harbour is a city-state, recognized by the U.N. and under the purview of the Vanguard. Abuses of powers from Altered or matters dealing with the Vanguard itself are not tried by civil courts, they are dealt with here, in this room.”

“The two of you used your special abilities to attack a very promising Vanguard recruit, and that places this case firmly in our jurisdiction,” the angelic Vice-Commander added. “There are no lawyers here, only the evidence, testimony, and the two of us taking time out of our very busy schedules to mete out swift and unyielding justice. Captain Monroe, if you would state the charges, please?”

Captain Monroe flitted over between her commanding officers and our two attackers, her voice projection carrying her small voice to every corner of the room. “Terry Lundburg and Karen Smythe, you are both charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault against a Vanguard officer, uttering threats, and use of Altered abilities as a deadly weapon. Mr. Lundburg also faces charges of violating a restraining order.”

“We have been watching the video streamed by Miss Pierce and reviewing your files. Mr. Lundburg has a long history of abuses of soft power, that being money and influence, and the psych profiles put together by your respective schools were concerning enough that you were both ordered to report any special abilities that you manifested, should you remain in the city. Neither of you reported your special abilities for testing,” Vice-Commander Carpenter stated. “The video and audio evidence point toward your guilt, but you will be given the opportunity to defend your actions.”

Karen started to mumble something behind her gag and Terry almost managed to look regretful as he stated, “We were only messing with Ainslee. There was no intent to kill her. I would have stopped the ice if the Sprite hadn’t, but then they viciously attacked us and…”

His spiel was quickly interrupted by the Vice-Commander. “You misunderstand, Mr. Lundburg. It is not your words that you will be defending yourself with, but your thoughts and memories. My special ability allows me to read minds. I’m told it can be quite excruciating when people resist, but it will allow me to see the naked, unblemished truth of your intentions and actions. I’m sure that if you have nothing to hide, that you will be fine though.” The eyes of both of our attackers went wide with sudden realization and terror.

That was a little bit terrifying. Watching Vice-Commander Carpenter read the minds of our attackers, and the agony on their faces as they attempted to resist her mental probes sent chills down my spine, though Karen seemed to be fighting the process less than Terry. At least they had been gagged so their screams were muffled, though that wasn’t the main purpose of the gags. The actual purpose was so that they wouldn’t bite their tongues off.

In the end, it seemed that Terry really did intend to kill us, though neither had even noticed me until I stopped Terry’s first attempt to impale Ainslee from behind. The pair had only stumbled on us accidentally, seeing Ainslee passing through the neighborhood from a distance. Believing her to be alone, he decided that it would be the perfect time to use his new special ability to get his ‘revenge’ on her for humiliating him.

Karen was willing to help and had threatened me with her new special ability, though she didn’t intend to actually use it, let alone kill, and thought that Terry only wanted to hurt and humiliate Ainslee. She had a lot of pent-up aggression but didn’t intend to fire on Ainslee or me after issuing her threats, just intimidate us with it. She had panicked though when Ainslee summoned that energy weapon and shot toward her and had instinctively fired to defend herself. She wasn’t a nice person, but it seemed she wasn’t completely terrible either.

Terry’s passing mention of a list during our brief fight was true as well. Ainslee’s name had been at the top, but there were eighteen other people that he fully intended to kill, given the opportunity. Most of those were other Altered women he had gone to school with. None of them had punched him in the junk and then pressed charges like Ainslee had, but all of them had turned down his advances publicly and in embarrassing ways.

The pair of commanders deliberated for a few minutes after the Angel shared her findings and then Commander-General Kline began to announce their verdict. “Karen Smythe, you are only guilty of uttering threats and use of Altered abilities as a deadly weapon. You are sentenced to either ten years in the Altered wing of Amethyst Harbour Maximum Security Prison or a ten-year probationary sentence, two years studying and training at Vanguard University followed by eight years serving in the Vanguard. The choice is yours and both sentences take into consideration your potentially long lifespan and the hopes that you can be rehabilitated, educated, and your aggression channeled into more positive outlets.”

The angelic Vice-Commander quickly added, “In either case, during that time, Miss Mackenzie will feed on you twice a week to sate her thirst for blood and to make you useful during your sentence. Should you choose the Vanguard route, you will be housed in the dormitories while at the university, where you will have a curfew and wear a tracking device to ensure you are keeping to it. Your course of studies will be determined by me and any use of your abilities, or any form of violence, against Miss Mackenzie or other people, will be considered a breach of your probation.”

Karen looked conflicted, though the choice was a fairly easy one. She was probably getting off lucky that she could even choose her sentencing. The way she was glancing nervously at Ainslee though made me think that she was more worried about being fed on twice a week for the next ten years, the only part that she didn’t really have a choice in. When her gag was removed though, she made the obvious choice. “I’ll take the Vanguard route.”

Vice-Commander Carpenter looked at her and smiled faintly as she said, “Excellent. The university has a fantastic nursing and trauma care program. It should teach you empathy, and you’ll be useful as a field medic in addition to providing a powerful ranged ability to whatever unit you’re in.”

With Karen’s sentence issued, the Commander-General’s face became grim as he turned to Terry to lower the boom. “Terry Lundburg, you have been found guilty on all charges. We have rarely had Altered in our city face such severe charges, and it’s rarer still that they show such a callous disregard for human and Altered lives. Given your past activities, the severity of this incident, and your blatant intent to murder others in cold blood, I am forced to issue the second death sentence since the establishment of the city-state of Amethyst Harbour. To ensure that your death is not pointless, you will be held at the Altered wing of Amethyst Harbour Maximum Security Prison, where the city’s Vampire population will be free to feed on you until you have been bled dry.”

After Terry was wheeled away by the unit that brought us to Vanguard Tower, the Commander-General and Vice-Commander approached us, and Captain Monroe made the introductions. “It is nice to finally meet you, Lily. We’ve heard much about you from the hospital and Captain Monroe,” Commander-General Kline said before extending his hand toward Ainslee. “And you as well, Miss Mackenzie. Though I must warn you both, you could have faced charges for that incident as well, were it not obvious that you were attacked first and defending yourselves and one another. Captain Monroe also vouched for you, and the first time using one’s special abilities can be emotionally charged and uncontrolled in circumstances like this.”

“Yessir,” I replied, looking down at my feet from where I was sitting on Ainslee’s shoulder. “I wanted to just teleport us away, but the situation quickly escalated out of control.”

The Elven man laughed. “Yes, situations like that tend to do so. Still, you handled the situation well, given your limited training so far. Captain Monroe will continue your Water Magic training until the semester starts at the university. Miss Mackenzie, are you considering taking classes there and joining the Vanguard as well?”

“Uh, yessir,” my friend replied nervously. “I was just waiting to see what I got as a special ability, if any.”

“Good, we’ll need to get you and Miss Smythe properly tested,” he said with a nod. “Lia, could you please handle that? I’m afraid that I still have several fires to put out from that Incursion last week.”

“Of course, Commander,” the Angel responded along with a snappy salute. “And while the two of them are being tested, I can have a long overdue talk with Miss Pierce.”