A Lewd Cultivator in Brockton Bay 61 (Patreon)

A Lewd Cultivator in Brockton Bay

Chapter 61

-VB-

My daily life came down to four, maybe five, activities.

Family time. Whether it was having a threesome, one-on-one loving, eating a meal together, going out for some outdoor fun, taking care of my babies, or whatever else, this took up a good fourth of my waking hours.

Public cape activities. Patrols, cooperative spars, or even meeting fans, this took up another fourth of my waking hours.

Cultivation. Despite the fact that a true cultivator would focus on this almost exclusively to the point of being a mania, my personal cultivation barely reached three hours a day, if that. Most recently, I was able to discern people’s intent. It was a … very useful ability.

Exercise. Though technically speaking cultivation required a lot of control over the body which meant that cultivators exercised a hell lot, exercise in and of itself was not cultivation. This took up two hours a day.

I would frequently get involved in some charity work like removing as much of the literal trash and scrap all over the city, including the Boat Graveyard, but they never ate up more than three hours a day, if I even participated. With up to two hours spent either moving or loitering, my days were full and well-scheduled, though Amy might disagree with that.

So I was less than amused when I walked into the PRT ENE headquarters one day and found Legend talking with the troops. There was no immediate disaster in the area, no S-class threat or even a history of Legend going out of his way to visit the branches when there was no crisis.

This?

This smelled - no, stank - of shenanigans.

Legend saw me and immediately his eyes brightened.

“Good morning! You must be the Rabbit of the Bay.”

Rabbit of the Bay?

That’s … I guessed that if someone arbitrarily took my name and tacked the bay at the end of it because I lived in Brockton Bay, it would work. Not that I would personally call myself that.

“Sure, I guess,” I replied. “You guys call me Rabbit.”

He nodded along. “It’s great that you’re here. I was hoping to talk with all of the independent capes in Brockton Bay. If you ask them to come by, I’m sure many of them will show up.”

I stared at him, and he smiled back at me as if he was doing nothing wrong. He probably thought that, too.

“Can I talk to you in private?” I asked with a fake smile of my own.

“Um, sure,” he replied.

“Aight. Let’s go to the rooftop, then.”

-VB-

“So what is this about?” Legend asked Rabbit after he followed the man to the rooftop of the PRT ENE headquarters.

The man looked irritated for some reason. He might not have entertained this private conversation if this was just a random independent. However, Rabbit was not a random independent but one that the national PRT, including Rebecca, kept their eyes on for one reason: growth.

He was like Dauntless, growing ever so slowly but at a noticeable rate.

Eidolon dismissively talked about Rabbit because he saw the man get hit by Leviathan and barely survive. While Legend agreed that there was a definite minimum floor to notoriety, he also knew that there was good work in helping people reach it.

And Rabbit, much like Dauntless, deserved some attention if only for the services he’s rendered to the wider parahuman community and their nation. After all, not many capes of any affiliation could claim to have defeated a dozen parahumans and over a hundred of their minions with only one support.

The incident, which the internal PRT directors dubbed “New Hampshire Meet,” remained classified for now while federal agencies tried to piece all of the puzzles together while contacting their counterparts across the pond. This incident also raised the internal PRT rating for one Amy Dallon, aka Pancea, up from a mere Striker 6 to Master 7, Striker 7, Tinker 6, Master 5. This put her up on a vaunted list of “Treat with Kid Gloves,” all of whom had a combined total of 15 or more in their threat ratings and weren’t hostile to the PRT or the Protectorate. Her “spirit jaguars” were also powerful: Brute 4, Mover 5, Striker 3, Stranger 2; she could make and control dozens of them. This new change … could have only happened because of Rabbit. He was the only variable that changed for Panacea.

Rabbit himself also got an upgrade to his ratings as well.

The man started his cape career as a Brute 5, Mover 3. After the New Hampshire Meet and his latest sparring with Protectorate heroes(more latter than former), PRT changed his threat rating to Brute 7, Mover 5, Striker 5, Trump 2. Discounting the Trump rating (because it was not a rating so much as a category), Rabbit was also a very powerful cape himself.

The reason for those ratings was simple: the capes he took down during the New Hampshire Meet. One of them was the Gesellschaft cape “Hohenheim,” an infamous cape in Europe for his ability to change the landscape at will, which he called Alchemy. What few knew was his secondary Trump power: the Sins. It allowed him to alternate between multiple powersets, one of which was super strength and defense last rated at Brute 6. His death was the only instance in which Rabbit took part in the fight, leaving the rest for his wife’s spirit jaguars to finish.

“I don’t like the fact that you’re here.”

Legend blinked in surprise. Rabbit wasn’t known for hostility against the Protectorate or the PRT.

“It smells too much like bullshit that Legend shows up less than a week after having the entire PRT shown up,” he added with a glare. “I don’t care about fame or shit like that, but when there is some kind of obvious power play being made, I don’t take kindly to that.”

Legend raised his hands up. “That isn’t the intention, Rabbit. I just finally got time to leave New York.” Was Rabbit territorial or just aggressive to someone of … his preference.

Rabbit continued to glare at him before finally relaxing.

“I still don’t believe you.”

The man’s belligerence wasn’t in his files. Legend stared at the man for a moment before he decided that Rabbit was the kind of man who needed a firm hand in handling. “Regardless of what you believe, you are acting extremely rude. Will you stop it?”

Rabbit didn’t even look like he was entertaining that thought. “Only after you truly put in the work to deserve the respect of the city,” he replied. “You came after all of the troubles were over. Not before. I respect Armsmaster with that stick up his hand more than I do you.”

With that, he turned and left.

Legend let out a sigh, looking at the angry man’s back. “What was that about…?”