"We'll never figure it out sitting in conference here," Pisces declared, "We should contact heroes in each of the affected cities. And assemble a task force to investigate the AWE."
"Valjean's team is currently stationed in the area, in the vicinity of the Last Resort," Nadohs noted, "Contact his team and have them investigate. While they handle that, I'll see about getting the X-Squad on this."
For all the years it had been in service, the SONG (Short for the Squad of Nexus Guardians because Commander Genjuro Kazanari and the marketing division had really wanted a name that spelled SONG) mobile command headquarters had changed in many ways, while in other ways staying the same. Initially beginning its service as a submarine meant to be a temporary headquarters for the second Division Mobile Disaster Response Corps until they could get a replacement for their original base beneath Lydian Academy, which had been tragically destroyed because, somehow, it had been built inside of a moon cannon and nobody noticed until Finé's disastrous attempt to get God-senpai to notice her (not that it would've worked anyway, he'd been dead for 5000 years and her blowing up the moon would have doomed humanity more than anyone at the time could have imagined), due to budget cuts, bureaucracy, inability to contract a viable architecture firm, Commander Kazanari's insistence that a submarine base was the coolest thing ever and the marketing department agreeing that it would make a great playset for people of all ages, the mobile command headquarters had become almost as much a symbol of SONG as its most famous operatives, with the very sight of it surfacing off the coast causing many around the world to burst into song the instant they saw it, both out of joy and because it would give the aforementioned operatives a power boost upon the deployment.
Following the defeat of space god and co-creator of humanity Shem-Ha Mephorash, the UN had given them a nearly unlimited budget to work with, allowing the commander to fulfill his childhood dream of having a submarine base that could also become an airship and a tank and a spaceship and travel to parallel universes once Chief Alchemist Elfnein had figured out how to hook the Gjallarhorn up to it without breaking an entire multiverse.
Despite these questionably necessary upgrades, the command center of the base remained almost the same as it had upon its christening, partly out of nostalgia, partly out of sentimentality, and partly because a nearly unlimited budget wasn't the same as an actual unlimited one.
While the X-Squad were partying and laughing, they saw a man-sized squid, and three bunnies, along with three toon abominations crash onto a table in Sinner's Lane, dazed and confused, with the toons rolling like balls.
"What, what the shuck?" The squid said, before laughing like a loon, confusing everyone. "Enjoying the pain of Ol' Inkerton, are ye, lads? Proud of what you've done?!"
"And how was life going for you before?" Kanade asked. "You probably lost everything, and the only reason you even survived was because a swing of fate allowed it. You were stuck fighting a war you couldn't win. With us, you can stay far away from the desolation and hopelessness of your old world. And need I remind you of the most important fact? No? Well, too bad! You do have nothing left to lose."
Inkerton slumped at that. All else aside, he knew the strange girl was right. What reason did he have not to simply put a popper in his mouth? Everything he worked for and built was gone. There was nothing left for him in his old life. The only thing possibly left in the universe for him was whatever these folk had to offer. Not for the first time either. The last time he was in this position, Roland helped him get on the path to becoming the right claw of his operation. Maybe now was his chance to start over again with a clean slate.
"Alright," Inkerton agreed. "What would ye have me do?"
Drakus couldn't suppress a grin at that. Even though Inkerton was still consumed by despair, Drakus was confident that with time, he would come around. The squid had darkened his heart almost as much as most of the squad had. He'd find a fitting purpose with the X-Squad in time.
"I have some ideas, maybe we can wreak some havoc on some criminals, cause them some misery."
"You don't gotta tell me how much fun it is to spread misery!" Daphne, who had a penchant for exactly that, laughed.
Jonathan Crane was unsure whether or not the invitation slipped under his door was a joke or not. It was an invitation to an abandoned building on the edge of town not far from Jonathan's own warehouse where he was currently hiding. It was by no means a glamorous living space. He mostly slept in a small corner in the roof where the beams had not quite met so that it allowed for a little nook. He had filled it with cardboard and any fabric he could find to sleep on, although he had yet gotten a proper blanket or pillow. Thankfully it was spring, so the weather wasn't quite extreme yet, but the winter had been horrible, the cold metal surrounding him being freezing to the touch. Jonathan expected summer would only bring the same troubles but in reverse.
But it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Jonathan had a few of his projects going on, experiments with various substances (mainly gas) that would enhance or reduce fear, but he didn't have a lot of space or equipment to use. Still, the shitty warehouse that he had taken to in the early winter was far better than wandering around the Narrows, homeless for a few months, warming his hands over dumpster fires.
While he had had a gang back in No Man's Land, it had eventually dispersed in favor of returning to their former normal lives. Jonathan had no such luxury, so he had disappeared into the shadows, evading capture since then.
So, when that portal appeared, Jonathan donned his Scarecrow outfit, which thankfully looked like just ragged clothing, and kept the mask in a pocket, ready to pull out if necessary. He also had a few needles of his serum up his sleeves. Jonathan just hoped he wouldn't have to use them- not only would it draw attention to himself, but he was running low on the stuff.