Drone 23.2

 Drone 23.2 is the second chapter of Drone. Weaver accompanies the LA Wards as part of a prisoner transfer. Comes into conflict with the Terrible Totes. Pretender is taken by Cauldron.

Plot
Weaver and arrives in Las Vegas, much to the local team's dissatisfaction. The team members, Satyrical, Nix, Blowout, Leonid, and Floret are introduced, from their costumes to their worn-out demeanours. Even Spur and Ravine sticking to their team, becoming insular.

How the heroes and villains dynamic works in Las Vegas is expounded upon as the group approaches the PRT lock-up for Las Vegas, a conspicuously dull building for being so close to the strip.

They enter a dialogue with Pretender through a screen from within his cell, who refuses to turn himself in, and alludes to the Bogeyman that 'they' would employ to silence anyone who shed light on their operations, including himself.

Arbiter then gets a premonition from their thinker ability that something bad is about to happen, involving people that Pretender is only tenuously associated with, either old teammates or hired guns, with some concerns the aforementioned Bogeyman is involved.

Weaver complains about being supplied with butterflies for her to control, for the sake of her image, but neutering her combat effectiveness. Soon after, Weaver convinces the other Wards that they're currently being targeted by a sniper rifle, who they move to evade, Weaver mentioning its an uncostumed individual. The Wards loadup unto an aircraft in order to mobilise safely, transporting their prisoner.

The aircraft is attacked, and brought down. It is revealed that Pretender has hired some serious mercenary capes, under the leadership of Bambina.

Turns out she's a bit of a freak, and not in the superpowers way.

The Wards and Villains fight, with Weaver musing on what kind of cape she wants to be, now that she isn't tied to the persona of Skitter. She decides she doesn't want to be the kind of cape that gets choked out by child cape like August Prince, knowing Clockblocker won't let her live it down if she loses, and the Undersiders won't forgive her if she dies. None of the heroes are able to affect him however.

The Las Vegas Wards then arrive on the scene, as a mysterious woman has entered the aircraft and is putting Pretender at risk. Weaver attempts to get the Aircraft's A.I., to call for help. The woman undermines the A.I., and releases Pretender, telling him: 'The Doctor will see you now.'#

It turns out that it was the Vegas Wards that hired Bambina to break out Pretender, as they intended to leave the protectorate. They cite the fact that the Protectorate has lost all their major capes, corrupt as they were, and so is now a shadow of its former self. They're allowed to be let go.

Weaver realises that despite everything, the 'good guys' were still losing, and that it would have to change.

Major Events

 * Pretender is 'abducted' by Cauldron
 * The Las Vegas teams defects from the protectorate

Trivia

 * Ranking sites are first mentioned here.
 * The various casino's of Las Vegas are actually located in unincorporated territory since 1950. so that they do not have to pay taxes to the city of Las Vegas. In Worm this strategy seems to have turned out badly.