The Alteration

?FtC?

Anna had redirected the call up to Astrids' computer in her office.

The chief and her second in command had not taken it yet though. Astrid was sitting in her chair with Elsa standing to her left. Something wasn't right. Obviously.

"What are the odds that this happens during an attack from the government?"

"What are the odds of this happening at all", Elsa crossed her arms "They've been quiet for almost an entire decade and the cult has made it clear that it's on them..."

Astrid sighed "Only one way to find out"

After accepting the call, the logo disappeared and revealed a man sitting in a similar position as Astrid, although in a lot more run down and messy looking office. A lot of notes were scattered about the desk and two whiteboards in the background. He seemed alone in the barely lit room.

"Ah. I'm glad you took my call, Miss", he smiled warmly "I was getting afraid you were too busy dealing with the aftermath of-"

"Could you please not waste our time with this" Astrid interrupted him.

"We would like a clarification as to who you are", Elsa continued "The Center of Chaos Containment was supposedly wiped out eight years ago"

His demeanor changed from welcoming to insulted quite fast. "Come on. Just because we are not flying around in a giant airship doesn't mean we're all dead", the golden CCC-pin on his jacket reflected the little light there was when he leaned back in his chair, frowning "We've been undetectable before. Why wouldn't we be able to do that again?"

"... Give me a reason to not hang up right now"

"I have plenty of reasons. Please", he sighed before reaching forward to straighten the webcam he was using "I am Randall O'Reilly. Currently highest in command in the CCC. The reason I am contacting you now, after eight years, is that you have come in possession of something... very powerful"

"We've dealt with chaos energy before" Astrid said and Elsa nodded. There had been plenty of artifacts they probably shouldn't have dealt with...

"I don't doubt that. Or rather, I know you did", Randall ran a hand through his red hair, looking over to the whiteboards for a moment "But this is very different. It's not some pretty looking gem you happened to snatch on some heist... It's a person"

The two women glanced at each other. There weren't many new people in the clan right now. And they were not keen on keeping someone who the CCC was supposedly after...

"But no need to worry", he crossed his arms "Not too much at least"

"Tell me who it is" the chief demanded while her Right Hand was doing just that. Worrying. High chaos energy didn't only attract the attention of the CCC. Hell, they hadn't even known that the CCC was still around... The only ones who really cared about these numbers now were...

"I feel like I need to explain first... before you decide to just throw them out"

Astrid narrowed her eyes "Then do not waste our time..."

"I will, but I beg your patience, Miss Hofferson"

Her eyebrow rose at the stranger calling her by her last name. He simply shrugged "We are still the CCC" before finally beginning to explain.

"I believe it is best to start with the reason why we went public all those years ago... The cult had begun to grow to a worrying extend, and also came into the possession of a dangerous artifact. Previously it had been guarded by ancient... powers", he huffed "I do have to admit that it was the CCC that broke that quite durable seal. The former boss chose to ignore plenty of warnings from various people and grew to regret it very quickly"