The Watchwomen

Chapter 26 (Intermission): Bound To His Service

We last read Chapter 25, in which Nightclaw and Coldsnap momentarily talk about the former's ongoing podcast and the latter's alignment with the Mage Aspects of the Elemental Realms, shortly before Sonya Pillsbury arrives as well and gives them further information regarding the Diamond Legion's base of operations. She says that their hideout is a giant floating mansion high above the clouds of Salt Lake City, Utah---a location which enables the Legion to operate completely unseen by everyone on the ground---and that Voltara is bringing them in close as they speak. Sonya also reveals that the base has incredibly tight security, but the other heroines are intent on getting inside, because the Legion's leader Allie Bannister likely has one of their own---The Viper---held hostage. 

After Sonya and Voltara briefly head to the pilot's cabin and see that the airship has successfully gotten itself just outside the detectable range of the Legion base's security, the pair retreat back to the passenger area to discuss ways to get inside while undercover. A few ideas are thrown around, such as disguising one of them as a Diamond Legion assassin or simply forgoing stealth altogether and bursting in guns blazing; Coldsnap even impatiently suggests several ways that would work had The Viper not been held captive. But ultimately, Voltara proposes a plan which consists of finding a few Legion Guard troopers, incapacitating them, stealing their clothing and gear, and getting into the mansion undetected that way.....and the chapter ended with them resolving to carry out said plan. 

This time, we take a break from the main story once again and have another peek into Allie Bannister's past, in order to investigate further into how she became who she was.....

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-Flashback-

A young Allie Bannister, dressed in a set of light blue PJs with unicorn heads on them, woke up in her highly-decorated bedroom in her modern two story house. She glanced around, seeing the room's attractive pink paint job, the magenta baseboards and crown molding, and the numerous drawings she had pinned up onto the walls. Also present were a pile of used clothes on a chair in front of her bed---which she had neglected to take down to the first floor washing machine---and a nightstand to her left containing a lit lamp, a digital alarm clock, and a holder containing a few elastic hair ties. It also had a wireless charger resting on it, which enabled her to charge her phone's battery simply by setting it down and letting it idle on its angled surface. 

She sat up, stretched, and reached for her phone before opening it and navigating to her Calendar app. Smiling, she saw that today had an important label on it: 

"Allie Bannister's Birthday"

She couldn't wait to see what her parents had planned for her today; she couldn't really expect much since her family wasn't exactly high-class, but spending time with them was what ultimately mattered to her the most. She hopped out of bed and headed to her adjacent bathroom, gave her upper back-length hair a few combovers, and then went for the stairwell, moving down to the first floor. 

Taking a sharp left at the bottom of the staircase and stepping into the dining room, she was met with her parents Claude and Marissa Bannister; they were an infertile couple and had adopted Allie from a foster home a while after tying the knot. Though she clearly wasn't their biological child, they still loved her as though she were their own, and the support and care they put behind their daughter was unparalleled. 

Claude was in the kitchen directly next to the dining room; he was at the central island and confirming the details of an upcoming event on his laptop. Meanwhile, Marissa was lighting the candles on Allie's birthday cake and checking to make sure her camera had enough film contained in it to take a large number of photos.