"You too?"
Hughie was astonished. He asked, "What exactly does that man want? And how can he give us abilities?"
Billy shook his head. "No idea. Right now, I just want to know how long these abilities will last. I feel bloody fantastic."
"Tsk, tsk. You used to go on every day about how much you hated ability users. Now that you have abilities yourself, not only do you not hate them, you're positively thrilled."
A voice suddenly rang out in all four men's minds at once. "Turns out you only hated ability users because you weren't one yourself."
Billy's expression soured. Why did he have to say the truth out loud? He asked, "Who the hell are you, and what do you want?"
"I'm the director of S.W.O.R.D. You can call me Director, or you can call me Boss."
Andrew spoke. Well, the Salvation Organization, which he claimed had over a thousand years of history, finally had a name of its own. What a joyous occasion. Truly worth celebrating.
Everyone was taken aback. "S.W.O.R.D.?"
"That's right. S.W.O.R.D., an organization dedicated to protecting the world."
Andrew nodded and said, "Just recently, we protected the Wasteland World and prevented a war between it and Earth. From now on, no more monsters will appear, and New Yorkers won't keep disappearing."
"The Wasteland World?"
They grew even more astonished. Billy snorted. "The louder an organization shouts its slogans, the less trustworthy it is."
"Mr. Billy Butcher, you're now a member of S.W.O.R.D. too. Keep running that venomous mouth of yours, and you could easily get fired."
Andrew spoke, and Billy scoffed. "I never agreed to join your bloody S.W.O.R.D. And fire me, then. You think I give a shit?"
"I have information about Becca."
Andrew said, "That information is only available to members