Phylum 1.4
I closed up the chrysalis, and massaged the growth organ, beginning the gestation process. It would only take the simulacra a week or so to grow to full size, at which point they'd be about four foot. Not particularly strong or clever, but they could recognise voice commands and carry them out competently. They were the perfect assistants – if I said so myself.
That done, I returned to the tissue sample I'd collected from Noelle. Upon finding out that I actually could help, she was eager to give me anything I'd needed. Unfortunately, it looked like just the tissue sample wouldn't be able to help. I had some suspicions, but I needed more evidence, more tests. I needed to know more about where parahumans got their 'para' from.
Powers were controlled by the Corona Pollentia and Corona Gemma. Ideally, criminals would be dealt with by removing the two, stopping them from using them. Except it didn't always work out that way. There was no way to predict where the two growths were going to be located within the brain – they could remain at the very forefront, or tucked in under the folds, or on two different sides of the brain entirely.
Secondly, you had to destroy both. Destroy one, and they would just lose control of their power – and not as in, unable to access it. No, it would be full on out of control. Pyrokinetic capes would be constantly emitting flames, speedsters would be unable to slow down – it would be chaos.
That was why the Birdcage had been invented. It was the easiest way to get rid of these powered capes- especially since execution wasn't always an option. If a cape could control their own bones, what was to stop them from blocking a lethal injection? Or a hundred other expensive methods, for that matter?
At least, that was the only reason I could see for why there were so many still alive.
But I digressed. The reason for my focus on the Pollentia and Gemma – it could help with healing Noelle. If I was right and the growth was caused by an improperly formed Gemma, then simply removing it should stop further growth. But it wouldn't affect the growth that was already formed.
So I would do what no other doctor had ever done before and perform a brain transplant.
Or rather, I would grow another body, along with some parts of the brain, and transplant the memory centres and other essential parts of the brain – but not the Pollentia and Gemma. Noelle would not gain any of her old powers.
Hopefully.
I was still in the planning stage for the operation, I was nowhere near ready for the actual transplant – it was something that had never been tried before, possibly not even by other capes. I was willing to take it slow, perform some experiments first. The key would be to keep the brain alive whilst it was being transferred-
But I was getting sidetracked. Coil had, just the night before, asked me to make a decision about what to do with Sophia- with Shadow Stalker. And... I still hadn't come to one.
I rolled the cushy black chair away from the workbench and leaned back, massaging my temples. Absently, I noticed I still hadn't removed my surgical gloves, and a smear of blood had wiped away on the sides of my head. I tutted and got up, pulling the gloves off and binning them, then wiping away the blood with scrubbing sponge.
I turned, and looked off to the side. The lab had actually been larger than I had initially thought, with a whole 'nother room almost empty – there had been one wooden table with a post-it note stuck to it, declaring, 'If you want anything else, we'll put it here.'
I'd already requested some containment tubes, which I intended to use as an upgraded chrysalis for growing things. For now, though, the room was bare – except for a single workbench in the middle of the room, with one Sophia Hess strapped down to it. I walked in and even from this distance, I could see micro-expressions fluttering across the monster's face. Mainly fear and anger.
I suppressed a little flutter of fury, that she had the gall to believe she had any right to be angry here- deep breaths, Danny, deep breaths, I reminded myself.
She couldn't do much more than that, however – the paralysing agent I had cycling through her blood wouldn't let her. I shook my head and returned to my black roller chair. I sighed a little, and decided that working a little longer on the Noelle issue would help clear my head.
-/-/-/-
An hour later, I was no closer to making a decision about Sophia, but I had gotten a lot farther in my work on Noelle's brain transplant. I glanced up at the clock, away from the diagrams I'd been measuring out on some A3 paper. 20 past 11, I noticed absently. There was something I needed to do...
"Shit!" I swore aloud, standing up abruptly. My meeting with Coil was in ten minutes... Deep breaths, Danny, deep breaths. You have time.
I bulled on the bone-plate ask I'd Tinkered up for non-exoskeleton cape meetings. It was angled slightly, didn't cover my eyes, and had a faint impression of teeth on the front, adding to the intimidation factor. That's what everything I built seemed to prioritise- looking or being dangerous. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to meeting with Coil, and he already knew my civilian identity... Still, appearances must be kept.
I opened the grey double doors, nodding to the guard posted just outside them. I couldn't tell who it was – they all kept their faces covered, no matter what – and I had no idea of their names. I knew they were more for my protection, though, than to stop me from leaving. Coil had made it very explicit that I was free to leave whenever I wanted to.
I had gotten used to... Most of the layout of the facility now. Well, I knew the way from my lab, to Coil's office, to the exit, so I could get to the most important places. I still had to have one of the guards escort me to Noelle's cell whenever I needed to get samples, and there were vast swathes of unexplored facility that I didn't even want to try and traverse. But I had the important places.
I made it Coil's office without incident. As usual. I waited just long enough for the doors to open without them opening to raise my hand to knock, only for the doors to slide open just as I was about to. I supposed it was some kind of power play by Coil, although honestly it made him seem a little childish to me.
Inside was Coil, in his black bodysuit, and, off to one side, a boy in what appeared to be a renaissance-faire costume, along with a porcelain white mask and a little crown atop long brown locks. I looked at him oddly for a moment, and could've sworn I saw him smile, despite being unable to see anything about his face behind the mask.
"Ah, Kingdom." Coil was waiting for me as I entered, various stacks of paper neatly arranged on his desk – enough to make him seem busy, but not so much to make him seem overworked, I noticed. It was a strategy I'd often seen employed by the higher-ups in the mayor's building – something I'd even used myself, back when I was excited to be head of the Union. "Right on time." I glanced up at the clock – I was a little early, fortunately. "Now, I understand that you've come up with a solution to the issue with Shadow Stalker?"
"In a word..." I hesitated. "No. I... Can't come up with something that seems bad enough for what she's done without... Killing her, and that's obviously unfeasible."
"Indeed," Coil observed. "In that case, I think I have an answer to your problems." He gestured, and the ren-faire boy stepped forward. He was a teen, I noticed. Must have been fairly close in age to Taylor- I cut off that line of thought quickly. "This is Regent, a member of the Undersiders. His power, according to the PRT, is short bursts of nerve interference that cause someone to temporarily lose control of their limbs."
Regent nodded. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, an undercurrent of humour laced in his words. I frowned.
"Likewise."
"In actuality," Coil broke in, "Regent is able to take control of a person's whole nervous system, given enough time – essentially, take control of their body." I blinked, eyes slightly widened.
"That..." I paused. Was I willing to submit Sophia Hess, the 'hero' Shadow Stalker, to the loss of her will, and throw her to the whims of this teenage boy?
"That sounds perfect," I replied.
Hell fucking yes I was.
-/-/-/-
Regent was escorted to my laboratory, where he would begin his takeover of Shadow Stalker's body. I had wanted to be there to watch, but Regent had convinced me that he needed intense focus to do so, and I wouldn't exactly be conducive to such, looming over his shoulder the whole time. I had acquiesced.
"So, does this mean the Undersiders are on your payroll?" I asked, having remained in Coil's office for a moment.
"They are," Coil answered shortly. "Why?"
"The Master, Hellhound, with the monsters... How does that power... Work?" I asked, hesitantly. I had a theory that I wanted to test out, but I needed to observe the girl's power in action in order figure it out."
"As I understand, she prefers Bitch," Coil noted, almost casually. "And as far as her power works – well, I'm unsure of the specifics, obviously, but it appears that she places her hand on a dog, closes her eyes, and said dog grows into the 'hellhounds' that the media named her after."
"And these are just regular, normal dogs?" I asked, for clarification. Coil answered in the affirmative, and I nodded, thinking to myself for a moment.
"If you could arrange a meeting with this, ah, 'Bitch,' so that I could see her power in person, I think I might be able to use it in my own work." I stated, somewhat hesitantly. Coil appeared to think for a moment.
"Very well." He replied, and some small part of me danced with glee at the thought of observing this power up close. "But after this, we will be talking about my own commission of your powers. Agreed?" I could tell it wasn't really a question.
"Of course," I replied promptly. Wouldn't do to upset the new boss, now, would it?
-/-/-/-
I returned home for the night after that, wondering what on earth I was doing. Every now and then I'd have a moment where I thought, 'I'm keeping a teenager locked in the basement of a supervillain's lair. What the fuck am I doing?' Then I would think back to who I was keeping there, what she had done, and I'd feel something in my stomach sicken...
I discarded my costume to come home, storing most everything at Coil's base now. I didn't want anyone who might come round to accidentally find anything incriminating. The basement of my house had been scoured of all evidence, wiped clean of any biological remains, and cleared of equipment.
I collapsed into bed at a little past midnight, exhausted, burnt-out, and dreading going to work in the morning.
-/-/-/-
