Part 21:

I stepped over the divide and into the strange hallway. The two women stood to the side to allow me passage. I used my sight on them, taking them in.

The woman in the lab coat didn't have a glow at all. She wasn't a cape? The implication I got, from her and Tattletale's power, was that she was in a position of power here. Someone high up in an organization that gave people powers didn't indulge in their own wares?

What did that mean?

I glanced to the other woman, and found myself equally perplexed. Her aura was unlike any I had seen so far. It was mostly black, with traces of the silver that other Cauldron Capes had. Where did the black coloring come from? A third source? And if that was the case, why did she have bits of silver in hers?

"If you would, we've prepared a conference room." The woman in the lab coat said. "We imagine that you're quite busy, and would prefer to not waste time."

I nodded slowly, even as Tattletale's power kicked off again. Something about the way she said that...she knew about what I was doing, my war on the Empire.

The women led me further into their complex. It was...bare. There wasn't much for me to go off of here. Not that I wasn't getting plenty from them.

"Many who meet me call me the Doctor. Or Mother. Whichever you choose." the woman in the lab coat said.

"Alright then, Doctor." I said. "And she is...?"

The woman glanced to her companion in the suit, who nodded slightly. "This is Contessa, my...bodyguard."

I nodded again, taking in the interaction. It was strange. Not the way I expected someone to act to their bodyguard.

"I think there's something up here." Tattletale said. "That woman's not just a bodyguard. I'm sure of it."

"This is creepy." Alabaster said. "This place...it gives me the chills."

Fog was quiet. That was good. I liked the quiet ones. I could appreciate them.

The women stopped in front of a door, and Contessa pushed it open and motioned for me to go inside. I stepped in, and found some other people waiting for us.

Alexandria and Eidolon were easy to spot. Alexandria nodded slightly as I entered, and Eidolon...didn't react at all.

Along with them was a man I didn't recognize. He looked less like a Cape and more like an accountant. He had short blonde hair, thin rimmed glasses, and a button-up shirt. Something about the way he moved was...off. He was so certain with each slight movement. Nothing was wasted.

He was also the only golden aura in the room. That was interesting as well.

"I believe you know Alexandria and Eidolon." The Doctor said. "This is The Number Man."

I glanced toward the blonde with a bit of surprise. "You're The Number Man?"

He nodded slightly. "I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. I trust you've been putting the Undersider's funds to good use?"

"Um, yeah." I said. "I didn't expect you to work for Cauldron."

He smiled slightly. "It makes sense, when you have all of the information."

I waited for him to go into more detail. Apparently, he had no intention of doing so, however. After a few moments, the Doctor spoke again.

"Would you like to have a seat so that we may begin?"

I looked at the Doctor. "Not going to introduce me to the other Cape in the room?"

She seemed slightly taken back by that. To her credit, she recovered quickly.

"There's another Cape here?" Tattletale asked.

"Apparently, their invisibility doesn't block my sight." I said, hoping it sounded like I was continuing rather than answering Tattletale.

"Yes, well...I assure you she intends no harm. The Custodian watches over the facility as a whole."

"Okay, noted. Her being here is a bit distracting, though. She...doesn't seem to have a real body? I can see her all over the room."

The Doctor looked to Contessa again, and they seemed to communicate somehow.

"Custodian, I assure you your presence is not necessary for this meeting. Please, see to some other matters."

The massive aura left the room, to my relief. The Doctor and Contessa walked over to the table and sat down. There was only one seat left. I walked over to take it. "Will Legend not be joining us?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. The Doctor was the one who answered. "No, Legend will not be joining us."

I was able to piece something together fully for the first time since coming here. "He...doesn't know about this." I said. "You're...afraid of his morality, worried he'll give you away..."

"Tattletale's power, yes?" The Doctor asked. "We learned it was powerful. It seems that it may be more powerful than even we believed."

I narrowed my eyes. "You...know about what powers I have?"

"We have been keeping an ear to the ground in regard to you." Alexandria said. "It wouldn't do to be unprepared in the face of such an...interesting Parahuman."

"Now, if we may proceed to the matter that brought you here." The Doctor said.

I felt my anger resurface. "Right...you gave Emma power." I said.

"Ahh, yes. Ms. Barnes." The Doctor said. "We were...concerned about what would occur when the two of you met."

"You knew...you knew she knew me. That she tortured me."

"We do investigate all of our prospective clients." The Doctor said. "Ms. Barnes has had a...sordid past. However, when we took all factors into account, providing her with a formula made the most sense."

"What? What other factors?"

"A question, first. Your sight, which allows you to see Parahumans. How does it manifest."

That caught me off guard. "What?"

"Alexandria reported that you were able to see Parahumans, and that you could tell that some individual's powers originated from Scion. We have our theories, but..."

I wasn't sure how to proceed. How much information should I really give them...

"I think you should tell them." Tattletale said. "I think...that they might already know, right? You can probably tell too. I think this is a test. They're trying to see if you'll play ball."

I took a breath. When I really thought about it, put her power to use...she was right.

"I can see auras. Gold for Scion, silver for your Capes. It's how I know that you, Doctor, are not a Cape. That the Number Man is the only non Cauldron Cape here. And that Contessa..."

I picked up on slight reactions from all of them at that. Shit, did I just spill something they didn't know?

"Go on." The Doctor said.

I sighed. "Her Aura is...different. Mostly black, with some silver mixed in."

They all seemed to weigh that. I wanted to push on it, but just watching them was probably giving me more than asking would have.

"We had speculated..." The Doctor said.

"Yes, but confirmation..."

I was shocked to actually hear Contessa speak. She had been completely silent thus far.

"In any case, that is something we can focus on later." The Doctor said. "Back to the point at hand."

"Emma?" I asked.

"We will get back to her, I assure you. The explanation will make more sense if you have the full story."

I sat back in the chair and nodded.

"Scion, as the world knows him, is responsible for many of the Parahumans active today. He came to this planet..."

"Scion is an alien?" I asked. "How do you...?"

"If I may continue." The Doctor said. "All will be explained, to the best of my ability."

I nodded, giving her my full attention. Tattletale was silent, even as her power was going crazy.

"Scion came to this world to grant powers and rule over it, sowing the seeds of war as he did. He and his counterpart."

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak. I didn't really need to.

"Yes, there was another. They had planned, so far as we can understand, to make Parahumans fight, gathering data. And then, when they were finished with their...experiment, I suppose, they planned to wipe humanity out. An accident occurred, however, and Scion's counterpart perished. We were in a position to study it's body, and through that study, we have learned how to grant powers."

"From...it's body?" I asked. Information was flooding in, and I could feel a headache coming on. It was light now, but soon...

"Yes. The creatures, Scion and it's counterpart, shed portions of their body to grant powers. By harvesting from the deceased specimen, we can achieve similar results." The Doctor said.

"Holy shit..."

"Quite." Alexandria said.

"Our Capes have the advantage of avoiding Trigger events and having less limitations on their powers, we find. In general, our stronger Capes are among the strongest in the world." The Doctor continued. "Unfortunately, along with those positive potential outcomes, there are negatives."

"The Case 53's." I said. "Your..."

"Mixtures. Vials of liquid."

"Right. Your mixtures can cause mutations. Make people monsters."

"We've lessened the likelihood of such an outcome." The Doctor said. "It's now far less likely. Of course, an individual's state of mind bares a great deal of weight in regard to the chance of mutation."

My mind drifted back to Emma. This time, it was accompanied with guilt. Had me pushing her helped assure a mutation.

Did I really care? She was the monster who tortured me. She deserved to look as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside.

And that thought made me feel guilty again. I'm gonna need a shrink just to deal with this Emma situation...

I shook my head, trying to work past the pain that was developing. "Go on..."

"Yes. Well, with his counterpart gone, Scion seems to have become...inert. He has defaulted to shows of heroism. However, knowing what we do about Scion and his origins, we have put some thinkers and precogs to work, and they have determined what we feared. A day will come when Scion turns on humanity. As a matter of fact, we have it on good authority that this event will happen anywhere from two to sixteen years from now. The number of casualties will be unfathomable."

I felt my heart sink at that. Scion was the strongest hero in the world. People rated him above the Endbringers. And if he was where powers came from, then...if he turned on us, what could we do?

"In light of these facts, we have been preparing for the day that he turns on humanity. We have been working to amass an army to face him."

"An...army?"

"Yes, volunteers like Ms. Barnes, for one. We also approach those who would otherwise perish, either due to injury or disease, and offer them a mixture. We inform them of all ofthe risks, including mutation and death."

"And that's where the Case 53's come from. They're people you approached who didn't get lucky with their potion."

"More or less." Eidolon said.

"We do all of this in the hope that we will find powerful Capes who can make a difference when the true battle begins. Eidolon, Alexandria, Legend, Hero...these are some of our greatest successes. However, for each of them, there were many failures. Specimens who perished, or who wouldn't cooperate. And even still, the number of truly powerful Capes that we have created is nowhere near the number we would want."

"So you've been looking elsewhere." I said, piecing together what she was saying. "Not just within the Capes you create, but anyone who could be useful." I added, glancing to the Number Man.

"Indeed. I'm sure you've already figured a fair bit of our plan here out."

I nodded. "You want me to work with you." I said. "You had Alexandria keep an eye on me, as much as possible, during the Leviathan attack to...scope me out, see if I was a threat."

"We were all active when Glaistig Uaine was active." Alexandria said. "There were concerns."

"And Emma...she fits into that too. You mentioned her past...and taking all factors into account." I said. My stomach began to clench as I spoke. "You chose her because she knew me...you set up our meeting earlier to see what my reaction would be."

There was a puase, and to my surprise, it was Contessa who spoke.

"We have seen a great many people changed by their Trigger events." she said. Her words were so smooth that it was almost like she practiced them. "We needed to know your state of mind, and that you would be able to maintain your composure in all situations. Not just in the case of you operating with us. We needed to know if we could trust you to keep all of this secret. If Scion learns about us, and what we're doing, it would be disastrous."

I looked at her, trying to figure her out. I was sure she had a thinker power. Tattletale agreed. I just didn't know what...

"You would be an asset, Elysium. And very little would change for you." Alexandria said. "We would simply ask for your assistance with certain individuals. People who we know won't cooperate when the time comes, or those who are too dangerous, yet have a power that could make the difference."

"Why should I trust you, when you were willing to give someone like Emma powers?" I asked.

"Ms. Barnes is far from a monster, Elysium." The Doctor said. "We have seen a great many monsters in our time. That said, I can understand your hesitance. Contessa?"

"I can assure you that Ms. Barnes holds no intention of betraying you. She is thoroughly broken. That said, we can take her off your hands. We have methods to deal with problematic individuals." Contessa said.

I opened my mouth, but no noise fell out. I had a way out. I didn't need to babysit Emma if I didn't want to.

But...

"Did...did you know how close she was to..."

"To suicide? Yes. She did not take her physical changes well. That said, there are steps that can be taken to aid her in moving beyond that." Contessa replied.

"What would you do with her?"

"We have methods to remove an individual's memory. She would be like any other Case 53."

I groaned. That didn't sit well with me. Partly because it might as well have been killing her, and partly because it felt like she would be getting off easy.

"So...she wouldn't even remember all the shit she's done to me?"

"No. Likely, she would feel remorse on some level, but..." The Doctor began.

"No, forget it then." I said. "I'll make sure she makes up for every shitty thing she's done."

"If that is what you wish." The Doctor said. "Now, may we discuss a deal, of sorts?"

I looked around the table. These people were some of the most powerful in the world. Eidolon and Alexandria, obviously, but the other three...

I wasn't 100% sure of their powers, but if they made people like the Triumvirate? They were strong.

And they wanted to treat me like an equal. They saw me as an asset to their group.

I took a deep breath.

"I'm listening."