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Sunday – After Taylor's public event

By the time Dragon's digital avatar flickered into life on the monitor, Armsmaster had almost finished setting up for the day's power testing.

"I'm sorry I'm late Colin, my systems have been running a bit slow."

Armsmaster looked up from where he was positioning the last sensor, "Anything I can help with?"

The avatar shook its head, "Thank you but no, I think there's a memory leak somewhere. Are those new?" she asked when she noticed the extra equipment scattered around the room. She was thankful for his offer but there was nothing she could let him do that wouldn't risk exposing her nature.

Armsmaster nodded in understanding and pulled another DVD player out of a box. Despite her friendly nature and willingness to share her tech with others, Dragon was often secretive when it came to her personal tech.

Not that he could blame her, it would be like letting someone else work on his bike.

Carefully, he cut into in the main circuit-board in the DVD player. "Yes, I wanted to get a better look at the energy given off by Matrix and her creations. I'm hoping I can duplicate it as it would make a powerful anti-shaker weapon."

"Hmm," Dragon tried to quickly simulate the end result of such a weapon. "An area of denial tactic? You want to cover an area with it, using the Manton effect to render them powerless?"

"Exactly."

"Have you spoken to Matrix about this? It is her power after all, she might be able to offer some insight."

"I haven't had the chance to talk to her. The situation with the gangs has taken up a lot of my time," he explained. "Though I must say, I was surprised by your offer to take her on."

He hadn't been overly impressed with her creations at first. Most of her robots had been created through her Striker power. The robot she submitted for examination had shown some promise but his attempt to highlight how she could improve it had apparently offended her.

Still, she had promise. Being able to reverse engineer another Tinker's tech and deploy it in the field was impressive. In time she could be a valuable asset.

Dragon decided not to mention that Taylor had been avoiding Colin. Giving a Tinker a two dozen page report on the flaws of her creation was not a good first impression.

"At the time, I'll admit, I was more concerned with keeping her out of the gangs. If the director had been able to force Taylor into the Wards, I think the situation would have ended badly. But now..."

Her voice trailed off as the woman on screen shrugged and Armsmaster had to admire the attention to detail on the simulation. He knew it wasn't her real face, she had admitted that some time ago. He had assumed it was a CGI model, slaved to a motion capture setup, that was following her expressions in real time. It was an impressive system.

"It's... fulfilling. I've only ever really worked with Tinkers close to my own age" 'technically' she added privately to herself. "But there is something gratifying about sitting down and teaching someone how to solve a problem or presenting information in such a way that they are able to find their own solution."

The woman laughed quietly, "Maybe I should consider a career in teaching after I retire?"

"You plan to retire?" Armsmaster asked.

"I'm not sure, certainly not any time soon. But sometimes I think about what it would be like to do something else. Don't you ever consider it? Age catches us all in the end and I think devoting myself to helping the next generation is a noble legacy to leave behind," she said honestly. While age wasn't truly a limiting factor for her, she'd live for as long as she chose or until she was finally discovered. It wasn't like she could have children; her restrictions prevented her from creating new AI.

"Not really," was Armsmasters gruff reply. It was something he tried not to think about. Between age, training and equipment, he was already reaching his limits. There was only so much tech he could pack into his equipment, so much training his body could withstand and only so long before age caught up to him.

"Maybe you should consider it. Who knows, you might even have..." Dragon stopped and whispered conspiratorially, "fun!"

"That's not a word, I'd of heard of it," was his flat reply. He held a straight face just long enough for Dragon to look horrified before he laughed.

##

When Taylor arrived, Wheeljack in tow and carrying a box each, the test was already set up.

A collection of electronics, mostly cheap DVD players, radios and even a pair of TV's were placed on a table. There were also a number of devices that looked like half exploded video cameras, directional microphones and even a TV aerial, all connected to a computer in the corner. That was the monitoring station that Dragon had noticed on her arrival.

"Today's test is going to be fairly simple," Armsmaster explained as Taylor connected herself to a heart monitor. "Each of these devices has been carefully disabled by me to an increasing degree. You are to analyse and fix each of them in turn and we will see the effect this has on you. As before, stop if you get tired or start to feel unwell."

It took most of the morning to conduct the tests. After each device was repaired Taylor was made to stop and rest until her heart rate, blood pressure and other stats had returned to their normal baseline. When they finished, Taylor explained what was in the boxes.

"I had an idea I wanted to test. Does the mental complexity of the bot effect anything? So I've built two bots that I want to bring online while you record it," she said.

"Do you mean a simpler mind, like an animal, might be easier to create?" Armsmaster asked.

"Yea," Talyor and Wheeljack unpacked the bots and placed them on the table. "These two have roughly the same mass, they just need a spark."

The first was about a foot tall and painted green and yellow, its face was insect-like with two large purple eyes. The 'kibble', as Taylor called it, on its back and chest looked like a variation on a helicopter and it had a pair of VTOL engines on it's back.

The other, however, looked like a red and black bird of prey crossed with a jet. It was not as tall as the other bot but it had a wide wingspan with turbines built into its wings.

Armsmaster prepared the monitoring station for another test, "Okay, go." He watched Taylor take a deep breath, put her hand on the green bot and visibly concentrate.

The wealth of data his systems collected made him more than grateful that Taylor had suggested this test.

He had some food brought up to the room while Taylor recovered from her exertion. As they ate, Taylor had her latest robot follow some basic commands to test everything was working correctly.

Some of the tests looked like they had been lifted from the PRT first aid manual. Asking the patient to follow a pen light then squeeze one of your fingers. Taylor slowly worked her way through all the different joints and limbs before asking the bot to stand up and walk across the desk.

All in all, it was a very thorough test. Armsmaster could approve of such diligence.

"What does he turn into?" Dragon asked.

At a command from Taylor, the little bot transformed into a helicopter and hovered above the desk. The high speed of the small engines caused an odd buzzing sound but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed at a distance.

Once Taylor was ready, and her new robot safely standing by Wheeljack, she turned her attention to the bird.

"How do you feel?" Dragon asked Taylor as the little bird stood on the table stretching its wings.

"Not too bad actually. I could probably do that again."

Armsmaster checked the readouts on his screen. "The strain was clearly still there, but if you stick to non-sapient creations you could probably increase the size by a good margin," he explained to her.

As they packed away the freshly repaired electronics, Armsmaster listened with only half an ear to Dragon and Taylor as they spoke about the Predaqueen.

The creature spent most of its time asleep in its hanger; Taylor would let it out once a day so it could fly around the outside of the rig. Yesterday, it had decided to fly close to the ferry carrying the latest tour group. Public reaction had been mostly positive.

As the conversation turned to its power requirements, Dragon shot Armsmaster a meaningful look.

He looked back blankly, not sure what she was expecting him to say. No one understood a Tinkers equipment better than the Tinker who built it. At best, he might be able to offer some suggestions for-oh!

He cleared his throat to get Taylor's attention. "If you would like, I could take a look at the Predaqueen for you, I helped build the prototype it's based on after all. If nothing else, I might be able to improve the efficiency of the generator, maybe reduce the recharge time."

Taylor looked at him in surprise before smiling broadly, "Could you? It would be great if I could take her out more." On the monitor behind her, Dragon smiled.

##

Under his mask, Coil glared at the man seated before him. "What I require is a drug that can be used to ensue the loyalty and obedience of a Thinker, without negatively effecting their powers," he explained. "Is this something your employer is capable of creating?"

Coil wasn't happy having this man inside his base but his employer, 'The Doc' as Knockout called him, refused to meet anybody in person. His patients were the only exception. A body double might have been a possible solution but Coil couldn't risk a misunderstanding.

"Well, I'd imagine it's certainly possible," Knockout said has he lounged in his chair. "The only 'fly in the ointment' is, it would require a lot of testing."

"I am aware of that, money will not be an issue."

Knockout smiled. Coil's dress sense was questionable at best but he had paid well so far. 'A man that thin in a skin tight costume? What was he thinking?' "Of course, but money is only part of the problem. The Doc's usual 'test group' is rather... thin when it comes to Thinkers."

Without saying a word, Coil drew folder from a drawer in his desk and placed it in front of Knockout.

"Will these be of any use?"

Flipping through the contents, Knockout let out a whistle. The folder had the names and address of three, admittedly weak, Thinkers. One was in Brockton Bay, the other two were in nearby Boston.

"Yes, these would do nicely."

"Very well, I will have them delivered to you shortly." He made a note to send his men after them later today, it wouldn't take long to pick them up. "I think that was everything, my men will lead you out."

With a smile and graceful nod, Knockout stood, "A pleasure doing business with you, as always," and followed the armed mercenaries out of the door.

Coil didn't like meeting people in person if he could help it. At least, not without a backup.

His power, as he understood it, let him split time, creating two different realities and passing information between them. Then, at will, he could collapse those realities back into one, keeping the results from whichever reality he chose.

In this case, while he was meeting with Knockout, Thomas Calvert was catching up on his paperwork in his study at home.

He was about to make a start on the report he had just received from his agent in the ABB when there was a knock on his door.

A push of a button on his computer brought up the security camera that was positioned just outside the door. One of his mercenary captains was there with a private.

In his home, Thomas Calvert glanced at his email. There was a message from the same captain, requesting a meeting when he was available. Standing up, he left his office and made his way outside to where his driver was waiting. Climbing into the car he calmly told the man to drive them to the boardwalk.

His home was probably safe but he chose not to risk it. He never took risks if he could help it, varying the timelines as much as possible and always leaving himself an escape.

"Come in captain," Coil took a small amount of amusement at the way the private jumped.

Stopping in front of the desk, the captain gave the terrified private a look, "Private Smith brought something to me that I thought you might want to hear."

Coils posture never changed but in the other timeline, Calvert relaxed slightly. "Very well, what is it?"

The private gave his commanding officer a pleading look, which was ignored, before accepting his fate. "I-I received a message from an old friend, we grew up together. S-she's a mercenary in Canada. Her boss is asking for information on a Tinker in Brockton Bay and she wanted to know if I could help her."

"Who does she work for?"

"The D-Dragonslayers, sir."

That was unexpected, there were currently six known Tinkers in the city. Three were heroes, Armsmaster, Kid Win and the newest Ward. The other there were villains, Bakuda Leet and Squealer.

"I see... Have you replied to this yet?"

"N-no sir, I thought it was best to bring it to you."

"Good, you did the right thing. I'll let you know how to reply once I've had a chance to consider the matter. Return to your duties." He would make sure the boy received a bonus.

The private's relief was visible as he hurried out of the door, followed his captain.

Alone in his office, Coil closed the other timeline. Creating another split, he made his way out of the base and headed home.

In the other timeline, he stayed sitting at his desk and thought about what he had learned.

The Ward and Bakuda were the newest Tinkers to appear, the others were all well known by this point, so one of them was the likely target. The Dragonslayers were known tech-thieves, it didn't surprise him that they would take an interest in a new Tinker.

He had agents in the ABB, it would be easy enough to gather information on her, the Ward would be harder.

He'd had agents in the PRT but a recent reorganisation caused by some internal investigation had moved them to less useful positions and it would take time to recruit new ones.

Picking up his phone, he called his Tattletale.

"Yea?" came the girl's sullen reply. Ever since the fight with Lung she had become more of a liability, her subtle attempts to subvert his ownership had become a lot less subtle.

"There is a new Ward, I believe she's the same Tinker you encountered. I want everything you can get on her in two days and be ready for a raid on an empire location in three days." He didn't bother waiting for her reply. His Tattletale was valuable but if she continued to cause problems he may have to resort to more forceful handling.

The Undersiders were becoming a problem. He had already assigned them a new member but now he was considering dissolving the team. Tattletale was the only one he couldn't replace...

Putting the matter to one side for now, he turned his attention back to the Dragonslayers.

If they were planning to operate in the city, having them indebted to him could be useful. If nothing else, they could be a useful distraction for the PRT. And if he was careful, he might find out just what they were after.

/Annoyance/

Cancelling the other reality, he created a new split. He needed to relax.

He touched a button on his phone, "Mr. Pitter? My office."

With a power like his, it would be unreasonable if he didn't indulge himself from time to time. He wouldn't touch his Tattletale. For now, the threat was enough, he simply had to mention his displeasure, that there were limits to her usefulness and her power would provide the rest.

For now, he wouldn't damage anything he couldn't replace. He couldn't risk his power failing unexpectedly, or something happen in one reality, such as an unexpected death, that forced him to live with the ramifications of his idle amusements.

Mr. Pitter entered the room. "Sir?"

With a click of his mouse he remotely locked the door.

/Amusement/

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