Disclaimer: Aberrant, owned by White Wolf/Onyx publishing. Incredibles, owned by Pixar/Brad Bird (and really glad no one from Pixar or any die-hard Pixar fans read this stuff or I'd be a dead man by now). Lucas "The Technician" Zemke created by Xelku over on Deviant Art.
Author's Notes:
Okay, first off, a new chapter to D&I. Yeah, I know I promised to put more up on Collision, but I want to keep my time balanced between the two since these stories do take place around the same time. Also, the Collision update is going to be huge (or I will be putting up multiple chapters at once on that update) because a lot of shit will be happening over in that story that will definitely impact some things that happen here.
Second, I've been hinting for awhile about the character of Lucas Zemke, who was a fan creation done by one Xelku-9 (I think that's his name). I asked him if I could use the character in some say and he did give me a semi-reluctant okay. And that's why I didn't bring him in right away back then, because I wanted to find a way to bring the character in that would make sense and do the character justice. I hope I did right by this character. He will not be a permanent addition to this cast, but he will be around for this arc (and the rest of Collision) before he goes back to being a recurring character. As for how the character looks and acts, think "Harrison Wells" from season two of the Flash, but put him in his mid-twenties.
Third, yeah, I'll admit I've been influenced a little bit after watching season 2 of The Flash (and reading Speedfreak's "Call Me Kara" was also a bad influence on me...which, by the way, awesome AU crossover fic). But I think the idea of there possibly being some counterparts in this world and the DCAU world of "Collision" would be kind of cool (and a more than a little trippy). I mean, Senator Arlen Kinsey in this fic 'verse does have a same-name duplicate in Collision….so I figured 'Why not do it again with another character?'
Fourth, and finally. After going through most of my Aberrant source material (which is quite a bit), I haven't been able to determine if Blinker was male or female, so I made him male.
Oh...and one more thing. As you know, I tend to post things up without a Beta reader, then go back and correct any mistakes I may have made or rewrite sections. If someone is interested in a beta, let me know.
Syndrome Software & Technology
Main Campus
Metroville, Callifornia
Lucas Zemke stood off to the side of the elevated platform that had been erected as a make shift stage for Violet to address all the SST employees and the various guests that had gathered in the now cleared atrium of the building. Most of the rubble from the attack that took place a few days ago had been cleared though he noted there was one patch of ground that had been roped off and saw various cards, letters, flowers and photos placed there that served as a memorial for those who had died. There were tell-tale signs of repairs being done and he was certain that the place would be back up and running within a week.
But a quick glance on the faces of most of the people gathered there told Lucas a different story.
Shock, fear, sadness, and a whole lot of anger. David was more than an employer to these people, and those that were killed were more than just fellow employees. They were friends and family. If I were a telepath, I'm sure I'd be sensing a whole lot of rage building beneath the surface.
Though he would never admit it, Lucas almost considered David a friend.
But sociopaths don't have friends...they have acquaintances and they aren't capable of forming any real emotional attachments to anyone. Although, they are capable of faking it.
However, despite those thoughts, he couldn't help feeling something about this current turn of events. David Flynn was a client, not a friend. Violet Parr was just a friend of his family and just someone he grew up and went to school with during the years of the "ban". In fact, even members of Lucas' own family found him to be somewhat quiet, withdrawn, and aloof most of the time. He did love his family, he really did, but he just wasn't capable of showing much emotion.
Which is probably why some people see the "Technician" as cold, calculating, and ruthless...can't say it hasn't helped my business. Even Totentanz gives me some respect when I repair or upgrade his weapons.
And yet, despite all this self-belief of being a cold and almost unfeeling sociopath, Lucas did feel an emotion: Anger...a cold and bitter anger as he remembered the security footage he had seen of the attack. He may have not considered David Pine Flynn a true friend, but he was valued client and, truth be told, one of the few great minds on this planet that gave Lucas a challenge.
Whatever David created or built, Lucas could reverse engineer it or find ways to improve or counter it. In fact, that is why David had initially approached him.
"You're one of the few people who can keep up with me," David had told him. "Whatever I make, you can figure it out, make your improved version of it, or create a way to counter it."
"Then why do you want to hire someone who could be in competition with you, Mr. Flynn?" Lucas asked.
"Because I know you don't care about money," David replied, giving him a knowing grin. "You like a mental challenge." Then David's expression became more serious. "And I'm not hiring you to keep you from being my competition, Lucas. I'm hiring you because I know you have the mental stability to do what has to be done if I'm compromised and end up going bat-shit insane like my father did."
It was that very moment Lucas realized what David wanted from him. He wanted a fail-safe, someone who would be able counter him and, if the situation warranted it, take him down.
And he knew I'd do it in a heartbeat. I don't know what impresses me more, the fact that he's willing to let someone like me hold his life in my hands...or the fear he has of having a mental breakdown and turning into the monster his biological father was.
As he recalled what he saw of the video footage of the attack, the irony wasn't lost on him.
Well, David went down Buddy Pine's violent path, alright. He slapped on those ZP gauntlets, came out swinging, and pretty much wiped the floor with that psychotic bitch who killed his friends. He snapped and went after those who killed members of his 'family'. Oh yeah, he has Pine's ruthlessness and intelligence...but, unlike his father, he cares about people. And, unfortunately, his rage ended up getting him shot in the back and abducted. Yeah, David, you were compromised...just not in the way we expected.
Lucas shoved those thoughts aside as he focused on Violet who was addressing the crowd that had gathered in front of them.
"Private funeral arrangements have been made with their families," Violet said with a slight hitch in her voice. "Most of you have already been informed of the times and are welcome to attend," she continued. "A public memorial ceremony will be held in the next two weeks, but we have yet to determine the date."
Violet paused again, bowing her head slightly and momentarily closing her eyes before recovering and looking back at the audience in front of her.
This has hurt her, Lucas thought to himself. But she has changed. In the past, something like this would have devastated her, but she's not letting that happen this time. On the other hand, she did recently recover from being shot.
As Violet continued her speech, Lucas noticed the chrome skinned Bridgette Saunders looking at him, a calculating look on her face as her eyes glowed a muted red.
It would seem Saunders is studying me...she obviously sees me as a threat, which is wise on her part. Yes, Miss Saunders, I know what you are...I may not be able to kill you yet, but I can hurt you. However, that is not why I'm here.
"As you all know, I'm not as technologically developed as most of you are." Violet's comment got a few subdued chuckles from the crowd. "I will still be doing the VP thing and handling the public relations side as well as meeting with prospective clients, but the over all president and CEO position will be filled by our guest, Lucas Zemke."
There were a few murmurs in the crowd and Lucas actually smiled a little. Apparently there were people at SST who knew him. Violet motioned for him to come to the podium and take over. As he stepped up to the podium, he noticed that most of the SST staff had curious or suspicious looks. Before he spoke, he tapped the side of his glasses, causing them to lighten and appear as slightly tinted instead of the darkened setting he usually kept them at.
"Thank you, Miss Parr," he said, the small microphone amplifying his soft voice.
And thank you for bringing me in at a very awkward moment.
"Yes, I'm Lucas Zemke," he said, focusing his gaze on the audience. "Yes, THAT Lucas Zemke, the guy some of you might know as 'The Technician'." Again, some murmuring could be heard from the crowd, but Lucas ignored it. "Now, some of you have heard of my reputation and, no, I'm not here to steal any of your technological secrets and reverse engineer them. But I will be honest with you, I've been quietly working for your employer as a private contractor. While he didn't give me access to any of your projects, he did give me access to the tech he personally developed."
He heard some gasps of shock in the crowd, but kept talking.
"Now, you're probably asking yourselves something along the lines of, 'Why would David do that? Is he insane? Isn't Zemke part of the competition?'. First off, I'm not the 'competition', I never was. Yes, David was a rival, but he was one of the few people I considered an intellectual equal. And no, he wasn't insane, he was being cautious and very paranoid about himself."
He paused for a moment to let those comments sink in. He could see the confusion on some faces, but understanding was starting to dawn on a few of them.
"You all know David. He's a good man, loyal to those he considered friends and family."
"Damn straight," someone muttered out loud, which caused others to mumble in agreement.
"What you don't realize is that David had one major fear," Lucas pushed on, "he was afraid that he might possibly follow in his biological father's footsteps. You all know who his father was and what he did. Hell, I bet some of you or someone you know probably lost a loved one to Buddy Pine's little genocide over a decade ago, right?"
Some people had thoughtful looks on their faces while others nodded in agreement.
"As you know, there are certain groups out there who have painted David as his father reborn and I'm sure if you ask some of the surviving members of the last generation of heroes, they'll probably tell you that they fear that might be true. Even David was afraid that he might walk down that dark path and he knew that very few people out there would be able to stop him.
"And that is why he hired me. He wanted a fail-safe, someone he knew who could not only stop him if he went bat-shit insane, but someone who also wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger and make it permanent. If he was compromised, it was my job to fix it."
He bowed his head for a moment and sighed before he continued.
"I failed," he said, looking back out at the crowd. "I fucked up. Flynn got compromised, just not the way we thought it would have happened. We had contingency plans for just about everything...but a super-powered military strike team with goddamn portal technology was not it." He allowed a bitter chuckle before a look of resolve appeared on his face. "I'm not here to replace David," he said, "I'm not here to steal some secrets to add to my little tech vault, and I'm not here to give you some bright pep-talk about how we should move on. I'm here to do what David paid me to do, fix a problem that ended up with him being compromised. As 'acting' President and CEO of this company, I want you all to continue on the projects you were working on, but don't be surprised if I call some of you in to help me out."
Time to drop the other bombshell, he thought.
"Violet has managed to acquire an intact device from one of the other groups that had attacked this city."
Suddenly, he had the entire crowd's attention.
"We haven't figured out how it works yet, but it's only a matter of time and don't be surprised if I ask some of you to take a look at it and give me your opinions on it. Because once we figure out how to activate this thing, I intend to track down whoever was behind this and make sure they NEVER attack us again. If we can David back, we will, one way or another. But until then, we need to heal, lick our wounds, and get back to work."
He then gave them a predatory grin. "But don't worry, when we get that portal up and running, we will repay these bastards in kind."
By now, there were some whispers of agreement, and even a few "Hell Yeahs" being thrown around as Lucas stepped away from the podium and started to walk down the platform steps when someone lightly grabbed his arm, causing him to turn aorund.
"What the hell was that?" Violet Parr asked.
Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you could call it a pep talk, Violet, but it was just me being brutally honest with everyone. I'm not here to run the company, I'm here to get David back, and that's what I intend to do."
"Sounds to me like you were trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "No, Violet, I did the opposite. Everyone here is hurting from what happened. Several of your own are injured or dead and David is missing. I'm willing to bet some of them were just about ready to leave or quit because it was too much for them to take."
"You didn't have to tell them about the device," Bridgette said as she joined the group.
"Why not? They know that the attackers had some sort of portal technology. It's only fair that they should know that we have a lead on how they got here."
"But you made it sound like you were going to lead a group in there and take out whoever was behind this?"
"Actually, you're right, I did," Lucas said, nodding in agreement. "Like I told them, this is a rescue mission...mostly. And it would help if I had a crew of high powered novas backing me."
"But that doesn't sound like you," Violet said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You're not one to do the whole 'heroic thing' and lead a group into a fight. What's your endgame?"
Lucas smiled at her as he tapped the side of his glasses again, causing them to darken. "My endgame is what it always is, Violet," he said. "While I may not steal technology from SST, nothing was said about the people we will be facing off against."
He then gave Violet and Bridgette a mock salute and walked off towards the one remaining elevator what would take him to David's office.
When she was certain that he was out of earshot, Violet looked over at Bridgette. "I told you so."
"And yet, you still trust him to assist us?" Bridgette asked.
"Oh, I trust him to help us rescue David and the others," Violet replied. "But I also trust him to wander off and steal whatever tech he finds over there for himself." She shook her head and sighed. "I know, it's a devil's deal, but at least this is a devil I know."
"Sometimes, I wonder if you're too trusting, Violet."
"Maybe I am," Violet admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "But sometimes, we don't have a choice and I don't see any other way to resolve this issue."
After taking a few seconds to ponder the situation, Bridgette reluctantly nodded in agreement. "The damned thing of it all is that neither do I."
An hour later, Lucas was standing in the middle David's office, surrounded by multiple holographic windows displaying various images and data-feeds. With a wave of his hand, he vanished all but two of the windows; one was a live feed to N!Channel that was covering a press conference being held by Utopia Director Justin Larigione while the other was a login screen for a secure chatroom. A holographic key board materialized in front of the second window and he quickly tapped in a sequence of numbers and letters.
After he was done, the holographic keyboard vanished and the login screen suddenly went black except for three words:
AUDIO CHAT ENGAGED.
After a taking a couple seconds to confirm that the chatroom was encrypted and secure, Lucas smiled.
"Alex Doan," he said in greeting to the dark screen. "Or do you prefer Synapse?"
For a couple seconds, there was silence and no activity on the screen, but Lucas knew better.
"You know we don't have time for this, Alex," he continued. "David's life is on the line and I know that he's a friend of yours."
A couple more seconds later, the screen suddenly flickered and rippled for a moment before showing a pair of glowing golden eyes.
"My apologies," the nova known as Synapse said. "I'm still kind of shocked that YOU of all people are actually surfacing in public like this."
A tiny smile formed on Lucas' lips. "It couldn't be helped, especially given the situation we are all currently in."
"No shit. I mean, with David and Zoe missing, I'm surprised SST hasn't fallen apart. I saw the footage and I have to give Miss Parr some credit. She actually seems to have kept it together...so far"
Lucas gave the holographic avatar a sharp look, causing the glowing eyes to flinch and draw back slightly. "I think you will find that Violet is made of much sterner stuff, but yeah, things are in a delicate state. I'm certain that at least half of the personnel here are thinking about bolting for safety."
"Which would be a stupid thing to do," Synapse snorted derisively. "They try going home, Utopia or PRIMUS will try to acquire them and I doubt they'll be friendly about it."
"Some may run to your group."
The glowing eyes seemed to fade slightly. "Probably not a good idea at this time," Synapse said after a few seconds of contemplation. "Don't get me wrong, we'd love to have some of David's crew sign on, but we got some of our own problems going on."
"Oh? With Mal and Geryon gone, I take it Winningham, Zia, and Delorimer are trying to boost their respective factions."
The glowing eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You appear to be very informed, Lucas."
"Information is power, Synapse, especially in our line of work," Lucas said. "And no, I'm not going to tell you how I know. I may not be 'jacked in' to the system like you and David are, but I'm competent enough to navigate it. So...let's get down to business, shall we?"
With another wave of a hand, another holographic window popped up, displaying the image of the device Violet had recovered from one of the attackers.
"What I'm currently feeding you is the initial observation data and reports from the NSA Directive regarding the device Violet Parr recovered from one of the people involved in the attacks."
The glowing eyes in the main window widened slightly as Synapse downloaded and went over the data. "Well, damn," he said a couple seconds later. "According to this, it's powered by some sort of cold-fusion technology." The shock in his voice gave way to skepticism. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"
Lucas shook his head. "It's no joke, Synapse. They still haven't figured out how to activate it or how it works, which is why they brought me in. But some of the readings I got gave me some interesting results."
"Okay, not that I don't appreciate the heads-up and you contacting me about this, but I don't see how any of us in the Teragen can help...except me and, honestly, I'm more of a coder than an engineering type like you David are."
"True, but you are my 'go-to' guy when I want to contact a certain member of your group and I trust you to keep it quiet, especially with the little power play being done by Delorimir and his little club. It was either that or I could try contacting a member of Team Tomorrow and, for obvious reasons, that wouldn't be a good idea."
"No shit, given the fact that Project Utopia has you on the top of their 'Acquire the Asset or Eliminate' list."
"To quote the great Malcom Reynolds, 'I aim to misbehave'."
"Ugh, a space cowboy you are not, even if you are wearing a long overcoat and sporting a high-tech looking pistol thingie." Then the levity in Synapse's voice vanished as quick as it had appeared. "So who did you want to talk to?"
"Blinker," Lucas replied as he waved his hand and another holographic display popped up showing two images, one of a young man with dark hair and the other of a red-haired young woman wearing a Team Tomorrow uniform. "Both he and Slider are teleporters, but are unique from others with similar abilities."
The golden eyes shrunk slightly as Synapse took a couple moments to contemplate that. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Because I just pulled up most of the publicly available...and not so publicly available...reports and we have at least one hundred and twenty-seven known teleporters of varying ability around the world."
"Yes, but out of those one hundred and twenty-seven, only two of them seem to generate a similar quantum signature that is virtually identical to what this device is emitting."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense since the data you just gave me says that this is some sort of device that allows people to teleport via portals, which is kind of cool by the way. But why would Blinker be interested in something that can copy his powers?" Synpase paused for a moment as he noticed the smug grin on Lucas' face and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Okay...what is it you aren't telling me? You're holding something back, aren't you?"
"Do you really want to know, Doan?" Lucas asked. "Because this is sort of a one-two punch combination that will rock your world to its core."
"Aw, cmon, man," Synapse groaned, "this kind of build-up is annoying and probably isn't worth the hype you're putting into it..."
The cyberkinetic nova's voice trailed off as a Lucas unleashed a wave of additional data about the device that he had been withholding. A couple seconds later, the golden eyes widened again in shock and disbelief.
"No...fucking...way."
"Oh, yes...fucking...way, indeed," Lucas chuckled softly.
"But...but that's impossible," Synapse stammered. "Look, I know we're novas and this is a crazy changing world we're living in….but c'mon, man. Parallel worlds? Alternate dimensions? You know how crazy and far-fetched this sounds?"
Lucas allowed himself another tiny smile again. "That was punch number one of the one-two combination," he said. "Quick question, do you know where Blinker is? Have you talked to him recently, like in the last twenty-four hours or so?"
"Well yeah," Synapse replied, confusion in his voice. "He contacts me at least twice a day and to arrange pick-ups and drop-offs of supplies, people, and the occasional pizza run. In fact, checking up on him right now...I got a satellite feed of him sitting at an out door dining table of an 'In-N-Out' burger in Vegas. Looks like he's eating a double-cheese with onions and extra bacon….damn, I really miss being able to eat real food like that."
The image of Synapse's glowing eyes vanished momentarily to replaced by live feed of Blinker taking a bite of his burger and reaching for a shake. A couple seconds later, the image fade and Synapse's glowing eyes returned.
"Yeah, man, I really do miss that kind of stuff," Synapse sighed, his eyes shrinking and the glow dimming slightly as he spoke. "On the other hand, as Mal would say, that's the sacrifice one makes for being a god...or some philosophical BS like that."
"So we both know he's there in Vegas, right?' Lucas asked.
"Well, duh, yeah, we just saw him and confirmed it, right?"
"Here's number two of that combo," Lucas said as he brought up another image of a man being held in NSA custody, bandaged up and sitting at a table.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Lucas couldn't help wincing at Synapse's exclamation. "That's Blinker! Who did that to him? Where is he? What-"
Lucas cut him off in mid rant. "Synapse, calm yourself. You just saw for yourself and confirmed that Blinker is in Vegas eating a burger. Correct?"
"Well yeah...but…hold on a sec." Synapse paused for a moment as he went back to his live satellite feed that showed Blinker eating yet ANOTHER hamburger and finishing off his first milkshake. "Okay, he's still in Vegas...but...that guy they got locked up…he looks...looks just like him! How's that possible? I know he doesn't have any siblings."
"Oh, he doesn't," Lucas said in confirmation. "Colin 'Blinker' Stearns was just your normal kid growing up in Chicago until he erupted at a Bears game a few years ago doing a crazy stunt with his Fraternity House." He then gestured at the image of the prisoner sitting in an NSA cell. "Allow me to introduce you to Colin Stearns of the United States Air Force...from another Earth."
For a moment, Synapse was silent, his golden eyes widening and glowing white in what appeared to be shock.
"Synapse, you still with me?" Lucas asked, waving his hand in front of the two glowing eyes. "Hello? Mr. Doan? Are you still there?"
After a couple seconds, the golden eyes returned to their glowing gold color and shrank back down to their regular size.
"Well, shit," Synapse finally said. "I didn't see that coming."
