A/N: Chap 28 review responses are in my forums like normal. Thanks all for reading.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Road To Bad Is Smooth
"Are you compromised?"
The question startled Hannah. She looked up from her copy of her debrief of Telos following the Coil incident and saw Director Piggot staring at her intently. "Excuse me?"
"The room yesterday was under observation," Piggot said sharply from behind her desk. "My orders." She waved away a protest before it could form. "Don't worry, we blurred out anything sensitive. That doesn't concern me. What concerns me is that she touched you with that blue fire, and a second later you dropped your mask and had tears in your eyes. I damned near called Master/Stranger protocols on you right there."
Hannah bit back her first instinct, which was to lash out angrily. Instead, she forced herself to look at the issue from Piggot's perspective. Once she stepped past her own feelings on the matter, she realized it didn't look good to an outsider looking in.
"You had audio?"
"We did."
"I felt her power," Hannah admitted. "But I don't think she changed anything. Or if she did, the change was by making me aware of something I didn't know before. It was like learning you had a third limb you'd never known about. Now that you're aware of it, you can't just forget it. It doesn't change who you are, but it does change your perceptions."
Piggot pursed her lips. "You believe she's a god now?"
"I think I did even before. But that won't change how I do my duties."
The director leaned back in her chair. "Telos has made my job a pain. In the past week we've had a gang war that almost burned the city down not once—but twice! I lost a Ward, almost lost my job, and now an entire high school has become inaccessible because of a pair of giant trees that grew up in the middle of its entrance. That's not even touching on a temper tantrum that dropped two feet of snow on the East Coast. She hasn't even started school yet!"
She reached into her drawer. "And according to Minton, the girl already has minions!"
"Well, even if we don't believe it, she believes she's a god. She needs followers. That's the point of religion."
Piggot glared. "It's not too late to put you in Master/Stranger screening."
"Director…why aren't you? Last year, you would have,"
Piggot glared so intently Hannah could feel it. "Orders. Come on. Time to go recruit our lost little thinker."
~~Theogony~~
~~Theogony~~
Hannah had never met Quinn Calle, but she'd heard the name. She knew he billed $1,200 per hour and generally only worked with celebrity parahuman clients. Seeing the man in person left an impression. He was of medium height, Hispanic, and Hollywood-handsome. The scar on the left side of his face just made the whole that much more memorable.
His tailored suit had the suggestion of slimming pinstripes as he stood and offered his hand. "Emily, a pleasure to see you again. And Miss Militia, an honor."
His voice dripped confident machismo and charm. He took his seat next to the pale, fully healed Sarah Livsey. Her hand hovered by the ear that Coil's men had severed. The enchanted apple Telos gave her restored it as if nothing happened, but the memory obviously still lingered.
"Miss Livsey," Piggot said as she sat. "I'm glad to see you're recovered."
"Sure, thanks," the girl said. Hannah tried not to take umbrage at the tone. It had a patronizing quality to it. "And I can't help it," she said, looking at Militia. "I...really can't. Sorry."
"My client is prepared to offer all information she has regarding Coil's operations locally," Calle said, quickly taking control of the conversation. "She also has information regarding his state-wide and national operations, including suborned or compromised elected officials. She is also willing to help identify all those agents under Coil's employ or influence-both here at the PRT and with the police. She can identify and point you to his criminal assets, and has security information that I can say, with some confidence, is vital to the Protectorate."
"In return for?"
"A clean slate," Calle said. "All potential charges dropped, confirmation of her independent status to avoid interaction with abusive parents, and retaining those assets she gained while attempting to flee Coil's captivity."
"You mean the $50,000 in cash she had on her?" Piggot asked archly.
"A girl's gotta eat," Livsey said with a shrug and a knowing grin.
Hannah knew what the cape was going to ask for-her lawyer had made some pretty overt hints the day before. Which is why Piggot was so tired-they'd already cleared it with the city attorney's office and PRT Washington.
No doubt both Calle and Livsey herself knew their answer. "We can make that happen if the information is worth it," Piggot said.
"He got your secretary two years ago," the girl said to Piggot. "Marjory's daughter was a special needs student. He did his standard carrot and a stick. Paid for her private special education, and threatened to kill the girl if Marjory ever tried to renege."
Piggot's nostrils flared in outrage. It was a personal blow, since Piggot actually liked her executive assistant. "Fine. You've got a deal. What else do you have?"
As it turned out, she had a lot. Sarah Livsey, aka Lisa Wilbourne, aka Tattletale, proved to be a cornucopia of information. With the handsome, expensive celebrity lawyer Quine Calle at her side, the young cape went through the many, many ways that Thomas Calvert had so thoroughly infiltrated the PRT, Protectorate and even local gangs. Within the first hour, Piggot realized that it wasn't the ABB or the Empire 88 that was the greatest threat to the city, it was Coil.
Nor were his predations limited to people. Hannah listened with a growing sense of unease how he'd used tinker tech to infiltrate computer and communications equipment so effectively that he had real-time access to Console conversations. That wasn't even touching on the terrifying news that a mercenary team had access to Dragon's communication channels.
It was likely the most thorough, successful and damaging interview the PRT had ever managed. Over the course of the four-hour interview, they broke for lunch and bathroom, and when it finally wound down all four of the participants felt exhausted.
It wasn't quite over, though.
"Miss Livsey, the PRT appreciates your cooperation," Piggot said. "You've definitely met your end, and so shall we. As agreed, we'll coordinate with the prosecutor's office to ensure no charges for any past actions will be levelled against you. When we're done, you'll be free to go with all your personal items save the firearms you weren't legally entitled to carry. Before we leave, though, I'd like to discuss your future, and a little about Telos."
"I thought you might," the girl said with a tired but knowing smirk.
Piggot didn't pause. "I don't need to tell you, of all people, what happens to unaffiliated thinkers on the street. We understand from your testimony that it would not be beneficial to return to your parents, and with your GED on record it would be easy to have your status affirmed as an independent minor. But Miss Livsey, you are a minor. The Wards would be the safest place for you."
Livesey laughed bitterly. "I'm a bitch," the girl admitted. "Seriously, I'd be a disaster for morale. I just can't…" Her laugh held a shrill quality. "I just can't help it."
"There are other programs, WEDGD…"
"Watchdog is 98% male. Besides Alexandria, how many female thinkers are there? I don't get it, but there you go. You put me in a group of sex-starved 40-year-old virgin Thinkers, bad things will happen. No thanks."
She ran a hand through her hair; her attorney sat unmoving beside her. "Look, I...you ever pray?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Do you ever pray? To God? Or Jesus? See, I prayed. My power told me exactly what Coil was going to do to me. If I didn't give him what he wanted, he was going to give me to Creep-the guy Telos cut in half. So, I prayed. I prayed to a god. And that god heard me. Not because of super hearing. I prayed, and she heard my prayer. And now that I know gods are real, I just...I would like to see Telos. I'll be safer with her than anywhere else."
"You believe Telos is a god," Piggot said sourly.
Livsey grinned. "Wanna know something scary as shit? Coil was recording the Winslow fight. He set the whole thing up. High quality digital with a directional microphone. Telos and Lung were talking after Taylor killed Stalker. But we couldn't understand what they were saying. Thing is, they weren't talking in English or Japanese. Coil's men had a directional microphone that could catch a fly farting in New York. We caught the whole conversation. When we ran it back their conversation was the sound of the wind in leaves. Waves on the beach. Earthquakes and rivers running and lions roaring while birds tweeted. It was the sound of nature. She and Lung were talking in a language made up of the sounds of nature. Makes you wonder how Lung knew that language?"
"Is that why Coil tried to flee the city?" Miss Militia asked.
Livsey snorted. "His power was bifurcated precognition. He could path out two futures and pick the one he liked. Thing is...Telos was so...real. She was more real than reality. She broke his power. He couldn't trace different futures, because once Telos became involved there was only her future. Coil was an asshole, but he was smart enough to know when to burn his bridges and run. He just...wanted to make me suffer first. He was more asshole than smart, I guess."
Glancing at Quinn, she said, "I think I'm done. Been a blast, but I'm running out of 'nice.'"
Calle nodded and snapped his expensive briefcase closed. "Director, Miss Militia, do you have anything else for my client?"
"No," Piggot said. "We appreciate your cooperation. Good luck."
The director left. Militia stood. "I'll escort you out."
Given that the rig was connected to the mainland through a Tinker-Tech forcefield, the non-emergency means of reaching it was a ferry. With Militia driving a PRT transport, however, that was enough to qualify for a legitimate use. She let the young Thinker sit in the front as they drove over the forcefield bridge.
"I wonder what the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard was really like," was the only thing Sarah said.
In the back, Calle was busy texting on his phone. When they reached the security checkpoint where a very nice Cherry Red 1969 Ford Mustang waited, Calle climbed out. "Will you need me further, Miss Livsey?"
"No, thank you, Quinn," the Thinker said. "Your fee should hit your account by this afternoon."
With a pleasant nod, the attorney left them.
"Where to?" Militia asked.
"I get parahuman chauffer service?"
"For the day."
"I guess Telos's house, then."
They drove in silence. Lisa clutched her bag between her legs. Militia knew there was $50,000 in cash in the bag and not much else. The PRT did not let the young cape retain her weapons.
After a few moments of silence, the younger cape whispered, "You believe in her too, don't you?"
"It's hard not to."
They drove out of downtown and into the more rundown Dock's neighborhood. When Militia reached the home of Daniel and Taylor Hebert, she expected a curb full of Dockworkers.
What she found left her shaken and a little confused.
"The house is gone," Sarah whispered. Through the window of the van they saw nothing but an empty lot nestled between two other small houses. Two police cars and a city utility van were also parked along the curb, with a PRT van further down the street. People were standing around staring at the empty lot.
The Thinker rolled down the window, and as she did so she sighed a little laugh.
Even Militia stared in shock at the difference. Through the glass of the window, they saw a weed-choked empty lot. But over the edge of the opened window, they saw a wall of vegetation that separated the street from the house. Though there were walnut, ash and elm trees, the most dominant trees were white-trunked birch trees with extraordinary red foliage.
Just to test it, Sarah rolled the window back up. "Huh. So you can't photograph it. You can't record it. Can't do surveillance cameras. Only the naked eye can see it. Cool."
She opened the door, and Militia followed. She paused, though, and laughed as a thought came to her. "I get it now. Why they went to Africa."
Militia studied the younger woman. "What?"
"Coil had me learn everything about her I could," Sarah said. "She got sick first day her Freshman year, right? That's when you Protectorate types started bumbling around. They fled overseas and went to Africa. In your report, you said that Telos claimed they needed an artifact."
"It was a rusty old spear head she said they found under the sands of Tunisia."
Sarah laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "It was probably Poseidon's trident or his royal beard comb or something. Something to let them breathe under water without having to use scuba gear. Cause...you know, magic."
It made perfect sense. Which just left the obvious. "Any idea how to get in?" Militia asked.
"Pray." Sarah wasn't joking, either.
Militia considered the girl's statement, and Militia's own experiences. She climbed out, nodding to the confused, worried crowds. Livsey climbed out behind her.
Militia closed her eyes. Speaking aloud, she said, "Telos, hear my prayer. Please let us in."
"I like it," Sarah said. "Short, sweet and to the point. I...fuck me!"
The vegetation moved, parting right in front of them as if it were a curtain. Police, city workers and PRT agents alike jumped back in alarm. More vegetation grew behind it, blocking any view of what lay beyond. Taylor still wore the black turtleneck. She stepped through the opening and studied the two women with luminous green eyes.
She then looked around at the city workers, police and PRT agents. "So...ah, good news, bad news. Good news is I've established my domain! It's really nice inside. Bad news is that all that work Agent Gibbon did to get my utilities cleared up? I...think I ruptured the gas, water and electric lines."
One of the city workers overheard. "Ya think!" the man said. "The whole neighborhood lost power. What'd you do?"
Taylor shrugged apologetically. "My house isn't...really part of your reality now. You probably need to route things around it."
"Taylor," Militia sighed.
"Let me guess," Livsey said. "It's larger on the inside?"
Taylor nodded, examining the girl intently. "Those who accept me are welcome to enter. Those who don't cannot pass. This place is sacred now."
She held out her hand to Livsey, of all people.
The thinker hesitated. "I...if I'm not worthy, will I catch fire or get eaten by a monster or something?"
"If you weren't worthy, Sarah, you'd already have been consumed by a monster."
Militia watched as the former villain took Taylor's hand and followed her in. Without hesitation, Militia followed after. They passed through a narrow passage and then emerged onto an impossibility.
They stood on the edge of an large grassy field. A brook ran across it from a copse of trees to Hannah's left, while the stream carved a little valley to her right. The grass itself seemed to go on for more than two acres, despite the home's lot being only a quarter of an acre larger.
Militia noticed how Livsey froze and followed her gaze as a large, wild cat began pawing toward them through the ankle-high grass. It was about three times the size of a typical domestic cat, with dots and a bobbed tail. It had the prominent face ruff of all its kin, with tufted ears. It's coat of short, dense fur had begun to pale with the changing of the season, but still looked more red than white. It's flanks where it had grown white highlighted its many black spots. It's huge claws made no sound as it approached.
"That's a bobcat," Sarah noted in a flat voice.
In answer, Taylor knelt down as the 35-pound male walked right up to her and purred. In answer, the winged girl ran her hands through its fur.
"You were my mother's, weren't you?" she said as she slowly reached forward and ran her fingers through the wild cat's coat. "Dad said you were there, I just never saw you. But here you are. You're mine now, aren't you?"
The bobcat whined plaintively before making a deep-chested purr as Taylor continued to rub its fur. She looked up and watched as two other bobcats emerged from behind the various piles of trash. They walked up much more openly now that she'd accepted the first. Another male, though smaller than the first, and a female smaller than both.
"These were mother's familiars," Telos explained. "They're mine now. What are your names, dearies?"
Militia could swear she heard the animals mewling to her. Somehow, Taylor understood. "This here is Silent Wind of Death," she said as she kissed the first alpha between his eyes. He mewled plaintively but didn't move away. "The smallest is Honorably Wounded Killer of Fowl, but the others call her Bent tail. The last one is Spot. He's a little special, but he's very kind."
She reached over to rub Spot's ears until the bobcat flopped onto its side, mewling ferociously in pleasure.
"Taylor, how did you do all this?" Militia asked.
Taylor stood and looked not at Lisa, but Militia. "Magic."
"But…" Sarah began. She paled, and then laughed hysterically. "I...wow. Coil's soul. You sacrificed Coil's soul."
Militia remembered the feeling of Taylor's power, of her own soul. "When?"
"Late last night. It worked better than I could have hoped. Come on, I'll show you. I have a sacred spring, now! I'm fairly certain the water can cure illnesses."
Sarah began to laugh. It still had a hysterical note to it, and tears hung in the girl's eyes. "This is too good. You're a god. An honest-to-Olympus god. And you're fourteen. A teenaged goddess."
Sarah continued to laugh and chuckle as they made their way to the….house. Militia blinked; they were at the house. She looked behind her and saw two acres of grassy plain they crossed in the blink of an eye.
Stepping inside, she saw how much work the Dockworkers did. The house looked brand new, though largely empty.
And beyond, in the back yard, Sarah stopped laughing. Tears still glistened at the corners of her eyes as she stared at a compact, impossible mountain under a sky as blue and perfect as if they were standing on a mountain top in Hawaii, instead of New Hampshire in winter.
~~Theogony~~
~~Theogony~~
Hannah felt some worry when Rachel Minton showed up with a pair of agents and Armsmaster. The woman looked drawn and tired, and seemed to wince in pain when Taylor personally led her through the vegetative barrier that separated her expanded property from the rest of the city.
Armsmaster paused mid-way through. "I'm feeling a sense of foreboding," he declared.
Hannah knew exactly what he meant. "Telos has said that the protection has a reactive powerset. Anyone meaning her harm cannot pass, and those who don't but who don't necessarily have her best interests at heart receive a warning."
The man frowned intently. "How would a barrier determine intent?"
"I couldn't begin to tell you," Hannah said. She knew from long experience any discussion of souls would be lost on him.
Nearby, staring shakily at the picture-perfect plain of grass and the impossible mountain that now cradled the Hebert home, Rachel was talking to Taylor about the impact of her accidentally severing water and utility lines in the neighborhood.
Armsmaster immediately started walking east along the interior of the barrier, having dismissed the question of the magical barrier. He had only to walk a few moments before the soil became moist and saggy.
"The PRT received a call of a Parahuman event that severed utility lines last night. Given your...work with Tattletale and Telos, I investigated myself. They are still working to restore electricity to the area. I confirmed that water, sewage and gas lines were also severed. Right here, in fact. The city has expressed reluctance in repairing these lines within a parahuman shaker-effected area."
Hannah sighed. She had no doubt the power to do what she did put Taylor at a Shaker 10 level at least. Not even Labyrinth from Faultline's Crew could do something like this so quickly. "What options do we have?"
He glanced to the impossible mountain. In reality it was only four stories high, but it looked larger than it really was, especially with the waterfall. "We can drill for ground water," he said. "Also, a new Ward tinker in Philadelphia has developed a powerful, compact generator that could easily take care of power needs. The only issue would be cell connectivity."
"My cell works," Hannah noted.
Frowning, Armsmaster did something inside his helmet. "I'm receiving no signal."
"My signal is fine. See?"
The moment she handed her phone to Armsmaster, the signal died. "Intent based cell reception blockers," he muttered.
The two heroes made their way back to Rachel. Agent Minton looked distressed with her cell in hand. "She can't be an associate hero without cell phone access!"
"My phone works fine," Militia said.
"So does mine," Taylor said. She sounded sad as she looked at Minton.
"But...what about utilities? Armsmaster, she has a CPS inspector coming soon to make the emergency court order permanent. She has no utilities!"
"Then perhaps she shouldn't have enacted a shaker effect that broke her utility connections," the man said.
"I didn't think about it, okay?" Taylor said, exasperated. "It's not like my mother's domains ever had to worry about electricity. She made her first domain in Newfoundland before the Revolutionary War, you know!"
Rachel opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. Turning to a more comfortable subject, she looked at the Tinker. "Armsmaster, what can we do? You know we're under orders to make sure her CPS finding works. If I call Director Piggot, will the answer be 'Too bad?'"
"Depending on when you call, possibly," Armsmaster said. "Agent Minton, I understand that the PRT has already spent over seven thousand dollars to clear up back taxes and to restore utilities that Miss Hebert quickly severed, not to mention a shopping trip that spent the equivalent of four months' tinkering budget. So far, all we've received in return are dead bodies, one of which was my Ward."
"Armsmaster, you know the potential she…"
"All potential means is that she hasn't done anything yet," Armsmaster said.
"I don't need running water," Taylor said. "I have a water fall out back. It's holy water, you know."
Hannah bit back a smile. Taylor sounded so proud to have holy water on her property.
"And what about sewage?" Armsmaster snapped.
"I…" Taylor blinked and thought about it. "Huh, you know, I don't think I go to the bathroom anymore."
That brought up the entire conversation to a halt. Rachel, Miss Militia and Armsmaster all turned to stare at her. She met their gazes with a shrug. "What? Have you ever heard of Zeus having a divine poop? Or Thor laying a turd in Asgard? I'm a god. Besides, it's not that weird. Alexandria doesn't have BMs anymore, either."
The young goddess did not seem to understand why Armsmaster looked so defeated. Hannah did, though. She considered shooting Piggott a text to make sure Armsmaster had access to whiskey tonight.
"Your pet Tinker ward from Pittsburgh has already produced a fusion generator more advanced and compact than anything seen before," he said. "He shipped one to me for review and made me promise I'd show you. I'll install it tomorrow." He sounded tired. "I'd recommend a septic system and water well, though I cannot assist there. Plumbing is not my area of expertise. Now, if you'll excuse me?"
He left quickly.
"I'll...see you tomorrow," Rachel said. She jogged to catch up with Armsmaster.
"What's wrong with Rachel?" Hannah asked.
Taylor's sad smile returned. "She's a good, Christian girl," she said. "She couldn't believe in me even if she wanted. She'll never be comfortable here."