Colin stood at full attention as Piggot furiously yelled at him. "Tell me Armsmaster, did we just conduct two separate fucking interviews in the same goddamn room?"
"Not that I know of, ma'am." While Colin knew Piggot was being sarcastic, he believed answering her straight was the best course of action here.
"Then why on God's green Earth did you hand that child a fucking Tinker starter kit!?" The Director was seething, but Armsmaster remained cool and impassive under her shouts. "What part of that interview made you think that she was anything less than an unhinged menace to society!?"
"Ma'am, with all due respect, Tay- Tech-Priest has not done anything yet which would quantify her as a menace to society." Colin smoothly countered. "She is now affiliated with the PRT, and I merely did what I believed to be the best choice in order to build good will between herself and the Protectorate. In addition this will ensure that she has the best chances for survival in a city that would seek to destroy a new Tinker like her." Colin delivered each line with clear precision.
Piggot's eyes narrowed on Colin as she dissected his words. Eventually she spoke. "I don't know what game you are playing here, Colin. But mark my words. That girl…" the Director then pointed to the door. "She is a danger. PRT affiliation or not. If this comes back to bite us, this is on your ass." She then pointed her finger right for Colin's chest. When Colin didn't respond Piggot wordlessly walked to the door and exited, leaving Colin alone.
"Colin…" Dragon's voice then cut into his helmet, reminding him that he wasn't actually alone. "As… brusque as the Director was, I find myself agreeing with some of her points. Are you truly sure it was a good idea to give Tech-Priest those supplies?"
Sighing, Colin allowed himself to relax a bit. "Would you rather I leave her defenseless for the gangs?"
"You know that's not what I meant." Dragon fired back. "But you must have also seen that the Tech-Priest is… disturbed. What she needs is psychological help, not for you to enable her by giving her more tools to mutilate herself with."
"Perhaps it's not what you meant, and I agree she does need help. But neither of those change the fact that the gangs will come after her. Had I not given Tech-Priest the tools at the very least, she would've had to resort to either stealing or purchasing them, both of which would trigger flags for the gangs." Colin justified. "At least this way, Taylor may be able to get a decent amount of tech built before she falls under the radar of the villains of this city. "
Dragon was quiet, spending several seconds in silence as she thought on Colin's words. "Colin… What's your real plan here? I understand that you are a driven man, and want to be the best hero that you can. So can you honestly say that the whole reason you helped Tech-Priest was just to keep her safe?"
Colin grimaced. Dragon had caught him out on his lie. Well, not a lie per say, as his desire to keep Taylor safe was genuine. But it was not a protectiveness that was born out of compassion or empathy or any similar ideal, but one born out of pragmatism. By giving Taylor these resources, despite the fact that he was under no obligation to do so, Colin hoped he had ingrained himself in Taylor's mind as a positive figure. And if he was a positive, allied figure in Taylor's mind, she would hopefully be far more willing to grant Colin augmetic enhancements if he asked for it.
Colin hadn't originally planned on giving such an extravagant gift to Tech-Priest, but her words during the interview struck a chord with him, awakening something inside. Colin had spent decades of his life training his body to near perfect physical condition in addition to both his advanced Tinkertech and admirable martial arts skills. But he knew it would not last forever. He was already showing signs of plateauing, both physically and in his career.
He would only have a few more years before his body would no longer be able to endure the rigors of his extreme lifestyle. And his inability to navigate the politics of the Protectorate, combined with his lack of major successes against the E88 or ABB, Colin had felt that he was doomed to fall into obscurity as the next generation of heroes took his place. Heroes like Dauntless, who everyone admired and loved so much more than him.
If Taylor and her augmetics could stem the flow of time, grant him power beyond what he was capable of providing for himself, why wouldn't he try to work with the young Tinker? Everyone else, Dragon included, seemed to be taken aback by Taylor's words, seeing them as abhorrent. But everything she said rang true to Colin. Colin's flesh was strong right now, but it was only flesh. Soon it would weaken. And even at its peak it is nothing compared to the powers others have. If steel could grant him strength, why shouldn't he take it?
"Colin?" Dragon's voice once again broke him out of his internal monologue.
"Apologies Dragon, I was just thinking." Colin spoke softly as he considered what to say to his friend. "And you are right, I do have some ulterior motives with Tech-Priest. No actual plans yet, but I do believe good relations with her are the most important thing right now. And did you see her reaction to my gift? It was probably the best response we got from her the whole interview, and now she may see me as some kind of ally, rather than a hindrance to her Tinkering."
Dragon sighed. In fact he could hear the frown in her voice as she spoke. "Colin, just… promise you'll be careful when you work with her. I understand we need to give her a chance, as well as keep her away from the villains. But don't lose sight of who you are and how much you've accomplished because of what she can offer you."
Mulling over her words, Colin eventually sighed and said. "I'll think about what you said."
Colin could hear the small smile return to Dragon's voice. "That's all I ask."
Nodding his head, Colin moved to exit the conference room. He would think about what Dragon said, but he would still think about what Taylor said. Weigh more pros and cons for enhancements over no enhancements, and come to his own conclusion of what he would do to engrave his name as one the greatest heroes in the world.
Amy slowly climbed out of her sister's arms as they reached Brockton Bay General. While Amy was usually rather dour about having to go to her shifts, she was especially gloomy as her sister Victoria landed at the hospital after leaving the Hebert household.
Vicky, picking up on Amy's melancholy sighed and said, "Hey Ames, I know everything with Taylor has been weird, but I think it'd be best if you just… forget about it. That girl has a whole host of problems, but you also have a whole host of problems, and she should not be one of yours. There's no point worrying over someone who doesn't want help."
Giving only a noncommittal shrug as her response, Amy chose to let her sister misunderstand her problem. Amy wasn't wholly concerned with Taylor and the damage she had done to herself. It was more what she plans to do, the changes she wants to make to herself which had been causing a veritable flood of ideas now swirling within Amy's mind.
Ideas for a whole host of improvements she could make to the human body. It started with the idea of changing a person's bone marrow to improve the immune system, but that alone has sprouted dozens of ideas in her mind. Why stop at changing the marrow alone? Why not strengthen the bones themselves with some kind of organic-ceramic compound to make them nearly unbreakable?
And if she's changing the bones, why not change the muscles as well? Stronger bones meant the body could support both a greater amount and denser muscle fibers, further increasing physical strength. But with the sheer amount of mass being added on, she'd need a larger heart. Or perhaps a second heart. That would ease the strain on the first heart of pumping blood through all of the extra mass, and that way should even the primary heart fail, the subject could stay alive.
So many ideas were running through her mind that she felt like she was going to go mad if she didn't get a chance to implement them. Extra lungs, super eyes, tougher skin that could absorb more damage or even radiation and heat, an improved digestive system to allow someone to eat a far wider range of foods all while ignoring toxins. It was only her discipline that she developed over the course of her years of healing while sticking to her rules that kept her acting out on these ideas.
"Yeah, I know." Amy finally sighed out as she caught Vicky looking at her worriedly. "It's just… it's complicated." She then gave her adopted sister a weak smile. "I'll tell you about it later, once I get my thoughts in order."
Vicky frowned, not liking Amy's answer, but she slowly nodded her head, accepting that her sister needed time. Floating over, Vicky gave Amy a big hug saying, "Just remember Ames, you can talk to me about anything."
Flashing her a practiced smile that hid her underlying feelings, Amy said, "Thanks Vicky. I'll see you in a few hours."
Returning with a big grin of her own, Vicky flew off, returning to their home. Amy then turned to the hospital entrance and walked inside. She would do her diligence, healing dozens of patients over the next few hours, but Amy was on autopilot. Her mind was on all of the changes she could make. On how easy it would be to turn a normal human into the transhuman, a being of superpowered abilities but not a Parahuman. Idly, Amy hoped that Taylor would call her. If there was anyone who she could talk to about these ideas of enhancements, it would be the mad Tinker seemingly obsessed with modifying her own body.
Coil watched the footage of Taylor Hebert aka Tech-Priest as she moved through the Rig, Brandish, her father, and two PRT grunts carrying boxes following behind her. His spies within the PRT had already gotten him access to the entire interview, which he had recorded and sent to Tattletale for analysis.
This girl had a powerful specialty, and if she could create Tinkertech weapons as well, she would be an extremely valuable asset. No longer would he have to invest millions of his own dollars into Toybox for their laser rifles and tracking devices. He would get Taylor on his side, whether as an employee, or a pet, if need be.
The phone beside Coil rang, and he answered it immediately. He knew playing games with Tattletale would only result in her figuring out he was trying to play games. "Tattletale." he said in the most neutral way he possibly could. "Have you finished reviewing the footage?"
"Hey Boss." Tattletale greeted, her voice professional. "Yeah I did. Hell of a find, this Tech-Priest."
"Indeed." Coil dryly remarked. "So tell me, what is your opinion on the girl? Do you believe she would be open to working with us? Either as a direct employee of my own, or perhaps a member of the Undersiders?"
Tattletale took a deep breath before responding, mostly likely to calm her nerves. "Tech-Priest has a more heroic inclination, given the fact that she still registered with the PRT, but with the right motivation, I think she'd be more than willing to turn against the Protectorate."
"And what is this motivation?"
"Tech-Priest is obsessed with her tech. As in, Bonesaw levels of obsessed. Complete with all the derangement. Her powers did something to her mind, changing the way she thinks and what she values. In the span of a couple of days she went from bullied, introverted girl to a fanatical zealot." Lisa explained. "Getting a chance to make more upgrades takes complete precedence over anything. If you want to go with the business recruitment, give her a blank check for supplies, a fully kitted out lab, and an ample supply of, subjects," Tattletale shuddered at that. "And she'll flip the double birds at the heroes and build you an army of cyborgs."
Coil nodded at that. While having a Tinker as volatile as a member of the Nine may prove troublesome, Coil believed he could find ways to keep her in line. "And if I want to forcibly recruit her?"
Coil heard Tattletale's breath hitch, obviously surprised he was being so forthright with her.
"If you're gonna hardball this, you'll have to do it now or in the near future." Tattletale supplied, though the reluctance to share this information was clear in her voice. "She's already planning on building a lot with what Armsmaster gave her. Anymore than a few days, she'll probably have her own lab set up already, complete with all of its Tinkertech defenses."
"Very good Tattletale. Thank you for your hard work." Coil then hung up and split the timeline.
In his primary timeline, he would exit his base, drive to his home, drink some wine, and then go to sleep. In his throwaway, he would send a team of mercenaries to Taylor Hebert's home and see whether or not the Tinker would be worth actually kidnapping.
The path has changed.
It's not often that it would change so much like it has, but it has happened before. Usually when someone or something extraordinarily powerful enters the scene, like a powerful new Trigger, or an Endbringer.
So much of the world's fate now hinged on some strange Tinker from the city of Brockton Bay. Ironic, considering the experiment they had in place there. Regardless, the others needed to be informed. Questions had to be asked, numbers had to be processed, and decisions had to be made.
"Door me." Contessa spoke two simple words, and a rectangular portal opened up in front her. Contessa stepped in.
A/N, 7/23/21: Hey everyone back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but long story short I got the Rona and had to spend time coughing my lung out. Anyway, I have good news and bad news regarding this story. The bad news is that this was the last chapter I had written for Flesh is Weak when I initially planned it out as a Novella. However, the good news is that this story had such a strong reception that I decided to continue writing. Back to the bad news though, that means it'll probably be a little bit before a new chapter as I need to finish writing up the outline and new chapters. This will take some time as I do have other stories I am in the processing of finishing, as well as a few new one shots and new stories I have planned as well, one of which is another WormXWarhammer crossover (a hint, it has to do with Chaos). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one.
