I tried to calm my nerves by taking a deep breath. It was a relatively quiet day, or at least I hoped it was for the sake of the establishment. It was quite an expansive café, probably expensive to maintain in the long-term. It was unlikely that the owners could afford the costs of this place if the three customers currently present was the norm. Unless, that is, this was part of a larger chain of stores or a front for a criminal enterprise.
"Can I get you anything, miss?"
I turned to find a waiter standing beside my table, pencil and notepad in hand. I hadn't noticed him approaching, which was concerning. If I could so easily miss someone approaching me in a public place like this, I would get myself killed sooner or later. Perhaps I needed to add a bit of a visual aid when I finally got to working on my eyes or something.
"Can I wait until my friend arrives?" I asked in lieu of making an order.
The man smiled and nodded, "Of course."
He turned away, presumably to approach the other customers. I went back to staring at the front door. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I felt nervous despite myself. It wasn't every day that I got to meet a supervillain. It didn't matter that the girl possessed little to no notoriety, it didn't matter that she was barely older than me, and it didn't matter that I was in a better position than most people would be in for a meeting like this. It was still something I had never done before.
I leaned back in the seat, futilely trying to relax. The assistant had given me quite a detailed report on the girl. I knew a lot about her. I knew she was part of a larger group, that they operated on hit and run tactics. I didn't know everything though. For instance, even though I knew her power had something to do with information gathering, the exact mechanisms remained a mystery. That, coupled with the usual mystique associated with superpowered individuals made it difficult to feel in control.
I took another breath. It didn't matter. This was merely the first thing that had fallen into my lap. If this didn't work out, I still had other options. I checked my watch again. If the girl was coming, she would be here very soon.
And right on cue, a familiar-looking blonde-haired girl walked in through the front door. She looked around the place with a pair of sharp eyes as she shut the door behind herself, stopping when she found me. Her expression somehow morphed into a wordless question, to which I only nodded in answer. She nodded back and approached my table.
She wore a calm and collected face as she sat in the seat opposite mine. Though, in this case more than any other, expressions didn't mean much.
After giving a cursory look around to ensure nobody was close enough to hear us, I turned to face the blonde. And despite all the tension I was feeling, I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my face, "You're Lisa, the psychic?"
The girl's eyes twitched slightly. She smirked back, almost tauntingly, "The very same."
"I'm Taylor, nice to meet you."
She quirked an eyebrow, imperceptibly too fast. Still, she hid her surprise well enough. She shook my extended hand casually, the way a longtime friend would.
"So, how does it work? Can you read my mind? Detect my brainwaves or something?" I asked with hopefully just enough curiosity in my voice.
She chuckled, "I don't think it's appropriate to ask those questions of a parahuman you tracked down in her civilian identity and extorted to visit you."
Huh?
Extorted? Maybe I should've been a bit more involved in my introductions. I didn't know what the assistant had done but I should've expected something like this. The AI wasn't quite intelligent enough to understand the nuances of human communication, not to say it wasn't intelligent, it was just… more focused.
I looked away just at the right moment to catch the eyes of the waiter. I smiled and waved at him to get his attention.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't be so obvious about your criminal activities if you don't want to get tracked down." the obvious retort came easily.
She only rolled her eyes. "Just say what you want."
I turned back to look at her face, trying and failing to divine her mood.
At the end I just shrugged.
"I only want to help." I answered as sincerely as I could.
"Right, of course." she replied in a dry tone.
I arched my eyebrows, "What? I want to make a friend. Who doesn't want to have a 'psychic' friend?"
She didn't even hesitate for a split-second before responding.
"You don't."
My eyebrows rose higher. I assumed the sheer certainty in her tone had something to do with her power. That was interesting.
"Seriously what is it? Do you emit mind-reading radiation or something?"
The waiter had just arrived at our table when I asked the question. The blonde gave me an irritated look and turned to make her order. I didn't catch what she asked for.
"I'll have what she's having."
The waiter smiled and nodded, then walked away.
"You'll be paying by the way. I don't have any money." And that was the main problem, wasn't it? She stayed silent at my assertion.
I looked outside the café through the wide glass window, "So? Are your friends waiting outside in case you're in danger?"
"Of course not," she replied through a stiff smile, "I came alone, just like your friend told me to."
Right, I really needed to ask what the fuck had happened there.
"Alright," I shook my head, "Whatever. I'll get right to it. I've studied your group. I know you have a mystery patron. And I know you're well-funded beyond what you should be." I shrugged, "I don't care about the specifics, I only need money, and equipment."
She frowned then gave me a look as if to ask if I was mentally ill, "You tracked me down and dragged me here to ask for money?"
"No, I… wait" I narrowed my eyes at her. Her power wasn't fully reliable then, or at least it didn't make her nigh-omniscient. That was good to know.
"Is it like a polygraph? Are you looking for physical cues or something?"
She didn't reply.
"Right. Who cares? I'm a uh-" I paused, what was the stupid word, "I'm one of those people who can- I can make things? You know?"
"You're a tinker?" she asked with raised eyebrows, finally a spark of interest was visible in her eyes for the first time since she had come in.
"Yes!" I lowered my voice, "That's the word. I'm a tinker."
The girl frowned at me again, and stared for a long moment as if she was trying to puzzle something together. She crossed her arms, "And you want to what? join us?"
"Well, not so much join… but I think we can have a… mutually beneficial relationship."
Her narrowed green eyes bored into me for more long silent seconds.
She sighed in the end.
"Alright, listen." she licked her lips, "You can't just track down a cape in her civilian identity to make an offer."
I gave her a small smirk, "Uh, I very clearly can, seeing that, you know, I did just that."
"Fuck you." she sighed again, "Fine, what's your specialty?"
I quirked an eyebrow at her. Really?
Well, if she was asking that, she probably didn't want to kill me at least. The tension in the air drained slightly.
"Does it matter? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and all that. Besides, shouldn't you be able to read my mind or something?"
She didn't deign to respond.
I rolled my eyes, "Fine, I can make…" I leaned closer to her over the table and made a dramatic gesture with my hands, "anything!" I whispered.
"What?" she asked, displaying clear confusion for the first time.
"I can make anything." I shrugged, "That's my specialty. Anything."
"That doesn't…" she narrowed her eyes, "Okay, what the fuck is going on?"
"What do you mean?"
She didn't respond.
"Oh, for fuck's sake. What?"
"You're not a tinker."
"Of course I am, I just—"
"You're lying."
"I am very much not…"
"No, you're clearly lying."
"What the fuck are you…"
I stopped as it dawned on me. I guess I was lying.
I sighed, "I see what's going on here. Wow, that's fucking irritating." I cleared my throat, "Alright, here's the truth, I," I pointed to myself, "can make anything, and I am… technically a parahuman. That makes me a tinker, right?"
"You don't think so."
"Well, it doesn't matter what I think of the word 'tinker'—"
"And besides, you can make anything? I don't believe you."
"Wha- aren't you- Can't you tell if I'm lying or not?"
"I know you believe you're telling the truth."
I breathed out slowly, "I swear to God," I paused "I tracked you down, didn't I?"
She shrugged, "I don't know, did you? Or do you just believe that you did?"
"Jesus Christ. Fine. I'll show you something after we leave to hopefully prove I'm telling the truth, if you promise your friends aren't going to jump me or something."
She gave me her annoyed look, "I came here alone."
"Alright, alright." I raised my hands in surrender, "Fine, I'll show it to you when we leave."
The next thirty seconds was spent in silence.
Oh, for fuck's sake.
"In the meantime," I can't believe I'm asking about this shit, "you have a GED, right? What was the process for, uh, getting it?"
"You- seriously?"
"Yes, it's a very serious topic. I want to know."
She gave me a dirty look then closed her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh, "Fine, why the fuck not."
We spent our time in the café talking about schools and tests and the education system, and predictably ran out of conversation material very soon. The rest was spent awkwardly sitting in silence again. Approximately twenty minutes after we entered the place, we left it. We walked away wordlessly after she paid. I waited until we were a good distance away from any crowds before talking.
"Wow, what was that thing we ordered? It tasted amazing."
"Alright, okay." she walked in front of me, blocking the path, looking clearly annoyed, "What did you want to show me?"
"Uhh, right."
I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. There had been something I had wanted her to see, though I didn't remember what it was.
I snapped my fingers as I realized the obvious.
"The person who invited you here. It- she, uh"
The girl's eyes widened.
"I made her." I finished.
She opened her mouth and closed it without having said anything. Then she gave a quick look around us before returning her wide eyes back to me. She stepped closer.
"You," she pointed a finger at me, "created that psychotic bitch? What. The. Fuck?"
I stepped backwards, "Hey, that's—"
A sound rang from somewhere nearby. The blonde paused, then dug around in her pocket and soon revealed the source of the sound.
"Great." she said with obvious exasperation.
"What is it?"
She turned the phone's screen toward me. On the top, the name 'Tracy' was being displayed.
I raised my eyebrows at her.
"Oh, fucking—" she sighed, "it's your friend, you know?"
I looked at the phone, "Huh, Tracy. I guess that's… a name." I looked back at her, "Well? Answer it."
She pursed her lips and touched the green button and immediately put the call on speakerphone.
"Hello, Lisa. You know it's not nice to talk behind a friend's back, right?" A sweet childish voice spoke from the other side.
Lisa looked at me. I only held up my hands.
"How long have you been in my fucking phone?" she asked.
"She's telling the truth you know. She created me! Be a sweet little girl and listen to Mommy and I'll…" There was a giggling sound, "I'll be nice to you when I take over the planet—"
Lisa hung up the phone immediately. Then proceeded to turn it off.
"You know that's not—"
"Okay, shut the fuck up." she stared at me wide-eyed, clearly unsettled, "What the fuck is that thing? What the fuck are you doing?"
"Holy shit, relax." I tried to reach her shoulder but she stepped back, "It's fine. Everything is fine. It was just trying to be funny. Goddamn, why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?"
"Wha—" she took a breath, "did you not hear that?"
"Hear what?"
She threw her hands up.
"What? Take over the planet? Look, it's fine. It can't do that, alright? This isn't a fucking sci-fi movie and it wasn't designed to do anything of the sort. Fucking relax. First you don't believe anything I say and then suddenly you believe everything? What is wrong with you?"
The blonde's eyes widened even more.
"Oh, for…," I wetted my lips, "It is unlikely. Alright? And I have contingencies."
"What the-" she grabbed my jacket, "you're not going to kill it. You- you think the thing is fucking adorable! It's like a child to you. You're not…" she trailed off as she stared into my eyes, "Alright." she sighed and let go of me.
She put her face in her hands and stood silently for a long while.
"I'll have to speak to the rest of the group" she said when she finally looked back at me.
"Ah, for sure, do that, oh—"
Her group! That contingency. I reached into my jacket and took out something I had spent more time on than I would've liked to admit.
"There's also this. It's a gun. I made it out of my computer." I paused, "You're buying me a laptop by the way."