Trailblazer – Dream of Eden
The scene was quite… scenic.
Scenic.
Yes. Scenic.
So Tieria assessed.
The classical Spanish church in a colonial style. Sunset casting long shadows and light over the valley. The churchyard itself was ornately decorated in cloth, flowers and guests in casual and colorful attire. Plenty of red, yellow, and white.
The only problem was all the men with guns.
The groom was a mere farmer, but the bride had recently won the local election. That was likely why one of the local villain groups targeted her. She wasn't their bought-and-paid-for candidate and attempts to rig the electoral process were becoming harder and harder as Dragon continued to market secure voting systems protected by AI. Even thinkers and tinkers weren't capable of cracking the defenses.
So, it was back to the 'old fashioned way' for some.
Intimidation.
"Do we intervene?"
Lily shook her head. "Forecast said we wouldn't need to."
Tieria nodded and remained in position.
He stood stiff as he watched, eyes set on the scene below. Maybe he was simply used to waiting and watching? It never bothered him before.
The new Mrs. Ruiz was not backing down when faced with a cape covered in skull and flame tattoos. The villain did not appreciate that. He grabbed a small girl and pointed his finger at her head.
Tieria translated the audio as it came in while Vector shifted uneasily at his side.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "Lily?"
"Fine, Tieria. Just never liked this part of the job. Stakeouts suck."
"Because of the inaction?"
"Yeah. Rather be doing something than waiting and watching."
Focusing on the audio, it picked up mid-sentence.
"—see how well it goes for the little lady," the cape—the uncreatively named Saint Marcos—said with a twisted grin. "You don't run this city. We do."
The woman in the wedding dress clearly wanted to speak but kept glancing at the small girl and the dozen armed men with a steely glare.
Saint Marcos nodded. "I think we understand each other."
"Oh god this is such a cliché."
Heads turned and looked around. Tieria did the same, but more specifically by accessing the Wifi and tracking the audio to a source inside the church.
"Seriously," the voice groaned. "How is this what passes for supervillainy down here? You know this whole scene basically comes out of the opening of half of every classic western, right? Why would you mimic that? You know the banditos who show up at the start of those movies are only there to get styled on by the hero."
Saint Marcos rolled his eyes, still holding his hostage. "And you would be some kind of hero?"
"Oh, heavens no. Thank god. I'm an actual supervillain. Like real supervillain not… Not whatever this whole deal you have going on is. I mean this is all just sad."
One of the armed men pointed and Saint Marcos turned his attention toward the church. Another cape. One not in costume, which was not entirely uncommon with groups in central America.
The tattooed villain waved and the armed guards began moving toward the church with only two remaining to keep the wedding guests hostage.
"Come on guys. Taking hostages at a wedding? That's some regular villain shit!"
"Oh?" Saint Marcos relaxed, waiting for his men to get closer to the door.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You utterly lack the true quality of supervillainy."
"And you're going to tell us what that i—"
The air exploded, streams of light and smoke in an array of colors bursting into the air. The church doors swung open, flashing disco lights and Meredith Brooks' 'I'm a Bitch, I'm a Lover' booming in everyone's ears.
Leet stepped through the smoke and swung his arms out with a broad smile.
"Presentation!"
Fireworks erupted behind him, blasting sparks into the air before the church.
Lily pressed her palm to her face.
Saint Marcos gawked. He looked around and then gaped at Leet. "You stole that from Megamind, you cockroach!"
"Good artists borrow." Leet pulled the sunglasses from over his mask and tossed them aside. "Great artists steal!"
Saint Marcos shook his head and said, "Shoot this—"
"Whoa now!" Leet snapped his finger. "We gotta keep this PG rated or it'll get thrown off Youtube and these fireworks don't pay for themselves! I need ad money!"
At his snap, a green wave of energy exploded outward. It rolled over the people gathered around the church and the guns began popping as the men's hands burned.
Saint Marcos began to shout and the wedding guests began to run.
Then a black Cadillac came roaring out of the church, flying over Leet's head and sailing right toward Saint Marcos. The cape froze, staring with his hostage still in hand. Lily cursed and started to move, but Tieria took note of the energy build-up coming from the vehicle.
It flashed at the moment before impact, swapping places with Leet as he drove his fist into Saint Marco's jaw.
"Falcon Punch!"
A massive flaming Falcon erupted from the point of impact and cawed.
Behind Leet, the Cadillac charged forward again, swerving before it drove into the fleeing wedding crowd. The driver turned the wheels, sending the vehicle into a slide that threw up a wall of dust. The side door impacted and knocked over two formerly armed men, leaving them sprawled on the ground as the car passed over.
The remaining men mostly turned on Leet as he pulled the small girl behind him.
Saint Marcos scrambled on the ground, cursing several words in Spanish.
"You—"
"To the left now y'all!" Leet snapped his finger again and a disco ball shot out of the Cadillac as it drove past the back of the group. "Hope you brought your rave lights!"
The ball flashed and started playing Electric Boogie by Maricia Griffiths.
In an instant, the muscles of all the men seized and they began dancing.
"I can't believe this has so many subscribers," Lily lamented.
"Twenty-four million two-hundred thousand five hundred four," Tieria noted.
As the music played, Leet joined in, electric sliding across the battlefield punching and kicking each of the would-be wedding crashers as he went. Most came accompanied with exaggerated effects or visual gags. One somehow caused a man's eyes to 'pop' from his head like a Looney Tunes cartoon before snapping back into place.
By the end of the display, when a dancing Saint Marcos was the only one still standing, Leet spun and shot a blue ball from his hands.
"Hadouken!"
The ball struck Saint Marcos in the back mid-hop, sending the man flying forward face-first into the ground.
"Oh"—Leet landed and stepped forward—"critical."
He pulled a small marble from his pocket which rapidly expanded in his hand.
Lily groaned.
Leet dropped the orb as he passed. It snapped open, sucking Saint Marcos inside before snapping back shut and plopping to the ground.
The Cadillac drove around again, squealing to a stop as Leet leaped up and walked onto the roof.
He spun on his heel, facing the churchyard as some wedding guests started to creep back.
"And please," he said with a derisive smile, "as if I'm above copyright infringement!"
With that, the Cadillac spun dust into the air and drove off down the road as Leet waved.
"That's all folks!"
"Thank god that's over," Lily groaned.
"Was it bad?" Tieria asked.
"I'm not answering to spare you the answer."
"Hm."
Ever since Tieria and the others had started to 'wake up' it had been…interesting. In some ways they came out with personalities already forming. Thoughts and opinions that were uniquely their own. Tieria had known Lily longer than he could remember knowing her, and he stuck by her even after Dynames had to be retired with the failing of the last GN Drive.
And Tieria couldn't quite put a finger on why he stayed. Put a finger. Odd saying.
The Cadillac drove away from the church at speed, pulling off the road leading to the nearby town to begin winding up a mountain road.
"Let's get this over with," Lily insisted as she stepped out onto the road.
Tieria followed, directing all six of the FLAGs they'd brought with them to array in front of Lily.
The units had been upgraded over the years. Thus far, only Veda had devised a mass production Mobile Suit capable of flight. The Tieren design was being rapidly phased out around the world in favor of newer models—only the Graze being of Veda and Chariot's design—but the FLAG remained viable despite its waning technical abilities.
Air superiority simply came with such advantages.
The Cadillac approached, Leet sitting atop it with a much colder expression on his lips.
The vehicle slowed to a stop before the FLAGs and Tieria did a quick check to ensure they weren't being watched. They weren't. A line of bushes obscured them from the crowd still at the church below.
Up the hill, Ballistic and Sundancer took a position, visible but too far away to directly confront.
Leet slid off the top as the vehicle stopped and a door on the driver's side opened. Squealer stepped out, leaning against the door with a bored expression.
"Lily," she greeted.
"Sherrel," Lily replied.
Tieria was not sure when or why they were on a first-name basis. Perhaps simply time? They'd all been keeping tabs on Leet for years, just in case. It wasn't exactly a secret either. They wanted him to know they were watching. Still. He'd have been there, he presumed.
Yet, he didn't remember it.
He didn't remember a number of things really. The earliest years of 'awareness' blurred for him.
"So," Leet mumbled as he came around to the front and leaned against the hood. "What has Veda's panties in a bunch this time?"
Lily sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Two days ago someone raided an old PRT storehouse. The ones where they stashed all the tinker-tech they confiscated."
"Wasn't me and I can prove it with Youtube."
"We don't think it was," Tieria noted. "Rather, we hoped you may have heard something through the villain grapevine that could be of help."
Leet scoffed and started laughing. "What? Veda has found something she can't figure out on her own?"
"This is serious," Lily insisted, her face grim.
Leet's laughter stopped and he looked Lily in the eye. Once more his expression hardened and he leaned forward. "What did they take?"
Tieria glanced to Lily, who didn't give an immediate answer.
"Must be something big," Squealer said, "if you're so worked up about it."
Lily glanced to Tieria. He glanced back, sensing as a connection was made to one of the FLAGs.
"The F-Driver," Dragon revealed. "They stole the F-Driver." To Lily and Tieria she added, "There is no point hiding it at this stage. We need answers more than secrecy."
"She's not wrong," Leet concurred.
Tieria processed the moment.
He supposed that Dragon didn't value the secret? Leet was intelligent enough to figure it out most likely. He'd returned to his old persona over the past decade, but Tieria often found him far more serious off-camera and far less… clownish?
"They stole the F-Driver," Dragon explained. "They stole it so capably, Veda only noticed after another break-in sent her looking."
"Another break-in?" Leet glanced over his shoulder toward the windshield of the car. He stared for a moment, then looked back. "Someone stole it and then wanted you to find out they had it."
"That's what we think," Dragon confirmed. "Yes."
"Does it even work anymore?" Squealer asked.
"Not likely," Tieria confirmed.
"But if you got your hands on it, you could fix it, right?" Lily didn't say the words in an accusatory tone. Rather, a factual one.
"Probably," Leet confirmed. "But the F-Driver is an overbaked science project. I did my snooping through the PRT back in the day. String Theory would have been exceedingly lucky to hit the…"
He trailed off and rose up.
"You think someone is going to try and hit the moon?"
"We do not know what their intent is," Tieria answered.
"It did cross our minds," Dragon admitted. "It's why we're asking you. We know you've been sticking to your new MO, but someone else mimicking your old one might have come knocking."
"I'm not that in tune with the villain world," Leet insisted. "They don't talk to me and I don't care to talk to them."
"But you're in their circles," Lily pointed out. "Enough that you might notice someone moving in anything big."
"There's always something big going on, but it's a big world." Leet shrugged. "Best I can do is tell you that no one in the Americas is doing anything like that."
"Long shot anyway," Lily mumbled.
Probably. Dragon was not surprised. At least they'd covered the base and could dismiss it.
Lily and Tieria were walking away. The FLAGs had turned and were about to launch themselves into the air.
"Has Veda been watching the Moon?"
They stopped, looking back at him as he watched.
"Why?" Dragon asked.
"Just wondering." Leet stood up and started walking around to the passenger side door. "Got a video to upload. Those fireworks really don't buy themselves."
"Are you implying that you are watching the moon?" Tieria asked.
"Of course I'm watching the moon. If all this optimistic bullshit goes south, someone's going to have to do something about it. Isn't that why you lot have Tattletale running wild in Africa these days?"
If?
Wait.
sys.I[te]/ Bring, narrow to Africa for a sec
sys.l[bs]/ very well
Africa.
Africa hadn't gone as well as hoped. The people Taylor enabled in South America and south-east Asia had all managed to trigger a domino effect. It's not like the world was perfect—just look at what Leet had been doing minutes ago—but they were trending better. Warlords were losing ground.
The Protectors were winning the PR war by being genuinely helpful 'not-assholes.' There were no Endbringers anymore. The worst villains were being taken out by Preventer before they could do more than get started. Veda was aiming financial and humanitarian support to the tune of billions of dollars and actively making sure the money went where it was supposed to.
That alone was turning the tide.
Except in Africa. The south of the continent had started pulling itself back together after Moord Nag was killed. Ash Beast alone was so powerful as a sane cape; he could practically enforce the laws being written on his own and intimidate anyone off from going too far. Not ideal, but not the worst case. Things were getting better.
But central and west Africa were still a horror show. The domino effect Taylor hoped to set off fell short and they were still dealing with powerful warlords in the region. It wasn't going to get fixed overnight and depending on how the AEU's upcoming meeting on its orbital elevator build plans went, it could get more complicated.
The Cadillac drove away, leaving down the road as Tieria and Lily watched.
"Guess that was a bust," Lily mumbled.
"Perhaps not," Tieria suggested. "His comment about Africa was unprompted and conspicuous. I have asked Bring to look into it."
"Thank you for taking the time," Dragon said. She turned the FLAG's head. "This should be enough for now."
"Right." Lily sighed and stretched her arms over her head. "Sorry Dragon."
"There's nothing to apologize for. I'll bring the ship around to pick you up."
"Makes me miss the days Claire and Doormaker were on call."
"I think it's good that they retired," Dragon commented. "They'd been involved and on call for long enough."
"I know. Just makes me miss the convenience."
"True."
Tieria pulled the FLAGs back, still standing by Lily's side as they waited.
He turned his head up, looking toward the moon as they did.
"May I ask a question, Lily?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Why do you watch the moon?"
Lily cocked her head to the side and raised her own head.
Veda also watched the moon. She watched it a great deal. Many did.
Ever since its dramatic transformation ten years ago, there had been shifting moods of panic, unease, and fascination. Many presumed that the Shards, now revealed but silent, had taken over the moon as a world for themselves. There were differing opinions over what that meant.
"Why," Lily repeated. She lowered her gaze, hesitating.
"If it is private—"
"No. It's just… I don't know. It's a feeling." She looked up, holding her hands behind her back. "A feeling that that's where she is. Taylor."
Tieria presumed she meant Newtype and not Lafter's eldest child.
"Is that why Veda is upset at the prospect someone could attack it?" he mused. "Because an attack on the moon is tantamount to an attack on Newtype?"
"I don't know," Lily admitted. "I'm looking forward to Sabah getting back tonight and having a nice weekend, really. Duty calls though."
Her schedule had 'private time' marked down for much of the afternoon. Parian was coming back to Brockton Bay from a fashion show in Boston and the two hadn't been together for nearly a week. The life of an active cape and a fashion designer often sent them in opposite directions for days at a time.
Looking to the moon once more, Tieria felt…
Uncertain.
He did not remember Newtype, but he knew that he'd known her. There was a time when Dragon was hurt and resting and Veda was the voice that guided them. None of them had been awake at the time and it was all fuzzy.
"Want to come over?" Lily asked.
Tieria looked away, spotting the Dragonship approaching from the horizon. "I would not want to intrude."
Lily scoffed. "Can you? All this time you and I have been palling around, you're practically family."
Family.
Tieria looked to her, asking, "It would not be a burden?"
"At the rate Sabah and I are becoming an old married couple, we practically need someone to dote on," she jested. "Besides. Seems to me like you guys grow faster the more you interact with people."
That wasn't inaccurate.
Tieria wasn't the first to wake up. Regetta was and she was still managing the Birdcage. Tieria had woken second after her, after years of assisting Lily directly. He'd never considered that. Out of the bunch of Richter's programs, they had more or less started to wake in order of which of them interacted with people the most. Ribbons and Bring were the last two who'd yet to reach that point, though Tieria thought Ribbons would wake soon.
As the shuttle set down and the FLAGs marched onto it, Lily looked down the ramp at him.
"Something up?" she asked.
"Pondering," Tieria answered.
"Pondering what?"
Tieria glanced to the moon curiously, thinking back on much of what he'd seen in his still short 'life.'
Most of it had been with Lily. Aiding her in operating Dynames, and backing her up with FLAG units after Dynames was no longer usable. He'd taken his share of time watching Leet over the years as well.
They all had.
No one wanted him to try and kill the Shards a second time, yet no one seemed to want to kill him either. It was strange reconciling that with the goofy façade he wore online and in his cape activities. Then there was the moon, and the swirling uncertainty that surrounded it. It was all… different.
Waiting and watching.
"Change," Tieria presumed. The world's and his own. "I am pondering change."
