- - -Still-Defiant- - -

As Dragon's suit flies towards the building, I consider the last week in The Bay. There were two things I set out to do during my time here - ensure an amicable introduction to the Cape scene for Weaver, and recruit Tattletale.

The latter has been a tremendous success, the former, on the other hand...

Well, there's only so much I can do without tipping my hand. According to Miss Militia, Tattletale told her interviewers that the fact that Shadow Stalker had used lethal bolts against Grue may prove inconvenient if they try to recruit him. Miss Militia had been very interested to hear that - apparently, she's pushing for the ongoing investigation of her handler to be extended to Shadow Stalker's actions as well.

A happy coincidence resulting from my interference - I hadn't even known that myself.

I suspect that Shadow Stalker's days as a free woman are numbered. It remains to be seen whether she takes her lumps or tries to run from what's coming her way. Miss Militia knows what she's doing, though - she'll make sure that Shadow Stalker gets what she deserves.

I think I've done about all I can do, actually - I don't have an excuse to contact Weaver personally, and doing so despite that would be a serious overreach. Nor do I have any authority to influence the investigation of Shadow Stalker - I'll just have to trust that Miss Militia follows through.

It's in good hands, I think. Director Piggot won't stand for Shadow Stalker's belligerence, and Miss Militia won't let this go until she gets to the bottom of things.

I've set the stage - all that remains is for Weaver to actually make her debut on the scene. Maybe we'll end up working together again one day, but I don't foresee that happening anytime soon. Maybe she'll end up in the Wards, or maybe she'll actually get to have a go at independant Heroism - if anyone could pull it off at such a young age, I suspect it would be her.

The suit pulls up, touching down on the helipad. The ramp lowers, and I step inside. Buckling myself in, I steel myself. The suit lifts off, Dragon silent.

"So." I swallow. "What did you want to talk about?"

Her voice comes over my helmet. "I don't even know if you've realised, but you've had an open channel to me on your armour ever since you were discharged from the hospital."

I check the statistic on my heads-up-display. "So I have - why do you mention it?"

"You don't think that it's unusual. Just what was our relationship in the future, Colin? You said we worked closely, but what does that mean?" Her voice is gentle - I can tell she doesn't want to upset me.

Admittedly, it's a… tender subject. One that I've been very pointedly not addressing. "...We never sat down and had a formal discussion on our relationship, but… Well, it was understood that we were closer to each other than 'just friends'. We had a degree of intimacy that was more than strictly platonic."

"I suspected as much. I..." she trails off. "I don't know how I feel. It's something I've been unsure about for a while now. But… knowing how a future version of myself felt does help, I think."

I've been too presumptuous, haven't I? "I understand. We have more important things to worry about - I won't trouble you with this. Would you like me to try and maintain more distance in the future?"

"No!" Her shout is reflexive, almost panicked "No - don't misunderstand me, Colin. You haven't been troubling me at all. I think this is very important - to the both of us - I'm just saying I need some time to think about it all. You don't have to change how you've been acting."

"Oh. Alright then." The sentence hangs awkwardly, the silence thick in the air of the suit. I try to think of something to rekindle the conversation, but nothing seems appropriate. I really put my foot in my mouth there, didn't I?

- - -Ephermerally-Lisa- - -

Narwhal stands. "That about wraps up your induction. Welcome to The Guild, Lisa."

I stand, accepting her handshake. "Thank you. I'm glad to be here." Narwhal is a busy woman, so our meeting hadn't happened until the day after I arrived here in Toronto.

She pulls out a PDA, looking at the screen. "Armsmaster has just arrived - he'll want to speak with you." She puts it away, walking towards the door. Just before she leaves, she turns to me. "I have high expectations of you - I believe you can do a lot of good here in The Guild. Don't let me down."

My power helpfully supplies that she's being completely genuine.

With that, she walks out the door, leaving me to collapse into my chair. No pressure, right? After all, it's only Narwhal who has big hopes for me - the Cape who routinely puts a stop to genocides and Parahuman coups the world over and shows up to Endbringer battles au naturel as a matter of course.

I can feel myself getting the jitters. I need a coffee. Or a stiff drink.

The door opens, and Armsmaster strides in. I pull myself together, righting myself from my slouch. He sits opposite me, taking off his helmet and laying it on the table. "Lisa" he acknowledges me, then sets about fiddling with the remote to the screen on the wall at the end of the table.

Dragon's digital visage appears on the screen. "Hello, Lisa. I imagine you have questions." her face turns towards Armsmaster. "This room is secure. You can disclose whatever you deem necessary."

I latch on to that - they know something. Something big - likely the same secret that has been vexing me since we met. Dragon clearly is letting Armsmaster take the lead - she's likely only patched in as a formality.

He nods, turning to me. "With a Thinker of your caliber, keeping secrets will be a futile effort at best. For the sake of cohesion and smooth operation, I'm going to tell you some things I would otherwise withhold from people in your situation. I hope that you will not betray this trust - what is discussed here does not leave this room unless you are expressly instructed otherwise by Dragon, myself or Narwhal."

So Narwhal knows too? And, he definitely knows I've been sandbagging my true capabilities. I refocus. "You went out on a limb to help me out of a tough situation. I'm not going to repay that with betrayal." I find that I'm telling the truth - I really am thankful for what he's done. It would… irk me if I somehow wound up breaking his trust in me.

He fixes me with a stare. Looking for a hint of deception, according to my power. The silence drags on - an interrogation technique. I meet his gaze readily.

Apparently finding nothing, he nods - more to himself than me - and continues. "On the First of March, at approximately five A.M., I woke to find that I had been sent back in time by a measure of roughly two-and-a-quarter years."

He stops, allowing me to digest the information.

He's…

He's telling the truth - or at least, the truth as he knows it.

It's…

I cradle my head, resting my elbows on the table. It makes sense - his knowledge of my capabilities, and his faith in my character. If he had first-hand experience with me in that future, then it fits together.

"How? Why?" The words slip from my lips, my power working overtime. I can feel the beginnings of a headache already starting.

"The how and why are related - I believe the cause to be the malfunctioning of a collaborative Tinkertech weapon of a scale unlike anything seen before. In other words, it was an accident. That weapon was created with a singular purpose: to put an end to Scion's interdimensional genocide."

Tinkertech Super-weapons? Scion? Interdimensional genocide?

He's telling the truth - again. Things start to click together - the thing that has Armsmaster spooked is Scion. This project - it's almost certainly an effort to prevent that genocide from happening again. Armsmaster's unannounced departure from the bay a few weeks ago - he must have been securing allies here in The Guild. The differences in his personality from my expectations? Attributable to the time spent in the future.

I groan from the effort. If I don't hold my power back, I'll end up regretting it. The gravity of the situation hits me suddenly - Scion embarks on a genocide in less than three years time. Scion: the Cape in a weight-class all of his own - above even the Triumvirate.

He continues, ignorant of my inner revelations. "The details of what set it off aren't particularly important, but Scion is far more powerful than it lets on. The collective effort of nearly every Cape on Earth Bet was nothing to it - I don't think it was even so much as scratched. After that… things deteriorated. We were uncoordinated. Disorganized. From somewhere in the mess of it all, an extremely powerful Master emerged and took direct control of everybody - that's when work started on the Tinkertech weapon. And, well… the weapon failed and I ended up here. I don't know if we ultimately succeeded, or not."

He stops, watching my reaction. It's a lot to take in - especially when I'm trying not to think about it all too hard. But… I think I believe him. His words ring true to my measure, and I don't think that Armsmaster - even one from the future - would spread falsehoods about something like this.

He's definitely not telling me everything - understandably so - but I get the impression that the details aren't relevant. Would I like to know? Almost certainly - but, there is value to be had in keeping knowledge of the future confined. I can accept his reasons for keeping the specifics from me.

So - this is the situation, then? I've been recruited by a time-traveller for a project that aims to prevent the apocalypse.

I'm so far out of my depth it isn't funny. Armsmaster must have seen something in my future self that convinced him I was a good pick for this project. Whatever he saw in the future me, I'm not certain present me has it - all I can do is try to live up to his expectations.

The jitters make their return with a vengeance. I push it all down, folding my hands in my lap and focusing on the here and now. "Right. What do you need me to do?"

Armsmaster nods, approving. "I suspect you've figured it out, but the aim of this project is to prepare for this future - and, if possible, prevent it. There are several avenues that we want to pursue, but before any of that we need a team. The three of us make for a good start, but it isn't enough. I have an informal list of possibilities and associated positions - I would like for you to work with Dragon to determine the feasibility of their recruitment, as well as an analysis of possible alternatives and potential problems that may arise."

Right - sounds like something I shouldn't have a great deal of trouble with, especially with access to Dragon's resources. "Ok - anything else?"

"That will be all for now. My time will be occupied Tinkering - getting my gear up to the standard I held in the future, among other things. Once we're all set up, I expect we'll undertake semi-regular field missions to deal with potential trouble-spots - your assistance either in the field or from the ops room would be appreciated. I trust that won't be an issue?"

"No - not at all. When do I start?" It's time to get stuck in - we've got a strict deadline by the sounds of things, and it wouldn't do to waste any time.

"I'll have a formal briefing and information packet delivered to your rooms by tonight. This won't be a small undertaking - don't expect to be done with it quickly." He stops, appearing to consider something. "Am I correct in assuming that you will not be going by Tattletale anymore?"

"That's right." Narwhal had also advised me to abandon the name - The Guild has an image to maintain, and the name of a small time Villain doesn't mesh with it. It seems to me that image and reputation are just different sides of the same coin - one for Heroes, one for Villains.

"Narwhal may have already told you this, but Guild members are expected to manage their own brands - though there are resources available within The Guild to assist with that. I'd advise you to come up with something soon."

She had - in nearly the exact same words, too. "If there's nothing else I need to take care of, I plan to do that today."

"Then I think we're done here - the information packet will have some more specifics about our goals and our foreknowledge, but I'll leave that for you to digest at your own pace." He stands, donning his helmet once more and striding out the room. Dragon nods to me through the screen, before cutting the connection.

I sink back in my chair, mulling over what I just learned.

I…

I think I'll go get a coffee before I do anything else.