Chp.9: Firmament
Khepri wasn't sure what to make of Magellan. Most humans she had met fell easily in to one of two groups, either antagonistic or friendly. Her new teammates were nice, the criminals they arrested were less nice, or at the very minimum quite rude. Magellan seemed indifferent.
She knew enough to recognise he was often sarcastic towards most people, which was fine, but he wasn't towards her.
Or at least towards the guise of Shepherd. Khepri doubted Magellan would be sassy to an Endbringer.
Her guess was that he wasn't comfortable acting like that towards her, but everyone else seemed to have relaxed, even the Wards. Khepri turned her attention only briefly away from her thoughts to scan her surroundings.
They were doing a 'public' patrol, on the ground rather than moving along the rooftops. She thought it was silly. The public would be happier with them if they were more efficient at catching criminals entirely, rather than having showy actions that did nothing.
It was a familiar complaint, drawn from the flashes of memories she was having, but it still rankled.
Civilians, few as they were at half-past-two in the morning, occasionally stopped to take a picture of them. One had even asked for her autograph, so she gave him a smoothly carved rock statue of a shepherd's crook instead. Magellan had eyed her for a moment over it but didn't speak up.
They continued on in silence for a while, heading towards the rougher areas of town. Khepri had already sensed several people catch sight of them and quickly rush off, so she assumed that the local villains knew they were around.
Taking the opportunity of being alone Khepri reached over to tap Magellan on the shoulder, showing him the words that she had embossed in her cloak.
When will you trust me?
"No pleasantries first?" he asked, smirking slightly.
You don't seem to enjoy pleasantness.
Magellan chuckled. "So you can sass back at least. Don't take it to heart Shep, you're just new."
So it isn't personal.
"Naw. Although you've had the personality of either a puppy or wet paper recently which, frankly, is a bit tiring."
She bristled a bit, but he waved her down.
"You'll settle into something. Or someone, I suppose. Who you are is because of who you were, so no memories means you aren't really much of a person."
That seems a bit rude.
He shrugged. "Just life. Bushes are for gardens, not beating."
Khepri took a moment to process his words.
I shall endeavour to become human enough for your standards then.
"That's a bit better. Maybe add an insult on the end too, it's like throwing spice on a meal."
She pondered for a moment.
I agree. The galaxy you are named after is small and lacking in resources.
"Those words hurt me more than you can know, but not for the reasons you think."
Her staff struck the head of the brute she was fighting with a crack loud enough to echo in the warehouse. He swayed for a moment and she casually hooked the crook around his foot and pulled hard, tripping him backwards to hit the other side of his skull.
"Restraint, Shep," Magellan called out from his own fight. His power could draw nearby light into condensed orbs, leaving a region around them too dark to see. He was flitting between the darkness and the light, unseen by his opponents, who couldn't look directly at the orbs or see through the black.
A group of unpowered gangers were penned in by his power and Magellan would strike out unseen with his stun baton, bringing down a goon each time.
Khepri gestured, encasing the brute in rock aside from his mouth and nose, then strode over towards her teammate.
She heard a crash outside, presumably from Acacia laying into some unfortunate soul. Her targets probably heard it too, but they struggled to see her and by the time she was amongst them it was too late anyway.
She swung about with her staff, gentle enough this time to only knock them down, and the crowd of stone goats pinned them in place or helped catch any runners.
Magellan nodded appreciatively. "Useful as always. Lets go check on Acacia, make sure she isn't competing with you for excessive force charges."
It took them less than a minute to track her down. The sounds of pained groans made it easy enough and they found their teammate sitting on one of them in a graceful lounge, smoking away.
She was covered in her signature wooden armour, a brown motley of bark that was segmented like the old Roman style pieces.
Green leafy growths sprouted in places, including a plume atop her helmet that cascaded down her back. There was a smug smile on the portion of her face that was revealed.
"You're trying too hard to look cool, shrub," Magellan said as he began to check on the downed criminals. Khepri sent some of her sheep to accompany him, as a precaution.
"I barely even try." Acacia grinned, leaning forwards, her Australian accent only slightly softened after two years in Portland. "It took them a while to realise my bark is worse than my bite."
Magellan laughed, surprisingly deep for his size. "That's terrible, Acacia."
Shepherd raised her hand, palm facing down, and wiggled it a bit to show that she wasn't convinced.
"Aww Shep, come on," her teammate started with a pout. "An awful sense of humour is required on the Portland team. I'm on a roll recently."
"You're smoking a roll," Magellan muttered as he straightened up from checking.
"Now that was awful."
"You're awful."
"Your name is awful."
"Your mum is awful."
"Harsh Mags. Harsh. Anything to contribute, Shepherd?" the woman asked, turning towards her.
Hmm… I am technically under a month old and I am already more mature than both of you.
"Oof. Okay, man got us good. The PRT will be here soon anyway, I called in the fight as soon as I was done." She cupped her mouth and false-whispered to Shepherd. "That means we have to be serious. It's in Mattock's rulebook. I tore out the paragraph and pinned it above my desk."
"We have fourteen unpowered members and one parahuman, the brute Thudthud."
Khepri was impressed he could say that with a straight face and that the PRT officer wrote it down without cracking a smile.
"Farrier got away," Acacia added, "we think he was trying to drop off the KOIN files, but whether the trade was successful only the Elite know."
"Senator Baker won't be pleased," the officer replied in a level timbre.
"He probably shouldn't be making deals with the Elite then."
"Acacia," Magellan warned. "Those are rumours, and they will stay that way unless evidence is brought forward."
I don't believe that there were any more gang members within the vicinity. My constructs did not encounter any, but they are not fully reliable.
They were. Khepri just wasn't willing to give any more information out about her powers.
"I think that's all then."
The officer nodded once as he signed the form, tilting his head at the three parahumans.
"See you 'round, Magellan."
"You too, Velez." He gestured for Acacia and Shepherd to follow. "We'll report to Mattock and the director. If the Elite are making a push again then it needs to go up the chain."
I believe that Director Stoutfield will be almost excited about the news.
"Yeah the old wardog is going to love this," Acacia commented. "Good thing we've got a new heavy hitter on the team, hey Shep."
She nudged her shoulder into him playfully.
I look forward to being able to help. She paused for a moment, then widened the smile on her mask. Magellan will need all the assistance he can get.
Both of her teammates laughed, grinning back, and Khepri felt a happy warmth settle into her stomach.
"We haven't heard from her in three weeks now," Colin said. "I suggest we initiate contact this time."
Piggot nodded slowly.
"I agree. The reports from the Portland team are mostly positive."
"Mostly?" Dragon asked.
"Apparently the other brute on the team didn't get on with her at first, but Mattock settled it between them. They are cordial enough to trust on patrols together now, but not friends like she is with the others."
"We're discussing the social life of an Endbringer," Colin stated. There was a moment of shared silence.
"I'll get the Chief Director's go-ahead on this," Piggot continued. "It will likely fall to you, Dragon, as she likes you the most and, if I am frank, your suits are more expendable."
"I understand, Director Piggot," Dragon replied with enough of a smile to let Piggot know that she wasn't offended.
"If this goes well a face to face meeting might be considered."
"And that will almost certainly be our job, Armsmaster. Christ."
"I think we won't have any issues until the next Endbringer attack," Dragon said in a more sombre voice. "We don't know how she will react. It was assumed that she would continue in her attacks, but with her joining the Protectorate, even in disguise…"
Piggot sighed, rubbing under her eyes.
"It's a slow motion clusterfuck. Go get some rest, especially you Dragon. You'll need it."
If she was capable of it, she would be wringing her hands nervously. As it was she was pacing back and forth just outside her transport ship.
It was landed on top of the Portland Protectorate and that was where she had been waiting since Director Stoutfield confirmed that Shepherd – that Khepri – was heading to the roof to meet her.
The guarded door opened and the disguised Khepri ducked through it, giving a friendly nod to the troopers stationed there.
A rock wolfhound was padding alongside her, large even in proportion with the Endbringer and about the size of a small car for everyone else. She greeted Dragon with a wave, following the suit into the transport without preamble. It rose into the air quickly, heading into clear airspace.
"Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?"
"Somewhere with a good view. High up."
"Easy enough. Are you going to stay in disguise?" Dragon kept the question as casual sounding as possible, making a note of the increasing ease with which she could understand the Endbringer.
Khepri deliberated for a moment, then the rock started to slough off her and into a neat pile in the corner. The wolfhound too, was uncovered, revealing a body of reddish sandstone and too intense blue eyes.
"Let me know if you need anything."
The only reply was a nod, so the AI refocused on going through her routine checks. The cameras were recording, for the benefit of the three people watching, but Khepri hadn't protested to them so far.
The flight did not take too long, and soon they were settling down high up the side of one of the mountains in the Cascades. Khepri gestured for her to follow once the door opened and strode out towards the nearby promontory.
"Turn the cameras off," Khepri said as she sat down on a boulder, the dog curling up by her feet.
Nevermind, thought Dragon. She joined the Endbringer on her seat, leaving a sensible amount of room.
"Thank you for-," Khepri gestured for her to stop, then leant back and tilted her head up towards the clear sky.
Dragon was human enough to feel uncomfortable for the first few minutes but eventually settled down and started watching too. They were far enough away from civilisation that there was little to no light pollution.
"Do you like the stars, Teresa Richter?" Khepri asked, sounding almost sad.
Dragon froze in shock and wouldn't have been surprised if even her runtimes had juddered.
"I haven't had much time to watch them, I'm afraid," she admitted in a quiet voice.
"I spend most clear nights I am not on patrol watching them."
"They are beautiful, and many people love them. Can I ask why?"
"I find myself comparing them to my siblings and I. I both envy and empathise with them. They seem so free..."
"Empathise?"
"Yes. Their freedom is an illusion. They are bound by the inextricable fate of their nature. To grow and spin and burn until they eventually fade. Stuck circling a far away unheeding mass that is as distant to them as they are to us."
"Why do you envy them then?" Dragon asked, strangely enraptured.
"You said it yourself. They are beautiful and loved."
Khepri stood, forming the rock up around herself until she was once again Shepherd of the Protectorate, resting her hand on the giant wolfhound beside her.
"Come, Queen. I feel like a walk."
"Wait, please," she called. "I have to ask, will you attack again?"
The Endbringer stood still for a long time, enough that Dragon began to doubt she would answer. Then Khepri turned her head upwards towards the heavens.
"Lovely little star," she whispered. "Would you stop your shine for me?"
She continued her vigil for a short while, before starting off into the gloom, her hound trotting beside her.
"Goodnight, Teresa Richter. Stay safe."
Thanks to BurnNote and Evil Atlas for beta reading, they've been incredibly helpful, and thanks to everyone who liked and review/replied.