Chapter 15: Insight
Arthur was caught off guard when Alexandria entered his room. He had been expecting another doctor today, as had seemed to be the pattern for the past few days. While no one had told him what was going on his power supplied him with plenty of information, enough to know that the PRT hadn't found anything unusual during his screening.
The doctors had been an attempt to see if there were any subconscious tells Arthur was giving off but that too had panned out. Eventually they had realised that Arthur couldn't read Dragon at all, so she had kept him company chatting through the speakers when she wasn't busy.
"You're a problem, Mr. Crowley." Alexandria commented as she lowered herself gracefully into the chair opposite him. He grinned weakly back.
"Not Director anymore then?"
She shook her head, her single eye watching him unwaveringly.
"I didn't expect so," Arthur laughed, "it's actually kind of a relief. What's the official story?"
"You were injured and are now in a coma. The PRT is unsure of whether you will wake up."
"What about…," Arthur began, but Alexandria answered before he could finish.
"They are not an issue."
Witnesses were dealt with, silenced but not killed. She is trying to unsettle you with that implication.
"Why are you here?"
"As I said, you are a problem. You've received a strong power, one that has the potential to…disrupt a lot of sensitive plans. More than this, however, you appear to have received it from a source that is wholly untrustworthy."
She trusts Khepri. It is the Master she distrusts.
"Who is the master?" Arthur asked.
Alexandria kept her body perfectly still for a moment, long enough for him to know she was making a point of it, then she slowly thinned her lips into a grim line.
"You are very lucky I turned off the monitoring equipment before coming in here."
She leant forward then, forearms on her knees, continuing to hold his gaze. Arthur couldn't help but lean further back into his seat, his breathing speeding up slightly.
She thought she could mislead you by fully controlling all of her body's reactions with her Thinker power. She is becoming concerned.
"Uh," he began. Alexandria shook her head and he subsided.
She is seeing how much you can read her.
"Your power is more effective against parahumans," the cape commented.
She believed she knew how your power works and thought she would be resistant to it.
"We slipped a few in over the last few days, watched how you acted. Your reaction times were halved against parahumans, even more so in combat situations."
She knows how powers work, and thinks your power is directly interfacing with other parahumans.
"Why wouldn't my power work against you properly?"
She believes her power is 'dead'.
"There is a lot," Alexandria began, before freezing, a look of horror flickering across her face as she read Arthur's powers latest information from him.
It is still alive and active.
The transport Dragon had provided to fly him to Brockton Bay was soothingly quiet, with enough of a background hum not to leave him in complete silence. He hadn't managed to fully relax yet, the conversation with Alexandria and then Dragon still playing through his mind.
A laugh bubbled out of him at the thought that he had set out to prove the Endbringers could be reasoned with and when it turned out that Cauldron had basically known that the entire time.
It wasn't pointless he supposed, but even still... he found it a bitter pill to swallow. What surprised him the most was that Dragon wasn't in on it, but Alexandria had been forced to explain more than she wished after his revelation, including Dragon's status as an AI.
"We'll be arriving in five minutes, Arthur," Dragon's voice spoke over the radio.
He went to reply but instead settled for a sigh and a nod, knowing she was watching.
"I am sorry about this," she continued, "but I agree with the Chief-Director that it would be too dangerous to not keep you somewhere protected, for your own sake if nothing else. I hope you'll like Brockton Bay."
"You know Armsmaster, don't you?"
"Yes. I would consider him a close friend. He'll make sure you're okay."
"And you're okay with me being near your friend?" Arthur asked, "Most people seem to think I'm a ticking bomb ready to go off."
Dragon didn't reply at first, and Arthur had begun to assume she wasn't interested in answering that particular question.
"I have had the most contact with Khepri. I've even met with her a couple of times in my suits, just the two of us."
"You trust her," he commented.
"I...I believe I do, yes. She is surprisingly gentle, and quiet. We can continue this conversation later, if you want, but we are about to land."
Arthur nodded again, sitting further upright so the ENE Branch's first impression of him wasn't slumped over and exhausted.
The troopers had been professional and the capes polite as he was given a brief tour of the Rig. It was a stark change to the Protectorate's base in Minneapolis. The building felt more like a fortress than a headquarters, but the safety of being out in the bay lent it all a more relaxed air.
Arthur had been introduced as Insight to the organisation at large, but before Armsmaster and Piggot led him into the briefing room where his new team were waiting they had pulled him aside, explaining how much they knew of the overall situation and how much information would be given to everyone else.
The Protectorate East-North-East was a relatively large team for a city the size of Brockton Bay, but Arthur had read the PRT's reports on the city. It was grim, Arthur thought, and he did not envy Piggot her job. Minneapolis had been calm in comparison.
Annette lounged on a floating sofa of her own creation in the meeting room, having refused to sit on the offered chairs. She had toned down her armour, leaving it almost like a sleek longcoat over mail rather than her normal plate look, and had let her spear dissipate. The sofa was long and wide, enough that Writ could lie down on it, one leg hanging off and swinging lazily. Hannah had rolled her eyes, while Ethan laughed and looked as though he wanted to join her.
They had only been informed that they were meeting a new teammate, but the screen at the end of the room was dark and Hannah seemed far more nervous than normal. Annette could see her attention flicking from person to person, then to the door and back.
Her weapon was shifting faster than normal too, a knife then a shotgun then a sword. A close range threat then, one she was expecting to have to face up close. Annette hummed, catching Hannah's gaze, then nodded towards her friend's weapon.
Hannah smiled in response, resting her hand near it, and the weapon's frantic switching slowed down to a calmer pace. Annette saw Ethan twitch towards them, although the others remained oblivious.
"So, who's this new face?" he asked, leaning back on his chair. The others turned their attention towards Hannah too, but they didn't seem to have the same edge of tension.
"A lot of it is classified," Hannah said, a noticeable tension in her voice, "but you will probably recognise him. We've been assured that it's safe, but..."
"Why wouldn't he be safe?" questioned Triumph, a visible frown on his face. Annette couldn't help but smile.
"All parahumans are unsafe," she added, if only to give Hannah time to form a response.
"His...trigger...was a unique circumstance."
"And he's here because we're the only Protectorate branch whose Wards are stationed away from the main team?" Robin guessed, shifting forward to rest his arms on the table.
"Partially. It would be best not to speculate at the moment." Hannah sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "You also need to be aware that he is a thinker - a very high rated thinker, focused on people. If any of you are uncomfortable with that you've got a few minutes to leave the room, but..."
"But we're stuck with him for the foreseeable future and good luck avoiding him?" Ethan finished with a smirk. Hannah nodded.
"In essence, yeah."
"Whoo," Ethan cheered, voice dry, "always great to be in Brockton Bay. Nazis, dragons, druggies and now an untrustworthy thinker in our own team."
"Ethan," Robin admonished, beating Hannah to the punch. "You'll need to give him the benefit of the doubt."
"I will! I'd be a hypocrite not to, really. Just thought I'd add to the list of Brockton's high points." He softened his words with a grin, and Annette knew he was helping cover everyone's nerves. They had all been tense after Barcelona. Most capes had been, especially with the Dervish, the Fallen branch who worshipped Khepri, beginning to take an interest in capes who had survived encounters with Khepri.
They settled back into silence, but Hannah's weapon didn't resume its previous pace and Ethan turned his attention fully back to his wife, so Annette felt comfortable enough to rest her head on the side of her sofa and stare blankly at the ceiling. She'd been aware that something had been going on for a while now.
Colin had been cooped up even more than normal, hidden in his workshop with Dragon for hours on end, and flying off to meetings with Piggot. The rest of the PRT directors had been doing the same since not long after Khepri's Vegas attack, and in hindsight it was obvious those meetings were due to Khepri making contact with the Protectorate.
The handle turned, and the speed with which everyone reacted let Annette know that perhaps her teammates had not been as relaxed as she assumed.
Piggot stepped in, a mild frown on her face. She glanced around the room once, assessing, then stepped further in and turned to gesture to the person behind her. He was tall and slight, but not thin, more wiry muscle than lanky. Short sandy brown hair topped a face that seemed, from what wasn't hidden by the temporary mask, only slightly lined. He had a prominent jaw, dusted by the beginnings of a beard.
The man gave them all a small, confident smile, even as his body language seemed tense. Colin followed in afterwards, shutting the door behind him and waiting before he heard the signal that the soundproofing lock had been applied.
"Morning," Piggot started, more dropping into her chair than sitting, "you're probably not going to like this."
Annette had to hold in a laugh at her boss, but still swung herself round so she was sitting up and shifted her chair closer to the table as Colin and the new cape took their own seats.
"For starters, you're going to have to sign these," she continued, flicking a pile of papers around the table. "They're NDAs that are strong enough to slap you straight into prison if you break them. Frankly I think it's ridiculous that you're not trusted but I've had pressure from above to get you to sign them. We're on the edge enough here as it is, so don't be stupid."
There were a few raised eyebrows at this, and Annette suspected there would've been some protests if the new cape wasn't also in the room.
"Right," Piggot said, nodding towards the new cape. He took a quick breath, glanced around once, then pulled his mask off.
"This is Arthur Crowley."
Her teammates' reactions were varied, albeit muted. Ethan's habitual grin thinned, Sam frowned, shifting closer to her husband, and Robin let out a full scowl.
"Good morning," Arthur said after a moment of no one breaking the tension. "I can see you've heard of me."
"Heard you, too," replied Robin as he leant forwards, "having a nice chat with a monster."
Annette caught sight of Colin beginning to open his mouth and shutting it straight away.
"It was my duty to," Arthur countered, "because something needs to change in regards to the Endbringers and I happened to be in the position to start that change. Lives were lost, but not in vain."
Robin's scowl deepened, but he uncrossed his arms and leant backwards, seemingly unwilling to say anything further.
Piggot started talking again, but Annette let it wash over her as she focused on Colin and Crowley. Multiple times it seemed like Colin was about to say something in defence of Crowley, and he looked more uncomfortable than usual. Normally in meetings he was stiff with irritation or attentiveness, depending on the subject, but today he was shifting around, watching the team and occasionally glancing at Piggot.
As everyone began to shuffle out of the room, Piggot leading the way, Annette hung towards the back. She nudged Colin as he went past, tapping on his armour slightly so they both ended up behind the rest. Crowley turned, catching her eye, face impassive.
Annette rolled her eyes at him, making her body language as clear as possible. Yes yes, you're a thinker and you know what's happening, good job. He laughed a bit, breaking out into a smile and drawing a wary look from Sam next to him.
Colin waited until the door was locked again before he pulled his helmet off, placing it on the table with a loud clang. Annette retracted her own helm and ran her fingers through her hair.
"What is it?" he asked. Annette laughed.
"And here I thought you'd be more concerned about being left alone in a locked room with me," she replied, tilting a hip to rest her hand on it and grinning at him. Colin only raised an eyebrow in response.
"Oh fine, you boor. And here I thought Dragon would've loosened you up with all the time you've been spending with her."
Colin blinked, and Annette's grin shifted into a smirk.
"You shouldn't dig like this, Annette," he said eventually.
"I think I've got the right to, considering. Crowley showing up here, of all places, Wards aside, after you and Dragon have been disappearing all the time or flying off to important meetings. Plus you seemed pretty defensive of Crowley in the meeting."
"You should tell her, Colin," came Dragon's voice from the speakers.
"Dragon," Annette acknowledged, nodding towards the camera in the corner, "were you listening in the entire time?"
"Colin invited me to watch Arthur during the meeting, as a precaution."
"Khepri's first contact was Dragon," Colin said. "She killed the Dragonslayers and used a backdoor connection to call up. Since then we've been in communication multiple times."
"Okay," Annette slid onto a chair, gesturing at her boss, "fill me in on it all. You'll want another cape available on the ground who knows the details in case of any difficulties."
Surprise. As always, thank you to Burn Note and Evil Atlas for beta reading.