Step 8.5

"Point five degrees clockwise," I said.

Green maneuvered the calibrator as I directed. The tool projected a highly focused beam, the source I think of the abnormal alteration of material properties in tinker tech. Dr. O and I managed to narrow it all down over the past few weeks with some basic experiments. The tools seemed the most obvious source, and some simple tests proved me right.

"Another point five," I said.

"Adjusting, adjusting!"

It's strange. I didn't design any of my tools to materially alter the tech I worked on, but they did. A side effect of the black box nature of tinker tech? It didn't make much sense. The most basic tools, like my old laser scalpel, worked even without maintenance. Most tinkers probably never noticed because the first thing they did with their basic tools was build better tools.

It made tinker tech sort of an illogical circle, but on the bright side it meant the Haros could help me build tinker tech by handling the tools.

It sped things up quite a bit.

"Stop."

"Stopping, stopping."

Okay.

I closed the cylinder up and plugged a tube into the base.

"Orange."

Orange turned a nob, and a liquid crystalline fluid filled the tube. After that, I disconnected the tube and fit the cylinder into a cooling unit, attached a power supply, and then put the completed quantum CPU into a box with eleven more just like it.

"Seal it up," I said. "Veda, get ready to test the processor. We'll double check it before linking it into the super computer." And we can avoid hacking two cities worth of computers next time we fight a destroyer of worlds. "Okay. Sorry. I needed to finish that."

"It's fine," Ramius said.

I picked my phone off the desk and leaned back in my chair. "Sorry we can't talk face to face."

"No, it's a good idea," she said. "We can go back to meeting at the café or wherever after the lawsuit is over with. Blue Cosmos has been known to harass PRT employees and follow them around, and we don't want anyone noticing us at the same place at the same time."

I nodded to myself. "Right. So, what's up?"

"We're not sure," she said. "The Empire has gone bizarrely quiet the last few days, and we were expecting some kind of retaliation against you."

"So was I."

It made me more uneasy the longer it went on. The Empire managed to keep most of their members while the ABB lost the bulk of theirs. The Merchants remained fractured as smaller groups resisted the idea of Trainwreck taking over. It seemed natural in that environment for the Empire to leverage their numbers and try to take more of the city. Yet, they did nothing.

That's not what I expected to happen. Dinah returned a whole lot of nothing for the coming week too, which made even less sense. She saw something completely different before the Great Arrest. What changed, and changed so dramatically it altered the possibilities?

"We did get something on Kaiser," Ramius said. "He, Fenja, and Menja hit a small construction contractor just outside the city limits while you were fighting the rest of the Empire's capes. The company is a front for Coil's group. We didn't notice it at first because the business' listed owner didn't report it, but he couldn't hide the property damage or stop some of his employees from blabbing about the attack on PHO."

"Kaiser hit Coil?" I asked.

"We're still investigating," Ramius said. "I don't know anything until the team does and they're not sure why Kaiser went after such an obscure location."

For something important, or to send a message? Coil kept a really low profile, and he avoided open conflict with the other criminals in the city. The biggest operation I'd seen him pull off in six months was a bank robbery… The bank?

"Did we ever follow up on that bank Coil robbed?" I asked.

"We did," Ramius said. "We didn't get far. The boxes his men stole from the vault were tied to a shell company owned by a RXF Pharmaceutical." That's Krieg's company. "The company has refused to tell us the contents beyond 'confidential business documents.' We've assumed Coil's goal is blackmail of some kind."

"Right."

"You think there's a connection?" Ramius asked. "We are aware of some Empire fronts in that market sector."

"Maybe."

I assumed the PRT knew about Medhall, but I didn't know if they knew about RXF. Even if they did, they might not tell the rank and file because of the unwritten rules. I couldn't exactly say anything without breaking them in that case. Complete pain in the ass. Ramius' words said she might know more, but she didn't just come out and say any names so obviously she needed to be as cautious as I did.

Coil stole something from Krieg's company, and Kaiser went and stole it back.

Must be important for him to skip out on the day the truce ended. Everyone in Brockton Bay pegged it as the day a new gang war would start, and I would think Kaiser would want to be available for that. No, no whatever Coil stole must have been really important. Kaiser prioritized it, so what exactly did he lose that he needed to get back so badly?

My frustration at losing Othala mounted. I sacrificed my access to the Empire's phones to catch her, and fucking Leviathan went and ruined it. She'd probably worked her way back to Brockton by now, and catching her again wouldn't be as easy. With her back, Kaiser's options opened up a lot, especially with the ABB weakened and the Merchants all but defunct.

Maybe it's time to start grabbing capes

Cricket and Stormtiger were easy targets, and I felt confident I could win fights against Hookwolf. If Kaiser lost them he'd lose his numbers advantage. He'd yet to bust out Victor or Alabaster, but I didn't expect that to last much longer. He'd probably send Hookwolf for that.

Maybe I'll go along with him?

Still, "I have a bad feeling," I said. "The Empire isn't responding how I planned."

"We're nervous here as well," Ramius said. "The Empire has never responded to such a grievous loss this passively before."

"The ABB has been quiet too," I said. Lung should have done something.

"The ABB's behavior is less abnormal," Ramius said. "Lung rules by fear, and he's never been defeated before. The gang is far more fractious than the Empire."

"His captains and lieutenants are wondering if the king needs to change," I said.

I'd figured as much. I might not be able to beat Lung in a straight fight without killing him, but surviving the fight and keeping the field was a big strategic victory. Throw in Lafter picking off various fronts in the middle of the fight and my isolation of one of the captains – Terry is such a good little ultimatum follower – and I'd built a strategy to paralyze ABB leadership. For now at least.

I expected that though.

"Lung is too quiet," I mumbled. "I expected another attempt at this point. I kind of wanted to launch him into the air again."

"Piggot will let you get away with blowing one street up to stop a gang war," Ramius said. "She's not going to give you carte blanche to do it as many times as you want."

"Shame," I replied. "That hole in the road is shockingly useful as a physical barrier against attack."

If I lingered I might be able to keep it there for a few weeks and not have to worry about any attacks from that direction. If Lung came and tried again, I could destroy something else and get another barrier somewhere else.

Ramius sighed. "I'm going to pretend you didn't imply destroying the street was anything but a necessity for defeating Lung and preventing a gang war."

"Necessities can still have fringe benefits."

Kati did say something about the public not liking accidental or wholly purposeful destruction of property, though. I found that a bit oxymoronic. Destroying the street by 'absolute necessity' sounded more like spin than truth, but I'd gathered my new PR agent had a rather flexible outlook on what qualified as truth.

"But what do I do with my idea for robot crocodiles?" I asked.

"If you wanted a moat you should have built an oil rig in the bay."

Kind of surprised she rolled with that.

"Fine," I said. "I'll just make robot birds instead. With laser beams on their heads."

"Very funny," Ramius replied.

Veda finished testing the processors and gave them the okay. I waved to Orange and Green. The pair of them lifted the processor between them and stepped over to the edge of the workbench. The surface lowered to the floor and my robots quickly carried the machine to Veda's server room.

I managed to build five new quantum processors in the past three days, and I improved the design a fair bit. As I did I started cannibalizing the Playstations. The parts made good component sources for the machinery being built upstairs in the factory.

"There is something else," Ramius said. "The I's have been dotted and the T's crossed. You can attend the training program with the Wards."

That went fast. "When?"

"They're finishing up a class with John Baker about Parahuman Theory in two weeks. The next is a Parahuman History course. It starts the week after."

I nodded and added it to my calendar. Proper time management, the bane of tinkers everywhere.

"Do I just walk into the building?" I asked.

"You can. There's also a space on the roof basically set aside at this point for parking your suit if you bring it."

How nice of them. "And identities?"

"The Wards affirmed they were comfortable having you in the room. They indicated they'd likely be masks off, but that was before Boston."

I raised my head. "Oh."

"I've talked to Weld, Flechette, and Mockshow. Weld doesn't have much of an identity, and Mockshow said she didn't mind. Flechette was a little apprehensive, but she said it was fine. Whether or not you unmask is your choice."

"I probably will," I mumbled. PRT already knew my identity. Attending classes twice a week with others and being the only one with a mask on would be awkward.

"I've also been told I can extend the invitation to Laughter and Forecast, and Chariot."

"How accommodating."

"It's up to all of you. The PRT will do the work of accrediting any course work with whatever college you attend. We'll cover the paperwork to obscure any trails that might lead to your identity, so nothing to worry about."

"Right. Thanks."

I'd ask, but I doubted Dinah would want to go, and Laughter wasn't the 'let's go to school and learn' type. Trevor? Maybe. He might decide he wanted to tinker more. I wanted to know more about powers, and a parahuman history course didn't really hit that nail on the head, but if I skipped out on one class I might find myself excluded from others.

Whatever. College credits are college credits. If I started accumulating them now, I'd be able to get my degree without taking too much time away from my other activities.

Ramius and I said our goodbyes and I did a little stretch.

The workshop bustled with activity. Green and Orange returned from the server room and joined Purple. The three of them assembled the pieces of Queen's rebuilt leg, while Navy worked on recalibrating Astraea. Pink and Red worked on a table off to the side, packaging a new batch of model kits for delivery to Larry and JP. Lafter played games off in the corner of the room, and Trevor came and went as he worked on various projects.

Veda worked on a dozen different searches, trying to fish out all the information possible on the current plans of the gangs and the Undersiders.

Especially, the Undersiders.

Tattletale interfered in my plans for the last time, and I felt due some catharsis! With the ABB in disarray, the Merchants barely existing, Coil still hiding under every radar, and the Empire behaving like it had split personality disorder, I really wanted to just find and hit someone.

God, I'm becoming Lafter.

I inhaled deeply.

On the one hand, I should be happy. I stopped the gang war, proved I could keep my factory standing, and gutted the ABB. Sure, the Empire managed to get out from under my rug at the last second by happenstance, but on the whole I got most of what I wanted. I'd take a city with crime and no gang war over a gang war any day.

And I'm still uneasy.

Too many loose threads. Things that could explode into a whole new disaster.

Fucking cape life.

"Kati has arrived upstairs," Veda said.

My body went a little rigid all at once. I still didn't know how I felt about her. I'd bought into needing her help, especially after catching the media response to my battle, and she seemed to want to help.

My hang up came from her approach.

"Right. That." I found my mask and put it on.

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Liar!" Lafter called from across the room.

I sighed. "Fine. Yes. I'm nervous." And not just because my only experience with reporters was being swarmed and asked stupid questions. "She's like a librarian. She talks and I feel bad for screwing up."

"Kati said it was important to start getting your image under your control," Veda said.

"She did, and I don't disagree." I realized after my little spat with Trevor that people don't really know what I'm about. I handled Hookwolf and Lung. I can deal with this. It'll be easy. "Things can't go on like that. Doesn't make it any less unnerving."

I looked over my workstation, set up a list of tasks for the fabricators and started a system analysis for both Gundams. Veda's simulation of our GN drive tests entered its eighth hour. I needed to completely redesign the compressors, fly wheel, and the inertial neutralizers to cope with triple the output the drives currently put out. Lots of testing, and simulating on that front.

And of course I was trying to delay the inevitable by distracting myself.

I took a deep breath and turned to the door.

"Have fun!" Lafter called.

I'm so fucked.

I went upstairs onto the factory floor. Kurt and Stu worked with a mix of ex-Merchants and Dock Workers to assemble the rigging for the conveyor belts. Trevor zipped back and forth between the men, working on whatever needed a tinker's touch and answering questions when asked.

He spotted me and waved, and the other men all turned. Those who could, at least.

I paused as they acknowledged my presence.

"Hey," I said.

I got a volley of 'hellos' and 'good days.'

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Just getting this set up," Kurt said.

He glanced to Stu. "We're doing okay."

The big bald guy kind of emerged as the de facto leader of the Merchants I hired. He didn't talk much, but he did keep me appraised of anything he needed. Parole officers in need of assurances, or ex-Merchants who stepped forward looking to see if I still planned to hire. Veda checked on the men he brought to me. If they came in clean enough, I'd give them a shot but at this point I needed to watch everyone.

With direct assault tantamount to inviting defeat, the gangs would be smart to resort to sabotage.

"Alright," I said. "Sorry I haven't been up much. Busy time."

"It's fine," Stu said. "We've worked with capes before."

Not sure I liked the comparison, but then again I couldn't imagine I was a worse boss than Skidmark. Kind of the bottom of the barrel there. There's nowhere to go but up from there.

I nodded, and said, "I'll come by in a few hours and help out. Right now I have a date with the firing squad."

"PRT?" Trevor asked.

"PR."

"Oh, that's worse."

I nodded and stopped.

"Wait, how do you-"

"Oh." Trevor rubbed the back of his head. "Um, the PRT really tried to sell me on the Wards? Not sure why they thought a meeting with the PR guy would help. Super pushy."

And that did not surprise me. Rumors of 'PR' and it's terrible tendencies even made it onto PHO, with frequency and I'm stalling again.

"I'll be by lat-"

Wait a minutes.

"Stu," I said. "I'm not going to force anyone, but I'm trying to figure out what's going on with the gangs right now. If anyone has any insight they'd like to share…"

I trailed off, watching his face to see if he felt insulted or upset at the idea. I didn't hire the ex-Merchants to pump them for information, but-

"I can ask," Stu said. "Some of us made a clean break, but others have family or close friends who are still, you know."

"I'm not out to hunt anyone down," I said, hoping to be reassuring. "Tracking the Merchants was always hard for me. Y-They, didn't have the same organized structure as the Empire or the ABB."

"Yeah," someone else said. "Skids kind of liked everything being chaotic."

So he did do it on purpose. Theory confirmed.

"Not really our problem anymore," Stu said. "Just ask. Merchants are done anyway."

"Trainwreck ain't leading shit," one of the other guys said.

Another added, "Did nothing but boss everyone around after Skids went away. Blind leading the blind."

I turned my head slightly.

"Trainwreck took over after Skidmark got caught?" I asked.

"Mush and Squealer were always high."

Wait a minute, "Did Trainwreck bring Cranial to the city?"

The men looked at one another and shrugged. They didn't know?

"Did Skidmark do it?"

More shrugs.

I narrowed my eyes behind my mask. Something, on the edge of my mind. Something about that bugged me. The Merchants were using Cranial tech in Squealer's tanks, and they arranged for her to have a place in their territory, probably helped her get supplies. Someone must have known about it, even in Skidmark's purposefully chaotic structure.

Logistics are hard to hide. I knew after spending so much time hiding them.

Maybe I'm imagining things.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll be back."

"Later, Newtype."

"Cya round."

I walked on into the offices overlooking the factory floor. I'd divided the space into small cramped offices and a single conference room. Not really sure what I'd use most of it for, but it seemed like having some rooms available on demand could be handy. In one, Kati sat behind a nondescript desk. Papers spread out in front of her, arranged into stacks and held together with clips.

"You're late," she said.

"Got distracted talking to the guys." I nodded toward the window as everyone got back to work. "And I'm not that late."

"You need to be mindful," Kati said. "people interpret tardiness negatively."

"Right." Always nice to be scolded.

"That said, it's a pretty common thing among capes. Villains don't adhere to schedules for convenience, so as long as you don't make a habit of it there shouldn't be any issues that can't be blamed on 'I was dealing with something that couldn't wait.' If anything that'll improve your image more than the tardiness could damage it."

And then I'm not scolded.

Which just about sums up all of Kati's advice.

I decided before meeting Kati I didn't like 'public relations.' Meeting her did not improve my opinion. But I needed to do something. She wanted to do the job, and Dad wanted me to let her help, and I needed to do something with everything going on and I sucked at talking to people anyway and I'm motor thinking again.

Kati looked at me from behind her glasses, and the image struck me again. She really did look like mom. Not so much I couldn't see the difference, but the similarities were striking. I didn't need convincing to believe someone mixed their pictures up, and dad said he mixed them up once when looking at them from behind.

It's purely a similarity of appearance though. Kati lacked the warmth and caring I always got from my mom. She seemed colder, almost like Piggot in a way, and always so critical. My mother was never like that, not that I remembered anyway. Not sure how the two of them managed to get along, but then Kati admitted the friendship wasn't really close.

"Take a seat," Kati said. She indicated the chair on the other side of the desk.

I sat down and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Careful with that," Kati said. "People tend to see crossing one's arms as standoffish. You do well with aloof and serious, but appearing confrontational won't benefit you."

And I already hate this.

I unfolded my arms and sat stiffly.

Kati watched me with an assessing gaze.

"We'll work on it," she said.

My brow went up behind my mask. "Really?"

"This isn't something you can treat seriously only when you're prepared for it," Kati said. She watched me for a moment, and said, "You have talent, you know. You're earnest in a way many people wearing a mask aren't."

I turned my jaw.

"So, what exactly do we do here?" I asked.

I looked over the stacks of papers, but reading things that are upside down is kind of hard. Most of what I knew about 'PR' came from all the time the PRT, Protectorate, and Wards wasted on it. About the only social event I ever attended was the memorial for Velocity, Aegis, and Clockblocker.

"I want to get us on the same page," Kati said. "I do something along these lines with all my clients. It's hard to fully appreciate good PR until you've seen bad PR." She gave me a small smile. "The bright side is I normally work in politics, and this is far simpler."

She picked up one of the paper stacks and held it toward me.

"For example, this."

I took the stack and turned it around.

Printed out PHO posts?

Topic: Armsmaster Thread 8.99

In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► General

Beardsly (Original Poster)

Posted on July 9, 2011:

Alright we all know what this is. Last thread got locked because of all the shipping so, can I please ask no shipping? At the very least can we keep the potential romantic theorizing to people over the age of consent (seriously, the fuck)?

(Showing Page 234 of 238)

► AlHaten

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Dude, seriously. We just lost the last thread to this shit.

Armsmaster is not "into" Newtype. Can we please stop that?

► TinMother (Moderator)

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Please, can we? I'd say I'm aghast that this keeps needing to be stated but PHO rules forbid this kind of speculation, to say nothing of the absolute disservice it does to Armsmaster (an adult man) and Newtype (an underaged girl).

My jaw slacked.

"The fuck?"

I'd been insulted by the idiocy of the Internet, cape geeks in particular, but that took the cake!

"And this is why PR matters," Kati said. "You're entering the national stage now. It's time to start getting serious. You cannot afford this kind of speculation to be the thing that is out there. Like it or not, it's the kind of speculation that'll spread, because you haven't worked to manage your image publicly."

I kept reading as she talked.

► Beardsly

Replied on July 10, 2011:

It's stupid. They literally hate each other, and Armsmaster isn't creepy like that.

► Champagin (The Zap)

Replied on July 10, 2011:

No. He's creepy in entirely different ways.

► Speaker for the Beard

Replied on July 10, 2011:

We don't need the Armsmaster haters here either.

► Champagin (The Zap)

Replied on July 10, 2011:

I remain unconvinced he isn't a terminator.

► FenrickGully

Replied on July 10, 2011:

No idea why anyone is citing the Lung fight as evidence of anything. Newtype left Armsmaster to get his ass kicked.

► XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on July 10, 2011:

That's so not true.

► winged_one

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Indeed.

► Fenixd0wn

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Yup. The fact she hates Armsmaster has nothing to do with Armsmaster getting thrown through a wall.

► RapidFireAttire

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Think she'd be thankful. Didn't he protect her and a bunch of Wards during the fight in Boston?

► Contraryan

Replied on July 10, 2011:

I heard she saved his ass in Boston.

► Beardsly

Replied on July 10, 2011:

There's no way Armsmaster needed anyone to save him.

How do they even know about that? Any of that?!

► Dorkus

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Even Armsmaster isn't dumb enough to try and solo Lung.

I beg to differ!

► Breathus

Replied on July 10, 2011:

I just came back from work and have no idea what the fuck is going on here. Are we seriously on that stupid ship again? It got the last threat locked!

► AlHaten

Replied on July 10, 2011:

That's what I've been saying!

It went on and on until I got all the way to the end of the print outs.

"The fuck?" I mumbled.

I didn't know what to make of any of that. People arguing over whether Armsmaster 'liked me' - Oh god why? - and debating if I left him to get his ass kicked? I straight up told him his tranquilizer probably wouldn't work! I even offered to help him fix it because Lung needed to be dealt with eventually!

People on PHO tended to run themselves up the ramp of stupidity, but this went way beyond the shit I normally found in threads about me.

"Welcome to fame," Kati said. "Now," - she picked up another stack - "try this one."

Topic: The Great Arrest

In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► General

3ndless (Guy in the Know) (Original Poster)

Posted on July 10, 2011:

Okay, shit. I guess the whole city is at war with Newtype? Discuss?

EDIT: Thread renamed.

EDIT: So, the round up;

PRT and BBPD just confirmed 214 members of the Empire, Merchants, and ABB are in holding. Mostly ABB. Newtype apparently destroyed a street, launched Lung out to sea (somehow?), captured Rune and Oni Lee, and beat Hookwolf before forcing the Empire to retreat and I was not ready for today.

(Showing Page 11 of 45)

► Djbriloholic

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Seriously though, how long is the PRT going to just let Newtype do whatever she wants? It's a fucking joke.

► Char

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Because she's actually doing something?

► Contraryan

Replied on July 10, 2011:

The PRT would be jealous.

► Alphasarus

Replied on July 10, 2011:

I don't see the issue. I know Brockton Bay is backwards most of the time, but for the rest of the world catching bad guys is a good thing.

► BCesus

Replied on July 10, 2011:

Brockton Bay is backwards. In most places the bad guys get arrested after doing something. The heroes don't start the gang war and then arrest them.

Yeah, I stopped right there.

"I have others," Kati said. She pointed to the stacks as she spoke, saying, "Posts about your hiring of former Merchants, mixed bag. Posts about your tendency to destroy things, mostly negative. Posts questioning why you never joined the Wards. Posts about your team name. Posts about-"

I got the point fast.

"I get it." I said. "I'm not super popular."

Kati shook her head.

"I wanted to impress on you why managing your image is important. Now, before you panic."

She handed me another paper. Rather than more PHO posts, it looked like statistics. Statistics about PHO use, specifically. Daily logins, posts, views, unique users. That kind of thing.

"I don't get it," I said.

"PHO is one of the most used websites in the world," Kati said. "Especially here in the US."

"Right." I looked at the page. "Five billion connections a day?"

"And about two hundred million unique visitors," Kati said. "That's two hundred million people who might end up reading any of that."

"But it's bullshit."

"The Internet doesn't care," Kati said. "The bright side, is this." She leaned forward and pointed at the paper. "Less than half of PHO's users ever post anything. Less than five percent are active members of the board, and less than four percent post more than ten times a week."

"Okay?"

"It means that the people who are most aware of these things, are a very small minority. The majority are silent, which is often used as rhetoric by unpopular fools, but does tend to be true." She pulled up one single sheet of paper and handed it to me. "I had this poll commissioned last week. We called a thousand people, mostly in the Northeast and asked them how much they agreed with the statement 'Newtype is making things better in Brockton Bay.'"

Part of me didn't want to look. Another knew I probably couldn't get out of the room anytime soon if I didn't. So I looked.

Oh, wow.

"Fifty-four percent agree?"

"And thirteen percent strongly agree. The exact same question asked exclusively in Brockton Bay was more polarized, but still favored you by three percent."

I nodded. Charlotte tried to convince me weeks ago that I had more supporters than detractors. That people in Brockton Bay wanted someone to do something, anything. I believed her, or at least I wanted to believe her, but what Charlotte thought and what a thousand people thought are quite different.

I looked over the paper a few times before asking, "And that means?"

"You're in a strong position." Kati leaned back, saying, "But I think the idea of you is what people like. One misstep, and there will be missteps," - I'm pretty sure I've had plenty - "and opinion can turn sharply. Our goal right now should be to get a rudimentary picture of you as a person out where people can see it, and with it a picture of Celestial Being. You've managed to capture attention quickly."

"And that's, good?"

"A double-edged sword," Kati said. "Lustrum caught attention quickly, but she saw much of that attention turn negative as her profile increased. What we want to avoid is the minority opinion of avid PHO users becoming a mainstream view of you. For example, the reporter who asked you about Armsmaster? We need solid answers for those questions, because it won't be the last time someone asks them. The PRT is never going to go to bat for you, even if they want to be on your good side."

Right. "And to do that we will what?"

Kind of wanted an answer to my question.

"Short term," Kati said, "I'd like to arrange an interview with a reporter."

I frowned. "I don't-"

"Not those reporters," she said quickly with a hand raised. "I have someone else in mind. Someone who takes their job seriously and is interested in the truth as much as a good story. Nothing overly elaborate. Small and personal would be better. Right now, no one really knows that much about you, or why you're doing what you're doing. We need to get your version of you out before someone else's starts to take over."

Kati, apparently against her own advice, crossed her arms over her chest.

"In the long term, I'd like to sit and talk to everyone. Ms. Frankland, Forecast, StarGazer, and Mr. Medina. The Haros too. They poll exceedingly well. The six of you fundamentally will be the faces of Celestial Being, and how each of you is viewed will have impacts on the group as a whole.

I know it can sound intimidating, and it will be, but we need to develop a cohesive strategy. You can't simply bumble your way through the gauntlet of public opinion and hope for the best.

As I said yesterday, the key thing in all of this is honesty. There are things I don't need to know, like secret identities, or any technical plans for your tech. There are things I do need to know, like any scandals or vices that could see light of day."

She pressed her finger against the table.

"That's what we need to do right now. And this applies to all of you. Frankly, everyone here." Everyone? "You need to be honest with me. I can't help you manage what I don't know about."

Kati stopped talking and narrowed her gaze.

"What is it?" She asked.

Do I tell her about Veda? I mean, I plan to but should I tell her now or-

"Taylor," she said coldly. "What is it?"

Shit.

I'd need to say something eventually. Kati seemed to have a thing about honesty. Dragon's plan to reveal herself and Veda was a big part of what pushed me over the edge on the whole PR thing. The longer I kept it to myself, the worse it would get, and really if I didn't tell her now, when would I tell her?

Most of the people in my life now needed to earn their way past my paranoia before I told them about Veda. Hell, Trevor and Ramius still didn't know. Ramius mostly because I didn't want her to risk her job over it, and Trevor because he doesn't know when to shut up.

Which actually made not telling them practical.

On the other hand, not telling my PR agent would be impractical. Right?

"There is," I mumbled, "something?"

Kati frowned. "And that something is?"

I crossed my arms over my chest without thinking.

"How do you feel about machines with the ability to think for themselves?"

Kati stared at me, brow raised.

"As in?" She asked.

"As in, I maybe made a machine with a soul?"

"You're not talking about the Haros are you?" Kati asked.

I avoided looking her in the eye. Damn her and her scolding gaze. I glanced down at the floor.

"I might have promoted the idea that she's a cape named StarGazer? And she's an artificial intelligence I made by hijacking all the computers in my high school?"

"I prefer machine intelligence," Veda said from my phone. "Hello Kati. I am Veda."

Kati eyes swept down, and then came back up.

She kept staring at me, and I watched her face carefully.

Oh wait. Shit.

Well, might as well get it all out there. It was why we were here and I'd already told the most personal secret. Honestly, it kind of made the others really easy to say!

"And I might be engaged in a fake lawsuit against the PRT filed by Blue Cosmos that the PRT agreed to settle for an 'egregious sum' to protect their reputation and my identity. Someone from my old school is in on it to help me out."

To her credit, Kati kept a straight face.

"And I'm investigating the death of Sam Stansfield even though the PRT warned me not to because I think someone in Blue Cosmos orchestrated it at the behest of Teacher. Dean Stansfield is secretly helping me, and I blackmailed Toybox into giving me information on who might be behind it."

And when I say it all at once it actually sounds kind of bad…

"The Haros also keep 'finding' things and I'm not sure where they come from."

Kati sighed after a moment and turned one stack of papers over. A pen appeared from her pocket and she started jotting down little characters I couldn't read. Some kind of short hand?

"Something wrong?" I asked nervously.

"This is going to be a long meeting."