A Waken 13.7

I lingered, glaring daggers at the latest on my list of 'pains in my skull.'

"This is going to go the way I say," I warned.

Noelle's anger didn't fade, but she did smile. It put a manic look on her face. As if I needed a bigger warning sign. Her forehead might as well be blinking 'danger' in neon lights.

"Is that a yes?" she asked.

"It's a fact. This is on my terms, or I grind all of you into dust."

To my right, Ballistic stuttered. "That's not very heroic—"

"My name is Newtype for a reason."

Noelle blinked and then she coughed. "Oh! I get it—"

I pulled her off the ground and spun on Sundancer. "Sun. Now!" I fired and the girl flinched as the beam shot over her shoulder.

In an instant, a fire ignited in her hand. The dust cloud around us burned away and I threw Exia into the air. Noelle hung from my hand, making some insipid comment about how she wasn't comfortable with heights.

I really wasn't in the mood.

I did a quick check of my surroundings. Back at the fight, a Sundancer clone and someone else were moving toward the troopers as they retreated. Kyrios was covering them, Dauntless was tangling with the second clone, some kind of brute who could actually take hits. Veda was flying Queen toward me.

The clone Sundancer's sun was getting awfully big though.

"Call them off," I snapped.

Noelle looked up at me. "Would you believe me if I said they're like bullets?"

As in once fired they don't come back? Wonderful. "Lafter—"

The ground exploded and the sun started to topple. Bakuda dropped onto a nearby roof, throwing a sphere into the air. The tech burst open, blasting lasers down into the street in a giant cone that peppered the street but left no marks. I didn't really see what it did at first, not until mist began to fill the street and a thermal explosion blew the clone away. Her sun hit the ground and rapidly dissipated into its own crater.

"Nevermind."

Bakuda quickly turned on the other clone—the brute fighting Dauntless—and pulled a flare gun from her jacket. Dauntless spotted her quickly as she held the weapon out. He ducked under a wild punch from the brute and leaped into the air. Bakuda fired, and the bomb exploded.

The clone turned into a glass statue reaching toward the sky.

"Problem solved?" Noelle offered.

"Shut up."

The last time I did this I had time to fucking prepare.

Options.

Arrest Noelle and hand her over to the PRT? Nope. I'd hardly be able to get whatever information she was dangling without the PRT knowing. Then we might both find ourselves going the way of Cranial. Faking a fight and talking to her now wouldn't work either. This was going to be a long conversation, and with the way her power worked I didn't want to rush it.

The Travelers needed to escape.

I could always recapture her later.

I started killing lines. Tagg was still shouting in one and I had no interest or need to listen. I sent Bakuda a quick message to retreat before Tagg stupidly sent the PRT after her for bothering to help. That just left Dinah, Veda, and Lafter connected.

"Veda, engage Sundancer on the roof. Lafter, come to me. Dinah—"

"I've already asked. Don't let her touch you. The possibilities are worse than before."

Her voice was a little shaky. Triumph. Shit, he was her cousin and he just got his leg blown off.

I found him in the mass of PRT troopers, a medic knelt down in front of him and patching him up. Leg wounds could be bad but the hit was below the knee.

My fingers worked fast, sending a text message to Vicky and telling her to bring her sister.

"He's going to be okay, Dinah."

"Mostly," she mumbled.

And she just found out he was in league with the Cape Illuminati. Fuck. Assuming Noelle wasn't lying through her teeth, but that was a really specific lie. A very specific series of lies. To make them she'd have to basically know everything I was doing. How could she?

Shit, what would I even do with what she had to say after she said it?

A bit academic until I found a way to diffuse the disaster the bitch in my hand had ignited.

Think fast, Taylor.

"Drop me," Noelle said.

"What?"

"Magic Hat!"

Oh. Did it not work if I was holding her?

My answer came moments after loosening my hold and Magic Hat swapped her with a cinder block. Questions over how she controlled her clones could wait. I shot the cinder block with a full power beam from my pistol, incinerating it before it dropped into the city and hit someone.

Spinning back toward Market Tower, Sundancer fended Queen off with her power. She swung a stream of flame to shield herself from the Fangs. That didn't help the Magic Hat clone, who took a hit to the back and popped out of existence as Noelle rose.

I fired, peppering the ground around her. She jerked back, holding her hand out to her side. Another clone appeared—That's Bastion. I recognized the costume. Pictures of him were all over TV after he died.

How did Noelle cross paths with Bastion? The Travelers had never been to Boston.

Noelle snapped a few words and the Clone promptly projected a forcefield. She raised her other hand and produced another Magic Hat. I took note that Bastion wore his costume, while the Magic Hat clone seemed to be wearing pajamas.

Bastion's shield enveloped the Travelers, and Sundancer dropped control of her sun. The Fangs fired. Volley after volley swirled around the spherical shield, clashing and evaporating against the surface. I fired three shots and leveled the Buster sword at my target. Pushing the thrusters as hard as I could, Exia exploded forward. The blade tip struck the field, screaked, and then cracked.

The shield shattered.

Not before Magic Hat moved Ballistic, replacing him with an AC unit.

"The abandoned school where Cranial hid," I said, eyes set on Noelle. "You should know where that is."

Noelle grinned. "I do."

"You'll be there in two hours, or I'll hunt you down."

"So serious."

And I thought Orga was a bit haughty. I took aim at her, pressing my pistol forward through the shield. She vanished before I could fire, and I turned the pistol on the Bastion clone. Sundancer popped away next as the clone vanished, and Veda swung a beam saber through not-Magic Hat.

Up close, the clones seemed to dissipate like a wave of light, as if seeing a mirage peel away. The name 'Façade' was getting more and more fitting.

Queen floated toward me, dust and debris still clouding the sky around the tower. "What now?"

"We make it look good, and be ready to make it real."

I spun about, checking the surrounding buildings. An AC unit meant they didn't just pop into a street, alley, or parking garage. They went to a roof, and one with industrial—"There!"

Exia shot up and then turned down as I weaved around a skyscraper toward Medhall. Of all the places. Queen followed, and Kyrios lifted off from the Docks and started toward us.

I opened fire, showering the roof in shots. Queen powered forward, the Fangs darting out of the wings and diving toward the roof. Noelle had another clone out, and this one projected a ring of light over the ground.

My eyes widened. "That's Strider!"

Noelle waved, and a moment later the Travelers vanished.

I threw Exia's legs forward, arresting all movement as I snapped, "How does she have a copy of Strider?!"

The Travelers never fought him. As far as I knew, they'd never even been in the same city, and Strider was one of the nation's most well-known rogues. Magic Hat. Bastion. Strider. Where was she getting access to these capes?

Queen turned slowly in place. Veda noted, "Strider's power could take them anywhere."

Strider could go anywhere he'd been before and he could take people with him. Noelle described her clones as bullets but that didn't really tell me how smart they were, only that they didn't stop once she directed them.

I rose up, searching other nearby rooftops.

Orange returned to the city about then, back from his secret mission in Providence. I directed him to the factory quietly, along with Yellow. Pink took to a higher altitude and moved toward the old school Cranial had used as a hideout. It remained abandoned as far as I knew, and Shanty Town was quieter than ever without the Merchants.

If she really runs, we won't catch her.

How did she have fucking Strider…? With him, she could go anywhere, couldn't she? People would think the Travelers were one place when they were really somewhere else entirely. No one would know. They'd have no reason to even suspect it.

At least that gave me the perfect excuse for how she got away.

My fingers dialed Murrue.

"I need you," I said. "It's an emergency."

"I'm going to need time."

"Two hours."

How dangerous was this going to become for her? The thought brought Sonic back to mind, the question of how many lives I was prepared to risk. Thinking myself in circles again, over a question I thought I already answered.

Hindsight is an asshole.

I turned Exia about and flew back to the street. It was a mess. Upturned cars, ruined building fronts, and in two places it looked like a volcano spat at the ground. Stratos stood among the troopers, searching the area as the armored men swept through and helped a few civilians who'd hidden rather than run. Dauntless flew overhead, eyes set on a figure standing a few blocks down.

Bakuda was watching, but no one was jumping to fight with her.

Maybe showing up to help the Protectorate and PRT would earn her some credit.

"Who is hurt?" I asked.

Queen flew past me and landed. Veda bent forward, grabbing a fallen telephone pole and letting the man trapped beneath crawl free. Lafter landed under me, Kyrios' head sweeping back and forth.

Stratos nodded to a few troopers on their backs being tended to by others. "Where are the Travelers?"

"They teleported away," I answered. I looked the line over, hating Tagg all the more for sending the men into harm's way so senselessly. "With a Strider clone."

Stratos flinched. I paused on the line, noting Triumph's rising chest. Still alive. Good. Checking my rear field of vision, I could faintly see someone flying our way from the south. Vicky and her sister, hopefully.

"You saw the clone?" Stratos inquired.

"Yeah. Bastion too. I don't know how she could copy either of them. The Travelers have never been to Boston as far as I know, and Strider only really comes out in public during Endbringer fights."

Although, having Strider could explain any number of other capes. Teleport someplace, touch someone, and leave with no one the wiser. It was getting her hand on Strider in the first place that didn't make sense.

"Are you alright?"

I turned to Stratos, confused by the question.

The answer wasn't yes, of course.

I'd been enjoying the city the past few weeks. The relative peace, lack of gang tags, and little to no destruction of property felt like an achievement. In comparison, the street around me felt out of place. Something that belonged in the city's past.

The ground was uneven, covered in constructed pillars and raised platforms produced by Agnes Court's power. The scorch marks from Sundancer's power felt far too familiar to the damage Lung did when he went on rampages. Exia's HUD kept me reminded of multiple holes in the armor, something that only Skidmark had ever managed before.

What a shitty day. It wasn't even over yet.

"I don't really know what Tagg is saying," Stratos whispered. "Com is out, you know. If I did, I'd think he's pissed and is telling me to bring you in."

Bring me in? It was far too soon for that to be a real possibility. Noelle and her damn mess. "Would I need my Miranda rights?"

"That's not what he'd be telling me, but I'd be suspicious of coming along when you technically don't have to."

Not under arrest then. Tagg's crying like a spoiled child.

"Good thing your com is out then."

"Good thing."

"I'm going to go look for the Travelers. They might have ported back to their hideout to grab their luggage."

"You will be required to give a statement after this. Not even Ramius can stop that."

"Then I'll give it to Ramius. I'm not talking to Tagg right now."

"Probably a good idea." He snickered. "Wish I could do it."

I was right to trust him back then, when I wasn't in a state to protect Labyrinth and someone needed to do it. It's a pleasant reminder in the backdrop of all the Blackwell feelings I was now getting from Tagg. Fuck, Kati was going to lecture me.

I probably could have been more tactful.

Tagg still deserved it, though.

Stupid is stupid.

I flew quickly back to the abandoned condo building. Reentering the hole Kyrios made in the wall, everything seemed left in place. If the Travelers were smart, they wouldn't come back. That said, there might be some useful evidence left behind.

I knelt Exia and stepped out into the room.

"Cover me," I said to Queen.

Veda flew the suit in closer, watching the room while I went toward the television and the game console.

"Are we going to build an entire rumpus room out of bad guy's stuff?" Lafter asked. "'Cause I'm not opposed."

"Sure." I leaned in toward the device, my eyes following an Ethernet cable connecting the device to a wireless router. "Why not?"

I unplugged the machine and tucked the Playstation under my arm. Final Fantasy XIV was an online game. Someone needed an account to play it. An account can be tracked, if you have the time and the know-how to do so. Plus a willingness to bend the legalities about personal credit card information in the name of saving lives.

Let's see where the Travelers have traveled.

She picked the rules. Noelle couldn't go after capes in their private lives and bitch to me about doing the same. Besides, I wasn't going to eat out of her hand without doing plenty of homework.

I handed the machine off to Veda. Queen took it in one hand while I moved over to the bedroom and started going through suitcases. Phones were too much to ask for. I did find some decent-looking fake IDs for a Marissa Newland. Sundancer, from the picture of a grimly smiling blonde on the driver's license. Decent fake, probably expensive.

The lack of any other ID didn't surprise me, but the third suitcase perplexed me. It definitely belonged to a girl. No crossdresser would need tampons. Yet, I only saw three of the Travelers. The others were all clones. Did that mean Genesis was a real person?

Where was she?

"Let's go."

"The PRT is attempting to contact our public line," Veda noted.

"Let it ring. I'm not in the mood." I really wasn't.

Pink made it to the school by the time we got back to the factory.

No Travelers. If Noelle cut and ran… Fuck, what could I do if she cut and ran? With Strider's power she could be anywhere between Brockton Bay and the lost city of Atlantis. Even if I managed to find them, they could just port off and away to fucking Xanadu.

"Start replacing the armor."

I stepped out of Exia and did a quick look over Kyrios and Queen. Queen was dented but undamaged, which didn't surprise me. The Griffon did a fair amount of surface damage to Kyrios. The thing took off a pauldron and mangled one of the legs. Nothing we couldn't fix quick, but it seemed like a lot of damage for claws.

"It didn't seem that strong," I mumbled.

"Strong isn't the word I'd use," Lafter explained. "It was like fighting air. Bird-Cat didn't seem to really be there half the time."

It didn't vanish like Noelle's clones either.

Looking close at the E-Carbon, I wondered. So, Genesis was real and her projections were different from Noelle's. The damage definitely looked in excess of a simple physical form.

Lafter stepped up beside me and sighed. "What now?"

"Are you still with us Dinah?"

"One moment," she replied.

"We have been running two questions," Veda explained. "Dinah may have enough stamina for two more."

Which meant we'd probably start eating into tomorrow's questions too. Noelle raised far too many. One seemed obviously more important than the rest.

"If she touches me?" I took the Playstation from Queen while I asked. "Same result?"

"Yes. Dinah and I are still trying to pin down where, but the fire and smoke is intense enough to obscure the location. I have a partial street address, or perhaps a business sign."

"That's a lot of possibilities." I went over to my computers, set the Playstation down, and then found my way to the shelves of spare parts. We had Ethernet cables somewhere. "What's the other question?"

"Strider. Bastion. Cape I don't know." Dinah kept reading off names and 'I don't knows' of which capes she'd seen in Noelle's employ. Now that we knew specifically to ask about her power to copy capes, we could finally get information that made sense. "Myrddin. Parian." Of course. "I don't recognize that. Or that one. I think that's Chevalier in an old costume."

At least those names made sense. The Travelers had been to Chicago last year, and Chavalier changed his costume two years ago when he became a Protectorate team leader in Philadelphia.

Wait.

Noelle had a clone in his old costume? That pushed back the Traveler's history hard. When would they have encountered him before he changed attire?

I plugged the Playstation in and broke into the system in a matter of minutes. It wasn't exactly hard. From there I found the saved payment information and copied the machine's MAC address. I passed both to Veda. She could start searching and get results much quicker than me.

The door to the workshop swung open and Kati set her eyes on me. "Did you call a PRT Director stupid and then incite members of the Protectorate to disobey him?"

I stared at her. "He was wrong and I was right."

Kati frowned. "That's not the point, Taylor."

I kept staring. "Shouldn't it be?"

Kati sighed and turned back to the door. "I'll tell Charlotte to start running damage control on PHO. You're going to have to talk to reporters if the PRT makes a fuss out of this."

Wait—"How did you know?"

"Because the PRT is testing the water to see if they can make a fuss out of this." It's been twenty minutes... "One of the reporters we've been playing nice with rewarded us with a warning."

I didn't have time for that at the moment. Which sucked.

Pink settled down on the roof of the school, watching the interior with sonic cameras while we waited.

I asked Dinah about fallout from the PRT. Lots of news headlines, and a few possibilities of me in a room talking with Renick. We could manage that for the moment and I didn't want to burn our last question for the day on anything but Noelle. First a Haro shortage that left me without enough eyes in the sky, and now a question shortage.

What a rotten day this was turning out to be.

I was putting the finishing touches on Navy's new ball when Murrue arrived. Lafter went upstairs to meet her and then brought her down into the workshop. Veda took the liberty of disabling her phone, just in case.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Façade knows about the Cape Illuminati," I murmured. "Or she claims to. Says that she gets the memories of a cape when she touches them."

Murrue's lips pulled into a line. "She touched Triumph."

"He's one of them, according to her. She also mentioned Teacher." I turned the ball on and Veda loaded Navy's backup. "How mad is Tagg?"

Murrue sighed. "He told Renick to handle things as soon as you left Stratos. I'm not sure what he's doing, and at this point I'd guess no one is eager to tell me."

"Are you in trouble?"

"Don't worry about me. You? Your headaches?"

A mild throbbing in the base of my skull. "It's fine. This is too important." I took a deep breath and found my way to my chair. "Façade called them Cauldron. She also said that Cauldron was afraid of me, because they think I talked to my agent."

Murrue moved toward me, leaning against one of the tables. She was worried, naturally. I hated worrying her.

"I recognize Cauldron. The rumors were doing the rounds among Troopers even before the story became an urban legend on PHO."

Lafter pulled herself up and sat cross-legged on the table beside her. "That's the group Faultline thinks are connected to the monster capes, right?"

"Yeah," Dinah answered. "And remember back when we were fighting Cranial? I saw Ro—Triumph, kill her."

"And he got pulled out," I noted. We had already suspected Triumph, given circumstances. Now we knew. "Then Eidolon came to the city and finished the job."

"Agent." Murrue grimaced at the word. "You think she means…"

I nodded. "Powers. The way she phrased it is interesting too. She said Cauldron thinks I talked to mine, like Cranial did."

"The information is too specific to make it up."

"Yet, it's so convenient. I don't know how much I trust her." I inhaled and leaned my head back. "She also claimed that Hero tricked Miss Militia into spying on me." Murrue flinched at that. Shit. "What is it?"

Murrue hesitated for a moment. Conflicted between me and the PRT again?

"She asked me a while back to send her updates about you," she explained. "Said she felt responsible for how things turned out and wanted to be involved in any way she could. We also just had you get a medical scan this morning. That will be a matter of record in the PRT."

So, anyone could know it happened. Wonderful timing.

"Taylor." Murrue looked at me. "What if she is telling the truth?"

"That's why I let her go. I didn't know she could copy Strider. For all I know, she's long gone."

"I mean what if she's right and talking to your power has side-effects?"

"Side… My headaches?"

She nodded.

"But that doesn't make sense," I pointed out. "The headaches only started after Othala."

"Maybe the attack accelerated things, or maybe Panacea's healing did it," Murrue offered. "What if that happens to you?"

The thought of becoming a gibbering loon was not appealing. That I might start doing mad experiments on kids was worse. Especially since I didn't feel crazy.

I already enjoyed a heavy freakout from my one trip over there. I often tried not thinking about Administrator; just the idea that some alien was giving me my powers and was constantly in my head watching me was unsettling.

"Pyrotechnical," Veda proposed. "If you are experiencing the same thing Cranial did, she may be able to confirm it."

"She would have had headaches too," I mumbled. "I doubt Pyrotechnical is eager to talk to me."

"I will relay the request through Dodge. He and I still play games hosted by Narwhal and Dragon together. We are on amicable terms."

Fuck.

I nodded and breathed. More shit for my crap sandwich. Truly, what a wonderful day!

"If it is a problem," Murrue suggested, "this Cauldron might be the only group that could help."

Lafter grimaced. "The last person who needed their help got blown apart. And that's just the one we know about."

Murrue frowned but walked over that possibility. "Taylor, the Gundams. The Haros. Veda. If you started to lose it, how much damage could you do?"

My turn to grimace. "A lot."

"I'm only saying that you shouldn't close yourself off from options. I don't trust them either, but if the worst happens, Taylor…"

"Circumstances change."

I understood what she meant.

If that ended up being the road I found myself on, it made Noelle's information even more important. We'd need preparations for the possibility I completely lost my mind. Some were already in place thanks to our master and stranger precautions. I just needed to add 'Taylor is losing her mind' to the list of things Veda needed to watch for.

I liked my mind. It's not like I had a body to take pride in. The thought of losing my thoughts felt far too much like returning to a prior state, to becoming that person again. The one who went through her days confused and afraid all the time. The one who wasn't really alive anymore.

"I'm sorry," Murrue whispered.

"It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either."

Right. Well, worrying about going crazy wouldn't keep me sane. Better to focus on things I could act on, for now.

"Veda, can you tell Faultline we have a lead for me?"

"Yes."

"I told Façade to be at the school Cranial used as a hideout. Two hours or I'd hunt her down. Not that I'm confident I can hunt her down now."

"She'll show up," Murrue said.

"She wants information," Dinah agreed.

Murrue nodded. "Think about it. The way she kept coming by the factory. Then the way she started looking to others. She's looking for something too, like we are."

"Let's hope."

"Is Parian okay?" Lafter asked.

Murre nodded. "I put her in an isolation cell. Now that we know Façade's power is to copy capes she touches, it seems unlikely there's a master component involved. The screening will probably be done in a few hours and she'll be free to leave. The fact she came in willingly will reflect well."

"And Orga?" I inquired. The last thing I needed was to spring him from jail.

"He left as soon as Green handed Parian over to me."

They were okay then. Good. If there was a good thing to come out of all this, we now knew Façade's power. No need to worry about her mastering the city while no one was looking.

"Nothing to do now but wait."

"I'll stay," Murrue offered. "If anyone asks, I'm lecturing you about calling a PRT director stupid and undermining his authority. Which you shouldn't have done, but I think you're responsible enough to know you could have been more tactful with your objections."

"But he is stupid."

"I said 'more tactful.'" Murrue crossed her arms over her chest. "Taylor, there is going to be a price. Tagg isn't known to forgive and forget. Beyond him, you don't want the reputation of someone who makes things difficult. It's not a good place to be and you've always danced on that edge."

"Yeah."

I was starting to wonder. If the PRT wanted to place the local department under stewardship while deciding its fate, why not under Armstrong? Armstrong and I got along. Weld was the Wards leader. The Brockton Bay Protectorate and Wards both had stronger ties to Boston than New York.

So why Tagg?

"Triumph is okay," Dinah stated.

"Yes," Murrue answered. "Panacea got to him. He'll be alright."

"Thanks."

"What if she works for them?" Lafter proposed. "You know. The Illuminati."

"Maybe she does." I thought back, remembering every line of her face when she said his name. "She hates Teacher."

If she worked with Cauldron, what was the point of coming at me like this. No. Why go after Triumph at all? Noelle would have no need. No, she definitely wasn't working with Cauldron.

But that didn't mean I could trust her.

"Veda, can you comb through Parian's social media really quick? I want to see if she ever mentioned talking to me on the night of Canary's concert. The Playstation?"

"I am accessing Sony-Anaheim's servers," she relayed. "They have rather robust security, but I should be through in a moment. I can provide a list of locations for the credit card that was used."

I turned to the monitors and looked over the addresses. Nothing that surprised me… Except the name.

I frowned. "Does that say Krouse Francis?"

"Yes," Veda acknowledged. "I also found that curious."

"That's Coil's name in reverse," Murrue pointed out.

"Which one?" Lafter asked.

"The first one," Dinah answered. "The one you beat up."

"Good times. Why would the Travelers have a credit card with his name in reverse?"

"I don't know," I said.

It made me wary.

If all she wanted was to sow bad blood between the PRT and me, she achieved it. She also revealed my interest in the information she offered. That would be enough for Teacher to know—or at least suspect—I was coming after him.

My hands tightened against my thighs. This was the kind of plot Teacher might concoct though, yet…that face didn't seem fake. I almost felt her rage.

The damn septic tank was just pissing on me today.

With Strider's power, she could teleport away and never come back.

The list of places the card had been used didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Milwaukee predated the Traveler's first appearance in Chicago. That would be where Noelle got her hands on Myrddin. Then to Detroit, Cleveland, Charlottesville, Nashville, so on and so on. The card was used in every city the Travelers went to and various stops in between since before their public debut.

I sighed.

Still too many maybes, but using a credit card with Coil's damn name on it?

"This might be a trap," Veda proposed. "A scheme by Teacher to see how much we know."

It's a good one. "What would be the endgame?"

"Find out what we know?" Lafter suggested.

"If he's willing to commit resources like this, he already thinks we know."

"To drive a divide between you and the PRT?" Murrue hypothesized.

"Why not just take me out?"

"Too obvious, and wouldn't fit his normal methods. He wants the PRT to look bad. Engineering conflict between the PRT and a popular up and coming team like Celestial Being would do that."

"His access to the PRT's decision-making process is sufficient that he could even engineer Tagg's stewardship role," Veda noted. "These events could all be connected."

But that face.

I knew hate. I knew hate very, very well. Her hate wasn't fake. It was genuine. So what was the connection? Did she want to break free? That might explain how slapdash her entire plan became. Porting me from the street to the roof was so obvious, a terrible way to reach out.

But why was she looking for info on Cauldron? She seemed awfully satisfied after touching Triumph.

All the little things, many of which looked very suspicious. Yet, all together I just didn't see it. Quietly, I wondered if maybe Noelle was just what she was presenting herself as. Someone else who'd caught on, who wanted the madness to stop.

A natural ally, one I didn't need to convince of the severity of things because she already knew.

"Taylor."

Veda's voice drew my eye to another monitor.

"It's them," I noted.

Five of them, to be specific. They'd teleported into the gymnasium. Noelle, Sundancer, Ballistic, the Strider clone, and a girl in a wheelchair.

"Pink, go."

I set other things aside and watched Pink leave her cradle on the roof. Green was flying overhead now, watching the area from above. No sign of anyone around the old school building.

"Didn't we just insult a guy for sending people into a trap?" Lafter asked.

"Yes. But we're being smart about it." This trap was also much better set.

I did my best to settle and silence the nervousness I felt. Despite my confidence, Lafter might be right. It was possible all of this was a very elaborate ruse. Teacher had certainly managed such things. There might be another angle under it all too. One I didn't see.

Pink moved quickly, for a Haro. Down the utility stairs from the roof, across an old hallway, and down another flight of stairs.

She kept the Travelers in range of the sonic cameras the entire time and I noted something unusual.

"Is that a briefcase?" I pointed at the screens. "There, on the wheelchair."

Murrue and Lafter leaned in, but it was Veda that said, "Yes."

They left their clothes, game console, and toiletries behind, but they kept a briefcase with them?

Pink reached the cafeteria door and simply bowled through. The Travelers turned to face her, and Veda switched the feed to the regular cameras.

"Keep an eye out," I said. A few quick taps at my keyboard and the line to Pink opened.

I took a brief moment to look at their faces and something else stood out to me.

Ballistic looked hurt. He favored his right side, and Sundancer was leaning into him. I couldn't see any of Sundancer's face, but Ballistic's mouth and cheeks were exposed by his mask. He didn't look happy, and neither were looking at Façade or Pink.

The girl in the wheelchair, Genesis, didn't wear a costume. If she projected things, I supposed it made sense. An excellent cover. She could sit in one place in her chair while her projection rampaged and no one would be the wiser.

I opened the line for Pink to convey my voice.

"Talk."

"Talk?" Noelle cocked her head to the side. "No pleasantries?"

"No," I answered. I raised my brow. I didn't intend that comment to get me much, but the way the other Travelers all looked at Façade and just glared at her… They were angry. "You said you had information. Either you're going to give it to me, or this is a waste of time."

"We could do it in person."

"You have enough powers."

"How can I be sure you're not under someone else's sway?"

"You're already sure, or you wouldn't have risked saying anything to me. Could have just popped out Strider and popped away while I was tracing lines of sight."

I sighed and pinched at the bridge of my nose. Murrue's hand came down on my shoulder. I appreciated the gesture.

As soon as the pain passed—I hoped Noelle took it for a dramatic pause—I said, "You say you get the memories of anyone you use your powers on. What did Parian say to me the night of Canary's concert?"

She whispered it in my ear, and I never said anything to anyone. Veda's check confirmed she never posted anything online about it. It's a detail only the two of us could know.

On the screen, Noelle smiled. "She said you were real. She believes it too, completely convinced nothing you do is for your own aggrandizement."

So she did get knowledge from those she used her power on. Wonderful.

"This isn't conducive to working together, Taylor."

I scoffed. "Nothing you've done is conducive to working together, Façade. You want me to believe a word you say? You're going to have to do better than proving your power works the way you say it does." Noelle maintained a passive gaze as I spoke. "For all I know, you're spinning a tall tale for some unknown end."

She stood and watched Pink while I watched her through the screen. She looked troubled. Did she not know what to say? Assuming she was telling the truth, all of this was rather spontaneous. She might not know where to start.

Well, I could give her an idea.

"Cauldron," I suggested. "What is Cauldron."

Noelle raised her brow. She hesitated, and Genesis turned an angry look her way and mouthed something. I couldn't make it out. In response, Noelle flinched and looked away from her teammate.

There's definitely something going on there.

"Cauldron," Noelle began, "are the ones running the PRT and the Protectorate. You already know that. I might not have been able to see your face, but the idea that Hero would conspire against you wasn't a shock."

I pondered, thinking of the best way to measure my words that would give me somewhere to fall back to in case of a trap.

"I know there's corruption at the top," I answered. "The way the PRT and Protectorate responded to Cranial and her test subjects, especially after the kids grabbed Labyrinth and Vista. The way Hero approached me afterward. It wasn't right. Was it Cauldron pulling the strings there?"

"The Triumvirate is Cauldron," Noelle stated bluntly. "They've been Cauldron for a long time. They worked with some doctor. A few others. They produced powers in bottles, sold or provided them to others. They made heroes and villains. All part of this twisted idea that the world needed to be kept in a state of equilibrium or be destroyed."

"The old powers from bottles rumor," I mumbled. "I'm familiar with it."

"It's not a rumor."

Noelle turned to Genesis and held out one hand. The girl was hesitant, but Noelle shook her hand at the air and hissed a name. "Jess." Being rather nonchalant with the names.

After that, Genesis reached under her chair and pulled out the briefcase. Noelle took a few steps toward Pink, set the case down, and popped it open.

She lifted a cylinder from inside.

I focused on it. "Pink."

She rolled forward, coming up to the cylinder and stopping. It was about the size of a thermos, and as Noelle screwed the top off, she pulled an empty vial from inside. She held it out to Pink, and the robot took it.

There was a label on the side.

"Division?"

"That's how I got my power. I didn't trigger. I never had that 'worst moment of my life' in the way you did." I took note of those words. The way I did. "I drank the contents of that, and now I can do this."

She held her hand out, and Triumph appeared on the screen. He quickly fell down, right leg missing below the knee. Interesting.

"That was less dramatic than I'd hoped."

"Your clones are exact copies of the state someone is in when you touch them?" Good to know.

"And they know everything the original knows, including the bits I don't see. Triumph. Who are the members of Cauldron?"

The clone turned his head and in a dull, monotone voice, started listing names.

"Hero. Alexandria. Legend. Eidolon. Arbiter. Accord. Rime. Damocles."

The names went on, forming a rather unflattering list of many of the Protectorate's most famous members. A few villains too. Fucking Accord? Breach was a rogue.

"There are others who know. Eidolon tells her husband things." Rebound. "He knows better than to talk about it. Some have left over the years. Alexandria and Hero constantly talk about one. They call her Contessa, or Fortuna. They want to find her. There was another. A woman called Doctor Mother. She was the researcher who knew the most about powers. She made the vials. There aren't many left."

I inhaled and glanced up at Murrue. Her face was grim, betrayed. I couldn't blame her. Murrue did her job because she wanted to help people. All the while, the 'greatest heroes on Earth' were running a cabal.

If they were behind powers in bottles, it made sense.

The notion that they would create heroes and villains to maintain some semblance of a power balance fit perfectly with how the PRT operated. A more cynical take, but not completely alien. I found it easy enough to believe. It would explain how some things just never seemed to change.

"Pink, get a look at the interior of the case."

She started to move, setting the cylinder and vial aside. Noelle slammed the case shut and pulled it away.

"No."

I raised my brow. "No?"

"If this is going to work, Taylor, then you're going to have to share too. Q and A. You and us." I noticed Genesis and Ballistic grimace at the word 'us.' "You asked a question and I gave you a very long answer. My turn."

Would they? It seemed like the other Travelers were less than happy with their apparent leader. How much could they tell me that Façade couldn't?

"Taylor," Murrue whispered. "If this is a trap, it's perfect."

I knew. "Shoot."

"Cauldron. Teacher. What makes you care?"

A possibility occurred to me. Teacher had an opponent, and his opponent should know more than Cauldron seemed to know. Was Noelle working with them. Was all of this just a probe to find out where I stood?

"That's really the question you want to ask?"

"I'm curious what your answer is."

Well, at least it wasn't hard. "Because people aren't pieces on a board, to be maneuvered and sacrificed in some grand game."

Noelle cocked one eyebrow above the other. "Is it gonna cost me a question to get some clarification on that?"

No. It wouldn't. That question was all about how I responded to it, and I could do that too.

"How much do you know about the death of Cranial?"

"Enlighten me."

"Cranial was afraid of something," I explained. "She rambled on and on about it. Everything she did, all those children she took and experimented on? She was trying to stop something from happening."

"The network collapse. Triumph knows about that."

An olive branch?

"She surrendered at the end. Did Triumph know that?" She shook her head no. "She gave up. Dragon talked her down and convinced her to stop. That's when Eidolon killed her. Blew her apart before she could say anything."

"You take exception."

"I do. She was going to say something to Dragon. Warn her."

"They killed her to keep it quiet," Noelle said. "To hide the truth about where powers come from… Did you really go there?"

"No." What goes around comes around. I laid my bait, a question she'd want the answer to and now needed to answer my question to get it. "My turn."

Noelle frowned. "Teacher then. You don't like Cauldron because of what they did to Cranial, right? Her kids too. That whole affair with Vista and Labyrinth. Unwritten rules seem to be a big deal for you. What did Teacher do to piss you off?"

That was…fair.

"The big leak of cape identities. The death of Sam Stansfield. Everything he's ever done. He throws lives into the flames just to score points in some sick PR game."

A smile crept over Noelle's face. She liked that answer.

"It's not about PR to him," she said. "It's about changing the world."

I sat forward. "You know him."

"We know him."

Francis Krouse. Coil. What's the connection? "I saw your face. You hate him."

I saw it again. The way her lips and brow twisted. The seething rage. Her hands tightened at her side.

"I might need two or three questions to keep things fair."

Curiouser and curiouser. "We'll see."

"You've seen the vial. How do you think it was made?"

"Tell me." I didn't have time to speculate.

She opened the briefcase again and spun it around to face Pink. She leaned forward to look inside.

Four more cylinders, fitted into pockets. Next to them, a stack of notebooks and papers. I leaned forward, squinting at some of the numbers and words on the ones I could see.

"I've never been able to make sense of these," she said. "I know they're related to the vials and to what Cauldron called 'the second entity,' but it might as well be ancient Egyptian."

My mind raced. Second entity, as in a second Scion. As in there were two?

Lalah called them parasites, said they wanted to destroy the world for their own gain. Now there were two of them. Where the fuck was the second?

"It's dead," Noelle noted. "Died a long time ago, before the fight with Scion." Oh. "Its body became the source for the vials and these notes are how they did it, I think."

And there was my stomach turning 'ick' for the day.

They made the vials out of body parts? Or did they. I thought back to the shape and look of things Over There. Massive platforms in a dark void. I got the sense the platforms were the real 'bodies' of the powers I saw. The shapes and forms were avatars, projections.

I refocused my attention on the notes.

Is that it, the unseen angle someone might be playing at? Not a trap to capture or expose me, but a desire to understand the contents of the notes? My power made me smarter. I didn't openly advertise that fact, but it was known. Someone could plot to make use of that. Use Noelle to get on my good side.

I could only see the top page, but the equations and formulas. The words. They were about the vials. Formulas. Something about 'Eden.' A metaphor?

"When we found this, there was something else. The first person I used my power on. It was a boy, but he didn't look like a boy anymore. A woman, the one we got this case from, had experimented on him. Tested the formulas. It mutated him. Twisted his body and mind." Her face shifted from anger to sorrow. "He was a monster after she was done with him."

A mons…ter…

"The Case-53s," I whispered. Noelle nodded.

"Oh shit," Lafter murmured softly.

Murrue was standing behind me, fists tight at her side. I stared in shock beside her fury.

Faultline was right.

She was completely right and she'd been running on hunches and educated guesses! Cauldron—the Cape Illuminati—were selling powers. And they were testing them on people. The Case-53s weren't triggers gone wrong, they were test subjects.

Why release them into the world? Why did they all have amnesia? The questions piled up.

This is going to take a while.

I focused. "And Teacher..." I asked about Teacher and Noelle went into this. "He was one of them, wasn't he? He knows Cauldron."

"Yes." She trailed off and took a deep breath. "We tried to help. To find out who was behind Cauldron. Who was running the experiments. Stop them." She glanced back at her team. "Teacher approached us a few months in. Said he was also trying to stop Cauldron."

"That's how you know Coil."

She flinched, the hate coming back over her face.

"Yes," she hissed. "Except, we didn't know he was Teacher. We knew him as David."