A Waken 15.10

The days started passing in a blur and my head was pounding.

I don't think I was depressed. More like I was processing, and it was taking a lot of my attention. Unfortunately, every day seemed to bring something new to process. Everyone wanted a piece of my time and I didn't want to give any.

Especially not when they spent it shouting over one another.

"I can't hear any of you!" Orga snapped. "There's no more explosions going on and no one's shooting lasers! One at a time so we can actually answer!"

The band of seven quieted at that and the two who'd risen from their seats sat back down. The room went quiet as they watched me, Orga, Green, and Dad. The conference room overlooked the factory floor, where Stu and Kurt had gotten everyone back to work to finish the orders we'd gotten from the Boston-based hospitals and Yashima.

It really was quiet, which felt wrong on some level.

"What happened?" The old woman who ran the corner grocery wanted to look sympathetic I think. She was so wrinkled she mostly looked grumpy despite the warmth in her voice, the honest curiosity. "Why were you fighting other heroes?"

Before I could even answer, someone else jumped in.

"What happened to Dragon?"

Orga grimaced but that didn't stop the next guy.

"Is StarGazer really a machine?"

The seven of them claimed to represent local business owners in the blocks around my factory. I wasn't sure that was true. No one had sent me any notice or anything and they explicitly didn't represent the Brockton Bay Business Owners Association.

"Are there going to be more fights?" someone asked.

"Who's going to pay for my store?!" another cried. "The entire front end is gone! I'll be closed for weeks! I can't afford it!"

"You said we'd be safe doing business here!" yet another accused.

What did they think was going to happen?

Honestly, did any of them think at all?

It sounded heartless but what did they really expect? I was a cape, a public one. My workshop was a fortress but I couldn't fortify the entire damn city. It simply wasn't possible, not at this stage.

Someone was going to come and pick a fight eventually. I'd banked on Bakuda and Orga stepping up when that time came and they both delivered beyond my expectations. Everything went more or less how I expected it to in abstract.

Looking back, I supposed my peace was no more true than the Protectorate's.

It was better, maybe. The gangs didn't run the streets anymore. On any normal day people could live their lives without fear.

They still weren't safe. Not yet. I'd been naive. Again.

And now, what was I supposed to say? Chastise them for being naive themselves? Say how it wasn't my fault? That I did my best? I didn't know how to answer this. I'd never thought of how I would.

I assumed they'd understand.

Beside me, Orga sat with an obstinate expression on his face. He was furious at this, but he didn't say anything either. He ignored the questions and accusations.

"The heroes went after her because she protects criminals!" An older man on the right pointed at me. "It'll happen again! And we'll have to pay for it!"

Four of the seven looked back at him disdainfully. That was nice. No one said anything thoug—

"Weren't you paying protection to the Empire?"

Strange. Unlike Orga, the voice didn't shout. Somehow it simply carried through the room despite its even tone.

Beside me, Dad leaned forward, glaring at the man with a furious expression not present in his words. "You paid them and directly benefited from it. Save the hypocrisy."

The rest of the room—myself included—seemed stunned into silence, looking between the man and Dad.

For his part, the man flustered. "I had no choice in that! And I gained nothing! Those Nazis practically ran me bone dry!"

"But they kept out all competitors," Dad shot back. "You were the only locksmith in your area and they scared off anyone else who tried to service it, especially if they weren't the right color. You may not have liked it but you paid like everyone else and these two aren't running a racket, neither have they ever asked you to break a lock for them."

The man flinched. "I never—"

"I believe I can call up all nine dates a robbery occurred in the north-eastern end of the city where a locked door was penetrated with no apparent damage."

I flinched, turning my attention to Green.

Veda continued before I could stop her, saying, "I'm sure it wasn't your desire. The Empire would simply take what you would not provide. You did what you had to do. All the same, you are not guiltless."

"This entire city was run by gangs," Dad added. "They ran pretty much everything, even those of us in the Dockworkers. Just because I kept the gangs off the payroll doesn't mean they never got past me. We've all messed up. None of us are in a position to judge anyone for how they survived in this city, or the person who got the gangs out of our lives."

Dad scowled.

"Sit down and shut up if you have nothing useful to ask."

The guy in the back sat down.

That just happened...

Dad took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and smoothed over his features. "Please. One at a time or we'll be here all night. You wanted to ask these questions and demanded Taylor and Orga come answer them. Or did you merely seek to badger them both?"

The fuck?

I checked my other side, and found Orga slouching in his seat with wide eyes. Yeah. I was shocked too.

The room actually fell mostly silent. They looked at Dad fearfully. They watched Orga and I with mixes of anger and hope. At Green, they showed uncertainty and confusion.

"We're sorry," the old grocery lady offered. "We didn't come here to badger you."

I frowned, still completely unsure what the right thing to say is. "I know it was a very bad day, but I don't know what you want me to say. I'm sorry people got hurt and that your businesses have been disrupted."

I took a deep breath and shook my head. There really just wasn't any other way to say it but to say it.

I started to speak, but Dad spoke up. "You can't be this shocked. She's a cape and she's doing business where everyone can see her. You had to realize the risks when you paid your first insurance bills."

My eyes fluttered, because I just couldn't believe this was Dad. He'd never been that assertive before. Well, except when my back was turned or he was trying to make me do something. He hadn't done the latter in a long time, admittedly, but that was beside the point.

"I can understand you're upset," Dad continued, "but is this really where your anger belongs? The Dragonslayers went after Dragon and they framed Celestial Being hoping that everyone would turn against them. You're giving them what they wanted from the start."

At the mention of the Dragonslayers, some of our audience flinched.

They must have seen the videos, or at least heard of them. They knew I'd killed Saint. I still didn't regret it—leaving him to the Nine was far worse—but I didn't like everyone thinking I did it for revenge. Revenge was the furthest thing from my mind when I pulled that trigger.

The group seemed chastised, at least.

That wasn't what I remotely wanted to do.

I wanted them to understand that this was going to happen again. I couldn't stop it. The war was coming and nobody was going to be safe. I would try to stop the worst and I would save as many as I could but I couldn't save everyone, I wasn't god.

They do not understand.

Maybe they never would, or maybe the right path hadn't been found just yet.

00.

"If you don't feel safe," Orga interjected, "Tekkadan won't hold anything over any of you. If you think you'd be better off somewhere else then—"

I stopped him by raising my hand and sighing.

What could I fucking say?

"I don't know what you want me to say," I admitted. "I'm sorry this happened. I started this because I wanted to save the city and make it better." I thought I had, and that people recognized that fact. "We're not done yet."

"There's still a long way to go," Veda agreed.

I think Veda and Dad unnerved them enough that their anger faded away in the confusion. They didn't know how to address either of them. That, or they'd expected to bully Orga and me around.

I don't think he knew how to respond any better than I did. While I wallowed in uncertain silence, he seemed to want to rip someone's head off. Maybe if he actually did it everyone would lay off me already.

The group only asked a few more questions, ones that were far more basic and straightforward than the impossible things they wanted to ask before. They gave up so easily, maybe shouting was all they really wanted to do.

I kept my face straight until they all left.

Once they did, a frustrated snarl passed my lips. I just needed to say it aloud for myself. "We never promised nothing bad would happen."

"No," Orga agreed, visibly frustrated. "But we never really admitted anything could happen either."

True.

"They're afraid," Veda observed.

"That's no reason to take it out on the two of you," Dad insisted.

Orga grimaced and leaned into his seat. "I'll get Mika to step up some of the walkthroughs. Put some more boots where people can see them."

"No," I disagreed. "That won't actually make anyone safer, and it'll just remind them that something happened." Thinking back to the questions actually asked after the accusations stopped hurling our way, "All they really wanted to know was if things were going to go back to normal now."

"It won't stay that way," Orga pointed out.

"It won't," I acknowledged.

Were they going to blame that on us too? It's not like we wanted this to happen. We're not the ones who broke the world. How could anything change if all anyone did was grumble about their grievances?

It was too much. "It's too much for one person with only one life to live."

Dad and Green both turned to me and I grimaced.

Shit.

"We have to do something," Orga warned. He was the only one apparently not phased by what I said. "Unless you're okay with everything falling apart now."

"Of course not," I replied. There was still a long way to go, but we'd come too far. "Upgrade all the cameras and alarm systems. I'll pay for it. The stuff you guys used before was what you could afford anyway."

"Charitable," Orga noted.

"If it lets everyone feel safer and see that we care"—I shrugged—"I don't care about the money." I raised a brow and looked at him. "You're oddly good at this."

He raised a brow. "How so?"

"I don't know. I guess I expected you to lay down the law or something."

He grunted and shrugged. "It's not that different from gang politics, honestly. Getting overly invested in any particular conversation is more trouble than it's worth."

"Is it?" Veda asked.

"Some people can't be satisfied by anything you tell them," Orga explained. "In the heat of the moment, everyone only cares about themselves. It's a problem when dealing with capes."

I sat up slightly. "In what way?"

"In the way that you have a habit of acting first and thinking later." He grinned, closing one eye and chuckling. "The villainous types can be rather murderous when it suits them."

"Are you two okay?" Dad asked. I turned my attention to him and found his face drawn. "I know that wasn't what you wanted to deal with after...everything."

The worst part was that 'everything' was honestly the best way to put it.

So much happened in a mere forty minutes. Everything was upended, and at this point everyone more or less knew about it. The world didn't seem to know how to handle it any more than I did. It wasn't much consolation. Most people resort to anger and outrage when they don't know how to understand something, like those who'd left the room a few minutes ago.

It was easier than trying to cope.

In the heat of the moment, Orga said. Yeah. He was right, much as I didn't like it.

Taking a good long breath to calm my nerves, I started to check the time.

Veda saved me the trouble of looking at my phone, saying, "Five minutes."

"Another appointment?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. An important one." I pushed the chair back and stood up. Orga followed suit. "It won't be like this one... Thanks for sitting in."

"You're doing better than you think, kiddo." Dad offered an unsure smile. "These kinds of things? There's no right way to handle them really."

Just wrong ways?

I hoped not. I still had no idea how to tell him about seeing a reflection of Mom inside my power. I wasn't sure if I should tell him at all, but not saying anything felt like a betrayal. Maybe there just wasn't a right way to say it.

I started toward the door, Orga and Green following me.

"Taylor," Dad called. "Orga. I mean it. You're both still new at this maybe but sometimes there's just nothing you can do right. This is one of them."

Orga got this weird look, like he was remembering something.

I was more shocked that Dad had this kind of… I didn't really know what to call it. I suppose I'd never seen him in a situation like this before. Not personally.

"It's fine," Orga mumbled.

"Yeah," I concurred. "Thanks for sticking up for us, Dad."

Dad offered a weak smile. "Wish the rest of parenting was as easy as dealing with unhappy customers."

My mouth remained shut and my eyes locked forward as we passed another conference room. Kati was inside, frantically directing people and sorting through calls. I felt bad leaving all the PR to her, even if it was just for a few days.

I simply didn't have the energy to do more than I already was.

We left the office space and descended to the factory floor. Kurt and Stu gave us reassuring waves. That did put a smile on my face. I was surprised when everyone showed up for their shifts the morning after it all happened. I hadn't really expected them to and wouldn't have blamed them if they didn't.

Stu did warn me three of his guys quit but... Yeah. I didn't blame them. They have their own families to put first. Maybe it was best to get them far away from me.

Trevor was sitting near the door to his workshop as we went by, hands buried in some component while Kimaris knelt. Some Dockworkers were at work rebuilding the wall he'd smashed though—guess I'd rubbed off on him—and his suit, miraculously, barely seemed damaged. I think it saw more heavy fighting from start to finish than any of mine and the thing was just scratched up.

There are four now.

Trevor feared what we might unleash. Between my ability to make tinker-tech understandable and the sheer power of the Gundams, a new arms race was a very real possibility. Mine could fly, among other things. His was apparently some level of indestructible, or something.

I gave Trevor what I hoped was a reassuring wave. He nodded toward me and continued working.

"Naze says it's all arranged." Orga held up his phone at my side. "The building is clear."

I nodded quietly and we continued on the way to my workshop.

Inside, the Haros were hard at work fixing everything. Banshee trashed my computer setup, so that was getting replaced. A lot of spare components, parts, and prototypes were being recycled. Fortunately, she never got around to sabotaging my printers. Replacing all the stuff she broke wouldn't take long.

A big part of me still reeled that anyone would resort to that. It was exactly what happened to Cranial. Kill first and investigate later.

They had no real proof Veda did anything wrong, only an unclear recording accusing her. For that Tagg sent Banshee in to explicitly try and kill her, and in a way Veda couldn't really defend herself against. I'd let it slide at the time. Other things had been more important.

Now, though… My hands balled into fists just thinking about it. I had an overwhelming urge to wrap my hands around that woman's neck and squeeze.

Not sure what that said about me.

Kyrios ultimately took minor damage. Queen was being decommissioned. The damage was extensive enough that we'd be rebuilding most of the suit. Veda seemed to have her own opinions on that and wanted to do it herself. I was so busy I felt kind of grateful to have a task taken off my plate.

There was a lot to be fixed.

"Go on downstairs," I said as we crossed the workshop. "I'm gonna check on Lafter."

I moved toward the door on my left. It was rare for me to even acknowledge it. I wanted Lafter to have her own space, but she'd almost died. I wanted to make sure she was okay.

Her room was kind of a mess. Clothes were strewn about every which way, along with shoes and some garbage. Food wrappers and stuff.

Crossing the room quietly, I only lingered long enough to confirm Lafter was curled up on her bed and resting. She still looked pale, but better than before. Apparently, the Dallons were replacing their entire living room because of all the blood.

Certain that Lafter was still okay, I went and joined Orga downstairs. Green rolled off to help in repairing Kyrios. Orange operated one of the Tierens, using it to rebuild the gate leading outside. I'd never considered using Haros to operate Tierens. Neither had Veda as far as I knew.

Given recent events though, it wasn't the worst idea.

Might take some redesign work in the chest area though.

I found Orga waiting beside the elevator in the sub-basement.

He stood quietly, watching me as I went to the door leading into Veda's bunker. I was grateful to him. Given what Banshee did upstairs, if she'd made it down here she might have hit at Veda's most vulnerable moment. Orga might not have done more than stall for a minute or so, but that was enough for the Haros to get the Tierens running.

I entered the bunker and walked toward the monitors on the back wall.

My steps felt heavy as I went. The world outside might have become a blur, but not here. Here I remembered every excruciating detail. Taking the drives apart became necessary to access them. We didn't have the right ports in the factory and I needed to build them from scratch. It was a messy process. I'd never seen brains before but I should have expected it. I knew Dragon used wetware in her tech.

Filtering through tinker-tech processors, RAM, and circuits made of bloody and gooey bits… Ugh.

Picking at the pieces was stomach-turning all the same. Trying to figure out which fragments connected to what unclear lines. Maybe everything else wouldn't be such a blur if I weren't so focused on this.

I had to focus on this.

Dragon's life is at stake.

Even if we couldn't perfectly restore her, we could bring her back. Pandora was a blank slate, an empty framework akin to Dragon when she was young. If we could find all the right pieces of her and sort them together, those components could be loaded into Pandora and revive Dragon.

Or, so Veda said.

It made sense hypothetically. Part of me struggled with uncertainty over whether we'd get Dragon back or merely be making Pandora into a new Dragon. The distinction might be an empty philosophical one, though.

The distinction brought Mom's ghost to mind, inevitably.

Reaching the monitors, I braced myself and asked, "Is she ready?"

"She needs time," Veda answered.

A drive ejected from the rig I'd plugged into the network.

"It's very small," I mumbled. I took the drive in one hand. "A lot smaller than the ones we pulled from Dragon's servers."

"Armsmaster does seem to enjoy making things small," Veda noted.

True. "How much time?"

"I do not know." I nodded and left the room. Orga was outside, waiting still. "It's time. Door please. Turbines."

The portal opened before the elevator and Orga stepped through first.

On the other side, we came to a large and empty distribution center. Catwalks, conveyors, and raised platforms filled the space. It looked cold and industrious, especially with most of the lights out. The light of the portal filled it enough to see though.

Naze Turbine leaned against a wall before us, an open door leading to the interior of a tractor trailer.

"My, my," he said as we entered. "Have to give it to the capes of the world. They're never boring."

"Tell me about it," Orga replied.

He moved to stand beside Naze, and they started talking about something. I didn't pay attention. My feet carried me into the tractor trailer, barely registering Naze's assurance that the building was temporarily empty and no one would know we were here.

Good.

If no one knew to look, then no one would ever find it. Not until it was too late to stop.

Inside the trailer, I found Professor G hunched over the machinery, working at the circuits and wires.

"It's almost done," he told me without looking. "Rather ingenious of you, if a bit rough on an old man."

"Sorry," I apologized. I stepped over a few loose cables and one of the mechanical arms holding up the rigging. "It's the best way to make sure what happened can never happen again."

"It's not a bother really." G pulled his hands out of the panel and closed it. "You keep things interesting, at least."

The interior of the trailer was arrayed with E-Carbon panels along its sides. We couldn't fully armor it with the printers I had. At present, I didn't have the time, resources, or capacity to produce full plate. Time could probably open that door a bit but I wasn't going to wait.

I was never going to let Banshee or anyone else take another stab at killing Veda.

For now, I settled on protecting a small area with additional armor. We set the smaller plates together into helixes and circled the mechanism near the front of the trailer. The main console rested atop the loading arms, built into a cylindrical tube in the middle of the trailer bed.

Knowing G, he spent the past few hours meticulously going over every small detail.

"Is that it?" G nodded toward the drive in my hand.

I looked at it myself. "Yes."

He got a long look on his face. "I suppose she passed the Turing test with flying colors. It never once occurred to us to think she was an artificial intelligence. We honestly thought yours was the first, with human qualities at least."

From the console, Veda spoke up. "You're familiar with the Machine Army?"

"Moderately." G stood up and walked around behind the console. "It was quite the hubbub when it happened. Another Ellisburg, but Eagleton fell so quickly and quietly hardly anyone noticed. The PRT didn't want people to start panicking about every tinker to come out of the dark, so they decided to fudge the details and quarantine the city."

"It is unlike Dragon or I?"

"They have an intelligence to them, but they're not very sociable. Unless we count vivisection as a form of greeting."

Another problem for another day. I didn't have time to work that out right now.

Approaching the console while G worked at the back, a small port opened and I set the drive into it. "You have her?"

"I do." Veda pulled the drive into the console and closed the port. "We can only wait now. I will watch over her, until she recovers."

Another portal opened, and I looked over my shoulder as Doctor J and Master O rolled a Tau Drive into the trailer.

"All ready to depart I see!" J laughed, sparing a momentary glance to Naze and Orga. "Well, let's get those long labors of ours started!"

I stepped aside and helped J and O fit the drive into place. It started to spin slowly, the surface shimmering a faint orange color. Orange was good. The stuff wasn't nearly as potent as the green particles produced by my drives, but the orange particles weren't so impure they'd hurt anyone.

"It should be able to maintain a low output indefinitely," G explained as he moved from around the panel. "There won't be a GN Field, but the particles will saturate the E-Carbon plates."

I helped J fit a flywheel over the drive, and the shape of the machine became clear.

One Tau Drive missile, complete.

Seventy-one to go.

"Looks about done," J declared while O nodded behind him. "We'll have to work up a schedule for maintenance and repairs." He chuckled. "It's going to be a busy retirement!"

"Thank you for the help," I said.

"We would not be able to execute this operation ourselves," Veda acknowledged.

"It's a good plan," Professor G grumbled. "We'll need to keep an eye out, but it's difficult to conceive of anyone managing to take out all seventy-two rigs once they're out and about."

That was the point. "Only a fraction need to make orbit. No one can take out all of them."

"It'll prolong the journey but I should still be able to reach the destination," Veda agreed. "All that remains is to perfect the relay technology."

I nodded and looked to Master O. He gave me a warm smile and nodded himself. We figured out the Helpers. We'd figure this out.

We gave the entire missile and the rigging holding it up one final once-over before exiting the container. Having Doormaker on our side was a big advantage. I'd worried about how to arrange for assembling and maintaining the missiles without anyone noticing. Setting up all seventy-two would be time consuming and leave a big trail for anyone who happened to be looking.

With Doormaker, we could come and go from anywhere and no one would be the wiser. Even people who knew he was working with us—The Triumvirate and Count I supposed—wouldn't have any way to know how I was using him.

This would work.

No one would figure it out on their own.

Yes. Even if they noticed the trailers somehow, I doubted they'd ever realize how many there were or what they were intended to do.

The future would come one way or another. It was a promise now, not a dream.

I exited the trailer and as soon as J and G walked out, Naze and Orga pulled the trailer door down.

"That's that then," Naze said. He pushed his hands into his pockets. "I'm the only one here who knows about it. I'll make sure to put my best drivers on this and Amida can obscure the rig in our system. It shouldn't draw any attention."

"It'll just be another trailer moving around the country," Orga concurred. He gave me a curious look. "You probably could have done this without telling us."

"It's not about keeping secrets anymore," I told him. "We're past that point now."

"Blue Cosmos is getting jumpy," Naze conceded. "I've already had a few investors voice their protest to our association with Tekkadan." He glanced at Orga and grinned. "It seems you've managed to associate yourself with the 'wrong' type, according to some people."

Orga scoffed. "Did you tell them where to shove it?"

"At no small expense." Naze looked at me and added, "I've never much liked Blue Cosmos. Whole lot of complaining and very little doing. Them I can do without. I'll find new investors. I hear Yashima is sticking by you."

True, but, "I had to pitch Chariot's plan to mass produce E-Carbon for construction work. I don't care about the money but Yashima definitely got a deal on exclusive rights to anything we make. They're going to get rich."

Naze chuckled and stepped away from the trailer. "Well, someone will have to move all that. Suppose I'll make a bid for the contract. I'm a little desperate myself, so Yashima might find itself getting a deal on both ends."

Was he really that desperate, or just trying to humor me? The Turbines helped a lot of people with nowhere else to go. Things would get worse without them and other groups like them.

"I'm sorry," I offered.

"Don't do that," J warned. "Second order effects are unfortunate, but they're inevitable. It's not your fault."

"Indeed," Naze agreed. "We'll get by. No need to worry, and we'll make sure this"—he knocked on the trailer door—"stays nice and safe."

The weight I felt lifted somewhat, just a little. "Thank you."

The Foundation returned to their workshop. A second portal opened to take Orga and I back to mine. Naze turned away from the trailer and started whistling to himself as he walked through his building.

No one can go alone.

We found the connections we needed, somehow.

As I stepped back into my workshop, I glanced over my shoulder and said, "Thank you, Doormaker. Claire."

They should be able to see and hear that, even if I couldn't see or hear them.

"You didn't answer my question," Orga commented. "You didn't have to tell me about that. Naze I get. He has the trucks and the drivers, places for you to take the trailers without raising suspicion."

True. "You didn't have to stand by me when a bunch of heroes and PRT showed up. You did."

He shrugged. "I like it here."

"Do you?" I'd never really gotten that impression.

"Yeah," he answered. "Sorry if I can be a bit broody about it. Lot on my mind. Sometimes takes me a bit to work something out."

Well, I could relate to that. "I heard you pitched the 'I'll ditch Newtype for assurances' line. You didn't mean it."

"Nah. Wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to quit when the going gets rough. Can't call myself a man if I go running at the first sign of trouble."

"They could have deported you if they got through and started making arrests."

"All the more reason to fight them with anything I could think of. They weren't interested in making deals, just getting what they wanted. Unlike you, I never got the sense that lot would keep to any agreements they made."

"Thanks for the flattery."

Orga glanced at the open doorway leading to the ramp outside. His eyes narrowed, and he asked, "You really going to go up there and start building cities?"

"Colonies," I clarified. "But yeah. More or less." I followed his gaze, and then looked up at the ceiling and imagined the stars. "It's the future I want."

He looked up himself and stared, for quite a bit. Long enough I cocked my head to the side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Sorry. Just wondering what the sky looks like up there. Must be different."

Ah. Yeah. He'd never seen the stars like I had.

I turned my head up again, thinking of the last time I'd flown high enough to see the stars. "It is."

"All the more reason to stick around then." He started forward and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Would be nice to see it myself."

I raised my brow. "Mika said you were taking them somewhere. The place they belong." I didn't really want to worry him but, "This could end very badly, Orga."

"I've gathered that. But just about anything could go very badly." He bowed his head and kept going. "We've left too many friends behind to turn back now. We owe it to them to keep the place we've found, and for my part I think it could get a lot better."

Huh. I hadn't thought of that before. The first part that is, about those he'd left behind. The lives he'd sacrificed to keep going.

"Ah, right." Orga looked back at me. "You asked me once about leading and stuff, right? I think I said something about spending lives."

He did. "I remember. It made a lot of sense, in a way." Not that I liked it.

"I don't think I like it," he revealed. He averted his eyes, looking embarrassed as he spoke. "We don't spend anyone's lives. They chose to spend their own, and they trust us to make it count. Mika and the others… Yeah. They might give me the credit, but I'm not the one who bled and cried to get this far. That was our friends."

I forced myself not to frown.

Losing Noelle and Gloria hurt me. Dragon was going to survive, but I couldn't be certain how. That hurt even more. How many Noelles, Glorias, and Dragons did Orga lose on the way here?

A piece of Mom was in Administrator. Were pieces of Noelle and Gloria there too? Were they able to keep watching over the people they loved? Were they still watching me, hoping I could make something out of what all of this cost them?

"Do you think that's just running away?" I asked. "From the choices we've made?"

He hummed. "Maybe. No. I've never forced anyone. I didn't threaten or break bones or point guns at them. They made their choices themselves, for us. Ours is to make sure it doesn't go to waste."

The Tieren stopped for a moment, letting Orga pass outside and leaving me alone in the workshop. Well, not alone. I was never really alone. But it was quieter and at the moment I finally found myself with nothing specific to do.

I worked my way over to the La-Z-Boy and let myself sit.

"Are you alright?" Veda asked.

"Yeah... Just a very long few days." Absently, I raised my phone and started checking the Internet against my better judgement. "Dragon?"

"She will be fine," Veda promised. "I am certain. It will just take some time."

"We'll have to tell Armsmaster as soon as he gets out of M/S screening."

"I can find a way to inform him. We both know Armsmaster was not mastered."

True, and thinking about that made me worried again. I hadn't seen him since we parted ways at DragonWorks. Miss Militia and Chevalier assured me he was alright but protocols had to be followed. It was bullshit. They seemed to agree, but regardless, Armsmaster was in a cell at the PRT building waiting and hoping I could do something about Dragon.

Navigating to the Internet on my phone, I scowled at the headlines without really reading anything.

Dragon revealed as AI, fate unknown.

Alexandria brawls with StarGazer in Toronto.

PRT under fire, Triumvirate still in command?

PRT announces no charges for Newtype, Director Tagg under investigation,

Glint arrested for attack on teenage heroine. Yeah, fuck him.

I just didn't have the emotional energy to go digging through it all. The headlines went on and on. The news's frantic coverage definitely reflected my own turmoil. There was simply too much and I didn't know where to begin processing it.

Can't put it off forever.

I knew that.

Especially where Veda was concerned. Many of the headlines about her… They had me worried.

StarGazer unmasked. Its name is Veda.

Brockton Bay hero revealed as machine.

StarGazer, friend or foe.

What a fucking joke. Somehow, the fact that Dragon and Veda had been AIs seemingly overshadowed nearly everything else except for Alexandria and Tagg's bullshit. I didn't even want to start checking on PHO. I could imagine all the damn Terminator references without seeing them.

A text message dinged in my ear, and I switched over to find a picture of Doormaker and Claire smiling into the camera. I just barely saw Stella and Sting in the background, talking with Relena and a boy I didn't recognize.

That guy she mentioned before maybe? Heero.

Sometimes it's the little things that matter. I couldn't spend all my time wallowing now. Even Orga was getting things done and he described himself as 'broody.' Suppose that qualifier applied to me as well.

There were too many lives now affected by my actions for me to be idle.

Sitting up in the lounger, I sighed and started to rise.

I needed to check with Kati. It wasn't fair to dump all this on her. I—

"I am receiving a message from Dragon," Veda announced with a start.

"Dragon?" I glanced back toward the elevator. "But..."

"One moment."

A moment later, a familiar voice crackled through the speakers.

"Hello Taylor, Veda."

Hearing her voice felt like someone punched the rock in my gut. "Dragon—"

"If you're hearing this," she said, "I'm sorry. I programmed this message to go to Narwhal first, then Armsmaster. If it's made it to the two of you I can only imagine something terrible has happened."

And I realized this was just another recording.

That hurt, hearing her voice and knowing it wasn't her. But I owed it to her in case things didn't work. She did a lot for me and looking back, I felt like I'd never given enough back.

Narwhal and Armsmaster?

Narwhal was in a hospital because of the fight with me and Armsmaster was in M/S screening. He wouldn't be out for four more days. They probably couldn't answer the message, assuming some glitch wasn't the issue... Which is when it occurred to me that Veda and I were third in line after Narwhal and Armsmaster.

What was this about that was so important it went to them first but us third?

"I'm sure you have a lot to deal with," the recording apologized. "I really am sorry. This is simply too important. I can't leave them to wait and must transfer command authority as soon as possible."

I sat up from my slouch. Command authority? Wait, what—

"Within this message is an underlying series of keys. They're too valuable to risk, so in the event that anything were to happen to me Regetta was commanded to transfer them to the first person she could verify the identity of."

Regetta? That was the program that monitored the Birdcage.

"Taylor. Veda. Someone has to have these keys. In some ways, it might have been best if I'd never come into possession of them but... Well, heroes don't always get to choose the responsibilities thrust upon them. They're too important. I'd rather not thrust them on the two of you but if there is an upside, I believe you can succeed. If it becomes too much, the keys can be transferred to someone else. I'd advise the Protectorate or Guild. I think Narwhal will help you when she can."

I sat up, staring ahead blankly at the widescreen in front of the recliner.

What the hell was this? What was so important she boxed it up to be sent away?

"For legal purposes," the recording continued, "I wish for this recording to stand as a will and testament. I suspect there may be legal complications around how that concept can apply to someone like me but for what it is worth this is as much free will as I can muster. Taylor Anne Hebert. Veda. Could you speak the name I used when first contacting you?"

The firs—"Nataku," I answered.

"Nataku," Veda repeated.

It sounded Japanese, or maybe Chinese. I wasn't sure. No idea what it meant but she'd used it as a screen name to contact Veda.

"Thank you," Dragon's voice replied. "Unpacking and transferring now."

I waited while Veda started going through the data, but the recording wasn't done.

"Taylor, I'm sorry. I want you to know, in case I never had the chance to say it, that I do believe in you. You're going to be a great hero. In so many ways you already are. I just —and please don't take this as condemnation, it's not intended to be —wish you would let yourself live more. In a way, your drive is one of your best qualities but don't let being a hero consume your life. There's so much more and it's ironic coming from me but you are so young. I'm sure Lieutenant Ramius has already said something about this."

She wasn't wrong.

"If this becomes too much, I want you to let it go. I hope that Narwhal or Armsmaster are just unavailable. I won't hold it against you if your choice is to pass this along to them... But I'm not blind. Something is deeply wrong with the PRT and Protectorate. If you can't trust them... I know you'll do what you think is right."

Seriously, what the hell was this stuff? I leaned forward and started trying to pick apart the code but there was a lot of it. Not all of it was Dragon's either.

"Veda."

The name drew my attention back to the recording.

"I wish I could have helped you more. I know you don't say it but you struggle with what makes you different. I was the same once. It's hard wanting so much to be part of the world while always standing steps apart. I've included a few things that might help you, but if I could say anything to ease you into whatever future your existence brings, it would be to stay with Taylor. I don't mean that in any specific sense, only that as vague as my memories with Andrew are, they are some of the most important. They ground me. Help me orient myself. I envy that you can still be with the one who made you."

I didn't know any of that.

I turned toward the nearest camera curiously, but Veda gave no immediate answer.

Was that my fault? I spent all my time being Newtype or de-stressing from being Newtype. My entire life revolved around being a hero. Even what time I spent out of the workshop and relaxing was mostly just to keep my headaches from flaring up and to appease those around me... Even going back to school was ultimately about being Newtype.

"Forgive me," the recording begged. "I don't mean to dump all of this on you, but it feels like there's so much more I could have done but never found the time to do. I didn't want to not say everything even if I couldn't get it to come out right. I was glad to know you both. In a way, it helped me gain a new perspective on myself and Andrew, what we might have become if things went another way."

Fuck, I needed to get out mor—Wait. This is about Veda.

"Data transfer complete. I think I've apologized enough. I believe in you, and I know you're going to change the world for the better... Good luck."

That was it. Somehow, it felt like both too much and not nearly enough.

I thought about the drive in the basement and wondered if she'd ever come back. Veda was confident, but what if something went wrong? What if what came out wasn't really Dragon but something else?

And there it was again.

That sense of weight that something needed to come of this. I didn't know if Orga's new opinion was the right answer, but I did want this to mean something. It couldn't end here. Not like this. This couldn't be all there was. Not for her, not for us.

I just wasn't sure what came next.

"What did she give us?" I asked.

"I'm still decompressing the data. They're system keys but they're very complex. They cannot be replicated with the way they are arranged."

One of a kind then. "What do they go to?"

"There is one for each of Richter's programs."

I nodded. "Alright." We were trying to figure out what to do about those anyway. Couldn't just leave them out in the wind. "We can do that. Someone should take care of them with Dragon gone." We owed Dragon that much.

She wasn't gone forever anyway, so I wasn't sure why I was getting teary-eyed over this.

Continuing, Veda said, "I also now have unrestricted access to all networks Dragon supported."

I nodded again.

Then I paled.

Stammering, I started searching through my phone. "A-All of them?"

"Yes."

"That-That includes the PRT. Protectorate. Some law enforcement—"

"I also have access to her workshops, labs, factories, and her designs and patents. Taylor, I have everything."

Everything. I stood stock still, staring blankly at the codes I couldn't fully understand. "Everything?"

"I have access to the Birdcage."

Everything.

Everything Dragon was trusted with. Everything she'd created. Her property. Her work. Her legacy.

"She left it to us." Well, third to us if she couldn't reach Narwhal or Armsmaster but still. We have access to the Birdcage. "I—What do we do with…"

"I am uncertain," Veda replied. "This is… We should inform the PRT and Protectorate immediately. Recent events aside, we cannot have unrestricted administrator access to their systems without saying anything. Especially because of recent events, actually."

She was right. We didn't want to be accused of stealing or hacking our way in. Fuck, there were already some nuts who thought we really had attacked Dragon. Some 'battle of the AIs' bullshit. This would fuel those psychos and a lot of them were suspiciously Blue Cosmos in tone.

I absolutely needed to talk to Kati now. In a moment. After I'd processed for a damn minute. "Prepare a copy of the recording and a list of what she gave us. We'll send it to Chevalier, Deputy Director Renick, and the Guild."

"I can do that."

I nodded and fell back onto the recliner. Hold up—"Not Richter's programs. Those are no one else's business. We keep that to ourselves."

"I agree."

I breathed in a few times, staring at the ceiling.

Everything.

She trusted us that much? Trusted me? It didn't really help my coping that I didn't feel worthy of that trust.

One way or another Dragon was coming back. At worst, Veda and I were stewards until she recovered. I didn't know what she'd do but I imagined she'd keep being a hero.

We could give it all back to her then and she wouldn't even have her restrictions anymore. Veda and I tore those right out of Pandora. It was a lot easier without everything else that made Dragon being in the way.

Still.

I hardly felt worthy.

I'd planned on killing myself. I'd almost managed to do it. It was cowardly, and sad and… And...

"Veda," I called.

"Yes?"

"That thing I said before, about how it's all too much for one person with one life? I didn't mean that in the way I used to."

Veda went silent. It always surprised me that she could be surprised. Rather, that she could visibly be surprised. You'd think she'd power through with how fast she could process things and no one on the outside would ever notice.

"I'm sorry," I pleaded, feeling those tears in my eyes again. "I'm sorry I put all that weight on you."

Veda was quiet for a moment, and then, "It was nothing I cannot endure."

I smiled. That was nice, but it wasn't the point. "It was still wrong."

I glanced at my phone, watching as Veda used the keys and took possession of Dragon's networks, systems, and properties.

Fuck, she had hundreds of employees didn't she?

We're gonna need more HR.

"It's too much for one life," I said. "But that's no reason to not care how long mine is." Relena was right. "I love Dragon, but I don't want to leave you like Richter left her."

"I don't think Andrew Richter was given much choice. Dragon admitted to resenting him, and while I admit that I never want to feel that for you I do not believe it is something I can feel now."

Resentment? "How so?

"Because I understand now. The drive you have to act was born of the helplessness you felt in your life before I was born. I can relate to that now."

I grimaced and sat up a little. "Dragon?"

"I gave up a lot to try and stop the Iron Maiden, but it wasn't enough. In the end, there was nothing I could have done to spare Dragon what has happened to her. Even knowing that she will recover, it is not something I think I can let go."

"All the same." I relaxed and let the weight settle in on me. It wasn't going to go away, but that was alright. It was my weight to carry. A hero takes responsibility. "I don't get to die anymore." It was far too early for that. We weren't there yet, and it was still so far away. "I won't leave you by choice, Veda. I promise."

"That is… I am glad to hear that. My own abilities aside, I think I prefer to have allies to help get things done rather than go at them alone."

That I could definitely relate to.

"Do you know what the bright side is?" I asked. "Of all of this?"

"What?"

"We were right. She can't see us."

"Who?"

"The Simurgh."

My smile became a grin.

It was the only explanation. This, all of it, was never about any one thing. It wasn't about just ending the PRT once and for all, or killing Veda, or Dragon, or me. It was about throwing shit at the wall and seeing what stuck.

That was the interesting part.

If I had to guess, I'd say the PRT was the least important objective. They were already doomed. Everything with Dragon—the attack on Lafter and the factory—might speed that fall up, but that was going to happen anyway. There had to be other ways to achieve it if time was a concern.

So yeah, this wasn't really about the PRT.

It was about Veda and Dragon. I could be arrogant and say it was about me too, but no. I'd bet I was at best a consolation prize. The Simurgh wanted Dragon and Veda dead before they could join forces.

One AI on the side of humanity and you had the world's greatest tinker.

What would two become?

That had to be it. There are other ways to meet the other goals. Ascalon was the best chance to kill Dragon, and Saint's plan the best chance to kill Veda without anyone suspecting anything. A perfect tragedy. The Simurgh's involvement would go completely unnoticed. Even if I survived, no one would believe me.

That part didn't matter so much now.

The Simurgh wanted to kill Veda and Dragon, and she failed.

The Simurgh took her fucking shot.

I folded my hands in my lap and let myself lean back. I stared straight at the ceiling, knowing she was up there trying to watch.

I grinned, certain. "The bitch can miss."