Chapter Two: Do You Want Some Exposition?
February 18, 2011
Jason officially, completely, and totally hated rain. He loathed it. He despised it.
It had been raining for three days. Off and on, heavy and light, mist, rain, downpour, buckets, and sprinkling. Raining while they carried boxes in. Raining while they unpacked, while they cooked, while they tried to sleep.
He had known that he would hate moving. He would hate the packing up and leaving behind, the loss of the familiar and the reliance on the foreign. He would hate the hassle, the lack of sleep, and the losing of things he swore he packed right here. He thought he might even hate the city a little, at first, for being not-home. He didn't know it would be possible to hate the weather. He had learned that lesson real fast.
Jason's father wasn't around to help with the process of moving, having already started work the day they arrived. The new job was half the reason they'd moved to Brockton Bay. Jason knew he was the other half. His mother didn't want him traveling an hour or more to Houston to be a Ward. After repeated arguments, she had accepted that he wouldn't stop being a hero. Which meant that when the chance came up to move to a city with its own Protectorate base, she encouraged his father to seize it. It didn't seem to occur to her that a city dangerous enough to warrant its own base might have drawbacks. She just wanted him home in time for dinner.
Today was his first day reporting to his new team, so Jason bussed across town, around the bay, and to the front door of the PRT office. He showed his card at the reception desk, went into the public restroom, changed in a stall, then exited out a secret back door which deposited him back in the main lobby in a round-about way. Intrepid then called the Ward's elevator, stepped in, and scanned his eye for a more positive identification. After orientation, he'd been promised a tour including more discrete entrances.
When the doors opened, Triumph was waiting for him, sitting on the edge of a desk, reading an iPad. He glanced up and smiled warmly, like he was greeting an old friend. Intrepid tried to smile back, but, truth be told, he was still busy hating the rain.
"Welcome, Intrepid. How are you liking Brockton Bay?"
"Uh, hi. It's different, I guess. But nice." He shook the offered hand and tried again to smile.
"Liar." Said a teasing female voice from further in the room. "You hate it. You hate the change, the size, the busyness, and the rain." The voice was familiar, but not enough to actually place it. Triumph grimaced but didn't speak. Intrepid followed his eyes to a girl sitting with her back to them. Her feet were bare, propped up on the edge of a desk, keyboard in her lap, typing away at what looked like a programming code. He could see short blonde hair and pale skin, but not enough to give away her identity. A moment later, she swung her feet off the desk, swiveled the chair, set the keyboard aside, and stood up in a single, gracefully intimidating movement.
Looking at her full on, it took him several long moments to recognize her. When he did, his jaw dropped. He hadn't expected to ever see her again. "Contract?"
"Hey. Good to see a friendly face." Out of the corner of his eye, Intrepid saw Triumph wince again.
"No kidding. Glad to know someone here. How have you been?"
"You don't want an honest answer to that. Trust me. You'll sleep better."
"Your voice sounds a little, different." It was missing the slightly off cadence from before.
"Yeah, I've been told my deaf pronunciation needs a little more work."
"You're not deaf?" As soon as it was said, Intrepid wanted to take it back. It seemed terribly rude. Instead, Contract laughed a little bit.
"Not at the moment. On balance, I tend to spend about a third of my time deaf. I've been hearing for the past two days."
"How does that work?"
"Well, it's easier to be deaf than it is to be blind, so given the choice I give up my ears." She was grinning mischievously, and Intrepid thought she might actually be telling the truth. It didn't make sense, but that was the impression he got from her.
"I didn't know you were here."
"That's the idea. No one is supposed to know that I'm here. My own protection, don't you know." Her tone suggested otherwise. Triumph coughed uncomfortably and finally spoke up.
"You're supposed to be on monitor duty, and I need to get Intrepid checked in."
"Catch you later." Her smile was a little cruel now, like she was glad that she'd made Triumph uncomfortable. She was already turning back to her chair, feet up, fingers clicking away.
"We'll do paperwork in here." Triumph said, walking into an attached office a little too quickly.
Intrepid kept quiet while they excused themselves, but as soon as the door was shut he pounced. "What's she doing here? I thought she didn't want to be part of the Protectorate?"
Triumph look away, body language betraying guilt. "She's not thrilled with it, true. But she's being very closed mouth about why. All we know is that she thinks there's some sort of conspiracy. She's refused to tell us anything about herself, her past, her powers…. It's a mess. But the reality is that she took out an Endbringer. If she wanted out, I sort of doubt that we could stop her."
"She's shown her civilian identity?"
"Just her face. The PRT had to create a fake name and background records to use to enroll her in school. The Director asked us to share our faces with her to help build a sense of friendship. Vista, Gallant, and Clockblocker revealed the first day. Kid Win and Shadow Stalker forgot about a week later revealed themselves by their own stupid mistakes, two different occasions, back to back. Aegis she figured out when he mentioned something in his civilian face that she told him when he was in costume. I offered to show her my face right after Kid Win, since I was in the room, but she accurately pointed out that I'm graduating in a few weeks, and used that to give me an out. I think it was just an excuse, but I'm not sure why she doesn't like me. I'm also a little concerned that she knew I'm on my way out, because I don't think anyone else mentioned it. Just… be careful with any secrets you have. She's got a Thinker 2 rating, and personally I think it's a little low."
"What did she say about her powers?"
"Basically nothing. She said she makes trades. No elaboration. Then we get hints like what she said about choosing to give up her ears. We're not sure what it all means."
"Sounds like it'd be hard to trust her in the field."
"We haven't so far, really. She works the monitor and she'll be starting school next Monday. She's gotten settled into her foster situation and we're going to wait another two weeks before we field her, except for on-campus calls. That will be explained more in a bit. Hopefully that will be long enough to build trust."
"Sounds like you've got it all worked out."
"Now we just need to get you settled in. We're going to enroll you in Winslow High School. Traditionally, Wards go to Arcadia High, but that's become a bit of a problem. People are trying to identify us, and we've had a few near-misses. So we are opening a second program at Winslow. In Arcadia, we go to class on campus half the day, and then we have private lessons for the second half, both online classes and other things specific to being parahuman. You'll spend most of the day at Winslow, with the two classes before lunch being private study, and then the last period you get free. You'll join our lecture in the afternoon and take internet courses during the morning."
"The schedule won't stand out?"
"A number of students have extended lunch periods, and the second period of the day is the one spot used for kids visiting other campuses to take limited-availability arts and such. Students with too few classes don't take last period, so you're not the only one leaving campus early."
"Alright. What do I need to know about the local scene?"
"Well, you'll see a little more action than you're used to, and it'll be a little less planned. Whoever is on the monitors will be in contact with you when you're on patrol and can call help to your location. We have three major gangs in Brockton Bay…"
By the time Jason was done with Triumph, it was getting late. The tour ended back in the Ward's headquarters so they could change out of costume, and he saw that Vista was now on monitor duty. Contract, however, was still in the main room, reading a paperback book. Triumph wished her an awkward good-bye and she offered a silent wave. It was very different than the bubbly impression he'd gotten from her earlier. As soon as Triumph was gone, she looked up at Jason, folding a page and shutting the book.
"How was your first day?"
"It was the same as the first day in any place. Orientation, paperwork, information overload." She laughed quietly, then poked a chair with her foot, inviting him to join her at the conference table.
"Take a seat. Did you decide if you're going to reveal your civilian identity?"
"I will. I have, actually. I'm going to be a Ward for several more years, so it makes sense." Jason took off the domino mask and ran a hand through his hair. Then he shook her hand. "Jason."
"Elizabeth Mason."
"Really?"
"That's the identity the PRT set up for me. Someday I'll tell you my real name, when I can trust you."
"Puts me at a disadvantage."
"Hardly. Your physical and emotional safety is entirely guaranteed by your status as a Ward."
"The same doesn't apply to you?"
"No. You're just a foot soldier. I'm a potential hostile. One toe out of line, they'll hang me by it."
"Seems harsh. What makes you so sure?"
"I can't tell you. In order to explain why I distrust the PRT and Protectorate, I'd have to reveal secret identities. Doing so is against the law."
"Capes who commit crimes aren't protected by that."
"What about capes who commit crimes when they're not in costume? What about crimes that only make sense with the civilian's motives and the cape's abilities? What about civilians without a cape identity who use powers to manipulate the system?"
"They'd be caught. There's whole offices full of thinkers looking for that sort of thing." She shrugged, unsurprised and un-phased. Jason got the sense that he'd disappointed her, somehow, but that she'd expected it. "At least give me something real." He said after a moment, feeling unsure.
"My friends called me Fi."
"Like, short for Fiona?"
"Sure." He knew instantly that his guess had been wrong, but at the same time, he was pretty sure she was being honest about the nickname.
"Okay, Fi. I better go, Mom's waiting with dinner."
"Be safe." She said, very sincerely. As he stood, he realized that Vista had been behind him the whole time, watching the monitors. Before he left, he walked over to shake her hand and introduce himself. She told him her real name was Missy. He wanted to apologize for ignoring her, but she didn't seem at all upset, so he decided just to leave it be.
On the bus ride home, he reflected on what Fi had said and what she had refused to say. Based on what Triumph had told him, she'd shared about as much with him today as she'd told the entire PRT. It was easy to imagine her giving them unhelpful non-answers or passive aggressive silence. It wasn't easy to imagine why.
Contract had killed an Endbringer. She'd had the ears of every important parahuman in America, all standing there listening to her. She hadn't tried to convince them of any sort of conspiracy. Did she think they were all in on it? If so, why not reach out to other countries? Several foreign governments sent help during an Endbringer fight. She could have reached out. She could have tried to escape. She hadn't.
But she hadn't truly surrendered either. Not if Triumph was to be believed, and there was no reason to think he'd lied. Intrepid decided that the situation was worth watching. And then he shut off the part of his brain that thought about conspiracies and Jason stepped off the bus, into the light drizzle, and slowly walked home through the rain.