AN: Thanks to SlowMercury, who has agreed to beta this story from here on out. Thank you also to all the reviewers! Your questions and comments are helping make this story better, as well as more fun for me to write!

Chapter Eleven: Can you handle the truth?

March 7, 2011

Colin put off talking to Contract as long as possible, but by Monday afternoon, he knew he was pushing the limits of his superiors' patience. The truth was that he had no idea what he was supposed to say to her. Company's report had listed him as one of a very short list of heroes that Contract respected and was not hostile towards, but Colin had no idea what he'd done to get there. Normally it took time for him to learn how to deal with others, and given the stakes he knew he couldn't afford to learn by trial and error. Having Contract in Brockton Bay could mean the success of his future career or its premature end, and he wasn't sure how to tip that balance in his favor. He'd talked to Dragon on Sunday morning, and she had emphasized the need to say something, no matter what he decided to say.

At four o'clock, he sent her an email inviting her to his work shop. Less than ten minutes later, she knocked on his door. When he opened it, she seemed nervous.

"Good afternoon."

"Hey." She took a deep breath, then held out her phone. "Before we talk, I want you to read this." the comment caught Colin off guard, and he awkwardly took the phone, which was opened to a note app.

I know that you're developing a lie detector. That could prove problematic. One of the costs from Friday that I didn't want to disclose is that, as long as I am deaf, I cannot speak a complete truth and I cannot communicate a complete lie by any form of the written word. I'm pretty good at getting around those restrictions, because like deafness I use them frequently, but it's still there. For example, I told you that "I want you to read this." I don't. I hate telling people about this restriction because it screws with their heads. But you needed to read it. I used a lie to convey a truth. Since I don't know how accurate your lie detector is, I thought I should let you know.

Armsmaster read the text twice, then used his display to take a picture of it. Slowly, he handed it back while his thoughts raced. She looked embarrassed and didn't meet his eyes, instead glancing around the workshop. He noticed she was wearing the glasses he'd made on Friday night over the top of her mask.

"A lot of people prefer to communicate by a text-based system once I tell them the truth." she said. He glanced at his workbench, where he saw the statement register as 59% - probably misleading. He had the display calibrated so that 100% represented a truth and 0% a lie, but it had currently had a 27% error rate. He hadn't even considered statements that were technically false but intended to portray truth.

"I think that might be best." She nodded, still looking embarrassed. She typed into her phone, fingers flying rapidly.

I don't tell a lot of people about this. Ergo, 'a lot of people' don't have any preference whatsoever. Technically false, while still offering you the text-based choice, which was the intent. Do you have a second keyboard? You could work while I type and you talk? Of if there was something specific you wanted, I could just listen. I don't blame you for being uncomfortable.

Somehow, the genuine understanding and shame that she was displaying actually made him feel a little bad about not just accepting her at her word that she could work around the restriction. He decided to compromise.

"Come over here." He led her to his personal quarters, which included a small lounge area. He connected her phone to the television, then took the seat that faced it. She seemed to understand, because she immediately pulled one of the chairs to sit beside the television, so he could look at her and read the screen simultaneously.

Thanks. You're being surprisingly cool about this.

"You made a judgment call, and did what you had to do. You broke up that fight." She bit her lip, then looked down to type.

You haven't connected the dots yet. Fine. I'll do it for you. I was living under this restriction on Friday afternoon and I didn't tell you, or anyone else. Don't freak out, I used the translator to get around it. ASL isn't writing or speaking so it's not covered. In that area, I still have free will.

Colin's first reaction was a rush of adrenaline, and her reassurances afterward helped but didn't completely dissipate the nervousness. He was now trying to recall everything they had learned since last Friday, and remember where it came from. Everything that she had sent to Dragon took on a much more serious note, knowing that it had to be true. Somehow, hearing it from Contract made it more real than when it had been confirmed by anonymous thinkers whom he didn't know. On the other hand, Triumph had reported significant progress on Saturday afternoon, but made no mention of this restriction. Most likely, their communication had been verbal. How much of that encounter had been genuine?

"If I didn't have the lie detector, you wouldn't have told me about this, would you?"

No. It makes you think all the things you're thinking right now. It makes you second guess everything. I'll save you the next step too. If I can use verbal lies to communicate to someone the truth I want to tell, who is to say I can't do the opposite? As soon as I tell people about this, they start overthinking everything. They look for every loop hole and check every contingency. It sucks. People lie and tell the truth every day and no one cares. People say "sorry" when they don't mean it and they say they're fine when they're not. But right now, you're analyzing every second of this conversation. You can't help it.

"Who else have you told?"

Intrepid.

"Not Triumph?"

It wasn't necessary. We had a genuinely nice time without it hanging over us.

"So you're really okay with him as your team leader?"

Who would replace him? Aegis? Triumph seems like an honest guy.

"That's not a yes."

Do you agree with every judgment call your superiors have ever made? I won't promise to obey his every order. But I like him, as a human being.

That actually settled Colin down, and reminded him of his original purpose. "Well, ah, I actually had a reason to invite you up here. My name is Colin Wallis." Colin carefully removed his helmet, the only part of the armor he was wearing, and found Contract waiting with her hand out-stretched, and her mask off.

"Elizabeth Fiona Mason."

"Very funny." Colin was surprised to find that the dry comment actually had struck him as funny, and doubly so because it was a small jab at the PRT. They could give her a name, but they couldn't force her to see it as her true identity, which made her introduction a partial lie. She had a firm handshake. "I want you to know that you can come to me if you need anything. I know you're spending more time here than at home, so if you need an adult's perspective, I am available." The offer had been Dragon's suggestion, but Colin had liked it immediately. Being a mentor to a cape like Contract would be a challenge, but he honestly believed he could help her if she would let him.

I appreciate that. I'm getting a lot of offers of help suddenly. May I presume that you got an email of your own?

Her facial expression was teasing, but Colin found himself unsettled by the implication. "You're a member of my Wards. I would want to help you regardless of your power, simply because you are one of us. We had no idea how much you were struggling with. We would want to help you because of Behemoth, yes, but we also just genuinely want to help." After he'd spoken, he knew it was an overreaction, but surprisingly, Contract smiled at him even more genuinely.

I actually believe you. Thank you. Please, call me Fi. I'm doing well right now, all things considered. But I'll keep your offer in mind.

Colin didn't like that qualifier, 'all things considered'. It seemed like an excellent loop hole. "How are you doing after the events of today?"

What do you mean?

"With Sophia Hess."

Did something happen? I heard rumors around the school that something had occurred, but Renick gave me strict instructions not to believe any rumors regarding Shadow Stalker.

Despite himself, Colin found himself laughing. "I see what you mean about saying what you wish to say regardless of restrictions." Fi looked like the cat that had eaten the canary. "Honestly, are you happy with the results?

Are you? Sophia Hess murdered three people as a vigilante. Then she took advantage of the leniency of the system to continue to carry lethal weapons and use them against certain criminals. She manipulated her social worker into helping her cover up a long-running campaign of bullying. She manipulated another girl to the point that she was willing to help with her criminal activity against someone who had once been her friend.

"So you're giving up playing ignorant?"

Dragon sent me a file with Sophia's full list of crimes and her most likely punishments. I was just getting to the parts about the other girls when you called me up here.

"I'm satisfied that justice will be served now that the truth is known. I know that Renick is working on a protocol to try to catch this sort of situation sooner, in the future."

I'm glad to hear that.

"I did want to talk to you about your beta program. You disobeyed orders by targeting it at Sophia."

I could challenge you to prove it, but I think the point would be moot. I didn't see that I had any alternative than to do what I did. Maybe now, with a little trust and a little help, I won't have to take those risks again.

"Then we will consider the issue closed, for now. But please realize that any sort of repeat of this behavior would be representative of a pattern, and I would have to take that seriously."

I get it, totally. Thank you for understanding this time.

"As you said, the point it a bit moot." She grinned at hearing that, and Colin decided that maybe this mentoring wouldn't be as difficult as he had thought. "Legend asked me to talk to you about your PR. I know he promised that the next press release would be held until the 15th, but he and Glenn were hoping to move that up. They are assuming the reason you didn't want to talk to the public is that you didn't want to talk to the Protectorate either. Now that we have some details, they both believe it would be helpful to pass them on in a controlled manner."

I understand their concern. PHO went nuts with the information from the gang members I let go. I didn't give them much to work with but a couple users have gotten pretty close to the truth. They're lost in amid the rush of other voices, but they're there.

"So, we can do it?"

She was silent and still for a long time, just staring at him, thinking it over. Can I tell you something without you repeating it to them? Will you keep it confidential? Even from Dragon and Company?

Colin was shocked by the question. His first reflex was to refuse, and his second reflex was to agree verbally but lie. Instead, he forced himself to think the issue through. "That depends on what you say."

Lives are at stake.

That sentence alone made him glad he hadn't rushed into the decision. Strictly speaking, he had only her own word that everything she typed was true. It was possible that her sacrifice had included only verbally lying, and typing was a free-for-all. It was possible that there was no restriction whatsoever. But that was a big maybe. If the opposite were true, and she had been honest with him, then lives really were at stake, resting on his one answer. It was difficult to know.

"Can you prove that you can't type a lie?"

"How do you propose such a thing?" It was a conundrum, especially with the margin of error on his lie detector. Still, it was better than nothing. He used the hidden computer connections to link his TV with his lab. Once the program was running, he looked at Contract.

"Everything I have typed to Colin is a lie." The program read the statement at 23%. It was high for a direct lie, but the margin of error was big, and she had made several misleading statements which might be screwing with the effect of the double negative. "No one is at risk if you share the information you are asking for." 11%. "My cost for Friday's actions did not include deafness." 3%. "My cost for Friday's actions require me to speak the truth and type lies." 4%. "Satisfied?"

He shut off the program and set her phone so that the screen was being projected again.

"I'm listening, and I'll keep what you say confidential. What is it?"

I have enemies, enemies who are searching for me and for my family. They don't think of me as a parahuman, which is why I can waltz around Brockton Bay without a fear. But when it hits national news that someone used a trade, a deal, to stop an Endbringer and heal a city, they'll figure it out. They'll know that such a thing had to be me or one of mine. They will know where I was on January 31st, and they will back track my family from that. I need to give them a bigger head start.

"They won't figure it out just from your name?"

Parahumans are beneath their notice. For now. I tell you this not because I'm saying no, but because I'm saying that the press release has to be drafted very carefully, as do any sound-bites given to the media. For my enemies, the phrases "erased Behemoth" and "stopped an Endbringer" will have two very different connotations and subliminal meanings. The first is safe. The second is nearly a neon sign. I have a draft, and I'm willing to let it go public, but I need your help to convince PR to word it this way, and to convince them to use this sort of language in the future, even in personal interviews.

"I am willing to help with that. But why is this secret so important? The Protectorate would never jeopardize your family. What you've told me is enough to guarantee what you want. I don't understand why the reasoning should be only between us."

Three may keep a secret if two are dead. Trusting Legend means trusting his husband, and his husband's best friend. I am trusting you, in part, because you don't have a spouse. You have less people that you trust implicitly. Please, don't betray this.

"I won't. Let's look at your press release, shall we?" She typed, but no words appeared on the TV. Instead, he heard his phone chime with an email. She smirked, and he realized that she was prepared for this. Colin wanted to feel annoyed at her impertinence, but her preparation would save them time and make him look better to his superiors for his quick reaction time. Instead, he smiled back at her as he went to fetch his laptop. When he returned, she was sitting in a chair halfway between his seat and the TV, so that when he mirrored his computer screen on the TV, they would both be able to see it.

GENERAL PRESS RELEASE

MARCH _, 2011

As stated in the previous press release, dated February 3rd, 2011, the Ward cape Contract erased Behemoth on January 31st, 2011. The information blackout which we have enforced since that time has been for the protection of Contract and her family, for obvious reasons. Now that Contract is settled in Brockton Bay, it has been agreed that the following information may be safely released to the public.

Contract acts by manipulating energy in complex and abstract ways. On January 31st, Behemoth was erased from existence, his matter turned into energy and his dynokinesis overpowered by the element of surprise. That energy did not simply disappear, but reformed itself into new matter and new forms of energy which repaired the physical surroundings within a radius of the location of the transformation until all the energy was spent.

Contract's power is limited by the energy around her. Although a heightened metabolism and other factors allow Contract to access more energy than most humans, she is limited by the available chemical and physical energy around her and has long recovery times for most expenditures. Contract reports that she had never successfully dissolved matter in the past and has not done so since January 31st. Thinkers report that Behemoth's own dynokinesis likely contributed to Contract's success.

Although Contract triggered a little more six years ago, her location, as well as other environmental factors, kept her from becoming a fully-fledged cape. These obstacles are no longer an issue, and she will be an active member of the Brockton Bay Wards. When asked, Contract had this to say:

"I appreciate all that the PRT and Protectorate have done and are doing to help me. My relocation to Brockton Bay was chosen at random, but I am very pleased to be working with the capes that live here. I know there has been a lot of speculation about me, my past, and my powers. I will answer many of those questions soon. However, part of my relocation and protection has required that I completely cut off all ties with my former life. Certain questions will therefore be very painful for me. Please respect that in future interviews."

Contract is 16 years old, and has committed to remaining in the Wards program until she graduates in two years.

Colin found himself impressed by the press release. It was a plausible alternative explanation of her power, and his superiors would appreciate the positive light it cast on the organization. One thing was worrying, however.

"What happened to not lying by any written communication?" She typed into her phone for a long time.

None of it is completely false. I enforced an information blackout for reasons that were obvious to me. I have finally agreed to release information, in part because I was lucky enough to land in BB. Although I don't manipulate the energy directly, the effects of my contracts do change the balance of energy around me. I specifically needed to erase Behemoth, not kill him, and I did so by altering his matter. But just changing matter to energy and leaving it at that would have meant an explosion, so I re-applied that energy elsewhere. If I hadn't kept that balance and respected conservation of mass/energy, no sacrifice would have been great enough to enforce the contract. I can ignore conservation on a small scale, but not that big. I am limited by what I can sacrifice. My own physical and chemical energy is one of the cheapest prices I can pay, but it's an option. I never have dissolved matter before. I am telling you that Behemoth's dynokinesis helped, and I have a thinker rating. Everything else is true as it appears, except the last sentence. I, the person, am not physically 16. But Contract, the hero in the PRT database is recorded to be 16. So it's true enough that I can write it. It's close to the line, but there you have it.

"I can pass this up the chain for you. I will tell them that we discussed it in depth, and you agreed to move up the deadline only if you were given the final say on all wording. I don't think they'll change anything, but I also know they are not going to risk your wrath by changing anything we agree to without your consent."

"I appreciate this more than life itself. Being able to come to you with any problem is an enormous weight off my chest." She was smiling genuinely, which probably meant she wasn't being sarcastic. It took Colin a long moment to realize why she sounded so sincere.

"I take it exaggeration is your friend for the next week?"

"Is a rhetorical question true or false? What about figurative language? Or commands? Or a question of any kind for that matter?" Colin nodded, getting the point. She had a number of work-arounds available to her.

"Go report for monitor duty. I'll let you know what Glenn has to say about the press release." She grinned at him, grabbed her mask off the table, and left. He watched her go with a sense of relief. He'd earned her trust, and gotten several important questions answered. For the first time since he'd seen Company's report, he felt confident that he deserved to be on the "trusted" short list, and he was now doubly confident that he and Contract could help each other. He walked slowly back to the workshop, mentally composing the report that Company would want from him. After a short deliberation, he decided against editing the audio file to protect his promise and instead decided not to include it at all. What had happened here was between himself and Contract, and she didn't need to be spied on. That wouldn't help her at all.