Unknown
Gestalt Dream
It appeared to be an abandoned rec center. Folding tables surrounded by folding chairs adorned the space. Each one was covered in a disarray of used disposable plates and utensils. Red party cups stood out among the white tablecloths like berries scattered about a bush.
A mirror ball hung from the ceiling, but with the lights on its sparkle was lost. The colorful twisted crepe paper streamers hung low ready to surrender their war with gravity. Below it in the center was lined a rectangular space taped off for a dance floor. The floor was wooden and the lines outlining its use for basketball games when tables didn't cover its perimeter were apparent.
Only four exhausted people lounged in the melancholy remains of whatever gathering was held here.
A fifty-year-old Japanese woman whose hair was in a poodle bob. She wore a fit-and-flare dress with matching pearl earrings and a necklace. Finishing it all off with comfortable soft-soled leather shoes.
To her, right was a raven-haired statuesque woman who had her hair in a teased-out horsetail. She wore a tie-front top that would have been scandalous without the leather jacket she wore over it. Nearly painted-on denim high waders and high heels. She was alternating between forcefully chewing gum and blowing big pink bubbles with it.
To the left was a tall well-muscled Hispanic man. He'd styled his hair and thin mustache to play up his heritage against his lighter skin tone and almost amber eyes. He wore a classic black zoot suit but the jacket and wide-brimmed godfather hat were tossed on a chair nearby. He was working on cleaning and storing a saxophone.
The last sat a distance away from the others she was platinum blonde, startlingly pale-skinned, with icy grey-blue eyes. She wore a light grey leotard and tights. Over that was thrown a lavender scoop neck tee-shirt that was so oversized one shoulder slipped out the neck hole. Matching colored pointe shoes had been tossed onto the floor. She was fidgeting with a pack of cigarettes while puffing away on one that was lit.
A cream and tan cat slid between one of the windows and it's sill like he had been poured into the building. He nonchalantly made his way across the space and lept up on one of the tables.
"What were you holding a wake?"
"We buried him at sea before we turned in Sugar. You know none of us are too much for partying in the skinlands." the Greaser girl explained.
"He wasn't the first stupidly brave man I've had to bury. I hope he's the last. But that hope never plays out." the Japanese woman said her outfit momentarily turning into a US Army nurse's uniform. It then flashed back into place.
"I take it you couldn't talk him down?" the Feline asked.
"It was his boat and his life what did you want us to do gut punch him and lock him in the hold? I know Justin was fascinated by him but Drake wasn't going to let himself be a labrat. He was a man out of time I think he just was looking to go out on his own terms." The Sax player lamented.
"And now it's got you all melancholy about how much the world has moved on since the '50s and '60s. Dredging up all the old body horror and angst a decade of therapy put down." the Cat responded.
A processed voice called out "Fuck you" from the other side of the room
He gave a lazy turn and eyed the dancer. "I'm a hormonal teenager honey you might be careful I'm likely to take that as an offer."
She lifted both hands middle finger extended at the cat who yawned back in reply.
"Look everyone was warned how dangerous this would be. You could and still can pull back at any time. Justin already has a bit of Leviathan. He's damn happy with what he has. He thinks it might be enough for both projects. Coil's men are looking for more bits and bobs that didn't get found in case he runs short. At this point, you can ditch the case. I for one would be glad to have you back I miss you guys we could continue our work."
"Our work? Our work ended when Sara Kaur cut contact and the government stormed the Psilab. You fled long before that."
"I was seven and my family went on the run. I convinced them to come free you. At great personal cost, I might remind you. Not many people other than Justin had the skill to keep your life support systems running while making them mobile."
"Oh for sure Little Gato your bother the big bad wanted Nova. he risked it all for us because he didn't want his baby brother to cry. That fills us with self-worth." the Sax player said with a sneer.
"Fine, you want to push me away. You don't want my help? I'll go. Do whatever you want I was just offering. No need to be a prick about it."
The cat hopped down and started away the greaser picked him up. "Don't give that no mind John. Everyone is on edge from losing a friend as old as we are we done lost too many. We can't come back right yet anyhow. This isn't about the case anymore the PRT has that thing now. This is about those damn serial killers and avenging Drake's death."
"Avenging? Callie, he got himself killed. Now you four are going to charge after him? We have a predictive model he's going to come to the Bay we'll kill him there we have defenses, weapons, allies!"
"If he makes it there first fine but if we can defy prediction and get him first. Well, hell sugar one less thing for ya'll to worry with right?"
"One less? No! No Callie it's one more thing to worry about. Justin is neck-deep in alligators and refuses to admit it. Mom found out her power does dick against an Endbringer. Jean nearly relapsed despite her mindwipe, and I'm not too sure about Poppa Bo. He's nearly as old as you guys and still in his original body!"
"Oh, poor Chico is scared huh? You're staying safe and might be all alone after the rest of us buy it. Really makes me feel fo...urgk"
"Shut up Hector." the Nurse ordered standing up and giving him a light shove.
The Dancer tossed her butt into one of the cups and walked over. The processed voice called out "Mika has seen more death and war than the three of us combined. She was the one waiting at base for the butcher bill in her lifetime. I don't think she cares for you belittling it"
Hector nodded "Yeah. Yeah ok, good point. We are all raw from Drake and taking it out on the kid is pretty shitty. Still, we're doing this right? Miko, Callie, Elisaveta?"
"It's something we have to do John but that doesn't mean we won't be careful. If we don't see a clear shot to take Jack down we'll keep flushing them toward the Bay. Your lot can stand ready to kill if he makes it that far." Miko replied.
"I saved your lives because you were my friends you were the only people who knew something of what I was going through. Other people cared but only you understood. Don't die on me." he demanded as he faded away
Abandoned home
New Jersey
Jack Slash awakened his eyes starting to focus. "Riley girl what's the prognosis?"
"Mixed. I reworked the anti-master shunts I gave us to help you resist the personalities overriding your will. I don't think it is working very well. However, you seem to be unusually resistant to them. It might be an as yet unexplored facet of your power." Bonesaw fretted.
"Can you improve it? Leverage that resistance into an immunity?"
"It's too early to tell but it does buy me time to work."
"I have faith in you Riley. I know you'll do your best. What happened while I was out?"
"Shatter Bird, Mannequin, Crawler, Siberian, Burn Scar, and Ravager made it. The Punks and some random guys killed Chuckles so we're still down by one."
"No pursuit?"
"Endbringer attacked Brockton Bay. Everyone raced there to handle it. There is some odd news. Something about them winning, not driving it off but beating it somehow. I was too busy working on your noggin to dig into it. Shatter Bird might know more."
"I'll have to ask her. Brockton now that place brings back memories. We fought the Teeth there the first time. Before your time."
"I remember the stories of the group back then. You ran circles around them."
"We certainly did. Perhaps we need to return to the scene of that historic battle. If I'm now the Butcher I'm their leader. Two groups are too much to manage. I'm thinking we merge groups in some way. The remaining Teeth would have to prove worthy of course."
"Well of course. But I need more time. You don't want your brains all scrambled."
"Indeed not. We'll lay low for a bit and recover. Do some planning. You can't rush art after all."
"Certainly not. We're not hacks." Riley said with a nod.
"We might do a bit of quiet recruiting to fill the last spot. Make sure Word spreads to the Teeth to prepare. Maybe even pick a few heroes to play with while we're there."
"Now that's the Jack I know! Sounds like a grand time!"
"I guarantee it will be. You will have a special spot in it all as a reward for your hard work."
Bonesaw clapped in excitement as Jack moved out to check in with Shatterbird. In a deep dark part of her mind, another Riley seethed at the delay. Judgment couldn't come soon enough for her.
Cauldron HQ
Amos was a Caldron Vial cape he had wanted power and paid through the nose for it.
He didn't have a fancy cape name. He once had gone by various names, most recently Detente but he had abandoned them all in time. The power he'd collected was a Thinker power. He could look at and organize data. It didn't sound that impressive until you visualized the amounts involved. At a touch, any media written, analog, or digital could be absorbed at a rate of about a terabyte per second. In a couple of minutes, he could read the entire Library of Congress.
He used his power to leverage a position as one of the world's premier data analysts and information brokers.
He was surprised when the Mysterious Cauldron had recently contacted him. His favors and debts had long ago been paid. They made him a new offer that he simply couldn't refuse.
Cauldron had downsized significantly in recent years to purge leeks in their chain of command. They offered the former Detente a spot in their now-regrowing powerbase. A rather high position from the sound of things.
His new offices and access to their portal network alone were a treasure beyond price. The security it afforded was amazing. The multi-world internet uplinks sent shivers through his spine. It was enough to warm his data-hungry heart.
His primary job assignment was monitoring and sorting the data from a very recent discovery labeled Earth Aberrant. While the workload was considerable he enjoyed the challenge.
The Custodian gave him a light brush. "Yes, I'm aware. A few more seconds there have been last-minute additions."
Nodding to himself he rose and followed the ephemeral being through the halls. He entered the primary meeting room and took a seat.
Rebecca Costa Brown, Legend, Eidolon, Doctor Mother, and Numberman were already seated. Contessa was leaning upon a nearby wall.
"Quite sorry for the delay. I have excellent news that I hope will be well worth the delay," he announced
"We do not accord Amos. A few seconds is more than within your discretion." Legend assured him.
"Still any good news would be welcome." Rebecca opined
"I have a full dossier on the danger family and have worked out the identity of the Punks."
"That is excellent news, you certainly are proving your worth." Doctor Mother added.
"Starting with the Immediate family James-Derrick Ethan Danger aka Captain Danger. The two previous capes in his family both being military men who used their rank in their cape name. they were both stalwarts as that world classifies things. Captain Danger never served nor attained rank.
His power set was remarkably unimaginative given the breadth of Nova powers. He was strong to the tune of being able to lift somewhere in the neighborhood of five hundred tonnes. Was highly resistant to all forms of harm. Lastly, he could shield others by absorbing energy be it thermal electromagnetic, or concussive. We postulate with a high degree of certainty that he is dead."
"What leads you to that conclusion?" Doctor Mother asked.
"I will get to that but at this point, it would be a digression. So let us continue with the Mother. Melinda Bethany Danger formerly Darling. Was also a Nova one with a much more interesting powerset. Known as the Iron Maiden it was publicly known she could increase her density and mass to the point her body became harder than steel. She also could levitate slowly. She used this power to prevent her increased density from shattering the substances she was walking on."
Amos took a sip of water before continuing.
"It was less well known she could decrease her density till she became an ephemeral ghost. She retained her senses and thus was an excellent spy in particular due to her second power. She was not only called the Iron Maiden for her hardness. She could project a field across several city blocks. This field gave her a sense of any manifestation of Quantum power. She could either prevent its use or weaken it significantly. If the users themselves were inside this field she could begin draining their reserves of power.
"An energy vampire Trump effect." Eioldon mused.
"Indeed she also could reverse the flow to her allies recharging reserves. She often set traps with her teammates over the years. Those who fell for them were said to have fallen 'Into the Iron Maiden' by those groups she was a part of.
"Jean Marie Danger publicly known as Eos or Eos Dawnbringer. Erupted as a teenager and was a member of the Junior Titians a subset of the Titians a group that operated out of Detroit. The family lived there during her teenage years. Her powerset exactly matched up and her appearance was the same, with a remarkable lack of deviation, as the Brockton Bay Ward codenamed Nova. Unless some very powerful misdirection is going on she is older than she looks based on other metrics I estimate she is twenty-four.
"Interesting," Rebecca said while jotting down some notes.
"When she turned eighteen she had a public break with the Titians. This was just before her family chose to seclude themselves from publicity. She was later seen in the company of some of the higher-profile supporters of the Terragen movement. The antecedent which spawned the more destructive Abberant sect."
"These were Nova supremacists?" Legend asked for clarifications.
"The Architect of the movement Divis Mal felt Nova's were a higher evolved people. He did not call for rulership over or combat against humanity save for self-preservation. However, he refused to acknowledge human law held any authority over Nova-kind. He stated that each Nova is a nation having sovereignty over itself. He seemed more a propionate of enlightened Anarchy than Fascism. In practice, he held a low bar for what acts he considered offensive to Nova sovereignty and was regarded as a terrorist.
Divis Mal also refused to police his own despite his alleged disinterest in the 'affairs of mundane humanity'. Those who claimed to be Terragen violated international law and were part of numerous attacks. Only the worst cases of violent excess led to censor and only mass murder led to him formally disavowing them."
"A rather familiar story. Historically" Legend nodded.
"Despite this, she reappeared with Marcus Hightower when he activated Othrys. She exited the ship and flew back to Earth under her own power. She was able to evade monitoring and disappear. It appears she reunited with her family."
"But what are her loyalties? It sounds like she was some plant or mole." Eilodon ventured.
"Even undercover agents can have their loyalty tested. The reports I've read say that Terragen used techniques that generated normally harmful Flux. They used it somehow to force mutations upon themselves. She might well have been corrupted in more ways than one." Rebecca explained.
"Many mysteries still surround her. Given data from Armsmaster, I don't believe Danger was outright lying about wiping her mind to give her a second chance. I do believe she may have been a willing participant in that, however." Legend added.
"Moving along we have, the stage name, Justinius Polymath Danger. Legally known as Justin-Daniel Ian Danger"
"Do they all do that?" Doctor Mother interrupted.
"Hum? Oh the compound first name featuring a J and D? They do all first-born males of the Danger line it seems, a few others. Some sort of superstition or family tradition I expect."
The Doctor waved for him to continue.
"Sorting out his powers was more difficult. He never was directly involved in a cape battle. We found a description of his power given to the board who reviewed his doctorial thesis.-"
"You mean he really is a doctor?" Rebecca inquired.
"Yes. He had to give an overview of his power and how it helped him formulate his thesis. Then he had to show a defense of it with confirmation from experimentation that was replicable by mainstream equipment. His own words work best if you are ready for the video?"
Contessa flicked the light. A projection monitor displayed the recording on the white wall.
In the video, a female voice from off-camera was asking questions of a six-year-old boy. He was trying to look serious and solemn despite being excited and fidgety. His eyes were also darting about oddly. His pupils at times dilated and constricted as his focus shifted.
"So Justin your Nova power is a molecular sense as I understand."
"No mam that would be disingenuous to the point of falsity.
"You don't have to use large words to sound intelligent Justin only clear ones. We are here to judge your work and ideas, not your oratory"
"Yes mam, it still isn't true however my senses extend way beyond the molecular and even atomic level. My senses extend down to the quantum substrate. I can see the atomic scale deviations in the flat tables, I can tell how many mol of every element is in an object I touch and estimate it in any object I see"
"Is that why you wear gloves?"
"It's related. To me everything feels like sandpaper. Every object I see appears rough-hewn and sloppy. No two angles run parallel no seams match up nothing is smooth. The world is a jagged mess. I've learned to appreciate the beauty in flaws. The feel of things. Well, I still have trouble handling the sense of touch. I made the inside of my gloves smooth to help.
"When you say made?"
Justin reaches out toward the camera and his hand comes back with a pen. The pen starts to flow like a liquid and becomes a flower.
"I can reconfigure the elements of any non-sapient object I touch. It can affect viruses, bacteria, slime molds, fungi, and most of the plant kingdom . Anything higher I can only affect if it's dead. I also can't impart life upon anything I craft. It's related to noetic field interaction."
"I see so you reordered the atoms in that pen into new molecules."
"No, I reordered the subatomic particles into new atoms. Also drawing a tiny bit of extra mass from the molecules in the air. If I push I can force things into paths we've never found in nature. Most of those destabilize shortly after I stop paying attention to them. The Marcus finds the stable ones interesting. Some can be replicated using mundane means. That is very energy-intensive work. It inspired me to do this work."
"Wait you can create antimatter? Just will it into existence?"
"It's not as easy as all that. Containment is an issue for one. Natural anti-particles are not easy to come by. I have to make those from scratch. So, it's rather labor intensive truth be told. For any large-scale technological boom that bottleneck would be unacceptable. That's why I worked all this up."
"Ahh okay, We have a handle on how your power contributed to things let's move on."
Amos stopped the video. As Contessa flipped on the lights. Rebecca sat with her mouth open
"This sounds big," Eilodon said
"Very. he doesn't need anything. With a mind like a computer full of blueprints and that power, he is a molecular forge." Doctor Mother explained.
"He can spin straw into gold. David, it's an enormous deal. The only power more outrageous I'm familiar with is your atomic creation. Imagine being able to order that matter into technology, any technology you'd studied. Then add the ability to know the exact makeup and structure of any object you touched." Rebecca added.
"No, he's limited by scale. He can provide samples enough for experiments. Large-scale fabrication it sounds like is outside of his grasp. There is no doubt he can do what he's promised. He can fabricate the tools needed to create the machines to start production. Amos is this inside the scope of what we've prepared for in our plans."
"Yes, the plans Accord drew up place this at the high side of his estimation but we still have a small margin of error."
Doctor Mother turned to Contessa "Anything?"
Contessa shook her head "Nothing has changed since Drake died and it didn't change much."
"Please continue then Amos I'm sorry for the interruption."
"Think nothing of it. Now that brings us to the baby of the family"
"The one we never see on the videos?" Eidolon asked.
"He's in the videos." Rebecca countered.
Legend nodded in agreement. "They are twins; several of the segments have John taking Justin's place. The running gag of never seeing Jon on screen is to cover for it."
"Or a bit of humor for those who follow the show closer," Rebecca added.
"Indeed born second but given the same naming scheme as a firstborn son. Including the name, his father preferred to use. John-David Ethan Danger was not a Nova. To say he had no powers, however, was a lie."
"I take it he was a Mesmerist. Something about the description of Justin's eruption as a Nova didn't fit right." Rebecca commented.
"I noticed something odd but I thought it was because John was telling the story." Legend added.
Amos smiled "Well I can put that to rest. Expert data from their world shows interfacing with minds, isn't among the abilities set of Quantum powers. even animal minds It is the realm of Noetic powers or pure technology. With Justin and Jean both ruled out, by their Nova nature, the only potential psionic is John."
Rebecca gave a slow nod. "He was bombarded by the dog's pain. It opened a flood to his new psionic senses. Instinctively he reached out to the person mentally closest to him. The flood of information triggered Justin's eruption. They told a simplified version that left John out."
"So it seems. The rare gift of Psionic powers led to a collaboration. Hightower Industries and Kaur Research, the preeminent group of psionic and mundane technological researchers, joined forces. The Aeon society wanted to know more but neither organization seemed to get along with Aeon. The founder of Kaur was a founding member of Aeon who split with the group over ideological matters.
"It is through reports from Aeon spies we gained useful information. John worked along with several Psionic individuals. People who had progressed beyond the Mesmerist level. They'd started to become something more. They labeled John and these stronger Psionics as Psiads." Amos explained.
"The punks. Well, except for Drake." legend guessed.
"Indeed so they each had been captured by the darkest of black ops organizations. Their lives were extended by advanced technology. The sole purpose of this was to extend their usefulness as subjects of experiments.
They were rescued by Kaur. The group was united, and able to share experiences with fellow victims. They were encouraged to discover the secrets of their powers on their own terms.
Hightower gave free advanced technology to raise their mobility and standard of living. They were housed in a Kaur facility and when Hightower evacuated no one from Kaur responded to his coded messages."
"Allies but not friends." Doctor Mother summed up.
"So it seems. The facility was being monitored by the government. During the collapse and overthrow the site was raided. Everyone both subjects and faculty vanished. Of particular note were
"Hector Martínez a protestor against anti-Hispanic discrimination in Los Angeles during the '50s. His powers were described as a form of Biokinesis that could also heal wounds. The researchers were working toward building his power up to a level that he would be able to regenerate his body.
"Miko Fujimoto an army nurse who served in the Korean policing action. Her elder brothers had served in the second World War. They were in the European theater of course. All of her life she said she had visions of what was to come. She kept them quiet keeping her head down in the Japanese relocation camp. Records still exist of her letters that helped her siblings survive the war. Once hooked to life support equipment she developed the power to mentally control machines.
"Callie Hall a petty criminal member of a hot rod enthusiast club. She had reflexes that everyone took note of. Later research shows this power is a short-range clairvoyance of the future. She was also noted to have been empathetic.
"Elisaveta Volkova, a Ballet dancer who protested the soviet government to the limit of what her celebrity status would allow. One day in 73 she pushed too far and disappeared. It's not clear how Kaur freed her. She was listed as having telekinesis and a similar short-range predictive power as Callie.
And back to the family. Lastly, the two elders. Jacob-Damien Danger was found dead of old age in Collinwood Tennessee. This other man who is called Papa Bo doesn't exist."
"A rather bold statement." Rebecca opined
"Indeed we searched through legal records of the Darling family. No likely candidate for this man exists. No one whose history does not disqualify him.
It was a trawl through an eclectic mix of colorful characters. They are far more interesting than the Dangers. Who, were a predictable mix of military men, police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians.
The Darlings have a chronic condition that runs in their genetic line. The Darlings have a predisposition to having high intelligence as well as schizophrenia.
They run the gamut from artists to serial killers. There are records of them all dating back to the early '70s which is almost a century on Earth Aberrant. During our investigation, we happened upon a mystery. A very wealthy trust fund was formed for them by a mysterious benefactor. A trust named Risk Reduction."
"I've heard that name before." Legend mused leafing through some papers.
"It's a charity in Brockton that Danger started with laundered money from Coil. It is part of the front company he used to buy stock in B.I.G.'s competitors. Their value rose after he exposed B.I.G. and trashed their reputation. They then sold that and bought a controlling interest in Brockton Insurance Group. The boy made more money manipulating stocks than he stole." Numberman explained.
"The original Risk Reductions had regular donations from varied accounts. These ranged from money laundering fronts, black ops slush funds, and discretionary lines of credit. Many of these are shared between the Civil Intelligence Agency and the State Department. Being sure that this man was a part of the government we focused on foreign sources of information about him."
"Sensible did you uncover much?" Rebecca asked.
"How old would this guy be?" Legend asked
"Around a hundred and thirty. Don't scoff, the youngest founding member of the Aeon society Jake Stefanowski is still alive and fought in combat last year." Amos implored them.
"So a century-old boogie man and his last living relatives went on the run. I can see that giving some people sleepless nights." David admitted.
"A little. The Soviets code-named him D'yavol. Literally the Devil. The Chinese called him Dírén the enemy. From sixty-eight to the turn of the century this man achieved a notoriety beyond legendary to border on the mythic. Many suspected he was not a man but the face of an entire sub-organization. However, remaining Mesmerists and Talents swore otherwise. Tallents being the replacement term for Flux empowered people."
"he must have been the last successful subject of American attempts to use artificial means to generate Inspired agents." Contessa pondered.
"That is the going theory. The aftermath of the Cold War didn't leave this agent be. There are reports he was sent as an advisor in Afghanistan. He worked previously with the Mujahideen against the Soviets. He was frequently spotted by Russian and Chinese intelligence in advisory roles across the globe. According to their sources, he was also paid to advise a United Nations task force. The International Commission on Nova Activities also referred to as the Directive. A watchdog group that meant to keep an eye on Nova groups."
"So he could have been working for any number of people." Rebecca mused.
"It doesn't matter in the end who he was working for. Family ties bound him when push came to shove he made his choice and joined his family." Eilodon Postulated.
"I for one suspect you are right." Amos admited.
"So you were able to figure out something about the attack on their base at Bhodi?" Legend asked.
"We were able to confirm that a tactical nuclear device was deployed. Yet the town still stands. Records of the assault indicate an aberrant blocked the initial nuclear deployment. That Nova was overloaded and reduced to dust. This was Ethan Danger. His death saturated the area with toxic flux. They quarantined the area. When the specialist arrived with protective equipment they confirmed the town was empty."
"Did they not check the mine?"
"The report showed the mine had collapsed. Our investigation revealed the entryway does not match the original excavation. Someone reopened the mine. Someone who can control earth and stone."
"We had assumed the Punks were the ones who followed them into our world. That power profile doesn't fit any of them, if not them who?" Doctor Mother wondered.
"Justin would not have had to make such crude alterations to the portal device. The Punks were already with them. Drake we suspect was caught between worlds in a pocket dimension like a bug in amber. Their passage shook him loose as well as his teleporting ship. Someone came to that site, modified that portal, and followed them to our Earth. Persons who are still at large.
"That is most disconcerting we will have to make finding them a high priority." Doctor Mother announced.
Everyone at the table agreed and began making plans on how to do just that.
This is going on Hiatus for a few months while I work on other projects and real-life issues. I have every plan to continue and outlines laid for the future.
