(Author's Note: I was planning to release a group of interludes following the summit, but didn't have enough time to get the series ready for this release. Instead of delaying the chapter, I've decided to release the first of them as a stand-alone interlude, essentially a half-length chapter in the place of a delay. This isn't going to be the standard going forward, but I would prefer to maintain my schedule if at all possible. Longer chapter coming next week, with additional perspectives, as well as getting back to Joe.)
63.1 Interlude Lauren
Lauren twisted in the booth, doing her best with the borderline impossible task of watching the main table without taking her eyes off of the rest of their group. The three teenagers were taking things about as seriously as she should have expected based on her experience with Lost Garden, and at a place like this, that was an invitation for trouble.
"Cell phone away." She whispered harshly to Barrow Rose for what must have been the tenth time that night. The girl froze with her phone barely peeking over the lip of the table, but quickly lowered it after a followup glance from Lauren.
"Barrow will want to know what's going on." Rose protested. She turned towards the main table with a conflicted look on her face. "We could have conferenced him in to the main table, or something like that."
Which would have undermined Blasto's position and complicated the summit needlessly. And that's assuming the old man didn't say something that got him on the wrong side of the Elite or, God forbid, the Celestial Forge. Barrow's power excessively insulated him from the outside world, and the man had become somewhat derisive of other powers as a result. Uber and Leet had shown the problem with that kind of thinking, but she doubted it would have been enough to change his outlook.
"No live communications. We don't want to look like we're breaking the truce. No pictures, no transmissions. You can update Barrow after the meeting." As if she wouldn't be doing so the moment Lauren stopped running interference.
Rose begrudgingly pocketed her phone as Lauren turned her attention back to the main table. It was incredibly easy to turn your attention towards that table. She wasn't sure if this was additional evidence of Apeiron getting stronger, or if he just had a completely different presence in person compared to what could be conveyed through video. Either way, he seemed to command the eyes of everyone in the room, even when he wasn't saying anything.
She'd seen the theories. Some kind of appearance control or presentation-based power. The fact that he had managed to remain photogenic while bleeding out on the ground was evidence enough of that, but seeing it in person was almost frightening. It wasn't just some static display making him look good. Whatever drove that power was a living, adaptive thing. Something that seemed to respond to the situation and make subtle changes in presentation, pose, and possibly even the light levels to capture attention.
She shook her head and diverted her eyes. She'd been in the cape game long enough to run into her share of stranger powers. She knew the basics of how to work around them. Apeiron's displays didn't feel like that, but she knew to be cautious. It was too easy to get sucked in. You just had to look at the conflicted expression on Rose's face whenever her eyes were drawn towards the man.
That seemed to be a feature of his team in general. If you weren't into the sculpted perfection that Apeiron seemed to casually exude there was always the rugged fighter pilot sitting across the bar. Even with the costume covering everything but his chin and sly grin, Fleet had a certain kind of gruff appeal that Lauren had to admit was more in line with her own tastes.
And then there was Survey. It didn't really seem fair to compare anyone or anything to Survey. Even while daintily seated and sipping her drink the woman was grace incarnate. Kudzu in particular was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. The brute had a power that could rend apart a vault door like tissue paper, but he was acting like a nervous kid at his first junior high dance, and he was far from the only one affected. Really, you'd have to be blind not to notice the appeal.
Lauren seriously had to wonder whether this was some high-level play to keep the other gangs off balance. From the rumors about Lady Khepri's past as a model to the care put into every item he created; it was clear that Apeiron put a priority on beauty. For someone like Accord that was a weakness, or at least a distraction. A point of focus that would divert resources and attention from more valuable matters. Only for Apeiron it came across as an asset. Even if the theory about needing to build to high design standards for his tech to function was true, it didn't seem to impair him in any capacity, and proved a disruptive influence wherever he went. All eyes in the bar were directed towards Apeiron or his team.
Well, not all eyes. Initially, Ivy had taken notice along with everyone else. Some of Apeiron's declarations had a near physical presence to them, after all. But surprisingly, instead of spectating Apeiron or the rest of his group Ivy had spent most of the meeting doing her level best to eye-fuck the white-haired cape in the Merchants contingent. There was an uncomfortable level of recognition from the boy, and Ivy was not being the least bit subtle about it.
The rest of the Merchants had caught on and had likely pressed the boy for his side of the story. Ivy had been less than forthcoming, but Lauren could make a reasonable guess. This was likely to be trouble. Despite the fact that the Merchants were exactly the kind of gang she would have run with in her early years, she was concerned about getting involved with them. Actually, it was precisely because she had run with similar groups that she was concerned. Hopefully the benefit of her experience could help them avoid repeating mistakes.
Rey wasn't the only one struggling with the novel experience of being relied on to act as an experienced and RESPONSIBLE person. At least she didn't have to deal with the level of subversion and derision the kids directed towards Rey. She might not have left Lost Garden on perfect terms, but the fact that she had been an insider bought her a lot of clout with the team that had been sent down. Hopefully it would be enough to head off any major disasters.
That thought brought a chill to her skin. Her normal standard for a 'major disaster' involved burned bridges with local groups, a few pissed off capes, and the need for a hasty relocation. Stepping into Brockton Bay the scale of how bad a fuckup could get had expanded quite dramatically. She concealed a nervous swallow as she glanced over at the group that had taken matters from the scale of local disruption to global catastrophe.
The Celestial Forge. For anyone else the name would seem arrogant in the extreme. Practically an invitation for some stronger, more established group to smack them down. While there was no shortage of teams in the second category, she had her doubts about the first.
Even before the summit Apeiron had been floating around the level where the only plausible countermeasure was an S-Class declaration. You only had to look at the words that jumped into her head every time she thought the man's name to see why. The Enigmatic Artificer sat watching the last of the summit's terms being hammered out. That power or effect or technology, whatever it was, left absolutely no doubt to his identity. In terms of power moves you could execute before a conference; it was off the fucking charts.
She wondered if this was what it was like for capes in L.A. or Houston. The fact that she could only even get close to the same scale by comparing to cities run by members of the Triumvirate was unnerving.
Though the situation wasn't as unnerving as it had been before they arrived. Scattered exposure to Apeiron, mostly through videos of him facing off against villains or engaged in progressively more destructive combat, hadn't given her the clearest impression of the man. Everyone knew how strong he was. Assuming that earlier feats hadn't been a fluke, like what everyone was speculating when he first appeared, he was probably able to fight the combined forces of the city, hero and villain, without much concern. And that wasn't even getting into the team.
She scanned across the capes at his table. The statuesque Fleet and Survey, Lethe's and Matrix's armored forms, the glowing terror that was Proto Aima, and Kataklyzein sitting as the final member, grounding the insanity as he lapped at his drink. She'd had plenty of experience in the cape scene. Apeiron's team came across as friendly and relaxed, but based on their demonstrated or claimed feats she didn't doubt their ability to unleash hell if needed.
Instead of threatening any such action, Apeiron had presented a calm, reasonable front. Probably the best stance anyone could have hoped for. Get the city back on its feet, and let him stay out of it.
It would be wonderful, if anyone believed that was his actual intention. Or the limits of his intention. Apeiron had a team and a rapidly growing power base. Really, the only way this city was going to be untouched by his hand was if he reached a level where it became too insignificant for him to worry about. If not, you could only guess what would happen the next time the Celestial Forge went to war in Brockton Bay.
Hopefully she and Rey would be long gone by then. Brockton was an alright city, but they didn't need this stress. They just had to satisfy Barrow's vendetta and they could be out of here. She needed to talk to Rey about what would happen next. She couldn't see him staying with Lost Garden. It was probably always intended to be a stopgap measure, a desperate fallback. It was the same for her, something in her past that was technically available in case everything else fell apart.
The topic at the main table had moved on to Kaiser's reparations. Uppercrust was ushering out the uninjured parties over their mild protests. Someone raised a point of coordination, and then Apeiron casually offered a direct line on his website for members of the summit.
Contact with Apeiron, handed out trivially. Probably not tolerated trivially, but it was at least an assurance that he would look at any messages sent. The significance of it seemed to go over the heads of the rest of Lost Garden, but she could see recognition in the representatives at the table. It wasn't a promise of anything but communication, but that was more than pretty much anyone else on the planet had. A little consolation prize for the people leaving early, and more than enough to stifle any protests about being kicked out.
As Rey rose from the table he gave her a meaningful look. She nodded nervously. It was more than just an acknowledgement of the situation. She recognized that gleam in his eyes from their time together. Up to now he'd been holding himself with a kind of tired determination. Given what had happened in Boston she understood. She had been planning to talk with him about it once they had some time to themselves. A day spent frantically tracking down team members and prepping for the summit hadn't been conducive to that.
Now, he was like a different person. Energized and focused. Inspired. She knew that look, the expression he got when he was ready to launch into a major project. Normally it was wonderful to see. Being exposed to that kind of energy, even tangentially, was invigorating. Now, with everything else complicating things it seemed like the last thing they needed.
The Merchants, Travelers, and Dragonslayers began to shift from their tables in response to the central table reorganizing. "Come on." Lauren whispered to the other members of her team and rose from her seat to join up with Blasto. There was a brief pause that flickered through the room, drawing attention back to the main table. The reason was clear. Apeiron had suddenly seemed to unfocus and disconnect from the world around him.
The apprehension was almost palpable. This was something he had demonstrated multiple times through the summit and she still wasn't sure what exactly was happening. Nobody was going to forget the way he had zoned out right before announcing the Teeth's arrival. Lauren glanced towards Kaiser. She couldn't tell much under that armor, but she would guess he was sweating bullets over the upcoming negotiations. Well, more than he'd already been.
Without thinking she found her gaze slip over to the Empire's tables. Damsel of Distress locked eyes with her and gave a smug smile that caused Lauren's stomach to do flips. The last time she had seen a smile like that the girl had been tearing up their base during the Boston Games. It took a lot to make an active Nazi gang more distressing, but the slip of a girl seated at that table, dressed in a color-inverted take on an SS uniform, managed it easily. More moments from the Boston Games flashed through her mind intercut with some of the woman's more dramatic public appearances over the years.
She pulled her gaze away before she could betray any weakness. The room seemed to have recovered from, or at least adjusted to the fact that Apeiron was indulging in another 'strategy trance', or whatever it actually was. Hopefully this one wouldn't end in a monster transformation or the announcement that another gang was crashing the summit.
She felt some of her tension settle as Rey made his way towards her. "We should get out of here." He said in a low voice, his eyes jumping back to the table. "They're not keen on an audience for the next part."
She nodded. "Any idea what that's about?" She inclined her head towards Apeiron. He was still lost in his own world, but seemed to be sharing something with his team. The rest of the Celestial Forge were clearly aware of what was going on and generally unconcerned, though whether that boded well or poorly was anyone's guess.
Rey shook his head, then something caught his eye. Shifting her attention back to the room Lauren had to bite back a curse. Rose was fishing out her cell phone, Kud was drifting past Survey's seat while doing an incredibly poor job of making it seem like a natural route through the bar, and Ivy had managed to catch the white-haired boy before the Merchant contingent left.
Professionalism was pretty much out the window at this point, not that they were exactly being taken seriously to begin with. She intercepted Kudzu, stopped Rose from making a call in the middle of a bar full of supervillains, and managed to pry Ivy away from the glowing boy under the entertained gazes of his teammates. Before she dragged the girl away Ivy leaned in and whispered something to him. The way he blushed with the same blue-white light that flowed from his hair and eyes would have been adorable in any other situation. Right now, Lauren was just grateful to get out of the bar in one piece.
"Do we need to worry about Coil's team?" Lauren asked, indicating towards the building Survey had pointed out. She could practically feel the people watching them from the upper level. Blasto shook his head.
"The van's deniable and they'd already have the plates by this point." He explained. "We'll need to switch it earlier than planned, but we have the budget for that."
Boy did they ever. Given how tight Barrow could be with funds on a day-to-day basis it was incredible how much money he was willing to throw at this kind of mission. She was being excessively overpaid, and Blasto could probably have gotten away with hiring an entire team of mercenary capes at the same rate.
The only reason he hadn't gone that route was for the sake of optics. Barrow wanted to send a message, meaning Lost Garden had to be the ones to do this. Her own history with the group essentially back-doored her in. The old man was probably hoping it would look like former members were flocking back in his defense. If that was actually the case the city would be drowning in capes by now. No, people who left Lost Garden didn't typically come back, not if they had any other options.
That gave her an uneasy feeling. The situation she'd been in before Rey had reached out to her hadn't been good. She wasn't the kind of person to strike out on her own, but also didn't play well with others. The combination meant that she'd been through as many teams as she had names. That was another problem. Branding was important, and she had let hers go to shit. The few people who recognized her knew her as some variant of 'that apple cape'. Indecision coming back to bite her. Well, that and the cape culture of Lost Garden. They didn't exactly have Protectorate level image consultants in the woods.
Jobs had started to become harder to find, team ups less inviting. It was hard to stay in that acceptable range, the band of villainy where the heroes were willing to keep the kid gloves on, but you were still earning enough to cover your needs. It was harder when you worked with teams. You only needed one cape to go over the edge to be tarred for the rest of your career.
She was jumpy about that. She had good reason to be. She knew what happened if she fully charged her orbs. Fired as soon as they formed, the poisons could irritate skin, burn eyes, or cause coughing fits. The same symptoms as tear gas or mace, though Blasto said the actual chemicals at work were completely different. Comparing those white spheres to the nearly pitch-black ones she could create with sufficient charge time… she had tried that once. Only once, far away from people, and still didn't like thinking about what had happened.
Cape culture seemed to be simultaneously trying to keep cape fights as harmless as possible, and as close to the letter of the unwritten rules as they could get away with. As much as she hated to admit it, for most capes, brutality worked. She just had to think back to the reactions when the Teeth had entered the bar. That entire group was a living testament to the advantages of riding close to the limits of what could be tolerated from parahumans.
And that thought only introduced more concerns. Another problem that had mushroomed from a local concern to a global risk. Apeiron had agreed to let other gangs handle the Teeth. He wasn't going to hunt down the Butcher, despite the amount of venom the two had been exchanging at the table. The risk of the worst-case scenario everyone had been worrying about, a Butcher-Apeiron, had been drastically reduced. Not eliminated, but reduced to a level where the Protectorate probably would refrain from scorched earth tactics, for the time being.
Assuming someone leaked the details to them. One look at Rose and her cell phone, and a imagined vision of the 'professionalism' of the Merchants, and Lauren didn't think that would be a problem.
They slipped down the street as inconspicuously as possible to where their covertly acquired transport had been parked. Blasto was right about needing to replace it, but they could manage easily. Kudzu still had a slightly dreamy look on his face when Blasto directed him into the driver's seat while the rest of them piled into the back.
If Kud was slightly dreamy, then Ivy was in a full-on fantasy land. To be fair, she'd been like that since they tracked her down that afternoon. Lauren was guessing it was more a personality quirk than anything that needed to work its way out of her system. She remembered the type well enough from her time in the Garden. The fact that the team's top shaker had latched onto one of the Merchants, if an apparently green and harmless one, was concerning. Another thing she'd need to talk to Rey about.
Rey was stripping off his moss-mask and changing the outer layers of his costume, enough for deniability on the walk back to the hideout. She knew the drill well enough, and peeled off her mask while throwing a coat over her own costume. Rose and Ivy had little enough in the way of cape wear that removing token masks and a few decorative pieces was enough to have them blending in on the street.
When they finally made it back to their current base they found at least half of the Lost Garden kids missing and the rest in various states of non-function. Conflicting stories about bars, clubs, and parties were shared, leaving Lauren unsure if they were being lied to or dealing with genuine confusion.
Less than a day with the group and she already understood the weariness that had seemed to be infusing Rey when they met that morning. She had a slightly easier time than he did, but it was an unnerving feeling trying to keep people away from the kind of behavior she had indulged in as much as possible. Rebellion was a lot less fun from the other side.
"Rose, I need you to sort this out." She said carefully as Blasto gave up and slipped over to his lab. "Find out where everyone is, their condition, and who we can call on if we need them."
The girl shifted awkwardly, her hand drifting towards her phone. "But… what about…?"
"Listen, the Teeth are in the city." She said seriously. "This isn't a simple mission anymore. You report to Barrow after you know the condition of his forces. I'm pretty sure Apeiron bought us a few days' grace from the Butcher, and we need to use that time properly."
Rose smiled and Lauren understood why. That had been glorious to watch. The Butcher was the kind of person you were just waiting to see get smacked down, and Apeiron has handled it beautifully. Okay, he did everything beautifully, but that had been positively musical. The only thing souring it was the weight of her own experience. The assurance that capes, especially prominent capes, didn't take insult and degradation lying down. The Butcher would try something to settle the score, even if it was just leaving a mess behind as she fled the city.
And that was the best-case scenario.
"Take some time, confirm who we have on hand and who we can call up. Also, see if you can set up some kind of shift system. We're going to need at least a few people on hand at any given time, so try to keep this kind of stuff in rotation." Lauren gestured to the surrounding disarray. "I'll check in with Blasto and get you an update for when you call Barrow."
The girl gave her an encouraging nod. "I'll take care of that. Thank you, Apple."
Rose hurried off as Lauren slumped. At least Rose was treating her more like a big sister than a den mother. She wasn't even twenty-five yet, but in the eyes of Lost Garden she might as well be some middle-aged shrew. That was the mentality of the woods, of a closed community, of Barrow's movement. Not for the first time, she was grateful for the distance Blasto's contract allotted her.
When she pushed through the division into the lab space she found Rey hunched over an improvised work desk scribbling out notes. He glanced up as she approached.
"How bad is it out there?" He asked. "Rose off to tattle to Barrow yet?"
"No, I've kicked that down the road. She'll be waiting for your update, at least." He nodded and handed a sheet of paper to one of his green monkey assistants. It scurried off as he started on a new one. "What are we going to do? About the mission? I mean, if Apeiron can't find Uber, Leet, or Bakuda…"
"Then we're not going to be able to find them." He said with confidence, not looking up from his work. "I don't know if Survey was using a thinker power or a form of his scanning technology." He paused. "Actually, she could be the source of his scanning technology. The point is, that was advanced work. Detailed, with extensive range and thorough analysis all conducted in an exceedingly short window of time." He looked up and turned to her. "Apeiron was making a point. We aren't going to be able to hide things from him, and probably aren't going to be able to find things that he doesn't already know about."
"About that…" Lauren looked around unsteadily. "Is there going to be any problem with us staying here? I mean, blackout zone and ABB territory. It's supposed to be a No Man's Land."
"For gang conflicts." Rey said confidently. "We aren't settling in the city, and we won't be causing trouble for anyone in the area. As long as we stay out of costume while we're in the area we'll be in compliance, and we'll be gone before anyone has a chance to complain."
Lauren wasn't as confident about that technicality as Rey seemed to be, but a more pressing concern was rising to the surface. "Will we though?" She asked. "The people we've been sent to hit are off the grid. Unless Barrow's willing to accept a strike on the Teeth…"
"He won't." Rey said, putting her own thoughts into words. He sighed before continuing. "Maybe if that whole 'ABB successor' thing had flown and they took over the territory it would be close enough to count, but the way things stand? No. Not going to send the kind of message he wants."
"Right." She said, collecting herself. "So, where do we stand?"
"Power wise?" Rey gave an unsteady look towards the other side of the warehouse. "In terms of manpower, we might be the lead in the city, just by number of capes. Depends on how many of the Empire's stragglers have come back into the fold. In terms of being able to effectively apply that power…"
He trailed off and Lauren could only agree. "Yeah, I remember Lost Garden field operations." She shook her head. "It was more throwing capes at the problem than any real tactical guidance. Helped that the problems were never that complex."
Rey scoffed. "This city is nothing but complexity. I could have done this with five people, but…"
"Barrow. Statement. I get it." She took a breath. "Look, I have Rose looking into some kind of shift system. Odds are it will be a mess and fall apart in a week at most, but it should ensure we at least have a few people ready to move if something happens." The spark of relief she saw on Rey's face was heartening.
"That will make a big difference. Beyond that…" He trailed off.
"We have nowhere to hit." She stated plainly.
Rey's shoulders slumped. "Pretty much. Which, in the worst case, leaves us high and dry until Barrow pulls the plug or one of the kids drags us into one of the local conflicts by doing something stupid." He paused. "I mean stupider than usual."
Lauren shifted awkwardly. "Actually, about that…"
"Verdant Ivy." Rey said in a hollow voice.
"Yeah." Lauren replied. "You saw her with that Merchant cape?"
"Scrub. Triggered during the Ungodly Hour. Merchants have been parading him around at their events. Nuker class, possibly not Manton limited, possibly annihilator."
"Well." Lauren stated flatly. "Ivy certainly knows how to pick them."
"You can say that again." Rey huffed. "Lauren, what are the odds that if either of us try to step in she turns this into some kind of screwed up Romeo and Juliet thing with half the other kids cheering her on?"
"No bet." She replied with dry humor. "God, it's weird seeing things from this side."
"I know what you mean." He said. "I miss the days where my only concern was figuring out the best way to piss Accord off."
Lauren's expression softened and she closed the last of the distance between them. She settled onto the surface of the workbench and looked down at Rey. "What happened back in Boston? With Blastgerm?"
Rey leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. "Blastgerm." He said in an almost amused voice, shaking his head. "That was a nice idea wasn't it?" Lauren gave him a confused look, prompting him to elaborate. "The team, it never really landed." He glanced in the direction of the residential half of the warehouse again. "Seeing Lost Garden, it brings back memories of that. Rough idea without planning or organization."
"You getting philosophical on me?" She prompted, trying to raise his spirits. It did get a weak smile.
"No. Just thinking. Losing everything like that…'' He sighed. "Lauren, at the end Blastgerm was just a name. Something the Protectorate could put on a map so it didn't look like it was being held by one person. We always cycled members, and things had whittled down to just me."
"Then what happened?" She asked.
"Blackout hit. I had a few creatures ready, there were some decent targets. I figured it would be a bit of easy work, enough to keep me from needing to leave the lab for a month of two." His face turned cold. "It all went to hell. It wasn't all on that Ward, but the kid had something to prove. Also, poison immune with night vision, and that's on top of the redundant biology. Not easy to put down." Rey's shoulders slumped. "It wasn't all him, but he knocked open a hole, and the other heroes went for the throat. They pumped it up in the press because the Protectorate loves that kind of redemption story." He shook his head. "I gambled and lost. It happens in this business. Could have lost a lot more. There are worse places to be than working under Barrow."
Lauren nodded. It was the logic that brought so many kids into Lost Garden, and cycled just as many out.
"It was never going to be a permanent thing. I think he knew that. It's why he was so tight about support when I first arrived." Blasto smiled. "Probably knows that I'll be gone once this is wrapped up. Once he's finished paying for his revenge and buys a new spine I'll have enough set aside to set up somewhere else."
"Sounds nice. Any idea how to accomplish that?" She asked.
"Well, at least the spine will be easy." He said with a grin. "For the ABB? Hell if I know. Probably start investigating the hard way. Rumors, make connections, maybe even private investigators? See if anyone knows something that won't show up on miracle sensors?"
"What about the miracle sensors?" Lauren asked.
"You mean just ask Apeiron if he doesn't mind us taking the first crack at his sworn enemies?" Rey joked.
She shrugged. "Can't hurt. He set up that contact info for a reason. It would also help when dealing with the old man. Let him think we've got things in hand."
"Barrow does seem like the kind of person you manage more than work with." Rey ventured.
"Pretty much. At least for the kids who aren't hard line zealots for the movement. Tends to get them playing off each other, power brokering and alliances. Only among the older crowd, but that kind of thing is just high school all over again." Her own time in high school wasn't exactly pleasant, and she knew Rey had a similar level of affection.
"Maybe." He said, tapping his chin. "I'm not going to jump the gun on that. Can't message from inside the field anyway. I can look into it tomorrow. Taking a day to get our house in order is probably a good idea."
"Yeah, on the subject of houses, you might want to reach out to Skidmark. Head off that 'Two houses, both alike in dignity' thing." She warned.
"Pretty sure it was 'households'." He corrected with dry humor. "Also, I'd take that as an insult, but…"
"Lost Garden?" She ventured.
Rey shrugged. "From what I've heard I'd put them slightly ahead of the Merchants, in terms of behavior, if not professionalism."
"Regardless, the kids have been partying with the Merchants. Not as bad as it sounds, those things have basically been open to half the city, but something needs to be done before someone makes a mistake and we end up in a gang war." She said seriously.
Rey let out a long breath. "Of all the things I don't need. Alright. We'll work something out tomorrow. Probably be good to figure out what the Merchants are doing, and with the Teeth out there we can't afford a second front." He swallowed. "Better than reaching out to the Empire."
"No question." Lauren said, suppressing a shiver. She remembered the last time she had faced down Damsel. The fact that the woman had serious support and a new Nazi branding did absolutely nothing for the state of her nerves. "What are the odds their deal with Damsel blows up in their face?"
"Frankly? I'm surprised it's gotten this far." She saw the familiar tinker focus return to Rey's tired features. "She was malnourished. Not recently, but evidence of long-term calorie deficits and sleep deprivation. Heard she set up in some small town after Boston, but things clearly haven't been going well. Odds are she's pulled some kind of deal to help with that kind of thing, get some kind of stability."
"She's a live bomb inside a pile of Nazis who are currently getting reamed by half the groups in the city, including Apeiron. There's nothing stable about that situation." Lauren found her voice rising against conscious effort and quickly brought herself under control.
"No argument from me. Best case scenario they can put off the explosion until we're out of the city." He explained with forced calm. "Worst case, we stay out of the line of fire and let things settle on their own. Provided we aren't fighting the Merchants at the same time, it shouldn't be a problem."
"We'll deal with that tomorrow." She looked around at the hastily assembled lab. "On that note, I know how long this stuff takes to set up. Have you had any sleep since you got here?"
He shifted in his chair as she glared down at him. "I've managed. It was important to get this stuff ready."
"Right." She looked over at a line of soil filled troughs that were already showing several feet of growth. "I suppose it will help the situation with the Merchants if we don't need to source everything externally."
"Hey, it's not all recreational." He protested in good humor. "But I get you. I'll pack it in after I finish this up."
"What are you working on, anyway?" She asked, looking down at his notes. It took her a moment to figure out what she was looking at, but when recognition hit it hit like a truck.
"Fuck, Rey, seriously?"
"It's not what you think." He protested quickly.
"It better not be, because if Apeiron finds out you tried that with one of his team…"
"It's not cloning." He stated sharply. "Wouldn't have been able to get more than trace samples, even if I had been trying. Which I wasn't." He quickly clarified.
"Then what the fuck are you trying to do?" She asked in concern.
"It's structural." At her confused look he continued. "Proto Aima, whatever she was, she didn't have a solid body. Those fibers were acting to emulate a conventional form, but they didn't stop acting as a fibrous network. You could tell from the way she processed things, and when she fed."
"You could tell." Lauren said. "I doubt anyone else could, and I doubt Apeiron would appreciate you prying into his teammate's biology."
"I'm not prying into anything. That configuration, mobile fibers acting as a connected network, I realized I can do similar things with mycoproteins. It's only a rough idea, but this could completely change the way I grow and build creatures." He took on some of that tinker fervor that was so familiar to her. "Sufficiently complex fiber masses could emulate just about any function."
"Rey, do you actually know what Proto Aima was?" Lauren asked in concern. "I mean, if she was that red stuff from Apeiron's fight with Lung, and probably from the earlier fight with Uber and Leet... Doesn't she seem like bad news?"
"She was fine." He noticed Lauren's unease and took her hand. "Really. I know she looked scary, but we've dealt with plenty of things that look scary. She was just complicated and excited."
"And blood drinking." Lauren added, gripping Rey's hand a bit tighter. "Look, just don't mess with anything that's going to get on Apeiron's bad side. If we can't afford a fight with the Merchants then… Well, I don't think anybody can afford a fight with Apeiron's team."
"Probably not." He said in good humor.
"Right." She glanced over his other notes. "So, this is just tinker insight? No scans or anything sketchy, right?"
"Right. Just wanted to get it down while it was fresh." He explained.
"So…" She asked conspiratorially. "You catch any other secrets?" She prodded. "Maybe something about a certain silver haired beauty that I'm betting Kudzu is still dreaming about?" Kudzu, and half the men at the summit. And more than a few of the women.
"Survey." Rey said thoughtfully. "She's either engineered, or that's some kind of stranger effect. Or both. Possibly a derivation of Apeiron's appearance power."
"You think they're connected?" She asked.
"A cluster? Maybe, but no way to tell. It could just be tech exchanges, or studying powers."
"Still can't believe he just admitted to doing that." Lauren muttered.
Rey shrugged. "Not like he has to worry about repercussions. Well, not any practical ones, anyway."
"Lucky him." She said, shaking her head. "You wrap this up. I'll go update Barrow Rose and see if I can get some order with the camping supplies. The group might be more willing to stay the night if we have the beds set up for them."
"I won't be long." A glimmer entered his eye as he glanced towards the growing beds. "Hey Lauren? Maybe later tonight we should test out the first crop, you know, make sure it's ready before we hand any out?"
She smiled back. "Just like old times." At least something was. In the midst of all the chaos, at least something felt familiar.