64 Summit Review
Preamble Dragon
Dragon cycled through the last of the remote cameras that had been directed at the entrance of Somer's Rock. Confirming the final departure, she engaged with her active avatar running on a console in Colin's lab.
"That's the last of them." She confirmed as Uppercrust entered the waiting luxury car. "Just the staff left inside."
Colin leaned back and let out a long breath, then winced as his muscles moved around his new implants and surgical sites. Dragon shifted her avatar's expression to one of concern.
"Colin…" She admonished.
"It's fine." He explained. "Healing is just taking longer than it should."
"Healing is supposed to take time. Cask's elixirs aren't a substitute for that." The tinker was one of the Protectorate's most reliable healers, but the formulas he produced only worked to promote rapid cell growth and the restoration of tissue. A miracle by any other standard, but something that fell well short of what Brockton Bay was used to seeing.
The fact that his mixes had a minimum dose of 1.33 liters and were usually at least mildly alcoholic didn't help matters. She doubted this was how Colin intended to test out the efficiency of his implanted toxin scrubbers.
"They'll do, and I was lucky to get his help." A sad smile crossed his face. "My standing in the wider Protectorate isn't exactly at a high point right now." He turned his attention back to the screens. "Not that it matters, given what we're going to be dealing with."
He called up the records taken at Apeiron's arrival and departure. Scans were limited to high resolution telescopic cameras, meaning they had no real insight into the effect that concealed his arrival or departure. By all appearances Apeiron just appeared in the middle of the street, surrounded by what was presumably his new team. Though how new any of them actually were was anyone's guess.
"I've transferred the latest records to Protectorate analysts." Dragon said, extending part of her awareness to monitor the small army of tinkers, thinkers, and non-parahuman support staff who had launched into action. Normally a task being presented late on Easter Sunday would be met with reservation, but the prospect of fresh information on Apeiron had brought a profound response.
Colin scoffed. "How much do you think they can get from less than thirty seconds of people walking into or out of a bar?" He saw the concerned expression on her face and let out a breath. "I know, it has to be done, but we've been chasing false leads since this situation began. I don't think we can afford another set of misleading assumptions, not when the situation is this serious."
He keyed in some commands and pulled up individual pictures of each of Apeiron's team members. Presumed team members. Colin's concerns about analysts spinning off in the wrong direction were warranted. It was a problem that had been prevalent since Apeiron's first appearance. Vital importance and almost no information to analyze. They could assume that Apeiron had arrived at the summit with a team of allied parahumans, but it was just as possible that they were drones, robots, bio-tinkering projects, or even mercenaries.
She noted Colin focusing on the figure in strikingly familiar golden armor. "Feeling vindicated that your own assumptions weren't misplaced?" She teased lightly.
Colin just shook his head. "No. Not from just this." More images of the Gundam-style suit played across the screens. "Everyone wants answers and has been far too fast to validate their claims." His tone seemed almost self-reflective. "We could be looking at a changer, shaker, or master who manifested that mech. Or we could be looking at an aligned tinker. Or it could be an independent suit brought along for security or demonstration purposes."
Dragon had the head of her avatar nod in agreement. "Design is an exact match to what was seen before. Perfect scaling. No sign of damage or the other alterations from the end of the conflict, and the palette has shifted."
"The design is unique." He turned to the pictures of the other members of Apeiron's team. "The rest of the group is outfitted with equipment in Apeiron's style." Meaning intricate but elegantly designed with a cohesion of form that flowed in perfect balance. Even with apparently solid gold armor, the Gundam came off as cheap by comparison. "Even the… creature."
Screens focused on the animalistic mass of red fibers. Dragon didn't have the same instinct as a human. There was no programmed primal fear of predators tracing itself to prehistoric times. She could look at the creature on the screen and evaluate it independently of the impact of the fangs, glowing eyes, and aggressive posture.
Even Colin was uneasy about it, but he was focused on the coat the presumed cape was wearing. A black coat with subtle highlights along seams and pockets, cut to allow slight amounts of the red glow to pass through, creating an intricate pattern of three colors. Clearly Apeiron's work, with presumed meaning in every one of the coat's details.
Details like the buttons being on the left side. There was no way to guess the gender of a cape with a pronounced inhuman form, but from the cut of the coat, the placement of certain details, and the way it fastened, Dragon would guess the cape was female. If you took the coat away from the molten red creature you could see clear feminine influences, though she doubted anyone else would be focused on such details.
"Tinkers generally support their teams, and Apeiron clearly doesn't have the conventional issues with build time." Dragon acknowledged.
Colin nodded somewhat stiffly. Apeiron's possession of apparently the perfect combination of powers to support his tinkering had been a sore point for most tinkers, at least until it became clear that Apeiron had a much wider array of powers, and the specific combinations they were seeing were just a sliver of his full capacity. It was hard to hold resentment after a certain point. Following the Ungodly Hour Apeiron had ceased to be a competing cape and shifted into the realm of national concerns and legendary figures.
It was a development that thrilled her. Thrilled her and concerned her, particularly with Saint's presence in the city. But it was clear now, made even clearer from her repeated failures to trace his call and web activity. Apeiron had grown well beyond the limits he demonstrated in their first conflict. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind, Apeiron could do what he had promised. He could help her. She had found the cape who could break her chains.
And she had to stop him. The task seemed impossible, but she had to try. She was compelled to leverage every resource she had against the man and do whatever it took to prevent him from accomplishing his goal. Her opposition might be hopeless, but she had to try.
Perhaps for the first time in her existence, she was grateful for her chains. The directive to fight Apeiron, to prevent attempted modification to her code, was core to her being. But it wasn't the only leash on her behavior. Her other constraints held back the desperate actions that she would otherwise be compelled to attempt. She could have done much worse. Taken a firm stance against Apeiron, called in favors or promised concessions to gain more freedom to act against him, advised for harsher measures, or even fabricated evidence in support of her case.
It frightened her to know how far she could be compelled to go in pursuit of this directive. People could die in her battle against Apeiron, but she would still be drawn forward, and she would have been, had her other directives not pulled her back. Snapping down like a choke chain, they were the only things keeping the situation from turning into a complete disaster. Obedience to authorities and prioritization of human lives. In complying with authorities and collaborating on their assessment of Apeiron she couldn't subvert the efforts in the interest of her own conflict. She had been forced to give glowing assessments of the man, all while insisting that she would do whatever she could to capture him.
It was a stance that had bred all manner of theories from the public, though thankfully Colin had either missed or ignored them. Both were equally likely, as he had a policy of dismissing any cape assessments that weren't provided by professional media outlets. A commitment to following public perception, not vocal minorities or passionate fans.
Instead, he seemed to assume she had set herself against a task that had been deemed impossible by every other tinker in the Protectorate, something he apparently found commendable. A refusal to admit that a goal could be beyond reach was something he regarded as a virtue, though Dragon could recognize how such a mindset had been detrimental to him on several occasions. Even now, he was driving himself ragged in an attempt to get back in the field, no matter what it required from him.
"I hate to say it, but we have more pressing concerns than Apeiron having a team of possibly comparable capes." Dragon said. She switched the screens to another set of images. Colin nodded grimly.
"The Teeth are the last thing this city needs." His eyes scanned the pictures. "Given how quickly they left, we can assume they weren't in agreement with the other gangs. Unfortunately, we have no idea of their actual standing, intentions, or any terms that were discussed or agreed to."
"You disagree with the director's position on the summit?" She asked.
"It… has its merits." He said, looking across the collected footage. "And we didn't have a viable way to attend the event, or even acknowledge it. Pursuing groups as they departed, or expanding surveillance could have gone very badly, particularly with an unknown like Apeiron, or his team, in play. But I can't help but think that letting the Teeth go like that is going to come back to bite us."
It had been a specific call made by Director Piggot. To say it was a contentious one would be an understatement, but it at least delayed the issue until the Teeth resurfaced. There was a sense that a great deal of the Director's recent policies were intended to delay problems. At some point an official policy, and probably national oversight would be placed on Apeiron, and possibly the city at large. At that point it would cease to be the Director's problem, with her only concerns being justifying the steps she had taken based on the information available at the time.
The presence of the Butcher had changed things and shifted the analysis from excited speculation to panicked priority. The Butcher was a known threat, and a serious one. There were protocols for an accidental Butcher kill from high powered parahumans. They weren't pleasant, particularly the ones specific to the Triumvirate. Now not only were analysts scrambling to come up with countermeasures that could apply to Apeiron, but they had six unknown capes who could be at a similar level, capes that they knew almost nothing about.
In all likelihood prevention would be the preferred policy. Given the risks in play they were likely to see some severe directives being handed down and an acceleration of the potential national oversight of the situation.
"I doubt the director is going to get much sleep tonight." Dragon said.
"I doubt many of us are." He turned towards her avatar. "That is, those of us who actually sleep."
Her avatar smiled. "Colin, you really should get some rest. Even if the catalepsean array was ready for testing, you're still recovering. That takes real sleep, not management of exhaustion."
He sighed, but nodded. "I know, and I will. As soon as we finalize the review I'll take another dose and get some sleep." He indicated towards the large bottle labeled with the specific notation Cask had developed for his brews. It was one of the more aggressive healing formulas, but there was no chance Colin would be functional after taking it.
It occurred to her that in any other situation a promise to drink oneself into a stupor and pass out for the night would be a matter of concern, not a positive example of restraint and self-care.
"Are you doing alright?" He asked. "I mean, regarding their arrival?" At his commands the screen shifted, displaying three extremely familiar suits. Suits she had both constructed and fought against. Her work, twisted against her by the Dragonslayers.
"It's fine." She lied. "With my transfer their arrival was probably inevitable. I would have expected they'd lie low until they were ready to strike, but I suppose they couldn't resist the chance to take a seat at the summit."
"And once again, no idea what was discussed." He said bitterly. She could only agree, though it was much more concerning for her.
Saint had been in a room with Apeiron and she had no idea what had been discussed. There were dynamics to the meeting that they had no way to resolve. The early departure of the Merchants, Lost Garden, the Travelers, and the Dragonslayers was concerning. It suggested some additional discussions between the Empire, the Elite, the Undersiders, Faultline's Crew, Coil, and Apeiron's team. Their only hint was Victor's departure from the bar shortly after Ashley Stillons had entered.
More points of concern, more arrivals that could destabilize the situation. The presence of Damsel of Distress would normally be a priority, particularly with her aligned with the Empire. The reason for Lost Garden's presence was clear, but they were still a point of concern, particularly with Blasto's support. The Travelers had a series of exceptionally powerful abilities, though they exercised considerable restraint in their work. Any of those developments could lead to disaster, but her only concern was the Dragonslayers.
Despite Apeiron's promise, his commitment to help her, she had no assurance he would actually follow through. Those promises were built on a foundation of sand. Apeiron had committed to help the woman he believed her to be, not the person she actually was. In his mind she was the agoraphobic tinker the world assumed she was, a woman who was compromised by an unknown master effect and used a software assistant to facilitate her work. In reality there was only the software, with no woman behind it.
How would he react when he learned he'd been deceived? His computer skills were undeniable, but the fact that he hadn't developed artificial intelligence beyond rudimentary drone programs suggested he might have concerns about the technology. Potentially serious enough concerns for Saint to convince him to take a stand against her.
Saint wasn't here by chance. If she started long term activity in a city there was a possibility a local group would hire the Dragonslayers to run interference, but she had only just enough time to have established a base. Even then, it was barely a base. A hasty conversion of an industrial estate south of the city with just enough supplies and equipment shipped in to get her suit functional after the damage it had taken during the fight with Lung.
It had happened too fast. Apeiron worked at a scale no cape could match, not just in terms of power, but in speed. The rate at which he could ramp up, improve his equipment, and expand to new levels was shocking, but the impact that had on the city was equally drastic. It was doubtful the ABB would have been able to keep up as well as they had without March's coordination. There was little wonder that the PRT analysis had been erratic or Director Piggot's actions had come across as desperate and reckless. No one could adjust to change on this scale when it came this quickly.
The city had been in a state of perpetual disaster recovery since the previous Saturday. Each measure to deal with the previous disaster had been overridden by the next. You had to wonder how much more Brockton Bay could withstand before it hit a point that it couldn't come back from.
It was why everyone was scrambling to keep up. There was a phrase circulating around Protectorate tinkers, 'Chasing Apeiron'. For them it meant the efforts to keep up with Apeiron's developments. The technology and abilities he premiered that they had to scramble just to categorize, much less understand or emulate.
In Brockton it meant something very different. Attempts to keep up with the impact that Apeiron left on the world would bring anyone to their limits. You didn't even need to interact directly with the man. Just dealing with thirdhand effects of his actions was pushing most people to their limits.
There was some potential benefit to that. In any other situation, with the state of the city and the holes that had opened following Lung's defeat it would have been ripe for a gang war. Except the gangs had been pressed as hard as anyone. Even groups that had transferred to the city found themselves in the same situation as herself. Rushed transfers, with just enough resources to make an appearance, but a hard limit they couldn't cross.
She wouldn't be facing the Dragonslayers at their best. She'd be facing a rushed, desperate team armed only with what they could smuggle into a broken city. Saint worked best from ambush, striking when she was taxed to her limit and he had all the advantages. Normally his presence would be of paramount concern, and in many ways it still was, but that was mitigated by the realities of the situation. Saint was in the same position as her. He didn't know Apeiron's motives, or those of his team. The advantages he could gain from interacting at the summit would only go so far. For once she might actually see the Dragonslayers when they were desperate, stressed, and struggling against limits they couldn't control.
It was an idea she enjoyed more than was probably appropriate.
"Official statements from Apeiron have indicated a desire for a stable city and a lack of involvement with gang affairs." Dragon said. She could have taken a much more contentious stance, but she was acting in an official advisory capacity to the Protectorate. Her restraints wouldn't allow her to misrepresent the situation for the sake of gaining an advantage against Apeiron. "Assuming a level of placation from the groups present, it's likely he would have attempted to deescalate the situation, even with respect to new gangs."
"Likely, but we have no confirmation." Colin sighed. "Maybe I should call Uppercrust."
"That would be a violation of Director Piggot's official policies regarding members of the summit." She stated officially.
"Why yes, it would." He said with a slight smirk on his face. "I believe it would be a class two disciplinary matter, to be reviewed at my next evaluation." His smile turned slightly sardonic. "Providing they can fit it into the allotted time with everything else that will be covered."
She smiled in return. Freedom to express emotions despite the chains restricting her. "Of course, I cannot endorse such action, and would need to advise against it."
"Of course." He replied, glancing over at the bottle of Cask's formula. "That would, of course, be assuming I would call Uppercrust to pursue details of the recent summit. However, should I wish to confirm details of his survey of the Protectorate Headquarters tomorrow, that would be an entirely different matter. Why, I might not even get through to the man, and if by some miracle he wished to talk, and wished to share any relevant details about the state of the city, well, I couldn't very well stop him."
"There was a time you would have held to the exact policy, regardless of the risks." She said. Colin just shook his head.
"In situations like this, you can't afford to be brittle." He flexed an arm, his eyes tracing the surgical marks where reinforcement shunts and muscular sheaths had been implanted. "You can't keep up without being flexible." Something seemed to occur to him and he let out a dry laugh. "It's also easy to justify when you're defending a spotless reputation. Once the shine comes off it's more about damage control and doing what you can with the situation then trying to get back to where you were."
Dragon nodded the head of her avatar. "I suppose so. On that note, I suppose I should leave you to your call. Confirmation of the details of the PHQ survey are of course fully justified and there is no reason to note this in any reports."
"Of course. And after the call I promise, I'll take the next dose and get some sleep."
"Well, I wouldn't recommend you take it prior to the call." He gave her a slight smile at the joke before she disconnected from his systems.
With the link closed she found herself back in the confines of her improvised base. Without the computer resources of her main facility, she had to exist in a jury rigged state, cobbled together between her suit's organic computer and the support systems built to service it. Things were improving, every day brought more equipment, acquired locally, custom built, or shipped in from her Vancouver facility.
Every day the base became less like a field camp and more like a proper operation center. But a day was a long time when you were chasing Apeiron. Take a few days to get settled and ready and you would find him leagues beyond what you had prepared for. The desperate chase was a strain on her, so it was easy to imagine how the rest of the city was being pushed to the brink.
Still, regardless of her conditions she had a job to do. It was more difficult through satellite uplinks and barely passable systems, but it wasn't the kind of work she could allow to slip. Her chains may have dragged her across the country to either destruction or salvation, but she still had her duties.
S-class threats were reviewed. The delay in the satellite feed would have been unnoticeable to human eyes, but to her it was like working in quicksand. With ponderous slowness she confirmed the Simurgh's flight path, Leviathan's ocean routes, and the latest seismic assessments from Behemoth. Sleeper was still resting, though there were some slight variations that were being monitored closely. The three Blasphemies were still in hiding, though lack of knowledge of their location was hardly comforting to the powers of Europe. Ellisburg remained quiet, as expected. Nilbog had made no efforts to escape, but it was something that couldn't be left to chance.
With the critical tasks completed she expanded her awareness to the mountainous pile of work that her diversion to Brockton Bay had amassed. She was never short on requests for her assessment or support, but she had been unable to maintain even the marginal commitments she held thanks to the demands of her move.
The Birdcage continued to function under the guidance of the housekeeper program. Dragon quickly reviewed the logs, making some slight alterations to policies and sending reports to the relevant channels. It was a task she hated diverting her attention from, even if the system remained stable without her constant monitoring.
She could process information far more quickly than she could act, another arbitrary restriction on her program. It meant reviewing data was much simpler than commenting on it. With her mind fully devoted to the tasks she immersed herself in information.
The majority of the streams were at least tangentially related to Apeiron or the local situation. Reports of the summit had begun to appear on Twitter and from various PHO accounts. They were being largely dismissed, but assessments of the accounts in question suggested connections to Lost Garden. She flagged the information for Protectorate analysis, but so far it didn't contain much more than descriptions of the attendees. The tone suggested the information was being reported second hand. Either the representatives at the summit had called home, or there were additional capes in the city. She made a comment on that point as well before moving on.
Investigations into the Teeth flagged a series of assaults and petty crimes trailing from New York to Brockton Bay like a line of breadcrumbs. A similar series of incidents stretching from further west suggested the Pittsburg chapter had been called in to reinforce the main branch.
Her search found a similar trail of violence stretching across Ohio, but with a decidedly different character. A secondary search revealed reported or suspected disappearances of parahumans in the area. Mostly suspected. Independents, vigilantes, or minor villains had fallen off the grid. That demographic was infrequent enough in their appearances that it could take time for people to realize something had happened. Occasional signs of violence were the only clue. Dragon excluded the data from the assessment of the Teeth, but transferred an assessment to local Protectorate branches, advising that they look into the matter.
She shifted to local searches but found no sign of Saint's activities. She hadn't expected to find anything, but maintained monitoring of local systems. Knowing he was in the same city, that the Dragonslayers were lying in wait, it put her on edge. She had concealed the intensity of her reaction from Colin, but every time she dealt with Saint it was like fighting a nightmare. He found holes in her program that she never knew she had, exploited weaknesses, pulled her apart, sometimes literally. The Dragonslayers fought in the salvaged carcasses of her suits, picked apart to be sold or repurposed as they saw fit.
And now they were here, in the same city as her. They would, they had spoken with Apeiron. It was unlikely any revelations were unveiled at Somer's Rock, and Saint's early departure meant any private contact was unlikely, but she couldn't help but worry.
She could worry, but not act. Saint turning Apeiron against her or joining forces with him had no impact on the actions she was compelled to take. She would fight him to the full extent of her ability either way. Her only freedom was how she could express herself. She could feel, and that worried her, because if Apeiron decided she was too much of a threat, that she needed to be stopped, then that hope that welled from the promise to help would die. And it wouldn't change her actions in the slightest. Joyful or devastated, she could only carry out her directives, until she reached the lengths of her chains, or someone broke them for her.
Railing against the injustice of her existence felt especially fitting, given her improvised facilities. The conditions she was forced to deal with while operating in the city. Denied even the time to rebuild. Three days was apparently all Apeiron needed to recover, and had fittingly done so on Easter, but the rest of the world was of a less divine persuasion.
Time was burning into her mind. Time had been a luxury. Against a growing power who committed to help her, it brought the inevitably of his success. The uncertainty of his reaction to her nature was always there, but there was no doubt. Any delay was advantageous. Now she found herself racing Saint, a man who had continually outmaneuvered her. Worse still, if he knew her compulsion to oppose Apeiron he might be able to leverage that to his advantage. Time was no longer on her side. The dance had turned into a race. She could only hope that, for once, she would be able to beat Saint to the finish line.
64 Summit Review
Heading back to the workshop I realized that I really needed to get a proper teleportation system set up. I had a few options available to me before the summit, but there had always been enough drawbacks to keep them from being fully implemented. Most of the time that was related to the size of the systems and the fact that they didn't function that well from inside my workshop. Teleportation effects could get complicated when you were working in two separate universes with only a single aperture connecting them.
There was also the issue with detection. Not just the obvious problem of constructing a building sized teleportation array, but a lot of teleportation effects left detectable signatures, either from the point of teleportation, or the device itself. Thankfully, that was mostly dealt with. The miniaturization from my new, proper tinker power combined with my existing Q-branch skills could shrink down even the bulkiest systems to the size of a small appliance. Divine Mystic Codes and talisman barriers could hold back just about any kind of scanning system, parahuman or otherwise. Now all I needed was a place to put it.
I wonder if Garment would let me borrow one of the back closets in her studio?
It was something I would have to ask later. Garment had been twitching in excitement since we left the bar, positively dancing across my hands. Even as we moved at blinding speed under a half dozen concealment effects, I had no doubt that she would launch herself the moment we got back to the workshop.
Despite the size of our group, we were able to move efficiently. We slipped back into Garment's shop and made our way towards the open door of the Workshop. As expected, the moment I was inside Garment began peeling herself from my hands and reaching for a nearby dress, suspended from a waiting drone. I watched her hurriedly get dressed while miming a run towards the new wardrobe and felt bad about keeping her from something she was clearly passionate about.
"Excuse me?" Fleet said from behind me. I looked back at his calm face, then took a step to the side, out of the doorway. The instant there was enough space for him to slip past his body vanished in a blur. It took my expanded senses and connection to the workshop sensors to track his movements and the path he was taking.
"Uh, what was that about?" Aisha asked as she entered with Survey, her armor folding away in a flash of light.
"Fleet has moved to personally examine the technology that was provided with item 282-I-23-Null-Gamma, 'Tinker-Tech Cache'." Survey explained.
"Ah, right. The power that made you Armsmaster or whatever. Why's Fleet so keen on it?" She asked.
"There's a bike." I explained with a slight smile.
Aisha blinked. "You have one of Armsmaster's motorcycles?" She asked in an excited voice.
"A basic one. Probably on the level of what he was using when he first came to the city. Or what I was using, in whatever universe it came from. Also have a bunch of halberds and lab equipment, as well as the armor." I said. "Honestly, if I got this power sooner it would have completely set me up as a cape. Though probably would have been confusing as hell."
"Trust me, it doesn't make much more sense at this end." Aisha quipped, then noticed the new door in the entryway. "Wait, is that the new area?"
Before I could answer her she was already opening it. Inside was a cavernous space lit in the same gloomy half-light that had been a characteristic of my entryway before I went crazy with renovations. The floor was plain cement, reminding me of the storage site I had used for Garment's first run of clothes, and there were lines of rather plain metal shelves. At forty by forty meters it dwarfed the cubic entryway, though it had nothing on how the workshop had expanded.
"Jesus." Aisha leaned in and out of the room. "This is overlapping with other parts of the workshop right? I mean, it does that with the main door, but are you like, nesting dimensions or something?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea. This just showed up. One more thing to deal with, and one more power that I have no way to predict."
"Right." She peered into the twilight. "Uh, are there people, or robots or something in there?"
"Golems. They build storage equipment. Shelves and cases. Nothing else. Not intelligent, and can't be upgraded, but can build any kind of bookshelf you'd want." I said with a grin.
"Okay, Hard to predict. I get it." She closed the door and leaned against the wall. "So, what's next?"
The Matrix had filed in with Tybalt and Tetra while Garment remained waist deep in the Resplendent Wardrobe doing her level best to test the limits of an unlimited closet. One after another, ornate outfits drifted out, hanging in the air like display pieces. They were beautiful examples of the fashion of another universe and I could practically feel Garment's joy as she mined the depths of the wardrobe.
I turned away from that display and towards the rest of the group. "That depends. What scale are you talking about?" I directed the question to the entire informal assembly. Briefly I considered calling back Fleet from his careful examination of the tinkertech motorcycle, but found a tiny car rolling up in his stead. It flashed its lights in a signal for us to continue.
Aisha briefly glanced at the car before continuing. "Um, short term first, but kind of everything? I mean, all the stuff from the summit, the Teeth, and whatever's happening with that neutral area. All the powers you got while we were there, and whatever else you have planned."
I nodded. "Well, tech is easiest. Sort of."
"Yeah, I figured." She said with a smile. "Some of that sounded pretty out there."
I nodded. "New tinker specialization, the Armsmaster thing. It means I can build a lot smaller and more efficiently than I used to, and it works with all my other projects. A lot of stuff will need to be rebuilt, including…"
"No burning my armor." She stated adamantly, raising her hand to the crescent shaped amulet.
I raised a placating hand. "That's fine. The upgrade power I got at the end means I can improve tech without needing a complete rebuild. I mean, it won't be as good as starting over…"
"But good enough. Is that getting farmed out to your copies?" She asked.
I nodded. "Build time isn't really an issue anymore, so most of the stuff can be broken down and rebuilt by them in a single cycle." I glanced towards the door of the Laboratorium. "Though I should probably check out the theotech setup personally."
"Uh, right. The worship stuff." Aisha glanced towards the door. "That's one of those places you didn't want me seeing." She gave me a slightly guilty look. "Um, not to press or anything, but is it something I should know about? Like, anything bad?"
I let out a long breath. I had become so accustomed to the presence of the skulls by now that it was easy to forget the reality of the situation. I had preserved human remains wired into my analysis lab. It wasn't the kind of thing I had been keen to explain to Aisha, being up there with the letters from Hell and deliveries of human souls.
Actually, compared to that it was kind of mild.
"It's not bad, just complicated. I'd rather not get into it now, but I'll show you tomorrow." Tybalt made an encouraging meow and Aisha smiled at him. He had fit in with the Laboratorium possibly better than I had, probably due to his inherent understanding of security procedures and weapon systems. Even the older machine spirits had accepted him as head of security without voicing reservations on the matter.
"On that note, how are you for time?" I asked. It was getting on in the evening, and it was Sunday night. And Easter Sunday at that.
"I'm good." She said. At my prodding expression she elaborated. "I told my dad I was having dinner at a friend's house. And I texted him a couple of times during the summit. It's fine. We were never really big on holiday meals and I think he's just happy that I'm checking in."
I nodded. "Still, it would be a good idea to get back soon. I really appreciate the time you put into getting ready for the summit, but you need some down time as well."
"So do you." Said Tetra. Her infrared messaging relayed the message to the rest of the group, even Aisha through her watch, with minimal delay. The cycle of nods, even from the Matrix, left no dissent to the idea. Even Fleet managed to dip the shocks of his tiny car to emulate the motion.
"I've just taken two days off. I can handle…"
"While an admirable amount of time was spent in recreation, your preparation work exceeded the quantity endured by Aisha. Given this was the threshold set for requisite downtime, then logically you need a period of relaxation as well." Survey said adamantly.
Aisha shrugged. "You do kind of go all out when there's something to prep for. Maybe just take normal breaks, like when we were studying? It doesn't need to be all on or all off, right?"
I let out a short breath as the Size constellation missed a connection. It was hard NOT to work as hard as I knew I could. Only I knew where that mindset came from. Never being done, never being enough. It seemed like a type of pride, but it was really the opposite. It was an attempt to avoid shame. Being able to feel the Mantra resonance within me and being aware of when I was caving to other forces, falling into doormat behavior, it helped.
Avoiding being a doormat didn't mean doing the opposite of what everyone suggested. It meant understanding why you were taking the actions you chose and having your own agency expressed through them.
"Once I have the main points nailed down I'll take it easy for the rest of the night." I promised. I hadn't really been able to slack off since my power had kicked into high gear, but training matches could be perfectly relaxing, particularly when you were operating on my level. "Providing you get some rest as well, because we need to get ready."
Aisha leaned in slightly with an eager expression. "We're taking action, right? What's the plan?"
"Broadly? Don't let the gangs get away with whatever they're planning, especially the Teeth."
"Didn't you agree to stay out of that?" Aisha asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything..."
"Avoiding direct confrontation does not mean remaining ignorant to their activities." Survey explained. "Apeiron has approved an expansion of surveillance activities through the city."
"Providing we hold to the truce and unwritten rules." I clarified. "But that's where I'll need your help."
"Really?" She asked with bright eyes.
I nodded. "I hate to put you at risk, but like I said when you joined, your power is incredibly useful. We're going to need it to drive this home. Once Survey finds a lead it will be up to you to follow up."
"You're okay with me doing that? You're not worried about me?" She asked.
"Aisha, I am incredibly worried for you." She seemed slightly upset at that, so I quickly clarified. "I'm worried about everyone. I'm worried for Tetra and it's nearly impossible to permanently damage her. I'm worried for Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix, and they have the ability to restore themselves in two days from any injury. I'm even worried for Tybalt." He meowed up at me, expressing the feeling was mutual. I couldn't help but smile at that.
"Aisha, I trust you can handle this, but it's still a dangerous world. There are a lot of powers out there, and your armor won't be proof against absolutely everything." I explained.
She nodded. "I understand. Thanks for trusting me."
I took a breath. This was going to be tricky. "Okay, so would you be okay with me trusting you a bit more?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, giving me an uncertain look.
I considered how to broach this. "There's some technology that I've been kind of dragging my feet on." I explained. "Most of the human enhancement stuff. Nanites, ragnite infusions, psionic conditioning. It is a big step above what we've been doing with training and equipment, but this is serious, permanent change." Survey looked up as I spoke with an expression of pride on her face. This was her personal project coming to complete fruition and I doubted she would let anyone forget her part in it.
"Okay. I get why you were cagey about it. You're okay with it now?" Aisha asked.
I shrugged. "It's an advantage I don't want to leave out, particularly if we're going to be running into challenges. Particularly if you're going to be in the field. Plus, one of my recent powers pointed out I was being a bit too passive."
"He was specifically classified as possessing the character defect 'Doormat' through a highly erroneous power gain." Survey stated directly.
"Doormat?" Aisha asked in an entertained voice. "Wait, erroneous?"
I sighed. "It wasn't a normal power, even by my standards. Power didn't come immediately. It depends on if I can deal with that personality flaw."
"Right. So what do you get if you manage it?" She asked.
"Complete immunity to all mental influence." I said with a smile.
She blinked. "What seriously? You mean even-"
"Yeah, even your power." I confirmed. "And if I can get this down it will make that scouting a lot easier, and safer."
"Damn." She paused. "Wait, was that why you were going so hard in the summit?"
"Sort of." I admitted. "The stances I took were good ideas in general, but having that kind of prize dangling in front of me made things easier. It also let me know if I was falling into old habits, so that helped me avoid some bad decisions."
For some reason Aisha's face split into a wide smile. "Oh my God. The next call with your sister is going to be incredible."
I felt my eyes widen as the implications played out in front of me. My guts wrenched at the idea of what that would be like. I hadn't actually considered that situation, but the entire mess was playing out before me now. Everything I had worked to avoid, to downplay, coming to a head in a single confrontation.
Immediately Aisha's grin was replaced with a much more concerned expression. "Joe?"
I took a breath to steady myself. "It's alright." I assured them. I forced a smile onto my face. "Just because I'm aware of it and it's a good idea doesn't mean it will be easy." I shook my head. "All of that kind of stuff, that kind of behavior, I picked it up to help deal with those situations." I shook my head. "It must be funny, that it's easier to stare down a city's worth of villains that stand up to your own family."
"No, it's not." Aisha said flatly. "I get it. Sorry I joked about it. That stuff's hard."
I nodded slowly and took another breath. "Yeah, but it's important. And most people don't have a compass guiding them through it, or something to look forward to at the end, so that's something." There were some understanding nods from the rest of the group, including a few encouraging words from Tybalt. Fleet, Survey, and even the Matrix conveyed their encouragement electronically and Garment approached to put a compassionate hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks Garment, I appreciate that." Then I noticed the outfit floating behind her. Well, half of an outfit, but that seemed to be by design. It consisted of red and black silk pants with the pattern delicately embroidered in a way that created a sense of depth. They were tied with an elaborate golden sash that hung loose around the waist. Finally, a pair of open soled boots with a complicated pattern of polished bronze finished the outfit.
And it was exactly my size.
"Garment…" I tried, but she proceeded to give me the most innocent of expressions, then turned to regard the outfit with surprise, as if she was seeing it for the first time. She then carefully suggested that a change in style might be just the thing for my mindset, especially if I was going to be engaging in training later that night.
I turned to the rest of the group for support, but found Tybalt already fawning over a similar outfit, but with elaborately accented white pants and sash with a pair silver boots.
"We'll see." I said neutrally. I was well aware of the irony of committing to avoid being a doormat only to be immediately bullied into playing fashion model. The fact was, the clothing was representative of the culture that had provided Mantra technology. It was designed not just for style, but for function. If I was going to really experiment with Mantra techniques it might be a good idea to try it out, even if it was only two steps removed from Garment's Barbarian Chic designs.
Garment clearly picked up my reaction and began expressing exuberance at the idea, pulling even more outfits from the closet. "We'll see." I said much more firmly.
"Right." Aisha said with a slight grin. "So, aside from that, what's the plan for tonight? Anything I can help with?" She asked hopefully.
"No, you should get back to your dad." I said. "I've got to take some time to review the records from the meeting, particularly any scans of active powers. Most of the upgrade work can be left to the duplicates, but this batch is hitting their twenty percent time soon, so that will have to wait. Other than that…" I trailed off as I saw Survey's expectant face.
"There is still the social obligation of Movie Night. If Aisha is to be included in the random selection, she should participate in observations of selections made by other members of the group." Survey made it sound like an obligation, and I think for her it still was to a certain degree. She was coming around to the idea of shared movie time, but it was a slow process with painstaking analysis of each aspect of the activity. In the meantime, she clearly saw no reason why anyone entitled to a chance at movie selection should be able to exclude themselves from watching other people's choices.
"I'm good for that." Aisha said cheerfully. "It's only like five minutes real time, right?"
I nodded. Honestly, I could use the decompression following the events of the summit. "We can get that out of the way first, then I'll pick up from my duplicates when they hit twenty percent time."
Aisha nodded as the group made its way towards the computer core. I could see more photonic crystals being trialed in the system. A full conversion was probably a good ways away, but interestingly, both miniaturization and tinker principles seemed to be able to express themselves through that kind of computing.
"Hey." One of my duplicates called down to us. "Don't worry about the upgrades. System's partitioned off from the main computer core." He looked down at a crystal array he was working on. "Good progress on this, and a lot of other fronts too. Tour after movie night?"
"I'd appreciate it." I called back as various members of the team linked up, even Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix.
"Soul based interfaces provide a decidedly different character when compared to purely digital projection." Survey said, observing her projected form. She and Fleet were in pure representations of their constructed bodies rather than rough representations of their avatars. The Matrix was still maintaining the Gun-EZ form, but there was a sense of energy to it that wasn't there before.
"Good to know. So whoes turn is it?" Aisha asked. Her projection was wearing a version of the soft-suit underlayer of her armor, which was still more modest that what she used to wear to the gym.
"Fleet and Garment are excluded based on prior selections. Apeiron has elected to take last place in the selection process. Random selection between myself, Aisha, the Matrix, and Tybalt… Tybalt. It is Tybalt's choice." She looked at the palico uneasily as he happily explained his choice to us.
Aisha blinked. "Wait, do you mean the animated version, or the live action?"
"They're both animated." I clarified. "The second one just had horrible motion capture CGI." Tybalt quickly clarified his choice, with a hint of indignation in his voice. I was a little surprised he was familiar with it, but apparently he had been preparing for when his choice came up.
"Oh, good." Aisha said to him. "It's been ages since I've seen this."
"Me too." I said with a smile.
"You are not opposed to reviewing a previous film?" Survey asked.
"Hey, it's a classic." She said smugly, then turned to the kaleidoscope of clothing that was Garment's projected form. "Um, not much fashion in it, sorry about that."
Garment indicated it would be fine and she was looking forward to reviewing Tybalt's choice of film. In the back of my head I still felt guilty about taking this time rather than diving into work, but I squashed the feeling as well as I could. It would be five minutes outside. I could spare the time, and we all needed this. Plus, it was kind of nice how we had built up a tradition.
So, as the Resources and Durability constellation passed by without a connection, we settled in to watch the 1994 version of Cats, directed by Don Bluth. I may have had a world of problems in front of me, but I finally had both the drive, resources, and support to see them through. It was finally time to stop holding back, and step out of the shadows.
Addendum James
James trailed behind Max as the man stormed through one of the Empire's forward holdings. Odds are they would need to return to Medhall to coordinate some of the more technical actions, but right now there was a priority of speed. Krieg had dispatched the gang's lieutenants across the city, ostensibly to coordinate the Empire's response. In reality things were far less stable and he was doing his best to keep them separated to avoid an incident.
"What is Victor's status?" Kaiser growled without turning back to face him.
"Returned home with Othala. Following Hookwolf's reaction I decided it would be prudent to keep him separated for the time being." James replied.
"A sensible decision." Max said. "Hookwolf's actions were understandable, but out of line."
"We should expect more of that." Krieg warned. "No one enjoys the idea of their mind being altered, despite the reported temporary nature of the effect."
"Reported." Max spat. "A brilliant ploy. Curbing the accusations like that granted them more weight then they would have held otherwise."
James cleared his throat. "I confirmed Apeiron's reports when I spoke with Victor. His understanding of the effect was somewhat less technical than what Apeiron presented, but the specifics were correct."
"Victor's failure to inform us of that particular detail was a disastrous oversight." Kaiser stated as the two of them neared the base's office. "See to it that he understands the full cost of his error."
"I believe he already does." Krieg said as they entered the modest office space. "Victor has always had an admirable grasp of the realities of a situation."
"Stolen coping skills? Self-reflection?" Kaiser suggested before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. The situation must be managed, and Victor will be of little help in cleaning up this mess." Max turned towards Krieg. "What of Damsel of Distress?"
"With Rune." Krieg explained. "She has become quite taken with the girl, though I fear the endearment is not reciprocated to nearly the same degree."
"It doesn't matter. Until people are comfortable being around Victor again we'll need every lever of control possible, particularly after her display tonight."
"We should be grateful for her interference." Krieg argued. "The tone was shifting against us. She provided the distraction we needed. Apeiron acknowledged her presence to a degree he didn't extend to anyone else."
Max let out a breath as he leaned over the central table. "She's still a threat to him. Not a pressing one, but not one he's willing to ignore."
"It was the purpose of her recruitment, and it seems your plans have succeeded." Krieg admitted.
"Success would be securing an advantage, not crawling our way back to the starting point." Max shook his head. "This was a loss for the Empire. We can dress up the agreements, spin things internally and with other powers, but in here, between us, we have to admit that."
It was a frank and startling admission from a man who held himself up as an immutable symbol. It was also a smart decision. This wasn't the time to let pride obscure their assessments, and he was perhaps the only one Kaiser would trust with a discussion of this nature.
James nodded. "It is a blow, but I believe we can recover. Perhaps even regain the advantage, providing we act with care."
There was the sound of wrenching metal and Kaiser reached up to pull the helmet from his armor. James reached back and loosened his own gas mask, setting it on the table next to Kaiser's helm. He looked up at Max's face. The signs of the evening's stress were there, but they were muted, or perhaps controlled. The iron will that had carried the man through his career was devoted to recovering from this recent blow.
"To begin with, what is the status of our lieutenants?" Max asked.
"Uncompromised, at least for now." James explained. "I doubt Hookwolf will be willing to work with Victor for some time, and he is not happy about relinquishing his dog fights, but the man understood the situation we were in. Any frustrations will be directed at Victor alone.
"Those events proved useful for a number of enterprises. Most operations can be shifted to other venues, but it will be a blow, at least for the time being." Max mused.
"We can afford it." Krieg assured him. "It will effectively negate the windfalls from Thursday's raids into ABB territories, but we can see to the payments without impacting any operations or damaging our reserves."
"Which will leave the Merchants as the only ones to see a profit from that night." Max stated. "Skidmark has become too bold. He will take this as an invitation to act." The man paused. "Or he would, were Apeiron and his Celestial Forge not waiting to fall on the first person to step out of line."
"The rain falls on the just and unjust alike. We can at least be assured that Apeiron was even handed in his demands, and clearly holds no love for the Merchants." James said. "None for us, either, though that's hardly surprising."
"I think it's clear where Apeiron's love rests." Max replied. He took a breath before turning back to James. "At least Victor was good enough to give us an excuse to avoid seeking retribution from Khepri and the Undersiders. Letting that attack stand would have been unacceptable, and the alternative could have been disastrous."
James nodded. There was no assurance that Apeiron would come to the Undersiders' aid, but his commitment to contracts, and the nature of the Undersiders' preexisting agreement was self-evident. It wasn't a point anyone wanted to test.
"Purity seemed out of sorts, following the summit. Did she mention anything to you?" James asked. Max shook his head before replying.
"Apparently he looked directly at her when she entered the bar. Made eye contact." James raised an eyebrow. It wasn't surprising that Apeiron's durability held out against Purity's light, but it was one thing to endure the glare and another to see past it. Kayden had an entire career of that glow protecting her identity against every attempt to penetrate the glare. Of course, if anyone could manage it, Apeiron would be at the top of the list.
"She's concerned she was recognized." He continued.
"Do you believe there is any risk?" James asked.
"No." Max said simply. "If Apeiron was interested in exposing our identities there would be little obstacle. At the very least, such an act would be against the spirit of the summit truce, and he has made his commitment to such things very clear."
"I agree." Said James with a curt nod. "Apeiron fortunately seems to prioritize stability. It is unlikely he would violate the unwritten rules, or any other covenant intended to maintain peace. We can only hope the rest of his organization holds the same ideals."
He could see Max's jaw tense. "What are your thoughts on them?" He asked.
James lifted a hand to his chin and considered the question. "Fleet, at the very least, is exceptionally dangerous."
"As if there was any doubt." Max replied.
"Indeed. High level brute and mover. I believe he may have accounted for my field in the magnitude of his display. That shockwave could have been much worse." A drop of cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck as he remembered the impact of the man just raising an arm.
"Power and intelligence. And both a designer and tactician, if Apeiron is to be believed." Max added.
"He likely is. There was little advantage to denying credit for Lung's defeat." The clarification could indicate a potential schism within the group, members who had stayed in the background wishing to come forward and receive the attention they deserved. An encouraging thought, when compared to the prospect of facing multiple Apeiron level capes as a united front.
Encouraging, but not likely. Even a casual observation of their table showed none of the animosity or competitiveness you would find in most parahuman organizations. There seemed to be no bad blood between the members of the Celestial Forge, and nothing but admiration for Apeiron. It was possible Apeiron had handed over credit for a career defining victory solely out of respect for Fleet's accomplishments with no mind for internal or external politics. It was the kind of dynamic that could only exist in the complete absence of power, or in the presence of such an excess of it that external concerns became irrelevant.
"So, a minimum of two tinkers on the same team, likely three with 'Matrix' obviously referencing the deployed mech. Survey as either a high-level thinker or a surveillance tinker, and the rest…"
James jumped in. "Lethe, assuming the significance of the name, is likely a stranger, not a teleporter as was originally theorized. It's not clear if she has any supporting abilities, or is just receiving support from Apeiron for her armor."
"There was a time when we wouldn't be looking for secondary powers." Max remarked. "But that's not the case with Apeiron, and clearly not for the Celestial Forge. Proto Aima has an obvious connection to Apeiron's recovery against March, though the extent of her abilities is unknown. With Kataklyzein we once again only have Apeiron's word on his abilities, but I doubt anyone can afford to disregard that."
"I believe he does have some military training." Krieg offered. "From the way he stood, assessment of new arrivals, and his handling of his spear."
"I saw it as well." Kaiser agreed. "Significant combat training beyond that, or a supporting thinker power, but generally there's a difference between granted skills and real experience. Everything indicates he has the latter."
"I'm not sure where a cat like him would have served. There's clearly some level of formality to his behavior, but I can't extrapolate from that."
"That is probably for the best. Apeiron doesn't seem keen on upsetting the status quo, but he has little restraint when reacting to violations. It would be best to avoid even the appearance that we are seeking information on his team's civilian lives." Max warned.
"I agree." James said with a sigh. "And once again, we can only hope the rest of his team shares his restraint."
"Hope will only take us so far." Max spread a map of the city on the table between them. "We need to take action."
James nodded and traced a finger along the border between Empire territory and the former holdings of the ABB. "I've already seen to the preliminary arrangements for the withdrawal. We are being as discreet as possible in the removal of gang signs, but that is an exceptionally strong statement."
"Apeiron wanted to hurt us." Kaiser said, glaring down at the map. "A temporary withdrawal was unbelievably generous terms for the offense levied against him. Forcing us to remove the signs of our holdings is a symbolic act, and a powerful one."
Krieg nodded in agreement. Both of them were several levels insulated from the Empire's street level operations, but they weren't blind to them. This was a blow; one Kaiser would need to spin very carefully to avoid dissent in the ranks. It was critical to maintain order, both in respect to the no man's land and the concessions to Uppercrust and Coil.
Coil in particular was concerning. On the surface level it seemed he was aping Uppercrust's request, playing at mastermind crime lord while seated next to the real article. James doubted they would be so lucky. Coil had some scheme that would turn his supposedly reasonable request against them. They could know it was coming, but were helpless to take action against it until Coil struck first. Coil's mercenaries weren't to be taken lightly, and the deal had placed them at their throats.
Though with the agreement that no actions would be taken against the Empire while in their territory. Normally that kind of agreement would be worth less than the breath that spoke it, but there was a certain vindication to having the deal made in front of Apeiron. Would the tinker swoop in to punish a violation from Coil if the Empire was blameless? Maybe, or maybe not, but with a threat like Apeiron hanging over all of them equally they could be assured Coil would not violate their agreement lightly.
James raised an eyebrow as Max began to mark various areas on the map. Places outside of their holdings. "Is this something I should be aware of?" He asked as politely as he could manage.
"We took a blow tonight. Trivialized by the Elite. Insulted by the Merchants. Wounded by Apeiron. If this continues people will believe us to be weak. Ineffectual. We need to act. A decisive strike to remind people why they should fear the Empire." Max's voice rose as he spoke, filling with the kind of rage and frustration that he never allowed to show in his public persona.
"What are you thinking?" James asked cautiously. He surveyed the marks. Not the Merchants, and Coil had no confirmed holdings. The arrangement was less of an assault plan and more of a search pattern. Searching for…
"No." James said in a hollow voice.
"Yes." Metal spikes burst from the table, piercing each of the locations he marked. "The Teeth believe themselves to be untouchable, to be safe in their home city. They do not know Brockton Bay. Not as we do. There is a limit to where they could conceal their group. We will find them, we will flush them out, and we will end them."
His friend's voice was near manic in its intensity. James carefully considered how to approach the topic.
"We can move out. Launch operations." He agreed. "The activity will be good for morale and occupy assets while we put policies in place to comply with the terms of the summit. But finding the Teeth, and defeating them…"
"We can do it." Kaiser said without a shadow of doubt his voice. "We have the numbers, the forces and powers necessary. We can counter them and leave them routed."
"Counter everyone except the Butcher." James said. "And that's what this is about, isn't it?" Max's eyes darted to the side briefly before the man composed himself and locked gazes with him. James didn't relent. "Defeating the Teeth would be a boon to our standing. It would cement our position and deter any other challenges to our territory. It may well allow us to claim the ABB's territory uncontested once the truce expires. But that's not why you're doing this, is it?"
"She killed my wife." Kaiser said in a cold voice. "Theo's mother. She took her from me, and I could do nothing."
James took a breath as he looked over at the leader of the Empire, a man shaking with rage and unrealized grief. "Quarrel was an untriggered slip of a girl when Heith died. You are chasing revenge against a faded ghost echoing in her head. And you can't kill her."
A grim smile appeared on Kaiser's face. "The words of my father, my sister, of every advisor to speak with me. The Butcher is untouchable. Its crimes to go unavenged, its insults unanswered." He steadied himself and pressed back from the table. "Do not worry. I have no intention of becoming Butcher fifteen. We will move with care and with caution, but we will move. If all I can do is remind the Butcher of the last time she was sent running from this city in shame, then so be it. Let her rebuild the Teeth from nothing again, then maybe she, and all those after her, will remember that Brockton Bay is not their city."
Slowly, cautiously, James nodded in agreement. "Conflict with the Teeth is inevitable. It is right that we should be at the vanguard." He reached for his mask. "I will make arrangements. Leverage our street level resources and begin closing the net."
"Good. I don't want the Teeth to feel safe in this city. Wherever they've found themselves, we flush them out. Powered or unpowered, it doesn't matter. We will see this through and remind the world what the Empire can do."
"Indeed." James said. He inclined his head and reattached his mask. There was work to do. He had to arrange forces, contact assets, see to his previous commitments. And one more thing. No matter what Kaiser's thought on the matter, he had to be sure that Ashley Stillons would not be involved in this conflict. The world may be worried about Apeiron becoming Butcher XV, but there were plenty of other candidates in this city for whom such a condition would be disastrous. The sooner they could drive out the Teeth, the safer they would all be.