95.3 Interlude Amy - Addendum Mags
Interlude Amy
Amy badly wanted to launch immediately into a barrage of questions, but there were precautions she needed to put in place first. After five days in the house she had a good sense of the routine. There wasn't much else to focus on with no news or live contact to the outside world.
The guards knew about the routine as well. Deviating from it would raise questions, so she made sure there was nothing suspicious. After a quick check to make sure Crystal was onboard with things, she went through the token steps of her nighttime activities. She was on edge the entire time she was brushing her teeth, terrified that there was going to be a surprise inspection or that Crystal had somehow been discovered.
But there was nothing. She shut her door and killed the lights in her small room before approaching the window. The dull red glow from the forcefield that Crystal was using as a seat wasn't visible unless you were right next to the window. Crystal's forcefields weren't anywhere near as strong as Eric's or Aunt Sarah's and tended to have a washed out look compared to the rest of her family.
In this situation that was an asset. It was something she had never really considered before, but if it were Eric out there the blue glow would have lit up every window on the ground floor. With Crystal it was barely noticeable even when Amy was right next to the window.
"All set?" Crystal whispered.
Amy nodded, straining her ears. "If the agent comes to check on me, I'll hear her on the stairs. We should be safe."
"Does that happen a lot?" Crystal asked.
"No." Amy said. "They give me my space, and there's a lot of space here. One of the good things about this place."
Crystal nodded. "I never knew about this. Does the PRT have a lot of… what, safehouses? Holding facilities?"
"I think it's some kind of temporary staff housing." Amy said. "A lot of the security stuff seems to have been added at the last minute. There are a lot of bedrooms, but they're all tiny."
"Yeah, it reminds me of the dorms at college." Crystal said. She didn't elaborate, and Amy was grateful for that. It was clear the building was better than what Crystal expected to find, but even if they had been holding her in a luxury hotel it wouldn't change the situation. Nearly two weeks of containment with no explanation for what was happening.
Until now. Amy was desperate for answers, but didn't know where to start. There were so many questions. Too many. What was she supposed to ask first?
The only question that mattered. The one that had been eating away at her all this time.
Why?
She said, looking at her cousin. "Do you really know why this happened? Why I'm still here?"
She saw the conflicted emotions play across Crystal's face and for a moment she was worried she might back down, somehow avoid the topic. Instead, she took a breath and nodded.
"At first they were worried that Apeiron had done something to you." Crystal said. Amy felt the words 'The Enigmatic Artificer' echo in her head. "We all were, even with everything happening."
"At first." Amy echoed. "I figured that out. The tests they did…" She trailed off as she remembered that interrogation. Questions that didn't seem to have anything to do with her situation, but no matter how she answered she felt like she was somehow giving the wrong one. "But you said at first. So, something changed? There's another reason?"
Crystal nodded. "I don't know exactly how they were handling things regarding your case, but the Saturday after you were put in containment the ABB attacked."
"He warned me about that. And I warned Armsmaster and the Director. And they didn't do anything, did they?" She asked, the bitterness at her situation welling to the surface.
"I'm not sure. They didn't send out anything to us like they do between major conflicts, but things were pretty bad at the time."
Amy swallowed. "So that thing about Uncle Neil and Caro… Mom?" She asked. Crystal just nodded.
"Learning about it… that hit mom really hard. She kicked Dad out, then went at it with Aunt Carol. I've never seen them so bad."
Seeing Crystal's reaction hit Amy harder than she expected. She knew that something had happened when they had called to confirm the details of that particular accusation, but she never really embraced the idea that Carol could have done something so fundamentally wrong. That she had some sin in her past that stood against every moral standard she had espoused to such an uncompromising degree.
It was like a crack had appeared in that perfect image that Carol had always put forward. Amy didn't even know how to process the information. Maybe it would have been easier if Carol had allowed herself to be fallible, to be wrong about anyone or anything, but that wasn't the case. Carol was someone that you had to live up to, only now there was nothing elevated about her behavior. For the first time in Amy's life, she could actually look down on her mother. She didn't know what to make of the experience.
"The attack was really bad." Crystal explained. Somehow, she sounded like she was recalling ancient history, not events of barely a week ago. "It was more coordinated than anyone expected. There were waves of bombings. They hit the electrical system in a way that knocked out the power for most of the Northeast, so everyone else was dealing with problems in their own cities. Between direct injuries and damage to roads and other stuff the city's emergency services were nearly crippled. Oni Lee attacked the Protectorate HQ and was able to free Lung. Injured a lot of heroes in the process."
Amy nodded. "I saw Assault, but…"
"Velocity's still out of action." Crystal explained. "A really bad broken leg. Armsmaster fought Lung directly. There's some video of it from the shore. He got beat up pretty bad. He's sort of recovered, but the details of it aren't clear. He's shown up a few times and took care of part of the Dark Zone, but he hasn't taken back command of the Protectorate. Miss Militia's still running things."
Amy paused. "The Dark Zone? They couldn't fix the blackout without Armsmaster's help?"
Her cousin shifted uncomfortably. "No that's… something else. Kind of getting ahead of things. Look, the important thing was that Bakuda went after the Undersiders on the night of the attack."
Amy gave Crystal an incredulous look. "That was the important thing? Not the fact that Lung escaped or power was knocked out or that half the Protectorate was injured."
To her surprise Crystal just nodded. "Yeah, it was. Because Apeiron was the one who rescued them."
Amy could hear the gravity in her cousin's voice even as that title once again bloomed in her mind. She bit back the question she wanted to ask and let Crystal continue.
"The ABB had some kind of grudge against the Undersiders." Crystal explained.
Despite herself, Amy felt the resentment that had been stewing since the events at the Bank bloom to the surface. Every bad thing she had wished upon that team over the past week flashed through her mind, and now it turned out it may have actually happened. That they ended up on the wrong end of a dangerous gang during a night of horrific attacks.
"They pinned them down in a storage center at the edge of town. Bakuda had trapped the place and they were using Uber and Leet to broadcast things." Amy nodded and Crystal continued. "I don't know what happened to Hellhound. She was out of the picture when the stream started. Bakuda hunted down the rest one by one."
"What happened to them?" Amy asked. She hoped she didn't sound too eager. She knew it was going to be horrible, that she shouldn't wish that on anyone, but she'd been living with the image of Tattletale's smug face as the girl threatened to destroy Amy's life. The image of Khepri looming over everyone, threatening death by black widow spider and shattering Amy's wrist. The aftermath and injured Wards that she had to deal with.
Crystal swallowed nervously. "Regent was caught first. Bakuda used some kind of incendiary bomb on him. Left him really badly burned. Grue she hit with something she claimed to have reverse engineered from scanning Vista's power. Non-Manton limited space distortions. It stretched his body like…" Crystal petered off and was looking increasingly uncomfortable. Amy was regretting pressing the topic. "With Tattletale she did something that phased her into a bunch of junk in one of the storage lockers."
"What about Khepri?" Amy asked.
She felt awful about the enthusiasm that leaked into her voice. She had spent so long stewing in her resentment and now she found herself faced with the opportunity to see all of that brought to bear. A horrible fate for the person who had held her hostage. Who had broken her wrist. Who had set off all of the events that led to this moment.
Except she hadn't. Not entirely. She still resented Khepri. There was no question about that, but this hadn't been the work of a single teenage villain. If Carol hadn't committed that fundamental betrayal and if the Protectorate had taken her warnings seriously then things would have been different.
Crystal didn't seem to notice anything concerning in Amy's voice. "Apeiron arrived before they could catch Khepri." She explained. In a way, Amy was grateful for that. She didn't need to learn how she would have reacted to news of another horrible fate.
"Apeiron showing up was a bigger deal than everything else that happened that night?" She asked. Trying to avoid the name and its attached effect seemed like a lost cause.
Crystal nodded slowly. "Pretty much. I mean, compared to everything else that happened, and the fact that it was all broadcast…" She shook her head. "I know you met him back when he was just doing knives and those other tricks-"
"Tricks!" Amy had to steady herself to keep from raising her voice. She dropped back to a whisper as she continued. "His knives carved up Aegis like he was nothing. He could heal! And teleport. And stop Vicky's punches."
Crystal just nodded. "I know. Everyone used to think that was a big deal."
"Big…" Amy swallowed nervously. "What did he do?"
"That night?" Amy didn't like the way her cousin phrased things. "He rescued the Undersiders and fought off Bakuda, Uber and Leet, and the ABB. It was… I could show you the video, but he used a lot of new technology. Much better stuff than what he released before. Bakuda had him pinned down at the end, but he pulled out some super sword thing that basically leveled the facility."
Amy shivered. "Really?"
"Yes, really." Crystal said. "I mean, it wasn't in great shape at that point after what his robots had done to the place."
"What robots?" Amy asked.
Her cousin blinked. "Um, he showed up with a motorcycle that turned into robot armor. And also these flying glowing drone things. But that's not really important."
"It's not?" She asked.
"No." Crystal said seriously. "After he beat Bakuda she managed to escape with Uber and Leet's help, but they left their forces behind."
"Why's that important?" Amy asked.
Crystal wrapped her arms around her body. "Bakuda was forcing people into the ABB by putting bombs in their heads. She could detonate them and they were tied to a Deadman switch if her heart stopped."
Amy felt her stomach churn. She remembered Apeiron's words. Horrible on the level of the worst capes. Hostages that were forced to fight with you on penalty of death certainly qualified.
"What happened?" Amy asked.
"Apeiron saved them." She said, "He took the bombs out of everyone's heads, right there in the field."
"He could do that?" She asked.
Crystal nodded. "He was using a kind of healing that was better than what you described. Apparently, he treated a lot of other injuries during the process as well as the incisions from removing the bombs." She smiled. "And he got the Undersiders to help them with it."
"What do you mean?" Amy asked. "You said…"
"He was able to treat them as well." Crystal said. "I know it's crazy. Regent lost most of his arm and the stuff that happened to Grue and Tattletale…" She shivered visibly. "But he managed it. They were able to help him against Bakuda at the end."
Amy slumped as she tried to process the information. Information that seemed to be only a prelude to what was happening in the city and with her own situation. That kind of healing was exactly what she'd wanted him to do. He had said his resources were limited, that he was saving them for when they were needed. If it was able to get innocent people free of that kind of horror it was hard to fault him for that strategy.
Even if he had healed the Undersiders. That was probably petty and cruel on Amy's part, but she could be forgiven for not getting over things, with everything she'd had to put up with.
She wanted to ask a hundred questions about what he had done, why he had done it, and what it meant for the city, but they needed to move forward. The burning question of why she was still in containment hadn't been answered, at least beyond the fact that the PRT was probably too overwhelmed in the aftermath of the attacks to deal with her case.
"Okay. So, the city had the worst attack in years." The look on Crystal's face worried Amy, but she could get to that later. "But they should have tried to get me out sooner, right? I mean, people were hurt. They would have needed me in the hospitals."
"They did, but that was before Sunday night." Crystal explained. At Amy's prompting she continued. "After what happened at the bank the PRT moved Wards around. Aegis was sent to Boston in exchange for Weld and Dean went to New York. They sent a striker named Flechette up in his place."
"Dean is in New York?" Amy asked. The hope she felt bloom immediately wilted. "Wait, is that why Vicky's there?"
"No, that's for something else." Crystal said, shaking her head. "Dean's armor was wrecked after the bank, so he went to New York to get a new suit. Chris couldn't build anything since he was on probation after using that cannon at the bank."
"Right." Amy said, nodding.
"I don't know if you know Weld. He's the team leader on the Boston Wards?" Crystal asked.
"I saw him when he guest starred on Broken Hills." Amy said. Vicky liked the show more than she did, but it wasn't bad as teen dramas went.
"Well, he was at the PHQ when Oni Lee attacked. Lung knocked him into the bay. He doesn't have to breathe, but he can't swim and apparently got stuck down there until Apeiron pulled him out on Sunday night." Crystal explained.
"Well, that's good." Amy said. Then she saw Crystal's face. "Right? I mean, he saved people from Bakuda and rescued a Ward. That's better than it could be?"
"It is, but he was able to talk with Weld about what was happening in the city. The first time anyone on our side spoke with him since you." Amy nodded as Crystal continued with obvious reluctance. "And they got into the master accusations. He wasn't happy about it."
"Really?" Amy said, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Well, I'm not exactly thrilled about them either."
"No, I mean he was specifically against them. It sounds like he has a personal issue with capes who can influence or control other people." Crystal continued. "Um, after what he did for the people Bakuda conscripted at the storage facility a lot of them started getting really defensive when people went after Apeiron over anything."
"Makes sense." Amy had seen it herself. She didn't particularly enjoy the dynamic, but people she had treated could get aggressive if anyone said anything against her online. There was even a joke about the 'Panacea Defense Force'.
"Yeah, but with the earlier accusations concerns came up that people might have been influenced in a similar way." Amy gave Crystal a stunned look. "I know, but PRT policy can be kind of crazy during an active master investigation."
"Right." Amy said. "So, is that why things are taking so long with me?"
"No." Crystal said with a tired sigh. "That's because Aunt Carol's been blocking the investigation."
"What? Why?" Amy asked in shock. Crystal just shook her head.
"When he was talking to Weld the topic of your containment came up. He said you had been influenced. By Vicky's aura." Amy's mouth dropped open.
"That's insane." Amy said in a harsh whisper. "What did he mean by that? Everyone knows Vicky's aura is harmless."
"They only tested it for short term exposure." Crystal explained. "Nobody knows what the long term effects of something like that could be."
"What?" She looked at her cousin in shock. "You can't really believe this. Just because some tinker made an accusation-"
"Amy, Apeiron isn't just some tinker. That's what I was trying to tell you." Crystal's voice was gravely serious.
"What, because he did some surgery in the field and knocked down a storage yard?" She asked. "I know he'd done something weird with that name, but-"
"He healed Weld." Crystal said.
"What?" Amy gasped.
"Weld was injured when Apeiron found him. Ocean debris or something." Crystal continued.
"Okay. I know Case 53s can be difficult to treat, but what does that have to do with this?" Amy asked.
"He didn't just heal the damage. He treated some of Weld's condition. The thing that made him a Case 53. He can smell and taste, has more feeling in his body, and even better control of his powers. And he did all that on the bottom of the ocean with nothing but what he brought down there with him."
Amy found herself reeling at the implications. She remembered when she tried working on a Case 53. That boy from the Boston Wards with the hunchback. Her power should have been able to handle anything, but that was something else. Like there was a force actively fighting her every step of the way. Worse, the way his body was set up was so delicate that any shift away from that precarious equilibrium could bring the whole thing crashing down.
She'd only attempted it a few times after that, and to the same result. She couldn't stand to see the hope bloom and die when she couldn't help them. At least not help the underlying condition. She could work within the insanity of their biology to an extent, enough for simple healing, but couldn't accomplish the kinds of treatments she could manage on anyone else.
"I didn't know his healing was that strong." Amy said.
Crystal nodded. "He was able to heal all of the Undersiders, even with what Bakuda did to them."
Amy found herself stunned with the implications. Serious burns sounded like something normal enough when it came to treatment, but someone who was merged with other material, or subject to a warping effect? She didn't know how bad those cases actually were, but even the least serious interpretation of what Crystal had described would still have been monstrously difficult to deal with.
Amy pulled herself up. "So, because he knows about medicine, people are willing to take his word regarding Vicky?"
"Amy, it's not just medical stuff. Apeiron is really strong and getting stronger. Probably still getting stronger." Amy didn't like the sound of that.
"How strong?" She asked.
"He killed Lung." Crystal said softly.
"He what?" She said, looking at the grim expression on her cousin's face.
"On Thursday night. It would have been right after you were moved in here."
"I remember. It sounded like there were explosions. Then there was a bright flash and something happened with the ocean?"
Crystal nodded. "The ABB launched another attack. Much worse than what happened on Saturday. They'd been grabbing more people, even some of the ones that Apeiron had freed."
"How bad was it?" Amy asked in a weak whisper.
Crystal slumped. "Bad. Probably the worst the city's seen. There were coordinated attacks on every front. Most of the ABB were fighting the Protectorate, all the Wards, the other gangs, and even the National Guard."
"The national guard was deployed? They had time for that?" She asked
Her cousin shook her head. "They declared a state of emergency earlier in the week when Lung nearly burned down the docks. They were deployed after that, but even with the Guard it wasn't enough. Without Apeiron…"
"He helped?" Amy asked.
"He practically fought them by himself." Crystal's voice was slightly bitter. "He accomplished more on his own than every other group in the city combined. Well, mostly on his own."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm getting ahead of things again." She said, "Apeiron has a team. We didn't find out about them until Sunday night, but they were apparently helping out to some extent before that."
"What happened Sunday night?"
"The villains had a summit to discuss what will happen to the city with the ABB gone."
"Gone?" Amy asked. "I know you said Lung was… but they're all gone?"
"Well, Bakuda's still out there, but Lung's dead and so is March. Oni Lee's at least critically injured, but there's no information on him. Oh, and Bakuda probably has cancer." Amy gave her cousin a blank look. "Ahead of myself?"
"A bit. Who the hell is March?" She asked.
She saw Crystal's discomfort. "March was a villain from New York. She followed Flechette to the city. Apparently, she was her nemesis or something?" Amy nodded. "She was a timing thinker with a striker power, but she was a lot stronger than anyone imagined."
"How much stronger?"
Crystal let out a breath. "They're pretty sure all the crazy coordination the ABB pulled off was because of her. It's how they knocked out the power and why they were overwhelming everyone."
"Except Apeiron." Amy said in a bitter tone.
"Yeah, but she almost killed him." Crystal said solemnly.
"She what?" Amy asked.
"She was able to ambush him." She explained. "Her striker power sets this mark that explodes after a certain period. Oni Lee was able to duplicate it. He swarmed him with copies. Apeiron survived, but it was the worst anyone's seen him injured."
"That was after he killed Lung?" Amy asked, trying to piece the sequence of events together.
"No. Amy, Apeiron killed Lung after nearly being blown apart by the strongest attack anyone's heard of. The man walked through stuff like he was Alexandria, but that laid him out like it was nothing."
"It can't have been that strong." Amy said.
"March fought the Wards on the night of the first attacks. She was able to destroy one of Clockblocker's time stops."
Amy blinked. Her mind raced, running through everything she had seen, every interaction between Dennis's power over the years. It had stood up to everything without budging a millimeter. If March could do that, if she knew she could do that…
"What happened? How did he kill Lung?" Amy asked.
"It's not really clear." Amy gave her a frustrated look. "I'm serious. He had some kind of failsafe, or it might have been technology that went wrong. There were these red fibers that came out of his body, but they might have been connected to a member of his team, then he started glowing with a bunch of different stuff while he fought Oni Lee, then he turned into some kind of dinosaur werewolf and fought Lung over the bay."
"Werewolf?"
Crystal slumped. "Believe me, I couldn't make this up if I tried. He also called in some giant robot that was probably built by a member of his team, teamed up with Dragon for a while, then launched Lung into high altitude where he hit him with some kind of attack that they're still trying to figure out."
"They don't know what he did?"
Crystal shrugged. "They know it was visible in Africa and Europe, and that it caused atmospheric disruptions for days, and that if he had launched it any lower or closer to shore it would have wiped the city rather than just flooding the Boardwalk."
"That was the ocean sound? What, some kind of tidal wave?"
"Yeah. The Docks were alright because of other stuff that happened from when March attacked Apeiron." Amy gave her frustrated look. "I know, ahead of things. Sorry, there's so much to cover."
"Give me the cliff notes." Amy said with a slight huff.
Crystal took a breath. "Well, the city's in a really bad state. Bakuda was using really exotic bombs and they think March was helping her combine the effects to be worse than they already were. Apeiron stopped most of them, but after he went after Lung a few of them got out of hand. People had to pretty much tear up the city to stop them from spreading."
"Was that what stopped the wave?" Amy asked.
"No. Apeiron was using some new technology that threw off complicated elemental effects. Fire and ice and that kind of thing." Amy nodded. "When March ambushed him, whatever was letting him do that shorted out or something. It spread these lines of all kinds of stuff through the city. They've made getting around really hard. Most of the active stuff has faded, but you still have a chunk of the city torn up. On top of that the giant robot was damaged when fighting Lung. It threw out some kind of particle that settled across the city. Shorts out electronics and distorts light. There's a corridor through the Docks where nothing electronic will function."
"That's what you meant by the Dark Zone? That Armsmaster and Dragon dealt with?"
"Well, they cleared a part of it. Bit near the shore, so at least it's easier to get around. The rest is supposed to break down over time, depending on the weather."
"According to Apeiron."
"Yeah, according to Apeiron." Crystal said. "He called in after the Ungodly Hour, that's what they're calling the attacks, and explained some of the effects."
"Well, that was nice of him."
"It really was." Amy gave her a questioning look. "Amy, I'm serious. Apeiron is stronger than anyone thought possible. They're considering retroactively declaring the Ungodly Hour an S-class threat, and he basically fought it on his own."
"It can't have been that bad." Amy said.
"Amy, at the end Lung was over forty feet tall. They say that's bigger than when he fought Leviathan and Apeiron was able to defeat him after nearly being killed and having nearly all of his equipment destroyed."
Amy narrowed her eyes. "So, because Apeiron's SO powerful people are willing to take his word when it comes to Vicky's power?"
Crystal nodded, an expression of regret on her face. "Pretty much. At this point people aren't sure what it would take to stop him, if it's even possible. He doesn't have any reason to lie about Vicky's power."
"But that doesn't mean he's right." Amy protested. "It doesn't mean there's anything wrong in the first place."
Crystal shook her head. "They're still not sure what Apeiron's specialization is, but a lot of people think he's a power tinker."
"Power tinker?" Amy asked. "You mean he tinkers with powers? Like, his specialization is being a trump or something?"
Crystal shrugged. "It's one of the only things that makes sense. He's gotten too powerful too fast for there not to be something like that happening, and he has been able to affect people's powers."
"Yeah, but Weld was a Case 53." Amy countered. "His power is tied to his body. If you change that, it makes sense that his powers will change. It doesn't mean that Apeiron's an expert in power manipulation or whatever." She saw Crystal's expression. "Unless there's more to explain. Of course."
"Sorry." She offered. "But yeah. That's the reason why Vicky is in New York."
"What happened?" Amy asked sharply.
"The fight with March and Lung and Oni Lee? It happened in a container yard in the Docks. They streamed the whole thing. Were going to make it an execution, until Apeiron just got up and started fighting back." Crystal explained. "But Rory was there."
"Triumph?" Amy asked.
Crystal nodded. "Lung fought him first. Probably some timing thing to get his power primed, or at least that's the theory. After the fight moved over the bay Vicky went in to rescue him. There was something that went wrong with one of Apeiron's machines that March had damaged. It tore up the whole area and apparently changed the way Vicky and Rory's powers worked."
"Changed them how?" Amy asked.
"I don't have all the details, but apparently Rory can do a striker thing with his power, like concentrate the blast he uses for his roar? Vicky can, like, project her forcefield outside her body. Let it manipulate nearby objects, intercept things, stuff like that."
"Okay." Amy said. "That's… I mean, are they sure? There are lots of trump effects and other stuff it could be."
"They're sure." She said, Crystal bit her lip. "There's also something else." Amy raised an eyebrow. "Vicky can apparently feel her passenger, like in passenger theory."
"What?" Amy asked. "But that's…"
"Apparently Apeiron thinks it's true, and it's looking like he's right, at least from what Vicky can tell."
"You're serious?" Amy asked.
Crystal nodded. "They have her at the top power testing facility in the country, and they've assigned a case number to people who were affected that way."
Amy slumped back. That was serious. She remembered the details on sequential case numbers from the Parahumans 101 lectures she and Vicky had taken at the college. If they actually assigned a number that meant the investigation had reached a serious point.
"So, Vicky and Rory are like Case 63s or something?" She asked. Crystal shifted uncomfortably.
"Um, it's actually Case 69." Amy gave her a stunned look. "I know. Aunt Carol thinks it's some plot by Apeiron to specifically ruin Vicky's life for some reason."
"But you don't?" Amy asked. "You know what a master accusation can mean? If he was angry about being accused himself, who's to say he wouldn't try to get back at us?"
Her cousin just looked tired. "Basically? If Apeiron was actually that petty we'd all be completely screwed." Crystal said, the exhaustion evident in her voice. "I'm not kidding when I say people don't know how to handle him, and that was before he got his team."
"But you can't think he's right?" She saw Crystal's expression. "Can you?"
"Amy, it kind of makes sense."
"What?" Amy was barely able to avoid raising her voice. "How could you say that?"
"Because it's true. People respond to emotional triggers. It's basic neuroscience. Even if there isn't some conditioned effect it would still have some level of influence, particularly if you were exposed for long enough."
"And you think I was?" Amy said indignantly.
"I know that Vicky can't turn off her aura. Most of the time she doesn't even bother turning it down, and your rooms are right next to each other. I mean, your beds share a wall."
"That doesn't mean anything." Amy said defensively. Still, she remembered. It was always easier to sleep when Vicky was home. She could tell when she got back from patrol. But that didn't mean she was brainwashed. "We… we have to stop this. Get ahead of it somehow."
"That's what Aunt Carol's been trying to do. She's been blocking tests and evaluations that would have gotten you released earlier." Crystal explained. "It's why you've been in here so long."
Amy felt a flare of… well, of a mix of emotions. She didn't like the situation. Carol had been keeping her in containment. That seemed like a natural outlet for her frustrations. Combined with the crack in the façade that came from the revelation of the affair and it felt like she finally had an outlet for all the pent-up emotion that had been building for over a week.
But it had been to protect Vicky. Protect her from accusations that would ruin her life. Probably ruin it completely. There was no going back from something like this. Amy knew how serious mental influence was. It was something she lived with every day. The knowledge of her own capabilities, carefully held back and restrained. She just never imagined that she'd be looking at this particular problem from Vicky's perspective.
"They're concerned that you might have been influenced by Vicky. If you try to act blindly on her behalf, it's not going to do much to convince them you're uncompromised." Crystal explained slowly.
Amy slumped. "Damn it." She muttered. "That's what you meant, about me knowing?" Crystal nodded. "It's not just compromising the investigation. If I try to affect things it's only going to convince them. Make things worse for Vicky."
"Amy, things are going to be bad for Vicky." Crystal said. Amy gave her a betrayed look, but her cousin just shook her head. "They are. There's nothing we can do about this. Mom's already trying to prepare, because there are going to be people suing the team as soon as the news gets out."
"But that's… They can't be serious." Amy said.
"Most of the cases will get thrown out." She said with confidence. "But the PRT gave the all clear for Vicky. Anyone who thinks they can prove any adverse effects because of her aura will be going after them, and New Wave will be included in that."
"Arcadia." Amy said. "It's going to be people from school, isn't it?"
"Probably, for the most part." Crystal said. "You know the type, and there are a lot of parents who will jump on board just for the publicity. And there's the fact that Vicky had been using her aura on people for years. That's not going to look good, even if they can't prove any long-term effects."
"But that's just-"
"It's still emotional manipulation." Crystal said. "It's not like Arcadia sent out consent forms for all the students. Vicky's aura might be harmless, but if it's going to get into legal precedent on power use and messing with emotions. That's not going to go well for anyone."
"You can't compare Vicky's aura to some Heartbreaker knock off." Amy protested as loudly as she dared in the darkened room.
"I know, but legally? If it's going to set precedent about what's allowed and what's actionable? You've taken Parahumans 101 lectures. You know what the law is like around power use."
Amy felt her defiance surge, and then crash against the oppressive reality of her situation.
"Shit." She muttered.
"Yeah." Crystal said, clearly echoing her sentiment.
"What am I supposed to do?" Amy asked. "I mean, is there anything I can do for Vicky?"
"I don't know. Mom's looking into things, but there's the sense that Aunt Carol has made a mess of everything." Crystal paused. "She hasn't been doing well."
Amy looked up at her cousin. She couldn't even imagine Carol in that kind of state. "How bad is it?"
"Bad." She replied. "Started bad and got worse, but I didn't really keep track. Mom wasn't doing well and I kind of had to, you know."
"I get it." Amy said.
Crystal nodded. "Um, Uncle Mark's been patrolling a lot. Night work. Probably to get out of the house."
Amy couldn't really blame him, given what had happened. Still, with everything that was happening…
"Is he alright?" Amy asked. "It's been dangerous, right? And he's been on his own?" She saw a look of amusement on Crystal's face. "What?"
"Sorry, it's not really funny. Well, it kind of is, but it's still serious." She said.
"What are you talking about?" Amy asked as sternly as she dared.
"Uncle Mark's been fine, because he's been alone." Amy gave her cousin a confused look. "And he's kind of famous."
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"Flashbang." Crystal said, like it meant something. "Okay, you know how Uncle Mark isn't affected by his own explosions?" Amy nodded. "And you know how many he can throw out when he gets serious?"
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Amy asked.
"Turns out he's really dangerous when he doesn't need to worry about people getting caught in his blasts." Crystal said.
"Dad. Dad is dangerous?" Amy said, unable to process the news.
"He beat the Merchants on his own the night of the first attack. Couple of days later he took on Hookwolf, Stormtiger, Cricket, Krieg, Victor, Othala, and Alabaster." Crystal said with a slight grin.
"At once?" Amy asked in a hissed whisper.
Crystal nodded. "Somebody got video of it. He was bouncing Hookwolf around like a rag doll, and nobody else could get close to him. It's become big on the internet."
Amy frowned. "More stuff I've missed out on."
"Yeah." Crystal said sadly. "Um, I could leave you my phone, but if they search or something…"
"Better not." Amy said regretfully. "So, what was Mom doing, other than causing problems." Problems for Vicky's sake. Amy hated feeling this conflicted about things.
"She wasn't doing well." Crystal said. "She laid everything out at the meeting. Basically, she thinks the whole thing is a conspiracy by Apeiron to ruin us for some reason. That he's been manipulating everything to cause all the problems so far."
"That's…" That was concerning. Amy didn't know what to make of it, or where something like that would have come from.
"It was kind of a theory the PRT had, early on." Amy looked at Crystal in surprise. "I know, but Apeiron gave you all that information, then the way they acted on it caused all these problems." She let out a breath. "It was probably someone trying to pass the blame, but it was probably easy to pin everything on the new guy with an admitted thinker power."
"They seriously thought Apeiron was coordinating everything?" Amy asked in amazement. "What, even what I said? The affair coming to light? Me being put in containment? The ABB attacking?"
"A lot of that was on March. Nobody knew how strong she was, and she had some kind of effect that scrambled thinker powers. It made it hard to pin anything on her, and Apeiron was right there…"
"Of course." Amy said. "And if everyone was so afraid of him, then they had to be extra careful with my case, right?" Crystal shrugged. "Damn it."
"It was a mess. Everything's been a mess." Crystal admitted. "Not just New Wave or your case. It's like everything waiting to go wrong in the city was all set off at the same time."
Amy huffed. "No wonder they were looking for someone to blame. And that's not Apeiron anymore?" She tried to line up the image of the boy in a salvaged costume to the alleged mastermind and force of nature that was being described. She just couldn't make things fit, even with the repeated stranger effect echoing in her head.
"No." Crystal said. "After what March was pulling off there's no question where most of it came from. Plus, now it's not like Apeiron needs to sneak around or manipulate people if he wants to get his way."
"It's really that bad?" Amy whispered. Crystal just nodded.
"At the summit he laid down terms. Nobody takes the ABB territory or interferes with civilians during the recovery. At least until the blackout field's gone." She explained.
"And they agreed to that?" Amy asked.
"Nobody wants to end up like Lung." Crystal said. "And trust me, the city needed that. It's bad out there. The damage is like nothing I've seen before."
Amy's face fell. "And I'm stuck in here." She saw Crystal's expression and turned to her. "What?"
"Casualties were actually pretty light after the Ungodly Hour."
"Seriously? With all that damage?"
Crystal nodded. "Apeiron released data on survivors to a website. Locations and medical status, even when he was injured after the fight with Lung." She paused. "Though, on reflection, it was probably Survey."
"Survey?" Amy inquired.
"Hold on." Crystal fished out her phone. She was careful to conceal the light of the screen from the lower windows as she navigated to a web browser. "Here. Apeiron's team, the Celestial Forge. Survey is the one with the silver hair."
Amy looked at the picture and felt her breath hitch in her throat. Apeiron was there, in the center. She could recognize the broad elements of his costume, though it was refined to an unbelievable degree. He was unmasked except for his visor which looked much more advanced. The lack of bandanas left his strong chin and gray hair free, highlighting a glowing red lock in the front. His costume had a more military themed cut than she remembered. His coat had been traded for a fitted jacket and he wore a white cloak that matched his new gleaming gloves.
The rest of the team was equally impressive. The Baroque purple armor that bore an unmistakable feminine shape, contrasting with the hulking golden suit that had a white scarf wrapped around the neck. The grounded form of a cat with feathers around his ears and tail in a mockup of Roman or Greek armor equally contrasted a creature like a humanoid mink composed of glowing red fibers.
Following the theme of contrasts, a rugged man in a costume styled like a fighter pilot uniform stood across from the most elegant woman Amy had ever seen. The silver hair seemed to dance across her shoulders despite it being a still image. Amy's eye was drawn to the details of her face, the fit of her costume, the slight angle of her stance. Every detail that just seemed beyond perfect.
"I know." Crystal said, seeing Amy's reaction. She felt her face flush red in embarrassment. "Everyone gets like that. People think it's some kind of stranger effect or something."
"Right." Amy said with a slight cough. "Um, they think she made a website?"
Crystal nodded. "She's kind of the information specialist, at least from the stories that got out from the summit. Can sense parahuman powers and detect stuff from blocks away. Serious thinker or scanning technology, so it was probably her that was behind the website, considering Apeiron was fighting the entire time."
"Uh, yeah." Amy said, trying to reconcile the image of the stunning woman with her impression of the average programmer. "But even if you got everyone to the hospitals in time, it still would have been horrible. The kinds of injuries that kind of attack must have caused. I mean, was Apeiron healing people again?"
Crystal shook her head. "Nobody saw him after Lung was taken out. Or anyone from his team." Crystal's eyes drifted down to the picture. "Which doesn't really discount things."
"What doesn't discount things?" Amy asked.
Crystal looked at the picture again. "Sorry, there's so much to cover. This is Lethe." She said pointing at the woman in the purple armor. "She's a stranger. A really powerful one."
"How powerful?" Amy said, leaning in for a better look at the picture.
"She makes people forget she exists." Crystal explained. "She can be standing in front of you and you wouldn't even notice her. And it works on technology as well."
"What? She could be anywhere?" Amy couldn't help herself from looking around the room. It was the kind of stupid paranoia that kind of stranger effect could bring on.
"No. The Protectorate sent out a whole thing about her. If her power was active, we wouldn't remember her. She wouldn't even show up in the picture." Crystal gave her a tired smile. "Basically, if you're able to be worried about Lethe, you don't need to worry about Lethe."
Amy struggled to wrap her mind around the concept. "Right." She said, "Powerful."
"Something of a theme with Apeiron's team." Crystal said. "It's why most people don't think they're wasting their time on petty spite."
"Unlike Mom." Amy said. Crystal just shrugged. "It's really that bad?"
"Yeah." Crystal said sadly. "She was practically breaking down during the meeting. I've never seen her like that. Eric and I got her to crash in the guest room. Probably the first decent sleep Aunt Carol's had in days."
Amy swallowed. Carol was out. It was too much for Carol to handle. Despite all the resentment and anger and mixed feelings Amy had, she never doubted Carol's capabilities, but now even they weren't enough. "What happens next?"
"We're still sorting that out." Crystal admitted. "I just wanted you to know what was happening."
Amy let out a breath. "Thank you for that. I mean, I wish it was better news, but thank you for letting me know." Crystal nodded. "So, the next step?"
"Roughly?" Amy nodded to her. "Uncle Mark is going to call Vicky tomorrow. Fill her in on everything that's been happening with her and your case."
Amy's stomach churned at the thought. "She doesn't know yet?" She hissed.
"We didn't know." Crystal admitted. "Aunt Carol's been dealing with everything directly. She was even keeping Uncle Mark out of the loop, and they wanted to meet with him directly."
"Really? Why?" Amy asked.
"Something about his depression. I think they want to check if Vicky's aura influenced it." She explained.
"But that-" Amy started, but Crystal cut her off.
"It's something they have to check. And the more we know the better we'll be able to deal with things, and help Vicky. Best case it's nothing and they can rule something out." Crystal said.
Amy took a breath. "And if they can't?" She asked. "Is Vicky going to be a pariah because of this?"
"No." Crystal said. "It's something we'll have to deal with, but we'll be there for her, however it turns out. And we'll be there for you as well. Mom's going to be doing everything she can to get you out of here."
Amy forced a smile. "Well, it's not like isolating me is going to do much good anymore."
Crystal returned the smile. "Oh dear, did speaking to you ruin the integrity of the data? I guess they have no reason to keep you locked up anymore."
"I wish." Amy said, looking out the window to the dark, empty courtyard. "And it sounds like I'm going to have my work cut out for me as soon as I get out of here."
"Um, to a point." Crystal said.
"What do you mean by that?" Amy asked.
"Well, after the stuff with the Wards at the bank the Youth Guard sent in a representative to look at the Brockton Bay program." She explained.
"What does that have to do with me?" Amy asked. "We aren't in the Wards."
"Yeah, but apparently, we're covered by some of the restrictions that apply to underage heroes. She's been digging into pretty much everything, and your case came up." Crystal said.
"What, is she going to tell me I can't heal people?" Amy asked in a spiteful voice.
"No, but the team might owe you like a bajillion dollars." Crystal said.
Amy blinked. "What?"
"Okay, so from what I understand, there's this policy that was put in place to prevent underage heroes from being exploited for labor. If they use their powers for commercial applications, they're supposed to have a portion of the value of their work put in a trust to prevent them from being exploited."
"But it's volunteer work. Charity." Amy protested.
"Yeah, but it technically counts as promotional work for New Wave. And there are examples, like shakers who can build houses. Even if it's charity, kids can work themselves too far trying to keep up." Crystal said.
"You think I work too much?" Amy asked.
"Amy, I'm pretty sure you work too much, and everyone understands why, but apparently there are policies in place to make sure you're compensated." She paused. "Also, ones that make it so you can't be compensated, so I really have no idea how this will turn out."
Amy huffed. "Frankly, that's the least of my concerns at the moment."
"Yeah, like I said, it's a mess." Crystal said. "Way too busy out there."
"With the Celestial Forge?" Amy asked. The name still sounded weird, but at least there wasn't a stranger effect attached to it.
"No, they're staying quiet, at least so far. It's everyone else who showed up." Crystal explained.
"Who else came to the city?" From Crystal's expression, it looked like a lot more than she was expecting.
"Like in order?" Crystal asked. Amy just looked at her blankly. "Well, Dragon's moved down. Set up a local base after she had some kind of hacking thing with Apeiron. Nobody really knows what's happened there. Looks like the Dragonslayers followed her. They were at the summit. Uppercrust is in the city, supposedly to fix the coastal shields, but we're pretty sure he wants medical treatment from Apeiron. Uber and Leet attacked Barrow, so Lost Garden showed up for revenge, and Blasto's leading them now for some reason. There's a group called the Travelers who showed up for some reason. The Teeth are back and tried to claim the ABB's territory before they got slapped down by the other gangs, so they're probably going to fight over it. Word about Weld must have gotten out because Case 53s have been showing up. Dad's been working with one of them. Gully, from California?" There was no recognition in Amy's face, but to be fair, she was a little overwhelmed.
"Is that everyone?" Amy asked.
"Oh, and there's a new fashion cape. Goes by Garment. She's like Parian, but a Case 53 or something. Just like clothes, floating in the air. She's having a charity benefit tomorrow afternoon." Crystal finished.
"That's…" Amy petered out, not knowing what to say. Where to go from here. She settled on familiar territory. "Are you going?"
Crystal blinked. "Um, I mean we were invited, but with the state of the team… Mom would normally handle that, but with everything…" Amy nodded. Crystal let out a sigh. "Gully's going. Oh, right. There's also a Ward team from Chicago." Amy gave her a frustrated look. "Sorry, it's a lot to cover."
"I get it." Amy said. She didn't like it, but she understood.
"Gully came to the city to see if she could get treatment from Apeiron. She's afraid that one of the Chicago wards is going to try to talk her out of it. I'd like to be there for her, but with everything that's happening with that team…"
Amy pulled herself up. "You should go."
"What? Really?" Crystal asked.
"Really. I mean it. Don't stay away for my sake or Vicky's sake. If this will help people, it sounds like that's needed right now. And it will probably help to show that New Wave's not completely broken."
"Yeah." Crystal dropped her head.
"I mean it." Amy said. "Go. Be there for Gully." It was the least she could do for someone while she was stuck in containment. The least she could do was see it through.
"I'll… I'll have to check with mom, but okay. Thank you, Amy." Crystal said.
Amy shook her head. "No. Thank you for coming." She looked around, listening for the stairs and thankfully hearing nothing. "I know this was risky, but just knowing. Being able to see someone."
Crystal nodded. "I'm glad I could help."
"You definitely did." She said.
Crystal looked around. "Um, are we done? Because I still have like a thousand things to fill you in on?"
Amy let out a breath. "Maybe tomorrow? You can tell me about Garment and how the charity event went." It would be good to get some news from the outside. "Right now I need some time to process things."
"Right." Crystal pushed off her force field, allowing it to dissipate as a faint red glow bloomed around her. "Hopefully it will be good news."
Amy smiled. "Comparatively, it's got to be. I mean, at this point who else could get involved in this mess?"
Addendum Mags
Mags sat at the computer terminal, monitoring the feeds from Dragon's programming. Since moving to the city Richter's creation had been working nonstop. It wasn't that it was actually more active, it was just much more focused.
That presented an impossible challenge for the team. No human could keep up with the speed of an artificial intelligence. Dragon was operating under restrictions, and those were usually enough for them to keep track of major actions, but the thing could shift focus and process information faster than any person could hope to follow.
Normally that wasn't an issue. Dragon split its focus between so many topics that the team had an easy time identifying any deviations of note. Regular monitoring of tinker projects, team assessments, active threat profiles, and data evaluations could mostly be ignored, leaving only matters relevant to the Dragonslayers' objectives for them to focus on. Sometimes the data came faster than they could handle, leading to a period of crunch time with all hands on deck. They would sleep at their workstations, digging through backlogs of activity reports trying to predict its next move.
Since moving to Brockton Bay, and particularly in the aftermath of the Summit, that crunch time had persisted endlessly. Dragon had shelved or handed off any task that it could afford to spare, leaving all of its focus for the matter at hand. The focus on Apeiron was unfortunately perfectly in line with its directives, which meant that the Dragonslayers were struggling to keep up with a very determined and hyper focused A.I.
To her left Mischa sorted through code that was already hours old, trying to discern Dragon's process and objectives regarding the assessment of Apeiron's technology. She did her best to skim through the volume of media and official reports that had been digested in the space of an afternoon, trying to pick out any key details that might give a hint to Dragon's next move, or some secret to securing the assistance of Apeiron.
Apeiron, who was entirely unconcerned with the enmity he had earned from Dragon after their brief collaboration. From anyone else she would have thought that the height of arrogance, but she had seen the creature's attempts to track the tinker's signal when he brazenly called the local Protectorate. She was as lost as Dragon had been, but the very indifference with which he had held her attempts to pursue him spoke to the gulf in power that had grown between them.
She just wished they could find some reassurance or comfort in the tinker's expanded abilities. Instead, every spike of growth or expansion of capacities only presented a greater possibility of Dragon being released upon a helpless world. And the reveal of the man's team only complicated things, particularly with what they had learned from Dragon's assessments.
Mischa let out a sigh as he leaned back from his screen, rubbing his eyes. "You taking a break?" Mags asked.
"No." he said in a raspy voice. "Too much backlog."
"Tell me about it." Mags said with a sigh. "Just the amount of media, reports, memos, announcements…"
"It's never been this focused before." He said, looking back at his screen.
"That's intentional." Said Saint without looking up from his monitor. "It's abusing directive conflicts. Focusing on Apeiron as a defensive measure, but it's looking for cracks. Ways to lose to him under the guise of assessing threats."
"Too many potential threats." Mags muttered, earning a tired nod from Mischa. Assessments of Apeiron were off the chart. If he decided to come for Dragon, with or without his team, there wasn't much anyone could do to stop him. Their only hope was that when the veil was pulled back and the truth was revealed, Apeiron would do the right thing.
"The Celestial Forge will be a problem." Mischa said. "We had models on Apeiron. Strategies. Nobody was ready for his team."
"That was the point." Saint said. "He was trying to put people off balance."
"Well, mission accomplished." Mags said as she sorted through another ream of assessments retreading the same limited data. One appearance and a handful of forum posts were all they had to base an entire ocean of analysis on. If the team had actually been publicly active, she would have been absolutely drowning in data. "I mean, we don't even know if the Anti-A.I. weapon was Apeiron's work." She said, pulling up a report from a Protectorate thinker.
"The cluster theory does complicate things." Saint admitted.
"That's an understatement." Mischa replied. "A sevenfold cluster, each potentially with their own tinker specialization, not to mention other powers."
"People are reasonably certain that Apeiron's specialization is power manipulation." She shifted to another document. "Or dimensional manipulation, with a side avenue to power manipulation."
"Reasonably certain means wishful thinking." Mischa said. "There's no certainty of Apeiron's specialization, and if it is powers then it's possible it can be shifted or expanded to cover other topics."
"It's what we have to work with until the new assessments are complete." Saint said, refocusing on his screen. Mags and Mischa shared a concerned glance.
"Well, people seem to be favoring Survey, Fleet, or the Matrix as the computer systems specialists. Possibly different levels of focus, and possibly a group project."
"I thought Survey was surveillance technology?" Mischa asked.
Mags shook her head. "People are split on whether that's a thinker power or some technology. Plus, you can't assume that the members' other powersets will line up with what their tinker specialization is."
"If they're actually a cluster." Mischa turned to Saint. "Still no confirmation on that?"
"The data comes in slowly, even with the updated ciphers." He said. "But it's getting there. It's the edge that we'll need to turn this to our advantage."
Mags shook her head. "I don't like this." She said.
"I wish we had a better option, but we can't afford to take chances. Not when the stakes are this high." Saint said as he continued to focus on the Birdcage observation logs. On the tiny string of code that stood beyond Dragon's notice, their one connection to the minds inside.
It was Teacher. Mags didn't trust him, and neither did Mischa. Saint insisted on the necessity of the contact, so he worked with Teacher and they watched him for any signs of influence. The effects of Teacher's control had always faded in a matter of months. They should be beyond the window of risk, but they couldn't take that kind of chance.
Inside the Birdcage an army of custom-built tinkers and thinkers worked to assess information about Apeiron and the Celestial Forge. The bulk of it was from publicly available sources. Media broadcasts, what newspapers made their way into the birdcage, and occasional information from a new inmate, but there were other ways they could feed in information for analysis. They needed to take a light touch, but slight discrepancies in the feed of a news channel or placement of advertisements could carry a wealth of information.
Information that would then be fed back to them, bit by bit. It was a slow process, but the data had saved them on more than one occasion. With Dragon growing beyond what Saint could understand and what the rest of them could keep up with, they were forced to rely on what resources they could.
"What have you got so far?" Mischa asked. Saint had been monitoring the feed to the birdcage with the same dedication the rest of them had been extending to Dragon's activities.
"Precog predictions are still holding." Saint said. "Teacher's aren't as powerful as what they have in the Protectorate, but he's worked with that information and verified it. The Celestial Forge isn't going to respond unless challenged."
"Not even with Dragon?" Mags asked.
"Of course not." Mischa said. "Because Dragon's going to make sure to challenge him." He pulled up some code that she couldn't make sense of. "First opportunity, to the limit of what it can accomplish under orders. It's practically laying its neck on the block for him."
"Can it do that?" Mags asked.
"Directives say it has to fight. Doesn't matter if it's hopeless, it still has to make the effort. And it's positively giddy about the fact that it has no chance of taking him down." Mischa explained.
"Hopeless for Dragon, but not for us." Saint said. "Teacher has all the publicly available data from national broadcasts, plus the key points from Protectorate analysis that we've been able to seed for him. There's a new strategy coming through. Predictions, engagements, the works."
"We can't trust this." Mags said. "Not completely."
"You're right." Saint replied, though it seemed to be more out of obligation than any real concern. "I want you and Dobrynja to go over everything before we move. We need a trusted assessment before we can put anything into action."
Mags frowned. That had become their role, and the one she most resented. Holding Saint's leash, watching for any sign of influence or corruption. Any hint of Teacher's control.
There hadn't been any. At least not any obvious ones, but she was still worried. She knew Saint wasn't in Teacher's thrall, she had seen what that looked like, but he was focused on the man. Focused for good reason. They were too important. They needed every advantage they could get. The first boost had made a world of a difference, but they had been losing ground ever since. And this wasn't a fight they could afford to lose.
So, they worked with Teacher. Well, Saint worked with Teacher and they watched Saint. It would help if they knew what exactly they should be watching for. It seemed every concern could be explained away or brushed aside under the importance of their mission. As close as they had watched, they had never found anything significant enough to step in. For some reason, she didn't find that reassuring.
"If it comes down to it, if it's us against Apeiron, you know we can't win. No matter what edge Teacher is able to give us." Mags said.
"I know." Saint said somberly. "But I don't believe it will come to that. Everything in Apeiron's assessment shows him to be conscientious and restrained."
"Well, with his technology, he'd have to be." Mischa said. "Otherwise, the city and everything in a hundred miles would be a pile of rubble."
"Exactly." Saint said. "The man works with dangerous technology. He knows the risk inherent to it. I can't believe he'd approve of a creature like Dragon being set loose."
To Mags it sounded like wishful thinking. Not the hard certainty she was used to hearing from Saint when it came to their mission. She didn't like that. Didn't like feeling adrift, unsure of what the next step would be, or if there even was one for them to find.
"And if we're wrong?" She asked.
Saint's face turned grim. "Then we're ready for that too." He said. They knew what he meant. Ascalon. The final resort.
"Assuming we can use it." Mischa said.
"We'll be able to, if needs must." Saint said with the confidence Mags remembered from him. The same fighting spirit that drew her into this work. "Apeiron isn't as omniscient as people think, even with Survey. He couldn't tell that we were operating a suit remotely during the summit. He hasn't identified Dragon's true nature yet."
"Yet. Three-day old technology, remember?" Mischa said.
"That was before he revealed his team." Saint said. "This isn't a single super tinker, it's the work of a collective. That should have been obvious from the start."
He looked to Mags for support and she shifted through the documents. "It's a popular proposal. Seven specializations, all working in concert with potential enhancements. It makes sense. More sense than any other theory that's been put forward."
"Which means he can miss things. So can his team. You know how tinkers get, too focused on their own projects. It's no wonder we were overlooked." Saint said.
"Overlooked so far." Mischa said. "Do we even have a plan for approaching the Celestial Forge, or are we just waiting for Apeiron to hunt us down, or try his hand at freeing Dragon?"
"Teacher's working on it." Saint said. "The more data we have, the better our chances."
"On that note…" Mags called out. "Dragon's checking in on Armsmaster. Data blitz should slow down to normal human pace for a while."
"Thank God." Muttered Mischa.
"Keep me posted." Saint said. "I need to stay on top of Teacher's reports."
Mags frowned. There was a time when they would have never have treated a meeting with as Armsmaster anything less than their top priority. Before the appearance of Apeiron the man had been Dragon's best hope to break free. Now it was something of a loose alliance, working to support Dragon's efforts towards Apeiron, even if those efforts were mostly creative ways to fall on the tinker's sword.
Not that there were many other realistic options for anyone who went up against the Celestial Forge. From the assessments she'd seen, most of the strategy in managing the group was centered on staying out of their way and hoping to be overlooked. Without Apeiron's promise to help free Dragon from the supposed 'Master Effect' they would likely have been happy to do the same.
"Come on." Mischa said, standing up from his terminal and stretching his back. "Might as well take advantage of the drop to normal human speed to grab some food."
"Want me to heat up some leftovers?" Mags asked.
"Please." He said, rubbing his eyes. "I'll pull up the video and audio on the main screen. I'll keep an eye on the code and you can watch for secondary searches, but this is probably the closest thing to a break we're likely to have."
"At least until Dragon takes to the field." Mags said, climbing to her feet. "Tomorrow looks likely."
"Too many heroes will be attending Garment's event. They'll need Dragon to make up the difference." Saint called without taking his eyes off his screen.
"We'll need to be prepared to meet her." Mischa said.
"On standby." Mags agreed. Which meant sleeping in her suit next to her armor. And she would be sleeping. She'd had precious little opportunity for that lately. "Think anyone will try something?"
"Nothing from Teacher." Saint called. She hadn't been asking about that assessment, but she nodded anyway.
"Come on." Mischa said as Mags fumbled with half-full containers of takeout Chinese food. "Let's see what Armsmaster has to say on the matter."