Brockton's Celestial Forge

by Lord Roustabout

The Celestial Forge is the greatest combination of crafting powers in Jumpchain, meaning it is the greatest combination of crafting abilities in all of fiction. In Brockton Bay a forgotten side character's trigger event ends with him linked to the Celestial Forge rather than his intended shard. His expanding collection of tinker abilities drag him into the city's cape conflicts.

142. 97 Confrontations – Preamble Carol

97 Confrontations – Preamble Carol

Preamble Carol

Carol shifted under the covers of the familiar bed as she slowly drifted back to consciousness. Her body ached and her mouth was unpleasantly dry, but exhaustion kept her pinned to the incredibly comfortable mattress. The weight of sleep had pressed down on her like an anvil that she couldn't even think about dislodging. Even as the sky outside the guest room windows started to brighten she barely noticed before that exhaustion pulled her back into blissful rest.

She had been drifting in and out of consciousness all morning. There was something she needed to focus on, something important, but her mind just refused to bring it to the surface. The first proper rest in she didn't know how long had taken absolute precedence in her mind.

She was in Sarah's guest room. It was a familiar enough setting. She had stayed over often enough when it was too late or she was too worn out to make the trip back home. Usually after a particularly grueling patrol, some civic emergency, or an important team meeting.

That thought managed to punch through the miasma of sleep and drive itself into her brain. She shot upright, casting the blankets off as the events of the previous night came back to her in a horrible surge of memory. The team meeting, the first one that had happened since the chaos started. Everything she tried to explain being dismissed out of hand. Being ushered off to the spare room like some fussy tired child.

She winced as the events of the meeting played through her mind. Everything that she tried to accomplish, only for things to end up like this. She took a breath and tried to focus. It was easier now. She hated to admit it, but the lack of sleep had taken a toll on her. She had been slowing down and losing focus, something she absolutely could not afford to do.

She was in the old set of pajamas she kept at Sarah's house for occasions like this. She didn't know where her costume was. She barely remembered falling asleep. She had been dealing with too much. The exhaustion had caught up with her before she could properly make her case. Before she could explain how serious the situation really was.

She scrambled out of bed and into the house proper. It was late in the morning, later than she ever let herself sleep. Had they just left her while they went off and did God knows what?

She rushed through the house, trying to find anyone, or at least her costume and car keys. The bedrooms were empty, so was the hall, living room, dining room, and then kitchen…

She burst through the door to find her sister sitting at the kitchen table. Sarah had a stack of documents and her laptop on the table in front of her, along with a steaming mug of coffee.

"Carol. Good morning." Sarah said coolly. Cooler than she expected given their earlier exchange. More memories from the previous night flitted through her head. The look everyone had started giving her as she explained the kind of threat they were facing. The way things turned from a serious evaluation to a dismissal, and then to a critical appraisal of her own state.

"There's a fresh pot of coffee and bagels, if you're so inclined." Sarah said in the same detached voice.

Carol was ready to dismiss her sister and start making demands, but the smell of coffee had reached her. Her eyes darted towards the pot that stood complete with a ready mug waiting on the counter next to it. She kept her expression neutral, but moved to fill the cup for herself. A quiet grumble from her stomach drew her eyes to the box of assorted and quite fresh bagels. Someone must have picked them up that morning, and they had already been picked over. She picked up a poppy seed bagel from the remaining offerings and made her way to the table. Without asking she took the seat across from her sister. Sarah was in her business clothes while Carol was in pajama pants and an old t-shirt. It added to a power dynamic that was already making Carol uncomfortable as she did her best to face down her sister.

"Sarah." She said in the same tone of voice before taking a sip of coffee. She relished the taste, but kept herself from showing any reaction.

"Carol. I hope you're feeling rested." Her sister replied.

"You shouldn't have let me sleep that long." She said, "I shouldn't have even stayed over. There's too much to do."

"I think you've done more than enough." Sarah said in an even tone.

"And what do you mean by that?" She countered.

Sarah flicked through the papers in front of her. "I've been speaking with representatives of the Protectorate and PRT all morning, sorting out exactly what you've been doing." Carol felt her pulse quicken, but kept her expression cold.

"That was about Vicky and Amy. You had no right to intrude." Carol said, raising her voice as much as she dared. Isolated in her sister's house, she was feeling increasingly vulnerable. She didn't enjoy the sensation.

"You were acting as a member of New Wave." Sarah said. "Specifically, you were acting on behalf of New Wave. That makes it a team matter."

"After everything that happened, you're upset about overreach?" She asked.

"I am upset about a great number of things. Unilaterally making decisions on behalf of the team is certainly one of them." Sarah said in the same cool tone she'd been using since Carol found her. Somehow it was more unnerving than the sobbing screams that had defined their last argument.

"I had to act. I was the only one who could." She put an accusing edge to her words, but Sarah didn't take the bait.

"I acknowledge that." Her sister said, completely dismissing the breakdown she had had when the team and city was in crisis. "But that's not the case anymore. Mark spoke with Vicky earlier this morning." Carol felt her chest tighten. "He'd brought her up to speed with everything from last night's meeting, and I will be meeting with Melissa Garrick and Dr. Nadir Bahar this afternoon regarding the status of Amy's case."

The Youth Guard representative and the doctor from Watchdog. "You aren't ready for a meeting like that. I should-"

"The meeting is happening because I'm 'not ready'." Sarah said. Carol thought she might have heard a slight mocking tone on the last two words. "I've explained that the recent crisis has resulted in limited intra-team communication. This meeting is to bring me up to speed with the state of the investigation, not make any decisions on the matter."

Which would explain why Director Piggot wasn't being included. That and the fact that the woman was probably swamped with meetings and crisis management work. But that also meant that Sarah would have a chance to form a united front on the issue, one that could take things in a very dangerous direction.

"It sounds like you've made some unilateral decisions of your own." Carol shot back at her sister.

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "I hope you aren't equating basic information management with the kind of actions you've taken over the past two weeks."

Carol took a bite of her bagel as she held eye contact with her sister. Partially as a stalling tactic, partially to show she wouldn't be cowed, and partially because she was absolutely starving and the fresh poppy seed bagel tasted like heaven. Apparently, it was a terrible idea to try to face down someone on an empty stomach.

She swallowed the bite and restrained herself from immediately stuffing the rest of the bagel into her mouth. "My daughters were at risk. I did what I had to for my family. Our family."

"Yes, well, I think you've done enough." Sarah said.

"Is there something specific that you want to discuss?" Carol challenged.

"No." Her sister's dismissive tone caught her off guard. "I meant that literally. You've done enough." She picked up one of the pages from the table in front of her and handed it to Carol. "This press release went out earlier this morning."

Carol snatched the sheet of paper from her sister's hand. Most of it was standard publicity speak. General commentary on the Ungodly Hour, commitment to the recovery effort, an assurance that the team would be coordinating with Protectorate efforts, and…

"No." She said firmly. She looked up at her sister who was seeming just a little bit smug. "You don't get to decide this."

"This wasn't just me." Sarah said.

"So I'm supposed to step back because the rest of the team feels like taking your side?" She spat back.

"This isn't about sides." Sarah said like she actually believed it. "And Vicky agrees with it too."

That took the wind out of Carol's sails. "What?" She narrowed her eyes. "What did you tell her? What did she say?"

Sarah took a sip of her own coffee and seemed to be drawing out the action. Carol narrowed her eyes and took another quick sip from her own mug.

"Vicky agreed that you were overextending yourself and she agreed that the rest of the team should take over." Carol felt a twinge of betrayal at Sarah's words. "She's also looking forward to seeing you." Her sister added.

"What?" Carol asked.

Sarah pointed to the offending document. The press release stating that she would be temporarily stepping back from active duty to attend to family concerns. "Exactly what it says. You're going to New York."

Carol found herself clenching her jaw at the magnitude of the dismissal. "You just want me out of the city."

Sarah gave her a cool look. "I'm not going to pretend that isn't true, but that doesn't change the fact that Vicky is alone in New York. She never should have been sent there by herself. Someone needs to be there for her. Someone we can trust to look out for her interests."

It felt like a backhanded compliment, Carol found herself grateful that she was at least being extended that much trust.

"When the PRT made the offer, I had to take them up on it." Carol said.

"Because it delayed the investigation into the effects of her aura." Sarah said. Carol didn't reply. "That was a good decision." She added, her voice sounding a little strained.

Carol was unable to keep the surprise of her face. "Really?" She asked.

"It's not a solution, but it will buy us time. Let us come up with a strategy before things are made public." Sarah said. Carol didn't like the way she talked about the potential ruination of Vicky's life like it was an inevitability.

"I'm surprised you care." She muttered.

"You think I would want to hurt Vicky just to get back at you? Or that I wouldn't realize that this affects all of us?" Sarah asked.

Not as much as it affected Vicky, but Carol didn't comment on that. She took another bite of her bagel and washed it down with coffee.

"Since you've decided everything, what happens next?" She asked.

Sarah took a sip from her own mug before continuing. "Crystal helped Mark pack a bag for you. There's a flight out of Boston late this afternoon. Vicky will meet you when you arrive in New York. She IS looking forward to seeing you." She assured Carol. "We need someone on site for the testing they're doing, and Vicky needs someone to be there for her."

"After what Apeiron did to her." Carol muttered. Sarah didn't respond. She just looked at Carol with sad eyes. Carol distracted herself with another bite from her rapidly vanishing bagel then let out a breath.

Sarah would be managing things. She didn't like it, but at least trusted that her sister wouldn't actively sabotage Vicky's case. That casual acceptance that fighting the accusations was a lost cause bothered her, but it wasn't something she could argue now. She had never given up, would never give up on her daughter, but she was a realist. She was prepared for the event the accusations were made public, even if she was equally prepared to do everything she could to stop that from happening.

Sarah wasn't willing to go that far, but maybe after she had a chance to talk to the representatives from WEDGDG and the Youth Guard she might change her mind.

Maybe. She was betting her daughter's future on a maybe and forced to put trust in someone she couldn't trust. But Sarah was right about New York. They needed someone there. She just wished it didn't have to be her.

"So, after everything, this is what it comes to? And you're alright with this? We're alright?" Carol asked.

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "We are about as far as possible from alright, but this isn't the time or the place for that." Carol remembered their fight, the way their screams had echoed through the house while Sarah became more and more unhinged. She was at least focused enough for Carol to believe she could handle the situation, but it seemed things were far from over.

"And what happens then?" Carol asked. "Are we just delaying this until I get back? Until after Vicky's case goes public? Until Apeiron finished taking control of the city?"

Once again her sister refused to comment on the looming threat that Carol had been trying to counter. And failing, judging by the attitudes of everyone at the meeting.

"We'll sort that out when we won't be dragging anyone else down with us." Sarah said, her hands tightening on her coffee mug. "And we can figure out what New Wave is going to look like going forward."

"Well, that's nice." Carol said, scorn leaking into her voice. "And are you extending that courtesy to Neil as well?"

She saw her sister tense at the mention of the man's name, but Sarah visibly forced herself to relax. "We have… talked." She said in a stilted tone. "And we will discuss things further." Carol raised an eyebrow. "We're going back to couple's therapy."

"What?" Carol gasped. "So, he gets a free pass? You're willing to make things work after-"

"We're getting a divorce." Sarah said calmly. Carol stuttered out and looked at her sister with wide eyes. "We're going to make a public statement once things calm down in the city, but the matter's decided."

"Then why are you bothering with therapy?" Carol asked.

Sarah took another sip of her coffee. "Because we have two children who have been caught in the middle of this for too long. Because we might want to be able to be in the same room as each other at some point. And because he agreed to it."

Carol scoffed. "So that's it? You're forgiving him because he offered to let you yell at him for an hour each week?"

"That might be part of it." She said. A ghost of a smile played across Sarah's face, but quickly vanished. "And I haven't forgiven anyone yet, but Neil wants to work towards this. At the very least, it might make the divorce cleaner."

Carol shook her head. She couldn't imagine wanting to go through that, then just having to rehash everything through lawyers all over again.

Her bagel had disappeared along with most of her coffee. The caffeine and full stomach was enough to embolden her. She took a breath and considered her next move. This might be the last time she got to speak with her sister before matters were settled without her input. Her last chance to try to put matters to rest.

"You're willing to work with Neil, but things between us are still undecided." Carol said. "Why?"

She saw tension built on Sarah's forehead, but once again it faded as she took a sip from her mug. There was a long pause where Sarah seemed to be considering things before she finally replied. "He apologized."

"What?" Carol asked.

"He apologized for what he did. It was the first thing he did, after telling me what happened." Sarah continued, looking distant.

"And that made things better?" Carol asked. "It was enough for you to forgive him?"

"Of course not." Sarah said. "Honestly, I don't think I'll ever forgive him." She leveled her gaze at Carol and suddenly she was feeling much less bold.

"But you're willing to work with HIM. To try, just because he apologized." Carol said.

There was another long pause as her sister seemed to be wrestling with the weight of the world. "I am."

"But that's not an option for me." Carol said.

"You never apologized." Sarah said directly.

"Would it have changed anything? Would that have been enough for you to 'forgive' and move on?" She asked.

"No." Sarah said simply.

"Then what's the point?" She asked. "And why is it different for Neil? Did he push this all on me?"

"He barely mentioned you." Sarah said. For some reason that stung more than Carol expected.

"If it wouldn't make a difference, then why does it matter?" She asked.

"It still matters, even if it doesn't make a difference to you." Sarah said directly. "Or maybe it's because it wouldn't make a difference to you."

Carol narrowed her eyes. "Well, that's just great. I do everything I can to try to manage the worst crisis in the history of the team and the only thing that everyone can unite on is the idea that they can handle things better than me." She glared at her sister. "That was it, wasn't it? You liked seeing everyone come together against me."

"This is bigger than you, Carol." Sarah said. "And it doesn't matter. Any satisfaction I could take from seeing you like that is outweighed by everything else we need to deal with."

"So, you think you could have handled it better? Could have managed the crisis? Kept your daughter's life from being ruined?"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Sarah said. Carol gave her a surprised look. "This isn't about the… affair." It took effort for Sarah to even say the word, like it brought a vile taste to her mouth. "Or the attacks, or Vicky's situation. This is about you."

"What about me?" Carol asked.

"Apeiron brought it back." Sarah said. "I can see that now. You never got over it. I didn't expect you to, but I never realized that it was this bad. He's haunting you. Everything you do, every decision, it's all based on that."

Another moment from the previous night flashed through Carol's mind. "You think that doesn't matter? You have to remember what the city was like under Marquis. The kind of things he did-"

"I'm not talking about Marquis." Sarah said. "But I should have seen it back then. He was just a target for you to project onto, just like Apeiron. If I realized that I never would have asked you to take Amy."

"What are you talking about?" Carol asked, genuinely confused.

Sarah took a deep breath. Carol could see dark emotions flicker across her sister's face. Something worse than what their previous argument had drawn to the surface.

"You thanked him." Sarah said. Her voice was like ice. Carol looked at her sister in confusion. The words seemed to echo back to a memory that she couldn't quite place. "You thanked him, and he tried to kill us."

That memory suddenly bloomed into full detail. The sunlit kitchen seemed dark. Too dark. Everywhere was too dark, just like it had been in that room.

Carol froze. She locked herself in place to keep from showing emotion, but she could feel a cold sweat beading across her body. "Trigger theory." She forced herself to speak. "More of Apeiron's nonsense."

"It's not nonsense." Sarah said with disturbing confidence. "It's always been there. He's always been there."

"He's not! That's not true. It's just more misdirection." Carol cried, but her sister was unmoved. Uncaring.

"Mark and Neil couldn't see it. Even Mike doesn't know enough to put things together, but I saw it last night. I saw it and I realized I'd seen it before. Over and over again." Sarah said.

Carol gripped the edge of the table and leaned forward. "You're so convinced." She said, her hands shaking from the strength of her grip. "So certain that you've dug up some deep personal flaw. Something that you handled so much better than me. That makes you stronger and better. Is that what got you through this? Is that what lets you move on and start functioning again, rather than hiding and crying over what happened with your husband?"

Carol watched as the wave of vitriol flowed over her sister without visible effect. If anything, an edge of sympathy seemed to flicker in her expression. Sarah shook her head slightly before replying.

"Right now we have bigger problems than this. You can deal with this, or you can leave it to fester. Nobody can fix this for you, but there are people who will help you, if you can accept that. But nobody is going to ignore the situation anymore. We can't afford to."

"So that's it?" She asked. "I get to be the damaged sister that makes everyone else feel better about themselves."

"Trust me, nobody is feeling good about any part of this." Sarah said. "And however you want to handle this, we'll deal with it when you get back. But right now, Vicky needs you, and the city needs us." Sarah's eyes dropped to her mug, looking at the liquid within. "Nobody has time for shadows of the past."

97 Confrontations

I left my meeting with Uppercrust feeling more optimistic about the future than I had in a long time. One crisis dealt with and at least a framework to address others. I quickly noted a failed connection to the largest mote in the Alchemy constellation as I made my way into the workshop. Stepping through the entrance, I checked over the data I'd been able to gain from Uppercrust's passenger thanks to the upgraded portable privacy device.

Interdimensional sensing and mechanics were still new ground for me. Oddly, that field of study was both something completely novel and something I had a lot of experience in. It was just that the types of multidimensional mechanics I understood didn't precisely match those found between alternate Earths.

The separation between Earth Aleph and Bet was completely different from any other form of dimensional travel or technology I had access to. The multiverse as it was structured between alternate Earths was built on distinctly different mechanics from those that drove subspace, hyperspace, slipspace, super dimensional technology, transwarp, the Unseen, the outer realms, the Warp, the textures of reality, the spirit world, the divine realms, or any of the other dimensional technologies or magical options available to me.

There was overlap and a significant portion of the principles were still relevant, but there were no exact matches to the dimensional structures I was looking at. That suggested things about the structure of the wider multiverse that were more than a little concerning. It also implied that the worlds that my powers were sourced from were a great deal further away that I had originally imagined.

The problem was I couldn't just pull out a piece of dimensional tech and be on my way. This was a situation that required investigation and problem solving. Granted, not that much, given the resources at my disposal, but it was still a problem that couldn't be solved by off the shelf technology, so to speak.

It also didn't help that Passenger Space was as inaccessible as a dimension could possibly be. It almost seemed that way by design. Actual design. There were indications that the realm was actually something of an artificial creation, rather than a part of the natural interdimensional landscape, which would explain the number of barriers to access it. It had taken an unfathomable amount of energy to breach the boundary to that realm. While I could access other Earths comparatively easily, Passenger Space was going to be a challenge.

I might need to resort to recreating the effect that opened the initial rift, under controlled conditions, of course. It was fairly obvious the breach had been formed by a combination of March's striker power and my call bead. While my recreation of her striker effect was still fairly rough, it should be enough to recreate the breach.

I just needed to decide where I wanted to conduct the experiment. There really wasn't a good location when it came to punching a hole into the parahuman afterlife.

At least my physical presence in Passenger Space wasn't immediately necessary. The Final Frontier had made excellent progress in mapping out the structure and unique properties of Passenger Space. Fleet's efforts had braved the inconsistent spatial dimensions, shifting geography, and hazardous environment to bring back a treasure trove of data that every version of Survey was positively devouring.

Every report was subjected to at least three layers of analysis from the combination of her remote copy, core spiritron consciousness, and divine body. It struck me as the kind of situation that could spiral out of control rather quickly, but instead had developed into a kind of system where Survey was peer reviewing herself. Most of it was just versions of her own program checking over the analysis for mistakes and ultimately finding none, but the system of checks seemed to help prevent rampant analysis loops, at least to a certain extent.

My interaction with Uppercrust had provided a level of telemetry regarding the position and nature of his passenger. I checked in on Fleet's efforts to investigate, which mostly consisted of sending out waves of drones, probes, and support ships. The Final Frontier was a carrier, after all. It was a natural expression of Fleet's specialization. A ship that was full of ships.

It also meant that he could manage side investigations along with the process of tracking Bakuda's signal. The encryption she had used had been drawn directly from the networked information transfer between passengers. That was where the infuriating complexity had come from. It wasn't just the mathematical issues, the signal used advanced forms of physics that most people didn't even understand. I'd needed to advance the Spiritron Core to the point where it could emulate interdimensional mechanics before I could crack the signal.

Those interdimensional mechanics operated on the same level of the majority of my magical abilities. It was where the equivalence between parahuman powers and magic seemed to stem from, at least in terms of how my power categorized things. It meant that Passenger Space was something of a Realm of Magic, or at least the equivalent, as far as my power was concerned.

Exploring a magical realm sounded a lot more majestic than plotting out a chaos dimension full of protrusions of multiversal meat computers connected to parahuman brains. The plotting of Passenger Space was considerably easier than the process of learning the mechanics of the place or figuring out who a specific passenger was connected to.

So far, the only confirmed passenger that had been identified was Aisha's. That had taken a careful examination of her power, but was also helped along by how expansive her passenger was. There were definitely different levels of passengers on the network, and Aisha's was one of the major ones. Given the scope of her abilities I shouldn't have been surprised, but there were tangible links to nearly every other passenger as well as a very broad capacity for influence outside of Passenger Space.

Clearly, there was some aspect of Aisha's passenger that was necessary for the function of every other passenger. Given how her power erased memories and the fact that parahumans typically forgot what was revealed during their trigger events, there was a safe guess as to what that function actually was. It was a strong example of how powerful passengers actually were, as well as how badly the Protectorate was underestimating her, even with their heightened levels of paranoia and monitoring.

With that kind of scope, it was no wonder it had taken a fully upgraded Striker Unit to have any influence on the expression of her power. The actual energy expenditure of even a casual use of Aisha's power was staggering and there were only a few things that could supplement something on that scale.

One of which was the item that had allowed access to Passenger Space in the first place. Call Beads had been one of my first serious sources of magic, but I had never been able to use them for their intended purpose. They needed to connect to a source of power to emulate that expression. In theory I could have used them to emulate parahuman abilities, but I had gotten a little sidetracked by a combination of the expansion of my power and the war with the ABB, followed by the ensuing aftermath. At the time it hadn't felt like something I needed to pursue, but at the time I hadn't known the full potential they presented.

And that was just considering base call beads. The ones I could create now were substantially better than my earlier expressions. Powerful enough to provide a stable connection to a passenger, and potentially powerful enough to even make a difference for a parahuman ability as strong as Aisha's. Actually, the use of a call bead was more about accessing the power of your passenger than enhancing it. Parahuman powers with the brakes taken off.

Handing a parahuman a call bead was the easiest way of tracking the connection to their passenger. Even with my older tech, I would have been able to work out the nature of their ability and eventually make my own connection. Now it wasn't just about copying abilities. It would provide more insight into passenger space, the network of abilities, and the nature of parahuman abilities.

The more I understood the easier it would be to track Bakuda's signal back to its dimensional source, but that wasn't my only concern. The major threat I had been working towards countering from the moment I met Taylor was connected to the source of parahuman powers. This was something I needed to drive home if I was going to meaningfully deal with that looming disaster.

It was funny, I had a reputation as a power tinker, but I had barely dipped my toe into what was possible. Just the alterations of powers possible through Arcane Foci and the understanding granted by my trigger was enough to cement my reputation. I wonder what people would think once I really started investigating the dynamics of parahuman abilities.

The use of Call Beads probably wouldn't help on that matter. It was practically built as a Faustian bargain. I offer up a magic item that would vastly expand the strength of their power for any single act and in exchange I gain access to and understanding of their abilities. Of course, I didn't need to tell anyone that, but that would just be leaning even more into the Faustian theme.

I wasn't planning to start handing out Call Beads freely as a means of plotting out Passenger Space and analyzing the connections of parahumans to the source of their powers. The city was going crazy enough over what had been left in the field after my fight with Lung without introducing a limited power boosting resource into the mix. That would invite exactly the kind of chaos I was trying to avoid.

I could talk to Aisha about a test run on one of the larger high-quality Call Beads. A Call Gem should boost her power to a noticeable degree while providing valuable data on the expression of her abilities and the nature of her passenger, particularly since we would be able to observe the effect from both Earth Bet and from inside Passenger Space.

But that was something for after Garment's event and auction. I was confident that I could safely manage the use of a Call Gem, but there could always be unexpected effects that would need to be addressed. That wasn't something to get into during the last few minutes before everyone headed out to their roles at the event.

Well, everyone except Survey. Technically, she was already there and was thoroughly enjoying being able to pilot a remote human replica droid while also maintaining watch in her scrying chamber. It meant that Delphine Mertens had been present at the Regency Center from the moment they opened the doors and had been acting with her usual terrifying presence towards staff, volunteers, and associate groups alike.

That was particularly helpful following the cutoff of the guest list. It seemed a significant number of people didn't understand that the cutoff was actually a cutoff, not a sign that it was time for them to reach out while expecting special accommodation. Apparently, it was common practice for a full event to actually be 'full' in quotation marks with an asterisk next to it in the event that someone sufficiently famous or important expressed interest in attending.

If Survey's civilian persona hadn't built a reputation for being an exceptionally hard line in terms of her work things might have been a bit difficult, but it seemed that even the most entitled of Brocktonites didn't want to run headfirst into that kind of confrontation.

Honestly, the event probably could have leveraged some extra space and a priority guest list to squeeze some extra donations out of last-minute arrivals, but Survey was prioritizing the smooth operation of the event over the chance to pump the donation numbers as much as possible. Even with all of the supporting abilities used to facilitate things, this was shockingly short notice for an event of this size being held in a city that was still in a turbulent state. I wasn't worried about things falling apart, but I understood Survey playing it safe.

On that subject, I took Tetra's hand and apparated to Garment's workshop. The recent expansions had added so much space that teleportation and portal technology was practically a necessity, even when dealing with the mostly centralized facilities. That wasn't even getting into the Kerbal's launch site positioned hundreds of miles to the 'south'. Still given some of the creative rocketry experiments that had occurred even during the course of my brief talk with Uppercrust, that distance probably counted as a precautionary measure.

We flickered in to find everyone in the midst of their preparations for the event. Well, for Tybalt and Fleet that basically meant putting on their volunteer coat over their normal workwear since they were blending in with support staff. For Garment the affair was considerably less understated.

She was 'wearing' a new dress designed specifically for the event. It was a take on a half-mourning dress blending with her typical style. That meant darker colors and a more understated design, in line with the somber elements of the event. It wasn't technically a memorial, but there was an implicit acknowledgement of the losses the city had faced.

That was where the half-mourning came in. A dark dress with the introduction of colors symbolized the process of moving on from a tragedy while still keeping it in mind. I could break down every stylistic, cultural, and design element on display, though I'm certain most of them would be lost on the average layman. Particularly since Garment had abstained from producing an educational video on the design, instead saving her debut for the event.

"Yes, Garment. It's very well done." I said, as she finished showing off her work. The dark fabric swished around her happily in a manner somewhat at odds with the somber tone of the design.

"Yeah, I knew she was going to go all out, I thought it would go in a different direction." Aisha said. She was wearing a rather elegant black dress with white trim. A bit more intricate than the clothing she typically chose, but it was a good match for both her personal style and the event.

"This is doing a lot of good for both morale and fundraising, but it's not a party." I said. "It's hard to set the right tone with something like this, but you need a level of acknowledgment of loss."

"Yeah." Aisha said. "Too many people are acting like nothing happened. Saw it during the setup. Business as usual."

"The Docks were hit much worse than any other region. Downtown was nearly untouched." I agreed. "Still, some of that can be a good thing. It's a way to remind people that there's still a normal to get back to."

Aisha nodded slightly at that. As long as it wasn't handled callously, that kind of thing could be good for people's spirits. That seemed to be the approach that Parian was taking with her portion of the event. From what had been presented to Survey, it was basically a standard example of her fashion and puppet demonstration. Those were always well received and it was definitely the kind of thing the city needed, but it could have easily come across poorly in the aftermath of the attacks.

Thankfully, with the details she had provided to Delphine Mertens my duplicates and I were able to work it into the schedule for the event. With the right lead-in and buildup the display should come across with the hopeful tone that Parian would have intended, rather than seeming detached or discordant.

I looked over to where Garment was fussing over Tetra who had transformed into her human form. Tetra's clothes were technically part of her body, but they could be transformed just as easily as anything else for her. Garment was leading Tetra through various designs and outfit combinations she had prepared for the event, with Tetra's outfit blurring every few seconds as she shifted rapidly through clothing options.

"It's still weird how much she looks like Survey when she does that." Aisha said.

"You mean Survey's human form?" I asked. "Because there are some levels of congruent design even in her 'base' form."

"Yeah, but you don't notice it when she's glowing red. Once she tones things down it's kind of scary how normal she can look."

"Thanks." Called Tetra. Aisha flushed, but Tetra clearly took her earlier statement as a compliment. "I've practiced really hard, and I also memorized Survey's early interaction protocols. She hasn't used them since she's switched to her adaptive interaction methodology, but they're still good if I run into something new and unexpected."

They would also help sell the relationship between them, though you could place them as sisters with a single glance, even without getting into accents or personality. I was still a bit concerned about sending her out into an environment as chaotic as the upcoming event, but everything would be monitored closely by the entire team. If it looked like there would be any trouble, we'd have a chance to head things off well ahead of time.

"How did things go with Uppercrust?" Aisha asked. There was a chime as Survey transferred a detailed report to Aisha's watch while Aisha pointed ignored it, looking to me for a response.

"Good." I said. "Probably as good as I could have hoped. He seems to think the secret to reaching an actual solution to this mess lies in working with someone other than Director Piggot."

"Can't say I've been too impressed by how she's run things." Aisha said. "And it seems to be looking worse as time goes on."

I nodded. "It's weird to think that Brockton Bay had been some kind of outlier for so long and nobody did anything about it. Survey has a breakdown of factors leading to the current situation and they don't really add up."

"Really? That bad for the Director?" Aisha asked.

"Worse, actually." I said, mentally skimming over the assessments again. It had taken the processing of a truly tremendous amount of data to reach the conclusion, but looking at years of a worsening situation and contrasting it against other departments, the progression almost seemed artificial. "More than can be explained by incompetence and circumstance."

Aisha's head snapped up, her eyes widening. "Wait, you're saying someone was actively trying to screw over Brockton Bay?"

"I don't know. Well, Survey doesn't know. There's a high degree of confidence indicating some external factor in play, but not enough to track down what it might be. Too many disparate contributing factors."

My passenger indicated that she was broadly correct in her assumptions, but the connection wasn't clear enough to communicate what the cause might be.

"Well, that's just great." Aisha said. "So, something else we'll have to deal with?"

"Possibly, but hopefully not too soon. For the moment, Uppercrust is going to pull some strings to draw out any deals that might be offered to Bakuda and get responsibility for the hostages transferred to Director Armstrong in Boston. If that works, I'll meet with him tonight and deal with the implanted bombs."

"And he's going to be okay sitting on that kind of thing?" Aisha asked.

"Hopefully." I said. "I mean, I could put measures in place to make sure he does."

"Like with your secret identity?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah, broadly. Still, I'd rather not open a collaboration effort with that kind of safeguard." I said, shaking my head. "And regarding that, are you sure you don't want something similar?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm going to hold off until we're sure how my power would interact with that kind of thing." She said, raising a hand to ward off the idea.

I nodded. "We can look into that this afternoon. There were some other things I wanted to try out, similar to the Striker."

"I'm game. I mean, as long as I'm not in for any other big surprises." She said, "That Laboratory was the last one, right? No more big terrifying secrets hidden away?"

"No-" I began, then stopped myself. "Well, there is the Imulsion."

Aisha looked at me, then glanced around to check on the rest of the group. Seeing slight nods from Tybalt and Fleet and an excited gesture from Tetra she closed her eyes, took a breath, then turned back to me.

"Okay, what is Imulsion?" She asked in a flat voice.

"Well, Imulsion is kind of a fuel source used in the technology of one of the worlds my power came from. The same one with the armor and boots that Tybalt has?" Aisha nodded. "Well, it functions like gas, but it's actually this fungal lifeform that can infiltrate a biome and mutate creatures who encounter it."

"Fun." Aisha said in a completely deadpan. "So what, your power gave you a tank of the stuff?"

"Actually, it's a pump." I said. "Can put out fifty gallons a month. I've had it sealed in transmuted granite from the moment I learned what it did."

"Okay." She said slowly. "That's not… that bad. I mean, it's still bad, but on the scale of things…" It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else. "And just to check, are those seals still good? You don't have any leaks that will cause people to start growing extra arms or something?"

Actually, that wasn't that far off from what could happen from Imulsion exposure.

"Seal is still in place, and the pump is continually monitored by my best sensors." I said. "But I can do an in-person check, if it will make you feel better."

Aisha nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I'm sure it's fine, but the pump of infinite mutagen is something I'd feel better about if someone was actually checking on it every now and then." She said, a bit of her humor returning.

"I'll add it to the itinerary." I promised her.

"Great. And on the subject of horrible transformation inducing effects, how worried should I be about this?" She asked, pulling up a video of one of my duplicates transforming into a seven-meter-tall werewolf creature wreathed in writhing strands of shadow. And then transformed further as the effects of my Gigas form, Cyborg Godbody, Zoanthrope transformation, and Titan bloodline were layered on top of it.

The fact that Aisha could take yet another monstrous transformation in stride was either a good sign or an indication that things were going very, very wrong.

"It shouldn't be a problem." I said as the duplicate in question began leveraging the additional level of inhumanity to push my Unnatural Skills even further. Really, did the workshop actually need another ziggurat? "That kind of transformation would be difficult to manage in its original world, but my version of the effect is fairly muted, and my other powers help balance it out."

"I kind of picked up on that." Aisha said as the megastructure was assembled with excessive stonework skill. At least it was properly tied into the Matrix's Mantic circuits. We might actually be looking at some proper cores before the end of the day. "But there was something else they were excited about?"

"Oh yeah." I said, a smile creeping onto my face. "That world was pretty messed up on a lot of levels and the tech was pretty arcane and out of date, but there's one critical application that's going to make a really big difference."

"Really?" Aisha asked, leaning forward. "What is it?" Once again, she ignored Survey's detailed report on the applications of quicksilver bullets.

"From what I can tell, everything in that world is tied into superpowered blood." I explained. "One of the applications they have for it is mixing blood with a quicksilver compound to create a kind of universal ammunition. Bullets that can feed any weapon they have, even a lot of the ones I use."

"Don't you already have that, and without needing to use poison liquid metals and spooky blood?" Aisha asked.

"This is better." Tetra called from where Garment had somehow managed to get her to shift into an unbelievably immaculate lace frilled gown. Fortunately, on consideration of Tetra's appearance against the themes of the event, she moved on to the next design.

"Better how?" Aisha asked both of us.

"It's not just ammunition. They power everything with those bullets. Technology and even completely magical items can be run from them. That's what I can do with the tech. Power any item with quicksilver bullets instead of or in addition to its normal power source." I said with a smile.

"Okay." Aisha said slowly. "And that's a big deal? I thought you were good for power even before the Dyson Sphere became outdated by hypermatter reactors."

"For external power, sure, but not everything runs on external power sources." I explained. "Remember the Glove of the East?"

I could see comprehension bloom across Aisha's face. "So, you don't need Spiritual Energy anymore?" She asked.

"Well, not for the efficiency upgrades, or to power my Teigu." Which included both my Lantern Shield and some of Tetra's more exotic abilities. That would be useful if I needed to bridge dimensions. "I'll still need it for Elven Enchanting, talisman magic, and certain kinds of alchemy, but not for the glove."

It was almost disappointing. A tremendous amount of effort had gone into managing my reserves of spiritual energy, upgrading the glove with copies of itself to improve the efficiency of its operation, and carefully accounting for the timing and magnitude of every expenditure. All that work, only to get a compatible substitute power source from a completely unexpected power.

"Shit, that's big right?" Aisha asked. "You can just upgrade everything forever now?"

"Not exactly." I said. "I still need to actually convert the glove to be able to use quicksilver bullets and the cost for subsequent upgrades increases exponentially. I can do the efficiency cycle, actually better than before, but eventually it's going to take oceans of quicksilver to see any improvement."

"Right." Aisha said with a knowing look in her eyes. "And exactly how bullshit will the enhancement be by the time you run into that limit?"

I smiled. "Pretty bullshit. So yeah, this is a big improvement for everything, but especially things that used my spiritual energy."

"Things like Ren." She said knowingly.

I nodded. "I don't want to hold you up now, but we'll have a run of upgrades ready for when you get back from the event. It should make it a lot easier to work with the colors from the Prismatic Laboratory."

Which was a frightening concept in itself, but that was something to deal with later. Aisha could safely use those impossible colors and understood them even better than I did. I didn't know where that kind of thing would lead her, but she was the best person to take point in that particular field.

I felt a shift in my power as the Personal Reality constellation swung close. I had an absolutely excessive amount of reach, so I was certain that whatever collection of motes it reached for would be secured. And then I watched as it connected to a very familiar cluster. An excessively familiar cluster.

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed as the Workshop shook violently around us.

When things settled we looked over the changes from the now considerably expanded central plateau. Rather than a spacious central platform, it was now sixty-four square kilometers of elevated space overlooking what could only be described as a private continent.

The cluster that my power had decided to reach for was Additional Space. Like before, it had secured two connections, one for the Starting Space and one for the Lofty Loft. The main area now had six hundred and forty thousand square kilometers of usable space. Combined with the effect of the Village adding a hundred times the open space and I was sitting in the center of a private continent that was larger than Eurasia, even without taking the other workshop amenities into account.

Amenities like the Greenhouse, Garage, and Shooting Range. Actual motes for Additional Space were split between the Starting Space and the Lofty Loft, but they applied directly to other workshop effects. The Greenhouse now covered an area bigger than Norway while the Garage included six hundred and twenty-five thousand parking bays, any one of which could accommodate a capital sized starship. The Shooting Range's combined arena, urban combat course, and wilderness combat training ground was now so large it was stored in a separate continuous space from the rest or the Workshop, the way things had been arranged before the Village had redistributed everything.

"I know my power likes to go over the top, but this is just fucking excessive." I muttered.

"I'm pretty sure you said the same thing last time." Aisha said with a grin. "You know, back when you had a playground the size of Texas."

"I like it." Fleet said, looking out from the plateau. The Workshop didn't have a curved surface, so there were weird effects in terms of sightlines and the horizon. Not something you typically notice unless you have thousands of miles to work with. "Plenty of open space and clear routes. Good for speed trials."

I really couldn't argue with that. The Matrix was working to adjust the Mantic flow between the structures, but seemed pleased with the amount of space open to them. Survey was busy cataloging the newly modified landscapes and its quite intricate geography while Tybalt was reviewing her scans of the expanded combat area.

"You have to admit that's excessive. Beyond excessive." I said. "You drop people in there and they'll spend more time trying to find each other than fighting."

Tybalt was quite happy to point out the value of scouting and maneuvers in terms of simulated warfare. I conceded the point, but most mock battles didn't happen on a scale larger than actual military engagements.

The fact that the Shooting Range's training area integrated with the Arena's safeguards and simulated opponents did present some significant opportunities. Normally filling out an entire army would be something of a chore, but Tybalt could just call up records of my past opponents from the Arena and set them loose in any of the Range's simulated environments.

Both Tybalt and Tetra had been going mad over the Arena from the moment it arrived. The fact that it was now connected to a planet sized self-reconfiguring simulated combat environment was only going to stoke their excitement.

That particular arrival had taken me by surprise in more ways than one. The use of robotic duplicates of previous opponents was significant enough, but I didn't expect it to be quite so comprehensive in terms of what it considered an opponent. Everyone who I'd had a physical confrontation with in my entire life could be emulated in the Arena. My entire life, going all the way back to preschool playground scraps.

I imagine there are some people out there who would enjoy the chance to curb stomp recreations of their childhood bullies. Honestly, I was more in favor of putting that kind of stuff well behind me, and not just because the combat records involved various conflicts with my sisters from when we were kids. That was something I wanted to stay well away from just on principle.

The more interesting elements came from my cape career. The arena could recreate any of my opponents and replay any fight I'd been in. I was able to see the exact playback of my throwdown with Oni Lee my first night out, including a detailed recreation of the barrage of grenades I had just managed to endure. I could replay my 'fight' with Rachel's dogs and pretty much the entirety of the conflict with Bakuda's forces at the storage yard.

My desire to avoid venting frustration on childhood bullies did not extend to Uber and Leet. Maybe it wasn't the most dignified thing to do, but I had learned just how much force would have been necessary to bypass their defensive fields and smear them across the rubble of the storage yard. Turns out it was more than I had access to at the time, but there was a certain satisfaction in slapping down recreations of their rescue attempt.

Speaking of which, it was the conflict after the storage yard where the Arena had proven enlightening. The Arena tracked every opponent and conflict from my rescue of Aisha from the ABB's financial headquarters. Thanks to that I learned the identity of the security guard that I had thrown aside before breaking up the meeting of ABB executives.

It turns out it wasn't a security goon. Really, I should have realized that. The man was seriously out of place for that environment, and the fact that he didn't have a bomb in his head was a clear indicator that he was someone significant. I just never imagined that he would actually be Lung.

I had burst into a meeting between Lung and the effective leaders of the ABB's operations. He had charged me and I had swatted him down. Well, specifically I had thrown him through three walls and a collection of office furniture. He wasn't in his mask and he never used any of his superpowers. Well, there might have been some extra strength in his blow, but when I was swimming in Life Fiber energy the difference between a roided up ABB henchman and Lung's pre-escalation level of strength was basically indistinguishable.

I had thought that some of Lung's actions in the aftermath of that were less rational than I would have expected. I knew he'd be angry at the damage done, but it was clear there was something personal that he had on the line. I just never imagined it was because of bruised pride.

Well, it might be more accurate to call it compound fractured pride, given the state I left him in. I didn't know which was worse, the idea that I had swatted him down and either left him for dead or ignored him as a threat, or the idea that I literally had no clue who he was when I did so.

A lot of the rage that he had expressed during our conflict, along with the amount of effort devoted to that attack and ambush, suddenly made sense. Oh, and I could also replay that entire fight, which was all kinds of fun.

Actually, for Tybalt it was. He had access to as many recreations of Lung as he could want and was able to combine them with other opponents I had faced for the purpose of training or recreational fights. And now he basically had his own planet worth of space to stage them in.

I shook my head. "We'll figure out something to do with this space." I said, once more taking in the scale of things.

Far to the south the Kerbals were launching another rocket, completely unbothered by the expansion and rearrangement of land around them. The Seeds and Seedlings were guaranteed to be able to cover half of the Greenhouse, which was a considerably larger amount now. I'd have close to a complete botanical catalog from each world, at least within the limits provided. The Underside was comically large, making the earlier recreation of an ancient dwarven city a minor note in terms of the scale of what could be built.

"Right. Or you could just not bother." Aisha said.

"What?" I asked, turning to her.

"Like you said, it's overkill. You don't have to get the most out of everything your power throws at you. I mean, you've got a giant continent? Fine, let it be a continent or whatever." She said.

"Just leave it?" I asked.

"Better than stressing over it." She said, "I mean, I've never been to the Beaches on the south side of the city. I'm not going to stress about some mystery land that had fuck all to do with me. This seems like a 'problem' that's not really a problem, and even if it is we can kick it down the road a bit." She smiled. "At least until the next time this happens."

"Fuck." I said, looking over the expanse. "That will take things into planetary scale."

"Yeah, just think about all the space you'll be able to ignore." Aisha said with a grin.

"Yeah, fine." I said. "And I guess you should get to the Regency Center."

"Yeah, if we can survive the three-week journey to the entrance." Aisha said dramatically. "Oh, wait." She activated her watch and called up a portal to the entryway.

"Ha. Everyone good?" I asked.

Garment indicated she was and showed off the emerald green dress that Tetra had selected for the event. It would have clashed horribly with the bright red of her normal hair, but actually went quite well with the muted red of her human mode's hair color. Fleet was set to drive the three of them down to the center, while Tybalt was happy using one of the access doors closer to the event though to be fair, his arrival would be less of an event than Garment's.

I'd be attending to a few more things, then taking my car down later. Most of my 'work' at the event was already taken care of, so I'd be on hand to make sure nothing specifically went wrong. I'd also be free to fall back to the Workshop if anything came up, but I was hoping for things to go relatively smoothly.

"We'll see you at the Regency Center!" Tetra said as they mounted up to depart.

I nodded. "We can do introductions, but remember, we're in civilian identities. Most of us don't know each other that well."

"I know. I'll be careful, and we'll be in contact." Tetra said, though she seemed a little disappointed. At least we would be in contact. The robust communication between members of the team was something I was proud of, particularly in contrast to the mess of my rescue of the Undersiders at the beginning of this mess.

"Don't worry, I've got a free pass to mess with him." Aisha said. "Hell, it's practically expected. We can brainstorm ideas in the car." Tetra brightened at that while Garment started gesturing excitedly. Even Fleet seemed slightly amused, which I took as a very bad sign.

"Fine." I said, picking my battles. "But remember, even during the prep work, there'll be a lot more attention on the event."

"I know. Don't worry, we've gone over all of this already." Aisha assured me. A night of accelerated learning and training had presented more than enough opportunity to cover every protocol and contingency.

"Thanks. And good luck." I said as they stepped through the portal out of the Workshop entrance into Garment's studio. I could have tracked every step of their progress, but Survey was already on top of that. Paranoia over something needing to go wrong warred with ironclad preparation and continuous monitoring of the situation. Against every pessimistic instinct in my body, it looked like we were actually going to pull this off.

The laws of irony would have the Endbringer sirens sound or a previously undetected meteor suddenly heading towards the city, but thankfully the conventions of reality refused to bow to cheap drama. It probably helped that either of those could be effectively dealt with in time for the start of the event, though I imagine the sudden defeat of an Endbringer would probably warrant the cancellation of fashion-based charity events.

So, no disaster, but apparently my tempting of fate was enough to provoke the next connection to the Celestial Forge, and this was a big one. Big and significant. The Size constellation swung towards me and my power latched on to the final mote. It was a major power, but even after the expansion of my workshop I had more than enough reach to secure it. I focused as the nova of energy detached, leaving the constellation devoid of stars. And then it was mine.

What was it worth to fix a mistake? That was the question posed by the mote in question, as well as the answer offered. A way to instantly undo the damage and devastation that the world had suffered, at least from a materialistic perspective.

The mote was called Nano-Forge and it was not a power. It was an item, only the second item I had received from powers of that scale. The first had been the Cybertronian Forge, a device capable of printing out starships or armies of robots using some of the most advanced material and technology in the universe.

The Nano-Forge similarly did not disappoint. It was from the same origin world as my Nano-Technician power, and the knowledge bases synergized with it perfectly. Nano-Technician granted me an immense and fundamental understanding of a tremendously advanced form of nanotechnology as well as comprehensive knowledge of the principles behind that kind of tech. The Nano-Forge stood as the absolute pinnacle of that technology, effectively the holy grail of a form of tech that could reshape an entire planet.

And I now had greater context for that technology and what it was used for. Mining, terraforming, and development on another world. Developments and innovations that literally changed the face of the planet. Some seized upon and fully utilized, others buried, forgotten, or suppressed.

The Nano-Forge was one of the later, a piece of technology so disruptive that it could tip the balance power for an entire planet, or more. I apparated to my entryway and removed the device from a locker.

For such a powerful item, it was remarkably compact. A small rectangular device capable of being worn on the wrist. It was crazy to think how much potential there was in something the size of a box of crackerjacks.

The Nano-Forge could emit nanites, either as a proximity cloud or projectile globules. The nanites it created were technically more limited than the ones I could create, but it could produce them endlessly, and those nanites had a very special property. It could procedurally recreate objects.

Using a combination of real-time scans and an onboard A.I., the Nano-Forge could procedurally determine how to repair anything. Anything. Its only practical limit was an incompatibility with biological material, meaning it couldn't be used for medical applications or to restore plant or animal life. Everything else was fair game.

This was a tremendous ability, but it was taken even further by the fiat effects of the device. It wasn't just guessing at what a repaired state would look like, it was capable of perfectly restoring anything, no matter the extent of the damage or the length of time since it was inflicted. In one small box, I had the ability to perfectly undo the damage caused by any disaster in the history of the world.

The range was somewhat limited, but that could be addressed in a number of ways. Nano-Technician gave me tremendous insight into the Nano-Forge, including the ability to recreate and even improve it. The Nano-Forge I'd been granted by my power was limited to repair, but altered versions were capable of construction or offensive applications, literally ripping material apart at the atomic level. That was something I could already accomplish, though not quite on the scale possible with this type of technology.

With a set of upgrades, some technical improvements, power and efficiency boosts from the Glove of the East, and the right hybridization I'd be able to affect entire cities. And that wasn't even getting into what I could accomplish if I applied the effect of Superweapons to this technology.

I could blitz through a series of upgrades, step out of my workshop and have the Nano-Forge effectively erase the damage done to Brockton Bay. As tempting as that sounded, it was exactly the kind of disruption that I was trying to avoid. Of course, in the wake of another disruption, what was the harm of piling on a little extra?

I was already planning to erase the legacy of the Slaughterhouse Nine. While they mostly focused on slaughter, the amount of damage and destruction they had perpetrated, particularly after Shatterbird joined, was incalculable.

Well, no, it wasn't. Survey had calculated it through a rather wide range of metrics, but the point was it was beyond substantial. The effect of Shatterbird's scream caused tremendous damage to a city. Often entire buildings or even sections of the city were abandoned as not worth repairing. The destruction of every piece of glass or silicon-based semiconductor could cripple a city. Often the rebuilding efforts were limited to key areas with a very gradual process of reclamation, often requiring the complete demolition of the affected area. The fact that such buildings were the site of mass casualties didn't help.

I was already planning to address the matter of the Slaughterhouse Nine's Victims. Now I could easily extend that to the damage they had caused as well. That national tour planned in the aftermath of crushing the group could easily accommodate a few quick stops to allow the Nano-Forge to restore what they had damaged.

And fortunately, it would be spared from the effects of my crafting powers. I didn't need to worry about sprinkling divine civic districts across the country. I mean, it was an idea that had potential, but that was an idea to revisit at a later time.

After that it would probably be a simple matter to get permission to restore the damage to Brockton Bay. I didn't imagine I'd have much trouble with that kind of thing after killing the Nine, but it was better to not have open conflicts with local powers while trying to help. Novel concept, I know, but I was willing to be optimistic on the matter.

After that, I could expand further. Cities destroyed by Endbringers. Homes lost to Ashbeast or Barrow. Potentially even some of the damage inflicted by Sleeper. Not rebuilt, not mitigated, erased. Perfect procedural recreation as it was before the disaster hit. A chance for the world to regain what it had lost in terms of land, buildings, and even culture, if not lives.

At least not unless I hybridized the Nano-Forge with my medical nanites, but even then, I'd be limited to the critically injured and maybe some of the recently deceased, depending on the state their bodies were in. Unfortunately, there was no simple undo button for that kind of loss.

Though it really said something that my main limitation in terms of Nano-Tech was the inability to restore the long dead to life. That seemed like the kind of boundary I could accept, especially considering everything else I was now capable of thanks to a single little box of technology.

I turned my attention back to my power as I noticed something. The constellations weren't moving. The assembled motes that made up my power had stalled in their movement. The sudden change brought a wave of panic that abated slightly as I focused on what was happening.

There was still a buildup, it just wasn't manifesting in movement. The dislodging of the Nano-Forge from the Size constellation and the clearing of that constellation had caused the motion of the powers to stall out. Pressure was building and I could feel the growing energy. Eventually it would hit a threshold and start moving again, but the loss of the Size constellation had changed the dynamics of the Forge.

Previously when a constellation had been cleared another one had dropped in to replace it. Capstone filled in for Crafting and Personal Reality for Clothing, but the loss of the Size constellation didn't draw in any new powers. Instead, it slowed down the entire assembly as the motes from other constellations rearranged themselves to correct for its absence.

My power was slowing down. The sudden change in the mechanism for how I gained my abilities was shocking, but it was something I would be able to deal with.

In the early days of my power, I was desperate for any ability I could get. The arrival of anything was a major event and I worked to stretch my limited capacity to address the dangers I found myself facing. As time went on my abilities expanded, but the rate at which my powers amassed seemed to only increase. I would get powers that were nearly obsolete before I could put them in practice. Abilities that would have been groundbreaking in the early days of my career left only notable for a single esoteric application.

I was facing massive challenges. The exploration of an unknown form of reality. Management of global reactions to my every action. Deciphering the nature of parahuman powers. Defeating the Endbringers and the threat that would follow them. Taking down the most evil, powerful, and entrenched parahumans in the world. And ultimately addressing that final challenge, the one tied in to the source of parahuman abilities.

But I could deal with that. I had multiple high level divine powers. I had a personal realm bigger than I knew what to do with. I had the technology of dozens of worlds at my fingertips. I had applications of my power that I hadn't even begun to explore. I could handle a drop in the rate at which my powers arrived.

It was possible this would happen again. Other constellations were down to their last motes and I didn't want to bet on additional arrays coming in to refill them. I could be seeing an ongoing drop in the rate at which my power expanded.

And I was okay with that. It might mean I had to push my existing abilities further, but it wasn't like my power was stopping. A throttling in the flow was definitely manageable, particularly at this stage.

Hell, I might enjoy having occasional moments where I didn't need to worry about suddenly hosting an alien species or turning into yet another variety of werewolf.

Which was something that would come in handy for my next errand of the morning. Uppercrust wasn't the only person I needed to update on the situation with Bakuda. He was just the least insufferable one. Working with Tattletale meant keeping her informed. And besides, there were other things she should probably know.

I left the Nano-Forge for my duplicates and apparated to my office. Focusing on my power once more, I noted the building of energy, but no movement yet. It was still stalled, meaning I was unlikely to receive any unexpected surprises during what would probably be a rather uncomfortable call with a nearly burned-out thinker. With that, I pulled up a display screen and engaged a video call to Tattletale's watch.

After a few rings the call connected showing Tattletale's room at the Undersider's hideout. It was less cluttered than I remembered it being, which I was willing to take as a good sign. The girl still looked tired, but not the borderline wreck I'd seen her in on multiple occasions. She was relatively put together and was wearing moderately stylish clothes. That was more a reflection on her having time and energy to devote to her appearance than a judgment of superficial aspects of how she presented herself.

I could have gotten a lot more in person, but she knew I could, which would have been counterproductive, probably just landing us in another of those 'I know you know I know you know I know' loops.

"Tattletale." I said, leaning back in my chair. "I see I caught you at work."

She frowned as she shifted in the office chair at her desk. "Yes, I know you don't use the watches to track us, and aren't tracking us through other means." She took a breath. "And I know that wasn't your point. And that you aren't actually trying to rub that impossibly perfect office in my face."

I raised an eyebrow above the rim of my visor. "The office? Seriously?" Well, it was from the Personal Reality constellation and did grant a slight boost to focus, reading speed, comprehension, and retention rate, but I doubt that was what she was focused on. Which meant she was talking about the functional design and focused aesthetics, which were rather helpful. In that case…

"And now you're going to offer me magic internal design assistance, which I do not have time for." Tattletale said quickly.

I took a moment before responding. "Look, I know you've been pressing yourself. If something as simple as this will help…"

"Simple." She muttered. "And no, it won't help because I'll end up spending more time trying to figure out the insane effects of the office design than actually getting any work done."

"If you say so." I said.

"Sure, leave the offer floating out there, like it's not going to eat away at me." She said, rubbing her forehead.

"Fine, no office for you, ever." Tattletale actually winced slightly at that, but also seemed to calm slightly. That was at least a step in the right direction. "You can make do with whatever you've assembled from Ikea." I scanned over the screen again. "Well, Ikea, Target for the storage items, and I'm guessing outlet surplus picked up from the Market for the rest."

Tattletale blinked and rubbed her forehead again. "Right, sure. Look, I know this isn't just the daily check in, though to clarify I don't have any new developments from when we spoke last night. Right now I'm just trying to stay on top of developments before the Empire makes their move on the Teeth."

I nodded. Not what I called about, but still a serious matter. "How bad is that going to be?"

Tattletale looked up at me with a resolute expression on her face. "It's going to be contained. Or as contained as the Empire can make it. They've been able to track down some of the Teeth's bases. Small operations, mostly with reserves that were called in after Somer's Rock. The Butcher's been staying well off the grid, but Kaiser is hoping to draw her out."

"What's his plan for that?" I asked.

"His plan is barely a plan. It's nothing complicated, just hit them hard enough to draw out the main force. If the Butcher doesn't bother to show up then he crushes the groups he's found and does another circuit of rallies and propaganda." She explained. "They've been going non-stop since Somer's Rock. Nearly as bad as what the Merchants have going."

I had the sense that she'd been keeping track of all of those events. The Empire's rallies and Merchants' block parties would be easy to infiltrate, though probably not by her personally and I doubt much useful information could be gained from them. Survey had done some perfunctory scrying on the events before deciding that it wasn't worth more than the occasional check-in as a means of tracking active capes in the city. Then again, Tattletale's specialization ran in a different direction from Survey's. I'd give decent odds that she could actually pick out some useful predictions from a mess like that.

"This is a big mobilization for the Empire. Capes and unpowered forces." Tattletale saw my expression and quickly continued. "Not because he's expecting serious trouble. He's trying to keep this as clean as possible."

I nodded. "So that I don't show up."

"You or a member of your team." Tattletale slumped. "Do you realize the kind of fear you put into everyone at that summit? I mean, not just conceptually, how actually terrified they are of you stepping up again, especially against the Butcher?"

"I have an idea." I said. Once again, my own enhanced senses and Survey's analytics ran in a different direction from Tattletale. I could only imagine what a thinker strong enough to convincingly fake telepathy would be getting from a room full of panicked capes.

"You're probably underestimating the scale of it. Everyone is playing by the rules you set, or at least trying not to be the first one to break them. This is the most careful the Empire's ever been about civilian casualties." She explained.

"Well, that's nice." I said. "Is it going to hold if the Butcher shows up?"

I could see how uneasy Tattletale was with the topic, probably because of what it could mean. I was the main concern when it came to Butcher possession, but there had to be a dozen capes in the city who would be a nightmare with the power and instability that came with the Butcher line.

"He has history with the Teeth. Kaiser and Vanir, they were married." Tattletale said quietly. "The Butcher killed her shortly after she'd given birth. Kaiser is trying to come off as detached and play this as smart as he can, but hates the Butcher. Really hates her. He blames her for everything that's gone wrong in his life, even after the Teeth had left the city. It's personal for him. He's being careful, or as careful as he can, but this is about more than reputation and territory for him."

Kaiser's wife and his child. Vanir died fifteen years ago. A fifteen-year-old, connected to the Empire, and dealing with a rather significant amount of stress and turmoil.

Well, that explained Theo. It was enough for me to raise the possibility, but my passenger quickly confirmed it. I wondered if Kaiser knew that his son had been spending his time at the gym fetching baking supplies for Mrs. Gartenberg? And that he got along particularly well with the elderly Jewish woman? It was darkly ironic, but also spoke to the amount of distance between Theo and his father, and the rest of the Empire's ideology.

It was also ironic that a man who prided himself on his charisma and cult of personality hadn't inspired loyalty in his own son. Judging from Theo's behavior I'm guessing he was polite and at least superficially respectful. That was probably enough for a man like Kaiser. Particularly if he had some external factor to blame for any problems with his son, rather than focusing on his parenting or the fact that he was part of an insane fascist organization.

"And you've just figured something out." Tattletale said. "And you're not going to tell me what it is?"

"Thinker power gave me some insight into Kaiser's situation." I said, hoping that would be enough for Tattletale. Well, she could probably tell that it was a half-truth with details withheld, but I was hoping she had bigger things to worry about than that.

"Right." She said, "Well, Kaiser is going to TRY to play this smart, but if you put him in the field with the Butcher things are going to get nasty. And not just because of him. The Butcher will have everyone on edge." She took another breath and gave me a serious look. "Everyone, and I mean everyone, up to the highest levels of the Protectorate, is terrified of you becoming the next Butcher. Contingencies are being put in place. Serious ones. So…" She looked at me with a pleading expression in her eyes.

I could sense manipulation, and there was some of that here, but it was coming from a place of sincerity. I think that might have been a novel experience for Tattletale. The look wasn't some carefully calculated act based on emotional dynamics. It was drawn from the fact that she really, really didn't want me to step into that fight and trigger whatever countermeasures had been prepared to either stop me or stop the Butcher before something could happen.

Of course, she was aware of the manipulative elements of that kind of expression, but was actively working to keep herself from refining them. For Tattletale this was still manipulation by not manipulating, which was the kind of loop that turned these conversations into acts of frustration for both of us.

"I am going to stay out of the field on this one." I assured her, she started to relax, then tensed again when she realized I wasn't finished. "But if civilians are threatened, someone from my team will be ready to step in."

She swallowed and nodded. "That's still going to be serious. Not as bad as if it was you, but still serious. Who are you sending?" She asked.

"Whoever wants to go and isn't otherwise occupied." I said noncommittally. I saw Tattletale bite her tongue and badly mask her frustration at my non-answer.

Tattletale let out a long sigh. "You know, it's kind of infuriating for an organization as powerful as yours to be run like a clubhouse. You seriously just ask whoever wants to handle something and that's it?"

I shrugged. "Anyone could handle something like this. It's not the kind of thing that requires a specialized response."

Tattletale conceded the point, but I think that was more out of a desire to move on from the topic.

"On the same note, are the Undersiders standing by on this one as well?" I asked. Technically they were supposed to alert me to the jobs they were taking, but that agreement was kind of overshadowed by my current arrangement with Tattletale.

"No." Tattletale said. "Depending on how this plays out we might get called up for some specialized job, but not for the opening moves. The only way we could get drawn into this is if things get out of hand and turn into a complete clusterfuck, but I'm willing to bet your team will stop that from happening."

"They will." I said. "The city can't take a repeat of last Thursday. I'm trying to keep a light touch here, but…"

"I get it." She said, "It's not an easy balance to strike."

I nodded. "You said they were only hitting the smaller bases. Would it help to know where the Butcher was located?"

"You've found her? No, Survey found her?" She asked.

"She's not exactly hidden on the same level as Bakuda." I said.

Tattletale gave a reluctant nod. "That would… not on this. The Empire is already too committed. Even if I could leak a new target to them, having them go against the main body of the Teeth at this point would only make things worse."

"Worse than a parahuman brawl in a ruined city?" I asked.

"Yes, because Kaiser is trying to keep things clean. A last-minute change won't be clean. The best-case scenario here is the Empire beats up some low-level members of the Teeth who either run off or get taken out. The Butcher is experienced enough to know everyone is gunning for her. She's not going to take bait as obvious as this. You might get some level of response, but like I said, everyone wants to keep it contained." She explained.

"So, we just leave the Butcher?" I asked. Given the number of active concerns in the city I was eager to see at least some of them dealt with. The volatility of that particularly one made it a particular point of concern.

"For the moment." She said, nearly pleading. "There'll be a counterattack from the Teeth or a follow-up from other groups. That would be the time to feed info on their base of operation."

I nodded, slotting that into the timetable of various concerns. It was manageable, though I didn't really need more things that had to be actively managed.

"You can reach Survey through your watch. I can have her coordinate with you on the Teeth's activities." I said.

"Uh, yeah. Great." Tattletale muttered. I could understand her reluctance on the matter. She didn't strike me as the kind of person who worked well with other Thinkers. Survey wouldn't intentionally turn their interactions into a pissing match, but Tattletale probably couldn't help herself.

"But that's not what you were calling about, right?" She asked. She seemed both concerned about the actual reason for my call and relieved to move on from discussing the Butcher.

"It's not." I replied. "I wanted to let you know that I'm taking steps to deal with the situation with Bakuda's hostages. I didn't want you to waste time trying to figure out what was happening."

Tattletale dropped her head and slowly let out a long breath. "Okay." She said slowly. "That's actually good news. It's not going to influence too many other factors, but it's good that it's being dealt with." She looked up at me. "What are you planning?"

I didn't want to get into details of my work with the signal. I wasn't clear on how much Jack Slash could pick up from other parahumans, but even implications of a power on that level were concerning and might be enough for him to change his plans. Or at least change his schedule, and I didn't want to put off crushing the Slaughterhouse Nine any longer than necessary.

"If things work out the way I'm hoping, the hostages should be moved to a new location. One where I can take steps to make sure they're safe, even if negotiations with Bakuda break down."

I wasn't telling her everything and she would know that, but we were both exercising some level of information control with respect to each other. Personally, I felt my reasons for restricting information were significantly more justified, but that wasn't an argument I wanted to get into right now.

Tattletale nodded. "Even with the code being unbreakable, if you work fast enough and have countermeasures in place the detonations or at least the damage could be mitigated." It was a good theory and actually matched up with some of my earlier plans for dealing with Bakuda deciding to hit the detonation switch.

"It would take a lot to set up something like this." She continued. "I'm probably going to have to run analysis on it, or the superficial elements that are facilitating your plan."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't report my involvement directly to Coil." I said in a slightly cold tone.

Tattletale looked up at me. "He will want to know something, but as long as your involvement isn't obvious, I can probably cover it."

"Thank you." I said, somewhat unnecessarily. "And about Coil…"

"I'm still working on it." She said, "Taking out the Butcher will be a big step towards closing things out, but he's not pushing on that issue."

"Really?" I asked. "You mean he wants the other groups in the city focused on another opponent, leaving him free to act?" The sarcasm was strong with me today.

Tattletale gave a nod of acknowledgement. "That's how he plays things, or a big part of it. He's hoping that the other gangs will take each other out, or end up weakened to the point where they won't be relevant anymore."

I was a little impressed that Tattletale was willing to share that kind of information, particularly regarding Coil, but the fact that she was basically confirming what I had already surmised probably helped. Take away the possibility of secrets and manipulation and all you had left was open communication and honestly. Probably another novel experience for her.

"And then he'll pick up the pieces?" I asked. "And he's not worried about how I might factor into that?"

There was a small expression of pride on Lisa's face. "He's confident that he can work with you, or at least work around you. You gave the impression that you want stability, and he's prepared to offer that, even if he needs to rebuild his organization around the idea."

"I'm guessing you've helped build that impression?" I asked.

"It was preferable to telling him that there was nothing he could do but flee the city while activating every countermeasure on the way out." Tattletale said in a tired voice. "Believe it or not, I have actually been trying to keep things contained."

"I believe it." I said with complete confidence.

Tattletale blinked in surprise. "Right. See through manipulation." She let out a breath and rubbed her forehead. "I never expected that to come out in my favor."

"I know you're trying." I said. "And I know your caution comes from a place of concern, but about Coil's contingency…"

"Contingencies." She said, slumping. "He has lots of them. Too many. I wouldn't even be comfortable talking about them without the watch's soundproofing and the scanner to check for surveillance devices."

"Was there anything to be concerned about?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Mostly what I suspected, but a bit more robust. I've dealt with it." She turned back to the screen. "But I told you, I can't confirm things until I get access to Coil's base. Until then, please leave this to me."

"I am." I said, "With respect to this, I'm leaving things in the city to you, but I have a pretty good idea of what we're looking at, considering what happened in Boston and New York."

Tattletale blinked and looked at me with concern. "You know who it's connected to." She sounded a little frustrated. "But Boston and New York?" The uncertainty seemed almost painful for her. I guess she hadn't had time to research other cities.

"The last two stops of the Travelers." I said. I could see her discomfort at another layer of obfuscation being blown away. "Probably what drove them here. I'll have Survey send you the reports. If you're managing this it's information you should have access to."

"Thank you." She said not quite through gritted teeth. "And that's the extent of your investigation?" She asked with concern.

"It is, but I'm not the only one looking into this." I said. "It's probably not going to come to a head before we resolve things with Coil, but I wanted you to know there are external factors in play."

"Great, just what I need." She rubbed her temples briefly, then shook her head. "And thank you. I actually mean that."

"I know." I said again.

"I know you know." She said with a note of irritation. "Alright, anything else?" The question was jovial, or at least said with as much good humor as she seemed to be able to muster, but that faded when she saw my face. "What?" She asked in concern.

"Just one last point. Something we should have addressed earlier." I said, watching Tattletale grow tenser with each word. "Does Coil know who I am?"

I could see the impact of the question, but Tattletale did her best to rally. "No." She said with more confidence than I expected.

"Really?" I asked. "You had to have fed him some information about me." It wasn't an accusation. Just an acknowledgement of her role in his organization.

"I did." She admitted. "He knows your abbreviated first name, your relative age, and the fact that you were in college."

"And he couldn't figure it out from there?" I asked.

"He could, but he hasn't." She said, "It wasn't a priority before Bakuda's bombing spree and after that he was tied up trying to counter the ABB. After THAT there were concerns that you'd be monitoring for people trying to investigate your identity, like accessing college records."

Which I was. Well, Survey was, and had been quite comprehensive about it.

"His power could have covered that, but it's limited in how he can use it. He couldn't spare it for the length of time he'd need to track down your identity." She continued. "Releasing information like that is one of his contingencies. He's confident he can find it if he needs it, but he's not going there unless he's pressed into a corner."

So, my civilian identity was part of his failsafes, though probably not one that could be released instantly.

"And you're sure he doesn't know?" I asked.

She gave a resolute nod. "I'm sure. Based on how he treats matters related to you, he's not operating with that information. Particularly after Survey showed off what she could do, he doesn't want to risk it being traced back to him."

"I see." I mused. "That's a shame."

"What?" Tattletale exclaimed. I could practically see her thought process. "What… what did you do?"

"I put a failsafe of my own in place last night. If Coil had my identity and was trying to leverage it, that would have been enough to take care of things for us." I explained. There was a look of horror on Tattletale's face.

"What…? I mean, how could you?" Her mouth snapped shut. "The Enigmatic Artificer." She whispered. "Was that a trial run for this kind of thing? Did you build on it, or…" She seemed completely lost. Lost and scared.

"You knew I was getting more powerful." I said. "Delaying things meant more options were available to me. I used one of them to put countermeasures in place with respect to my identity."

"Some kind of memetic hazard. Like with your name, but intentional this time." She continued, her eyes wide. She swallowed before continuing. "How does it work?"

This was the tricky part. How to explain the fact that I had used divine abilities and unnatural curses to turn my secret identity into literal cursed knowledge. At least how to explain it without raising more concerns than I was addressing.

The status of my identity had been a concern for some time. I had done what I could to cover my bases early in my career, so the only real points of vulnerability had been Tattletale and the person she reported to.

That situation had changed after the Ungodly Hour. There were an unprecedented number of thinker powers pointed at Brockton Bay. I had been able to disrupt precognition, which was the most pressing concern, but there were a lot of other vectors through which my identity could be compromised. Too many to address individually.

Unnatural Skill: Curses had provided the means to implement a blanket solution. It was extreme on a level I had never attempted before, both in terms of the scale and severity of the effect, but this wasn't something I could waver on. It wasn't just about me, it extended to my family and everyone I knew in my personal life. As frightened as Tattletale might be about the idea, it extended to her as well. If I was compromised that could spill over to the Undersiders, including Taylor.

"The effect works through a mechanism similar to probability manipulation." I explained. That was more technical than saying it doomed them with targeted misfortune. "There's an obstruction effect that comes into play when someone tries to learn my identity. It's enough to inconvenience people and make it difficult to confirm. There's a stronger effect when someone who knows who I am tries to act on the information. Exposing my identity or leveraging the information."

"That's why you wanted to know if Coil knew who you were." She said, "If he did, this effect would hit him if he tried something." She shook her head. "This is dangerous. I mean, beyond the fact that you decided to put something like this in place. Coil, his power lets him test possible actions. If he does know he could find out about the effect. Start testing its limits and finding a way around it."

"No, he couldn't." I said. "The effect is triggered by leveraging of the information. If Coil knew who I was, even use of his thinker power would be enough to trigger a response."

"You knew." She said, "You built this to target him."

"I don't know the exact details of Coil's power, but my own thinker power helped me work through them. I know it's related to gaining knowledge about potential actions. That it's important not to have reactive strategies that he could discover." I looked directly at Tattletale. "I know you're concerned about secrecy, but in this case, it might be worth filling me in on any of the details I'm overlooking."

She shifted under my gaze, then steadied herself. "Coil can split reality, or at least he thinks he can. He perceives both realities at the same time and can use what he learns in one to make decisions in another. It lets him take actions to gain information, then cancel that timeline and use what he's learned. He can run variations of operations in two timelines and pick the one that turned out better, or launch a mission in only one timeline and only keep that version of events if he succeeds."

It was a big admission for her, one of the final pieces that she had been holding out. I knew that was as much about maintaining a measure of control as it was fear over my actions, but casually putting a global curse effect into play had probably recalibrated that concern.

Well, not that casually. My duplicates had made it clear that they were going through with the curse regardless of my opinion in the matter. Normally I would have pushed for more trials and preparation, but they were right about a countermeasure being overdue.

Talisman magic was basically a complete suite of Japanese mysticism, and curses were a big part of that. Ritual also helped, as did the craftsmanship involved. A not insignificant amount of spiritual energy had been used to carry out that curse. A grand ceremony conducted by three titanic inhuman beings wielding powers literally beyond mortal comprehension.

The end result had been a small straw figure nailed to a Japanese oak in my workshop and a fundamental effect put into place on a scale that extended beyond any single reality. Malice made manifest, and malice that I probably wouldn't have been able to bring to bear without the personal nature of the effect.

It was both related to me as a person and the defense of my last vestige of humanity. A single fact that could tear down that point of contact and bring ruin to everyone who knew me. The conviction also extended to my view on the world of capes. The unwritten rules that should have made even seeking out such information unthinkable, but were cast aside callously whenever it suited someone's interest and they could escape the consequences. And always, it was people outside of the cape community who suffered because of it.

I wasn't going to apologize for protecting the people close to me or for enforcing what should have already been an ironclad code of behavior with divine mandate.

Even if the reveal of the effect seemed to have shaken Tattletale on a fundamental level. I suppose if you're specialization in information, the idea of literally cursed knowledge was more than a little frightening.

"I had a rough idea, but thank you for clarifying." I said. "I can confirm that I haven't done anything that would have given Coil a chance to take advantage of his power."

Tattletale nodded. "But this will affect him?" She asked. "Even from another timeline?"

"Just to be clear, I don't think he's actually splitting timelines." I said. "The dimensional dynamics would be a bit difficult to explain, but it's probably a combination of precognitive modeling with additional effects that take advantage of superposition principles."

It would also explain why he was specifically exempt from my precog blocking ability. Partially precog, but propped up with exotic power effects to the point where it was basically a completely separate class of power.

"But the effect is focused on information. If he knows my identity it will target him. If he's running simulations of how to best expose my identity to the world or target my family it will hit him equally in both 'timelines'." I explained.

"That's…good?" Tattletale sighed. "I wish you had told me about this before you did it. Or at least closer to when you put it into effect."

"I figured you'd rather not get a call at four o'clock in the morning." I said.

"You don't sleep anymore." She said with a mixture of envy and frustration.

"I still can, but with how hectic things have been it hasn't been a priority." I explained.

"Not like releasing global targeted power effects, which apparently you can do now." She leaned back and ran her hands through her hair. Then suddenly she stopped and looked back at me. "You can, and you have." She said suddenly. "How many of these have you used?"

I met her gaze, seeing her concern grow. "Enough, and there's going to be more. The way the world is focused on me I can't act overtly. This is the solution."

"The solution." She said, leaning back. "You couldn't send out robots or whatever so you decided to just rewrite the nature of reality."

"It's less serious than that." At least it would be until I figured out how to replicate the true power of those burning sigils from Hell, but once again, probably not the kind of thing Tattletale needed to hear right now.

"Less." She said with a forced laugh. She raised a hand to her forehead and sighed. "That's what this was about. You were showing off. Not like you usually do with the watches or costumes. This is about the scale of what you're capable of."

I didn't bother denying it. "I know you're concerned. About Coil and about what he has waiting for me. I'm not going to force the issue, but maybe you should consider if the current approach is really the best one, given the resources WE have."

I made sure to emphasize that. That fact that we were dealing with this together. Tattletale needed to know that I wasn't flying off on my own. That I was willing to work with her, to help her. Providing she'd let me.

"I…" She began, then slumped. "Thank you, for not forcing the issue. I'll take this into account. Reevaluate things." She looked away from her desk at the mess of printouts that cluttered her room. "When I have time."

"Let me know if I can help." I said. "I know you're concerned, but this would go a lot easier if we could work together."

"It would be a lot easier if I could come up with a strategy without needing to account for you altering the fabric of reality every three days." She looked up at me. "And the time I take to think this over is only going to make that worse."

I shrugged. "You aren't the only one dealing with a moving target."

"That's what I'm worried about." She replied. She took a breath, then did her best to pull herself together. "Well, thank you for letting me know your secret identity is now protected by reality altering doom. Would have hated to stumble into that. Now, if that's everything, there's a nascent gang war I need to monitor."

"If you want to coordinate with Survey…" I offered.

She at least considered it before shaking her head. "I'm not quite ready for that. I mean, thanks. Or thanks to her, but it's probably best for me to stick with established sources. It'll spare me from having to run a separate set of analysis for Coil."

"Right. Check in later if there's anything important, otherwise we can work through data transfers."

She let out another short laugh. "I don't think I can handle more than one call like this in a single day, so yeah. Maybe stick with text messages for a bit."

I nodded as Tattletale disconnected the call. It was progress towards one of the more significant problems I was dealing with. Not as much progress as I would have preferred, but considering that Tattletale had probably been working on a scale of weeks to months and was now forced to compress her plans into days it could be forgiven if she wasn't able to further reduce them to a matter of hours.

I took a moment and extended my mind towards my duplicates, checking on their progress. Once again, another expanded capacity I couldn't directly outline to Tattletale, but one that would have a considerable impact on her appraisal of my ability to handle Coil's contingency.

And I would need to handle it.

Survey's constant monitoring of the Slaughterhouse Nine had allowed us greater insight into their candidates for the upcoming recruitment drive, at least for the ones who had already committed to their choice. That currently stood at Cherish, Burnscar, Bonesaw, and Crawler.

It was Crawler's choice that clearly matched what Tattletale was worried about. I hadn't informed her of the details since that call was probably at the limit of what she could handle, but I had let her know about the attention from outside the city. It was vague but true, hopefully enough to satisfy her thinker power and not raise any flags from Jack Slash.

Actually, Survey had been able to confirm things on that point. No visible responses from Jack Slash during my conversation with Tattletale. Either his power was less encompassing than I had anticipated, or the connection to passengers required direct contact with a parahuman to trigger. Suggestions of capabilities communicated remotely weren't quite enough to raise the alarm.

Another interesting thing was the fact that the Nine clearly didn't know the identity of Crawler's choice. They referred to her as "The Buried Girl", a term that seemed to have been invented by Cherish based on her emotional perception. As for her identity, their main point of reference being a newspaper article about the disappearance of forty people in a single night in New York.

That is, it was at least forty. Seven of the people who had vanished were homeless, but had regular enough contact with support services that their absence was quickly noted, one of which had missed an appointment at the VA. There could be a lot more than forty given the lack of ability to account for everyone in the area.

Though some could definitely be accounted for. Of the missing individuals, thirteen were under the age of eighteen, and four were children. Those were last seen walking home from a movie with one of the children's parents, a single mother who had been hosting a sleepover for her daughter.

The entire case had effectively been abandoned by local authorities, something of a premature move in my opinion. You still had efforts from relatives of the people who had been lost to find out what had happened to their loved ones, desperately calling on the police, Protectorate, or mayor's office to do something.

You would have figured that a city that had Legend leading its Protectorate would be able to handle anything, but New York was more than twenty times the size of Brockton Bay. Even someone like Legend couldn't handle a city that size. Whenever he showed up on the scene things tended to play out in a rather expected manner, but he couldn't be everywhere at once and didn't work round the clock. Villains could still function in New York and tragedies like this one could slip through the cracks.

Given how concerned Tattletale was about the situation, I was surprised she didn't already know about New York. Once again, no matter how annoyingly strong her thinker power was, she was still human. It was impossible for her to cover everything, no matter how much she might want to give that impression.

What really got to me about the situation was the fact that the Travelers could just leave something like that behind them. An analysis of their behavior suggested at least a modicum of concern for collateral damage and the safety of civilians. Most villains tried to avoid unnecessary bloodshed if only to prevent an elevated response from the heroes, but the sense from the Travelers went beyond that.

There was a level of care in the use of their powers that you didn't often see. Given the destructive nature of many of their abilities, that was practically a requirement, but closer investigation showed a clear reluctance to engage in violence and a concerted effort to avoid endangering others.

That seemed to be something of a fantasy when it came to entering a life of villainy. Some people went hard from the moment of their debut, but it was a lot more common to see a gradual shift towards more brutal and dangerous work. I guess everyone hoped that they'd be able to find some criminal enterprise that involved taking money from heavily insured faceless corporations with their life of crime somehow being lucrative, safe, morally neutral, and broadly nonviolent.

That illusion tended to collapse on itself rather quickly. There was nothing about villain work that was safe. Honestly, there was almost nothing about cape work that was safe. Riding the line of 'harmless villains' was a difficult task. The Undersiders had managed it better than most, but even they had seen that come crashing down around them.

Okay, I had been a part of that, but it was mostly the fact that they decided to attack a bank. And the fact that Taylor had a pair of magical weapons, which was partially my fault, but still, mostly on Taylor and whoever was responsible for the on-site Taylor-management.

The fact was, the Travelers had gone above and beyond on many occasions to minimize the damage of their actions, to the point of abandoning takes if securing them would mean needlessly risking civilian life. Then New York happened and they left dozens of shattered lives behind them. I was willing to bet whatever had happened wasn't intentional, but I was surprised the entire team was willing to move on after something like that.

I had watched some of the videos that family members had posted begging for information or help from anyone who knew anything about the disappearance. Some of those videos had embarrassingly low view counts. Half of them were in single digits. After seeing that, knowing the impact on people's lives, I don't know if I could have just moved on the way the Travelers did.

Well, that was the thing. The entire team didn't move on. Perdition had left the team after a brief incident in Boston that was proving very difficult to pick apart. Another thing I would have expected Tattletale to already know about. The reports from the incident were confused and often contradictory. It was the last time evidence of Perdition's time powers had been seen, but what exactly happened was anyone's guess.

An outsider looking at the situation, assuming they connected the disappearances to Perdition, would probably assume he was the instigator of that particular disaster and conclude that the rest of the team had dealt with him. I knew that wasn't the case. What I was getting from my passenger regarding Perdition wasn't particularly positive, but it was clear whatever issues lay with him, they weren't on the level of forty missing people, and four presumably dead kids.

With that in mind, it was a lot more likely that he had been the only point of objection to what had happened and matters had been dealt with within the team. My passenger's attitude towards the Travelers was mixed, varying from member to member, but if my impression of events was correct, and it was seeming quite likely that it was, I couldn't say I was feeling particularly charitable towards them, regardless of what they had been dealing with.

I connected with my duplicates and reviewed the plan for while I was at the charity show. The excursion was something of a necessity, given the amount of Spiritual Energy I had used in the creation of the shikigami and the curse currently protecting my identity.

Converting the Glove of the East was left to my duplicates, along with the production of enough quicksilver bullets to cover the energy requirements. We'd need to wait until the next cycle of duplicates to copy the glove again and entirely max out the upgrade cycle, but it was at least possible to improve everything else up to the limit of how much quicksilver I could produce.

Thanks to material efficiency powers, that was quite a lot.

The fact that I didn't need to use spiritual energy for the Glove of the East anymore freed up a lot of potential applications. I would be able to expand the kind of monitoring and interference program I was using on the Slaughterhouse Nine to other villains in the city. In fact, I could probably extend it further than that, using it against major threats and criminal groups. At least once I had refilled my reserves a bit.

The Spiritron Computer had now reached the level where it could emulate basic expression of magic, so one of my duplicates would be spending part of his duration practicing magic inside the computer core. Not the entire duration. The desyncing effect of the duplicates' durations, their particular mindset, and the impact of having years of training dumped into my brain at the end of cycle psychic link was a bit more trouble than it was worth. Still, we were able to pick up a few months of magic practice every hour, at least for simple spells. It would take a bit longer for the computer to advance to complex enchantments and conceptual applications.

I also got a final update on the Kerbals. One of my duplicates had installed a water cooler full of divine level healing potion, which did help with impact of the frequent accidents, but it quickly became clear that wouldn't quite be enough. It was supplemented with an emergency shower, then later integrated into the fire suppression system. It seemed sprinklers and firehoses of divine healing were just enough to keep the Kerbal from offing themselves through industrial accidents.

Clearly something had to be done, and the Kerbals agreed. They just weren't entertaining changes to their approach or methodology. Instead, there was a keen interest in various upgrades that I was able to offer, including cybernetics, biological augmentation, and various psionic or magical alterations. They quite liked the idea of just becoming fireproof, rather than needing to worry about their spacecrafts catching on fire.

There was also a rather unexpected interest in the Adeptus Mechanicus faith. I probably should have predicted that would appeal to them, but it still took me by surprise. I'm not sure if it was the veneration of machines, the ubiquitous use of resilient cybernetics, or the access to immensely powerful technology, but I basically had twenty potential converts on my hands, despite being a fairly low-level member of the faith myself. At least the systems of the Laboratorium were happy to classify their species as Homo Sapien Kerbalis and had no specific objection to them joining the faith. That said, some of the older machine spirits were rather insistent about safety protocols.

I closed things out with my duplicates, changed out of my costume into civilian wear, complete with the 'volunteer coat' that Garment had made for everyone who helped with the event. Including me, but also the rest of the team, even if they didn't typically wear coats or would be attending in other clothing.

There had been some discussion as to whether the Matrix should receive an atomic scale coat for their Omega Nanite or one that was sized for their armored form. Garment went with the armored form, which actually managed to look quite fetching, considering it had been worn by an oversized golden robot composed of divine quality nanomachines.

I gave myself a final once-over before teleporting to the entrance. With Central Control I could access any door I'd previously used, even without my key. It only took a single command to get access to my apartment again. It was a bit weird being back after so long, which actually wasn't that long at all, but it seemed like the right point of departure.

I headed out and followed the familiar route through the neighborhood to the gym. I got into my car and pulled out of the mostly empty parking lot. It was the most empty I remembered seeing it since Bakuda's attack, but I suppose most of the people who would have congregated at the gym were helping out with the event in some way.

The traffic picked up sharply as I approached the Regency Center. Parking was even more of a nightmare than it had been the previous day and I ended up having to head for a space several blocks away from the building. At least this time I didn't have to hide my expanded senses from anyone and was free to take a direct route to the closest free space.

Outside the Center there was already a small cluster of press along with a larger group of sightseers and tourists. It was probably one of the few safe venues to see capes for people visiting the city, though personally I was surprised that anyone had stuck around after the attacks. I guess if you were on vacation to see capes, a massive once in a lifetime attack probably counted as a premium experience.

Personally, I couldn't understand that mindset, but I did grow up in this city. If your only exposure to capes was through news reports and softball Protectorate press releases then I guess it would be understandable to have a rather skewed impression of the hero/villain dynamic.

I circled around the building and made my way in through one of the staff entrances. Security was tight, but I had my ID and the coat was as good as a uniform. Things were handled very well at the door with no friction between the volunteer security and official event staff. I'm not sure how much of that was down to Tybalt, but I imagine having a literal demigod of war on staff helped things along.

I ducked inside, finding the main room even busier than the previous day. Fortunately, some friendly faces saw me through the chaos.

"Joe!" Vince called over the din. He was being shadowed by Michelle as he pushed his way over to me.

"Vince, Michelle." I said in greeting. "The place looks great."

It really did. Things had come together particularly well, even with some of the last-minute adjustments. Most of the decorations were fabric based, something of a concession to Garment's specialization, but that created a coherent theme in the exact tone she had been going for.

"Thanks." Michelle said. "Everyone really went all out for this. I can't believe it came together this well, even with the late night and early start. Have you seen the way the tapestries link together?"

Michelle proceeded to expound upon details of the event that I either already knew or had actually personally designed. Still, it was nice seeing how much it meant to her. Her eyes were positively shining as she explained the plans for the event.

"So did you get roped into helping out during the show?" I asked Vince.

"Ha. No luck there. I'm just here for last minute stuff and to see Michelle off." He smiled at his girlfriend and she beamed back at him. "She's the one helping with the show itself."

"Just back stage stuff and helping make sure things run properly." Michelle clarified. "Also, guest and staff management. We've already had some of the capes arrive." She said proudly.

"What, already?" I asked.

She nodded. "Some of them want to avoid the press coverage at the main entrance. I swear it's worse than dealing with celebrities. Oh, and we have Parian's group setting up."

"Wait, she skips the press coverage?" I asked.

"No, Parian isn't here yet. It's just her team setting things up. Mostly staff from her atelier."

"She means fashion students from the college." Vince joked.

Michelle gave him a halfhearted glare. "Mostly interns from the fashion program at Brockton U, but they work with Parian so they usually come by early to handle setup, manage the outfits-"

"Herd the models." Vince added, causing Michelle to poke him in the ribs.

It was weird seeing someone who was an absolute terror in the boxing ring, something I had personal experience with, joking like this with his girlfriend. It was a side of him that never really showed up at the gym.

It was almost enough to distract me from the implications of what Michelle had said. Students from the fashion program. The same one that Sabah had transferred into, or that I had driven her into, depending on how you looked at it. With everything else I was dealing with, this wasn't something I needed.

Really, it shouldn't be a problem. Sabah would have been in the program for two years and I doubted a fashion cape would be recruiting sophomore college students for major events like this. She probably knew someone who knew someone who was involved, but that was about it.

Though I kind of wished that Parian had provided a volunteer list to the Center like Garment had, rather than just requesting a certain number of passes. It would have given me some peace of mind and I didn't need Tybalt to tell me the kind of potential security risk that presented.

"So, Parian's okay leaving students to set things up for her?" I asked. "Not even a final check before the show?"

"That's how she usually does things." Michelle said, "I've helped with a bunch of these events and there's never been a problem."

"That's cause she's probably secretly one of those fashion students." Vince joked again. "Hiding in plain sight to make sure everything's exactly how she wants it before she sneaks off to make her real entrance."

Michelle just rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Parian's been featured in New York fashion week and at least six other prestigious shows. That's not the kind of thing you get from college students, right Joe?" She asked, turning to me.

I had the feeling this was an ongoing argument, or at least an ongoing point that Vince liked bringing up. With my supernatural understanding of fashion I could probably have made a fairly educated assessment about Parian's level of experience and creative influences, but I decided it would be better to play things safe.

"Uh, yeah. Probably." I said in the most detached tone possible. It was enough to get me out of the rest of the discussion.

"Hey, are we keeping you?" Vince asked. "I know you've got a lot on your plate."

"It's not that serious." I said. "I was just running cables for the most part. The TV guys are handling the stream. I'm just on hand in case there's some fire that needs putting out."

It was a massive understatement of what I had put in place, but I was perfectly happy keeping my apparent role as small as possible. There was pretty much no chance of things going wrong without active sabotage, and even then, my setup would present a bit of a challenge for someone trying to deliberately cause problems. I was perfectly happy to stay in the background, look busy, and be free to slip off to my Workshop whenever I needed.

"Well, that's good." Michelle said. "I need to get back to everything. Let me know if you need anything."

"I should be good, thanks." I said, parting from the couple.

I made a circuit of the connections and infrastructure I had put in place, but there were no issues. I didn't expect any, but it was good to be seen covering that front, just in case anyone got concerned about whether someone was looking after the technical side of things.

Really, it was well in hand from the TV crew. I had a brief conversation with the technician from the previous day, but that mostly consisted of assurances for the sake of the producers. There was actually a rather significant amount of stress from everyone not associated with my team. I guess if you don't have an inside view on the divine level coordination effects being put in place it would all come across as a spur of the moment mad dash towards an excessively overblown event that was just begging for something to go wrong.

So, despite being absolutely confident in my work, I put on a resolute expression and made a show of double checking everything for the broadcast, no matter how unnecessary it actually was.

"Okay, I know you're not actually worried about this stuff." Aisha said, approaching me as my route took me through the main floor.

I smiled at her as I kept walking my route. "Important to look busy." I said. "Can't let people think I'm slacking."

"Yeah, I don't think anyone is slacking around here. I thought yesterday was bad, but it's ten times worse today." She said.

"I thought the setup was taken care of." I replied. After a quick check with Survey I added. "Schedule seems locked down as well."

"It's not the planning that's the problem." She gestured around at the crowd. Specifically, at a rather well-dressed portion of it that was concentrated near Garment and Survey. "Organization is on track, but we've got staff from the Regency Center, guests who arrived early, participants in the event, and staff members of the same."

"Wait, you were fine with all the technical stuff, but it's the socializing that's too much for you?" I asked in amusement.

"Don't laugh. I blame you for this. Always knew you'd be a bad influence." She countered in a playful voice.

I nodded, then looked at how hectic that area was. Everyone was trying to get time with either Garment or Survey, and I could only imagine what it was like for Aisha to get caught up in that. "Was it that bad? I know that crowd can be a lot to deal with."

She snorted. "That's the thing. This would be easy if it was going badly."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's my first time dealing with people from this side of the city and it's weird." She said with a frown.

"Weird how?" I asked.

"Like, I got stuck talking to some old guy about boats and he ended up inviting my family to go yachting." She said in disbelief.

"Yachting?" I asked.

"I know." She turned towards where a man in a nautical coat with a white and gray beard was talking with a member of the police force who was in dress uniform. He seemed to be admiring the coats that the volunteers were wearing.

Survey had a file on the man. Mostly harmless 'old money' and a major donor at a lot of charity events. Fairly well connected as well. As for the yachting, yeah, the man liked his boats, plural. It said something about the amount of money on that stage if one of the random guests collected sailing boats like other people did with toy cars.

"Is that something these people do? I mean, who invites someone to go yachting?" Aisha asked.

"I have no idea." I said. "I'm from the suburbs. From my perspective that half of the city was just extra crazy." Actually, for Captain's Hill that kind of applied to everything south of the Market, but that was besides the point. "Did you give any indication that you were of a yachting persuasion?"

Aisha bristled every time I said the word 'yachting'. It was tempting to abuse that as much as possible.

"I don't know." She said, "Maybe he thought I was into sailing just because I knew what the different parts of a boat were called. And the sails, and some of the knots. And I guess proper terminology for different sailing positions."

"Really?" I asked. "Was that all?"

"Well, I might have mentioned some of Tybalt's opinions regarding the tactics at the Battle of Trafalgar." I gave her a flat look. "It came up! And besides, Tybalt did a whole presentation on that back when we were sorting out the ship."

"Yeah, I have no idea why he thought you were into sailing." I said in a level tone. She scoffed at me.

"You joke, but he was one of the better ones. Those people don't shut up! I was half ready to slip out and take the fallback option." She said, referencing Survey's replica droid plan.

"Glad it didn't come to that. I know Garment is glad to have you here." I said.

Aisha smiled and looked back to the stage. "She's a lot, but it's nice to help her out with this kind of thing. Still can't believe how well it all came together."

"It was a rush, but it's manageable. And it's making a difference." The city really needed a morale boost, and this was serving that purpose admirably.

"Yeah, as long as there are no technical problems." She joked, following after me as I continued my unnecessary set of checks.

"I think I've got that handled." I said, stopping briefly to check a cable junction, which was just as secure and discreetly placed as the last two times I had checked it over before standing back up. "It's nice to finally have things under control."

"Jozef?"

I froze at the sound of the voice. The familiar voice. That accent and particular pronunciation dragging me back years into the past. Slowly and woodenly, I turned to see a girl looking up at me. She had split off from a group of Parian's workers who were continuing towards the stage, while she had stopped dead to stare at me. Barely five feet tall with dark hair and large eyes. Eyes that were even larger thanks to the stunned expression on her face. An expression that was matched by my own complete shock.

"Sabah?"

Author's Note: As this chapter featured the clearing of a constellation, I have taken the opportunity to institute some overdue changes in the manner in which points are gained in this story. As many readers have pointed out, perks and items have been arriving at an accelerated rate. It had been necessary to devote a significant portion of the story to address the nature of new abilities, leaving limited time for other elements before the next power arrives. These changes are intended to address these issues. They will reduce the rate at which points are gained, but will hopefully address some of the issues with pacing and technical description of abilities.

There are two changes that are being implemented. First, the rate at which points are acquired is being reduced from 100 every 2,000 words to 100 every 3,000 words. As rolls are performed every 200 points, they will now happen every after 6,000 words rather than 4,000. Secondly, I am instituting a recovery period following major rolls. Any 600 or 800 point perks will introduce a delay before rolls resume equal to half the cost of the perk. This means that for a 600 point ability points will not start being banked until 300 are earned, requiring 9,000 words. This will allow time to address and implement major powers without overly impacting the pace of the story. The hope is to prevent situations where the points earned from addressing one ability result in the acquisition of another ability.

There may be additional modifications to the point system as more constellations are cleared, but I'm hoping they will lead to an improvement of the story overall. I know there are readers who have been eagerly waiting for specific abilities and I'm sorry that this system will further delay them, but I believe it will be an overall improvement for the story. Additionally, when anticipated perks do arrive there will now be sufficient time for them to be fully explored without another ability overshadowing them.

Jumpchain abilities this chapter:

Additional Space - Starting Area (Personal Reality) 200:

This Starting Space Upgrade expands your Personal Reality by a factor of 10 in each dimension… or rather the standard three dimensions, you rabid cheeselord. This can be purchased multiple times. Additional Space also upgrades various expansion options. The first purchase of this brings you to 64 Million Cubic Meters, then 64 Billion Cubic Meters, then 64 Trillion Cubic Meters. Earth's volume, for reference, is 1 Hexillion Cubic Meters and it's surface area is 510 Quadrillion Square Meters. Cover the Earth in storage facilities 100 meters high and you get 51 Quintillion Cubic Meters of Storage space.

Additional Space – Lofty Loft (Personal Reality) 200:

This Starting Space Upgrade expands your Personal Reality by a factor of 10 in each dimension… or rather the standard three dimensions, you rabid cheeselord. This can be purchased multiple times. Additional Space also upgrades various expansion options. The first purchase of this brings you to 64 Million Cubic Meters, then 64 Billion Cubic Meters, then 64 Trillion Cubic Meters. Earth's volume, for reference, is 1 Hexillion Cubic Meters and it's surface area is 510 Quadrillion Square Meters. Cover the Earth in storage facilities 100 meters high and you get 51 Quintillion Cubic Meters of Storage space.

Nano-Forge (Red Faction) 600:

Typically worn around the wrist, this device is an engineer's wet dream. Using real-time scans provided by the onboard AI, the Nano-Forge emits nanites as either a proximity cloud or projectile globs that procedurally recreate objects nearby. This Nano-Forge is restricted to repair functionality, and it doesn't work on biological material, but it does have the precision to recreate delicate electronics and the like.