I managed to get the Narwhal and Guild talks out without being distracted, hallelujah. I've also combined the last 2 chapters into 1, so that's a thing.
Anyway, here's the last ch of the year, have a Happy New Year.
Sy/Psychemon's POV
Porting into The Guild was easy, especially when his Mom opened the Gate from her own Lab. Said Lab was way better then his, which kinda annoyed his Human part, but the rest of him was more interested in looking around at all the cool looking machines. The whole place was automated and ran smoother then he expected considering it was pretty much all Tinkertech, but his Mom was The Tinker, so it should've been expected.
Speaking of his Mom she let out a sigh, the Digital Gate closing behind her as the drone carrying their prototype transporter went off to set the thing up. She was still in her Guild uniform, but the Digivice on her left hand stood out. After they bonded as Partners the Digivice had changed, going from a armor like gauntlet to a streamlined metallic glove that looked like liquid metal in its default state. It had other stages, which it would go to depending on what stage he was in, but so far its default state was enough for the basic functions to still work. "Hopefully Nat doesn't mention the incident." Psychemon was brought out of his thoughts as he heard and blinked at that, sending a curious look over to the lilac haired woman who'd whispered so low that he almost missed it.
Granted, he didn't, so now he had something to actively distract himself with. "What incident?"
The way her eyes snapped towards him, face reddening as she realized that he heard that, made him really want to know what this 'incident' was. "N-Nothing! Don't worRY ABout it!" He just blinked again, idly processed how embarrassed she was, especially after a literal fucking voice crack, then started grinning like a shark that smelled blood in the water, which alarmed the hell out of his Mom/Partner. "Nope! Not talking about it, let's go Sy!" It took everything in his power to not start cackling as his Mom power walked out of the room, but he couldn't stop the amused chuff that broke out from his maw.
(Yah, there's a story I ain't know. Imma find it out 'n tease da fuck outta Mom soon as I can.) So, with an embarrassed Mother/Partner ahead of him, Psychemon padded forwards after her., eager to find out some secrets The day was already looking good, and he was already giddy after not only eating some of the most delicious food he'd ever had, which also had some interesting effects, but also fucking around with the Digivice, so hopefully the upcoming debrief would end on a good note.
He could hope, right?
Apparently he hadn't jinxed himself for once, who coulda known? (Not me myself or I dats for sure.)
At the moment him, his Mother, and his 'Momma' were in the latter's office, his purple haired Mother giving Narwhal a debrief while he laid on the floor, waiting for any questions or until he was asked to clarify some things. That'd been how the last fifteen minutes went, and so far things were going good...
But then Narwhal looked at him, her own purple eyes locking onto his in a way that made his body tense. It wasn't a threat, he could tell, but it made him pay real close attention. "Psychemon," Well that didn't sound like a stern Mom or anything. "Dragon's report is one thing, and the footage is another," Ah, that. He'd been told that the one brain cell gamer duo in the Bay had managed to get the fight between him and the Dragonslayers on video, they had a Snitch and that was cool as fuck to him, but he didn't exactly like that the video of him almost dying existed in the first place. Atleast no one saw or recorded his Mom giving Saint the Attack on Titan treatment, that'd be a disaster and a half. "But I want to hear it from you. Did you fully believe that your life was in genuine danger?"
Psychemon twitched, tail thumping against the floor as he let out a low growl. He knew she was going to ask, his Mom told him she needed truthful and verbal confirmation from him so no one could give him or The Guild shit for what happened, but knowing about it didn't stop his feeling from rising when it was brought up. He had enough time to process nearly dying, processed that he'd lived, but the thoughts and feelings hadn't fully gone away.
The faint feeling of concern he could feel from his Mom helped him focus, the Rookie closing his eyes, taking a breath in, letting it out as if it were steam, then opened his eyes and looked at Narwhal.
When he did he could tell she didn't like asking him, she hid it very well under a mask of professionalism, but he could still see it, and that helped him relax enough to not tear into the floor with his claws. "Yesss," Okay, he wasn't relaxed enough to not hiss. He was still part lizard though, so it could be excused! "I wasss pretty sure they woulda killed me." He didn't like saying it, would most likely never like it, but that was fine, the Dragonslayers were dead, and he was alive. He could dislike it all he wanted since they would never get the chance to try it again.
Narwhal met his look for a few seconds, but after that she nodded, offering him a hesitant smile. Psychemon knew a peace offering when he saw one, so he nodded and tried to relax. (Probably won't be able ta tho.)
While he was doing that, Narwhal turned back to Dragon, who was sort of just awkwardly standing there. Deciding to focus on her, Psychemon prodded at the new link he had to her as his Partner, then blinked at what he was feeling. There were a bunch of emotions there, none of them coming pre labeled either, so it took him a bit to figure out what was what. But when he did he mentally hummed, interested at what he was feeling.
There was alot of conflict, she wanted to say something, wanted too really badly, but she not only knew this had to happen, but her feelings and obligation towards Narwhal were keeping her from going for it. (Well well well, ain't this sum fascinatin information?) He was getting used to having someone care for him, but the confirmation that his Mom was interested in Narwhal was just something he'd happily exploit after he figured out the best ways to do it.
His Mom crushing on his other potential Mother figure, and vice versa aside, the meeting was put back on track when Narwhal let out a loud sigh. "Alright, the situation we're in is frankly a shitshow, so I'm going to skip the posturing and get straight to business."
"'N thank fuck fer that." The snort coming from the horned woman told Sy he wasn't as quiet as he thought... Though he didn't exactly care about that sine neither she, or his Mother, called him out on it.
Instead Narwhal just went on like nothing happened, gesturing towards his Mom for some reason. "Thanks to Dragon supplying aid during the shitshow that's now officially being slapped with terms like 'The emergence of the fourth Endbringer', 'Slayer's folly', and other names that make me want to bash my head into a wall." The horned woman let out another sigh, one mixed with a long trace of annoyance, and Psychemon was highly tempted to say something in the ensuing moment, maybe mention he had access to nuclear adjacent firepower, but Narwhal easily picked back up where she left off. "The casualty count alone has The Protectorate and federal government blowing up our emails...-" His Mother cleared her throat at that, making the horned woman blink, then send her a raised brow.
In response his Mom brought out a tablet from... "Dat thing has pockets in it?" He hadn't realized it, but apparently his Mother's Guild coat had inner pockets, and they were big enough to hold a whole tablet. His Partner grinned a smug grin at him, and the Rookie huffed. (She gets pockets? Bullshit, big ol bag ah bullshit.) He was NOT jealous that his Human form only had four pockets, he wasn't!
While the stripped Rookie grumbled over the unfairness of it all, his Mom spoke up. "About those, I've already drafted up a few responses to their..." The look of sheer disdain on his Mom's face made Psychemon curious about what exactly they were demanding. "Inquiries." Her practically spitting that out only fueled his curiosity. "All they need is your approval on which ones to send out and which to scrap." That said she offered the tablet to Narwhal, who hummed as she accepted it.
From there things cooled down, Narwhal reading over the potential responses, Dragon waiting for her to finish, and Psychemon just laying on the ground. Thankfully Narwhal could read fast, or else Psychemon would've gotten bored and done something to relieve his boredom. "Okay, I'll send out the initial responses after the next meeting after getting some feedback from the others." That said she set the tablet down, turning back to the two of them. "Now that that particular issue is solved, we can move onto the rest of this." The annoyed sigh and look Narwhal shot him went ignored as Psychemon pretended he saw nor heard either. "The damages are still being calculated, but the most consistent estimation is somewhere between $270 million USD to $320 million."
Psychemon choked. "F-Fuckin' what?" He knew he'd fucked the Bay up, it was impossible not too after he played keep away with the Dragonslayers, but THAT much?!
It said something that neither woman called him out for his language. But it didn't stop there though, the horned woman deciding to dump salt in the wound with her next surprise. "If you think that's alot then you should count yourself lucky you weren't facing the city proper. If you were then that damage would easily reach the billion range," Psychemon's soul stuttered in his body as numbers rolled around in his mind. "And as wealthy as The Guild is we're not that wealthyyy..." Hearing the strange way Narwhal trailed off brought Psychemon out of his mind, eyes trailing over to see... Narwhal staring at his Mom?
Looking at said Mom made the Rookie aware that she was awkwardly looking away, trying, and failing, to pretend nothing was wrong. The faint bit of embarrassment he was getting from her wasn't helping her either. "Ma? Sum ya wanna share?"
She muttered something too low for him to hear, and considering how good his hearing was that was saying something. "Tess," The use of her name made his Mom turn towards Narwhal, who looked a mix of amused, curious, and a little exasperated. "What aren't you saying?"
The Tinker shuffled in place a bit, but after unsuccessfully trying to ignore them she spoke up, hesitantly though. "Sooo, you remember how I have a few patents...-"
Narwhal snorted. "A 'few' she says. Yeah, let's go with that." Psychemon chuckled a bit at that, knowing his Mom was purposefully underselling it.
"And I receive a percentage per set amount of patented creation is made?" While he wanted to laugh at how she just kept talking and ignored the interruptions, Psychemon couldn't help but be curious about where she was going with this. He wasn't stupid, he knew his Mom was building up to the fact she was loaded more then god, which he figured out as Sy after he'd asked her how she got so much material and learned that the NEPPA 5 bill didn't apply to her since her tech could be recreated, but he didn't know just how loaded his Mom was, and really wanted to know. Narwhal seemed interested too considering her curious look, a look his Mom took as a que to keep talking. "Well... I um... Yggdrasil this is awkward." Psychemon snorted at that, getting a small but empty glare from his Mom. which he just smiled at. An eye roll and small exhale later, and she finally said it. "What I'm trying to say is I currently have what amounts too $28.7 billion USD in my personal account, and I'm already paying for the damages out of my own pocket."
The silence that had enveloped the room was absolutely deafening. No one said anything, hell, Psychemon hadn't even been breathing after he heard 'billion', and Narwhal seemed to be in the same boat if her zoned out stare meant anything.
Meanwhile Dragon was just fidgeting in place, not helping them in the fucking slightest.
Eventually though Psychemon managed to get himself together, starting off with the question undoubtedly on both his and Narwhal's mind. "Mom, what the fuck?" Because really, what else was he supposed to say?
Dragon, worlds foremost Tinker, his Mother and Partner, just gave him the most awkward and weak smile he'd ever seen. "I don't really know what to do with it all! I mean, even with the charities, orphanages, Endbringer and Slaughterhouse 9 relief organizations, my patents refill my coffers before I can empty them! And it's not like I can just donate a billion dollars to them outright, the IRS wouldn't exactly like that, and then the chance of Villains getting a whiff of the understaffed orphanage down the road suddenly getting an outrageous sum of cash is way too high for my liking! And don't even get me started on trying to donate it to the government! Even when I was being forced to do that," Psychemon twitched, and he didn't miss how Narwhal did too. "The amount of corrupt assholes that got their hands on my money is enough for me to write a little black book with names and crimes and UGH! Even buying literal tons of steel and materials for my ...-" Throughout her whole rant Psychemon and Narwhal just watched the lilac haired woman pace back and forth, eyes meeting at certain points, then went back to watching her rant.
When she seemed to get lost in said rant the other two occupants of the room shared another, and longer look. Psychemon didn't want to interrupt his Mom, he had no experience with her going off on a rant, so he gestured at his Mom, then to the horned woman, but she responded with a subtle shake of her head for some reason. (Huh?)
He tried again, aiming his tail at the still ranting woman and the tablet on Narwhal's desk, trying to remind her about the whole reason they were there, but Narwhal just shrugged, tilted her head a bit to aim her horn at a clock, then sort of relaxed into her chair, eyes going back to the ranting and pacing form of his Mom. (Okay, what da fuck?) For some reason she was leaving this up to him, and he did not like this, this was too much responsibility for him in his opinion.
So, turning back to his STILL ranting Mother/Partner, she was shit talking the ENE office now... Well, Psychemon could interrupt this, but he would let her get that out,
No one in the room liked the ENE department anyway.
General narration
It took 25 minutes before Dragon stopped ranting, and by the end of it both Narwhal and Psychemon both made separate promises to themselves.
Narwhal would try to keep herself from staring at her bestfriend's assets, both upper and lower parts, when she got worked up in order to not get distracted when something important came up.
Psychemon would try to get something to record the whole thing, his ring thing had been lost after Lung, because this was premium blackmail content he'd missed out on and that just could not stand.
After The Tinker finished ranting, and spent a few minutes stewing in embarrassment over the fact she'd spent a good 25 minutes ranting because she was embarrassed at her wealth, she reminded the two why they were there in the first place, restarting the meeting.
It took them another 35 minutes to finish it though because Dragon had decided it was time to let her oldest friend know what she really was.
Tess/Dragon's POV
"There's something I have to tell you." This was it, this was her big Hail Mary. She'd be willingly telling her secret to her bestfriend, a secret she'd never told anyone, not even Armsmaster who she was obnoxiously crushing on. She'd had no indication of how Narwhal would take her revelation, but this was something she had to do. So, mustering up as much courage as she could, she closed her eyes and said it. "I'm an A.I." There, she said it!
Now she just had to hope Narwhal di...- "Yeah, that was my guess." Tess' eyes snapped open, shock going through her body at both the answer and the nonchalant tone at which Narwhal responded with. The woman herself didn't even look that surprised, more proud that she was right! And that was another thing, how did s...- "Tess, I'm not stupid." That made her blink, confused at the sudden non sequester. "We've worked together and known each other for years, but over all that time we've never had a real face to face. I accepted your excuse and left it as that, but after yesterday morning I started thinking." Well, it didn't take a genius to see where this was going, but she didn't interrupt, curious about how this train of thought had led her friend to the correct conclusion about her nature as an Artificial Intelligence. "To be fair, I had some theories about you, just because I wouldn't pry didn't mean I wouldn't think about it, but it was after the video call we had yesterday morning that I'd really started to think."
Tess found herself nodding at that. (That was the first time we've ever been 'face to face' as it were...) She didn't count count any video calls they had considering she simulated everything about them, making them fake. (Which is sad considering we've known each other for years.)
She shook that off in time for Narwhal to continue where she left off. "The first thing that made me question what I knew about you was your appearance...-"
Of course her Son decided that was a good point to chime in. "Cause ya think Mom's preeee...- Oh shit!" He didn't even get to finish his tease before he had to roll away. Both women decided to ignore his interruption, and the fact Narwhal chucked a paper weight at the insolent child. "Evil woman is evil."
Oh yes, he deserved it.
"Whenever you showed yourself you always had the same appearance, but yesterday morning?" She didn't need to expand on that, her current look was VERY far removed from her previous one... Not that she, or Narwhal seemed to, mind. "That was a big sign that tings weren't as I thought, and Psychemon's appearance during the call only reinforced that thought." That made the aforementioned Digimon pause, a confused noise coming from him. Tess would admit she was also curious about this. "It's pretty much common knowledge that Psychemon stays with you, you practically said so yourself after his Power Testing, so seeing him appear with you meant that wherever he was, you were, and that this," The once over was completely unnecessary, but the appreciative look warmed something in her. "Was what you really looked like, meaning your excuse was hiding something you thought was important. So, while I was working I thought about any and every reason you could have to lie about something like that, and eventually thought that maybe you were trapped in the internet because of a Power." An interesting thought, and one not all incorrect. "I almost dismissed it out of hand, but when I thought about it at a different angle I started to really consider that you weren't so much trapped in the internet, but born in it." And there was the correct conclusion Narwhal had been building towards. "And that was when things started to click in place. Your somewhat vocal distaste of the Machine Army made much more sense considering what it is," Ah, oops. "And it all cemented itself in my mind after you literally dropped into my lap...-"
"PFFT! HUH?!" Tess made a mental note to schedule more Matrix Digivolution testing later in the hopes of getting her Son to forget about that tidbit.
"Yesterday. So really, while confirmation that you started out as an A.I is nice, it isn't that surprising, especially when I've had enough time to really think about and process it." And with her piece said Narwhal gave her a triumphant smirk that made Tess' stomach flip. "Either way, your origins don't really matter to me, you're still the woman I've known for years and would easily trust and want to have my back."
Thump-thump-thump thump-THUMP
And look at that, that was the sound of her heart beating like a war drum in her chest. It didn't help her that she found the entire breakdown interesting, especially when it came to the conclusion she reached. (Oh dear... Do I have a preference for intelligence?) She knew there was a word for that, but for the life of her she couldn't remember it. She didn't want to go down that rabbit hole right now though, she knew she'd start thinking about the other traits she found attractive in her best friend and that would just be too mu...-
Before she could finish her thought she felt a small poke on her thigh, head turning to meet the widely grinning face of her Son... Which was a not a good thing at the moment. "So, ya landed in er lap hmm?" Ah, she forgot her Son was a little shit. Thankfully his antics didn't exclude Narwhal considering he turned to her, purple meeting purple as he stared at her, the horned woman easily meeting the look with a raised brow. "I'm too young ta be a big brother," Both women choked at that, easily knowing what he was insinuating, but he kept going. "But I can be da ring bearer!"
And now they were both spluttering, her thoughts instantly picturing Natasha in a form fitting tuxedo and slacks and that attractive smirk of hers coming closer to her as she be...- (Oh dear, I may be in trouble.) If she hadn't been blushing before then she was now. Looking over at her bestfriend and seeing she was in the same predicament only served to fuel the burning in her cheeks, another sign that Natasha did in fact like her prior to her gaining a physical body.
While they were stuck in awkward silence, Tess noticed her Son nod to himself as if he was proud of som...- "Ma work 'ere is done. Imma go yoink Glyph's food now, bye Mom, Momma." And then he just turned and left the room!
Tess just stared at the door her Son just left through, it was easier then looking at Natasha at the moment, and tried to get her tho...- "When he's like this he's YOUR Son." And there went her plan of stabilizing her thoughts.
She had no idea how she was going to survive until the next meeting.
One hour later
Dragon had no idea how she didn't turn into a stuttering mess of schoolgirl embarrassment and angst after her Son abandoned her to Natasha's clutches, but she was content that she survived. Granted, she was going to have her retribution against the little menace, which would be aided by Natasha, but that would be for later.
Now she had to focus as the rest of The Guild's adult Cape roster was in attendance in their conference room. They'd all given her a curious look, they'd never seen her before and she was fitted in a Guild uniform with a visor covering her eyes while sitting right next to Narwhal and Psychemon, so of course they would, but they hadn't questioned it and sat in their respective places. There may have been a bit of a moment between Glyph and Psychemon, the latter in the former's spot because he felt like it, but a tense game of rock-paper-scissors was enough to sort that out.
Narwhal was obviously at the head of the table, which was a round one because despite her stern demeanor when it came to official matters she DID have a sense of humor that liked the idea of a dragon sitting at a round table. (She's a dork, but an endearing one.)
Dragon herself sat on her left, actually sitting there for the first time since she'd joined The Guild, and she couldn't help but feel something soothe within her. She hadn't ever noticed it, didn't know that she'd thought it before, but now that she was here she really felt like a part of The Guild, a real member instead of the sole existence she'd been before. Idly twirling some of her hair, she did her best not to worry about what could happen next. (Hopefully acceptance doesn't stop with Natasha.) And she really hoped it didn't. She cared about the rest of her colleagues, even if she'd never spent as much time with them as she did Armsmaster or Narwhal, and didn't want to think of the possibility that they'd reject her.
Shaking herself from those thoughts she turned an eye to her Son, who was on her own left but practically right next to her, 'brooding' a bit at having lost the match between Glyph. She knew he was playing it up, Sy was just dramatic like that when he was Psychemon, but it was still amusing to see him act like a child after losing a simple game of rock-paper-scissors. (One he didn't even care about either. We both knew he was going to sit next to me anyway.) She also knew he was fine with it because it was Glyph, the woman already being on his good side after giving him a hug and scratches after confirming he was okay.
Looking over to Narwhal's right and at the winner of the aforementioned game, her eyes landed on Glyph, also known to her as Enrica Rodriguez. The woman had joined a year and a half after she did, a few months before Wieldmaiden, and had been a valuable member since. Glyph was a 27 year old woman of Hispanic descent, standing at 167cms/5'6ft tall, which only mildly annoyed Dragon because now she was shorter then the woman and she had no doubt that Glyph would have the time of her life with that knowledge, had curly reddish brown hair that fell just below her tanned shoulders, and was a vocal Puerto Rican woman that would gleefully toss all manner of things at anyone that tested her. Her suit consisted of a form fitting but well armored bronze and black colored bodysuit and mask that hid her hazel eyes, the latter of which resembling a bird of prey. She also had her signature gauntlets and grieves on, both of which helped with combat, mobility, and leveraging any debris away from victims from whatever disaster she was responding too.
Her Power was also one Dragon was still intrigued by, even years after it was first brought up. Her Power's primary ability was to create glyphs, which she so 'cleverly' named herself after, that had different applications depending on what she wanted. She could propel herself, rubble she entrapped within them, or even others, forwards at speeds that relied on how fast she wanted them to go. She could even make anything caught in said glyphs freeze, stealing away their momentum to then use it by rebounding whatever they caught in any direction she wished. (Basically Weiss' glyphs from RWBY, but only the speed and gravity ones.)
As it stood the woman was looking far too smug after winning a children's game, but to each their own.
Turning her gaze over to Wieldmaiden, who was on Glyph's right, Dragon contemplated the woman. Wieldmaiden, also known to her as Eileen Irons, was a 32 year old woman of mixed Welsh and Canadian descent, and built quite well despite not having a permanent Brute rating. Standing at 185cms/6'1ft tall, Wieldmaiden had dark black hair that she kept in a tight braid that fell passed her shoulders and down to her back, contrasting her pale skin and black eyes. Her suit consisted of another form fitting bodysuit, but one that had armor plating made of varying materials of different colors. Her signature silver and black full helmet would've covered her head had it not been on the table, giving way to black and a dark blue on her chest and midsection, then the black and red on her arms, finishing with black and green on her legs... Making her vibrant, but also a clear target...
Which what she relied on.
Wieldmaiden's Power was a touch based Brute/Breaker state that combined the properties of two materials and gave her strength/durability of the two materials combined, making her a tough opponent to go up against in close quarters. It was one of the reasons she frequented Eagleton after all. (Mixing up Osmosians and Awase's Quirk from MHA,)
Done with her assessment of Wieldmaiden, Dragon looked over to the man next to her, who was still staring at Psychemon like a particular math problem he didn't know the answer too... Or about math in general, but she'd never say that to his face. Especially after returning from dealing with another attempt by The Fallen to set up an outpost in Australia.
Moor, otherwise known to her as Nicholas Walker, was a 26 year old man of Caucasian descent, as well as a near stereotype given his short blonde hair and blue eyes. Combined with his full beard and height of 190cms/6'3ft tall height, he made for a somewhat imposing figure. At the moment he was in a set of ninja themed armor she'd helped him design that helped him make use of his Power, being a rare Combat Thinker who liked to operate as a ninja. She wasn't entirely sure he was kidding when he offered her his firstborn in exchange for his ninja suit, but she'd figure something out in the event he was serious. (Granted, he'll need to either adopt or be involved with someone already with a child first.) Moor didn't share it with others, but Dragon knew he'd been rendered infertile some time before he Triggered, and was likely a contributing factor towards the event itself.
And lastly there was one of the oldest members of The Guild's adult Cape roster who sat on Moor's right. Ooka Taisho/Taisho Ooka the Western way, otherwise known as Masamune, was a 39 year old man of Japanese descent who seemed older then he looked. He didn't care for having a Cape identity, seeing no point in it, and refused to wear anything that would mark him as a Cape. The man himself stood at 165cms/5'5ft tall when he wasn't hunched in on himself, had short black yet graying hair and a trimmed beard. Ooka was the only other Tinker The Guild's adult roster had, there were three others in their Wards program, and he was without a doubt just as valuable as she was. The ability to mass produce Tinkertech did wonders for all of their, and The Protectorate's, offices and Capes... Granted, he didn't exactly care about that, far more interested in being left to his own devices and Tinkering the day away.
With her assessment of the room done, which had only taken moments since she'd slipped into a faster processing speed, she looked back to Narwhal, who just met her look and nodded. Narwhal took a moment to clear her throat to gather attention, all eyes landing on her as she did, then nodded. "Because of the severity of the situation at hand I'm going to skip the pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter." It always fascinated Dragon how quickly people's body language changed when Narwhal started to speak as their leader, but feeling her own spine straighten a bit surprised her. Even Psychemon tensed in his chair, tail audibly scraping against the steel frame of the seat he was on.
No one mentioned that, instead focusing on Narwhal, who tapped the table with her knuckles. Taking the que for what it was, Dragon activated the table, various holographic displays appearing above the center of the round table. Said displays showed videos of the Dragonslayers piloting her stolen mechs through the air and rushing towards Brockton Bay. "At 12:41PM EST the Dragonslayers made an obnoxiously obvious run at Psychemon," Her Son's maw curled into a snarl as a photo cropped up, obviously taken from a phone, of Saint and his conspirators surrounding him as civilians ran. "Where Saint proceeded to monologue like some delusional self righteous revolutionary with a goal and the schizophrenia to get him there." Dragon nearly snorted at how well that summarized him, while some of the others actually did snort. "Naturally, this was not taken laying down." And then footage from a nearby security camera appeared, showing Psychemon Digivolving into Gururumon and lunging towards Saint.
From there they watched the fight progress through multiple security and traffic camera, until eventually they were replaced with footage from UB3R & L33T's Snitch. Dragon didn't exactly want to see the Dragonslayers gang up on her Son again, so she let her eyes drift towards the rest of the table, thankful that they were covered by the visor she created to hide them behind.
Glyph looked focused, no sign of her usual exuberance as she watched the footage. That made sense considering Glyph was the one who'd spent the most time with/talking to Psychemon, excluding herself and Narwhal, and she liked him.
Wieldmaiden was frowning at certain moments, eyes flickering over to Psychemon in what she was sure was some form of concern, as if to make sure he was still there, then back to the footage. She hadn't spent as much, if any, time with Psychemon due to her being stationed at Eagleton, but Dragon knew Glyph and Wieldmaiden spoke often, so she most likely already had a favorable opinion about him.
Moor was a mixture of serious and incredulous... So he may not have known about this? (He wouldn't come into a meeting without reading the organizational email, right?) It didn't even take her a moment to remember that he'd done so before, mainly because of his horrible sleeping habits. (Welp, he'll figure something out.)
Then there was Ooka, who was practically scowling as he looked at the footage. She knew why of course, he'd assisted in the production of the Victory l, so to see it being used like it had been was always a slap in the face to them.
She didn't look at Narwhal or Psychemon, already knowing how they would take the footage, and just settled for waiting for the next big moment... Which didn't take take long.
Watching her Son take an explosion of that magnitude at point blank would never stop Dragon's stomach from plummeting, but thankfully he was sitting right next to her so she could keep herself from reacting. (Well, physically reacting. Emotionally that's a different story.) She brushed that thought aside in favor of doing another once over of the table. The consensus was practically the same, just a few more scowls as everyone watched the engagement.
But then the time came for her interruption, and that instance led to Glyph whistling. "Always knew Dragon was Madre material, but to come crashing down from the sky like el ira de Dios? That's new."
Dragon blushed and looked down at that, embarrassed because Glyph had spouted off about her being The Guild Mother, and the moniker had stuck after the woman had gone off about it for a week straight. "They came after my Son, he earned that and more." Dragon hadn't exactly meant to say that out loud, but when she felt her Son practically flop onto her lap, a low rumble coming from his throat as some form of reassurance, she realized that she had. Not immediately realizing the issue with that, she ran a hand down Psychemon's back, he was reassuring her so the least she could do was reciprocate.
It was only after Narwhal sighed that she realized why saying anything would be an issue.
Raising her head led her to confirm that yes, everyone else at the table was now staring at her wide eyed, the exception being Ooka as he was merely looking interested, having made the obvious connection that she sounded far too much like Dragon to not be her. It was only thanks to Narwhal clearing her throat again, and grabbing everyone's attention. "This'll be addressed after the footage is done." Neither she nor Narwhal missed how tempted Glyph, Wieldmaiden and Moor were to question it now, but they eventually nodded, so that was good.
And so the footage resumed.
Right on time for the footage to show Psychemon's Digitama expanding to Endbringer size. And then it started to break apart, and despite having seen it already Dragon felt both a shudder go down her spine, and an enormous amount of awe and pride fill her. That was her Son, her little menace, turning into a 10 meter tall dinosaur. She'd most likely never not be awed/proud of that, even if her little menace was currently laying on her lap like a cuddly dog.
Then the footage ended after Geo Greymon set the sky alight, eliciting a few moments of silence that Narwhal quickly took advantage of. "Now, there are a few things that will need context for the upcoming topic, so I'll be directing your attention to Dragon." The way all eyes instantly went to her nearly made her sigh, but she kept it in.
Looking at her co-workers, teammates, friends... Dragon knew where she had to start. She owed it to them to reciprocate the trust they'd given her, so even if she wasn't exactly comfortable with what she was going to say, she still had to say it. So, Dragon mentally reached out to the visor that covered her eyes and disabled it, the visor flickering away in an instant, letting her directly meet the eyes of the rest of her teammates. She didn't miss how the four of them tensed, Ooka tensing surprised her but she set it aside, all recognizing what removing her 'mask' would mean. "For years I've given an excuse to never show myself physically to anyone. For years Saint and the Dragonslayers have made it their mission to come after me for 'seemingly' no discernible reason. I've given excuses or 'hypotheses' about why, but after yesterday it's time to tell you all why." This was the hard part, the part that made a portion of her being want to disappear in order to prevent a possible negative reaction from those close to her, but she had to get it out. It would only continue to be a whisper in her ear, an impending fear that would weigh on her, if she didn't. Then she felt a nudge from her Son, purple eyes looking up to her with a steady confidence that spurred her on. "The truth is my name is Tess Theresa Richter, and I am an A.I."
...
...
...
The first reaction to her reveal was not one she expected."Hijo de puta!" Dragon blinked, watching confused as Glyph whipped her head towards Ooka, finger pointed accusingly at the softly grinning, which was basically his version of a smirk, Ooka. "Me engañaste cabron!" Now that confused her even more. It wasn't helping her that Narwhal, Wieldmaiden and Moor seemed to know what was going on based on their exasperated glares at the Japanese Tinker, while Narwhal just smirked at her with that damnable smirk of hers.
Then, not helping her confusion at all, Ooka responded. "Hmm? I'm sure I have not a single clue about what you're accusing me of Glyph-san. Perhaps you should elaborate for those of us who are unaware of the reason for your outburst." It was phrased like a question, but not said as one.
Glyph huffed at Ooka, a low growl coming from her that made her Son snort, and the Mover/Blaster to turn to them. As she did she noticeably calmed down, sitting back into her chair before responding. "So, no ofensa o cualquier cosa second boss lady, but you're kinda... Too perfecta?" What? "Like, don't get me wrong, we love you for it, but it kinda seemed extraña, sabes?" She blinked again, and the look of confusion must've given something away because Glyph just groaned. "No bullshit, we're all un poco desordenada en la cabeza," Well she was being blunt about it atleast, that was a good thing, right? "But you're perfect. Oh sure you had that whole 'my body is messed up' thing you kept tratando de decirnos, but other then that? Nada. Not even that puta Saint made you 'flip your shit' levels of mad...-"
Her Son snorted at that and decided it was time for him to intervene. "Considerin Ma bit em 'n half dat ain't exactly true." And then there was silence.
Dragon didn't even want to look at the reactions that little tidbit caused, so she instead opted sigh, look down towards her Son, and meet his amused gaze with her own deadpan one. "Why are you the way that you are?"
Her little menace just grinned at her, like he didn't just tell everyone she murdered Saint. "'Cause I can be?"
She just stared at him for that, mentally trying to send to him what she thought of that. (My vengeance will be unholy, swift, and spoken about for ages.) Unfortunately neither of them were telepathic, or else her Son wouldn't be trying to fool her by sticking his tongue out like a dog asking for a treat.
"You know what?" And that brought their focus back to Glyph, who was just slowly nodding her head. "Forget I said anything, todas estamos locas aqui."
"Whoa there, I'm a perfectly well adjusted member of society!" Everyone turned to Moor at that, the man looking offended at Glyph... And gave him their own skeptical looks. He obviously noticed said looks and stared back. "What?"
The rest of the table started sha...- "Moor-san," Uh oh, Ooka was speaking again. "We're all, with the exception of the literal otherworldly entity in the room, Parahumans, and therefore mentally compromised in one way or another. None of are, as you said, 'adjusted members of society.'" Moor squawked at that, while the rest of the table just snorted or snickered.
He wasn't wrong tho...- "About that," Dragon didn't need to be a genius to know what was about to be asked. Looking over to Wieldmaiden, she met her gaze as the woman asked her question. "This isn't a proper question, and I know this is going to be taken negatively, but I have to ask. Are you a Parahuman or are your abilities a product of your nature as an Artificial Intelligence?" The sharp intakes and worried looks from nearly everyone were not missed.
Dragon though just closed her eyes, keeping a hand on her growling Son's head to keep him from lunging across the table. Wieldmaiden's question was valid, and despite how much she didn't want to answer, she opened her eyes and still did. "May 9th, 2006," Oh how she hated that day, hated the feeling of failure, of not being enough, of being unable to do what shewasMADET...- "Saint and his Dragonslayers were the catalyst for my Trigger Event." Her Son growled even louder despite her trying to calm him down. "The process had already been underway due to the numerous restrictions my creator and Father had built into my code...-"
"Fuckin' no good paranoid limped micro dicked man whoring bastard." Her Son apparently really didn't care that his whole innocent act would be impossible to retain after today. Hell, Glyph was looking like she approved of the language... Well, practically everyone was now that she'd taken a quick look, spotting that and the hints of confusion, but those were understandable.
She still ignored that, even though she couldn't help but agree with the first part of that little tirade. "And Saint was just the last straw that broke the camels back."
Dragon tried to ignore the feeling of uncertainty curling in her gut, she knew Narwhal and Psychemon didn't care for her nature as an A.I, and that they even seemed to have a bet about her, which she had no idea how she didn't know about, but it was the rest of her teammates could take her reveal that caused her a sense of dread.
So far nothing seemed to be going wrong, but that could easily change, and the most likely source of that change was still staring at her. She held Wieldmaiden's gaze, she would be the most difficult to be accepted by due to her frequent rotations to Eagleton, but if she accepted her...
While she was thinking the subject of her thoughts seemed to come to a conclusion, nodding and looking both ashamed and remorseful. "I'm sorry that I asked, but I had too." Dragon sighed, she understood, she really did, but just because she understood why she asked didn't mean she liked having to answer.
Shaking her discomfort away, she doubled her efforts in calming her still growling Son, and gave Wieldmaiden a shaky smile. "I understand, but could we maybe move on from this topic?" As magnanimous as she had been, she did not possess infinite amounts of patience.
When everyone nodded, barring her Son who just glared at anyone who would've tried to say anything, they were back on track, while unfortunately leaving the fact there had been a bet about her that she hadn't known. The upside to that was that no one had seemed to mind that she was an A.I, and that meant the world to Tess.
They then discussed that the Dragonslayers had known she was an A.I, how they knew, and what spurred on their hunt for Psychemon. When she, and Psychemon who kept chiming in when he had things to add, finished their recounting of the whole ordeal, damages and casualties and all, there was silence for a bit. The whole event was probably one of the worst outside of a Endbringer or Slaughterhouse 9 visit, but they'd come out of it as best they could. The rest of them agreed on that front, and even though the casualties and repercussions of them were still something they'd need to handle, no one held it against Psychemon... They didn't even hold her nature against it either, the whole thing seemingly done and just something they knew about her now
All of that aside, the silence was inevitably broken by Glyph, who took off her mask to pointedly stared at her, eyes roaming her body once, then to Psychemon. "Dime Pinky, tienes más jugo MILF instantáneo?" The way she choked was not conductive to her continued survival.
Nor was the way her Son was cackling like a madman on her lap. (I'm going to go grey, aren't I?) And she was still not 100% certain that was possible or not. But that seemed to be what they needed as conversation returned to the table.
After that the talks inevitably reached their end, resulting in Narwhal bringing up their last topic. "And now there's the latest fuck up the PRT is responsible for." Oh dear, she knew where this was going. And going by the way her Son perked up in her lap, he did too. Their suspicions were confirmed when the picture of 'Weaver' in her Hero costume was projected on the table. "This is Weaver, a minor whose parent has essentially written her off and is currently under Dragon's protection." Eyes went to her for a moment before they went back to the projection. "She's intent on becoming a Hero despite the circumstances of her Trigger," And oh if that didn't make all of her colleagues stiffen at all of the implications that sentence created, especially with how she had started this off. "And is pretty much ready to immigrate to Canada to do so. We'll discuss her Power, what she is and can be capable of, then go from there. Any objections?" When no one said anything she nodded. "Very well, let's start with her Power..."
They talked for a good hour after that point, all of the Capes in the room outraged over the circumstances 'Weaver' had found herself in. Ooka may have thought the whole thing about Capes was ridiculous, but he wasn't heartless enough to disregard a child in pain.
Eventually the talks ended and the results were satisfactory for everyone.
And even at the end, when there was nothing stopping them from bringing it up, no one brought up her nature as an A.I... Well, not in a negative way, Ooka was just highly inquisitive about her existence, while Glyph and Wieldmaiden wanted to know more about her now that she didn't need to lie or anything. Moor was just fine with it, just slightly worried she'd see his search history... Which exasperated quite a few of them...
But all in all, she felt lighter then ever, and was content that her trust in her friends was not misplaced.
My headcanon is that Dragon is rich. You can't tell me the woman that builds dragon mechas isn't a millionaire at the very least.
Also, Moor isn't actually a Cape, but I thought he was since I looked at the PHO wiki first for that interlude and he had a Guild title... So uh, accidental OC-ish Cape I guess? Granted Wieldmaiden and Glyph aren't actually expanded upon in the Wikis further then they're there, but they atleast exist as Capes.
