Chapter 10

After my appointment with Armsmaster, I spent the rest of the morning in the hospital wing for a full medical exam, then had lunch in my room. In the afternoon, I did fitness testing at the in-base gym, measuring my body composition, endurance, strength, and flexibility. It wasn't that different from the tests we did once a year in gym class, minus having to constantly worry about whether my clothes would still be in my locker by the end of it.

The next day saw me going to the lab on level four, to demonstrate my power to a team of scientists who wanted to quantify it in its finest details.

The head scientist, a Hispanic woman in her fifties with tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses and a utilitarian haircut, introduced herself as Dr. Camila Martinez, and her assistant as PhD student Mark Roberts. He was tall and broad-shouldered in a way I would have expected someone with powers to be, rather than someone who studied them.

The first part of the tests was an interview, where I was asked numerous questions about my own observations and experiences, as well as the making of my costume, the materials of which they had analyzed already. That portion alone took two hours.

Afterward, I was sent outside in a van with Mark to gather as many bugs as possible, as well as test my range, which was done by leaving some spiders at the lab and notifying Mark when I lost track of them. The gathered swarm was packed into the back of the van, then we brought it to the lab — to the panic of the three people in suits who exited the elevator as I was about to enter it with an amorphous mass of bugs and a nonplussed intern.

I made a mental note that I would need a better way to get bugs in than through the elevator, in the future, but the lab had no windows.

Dr. Martinez first made me demonstrate various things I had mentioned in the interview portion, separating the bugs by species and age, shaping them as several decoys and making them walk, then run and try to talk, giving different orders to different bugs at the same time, using small bugs to track people's movements all over the building, and so on.

To test what I could do against criminals in the field, she had me cover a disturbingly enthusiastic Mark with bugs to tie him up with spidersilk. I then tried the same with zip ties and handcuffs, but the spidersilk remained easier and faster for the bugs to manipulate. Then, she called a full squad of officers to the parking lot and led me to the empty office across the hallway, which had a window, to send the bugs after them and tie them up while they tried to fight back in vain. After the bugs had untied them, I called them back through the window.

I demonstrated, on Mark again, whose enthusiasm truly seemed to have no bounds, that I could have hornets sting without coiling their abdomen, which meant that they weren't squeezing the venom sacs.

Dr. Martinez brought me a blank containment foam grenade, to see if bugs could pull the pin, and they could. They could also discern braille and Morse code, though I knew neither for now.

Afterward, Dr. Martinez began iterating with different criteria to push my limits.

I couldn't decode the visual information from my swarm? What if I isolated each type of bugs and only focused on one group at a time? One individual?

I found it easier to process than the patchwork of varying qualities of vision that the mixed swarm usually provided, even if it wasn't easy per say.

What if I isolated the dragonflies and focused only on their visual input, since they reportedly had the best vision out of all insects?

It was the reverse problem. Their vision was so sharp compared to mine that my brain had trouble recognizing what they were looking at, not to mention the fact that they could see at nearly 360 degrees, multiplied by seventeen dragonflies.

I tried one at a time, and it was still hard to wrap my head around the feedback it gave me.

What if I picked a species with simple eyes, instead of compound eyes?

I picked a snail, but its eyes couldn't focus or see color. I tried a caterpillar, but it didn't have a very good vision either. I then tried a jumping spider. Its peripheral vision was gray and blurry, extending to nearly 360 degrees, enough to make out shapes and motion. At the center of its field of vision was an x-shaped zone where everything was crisp and clear, with vibrant colors, some of which I didn't have a name for. I tried a regular spider for comparison, but its vision wasn't as clear. I related this to Dr. Martinez.

"Something to work on, maybe," she said, "to see if practice makes it easier."

I certainly would.

We did the same tests with hearing.

Not all bugs could hear; many sensed vibrations in a way that didn't translate to audible sound, but through trial and error, I found that grasshoppers were the easiest to listen through.

"They have a tympanum, similar to our ears," Mark explained. "Except that it's on their abdomen, but the principle is the same, with sound waves making the membrane vibrate. Some katydid reportedly have the most similar ears to us, so it makes sense that that family would be easier to listen through than the rest."

I nodded, part of me wondering where that fact came from, but Mark struck me as the type of person who was interested in everything, and accumulated a lot of knowledge about a lot of things as a result.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised. I'd expected to come in, demonstrate my power, and leave without learning anything, essentially wasting my time for the sake of procedures, but Dr. Martinez and Mark had good insights.

Enough that I asked them the question that had bugged me for a while, no pun intended: "Why does my range gets larger sometimes?"

"Can you give us examples?" Asked Dr. Martinez.

"In a meeting with my school principal and teachers. During the Leviathan fight. And after, when the heroes had me cornered, trying to push me to join the Wards."

"How would you say that you felt at the moment?"

I took a moment to think.

"Trapped, helpless. Powerless."

"Was that how you felt in the moments before your power emerged?"

I nodded.

"It has been reported that in many cases, powers work better the closer you are to the circumstances where they emerged."

"Reese and Manton have a publication on the subject," added Mark. "I can send it to you if you want. They say that powers emerge primarily to solve a problem, in their own twisted way, and that as a result, these are the circumstances in which they function optimally. It becomes their paradigm, the model by which they interact with the world."

"They make it sound like powers are sentient," I said.

"Now, that's a whole other debate. One of my peers is doing his doctorate on the subject and —"

"Don't bore the poor girl, Mark," interrupted Dr. Martinez. "We're all done for the bug part, so we'll grab some lunch to eat on the way and head to Norwalk for the rest."

The swarm congregated around me. The useful bugs, and the ones I wanted to practice with, went between my bodysuit and the tank top I wore underneath. I sent the rest outside through the window in the office across the hallway.

We grabbed sandwiches at the canteen, then Dr. Martinez led us to a dark blue Corolla in the parking lot, and I climbed in the backseat while Mark sat in the front.

The drive to Norwalk took forty-five minutes, during which Mark kept talking animatedly about the pharmaceutical uses of horseshoe crab's blood, and how wonderful it would be if I could control and breed them in large enough numbers to eliminate the need to harvest them from the wild. By the time we arrived at the Maritime Aquarium, I could have written a thesis on the subject. I also learned that they weren't really crabs, instead belonging to the same subphylum as arachnids and sea spiders, the Chelicerata, as they all shared the same type of fangs or pincers in their mouthparts.

Once we were inside, Dr. Martinez had a word with the girl at the reception, and a man joined us, dressed in a navy blue polo shirt with the aquarium's logo.

"Vincent Everson," he introduced himself with a handshake. "Associate Director of Animal Husbandry."

I didn't have a name to offer in return.

"Thank you for accommodating us so fast," said Dr. Martinez. "As we spoke on the phone, this is our latest recruit, new name pending. So far, she can control arthropods above microscopic size, annelids, Nematoida and Gastropoda. We've tested her power with terrestrial creatures, and now we're hoping to discern which marine creatures she can affect."

"Of course. Come with me."

He guided us through the different exhibits, pointing out various species as I reached out with my power.

The crabs weren't surprising. I already knew it. Neither were the lobsters, shrimps, krill and other variations on the same theme. There were also aquatic worms in the habitats, as well as limpets, sea spiders, sea snails and slugs, all of which I could feel.

I couldn't control plankton, seahorses (which I learned were technically fishes), jellyfishes, anemones, clams, sea cucumbers, starfishes, sea urchins, or octopuses. Dr Martinez took note of it all, crossing out Bivalvia, Echinodermata, and Cephalopoda from the evolutionary tree she had printed out. It seemed to all make sense to her.

Then, we arrived at an exhibit dedicated to research about horseshoe crabs, and Mark could barely contain his excitement when I confirmed that they fell under my power.

Vincent introduced Arthur Platt, who studied the horseshoe crabs and matched Mark in excitement when he learned what I could do.

"We have a whole lab set up to study their physical processes, food preferences and breeding behavior. And you get all of that information just like that?"

"For some of it though, I'd have to observe them over a longer period of time," I specified.

"Can you? This is invaluable research. So far, we have trouble getting them to breed in captivity, as they're particularly picky about where and when they lay their eggs. If we can figure out the optimal conditions to breed them, this would be a game changer for the species as a whole, as well as the pharmaceutical industry! We can provide a few individuals, and even a suitable tank if you're willing to share your insights with us."

I glanced at Dr. Martinez, who nodded at me.

"Sure. I can flip the biological switch of the ones you have here to tell them to breed, if you want."

I never thought I'd see a forty-something man squee with excitement over something I'd said.

Afterward, Vincent escorted us back to the reception, and insisted on gifting me a horseshoe crab plushy from the gift store.

We thanked him for his time and retreated to the car.

During the ride back home, I put ideas to paper about potential costumes and names. I had a meeting with the head of Image on Friday, and I wanted to be prepared. But first, I needed more information.

Clockblocker was manning the console when I came back to headquarters.

I hesitated, notebook in one hand and horseshoe crab plushy in the other.

"Yes?" He asked after a moment, turning to look at me. His tone was curious rather than snappy like I had anticipated, but it still made me second-guess what I was about to do. I swallowed to clear my voice, but he spoke before I did.

"What is that?" He asked, pointing at the plushy.

"A horseshoe crab. I just came back from the aquarium in Norwalk for power testing."

"You can control that? Please tell me the real thing's smaller."

"No, it's about the real size. They can grow up to two feet."

The helmet hid his horror, but the extended silence did not.

"That's not a bug," he finally said.

"According to my power, it is."

I continued, switching to my reason for seeking him out.

"But that's not why I'm here. I wanted to apologize, for what I did at the bank. I'm sorry."

He looked at me for a long moment before glancing back at the monitors.

"Are you, though?"

"I am. I was from the moment I gave the order."

"Why do it, then?"

I thought back to that moment at the bank.

"Had to keep you from tagging Bitch's dogs."

"Was that really the only way?"

"I didn't think you would use your power on them."

"I panicked. I think had enough reason to."

"I cleared the ones you didn't reach as soon as I noticed. I didn't want you to suffocate."

"How considerate."

"I'm sorry," I repeated. What more did he want me to say?

"What about the rest of it? Are you sorry you robbed a bank? That you took hostages? That you attacked the fundraiser?"

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Armsmaster said that you wanted to be a hero. That's a funny definition of heroism."

"I had reasons at the time."

"Right. You did it because Coil wanted you to. How does that make you a hero?"

"I met the Undersiders on my first night out in costume, and they mistook me for a villain. When they offered me a place in their group, I decided to roll with it to get info on them and turn them in."

"Great job with that."

"The bank robbery was to make them trust me. Taking hostages the way I did was to prevent anyone from playing hero and getting themselves or others injured."

"Injured by your group."

"I didn't say it was a perfect plan. Just that it was the best I could come up with."

"What about Bakuda's rampage?"

"What about it?"

"Word is that it started because of the Undersiders."

"She came after us, as revenge for Lung's capture. We fought back and managed to get away by the skin of our teeth. We're not responsible for what she did after."

"Speaking of Lung, Armsmaster was benched for using excessive force to the point that they had to call Panacea in an emergency, but it wasn't him, was it? She talked about bug bites and necrotizing tissues."

"I overheard Lung ordering his gang to kill children on my first night out in costume, so I intervened. I didn't know it at the time, but he was talking about the Undersiders."

"Alright, I guess I can understand that one. Still, necrotizing tissue?"

"He can heal."

"Is that a reason to use excessive force?"

"With him, it's excessive force or nothing."

"Does that have anything to do with why his eyes were carved out the second time he was brought in custody?"

I shifted my weight. With one foot, Clockblocker pushed the chair next to him toward me, and I took the offered seat.

"It was to make sure he wouldn't slip away this time. Again, he heals."

"Panacea healed him."

"He would have regenerated on his own within a couple of months. At least, that's what Tattletale said."

"It would be easier to believe if I knew what her power was."

"Sorry. Not betraying that."

"Again, that's a funny definition of hero, protecting villains and covering for them."

"She's my friend."

"What happens if we have to go after the Undersiders? Whose side are you going to be on then?"

"Director Piggot said that I'll be benched for any confrontation with the Undersiders."

"And we all know those things are always planned in advance. What if we happen upon them and a fight erupts? How can we count on you to have our back when fighting your friends?"

"What about So— Shadow Stalker? Can I count on you to fight her if it comes down to it? Wasn't she a teammate, a friend?"

"Teammate, sure. Friend? That's a strong word, one I don't think is part of her vocabulary. I'd prefer not to fight her, but I'd do it if it came down to it, because that's the right thing to do. Can you say the same?"

I wasn't sure I could give an honest answer to that.

"Thought so. Speaking of Shadow Stalker, you said I don't know her as well as I think I do. Care to enlighten me? What am I missing? What did she do?"

"Not your business."

"It kinda is, if you treat us as complicit."

"It's personal."

"And we have to take you at your word, since she's not here to defend herself."

"She lost that privilege when she tried to murder me in the hospital."

"Fair enough, I'll skip that one for now. How about the fundraiser?"

"I did it to find out who the Undersiders' boss was."

"And, to your credit, you actually shared that information. But it also led to Armsmaster being demoted, which you said was part of Coil's plan."

"Can't say I'm sorry for him. From what I've seen, Miss Militia seems like a better leader."

"She's easier to get along with, sure, but it still means finding our footing at a time where there's much more important stuff going on. Let's see, what else… Purity's rampage? The people she killed? She blamed you guys for leaking the Empire's identities."

"Coil was responsible for the leak, and Kaiser purposely let his people draw the wrong conclusion to send them after us. If I recall correctly, we were the ones to put an end to her carnage."

"By putting a baby in a dangerous situation."

"A baby taken by the PRT from a known villain, with predictable consequences."

"Fair. I guess identity shit is 'fuck around and find out' territory."

The radio crackled awake.

"Console, this is Vista. Group of twelve or so unpowered are raiding houses and terrorizing the families who live there. Kid and I are stepping in."

"Roger that," answered Clockblocker. "Relaying it to the police. Good luck."

He fiddled with the buttons and repeated the message.

"Acknowledged," came the answer in a tinny voice.

He glanced back at me. I waited a second to see if he would start on something else, then brought up my other reason for seeking him.

"I have a meeting with the Image department on Friday," I said. "When Legend mentioned it, you seemed to have an opinion on the matter."

"Maureen isn't that bad. She's the local head of Image. But I've heard that Glenn is coming all the way from New York just to see you."

"Should I be worried?"

"Sure, if you actually like looking like a biblical plague and shoving bugs down people's throats."

"I think I can do without."

"Even then, I'm sure they'll have a field day with you. Some people spend years without getting Glenn's attention, and lucky you, you get it right from the start."

"He's that bad?"

"He's his own special brand of awful. When I picked my name and announced it in front of a live camera so they couldn't retract it, they punished me with intensive lessons with Glenn. They do that every time someone messes up in public. Good on you for securing veto rights, otherwise I can't guarantee they wouldn't have gone down the Princess Butterfly route, if they found it was the most kid-friendly way to market your power."

"Right."

How could I present my power in a kid-friendly way that didn't involve butterflies and didn't severely cripple my abilities?

I thanked him and retreated to my alcove to mull over it.