January the 17th 2012
It was a cold overcast Tuesday. Armsmaster was working in his with Dragon in her lab when she stopped what she was doing. And waved to his suit. As he turned to look in that direction his phone started buzzing with alerts. Rather than pick up he entered the armor let it adjust around him and brought up the synaptic controls.
"Armsmaster here."
"It's Sere, I'm the dispatch today. We have a report from Brockton General sir. The sensors show the Chrysalis has shattered and vanished. I'm calling Danger Industries right now and-"
"Tell him to hang up I'm already talking to PAL. Melinda is on her way." Dragon said as she stepped into Colin's sight in one of her newer armors and opened the roof access
"Did you get that Sere? Dragons made the side call so you can drop it. Warn the PRT and Wards. Then call Assault and Battery."
Unexpectedly when they arrived they found Nova flanked by two giant stuffed gorillas. Parian from New Wave was talking to Nova who was wrapped in a blanket that was being transformed into something more like a costume. PRT agents who had pulled security detail were standing nearby. They were facing out to keep watch. One waved for him and Dragon to land nearby outside their perimeter.
"Tinker date night. Sir?"
"Yeah yeah, at least I'm getting some unlike you Jamesison." he countered.
The nearest agent snorted as Armsmaster continued past the perimeter and forwards. He could overhear the speech within now.
"Actually, I thought you were Japanese."
"What? Why?"
"You've heard of Lolita fashion?"
"Oh? Yeah, I guess that does make sense."
Both stopped to look toward the now closer Armsmaster.
"First thing first. I need to know what to call you."
Nova's face fell "Oh Jesus Christ. I guess I can't go back to being Mary."
"You could but with your Mother and Brothers living openly in the city, it might be a touch awkward" Dragon offered.
"You weren't disoriented upon awakening?" Armsmaster asked.
"No, the weather told me it wasn't Summer anymore. Then they came out and were able to give me the date. Then Parain here showed up hot on their heels."
"I was working in Panacea's lab with the medical mesh. I always have a few bolts of cloth on hand for emergencies. The PRT owns Nova are you sure that's the costume you want?"
"I'm not really Eos or Rogue Star anymore. Hey- Don't let her through!"
Armsmaster spun to see Melinda Danger walking up to the security line.
"That's your Mother," Dragon asked.
"I know who it is. I don't want to talk to her right now."
The agent held his hand up with a command to stop but Melinda became barely visible and continued onward. Nova floated up into the air until she was barely within range of hearing.
"I do not want to talk to you." She loudly intoned.
"Melinda back off," Dragon ordered.
"That's my Daughter," she said returning to visibility.
"We know who she is," Armsmaster said echoing Nova's proclamation.
"I am not happy about this." Melinda proclaimed striking a defiant stance.
"I don't require you to be. I do require you to comply." Dragon replied.
Melinda looked about seeing no sympathetic faces she replied. "This is what you get when you resist I guess."
"Mame go Rage Against the Machine elsewhere." Parain tiredly snarked.
"Fine, but only because you were cultured enough to get the reference," Melinda said turning away.
After a few minutes, Nova descended.
"Thank you."
"Do you want to tell us what that was about?" Armsmaster asked.
"Not really but you do deserve some sort of answer," she answered.
She looked down lost in thought and just as Parain fidgeted she continued.
"She blames me for my father's death and I blame her for the same. Complex family drama mixed with her being ardently anti-Terat. The group I infiltrated and stole the secrets of the chrysalis from. I am mostly fine but I'm not ready to listen to her insist I was weak to call on the power of the chrysalis, or backhandedly blame me for what happened to Dad."
"That sounds like a good reason to me and by her own admission, you are a legal adult. We'll have to get you new papers." Armsmaster said gently.
"And living arrangements I suppose. God, I'll bet they are pissed."
"Assault and Battery? They've had a few months to talk to your family and come to terms. I think they blame John more than you. He seems to be a popular target for ire these days." Dragon explained.
"I'm going to have to get back up to speed. Does anyone have the high points?"
"Let's see you missed a lot. The Situation in Boston was resolved. Some unknown force possibly connected to the Mathers Family took control of the Teeth and remnant E88. While everyone was busy with the Nine they vanished. They turned back up in Canada. The group destroyed Heart Breaker's compound and captured the man himself. Most of his kids sought refuge here and Joined the Undersiders. Regent was the child of Heartbreaker called Hijack. We suspected it but now it's a proven fact." Armsmaster started.
"A new Endbringer attacked here with temporal powers. The Fortress hurt him when it executed Leviathan. We've had one other attack. Simurgh hit a server farm outside Beijing. The Yangban fought her off but we don't know much about what happened." Dragon added.
"So we're due another?" Nova asked.
"Yes soon. We've made progress in preparation. We'll see how much it helps." She answered.
"Your younger brother John is officially a Ward. He doesn't patrol much. He's often doing work for Watchdog or the PRT. He's one of our key counters to Simurgh." Armsmaster revealed.
"Justin has been hard at work in the lab and streaming webisodes. Our tech base is racing forward. We've started exporting some to arm our allied and affiliated groups overseas. Pledges to attend Endbringer events are up significantly. I've helped several parahumans link up to form groups to advance projects across a broad spectrum of science." Dragon said, nodding towards Parain.
"I wouldn't call what I do science. Engineering may be, structural meshes that can strengthen cuts in flesh or breaks in bone. They can be absorbed by the body over time so there is no need to take them out. The test cases show mildly increased strength once the procedure has run its course. So this might be able to replace skin grafts, metal plates, and rods for bones and that sort of thing." Parain expounded.
"Outfit looks good, Parain. Mom will likely be camping out to ambush me when I go see the twins. How about I don't put off the other uncomfortable conversation and go talk to the team." Nova asked.
"If you're up for it," Dragon replied.
"You will of course have reports to fill out the sooner the better," Armsmaster added.
"The beast that never dies. Yeah I'm good with filling out observations from the fight, my real history whatever you want."
"I can take notes while you tell the story and work it into an official report." Dragon offered.
Soon the three were at the PRT building as it was closer than the Protectorate HQ and the Wards were already there.
Nova first gave an overview of the Aberrant Earth. The politics of power and how forces like the Teregen filled the world with fear. The more monstrous members take the slur Aberrant as a badge of pride as they cast off everything that once made them human.
"It started to get to the point that if you didn't volunteer the bulk of your time to a charity people wondered what you were plotting. Even then everyone was still looking for scandals in the charitable organizations." Nova explained.
"From what John said the Capes who supported those charities ended up working slave hours," Missy interjected.
"John is biased but there is some truth to that. No one directly has a gun to their head but as legal restrictions started it was so what we say or else. Not helping? Maybe you need an ankle monitor. Not doing extra shifts? Well, you have to move to where we can watch you for dangerous leanings.
Nation by nation bit by but freedoms were curtailed on behalf of security. On behalf of paranoia. It was just starting in earnest when Justin's show got canned. I was part of a training team like the Wards upon turning eighteen we'd have a spot waiting on the Titians based in Detroit. The government contracts were severed just a few months before my birthday.
The team's financial backer Marcus Hightower couldn't bankroll the full operations without government support. Without some legal authority, there wasn't much the Titians could do at any rate. So we were going to be let go without the jobs we'd signed up for.
Mom and Dad were set to disappear, laying low till it all blew over. I didn't like that. I needed to do something. Marcus offered me a different job. I had been public with my disappointment with the program's cancellation. I wasn't quiet about my disillusionment with the government's treatment of Nova's either. Umm, parahumans." Nova amended
"We all know about John's stupid joke setting you up to get the name Nova. Which is slang for any Parahuman like Cape is here." Miss Militia explained.
"Right well. Marcus explained he was working behind the scenes he had made inroads with the anti-Nova politicians. They saw the false face of a man who was using Novas to advance his own agendas. Meanwhile, he worked on securing a future not just for Nova kind but for everyone who wanted to live in peace.
They planned to retreat from Earth. The foundation of a secret colony but they needed knowledge. Teregen had secrets. Their founder Divis Mal was also one of the founders of the Aeon Society, a lower-powered superhero team from before the Second World War. The Teriat and particularly the Aberrants seemed to advance in power far faster than anyone else. We needed to know how and what the downside of this was."
"The secret was that Chrysalis?" Battery asked.
"It was. It's a process- no wait, best I back up a bit. Eruption gaining Nova powers isn't as traumatic as a Parahuman trigger event. That doesn't mean they are easy. Like what you're familiar with being a generational Cape does make it easier. But during the process, we literally are disembodied and forced to remake ourselves with the power of our sense of self. During that process, changes can be made. You can come out taller, more bulky, more beautiful, or socially adroit. Or you can sacrifice some of your humanity if you don't feel connected to people and come out more alien."
"This was the path of the Aberrant?" Dragon asked.
"The Chrysalis mimics eruption when you first erupt you are human and have a firmly rooted human identity. The more you revel in being inhuman the less centered you become. From twenty degrees off-center the middle starts to look like an extreme and the extreme is far less repulsive. It doesn't have to go bad but it takes genuine effort and hard work to keep your mind centered and your will focused.
Also, the ego it takes to purposely put yourself back into that place. To some extent, you have to have an unshakable faith in your ability. A sharp edge to walk thinking so highly of yourself and not looking down on everyone else." Nova said pausing lost in internal thought.
"You infiltrated the Teriat?" Armsmaster prodded.
"I did. I attached myself to a playboy with a taste for barely legal women. Then I networked within his social circle and broke out into other cliques. Jeremiah Scripture, Divis Mal's second in command, told me he always knew I was a spy but didn't care. He was sure the philosophy would win over any love for people who hated me."
"You didn't stay with them. You returned the mission completed." Battery said sure it was true.
"Yes, Marcus exfiltrated me to his Asteroid supposedly a mine and mineral processing center. In reality, it was a massive FTL ship. Upon study of what I learned, there was a rift in his allies, and a few left us. They joined the Teriat. They sought to gain enough power that any demands from baseline humanity could be ignored. They likened it to adults ignoring the squalling of a toddler's tantrum.
It wasn't long before things broke into open war. I had left weeks before it all broke down. Marcus put his network into overdrive pulling people in. Out of caution, Teregenis was forbidden. They had found safer slower paths to power. I resented that. I had sacrificed so much to gain that knowledge. When my family missed their link-up with the groups being quietly pulled away it was too much.
Aberrants were coming for the Othys they wanted to slaughter the humans steal its technology and escape. Marcus made the choice to launch. I made the choice not to abandon my family. It was dangerous going back. Even harder to pick up the trail of people trying to hide.
Their first hiding place was slaughtered early on before the ultimatum for all Nova to abandon the earth. A roving Aberrant pack who hunted small weak communities attacked. Mom had wanted to slip away. Dad and grandpa Jacob wouldn't. It cost Jacob his life. After that, they rescued the psiads from the Bauer Center where John had been getting training. Then they vanished again.
They saved the people of Iron City. The new FSA government wiped out the survivors. Cleaner narrative nothing to distract from hating every Nova. John took Jacobs' death pretty hard. He took the civilians being killed anyway harder."
Missy shook her head in discomfort. "He only told me a little about it. I'm pretty sure it still weighs on him pretty heavily."
"John found me his gestalt with the Punks scanned for trouble frequently. Even trying to be stealthy I definitely was trouble. I couldn't ignore everything. I could turn my cheek from insult but not my back from suffering. I tried to balance staying clandestine and refusing to do nothing in the face of tyranny. Even after being brought to the refuge I struggled to do something, no matter how small to help others.
Mom is convinced that is how they found us. I think it was just our luck running out. No one can hide forever. When the FSA task force closed Mom wanted to abandon everyone who wasn't family. Dad and I weren't having it. We tried to negotiate terms for the humans among our refugees to get out. They said they were passing it up the chain and retreated to form a perimeter.
When they launched a mini nuke we knew we'd been betrayed. Dad took the blast, absorbing more energy than was safe. I destroyed the launch platform. The soldiers- no I won't give them the honor of that title. The uniformed killers the FSA sent started executing the panicked civilians.
The battle is just images. I remember a little girl, Laurie, who was only eight. They used a flamethrower. I didn't use my rays on that monster. I ripped his suit, crushed his fuel tanks, and let him burn."
Nova stared into space lost in the memory. Everyone else sat quietly thinking about what she'd revealed.
"They were probably hand-picked for that sort of task, like the Nazi concentration camp guards. Men for whom a license for brutality was attractive." Armsmaster said.
"No doubt. I was in such a rage but I snapped out of it when I heard Dad start screaming. He couldn't hold the power. It was breaking down his body faster than he could utilize it. I flew to his side and tried to use my aura to stabilize him. I think- god help me. I think I just prolonged his suffering.
He exploded with toxic energy. The flash wave killed everyone that hadn't made it into the mountain. Everyone but me. It knocked me out. I woke up confused and tried to find my way. The mine was sealed from the inside. Mom had to ferry people in with her power to phase.
I don't know how long I looked for her before she found me. Justin had hit some while seeking a pocket dimension to escape to. It was Drake's ship the Aetherial Traveler. He had to help repair it and send it on to clear a clean path to another world. While they did I was recovering from toxic Flux poisoning.
I had a big fight with Mom and the Psiads including John. I wanted to speed the recovery with a chrysalis. They were convinced that Terragenesis would lead to me becoming a monster. Justin was not convinced that was true but was heavily outvoted.
Just after that, we ended up here. One of the first things we noticed was there seemed to be a group of conspirators who researched powers and victimized people by making Case 53s. Justin contemplated how to lure them out. Bocephus and Mom had the idea they pitched for me to go undercover. They sold John on helping. He could implant subconscious aids to help with trauma processing.
We didn't exactly have any counselors or psychologists with us. I knew I was having issues. I also knew if I didn't get away from Mom for a while we were going to come to blows. So I took the mission. Only Cauldron never showed up to kidnap me or interrogate me. I did make some new friends and have time to work on my grief. Hopefully, they're willing to forgive that I wasn't upfront with them. None of you was the target. You were just swept up in the deception."
"I'm just surprised you tried to catch Cauldron. No one seems to take them seriously." Weld opined.
"It's hard to convince bureaucrats to authorize a search for smoke when there are tangible threats in plain sight. Your frustration is very understandable." Armsmaster added.
"Our place is still open to you. I don't blame you for wanting to address a wrong. Going after Cauldron took guts." Battery spoke up.
"Whatever I do, I've put you two in a tight spot. How did you explain Mary's disappearance?"
"Relapse from your brain injury. We have a plan to slot you back in if you're willing to resume the ID. We can have you healed by the local swell in medical tech and taking special home classes due to the injuries." Armsmaster informed her.
"That would give Jane and Ethan the least problems," Nova admitted.
"Do what's best for you. We'll weather things regardless." Assault cut in.
"Provisionally I think I will. I do want to talk to Justin and John before I make up my mind."
"You can meet in my lab if you want. It's a neutral place." Dragon offered.
"I think that might be best, thank you."
Sullivan Research Center
A monitor was replaying a podcast. The lone viewer had seen it many times. It was from shortly after Doctor Danger had started working on the Fortress. Officially he wasn't a villain anymore. He still was dishing out strongly worded opinions on the world of Capes and the government regulations of it.
"Time to answer some fan requests. Now that I'm not blacklisted on PHO I have been semi-active there. Yes, I use bots to do some of my posts but your chances of me seeing your messages are fair. You wouldn't believe how fast I can read if I told you. That brings me to this nice little direct message from GstringGirl. Let's see here.
'Dear Doctor Danger.' Wow, very formal, ok. 'Doctor I know you're not the relationship sort of doctor but I have serious issues. I have included a few files so you will know the context but I would appreciate you not making them public.' Oh? Let's see. Oh, I see ok. Carrying on. 'I have an online friend I chat with and sometimes play games with I didn't ask for one but he sent me a picture. He wants a picture back. He's not pushing for anything racy or the like but I think you can see why I have body issues.' Ah, I think I see where this is going. 'He has been a good friend but my unwillingness to send him a picture is driving a wedge. He suspects I have something to hide. I thought maybe if I reached out to you, you could help. Could you maybe let my friend XxVoid_CowboyxX know I'm not some creeper or scammer messing with him? Sincerely yours' And I'm going to stop there she used her real name to sign off."
Justin adjusted his goggles. He looked about a bit then returned to looking into the camera.
"Ok listen up little sister the first thing I'm going to tell you is never be afraid to be yourself. I know you have it rough. I know that sounds like easy advice. I know some are going to ask, wasn't I hiding what I was when the world wanted to kill me? That's a false equivalence and they know it. You are facing a lot of hardship and I'm sure you don't have much of a support structure to help you. Do not let that make you doubt your self-worth. The universe is a treasury of rare and exquisite things. Not one particle of it lacks a fascinating story. The Iron in our bodies bore witness to a supernova. The DNA in our makeup traces an unbroken path back to the beginnings of life on this planet. You are a unique perspective on the universe, one that can never be exactly matched no matter how many alternate universes you sift through. I never want you to doubt the validity of your own existence.
Next, I don't know this VoidCowboy. I can kind of understand being afraid of unsavory sorts on the Net. I mean it's sort of like running into someone in a dark alley. You know why you're in the alley but why are they here? I'm going to give him a little leeway, not a fan of putting pressure on someone but there is something to fear out there so we'll let that slide for now. Still, watch that behavior in the future to make sure it doesn't continue in less forgivable situations.
So Cowboy I'm flagging you on this so it will show up in your feed. You have a very special friend who most definitely is not some perv or a scammer. So be nice to her. She has some self-worth issues and needs friends, not judgment. So lay off on the pressure you're safe. You two kids go back to playing games and chatting cause from Cowboy's message history he needs a friend too Jesus dude. You have a terminal case of foot-in-mouth and Tinfoil hat diseases. "
The camera suddenly zoomed into an extreme close-up. It also changed to black and white instead of color.
"And I swear to God if you hurt her after I warned you she was vulnerable I will come to your house and-"
The screen turned black as red words appeared on the screen.
The program then ended.
Sveta smiled and ordered the verbal controls to shut down the feed. She browsed a few other memorable things until a chime alerted her that someone wanted her.
"Sveta, Greg is here if you want to load up into your prosthetic suit.
"Be ready in a minute." She called back.
Greg had seen her use her suit before he had also visited before she had it when there was a glass wall between them. He was her oldest friend. She was quite aware of his flaws. Greg was very socially awkward. He would charge across someone else's attempt at conversation like a bull trampling grass. He was loud. It was almost like he thought his volume could impart others with some of his fervor for the topic he was speaking of.
He did however try to be a good friend. He didn't push for more than friendship. To be sure a bit of it was his pride at having a Cape friend. It wasn't all of it. He certainly had a layer of genuine concern and desire to be a good friend even if he often lacked the skills to figure out the best path to do that.
At times he could do things surprisingly thoughtful. Today for example was her first pass. She had passed every test. She was good at dealing with emergency scenarios that might crop up. Suit power failure, breached containment, sudden villain attack. She was ready for whatever.
Greg had gotten them signed up for autographs and a few minutes to speak with Union and Weaver. Despite being local, that was a rare thing. Union was counted as near Triumvirate level in smaller fights and definitely their equal in large ones. His membership in New Wave thrust them back into the spotlight.
Union had convinced Lightstar to rejoin the group. Then Parain had joined them. Then recently Gallant graduated from the Wards. Rather than go into the Protectorate he had revealed his identity as Dean Stanfield and joined New Wave.
The group was flush with cash from getting deals with Danger Industries, Stanfield Shipping, Dragon Laboratories, and the Sullivan Research Center. Union had a Merch deal that rivaled any Protectorate hero and Weaver had partial credit on numerous bounties. Her tracking and information gathering were top-notch.
Union always took time to push some agendas that were important to him and that is what cleared his schedule for today. He was doing a benefit for a network of trade schools. Union talked up the need for more youth to learn the trades and rebuild the world's infrastructure frequently. Today he was helping fund and promote a new program that would get more people into jobs faster. It would let cooperation between trade unions and the school allow students to get credits while on the job.
Sveta thought it sounded like a good idea. Better for the students to get paid work to add student credit than for the schools to use unpaid courses to make themselves money anyhow.
She started funneling her tendrils into the android body. It was much like the ones Miko and Elisaveta used. This one was modified, filled with tubes that channeled her tendrils. It lacked a head having a weird shape on top of the neck. Once she was in place it locked around the back of her head. The brain technology interface activated both giving her control of the robot form. It also reinforces the modification Sullivan and Panacea had made to her.
Her tendrils quieted their reflexive actions and integrated into the robot as a nearly seamless part of the whole. She ran her checklist to be sure. When everything came back green she stepped out of the booth.
Greg smiled at her. "Hey girl, are you ready?"
"Looks like. So this is at the community college?"
"Yeah, I picked up a bus pass. Now you can flash this rather than scrambling for change."
"Hey, thanks." Sveta waved at a few people as she passed through the halls.
Along the trip to the Trade school, Greg regaled her with facts about how you earn the newest cosmetics in a game. It wasn't one Sveta was playing but she decided to let Greg ramble about it in detail. White noise while she focused on doing some internal exercises. Sure she'd have preferred to talk about something else. She realized by the time she got Greg to the stop and picked up another topic the bus ride would already be over.
More of her kind were coming to Brockton. Sullivan was having unprecedented success in helping physically transformed capes. Her efforts to improve quality of life drew contributions from across the globe.
They exited the bus and walked towards the Brockton Bay Center for Education and Industry. There were clouds of color moving about in beautiful patterns above the BBCEI.
"Yup, Weaver is here. I used to go to class with her. We didn't talk much. She got bullied a lot. I used to daydream that I could do something about it and she'd be my friend or something. I always chickened out. Better to keep being the object of quiet derision than open hate.
God I sucked. I mean I tried to talk to her but I should have manned up and taken a stand. It's what Danger or Weld would have done." Greg admitted.
"We can't change our past, Greg. We can only do better going forward."
"Yeah, such a dork you have had real issues to overcome if you can keep going and trying to overcome what business do I have giving up?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I received a letter from the Protectorate. If my next round of tests go well I could join the Wards."
"You working for Weld? Dream come true! That would be like getting an internship at Danger Industries level cool!"
"Yeah, being a hero would eat up a lot of time. I'm also worried I mean- I'm still dangerous on some level. I don't want to hurt anyone again. Not if they don't deserve it I mean I..."
Greg started to talk then stopped almost comically. He seemed to think better of his initial phrasing and tried again.
"Yeah, I think I get ya. Control issues. Sveta, you are far too cool to let fear hold you back. Hell look at what I was just saying fear held me back. If I had been brave maybe I'd have a sweet job working as a minion for our lady of the biblical plagues."
Sveta snorted and gave Greg a light punch on the shoulder "She's reformed doofus."
"Maybe still scary as all hell. Can you imagine being like that villain in Utah? You wake up to find your webbed to your bed like a cacoon? Then your door bursts open and you have the Arclance in your face?"
"True," Sveta admitted.
"Hello everyone." Union's voice called out over the sound system. In the small greenway in the center of the multiple school building, he stood on top of a short stage.
"You all know me, I'm sure. You also know I'm not here as some big-shot Cape coming to lend his name for a fat check or even to cash in on easy publicity.
I'm a Brocktonite the same as you. I'm still a dues-paying member of the Dock Worker Union who lives right where he always had. I put up a fresh coat of paint and fixed the steps, however."
The crowd gave a chuckle. Union waved to a few people "Paul over there can tell you that set of steps nearly sent him on his butt once. Definitely wasn't the beer right?"
"Never" came the shouted reply.
"Our town has come a long way. We have so much to be proud of. But we can't go rest just yet. All this new business and construction requires workers and workers need know-how. That is what this program is all about. I've looked it over Brandish's people looked it over there aren't any hidden traps or deceitful terms here.
Good work for good pay. The sort that lets people get back on their feet and build a home, maybe a family. So we can keep building a better Brockton. Now does that sound like something you want?"
The crowds yelled back affirmation.
"Good, that's just what I like to hear. Now some of you may have heard a rumor there was some sort of surprise and seeing Taylor's bug ballet up there though hey that's the surprise. It's a neat show to be sure. That's not the surprise however Weaver just got home from a mission early so she came to join the fun and spend a day with the old man.
The real surprise? You might smell some burgers and dogs cooking. Have you ever had a burger cooked by a superhero? Mark Dallon and I are the ones who are manning these grills. Lean out and give a wave Mark!"
"Cooked by Flashbang but not flash fried," Mark exclaimed, leaning out from behind a windbreak set up around the grills.
"Line on up folks I'm going to get back behind the grill and spell Mark while he gets a soda. We have live music from the local band Wolfpack our Brockton TV and Radio affiliates are passing out merch. We've got a table right over there where the school admin can sign you up for these new programs! Take it away Wolfpack."
The band took the stage as Union descended and took up a spatula Mark passed him. Greg looked to be over the moon.
"I'm going to get one of those burgers!"
Sveta laughed and followed him to the line. Things were looking up in the Bay. Maybe things were looking up all over?
Aberrant Earth
Samuel Rodrguez was savoring every minute of his run. He wasn't ignoring his mission or endangering the group. Within those confines he was stealing every moment he could to see just a bit more, smell the natural odors no space facility had, to feel real wind and rain on his face, to hear wild birds again.
Years in a pressurized can even one built with the ingeniousness of Quantum could not compare. Maybe someday Terminus would have a comparable biosphere. It still would have an uphill battle to match this. Mother Earth, the original home. He could only hope someday the children of the stars and those of the earth could share this beautiful treasure.
It was a good dream, one worth fighting for. A dream he had almost died fighting for. Sadly it wasn't a dream they could fight for today. He took another three seconds to do a last winding path through what was once Vancouver. He then dashed off across the ocean waves and activated his beacon.
Materializing on the bridge of the Ithaca Bound he waved at Hightower.
"Traced the guys using Justin's portal to Vancouver. The city is mostly empty. The FSA is rebuilding it from the ground up around some new technology. They claim it's not NovaTech but I have my doubts.
This group has dug its way deep into the FSA. All three are pretty big standard humans other than a cybernetics interface they are working on for the Cascade project. I just don't know about them. They don't feel like anyone Justin would send."
"They may not be. Then again best we wait to find out for sure. I spent my fair share of time sucking up to US and FS racists alike." Marcus answered.
"Those, the coordinates to the universe Justin's in?" Sam asked, nodding at the screen Marcus was contemplating.
"Hum? Oh, these no. This is proof that crazy bastard Divis Mal was at least close to the genius he thought he was."
"Ahh the coordinates of the dimension he took the Teregen to?"
"Of the Universe he created for them. The math proves it didn't exist until he willed it to form. He was highjacking a natural process. Even with nature doing the heavier work it's pretty damn impressive."
"His own universe? Here I thought having our own planet was pretty swanky." Sam said with a smile.
Both men turned as the teleporter activated again the stylized metal body of Jason formed. He was an eight-foot-tall knight with wings of steel. The wings and sword he had in hand were dripping red blood and some unidentifiable black ichor.
"It seems there has been something hidden deep under the Artemis colony. I fear our presence, even cloaked, has made it stir in its slumber."
"Aggressive?" Sam asked in jest.
"Extremely." Jason replied while wiping off his sword. He then disconnected a wing and started to clean it. He paused to pull a four-inch fang out from between steel 'feathers'.
"large as well. Hungry I would guess. From its fixation on gnawing on me."
Marcus shook his head. "Sam go round up the others, let's head out and check on Justin before we excite- whatever that is anymore. I wouldn't want to wake mister toothy up any more than we have."
"Yeah, I don't think I want the Lunar colony becoming a buffet on my conscience."
As Sam beamed back to earth Marcus Hightower prepped the Ithaca Bound for dimensional transit.