The villains approaching me were the Undersiders. I'd read what I could about them online, but the information was surprisingly scarce. But from skimming their thoughts I deduced that one of them, Tattletale, was a pericognitiant. She could pick up the smallest details and extrapolate information from there. An incredibly useful ability. And incredibly annoying.
She didn't know I was a telepath yet. She heard the scream but just thought it was a sonic attack of some kind. But reading the skeins of fate I could see she would discover it if I didn't do something. I twisted the threads and forced the future down a different route. A different line of interaction that would skirt around that fact.
I started lying with my body. Changing my demeanor, my movements, my micro expressions, and the subtle tones of my voice. I was learning from Tzeentch how to lie and I was better at it than most but I wasn't great at this sort of thing yet. Especially when it came to something so intensely detail oriented. But I hoped it would be enough to conceal certain elements of my powers and personality. At least the parts I really didn't want to get out.
Skimming their thoughts, I learned Tattletale was vaguely considering recruiting me, depending on how this meeting went.
How interesting… Maybe I could use this to my advantage somehow. I wouldn't be joining them, obviously. I wanted to be a hero so I could get in the good graces of the Protectorate and PRT so I could influence them to my own ends. But perhaps I could influence these villains to my own ends too. How? For what? I wasn't sure yet. But I could sense the opportunity and I wasn't going to let it pass me by so easily. If nothing else, I could get in their good graces to betray them and turn them and their boss in, in one fell swoop for greater favor with the PRT. Should they not prove useful to me in some way.
The changed dogs came to a stop in front of me. They were as large as vans and looked like a cross between a lizard and a tiger with tangles of muscle and bone where they ought to have skin, scales, or fur.
For some reason, I found them strikingly pretty. These dogs, what they had become, were absolutely beautiful creatures. There were improvements that could be made of course, but…
I killed the thought. I couldn't let myself get distracted.
Atop the creatures were five riders. Two on two, and one riding the one in the middle. Tattletale and a young girl with a pale gray demon mask who I didn't recognize on one, Grue and Regent on another, and Hellhound on one by herself.
They all got off the mutated dogs and both Grue and Tattletale approached me, walking around the molten rock that was still covering a large part of the street.
Tattletale glanced at the lava and shuddered, seeing daemonic faces staring back at her in the mostly solidified glowing red rock. Her power was telling her the faces in the lava were alive and were staring at her. Not organic, not human, made entirely of melted stone, but very much alive.
I called the daemons back out of the half solidified lava and had them go back to the warp.
She glanced at me as her powers informed her the faces were no longer alive.
"You really saved us a lot of trouble," Grue told me. His voice was deep, masculine, but muffled by the helmet he wore. He reached out a hand towards me. I sensing no ill intent from his surface thoughts, I shook it.
"I'm sure… Lung was dead set on murdering you all. I imagine that would have ended badly… Though I'm confused. Why is it just him? Where's Oni Lee and the ABBs newest recruits?" I asked, I was still confused about that. Why would Lung come alone?
"They're busy dealing with some new Chinese capes that just moved into town two weeks ago." Tattletale informed me. "Officially, they're just another gang with no allegiances to speak of beyond themselves. Their gang doesn't even have a name yet. But rumor has it, they're with the CUI. Looking to kidnap and recruit any chinese people who trigger here in Brockton Bay. Or east asians in general. They'd bag Lung and Oni Lee too if they could. But turns out, their arrival just pushed more asian capes to come to the ABB rather than risk being bagged and dragged off to China."
"If they're dealing with them right now, why did Lung come at all? Shouldn't he be there leading that fight against them?" I asked.
Tattletale smiled. "Luck. They were mustering for a larger attack against us when the CUI goons started moving in on their territory. So Lung sent the new guys to deal with that while he and Oni Lee stayed behind to fight us personally. I guess we might have pissed him off a little too much recently."
Grue jerked his thumb over one shoulder, "Yeah, it pretty much just came down to luck. When we got word Lung was aiming to come after us tonight, we were pretty freaked. We were arguing strategy for the better part of the day. We eventually decided, fuck it, we'd meet him halfway. Wing it. Not my usual way of doing things, but yeah."
"Had this new gang not attacked and had I not intervened, you all would have died. Had they attacked but had I not intervened, only she would have died." I pointed at Hellhound. "Though the one in the demon mask would have been burned horribly and there's a chance she would have died in the hospital." I told him, looking at potential threads of fate that had been severed before they could come to fruition.
"Post cognition. She's looking at the past." Tattletale told Grue.
"I also have precognition, among many other abilities. As you can clearly see here." I motioned to the steadily cooling lava. "And I'm sure you heard from that ultrasonic shriek. Telekinesis allows for some pretty fun abilities. From making fog, manipulating geothermal forces, to manipulating sound." I lied. Tattletale seemed somewhat unconvinced. Her power knew I was lying about something. But it was unsure about what or which parts. That made me somewhat proud.
I gently tapped the butt of my staff against the ground and used the power of the warp to amplify the sound until it was as loud as a car starting. The loud crack echoed throughout the street. It was loud enough to prove my point and throw her powers further off my trail without actually hurting them or damaging their hearing. They didn't need to know the psychic aspect of my power.
"Pretty versatile abilities." Grue commented.
I nodded. "Indeed. Though we haven't introduced ourselves yet."
"Alright. That's Tattletale. I'm Grue. The girl with the dogs," he pointed to Hellhound. "We call her Bitch, her preference, but in the interests of being P.G., the good guys and media decided to call her Hellhound instead. The girl in the demon mask is Imp. Last and certainly least, we have Regent."
"Fuck you, Grue," Regent retorted, with a chuckle and a tone of voice that made it clear he wasn't really that offended.
"I haven't come up with a proper finalized cape name just yet. In the interim you may call me Sorceress. It's a little simplistic for my tastes, but as of right now it's untaken and it does suit me. If I can come up with something better, I will. Still it will work for the moment. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." I looked off to the side, as I saw something in the skeins of fate. "Ah, but I'm afraid our conversation is already at an end. Armsmaster will arrive in approximately one minute and fifteen seconds. So I'd recommend getting out of here while you still have the chance. You can contact me through PHO where I go by Architect-of-Fate, if you want to continue this some other time."
"Noted. Need a ride out of here?" Grue offered.
"I appreciate the offer but I'm quite alright on my own. It was nice to meet you. I'd recommend finding a different base. The remaining capes in the ABB know where you live and may come back to finish what Lung started."
"Thanks for the heads up." Grue stated before all of them climbed back onto the dogs and bounded off.
When I was sure they were gone I looked down at Lung. I didn't have long to do this so I couldn't be precise or delicate but I couldn't have it get out that I was a telepath. So I pressed the head of my staff against his forehead and burrowed into his mind, erasing the memories of the end of the fight. I left vague impressions of a scream, and being thrown off the roof but nothing of what came next. He would not remember that I attacked his mind.
I finished just in time. As I raised my staff from his head, I heard a motorcycle in the distance and Armsmaster rounded the corner.
I waved in greeting as he drove up. I was a little giddy and excited to meet a hero in person like this. Maybe that was a little odd considering I had a literal god in my head. In fact, I was part of said god. But I couldn't help it. I was changing, but right now I was still mostly the same girl from Brockton Bay who idolized heroes like Alexandria. So meeting Armsmaster was a dream come true.
But I had to play it cool. I couldn't afford to embarrass myself here.
He got off the motorcycle and looked around at the cracked pavement and buildings, the burning car, and the lava in the street which had pretty much fully cooled by now. The daemonic faces were now literally set in stone, though the daemons themselves were gone.
"You do this?" He asked, motioning vaguely with his halberd.
I shrugged. "I was fighting Lung. I did what I had to."
He looked me up and down, judging my costume. "Are you a Tinker?"
I raised a finger to my chin in thought. "Hm… I suppose I could be if I wanted to. But no. That's not my primary power." I answered Armsmaster. I knocked on my breastplate. "All of this is just platemail enhanced by my abilities, closer to Dauntless' powers than you or Kid Win. And the robe is just Kevlar. The eyes are just sapphires I made from the constituent chemicals with my powers, the same way I forged the armor. No machinery involved. That said, you can consider me as having a rating in every category of power in the PRT's power classifications. I could make a plasma pistol, or power armor, or a sword with a monomolecular edge and an energy field that could disrupt molecular bonds and cut through anything, or any number of things. But it's more expensive and more time and resource intensive, so I haven't bothered."
Armsmaster glanced at my Khopesh. "A sword that can disrupt molecular bonds. Is that not what you have there?"
"No. This," I drew my Khopesh. Iridescent flames flickered around the blade. "Is a focus for my powers. It can do something similar but it only works for me since there's nothing scientific or mechanical about it. Again, think Dauntless but more active in that I actually have to sustain the effect. Easier to make than a power weapon and it's stronger and more versatile with my other abilities. That said, if you're interested in collaborating at any point, I could help you add a power field to your halberd. Or upgrading your power armor." I sheathed the Khopesh again.
"If you're interested in collaborating I take it you're a hero?" Armsmaster asked.
"If I wasn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I would have teleported away a little over a minute ago, when I first predicted you were coming. As it stands, I've been waiting for you since I knew you were on your way. Otherwise, I'd have already taken Lung to the PRT station to turn him in. I just didn't want you to arrive and find nothing here."
"You're telling the truth," he said. He had a lie detector in his helmet. It had given me a ninety nine percent truthful rating. Which made sense, considering I actually wasn't lying right now.
He approached, stepping a bit closer to me. "Your costume is burned in a few spots. You need a hospital?"
"No. I've already healed. I have powers like Panacea as well, except without the limitations. I can work on myself, I very much can work on brains, and I don't have to touch you to change you. I didn't use those powers on Lung." I said.
"I take it the bird is a wet tinker bio-construct you created."
I shook my head. "No. Kairos here isn't any sort of wet tinker experiment. He's… A piece of me? I suppose that's the best way to put it. You can consider him a manifestation of my powers with some level of autonomy. Kairos, a feather please?"
Kairos raised one wing and a single feather shed from it and started fluttering towards the ground. With a flick of my wrist it flew over to armsmaster who caught it.
"Feel free to test that however you see fit. You won't find cells, keratin, D.N.A., molecules, atoms, or solid matter in general. It's entirely made of energy. Though not of any type you're familiar with. In exactly nine days from now it'll disappear and return to Kairos."
"I see… I'll be sure to test it to verify the validity of your assertions… You're a new face." Armsmaster stated, putting the feather away.
"Tonight's my debut. I haven't come up with anything finalized yet, but I'm currently going by Sorceress. It's a bit simplistic for my taste, but it suits me."
Armsmaster frowned and took another look at me. "I take it you're one of the capes who thinks her powers are magic?"
"Yes. Though I do think I have better reason to believe it than say, Myrddin. He can do one thing. I can do pretty much anything, with enough energy and the right spells or rituals. Which is why the eyes are important, for symbolic purposes. Though I'm sure you'd argue that versatility is no reason to claim it's magic. That said, my belief in magic doesn't hurt anyone or get in the way any more than Myrddin's. So let's chalk it up to a difference in philosophy or religion and leave it at that."
Armsmaster shrugged. "Fine by me. It's none of my business."
With a wave of my staff I opened a portal to the PRT Headquarters and lifted Lung with telekinesis. "Would you like to continue this conversation there? We should get Lung properly contained as soon as possible. He's out cold but he'll wake up soon enough. And I assume I'm going to need to give a witness report of what happened here."
I could sense surprise and some disappointment from Armsmaster. He wanted credit for defeating Lung?
I blinked in surprise.
That… was incredibly disappointing. I lost some respect for Armsmaster in that moment.
I could hear Tzeentch laughing in the back of my mind. I tried to ignore him.
Armsmaster nodded. "I suppose we should." He walked back over to his motorcycle and climbed on.
I turned and headed through the portal with Lung in tow.
Did you truly think so-called 'heroes' to be saints, dear child? No… I can list countless heroes far more noble than he who fell to corruption at the slightest temptation. Individuals who would have given their lives, their souls, their very existence to save even a single lowly beggar on a hiveworld on one day, only to become warlords twisted beyond salvation bringing worlds or even entire star systems to damnation on the next. But that can be used to your advantage if you know how to leverage it.
'I didn't expect them to be saints, they're only human. No one's perfect. But it's still disappointing. And it hurts seeing someone you idolize being so self centered…'
That can change… Armsmaster can be changed, however you see fit. You're a goddess. Or at least, a goddess in training so to speak. Thus you need only set up the correct sequence of events, weave the threads of fate into the right pattern, and he shall become whatever you desire. As can all humans. He can easily become the noble hero you imagined and idolized. A true paragon of justice and nobility. It would be better for him, better for those around him, better for this city, better for the world as a whole. So, what would be the harm?
I bit my lip as I thought about it. What would be the harm? It would still be him. The same person, the same soul. Just with different experiences that made him develop along different lines. But I'd be manipulating him. It wouldn't be his choice. Some would say that would be immoral. But if he really benefited from it would it really be that bad?
His desire to take all the credit for my defeat of Lung lingered in my mind. He was still going to try to convince me to let him, to benefit himself. He'd try to play it off as for my own good, but it wouldn't be. It was purely for his own self interests. To earn more recognition and glory. He didn't care that he didn't actually have a hand in it at all. He just wanted the fame, the praise, to rise in the rankings of the Protectorate. To further his own career.
But was that so bad? He was ambitious. That in and of itself wasn't a crime. I'd argue it was only natural. A good thing even. Everyone should be at least a little ambitious otherwise they'd never get anywhere in their career and would stagnate. And it wasn't like he was going to try to force me to let him take credit. If I refused, he'd be disappointed but he'd be honest about it.
But if he'd benefit it would be fulfilling his ambitions whilst making him an even better person, and helping even more people. Right?
Conflict and anxiety churned in my gut.
You needn't decide now. Some change is swift, some slow. Some never comes at all. And he's hardly the worst offender in this regard. It's just something to consider, Taylor.
A hand grasped my shoulder and shook me. Armsmaster's voice broke through my thoughts. "Sorceress? Can you hear me?"
He had come through the portal and gotten off his motorcycle. There were already PRT agents surrounding us.
"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Sorry, I just got lost in thought." I told him. I dropped Lung at the feet of some PRT agents. "I was just thinking about the ABB. They're not going to take Lung's arrest lying down. I'm sure they'll try to break him out. I mean, I heard on the news that someone just broke out Bad Canary during one of her court hearings. So I was just trying to think of ways to make sure he stays contained."
His lie detector read 81% truthful.
He nodded. "Understandable, but you don't need to worry about that. The PRT is more than capable of keeping him contained. We can handle things from here. Now, if you follow me, we can get your official witness report out of the way."
He led me inside while the PRT agents doused Lung in containment foam before hauling him off.
Armsmaster led me through the halls of the PRT HQ up to the second floor. He opened a door and motioned me inside.
It was a simple meeting room with a large circular table with several seats.
I walked over and sat down in a seat on the right side of the table.
"Before we start, we need to decide what we do from here. Who gets credit for Lung?" Armsmaster asked, still standing.
"Me. I'm the one who took him down." I stated. I wasn't going to give up credit. I'd earned this victory and this kind of recognition could earn me a lot.
"I understand that, but hear me out. What you've done tonight is spectacular. You played a part in getting a major villain into custody. You just need to consider the consequences."
"I didn't just 'play a part'. I did it single handedly." I corrected him.
He frowned, annoyance flickered through his consciousness. "Fine. You're right. You took him down yourself. Regardless, Lung has an extensive gang throughout Brockton Bay and neighboring cities. More than that, he has several superpowered flunkies. All of whom are very scary people. A couple scarier in some ways than their boss. Now I want you to consider the danger involved in taking the credit for Lung's capture. Without a doubt Oni Lee and Bakuda, the two most likely to take over with Lung in custody, will be looking to accomplish two goals. Freeing their boss and getting vengeance on the one responsible."
I shrugged. "You aren't aware of everything I can do. I'm not worried about it. They can't find me if I don't want them to. So I'm sorry, Armsmaster, but I'm going to be taking full credit for this since it is the truth. And before you give me the sales pitch, I'm not interested in joining the Wards either. The rules and oversight would be a bit too stifling for me. That said, if it's possible I would like to discuss a close working relationship with the PRT and Protectorate. Sort of like New Wave. My offer for collaborating with you on adding a powerfield to your halberd was legitimate and still stands."
I leaned back in my chair, setting my staff down on the table. "I'm willing to volunteer in hospitals, be on call for healing if capes in the Protectorate or Wards get hurt and need medical attention, and to act as a healer in emergency situations like Panacea. Or some combination of healer and combatant. For example, I'd like to sign up for endbringer fights. I might not be able to hurt them or even slow them down, but I am a precog so I can offer predictions to keep casualties down, I can move capes to and from locations via portals or teleportation, and as I said I can heal. Among many other services I'm more than happy to provide the PRT outside of emergencies. Pre and post cognitive services, making technology for the Protectorate, Wards, or even average PRT soldiers. Etcetera."
Armsmaster looked at me for a moment before sighing. "Alright. If that's your decision… Give me a moment. Director Piggot is going to have to be involved in this discussion. Wait here."
He turned and walked out of the room, leaving me by myself.
I smiled to myself as he left. Despite my disappointment in his desire to take credit for defeating Lung, I foresaw this meeting going well. Everything was going according to plan. Better even than I'd initially hoped when I left my house tonight.
I'm a little uncertain about the undersiders portion of this chapter. I'm not sure if she did well enough to get Tattletale to contact her the next day to talk and establish some kind of business connection. Especially if Calvert learns she met with the PRT and was trying to be a hero.
Anyway, for the ABB's new recruits, I was thinking maybe a birdlike Case 53 with aerokinetic powers, and maybe a chemical tinker serving as a lacky or underling for Bakuda. I was thinking of having there be at least three but I've got nothing when it comes to powers for a third. Though I'm worried an aerokinetic might be a little too similar to stormtiger, so I'm not sure about the Case 53 either. So if anyone has suggestions as to powers, I'm open to ideas.
As always I'm open to criticism. If you don't like something I did let me know so I can try to address it or fix it to the best of my abilities. I have rewritten entire chapters in the past for other stories. I'm more than willing to do so again here.
Looking at the skeins of fate I foresaw I was going to be here for awhile. Director Piggot wasn't going to arrive for half an hour, maybe longer.
So I had time to think about a better cape name for myself than 'sorceress'.
'Sorceress is a bit of a boring name. Apt, but boring.'
Tze'tarix'ros'ix'keres would be a suitable name.
I rolled my eyes. 'It's too long and too much of a mouthful. Everyone would discard it and call me some nickname. I need something more human.'
How dull…
'Yeah, well I'm dealing with humans not neverborn. And don't think I didn't notice that was just parts of the names of different neverborn from your previous universe and yourself. Rather lazy of you.'
Perhaps. Or perhaps I never intended it as a legitimate option to begin with.
'Why do I even bother bouncing ideas off of you?'
An excellent question, dear child. Why does one refer their ideas to anyone other than themself really? Though technically I am you and you are me so bouncing ideas off of me is in a way asking yourself what you think of your ideas. A rather odd prospect in and of itself as you would think you would know what you thought about your own ideas, no? But we are also separate in a way and thus our ideas and our opinions of them are indeed quite different.
'Damn it… I shouldn't have got you going. Please just save your ramblings. We both know it's not going to go anywhere.'
You should have foreseen this. Why do you neglect your foresight?
'Precognition doesn't tell me what you're going to say before you say it.'
Then you're simply not good enough at it yet. Practice more.
I sighed. "I practice all the time. I've hardly…" I caught myself muttering out loud and immediately stopped and shook my head and sighed. "I couldn't have handled Lung any better, even if I'd somehow practiced more. I did the best I could…" I tried to play it off as if I was thinking about earlier. I really needed to stop talking to Tzeentch out loud. I was pretty sure no one was listening and I hadn't said anything too conspicuous even if someone was. Still it wasn't a good habit.
'Names, names… Freyja? No, the Empire Eighty Eight like to associate themselves with norse mythology. The Morrigan? That's celtic. She has associations with fate and magic…
A human goddess with some association with fate and magic but more prominently with war. Outside of the Great Game I would have no associations with Khorne or his domains even tangentially. I refuse.
I smirked to myself. 'Well now I'm tempted. But you probably expected that. Regardless, having associations with war is probably not a great idea. It might look bad. So, moving on… What about Hecate? I only vaguely remember a passing mention of her in history class. Wasn't she a Greek goddess of magic?"
Indeed in some interpretations. In humanity's old religions she had three bodies. As do we, in a way. Our conjoined 'souls', and our physical form. Four, if you count when I take control over our body. Though in Lucan's Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho invokes Hecate as "Persephone, who is the third and lowest aspect of Hecate, the goddess we witches revere", and describes her as a "rotting goddess" with a "pallid decaying body", who has to "wear a mask when she visits the gods in heaven". Three is one of Nurgle's numbers, as with seven. And Hecate having associations with decay and rot further ties her to him. Thus she is just as repugnant, if not more so, than the Morrigan… If you are considering the names of human deities, what of Isis? She was said to have the strongest magic amongst the gods of Egypt. Were you a man, I would suggest Thoth or Heka but you are not.
'I'm not exactly African or Arabic either. Or even Roman, for that matter.'
Nor are you Greek. Hebert is a Germanic name. Were you to abide that, you would limit yourself to names the Empire Eighty Eight might use which you have already stated your desire to avoid. Thus it is immaterial.
'I suppose that's true but still. I'd rather stick to more western mythology. What about Circe? She has associations with magic. It might be a little questionable considering the Odyssey but it could work.'
Turning men into pigs and attempting to seduce Odysseus? Are you certain you want such an image?
'A lot of women in mythology have associations with sex. Even Isis. It's gross but it would be difficult to avoid. So whatever. And I have to be extremely careful to avoid causing mutations and turning people into chaos spawn. So that part isn't inaccurate. Besides which, manipulation is in our nature, isn't it? As much as I don't like that part of us.'
Hm… Very well.
With that settled, I closed my eyes and meditated for the rest of the time while I waited. Director Piggot arrived after about half an hour. From skimming her surface thoughts, it seemed she'd been woken up and had to hurriedly get dressed and drive here. Then Armsmaster had to debrief her on the situation and fill her in on everything I told him.
Armsmaster entered just behind her.
Piggot sat down directly across from me while Armsmaster stayed standing.
Piggot was staring straight at Kairos. She knew he wasn't physical, or that I'd told Armsmaster he wasn't, but she still wasn't particularly happy seeing him. She was thinking about… Nilbog? She was at Ellisburg? Surprising.
I wasn't exactly happy about the comparison. So I supposed it was a good thing I hadn't started mutating animals into chaos spawn to use as weapons. She couldn't try to use that against me. But it was pretty obvious she already didn't like me. And my belief that my powers were magic didn't help her opinion of me at all.
I waved. "Hello. You must be Director Piggot."
Piggot nodded. "I am. And you must be Sorceress."
I shrugged. "That was a temporary name I gave Armsmaster to have something to refer to me by while I came up with something better. Since I've been sitting here I've had some time to think about my cape name. Is 'Circe' taken?"
Director Piggot looked at Armsmaster, who started accessing the internet from the heads-up display on his helmet and accessed a database of known cape-names. He shook his head. "It's not taken, but are you sure you want a cape name with mythological connotations? That's typically ill-advised as those often come with expectations or biases."
I shrugged. "Frankly, it's less ridiculous than a lot of cape names. It's certainly better than 'Sorceress'. And it's better than Freyja who could associate me with the Empire Eighty Eight in public perception, or The Morrigan who has associations with war and doom. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Fine, 'Circe'..." Piggot said impatiently. "Armsmaster has informed me you singlehandedly took down Lung tonight. Is this true?"
I nodded. "It is. I suppose it's finally time for my witness statement then? I can show you exactly what happened from my perspective, if that would be better than a verbal explanation. It took maybe two or three minutes? I assume you have a camera in your helmet to record everything, Armsmaster? Sort of like a bodycam?"
Armsmaster nodded. "I do."
"I'd like a verbal explanation first." Director Piggot stated, retaining a neutral expression.
"Alright. I overheard Lung and his gang talking about wanting to kill kids. I would have called you guys for help, but stupidly, I forgot I hadn't stocked the pouches on my belt and forgot my burner phone. So I snuck up onto a roof and used my powers to make illusions to make the non-capes run off so they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. Then I used telekinesis to take control over the steering wheel and gas peddle of a car a few more gang members drove up in and crashed it into Lung. After the gang members were already out, of course. After driving off the last three I realized there was no way I could knock out Lung while remaining hidden, so I engaged him directly. I managed to knock him out, spent the next few minutes healing myself, and then Armsmaster arrived."
I intentionally left out any interaction with the Undersiders. They didn't need to know about that.
"You said he wanted to kill children. Do you know who he was targeting or why?" Director Piggot asked.
I shook my head. "I don't. I assume some dumbass kids personally insulted him somehow or owed him money for drugs or something."
85% truthful. Armsmaster nodded. "She's telling the truth."
Piggot sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration. "Alright… Show us."
With a wave of my hand I molded the energies of the warp to my will and created a circular image in the air, almost like a screen or holographic projection. It was as simple as creating and controlling light in the air. I displayed my memories of what happened from a first person point of view. Changing the end where I'd interacted with the Undersiders and slightly altering how I dealt with the gang members to make myself look better.
Piggot watched with a neutral expression, regarding the images I was showing her coldly and analytically.
I dispelled the illusion when it reached the point where Armsmaster arrived, from which point I assumed his helmet cam could fill in the rest if they assumed it was necessary.
"You're incredibly lucky. You nearly got yourself killed." Piggot stated.
"Yeah. Like I said, I would have called for backup instead of fighting him alone but I forgot my burner phone. I didn't want to fight Lung tonight but I couldn't just let him kill any kids either."
"You would never have been in this situation in the first place if you were with the Wards. You would have had a radio and would have been with another member of the Wards or the Protectorate."
"If I was with the Wards this would have never happened because I wouldn't have been there to begin with. I'd have been off duty because it's a school night. Then Lung would have carried out the attack he was planning." I rebutted. "If I was on duty somehow despite that, I would have intervened anyway. Even if it was just casting illusions from a rooftop until backup arrived. At which point Lung would have ramped up to a point it would have been even harder to deal with him. He would ramp up even more over the course of the actual fight and he would have gotten away."
I tapped the side of my head. "Post cognition. I can see what has happened and what would have happened under different circumstances."
Piggot frowned and glanced at Armsmaster whose lie detector read 90% true. "She's telling the truth." He stated, reluctantly.
Piggot's mouth tightened. "Regardless… It would be in your best interests to join the Wards to avoid similar incidents in the future. What would your parents think if you ended up dead because you decided it was a good idea to fight a group of villains by yourself without the backing of the Wards?"
"They would be devastated, obviously. But I'm confident enough in my own abilities to keep myself alive. And I do intend to call for backup in situations I think I can't handle on my own. Like I intended to tonight. So I'm not joining the Wards. I've made my decision and can't be convinced otherwise. That said, as I told Armsmaster, I'm willing to have a close working relationship with the PRT and Protectorate. Sort of like New Wave."
"To repeat the spiel I gave Armsmaster. I'm willing to volunteer in hospitals, be on call for healing if capes in the Protectorate or Wards get hurt and need medical attention, and to act as a healer in emergency situations like Panacea. Or some combination of healer and combatant. For example, I'd like to sign up for endbringer fights. I might not be able to hurt them or even slow them down, but I am a precog so I can offer predictions to keep casualties down, I can move capes to and from locations via portals or teleportation, and as I said I can heal. Among many other services I'm more than happy to provide the PRT outside of emergencies. Pre and post cognitive services, making technology for the Protectorate, Wards, or even average PRT soldiers. And collaborating on tinker projects with Armsmaster and Kidwin."
"We'll need you to undergo power testing to prove whether or not you really have the powers you claim to. We're not going to just take your word for it. And we need to know the actual limits of your abilities so we know how best to work with your powers." Piggot said sternly.
I shrugged. "Fine by me. I can do it right now or come in tomorrow. Whatever works best for you."
"Does tomorrow at one o'clock work for you?" Piggot asked.
She was probing me. Trying to see if I was actually attending school or if I was skipping classes. The question about my parents earlier was her trying to get any bits of information she could to have reasonable suspicion that I was being abused at home.
I shook my head. "No. Tomorrow's Thursday. I'll be at school then. How does four o'clock work?"
"It's acceptable… Is there anything else you'd like to tell us? Anything happening at home or at school?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Everything's fine in my personal life… You know, if you wanted, I could undo what Nilbog did to you. Grow you new kidneys and repair any lingering damage in your legs." Panacea could have done that for her if she wanted it. The fact she hadn't meant that Piggot didn't want it. But I didn't care. I fully expected her to refuse. I intended to shut down this conversation or force her to change the topic. I sort of regretted it. This was a little far. It felt like something the Trio might have done but, perhaps a little hypocritically, I didn't want the PRT prying into my private life.
Armsmaster glanced at the Director before quickly looking back at me.
Piggot's expression hardened and she sank back in her chair. "How do you know about that?"
"Post cognition…" I said apologetically, lowering my head and looking away from her. "I'm really sorry for the intrusion, Director. Unfortunately I can't turn it off so I can't help it." Another lie. I could absolutely stop whenever I wanted. "Like I said I can see what was and what could have been which means I can see what happened to people and the paths their lives could have taken had things gone differently. I could tell you how Lung triggered. Or Armsmaster. And I could tell you what would have happened to them had they not triggered or if they made different decisions in their lives. I could do the same for corpses. See how they died and who killed them if the culprit was close enough to them at the time. I see it every time I go to the meat section in the grocery store."
"I see…" Director Piggot said, struggling to hide her anger. "Well, I suppose that's evidence of your post cognition. And no. I'm going to have to decline your offer."
I nodded. "I understand. You seem upset. I apologize for bringing it up… Is there anything else you wanted to ask me or that we need to discuss tonight?"
Piggot shook her head. "No. I think that's quite enough for tonight. We can discuss the terms of our cooperation with you tomorrow after your power testing. You're free to go."
I stood up and picked up my staff off the table. I waved. "Sorry again and it was nice meeting you both. Have a good rest of your night."
"Before you go," Armsmaster called out quickly.
I looked at him.
"If your Post Cognition is really that strong, you need to be careful. I cannot stress this enough, but do not under any circumstances out another Cape's identity. Whether its a villain or not. There are certain rules and taboos you might not know about as a new cape. That's one of the most important ones. Villains will go out of their way to hunt you down and kill you. And needless to say, outing a hero's identity is a very serious crime. You could go to prison or the Birdcage for the rest of your life. Or get a kill order depending on the circumstances." Armsmaster stated
"I didn't plan on going around telling people other capes identities in the first place. I kinda assumed it would put a target on my back if I did, which is why I didn't at any point refer to you or Lung by name. So, thank you for the warning, Armsmaster."
With that I opened a portal behind me and stepped through, immediately closing it behind me.
I sent myself just down the street from my base. So it was a short walk back.
When I was back inside, I took off my costume and changed back into my normal clothes, putting my weapons away. It was earlier than I'd intended to go home but I felt like nearly dying fighting Lung was enough excitement for one night.
A bit of a short chapter this time but I suppose it was important. Was considering a Tzeentch POV or a villain POV but neither really worked.