Chapter 22: Agency
Victor sat quietly as the other members of the EDF Council filtered into the room, exchanging a series of polite nods as the others entered. Even Richards was somewhat respectful these days, which the carefully hidden, more honest part of his psyche still considered surprising. Of course, Victor no longer felt the need to regularly attack the man's family in pursuit of his own goals and that undoubtedly helped smooth their interactions. Really, though, the blame for their change in circumstances rested at the feet of the two people who entered last, Peter and Mary Jane Parker. Even in the old days, the King of Latveria had held a healthy respect for Spider-Man. While the wall-crawling hero had an annoying tendency to prattle, he also demonstrated perseverance, a remarkable string of successes against a variety of powerful foes, and a strong and unwavering moral code -- which Doom appreciated even if he found it naive and impractical. Those traits must have served Parker well, however, as it resulted in Spider-Man returning from yet another cross-dimensional adventure with a very interesting assortment of friends and allies. Some of them were powerful enough to be able to afford the impracticality of Parker's heroic tendencies. More importantly, they were powerful enough to help Victor out with some personal matters that relieved a great deal of pressure from the monarch. Peter and Mary Jane in turn seemed particularly capable of sanding off the rough edges of the overbearing personalities surrounding them. The lizards prompted the Parkers to take charge of the Earth Defense Force initiative after rightfully deciding that the others capable of leadership were either too preoccupied with their own concerns, too flawed in personality to lead effectively, or too untrustworthy to manage the safety of the planet.
The spider-themed couple were both brilliant in their own way and nicely complemented each other's strengths and compensated for their weaknesses in a way the others would have been hard-pressed to do as individuals. Fury was professionally paranoid to an alarming (though admittedly frequently prudent) degree. Stark was still a self-centered ass, despite recent improvements in temperament. Richards was an absent-minded professor with poor risk assessment skills. Steve Rogers could have done the job, but he was already leading the Avengers. Stephen Strange and Charles Xavier were normally too focused on their own matters to work with the EDF, although they were willing to help when necessary. Today was one of those days.
"Stephen, Charles, what have you found out from our guest?" asked Peter. There was no sign of humor in his expression. His family had been attacked, which was the easiest way for a foe to get him to set aside his usual wise-cracking persona. It usually didn't end well for the foe in question, of course.
Stephen spoke for the two of them, though Victor assumed the telepath would prompt the sorcerer mentally if he forgot to mention something. "The Dire Wraith in custody is a male named Calynx, and he's one of the rare males of that species with skill in the mystic arts. His primary mission was to infiltrate Earth and spy on the EDF."
"Isn't trying to kidnap the bosses' daughter the exact opposite of stealthy?" asked Tony with the hint of a smirk.
The Sorcerer Supreme nodded. "His original intent was to try to infiltrate the organization directly, but he kept running into technological and mystical security measures that frustrated his efforts. The plan to kidnap May and the others was partially in response to that, and partially due to his secondary mission."
Fury quickly came to his own opinion on what that might be, prompting, "They were looking for information on the Family?" Doom quietly agreed that was the most likely secondary goal. The reptiles were clearly a potential threat to any would-be conquerors.
"Yes," replied Strange, "but not just for their own sakes. The Wraith have a new ally with a particular interest in our reptilian friends."
"Who is this ally?" prompted Peter with a concerned expression.
Xavier replied. "He didn't know. All I could find was that his superiors placed a high priority on keeping them happy and he was annoyed by that fact. It made the failure of his initial kidnapping attempt that much more dangerous for him."
"Which explains why he was willing to drain the power from his strike team as he did," added Stephen. "While effective, that would have been both extremely painful and dangerous for him."
"Not as dangerous as it was for his team," muttered Mary Jane. Doom heard what sounded like a quiet snort from Tony.
As had been becoming more common, Peter quickly cut to the heart of the matter. "There are reports of encounters with Dire Wraiths in the past, but they were usually individuals with personal objectives or accidental encounters. Why are the Dire Wraiths as a civilization suddenly so interested in Earth and the EDF?"
"The female Dire Wraiths have seers that have apparently foreseen that Earth will play a role in their eventual destruction," replied Strange. "Apparently, those predictions became a lot more frequent and forceful when the EDF was founded, enough so that important people in their mystical hierarchy became concerned."
Victor pondered that. If he were a betting man, he would have placed his money on the changes in the paths of the future being due to the influence of the Family rather than the EDF. The founding of the organization was due to the machinations of their reptilian friends, and he knew from his own research on the subject that the meddling reptiles tended to shred any previously obtained precognition of the future. He also suspected that the Dire Wraiths, or at least their leaders, were too arrogant to worry they were making their prophecy self-fulfilling. The priorities of the Wraiths' new friends were more sensible, he sensed -- using a proxy to gain information on a powerful threat. Out loud, he said, "I am concerned about these unknown allies. Have we discovered any evidence linking the attempted kidnapping with the assault on this building?" The invasion of their headquarters had proven the more effective attack of the two, even if it had ultimately failed in its objective...presumably.
Mary Jane Parker shook her head. "There's nothing linking the two directly, other than the coincidence of timing. None of the bits of technology left behind by the attackers matched that of the Dire Wraiths, and the invading troops seemed to be unprepared for magic users. The Wraiths came prepared to shut down Tom and Maggie at the start of the attack, but the attackers at HQ fled shortly after they arrived back here and started casting offensive spells."
"I don't believe in coincidences," replied Fury. "Did this Dire Wraith know of the attack on headquarters?" he asked the two interrogators.
Xavier shook his head. "He did not. Their plan was dependent upon the girls being away from the defenses here. They were also depending on Taskmaster to serve as a distraction for their protectors." The mercenary in question had escaped capture, but then the man was notorious for escaping justice once his employers were removed from the picture.
"The good news is that the captured Wraith believed he and his team were most of what their people had on Earth in terms of assets," continued Stephen. "It will likely be some time before they're able to directly act against us."
Nick Fury shook his head. "That won't last. Now that Earth is starting to build up its ability to project force -- even if the intent is for the sake of self-defense -- other parties are starting to take notice. Thanks to the Family, we know the Kree, the Skrulls, and the Shi'ar have all taken note of our building ships and defensive platforms. They are undoubtedly not the only ones."
"The Wraiths represent a different kind of power projection," added Victor. "They are infiltrators rather than conquerors. They would be satisfied with our destruction even if that is their only gain."
Mary Jane Parker nodded at that, and replied, "We should take advantage of our own allies, then...and I don't just mean the Family and their associates. We have had some positive contacts with some of the more progressive Skrulls, and they aren't fond of their distant relations."
"I can reach out to Lilandra and see what the Shi'ar can contribute," added Charles. The avian race was quite vicious, but their leader had a soft spot for the telepath thanks to past history.
Peter smiled at his wife and Charles. "We should also reach out to the Nova Corps. In the comic books, Xandar knew the location of Galador. If they really have a force of cybernetic warriors fighting the Dire Wraith, then that would be useful to us." The events involving Rom on Earth had not happened, as far as they could tell, but that didn't mean the being or world in question didn't exist in some form.
Reed spoke up for the first time in the meeting. "I think Victor and I can work up something to help detect Dire Wraiths specifically." Victor gave a slow nod to his former nemesis. Not every shapeshifter was a threat, so shooting them all pre-emptively could have annoying consequences even it was efficient.
"That sounds like a plan at the strategic level. Are we going to need to keep extra security on the girls?" asked Tony.
MJ shook her head. "May and Maggie headed back to school. I don't think Sophia's parents are likely to want her to come back here under the current circumstances, and I can't say that I blame them. Hopefully, they won't be too hard on her."
The industrialist winced, and even Doom knew that the girl's parents were unlikely to be well equipped mentally to handle the misadventure if the dossier he read on the girl and her family was accurate. In his opinion, the teenagers had acquitted themselves well under the circumstances, but then the dictator had never really understood the nuances of normal parenting. Stark added out loud, "Well, hopefully, they're not too rough on her."
"Well, I think that's settled for now," continued Peter. "Let's talk about the situation with the Kree and the independent states on their border..." There was still a lot discuss, even if most of it was less personal in nature.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
As soon as Tom Riddle entered the room, Metis could see more had happened than just a couple of battles and a quick escape from an otherworldly threat. The young man had enough experience and training to know that for him, the fights had been only marginally dangerous. The encounter with the Lovecraftian horror had made more of an impression, but he likely hadn't had time yet to reflect upon it. He would have some nightmares, but she knew that this wasn't the first time he had run into something deeply unpleasant. No, his concerns were prompted by something more personal. Her power was telling her that he had spoken to Sophia Hess about their alternate selves, which both dredged up old memories and gave him a degree of concern for the girl. With an internal smirk, she noted that it had happened even more quickly than expected, probably due to the unusual confluence of events following the attack.
Tom plunked himself into one of the visitor chairs in what passed for her office on the ship. He was used to dealing with Metis at this point and knew she would already have read his after-action report, so he simply asked, "Do you have any questions?"
"Let's get the usual out of the way," she replied. "What could you have done differently."
He frowned. "The most important takeaway is that I should be careful about using magic when something feels unusual about the local metaphysics."
"You even commented that it felt strange to Sophia," agreed Metis.
He just nodded. "Other than that, I could have made some alternate tactical choices, but they might not have had better outcomes. Instead of teleporting back to headquarters, we could have attempted to disengage on foot while the Avengers kept our attackers busy. That could have put local civilians at risk, though, if any of the Wraiths attempted to follow. I could also have attempted to destroy the magic dampening stones they were using, but that could have been very dangerous without knowing exactly how they worked. In the future, it would probably be prudent not to use wand wizard teleportation in a combat situation with passengers who aren't used to the feeling. The girls were disoriented for a short time, which could have been very dangerous if they hadn't been so well-armored."
"That's actually a training oversight that I've already noted," replied the black lizard. "Any kind of instantaneous transport can be deeply disorienting to people, and it isn't just magic that can cause nausea or worse effects. Anything else?"
"If I'm going to be expected to protect specific targets, I should probably have some kind of training to that point. We were dropped in that abandoned city because I momentarily lost track of Sophia at the conclusion of the battle at EDF headquarters," said Tom.
Metis thought it was to his credit that he realized a deficit in that area. "We haven't emphasized that type of training because the issue hasn't come up that frequently. Bodyguard-style training is certainly something I can see adding as an optional element of the curriculum, however." She could tell he was finished with that statement, so she asked, "Do you have any questions for me?"
"Did you assign me to protect the girls because of the similarity between Sophia and my personal histories?" He seemed more curious than irritated about the possibility.
Metis shook her head. "No, that wasn't a factor. I did consider it likely that it would eventually come up in conversation, but that you would be able to address it without it being a distraction."
He nodded his acceptance of that, then fixed Metis with a peculiar look. "Are you grooming Sophia to be an asset?"
Well, now wasn't that interesting? Metis suppressed her habitual smirk. "The Family doesn't have an agenda, so we have no need to recruit or groom assets. We have a habit of collecting interesting people into our sphere of influence, but it's always their choice. I remember a certain barely-teenaged wizard who came asking about being able to make a difference, just as an example."
Tom actually blushed, which Metis secretly thought was adorable. "I'm just concerned about her. She and her brother seemed to think her parents would be unhappy with them for getting into trouble."
Metis made a dismissive motion with her hand. "That conversation isn't going to go the way those two kids think it will." Six months ago, it might have, but a lot can happen in that length of time -- especially around this place. "I strongly suspect both Sophia and her brother are going to end up doing the same type of thing you're doing." She wouldn't be surprised if Sandman's daughter ended up doing the same, especially if Aaron did, but she didn't intend to share the kids' personal matters with Tom unless it became relevant. "Are you willing to help train them?" Aaron could use a mentor in the mystic arts who wasn't a romantic interest, and Sophia could use Tom's perspective on his own alternate history. One conversation was unlikely to be sufficient to resolve every issue there.
Tom seemed surprised and slightly pleased. "I would be happy to."
The likely long-term consequences of Tom and Sophia working together were trivially easy to predict, but she didn't think either of them would complain. The two Hess siblings would legitimately benefit from Tom's involvement, Sophia would likely be happier with the type of direction that came from being an Angel, and perhaps most importantly, Taylor wouldn't have to be involved. Metis...which was how she self-identified these days more than she did Lisa (or Sarah)...knew that Taylor's own experiences with the three bitches of her reality were ancient history, but there was no sense in dredging up unpleasant memories.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"And then once things calmed down, the force field came down and Penny's dad took her home, and we came here," finished Aaron. He and Sophia had just spent thirty very stressful minutes telling their parents about what had been happening to them over the last few days. Aaron was nervous, as both of his parents had extremely neutral expressions. He would have expected his mother to start yelling about midway through Sophia's story before they even got to his, and the fact that they were both still silent was freaking him out. He was wondering if they were going to pull both of them out of school and drag them back to Brockton Bay. The thought of not seeing Penny again caused a strangely unpleasant feeling in his chest and to his surprise, he found himself getting ready to argue the case for staying regardless of the consequences.
He was even more surprised when his mother finally spoke.
"I suppose this was inevitable," said their mother with a resigned sigh.
Their father snorted and said to their mother, "We told you."
Sophia and Aaron looked at each other, and then looked at their parents. Sophia said flatly, "What?"
Their mother shook her head, then said, "Cordy and your father have both been warning me that you two were going to end up putting yourself into danger."
Aaron wondered if his face was as shocked and confused as Sophia's was. "And...you're OK with that?"
His mother's look hardened in a very familiar way. Sharply, she replied, "No, of course I'm not OK with that!" Then her look softened. "However...once Sophia triggered, it was likely she was going to be stuck in the cape lifestyle. Even if we went back home, that wouldn't change."
Their father added, "And honestly, I would rather trust the Family to support you...both of you...than the PRT or the DWU."
If it was up to him, Aaron would rather rely on the magical snark lizards over a bunch of self-interested bureaucrats any day of the week, but he was still surprised his parents were so reasonable about it. He was also concerned about another issue, at least as far as his mother was concerned. "And...are you upset about me studying magic?"
Their father actually laughed. "Oh, you should have heard the dressing down Cordelia gave your mother over that. That girl could have cowed your mother's old Baptist preacher in a heartbeat." He mimicked the girl in an unconvincing falsetto voice. "I grew up on the mouth of Hell. I have seen evil magic. I could give you nightmares with what I've seen. Trust me when I say Family magic is NOT evil."
Their mother actually looked embarrassed, which was an extremely rare event in both siblings' recollection. "She made me realize that, because real magic isn't possible on our Earth, nobody could know about how it actually worked." She glared in her husband's direction. "Minister Danson was just trying to do right by his congregation to the best of his ability."
He did not appear convinced. "I've met the man." There was a pause, and then he turned to Aaron. "As long as you're responsible and follow the rules, your mother and I don't have any problems with you learning whatever this place can teach you. There's no question that this is a better environment for both of you than Winslow." The lack of violent drug addicts and racist assholes alone would have made that certain even if the educational opportunities hadn't been orders of magnitude better.
Sophia seemed to agree, as she actually snorted at the comparison, though she quelled after a quick look from their mother. The older woman gave them both a look. "I expect both of you to take full advantage of the opportunities here...and I expect you both to use your common sense and stay as safe as possible."
In the future, Aaron would look back on this conversation and realize how difficult these decisions must have been for his parents, and how much his mother's concerns were because she loved both of them deeply. At this point in time, though, all he could think of was that his parents were giving him permission to study actual, real magic, which was incredibly cool. Another part of him was relieved that they weren't leaving, which meant that he could stay and spend time with Penny (even if her father was the kind of scary motherfucker that would give Samual Jackson pause).
He rushed forward to hug his parents, completely oblivious to the small smile on his sister's face.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The capital city of Pishon was situated on a large island, which was not surprising given that the entire world was an ocean dotted with a vast number of archipelagoes. From orbit, it was evident that the core of the city was filled with some very technologically advanced skyscrapers of moderate height, with the rest of the city looking less advanced though still densely populated. Once on the ground, Saurial could appreciate that the city was both very clean and very beautiful. Unsurprisingly, the wealthier areas, government buildings, and mosques were highly ornate and decorated in a style reminiscent of traditional Islamic architecture. The poorer locals also made an effort to decorate their homes in bright colors, however, and some of the waterside communities of rainbow-hued stilt homes were quite lovely.
'This is an astonishingly beautiful world, Brain,' commented Varga. 'The locals obviously care quite a lot about their city and put effort into making it mesh nicely with the local environment.'
Taylor nodded, adding, 'I have to agree. We should spend a little time exploring after we've finished our investigation.'
The clue they found in the files of the Infinity Patrol was leading them to a produce warehouse on the inland side of the city's edge. Agents had observed and imaged a group of black-clad "paramilitary forces" that didn't match either the local aesthetic or their technology. It was standard practice to make note of such events, as it might mean incursion by one of the various world-jumping organizations, which could be problematic in a number of ways. Those problems weren't issues to the Family, but the armed men did match a variety of other groups that had engaged with some of their friends and allies in what appeared to be a vigorous attempt at gathering intelligence through violent means. It hadn't been hard to cross-reference the site of the encounter with the Infinity Patrols' database of maps and local information on this world. Being a colony world, it was easier for outsiders to move around on Pishon than it was on Earth with its ubiquitous cameras, biometrics, and other security measures, and the amount of data available was quite comprehensive. The site in question was relatively easy to locate, despite being clustered in the middle of a group of similar buildings in a slightly less well-maintained industrial sector of the city.
There were large windows on the second-story level of the building, and Taylor, in Saurial form, rather quickly scaled the bricks and was soon peering into the interior. The various rays of light from the windows lit the interior in a criss-cross pattern of beams that created a pattern of shadows that a human might have felt was slightly disorienting. It was quite clear to Saurial's eyes that the interior floor of the warehouse was almost entirely empty, save for some dust and an unfamiliar device sitting slightly off-center in the middle of the floor. There were several doors along one wall that probably led to offices or break rooms, but there were no lights on and no sound except for the scurrying of vermin. Idly, Taylor wondered if they were Earth creatures that had stowed away on starships or some local variety.
'Obviously a trap,' commented Taylor internally.
She felt agreement from the Varga. 'They most likely realized that they had been observed, and left an unpleasant surprise for anyone who chose to investigate.'
She frowned. 'We should probably neutralize that device before some local dockworker or cop stumbles across it.' That was almost certain to happen eventually.
It was a trivial exercise to find an unlatched window given the semi-abandoned state of the warehouse. From there, she was able to climb up the wall to the cross-beams holding up the warehouse's roof, then make her way over to a position close to the device. At that point, it was merely a thought to encase the entire device in a very thin layer of EDM. As soon as it was contained, her ears could detect the slight whine caused by advanced electronics and a hologram of a man appeared in the middle of the floor near the box. He was dressed in a black uniform with a black beret, but the outfit was completely devoid of any insignia. He was caucasian, and physically average in terms of height and weight, though clearly fit, with neatly trimmed brown hair and dark eyes. The hologram looked up to where she was still hanging from one of the rafters and said, "Ms. Saurial, I presume?" The voice was a cultured baritone with just the slightest hint of an accent from somewhere in the American South.
Saurial dropped down to the floor of the warehouse, her expression a mix of curiosity, amusement, and caution. "I am. With whom am I speaking?"
"You can call me Colonel Andrews. I was hoping we could have a discussion on some matters of mutual concern." He said this with the slightest hint of a smile on his lips.
With a quick glance around, she verified that the warehouse was still empty. The equipment to generate the holographic image appeared to be embedded under the plaster of the far wall. Turning to look back at the image, she replied, "Are you the one who is responsible for the attacks against some of our associates?"
His smile widened, though it didn't extend to his eyes. "You give me too much credit, Ms. Saurial. Like so many others, I am merely an agent of a higher power."
The reptilian woman sat down on her tail, as though chatting with a friend over lunch. "And who would that be?"
"My...sponsors...would prefer to maintain the illusion of security through obscurity for as long as possible," he replied with a hint of honest amusement. "You and your associates have a tendency to meddle in the affairs of others."
A scaled eyebrow raised. "We simply protect our own. There are far too many different realities to go around trying to fix every problem."
The man relaxed into a stance that looked to be a form of parade rest with his hands behind his back. "That would be more convincing if I didn't know your history. You and your Family have stopped at least three of the world-destroying parasites native to your branch of the multiverse in three different realities. You conquered the creators of the xenomorphs, exiled the Goa'uld System Lords, reformed the Guardians of Oa, put Peter Parker in charge of a unified Earth Defense Force, freed Mab's Winter Knight from bondage, sent the Terran Empire packing from the United Federation of Planets... Well, I could go on for quite some time if I wanted to do so. Your curriculum vitae is quite extensive. It does demonstrate that you, by your very nature, frequently meddle in the affairs of others to often great effect."
She gave a slow nod of her head. "When you list it out like that, I have to admit I can understand why you would feel that way."
"Out of curiosity, what is it that helps you decide when to intervene? As you said, there are quite a lot of realities. The one in which we are having this conversation has an Earth that teeters on the brink of war. I'm sure you've found plenty of other examples in your travels. There are even interdimensional Nazis wandering around this set of universes." His tone was neutral, but he seemed to emphasize the word, "Nazis."
'He is quite obviously probing for information while giving little in return,' warned Varga silently.
Taylor replied, 'I'm aware. He also seems to know quite a lot about us.'
'That is not particularly surprising, given that we know a lot of the raids appear to be focused on gathering intelligence. We likely know mostly about the raids that were less successful.'
'Let's see if we can close the information gap a little,' commented Taylor. Out loud, Saurial said, "Unlike some, we don't make it a habit to raid other realities simply for the sake of convenience."
He seemed to find that amusing. "You're just powerful enough that your very presence in a reality tends to rewrite history, then? Do you take no proactive measures? I'm fairly certain that the System Lord Anubis didn't capture himself in a prop from a comedy film. Certain parties found that particular escapade extremely funny, I'm sure."
Saurial ignored the prompt and said, "If you wanted to talk to me, then there are easier ways to open a dialog. Ones where I would be more likely to talk openly."
He gave a shake of his head. "Easier, perhaps, but not safer. Apart from wanting to know more about us, we have a bit of insurance ready in case you weren't feeling so chatty. Once we're done with our talk, I'll provide you with the location of the other device we've hidden in this city. It's a copy of the one in your box. It's a relatively low-yield fusion device. It's fairly clean as such things go, as there aren't enough garden worlds this pretty to poison this one without reason. It would, however, kill a lot of the locals and could even touch off a global war back on the Earth of this universe." He paused, then added, "And yes, I'm quite aware it likely wouldn't do more than mildly inconvenience you."
I am starting to become particularly annoyed by this man and his superiors,' commented Varga. Taylor couldn't help but agree. Saurial asked, "What is it you want to know from me?"
The holographic man appeared to mull something over briefly. "Did you know that Brockton Bay is a very unusual city? The circumstances that led to its founding in your world don't happen everywhere. In nearly three-quarters of the realities we've found where the city's founder even exists, he ends up killing himself by drunkenly plunging off the side of his own ship."
Saurial frowned. "I'm not as surprised to hear that as I probably should be."
"When it does exist," continued Andrews, "it is almost always a magnet for trouble. In many of the stories about the city across the multiverse, do you know what name comes up more than any other?"
She had a suspicion where this was going, but flippantly replied, "Fugly Bob's? They do make a tasty burger."
Ignoring her response, he said, "In most versions of history for that city, the name Taylor Hebert plays a very prominent role. In many cases, she literally saves the world...or more than one."
"I've met more than one version of Taylor," acknowledged Saurial. "Some of them I consider friends." There was an undeniable air of menace about her last sentence, but the other man seemed unaffected, possibly because he wasn't actually physically present.
Colonel Andrews gazed piercingly at Saurial. "Yes. You go to great lengths to protect your friends. You're perfectly willing to admit to mistakes and take corrective action, and to ignore any number of events unless you have a personal interest."
Saurial tilted her head to the side. "None of that is exactly a secret," she commented.
The man actually laughed out loud. "Ah, but what is publicly known about somebody does not always reveal who they are in reality." He again gave her a short stare. "Often, public figures turn out to be somebody entirely different in private." He sighed. "Very well, you will find the other explosive device in a drainage tunnel near the local headquarters of the Himmad Trading Conglomerate. Just look for a rather ugly statue of a hippopotamus that one of the less-talented local artists donated to the city. I was almost tempted to detonate the bomb just to remove that aesthetic blight..." With that comment, the hologram winked out. There was a sizzling sound and a puff of smoke wafted from where the projector was buried in the wall.
'That was interesting and troubling,' said Taylor.
Varga clearly shared that sentiment. 'Yes. We should deal with these devices, then speak with the rest of the Family and the Angels.'
Neither of them was certain whether they or the mysterious Colonel Andrews had gotten the better of that exchange.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Maggie let the video call connect. Her father and stepmother were soon looking at her from the wall screen.
"Hey, kiddo," greeted her father, Harry Dresden. "How was the vacation with Pete's family?"
Maggie rolled her eyes. "I know you two already know everything that happened. Uncle Peter and MJ probably sent you videos, and I'm sure Metis did if they didn't."
"Yes," replied her stepmother, Karrin. "We're very aware. We're also aware that you're quite capable of taking care of yourself, and we trust Pete and the Family to help keep you safe. Would you prefer we act like over-protective parents?" she asked sarcastically.
"No, that's fine," replied the young woman, albeit a bit grudgingly. "The parts when we weren't fighting off kidnappers or invaders was fun. May was really happy to show off her hometown, and Sophia had never been outside Brockton Bay before, so watching her reactions was fun." She told them a bit more about their leisure activities, though her dad was obviously not so interested in the shopping parts. Harry and Karrin, in turn, shared some minor news about their friends, the family company, and the supernatural community back home.
"Stephen sent me an interesting report on the rocks your would-be kidnapper used to suppress magic in the immediate vicinity. I'll send you a copy. It was clever, albeit nasty and dark in some ways."
Maggie shivered. "Yeah, the power drain effect was not fun to watch and it felt even worse from a mystical perspective. I can't say I'm not curious about the details, though."
"You're doing OK, though?" asked her dad with concern in her voice.
She nodded. "I've already got some counseling sessions scheduled. I'm coping, but anything I'm missing will be caught by the Nox." The humanoid aliens made for supernaturally good therapists, even if they occasionally disapproved of some of the antics Saurial and the rest of the Family caused.
"Call us if you need anything, sweetheart. We love you," said her dad.
Maggie smiled and replied, "I love you, too." Then she disconnected the call.
In the office of the CEO of Dresden Security, Harry exchanged a look with his wife. "She seems to be doing all right with it."
Karrin nodded, then leaned in to give her husband a hug. "It's hard not to worry about her. I guess we should tell everyone to stand down?"
Harry sighed. "Yeah, I think we're good." Harry had collected a number of favors from some very powerful people even before he met a certain lizard of odd repute. Since then, the number of favors owed to the man had increased by an order of magnitude. Had the Dire Wraiths actually managed to kidnap Maggie and her friends, then they would have found themselves inundated with Dresden Security agents, White Council wizards, Knights of the Cross, supernatural mercenaries, werewolves, fae from both the Summer and Winter Courts, White Court vampires, members of the Cult of Aphrodite, and a few...more unusual...acquaintances known by the Dresdens. It would have made the destruction of the Red Court look like a minor skirmish in comparison. A lot of the more brutal and alien figures on the supernatural scene seemed to have an odd soft spot for Maggie Dresden. It was sometimes a bit discomfiting, but it meant that the girl had an astonishing amount of support if she needed it, and she wasn't even aware of much of it. Harry was relieved it wasn't necessary.
"You know with the Family involved, we probably wouldn't have needed to call in the calvary, and it isn't like Pete doesn't have some powerful friends," said Karrin sympathetically. The man worked daily with an Avenger, the leader of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, and the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., after all, and had the Sorcerer Supreme and the leader of the X-Men on speed dial.
With a smirk, Harry joked, "It is a shame, though. I was looking forward to seeing Kincaid again." He quickly lost his smirk at the annoyed look from his wife. He didn't know if she was annoyed because she and the mercenary Kincaid had dated before she married Harry, or because Harry had paid Kincaid to assassinate him to try and avoid becoming the Winter Knight much to his wife's dismay, or a mixture of both. He did know that it would be better if he kept his mouth shut on the topic, even if it took his brain a few moments to catch on to that obvious thought.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
She was not looking forward to this call. The Dire Wraiths did not like failure and tended to punish it severely. She wasn't directly to blame for the failure (and capture, she thought with a wince) of their agent on Earth. If their new ally took umbrage at their inability to capture a teenaged human girl, however, she could suffer the consequences. Her superiors wouldn't even wait for a heartbeat to sacrifice her for the sake of their alliance. Some of them would probably appreciate it greatly if that was all it took to make amends. Suppressing a sigh, she pressed the button to connect the call.
The human who called himself Colonel Andrews was not much to look at from her perspective. Honestly, all humans tended to look alike to her, other than the obvious gender differences and variations in coloring. He was merely the go-between, however, between the Dire Wraiths and what promised to be a massive source of power -- mystical and technological, based on the lucrative spoils from many universes. That meant that it was at least wise to feign respect to the human, even if she struggled to internalize it. She couldn't hide a small amount of shock when his first words to her were, "Your agents failed to acquire their targets."
After a pause, she cautiously answered, "Yes...how did you know?"
He frowned. "I know because our mutual antagonists would have reacted in ways they did not react if you had even one of the girls in question in custody. We are not unaware of what happens in your reality." Or in many others, he didn't need to add.
"The male on site leading the attack was overconfident," she stammered, unsure how annoyed the human on the screen actually was. "He fell into a trap laid by the group known as the Avengers."
Andrews raised a skeptical eyebrow. She couldn't help but be distracted by the way the odd little hairs over his eye twisted with his expression. "It didn't occur to him that letting the targets continue to go out in public was obvious bait after the failure of the first attack?"
She briefly pondered how to answer that. He almost certainly had thought it was a trap but had clearly felt that they could steal away with one of the targets despite the situation. In all honesty, the male was probably slightly desperate to partially expunge the black mark on his record from his previous failure. Better to keep the focus on his failure, so she replied, "He clearly overestimated his own cleverness and abilities."
"That seems to be a common failing of your people," replied the human. Her immediate reaction was a flash of anger, but she forced herself to tamp it down. "One thing you need to understand about humans is that we are, as a group, far more dangerous than we appear. Was it not your own seers who identified the threat from the humans in your universe?"
She frowned, but couldn't deny his point. "Yes," she admitted. After a slight pause, she asked, "Do you wish us to try again to capture the targets?" Hopefully, the answer was negative. They really didn't have any ready assets capable of making another attempt in the near term.
To her relief, he shook his head. "No need. I sincerely doubt any easy opportunities are going to present themselves. My suggestion is that you continue your efforts to distract the EDF. I believe one of your colleagues mentioned a plan involving the Badoon? We'll continue to keep appraised and provide support as necessary."
She nodded her agreement, somewhat relieved that he didn't appear aggrieved. "We shall destroy the humans of Earth!"
The uniformed man gave her a slightly condescending smile, then said, "Of course you will." The call was then disconnected from his end.
The female Wraith deliberately pushed aside the slight disquiet she felt at his response and chose to focus on her outrage. It was quite some time before she calmed down enough to continue her assignments.
So would 
