AN: A bit later than I had intended, but here it is! I blame Total Warhammer 3 for the delay.
And stay safe, people. The world isn't turning saner any time soon.
Tattletale's Interlude - 3
Inside one of Coil's former satellite bases was where Lisa had set up her private office. One that remained just outside the reach of Heavy Gear's sensor network because most of the deals she intended to carry there were the kind that weren't polite to be carried out in public.
And she said that with full knowledge that if she proposed to assassinate someone the majority of Heavy Gear would take her idea as perfectly valid.
She just hoped that when her small side project got revealed -and it would, that was inevitable-, the bunch of idiots would appreciate all the hardships she went through for them.
Particularly those that involved having to tolerate annoying people.
"Miss Tattletale," the man in front of her said. "Our concern is that we believe your resources could be better used somewhere else."
He was standing -not sitting because he saw that as a vulnerability- inside a white room devoid of any windows, and with some paintings and furniture here and there breaking the white monotony. He was dressed in a very casual fashion, with wide-rimmed glasses and a loose shirt that he kept outside his pants. Anyone who looked at him would discard his face as one in thousands, but those 'in the know' would recognize his casual demeanor as a carefully crafted costume.
He was the Number Man, the cape banker who controlled the world's economy, and who could process numbers better than any supercomputer. At least, any human one.
The reason why Lisa had called him was that he helped supervillains manage their finances, a service that allowed him to control them. The reason why he had answered, though, was because on this occasion he was performing another function:
Cauldron's spokesman.
To that effect, their two offices had been connected by a breach in space that looked like the portals that Heavy Gear was so fond of. The difference was that, while Heavy Gear's portals needed to be anchored to a solid surface to function, this one had materialized in empty air.
"And where would you want them to be?" Lisa snapped back at him, frustrated with the presumption that she could be so easily bought. "Your hands? Because that's not happening."
A part of her had been hoping for this to be a quick and professional business transaction. It was the same part that still believed in the Easter Bunny.
She wasn't in the mood for one of their sales pitches.
But admittedly, the reason why it was so dry was partially her fault. Neither he nor their boogieman could 'see' her, couldn't predict her, and therefore couldn't prepare a better deal. Khaydarin had scrambled the sight of many shards, leaving many thinker powers as an unreliable mess. Not hers, thankfully, because her power used her human senses to function, filtering and sanitizing the chaos that surrounded her. That was the second main reason why she was working to spread the wonderful crystal across the world, the first one being the revenue that she could get from it.
"We have ample experience handling these matters," the Number Man continued. "We've been fighting this war for--"
"For far too long! With zero victories to your name." It almost made her feel bad. She was literally beating down blind people. "Admit it, what pisses you off is that the secret club you formed is no longer needed. Now you want me to join so you no longer look like a bunch of useless fuck-ups, but you have nothing that could interest me."
That was a lie. Be it through gift or a threat, she could imagine multiple ways they could either buy her or force her to comply, but without their powers telling them the easy answer they were left stumbling in the dark.
Like all those that they lorded over.
"Maybe you don't, but I wonder if your team would share that sentiment."
Was-- was he doing that?
Was he seriously suggesting stealing Tech-Priest?
That was downright sad. They had absolutely no idea what they'd be dealing with if they tried to contact him.
"Oh, I'd love to see this!" She laughed. "Want me to call them? They are just one portal call away and I could have the entire team here just for you! This will be so much fun!"
With his technology being invisible to them, it'd be a massacre. But it wasn't yet time for that, Cauldron was still needed if only to keep a semblance of order around the world.
"Are you sure you'd be willing to risk that? We can be very persuasive."
Lisa's grin grew wider. "So can I. But in exchange for a talk with my team, I get a talk with yours. There's a lot that I'm sure Legend would want to know about your organization."
They had done a good job keeping the leader of the Protectorate in the dark about their worst activities, knowing that if they came to light Legend would abandon them. Such a valuable asset was something that they couldn't allow themselves to lose.
"He knows what's at stake. He'll understand that what we did was to save uncountable lives."
"That could have worked when there were no other options," she countered. "But now we're here. How hard would you say it would be to convince Legend to switch his white and blue costume for a black and red one?"
The idea was hilarious, but the guy was too much of a stuck-up to do something like that. He'd see Heavy Gear as yet another Cauldron in the making. Getting him to stand aside, though, wouldn't be very hard.
"You speak very highly for someone who was successfully captured by the PRT just days ago."
Oh, yes, that had been a problem. In her rush to save Peter from himself, she had exposed herself to a moment of weakness that of course Cauldron would have taken notice of.
What the Number Man was implying was that they could have easily killed her.
"If I was so vulnerable, why didn't you try to take me out?" She replied, sounding unconcerned by it. "In fact, I was a bit disappointed when you didn't show up. I had an entire speech ready just for the occasion."
Of course, they wouldn't have done that. They refused to take any risks, only moved when their thinkers could ensure victory, and made sure never to leave traces behind.
It was funny how Cauldron feared getting their dirty laundry revealed more than they feared the end of the world.
"And for the record," she continued, "what I got in exchange for that was the complete loyalty of Tech-Priest." She, admittedly, felt rather sick saying that, but it was what they wanted to hear. "Plus a lot of knowledge about the inner workings of the PRT." She shrugged. "Or, you know, if I wanted to be lazy about it I could have just said 'the path told me to do it'."
There was a faint twitch in Number Man's eyelid that told her that her little snip had been more effective than she had been expecting.
"I'd advise against insulting her."
Oh, dear.
She was there!
Freaking Contessa, the boogieman, was on the other side of the portal, hidden at an angle that Lisa couldn't see!
The most dangerous cape in the world who had an invincible power had just listened to Tattletale making fun of her!
This suddenly got interesting.
Time to take a page from Peter's book and see if she could put the fire off by drowning it in gasoline.
"I don't fear her," she said, hoping that the Number Man wouldn't notice the cold sweat rolling down her back. "She's overhyped. After all, remind me: who is the Endbringer killer here? Because it definitely isn't her!"
He remained silent, not showing a single reaction.
Time to use her final ace and see if that did the trick.
"I wonder, though, if
Fortuna realizes the irony."
She just casually name-dropped her, implying a deeper secret there, now it was a waiting game to see if--
"What irony?"
There it was!
The bait had been taken, now it was time to spear that motherfucking fish down its throat.
"Her entire tribe was turned into monsters that started tearing each other apart, and now she makes a living of--"
"Enough!" He yelled at her. "I won't tolerate you insulting one of my colleagues!"
She had won.
The Number Man didn't believe in interpersonal relationships, seeing friendship as a shared delusion. The reason for his outburst wasn't because he respected Contessa or anything remotely as silly as that. The truth behind it was far simpler and even sillier.
It was one thing to reveal information about people that lived in Earth Bet or even be able to counter Endbringers. But to casually dance circles around the singular pillar that allowed Cauldron to function?
Lisa had just made them shit their collective pants.
Even more, if she was right, she had just made freaking Contessa bleach.
Yes, reminding people about their trigger events wasn't a nice thing to do, but they were a bunch of hypocritical dickheads so they could suck it.
"You're right," she told him, bringing the tip of her fingers together in a sign of victory. "As fun as the foreplay was, I came to you with a specific business in mind. So, do you have it?"
Number Man remained there staring at her in silence before he finally spoke. "Now you're insulting me assuming that I wouldn't."
From inside the pocket of his shirt, he pulled out an envelope, and in a fraction of a second Lisa saw him calculating the angle of flight, wind resistance, and weight of the projectile.
With a swipe of his wrist, he tossed it, and the envelope gracefully flew through the air as if carried by an invisible hand before elegantly landing right on top of her desk.
Now that was just a flex!
She refused to end this conversation without the last word, so:
"And, hey, no hard feelings when we kill Jack Slash, right?"
The portal immediately blinked out of existence, robbing Lisa of whatever expression had crossed through Number Man's face. But that on itself told her enough.
For someone who claimed to work saving lives, and who believed friendship to be a lie, he kept some strange relationships.
The saying 'show me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are' came to mind.
Oh, well, the important step had been successfully completed and hopefully, she wouldn't have to deal with them ever again.
She reached for the envelope, testing it with the tip of her fingers and using her powers to search for any deadly surprises. Like anthrax. But it was clean as far as she could tell, and her purchase inside was exactly as they had agreed upon.
Medhall stocks. A good bunch of them.
Turns out that if you buy or sell stocks in bulk just before a company makes a big announcement that drastically shifts its market value, people will get curious. The government has as many laws regulating market manipulation as it has agencies (both mundane and parahuman ones) looking for suspicious activities. That's why she needed the Number Man to launder these ones.
A pity she couldn't keep them because if she were to sell them now she'd live comfortably for years to come.
But she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She had successfully negotiated with Cauldron, not only keeping the upper hand but also making them fear her just a little bit more.
This deserved a celebration!
And so she pushed her revolving chair back, kicking the ground with one foot to give herself a small spin.
"Woohoo!" She cheered, raising her fists in the air. "My life is a house of cards built on pillars of sand and the only reason it hasn't collapsed yet is because I keep pumping bulshit into it!"
It was all so freaking stupid! It was one lie put on top of another lie to justify a third lie that hadn't even been said yet!
So that was what being an adult felt like.
It sucked.
Why exactly was she doing this again?
Well, if she was being honest with herself, thanks to Tech Priest's knowledge she was now widely regarded as the strongest thinker on the planet -second only to the Simurgh- and she loved the attention.
And then there was that entire thing about the world about to be destroyed by an alien mind that couldn't be reasoned or bargained with. As someone who planned to live forever, and who currently kept all her things on said planet, Lisa objected to that.
But, by those metrics, the Number Man was right in that she could accomplish more going to them with all the knowledge she had. But it wasn't her style. She liked being around people and she didn't like hypocrisy as a matter of principle. And yes, she was a tiny bit hypocritical herself but admitting to that made it better. Besides, being on the side of good (or at least the side that wasn't full of dickheads who saw Jack-fucking-Slash as a friend) made her feel all fuzzy and nice inside when she went to bed at night. And working alongside Heavy Gear had allowed her to buy a luxury bed where she could sleep very well.
And then there was Taylor.
When Lisa had first seen her she had taken her for yet another prideful prick. The kind who lied to herself and others to make herself look good.
Then, when Peter told her that in this 'original timeline' of his they had ended up as loyal friends, she had scoffed at the idea. Not only because she thought he had said that to get her on their side, but also because pursuing that relationship felt like fulfilling some cosmic plan. And Lisa didn't like being used. Be that by humans, aliens, or bearded men in the clouds.
And yet, here she was.
It was almost painful how open and genuine Taylor was. For someone like Tattletale, there were no secrets to dig out. Everything was there written on her face for Lisa to read.
She was the kind of person that Lisa thought didn't exist. At least, not anymore after her brother's… passing.
The kind who didn't 'play the game'. The kind who didn't cheat, offered fake smiles or fake affection to get what she wanted. She genuinely tried to be better and worked hard to improve herself to remain on top, and didn't see the value of stepping on other people's heads to keep them down.
Like Cauldron was actively trying to do with them.
Taylor would have gone mad long ago fighting against a world that saw honesty as an object of mockery if Peter hadn't given her the tools she needed to punch back.
That was another thing she had in common with Regie.
Lisa had seen that sliver of despair encroached within Taylor's soul that would have led her to make poor choices if not removed.
The same one she had ignored in Peter. The one she had been almost too late to save him from.
She wasn't going through another loss like that. Never again.
Yes, the simple fact was that she had gotten sentimental. And who could blame her? After fleeing from her home and living on the streets, the next person she interacted with in any meaningful way had been fucking Coil. Even when compared to the Undersiders, which she saw as dear friends, Heavy Gear remained as the nicest people she had ever met.
It may sound childish, but she wanted to help them succeed.
That was why she took these insane risks.
And insane risks they were because the only reason why she was still alive was that no one, absolutely no one, had said: 'hey, maybe we should just grab a gun, aim it at Tattletale's head, and tell her to do as we say or get her brains sprayed all over the wall!'
Of course, she'd have been revived, and it wasn't like lead would remain a concern for long, but it was the principle of it! It was how Coil had managed to keep her under his control, and for all his many, many faults, knowing how to keep his minions motivated wasn't one of them.
And yet, he too had been defeated at the end. He had put all his eggs in the singular basket that was his ability to split timelines, and the moment someone figured it out and developed a counter for it, his entire organization had been torn to shreds.
Having an army after his head had also helped with the process.
Still, as a thinker herself, it was frightening to see how overreliance on those powers crippled creativity and led to tunnel vision.
Just look at what had happened to Eden!
She had been so busy using Path to Victory to craft a perfect outcome for their experiment that she forgot to hit the brakes when she arrived at her destination! She had ended up crashing against the planet and dying to a cavewoman (or medieval peasant, Peter hadn't been clear about that one) armed with a rusty knife.
If she was brought to life Lisa was fairly sure that Eden would end up dying again out of embarrassment alone. She had been a demigod so busy crafting intricate and perfect plots that she had ignored what was directly in front of her face and ended up paying the ultimate price for it.
Just like it was happening to Cauldron now.
All their secrets, their plots, and their paths had stopped being just tools for them to use and became parts of their very identity.
The reason why Lisa could dance circles around them, even with the advantage of Peter's knowledge, was because -and it pained her to say this- they thought that she was far stronger than she truly was.
Thinkers were the most powerful capes. They were the leaders, the ones who commanded the 'lesser capes'. Therefore, if Contessa's paths and all of Cauldron's schemes were failing around Brockton Bay, then it clearly was because of something that Lisa was doing.
They didn't realize that she was innocent, and kept wasting time and resources trying to counter her while the one they should have been focussing on was Peter and his tech.
She wondered if there was some lingering programming from Zion and Eden's relationship there. Eden was the thinker who gave the orders while Zion was the warrior who obeyed them without objection. That was why after her death Zion found himself adrift, not knowing what to do.
That could also explain why so many powerful thinkers were female, but Lisa preferred not to think too hard about that.
An alarm clock rang, informing her that the second dance of the day was about to begin. She had set it up because the next person she was meeting had killed people in the past for daring to wear unbuttoned shirts, and so she needed to get ready.
Lisa rushed in front of a mirror to make sure she didn't have a single hair out of place and that her clothes were devoid of any imperfection. Once she was done, she got comfortable behind her desk, and when the time came she lick her lips before giving the order:
"Portal to Boston."
A new hole in the space-time continuum was punched open, this time created with Heavy Gear's technology, and connecting her office to one situated in the nearby city.
Unlike Number Man's, this one was washed by natural light, with the window on the back indicating that it was located at least on a twentieth floor. Probably more. It was also arranged in a perfectly symmetrical way, and it was easy to tell that there wasn't a single speck of dust in that entire room.
Her host was already waiting for her behind a desk of his own. He was a short man, shorter than her, dressed in a tailored business suit which was probably as expensive as his office. To hide his identity he wore an articulated wooden mask with silver details, and to his sides, he was flanked by his bodyguards: a man and a woman dressed in a similar fashion.
"Tattletale," Accord greeted her. "I appreciate your sense of timing."
"Well, it's like they say," she replied, cracking a smile. "Punctuality is the duty of knights and the courtesy of kings."
Accord would surely appreciate the comparison, but reading him was proving to be a pain. There was something there blocking her power as if she was trying to read a book through a tarnished window.
Shit.
She knew who the female bodyguard was.
Citrine, the parahuman who could alter a given space, modifying the effects of gravity, heat, light, and even time inside of it. And, by finding the correct frequency, she could interfere with parahuman powers.
Tattletale had been robbed of the micro-expressions she'd normally use to read people's intentions, and so she'd have to rely on her good old charm. And Peter's cheat knowledge. Which sadly wasn't going to be as useful because Accord's organization hadn't been as relevant as Cauldron in the story he had read, and so he didn't have as many secrets or details that Lisa could use.
"Very true." Accord nodded and his articulated mask shaped into a smile, but Lisa didn't need her power to tell her that it was out of courtesy alone. "Do you have the payment?"
She gestured at the envelope resting at her desk. "Right here. Show me the product and we can go our respective ways."
As someone who detested chaos, Accord had forbidden the consumption of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes all across his territory, and refused to commercialize them. To compensate for that and turn into one of the richest villains in the world, he had found two niches where his power excelled at.
One was human trafficking.
The other was the crafting of perfect plans that he then sold to the highest bidder. And, when the payment was high enough, he also acquired unique items for his clients.
Like he had done for Tattletale.
At least, that's what she had been hoping for.
"The item in question is in my possession," he confirmed. "But after realizing its true nature I've become concerned about it."
Lisa bit back a curse. This was going to turn into yet another annoying back and forth between thinkers.
"Did Cauldron contact you?"
That was the most logical assumption. They wouldn't want the information she had asked for to land on just anyone's hands so they'd fight to keep it secret. But she realized that she had been wrong the moment that Accord allowed an expression of smug satisfaction to cross his face.
"That's the most curious thing. They didn't. That either means that this all fits into a plan that not even I can decipher, or that their control is slipping."
And by failing in her analysis, Lisa had just let slip that she wasn't infallible either.
Better to course-correct.
"I just came from a meeting with them," she said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder. "And, if I can say so myself, I sent them back running with their tails between their legs."
Accord went silent, maybe analyzing the best way to figure out if she was telling the truth.
"The boogieman--"
"Please, Accord, don't insult me," Lisa cut in with a raised palm. "The Number Man already tried threatening me with Contessa." She paused, making sure that her next words were heard as clearly as possible. "She was the easiest one to break."
A bold claim. Many had tried to outsmart Cauldron in the past and they were all either dead or cowered into submission.
Like Accord himself had been.
But they were living in interesting times where the rules that had once shaped the cape communities were starting to unravel, and where a new paradigm was taking shape. Those who managed to adapt to it and navigate the chaotic waters would find riches at the end of their voyage, and those who didn't would crash against the rocks.
"I don't like to be interrupted," Accord grunted, his emotions still a mystery. "And I do not appreciate unpredictability either. My concern is that if I give this to you then you will plunge the world into a spiral of chaos and destruction it may not recover from."
And yet, he had still gotten it for her and was willing to meet her like this. Was it professional pride? A flash of moral responsibility? Or was he now trying to use it to bargain for something else?
Definitely the latter.
"It's just business," she replies diplomatically. "Cauldron had their chance, they made a noble effort keeping the world stable under the circumstances, but they are steadily falling and it's time for new blood to take their place. Changes of power are inherently violent, but they can be used to channel people's passions into more productive endeavors. You just need to have the intelligence and vision to see the patterns behind what lesser minds would erroneously call 'chaos'."
Accord was vain and full of himself. Like most thinkers were. Except for Lisa who was perfect in every single way. So with those words, she hoped to get him on her side.
"Young people always make wild promises, but they rarely can back them up with actual accomplishments. That's why I don't like investing in them, it's too much of a gamble. Will you return my investment, Tattletale?"
Lisa fought against herself to keep her expression steady.
The way he had said it--
This wasn't a negotiation. At no point, Accord had expected not to close this deal. The purpose of this entire tirade was for him to see how much room he had to wiggle. Not from Lisa, but from Cauldron.
Their method of exercising control through fear had worked as long as they appeared invulnerable, but now that they had been wounded all their previous 'associates' were smelling the blood in the water and wanted their pound of flesh.
Accord hated them. He hated that had to constantly look over his shoulder to make sure that one of his plans didn't run contrary to one of theirs, and hated that they could contact him at any moment and order him to do anything. But now Lisa came along and showed him a way to break free from under their thumb. A way for him to carve his own little empire from the ruins of the old one.
That would be a problem in the long run.
What was he planning?
It involved her. He needed her help to achieve it.
Something involving Heavy Gear's trade lanes.
Did he want to expand his network of human trafficking?
No. He knew that he had no way to keep any product he sent into the lanes hidden from Taylor and Peter, and they'd fight him.
Whatever it was, it was something that at first glance would look legal. Even more so, it would look like something beneficial for the greater whole.
Unable to read him through Citrine's protection, she fell back into the knowledge that Peter had given her and made a gamble.
"You haven't forgotten about solving world hunger after all."
There was a sudden pause, and even if Accord was harder to surprise, his two bodyguards lacked his discipline, and for a fraction of a second Citrine's power fluctuated. Tattletale saw them shifting their feet, surprised by her knowledge, and ready to strike her down if their boss ordered them to.
Accord would later punish them for that breach of protocol.
"It is my passion project, and to this day I still see it as my greatest achievement." He kept his facade of politeness, but there was no doubt in Lisa's mind that he wasn't happy with this development.
"A pity that so many couldn't see it like that," she replied.
Accord prided himself for having solved world hunger in an afternoon with just a phonebook and the internet and then got his villainous moment (the one where he started yelling 'I'll show you all') after his boss at Watchdog told him that it was impossible to implement.
She hadn't seen that document, she didn't even know if it still existed, but she doubted that it was as perfect as the man believed it to be.
After all, this was the man who, after leaving Watchdog, had started amassing a fortune by trading humans. And, in his own words, all it would take to implement his master plan would be 'a great many moderate sacrifices from a number of people.'
Yeah, sure. Solving world hunger was easy if you didn't care about human well-being. Or lives.
He was yet another lunatic believing himself to be a savior, and the worst part was that, if she was right, the spread of Khaydarin would have no effect on his powers. He was like Tattletale in that regard, feeding information to his Shard through his human senses. And with his main competitors out of the business, his ambition would soar.
They'd eventually have to kill Accord before he killed them.
But at least for now, Lisa needed him to take a bigger target down.
"But I'm not like them," she continued. "And I'm sure that we can work something out."
Accord gave her a single sharp nod. "In four days I'll contact you again to further refine our collaboration. Citrine, give the lady what she asked for."
The woman walked up to Lisa with a black folder in hand. She set it down on her desk, and in exchange, she picked the envelope.
"A pleasure doing business with you," Lisa greeted her on her way out.
"Likewise."
And with that final exchange of fake pleasantries, the portal closed.
Once again in the safety of her solitude, Lisa released a long and tiring whistle while she allowed her shoulders to relax.
It had been done. With that folder in her possession, she had the means to start properly planning what was most likely going to be the most idiotic thing she had ever done in her life. Or any other life. And according to Peter, there had been many alternate Tattletales out there.
But maybe she could put that off for later.
She was tired as shit, and with that last meeting finished Lisa now had the time to lean back, close her eyes, and maybe take a break.
"You're playing a dangerous game, you know?"
Of course someone would object to the idea of her relaxing! May the Heavens have mercy on her if she ever tried to go on vacation!
Cracking a lazy eye open, the first thing Lisa saw were a pair of long fox ears. Looking a bit down she saw the silver hair, and a bit further down was the face of the artificial girl Nia who was looking at her as if she had found Lisa seated on her spot.
"Those are the only games worth playing," Lisa said and pretended to go back to sleep.
She wondered if Tech-Priest even understood what he did when he created Nia.
He liked talking about the importance of independence and free will, but something that he was just beginning to understand was that he used all those nice promises as a shield against the consequences of his action. After bringing new life to the world, their actions became an extension of his own.
And Nia was dangerous. Much like Tech-Priest himself.
Not just because of their powers, which were already obscenely strong as they were, but their mentalities.
They were fiercely loyal to those they allowed to get close, but in their hyper-individualistic mindset, they saw no value in the community. Oh, they weren't anarchists. They saw the benefit of society in providing them with goods and other comforts, and saw no reason to 'take down the system'. But they didn't consider themselves part of said community, and wouldn't go out of their way to protect it either as they didn't feel much empathy for any group of people too big to host inside a single room.
On the one hand, keeping them on her side was a guarantee. If she was ever in danger there was no line that those two wouldn't cross, no atrocity so unspeakable that they wouldn't consider it in the name of saving her life. That made her feel special.
On the other, if at any time Lisa stepped out of line and was perceived as a threat or, even worse, a traitor--
Her end wouldn't be quick or painless.
That had been one of the reasons why Lisa had brought Nia on board in this plan, to ensure that there were no misunderstandings and that Nia wouldn't terminate her before it came to fruition.
Also because, once this all got discovered, having someone on her side may end up saving her head.
A pity that for now at least, she needed to put up with Nia's antics. Like her kicking the chair to wake Lisa up.
"Come on, lazy ass. I already set everything on my side, so get to work."
"You do realize that I just faced some of the strongest capes in the world and that any mistake would have ended in my horrible, horrible death, right?"
"Don't be a drama queen. I'd have easily revived you."
No respect. No respect whatsoever.
But Lisa admitted that having someone able to revive her around granted her previously unseen flexibility. To both take risks in the name of victory, and also mess with people's heads in the name of amusement.
"What the hell," She finally surrendered, crawling back to her feet. "Sleep is for the weak. So lead me forth my fair shrine maiden!"
Nia rolled her eyes, but did as told and opened a portal for them.
And this was the second big reason why Nia had been brought on board. Because Lisa would need to move around some very specific circles unseen, and that'd prove to be prohibitively difficult with Big Brother Heavy Gear watching her every move.
Not even Newt knew that this branch of the portal network existed.
Nia had scowled at the idea of keeping her sister in the dark, but it was needed. Newt was too bombastic, too social, and one of the main faces of their group. If she disappeared for long stretches of time that would raise questions, but no one would bat an eye if Nia did the same.
Besides, Newt now had a family to look after.
"Is everything to your liking, princess?" Nia asked after they stepped through the portal.
It had led them to a brightly illuminated room, the size of a tennis court, located-- admittedly, Lisa wasn't sure. Definitely underground but she couldn't tell underneath which one of Brockton Bay's many buildings they were. Or if they were still in Brockton Bay at all.
Next to the portal there was a table with a pistol box waiting for her, and arranged around the room there were several foam mannequins.
"This will do."
At Lisa's confirmation, Nia turned around to leave. "I'm getting you something to eat and drink. I wouldn't want to return and find you a dried-up husk."
Lisa cracked a smile. Underneath her fake bravado and sarcasm, Nia did care. If anything, she could be too emotional for her own good, and when she let those emotions flourish they were like volcanoes that exploded in people's faces.
And Lisa did like playing with fire.
"You know that you can just ask him, right?" She said. "He won't object if you offer to put a leash on him."
Nia skipped a step, and Lisa added a point to her score.
"I know, but where would be the fun in that?" The fox-girl told her with a predatory smile. "Don't be a stranger, princess. Don't shoot yourself in the foot either."
And then she left, closing the portal at her back.
"I only promise to try," Lisa said to the empty room.
She most definitely was playing to win, but when one did the equivalent of juggling flaming chainsaws, accidents were almost a guarantee.
Setting Accord's folder on the table next to the gun, she opened it and started browsing it.
The first few pages were general medical exams. Blood pressure, red cell count, the typical.
Oh, excessive crystallization in the urine. That could be painful if not looked after.
She kept turning page after page, and finally, on the very last page, she found what she was looking for: the result of an MRI scan that officially shouldn't exist.
She wondered how Accord had managed to get it, but maybe that was something that she was better off not knowing.
The big problem when using brain scans to search for active capes was that the size and location of the Corona Pollentia and Gemma had a degree of randomness. They were difficult to search for, without pre-trigger scans you couldn't tell if they were active or inactive, and they were almost impossible to safely remove.
As far as she knew, there had been no account of a successful surgical intervention where the parahuman survived or his powers didn't go out of control, killing everyone around them.
And yet, she knew it was possible.
She just needed luck, good aim, and an absurdly broken power that allowed her to cheat to hell and back.
She wasn't keen on trusting the first, and it was arguable if she had the latter, so if she wanted to do this right when the time came, she'd have to practice.
"Two shots."
She picked the gun, racked the slide to verify the chamber was loaded, aimed at the head of the first mannequin, and pulled the trigger.
With the help of her power and the MRI scan, she realized that the first shot had landed two millimeters to the right of its target, and the second one, one millimeter too high.
She went for the second mannequin and did the same. This time she overcompensated and the first shot went four millimeters to the left while the second one remained the same.
She went for the third one.
This was going to take a while.
…
