16.2 Abrasion
Piggot calmly pulled the bag off her head at the top of the stairs to my lab, and oriented on me. "Time to see the workshop then?"
I irritably waved an arm at her to follow me as I turned and led the way. This was another of dad's plans. Last night at dinner, he decided I should show Piggot my lab. Be more personable to her, and let Lisa listen in to get a further idea of how likely she was to betray us before we shared anything really pertinent.
At the top of the stairs I turned back to her. "Down here is my lab. The stairwell is heavily trapped, and the traps are changed regularly. Never attempt to enter my lab without my explicit permission and instruction."
She responds seriously. "I understand."
I ensure my generated voice is calm while I list out the instructions for getting going down the stairs, and note which tiles are trapped. It's the tiles touching blue tiles this week, and that she is not to stop moving until she's through the door at the bottom.
Nothing bad happens, and as we enter my lab, I step clear of her, turn around, and through my suit arms, control an industrial arm to grab onto my back. Picking myself up, and using the fingers of the industrial arm to form a chair, I sit down to rest.
I'm still peeved that dad is making me do this.
Piggot is looking irritable. I might as well not make this worse than it has to be for me. "Would you like to have a seat?" An arm near her gestures to my tea table and chairs.
She closes her eyes and takes a breath. I don't know what her normal heart rate is, but it seems pretty high currently. Even as I finish up scanning her, she nods to herself and sits down.
I swing myself over, stopping at a height and location as if I was seated with her at the table. "Any questions?"
I don't think I'm as polite as dad would want me to be, but I really don't like her being here.
Imaging of her movements suggests she's trying to hide some tension I hadn't been able to see with my own eyes.
"You like the dark and shadow?"
"Not really, I'm just indifferent. The light levels don't affect my work, so I've never put much effort in modifying them from how they originally existed in this room."
"Why invite me to talk, and why do it in your lab?"
Well, hopefully we can get this over quickly. "Xanatos burned the last favor I owe him to get me to show you my lab and encourage us to interact beyond me learning what I can before your inevitable betrayal of me to the PRT."
She doesn't make a retort, and I feel a stab of, well, not guilt, but desire to not get a talking to later from dad. "I apologize, the last part of that statement was not appropriate."
Piggot decides not to respond, and I just move on. "There are a few things I want to talk about, you, Arania, the Merchants, and how else to help Brockton Bay."
"Alright."
Piggot actually flinches as I flail some of my arms in frustration. "Ok, first: you. Can you suggest some way, outside of the PRT and its allies, through which I could convince you to extend some modicum of trust to me?"
She remains closed off, "Nothing comes to mind. You value secrecy more than interaction, and so you can fully fake any aspect of how you present yourself."
"Fine. Then the next point. Assuming you start telling the PRT about us, despite agreeing not to, I have preferences that I wish you to consider about Arania, for her well being. As near as I can tell, she's a kid or young adult."
"Making her Wards age. Alright, I'm listening."
"Her power isn't just the Changer rating of her body, she's also a Tinker, and it's an ability that is directed towards self-modification."
"Biological modification, like Bonesaw." Her words are quieter now, though I still can't tell what she's feeling.
"Yes, which is why I'll be keeping her and her work away from you as much as possible." I almost leave it at that, but I'm tired and cranky, and she's just so frustrating. "That way you lot don't fuck her up and drive her into villainy."
Piggot snorts derisively at me, and I take a breath to try and calm down. "The point is, I'm monitoring what she makes, which is very little so far, and ensuring that there are no problems. If by some mistake on my part, the PRT attacks me, and she ends up captured. I would consider it appropriate that the PRT also learns that Arania is harmless, despite her unsettling appearance and methods. Tinkers, like all parahumans, need to exercise their powers. Preventing her from doing so, or attacking her for it, is what I expect the PRT to do, but perhaps you'd be willing to act to protect somebody in this case."
"Are you keeping her from building anything self-reproducing, or contagious?"
"I don't need to."
Finally, Piggot emotes, with what I think is fear and anger. "No! You have to keep her from infecting people, or creating plagues and monsters."
I tensed a bit as she yelled, but she hadn't gotten up, simply leaning forward to rage at me. I wait, tinkering quietly until she runs out of patience and leans back into her chair. Once she does, my generated voice replies without a quaver. "I do the appropriate diligence in teaching her the dangers of self-propagating organisms, and anything designed to operate autonomously, in addition to the importance of secondary effects. She mostly responds with mild approval and agreement. She has no interest in such things, and currently the majority of her work is geared towards giving herself a more humanoid form. Your reaction of blind panic and hate is why we're having this conversation."
She glowers at me, and I get a quiet minute of assembling turtle and ant units, while I work on repairing the squiggles that are currently in my lab.
Eventually, she speaks. "So, what, you want to tell her she can run to my house if you get attacked and killed?" Then adds snidely, "No friends who could be more understanding?"
Maybe I am addicted to my interface, but it is very calming to be so close to my tinkering. My voice, as much of a gurgle as it is, still comes out sweetly, "If I wanted understanding, I wouldn't ask for it from someone who hates me and people like me for simply existing. However, I expect that your pride, if nothing else, will demand that you act like a decent person. I intend to tell Arania to run for the PRT if I'm killed, and that she is to metaphorically clamp her mouth shut after demanding that you show up to verify that you've been informed about her power. Not that you can lessen the impact, of course, but a confirmation that she's been active and not done such reprehensible things as you fear, might go a long way."
Piggot shudders, very slightly. I only see it with my scanners. "Recluse, if you truly have her best interests at heart, she needs to start earning trust with the PRT. That will allow her to stay in good standing as she begins to build the more complex things that her tinkering will lead her to as she develops her power. The longer she waits, the more frustrating the long and slow catch up process of getting her tinkertech through an approval board will be for her. She doesn't have to fight. If she's like you, and willing to just exist and tinker, that can be arranged."
Right, time to poke at wounds a bit. Lisa suggested and dad approved. "Kids, I'm told, as I don't have any of my own, can be rather optimistic and trusting. Most of them want to be the hero, in spite of all reason and sense. I never met him, but Thrawn once noted to me that Kid Win had been like that. Was he wrong?"
I watch Piggot sigh, slouching just a bit into the seat. "No, he wasn't wrong, Kid Win wanted to be a hero, and that was in spite of all reason and sense. Fine, I'll be a character witness for Arania, if it comes to that. Only after I get to meet her though, and we can both see how long we can keep her striving towards heroics. We'll detail out a proper introduction later. I'd like to get through the rest of this meeting and start drinking."
"Very well. I don't need, or care to know about, PRT secrets from you. However, in your opinion, would dropping Skidmark and Squealer off at the Toronto PRT facility together be acceptable? I've got them imprisoned separately at present, and need to know about the best way to drop them off to ensure they stay locked up. Alternatively, I could arrange to drop one off at Montreal and the other in Toronto."
She shrugs. "Put a locked helmet on each of them, as well as a thick coat, locked mittens, some restraints and just shove them out of a van as you drive past the building. Unless you get chased by a Mover, that should be enough to get them attention immediately without getting you caught."
"And they'll stay imprisoned?"
"Better odds than if they stay here with whatever dregs are left of their gang desperate to be relevant and powerful again. Up north, or you could do Boston or New York. Anyway, the breakout would be in a form of recruitment from locals, and even then, they wouldn't be coming back in that case."
"That is fine then. I'll make arran-" I'm distracted by an intruder signal going off at my house. "Just a minute please, Ms Piggot."
Pulling up the logs, looks like two people, on the small end of average adult stature. Likely women based on the ongoing refinement of the sonar imaging data.
"Do I need to leave?" Piggot interrupts my thoughts.
I tell Lisa privately, "Thrawn, people just broke into my house." While I'm doing that, I simultaneously tell Piggot, "No, the danger isn't here. It's a place I'm protecting."
"Keep me connected, I'll contact Danny and send some mercs. Might as well keep Piggot in the loop. I think this is something that her hearing about will benefit us. Even if we don't like it overall."
"Some people just broke into the Hebert's house. I'll put my security equipment on broadcast in my lab, though at the moment, they appear to be silently checking for occupants."
"Have you alerted the Heberts?"
"I've alerted Thrawn, he'll contact Mr Hebert."
"You find anything?" Sophia's voice is broadcast into my lab. Piggot and I silently listen.
"No, no food or anything interesting. Anybody upstairs?" And of course, Emma.
"No, or at least they're not in their rooms and I didn't hear anybody. Anyway, we'll be gone quick, I've got to get back before the babies and babysitters start whining. Tagg still isn't willing to move me out from the Wards facilities, so I can't stay out for long."
"You sure you don't want a momento? I mean, it's just tragic after everything that's happened to Taylor, that the house she grew up in burned down. If her friends, her betters, just happened to have a few keepsakes, maybe a picture of her dead mother or something. Well, we could at least tell her that we have it. You know, if she ever really wants it back."
Sophia starts chuckling.
I seal the house, and start charging the doors and walls with electricity. I'm pretty sure overcharging the walls would make them arc internally as long as I cut the grounding cables at the base of the walls, and ground the floor in the center. It'd be like being on the inside of a tesla coil that was on fire.
However, then I'd have to deal with them, which would be even more frustrating if they lived.
Also, heroes don't kill people.
I unseal the house. Being safe and secret is more important than the house. Dad wouldn't want me to risk exposure. They're not worth it. Killing people in revenge is wrong.
"Are the Heberts in there?" Piggot interrupts my thoughts.
"No."
Before I can continue speaking, Sophia speaks again. "Alright, you grab a couple things, and I'll shadow walk the kerosene in."
Piggot continues, "Can you stop them?"
Sophia leaves, in a process that I now recognize as phasing through the door, which is how the pair of them got inside.
I grit my teeth, even as my voice speaks normally. "Would you like me to call the PRT and report it? I'm pretty sure I'm considered an untrustworthy villain. The Heberts aren't exactly valuable people to the PRT anyway. I doubt they'd send anybody, and the fire department likely doesn't have the resources to do more than ensure the building burns safely, assuming they send anybody either."
That at least shuts Piggot up.
Lisa chooses that moment to interject privately. "I've got people leaving in three minutes. Danny is waking up. A second group will be going to pick him up. If you choose to act, let me know."
"Well, Piggot? Thrawn is convinced you have leadership and command ability. Recommendations? I'm leaning towards having Thrawn send a jeep over there. I expect this-"
Sophia cuts me off, unknowingly. "Hey, Survivor, you done?"
"Sure thing, Sophia, I-"
"Hey, no names," Sophia hisses, "there's always a chance of being overheard."
Piggot groans in irritation, rubbing the bridge of her nose with one hand..
"Right. You spread the gas around, I'll unlock the door and light the stove thing. Where'd you get this anyway? It looks like beer can."
"It is a beer can. I took off some fucker that startled me. He didn't need it afterwards."
Emma's huff of derision comes through clear enough.
PIggot gets my attention, "Recluse, I'll go with Thrawn's goons. A house fire might get enough attention for somebody to check. Showing up in a cape costume will attract even more attention than the mercs."
"Fine. You should get going then. Thrawn's people are already loading a van. Although, this is assuming you aren't going to screw me by trying to figure out my lair's location?" I launch squiggles at full speed from my lair, containing an expanding fire suppressant foam. Maybe they'll beat the jeep to my house. I doubt it, but at least it's a backup.
She considers this for a moment, "How much do you know about these arsonists?"
I smirk, behind my mask. "Do you mean that they're two women, one being five foot five, the other, the one referred to as 'Sophia', being five foot six, and that they're likely Emma Barnes and Sophia Hess, the two main tormentors of Taylor Hebert, instrumental in her trigger event. Or that Sophia can shadow walk herself and carried objects, suggesting a parahuman power either similar to Shadow Stalker, or that she may be said cape?"
"I see. What are you going to do with those conclusions?"
"Probably nothing. It's a useful test after all."
"For what?"
I smirk, even though I keep my generated voice at an even level. "To find out what you do about that information and what sort of person you are. If you want to catch the jeep, it's leaving in just over a minute."
