The one thing Thomas Calvert liked about dealing with heroes was the predictability. While not every hero would respond exactly the same to specific stimuli, with the right leverage, even they would cave to pressure. His power was uniquely suited for applying that leverage. It allowed him to test the waters repeatedly until it came through correct without the consequences of a failed attempt. Oftentimes, the heroes didn't even realize that he was applying that leverage. But whether in his civilian guise or in his villain guise, he didn't just apply it. He squeezed it, wringing out the advantages that he needed to attain his goals, and through hook or crook, he would get there.
No matter what he had to do. No matter what pieces he needed to sacrifice, Brockton Bay would be his kingdom to rule as he played all sides against the other. It would take time, but Thomas Calvert was a patient man. He could await the correct time to enact a plan. He just needed to obtain the correct information.
For that reason, he had arranged two meetings today. While he could use his power to do them both simultaneously, to figure out the correct course of action, he would need to have his full capabilities available to him, especially when dealing with Thinkers of the caliber he needed to speak with this day.
In one timeline, he sat in the office of his underground complex dressed in his Coil costume, adjusting the fit appropriately and running a hand over his hardwood desk. It was rated highly enough that it would take someone with some major brute strength to crack, and he had bought it in the unlikely event that he would need to barricade his office's door. Truly, if that need ever came up, there would likely be other issues he would need to deal with.
In his other timeline, he sat in his private office at Diamondback Construction, adjusting his tie while in the underground base his body double, Julio Garza, sat with an earbud in, ready to repeat his every word as necessary, albeit on a slight delay while he listened to what was said to him. He made sure that the door to his office was closed, and he shut the blinds, hiding him from the view of the few employees that had chosen to eat lunch in the office that day. The benefits to being the CEO meant that he could set his own hours within reason and prepare his plans accordingly.
In both timelines, he reached into his desk to pull out a bag from Fugly Bob's. As he was one of the primary investors in that restaurant, he did enjoy it, but in the timeline where he was in his underground office, the bag was not for him. He instructed his body double to retrieve the bag as well. Then, pulling up the camera feed from the office, he began.
Tapping the intercom, and having his body double do the same, he said, "Mister Pitter, send her in."
"Right away, boss," Mister Pitter said. The man was loyal to him without Calvert having needed to apply very much in negative leverage. The death of his wife and the subsequent resolution of the various messes that she had caused in the deterioration of their marriage had earned his loyalty. Calvert knew that Pitter would serve him without fail. It would be hard to replace him should it come to that, but everyone was replaceable in the end.
Everyone except himself, of course.
In both timelines the door to his office opened, revealing a blonde girl in a skintight black and lavender outfit. His Tattletale, someone whom he'd needed to apply some negative leverage on. She hadn't wanted to join him at first, and he doubted that she wanted to stay in his employ. However, she was necessary to his plans, and as such, he would continue to use the tactics he needed to on her. She was far more useful as a field asset than she would be as a protected one, after all.
"Hello, Sarah, please come in," Coil said, in both timelines, though of course one was his body double repeating it. Using her real name, her actual real name was a show of dominance. It was to remind her of the power that he still held over her, without actually showing any direct violence. It would be uncouth to directly threaten any harm.
His Tattletale had gotten better. She managed to suppress her flinch this time as she came further into the office, her eyes flicking back and forth. For a brief second, she looked at the camera in both timelines, but in the timeline that he was using a body double, he swore that her plastered-on smile shifted ever so slightly. Good. She was already using her power.
"Thank you, Boss," Tattletale said as she took the proffered seat across from Coil. In both timelines, Calvert smiled, but Tattletale would be unable to see it in either. "What did you need me for?"
"First, you look hungry," Coil said, and he offered the bag on his desk. When Tattletale took it, he nodded, and he continued in both timelines. "There is a new player in Brockton Bay that has already made some waves."
As Tattletale took the first burger out of the bag, she paused for a second. "You mean Hunter, right?"
Then he made his first diversion in the conversation. In the timeline where he was actually there, he asked, "Yes, what can you tell me about this new cape?"
In his other timeline, he instructed Julio to nod. Julio had such practice imitating his voice and intonations. "Yes, her. She participated in the fight against the Simurgh in Canberra two days ago, and she was instrumental in driving the Endbringer off."
In the timeline where he was there with Tattletale, her smile stretched into its insufferable way. A familiar smile that thinkers tended to get when they knew something you did not. As his Tattletale preferred to be seen as the smartest one in the room, he allowed it, in this timeline, anyway. "Well, it's public knowledge now that she's female. It's on the profile page that was created for her on the PHO Wiki. Of course, that is mostly a stub beyond the notable capes she brought in being Hookwolf and Cricket."
Coil nodded, indicating that she should go on.
And in the other timeline, he continued with what he wanted to brief Tattletale on before getting her opinion. "The footage submitted during the Endbringer fight indicates familiarity with the creatures that the Simurgh brought over with her portal, along with contact with something on the other side of that portal."
"So, if you know all this already, boss, why do you need me?" Tattletale asked in that timeline.
In the other, she continued. "Of course, I did get a bit curious. The PRT servers aren't nearly as secure as they could be, and I managed to get some footage. Apparently, according to Panacea, she's Ratcatcher's daughter."
"Interesting," Coil said. That meant that the hero could possibly be used as leverage against her if it became necessary, but he didn't believe it would be so for the moment. "Did the PRT footage have anything else of use? What are her powers? Beyond the obvious, of course."
At the first question, Tattletale frowned. "This is dipping a bit further into the Unwritten Rules territory, boss."
"And mentioning that she was Ratcatcher's erstwhile daughter wasn't?" Coil asked. He knew that Daniel Hebert's daughter went missing two years ago, but from what he'd seen of Hunter's profile, she was far older than she should have been. Taylor Hebert should have been fifteen years old, nearly sixteen, but the woman in question was at least a decade older.
"She's not human," Tattletale said. "Not fully, anyway. They left the camera footage recording, and while they tried to wipe it, I managed to recover some of the discussion between her and Panacea. Hunter has at least two additional sources of DNA affecting her genetics. Something she called Chozo, Metroid, and she mentioned X Parasites."
The red creature from the footage he'd seen at the Ziz fight that she had absorbed into her body. Curious. Potentially dangerous too. That wasn't something that he would want to study here.
In the other timeline he continued, "I know she is not fully human. What I would like you to do is to determine how she is linked to the inhuman things that the Simurgh brought over. Additionally, I have a sample of a material from the Canberra Quarantine Zone that I would like your opinion on."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Tattletale asked, looking between the man in the Coil costume and the camera. Ah. She was giving away that she knew that Julio was not him on purpose. It didn't matter.
In this particular case, there was a good reason that he had chosen to use a body double for the second timeline. Yes, he could discard the timeline if the worst were to happen, but body doubles could be replaced. "It could be, yes. Exposure to the material directly has caused many to die within seconds, and it has caused others within the quarantine zone to mutate."
"You still managed to get some smuggled to you," Tattletale said.
"Within a safe canister," Coil agreed. He instructed Julio to press two buttons on the desk keyboard, and then a panel opened up to reveal a screen. On the screen was a canister marked up with what resembled warning labels, but they weren't any sort applied by any company or body on Earth Bet. Other than a radiation symbol, plastered on the side of the canister, the canister's labeling was hard to decipher. The letters were English, but the codes on it weren't something he could figure out with ease.
"Boss, how the hell did you manage to get that?" Tattletale asked, her eyes wide.
"That is my personal secret, my dear Tattletale," Coil said. "Now, I'd like to know what you can tell me about this canister, without us opening it. I will give you access to the files that I obtained regarding the Simurgh fight to do so, and your personal account will be given twenty thousand dollars."
Tattletale's brow furrowed, but he knew he had her. As he instructed Julio to pass over a sanitized laptop, he took a bite of his own Fugly Bob's burger. This would be interesting to observe.
In the timeline where he was there, he glanced at his Tattletale again. "Do you know what any of those words mean? Chozo or Metroid, I mean. The X Parasite in of itself is not obvious, but at the very least, the words are English."
Tattletale shrugged. "Only thing I could get was not human. But she mentioned that she had arrived in a spaceship, and someone had modified her DNA to better help her survive on an alien planet."
"And you believe this story?" Coil asked.
She shrugged again, and then she carefully took a bite of her burger. After she swallowed, she continued. "Not entirely sure, Boss, but the tech checks out. I did manage to catch a video of her ship that someone posted online before it got taken down with some high efficiency. Hunter is not from around here. At least not anymore."
Coil nodded. That matched up with the information he'd obtained and what Watchdog had been saying. "What I would like you to do is dig a little more. If you can find a reason to speak with her out of costume, do so." Coil tilted his head ever so slightly. "She is a mercenary, after all. A bounty hunter, per the information that she has provided to the PRT."
The seed was planted. His Tattletale surely would consider bringing Hunter in as a way to plot against him at this point, and as he was expecting that, he would be able to prepare. Assuming this was the timeline he chose to keep, after all.
"You'd like to see if she could be persuaded to do some work for you?" Tattletale asked.
"But of course," Coil said. "There's uses for all sorts in my plans."
Tattletale nodded, and she studied Coil curiously, likely looking for something to exploit. Then her smile became her smug little grin and she nodded. "Whatever you say, boss. I'll do what I can. She just might be out of town for a little while. I read that Director Piggot was talking with her partner about some bounty up in New York. Ellisburg. Is that really safe for her to take on? Safe for us, I mean."
"I'm sure that if the good Director is hiring her, it has been vetted by appropriate thinkers like yourself," Coil said. He had verified it and obtained the funds to release to Emily, after all.
Back in the other timeline, Thomas Calvert enjoyed watching his Tattletale puzzle over the canister. She went between the computer screen and the canister itself at least seven times, and he could practically see the headache she was beginning to develop. "So, if I'm reading this right, this comes from Galactic Federation Scientific Base MB-22854, that's those numbers there."
Julio nodded without Calvert giving him the instructions to do so. His acting was impeccable. He spoke up for Julio to follow. "Go on."
"These numbers and letters appear to be a project code, and this one indicates a canister number relating to the code. This one is a part of the PH4323 project, canister seven," Tattletale said. "Opening it shouldn't be much an issue, but if you look at the video footage here…"
She spun the laptop around, freezing the video on an image of Dauntless next to some Australian Wards-age capes, right as a similar canister landed near them.
Calvert brought the same footage up on his screen, at the same timestamp. "What am I looking for here?"
"Right there on the canister," Tattletale said, pointing at the screen. Calvert zoomed in on that spot. "It's the same project number, but that appears to be canister three. So, I guess the big thing we need to ask is if these two are the only canisters of this kind, or if the… what were they called again?"
"Space Pirates," Coil said, and his Tattletale just snickered.
"If the Space Pirates brought more than just the two," Tattletale said. "If what's in this canister is the same stuff that is in that one… it's dangerous, Boss."
"I suspected as much," Coil said. "Still, it will be a useful substance to have. With the right tinker to study it, unlock its potential, we will be able to gain our goal that much faster."
Tattletale nodded, and she approached the canister once more. He'd instructed Julio to follow her and loom a little behind her as she looked closer at it. Given the headache she probably was developing as she looked over this, he was a little surprised as she revealed a keypad. The digits on the keypad weren't exactly a numeral system he was familiar with.
"Do you know the combination, Tattletale?" Coil asked.
"Not yet," she said. "But… Boss, I don't really think that it's a good idea to just open it."
"Figure out the code," Coil said. "Use whatever means you need."
Back in the timeline where he was in the room with her, Tattletale frowned. "Somehow I think sending her to Ellisburg is a bit on the overkill side."
"Director Emily Piggot would do whatever it takes to eliminate the Nilbog threat," Coil said. "It's just that whatever it takes, in this case, involves hiring a galactic bounty hunter."
"I see," Tattletale said, her smile returning. "She must be confident in the skills of Hunter, or she has contacts that have done her homework regarding Hunter and Nilbog."
"Precisely," Coil said. "Contacting Watchdog is a part of PRT Director activities, and given Piggot's distaste for Ellisburg, it's entirely likely she would have researched it."
Of course, he was the one who had done the research, and he suspected Tattletale knew that without him directly implying it. She still didn't have enough clues to identify his secret identity, but she swiftly was becoming dangerously close.
She likely already knew she was with a double in the alternative timeline as he watched.
She ran her fingers over the keypad, and eventually punched in a specific number: 08061986. The side of the canister cracked open with a puff, and a blue light emitted from within, shining initially on Tattletale, but also on Julio as well.
Tattletale's eyes lit up. Literally. She turned her head toward the camera as Julio staggered backward, and Calvert could see her eyes glowed a brilliant blue. "Boss… I didn't mean to open it up. I knew it was dangerous, but… I didn't think you were really going to keep this one around, anyway."
Julio fell to the ground, his body warping in shape as growths made their way around his body.
"If this is what Dauntless felt…" Tattletale said, her voice lowering. Glowing vein-like lines appeared on her bare skin. This happened far quicker than anything he had expected. "Boss, I'm going to find you… Thomas Calvert, I'm going to do to you what you—"
He dropped that timeline, leaving him in the room with Tattletale. He briefly gave her a smile from behind his mask. "Thank you, for your time, Tattletale. I will deposit some funds into your account to compensate you."
"Thanks," Tattletale said, and she stood up. She gestured to the bag.
"Take it," Coil said. "I had brought it specifically for you. Additionally, do let Bitch know that I am in the process of acquiring one of the places Hookwolf performed his dog fights, and let Grue know that things are getting closer for his sister."
Tattletale nodded. "Anything for Regent?"
"He's getting paid," Coil said. "I will have someone contact him via the usual route regarding his needs. Please send Mister Pitter in when you leave."
Tattletale nodded, and she left the office, stopping only to talk to his loyal man before making her way further out of the base.
Pitter walked into the office not long after speaking with Tattletale, and he paused at the door. Once Coil gave him an acknowledging nod, he made his way further into the office and took Tattletale's recently vacated seat. "She said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Mister Pitter," Coil said. He pressed the two buttons on his desk that he'd had Julio press in the alternate timeline, and the part of the wall retreated to reveal the canister of project PH4323. "Please carefully bring that canister back to storage and place it with canisters four, two, and six. They are all sealed well enough, but it is better to be safe than sorry."
Pitter nodded. "Anything else?"
"Reach out to our contacts at Toybox," Coil said. "See if they have any current tinkers on their rolls that are amenable to human experimentation with some new substances. I will be busy speaking with Accord and then Watchdog afterward."
"Regarding the Ellisburg mission?" Pitter asked.
Coil nodded. Pitter was lucky that he was as loyal as he was. If the man had proven to be less loyal, Coil would have killed him years ago. Instead, he acted as a confidant and idea bouncer at times.
"Are you going to help that Hunter cape with it?" Pitter asked.
"I may," Coil said. "But I will also be requesting that Watchdog give her some drone support with their new tinker, Optics."
He'd try to recruit the girl himself later. She was younger than he would prefer for a tinker though her creations were highly interesting.
"Good luck on that, Boss," Pitter said, and he stood up, walking over to the canister. After picking it up, he paused in place. "Oh, Boss. Toybox will want a name for the project we're going to have them working. Is there anything in particular that you want, or should I just make it up?'
Coil's eyes flicked to the canister that Pitter carried, and he smiled. "No, there's a project name I have in mind." The label called it PH4323, and that kind of looked like.... "Let's call this project Phaeze. I'm sure that Toybox will be interested."
"Of course, sir," Pitter said. "Phaeze it is."
Coil nodded again as Pitter took the canister out of the room. Having Hunter out of town for a few days gave him time to make some appropriate moves, and hopefully by the time she got back, he would have a handle on Project Phaeze.
If he didn't, he might use a timeline to interrogate the bounty hunter himself.
