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Metroid Rebirth (Worm/Metroid)

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To drain a parahuman's shard would require the right kind of contact under the right conditions, and it would probably require access to Phazon.

That's not to say that it's impossible. Just that Phazon is not an easy thing to come across on Earth Bet.
 
As notorious and powerful as they are, I doubt Metroid DNA would be able to subvert a whole shard. Personally I'm more scared of Shaper pushing Amy to create and experiment with Metroids.
 
...I don't know why but the latest chapter made me realize that Samus was a better adopted mother than Carol is in most if not all fanfic (I don't know enough to separate fanon from canon, so I'm not gonna try).
 
More and more am I worried at how easy the shards have been finding it to replicate Chozo technology. Miss Militia casually replicate Samus's Power Cannon, albeit while it was in stun mode, is quite terrifying. And since this isn't from MM's perspective, we can't be sure it was actually limited to only stun mode or in the future. Then Armsmaster also replicated the grapple beam? Shiiiiiit! It didn't sound like it was just inspired by, or similar to, but actually the same tech.

That leads me to my current theory. In this universe multicluster these entities ate the Chozo... Ok maybe just some of their tech/ruins and not the entire species. But they have previous experience with their tech philosophy.
kaosisreality said:
Ziz let the ship crash because it, like Trigger Events, is not something Ziz can model.
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Wait what? The ship landed quite gently and w/o damage. Taymus and Adam are quite good drivers and have a near spotless record.

VirtualFox said:
Who says it's based off of precog? We know the entities are multidimensional what if one of those dimensions had chozo-like species and therefore ziz models that this 'thing' that shows similarities to them will prove worthy of dadversary?
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Or actual Chozo...
This leads back into my theory on why other parahumans have been able to replicate Samus's power and/or abilities so easily and quickly. Previous Chozo experience. Probably also explains they doing unusual levels of shield/armor integrity damage and getting thru the armor before total energy drainage. (Cricket and Oni Lee)

Great Greedy Guts said:
Miss Militia (and, presumably, Danny) have both touched her already. Without going full Metroid and losing control, there's no reason for Taymus to suddenly drain Amy.
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No, but she did notice a strange response when both of them touched her. I doubt she would just lose control and nom nom nom nom but there was definitely an atypical response on contact with parahuman skin.
 
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Non-Canon Samus meeting
  • Apocrypha
    • Amelia

    Stupid NDA's. Who am I going to blab to? Only people I talk with are all already under NDA! I sign the damn thing and approach Ratcatcher and the freakishly tall woman. "Okay," I say with mock enthusiasm, "let's get this bizarre superpowered paternity test done with shall we!"

    Stepping towards Ratcatcher I hold out my hand, "you first, to establish the baseline." He takes a quick look at his supposed daughter and slowly takes off a glove, and sloooowly extends his hand out to me, seems to hesitate- I reach out and snag three of his fingers. Holy hell, I do not have all day… and lay off the bacon you old fart.

    "Baseline established," letting go of his hand, "alright, you're up," and I walk over to legs-for-days.

    She really was stupidly tall. Dyed blonde hair with dark roots showing. A sleek figure… toned arms… trimmed fingernails. Oof, down girl. She was lookin down at me with this piercing, judgmental stare that was far hotter than it had any right to be.

    She looked over to Ratcatcher. Heh, probably hoping he's not her father. I mean, find out your dad is a superhero! Oh cool!… but it's Ratcatcher… Freakin Ratcatcher!? That would have to be weirdly disappointing.

    Legs-for-days - dammit, what was her name - glances back to me and at my offered hand, and says with this smooth voice, "Seems the process is not painful." Huh?

    "What?" Oh shit, she doesn't know me! "Oh… no! Not painful. Unlike every dentist in existence, what I do is completely pain free." Which got a lovely little smirk out of her. She reached out, took my hand, and-

    HOLY MOTHER OF TACO TUESDAYS!!!

    A myriad of alien horrors.

    Vast, thick, murky oceans of varying primordial ideals colliding together. One moment: broiling conflicts. The next: a staggeringly beautiful mellifluousness of different wordless languages.

    And in those deep oceans, a voice. So small at first, but with each wave it slowly grew louder and louder. Until:

    [X] Hi!

    Whoa, hello there! You're awfully cute!

    [X] Aww, thanks! Who are you? Do you want to play?

    I'm Amy, and I'm not sure… you look a little dangerous.

    [X] Yeeeaahh… we keep getting in trouble… the Great Destroyer keeps putting us into timeout… or blowing us up.

    The Great Destroyer huh? Who are you?

    [X] Oh, I'm ~the consumer of worlds~ Eddis. The name's Eddis. Nice to meetcha!

    Nice to meet you Eddis! You are just darling. What do you do? Can you tell me?

    [X] hmmmm…what can I do… ooh here's a good example! You know puppies!?

    …Yes, my sister just got a tiny little black Lab.

    [X] Well we can make forever puppies! Just activate a little bit of us and we'll ~devour~ reconstitute the adorable fluffy-wuffy with all of its memories and experiences intact! An adorable puppy that'll be cuddle-able forever! No growing up doggo, just a Cuddle Puppy forever… or at least a super long time.

    That sounds kinda sweet.

    [X] It is! Just imagine giving your sister a Cuddle Puppy, Amy. Wouldn't she love that!?

    Well, actually she probably would-

    [X] And wouldn't she be so thankful, and love you for such a thoughtful gift?

    That- that sounds really…

    "Miss Panacea? Are you alright?"

    "Holy fucking shit!" I exclaim as I snap back to reality. Looking up at the blonde… shit, what is her name? I had no idea how to articulate whatever the hell that experience was. But staring up into her eyes… somehow… I managed to say:

    "You're a horrifying mess wrapped in a person suit."

    She quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head as I started to die from embarrassment; realizing I had likely just insulted the spawn of some godly alien.

    I started to stutter out an apology, but before I got there, the woman just shrugged and nodded her head in agreement. A small smile on her face.

    "S- Sorry!" I finally managed. Taking my hand from hers, "that was just… unexpected," and I look back at Ratcatcher. Crap, right! I'm here for a reason.

    "Um, I have no idea if she is your daughter…" I say, as cold shivers run down my spine. "If you are the father, I really don't want to meet the mother."

    One month later. The cuddle-pup-ocalypse began
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • I think Blasto or even Bonesaw would be better people to do the paternity test. Why? They would realize really really quickly how Dangerous Samus's DNA is and not use it at all.
    Amy? Amy could/can now turn people into either Metroids or X's at a Whim from her Use Power Obsessed Shard.
     
    OSRFanatic0 said:
    I think Blasto or even Bonesaw would be better people to do the paternity test. Why? They would realize really really quickly how Dangerous Samus's DNA is and not use it at all.
    Amy? Amy could/can now turn people into either Metroids or X's at a Whim from her Use Power Obsessed Shard.
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    Uhhhhh... Ok that sounds just a wee bit dangerous. I mean let alone the fact they are villians, Bonesaw is in the Slaughterhouse Nine. First of all, it's not like the PRT/Protectorate could (or want to!) ask them for assistance. Second of all Bonesaw would 500% want to use the danger inherent in Samus's DNA Library to do the everything to everyone. Well Mister Jack would at the very least.

    At least Amy wouldn't want/intend to do such horrible things from the start.
     
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    Wow. This is a trainwreck in full glory. Ain't nobody putting any brakes on, only more coal for the boilers. No wonder Ziz didn't do anything to stop Samus' arrival. Here's hoping that Amy only creates metroids, not X as well. Earth Bet can live without being completely turbofucked. A normal fucking is more than enough.
     
    JadeKaiser said:
    Wow. This is a trainwreck in full glory. Ain't nobody putting any brakes on, only more coal for the boilers. No wonder Ziz didn't do anything to stop Samus' arrival. Here's hoping that Amy only creates metroids, not X as well. Earth Bet can live without being completely turbofucked. A normal fucking is more than enough.
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    Note that the bit is not Canon. What will happen will happen.
     
    Alternatively Amy's contact with the Metroid DNA before the cuddlocalypse.

    M:Scree!

    Amy: You want me to not play around with Eddis?

    M:Scree Scree Scree!

    Amy: you were designed to kill Eddis because they go 'omnomnom' on everything?

    X: Don't listen to the party pooper, don't you want forever puppies?

    M: Scree!

    Amy: 'Puppies a lie, will awaken great destroyer if it happens' who is this 'Great Destroyer?'

    M+X: Host!
     
    VirtualFox said:
    Alternatively Amy's contact with the Metroid DNA before the cuddlocalypse.

    M:Scree!

    Amy: You want me to not play around with Eddis?

    M:Scree Scree Scree!

    Amy: you were designed to kill Eddis because they go 'omnomnom' on everything?

    X: Don't listen to the party pooper, don't you want forever puppies?

    M: Scree!

    Amy: 'Puppies a lie, will awaken great destroyer if it happens' who is this 'Great Destroyer?'

    M+X: Host!
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    So THAT'S why Samus killed Kraid's basket of puppies...
     
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    Comeback 2.2
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    • Comeback 2.2



    The PRT HQ building was located in the middle of downtown Brockton Bay. While the oil rig with its fancy bridge made of light and its other defenses was the headquarters of the Protectorate capes, this building was much more utilitarian. Without the barred windows or the emblazoned PRT logo, the building would look a lot like the rest of the buildings in the area. There was an attached hospital, a parking garage, and what appeared to be a helipad on the roof. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of the Federation Police buildings that I'd operated out of during my tenure there. I had no doubt that the interior was probably laid out similarly.

    As Dad pulled into the parking garage, he turned to me with a somber look. "So, technically, unauthorized tinkertech isn't allowed in the building. Your armor… partially qualifies as tinkertech, even if it is replicable."

    "So, I shouldn't wear it inside?" I asked. They wouldn't be able to stop me from putting it on either way, but I usually preferred to have my armor ready. "That would mean people can see my face."

    "Maybe, but if you're in casual clothing, not a costume," Dad said. "People tend to ignore things that don't stand out."

    "Dad, I'm over six feet tall with blonde highlights," I said. "I'm going to stand out."

    "Move your legs for a second," Dad said, reaching over to the glove compartment. He popped it open, revealing a small bag inside that had some simple black masks. "These aren't perfect, but they should be good enough for while you're not wearing your armor. You don't have a costume otherwise, right?"

    I waggled a hand. "I have my Zero Suit, which I wear under the power suit. Parts of it are exposed on my gravity suit, but I'm actually wearing it right now under the clothes."

    "Right. I'm not going to have you strip down in my car, so… mask it is," Dad said, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out one of his own. The one he pulled out was of higher quality than the ones in the glove compartment, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He took his glasses off and put the mask on overtop of it, and he exited the car.

    I followed suit, and after he locked up, together we headed into the PRT Headquarters. Beyond my initial assumptions that the place was going to be like the Federation Police precincts that I'd worked at before, I hadn't really had much in the way of expectations. As we had taken the employee entrance, we only barely walked past the building's lobby. As we did so, I got a glimpse of the reception desk, manned by a dark-haired man in a PRT jacket, the gift shop, which was something I admit confused me a bit. Why exactly was there a gift shop in what was ostensibly a place of law enforcement? Perhaps it had something to do with cape culture.

    I did vaguely remember having some paraphernalia with the logos of certain capes on them. Maybe that was what they sold at the gift shop. On the walls were model photographs of several different capes in costume. Without my visor on, I couldn't have Adam quickly look them up and identify who these children were, but Dad saw me staring.

    "Those are the Wards," Dad said. "Children with powers that have chosen to join the Protectorate's program for young capes to learn how to control their powers."

    Seemed fair enough. I did somewhat recall the Wards being a thing, and given that Panacea was someone under the age of majority, it did make sense that there would be other young capes. It was admirable even to have this sort of program, to allow the capes the chance to learn more about themselves, how to best utilize their powers.

    I'd had to do much the same during my time on Zebes as a kid. Old Bird and Gray Voice had guided me, and even Mother Brain had… helped, as much as I hated to give that thing credit for anything in my life. Of course, she was dead twice over now as I'd killed her on Zebes and then killed the Federation's attempt at making a new one. Gods, if I had to deal with yet another thing coming back from the dead, I might just scream.

    That wasn't fair to the kids here, though. My hang-ups were my own, and I did have my ways of dealing with them. Admittedly, most of those ways involved lots of shooting and blowing up of things, but I couldn't deny the catharsis. If only some of the things I'd had to blow up hadn't been planets. Unfortunately, the potential risk of bioweapons being unleashed upon the galaxy writ large often meant that I had to make a decision that was not made lightly.

    "Hunter?" Dad asked. "You good?"

    I nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way more.

    "We've got to go through security here," Dad said. "If you have any weaponry, you can check it here and it will be here for you to pick up when you return. Isn't that right, Zeke?"

    Dad looked the PRT Officer… Agent… Trooper… whatever the correct term was, he wore a PRT uniform with a black jacket, Dad looked the light-haired older Caucasian man in the eye. Zeke turned to look at me.

    "I'm sorry, Miss, but he's right. Do you have something that might trigger the metal detection alarm or any other weaponry that might not?" Zeke smiled warmly at me in a grandfatherly way. I'd already been thinking about the Chozo that had raised me, and that look warmed my heart. It brought several good memories to the forefront.

    I pulled out my Paralyzer and laid it down on the counter. It hurt to be giving up my sidearm a bit, but I was confident that there was no way they'd be able to stop me from using my armor. I wasn't forced to just stick with my Zero Suit as I had before.

    "What is that?" asked Zeke.

    "Paralyzer," I said shortly. I'd do a dry elaboration, but I didn't want to just give away everything. "Standard issue."

    "Standard issue for what?" Zeke asked.

    "She's a bounty hunter," Dad said. "I'd think a paralyzing gun would help bring targets in alive."

    Zeke let out a small grunt, and then he buzzed me through. I didn't have anything else on me that would likely trigger the machine, save for my radio, which was made of plastic, and as I walked through the metal detector, nothing beeped. Happily.

    I gestured toward my sidearm, and then made the universal symbol that I was watching Zeke, and he laughed.

    "Oh, don't worry, girl, I'll keep your gun safe."

    I smiled, nodding, and once Dad was through the security, we headed off. I assumed that Dad knew what room that we were going to meet his boss in, as he led me through what looked even more like a Federation Police bullpen than what I'd seen the day before. People were sitting at desks looking at open folders, answering phones, working on computers, or some combination of the above. It felt very nostalgic, straight down to the smell of the coffee that they had.

    I swear, whoever bought the coffee for police precincts either didn't know what they were doing or they just went for the cheap stuff knowing that officers only needed their minds to function. They didn't need them to function well. Assuming caffeine worked on most humans as well as it did on me, anyway.

    Most humans weren't part Chozo and part Metroid though. That mixture was the whole reason for Panacea to sign the NDA. Full legal consequences if she violated it were in the mix. I didn't want to need this, but my DNA was not something to be looked at lightly.

    Dad brought me to a small conference room and gestured for me to sit down. The conference room had only a single door, a long table that sat maybe nine people comfortably, and room for an additional twelve chairs in the room. "I'll go let the Director know you're ready. If you want to get into your non-power suit costume while you're waiting, feel free."

    I smirked, and then I nodded, lightly tapping the outer part of my headset. Adam might not have said anything just yet, but I knew that he would have useful information once we were ready.

    When Dad left the room, he closed the door behind him. I took off my casual clothes, leaving me in a gloveless Zero Suit. I folded up my clothes and put them in the chair next to me, and then I adjusted my mask some and slipped on some gloves. The blue material of my Zero Suit was definitely a lot more flattering to me than the clothes I'd worn over top of it.

    When the door next opened, there were three people standing on the other side. One was my father, still dressed in his half-costume rather than the full one I'd seen him wear the previous day. The other was an obese blonde woman with a bob-style haircut. She wore a navy-blue jacket and matching skirt along with a blouse that was only slightly flattering. I noted her eyes were steely blue as they locked on to mine for a second. The weight in that gaze was staggering, but I'd felt worse. I'd seen worse too.

    Next to her was a sandy-haired white man with a square jaw, shorter than my father yet taller than the woman. He wore a full suit and the logo for the PRT was emblazoned on the jacket's left lapel. His hair was slicked back with some sort of gel, and he had a slightly more welcoming look on his face than the woman.

    Given the deference shown by both my father and this man to the woman, I was freely able to assume that she was Director Piggot, the director that I was here to meet.

    "Hunter, I presume?" The woman who was probably Piggot asked.

    I nodded.

    "Good. My time won't be wasted," Piggot said, and she walked in to take a seat. She was followed by the man with her along with my father. She held up a hand to Dad. "Ah. No, Ratcatcher. Even assuming that her statements are able to be verified, Hunter is clearly not a minor, and you don't need to be in here when you have things you need to do. Triumph was wanting to speak with you earlier."

    "I don't want to just leave you here to be questioned on your own." Dad clearly was uncomfortable with the whole situation.

    "I'll be okay," I said, looking at my father. He didn't really seem so reassured by that statement. Maybe I'd been too quiet or not as confident as I needed to sound. Sometimes that happened, but I knew what I needed to do.

    "Yes, she will," Piggot said.

    I tapped my ear once more, in full view of my father. I wanted to let him know that I wasn't alone. Piggot clearly took note of that, but she said nothing about it.

    Instead, she said in a clearly exasperated tone, "Ratcatcher, go talk with Triumph. It's something relating to your old job prior to becoming a hero."

    "Fine," Dad said. "Hunter, if you need anything… I won't be far away."

    I nodded, and then I watched Dad go out the door.

    Director Piggot pulled out a tape recorder and set it on the table. I couldn't believe I was seeing an actual cassette recorder, of all things.

    She must have sensed my bemusement as she snorted. "Capes always assume that the old ways weren't better. Just because a tinker can build something good doesn't mean it's good in every situation." She smiled and pushed record on the machine, and then she said, "This is Director Emily Piggot of the Protectorate ENE here with the Independent Hero known as Hunter and Deputy-Director Rennick. The date is February twenty-third, two-thousand eleven, and the time is approximately one-thirty PM. Hunter, I would like to formally introduce myself and my second in command."

    "Pleasure," I said. I studied the older woman's face. She'd seen combat before, but given her current condition, it had been something very hard for her. Whatever had happened left its mark, and now she had failing kidneys. Armsmaster had mentioned dialysis the day before, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't overtax the woman on my first impression.

    A calculating smile came to Piggot's face. "I'm sure you're wondering why we're even bothering to ask questions. The fact is, during the impromptu interview you had with Armsmaster yesterday isn't anything that would ultimately hold up in the court of law. As such, there may be some repeated questions from that session."

    I frowned. "Have I done something that would necessitate the courts?"

    "Not as such," Renick said. His voice reminded me a little of that one Admiral who had hired me to work with the BSL team on SR388. Hopefully he wasn't like that man. I would hate to have to take measures against my father's coworkers. Most of the time, I preferred to follow established law. "However, you understand that the claims you made to Armsmaster are difficult to prove and given that you would not submit to a DNA test, your relationship is similarly difficult."

    I nodded, looking between the two of them. The Director and Deputy Director of this branch of the PRT, both meeting with me. If I'd been on the Federation Earth, I'd understand having people of this level of importance meeting up with me, given I'd spoken with Admirals and Senators about my bounties before. This wasn't quite on that level of importance, as they seemed to be a regional thing, but if they didn't trust me, why would both of them be here?

    "What do you want to know?" I asked.

    Piggot gestured to me. "First, I would like to formally ask that you submit to a DNA verification test." She held up a hand. "I understand your reservations to having your DNA examined in the traditional sense, but as Ratcatcher should have informed you, there is an alternative to it. Panacea has been requested, and with permission of her mother, she agreed. Her mother and sister will be accompanying her here."

    I nodded again. I needed to speak carefully here. While I rarely tripped over my words, I didn't want to be misunderstood at all. "I do have some provisions. She must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, with her mother as witness. The only thing she's authorized to talk about is my relationship to Ratcatcher or lack thereof."

    "So, you believe it's possible that you aren't related to him?" Piggot asked.

    I shrugged. From what I knew, memories could be fabricated. Yes, I'd recognized Emma on her saying my old name, but Adam was the one who had put two and two together about Ratcatcher. I did see the resemblance to the man from my memories, but it had been a long time for me. "Memory is a fickle thing. I remember being the daughter of a man who looked like him and had his name. However, it was a long time for me."

    "Longer than the nineteen months you were supposed to be missing," Piggot said. She didn't wait for my answer. "Given your physical age, it must have been. So, you claim to be from… or rather to have come from an alternate Earth that is more advanced in technology than we are here."

    I nodded.

    "Please, for the purposes of the record, use audible answers," Piggot said.

    "Yes." I wasn't sure exactly where she was going with this line of questioning. However, she was being professional, at the least. I could respect that.

    "And you provided Armsmaster with identification, showing that at one point you were law enforcement for this so-called 'Galactic Federation,'" Piggot said. She shook her head. "How did you manage to end up back here?"

    "While traveling back to Earth, we struck an anomaly in space-time," I said. "It shunted us to just beyond the L4 point between the Earth and the Moon. Further out than the Simurgh. We proceeded to fly in and land here in Brockton Bay."

    "And park where, exactly?" Piggot asked.

    I tapped my fingers on the table lightly. Even if they found the ship, they wouldn't be getting on it without my permission. I doubted they would be able to retrieve it easily from where we'd set it down either. No cranes were going to make it out on the water there. I made a calculated decision. "I parked my ship in what you call the Boat Graveyard. I can take people to see it if they want."

    "I will want to see it when we are done here," Piggot said. "With a Protectorate escort, of course."

    "Will it be the same one you have in here, or will it be Armsmaster instead?" I asked, giving both her and the man called Renick a careful look.

    Piggot let out a bark of a laugh. "You're a sharp one, aren't you? When did you know?"

    "Roughly after you dismissed my father," I said. "You're the Director of the PRT ENE, and I am an unknown that you don't fully trust. You're a competent leader. There is no way that you would allow your entire command to be jeopardized over someone who was a potential threat to you. Sir, I'm not sure who you are, but I am reasonably sure you are not the Deputy Director."

    "Correct, Hunter," said Piggot. "Allow me to introduce Dauntless. He is wearing some facial prosthetics to hide his identity and make him resemble the actual Deputy Director, but Renick is watching on monitors with some of our agents. If you were to go for your armor or do anything threatening, they are under orders to fill this room with foam."

    At that, I glanced upward. Sure enough, sticking out of the ceiling above the room's entrance were two guns that had dropped down as she said that to emphasize her point. I wasn't sure what the foam she mentioned would do exactly, but I was confident that I wouldn't want to deal with it. I probably would be able to, especially in my armor, but proving that point wouldn't endear me to her. Especially if Dauntless was there in case I did just that.

    "I see," I said. "Taking few chances."

    "With unknown capes," Piggot said, gesturing at me. "Chance is not a luxury that I can afford. Additionally, you said we when referring to your entry onto Earth Bet. I assume that you meant your Artificial Intelligence, Adam, correct?"

    I nodded. Then, catching myself, I said, "Yes."

    "The combat footage you provided to Armsmaster of your time on that alien planet, was it accurate to the best of your knowledge?"

    "Yes," I said.

    "So, you are capable of far more lethal tactics than what you deployed against the Empire 88 and the ABB when you aided my capes," Piggot said. She tapped her chin. "That you were willing to restrain yourself says a lot about your character, Hunter. Now, you stated that you want to refuel your ship and figure out why you're here in addition to getting to know your father again. Assuming, of course that he is your father. Let's focus on the first point. What sort of fuel does your ship use?"

    "Fusion precursors of hydrogen and helium," I said. "Along with some other elements that help to catalyze the reactions. Normally, I refuel the ship at the docking stations that the Federation has near Earth, but that's not an option here. While I'm aware that there may be some sources of both here, the specific amounts needed and purities would be difficult to obtain directly on Earth without some specific gear that I do not currently have."

    "How do you intend on obtaining the fuel then?" Piggot asked.

    "A scoop and converter," I said. "Uranus and Neptune have Hydrogen and Helium in their respective atmospheres. I was planning to zip over and get fuel from there. But… that won't help much in returning to the Federation Earth."

    "Do you plan on doing that?" she asked.

    I shrugged.

    "Audible answers, please," Piggot said.

    "I'm… not sure," I said. "I did build a life there, and… there's a lot going on in the galaxy. However, assuming Ratcatcher is my father, he's here, not there. I could possibly build a new life here, if it turns out there's no way back to there. Or if I decided to stay."

    Piggot nodded. "Your AI calls you Lady. Is there a reason why?"

    "Adam is based off of an old CO of mine," I said. "That CO would always refer to me as 'Lady' partially as a joke, a nod to who I was."

    "Because others would look down on you instead," Piggot said, nodding. She shook her head. "It amazes me that even in advanced civilizations, there are still idiots like that. So, you said you were gifted your suit, and the footage showed capabilities beyond what you displayed. Can you summarize what your suit is able to do and what you are able to do without it?"

    "Without the suit, I am highly nimble and can jump higher than a normal human," I said. "With my suit, that maximum height is significantly increased. I have a weaponry suite that ranges from nonlethal to highly lethal, made to target and destroy bioweaponry experiments. I also have stealth capabilities, increased speed, and an ability to move normally under high pressure environments such as beneath water or magma."

    I did not and would not go into further detail than that. She didn't need to know about Power Bombs as I was not under her command, nor did she need to know the extent of my beam weaponry. By giving her the brief information about the Gravity Suit's areas of functionality, it wasn't even really giving much up at all.

    Judging from the look in her eye, she knew it too, but there was a bit of respect in that look. The woman had a good poker face hidden behind her exasperated exterior, but she allowed the respect through. It was intentional.

    "Assuming that Panacea says that you are indeed Ratcatcher's daughter," Piggot said. "And possibly, even if she says you aren't. Would you consider joining the Protectorate, under my command?"

    I tilted my head slightly. Under her command. I didn't know enough about this woman to know for certain whether that would be a good choice. I knew Dad didn't like her too much, that he tolerated her, but that didn't mean that she was necessarily a bad person to work for. However, I had spent the past several years working primarily for myself, alone. Occasionally I'd work with other bounty hunters, but for the most part, I worked alone. Adam helped recently, but as ZDR proved, he could be subverted or imitated.

    I liked having him around, but I didn't absolutely need him. Nor did I need Director Emily Piggot.

    "No. I won't be joining the Protectorate," I said. "But I'm willing to offer my services as an independent bounty hunter. "

    The smile Piggot gave me in response to that was very much a surprise.
     
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    • Well, this story is firmly in my "alert pops up on my phone so I drop another fic mid-chapter to read the update" range.

    Seems like Piggot is picking up the professionalism and appreciating it when she so often works with people who don't have it (often for the decent reason of not actually being professionals, really, but still). I like that Taymus recognizes Piggot's merits as a leader as well, since she's also applying that pseudo-military expectation.

    Destruct said:
    I wonder if Piggot is planning on pointing her at Ellisburg.
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    I mean, there's a LOT of potential bounties that Piggot might like to see gone via an independent agent. But yeah, selling herself as an anti-living-bioweapon expert is probably giving Piggot happy thoughts even if she can't follow through right away (which it's entirely possible she might actually do, mind).
     
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