In many ways, Emily Piggot reminded me of what I had liked about the Federation Police. She seemed principled and professional in her views, and she genuinely seemed like she wanted what was best for her subordinates. At least as far as it meant for effecting their readiness for policing the city of its powered threats. From what I had been able to glean in our discussion, the city had two layers of police protection. There were the normal police, who wore uniforms, did investigations of so-called "normal" crimes, or at least crimes that had no parahuman involvement, anyway. Then there was the Protectorate, the powered arm of the Parahuman Response Team, also known as the PRT. They dealt with the criminals who had superpowers. Yes, I'd known this at one point in time, but after twenty-six years of being away, I did need the refresher course.
I wasn't sure if the PRT director was convinced that I was Taylor Hebert or not at this point, and to be frank, I wasn't entirely sure about it myself. Yes, I remembered that life, but I knew as well as anyone that memories could be faked. Without tangible proof, it was entirely possible that both the man I considered my father and I were clinging onto something that wasn't actually there. If that was the case, then I would apologize to him and to Emma as well. I'd help them both find the real Taylor out there, if I wasn't her. It was the least I could do.
After about an hour of discussion, the director got a call on her phone. She scowled at whoever was on the other end, but she ended with a "Very well, send them in. And get Ratcatcher down here as well."
I tilted my head questioningly once she hung the phone up.
"It would seem that Brandish decided to bring both of her daughters here rather than simply Panacea," Piggot said.
"Brandish's other daughter is known as Glory Girl, also known as Victoria Dallon, Lady," Adam said over my radio link.
"Is it a problem for her to be here?" I asked, directing my question at both of them. I didn't think that either of the daughters had been capes prior to my disappearance. Well, maybe Glory Girl had, but if she had, she'd been relatively new. As far as the NDA went, I suspected that Brandish would probably evaluate it before allowing her daughter to sign it. The question would be if it needed to apply to Glory Girl as well.
"Glory Girl… is a work in process," Piggot said. "I genuinely believe that she has the potential to be a great hero. I just wish she were a Ward and training under our program rather than being in New Wave."
"Glory Girl has had numerous successful arrests, Lady," Adam said. "A quick profile indicates that she is protective of her younger adopted sister, and she may have a slight temper. She is in control of herself and her power, though."
Piggot glanced at me. "You have a radio bud in your ear, don't you?"
I shrugged.
"Your AI has been listening in the entire time," Piggot said.
Dauntless raised an eyebrow. Now that I knew what to look for, I could tell that he was wearing prosthetics. "Nobody asked for her to remove it? It didn't get picked up by our scanners?"
I smiled.
"Her weapon likely wouldn't have been picked up by our scanners, Dauntless," Piggot said. "If she hadn't freely chosen to give it up. Adam, since you've been listening in, I would like to have a discussion with you later. I will leave Hunter with the appropriate contact information to pass on to you."
"I'll make sure to pass it on to him," I said. I trusted Adam to not overshare with Piggot, but I was curious as to what they would speak about. Perhaps he would be willing to tell me afterward.
"And I would be happy to talk with her, Lady," Adam said. "We do need to discuss Hookwolf's bounty some more."
"I don't think she's the right person to ask about the bounty," I said out loud.
Piggot snorted. "No, but I can direct you to the right people. You shouldn't have issue with getting paid, even if that Nazi somehow manages to escape."
The door opened at that moment, and Dad peeked his head in. "Here's hoping that he doesn't. Hookwolf should have been locked up a long time ago. That whole gang needs to be gone."
"Yes, I agree, Ratcatcher," Piggot said. "Take a seat. I assume you have the NDA ready?"
Dad nodded, placing a folder down on the desk as he sat down near me. "I spotted Brandish and her kids on their way up. They should be here in a couple minutes, as all three of them are actually walking."
"Good," Piggot said. "Restraint is something important to have. I hope that both of Brandish's daughters can exhibit that today."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Panacea can heal with a touch," Piggot said. "The power she has, in the hands of a teenager who doesn't have extensive medical training or knowledge… if she were a Ward, we'd ensure she got that training and knowledge."
I nodded. It really was proper to make sure someone had had that sort of training.
"Her mother is enrolling her in related classes," Dad said. "Brandish isn't stupid, but she doesn't want to be under the direct control of the PRT."
Piggot gave my father a dirty look before there was a knock at the door. Dauntless stood up and answered it, revealing a short-haired blonde woman dressed in a white costume with orange trim. On her chest was a crossed-blade symbol. Behind her stood a younger blonde with long hair with a white dress that had a skirt that ended mid-thigh, an over-the shoulder cape, and a golden tiara. Unlike the older woman, she wore no mask. Next to her was a mousier girl with brown hair, dressed in a hooded white robe with a medic's cross on the front. She also had a scarf covering half her face.
Based upon the names I had been given, I assumed that the older woman was Brandish, and the one with the medic's cross must have been Panacea. That left Glory Girl as the younger blonde, daughter of Brandish.
Brandish looked over at Piggot. "Okay, Emily, what is this for? You made a donation to New Wave and requested the presence of Panacea. Why?"
Dad and I waved. It really was quite simple.
"Ratcatcher and…. I don't recognize you," Brandish said as she looked me over.
"Mom, I think that woman over there might be Hunter out of her armor," said Glory Girl.
"Who?" Brandish looked a little uncomfortable and confused.
"Hunter, the one who caught Hookwolf," Glory Girl said.
"I didn't do it alone," I said. "Ratcatcher helped."
"You helped more than I did," Dad said. "Your armor is amazing, Hunter."
"Thank you, Ratcatcher," I said. Luckily, I remembered to refer to him by his hero name rather than expose the relationship between the two of us, potentially biasing Panacea before we even started. Sure, once she signed the NDA, we would be letting her know exactly what she was looking for, but ideally, she would be going into that without any preconceptions. I glanced over to Glory Girl. "You heard of me?"
"I follow cape news sites," she said. "And the capture of that asshole was all over them last night. There was even some footage that people showed of your fight, and wow. I'll show you later, Mom. Ames, you saw it too, didn't you?"
Well, that was interesting. She certainly seemed exuberant and used to drawing attention to herself, but at the same time, she was very enthusiastic about the fight. It took a bit after my talk with Dad the previous night for me to understand the gravity of what we had done with Hookwolf. I suppose when being faced with enemies like the Space Pirates and the biological weapons that they unleashed, I had forgotten a bit about Nazism because it just wasn't important. Without any active Nazis, at least those who called themselves such, perhaps the Federation had long forgotten them, or perhaps on that Earth, they never even existed in the first place.
"A little," Panacea said, responding to her sister. "Glory Girl, we are here for a reason… You can ask about the fight after we're done."
Glory Girl flushed, looking around the room. Yes, she might not have worn a mask and her identity was public, but that didn't mean that she shouldn't be following the exacting specifics of Cape culture.
"So, I want to reiterate the question," Brandish said. "What exactly did you want from my daughter?"
"There's an NDA that she needs to sign first before we can discuss it," Piggot said.
Brandish shook her head. "No. We're done here. Girls, if Piggot can't be bothered to tell us what this is about, we'll be going. I'm sure you both have homework that you need to get done before doing any sort of patrolling."
"It's for me, Brandish," Dad said quickly. "And Hunter. There's a possibility of relationship between the two of us, and we would like verification."
"So do a DNA test," Brandish said. "You don't need my daughter for that."
"That's where the NDA's specifics come in," Dad said. "Hunter?"
"I don't want my DNA out in the wild where anyone can take a look at it," I said. "But I want to verify my relationship with Ratcatcher."
"No," Brandish said. "I'm sorry, but no. I'm not subjecting my daughter to any PRT-written NDA if it can be avoided."
"Brandish," Panacea said. "Shouldn't that be my decision?"
"You're a minor, Panacea," she said. "You're my responsibility until you're of age, and as such, any contracts you sign are not enforceable unless I give my explicit approval as well."
"The PRT didn't write this NDA," I said, swallowing. "One of Ratcatcher's lawyer friends did. At least read over it, first."
"Brandish, all I need out of Panacea is a yes or no answer. Are Hunter and Ratcatcher related?" Piggot asked. "There are reasons to keep anything else she finds out secret, and those stipulations are on Hunter's end."
"I'll do it," Panacea said. When her mother looked at her, she gave a hard look back. "It's my powers. I've already had to keep medical secrets before when I'm healing in the hospitals. How would this be any different?"
Brandish let out a sigh. "Let me see the NDA. Panacea, don't touch either one of them until after I've looked this over."
"Fine," Panacea said, and she adjusted her hood. She turned to look at me, and I wondered what was going on behind those dark eyes. The girl seemed well… not annoyed that she was here, but she seemed uncomfortable. I suspected that she didn't like being here with her mother looking over her shoulder. But with an NDA involved, Brandish needed to be the one to make sure it got signed.
Dad handed the NDA to Brandish, and she immediately started scrutinizing it. Even with her mask on, I could almost see her contemplating each clause, carefully trying to make sure she understood the specifics. Given that Carol Dallon worked at the same law firm that Emma's father worked at, odds are she had done at least some contract law work. However, I wasn't sure what her actual specialty was. Of course, I wasn't sure what Alan did either, given how long it had been.
After a minute, she looked up from it. "The penalties for breaking the NDA here are an agreed upon fine per person that she breaks it with. Panacea is a minor who does not currently have a job. Her hospital work is purely volunteering, and New Wave operates based upon donations."
"Then she's got an incentive to not break the terms of the NDA," Dad said.
"Lower the fine from ten thousand to two thousand per leak, and I'd be more willing to allow it," Brandish said. "Along with extenuating circumstances allowing a waiver of the fine."
"What sort of extenuating circumstances?" I asked.
"Master influence, duress, and other situations beyond her control," Brandish said. "An agreement for a third party arbitrator affiliated with neither New Wave, you, nor the PRT would also be prudent to add in."
"Fine," I said. "Are you good with that too, Da—Ratcatcher?"
"Oh," Glory Girl said softly. She looked between me and Dad, and then she smiled widely. "Oh, wow. Ames, you really should do this. If everything's right between the two of them, then it will be a good thing. Mom, you should let her do it."
"I already said I would, Vicky," Amy said. "Again, it's not a big deal. I keep medical secrets all the time. HIPAA is a thing that the doctors drilled into me on my first day at the hospital. This would just be an extension of that, right?"
Brandish held out a hand, and Dauntless handed her a pen. She made some on-the-fly adjustments to the NDA, and then she handed both papers back to my father. "These are what I think should work well here. This is better than what the PRT would have provided."
Dad looked over her changes, and then he passed the paper to me. I looked over the paper for myself, and it looked like she just added the changes that she said aloud. The specifics about what Panacea would be allowed to talk about and what she wouldn't still remained. While this NDA did apply to Panacea, specifically, there were provisions for her guardian and family that were included as a courtesy. Ultimately, I did not want to limit her too much, but at the same time, she needed to understand the severity of what could happen.
Honestly, I was hoping that the severity of what could happen would simply be something that was a possible nightmare for me. Raven Beak had wanted to create an army of Samus Aran clones, of Metroids in the shape of me to overtake the galaxy. All, in theory, would be following his commands. In his arrogance, he didn't realize that I was capable of defeating him. I doubted he expected to get eaten by an X-Parasite, to merge with… whatever that was. I was glad I destroyed him.
He had been lost to himself, at the end.
"This seems fine," I said, and I signed off on the line that I needed to. I signed with my Federation legal name, Samus Aran, rather than my Bet name. I didn't have the proof that I was Taylor yet. Hopefully, I would soon.
I handed it back to my father, and he signed, also using his legal name, before handing to Brandish, who walked Panacea through it. She explained the clauses to her daughter in a way that was less legalese and more like a lawyer talking to their client. It seemed a little less personal than I would have expected for a mother to act when going over a contract with her daughter, but Panacea seemed to expect it. Glory Girl was frowning as she watched.
Then Panacea signed, followed by her mother, and she passed the paper to Piggot, who signed as a witness. Glory Girl did as well.
"Okay, now that we've all signed the appropriate lines, Ratcatcher, I suggest that you be the first she examines, for the baseline to compare it to," Piggot said.
Panacea nodded, and she walked up to Dad. It looked like she might have smiled at him, but it was hidden behind her scarf. "Do I have your permission?"
Dad pulled off his glove, and he offered his hand to her. "Go on. Knock yourself out."
She grabbed his hand, holding it for a few seconds. After that, she nodded. "Okay. I have a baseline here. I would suggest that you lower your sodium intake for a bit, Ratcatcher. I didn't go in and fix anything, but your blood pressure would thank you."
Dad snorted. "Thanks for the suggestion, kid. You sound like my doctor."
"Well, why don't you listen to him?' Panacea asked. "Less sodium lowers your risk of ending up in the hospital with something worse. Do that, Ratcatcher."
"Easy," Dad said, holding up a hand. "I'll do what I can."
She nodded and she walked over to me. Sitting down, I was about eye level with her standing up, and she gave a bit of a whistle as she looked me over in my Zero Suit. It looked like she had a little bit of attraction in those eyes, but she was a little on the young side for me to even think of beyond the basic pride of someone being attracted to me.
I slipped off the gloves of my suit, and I held out my right hand. The moment she grabbed on, I felt a bit of a tingle. Energy passed between the two of us, first from her to me, and then back from me to her. Something was happening there, as the energy cycled a few times. I wasn't entirely sure what her power was, but it had something to do with life energy and biological manipulation. I was certain of it. She wasn't just a healer.
Which meant that the terms of the NDA needed to be enforced all the more. If she was able to manipulate biology, it was possible that she would be capable of recreating some of the items that were in my genetics. That would not be something wise for her to do, but she was a teenager. I would need to impress that upon her if we got the chance to talk.
She squeezed my hand a little tighter, and then I did something that I wasn't sure I would be able to do. I stopped the energy flow between us.
With no energy passing either way, Panacea blinked. "That was… odd." She shook her head, letting go of my hand. She hadn't really been holding onto my hand longer than she was holding on to my father's, but the difference was… I was being tempted to do more than allow the energies to just flow back into her. I probably could have just pulled even more energy out of her, and then she would have been just another Metroid victim. I wasn't going to let that happen. "Yes, it would seem that your DNA shares enough markers with Ratcatcher's that I'm inclined to call that a familial relation. I would guess it's a paternal one on his end, but you're weird, Hunter."
I nodded.
Piggot nodded. "Good enough for me. Congratulations, Ratcatcher. It's a twenty-six-year-old."
Dad laughed. "I told you, Emily. She's definitely my daughter."
"If that's all," Brandish said. "Then perhaps we should be on our way."
"Actually, Mom, can I hang out with the Wards for a bit?" Glory Girl asked. "I promised Vista that I would help her with some protocol quizzing, and Gallant is supposed to get here soon."
Brandish sighed. "Fine. Panacea?"
"I'd like to talk with Hunter alone for a few minutes, to verify some things so that I don't violate the NDA," Panacea said. "If that's okay, Brandish."
"We can ensure that Panacea arrives home safely," Piggot said. "Having the two of them do some joint exercises with the Wards could be good publicity for both of us."
Brandish sighed. "Sure. Maybe we can discuss that while she's talking with Hunter."
Piggot nodded, and she gestured for Dauntless and my father to follow her out of the room. "Hunter, when you and Panacea are done with your talk, feel free to take a walk through the facility. If there is a place you aren't authorized to go into, the door's facial recognition won't allow you to enter."
"Thank you, Director," I said, and then as they left the room, Panacea took a seat.
Panacea lowered her hood, and she pulled down her scarf as she looked me over. "Okay, Hunter. Who exactly are you?"
"Ratcatcher's daughter. Your examination proved that, didn't it?" I asked.
"Yes, you are related to Ratcatcher, but I know that his daughter went missing a bit over a year ago, and his daughter was almost half your age," Panacea said. "As far as I can tell, you don't have any signs of rapid aging. You have scars from injuries that are older than his daughter should have been. And then there's… Someone messed with your DNA. A lot. Your biology isn't the weirdest mix that I've seen, but there aren't any visible mutations on you relating to this. Somehow, things are being held in check. And while you might have the potential to trigger… you haven't yet. Though you clearly have powers, which I'm assuming are related to the way your genetic structure works."
I shrugged. There really wasn't much I could tell her. "So, are my genetics stable?"
Panacea laughed. "I don't know. I'd need to look at you more than once over time to figure that out. Right now? Whatever you did, you stopped my powers from working on you while I was looking you over. How did you do that?"
I shrugged. "Your power works on life energy manipulation. I just stopped mine from moving back into you or from taking yours in."
"Life energy," Panacea said. She shook her head in disbelief. "That's not a thing."
"Call it bioelectricity then," I said. "If that helps you. However, I don't want you to try and reproduce anything you saw here."
"Reproduce?" Panacea's voice got a little shrill. "God, I wouldn't even know where to start! Fuck no, I'm not doing that. I'm a healer. I'm not… I wouldn't. I wouldn't do something like that."
"Good." I crossed my arms, and her gaze shifted slightly. "The additional DNA you saw in there was not human. There should be two separate strands of Chozo DNA, along with some Metroid DNA. Perhaps something from the X Parasites… I don't want you to try producing any of the nonhuman things in there."
Panacea shook her head. "No. That's not what I do."
"Good," I said again.
"What are those things you mentioned? I don't even know those terms," Panacea said.
"You might call them aliens," I said. "The Chozo were an adopted people of mine, and… the others are… things I needed to survive things that have happened to me. Pray that you never have to meet anything of the others…"
Panacea looked like she wanted to say something, but as she opened her mouth, loud klaxons started ringing, and alarm lights came on.
"What?"
"Endbringer," Panacea said, yelling over the alarm. "It's an Endbringer?"
"Where?" I asked, standing up.
"I don't know!" Panacea replied, but it wasn't her that I was asking.
Adam's voice came crystal clear, even with the alarm going off around me. "The Simurgh appears to be descending upon the Australian city of Canberra. What are your orders, Lady?"
"Get the ship here," I said, stepping out of the conference room. I made my way over to where Piggot, Brandish, my father, and Dauntless, now in a Spartan-ish costume were standing. Panacea was following me. Piggot was on her phone. I spoke up. "I can fit three more people and get us to Canberra within twenty minutes."
Piggot nodded. "Dauntless, Ratcatcher, and Velocity are authorized to go with you."
Dad looked at me. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
I just nodded.
"Hunter, on behalf of the PRT ENE and the Protectorate, I am authorizing you to transport three Protectorate members to the Endbringer attack in Canberra Australia. While at the fight, I expect all of you to follow the rules of engagement for a Ziz attack and be prepared for a quarantine upon your return. Keep yourselves alive but do what you can. Any objections, Lady?" Piggot ordered, and she looked directly at me with that last question.
I smirked, held out my hand, and I gave Director Emily Piggot a thumbs down.
