- Pronouns
- He/Him
We are at 11k words, and I'm only at a little over 40% of where I want to be in my outline for the update. I have fucked up.
Full update will be later this week (next week? Whatever. Wednesday, Thursday at the latest).
To tide you over, and as an apology, have this stand-alone section for now. I will delete this threadmark once the full update is done and integrate this part into it. Everything in here is subject to change until the full update is posted.
Horizon, City of Leviathan's Rest—Maximum Security Metahuman Detention Facility "Wonderland" —January 5, 2056
You are Han Yu.
Dozens of drones fly forth and scan your nude form, head to toe. One takes a strand of your hair, another takes a sample of blood, you provide the prints of every one of your fingers to another, and you bite down in a dental mold provided by a different drone. You do all of that along with dozens of other ways to verify your identity.
You resist grinding your teeth and silently endure all of the scrutiny. Honestly, you called ahead and told Steelheart you were coming. You'd think that would be enough, but the man takes to his role as Warden of Wonderland with zeal. No one gets in or out until he is absolutely certain that they are who they claim to be.
"It's the minimum necessary security measures," Steelheart had told you during one of your visits. You suppose that's fair given who's incarcerated here.
And who shouldn't be.
"You don't have to come," you tell your traveling companion as the drones continue verifying your identities, "Goodness knows, this is tedious."
"I don't mind—ow, my beard!" Gabriel yelps from an adjacent stall. "I don't mind, Yu. Actually . . . I feel like I should be asking you that question."
"What do you mean?" you say, confused, "I finally have good news to tell that poor girl. Why wouldn't I come?"
Gabriel sighs in that way that drives you crazy. It means he's about to say something smart that undermines what you just said.
"Yu . . ." he begins, "You haven't been here to visit since Heracles was imprisoned."
You freeze and grit your teeth. Six months. It's been six months since you've last been here. Four, if you are being generous and start the count after you were released from the hospital. You've told yourself it's because you've been busy taking care of Noelle, getting back into the swing of things at work, and with the NuGen selection committee . . .
But you've always been good at avoiding the things you don't want to think about.
When you woke up, your face was so swollen you could barely open your eyes. The fluorescent lights were blinding and your throat felt like sandpaper. You tried to call out, to ask where you were, but all that came out was a dry gargle.
"Mom?" Noelle called out from somewhere in the room. W-why was she here? Shouldn't she be in school? Where was 'here'?
You tried to turn your head to find her, but something kept your neck in place. You called out again, swallowing to wet your dusty throat.
". . .elle? Where . . . 're . . .?"
"Nurse? Nurse! Uncle Gabriel! Mom's awake!" Noelle called. You felt her hand gently hold yours."M-mom, you're in hospital. You . . . um . . . you got hurt really bad."
Y-you did?! W-why can't you remember—?
Heracles.
Right. There was a fight downtown. He was going after some heiress to some third-rate corp . . . trying to kidnap her, you think? A big fight broke out. You were in the area, and you went to stop him. But, the reports on his powers were wrong, incomplete. His immunity was a form of enhanced durability, but there was more to it than that. He was immune to your interia control, but you had no idea.
He pretended to be pinned down, you got too close, he grabbed you by the neck and—
Oh god. You almost died. You almost died and left Noelle all alone. Tears streamed down your face.
"Mom? Mom? Are you okay? What is it? Does it hurt? Just wait a second. I'll get a nurse—"
Don't go. Please. Don't go. You wanted to call out to your daughter, but you could already feel yourself slipping back into unconsciousness. As you did, one thought runs through your head over and over again.
Close. This was too close.
So, yes, maybe there was another reason you haven't been to visit. But you can finally help that poor girl. You can finally start to make up for what you did to her.
You're not going to let him take this away from you. You're not going to let her take this away from you.
"I can tell her the news," he says, "There's no need to force yourself—"
"I'm fine, Gabriel. I'll . . . be fine," you say, giving him a confident smile you both know is fake, "I have to do this."
He looks you over with those warm, brown eyes and nods. He says nothing further.
You smile again, this time full of gratitude. Gabriel is too good to you. He's always been there, present but not overbearing. Sometimes you think you two could—
But no. There's always too much work. And when there isn't, there's Noelle. You can't give Gabriel what he deserves, no matter how much you might want to. He's better off moving on, finding someone who can make him happy.
You're interrupted from your thoughts by the sound of a chime, indicating the initial identity verification is finished. You and Gabriel quickly pull on your costumes and rush to the main entrance. Stale air rushes out to meet you as a series of interlocking mechanics unlatch and doors made of multiple feet of metal swing open.
"Greetings." Steelheart's voice rings out from a spherical drone stamped with his emblem—two red eyes overtop a circular mouth that blinked in time with his voice, "It's been some time, Yu. It feels like it was not too long ago that you were knocking on my door every week. It was to the point where I was concerned you were going to test Wonderland's defenses, and, yet, now I've not seen a trace of you for half a year."
You flinch, feeling guilty. Gabriel steps forward to answer Steelheart.
"She's been in recovery."
"Heracles, yes. A thoroughly unpleasant individual. I have no idea why every metahuman with a god-complex wants to name themselves after a mythological figure," Steelheart replies, "I was displeased when Yelena had him transferred to the isolation cells. I agreed with the need to separate him from the general population, given his personality, but the location was clearly a slight against you—"
"But you did it anyway," you say coldly. The drone hovers in place for a moment and then disappears deeper into the facility, as if to beckon you. You and Gabriel follow.
"Yes," he admits as you walk, "Sometimes, one must choose to pick their battles."
You say nothing as the three of you walk through the atrium. Eventually you reach a platform with railing installed where you stop and wait. You and Gabriel stand in place as the platform rises and takes to the air, carrying you forward. As it does, you're able to look down and see it: the true Wonderland.
To the outside world, Wonderland is a massive concrete and steel sarcophagus located in the outskirts of the NID, but that was just the outer facade. Beneath the concert sky are three roofless, triangular buildings arranged around a circular pillar. Each triangle is further divided into three cell blocks separated from one another by the telltale desaturated glow of Cisma's power.
Those blocks were right next to each other, but they may as well have been on different planets. Cisma could create pocket dimensions which could not interact with things in the regular world and, likewise, things in the regular world could not interact with them. They can keep up the pocket dimensions indefinitely as far as you know, but they regularly come to Wonderland to ensure there was no degradation to the fields.
"Prepare for descent," Steelheart warns, and the platform begins dropping toward the central pillar. As you fly through the air, you can see the glow from the hundreds of drones in the air.
You try not to shiver as one the size of a zeppelin zips by at impossible speeds. You've seen those drones in action—only the R-Train itself puts them to shame. Any prisoner who was somehow able to escape Cisma's power would face an army on the way out.
But, even if they were able to survive their drones, an escaping prisoner would not be home free. Because the final, most indiscriminate, line of defense for Wonderland was where it was built.
Wonderland was built on Valkyrie's Fall, the location of the final battle of the Susurration. The surrounding area was so badly irradiated that it is still inimical to life all these years later. That Steelheart built the Mill nearby and spent most of his days surrounded by radiation shielding spoke to the man's deeply antisocial nature.
The only safe way through Valkyrie's Fall is via a lead-lined railcar operated by Steelheart. And even then, you are going to have to take several rounds of decontamination showers and clear multiple Geiger counters after you leave. It made visiting Wonderland terribly inconvenient and escaping nearly impossible.
Which was fortunate, because in those cell blocks are the most dangerous metahumans in the world.
And one innocent girl.
You grit your teeth again as the platform docks with the central pillar, and you and Gabriel disembark. Steelheart's drone doesn't follow you, but he transfers over to a larger, more humanoid machine already inside the building. The robot rises to its feet and he leads you down more stairs.
"Be mindful of your footing," he warns, "Prisoner 001 has been more active than usual. Whether it is because of dark dreams or some other factor, she's been causing minor tremors with her telekinesis."
Prisoner 001. Valkyrie, who was imprisoned at the bottom of this pillar in the deepest bowls of Wonderland. That she could cause problems even while in a medically-induced coma was terrifying. You nod and slowly travel down the stairs. Steelheart leads you to a wing of the isolation cells, Gabriel right behind you. The door unseals itself and hisses open, and the three of you walk in.
Here are a dozen rooms, all partitioned off from one another by Cisma's power. Technically, sound could not cross their dimensional divide, but electromagnetic waves could. So each cell's sole link with the outside world was a window facing outward and a radio intercom on the wall. You walk down the hall briskly; the cell you're looking for is at the very end of the wing. But as you do, a deeply, deeply unpleasant voice calls out.
"What is this? The Heavenly Astrologian still walks among the living? It gladdens me. I was concerned I was too rough with you." Heracles' face presses against the cell's window. "One must be so careful with the mortals. I never know what is too much pressure and what is just right."
You don't respond as he laughs to himself. You don't even acknowledge his presence. Gabriel opens his mouth to say something, but you put an arm out.
"Don't," you hiss, "He's in isolation most of the time. He wants us to react. It's probably the most human interaction he's had in weeks."
Heracles' expression sours upon hearing that. "First, you interfere with my courting of Lady Nguyen, then you dare imprison me, and now you deny the masses my grace. There will be a recompense."
You don't reply, but Steelheart does. "I'm not certain Miss Nguyen would characterize your encounter in the same way. And you're in isolation because you repeatedly attack other prisoners. Stop and you will be returned to the general population."
"YeAh! AlSo, 'cOuRtInG?' NoT gOnNa LiE, tHaT sOuNdS pReTtY GrOsS, dUdE," a voice from the cell across the hall calls, "I'M hErE bEcAuSe I nEeDeD sOmE 'Me-TiMe'. yOu'rE hErE bEcAuSe YoU'Re A dIcK."
"That's not—! I would never!" Heracles calls, indignant, "If Miss Nguyen was unreceptive I would have ransomed her back to her family as I originally planned!"
He points at you.
"I didn't do anything to this one while I had her at my mercy, didn't I?!"
"WhAt, Do YoU wAnT a FuCkInG mEdAl? ThAt's ThE fLoOr NoT tHe CeIlInG, bRo. If YoU hAd, I wOuLd HaVe PoPpEd YoU lIkE a ZiT." Warpstar looks over at you. "HeY, aStRoLoGiAn. GlAd YoU'Re OkAy. ArE yOu ViSiTiNg AgAiN?"
"Yes," you say to the surprisingly affable serial-killer.
"BaLlEr. HeY, cOuLd YoU tHaNk HeR fOr BuYiNg Me ThIs ScReEn AnD pUtTiNg MoNeY iN mY aCcOuNt FoR tHe InTeRnEt CoNnEcTiOn? I gOt To WaTcH tHe WoRlD sErIeS aNd My OsHi!"
"Oh, uh, sure."
"ApPrEcIaTe It! ShE'S tOo PuRe FoR tHiS wOrLd. Ah, AlMoSt MaKeS mE wAnT tO sTaRt KiLlInG aLl OvEr AgAiN!"
"Please do not," Steelheart says, "You're due to return to the general population at the end of week."
"SwEeT. i'm GoNnA bUlLy HiVe AgAiN."
Heracles watches the whole exchange, Gabriel not breaking eye contact with him. Steelheart sighs, his breath crackling over the remote connection with his drone, while you reach your destination. You take a deep breath at the door.
"Only one of you may enter, I'm afraid," Steelheart says, "Cisma will have to dismiss the dimensional distortion when she is released, but for now I have her room wired with enough sound that you should be able to communicate without issue."
"But that's—"
"It's okay, Heavenly Astrologian," Gabriel says gently, "Go share the good news."
"You—" He came all this way just to be moral support? You feel a horrible pang of guilt and temptation again. He deserves someone better. "Thank you."
You take another deep breath and the door opens. You step inside.
"Thank you 'LacklusterTime' for the red superchat! 'Dear QT Bee, I'm glad to see you get back into RPGs. Fun fact, you get a special interaction if you bring Wyll with you to the'—aww, man I missed it?! I'm not gonna go replay all of Act II just for that, right . . . ? Okay, I might."
The room in front of you is trapped in a pocket dimension like every other cell in Wonderland. But this particular room is three times the size of any other. It's furnished with a large, four-poster bed with a sky blue canopy. There's a large television with all manner of game consoles on one side and a large bookcase overstuffed with novels and comics of all stripes on the other. There is a large dresser with a handful of loincloths draped over it—although the floor is clear of dirty laundry or trash—but, notably, there is no mirror.
"Moon River—hey, good you see you back!—thank you for the superchat! 'Have you ever considered doing karaoke, I love your voice?' Uhh, not really? My condition makes it kind of hard to sing—"
However, the focus of the room was a truly massive desk against one wall. It is adjustable and could be raised and lowered as needed for comfort. On it are three large monitors, a microphone, a screen, and, underneath, a custom-built computer. One of the monitors show an image from a game, the seconds shows some sort of recording software, and the third shows a cartoon, bee-girl hybrid mimicking the motions of the person at the desk.
Rosemary Ward. The girl you failed.
The day Ellie ran away from home counts among the worst days of your life. You can still remember the panic that gripped your heart when you came home and realized she was gone. Where was she? Had someone taken her? Was she even still alive?
You had flown out of your apartment without your costume, hysterical. You were going to destroy Horizon trying to find Ellie. You were on your screen, trying to explain to Gabriel what was going on, when you met another person in the sky. She looked like a giant, four-armed insect, but, when you looked closer, you saw someone clutched in her arms.
Ellie.
You don't remember much after that—you and Ellie cried for a long time, that much you're sure—but when you went to thank your daughter's savior, you realized she was just a child herself. One who had been living under the thumb of Dominion for the last three years and was turned out to the streets with barely a penny to her name. For all that her appearance was frightening, she was a painfully sweet, earnest girl.
So, you convinced her to come home with you. And, the next day, you took her to the Zenith. Even if her power was lackluster, even if she never saw active patrol duty, even if she was never a "true" hero, getting her affiliated with New Dawn would ensure she would have a support network in times of crisis. You even idly toyed with the idea of letting her stay with you—goodness knows you could use the help, and Ellie admired her as far as you could tell.
But it was not to be.
Once you got her registered, she was taken for routine power-testing. You told her you would meet back up with her after your patrol was finished, and you flew off. But, when you returned, she had already gone.
Sent to Wonderland.
"What is the meaning of this?!" you screamed as you stormed into the Council Meeting.
"Darlin' stop, it's not gotta help—" The Mysterious Stranger grabbed your cape, trying to hold you back. But you didn't let the gunslinger stop you. You were beyond rage, beyond reason.
Novalight, Cisma, Arc, Lloyd, and Gabriel looked at you as you thundered forward. Steelheart's symbol was visible on the holographic display. Novalight's expression was as blank and icy as a glacier.
"That's my question, Astrologian," Novalight said, "What are you doing, interrupting a council meeting. You were not summoned."
"Why are you throwing a child into Wonderland?!" you said, apoplectic, "She hasn't done anything wrong!"
"She is a threat."
"She's eighteen and looks like a giant bumblebee! How much of a threat can she be?!"
But it wasn't Novalight who answered.
"Surprisingly, a significant one," Steelheart replied, "She's an X-Class metahuman. A potential extinction event if left unchecked."
That brought you up short. "H-how?"
"Her power," Steelheart sayid, changing the display to footage from Rosemary's power testing, "She isn't just dysmorphic. She can ingest any organic matter and convert it to an unknown substance she can freely shape, including into biological drones she can control. The drones themselves can, in turn, convert and shape organic matter. She's functionally unkillable so long as she has an alternative body to return. If she wanted to, she could proliferate at an exponential rate and subsume whole countries."
Everyone's face was stone, except Gabriel's. Only he looked at you, exhaustion evident in his expression. He shook his head sadly, his silent message loud and clear: "I tried, but there was nothing I could do."
"So this is what we do now? We lock away children for what they might do?" you snarled, "Look at me, dammit! Look me in the eye and tell me you're okay with this. Lloyd? Charlotte? Maria?"
". . . sorry, Yu," Lloyd said, not making eye contact, "But . . . come on. She's the R-Train except she doesn't need goldnine! She admitted Dominion's been poking and prodding her for years; who knows what else they've done?"
"It's a temporary measure," Arc said, looking disquieted, "Just until we can gauge her temperament. Perhaps we can offer her training, guidance—"
"Guidance we'll give after we lock her in Wonderland?" you shouted. Arc flinched and looked away. You shook your head and looked at the last council member, "I know you're little more than a second vote for Novalight, but this is a new low, Maira. A new low."
Maria sighed, but otherwise remained unmoved. "There is a difficult choice—"
"No it's not!" you screamed, "It's the easy choice! The one you make every time! Something is scary? Lock it in a dark hole and forget about it! It's why Mendicant won't join us! You're continuously poisoning your old teammate so you don't have to confront her!"
You jabbed an angry finger at Novalight who was glaring daggers at you, eyes sharp enough to cut bone.
"And now you want to do the same to an innocent girl! Cowards! All of you! Cowards!"
You yanked off your communicator and threw it on the table. Then you stormed out of the room.
"Yu, wait!" Gabriel and Lloyd both called, but Novalight cut them off.
"She'll be back."
You tried not to go back. But no matter how hard you negotiated, you couldn't register on Hero for Hire without revealing your identity. Steadfast outright warned you away from Global Justice—apparently enlisting as a foreign auxiliary in the United States military was mandatory for membership—and there were no other hero teams who could pay enough for you to take care of Noelle. Going corporate had the same issue with your identity and would likely involve the same kind of moral compromises you faced here.
You . . . you even tried writing to Noelle's father. You hadn't heard from that worthless bastard since you told him that you were pregnant. But, like every message you tried to send to him in Elysium, it went unanswered.
You were stuck.
So you came back. Novalight docked your pay and put you on double shifts for a year. All the while that poor, sweet girl sat in hell.
Until now.
You pull down your hood and expose your face as Rosemary finishes playing on her computer. She once tried to explain to you what "v-tubing" was, but, honestly, it went over your head. Still, it made her happy, so you fought tooth and nail to make sure she had whatever equipment she needed. Just like you did for her books, her games, her furniture . . . everything.
Just because you couldn't stop them from locking Rosemary up didn't mean you were going to let them treat her as they pleased.
Eventually, Rosemary stops, says goodbye to her friends, and rises from her computer. She sticks all four arms over her head and stretches her back with a great crack. She then shakes off the loose chitin off her body.
"Uuuugh, sat in one place too long," she groans, "It's been . . . nine hours? Leviathan's Blood. I probably stiiiiink."
She sniffs—you think? She doesn't have a visible nose—her armpit and turns around.
"Yeah, super grody. I'll take a quick shower—-ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Rosemary spreads her wings and leaps into the air in shock. She hovers in place before she recognizes you and lands.
"Ms. Han? Is that you? You scared the bejesus out of me!" she says, clutching her heart, "Wait! I heard what happened?! Oh gosh, are you okay?!"
She runs toward you before hitting the border between dimensions and stopping in place. She nervously clutches her four hands together as she looks you over.
"I was so worried when you stopped coming to visit and then Heracles got put in the cell next to me and was bragging about what he did to you so I got mad and told him to shut up and he just laughed but then Warpstar said "sOmEtHiNg FuNnY dIcKfAcE?" and a fight broke out—"
"Rosemary, breathe," you reassure her, "I'm okay. I should be asking how you are."
"Me?" she asks, confused, "I'm fine. What would be wrong with me?"
"Rosemary," you say disbelievingly, "You're in Wonderland."
". . . well, yeah. But they let me stream and buy things? So it's not all bad, even if getting anything delivered takes forever and Steelheart is, uh, terrifying and weird and keeps taking my blood, but—"
"Rosemary," you interrupt, "I can get you out."
". . . w-what?"
"I can get you out. I've gotten approval. New Dawn is starting a junior, satellite team. Gabriel managed to get you a spot on it. You can be a hero, but, more importantly, leave."
Rosemary clutches all of her hands together, squeezing them tight. "M-me? A hero? I . . . you can't be serious. I'm not—"
"I am deadly serious," you tell her, "You are more of a hero than half the people who take the title. You are a good, loving person. Who else would be this calm at being imprisoned for two years for no good reason?"
"But me? A hero?"
"Yes, you. Rosemary, please," you beg, "You shouldn't be here! I've done everything I can to get you released, but this is our best chance! You don't have to fight if you don't want to. You can be on comms, or overwatch, or general support, anything."
You feel your eyes burn and your throat tighten, but you refuse to make this about your guilt. This is about Rosemary.
Rosemary twiddles her fingers together and nervously shifts her weight from foot to foot. She looks down.
"What if . . . what if everyone's just scared of me again?"
"You shouldn't have to live in fear of their fear," you say with a tight voice, "But this is your chance to prove to everyone that you're not what they're afraid you are. To show them who you really are."
You look down at your hand, still covered in your costume.
"Your chance to be a hero."
Rosemary looks down for a while longer before looking back up.
". . . I'd really like that, Ms. Han. I'd . . . really like that."
You exhale. A smile comes to your face for what feels like the first time in two years.
"Okay," you say, "Then Rosemary, it is my pleasure to welcome you to NuGen."
"Oh! Like 'New Dawn'?"
"Yes, but 'new' is spelled 'n-u'."
". . . why?"
"I have no earthly idea."
Full update will be later this week (next week? Whatever. Wednesday, Thursday at the latest).
To tide you over, and as an apology, have this stand-alone section for now. I will delete this threadmark once the full update is done and integrate this part into it. Everything in here is subject to change until the full update is posted.
Horizon, City of Leviathan's Rest—Maximum Security Metahuman Detention Facility "Wonderland" —January 5, 2056
You are Han Yu.
Dozens of drones fly forth and scan your nude form, head to toe. One takes a strand of your hair, another takes a sample of blood, you provide the prints of every one of your fingers to another, and you bite down in a dental mold provided by a different drone. You do all of that along with dozens of other ways to verify your identity.
You resist grinding your teeth and silently endure all of the scrutiny. Honestly, you called ahead and told Steelheart you were coming. You'd think that would be enough, but the man takes to his role as Warden of Wonderland with zeal. No one gets in or out until he is absolutely certain that they are who they claim to be.
"It's the minimum necessary security measures," Steelheart had told you during one of your visits. You suppose that's fair given who's incarcerated here.
And who shouldn't be.
"You don't have to come," you tell your traveling companion as the drones continue verifying your identities, "Goodness knows, this is tedious."
"I don't mind—ow, my beard!" Gabriel yelps from an adjacent stall. "I don't mind, Yu. Actually . . . I feel like I should be asking you that question."
"What do you mean?" you say, confused, "I finally have good news to tell that poor girl. Why wouldn't I come?"
Gabriel sighs in that way that drives you crazy. It means he's about to say something smart that undermines what you just said.
"Yu . . ." he begins, "You haven't been here to visit since Heracles was imprisoned."
You freeze and grit your teeth. Six months. It's been six months since you've last been here. Four, if you are being generous and start the count after you were released from the hospital. You've told yourself it's because you've been busy taking care of Noelle, getting back into the swing of things at work, and with the NuGen selection committee . . .
But you've always been good at avoiding the things you don't want to think about.
When you woke up, your face was so swollen you could barely open your eyes. The fluorescent lights were blinding and your throat felt like sandpaper. You tried to call out, to ask where you were, but all that came out was a dry gargle.
"Mom?" Noelle called out from somewhere in the room. W-why was she here? Shouldn't she be in school? Where was 'here'?
You tried to turn your head to find her, but something kept your neck in place. You called out again, swallowing to wet your dusty throat.
". . .elle? Where . . . 're . . .?"
"Nurse? Nurse! Uncle Gabriel! Mom's awake!" Noelle called. You felt her hand gently hold yours."M-mom, you're in hospital. You . . . um . . . you got hurt really bad."
Y-you did?! W-why can't you remember—?
Heracles.
Right. There was a fight downtown. He was going after some heiress to some third-rate corp . . . trying to kidnap her, you think? A big fight broke out. You were in the area, and you went to stop him. But, the reports on his powers were wrong, incomplete. His immunity was a form of enhanced durability, but there was more to it than that. He was immune to your interia control, but you had no idea.
He pretended to be pinned down, you got too close, he grabbed you by the neck and—
Oh god. You almost died. You almost died and left Noelle all alone. Tears streamed down your face.
"Mom? Mom? Are you okay? What is it? Does it hurt? Just wait a second. I'll get a nurse—"
Don't go. Please. Don't go. You wanted to call out to your daughter, but you could already feel yourself slipping back into unconsciousness. As you did, one thought runs through your head over and over again.
Close. This was too close.
So, yes, maybe there was another reason you haven't been to visit. But you can finally help that poor girl. You can finally start to make up for what you did to her.
You're not going to let him take this away from you. You're not going to let her take this away from you.
"I can tell her the news," he says, "There's no need to force yourself—"
"I'm fine, Gabriel. I'll . . . be fine," you say, giving him a confident smile you both know is fake, "I have to do this."
He looks you over with those warm, brown eyes and nods. He says nothing further.
You smile again, this time full of gratitude. Gabriel is too good to you. He's always been there, present but not overbearing. Sometimes you think you two could—
But no. There's always too much work. And when there isn't, there's Noelle. You can't give Gabriel what he deserves, no matter how much you might want to. He's better off moving on, finding someone who can make him happy.
You're interrupted from your thoughts by the sound of a chime, indicating the initial identity verification is finished. You and Gabriel quickly pull on your costumes and rush to the main entrance. Stale air rushes out to meet you as a series of interlocking mechanics unlatch and doors made of multiple feet of metal swing open.
"Greetings." Steelheart's voice rings out from a spherical drone stamped with his emblem—two red eyes overtop a circular mouth that blinked in time with his voice, "It's been some time, Yu. It feels like it was not too long ago that you were knocking on my door every week. It was to the point where I was concerned you were going to test Wonderland's defenses, and, yet, now I've not seen a trace of you for half a year."
You flinch, feeling guilty. Gabriel steps forward to answer Steelheart.
"She's been in recovery."
"Heracles, yes. A thoroughly unpleasant individual. I have no idea why every metahuman with a god-complex wants to name themselves after a mythological figure," Steelheart replies, "I was displeased when Yelena had him transferred to the isolation cells. I agreed with the need to separate him from the general population, given his personality, but the location was clearly a slight against you—"
"But you did it anyway," you say coldly. The drone hovers in place for a moment and then disappears deeper into the facility, as if to beckon you. You and Gabriel follow.
"Yes," he admits as you walk, "Sometimes, one must choose to pick their battles."
You say nothing as the three of you walk through the atrium. Eventually you reach a platform with railing installed where you stop and wait. You and Gabriel stand in place as the platform rises and takes to the air, carrying you forward. As it does, you're able to look down and see it: the true Wonderland.
To the outside world, Wonderland is a massive concrete and steel sarcophagus located in the outskirts of the NID, but that was just the outer facade. Beneath the concert sky are three roofless, triangular buildings arranged around a circular pillar. Each triangle is further divided into three cell blocks separated from one another by the telltale desaturated glow of Cisma's power.
Those blocks were right next to each other, but they may as well have been on different planets. Cisma could create pocket dimensions which could not interact with things in the regular world and, likewise, things in the regular world could not interact with them. They can keep up the pocket dimensions indefinitely as far as you know, but they regularly come to Wonderland to ensure there was no degradation to the fields.
"Prepare for descent," Steelheart warns, and the platform begins dropping toward the central pillar. As you fly through the air, you can see the glow from the hundreds of drones in the air.
You try not to shiver as one the size of a zeppelin zips by at impossible speeds. You've seen those drones in action—only the R-Train itself puts them to shame. Any prisoner who was somehow able to escape Cisma's power would face an army on the way out.
But, even if they were able to survive their drones, an escaping prisoner would not be home free. Because the final, most indiscriminate, line of defense for Wonderland was where it was built.
Wonderland was built on Valkyrie's Fall, the location of the final battle of the Susurration. The surrounding area was so badly irradiated that it is still inimical to life all these years later. That Steelheart built the Mill nearby and spent most of his days surrounded by radiation shielding spoke to the man's deeply antisocial nature.
The only safe way through Valkyrie's Fall is via a lead-lined railcar operated by Steelheart. And even then, you are going to have to take several rounds of decontamination showers and clear multiple Geiger counters after you leave. It made visiting Wonderland terribly inconvenient and escaping nearly impossible.
Which was fortunate, because in those cell blocks are the most dangerous metahumans in the world.
And one innocent girl.
You grit your teeth again as the platform docks with the central pillar, and you and Gabriel disembark. Steelheart's drone doesn't follow you, but he transfers over to a larger, more humanoid machine already inside the building. The robot rises to its feet and he leads you down more stairs.
"Be mindful of your footing," he warns, "Prisoner 001 has been more active than usual. Whether it is because of dark dreams or some other factor, she's been causing minor tremors with her telekinesis."
Prisoner 001. Valkyrie, who was imprisoned at the bottom of this pillar in the deepest bowls of Wonderland. That she could cause problems even while in a medically-induced coma was terrifying. You nod and slowly travel down the stairs. Steelheart leads you to a wing of the isolation cells, Gabriel right behind you. The door unseals itself and hisses open, and the three of you walk in.
Here are a dozen rooms, all partitioned off from one another by Cisma's power. Technically, sound could not cross their dimensional divide, but electromagnetic waves could. So each cell's sole link with the outside world was a window facing outward and a radio intercom on the wall. You walk down the hall briskly; the cell you're looking for is at the very end of the wing. But as you do, a deeply, deeply unpleasant voice calls out.
"What is this? The Heavenly Astrologian still walks among the living? It gladdens me. I was concerned I was too rough with you." Heracles' face presses against the cell's window. "One must be so careful with the mortals. I never know what is too much pressure and what is just right."
You don't respond as he laughs to himself. You don't even acknowledge his presence. Gabriel opens his mouth to say something, but you put an arm out.
"Don't," you hiss, "He's in isolation most of the time. He wants us to react. It's probably the most human interaction he's had in weeks."
Heracles' expression sours upon hearing that. "First, you interfere with my courting of Lady Nguyen, then you dare imprison me, and now you deny the masses my grace. There will be a recompense."
You don't reply, but Steelheart does. "I'm not certain Miss Nguyen would characterize your encounter in the same way. And you're in isolation because you repeatedly attack other prisoners. Stop and you will be returned to the general population."
"YeAh! AlSo, 'cOuRtInG?' NoT gOnNa LiE, tHaT sOuNdS pReTtY GrOsS, dUdE," a voice from the cell across the hall calls, "I'M hErE bEcAuSe I nEeDeD sOmE 'Me-TiMe'. yOu'rE hErE bEcAuSe YoU'Re A dIcK."
"That's not—! I would never!" Heracles calls, indignant, "If Miss Nguyen was unreceptive I would have ransomed her back to her family as I originally planned!"
He points at you.
"I didn't do anything to this one while I had her at my mercy, didn't I?!"
"WhAt, Do YoU wAnT a FuCkInG mEdAl? ThAt's ThE fLoOr NoT tHe CeIlInG, bRo. If YoU hAd, I wOuLd HaVe PoPpEd YoU lIkE a ZiT." Warpstar looks over at you. "HeY, aStRoLoGiAn. GlAd YoU'Re OkAy. ArE yOu ViSiTiNg AgAiN?"
"Yes," you say to the surprisingly affable serial-killer.
"BaLlEr. HeY, cOuLd YoU tHaNk HeR fOr BuYiNg Me ThIs ScReEn AnD pUtTiNg MoNeY iN mY aCcOuNt FoR tHe InTeRnEt CoNnEcTiOn? I gOt To WaTcH tHe WoRlD sErIeS aNd My OsHi!"
"Oh, uh, sure."
"ApPrEcIaTe It! ShE'S tOo PuRe FoR tHiS wOrLd. Ah, AlMoSt MaKeS mE wAnT tO sTaRt KiLlInG aLl OvEr AgAiN!"
"Please do not," Steelheart says, "You're due to return to the general population at the end of week."
"SwEeT. i'm GoNnA bUlLy HiVe AgAiN."
Heracles watches the whole exchange, Gabriel not breaking eye contact with him. Steelheart sighs, his breath crackling over the remote connection with his drone, while you reach your destination. You take a deep breath at the door.
"Only one of you may enter, I'm afraid," Steelheart says, "Cisma will have to dismiss the dimensional distortion when she is released, but for now I have her room wired with enough sound that you should be able to communicate without issue."
"But that's—"
"It's okay, Heavenly Astrologian," Gabriel says gently, "Go share the good news."
"You—" He came all this way just to be moral support? You feel a horrible pang of guilt and temptation again. He deserves someone better. "Thank you."
You take another deep breath and the door opens. You step inside.
"Thank you 'LacklusterTime' for the red superchat! 'Dear QT Bee, I'm glad to see you get back into RPGs. Fun fact, you get a special interaction if you bring Wyll with you to the'—aww, man I missed it?! I'm not gonna go replay all of Act II just for that, right . . . ? Okay, I might."
The room in front of you is trapped in a pocket dimension like every other cell in Wonderland. But this particular room is three times the size of any other. It's furnished with a large, four-poster bed with a sky blue canopy. There's a large television with all manner of game consoles on one side and a large bookcase overstuffed with novels and comics of all stripes on the other. There is a large dresser with a handful of loincloths draped over it—although the floor is clear of dirty laundry or trash—but, notably, there is no mirror.
"Moon River—hey, good you see you back!—thank you for the superchat! 'Have you ever considered doing karaoke, I love your voice?' Uhh, not really? My condition makes it kind of hard to sing—"
However, the focus of the room was a truly massive desk against one wall. It is adjustable and could be raised and lowered as needed for comfort. On it are three large monitors, a microphone, a screen, and, underneath, a custom-built computer. One of the monitors show an image from a game, the seconds shows some sort of recording software, and the third shows a cartoon, bee-girl hybrid mimicking the motions of the person at the desk.
Rosemary Ward. The girl you failed.
The day Ellie ran away from home counts among the worst days of your life. You can still remember the panic that gripped your heart when you came home and realized she was gone. Where was she? Had someone taken her? Was she even still alive?
You had flown out of your apartment without your costume, hysterical. You were going to destroy Horizon trying to find Ellie. You were on your screen, trying to explain to Gabriel what was going on, when you met another person in the sky. She looked like a giant, four-armed insect, but, when you looked closer, you saw someone clutched in her arms.
Ellie.
You don't remember much after that—you and Ellie cried for a long time, that much you're sure—but when you went to thank your daughter's savior, you realized she was just a child herself. One who had been living under the thumb of Dominion for the last three years and was turned out to the streets with barely a penny to her name. For all that her appearance was frightening, she was a painfully sweet, earnest girl.
So, you convinced her to come home with you. And, the next day, you took her to the Zenith. Even if her power was lackluster, even if she never saw active patrol duty, even if she was never a "true" hero, getting her affiliated with New Dawn would ensure she would have a support network in times of crisis. You even idly toyed with the idea of letting her stay with you—goodness knows you could use the help, and Ellie admired her as far as you could tell.
But it was not to be.
Once you got her registered, she was taken for routine power-testing. You told her you would meet back up with her after your patrol was finished, and you flew off. But, when you returned, she had already gone.
Sent to Wonderland.
"What is the meaning of this?!" you screamed as you stormed into the Council Meeting.
"Darlin' stop, it's not gotta help—" The Mysterious Stranger grabbed your cape, trying to hold you back. But you didn't let the gunslinger stop you. You were beyond rage, beyond reason.
Novalight, Cisma, Arc, Lloyd, and Gabriel looked at you as you thundered forward. Steelheart's symbol was visible on the holographic display. Novalight's expression was as blank and icy as a glacier.
"That's my question, Astrologian," Novalight said, "What are you doing, interrupting a council meeting. You were not summoned."
"Why are you throwing a child into Wonderland?!" you said, apoplectic, "She hasn't done anything wrong!"
"She is a threat."
"She's eighteen and looks like a giant bumblebee! How much of a threat can she be?!"
But it wasn't Novalight who answered.
"Surprisingly, a significant one," Steelheart replied, "She's an X-Class metahuman. A potential extinction event if left unchecked."
That brought you up short. "H-how?"
"Her power," Steelheart sayid, changing the display to footage from Rosemary's power testing, "She isn't just dysmorphic. She can ingest any organic matter and convert it to an unknown substance she can freely shape, including into biological drones she can control. The drones themselves can, in turn, convert and shape organic matter. She's functionally unkillable so long as she has an alternative body to return. If she wanted to, she could proliferate at an exponential rate and subsume whole countries."
Everyone's face was stone, except Gabriel's. Only he looked at you, exhaustion evident in his expression. He shook his head sadly, his silent message loud and clear: "I tried, but there was nothing I could do."
"So this is what we do now? We lock away children for what they might do?" you snarled, "Look at me, dammit! Look me in the eye and tell me you're okay with this. Lloyd? Charlotte? Maria?"
". . . sorry, Yu," Lloyd said, not making eye contact, "But . . . come on. She's the R-Train except she doesn't need goldnine! She admitted Dominion's been poking and prodding her for years; who knows what else they've done?"
"It's a temporary measure," Arc said, looking disquieted, "Just until we can gauge her temperament. Perhaps we can offer her training, guidance—"
"Guidance we'll give after we lock her in Wonderland?" you shouted. Arc flinched and looked away. You shook your head and looked at the last council member, "I know you're little more than a second vote for Novalight, but this is a new low, Maira. A new low."
Maria sighed, but otherwise remained unmoved. "There is a difficult choice—"
"No it's not!" you screamed, "It's the easy choice! The one you make every time! Something is scary? Lock it in a dark hole and forget about it! It's why Mendicant won't join us! You're continuously poisoning your old teammate so you don't have to confront her!"
You jabbed an angry finger at Novalight who was glaring daggers at you, eyes sharp enough to cut bone.
"And now you want to do the same to an innocent girl! Cowards! All of you! Cowards!"
You yanked off your communicator and threw it on the table. Then you stormed out of the room.
"Yu, wait!" Gabriel and Lloyd both called, but Novalight cut them off.
"She'll be back."
You tried not to go back. But no matter how hard you negotiated, you couldn't register on Hero for Hire without revealing your identity. Steadfast outright warned you away from Global Justice—apparently enlisting as a foreign auxiliary in the United States military was mandatory for membership—and there were no other hero teams who could pay enough for you to take care of Noelle. Going corporate had the same issue with your identity and would likely involve the same kind of moral compromises you faced here.
You . . . you even tried writing to Noelle's father. You hadn't heard from that worthless bastard since you told him that you were pregnant. But, like every message you tried to send to him in Elysium, it went unanswered.
You were stuck.
So you came back. Novalight docked your pay and put you on double shifts for a year. All the while that poor, sweet girl sat in hell.
Until now.
You pull down your hood and expose your face as Rosemary finishes playing on her computer. She once tried to explain to you what "v-tubing" was, but, honestly, it went over your head. Still, it made her happy, so you fought tooth and nail to make sure she had whatever equipment she needed. Just like you did for her books, her games, her furniture . . . everything.
Just because you couldn't stop them from locking Rosemary up didn't mean you were going to let them treat her as they pleased.
Eventually, Rosemary stops, says goodbye to her friends, and rises from her computer. She sticks all four arms over her head and stretches her back with a great crack. She then shakes off the loose chitin off her body.
"Uuuugh, sat in one place too long," she groans, "It's been . . . nine hours? Leviathan's Blood. I probably stiiiiink."
She sniffs—you think? She doesn't have a visible nose—her armpit and turns around.
"Yeah, super grody. I'll take a quick shower—-ahhhhhhhhhh!"
Rosemary spreads her wings and leaps into the air in shock. She hovers in place before she recognizes you and lands.
"Ms. Han? Is that you? You scared the bejesus out of me!" she says, clutching her heart, "Wait! I heard what happened?! Oh gosh, are you okay?!"
She runs toward you before hitting the border between dimensions and stopping in place. She nervously clutches her four hands together as she looks you over.
"I was so worried when you stopped coming to visit and then Heracles got put in the cell next to me and was bragging about what he did to you so I got mad and told him to shut up and he just laughed but then Warpstar said "sOmEtHiNg FuNnY dIcKfAcE?" and a fight broke out—"
"Rosemary, breathe," you reassure her, "I'm okay. I should be asking how you are."
"Me?" she asks, confused, "I'm fine. What would be wrong with me?"
"Rosemary," you say disbelievingly, "You're in Wonderland."
". . . well, yeah. But they let me stream and buy things? So it's not all bad, even if getting anything delivered takes forever and Steelheart is, uh, terrifying and weird and keeps taking my blood, but—"
"Rosemary," you interrupt, "I can get you out."
". . . w-what?"
"I can get you out. I've gotten approval. New Dawn is starting a junior, satellite team. Gabriel managed to get you a spot on it. You can be a hero, but, more importantly, leave."
Rosemary clutches all of her hands together, squeezing them tight. "M-me? A hero? I . . . you can't be serious. I'm not—"
"I am deadly serious," you tell her, "You are more of a hero than half the people who take the title. You are a good, loving person. Who else would be this calm at being imprisoned for two years for no good reason?"
"But me? A hero?"
"Yes, you. Rosemary, please," you beg, "You shouldn't be here! I've done everything I can to get you released, but this is our best chance! You don't have to fight if you don't want to. You can be on comms, or overwatch, or general support, anything."
You feel your eyes burn and your throat tighten, but you refuse to make this about your guilt. This is about Rosemary.
Rosemary twiddles her fingers together and nervously shifts her weight from foot to foot. She looks down.
"What if . . . what if everyone's just scared of me again?"
"You shouldn't have to live in fear of their fear," you say with a tight voice, "But this is your chance to prove to everyone that you're not what they're afraid you are. To show them who you really are."
You look down at your hand, still covered in your costume.
"Your chance to be a hero."
Rosemary looks down for a while longer before looking back up.
". . . I'd really like that, Ms. Han. I'd . . . really like that."
You exhale. A smile comes to your face for what feels like the first time in two years.
"Okay," you say, "Then Rosemary, it is my pleasure to welcome you to NuGen."
"Oh! Like 'New Dawn'?"
"Yes, but 'new' is spelled 'n-u'."
". . . why?"
"I have no earthly idea."
