4-5
4-5
"So based on our conversation before, you are still experiencing these anxious thoughts about talking to the other patients?" Jessica Yamada asked. She frowned slightly as she noticed that he wasn't paying attention again.
"Nicholas?"
"Yes," he said looking up slightly startled, with the screens on his glasses flickering. He fumbled with them while still being careful to not look directly at her face.
"I'm sorry Dr. Yamada," he said a little sheepishly seeing the look of concern on her face. "I was a little distracted."
"Are you having trouble sleeping again?"
"No, I'm fine really," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "I just had another nightmare again, and couldn't fall back to sleep."
"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?"
"Nah, I'm good. I don't even remember it."
She ignored her phone starting to buzz in her purse as she gave him another careful glance. Nicholas was just beginning to feel the first touch of puberty with his voice starting to crack and the first touch of acne appearing on his nose. The Tinker made glasses hid his baby blue eyes and he fidgeted with his gloves. His small size made him look younger than he was, and his dirty blond hair covered his hated ears that he said made him look stupid.
His hair was a greasy mess and getting far too long again but the director had agreed with her that cutting his hair wasn't worth a possible episode. Nicholas hated having anything sharp in his presence and after what he had been through she didn't blame him. Dragon was set to deliver a custom made device that could cut and shave his hair safely using water during her next check in.
"Please remember that everything we say is confidential. If you just want to talk, I'm here," she said gently. When he didn't reply, she continued while turning off her buzzer as her phone went off again.
"I'm going to give some homework. You told me the reasons why you feel anxious, so I want you write the possible reasons why the other patients might be quiet during our group sessions. But I don't want you to write they all think you're stupid. Write a few logical reasons on why they might be quiet. Maybe they're embarrassed, or they haven't gotten any sleep. Those kinds of reasons, don't write that they think you are stupid. Do you understand that?"
"Yes. Okay, I'll try not to be so anxious anymore."
"Alright," she said a touch concerned at how nervous he was acting. He always fidgeted or rubbed his neck when he was really worried about something. They had been making great progress with his social anxiety and she was little disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to say what was really bothering him.
"Did you have time to finish your painting like you wanted?" she asked trying to switch to a topic that she knew he was comfortable talking at length for.
"I did," he said with his face lighting up as he bounced up to grab his painting on his desk, which made her smile. He hurriedly pushed aside painting supplies that were strewn around and carefully set up his easel while trying to look as nonchalant as possible while she looked it over.
She was more than a little grateful that it depicted more vibrant colors and showed a relatively normal nature scene. A few of his past painting's subject matter had been a bit morbid and she had argued with the director about his decision to allow people to buy them because of his father. Nicholas was a talented artist for his age, but his father was looking for any excuse to paint Nicholas as less than human since his mother's influence in the church was rising.
Either way it would probably lead to more headaches with Nicholas's parents and their congregation. Especially with Nicholas making so much progress that the possibility of leaving the center was starting to become within reach.
The painting itself was a little weird on a detailed glance. With the sizes of the subjects all off. The birds were so big that it looked like they could barely fit on the trees, and were colored in vibrant and mossy greens to give the indication of a plant. In contrast, the forest was painted with bright reds and pinks to give the trees an almost flesh like appearance. The contrast made the painting a bit jarring to her eyes. Not that she would every say that to Nicholas, who was trying not to look at her face while waiting to hear her thoughts.
"It is very pretty and I like the brighter colors," she said which caused him to smile and her to smile in turn. She wasn't sure if she should say more when her phone rang again and she felt a small bit of worry as she pulled it out to see Stephanie was calling her. Stephanie knew not to call when she was with a patient.
"Nicholas, lets pick back up next week at the same time," she said as he placed the painting next to a few others. Some he wanted to keep for sentimental value, while others hadn't been sold yet.
She put her notepad into her bag and checked the time on her phone by reflex. She actually had plenty of time for once. Her flight to Brockton, like all others with Delta, had been delayed after a recent cyber attack by Overmind.
"Can we do it a little later?" Nicholas asked a little embarrassed. "Mom wants to meet with you again."
"I'm sure she does," she thought to herself while giving a simple yes out loud. A part of her was grateful for Nicholas's mother choosing to remain in contact with him unlike the rest of his family; but her mental state and religious rants were also not the healthiest influence on him. She had been forced to set some very hard limits after some inappropriate actions on her part, and the state had terminated her parental rights after an incident where she had confronted Eidolon at a convention.
Jessica had gently suggested that she see a therapist of her own as she was dealing with quite a bit of stress herself and it might look good for the courts to show that she was making a concentrated effort to improve herself for Nicholas. The woman thankfully took the hint and while she was not as bad as she used to be, Jessica still didn't like her.
She walked outside the door into the hallway with the door automatically closing behind her per Nicholas's request. He found it very hard to relax if he was around other people and just leaving the door open made him a little nervous. The blue lights everywhere, shag carpeting, and gentle nature sounds were all designed by Dragon to help him keep calm and make him more comfortable.
She pulled open her phone and dialed Stephanie, while one of Dragon's security drones Nicholas had painted to look like a cat, maneuvered past her on its patrol.
"Hey Steph, you called?"
"Sorry to bother you when you are with a patient Jess, but Joey just got into an accident and I need to go pick him up."
"Is he alright?"
"Thank god, yes. The other driver ran a red light and T-boned him. The paramedic said he was fine but he sounds a bit shaken up."
"What do you need?"
"The director is giving a last minute personal tour right now to a possible new patient's mother."
"This late?"
"I know, trust me I know. She has to be pretty loaded for him to bend over backwards like this. I was planning to be there but I need to go pick up Joey. Can you cover me for the tour? It's going to be quick tour, twenty minutes tops."
"Of course, Steph. Don't worry about it. Tell me about the patient?"
"Avoidant personality disorder, mostly hypersensitive type." Stephanie said. "To top it all off she is a stranger and has her mom very concerned that she is going to hurt herself."
"How old?"
"Sixteen."
"Poor girl."
"Yeah, but I think we can help her. Thanks again for covering for me. You're the best Jess. Have I ever told you that?"
"More than a few times," she joked. "Where is our esteemed Director Fletcher?"
"He's in the lobby meeting with the mom, her daughter, and Frank. The daughter had a bit of a episode at dragon's drones, so Frank is keeping an eye on her with one of Dragon's wristbands around her wrist in case she tries to give us the slip. Thanks again, Jess."
"No problem. Tell Joey hi for me."
She made her way to the lobby at a fast walk while passing more of Dragon's drones patrolling the hallways. The were shaped like small floating spheres and bobbed along at a quick pace. They had been a tad intimidating to the patients until Dragon invited them to help decorate them which had helped immensely. They were now hard to take seriously covered in glitter and googly eyes.
To her small annoyance the security foam nozzles near the lobby pointed at her while she put her hand on the scanner until the doors beeped opened. The security system had probably gone into a higher alert with stranger protocols in response to the new patient. Which meant that she would have to go through several scans before she could go home. Which always took forever.
Frank looked up with a warm smile and waved at her as she entered the lobby. She smiled and resisted the urge to wave back in front of the director. She was curious what Frank was doing here so late. He was always so anxious to get home when his wife was back in town. He was standing next to the woman who she assumed was the mother of the new patient.
She was very well dressed, with diamond earrings, a Prada purse, and a ring that did not look too fancy but probably cost far more than it looked. She had the telltale look of a woman who had had a face-lift or two, but she was in good shape which made it hard to guess her age. The woman very briefly frowned at her before quickly hiding it as her daughter whispered something in her ear.
Her daughter was of average height, wearing a sweatshirt that was way too big for her that she was presently using to hide inside of. She had long bangs that she wore to hide her face with her arms stuffed in pockets. One of Dragon's security tags was around her wrists. It tracked her movement and sent a silent alarm if it detected anything unusual.
The Director was smiling warmly as he looked up at her approaching. He was an older man, with a neatly trimmed white beard and large glasses. She wondered who the mother was if he was wearing a suit and tie with his gold watch. He only really went out of his way to try and impress someone if they could benefit the center.
"Ah, Dr. Yamada thank you for joining us," the director said walking forward. "This is Mrs. Gadaí and her daughter, Bonnie."
"A pleasure to meet you," Jessica said shaking her hands.
"Likewise," Mrs. Gadaí said keeping her face neutral. "But I thought a Dr. Carter was going to be giving us the tour." Her eyes darted to the director who turned to look at Jessica while keeping his smile frozen on his face.
"She had a small family emergency that she needed to deal with," Jessica said quickly. "But I would be happy to give you a tour of the center."
"I assure you, Dr. Yamada is a experienced professional," The director said not missing a beat.
"I'm sure she is, but Bonnie doesn't know who she is. She isn't very comfortable with new people," Mrs. Gadaí said.
Jessica turned to study Bonnie, who had leaned into her mother at her gaze. "Hello, you don't have to come on the tour if you don't want to," Jessica said. "I realize it can be a little overwhelming meeting all these new people. If you want, you can wait in a relaxation room with our therapy dog, Gizmo."
Bonnie turned to whisper something into her mother's ear which made the woman seem a little tense for some reason. "Bonnie said she is fine to go on the tour, but she has to use the ladies room first," the woman said.
"Oh, of course, of course," the director said still smiling. "This way please," he said leading them around the corner. "Oh, I remember you asked to go home early Mr. Goodwin, so I will see you tomorrow."
Jessica took the time to slide up to Frank who was looking at his phone, probably texting his wife. "Have a good night Frank," she said.
"You as well Dr. Yamada," he said giving her a warm smile that caused Jessica to freeze for a moment. She couldn't quite identify why but something about Frank set her a little on edge.
"Are you all right Dr. Yamada?" Frank asked looking closely at her which made Jessica feel a little embarrassed.
"Yes, just a bit distracted. Say hi to your wife for me."
The tour itself was uneventful though Jessica felt a little tense that the director kept walking behind her with the same creepy smile on the whole time. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but she wasn't the only one anxious. Bonnie never once left her mother's side and seemed uninterested in Jessica's spiel.
Mrs. Gadaí's phone rang and she apologized while taking it out to talk to someone.
"Dr. Yamada, could I have a moment of your time. In private." The director said still smiling.
Jessica inwardly groaned as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong as she walked with him around the corner. She was just about to ask him a question when they both stopped in their tracks.
Nicholas was in the hallway looking right at them, without his glasses.
He was staring intently, not blinking with his eyes open. All at once her view started to crack as if she was seeing a mirror being broken in front of her. The world seemed to tilt and a powerful sense of vertigo caused her to fall to her knees. She struggled to breathe as the visions started to take hold before it stopped as quickly as it had started.
She gulped for air as the world gradually went back into focus. She tasted copper and put her hand up to her face to feel that her nose was bleeding. What had happened? Why would Nicholas take his glasses off?
She gathered her courage and hesitantly looked up at Nicholas. His mouth was open and he was taking short and quick breathes. His body shook as he continued to stare at something. She turned to look behind her and was shocked to see the director was impossibly still standing.
But that wasn't possible. Not even Alexandria had been able to stand under Nicholas's gaze. Staring at him she finally realized something that had been bothering her all night.
The same little smile on the director's face that had remained unchanged throughout the tour, had been exactly the same as Frank's.
The director bent down to look at her. "Are you alright Dr. Yamada?," he asked still smiling as he blocked Nicholas from view with his body. "What happened?" he said sounding concerned which did not match at all with his facial expression.
Nicholas looked as shocked as she was that nothing was happening.
"I knew you were coming, Usurper," Nicholas uncharacteristically shouted. He was trying to sound brave, but his voice was cracking. "Get away from Dr. Yamada."
"Close your eyes until I tell you to open them, Dr. Yamada," the director said as his smile grew until he was showing all his teeth.
She did remembering that it was supposed to help weather the effects until Nicholas's power wore off. The last thing she saw was the director's face having the same gentle and unchanging smile that confirmed to her that it was not the director. She wasn't even sure he was human.
She heard the false director stand up and walk forward slowly before it spoke with a voice that sent a chill down her spine as she recognized it.
There was no one in America that did not know that voice.
"Nicholas Emilsson, Sad Boy, I ask that you please stop," Faust said in a gentle tone. "You are hurting your doctor and yourself for no reason. Your power will not affect me. I am not here to hurt anyone. So I give you this one warning. Stop now or you will be rendered unconscious," she warned.
Jessica heard Nicholas start to cry in frustration, which caused her throat to tighten as his power flared up. Jessica began to feel emotional again but was thankful the visions were not happening. She counted to ten and tried to force herself to remember the feelings were not real.
Faust's puppet, for that was what the false director had to be, began to walk again as Nicholas began to wail before Nicholas suddenly fell silent. She opened her eyes automatically in worry, just in time to see the puppet director had caught an unconscious Nicholas before he hit the ground. It carefully picked him up in its arms and calmly strode back to her with its dead eyes and blank face no longer keeping up the pretense of being human.
"Do you need some help getting up?" the puppet asked with no emotion looking down at her. She hesitated before shaking her head as she pushed herself up on shaky feet.
She looked up at the nearest security camera that must have caught all that but there was no alarm, no flashing lights, and none of Dragon's drones were in sight. She paused and glanced in worry at Nicholas unmoving in the puppet's arms.
"I meant what I said. I am not going to hurt you or your patients," Faust said through her puppet. It was a little disconcerting to hear her voice from the director's face. "I'm just going to put on a little show for the cameras before I improve a few of your patients quality of life," she said turning to look at Bonnie who had appeared at the end of the hallway. "The tag is deactivated but we just had a little encounter with Sad Boy. If you need a minute to calm down, take your time."
"I'm fine," Bonnie said confidently. "Are you all in position?"
"We're ready."
She clasped her hands together as if in prayer as a strange yellow light appeared in front of her from an unseen source. At first Jessica was not sure if anything was going to happen before a small darkness appeared in the light that grew and started to spin in at dizzying speeds. It formed into a long serpentine shadow until Faust finally appeared in the light, with her form taking up most of the hallway.
She had the lower body of a bloated black serpent with large spikes of what appeared to be bone jutting out in patterns along the side of it. It all ended in an oversized rattle that was alive with movement. The rattle made a low coiling noise that echoed in the tight space and appeared to be covered in blinking multi colored eyes that swiveled to focus all around her.
She wore a green garb somewhere between a monks robe and a lab coat with her arms crossed in front of her. Jutting out of her back were flesh like branches covered in mechanical apparatus, that had what looked like human arms and hands branching out of them. The hands were grasping a variety of moss-covered masks, and she recognized Lung's in a prominent position alongside others she was unfamiliar with.
Her own mask was a tangle of vines and branches slowly twisting into the shape of a cross with a single large eye in the center. Her long black hair trailed behind her and seemed to be moving. Closer inspection revealed what looked like a large centipede crawling in her hair.
Wow. Faust was right there in the flesh. The greatest wet tinker in the world, who all but annexed a part of a city from the US while daring them to try and take it back. She scared the Protectorate so badly that the Endbringer sirens were rung in panic when she decided to attack another gang. Even the Butcher was afraid to fight her. The only thing keeping her from becoming the next Nilbog was the threat of a kill order, which was already signed into law if she ever made something self-replicating.
Jessica tried to remain calm as Faust started to talk to someone she couldn't see. She knew objectively that Faust did not attack civilians but she also knew that the PRT has censored most of what she had done to her enemies and the people that lived in her territory. But the rumors of and news reports of citizens kidnapped out of their homes by inhuman monsters; gang members skinned alive for daring to operate in her city, and viral weaponry being employed against people that went against her ran through Jessica's head.
But at the same time, a small part of her was filled with a small hope that Faust was telling the truth. Jessica had learned long ago to not trust whatever the Protectorate said at face value. The news did not cover it, but she had personally confirmed the rumors that Faust offered free tinker medical care to anyone who sought her help and was providing support to research clinics looking for a cure for cancer. Despite the rumors of blood and gore, there were also reports of Faust providing everything from head transplants, to custom-made gene tonics to destroy cancer. Despite her reputation, Jessica knew quite a few people still sought out her services.
She was jolted from her thoughts by three more of what she assumed were Sleeping Forest members stepping out of the light. The first was a woman, who was at least six feet tall. She was built like a body builder and held a large pit bull like it was a puppy in her arms. Her mask showed a demon dog snarling and she wore a heavy overcoat lined with fur. A line of large chains tied to huge leashes was hung over her chest and on her back.
One of Demon Dog's pets marched forward to sniff at her and she instinctively flinched back before it stopped and went back to its owner in a hurry. The dog woman scratched its ear while taking a seat on Faust's tail, which moved up to accommodate her.
The next figure was much smaller and slimmer, and was dressed in a red hood and cloak. Her mask was shaped like a red butterfly and it actually moved to give an appearance of it being alive. She was covered in what she thought were lines of black ropes before they started to move and she felt her skin crawl as she realized she was covered in snakes with piercing red eyes. Butterfly moved forward so she stood next to Faust in silence while glancing between Jessica and Nicholas, who was still held up by her puppet.
The last was a man wearing body armor painted to look like a tuxedo and wore a robot head with a huge visor. He wore white gloves and had on some kind of large backpack that was covered with what looked like string or twine. He seemed a bit skittish about something as he barely acknowledged the others. She was slightly started when he teleported, appearing from one side of the hallway to the window. He was jittery with almost nervous energy being unable to sit still while looking out the window.
Faust turned toward them and seemed to silently communicate something as robot head laughed out loud in an exaggerated manner while the dog woman stood up and put her dog down. She left down the hallway with her dogs following close behind while robot mask jogged down the opposite way.
The butterfly girl stayed where she was but seemed to be agitated by something as she forcefully got in Faust's face and gestured toward Jessica. Faust lowered herself to eye level while still staying silent as something else stepped out of the light that caused Jessica to hold her breath.
Almost a dozen large and partly mechanical spiders had begun to leave the light and crawl up on Faust's tail. They went up to her waist and seemed to be made of some kind of see through plastic and flesh. They were covered in a variety of mechanical equipment that obviously looked built for surgery from cutting saws, to strange canisters filled with what looked like blood that filled Jessica's mind with terrible possibilities.
Bonnie put her arm on a wall to support herself as the light disappeared. "That's everyone and Rifle should be waiting in position. What is the status?" she said in a crisp tone. She was completely different from the scared little girl Jessica had seen earlier. She stood tall and straight, projecting confidence with her hair swept up. She wore a small domino mask and a black cloth over mouth that she had pulled out from somewhere in her oversized hoodie.
"Phoenix has taken the security center," Faust said handing something to her out of her coat. "Meet up with the rest of your team and tell Getaway to be ready while I move the truck up. Dragon will know something is up before too long and I want us ready to leave in a hurry."
She nodded and left at a run while Butterfly moved so she was facing directly across from Faust again. None of them were saying anything again but there were obviously having some kind of disagreement, as Faust seemed to give an air of annoyance and almost sheepishness.
Still neither of them said or did anything besides stare at each other silently. She looked at Nicholas's unconscious body and took a deep breath to calm down. Faust was scary, but she was far from the worst thing she had dealt with.
"Excuse me," she said as diplomatically as she could. "Where are the director and the others? Is Nicholas going to be okay?"
Faust and Butterfly turned toward her and they shared a look before Faust audibly sighed. Her mask started to twist into a new shape as she spoke. "The director and everyone else we imitated are all safely asleep in their beds, and in a better condition than I found them. They're going to wake up tomorrow feeling like a million bucks and think they accidentally slept in," she said as her mask finished changing into some type of flower.
Faust took a long look at Nicholas before turning back to her. "He will be fine. No major neurological damage from his episode, and he is in good health for his age. Missing a few fingers and toes, which I'm guessing is Amniotic Band Syndrome?" she asked Jessica, who nodded.
"To be honest, I am amazed at how healthy he is considering his power's side effects." Jessica found herself a little startled as Faust suddenly loomed over her. She was close enough now to see Faust's mask was made up of small individual vines or little branches that started to move again as she watched.
"Don't worry, there seem to be no issues from Sa-Nicholas using his power on you," Faust said. The butterfly girl coughed very loudly which caused Faust to move back and give her some space.
"I also apologize for scanning your body without your permission, but I was worried about what effect your patient's power could have had on your brain chemistry. Thankfully, you weren't under his power long enough to have to worry about side effects. Though you might want to be careful with your kidneys when you're older."
"Why are you really here?" Jessica calmly asked. "I'm sure there were better ways to heal our patients by going through proper channels."
"I doubt it would be as easy as you think, not to mention embarrassing the Protectorate is a nice bonus. I came here originally to help one particular patient of yours, but I meant what I said Dr. Yamada. I'm here to look and improve or fix any body issues some of your patients have. I promise to not harm them or do anything without their permission. Then I'm going to leave. I am also on a bit of a timetable so any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. The sooner I am done here, the sooner I can leave."
"What can I do?"
"Medical records are very tightly guarded because they can be used to find the identities of parahumans and Dragon is very, very, good at protecting digital files. A few of my colleagues are reading as much of the physical files here as fast as possible, but that is still taking a significant amount of time. You personally would have good knowledge on the patients here, which can save me time."
A noise startled both of them and Faust reared up in height while protectively twirling around her and Nicholas with shocking speed. The snakes on the butterfly girl started to all rattle loudly before they both relaxed a moment later. Jessica looked up startled when she realized the noise was from a small air vet being kicked open.
"You may wish to avert your eyes," Butterfly said. "It's a little gross when Phoenix compacts herself."
A shoe and hand appeared through the vent, with both hooking themselves against the edge and pulling. A moment later a human body oozed through the small opening with a grotesque stretching sound. The ooze quickly righted itself into a figure wearing what looked like a cross between a fancy coat and a swimsuit. A simple green bandana was tied around her face with two small eyeholes cut open. Phoenix bowed to Faust in a dramatic flourish.
"Done and done. Told you I could fit," she said strutting a little as she brushed off her coat.
"Package delivered?" Faust asked moving away from Jessica.
"Ready and waiting for her to find. The security guards are sleeping like babies and I used the gas so no major head trauma for you to heal."
"I thought you were going to stay in the security office?" Butterfly asked.
"Nah, Imprint is there with Nyx so they don't need me anymore. Plus I wouldn't miss this for anything. What he is doing is sweet and all, but he is pissing his pants with nervousness about finally meeting her in person. I've got a bet going with Bitch that he throws up all over her."
"You can come. But be respectful of their privacy. No mean comments," Faust warned.
"What? I never make mean comments. Unlike Darth Dingus, I happen to have tact and decorum," she said looking around. "Where is he anyway?"
"I asked him to set up his barriers in the courtyard in case the Dragon Suit activates early."
"Oh, that makes sense. Whose she?" Phoenix asked looking at Jessica. "I thought you were going to erase everyone's memories."
"Dr. Carter had a emergency so Dr. Yamada took her place for the tour, which forced to us to change the plan a bit," Faust said looking at her.
"Dr. Yamada, I will not force you to do anything. You can say no to helping me and I promise nothing will change. I will ask you to wait in the conference room with a few others so you do not get in the way or if you prefer I can erase your memory of our meeting if you found it too traumatic. You'll wake up thinking you fell asleep at work after a very pleasant dream. What do you want to do?"
Jessica stopped and thought. She was not as afraid of Faust as some, but she knew that several of her patients would be freaked out at her presence. Yes, being there to help reassure them could keep them calm and prevent them from doing something stupid or rash.
And, if she was being honest with herself, a part of her had begun to fantasize taking a few of her more desperate patients to see the supposed miracle worker-cum-warlord. Plenty of the less morbid rumors following Faust said she was able to cure nearly any disorder. If even half of what the PRT was saying about her capabilities was true, her patients could finally have a chance of leaving this center.
"I will help you," she finally said thinking of her career.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Faust said before turning to look down at Nicholas again as the Butterfly girl went to whisper something to Phoenix. "So this is the famous Nicholas Isaksson."
"Can you help him?" Jessica asked. Not quite being able to hide the hope in her voice. "You can cure some mental illnesses right?"
Faust sighed. "Yes and no. I have experimented quite extensively with improving and expanding brain connections to remove anxiety, depression, and several other neurological issues. But despite what the Protectorate might think, I am not Bonesaw, which severely limits my ability for finding test subjects."
"The few experiments have provided good results so far, but I have no long-term studies yet. People thought lead based paint was a great idea at first too. I prefer to wait until I know more before trying it on an adolescent. Not to mention parahumans present an interesting dilemma and there are risks of unforeseen consequences. Even if he volunteered and I did not care about his wellbeing, I am not sure I would risk it yet."
Jessica looked down at him sleeping peacefully. She knew it wouldn't have been that easy.
"Why did he call Faust the Usurper?" Butterfly asked. "People call Faust many things, but I've never heard that before."
"Do you know of the Diser?" Jessica asked.
"The crazy guys in Europe who play instruments naked to summon fairies?" Phoenix asked snickering.
"They're some kind of nature cult right?" Faust asked.
She smiled in spite of herself at imagining Nicholas's proud mother even deigning to dance, much less naked. "No, they are a real and very relatively widespread religion in Switzerland that worship Glaistig Uaine and Scion."
"Oh, because the Fairy Queen attacked the Simurgh when she first showed up?" Faust said looking at her.
"Yes, Switzerland saw what became of Belarus and the surrounding area after Glaistig caused her to retreat there. Many in Switzerland consider her a hero that saved the country despite her murdering hundreds of innocent parahumans. The Diser are part of the reason Switzerland is so fanatical about parahumans sacrificing themselves for the greater good. They believe that parahumans should have been lining up to be reborn under her power so she can destroy the Endbringers in the future."
"But she hasn't left Earth Aleph for decades," Faust said. "There have been sightings on Aleph, but no one is sure where she is or what she is doing. She also was never the same after fighting the Simurgh. No one is sure why she opened a gate to Aleph in Lausanne, but it is heavily guarded on both sides. No one is getting through there, especially after the rioting."
"There are different interpretations of that. Most of the Diser believe she will come back to help Scion destroy the Endbringers in the future. I know the Protectorate makes a big deal of calling them a parahuman suicide cult but most of them are largely harmless."
"But not his version, right?" Faust asked crossing her arms.
"As with any religion you have your outliers, fundamentalists, and breakaway groups. Nicholas's family leads a splinter sect that was founded here. Similar to certain Christian sects calling every new World leader the antichrist, their group calls every powerful new villain the Usurper. A prophesied being that the founder of the Diser proclaimed would cause so much death and destruction that the Fairy Queen will finally return home to fight them and help Scion to destroy the Endbringers."
"He called me his version of the antichrist?" Faust asked with a curious tone of voice. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or horrified."
"Don't be, Nicholas mother is not the most stable of people and she changes her mind constantly. She has called Nilbog, Jack Slash, and even Eidolon the Usurper after he was apparently rude to her at a convention where she confronted him with a pamphlet."
Faust seemed to briefly be in thought before she suddenly moved toward Nicholas. Jessica's heart sped up a little as Faust leaned in close to Nicholas while holding her hands onto his head. Faust shuddered a little but stayed that way for almost twenty seconds before she looked up at the director puppet.
It turned and walked away while gently cradling Nicholas in its arms.
"What are you doing?" Jessica asked.
"I'm going to place him on his bed and paint him a picture while he sleeps."
"What?"
"I think it will give him some encouragement and advice on his family in a way that will be hard for him to justify ignoring despite his views on me. Nothing dangerous or distressing, I swear. Now we should get going. We have a schedule to keep," Faust said leading the way with the spiders clinging on tight.
She moved fast enough that Jessica had to struggle to keep up.
"So based on our conversation before, you are still experiencing these anxious thoughts about talking to the other patients?" Jessica Yamada asked. She frowned slightly as she noticed that he wasn't paying attention again.
"Nicholas?"
"Yes," he said looking up slightly startled, with the screens on his glasses flickering. He fumbled with them while still being careful to not look directly at her face.
"I'm sorry Dr. Yamada," he said a little sheepishly seeing the look of concern on her face. "I was a little distracted."
"Are you having trouble sleeping again?"
"No, I'm fine really," he said rubbing the back of his neck. "I just had another nightmare again, and couldn't fall back to sleep."
"Do you feel comfortable talking about it?"
"Nah, I'm good. I don't even remember it."
She ignored her phone starting to buzz in her purse as she gave him another careful glance. Nicholas was just beginning to feel the first touch of puberty with his voice starting to crack and the first touch of acne appearing on his nose. The Tinker made glasses hid his baby blue eyes and he fidgeted with his gloves. His small size made him look younger than he was, and his dirty blond hair covered his hated ears that he said made him look stupid.
His hair was a greasy mess and getting far too long again but the director had agreed with her that cutting his hair wasn't worth a possible episode. Nicholas hated having anything sharp in his presence and after what he had been through she didn't blame him. Dragon was set to deliver a custom made device that could cut and shave his hair safely using water during her next check in.
"Please remember that everything we say is confidential. If you just want to talk, I'm here," she said gently. When he didn't reply, she continued while turning off her buzzer as her phone went off again.
"I'm going to give some homework. You told me the reasons why you feel anxious, so I want you write the possible reasons why the other patients might be quiet during our group sessions. But I don't want you to write they all think you're stupid. Write a few logical reasons on why they might be quiet. Maybe they're embarrassed, or they haven't gotten any sleep. Those kinds of reasons, don't write that they think you are stupid. Do you understand that?"
"Yes. Okay, I'll try not to be so anxious anymore."
"Alright," she said a touch concerned at how nervous he was acting. He always fidgeted or rubbed his neck when he was really worried about something. They had been making great progress with his social anxiety and she was little disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to say what was really bothering him.
"Did you have time to finish your painting like you wanted?" she asked trying to switch to a topic that she knew he was comfortable talking at length for.
"I did," he said with his face lighting up as he bounced up to grab his painting on his desk, which made her smile. He hurriedly pushed aside painting supplies that were strewn around and carefully set up his easel while trying to look as nonchalant as possible while she looked it over.
She was more than a little grateful that it depicted more vibrant colors and showed a relatively normal nature scene. A few of his past painting's subject matter had been a bit morbid and she had argued with the director about his decision to allow people to buy them because of his father. Nicholas was a talented artist for his age, but his father was looking for any excuse to paint Nicholas as less than human since his mother's influence in the church was rising.
Either way it would probably lead to more headaches with Nicholas's parents and their congregation. Especially with Nicholas making so much progress that the possibility of leaving the center was starting to become within reach.
The painting itself was a little weird on a detailed glance. With the sizes of the subjects all off. The birds were so big that it looked like they could barely fit on the trees, and were colored in vibrant and mossy greens to give the indication of a plant. In contrast, the forest was painted with bright reds and pinks to give the trees an almost flesh like appearance. The contrast made the painting a bit jarring to her eyes. Not that she would every say that to Nicholas, who was trying not to look at her face while waiting to hear her thoughts.
"It is very pretty and I like the brighter colors," she said which caused him to smile and her to smile in turn. She wasn't sure if she should say more when her phone rang again and she felt a small bit of worry as she pulled it out to see Stephanie was calling her. Stephanie knew not to call when she was with a patient.
"Nicholas, lets pick back up next week at the same time," she said as he placed the painting next to a few others. Some he wanted to keep for sentimental value, while others hadn't been sold yet.
She put her notepad into her bag and checked the time on her phone by reflex. She actually had plenty of time for once. Her flight to Brockton, like all others with Delta, had been delayed after a recent cyber attack by Overmind.
"Can we do it a little later?" Nicholas asked a little embarrassed. "Mom wants to meet with you again."
"I'm sure she does," she thought to herself while giving a simple yes out loud. A part of her was grateful for Nicholas's mother choosing to remain in contact with him unlike the rest of his family; but her mental state and religious rants were also not the healthiest influence on him. She had been forced to set some very hard limits after some inappropriate actions on her part, and the state had terminated her parental rights after an incident where she had confronted Eidolon at a convention.
Jessica had gently suggested that she see a therapist of her own as she was dealing with quite a bit of stress herself and it might look good for the courts to show that she was making a concentrated effort to improve herself for Nicholas. The woman thankfully took the hint and while she was not as bad as she used to be, Jessica still didn't like her.
She walked outside the door into the hallway with the door automatically closing behind her per Nicholas's request. He found it very hard to relax if he was around other people and just leaving the door open made him a little nervous. The blue lights everywhere, shag carpeting, and gentle nature sounds were all designed by Dragon to help him keep calm and make him more comfortable.
She pulled open her phone and dialed Stephanie, while one of Dragon's security drones Nicholas had painted to look like a cat, maneuvered past her on its patrol.
"Hey Steph, you called?"
"Sorry to bother you when you are with a patient Jess, but Joey just got into an accident and I need to go pick him up."
"Is he alright?"
"Thank god, yes. The other driver ran a red light and T-boned him. The paramedic said he was fine but he sounds a bit shaken up."
"What do you need?"
"The director is giving a last minute personal tour right now to a possible new patient's mother."
"This late?"
"I know, trust me I know. She has to be pretty loaded for him to bend over backwards like this. I was planning to be there but I need to go pick up Joey. Can you cover me for the tour? It's going to be quick tour, twenty minutes tops."
"Of course, Steph. Don't worry about it. Tell me about the patient?"
"Avoidant personality disorder, mostly hypersensitive type." Stephanie said. "To top it all off she is a stranger and has her mom very concerned that she is going to hurt herself."
"How old?"
"Sixteen."
"Poor girl."
"Yeah, but I think we can help her. Thanks again for covering for me. You're the best Jess. Have I ever told you that?"
"More than a few times," she joked. "Where is our esteemed Director Fletcher?"
"He's in the lobby meeting with the mom, her daughter, and Frank. The daughter had a bit of a episode at dragon's drones, so Frank is keeping an eye on her with one of Dragon's wristbands around her wrist in case she tries to give us the slip. Thanks again, Jess."
"No problem. Tell Joey hi for me."
She made her way to the lobby at a fast walk while passing more of Dragon's drones patrolling the hallways. The were shaped like small floating spheres and bobbed along at a quick pace. They had been a tad intimidating to the patients until Dragon invited them to help decorate them which had helped immensely. They were now hard to take seriously covered in glitter and googly eyes.
To her small annoyance the security foam nozzles near the lobby pointed at her while she put her hand on the scanner until the doors beeped opened. The security system had probably gone into a higher alert with stranger protocols in response to the new patient. Which meant that she would have to go through several scans before she could go home. Which always took forever.
Frank looked up with a warm smile and waved at her as she entered the lobby. She smiled and resisted the urge to wave back in front of the director. She was curious what Frank was doing here so late. He was always so anxious to get home when his wife was back in town. He was standing next to the woman who she assumed was the mother of the new patient.
She was very well dressed, with diamond earrings, a Prada purse, and a ring that did not look too fancy but probably cost far more than it looked. She had the telltale look of a woman who had had a face-lift or two, but she was in good shape which made it hard to guess her age. The woman very briefly frowned at her before quickly hiding it as her daughter whispered something in her ear.
Her daughter was of average height, wearing a sweatshirt that was way too big for her that she was presently using to hide inside of. She had long bangs that she wore to hide her face with her arms stuffed in pockets. One of Dragon's security tags was around her wrists. It tracked her movement and sent a silent alarm if it detected anything unusual.
The Director was smiling warmly as he looked up at her approaching. He was an older man, with a neatly trimmed white beard and large glasses. She wondered who the mother was if he was wearing a suit and tie with his gold watch. He only really went out of his way to try and impress someone if they could benefit the center.
"Ah, Dr. Yamada thank you for joining us," the director said walking forward. "This is Mrs. Gadaí and her daughter, Bonnie."
"A pleasure to meet you," Jessica said shaking her hands.
"Likewise," Mrs. Gadaí said keeping her face neutral. "But I thought a Dr. Carter was going to be giving us the tour." Her eyes darted to the director who turned to look at Jessica while keeping his smile frozen on his face.
"She had a small family emergency that she needed to deal with," Jessica said quickly. "But I would be happy to give you a tour of the center."
"I assure you, Dr. Yamada is a experienced professional," The director said not missing a beat.
"I'm sure she is, but Bonnie doesn't know who she is. She isn't very comfortable with new people," Mrs. Gadaí said.
Jessica turned to study Bonnie, who had leaned into her mother at her gaze. "Hello, you don't have to come on the tour if you don't want to," Jessica said. "I realize it can be a little overwhelming meeting all these new people. If you want, you can wait in a relaxation room with our therapy dog, Gizmo."
Bonnie turned to whisper something into her mother's ear which made the woman seem a little tense for some reason. "Bonnie said she is fine to go on the tour, but she has to use the ladies room first," the woman said.
"Oh, of course, of course," the director said still smiling. "This way please," he said leading them around the corner. "Oh, I remember you asked to go home early Mr. Goodwin, so I will see you tomorrow."
Jessica took the time to slide up to Frank who was looking at his phone, probably texting his wife. "Have a good night Frank," she said.
"You as well Dr. Yamada," he said giving her a warm smile that caused Jessica to freeze for a moment. She couldn't quite identify why but something about Frank set her a little on edge.
"Are you all right Dr. Yamada?" Frank asked looking closely at her which made Jessica feel a little embarrassed.
"Yes, just a bit distracted. Say hi to your wife for me."
The tour itself was uneventful though Jessica felt a little tense that the director kept walking behind her with the same creepy smile on the whole time. She wasn't sure what his problem was, but she wasn't the only one anxious. Bonnie never once left her mother's side and seemed uninterested in Jessica's spiel.
Mrs. Gadaí's phone rang and she apologized while taking it out to talk to someone.
"Dr. Yamada, could I have a moment of your time. In private." The director said still smiling.
Jessica inwardly groaned as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong as she walked with him around the corner. She was just about to ask him a question when they both stopped in their tracks.
Nicholas was in the hallway looking right at them, without his glasses.
He was staring intently, not blinking with his eyes open. All at once her view started to crack as if she was seeing a mirror being broken in front of her. The world seemed to tilt and a powerful sense of vertigo caused her to fall to her knees. She struggled to breathe as the visions started to take hold before it stopped as quickly as it had started.
She gulped for air as the world gradually went back into focus. She tasted copper and put her hand up to her face to feel that her nose was bleeding. What had happened? Why would Nicholas take his glasses off?
She gathered her courage and hesitantly looked up at Nicholas. His mouth was open and he was taking short and quick breathes. His body shook as he continued to stare at something. She turned to look behind her and was shocked to see the director was impossibly still standing.
But that wasn't possible. Not even Alexandria had been able to stand under Nicholas's gaze. Staring at him she finally realized something that had been bothering her all night.
The same little smile on the director's face that had remained unchanged throughout the tour, had been exactly the same as Frank's.
The director bent down to look at her. "Are you alright Dr. Yamada?," he asked still smiling as he blocked Nicholas from view with his body. "What happened?" he said sounding concerned which did not match at all with his facial expression.
Nicholas looked as shocked as she was that nothing was happening.
"I knew you were coming, Usurper," Nicholas uncharacteristically shouted. He was trying to sound brave, but his voice was cracking. "Get away from Dr. Yamada."
"Close your eyes until I tell you to open them, Dr. Yamada," the director said as his smile grew until he was showing all his teeth.
She did remembering that it was supposed to help weather the effects until Nicholas's power wore off. The last thing she saw was the director's face having the same gentle and unchanging smile that confirmed to her that it was not the director. She wasn't even sure he was human.
She heard the false director stand up and walk forward slowly before it spoke with a voice that sent a chill down her spine as she recognized it.
There was no one in America that did not know that voice.
"Nicholas Emilsson, Sad Boy, I ask that you please stop," Faust said in a gentle tone. "You are hurting your doctor and yourself for no reason. Your power will not affect me. I am not here to hurt anyone. So I give you this one warning. Stop now or you will be rendered unconscious," she warned.
Jessica heard Nicholas start to cry in frustration, which caused her throat to tighten as his power flared up. Jessica began to feel emotional again but was thankful the visions were not happening. She counted to ten and tried to force herself to remember the feelings were not real.
Faust's puppet, for that was what the false director had to be, began to walk again as Nicholas began to wail before Nicholas suddenly fell silent. She opened her eyes automatically in worry, just in time to see the puppet director had caught an unconscious Nicholas before he hit the ground. It carefully picked him up in its arms and calmly strode back to her with its dead eyes and blank face no longer keeping up the pretense of being human.
"Do you need some help getting up?" the puppet asked with no emotion looking down at her. She hesitated before shaking her head as she pushed herself up on shaky feet.
She looked up at the nearest security camera that must have caught all that but there was no alarm, no flashing lights, and none of Dragon's drones were in sight. She paused and glanced in worry at Nicholas unmoving in the puppet's arms.
"I meant what I said. I am not going to hurt you or your patients," Faust said through her puppet. It was a little disconcerting to hear her voice from the director's face. "I'm just going to put on a little show for the cameras before I improve a few of your patients quality of life," she said turning to look at Bonnie who had appeared at the end of the hallway. "The tag is deactivated but we just had a little encounter with Sad Boy. If you need a minute to calm down, take your time."
"I'm fine," Bonnie said confidently. "Are you all in position?"
"We're ready."
She clasped her hands together as if in prayer as a strange yellow light appeared in front of her from an unseen source. At first Jessica was not sure if anything was going to happen before a small darkness appeared in the light that grew and started to spin in at dizzying speeds. It formed into a long serpentine shadow until Faust finally appeared in the light, with her form taking up most of the hallway.
She had the lower body of a bloated black serpent with large spikes of what appeared to be bone jutting out in patterns along the side of it. It all ended in an oversized rattle that was alive with movement. The rattle made a low coiling noise that echoed in the tight space and appeared to be covered in blinking multi colored eyes that swiveled to focus all around her.
She wore a green garb somewhere between a monks robe and a lab coat with her arms crossed in front of her. Jutting out of her back were flesh like branches covered in mechanical apparatus, that had what looked like human arms and hands branching out of them. The hands were grasping a variety of moss-covered masks, and she recognized Lung's in a prominent position alongside others she was unfamiliar with.
Her own mask was a tangle of vines and branches slowly twisting into the shape of a cross with a single large eye in the center. Her long black hair trailed behind her and seemed to be moving. Closer inspection revealed what looked like a large centipede crawling in her hair.
Wow. Faust was right there in the flesh. The greatest wet tinker in the world, who all but annexed a part of a city from the US while daring them to try and take it back. She scared the Protectorate so badly that the Endbringer sirens were rung in panic when she decided to attack another gang. Even the Butcher was afraid to fight her. The only thing keeping her from becoming the next Nilbog was the threat of a kill order, which was already signed into law if she ever made something self-replicating.
Jessica tried to remain calm as Faust started to talk to someone she couldn't see. She knew objectively that Faust did not attack civilians but she also knew that the PRT has censored most of what she had done to her enemies and the people that lived in her territory. But the rumors of and news reports of citizens kidnapped out of their homes by inhuman monsters; gang members skinned alive for daring to operate in her city, and viral weaponry being employed against people that went against her ran through Jessica's head.
But at the same time, a small part of her was filled with a small hope that Faust was telling the truth. Jessica had learned long ago to not trust whatever the Protectorate said at face value. The news did not cover it, but she had personally confirmed the rumors that Faust offered free tinker medical care to anyone who sought her help and was providing support to research clinics looking for a cure for cancer. Despite the rumors of blood and gore, there were also reports of Faust providing everything from head transplants, to custom-made gene tonics to destroy cancer. Despite her reputation, Jessica knew quite a few people still sought out her services.
She was jolted from her thoughts by three more of what she assumed were Sleeping Forest members stepping out of the light. The first was a woman, who was at least six feet tall. She was built like a body builder and held a large pit bull like it was a puppy in her arms. Her mask showed a demon dog snarling and she wore a heavy overcoat lined with fur. A line of large chains tied to huge leashes was hung over her chest and on her back.
One of Demon Dog's pets marched forward to sniff at her and she instinctively flinched back before it stopped and went back to its owner in a hurry. The dog woman scratched its ear while taking a seat on Faust's tail, which moved up to accommodate her.
The next figure was much smaller and slimmer, and was dressed in a red hood and cloak. Her mask was shaped like a red butterfly and it actually moved to give an appearance of it being alive. She was covered in what she thought were lines of black ropes before they started to move and she felt her skin crawl as she realized she was covered in snakes with piercing red eyes. Butterfly moved forward so she stood next to Faust in silence while glancing between Jessica and Nicholas, who was still held up by her puppet.
The last was a man wearing body armor painted to look like a tuxedo and wore a robot head with a huge visor. He wore white gloves and had on some kind of large backpack that was covered with what looked like string or twine. He seemed a bit skittish about something as he barely acknowledged the others. She was slightly started when he teleported, appearing from one side of the hallway to the window. He was jittery with almost nervous energy being unable to sit still while looking out the window.
Faust turned toward them and seemed to silently communicate something as robot head laughed out loud in an exaggerated manner while the dog woman stood up and put her dog down. She left down the hallway with her dogs following close behind while robot mask jogged down the opposite way.
The butterfly girl stayed where she was but seemed to be agitated by something as she forcefully got in Faust's face and gestured toward Jessica. Faust lowered herself to eye level while still staying silent as something else stepped out of the light that caused Jessica to hold her breath.
Almost a dozen large and partly mechanical spiders had begun to leave the light and crawl up on Faust's tail. They went up to her waist and seemed to be made of some kind of see through plastic and flesh. They were covered in a variety of mechanical equipment that obviously looked built for surgery from cutting saws, to strange canisters filled with what looked like blood that filled Jessica's mind with terrible possibilities.
Bonnie put her arm on a wall to support herself as the light disappeared. "That's everyone and Rifle should be waiting in position. What is the status?" she said in a crisp tone. She was completely different from the scared little girl Jessica had seen earlier. She stood tall and straight, projecting confidence with her hair swept up. She wore a small domino mask and a black cloth over mouth that she had pulled out from somewhere in her oversized hoodie.
"Phoenix has taken the security center," Faust said handing something to her out of her coat. "Meet up with the rest of your team and tell Getaway to be ready while I move the truck up. Dragon will know something is up before too long and I want us ready to leave in a hurry."
She nodded and left at a run while Butterfly moved so she was facing directly across from Faust again. None of them were saying anything again but there were obviously having some kind of disagreement, as Faust seemed to give an air of annoyance and almost sheepishness.
Still neither of them said or did anything besides stare at each other silently. She looked at Nicholas's unconscious body and took a deep breath to calm down. Faust was scary, but she was far from the worst thing she had dealt with.
"Excuse me," she said as diplomatically as she could. "Where are the director and the others? Is Nicholas going to be okay?"
Faust and Butterfly turned toward her and they shared a look before Faust audibly sighed. Her mask started to twist into a new shape as she spoke. "The director and everyone else we imitated are all safely asleep in their beds, and in a better condition than I found them. They're going to wake up tomorrow feeling like a million bucks and think they accidentally slept in," she said as her mask finished changing into some type of flower.
Faust took a long look at Nicholas before turning back to her. "He will be fine. No major neurological damage from his episode, and he is in good health for his age. Missing a few fingers and toes, which I'm guessing is Amniotic Band Syndrome?" she asked Jessica, who nodded.
"To be honest, I am amazed at how healthy he is considering his power's side effects." Jessica found herself a little startled as Faust suddenly loomed over her. She was close enough now to see Faust's mask was made up of small individual vines or little branches that started to move again as she watched.
"Don't worry, there seem to be no issues from Sa-Nicholas using his power on you," Faust said. The butterfly girl coughed very loudly which caused Faust to move back and give her some space.
"I also apologize for scanning your body without your permission, but I was worried about what effect your patient's power could have had on your brain chemistry. Thankfully, you weren't under his power long enough to have to worry about side effects. Though you might want to be careful with your kidneys when you're older."
"Why are you really here?" Jessica calmly asked. "I'm sure there were better ways to heal our patients by going through proper channels."
"I doubt it would be as easy as you think, not to mention embarrassing the Protectorate is a nice bonus. I came here originally to help one particular patient of yours, but I meant what I said Dr. Yamada. I'm here to look and improve or fix any body issues some of your patients have. I promise to not harm them or do anything without their permission. Then I'm going to leave. I am also on a bit of a timetable so any help you can give would be greatly appreciated. The sooner I am done here, the sooner I can leave."
"What can I do?"
"Medical records are very tightly guarded because they can be used to find the identities of parahumans and Dragon is very, very, good at protecting digital files. A few of my colleagues are reading as much of the physical files here as fast as possible, but that is still taking a significant amount of time. You personally would have good knowledge on the patients here, which can save me time."
A noise startled both of them and Faust reared up in height while protectively twirling around her and Nicholas with shocking speed. The snakes on the butterfly girl started to all rattle loudly before they both relaxed a moment later. Jessica looked up startled when she realized the noise was from a small air vet being kicked open.
"You may wish to avert your eyes," Butterfly said. "It's a little gross when Phoenix compacts herself."
A shoe and hand appeared through the vent, with both hooking themselves against the edge and pulling. A moment later a human body oozed through the small opening with a grotesque stretching sound. The ooze quickly righted itself into a figure wearing what looked like a cross between a fancy coat and a swimsuit. A simple green bandana was tied around her face with two small eyeholes cut open. Phoenix bowed to Faust in a dramatic flourish.
"Done and done. Told you I could fit," she said strutting a little as she brushed off her coat.
"Package delivered?" Faust asked moving away from Jessica.
"Ready and waiting for her to find. The security guards are sleeping like babies and I used the gas so no major head trauma for you to heal."
"I thought you were going to stay in the security office?" Butterfly asked.
"Nah, Imprint is there with Nyx so they don't need me anymore. Plus I wouldn't miss this for anything. What he is doing is sweet and all, but he is pissing his pants with nervousness about finally meeting her in person. I've got a bet going with Bitch that he throws up all over her."
"You can come. But be respectful of their privacy. No mean comments," Faust warned.
"What? I never make mean comments. Unlike Darth Dingus, I happen to have tact and decorum," she said looking around. "Where is he anyway?"
"I asked him to set up his barriers in the courtyard in case the Dragon Suit activates early."
"Oh, that makes sense. Whose she?" Phoenix asked looking at Jessica. "I thought you were going to erase everyone's memories."
"Dr. Carter had a emergency so Dr. Yamada took her place for the tour, which forced to us to change the plan a bit," Faust said looking at her.
"Dr. Yamada, I will not force you to do anything. You can say no to helping me and I promise nothing will change. I will ask you to wait in the conference room with a few others so you do not get in the way or if you prefer I can erase your memory of our meeting if you found it too traumatic. You'll wake up thinking you fell asleep at work after a very pleasant dream. What do you want to do?"
Jessica stopped and thought. She was not as afraid of Faust as some, but she knew that several of her patients would be freaked out at her presence. Yes, being there to help reassure them could keep them calm and prevent them from doing something stupid or rash.
And, if she was being honest with herself, a part of her had begun to fantasize taking a few of her more desperate patients to see the supposed miracle worker-cum-warlord. Plenty of the less morbid rumors following Faust said she was able to cure nearly any disorder. If even half of what the PRT was saying about her capabilities was true, her patients could finally have a chance of leaving this center.
"I will help you," she finally said thinking of her career.
"Thank you for your cooperation," Faust said before turning to look down at Nicholas again as the Butterfly girl went to whisper something to Phoenix. "So this is the famous Nicholas Isaksson."
"Can you help him?" Jessica asked. Not quite being able to hide the hope in her voice. "You can cure some mental illnesses right?"
Faust sighed. "Yes and no. I have experimented quite extensively with improving and expanding brain connections to remove anxiety, depression, and several other neurological issues. But despite what the Protectorate might think, I am not Bonesaw, which severely limits my ability for finding test subjects."
"The few experiments have provided good results so far, but I have no long-term studies yet. People thought lead based paint was a great idea at first too. I prefer to wait until I know more before trying it on an adolescent. Not to mention parahumans present an interesting dilemma and there are risks of unforeseen consequences. Even if he volunteered and I did not care about his wellbeing, I am not sure I would risk it yet."
Jessica looked down at him sleeping peacefully. She knew it wouldn't have been that easy.
"Why did he call Faust the Usurper?" Butterfly asked. "People call Faust many things, but I've never heard that before."
"Do you know of the Diser?" Jessica asked.
"The crazy guys in Europe who play instruments naked to summon fairies?" Phoenix asked snickering.
"They're some kind of nature cult right?" Faust asked.
She smiled in spite of herself at imagining Nicholas's proud mother even deigning to dance, much less naked. "No, they are a real and very relatively widespread religion in Switzerland that worship Glaistig Uaine and Scion."
"Oh, because the Fairy Queen attacked the Simurgh when she first showed up?" Faust said looking at her.
"Yes, Switzerland saw what became of Belarus and the surrounding area after Glaistig caused her to retreat there. Many in Switzerland consider her a hero that saved the country despite her murdering hundreds of innocent parahumans. The Diser are part of the reason Switzerland is so fanatical about parahumans sacrificing themselves for the greater good. They believe that parahumans should have been lining up to be reborn under her power so she can destroy the Endbringers in the future."
"But she hasn't left Earth Aleph for decades," Faust said. "There have been sightings on Aleph, but no one is sure where she is or what she is doing. She also was never the same after fighting the Simurgh. No one is sure why she opened a gate to Aleph in Lausanne, but it is heavily guarded on both sides. No one is getting through there, especially after the rioting."
"There are different interpretations of that. Most of the Diser believe she will come back to help Scion destroy the Endbringers in the future. I know the Protectorate makes a big deal of calling them a parahuman suicide cult but most of them are largely harmless."
"But not his version, right?" Faust asked crossing her arms.
"As with any religion you have your outliers, fundamentalists, and breakaway groups. Nicholas's family leads a splinter sect that was founded here. Similar to certain Christian sects calling every new World leader the antichrist, their group calls every powerful new villain the Usurper. A prophesied being that the founder of the Diser proclaimed would cause so much death and destruction that the Fairy Queen will finally return home to fight them and help Scion to destroy the Endbringers."
"He called me his version of the antichrist?" Faust asked with a curious tone of voice. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or horrified."
"Don't be, Nicholas mother is not the most stable of people and she changes her mind constantly. She has called Nilbog, Jack Slash, and even Eidolon the Usurper after he was apparently rude to her at a convention where she confronted him with a pamphlet."
Faust seemed to briefly be in thought before she suddenly moved toward Nicholas. Jessica's heart sped up a little as Faust leaned in close to Nicholas while holding her hands onto his head. Faust shuddered a little but stayed that way for almost twenty seconds before she looked up at the director puppet.
It turned and walked away while gently cradling Nicholas in its arms.
"What are you doing?" Jessica asked.
"I'm going to place him on his bed and paint him a picture while he sleeps."
"What?"
"I think it will give him some encouragement and advice on his family in a way that will be hard for him to justify ignoring despite his views on me. Nothing dangerous or distressing, I swear. Now we should get going. We have a schedule to keep," Faust said leading the way with the spiders clinging on tight.
She moved fast enough that Jessica had to struggle to keep up.
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