Chapter 26: Troubling Thoughts and Sudden Surprises
- Location
- Maryland
Chapter 26: Troubling Thoughts and Sudden Surprises
Saurial used her sword to cut through a fallen pillar, letting Raptuar grab the cut-off end and toss it to the side. The fifteen hundred pounds of stone made a loud cracking sound as it landed. Extracting the three people trapped under the collapsed building behind it was then much easier. The three people, an elderly couple and a girl in her twenties, were all unconscious and severely wounded, but a trio of healing symbiotes soon had them healed. The couple probably wouldn't have survived to reach medical attention and the girl would have been paralyzed from the waist down, so they were lucky the Family was there.
"There's an injured woman in an automobile about three blocks to the north," said Taylor over their communicators.
They quickly teleported the distance and began to use their hands and brute strength to extract the bleeding woman from her vehicle.
They spoke to each other as they worked. "The timing for our arrival was dangerously close to causing paradox," said Varga.
'I know,' answered Taylor as she used a talon to slice through the woman's seat belt, 'but a lot more people would have died if we had let the Endbringer fight go on for much longer.'
"If we had altered this timeline, then a best case scenario would have been Taylor in a coma. A worst case could have added an insect apocalypse on top of an Endbringer fight," said the ancient demon sternly.
That was something Taylor hadn't considered. 'You think it could have driven her mad to the point where she would try to destroy Brockton Bay?' She applied another squeaker, as Xander called them, to the injured woman. They had hundreds of them and were prepared to hand them out like candy.
She could feel Varga considering. "It was a low probability, but it was possible."
'Then why did you agree to showing up in the middle of the fight? We suspected Leviathan would leave as soon as we arrived.' The two began moving toward the next set of wounded found by the insect controller.
"For the reasons you gave. Many lives will likely be saved. I just want you to fully understand the possible consequences. As it is, Amy is likely to have problems dealing with what she did to Ellen, just so we could save the colonists on the Legato." Varga mentally sighed. "The bigger the event, and the farther back in time you go relative to the individual, the more likely you are to cause something catastrophic. While nobody has asked, it would theoretically be possible for you to go back in time and save your mother from the car wreck. Doing so would be a risk far too terrible to contemplate."
Taylor had assumed that doing that would have been a bad idea, or Varga would have already offered to do so once they had access to the wormhole drive. She couldn't deny that the idea wasn't tempting. 'What would happen if we went back, replaced her with one of Amy's constructs, and brought her to the future?'
"I estimate a greater than seventy percent chance that something we do will cause ripple effects in the timeline that would destroy your mind, as you would be unable to reconcile the different memories. It's possible that you would continue to live both timelines simultaneously, unable to determine which events were occurring in either one. I am uncertain how well I would be able to cope with being so closely bonded with a mind that was criminally insane, but I doubt the consequences to your world would be pleasant."
They worked in silence for a bit, healing another half-a-dozen people at three other locations. A thought occured to Taylor. 'Do you think there is a relationship between that and the problems that Coil was having with his power while we were present?'
"That is an interesting question. Precogs are considered Thinkers in your world for a reason. It's possible that our nature creates ripples in the timeline that inhibit Thinker powers. My nature does tend to alter probability in the area, which is another way of saying that the weight of my presence tends to change the path of events." How much of a role did time play in terms of how powers worked? More research clearly needed to be done. Varga suspected that some of that may be the key to understanding aspects of tinker technology, as well.
"Metis, how are things going at the medical center?" asked Saurial over the communicator.
{Ianthe and I have quickly been able to heal most of the injured capes. The local Amy appears both shocked and relieved...and slightly envious of the one-shots. A couple of other items of interest...we saw the local Tattletale, who took one look at me and fainted. Also, Eidolon apparently fell unconscious as soon as Leviathan turned and ran.}
That first fact was slightly amusing and utterly in character for Lisa. That second was very interesting, and was yet another thing added to the growing body of evidence that at least one of the Triumvirate was closely linked to the Endbringers. Add in the recent revelations from their meeting with Faultline's team, and the the fact that Alexandria and the head of the PRT seemed to be the same person, and the conspiracy alarm bells started to ring quite loudly.
{All right,} she replied, using FamTalk to match Metis, {we're going to finish up with the S&R and then make sure the roads through the damaged parts of town are clear. Then we'll locate Taylor's dad and head back to the Nox's home world.}
{The PRT will want information about us,} said Metis reasonably.
{Just tell them that we'll be happy to meet with them tomorrow, but that we have another issue to address today.} They had some other things to take care of in other universes, and they needed to think through how to approach things here. They could have waited to intervene with Leviathan, but making the local Taylor wait to rescue her dad when her crew mates were busy retrieving their own friends and family would have been cruel. {Did we get any hits in the search for fictional accounts of this universe...or ours?}
Metis paused. {There were a couple of hits on the name Taylor Hebert in Ellen's universe, but they're almost two centuries old and it's unclear if its a historical analogue or part of a fictional account. Ramoth is supposed to be researching it further, but it isn't a top priority compared to her work disassembling Weyland-Yutani. All we have is the reference and the name of her biography, which for some reason is named, Worm.}
{Maybe she was an entomologist? That would be an amusing coincidence,} suggested Saurial idly.
{If she studied worms, she would technically be an oligochaeteologist,} corrected Metis. The last word was set in English. FamTalk didn't actually have different words for studying different forms of invertebrates. You had to add a qualifier if you wanted to be more specific. Saurial wondered if anybody near Metis would recognize the term. {I have to go. I believe Legend is coming in to speak with us.}
Saurial grinned. {Give my regards to Mr. Foot, then.} Saurial switched to English. "Taylor, do you have a location for your father, yet?"
"Yes, he's in the shelter closest to the Boardwalk. He must have been out when the alarms went off," she replied.
Raptaur and Saurial proceeded to ensure that the streets in the damaged areas of town were clear of rubble. They also repaired damage to the roads as they went, which meant that some of the roads near the docks were actually in better shape then they were prior to Leviathan's attack. Saurial then went to the shelter that Taylor had identified.
The door was opened, as the sirens had been shut off for some time. She made her way into the shelter, following a well-known scent. The other inhabitants stared at her as she passed, but she ignored it for the moment. She finally saw the familiar figure sitting on a cot in a corner of the main common area of the shelter. Going up to him, she feigned ignorance. "Excuse me, are you Daniel Hebert?"
He looked up at the voice, and then his eyes widened when he caught sight of the speaker. Remembering himself, he answered, "Um, yes, I'm Danny Hebert. Why do you ask?"
"Your daughter asked me to locate and retrieve you," replied the lizard.
Danny stood up quickly. "Taylor? You know where Taylor is? Is she all right?"
"She's fine, and she's safe," said Saurial reassuringly. "Would you like me to bring you to her?"
"Yes, please," he said, quickly grabbing his jacket from the bunk. "Where is she?"
"She's not far away, just follow me." Saurial quickly began making her way through the crowd of civilians toward the exit to the shelter. She couldn't help but think how tired and distraught her father looked in this dimension.
"Hold up for just a second," said the lizard girl once they were outside. She pulled out a badge and pressed it, then said, "Beam us up, Scotty."
Danny was tired enough that he didn't realize something strange was happening until he vanished.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
When Lisa regained consciousness, she was lying in a medical tent. They had apparently just shuffled her out of the way, though she was slightly surprised that she had a tent all to herself after an Endbringer fight. They hadn't even removed her mask...or if they had, then they had replaced it back in an implausibly exact fashion.
She got up, determined to see if she could find out more about those lizards. They had thrown her power for a loop. As she was checking her belongings, she noticed a note folded up and stuck into her pocket next to her phone.
The note said:
"Skitter is alive.
Coil is Thomas Calvert, and his days are numbered.
We know about Dinah Alcott.
Be patient for just a little while more, Lisa.
-- The Family"
She crumpled the note up and shoved it back in her pocket, resolving to burn it as soon as possible. Somebody seemed to know a lot about her situation, including her identity. She had no idea how much to trust it, though she hoped that the part about Skitter was true. She wondered if this had anything to do with the mysterious lizards.
Unfortunately, the lizards were long gone by the time Lisa went looking for them.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Colonel Kira was getting concerned. Commander Sisko was missing, and now O'Brien's runabout had vanished. Worf and Ezri had spent the last forty minutes trying to find some sign of what had happened. There wasn't enough debris to indicate that the craft had been destroyed, but they also verified that the wormhole hadn't opened. Nor had the ship gone to warp. Nerys knew that Keiko was busy getting things ready for their trip to Earth, and now she might have to tell her that Miles had gone missing right before they were supposed to leave. Worf was also supposed to be getting ready to leave with Martok's ship, but he had refused to go off shift while Miles was missing.
"We're getting signs of an artificial wormhole opening. There's a ship coming out of it...unknown configuration," announced Ezri.
Kira was thinking that this was a bad time for a first contact when a familiar voice came over the communications array. "Deep Space 9 control, this is Chief O'Brien on board the Ship of Fools. Over."
The tension in the command center immediately began to dissipate. "Chief," said Nerys, "it's good to hear your voice. What happened to the Amazon?"
"Sorry, Colonel, but the runabout is a total loss. I made some friends, though, who are giving me a lift back here. Can you meet me at the docking ring? Introductions are in order. I would appreciate it if you would bring Keiko and Julian, as well."
Kira's mouth creased at the unusual request. "Do you have a medical emergency, Chief?"
O'Brien quickly replied, "No, nothing like that. I just think Julian is going to be extremely interested in meeting our new guests."
Kira agreed and turned over command of the station to Ezri Dax while Mr. Worf went off shift. She called Dr. Bashir and asked him to meet her at the docking ring, then went off to find Keiko in the O'Briens' quarters.
The Japanese woman was busy sealing some of the children's clothing into crates for shipment. "Nerys, what are you doing here at this time of day?"
Kira gave the woman a small smile. "Keiko, Miles is perfectly fine, but there was an accident with the runabout when he was taking it out for a test flight."
Despite her reassurances, Keiko clearly looked concerned. "What kind of accident? If Miles is fine, then why are you telling me about it?"
"He had to hitch a ride on another ship to get back to the station, and he asked for you, me and Julian to meet him at the docking ring. He didn't say why, though he did say that Dr. Bashir would find it interesting," answered Kira.
Keiko looked around at the packing left to do. "All right, I guess I can take a break. I'm going to be very happy when Miles is just teaching classes every day." Nerys could sympathize. Their posting to DS9 had been a difficult one, even if you discounted the war, and some of their stories from the Enterprise sounded just as exciting.
The two met up with Dr. Bashir at the docking ring where the unknown ship was connected. Miles was soon coming out through the airlock. He immediately went over to Keiko and gave her a hug.
"Are you all right, Miles?" asked his wife.
"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've seen you, from my perspective." He smiled as he held her.
Kira Nerys looked puzzled. "Chief, the Amazon disappeared less than an hour ago."
Still holding onto his wife with one arm, he turned to look at the Colonel. "By your chronometer, that's true. I've experienced more time due to time displacements from wormhole travel. The runabout got shifted into another dimension."
"How long have you been gone?" asked Keiko, worried.
"It's been almost a month, and it's been a busy month," he answered.
"Do we need to contact the DTI?" asked Julian. The Department of Temporal Investigations had investigated after the incident when the Defiant had gone back to 2268 to the K-7 station.
Miles shook his head. "The time travel was all outside of this universe. In any event, I want you all to come on board the ship and meet some of the folks who helped me out."
Kira and the others followed Miles back onto the ship. The airlock opened into a cargo bay. Standing inside were two reptilian aliens. One was bipedal, while the other stood on four legs, but also had two arms like a centaur. They appeared to be of different species.
"Saurial and Raptaur, allow me to introduce you to my companions. This is my wife, Keiko O'Brien, my friend and colleague, Dr. Julian Bashir, and the second in command of this station, Colonel Kira Nerys." Miles gestured to the each of the people as he introduced them.
Saurial stepped forward to shake hands with each of them. "It is a pleasure to finally meet all of you. We have heard a lot about each of you."
Kira Nerys said, "On behalf of Bajor and the Federation, allow me to welcome you to Deep Space 9 and the Alpha Quadrant. Normally, we would have a procedure to follow for first contact, but with Miles missing and another crisis, we're doing this a bit informally."
"Let me guess," said O'Brien, "you found Sisko's runabout near the Bajoran Fire Caves but the man himself was nowhere to be found."
Kira blinked in surprise. "Yes, but how do you know? Did you find him while you were traveling dimensions?"
O'Brien shook his head. "No, the reason I know is stranger. My friends here," he said, gesturing toward the two reptiles, "are from a universe where our lives on both DS9 and before on the Enterprise are the subject of entertainment vids."
"They're spying on us?" asked Keiko, concerned.
"Not at all," said the larger reptile. "In fact, the stories of your universe are considered works of speculative fiction in our world. It was quite a shock to meet Miles and realize that your reality actually exists."
"You have works of fiction about humans in your world?" asked Julian, fascinated.
Saurial chuckled. "Most of the inhabitants of Earth in my universe are human. My relatives and I happen to be the exception, in many ways."
Kira refocused on the issue at hand. "So you know what happened to Captain Sisko?"
O'Brien's face grew solemn. "Yes, he went down to stop Dukat from releasing the Pah-Wraiths. Kai Winn and Dukat were killed, the Pah-Wraiths were stopped, and Benjamin was pulled into the realm of the Prophets."
Kira looked shocked, then recovered herself and said, "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to make some calls."
O'Brien nodded. "I expect so, but after your duty shift, I think you need to come visit where I've been staying recently. There are some very serious issues that I need to discuss with all of you."
Keiko frowned at him. "Miles, we're supposed to be leaving for Earth tomorrow!"
"And you still can," interjected Saurial. "Our drive system creates artificial wormholes. We can easily have you back to the station just minutes after our departure, even if you were to spend an extended period of time there."
"I want to bring you and the kids, too, Keiko. The medical technology they have is amazing. They were able to remove the memories implanted by the Argrathi," said O'Brien.
"They removed them," said Julian urgently. "Without side effects? There was no memory damage?"
"We are friends with another alien race that has an expert understanding of memories. They were able to remove the false ones and repair the damage done by the original implantation." explained Raptaur.
"Miles, that's wonderful." Keiko hugged him, truly happy with this unexpected turn of events. Miles' return after his "prison sentence" had been one of the hardest parts of their marriage.
"I'm serious, though. We all need to go visit and have some discussions about things away from Deep Space 9. I need to go send some messages to a couple of old friends, but we can meet back here after Nerys and Julian are off shift." Miles clearly thought there were urgent matters to discuss.
Julian was amenable but curious. "What's so urgent, and why do we need to leave the station to talk about it?"
"For one thing," said Saurial, "we have evidence that Section 31 is heavily infiltrated by the Terran Empire of the mirror universe, and has been for centuries."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The gardens of New Genesis were blooming especially vibrantly today, and Izaya was basking in their beauty. Darkseid was once again hatching plots involving Earth, and he had spent much of the last day debating what level of intervention was necessary with the other New Gods. He needed a respite for a moment to re-balance his mind.
His calm was interrupted as he felt the appearance of two others in this sanctuary. He turned, curious as to how strangers would arrive here without a boom tube to announce them. He saw Jimmy Olsen, one of Superman's friends, and an unfamiliar lizard-girl who was far more powerful than simple appearance would lead one to assume.
"You are more than you seem," he said, pointing at the lizard.
"Indeed, Highfather. I am Varga, and I am co-joined with my Brain, Taylor Hebert of Earth. We are from an Earth outside of your multiverse." explained the reptile. Varga and Taylor had agreed to share more about themselves with Jimmy in order to facilitate this meeting.
"Highfather," said Jimmy politely, "forgive our intrusion, but we have learned some very concerning things about our reality, and Varga has some ideas on what might be done to help."
Highfather considered the young man's words. He knew Olsen was a good man and a good friend. "Very well, young friend, tell me of these problems."
Varga explained what the Nox had discovered, as well as the results of his own investigation. He also explained the fictional accounts of this universe in other realities. Highfather was disturbed to find some of his own concerns and discoveries confirmed. If anything, the added detail made the situation more dire than he had realized. This segued into a discussion of the resources the Family could bring to assist, and Highfather shared some more information about the relationship between Apokalips and New Genesis, and the obligations they already had, as well as their efforts to thwart Darkseid's latest plans. By the end, there was a tentative alliance worked out between them.
"Thank you for taking the time to listen to us, Highfather. With your help, I expect that we'll be able to make progress toward fixing some of the fissures in Jimmy's reality for good," said Varga, ready to take leave.
"Before you go, allow me to give you something. I believe your ally Dragon may be able to make great use of it." He pulled out a small, rectangular device. "This is an unlinked Mother Box. I believe she may be able to use it to greatly improve your chances."
Varga and Jimmy were both stunned at this gesture. "That is remarkably generous of you, Highfather. Thank you."
"Your friend Dragon would not be the first engineer from another reality to have access to a Mother Box, Varga." Highfather smiled. "At least this time I can be the one to gift it instead of Metron."
The two departed, then Highfather went to rejoin the discussions. He needed to speak to Orion in particular.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Karrin had not been happy to learn that their teleport still didn't bring them to Harry. Instead, they had been sent to a spaceship, of all things, which would in turn bring them to Dresden. She had to wonder how Harry had made it there, given his propensity to blow up anything even slightly technological. She was also unhappy to know they had to wait before leaving, though seeing Thomas, Michael, Molly and Maggie appear alongside a strange woman in the teleportation arrival area had explained the delay.
They had also not been told that they were going to Harry via spaceship. Randall and the woman, named Linda, had explained some basic facts about their ship (somewhat appropriately named the Ship of Fools, if Harry was involved) and where they were going, which was apparently to an entirely different dimension where Harry was staying on an alien planet.
"I'll let Peter clue you in to the next bit of news," said Randall.
At that cue, a young man wearing a Spider-man costume, of all things, came into the cargo bay. All of the visitors were staring in disbelief at the presumed cosplayer. Said person started to speak. "Hi! My name is Peter Parker, also known as your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Now, I know what you're thinking, this guy is either an actor or a crazy person, but it's even crazier than that!" With that, Peter jumped to the far wall and climbed up it on all fours. He then began to walk back toward them on the ceiling while standing straight down. When he got close, he shot a bit of web between one of the support columns and the wall, then did a flip which landed him comfortably into what was obviously now a hammock.
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Karrin.
"It turns out that some of your fictional stories are based on real universes out there in the multiverse," said Spider-man. "For example, the comic books published by Marvel Comics in your universe happen to be where I live. The TV show Star Trek from the 1960's is also a real universe. Your universe is also a real universe."
"You're suggesting that our universe is the subject of a fictional story in another reality?" asked Thomas.
"It's actually a series of novels known as The Dresden Files," added Randall helpfully from the side.
Molly, Thomas and Karrin all simultaneously said, "The Dresden Files?"
"Yeah, that's gotta suck," said Peter. "I at least had a bunch of different books named after me."
"Somebody wrote books about my dad?" asked Maggie. "Can I read them?" She would like to know more about him beyond what little she had been told.
Linda glared at Randall. "You had to open your mouth?" He simply shrugged.
"How long is it going to take us to get to where Harry is?" asked Karrin.
"Oh, we're already here," said Peter. He jumped out of the hammock and went over to a control panel. A button push lowered the ramp in the cargo bay.
The group from Chicago walked out to find Harry Dresden standing next to a teen-aged girl and a young woman. Karrin wondered who the woman was, and why she was dressed as a Keebler Elf. She was about to say something when Maggie ran over and hugged Harry. None of the adults were willing to interrupt the reunion between the girl and her father.
Harry lifted Maggie up into the air with his hug, then set her down. "Hey Maggie, its good to see you again. Hey, I've got somebody I want you to meet." He gestured the teen girl forward. "Maggie, I'd like you to meet your half-sister, Bonnie." The teen girl gave a small smile and waved.
"What?" asked Karrin a little too loudly.
Peter, who had followed them out, said in a fake Spanish accent, "Harry, you got some 'splainin' to do!"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Xander looked out the window at a setting that was straight out of Buck Rogers. They were sitting in an office in a flying city on an alien planet. "Just out of curiosity," he asked, "why do we get to visit the high tech city now instead of when I first got here?"
Noraeus was yet another placid-smiling Nox, and it was his office. "You're here now because Anya feels much more comfortable and secure in this type of environment. You, Xander, benefited from your time in a more arboreal environment, where you could indulge your creativity."
"Yes, I like the city," said Anya with a smile.
Xander shrugged. "It is pretty cool."
Noraeus smiled. "Thank you. I was wondering if you two could tell me a little bit more about Anya's history."
Xander listened to Anya and Noraeus talk, and he was impressed. He had thought that Anya was an open book. She had certainly shared with him all of the horrible punishments she had inflicted on men unlucky enough to draw her attention. Somehow, Noraeus managed to get her talking about her life before her time as a vengeance demon. The picture that emerged wasn't different, so much as it was more...relateable? Aud had been a socially awkward young woman who was outspoken and forward-thinking in a time when that was unusual. She had turned to witchcraft as a way of getting back at the people who shunned and abused her. The path to becoming Anyanka started long before D'Hoffryn showed up.
What was interesting to Xander is that this is the first time he had seen the Nox acting like an Earth therapist. They seemed to almost implicitly understand what people needed without having to ask lots of questions. Maybe Anya needed somebody who would listen to her talk without judging her? He started to feel a little guilty when he thought back to how he tended to react to her when she went on one of her diatribes. Then he started to wonder whether he took too much pride in tolerating her idiosyncrasies. He had realized over his time with the Nox the degree to which his own feelings of inadequacy influenced his decisions. Did he stay with Anya because it helped him feel better about himself? He started listing out the things he loved about Anya to reassure himself.
By the end of the discussion, a thought had occurred to him. How much of him sitting and listening to this was meant to be therapy for him? Wow, the Nox were really, really good at this.
After the session, the two of them walked back to their loaner apartment in silence. Once they were behind closed doors, Xander looke at Anya and said, "I'm sorry I never heard those things before."
Anya lowered her gaze. "I don't always like to think about my time as a human, I mean before I was a demon. It's easier to remember the times when I was in control."
He shook his head. "I should have been more understanding. It's not like I don't know what it's like to feel out of control," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him. "Xander, I know how insecure you can be. One of the things I love about you is how much you throw yourself into dangerous situations despite your own doubts, no matter how stupid I think that is sometimes. You don't let what your parents did to you hold you back. I just wish you were less willing to accept it when Buffy and Willow put you down."
"I just try to be the kind of friend they need," he said. He knew that was a vast oversimplification even as he said it.
She frowned at him. "You mean you indulge their insecurities at your own expense. You deserve better treatment than that."
"I think the same applies to you," he said, "and I really fell down on the job. It's time to do better."
"Well, maybe you should prove it to me?" She reached over and, with a smile, turned off the light switch.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, what can I help you two with?" asked Ianthe of the two men.
"Jimmy and I were talking a while ago, and we realized that we've learned a lot of information that would be really dangerous in the wrong hands. We also both happen to live in worlds with a whole bunch of telepaths," said Peter. He and Jimmy had tracked down Ianthe at BBFO offices back on Family Earth.
"Hm, and you're looking for some way to block that? I would have to get a look at how your telepaths work, as there aren't any telepaths native to this reality." She looked at them somberly. "You would also potentially have to consent to me doing something to your brain, depending upon the solution. You might be better off talking to somebody like Harry or Dr. Strange."
Jimmy looked at her in surprise. "Are you saying you can't help us?" The Family was usually quick to say nothing was truly impossible.
Ianthe regarded him. "No, I probably can. To be completely honest, I'm not feeling like myself after what happened with Ellen. Implanting that thing into her goes against the standards of my Guild, and I can't help but feel like I did something wrong despite the circumstances." It was more accurate to say that it went against her standards, but as the founder of her Guild, Ianthe was allowed to define its standards.
"Let me ask you something. If we had the exact same situation, would you do the same thing?" asked Peter.
The purple lizard tilted her head. "Of course. I know we had no choice in the matter if we had any hope of saving the prisoners on board the Legato. Let me see if I can explain this to you." She thought for a moment. "What would you say are your greatest fears?"
"I guess...failing to protect the people I care about?" said Peter. That, at least, was the conclusion he came to about why he left MJ.
Jimmy was quiet for a moment. "Honestly, I think my biggest fear is that the people who back Cadmus are right. What happens if the heroes turn bad and become villains? Superman, for example, is one of the most legitimately nice people I've ever met. He's also incredibly powerful and would be almost impossible to stop if he ever turned."
Ianthe reached out and touched each of their hands. The two of them were instantly and irresistibly paralyzed.
"Now," said Ianthe with a very toothy smile, "Peter, if I wanted to, I could trap your personality inside a prison in your own mind. Then I could create a copy of your personality and put it in charge of your body, except I would change it. I would give you a slowly growing urge to kill anybody about whom you have strong feelings. Love, hate, disgust, frustration...it wouldn't matter. You would just have an increasing urge to kill somebody. Then we see what happens. Do you start going after your enemies, killing them one by one so you can avoid hurting the people you care about? How long would it be before you end up killing your boss, the man who hates your other identity? What happens the first time you have a fight with your wife when she realizes you've been killing criminals? What about when the other heroes try to stop you? How long would it be before your body count started rivaling the worst villains? Your true personality would see it all from inside your mental jail, but you wouldn't be able to stop it. None of your friends and loved ones would see it, at least at first, because you would still act like you most of the time."
She turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, I could infect you with a virus and wipe your memory of it. Then I would send you home. The effect of the virus would be to slowly lower the inhibitions of anybody infected, until after a few years they would have the self control of a toddler. Now, imagine what happens when Batman's paranoia has no limits? What happens if Superman loses his temper? Captain Atom has a massive superiority complex, so that could get messy. Let's talk about the villains. What would happen if Lex Luthor were as carefree about his mayhem as the Joker? How many of Flash's rogues gallery refrain from killing just because Flash is such a nice guy? Some of the Justice League have nations of their own. What do you think Wonder Woman or Aquaman would do if their realms are threatened and they lack all sense of restraint?"
She touched them again and released their muscles. The two of them literally fell to the floor and scrambled away from this now much scarier person. Her face grew sad. "I know how to do both of those scenarios. I could do it right now, or do worse things. The threat level of a bioshaper gone bad is utterly terrifying, which is why we have the rules that we do. When I do something like I did to Ellen Ripley, I see that potential in the mirror after I'm done. It doesn't matter how good the reason for it was. The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Jimmy and Peter looked at each other. They both stood up from their spot on the floor. Ianthe expected them to leave, but instead they came toward her.
"Ianthe, look, I know a guy back home who turns into a giant green rage monster when he loses control. He's hurt a lot of people, but the guy inside, Bruce, is the smartest, kindest, most eloquent man you could meet," said Peter in a soft voice. "He tried to hide from his power, to run from it, but something always seemed to happen to let it break free again. He didn't start dealing with it until he embraced the fact that it was a part of him. What he learned is that Hulk isn't evil. He's just impressively strong with poor emotional control. Bruce had to let some of the Hulk out inside himself, and that let some of Bruce's control flow the other way. Sometimes you just gotta accept that you're scary powerful."
"The thing about Superman," added Jimmy, "is that he doesn't hide what he is. Sure, he has a secret identity, but that's mostly to protect his friends and family from retribution. He is, in many ways, godlike, and so he exercises an insane level of self-control in an effort to avoid hurting people. He really is a gentle soul, in some respects. The thing you have to understand, though, is that it doesn't always work. He's been mind-controlled, or rendered crazy, or had his powers stolen. The results in those situations can sometimes be funny, but they can also be horribly tragic. He doesn't let those failures define him, though. He just resolves to do better, and with each mistake, he knows one more weak spot to defend."
"So, you're saying I should accept my abilities and learn from my mistakes?" said Ianthe skeptically.
"It's not that easy," answered Peter, "but it couldn't hurt. Besides, if you went off the rails, wouldn't the rest of the Family stop you?"
Ianthe nodded. "They would. That actually makes me feel better. And the other stuff you said isn't wrong, really. So, if you can get a telepath who can show me what's actually happening when telepathy is being used, I can see if I can build blockers for it into the symbiotes."
"You mean the squeakers?" asked Jimmy.
"Not the one-shots. We have long-term symbiotes that can enhance your physical abilities and cure anything that ails you. I'm sure we mentioned them?" said Ianthe.
"I think you did," confirmed Peter, "but there's been a lot going on and I don't think any of us focused on that fact."
"Hm, well, why don't you bring MJ around and you can try them out, and then tell the others about them? They're perfectly safe. We've been testing them out for some time," said Ianthe.
"They won't take away my powers? Technically, my spider powers could be considered a mutation," questioned Peter.
Ianthe shook her head. "No, they only cure negative effects like birth defects, disease, injuries or aging."
The two men stared at her again. "They cure aging?" asked Jimmy slowly.
"Yes. Don't get me wrong -- it's still possible for you to die with a symbiote. It is much, much harder to accomplish, however." Ianthe was back to looking smug again. "So, will you and MJ be the examples for the others?"
Peter thought about the idea of MJ being hard to kill and forever young. "I'll have to ask her about it, but if she's OK with it then I'm willing to try."
"Excellent! Just come by whenever you have a chance." Ianthe seemed to be cheered up by the prospect.
The two men left. When they were outside the room, Jimmy said, "I had no idea she could be that scary."
Peter nodded his head violently. "Oh, yeah, that was terrifying."
From right behind them, Ianthe's voice said, "Really, I'm not the terrifying one in the Family." Both men jumped hard enough to get impressive air time. Ianthe gave a dark chuckle as she went back into the room and left them alone.
Saurial used her sword to cut through a fallen pillar, letting Raptuar grab the cut-off end and toss it to the side. The fifteen hundred pounds of stone made a loud cracking sound as it landed. Extracting the three people trapped under the collapsed building behind it was then much easier. The three people, an elderly couple and a girl in her twenties, were all unconscious and severely wounded, but a trio of healing symbiotes soon had them healed. The couple probably wouldn't have survived to reach medical attention and the girl would have been paralyzed from the waist down, so they were lucky the Family was there.
"There's an injured woman in an automobile about three blocks to the north," said Taylor over their communicators.
They quickly teleported the distance and began to use their hands and brute strength to extract the bleeding woman from her vehicle.
They spoke to each other as they worked. "The timing for our arrival was dangerously close to causing paradox," said Varga.
'I know,' answered Taylor as she used a talon to slice through the woman's seat belt, 'but a lot more people would have died if we had let the Endbringer fight go on for much longer.'
"If we had altered this timeline, then a best case scenario would have been Taylor in a coma. A worst case could have added an insect apocalypse on top of an Endbringer fight," said the ancient demon sternly.
That was something Taylor hadn't considered. 'You think it could have driven her mad to the point where she would try to destroy Brockton Bay?' She applied another squeaker, as Xander called them, to the injured woman. They had hundreds of them and were prepared to hand them out like candy.
She could feel Varga considering. "It was a low probability, but it was possible."
'Then why did you agree to showing up in the middle of the fight? We suspected Leviathan would leave as soon as we arrived.' The two began moving toward the next set of wounded found by the insect controller.
"For the reasons you gave. Many lives will likely be saved. I just want you to fully understand the possible consequences. As it is, Amy is likely to have problems dealing with what she did to Ellen, just so we could save the colonists on the Legato." Varga mentally sighed. "The bigger the event, and the farther back in time you go relative to the individual, the more likely you are to cause something catastrophic. While nobody has asked, it would theoretically be possible for you to go back in time and save your mother from the car wreck. Doing so would be a risk far too terrible to contemplate."
Taylor had assumed that doing that would have been a bad idea, or Varga would have already offered to do so once they had access to the wormhole drive. She couldn't deny that the idea wasn't tempting. 'What would happen if we went back, replaced her with one of Amy's constructs, and brought her to the future?'
"I estimate a greater than seventy percent chance that something we do will cause ripple effects in the timeline that would destroy your mind, as you would be unable to reconcile the different memories. It's possible that you would continue to live both timelines simultaneously, unable to determine which events were occurring in either one. I am uncertain how well I would be able to cope with being so closely bonded with a mind that was criminally insane, but I doubt the consequences to your world would be pleasant."
They worked in silence for a bit, healing another half-a-dozen people at three other locations. A thought occured to Taylor. 'Do you think there is a relationship between that and the problems that Coil was having with his power while we were present?'
"That is an interesting question. Precogs are considered Thinkers in your world for a reason. It's possible that our nature creates ripples in the timeline that inhibit Thinker powers. My nature does tend to alter probability in the area, which is another way of saying that the weight of my presence tends to change the path of events." How much of a role did time play in terms of how powers worked? More research clearly needed to be done. Varga suspected that some of that may be the key to understanding aspects of tinker technology, as well.
"Metis, how are things going at the medical center?" asked Saurial over the communicator.
{Ianthe and I have quickly been able to heal most of the injured capes. The local Amy appears both shocked and relieved...and slightly envious of the one-shots. A couple of other items of interest...we saw the local Tattletale, who took one look at me and fainted. Also, Eidolon apparently fell unconscious as soon as Leviathan turned and ran.}
That first fact was slightly amusing and utterly in character for Lisa. That second was very interesting, and was yet another thing added to the growing body of evidence that at least one of the Triumvirate was closely linked to the Endbringers. Add in the recent revelations from their meeting with Faultline's team, and the the fact that Alexandria and the head of the PRT seemed to be the same person, and the conspiracy alarm bells started to ring quite loudly.
{All right,} she replied, using FamTalk to match Metis, {we're going to finish up with the S&R and then make sure the roads through the damaged parts of town are clear. Then we'll locate Taylor's dad and head back to the Nox's home world.}
{The PRT will want information about us,} said Metis reasonably.
{Just tell them that we'll be happy to meet with them tomorrow, but that we have another issue to address today.} They had some other things to take care of in other universes, and they needed to think through how to approach things here. They could have waited to intervene with Leviathan, but making the local Taylor wait to rescue her dad when her crew mates were busy retrieving their own friends and family would have been cruel. {Did we get any hits in the search for fictional accounts of this universe...or ours?}
Metis paused. {There were a couple of hits on the name Taylor Hebert in Ellen's universe, but they're almost two centuries old and it's unclear if its a historical analogue or part of a fictional account. Ramoth is supposed to be researching it further, but it isn't a top priority compared to her work disassembling Weyland-Yutani. All we have is the reference and the name of her biography, which for some reason is named, Worm.}
{Maybe she was an entomologist? That would be an amusing coincidence,} suggested Saurial idly.
{If she studied worms, she would technically be an oligochaeteologist,} corrected Metis. The last word was set in English. FamTalk didn't actually have different words for studying different forms of invertebrates. You had to add a qualifier if you wanted to be more specific. Saurial wondered if anybody near Metis would recognize the term. {I have to go. I believe Legend is coming in to speak with us.}
Saurial grinned. {Give my regards to Mr. Foot, then.} Saurial switched to English. "Taylor, do you have a location for your father, yet?"
"Yes, he's in the shelter closest to the Boardwalk. He must have been out when the alarms went off," she replied.
Raptaur and Saurial proceeded to ensure that the streets in the damaged areas of town were clear of rubble. They also repaired damage to the roads as they went, which meant that some of the roads near the docks were actually in better shape then they were prior to Leviathan's attack. Saurial then went to the shelter that Taylor had identified.
The door was opened, as the sirens had been shut off for some time. She made her way into the shelter, following a well-known scent. The other inhabitants stared at her as she passed, but she ignored it for the moment. She finally saw the familiar figure sitting on a cot in a corner of the main common area of the shelter. Going up to him, she feigned ignorance. "Excuse me, are you Daniel Hebert?"
He looked up at the voice, and then his eyes widened when he caught sight of the speaker. Remembering himself, he answered, "Um, yes, I'm Danny Hebert. Why do you ask?"
"Your daughter asked me to locate and retrieve you," replied the lizard.
Danny stood up quickly. "Taylor? You know where Taylor is? Is she all right?"
"She's fine, and she's safe," said Saurial reassuringly. "Would you like me to bring you to her?"
"Yes, please," he said, quickly grabbing his jacket from the bunk. "Where is she?"
"She's not far away, just follow me." Saurial quickly began making her way through the crowd of civilians toward the exit to the shelter. She couldn't help but think how tired and distraught her father looked in this dimension.
"Hold up for just a second," said the lizard girl once they were outside. She pulled out a badge and pressed it, then said, "Beam us up, Scotty."
Danny was tired enough that he didn't realize something strange was happening until he vanished.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
When Lisa regained consciousness, she was lying in a medical tent. They had apparently just shuffled her out of the way, though she was slightly surprised that she had a tent all to herself after an Endbringer fight. They hadn't even removed her mask...or if they had, then they had replaced it back in an implausibly exact fashion.
She got up, determined to see if she could find out more about those lizards. They had thrown her power for a loop. As she was checking her belongings, she noticed a note folded up and stuck into her pocket next to her phone.
The note said:
"Skitter is alive.
Coil is Thomas Calvert, and his days are numbered.
We know about Dinah Alcott.
Be patient for just a little while more, Lisa.
-- The Family"
She crumpled the note up and shoved it back in her pocket, resolving to burn it as soon as possible. Somebody seemed to know a lot about her situation, including her identity. She had no idea how much to trust it, though she hoped that the part about Skitter was true. She wondered if this had anything to do with the mysterious lizards.
Unfortunately, the lizards were long gone by the time Lisa went looking for them.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Colonel Kira was getting concerned. Commander Sisko was missing, and now O'Brien's runabout had vanished. Worf and Ezri had spent the last forty minutes trying to find some sign of what had happened. There wasn't enough debris to indicate that the craft had been destroyed, but they also verified that the wormhole hadn't opened. Nor had the ship gone to warp. Nerys knew that Keiko was busy getting things ready for their trip to Earth, and now she might have to tell her that Miles had gone missing right before they were supposed to leave. Worf was also supposed to be getting ready to leave with Martok's ship, but he had refused to go off shift while Miles was missing.
"We're getting signs of an artificial wormhole opening. There's a ship coming out of it...unknown configuration," announced Ezri.
Kira was thinking that this was a bad time for a first contact when a familiar voice came over the communications array. "Deep Space 9 control, this is Chief O'Brien on board the Ship of Fools. Over."
The tension in the command center immediately began to dissipate. "Chief," said Nerys, "it's good to hear your voice. What happened to the Amazon?"
"Sorry, Colonel, but the runabout is a total loss. I made some friends, though, who are giving me a lift back here. Can you meet me at the docking ring? Introductions are in order. I would appreciate it if you would bring Keiko and Julian, as well."
Kira's mouth creased at the unusual request. "Do you have a medical emergency, Chief?"
O'Brien quickly replied, "No, nothing like that. I just think Julian is going to be extremely interested in meeting our new guests."
Kira agreed and turned over command of the station to Ezri Dax while Mr. Worf went off shift. She called Dr. Bashir and asked him to meet her at the docking ring, then went off to find Keiko in the O'Briens' quarters.
The Japanese woman was busy sealing some of the children's clothing into crates for shipment. "Nerys, what are you doing here at this time of day?"
Kira gave the woman a small smile. "Keiko, Miles is perfectly fine, but there was an accident with the runabout when he was taking it out for a test flight."
Despite her reassurances, Keiko clearly looked concerned. "What kind of accident? If Miles is fine, then why are you telling me about it?"
"He had to hitch a ride on another ship to get back to the station, and he asked for you, me and Julian to meet him at the docking ring. He didn't say why, though he did say that Dr. Bashir would find it interesting," answered Kira.
Keiko looked around at the packing left to do. "All right, I guess I can take a break. I'm going to be very happy when Miles is just teaching classes every day." Nerys could sympathize. Their posting to DS9 had been a difficult one, even if you discounted the war, and some of their stories from the Enterprise sounded just as exciting.
The two met up with Dr. Bashir at the docking ring where the unknown ship was connected. Miles was soon coming out through the airlock. He immediately went over to Keiko and gave her a hug.
"Are you all right, Miles?" asked his wife.
"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've seen you, from my perspective." He smiled as he held her.
Kira Nerys looked puzzled. "Chief, the Amazon disappeared less than an hour ago."
Still holding onto his wife with one arm, he turned to look at the Colonel. "By your chronometer, that's true. I've experienced more time due to time displacements from wormhole travel. The runabout got shifted into another dimension."
"How long have you been gone?" asked Keiko, worried.
"It's been almost a month, and it's been a busy month," he answered.
"Do we need to contact the DTI?" asked Julian. The Department of Temporal Investigations had investigated after the incident when the Defiant had gone back to 2268 to the K-7 station.
Miles shook his head. "The time travel was all outside of this universe. In any event, I want you all to come on board the ship and meet some of the folks who helped me out."
Kira and the others followed Miles back onto the ship. The airlock opened into a cargo bay. Standing inside were two reptilian aliens. One was bipedal, while the other stood on four legs, but also had two arms like a centaur. They appeared to be of different species.
"Saurial and Raptaur, allow me to introduce you to my companions. This is my wife, Keiko O'Brien, my friend and colleague, Dr. Julian Bashir, and the second in command of this station, Colonel Kira Nerys." Miles gestured to the each of the people as he introduced them.
Saurial stepped forward to shake hands with each of them. "It is a pleasure to finally meet all of you. We have heard a lot about each of you."
Kira Nerys said, "On behalf of Bajor and the Federation, allow me to welcome you to Deep Space 9 and the Alpha Quadrant. Normally, we would have a procedure to follow for first contact, but with Miles missing and another crisis, we're doing this a bit informally."
"Let me guess," said O'Brien, "you found Sisko's runabout near the Bajoran Fire Caves but the man himself was nowhere to be found."
Kira blinked in surprise. "Yes, but how do you know? Did you find him while you were traveling dimensions?"
O'Brien shook his head. "No, the reason I know is stranger. My friends here," he said, gesturing toward the two reptiles, "are from a universe where our lives on both DS9 and before on the Enterprise are the subject of entertainment vids."
"They're spying on us?" asked Keiko, concerned.
"Not at all," said the larger reptile. "In fact, the stories of your universe are considered works of speculative fiction in our world. It was quite a shock to meet Miles and realize that your reality actually exists."
"You have works of fiction about humans in your world?" asked Julian, fascinated.
Saurial chuckled. "Most of the inhabitants of Earth in my universe are human. My relatives and I happen to be the exception, in many ways."
Kira refocused on the issue at hand. "So you know what happened to Captain Sisko?"
O'Brien's face grew solemn. "Yes, he went down to stop Dukat from releasing the Pah-Wraiths. Kai Winn and Dukat were killed, the Pah-Wraiths were stopped, and Benjamin was pulled into the realm of the Prophets."
Kira looked shocked, then recovered herself and said, "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to make some calls."
O'Brien nodded. "I expect so, but after your duty shift, I think you need to come visit where I've been staying recently. There are some very serious issues that I need to discuss with all of you."
Keiko frowned at him. "Miles, we're supposed to be leaving for Earth tomorrow!"
"And you still can," interjected Saurial. "Our drive system creates artificial wormholes. We can easily have you back to the station just minutes after our departure, even if you were to spend an extended period of time there."
"I want to bring you and the kids, too, Keiko. The medical technology they have is amazing. They were able to remove the memories implanted by the Argrathi," said O'Brien.
"They removed them," said Julian urgently. "Without side effects? There was no memory damage?"
"We are friends with another alien race that has an expert understanding of memories. They were able to remove the false ones and repair the damage done by the original implantation." explained Raptaur.
"Miles, that's wonderful." Keiko hugged him, truly happy with this unexpected turn of events. Miles' return after his "prison sentence" had been one of the hardest parts of their marriage.
"I'm serious, though. We all need to go visit and have some discussions about things away from Deep Space 9. I need to go send some messages to a couple of old friends, but we can meet back here after Nerys and Julian are off shift." Miles clearly thought there were urgent matters to discuss.
Julian was amenable but curious. "What's so urgent, and why do we need to leave the station to talk about it?"
"For one thing," said Saurial, "we have evidence that Section 31 is heavily infiltrated by the Terran Empire of the mirror universe, and has been for centuries."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The gardens of New Genesis were blooming especially vibrantly today, and Izaya was basking in their beauty. Darkseid was once again hatching plots involving Earth, and he had spent much of the last day debating what level of intervention was necessary with the other New Gods. He needed a respite for a moment to re-balance his mind.
His calm was interrupted as he felt the appearance of two others in this sanctuary. He turned, curious as to how strangers would arrive here without a boom tube to announce them. He saw Jimmy Olsen, one of Superman's friends, and an unfamiliar lizard-girl who was far more powerful than simple appearance would lead one to assume.
"You are more than you seem," he said, pointing at the lizard.
"Indeed, Highfather. I am Varga, and I am co-joined with my Brain, Taylor Hebert of Earth. We are from an Earth outside of your multiverse." explained the reptile. Varga and Taylor had agreed to share more about themselves with Jimmy in order to facilitate this meeting.
"Highfather," said Jimmy politely, "forgive our intrusion, but we have learned some very concerning things about our reality, and Varga has some ideas on what might be done to help."
Highfather considered the young man's words. He knew Olsen was a good man and a good friend. "Very well, young friend, tell me of these problems."
Varga explained what the Nox had discovered, as well as the results of his own investigation. He also explained the fictional accounts of this universe in other realities. Highfather was disturbed to find some of his own concerns and discoveries confirmed. If anything, the added detail made the situation more dire than he had realized. This segued into a discussion of the resources the Family could bring to assist, and Highfather shared some more information about the relationship between Apokalips and New Genesis, and the obligations they already had, as well as their efforts to thwart Darkseid's latest plans. By the end, there was a tentative alliance worked out between them.
"Thank you for taking the time to listen to us, Highfather. With your help, I expect that we'll be able to make progress toward fixing some of the fissures in Jimmy's reality for good," said Varga, ready to take leave.
"Before you go, allow me to give you something. I believe your ally Dragon may be able to make great use of it." He pulled out a small, rectangular device. "This is an unlinked Mother Box. I believe she may be able to use it to greatly improve your chances."
Varga and Jimmy were both stunned at this gesture. "That is remarkably generous of you, Highfather. Thank you."
"Your friend Dragon would not be the first engineer from another reality to have access to a Mother Box, Varga." Highfather smiled. "At least this time I can be the one to gift it instead of Metron."
The two departed, then Highfather went to rejoin the discussions. He needed to speak to Orion in particular.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Karrin had not been happy to learn that their teleport still didn't bring them to Harry. Instead, they had been sent to a spaceship, of all things, which would in turn bring them to Dresden. She had to wonder how Harry had made it there, given his propensity to blow up anything even slightly technological. She was also unhappy to know they had to wait before leaving, though seeing Thomas, Michael, Molly and Maggie appear alongside a strange woman in the teleportation arrival area had explained the delay.
They had also not been told that they were going to Harry via spaceship. Randall and the woman, named Linda, had explained some basic facts about their ship (somewhat appropriately named the Ship of Fools, if Harry was involved) and where they were going, which was apparently to an entirely different dimension where Harry was staying on an alien planet.
"I'll let Peter clue you in to the next bit of news," said Randall.
At that cue, a young man wearing a Spider-man costume, of all things, came into the cargo bay. All of the visitors were staring in disbelief at the presumed cosplayer. Said person started to speak. "Hi! My name is Peter Parker, also known as your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Now, I know what you're thinking, this guy is either an actor or a crazy person, but it's even crazier than that!" With that, Peter jumped to the far wall and climbed up it on all fours. He then began to walk back toward them on the ceiling while standing straight down. When he got close, he shot a bit of web between one of the support columns and the wall, then did a flip which landed him comfortably into what was obviously now a hammock.
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Karrin.
"It turns out that some of your fictional stories are based on real universes out there in the multiverse," said Spider-man. "For example, the comic books published by Marvel Comics in your universe happen to be where I live. The TV show Star Trek from the 1960's is also a real universe. Your universe is also a real universe."
"You're suggesting that our universe is the subject of a fictional story in another reality?" asked Thomas.
"It's actually a series of novels known as The Dresden Files," added Randall helpfully from the side.
Molly, Thomas and Karrin all simultaneously said, "The Dresden Files?"
"Yeah, that's gotta suck," said Peter. "I at least had a bunch of different books named after me."
"Somebody wrote books about my dad?" asked Maggie. "Can I read them?" She would like to know more about him beyond what little she had been told.
Linda glared at Randall. "You had to open your mouth?" He simply shrugged.
"How long is it going to take us to get to where Harry is?" asked Karrin.
"Oh, we're already here," said Peter. He jumped out of the hammock and went over to a control panel. A button push lowered the ramp in the cargo bay.
The group from Chicago walked out to find Harry Dresden standing next to a teen-aged girl and a young woman. Karrin wondered who the woman was, and why she was dressed as a Keebler Elf. She was about to say something when Maggie ran over and hugged Harry. None of the adults were willing to interrupt the reunion between the girl and her father.
Harry lifted Maggie up into the air with his hug, then set her down. "Hey Maggie, its good to see you again. Hey, I've got somebody I want you to meet." He gestured the teen girl forward. "Maggie, I'd like you to meet your half-sister, Bonnie." The teen girl gave a small smile and waved.
"What?" asked Karrin a little too loudly.
Peter, who had followed them out, said in a fake Spanish accent, "Harry, you got some 'splainin' to do!"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Xander looked out the window at a setting that was straight out of Buck Rogers. They were sitting in an office in a flying city on an alien planet. "Just out of curiosity," he asked, "why do we get to visit the high tech city now instead of when I first got here?"
Noraeus was yet another placid-smiling Nox, and it was his office. "You're here now because Anya feels much more comfortable and secure in this type of environment. You, Xander, benefited from your time in a more arboreal environment, where you could indulge your creativity."
"Yes, I like the city," said Anya with a smile.
Xander shrugged. "It is pretty cool."
Noraeus smiled. "Thank you. I was wondering if you two could tell me a little bit more about Anya's history."
Xander listened to Anya and Noraeus talk, and he was impressed. He had thought that Anya was an open book. She had certainly shared with him all of the horrible punishments she had inflicted on men unlucky enough to draw her attention. Somehow, Noraeus managed to get her talking about her life before her time as a vengeance demon. The picture that emerged wasn't different, so much as it was more...relateable? Aud had been a socially awkward young woman who was outspoken and forward-thinking in a time when that was unusual. She had turned to witchcraft as a way of getting back at the people who shunned and abused her. The path to becoming Anyanka started long before D'Hoffryn showed up.
What was interesting to Xander is that this is the first time he had seen the Nox acting like an Earth therapist. They seemed to almost implicitly understand what people needed without having to ask lots of questions. Maybe Anya needed somebody who would listen to her talk without judging her? He started to feel a little guilty when he thought back to how he tended to react to her when she went on one of her diatribes. Then he started to wonder whether he took too much pride in tolerating her idiosyncrasies. He had realized over his time with the Nox the degree to which his own feelings of inadequacy influenced his decisions. Did he stay with Anya because it helped him feel better about himself? He started listing out the things he loved about Anya to reassure himself.
By the end of the discussion, a thought had occurred to him. How much of him sitting and listening to this was meant to be therapy for him? Wow, the Nox were really, really good at this.
After the session, the two of them walked back to their loaner apartment in silence. Once they were behind closed doors, Xander looke at Anya and said, "I'm sorry I never heard those things before."
Anya lowered her gaze. "I don't always like to think about my time as a human, I mean before I was a demon. It's easier to remember the times when I was in control."
He shook his head. "I should have been more understanding. It's not like I don't know what it's like to feel out of control," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him. "Xander, I know how insecure you can be. One of the things I love about you is how much you throw yourself into dangerous situations despite your own doubts, no matter how stupid I think that is sometimes. You don't let what your parents did to you hold you back. I just wish you were less willing to accept it when Buffy and Willow put you down."
"I just try to be the kind of friend they need," he said. He knew that was a vast oversimplification even as he said it.
She frowned at him. "You mean you indulge their insecurities at your own expense. You deserve better treatment than that."
"I think the same applies to you," he said, "and I really fell down on the job. It's time to do better."
"Well, maybe you should prove it to me?" She reached over and, with a smile, turned off the light switch.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"So, what can I help you two with?" asked Ianthe of the two men.
"Jimmy and I were talking a while ago, and we realized that we've learned a lot of information that would be really dangerous in the wrong hands. We also both happen to live in worlds with a whole bunch of telepaths," said Peter. He and Jimmy had tracked down Ianthe at BBFO offices back on Family Earth.
"Hm, and you're looking for some way to block that? I would have to get a look at how your telepaths work, as there aren't any telepaths native to this reality." She looked at them somberly. "You would also potentially have to consent to me doing something to your brain, depending upon the solution. You might be better off talking to somebody like Harry or Dr. Strange."
Jimmy looked at her in surprise. "Are you saying you can't help us?" The Family was usually quick to say nothing was truly impossible.
Ianthe regarded him. "No, I probably can. To be completely honest, I'm not feeling like myself after what happened with Ellen. Implanting that thing into her goes against the standards of my Guild, and I can't help but feel like I did something wrong despite the circumstances." It was more accurate to say that it went against her standards, but as the founder of her Guild, Ianthe was allowed to define its standards.
"Let me ask you something. If we had the exact same situation, would you do the same thing?" asked Peter.
The purple lizard tilted her head. "Of course. I know we had no choice in the matter if we had any hope of saving the prisoners on board the Legato. Let me see if I can explain this to you." She thought for a moment. "What would you say are your greatest fears?"
"I guess...failing to protect the people I care about?" said Peter. That, at least, was the conclusion he came to about why he left MJ.
Jimmy was quiet for a moment. "Honestly, I think my biggest fear is that the people who back Cadmus are right. What happens if the heroes turn bad and become villains? Superman, for example, is one of the most legitimately nice people I've ever met. He's also incredibly powerful and would be almost impossible to stop if he ever turned."
Ianthe reached out and touched each of their hands. The two of them were instantly and irresistibly paralyzed.
"Now," said Ianthe with a very toothy smile, "Peter, if I wanted to, I could trap your personality inside a prison in your own mind. Then I could create a copy of your personality and put it in charge of your body, except I would change it. I would give you a slowly growing urge to kill anybody about whom you have strong feelings. Love, hate, disgust, frustration...it wouldn't matter. You would just have an increasing urge to kill somebody. Then we see what happens. Do you start going after your enemies, killing them one by one so you can avoid hurting the people you care about? How long would it be before you end up killing your boss, the man who hates your other identity? What happens the first time you have a fight with your wife when she realizes you've been killing criminals? What about when the other heroes try to stop you? How long would it be before your body count started rivaling the worst villains? Your true personality would see it all from inside your mental jail, but you wouldn't be able to stop it. None of your friends and loved ones would see it, at least at first, because you would still act like you most of the time."
She turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, I could infect you with a virus and wipe your memory of it. Then I would send you home. The effect of the virus would be to slowly lower the inhibitions of anybody infected, until after a few years they would have the self control of a toddler. Now, imagine what happens when Batman's paranoia has no limits? What happens if Superman loses his temper? Captain Atom has a massive superiority complex, so that could get messy. Let's talk about the villains. What would happen if Lex Luthor were as carefree about his mayhem as the Joker? How many of Flash's rogues gallery refrain from killing just because Flash is such a nice guy? Some of the Justice League have nations of their own. What do you think Wonder Woman or Aquaman would do if their realms are threatened and they lack all sense of restraint?"
She touched them again and released their muscles. The two of them literally fell to the floor and scrambled away from this now much scarier person. Her face grew sad. "I know how to do both of those scenarios. I could do it right now, or do worse things. The threat level of a bioshaper gone bad is utterly terrifying, which is why we have the rules that we do. When I do something like I did to Ellen Ripley, I see that potential in the mirror after I'm done. It doesn't matter how good the reason for it was. The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
Jimmy and Peter looked at each other. They both stood up from their spot on the floor. Ianthe expected them to leave, but instead they came toward her.
"Ianthe, look, I know a guy back home who turns into a giant green rage monster when he loses control. He's hurt a lot of people, but the guy inside, Bruce, is the smartest, kindest, most eloquent man you could meet," said Peter in a soft voice. "He tried to hide from his power, to run from it, but something always seemed to happen to let it break free again. He didn't start dealing with it until he embraced the fact that it was a part of him. What he learned is that Hulk isn't evil. He's just impressively strong with poor emotional control. Bruce had to let some of the Hulk out inside himself, and that let some of Bruce's control flow the other way. Sometimes you just gotta accept that you're scary powerful."
"The thing about Superman," added Jimmy, "is that he doesn't hide what he is. Sure, he has a secret identity, but that's mostly to protect his friends and family from retribution. He is, in many ways, godlike, and so he exercises an insane level of self-control in an effort to avoid hurting people. He really is a gentle soul, in some respects. The thing you have to understand, though, is that it doesn't always work. He's been mind-controlled, or rendered crazy, or had his powers stolen. The results in those situations can sometimes be funny, but they can also be horribly tragic. He doesn't let those failures define him, though. He just resolves to do better, and with each mistake, he knows one more weak spot to defend."
"So, you're saying I should accept my abilities and learn from my mistakes?" said Ianthe skeptically.
"It's not that easy," answered Peter, "but it couldn't hurt. Besides, if you went off the rails, wouldn't the rest of the Family stop you?"
Ianthe nodded. "They would. That actually makes me feel better. And the other stuff you said isn't wrong, really. So, if you can get a telepath who can show me what's actually happening when telepathy is being used, I can see if I can build blockers for it into the symbiotes."
"You mean the squeakers?" asked Jimmy.
"Not the one-shots. We have long-term symbiotes that can enhance your physical abilities and cure anything that ails you. I'm sure we mentioned them?" said Ianthe.
"I think you did," confirmed Peter, "but there's been a lot going on and I don't think any of us focused on that fact."
"Hm, well, why don't you bring MJ around and you can try them out, and then tell the others about them? They're perfectly safe. We've been testing them out for some time," said Ianthe.
"They won't take away my powers? Technically, my spider powers could be considered a mutation," questioned Peter.
Ianthe shook her head. "No, they only cure negative effects like birth defects, disease, injuries or aging."
The two men stared at her again. "They cure aging?" asked Jimmy slowly.
"Yes. Don't get me wrong -- it's still possible for you to die with a symbiote. It is much, much harder to accomplish, however." Ianthe was back to looking smug again. "So, will you and MJ be the examples for the others?"
Peter thought about the idea of MJ being hard to kill and forever young. "I'll have to ask her about it, but if she's OK with it then I'm willing to try."
"Excellent! Just come by whenever you have a chance." Ianthe seemed to be cheered up by the prospect.
The two men left. When they were outside the room, Jimmy said, "I had no idea she could be that scary."
Peter nodded his head violently. "Oh, yeah, that was terrifying."
From right behind them, Ianthe's voice said, "Really, I'm not the terrifying one in the Family." Both men jumped hard enough to get impressive air time. Ianthe gave a dark chuckle as she went back into the room and left them alone.
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