2.3 - Oral Disclosure
- Location
- Canada
2.3 - Oral Disclosure
I froze for a split second, as my eyes locked on to the glowing end of Armsmaster's halberd, and then my mind went into overdrive.
The world seemed to slow as my mental processes sped up. I spun off a few instances to deal with preventative measures - first, my neurocytes began to sacrifice a percentage of their number, now at full compliment after my time experimenting with Amy, to create a Faraday style mesh around my most important implants which would minimize the damage caused by an electromagnetic pulse.
Next, a part of my consciousness began going over what I knew about Armsmaster to create a social model of his behaviour, pulling in some data I had gathered during my brief internet binge about his publicly recorded actions on PHO and in other reports. Fanon is going to get in my way here, I need to know how the real Armsmaster reacts to situations.
As well, I began to try and figure out why he was reacting with such hostility - normally Master/Stranger protocols in this situation should be a formality, and a new Parahuman asking to speak to the PRT is usually a sign of a potential recruit for the Protectorate - nothing I had done should warrant this kind of response.
It comes to me in an instant. I'm an idiot. While the van didn't have any ECM jammers, it must have had some kind of scanning device that either detected my implants, or the large amount of high frequency radio signals going between me and the cell towers as I did my work. Plus, the mere fact that I clearly have a big metal blob in my head at this time in particular, when Bakuda is putting big metal blobs in peoples heads that go boom probably tripped a few flags.
I doubt even Dragon could have unraveled exactly I was looking for so quickly, especially with the precautions I had taken in that respect, so it must be a combination of paranoia, the current situation in the city leaving fuses short and tempers high, and the speed with which I asked to come in to see the Director.
But I can't end up in lockdown. Coil finds out that the PRT has a new tinker in the cells and I'll be either dead or there'll be a recruitment attempt on me in hours. And with what Past Me told me about the precautions against pre-cogs and what I've forgotten, I might actually be jamming Coil's multithreading simulations now, and the second he figures that out I'm going to have to worry about snipers everytime I get close to a window.
Ok, so step 1 is to defuse this situation, step 2 is to have a private conversation with ideally Armsmaster and Piggot about the Coil issue, and step 3 is to deal with what I originally came here for.
Step A is to not get put into M/S Quarantine in the process.
Step Epsilon is to get a steak, because I just realized I haven't eaten since I got here days ago. We'll put that one on the back burner for now.
At this point, a second had passed in real time, and my hand which was previously outstretched for Armsmaster to shake was now moving up with my other hand over my head in the universal gesture of surrender. My various selves correlated their data, and came up with a plan of action moving forward, we became I again and…
Time begins passing normally. I wince slightly as I try to suppress the headache which comes from my Schism executing with so many viewpoints at once, and I begin to speak.
"I'm not moving. I'm staying right here. I mean no harm to you or anyone else in this building. I just need to speak to you and the Director as soon as possible. To the best of my belief, I am acting in the best interest of the PRT and the city as a whole."
Armsmaster pauses, and his eyes dart to one side of his visor, his hand still holding the halberd perfectly still pointed at my chest. "You're not lying. What do you want to speak to the Director about?"
Yup, there's that lie detector. Score at least one for fanon, he obviously relies on that thing significantly, and at this point he has used it on so many different targets, he's probably certain it works on almost everyone.
And it probably does work on most people. Most people don't have absolute control over their involuntary body movements, bloodflow patterns, and voice. I do. I'm effectively the best non-Changer actor in the world just by virtue of my body control. Well, I suppose it is kind of a Changer power?
I don't know, the categorization system seems kind of arbitrary anyways.
Not that it really was a lie. I mostly don't intend harm to anyone in this building, with the notable exception of Thomas Calvert, if he's at home. As he's a sociopath attempting to take over the city and subverting the PRT, even that part is in the best interests of the PRT and city as a whole.
"Can I put my hands down now? I'm not wearing armor, I don't have a weapon on my person, and if you're wondering I also did not and cannot Master anybody. It is however, imperative that I speak with you both. I have some very important information on Bakuda."
I see again Armsmaster's vision doing that skip jump to the side. "Standard procedure is not to take the word of unknown parahumans on whether they have the ability to subvert members of the Protector…"
I interrupted. He trusted his technology. He was still slightly worried about the threat I posed, but I could see his adrenal response relaxing. He was feeling in control of the situation, he no longer worried about me being a threat to him or the people around us. I need to throw him off-balance before he decides to toss me in M/S because that's what the script says.
"Bakuda is in the process of building an EMP bomb capable of knocking out every electronic device over an area which covers a fifth of the continental United States. If it is detonated, every power line, computer, and hard drive from Boston to Raleigh, and west to Indianapolis would be destroyed. The chaos and economic damage it would cause would make an Endbringer attack look like a mildly bad day at the stock market."
Armsmaster paused at this. His body immediately moved back into fight-mode, and his eyes darted to his HUD again. Truth. Got you.
"To the best of my knowledge, this bomb is not complete. I also don't know where Bakuda is hiding it, other than that it is around the docks or the Boat Graveyard. But I also live here, and I'd prefer not to end up in a modern Dark Ages because some bitch with an inferiority complex wanted to make some big fireworks."
Armsmaster's frown deepens, and his grip on the halberd tightens. "How do you know this?"
I wince slightly, exaggerating the motion so it is obvious before I begin to speak, purposefully sounding a bit more nervous. "Well, uh, I may have recently been caught in an altercation with the ABB. Oni Lee was involved." [Truth] the display read. "I was knocked unconscious around when the building started exploding, and ended up at the hospital with serious injuries, which led me to meet Panacea here" [Truth] again.
Now comes the slightly sketchy part…
"Before the running battle began, I attacked and subdued a single ABB member in an alleyway." [Truth]. "He had a communication device on him, and I heard some mumbling in an unknown language." [Truth] "I have a photographic memory. I had a chance later on to search online for a translation." [Both True]
I shrug.
"Suffice to say gang members talk among each other, especially about a boss planning to blow a lot of things up. After getting a vague sense, I did a check of various police reports, new records, and social media to determine areas that the ABB had hit and taken equipment from."
I move down one hand slowly and in my augmented vision I put together a file containing a list and the background supporting data, one of the things I pulled together in my internet binge, and toss it towards Armsmaster. I watch as it hits his network and is immediately isolated by a dozen firewalls and antivirus software.
"You can check for yourself, that list of components is very alarming and heavily supports my conclusion. And is it worth the risk of being wrong with a threat this large?"
Armsmaster keeps his halberd pointed at me, but is examining something on his visor. He looks up and speaks to apparently the air. "Dragon, what do you think?"
A voice comes from both Armsmaster's suit and a camera on the wall, which has turned to face our little confrontation. "No viruses, no worms, it seems to be exactly what he says it is, a list of very well put together notes with supporting documentation for what either the ABB has directly been observed stealing, or what was stored at locations they hit and leveled. They certainly could have taken some of these components without us knowing what to look for." Her voice takes on a worried tone. "Armsmaster, I can't predict exactly what Bakuda can put together with this but… it's plausible at least. It also explains that blast of data I noticed going in and out of the van towards those cell towers for the first half of his trip here. We have been thinking Bakuda was up to something big but this..."
Yup, called that. That would explain at least part of why they were suspicious. Can't really hide that now, though I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I couldn't explain what I know without that mess, and I also got some extra information.
I speak up. "Yeah, full disclosure, that was me. I'll pay the fine for illegal access to a cellular network if you give me a court date next month or so. I think we have bigger concerns right now, like ensuring there is a cellular network next month or so."
Armsmaster frowns but lowers his halberd. "First, you will submit to a full body scan to ensure you do not have any hidden weapons. You will then tell me how you managed to send and receive data without a visible computer. Then you may be allowed to speak to the Director."
Before he can continue, I toss another data packet to both him and Dragon, whose presence I can now detect in the building's network. There aren't really many open ports, and they are quite secure really, but after seeing Armsmaster's constant back and forth with Dragon through his suit's sent data, and with the quite frankly ludicrous decryption powers of having a quantum computer implanted in my brain, I can at least get a basic message across. Lisa can hack them by just guessing passwords, so it's not surprising really.
The data packed contains only a small text file which reads:
The PRT network may be compromised. I have reason to believe you have a mole who is working for Coil. Any information which is placed on the PRT network or in an official PRT report may be compromised. I also believe if Coil learns of my existence or my powerset my life will be in danger. I am willing to talk to you off the record in the presence of you, Dragon, and the Director, but I cannot consent to a scan unless you swear to keep the results fully confidential. I again promise I mean you no harm and I believe I am acting in the PRT and Protectorate's best interests. I could have, but have made no attempt to infiltrate your networks. I have an implanted brain-machine interface, and I believe Bakuda's bomb going off would result in my death.
I raise an eyebrow as Dragon goes silent and I see Armsmaster's cheek twitching slightly as his eyes review what I sent in his visor.
"Follow me."
My face almost involuntarily moves into a smug smile, but quickly correct myself with a seemingly relieved exhale as I move my arms down and start to walk. Only to be interrupted by a loud cough from off to my left.
Panacea, who had been sitting on the sidelines looking between us as we spoke like a spectator at a tennis game, chose this moment to finally speak up.
"Uh, hello? Am I not going to be involved in this? What was that about Mastering? Bakuda has some kind of nuke?" She turns to me, her arms crossed and a cross look on her face. "And didn't we just spend 6 hours working on something you haven't even mentioned?"
I almost do a double take. Man, keeping track of everyone and everything is a lot harder in real life. "Oh, yeah uh… So separate possibly just as important thing… we can probably deal with this all at once. Can Panacea come with us here? I have something else we need to discuss - well, several things, but this is a big one and she should be involved."
Armsmaster nods and motions for the troopers behind us to stand down. Panacea walks up next to me and gives me a raised eyebrow. "I take it there were a few things you didn't mention in your little heart-to-heart in the hospital, right before you distracted me with your weird biology." I nod in response and give a slightly goofy grin.
"Just a few minor things, y'know, end of the world stuff." I respond nonchalantly
Panacea snorts lightly and suppresses a chuckle. "Sure, right. Well, now you've got me hooked, I'm not going anywhere until I hear the rest of this story. You're the most interesting thing I've seen in this city in years, and I'll be damned if I'm going to go back to the same boring healing after all of this."
As we walk forward towards Armsmaster, I try to organize all of the shit I have to get done in this meeting and over the next week. I have to deal with Panacea and our creation, stop Bakuda's bomb (though canonically that gets resolved without me I think? Not taking the chance on that one), save Dragon, deal with the upcoming Leviathan attack, kill Coil, the Echdina situation, the Nine… this is a busy month.
Goddamn it, I'm gonna be playing Xanatos Speed Chess trying to keep all these plots and plans running at once. And I'm not naive enough to think this crapsack world isn't gonna shit out something new once I start pushing the train off the rails.
Why couldn't I have been dropped in like 4 months ago?
Well, one step at a time I guess. First lets talk to Piggot, and then start to deal with the 7 different walking apocalypses.
...
Memo to self, I deserve that steak. Make sure they get me a steak.
I froze for a split second, as my eyes locked on to the glowing end of Armsmaster's halberd, and then my mind went into overdrive.
Schism x 4 Execute
The world seemed to slow as my mental processes sped up. I spun off a few instances to deal with preventative measures - first, my neurocytes began to sacrifice a percentage of their number, now at full compliment after my time experimenting with Amy, to create a Faraday style mesh around my most important implants which would minimize the damage caused by an electromagnetic pulse.
Next, a part of my consciousness began going over what I knew about Armsmaster to create a social model of his behaviour, pulling in some data I had gathered during my brief internet binge about his publicly recorded actions on PHO and in other reports. Fanon is going to get in my way here, I need to know how the real Armsmaster reacts to situations.
As well, I began to try and figure out why he was reacting with such hostility - normally Master/Stranger protocols in this situation should be a formality, and a new Parahuman asking to speak to the PRT is usually a sign of a potential recruit for the Protectorate - nothing I had done should warrant this kind of response.
It comes to me in an instant. I'm an idiot. While the van didn't have any ECM jammers, it must have had some kind of scanning device that either detected my implants, or the large amount of high frequency radio signals going between me and the cell towers as I did my work. Plus, the mere fact that I clearly have a big metal blob in my head at this time in particular, when Bakuda is putting big metal blobs in peoples heads that go boom probably tripped a few flags.
I doubt even Dragon could have unraveled exactly I was looking for so quickly, especially with the precautions I had taken in that respect, so it must be a combination of paranoia, the current situation in the city leaving fuses short and tempers high, and the speed with which I asked to come in to see the Director.
But I can't end up in lockdown. Coil finds out that the PRT has a new tinker in the cells and I'll be either dead or there'll be a recruitment attempt on me in hours. And with what Past Me told me about the precautions against pre-cogs and what I've forgotten, I might actually be jamming Coil's multithreading simulations now, and the second he figures that out I'm going to have to worry about snipers everytime I get close to a window.
Ok, so step 1 is to defuse this situation, step 2 is to have a private conversation with ideally Armsmaster and Piggot about the Coil issue, and step 3 is to deal with what I originally came here for.
Step A is to not get put into M/S Quarantine in the process.
Step Epsilon is to get a steak, because I just realized I haven't eaten since I got here days ago. We'll put that one on the back burner for now.
At this point, a second had passed in real time, and my hand which was previously outstretched for Armsmaster to shake was now moving up with my other hand over my head in the universal gesture of surrender. My various selves correlated their data, and came up with a plan of action moving forward, we became I again and…
Time begins passing normally. I wince slightly as I try to suppress the headache which comes from my Schism executing with so many viewpoints at once, and I begin to speak.
"I'm not moving. I'm staying right here. I mean no harm to you or anyone else in this building. I just need to speak to you and the Director as soon as possible. To the best of my belief, I am acting in the best interest of the PRT and the city as a whole."
Armsmaster pauses, and his eyes dart to one side of his visor, his hand still holding the halberd perfectly still pointed at my chest. "You're not lying. What do you want to speak to the Director about?"
Yup, there's that lie detector. Score at least one for fanon, he obviously relies on that thing significantly, and at this point he has used it on so many different targets, he's probably certain it works on almost everyone.
And it probably does work on most people. Most people don't have absolute control over their involuntary body movements, bloodflow patterns, and voice. I do. I'm effectively the best non-Changer actor in the world just by virtue of my body control. Well, I suppose it is kind of a Changer power?
I don't know, the categorization system seems kind of arbitrary anyways.
Not that it really was a lie. I mostly don't intend harm to anyone in this building, with the notable exception of Thomas Calvert, if he's at home. As he's a sociopath attempting to take over the city and subverting the PRT, even that part is in the best interests of the PRT and city as a whole.
"Can I put my hands down now? I'm not wearing armor, I don't have a weapon on my person, and if you're wondering I also did not and cannot Master anybody. It is however, imperative that I speak with you both. I have some very important information on Bakuda."
I see again Armsmaster's vision doing that skip jump to the side. "Standard procedure is not to take the word of unknown parahumans on whether they have the ability to subvert members of the Protector…"
I interrupted. He trusted his technology. He was still slightly worried about the threat I posed, but I could see his adrenal response relaxing. He was feeling in control of the situation, he no longer worried about me being a threat to him or the people around us. I need to throw him off-balance before he decides to toss me in M/S because that's what the script says.
"Bakuda is in the process of building an EMP bomb capable of knocking out every electronic device over an area which covers a fifth of the continental United States. If it is detonated, every power line, computer, and hard drive from Boston to Raleigh, and west to Indianapolis would be destroyed. The chaos and economic damage it would cause would make an Endbringer attack look like a mildly bad day at the stock market."
Armsmaster paused at this. His body immediately moved back into fight-mode, and his eyes darted to his HUD again. Truth. Got you.
"To the best of my knowledge, this bomb is not complete. I also don't know where Bakuda is hiding it, other than that it is around the docks or the Boat Graveyard. But I also live here, and I'd prefer not to end up in a modern Dark Ages because some bitch with an inferiority complex wanted to make some big fireworks."
Armsmaster's frown deepens, and his grip on the halberd tightens. "How do you know this?"
I wince slightly, exaggerating the motion so it is obvious before I begin to speak, purposefully sounding a bit more nervous. "Well, uh, I may have recently been caught in an altercation with the ABB. Oni Lee was involved." [Truth] the display read. "I was knocked unconscious around when the building started exploding, and ended up at the hospital with serious injuries, which led me to meet Panacea here" [Truth] again.
Now comes the slightly sketchy part…
"Before the running battle began, I attacked and subdued a single ABB member in an alleyway." [Truth]. "He had a communication device on him, and I heard some mumbling in an unknown language." [Truth] "I have a photographic memory. I had a chance later on to search online for a translation." [Both True]
I shrug.
"Suffice to say gang members talk among each other, especially about a boss planning to blow a lot of things up. After getting a vague sense, I did a check of various police reports, new records, and social media to determine areas that the ABB had hit and taken equipment from."
I move down one hand slowly and in my augmented vision I put together a file containing a list and the background supporting data, one of the things I pulled together in my internet binge, and toss it towards Armsmaster. I watch as it hits his network and is immediately isolated by a dozen firewalls and antivirus software.
"You can check for yourself, that list of components is very alarming and heavily supports my conclusion. And is it worth the risk of being wrong with a threat this large?"
Armsmaster keeps his halberd pointed at me, but is examining something on his visor. He looks up and speaks to apparently the air. "Dragon, what do you think?"
A voice comes from both Armsmaster's suit and a camera on the wall, which has turned to face our little confrontation. "No viruses, no worms, it seems to be exactly what he says it is, a list of very well put together notes with supporting documentation for what either the ABB has directly been observed stealing, or what was stored at locations they hit and leveled. They certainly could have taken some of these components without us knowing what to look for." Her voice takes on a worried tone. "Armsmaster, I can't predict exactly what Bakuda can put together with this but… it's plausible at least. It also explains that blast of data I noticed going in and out of the van towards those cell towers for the first half of his trip here. We have been thinking Bakuda was up to something big but this..."
Yup, called that. That would explain at least part of why they were suspicious. Can't really hide that now, though I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I couldn't explain what I know without that mess, and I also got some extra information.
I speak up. "Yeah, full disclosure, that was me. I'll pay the fine for illegal access to a cellular network if you give me a court date next month or so. I think we have bigger concerns right now, like ensuring there is a cellular network next month or so."
Armsmaster frowns but lowers his halberd. "First, you will submit to a full body scan to ensure you do not have any hidden weapons. You will then tell me how you managed to send and receive data without a visible computer. Then you may be allowed to speak to the Director."
Before he can continue, I toss another data packet to both him and Dragon, whose presence I can now detect in the building's network. There aren't really many open ports, and they are quite secure really, but after seeing Armsmaster's constant back and forth with Dragon through his suit's sent data, and with the quite frankly ludicrous decryption powers of having a quantum computer implanted in my brain, I can at least get a basic message across. Lisa can hack them by just guessing passwords, so it's not surprising really.
The data packed contains only a small text file which reads:
The PRT network may be compromised. I have reason to believe you have a mole who is working for Coil. Any information which is placed on the PRT network or in an official PRT report may be compromised. I also believe if Coil learns of my existence or my powerset my life will be in danger. I am willing to talk to you off the record in the presence of you, Dragon, and the Director, but I cannot consent to a scan unless you swear to keep the results fully confidential. I again promise I mean you no harm and I believe I am acting in the PRT and Protectorate's best interests. I could have, but have made no attempt to infiltrate your networks. I have an implanted brain-machine interface, and I believe Bakuda's bomb going off would result in my death.
I raise an eyebrow as Dragon goes silent and I see Armsmaster's cheek twitching slightly as his eyes review what I sent in his visor.
"Follow me."
My face almost involuntarily moves into a smug smile, but quickly correct myself with a seemingly relieved exhale as I move my arms down and start to walk. Only to be interrupted by a loud cough from off to my left.
Panacea, who had been sitting on the sidelines looking between us as we spoke like a spectator at a tennis game, chose this moment to finally speak up.
"Uh, hello? Am I not going to be involved in this? What was that about Mastering? Bakuda has some kind of nuke?" She turns to me, her arms crossed and a cross look on her face. "And didn't we just spend 6 hours working on something you haven't even mentioned?"
I almost do a double take. Man, keeping track of everyone and everything is a lot harder in real life. "Oh, yeah uh… So separate possibly just as important thing… we can probably deal with this all at once. Can Panacea come with us here? I have something else we need to discuss - well, several things, but this is a big one and she should be involved."
Armsmaster nods and motions for the troopers behind us to stand down. Panacea walks up next to me and gives me a raised eyebrow. "I take it there were a few things you didn't mention in your little heart-to-heart in the hospital, right before you distracted me with your weird biology." I nod in response and give a slightly goofy grin.
"Just a few minor things, y'know, end of the world stuff." I respond nonchalantly
Panacea snorts lightly and suppresses a chuckle. "Sure, right. Well, now you've got me hooked, I'm not going anywhere until I hear the rest of this story. You're the most interesting thing I've seen in this city in years, and I'll be damned if I'm going to go back to the same boring healing after all of this."
As we walk forward towards Armsmaster, I try to organize all of the shit I have to get done in this meeting and over the next week. I have to deal with Panacea and our creation, stop Bakuda's bomb (though canonically that gets resolved without me I think? Not taking the chance on that one), save Dragon, deal with the upcoming Leviathan attack, kill Coil, the Echdina situation, the Nine… this is a busy month.
Goddamn it, I'm gonna be playing Xanatos Speed Chess trying to keep all these plots and plans running at once. And I'm not naive enough to think this crapsack world isn't gonna shit out something new once I start pushing the train off the rails.
Why couldn't I have been dropped in like 4 months ago?
Well, one step at a time I guess. First lets talk to Piggot, and then start to deal with the 7 different walking apocalypses.
...
Memo to self, I deserve that steak. Make sure they get me a steak.
Last edited: