Well, that took significantly longer than I expected.
So for explanation, I'm in the final process of finishing up my law certification, and these last few months have been... well for lack of a better word 'hectic'.
I'm trying to budget my time a bit better for the future, and again while I can't guarantee a regular update schedule, I'll do my best to be better than almost 4 months next time. (Wow it really was that long).
This hasn't been edited, so expect some probable changes when i have time. This is mostly a confirmation that the story is not dead.
1.3- The One Unbreakable Law
The streets are still dark, and just to add some more ominousness to a sketchy Brockton Bay night, the fog has started to roll in. It's only minor for now, but I'm already completely lost. Lisa seems to know the way, either she's got a good memory for streets or she's just querying her power to figure out where we are going.
Me, I'm glancing around trying to get my bearings, and also keeping a firm hand on my adrenal glands. If I see something that looks weird, I'm going to flood my damn system. This place gave me the creeps before I had maybe two meters visibility.
"Alright, that's far enough."
Lis- Tattletale, she's in costume. Tattletale stops. I pause my introspection to look around more closely. We seem to be in an almost empty alleyway with nobody else around, and a lot less garbage than the one in which i made my unexpected debut. Even the buildings which form the walls don't have any windows as high as I can see. In other words, it's a perfect area for secret conversations.
Tattletale turns to me and speaks again. "Right, this is about as private as we're going to get - and if you make the joke you're about to I will break your arm - so it's time to spill."
She stares at me. I choke back the pun which rose unbidden when she started talking, and pause for a moment to think.
"Ok" I start, beginning to pace a bit as I try to figure out what I can and cannot say "First, I know a lot more than I suggested I did before. What I didn't mention is that my plane took off in June, 2016. Aside from apparently jumping dimensions, I've also gone back in time about 5 years."
Tattletale states at me for a second before nodding. "Alright, say I buy that. What does that help? If you're from a different reality, you still shouldn't know anything about our immediate future. Unless you…"
I hold up a hand. "Don't bother, I'll tell you some of it, but I can't really explain fully for reasons I also can't really explain fully."
She begins to frown and I can tell that she's starting to get angry, so I speak a bit louder to interrupt. " I know you're already thinking 'bullshit' to that but it's kind of important. I.. hmm.."
This is going to be complicated. Right now I'm as far below some of the people I'm trying to outmaneuver as a gnat is below an elephant. I can't rely on some kind of extradimensional safety against precogs, which means everyone is already either acting on future knowledge about what I'm going to be doing (which would be really bad) or I die so soon as for it to be irrelevant in the long run. Any attempt to make this information public before then, even one which succeeds accidentally, would trigger at the very least Contessa. Worst case scenario, the Simurgh replaces Leviathan in a few weeks, I get Smurfed, the world ends in an even worse manner and it's all my fault.
Y'know what, fuck everyone who said Tinkers were bullshit: precognitives are mega ultra bullshit! I've gotta figure out some way to… Oh… OH.
Well. Huh.
We're going to save that schematic random tinker database, thanks for the context sensitive search options. Man how does this even work?
Holy crap, I have no idea what I'm doing. Well, It's a good thing I work well under pressure (and let's just turn down all those stress hormones) , I guess I'll just dance as fast as I can. Time to play Xanatos Speed Chess.
Now how do I convince Tattletale I'm not full of shit?
I pause for a second as if to gather my thoughts. "Ok, here's an explanation of how fucked this can get. Y'know the PRT's system for ranking parahuman strength right?"
Tattletale nods, and gets a look on her face as if to question why I think she's an idiot.
I cough, and purposefully turn down my embarrassment. She hacks the PRT for fun. Man I'm out of it.
Moving on.
"Alright, dumb question. Anyways, they have or will have, I'm not sure on the timing, you categorized as a Thinker 8. 8 Is pretty good, and your power is both generally strong and really useful for psychological warfare. Doesn't hurt that you're actually smart about using it" She nods to that and a ghost of a smirk passes her face.
I continue quickly before she can say anything. "But, there are limitations. Part of that is the power itself, that you can get headaches when it's overused or used in the wrong way. Part of that, sorry, but it's true, is in you. Your psychology. You can't help but want to be the smartest person in the room, and you take risks to prove that, like your stunt with Glory Girl and Panacea in the bank - you could have been splattered like a puddle there if that had gone worse. A lot of powers are limited by the people that hold them - imagine a more proactive Lung for example, or worse, an aggressive Glastig Uiane or Nilbog. And a lot of others are even stronger because of who has them: stronger than they would be otherwise. Sometimes personal psychologies are limitations on powers."
She gets a look on her face when I start commenting on her psychology, and judging by her body language it looks like she is also getting really annoyed, probably that I know so much about her power, but she motions for me to keep going.
"Right, so, imagine someone who basically is their power. I mean is perfectly in tune with how the power operates. It has few or no restrictions, it never fails, and it never gives them any trouble or downsides. Sounds good right? Now add on that the power that person has is at minimum, Thinker 12."
Tattletale's jaw drops at that one. "What would that even? Who has a power like that?!"
I shake my head and close my eyes. "I'm not even going to name them. I'm not that stupid. It rarely ever ends well. Look, where I come from this person often is given the joke classification of 'Thinker Run'. Their power is basically 'can't lose' with very few exceptions. That's the kind of bullshit that could come out if I even mention out loud some of the shit I know. Yes, that sounds crazy, but based on how I think you work, I suspect your power has told you some things about me that also sound crazy."
She sighs and looks up at me, scowling, her eyes unreadable behind that silly little domino mask. Seriously, why do people even use those here? And spandex? Come on, you are already the squishiest member of your group, with the possible exception of Regent. Get some real armor! I could make a thin layer of plating that could go beneath your skin and allow you to interface with a set of heavy power armor Space Marine Black Carapace style and….
I shake my head for a moment. Right, Tinker fugue. Keep an eye on that.
She begins to speak, and she's clearly at least a bit miffed. "Alright, so you claim to know everything, but you can't tell me because you claim that if you do, some crazy powerful precog is going to show up and kill us…"
I interrupt. "Technically I never said anything about a pre…"
I can tell she's glaring even with the mask. I then remember that she usually carries a gun.
I shut up.
"As I was saying, you have convenient excuses for giving me actually useful information, and what you're claiming is crazy enough that I'm about ready to believe more that you've got some kind of Stranger/Trump power that fucks with mine, rather than you're telling the truth. I'm taking a real fucking risk here, and if you don't give me something actually useful to go on…" She stops, but her hand twitches, and in a Thinker-Thinker moment which is even more surreal from the inside, I know she knows I know that she's foreshadowing reaching for her gun.
I sigh. "Alright, alright. So there's an easier and safer way to do this. Let's talk about Coil."
She starts for a moment, and then nods curtly. Her hand is still twitching. Damn, from her perspective I suppose this does look very sketchy. From what I know of Coil it would be entirely in character for him to use a Stranger if he had one to test the loyalty of his subordinates. I can see where the paranoia comes from.
Man this is not going to be nice. "Ok, so, we have to take Coil down very, very quickly. I know you want to get rid of him because he hired you at gunpoint. It gets way, way worse however, and even with the 'alliance' he cannot be trusted. He is dangerous with a capital D, and he has no qualms about doing the most horrific things imaginable for reasons which will soon be apparent. But there's an issue. Well, really, there are three issues, and the first one is the most important for you right now, so I'm going to have to tell you why first and then let you make a decision."
I take a deep breath. "So, Coil's power. I know you think it's some kind of probability manipulation, and you're almost right but it's much deeper than that. Coil can 'split' himself so that he exists in two separate timelines at once and takes different actions in each. So he could be simultaneously at home eating dinner, and in his secret base making secret plans. The thing is, at any time he can also decide which timeline to 'keep' and drop the other one so that it stops existing, so that only he remembers anything that happened there. A dropped timeline has no other causal effect on the kept one - there's basically no way to tell what happened in one unless you are Coil. After he drops a timeline he can immediately split and start a new one. That's…"
Tattletale started pacing as I began to detail Coil's power, and now she begins to speak, interrupting me. I can see her Corona activating as her power makes intuitive leaps on what I've mentioned. "That's why he never seems to fail! He only keeps the timelines in which he succeeds at an action. Shit, with the coins, where he flipped the coins over and over and called it right every single time, he was just picking the timeline where he was right and tossing the one where he was wrong each time!"
She curses. "Goddamn that's a strong power. Hmm If we tried to kill him, we'd have to get him in both timelines at once, or else he'd use the other one to escape and negate our attempt, but fuck, even trying and failing would tip him off, and we'd never know about it because that timeline would have never happened! We could be killed for the actions of our theoretical other selves! For fuck sakes…"
I wince. "It, uh, it gets worse."
"How could it possibly get worse?" She asks. I stare for a moment and loosen my control of my body language. She stares for a moment, twinging as the first indications of a headache start forming, and then blanches. "Shit. Sociopath. He's a sociopath. He has a way of doing things that nobody except him will ever know about. He's a sadist. He can use those extra timelines to… he has used those timelines to…" And there's the Tattletale I know. Can't resist the intuitive leap. And now she's realizing just what he's been doing during their 'meetings'...
She turns and runs to a corner of the alleyway where she is loudly and violently ill. I'm not sure if I should move over and help or just wait, so I take the null option and just don't do anything.
"So, the next time Coil calls you in for one of his little meetings, he probably figures out everything I tell you by doing exactly what you are thinking of in the other timeline, and you wouldn't even know it. Normally I'd suggest you precommit to committing suicide in that case, but even that would be a change from how you've acted in the past, and so he'd have basically as many tries as he wants to find a way around it to actually get at what he wants to know. He's moderately intelligent and extremely paranoid. I.. hmm.. Unless…"
I pause and begin thinking as designs whizz across my mind. So many possibilities… Aha. Have the entities been watching Star Trek, or is this pulling from my memories? Anyway...
"So, I can build a device which will, when activated, convert all feelings of pain to those of pleasure. There are some significant issues with keeping it on forever, but in the short term it would allow you to resist basically any kind of torture he could think of, and you're probably a good enough liar to convince him of some cover story we can figure out…"
I trail off. I'm not really certain how else to react here.
Tattletale stands and wipes her mouth off, when she turns she has a look of unbridled fury on her face. I cancel the biological macro that would have made me involuntarily take a step back, and turn my face neutral. It seems clear that the anger isn't directed at me but it's still quite alarming.
I can see her power activating, and I can't tell what she's asking but I can guess.
"So, again, I'm fully on board with dealing with Coil as fast as…"
She interrupts me.
"We're going to kill him."
I pause.
"Well, yes. That is basically the only way to stop him permanently."
I purposefully blank my body language again. Because it isn't. It really isn't.
There are other technologies flashing through my mind's eye. Dozens of ways to hijack Coil's brain, to lobotomize him and use him the way Cauldron uses Doormaker, the way Khepri uses everyone at the Golden Morning. Methods to upload someone else into his mind and hiijack his power. Biological overrides. Ways to trap him in his own little personal hell. Complete sensory overlays. Drugs thousands of times more potent than those he's trying to addict Dinah to, after all wouldn't turnabout be fair play? So many possibilities.
I cut them all off and clear my mental workspace.
I can't let myself go down that path. It doesn't lead anywhere good.
Tattletale takes a deep breath and sighs.
"Ok. So it's very, very bad. Well fuck, at least there's a way out. And at least I know what I'm up against now. Damn. And you say there's more? How could this get any…"
I blur forward and put my hand over her mouth before she can finish. I may have just torn some muscles there - I suppress the pain response and trigger advanced healing. Actually… why am I not just constantly forcing the tear and repair of all of my muscles? It would have a huge energy cost, but I'll just eat more. I can get the benefits of exercise 24/7. Training from hell that actually works.
Right, later. Tattletale has tensed significantly and her hand has come up to grab my wrist. I drop my hand from her mouth and stare down.
"Please don't tempt fate. I wouldn't be surprised if someone had a fucking power that just causes shit to happen when people say that. Murphy is not to be underestimated, especially in Brockton Bay."
Tattletale just stares at me for a second, and I note that my hand is now resting on her shoulder, with hers still on my wrist. I squeeze slightly and then cough. She starts suddenly and we both back away.
Awkward.
"Anyways," I start. "There is a bit more that we'll have to go over - when you guys robbed the bank, Coil kidnapped another precog and he's in the process or has recently finished addicting her to some serious drugs to force her to work for him. Their powers have some outrageous synergy, and the only reason we'd even have a chance of beating them is that I know stuff I really shouldn't about what kinds of questions he's going to ask her. Even so, sooner rather than later would be better."
Tattletale nods. She's got a hard look on her face. This has gotten serious very quickly.
"How do you plan to convince the others to go along with this? I'm guessing you have a plan."
I laugh for a few moments. "I have a few plans, but they all rely on me actually having some time I don't have. I need to get some basic tools if I'm going to start being any kind of useful, and really I'm having to sort things via triage. There are huge fucking problems that have to be solved, but I need to prioritize. Coil first, because he's close and because the longer he has to get established, the harder it will be to deal with."
I smile. "Well, we aren't accomplishing anything standing here."
I give a mock bow and extend a hand towards the alleyway, motioning for her to lead on. She gives me a look which seems to say 'I'll expect more about that later', shakes her head and continues on.
It takes us about another ten minutes to reach the location. Right before we arrive she asks me what exactly I plan to do there.
Well, I could use a laugh.
"We're going to break into a Medhall research facility, so that I can use their equipment to tinker up a few things I desperately need to get started and so that we don't all die horrible, horrible deaths very very soon. We are going there because it is the only expendable place with an electron microscope and biological research equipment in the city, and because Medhall is a front for the E88, so it won't be as much of a problem when we blow the place up to cover our tracks as we leave, pinning it on the ABB by using a Tinker explosive I'll also be cooking up while we are there."
There is a single moment of the most profound silence. Of all the things I've said tonight, maybe just as the straw that breaks the camel's back, I've managed to actually leave Tatttletale speechless.
I'm actually quite proud of that.
Tattletale's mouth opens and closes a few times before she manages to choke out a word.
"What."
I laugh lightly as we turn the last corner. "Don't worry, it'll be a piece of cake."
I freeze. What did I just say. WHAT DID I JUST SAY.
Well, turns out I can still do stupid shit even when I think I have total control of myself. Wonderful.
Dreading but honestly expecting it, we turn the last corner and see three cars pulled up to the building we are intending to rob, and a half dozen shadowy figures moving in and around them As we watch, one of them kicks down the main door and a few begin to enter. As they do, I can see a flash of colour - a band tied around their arms.
Red and green.
ABB colours.
...Fuck.
