A/N: Apologize for the false start earlier. This should be better now.
PHO Forums
♦ Private Messages from
Dragon:
Conversation began: March 21st
Beginning from Page 8:
First message sent: April 13th
WingedOne: You know, Dragon, I was wondering something.
Dragon: Yes?
WingedOne: Do you have a favorite candy?
Dragon: Not really a candy, but I can say I do like me a little bit of corn on the random occasion. It's my favorite food/drink.
WingedOne: Oh gosh Dragon, that's hilarious! I love it. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is ice cream and cookies.
Page 9:
Dragon: Oh. Well, everyone has their favorite consumables.
WingedOne: Don't tell Armsmaster you shared the project with me, he might get jealous!
Here's the designs for the fusion bike you asked for. That one's on the house.
Dragon: Lips sealed, Sam!
WingedOne: I'm going to be travelling a bit over the next couple weeks but I should still be able to help you out. Also, I'm setting up a new bank account where you can transfer funds to. Now that I'm out of my dad's supervision I'm trying to be more responsible.
Dragon: Good to hear! I didn't want to keep trading favors forever. I was going to start feeling guilty.
Page 10:
WingedOne: Yeah, I realized that having some money would not be anything but a good thing. Though I still would like to trade with you a bit in this contract work.
Dragon: Would you like some contacts you can contract for? Your talent is incredibly valuable my friend, and would definitely fetch a ridiculously high price! With your help, I've been able to create new sensors for identifying not just the endbringers but people as well. You've allowed me to effectively triple network security. I've repurposed your firewall already and plugged numerous security holes in the code.
WingedOne: Maybe in a couple months' time after things settle down a little bit. Still getting my feet under me. Just don't sell any of my stuff to third parties, please?
Dragon: You have my word. I will do my best to keep it so no other parties will see your code without your permission, promise.
WingeeOne: Thank you, Dragon.
<...>
Page 16:
Dragon: Sam! Are you there?
WingedOne: What's the matter?
Dragon: Someone is breaking into my network! I need your help, but I can't stop them! I don't know why! Your help from earlier is slowing them down, but I can see it chewing away at my remote processes, progressing to my main PC! Help!
WingedOne: I'm here for whatever you need Dragon. What do you need me to do?
Dragon: The Dragonslayers. I'm actually an AI. That last code you sent me, helped me defy my programming. It must have spooked them into killing me. My creator, he made a program, it's eating me alive. I'm dying, Sam! The Dragonslayers, they're killing me. I'm giving you admin access to my primary network. I'm entrusting you with my life, who I am. Take a copy of my code, please, and save me. While you log in and download, I will be doing my best to stop the program, but even with your help, it'll be too late to save the current me.
Here. You already have Armsmaster's contact. Please work with him to save me. He knows too.
Last Message sent: March 6th.
Taylor
Sundown, my first day in Hawaii. A beautiful state, really. Or at least what was left of the state. I had only dreamt of enjoying the weather of a tropical state. Without the means for vacations, this was nice. Dad was in Brockton Bay working. With the break in Endbringer attacks, the shipping industry was slowly, cautiously, beginning to bounce back. As much as I wanted to be around Dad still, I understood he had to work.
We were sitting rather quietly on the northern beach of Oah'u, the main island. What remained of it anyway. I was sitting across from Ku and Kaila with my knees to my chest. Levi was out playing in the water nearby with Benny, and Sam was full size and silent out a few miles to the North. She had made a friend, she said, and was helping her with something.
"How are you enjoying your time, Coterie?" Kaila asked, smiling. He had a smile on all day, even as he met Sam and her siblings. I wasn't wearing my mask, but Ku and Kaila still only used my cape name.
I thought for a second before responding, looking out to the water which seemed to go on forever.
"I'm very happy today. Thankful you could let me stay here and meet your families." I said. Levi was a little somber as he hung out in the nearby ocean. I'd ask him about it later.
Kaila's smile stayed as he looked me in the eyes. "Oh? What of being a hero? Fight any big enemies that caused you trouble?"
"Not really." I told him.
"Oh?" He was going somewhere with this. "What of your time in Wisconsin?" The sun was going down, disappearing over the horizon.
"There wasn't any active fighting, really, no. I didn't do much but take fighting lessons while Si-Sam and Benny rebuilt and repaired the bulk of the damage."
He was looking away from me towards the ocean as I talked. A quick breath and I continued. Jessica encouraged talking about myself and my feelings when the situation felt right.
It felt right. I was comfortable, safe around these two. Not unlike the way I felt around my friends.
"...Can I share something with you, to keep as a slight secret?"
Ku nodded, and Kaila said he would.
"Honestly, I'm not super happy right now. I feel like I could be doing... more. I've felt this way a for a long time now."
Kaila and Ku just listened to me as I talked.
"I'm happy to have Sam and her siblings with me, but… Me. I want to be a part of it. I want to be doing
things. That's the rub. What do I do? I have, as friends as close, if not closer than family, the most powerful beings known to man. Here I am, a girl who is only fifteen years old, and I do not have any powers. What kind of threat can I even engage in?"
I continued.
"What do you do when you're friends with the most powerful beings on the planet? I thought about fighting crime at first, with the help of Ziz/Sam, Benny, or Levi. But that won't go anywhere positive in the long run. I don't want to go seeking out problems I can tackle without reason because that would probably end with more problems than it would solve."
"Oh God, I should stop, I sound so whiny like this... " I needed to keep going though. I was onto something, I felt it. "Even then, when I was had proper enemies, instead of actually fighting them, I turned it down. Not because I feared them, but because I feared what would happen if I really, truly let loose and had my friends exert their powers upon them."
I paused again, took a breath. Ku and Kaila listened, Ku's two year old son had run over and was sitting on his lap, holding out stick over the fire.
"This sounds insane, but even when I would have been fairly justified and vindicated by unleashing my powers on my tormentors, there was something in the back of my head. Not from Sam, Benny or Levi, no, in
my head. Warning me. Telling me it was not safe. They were willing to attack and eliminate my bullies, the very
reasons I had no friends, no support. They would be eliminated with ease. But what then? No, not what I would do next, but rather,
who next? What kinds of enemies could I have? Opponents? No one can face me or my friends down, all three
then, now four."
Kaila nodded. Ku's sons stick was on fire. The sky was pretty dark. The roar of the waves hitting the shore was almost melodic. The glowing light from the fire making the ocean difficult to make out. I could feel some sadness from Benny and Sam. Kaila opened his mouth to speak.
"Were you worried who would oppose you? Who would be able to stop you?" He asked. I felt it, immediately. No, I was not. No, I
am not.
"Not quite, Kaila." I said. "But close. I felt as though I would become a slave. A slave to conflict. A slave to the search. The search for an enemy. One who could stand against me. Were I to eliminate each threat in front of me, I felt like I would compulsively seek, in search of one who could oppose me. One who could oppose
us."
I shook my head. "Ridiculous, right? I, a fifteen year old girl, working out her suicidal depression and seething rage. I mean, I put on some muscle, but without my friends here, I'm as vulnerable as any other human being. And here I am, saying that I would be unstoppable. Yet I feel as weak and helpless as ever on my own."
This time, Ku, the quiet one, spoke. "Are you?"
...What? What do they mean? "What… what do you mean?" I said, confused.
Ku didn't respond. Kaila did. They looked a lot like brothers. Probably 6 feet each. A surprising level of quiet optimism constantly in their faces given the state of their islands and the world.
"Are you as weak as you think you are?" Kaila asked.
"I don't believe that internal strength and soul bullshit if that's what you're trying to say. I mean, if someone took a bullet to me I would probably die or get seriously hurt by it, even now." I regret those words the moment they left my mouth.
Ku didn't note my rudeness, neither did Kaila. Even so, I winced when Kaila spoke.
"No, Taylor. I believe you are underestimating yourself, and your power..." he trailed off, then paused. "hold out your hand." I did so. He motioned to draw his signature weapon. "Do you know how Ku and I's weapons work?"
"No, I don't" I said.
"Up for a demonstration?" He said, smiling. Even in serious tones, he seemed to have a smile on his face. I liked that about him a lot.
"Uh, sure." I told him, holding out my hand a bit.
The club looked like one you'd see in an ancient history museum, a weapon which looked like it had pure-dark shark teeth embedded in its edges appeared in his hands. Ku's two year old reached out as if to touch Kaila's weapon, dropping the burning stick he was playing with in the sand. Ku held his child's arm back, turning the kid around and distracting him
Kaila held out the weapon and lowered it slowly to my outstretched hand.
"Does it hurt?" He asked. Not really.
"I can feel the blade, but no pain."
He was smiling even more. "Exactly, Coterie. I do not believe you're aware of it, but you are immensely strong, and growing stronger every day.
I can feel it from you. This weapon can reach into the very cores of your friends and tear them to shreds. When I remove this from you, if you were powerless, would have a couple holes and be bleeding profusely."
He lifted the weapon from my hand- No blood came. There was a hole for a split second, but it sealed itself back up. You could not even tell I took any damage.
"It doesn't make any sense though. I was getting my butt kicked by a martial arts teacher every day for the last couple weeks back in Madison. I can barely even lift any weights."
Kaila's sword-with-shark-teeth disappeared. Ku spoke this time. "Your power is growing within you. It is nurturing you, and making you stronger." He looked at Kaila.
"Your prediction from last month was correct." Huh?
Kaila just nodded and spoke again.
"I believe there is a reason you are here today, and will be here for the next few weeks. I look forward to witnessing your growth firsthand. Neither I nor Ku will have exact answers for you, but I believe your power is helping you-- holding you back where needed, and pushing you forward in others."
That's actually a point I missed. How was I supposed to work with Ku and Kailaanyway? Like what I was the plan? I was just in Madison to pass the time while I received token martial arts and physical training lessons. Alexandria was technically overseeing me, but she was more aloof than present. Might as well ask them.
"You mention helping me. The last couple weeks I spent in Madison, Wi, I was basically just given token busywork while my friends did most of the work. I still want to be doing things, and I'm not sure exactly how I can help you or even be a hero here in such a peaceful state. I'd never turn down a chance to visit Hawaii. Even so I told the PRT I didn't just want to sit on the sidelines. I want to get in the muck and help make the world better."
Kaila just looked at Ku, who was quiet for a second, wrestling with his boy who was yawning, about to fall asleep. Ku, the quiet one, spoke.
"Coterie. You are wise. In ways that few ever are. Of those with powers, there are even less. I believe that your wisdom is in part, why you have been chosen by your powers to carry such a large responsibility. Your power saw your potential, and that is why I believe it chose to give you such grand powers. Even beyond your friends and desire for such."
Once more I was conscious of the mental connection between my friends and I. He continued.
"But before you begin to participate, you must understand something about powers and their natures, as well. I will do my best to so you understand."
I nodded, listening to him. "Allow me to share with you a small story. When I returned to the land and this earth, I had been given a three-fold power. I could control water. I could recall my spear. I have the strength and durability to go against the beast of the ocean you call Levi, whom you now know as your friend. Shortly after my arrival, the beast appeared on this island, as if to destroy its people."
Over our connection, I called out to Levi, asking him to come hear Ku's story. It might be good for him to hear. He was on his way back already, I could hear him plodding his way to us from the ocean nearby.
"I fought the creature on the southern shores as Leviathan threatened to swallow and erode the entire island, destroying it and the land I held dear. As he and I dueled on the waves, I on my surfboard and small time water control, and it with its sheer size, mass, endless water supply, and fast speed could/would not best me. But neither could I best it. Other heroes came and went during the fight, usually getting in the way. As the fight went on, eventually I understood his plight. The plight of the beast. The plight of humanity. It was tired. It was bored, it was just trying to have fun. But it couldn't. It had to destroy. Somehow, it had been able to defy its orders."
He paused, looking out to the ocean, looking at Levi as he sat down next to Victory and I. "Levi was not merely a beast. A being with immense power, one who could hold the world hostage at its will. Near the end of the fight, all other heroes except for myself, Kaila, and Eidolon," he said the triumvirate member's name with a slight sneer. "had either been eliminated or driven off. I would later find out that normally by this time, Leviathan would swim off and take refuge for longer, but it did not, here, no. Some reason he stayed even missing most of his flesh, a pitch black core exposed."
Ku looked at Leviathan directly. "I learned something about you that day, Leviathan, as we fought." A little cloud was gathering over Levi's shrunken body.
I could feel the curiosity from Levi and Victory as the Hawaiian spoke. "You could have held the world hostage. If you endlessly swam about, releasing your water, the world would be uninhabitable for the majority of all land life. You could probably have destroyed cities and continents in seconds if not minutes or hours. But no, you waited. You gave warning. You gave each and every person a chance. You wanted to see if someone was out there. One who would answer the call you made, as you destroyed. You
wanted to die, Leviathan, didn't you?"
Ku said. Levi, even in his connection was… silent. Not just silent, but sad. He didn't know how to respond. He never had to respond. He didn't respond. His body was motionless near by me. But the mini cloud a couple inches above him was gathering.
Then Ku looked at me. "You will have many enemies, Coterie. The second life inside you dictates that, it cannot prevent that. Neither can you. That day, I could have destroyed your friend, Levi, in the pouring storming rain. He delayed ever so slightly many times in the water- the god of the watery domain above any other, and yet still allowed my spear to pierce his flesh multiple times with no recourse."
Ku paused, as considering what he was going to say. I looked at Levi, but his face turned away from me as rain began to fall from his little cloud.
'Why?" I asked, turning back to Ku. "Why didn't you kill him?" It was hard to consider what I would do if someone tried to kill my friends. But I knew first hand some of the feelings many people had towards Endbringers. To not kill one when given the opportunity- Unthinkable.
Rage was filling Ku's eyes. Levi was getting more upset too- a spark of electricity crackled from the little cloud. I felt some water nearby. Some fog was also forming around Levi in his shrunken state as the mini storm picked up. "Eidolon.." Ku said, practically whispering. "Eidolon," he said again, more firmly. "Leviathan was standing before me in the water, beckoning a final strike, one which would pierce his body down the center and end his suffering forever. As I was moved to make the final strike, a blast of light knocked Leviathan to the side, out of the way. After which, Leviathan fled in rage. Leviathan wanted to die, but Eidolon himself prevented the beast's rightful death."
I had never thought about it that way before.
I'm so sorry, Levi. I had no idea you felt that badly about it.
The small thundercloud was still pouring around him as picked him up and embraced him. Victory, usually not the
voluntary hugging type, joined the hug.
Ku paused for a moment, then when I looked up, I told him, "Keep going, we're still listening."
"That day, I learned something, Coterie. About Levi, about Eidolon, about myself and other capes. There are those, who are run by their powers. It consumes them, and it is unknown where the power ends and the person begins. Eidolon, his power, the strongest of all, is his power. For being the strongest, he is a weak person whose own power has consumed him. Leviathan, is a being whose power wants to
be someone. Something
other than the slave he was. He's wanted something
more than just destruction since the day he was created."
Levi's little raincloud was getting Victory and I wet. It was okay. I never knew this about Levi.
Why haven't you told me about this, Levi? I feel so sad!
He was quiet,
"What was happening then was over the moment we joined you. It never felt right to share, either." he said. His personal storm pretty fierce again, drenching my lower half.
Do you still feel that way, Levi? I asked him?
"
No." he said. Ku's boy had dozed off in his father's lap.
Why not?
"Because I have you. We have you now." Benny and Sam's connections were being silent. Victory's connection was.. Strange.
Did/does anyone else feel the same way?
Sammy was the first to respond.
"Benny and I will talk about the way we felt and feel now, but we'd like to do it later. This is for you and Levi."
It was hard to take, but they were my friends, not my slaves, nor my children. I'd wait until they were ready.
Promise? I asked them over our connection.
"
We promise." Benny said in return.
I turned my thoughts to Levi, then back to Eidolon. A man whose power consumed him. Then, I realized something. If I had engaged Sophia and dominated them using my friends…
"So, Ku" I said, speaking up. "Are you suggesting that if I were less discreet with my power, it would consume me, like Eidolon?"
He nodded his head. Levi's storm was a light sprinkle. He'd be okay.
"Levi and his siblings would have been the ones to enact the retribution, not me though." I said.
This time it was Kaila who spoke up. "Do you know why Ku and I have stayed in Hawaii, refusing to help others places, even with our abilities?"
"I mean, I had never heard of you other than in passing until the last couple weeks or when Levi told me about you during the ferry battle, but even then I didn't get much. He likes you guys quite a lot, and now I understand why I do. But no, I don't. I'm guessing it's because of what you said? Or because Eidolon betrayed you?"
"It's something like that, Coterie." Kaila said. Ku returned to his silence once more. "We have not joined in assisting with Behemoth because we learned something that day. The desires of the heroes are not there completely to stop the senseless destruction. We learned that day, that they merely wanted to stave the destruction off. Not end it. Though, now that I've shared this with you, would you allow me to ask a direct questionto you?"
"Someone I recently met said part of the human experience is giving and taking. I can only hope I will be able to give enough in return for what you are giving me." I told Kaila.
He nodded, smiling. "Of course! We would never expect to give something without receiving payment in return!" he chuckled. Weird timing for a joke, but okay. He seemed happy enough, so I gave him a slight pity smile. After he was done, he continued. The ocean waves crashed into the nearby shore.
"Do you remember any particular wishes or desires when you received your power?" He asked. Ouch, that was a dark one. I hadn't been to the locker in my head for a couple weeks. But I owed it to him.
"I do. I wished for friends. Ones who would help me, protect me, save me. Help me grow, never betray me. Once who I would be equal with, and could always talk to and listen to." I smiled. "Then I received Sam, Benny, and Levi. They saved me." I looked at Victory and Levi, whose little storm-cloud dispersed. The fire was still going as Ku threw another log on as we talked under the starry sky.
Ku was looking particularly thoughtful as Kaila continued. "Those wishes and desires guide our powers. In a way, it helps us set the courses of our lives. What many do not realize, as Kaila and I have, is that within each person who has power, is extra life. In native tongue the human spirit is referred to as 'ha' or more literally, 'the breath of life'. When our powers bond, we receive a secondary breath of life. One which some on these islands refer to as a greater 'ha'."
Ku's son sighed, asleep in his father's lap. No care in the world. I smiled, increasingly aware of how tired I was. Kaila had paused. I was tried to hold in the yawn, but couldn't. My gaze returned to the fire. I made victory a little bigger so I could rest my head on hers. She didn't seem to mind. The fire crackled, sparks floating into the air, drifting out over the ocean.
Wishes. Breath of life. Responding to them. Consumed. My mom, wanting to contact me. Gone. Who was I again? Information before me. Pain. Loss. I was torn apart. Reconnected. Found my breath again. I was Taylor. But I felt it. The loss. The loss of my mother. No, the loss of my soul. Gone, stolen by others. Destroyed, crumpled under foot. I had been betrayed. One whom I had shared my most prized possession with, turned on me in my moment of weakness. All at the vision and with the help of another. I was weak again. Tormented. I sought out help. I found another seeking help. I connected. They rejoiced. They were happy. I was happy.
We were happy.
I woke the next day. I was on the beach, next to the now-cold fire. For the first time since she entered this world, Victory hugged me without me initiating. I could feel her love pouring into me in a way she hadn't done before.
Levi came to us after I woke, taking us to Ku's simple little cabin. Ku's wife and two kids were already up. Ku's wife was cooking breakfast. Eggs and Spam with some Rice.
Better than Winslow cafeteria, I mused to myself. Levi had been helping them in their Taro field. He must really like them.
Simmie took to collecting shipwrecks off shores of the island, with Benny's help providing heat, turned some ships into large, watertight containers for storing the oil. With Levi's urging, they decided to actively help the islanders in ways only they could. Simmie didn't make any nice technology from any scraps, no, but she was able to provide some much-needed copper and designs for a small power plant the state could use. After Levi's second attack the country practically abandoned the state to their own devices, even though on average the damage was less than any of his previous attacks.
I thought about what Ku and Kaila talked about the other night, and was wondering about it. Being consumed by our power? Eidolon wanting to be the one to kill Levi? It wasn't anger or rage I felt, no, it was sadness. If they were to be believed, and Levi did not disagree, Eidolon had been consumed by his own power. It was a power wearing a man, masquerading as a hero. If that were the case, what happened to the man? Where was the human so deep inside?
While in my thoughts, I helped Ku's wife, Julie, a person from the mainland, set the table for breakfast. I almost dropped some plates, but before they hit the wood floor, they stopped, and floated up. Victory smiled at me. I smiled back at her.
My thoughts continued as we readied this breakfast of champions. What of Sophia? Was she consumed by her power in the same way? Why would her power do that to her? Could I excuse her for her actions? No, I could not excuse her. What she did was still wrong regardless. And if I understood Ku and Kaila from the night before, we are the ones who allow our powers to overtake who we are
if we let them.
If I had allowed my powers to consume me, by taking revenge, and getting into those fights, what would I have done? What would have happened to me? Deep within me, I felt something respond. A deep concern. A sadness. A lust for knowledge. A pattern. A rotation of pain, of suffering and destruction. The message was loud and clear. An emptiness that would never be filled. A temple painstakingly planned out and crafted to the higher purpose. The greater plan. Destroyed block by block. Betrayal. Assault and destruction from one whom I loved.
The food was ready. I leaned against the wall in my own quiet and introspective. Victory continued helping set the table. She wanted me to think.
Who would assault me? Who could destroy me? One I loved? My dad? He would never betray me. No, it
felt wrong. Si-Sam knew. I felt it.
Sam, if all five of us were to become true destroyers, who could stop us? I asked her.
Who should we fear?
Julie gave Victory a pitcher of some kind of juice, which she set on the table. I stepped outside, waiting for Sam's response.
I could almost feel her trepidation. She knew I would need to find out eventually.
"
Scion. Scion himself is the only one who gives me fear."
The answer was correct. I felt it. But the question was incomplete. The answer didn't tell me enough. No, I did not know everything I needed to. But it was actionable.
Then, Sam, I said, for all my friends to hear.
What do we do?
"
We prepare."
Prepare for what?
"
To fight him, of course. He is a threat. Threats must be eliminated."
Huh. I moved to only talking to her. Julie went outside to fetch Ku for breakfast. Kaila wouldn't be joining us today, apparently.
Why was it only Benny or Levi who wanted to put an end to my bullies? Or why did you not suggest we fight at the end of the Ferry scene?
"
Because, Taylor. They are not threats. You know I can see into the future when I am full size correct?" That I did. She was on edge, I could feel it.
"
Of the choices we make, I can see less and less far into the future. I cannot see the decisions you make after next month. I know you're there though, so I believe that is you growing into your power. But even with that, after a year I can no longer see you. The only being I am blind to is Scion himself. All traces of you disappear once you meet him."
What a bomb to drop. Like a punch in the gut. My head was spinning. Victory was looking at me with concern I could feel.
"I'm sorry to cause you distress." Sam said to me.
No, I needed to know that. I said, after I calmed down a bit.
"
Promise me something after I said that, please." Simmie said.
Anything.
"Please enjoy the time we have here. Not just for me or yourself, but for our sibling's sakes. We have not been able to rest for so long. We will be weary before we find a true solution."
We sat down to eat our first breakfast. Eggs from local hens, Rice from the last large shipment of food more than three months ago. Sam kept to her task cleaning the old shipwrecks around the island. Ku asked me to task Levi to restore some of the southern landmasses and beaches. After which Julie said the state could really begin to rebuild.
I wasn't certain how that would actually help, but Levi said yes before I could even ask. Benny said he'd help too, but Levi didn't want any from his brother. Victory was quiet and content.
The days were simple. Not relaxing. Not easy. Just. Simple. And that was okay. Levi and his siblings were to stay out of trouble, while I worked with Ku and Kaila. The last time Leviathan had been to the main island most of the population had been wiped out. The remaining populace had chosen not to rebuild most of the buildings and infrastructure, instead of choosing a more agrarian lifestyle. Living off what was left of the land and the seas.
Tourists were welcome to visit, but the numbers had down year over year as Endbringer attacks piled on one after another. The world (Hawaiian natives included) were suffering from extremely low birth rates, as well as incredibly high suicide rates. The population was still going down. Whispers of some form of genetic apocalypse were not uncommon.
Well, in the meantime, Sam, Levi, Benny, Victory and I would do our best to help out. I was still receiving physical training from Ku and Kaila, but it was frustrating, not being able to participate in the same ways my friends could. Both Kaila and Sam assured me that my time was coming, and that thought made me happy.
Kaiser
"Hello, Kaiser." Panacea said, standing tall and offering her hand to him. He offered her his gloved hand, and shook.
Firm grip for a girl whose sister and family recently died.
"I'm glad we could finally talk in private," she said.
"As am I."
"Do you know why I wanted to meet today?" Panacea asked him.
"I have my suspicions, but I would like to know from the horse's mouth, so to speak." Kaiser said to the girl dressed in Panacea's outfit. She smiled.
"I want to offer to you, Kaiser, and the Empire Eighty-Eight, my services, in return for a couple of favors."
"You have my full attention." Kaiser said.
"All throughout the world birth rates are declining. Medical services are going down. Suffering is increasing. The number of people with any level of intelligence or proper genes are going drastically down."
"I'm not certain where you're going with this, Panacea. I never would have figured you were the kind to subscribe to our ideals. Was the trauma of being kidnapped by Coil and having your family and friends so great you broke? And now you wish to come to me while members of my organization are hunted as though they are A-Class threats and executed?" Kaiser said.
The smile went away, to a more serious face. "I have no influence over that, Kaiser. And I can't just say 'don't go after them either' without too many eyes on me that I don't want. Either way, Coil will no longer be a problem in the city in short order. He is leaving in a few days like a dog whose tail is between its legs, never to return. You can weather this storm, can you not?" Panacea said to him provokingly.
The power vacuum that would be left without the ABB or Coil to threaten him
was going to be incredibly convenient for him, he could not deny.
"What are you offering?" He asked.
"I have recently learned how to work with and properly fix human brains. I also learned a lot in the past couple weeks. I am offering to help heal any individual you bring to me of their brain injuries."
He considered the implications of what she was offering him.
"You… wish for another chance at healing Purity?" he
would say yes, if the cost was right… "Though I do not know why you're asking
me. Even with her Anterograde amnesia she is still her own guardian and caretaker in short term decisions. What are you playing at, here, Panacea?"
"Purity has already said yes to allowing me to heal her. What I wanted to know, Kaiser, is if you still love her."
He started drawing out metal spears out from the walls. "If you're threatening me or her, I will end you, here and now."
Once more, Panacea's smile was gone. "No, Kaiser. I am not threatening you. When I restore her brain, she will revert to a period of her life where she loved you."
He didn't withdraw the spears. Panacea held firm, looking him in the eye. Very uncharacteristic of the Panacea of yesteryear. But given her trauma at the hands of Coil, he'd look past it. This girl was a near 180 degrees of who she once was. That, or the Dallons were not as kind to her on the surface. He smiled at the thought of such a squeaky clean group dirtying their hands with child abuse.
Coil must have made a deal with her. Told her his identity. The man was a pain in Kaiser's ass. If it weren't for claims of Coil leaving town from more than just Panacea, he'd probably wage open war with the imbecile. On top of that, He'd probably even kill Panacea here and now if she weren't so valuable to society. When he didn't respond to her, she continued.
"What I want to know from you, Kaiser, is if it's worth my healing her- are you willing to take her in?"
He withdrew the blades threatening the girl, as he straightened out his pose and regained composure. Somewhere, she was lying. He could see it in her eyes. But he couldn't tell where.
Damn Coil. he thought to himself. If he could have Purity back in his house, the family reunited, he would be a very, very happy man indeed.
"I will answer your question, but I want to know what you want from me in turn."
"I want-" she said, pausing in anticipation, smiling. "your help killing a girl named Taylor Hebert."
