Despite the Doctor's threat, it wasn't difficult to sneak out the next morning. She didn't even wake Taylor -- who, in sleep, lost her robot-like demeanour and instead looked lonely… even sad. She almost hesitated, the tinker's unknowing expression tugging on heartstrings Lisa long-thought numb, but the blonde had means, motive, and finally opportunity, and she wasn't going to waste it.
It was only when she got to the transporter room and saw the pitted surface of the transporter that she wondered if it was a good idea. Would the thing even work? She'd seen what it'd done to Taylor, and wasn't keen on experiencing it herself.
Could… she
ask?
"Computer?" She received an attentive little chirp. "Is the transporter fully functional?"
"
Affirmative."
"And… can I... uh... `beam' down?"
"
Affirmative. Transporter access granted, authorization Taylor Hebert." She didn't do a little dance, but it was a near thing.
After some back and forth with the computer -- which included confirming that she'd be able to beam back up -- she hopped up on the platform. Taking a deep breath, she gave the command: "Energize."
Her view of the transporter room washed out with light, and every bit of her body seemed to tingle with the feel of static. The light faded away, and she found herself staring at the backside of a decaying brick building. Brockton Bay; and, as the computer had promised, out of the view of any curious onlookers. The sun was just barely rising-
[
Vulcan's base time aligned with Brockton Bay's. Building is abandoned. Building is former car parts storage. Building is currently inhabited by three vagrants. Vagrants are unconscious-]
Lisa staggered as her power suddenly made itself known again, spewing pointless facts straight into her brain. Tamping it down was reflexive, but she shuddered as she suddenly remembered the sight of what was on the other side of that mental link. Closing her eyes, she took a breath and smoothed out her clothing. (Were they pajamas? Were they robes? She should have asked the Doctor!) Thankfully they were ambiguous enough that she didn't look
too much like an escaped patient… even if that's exactly what she was, technically.
Opening her eyes she took off at a light run, jogging through back alleys that she knew well, occasionally and cautiously opening the valve on her power to check for observers. Soon she found herself in front of the building which held the Undersiders' loft, and she entered without knocking, dashing up the stairs.
When she got to the top she found Alec waiting with his sceptre in hand, clearly playing his games when he'd suddenly heard someone barge in. "Huh." He relaxed as he recognized her. "Where've you been?" he asked with only vague interest. He quirked an eyebrow in a manner that was strangely familiar. "Nice hair."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try us," commented Brian as he stepped out of the kitchen. He was leaning heavily on a crutch, and his right leg was wrapped in a cast between thigh and ankle. He glowered at her. "What the fuck happened to you? Bitch is in the hospital surrounded by PRT, you disappeared, and people are saying
Vulcan took out Lung-"
"Vulcan
did take out Lung. Then she took me to her base for medical treatment. He nearly killed me, Brian."
"He nearly killed all of us!" He shook his head. "And you've been at Vulcan's base ever since?"
"Yes! And we have an opportunity here because of it, so if you'll excuse me-" She tried to slip around him so that she could go to her room.
Instead he grabbed her by the arm, looking incredulous. "`Opportunity'? Lisa, what the fuck? We don't have time for this, we need to talk about how we're going to get Rachel back-"
"If this works, that won't matter!"
"If
what works? Lisa, I'm supposed to be leading this team, we just nearly got
stomped by Lung, and you're making plans behind my back! Tell me what the fuck is going on!"
He was nearly shouting in her face, and at that moment she wanted to hit back… to throw it in his face that he was effectively crippled, and that it didn't matter because he was just an unknowing puppet of Coil anyway. He wasn't a leader, and never had been. But she remembered what Taylor had said about powers -- was her reaction actually her own, or something planted by that alien mass in another dimension? She'd never been a shrinking violet, even before her Trigger… but the doubt was enough.
She squeezed her eyes shut and fought down her anger. "Brian, I don't know if this is going to work, but I have to try, and I have to do it now." She looked up at him. "Please, Brian."
She'd never used that word even once during her time with the Undersiders, and judging from his surprise, he knew it. He let go of her arm, giving her a pensive look. "Fine. But we need to talk, Lisa." She nodded, and ducked around him to head to her room, closing the door behind her.
Everything was where she'd left it -- not that she'd expected them to empty the place with her gone just a few days (well, Alec, maybe… but not if he had to do it himself…) There wasn't much beyond a spare laptop and a few changes of clothes, given that she preferred to stay in her apartment closer to downtown; the Loft was mainly a workplace-slash-hangout, handy for sleeping off a Thinker headache. She walked over to the bed and sat down.
She reached under her shirt, into the sports bra the Doctor had been kind enough to give her while unconscious (thank goodness he was a doctor, otherwise that would have been way creepy…) There, tucked away in her "Victoria's Secret Compartment", was the communicator she'd palmed when cutting off Taylor's wrecked clothing. The Doctor hadn't noticed, and Taylor had never asked… perhaps they'd thought it was destroyed by the acid?
She squeezed, being careful not to trigger it. The little gadget was her key to everything, if she played her cards right. There were groups who would kill every single one of the Undersiders without blinking for just a sample of Vulcantech. For access to the tinker's base? They'd depopulate cities. She had to be careful.
Okay… come on, power. You and I have some Thinking to do, you planetoid-sized lump of brain.
She pulled on her power, like she had so many times before, and it came rushing forth. It seemed… eager. Like one of Rachel's dogs whenever the Undersider was gone for an evening -- like it had missed her, and wanted to please her after her absence. Conclusions came to her with barely a twinge of Thinker-headache… did it know she'd seen it in the multidimensional flesh? How aware was it?
It didn't answer those questions. Instead, she closed her eyes, remembering her time in Vulcan's base, and let her power play across the memories. It was something she hadn't done in years, not since she'd first gotten her power… she didn't like thinking about the time before that. Even without the hyper-observancy she was able to apply to current situations, she was able to remember enough to let her power play…
[
Doctor is full artificial intelligence. Is capable of emotion. Doctor cares about his patients. Doctor cares about Vulcan. Is annoyed by Vulcan skipping her physical checkups. Is annoyed by patients skipping bed rest. Likes to sing-]
Lisa rolled her eyes… none of that was anything more than the Doctor was only too eager to tell her to her face. (Except the singing… so she hadn't been imagining the humming!) Still, it wasn't exactly what she was after. She tried again, this time keeping the tall, dark-haired girl in her mind...
[
Vulcan opposes interference of powers in human affairs. Strongly favours power of science. Strongly favours exploration and discovery. Emotions repressed, not absent. Vulcan totally dedicated to logic. Is not a Tinker in traditional sense. Vulcan understands technologies at fundamental level. Can teach her knowledge. Is technological Thinker.]
Holy. Fucking. Shit. She'd suspected, but somehow it was more real when her power told her so (which raised its own, worrisome questions…) A tinker who could teach… that was a game-changer in so many ways, not all of them good. Suddenly, keeping Taylor squirreled away on her moon base seemed like a really good idea. If the Elite ever got their hands on her, or -- God help them all -- the Yàngbǎn...
[
Vulcan is lonely. Doctor insufficient social contact. Worried logical conclusions will be inhumane conclusions. Worried excessive absence of social contact will result in devaluing human lives.]
She wasn't surprised by the next conclusion her power gave her, only that it gave it to her at all:
[
Vulcan needs a friend.]
Lisa sighed. In some ways it would have been easier if Taylor was a psychopath, or an unfeeling robot. But it didn't change what needed to be done. Reaching over to her desk, she dug into the drawers and pulled out one of her spare burner phones.
Taking a breath, she dialed a number from memory.
In both timelines, Coil was doing paperwork.
In one, he was at home in his study, sorting through contracts for the legitimate side of his empire. Payroll, material sourcing… even tax forms. Thomas Calvert was a good citizen, never indulging in more tax avoidance than would be expected from a reasonably intelligent and successful businessman.
In the other he was dealing with the other side of his business: hiring of mercenaries, bribing of members of every gang in the city -- including the PRT -- as well as the insuring that Mr Pitter had access to the drugs he would soon need, and was trained in their use. He also was quietly moving personnel around to protect his fronts… Brockton Bay was a powder keg at the best of times, but the sudden and surprise defeat of Lung was a lit match.
He didn't mind. His original plan had been to set Lung off… a small rampage in which a few members of the Undersiders might die, but would demonstrate the helplessness of the PRT. Some minor, mischievous teenagers losing their lives at a gang bosses' petty hands, while the capes responsible for protecting them stood around with their thumbs up their asses. He'd had the narrative all planned out: "Was joining the Wards a requirement for young capes to protect their own lives?"
The intervention of
Vulcan, of all people, had taken everyone by surprise. Including Coil, and as a rule he didn't like surprises. But he wasn't one to turn down opportunities, even surprise opportunities. The riskier the road, the greater the profit; and his power let him manage risk
very well.
The city was about to blow. It remained to be seen whether it would be the E88 seizing the chance to attack without Lung to push them back, or if it would be Lung's newly-acquired bomb tinker who would take the first steps. Either she'd seize power for herself, or she'd launch her own campaign to free Lung. Coil was ready for all eventualities.
As he was contemplating, the phone on his desk rang. He scowled -- it was a secret number, one only given to his highest-ranked subordinates, and all of those people should be executing his orders already. If it was another one of those tech support scams, someone was going to die. He'd make sure of it.
Reluctantly, he picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"
Hey, Boss!" chirped Tattletale's aggravating voice. He paused… she didn't
sound like someone freshly-maimed. Had that been a lie?
"Sarah," he replied calmly. He knew she hated the name, which of course was why he used it. "I see you've escaped Vulcan's care."
"
Yup! You would not believe
the crazy shit she's got in that place. You don't have to worry about the arm, she's got me all fixed up."
He frowned… it was lost leverage (he snorted at the pun in his spare timeline), but at the same time it was a substantial cost savings -- assuming he decided to keep his promise and not simply include the annoying Thinker in the same accomodations he had planned for Miss Alcott. He decided not to worry about it. "I see. And the task I assigned you?"
"
Oh. That.
`Get samples of her technology'. Well…" she drew the 'l' out to an aggravating degree. "
I grabbed a communicator."
"A `communicator'." He didn't bother keeping the blandness from his voice.
"
Oh, c'mon! Don't sound like that! Get this: Vulcan's tech is voice-controlled."
He knew that already from having read the reports of Vulcan's participation in the Simurgh battle. "And?"
That infuriating grin was actually audible over the phone. "
And you can issue commands via the communicator. How do you think I got it to teleport me down here?"
Coil was glad he could route his reactions into his other self as he used the spare timeline to draw in a shocked breath. When he was sure he wouldn't sound giddy, he replied, "So, you didn't steal a phone… you stole the key to Vulcan's front gate."
"
Yup!" She giggled. "
Whuddya say, Boss? Did I earn that Christmas bonus?"
"You've done very well, Tattletale," he answered honestly. "What `bonus' did you have in mind?"
"
Get Bitch away from the PRT. Medical treatment for Grue," she answered without hesitation.
"Agreed," he said. Truthfully, he'd been planning on both anyway… letting Lung rampage had suited his purposes, but since the Undersiders had managed to survive there was no point letting them go to waste. "And if your `acquisition' pans out, we can discuss monetary rewards for your team. Depending on what we manage to recover, they could be… substantial."
He was already planning it out. He'd need his very best mercenaries, certainly the bravest (or craziest) of the lot, and even then he'd likely waste several timelines on throwaway assaults on the her base… attacking a tinker in her workshop was never done lightly. But if he could obtain even a few of Vulcan's weapons, or dared he think of obtaining the tinker
herself-
But first things first; he dropped his other timeline and re-split. "First, I'll need to obtain that item."
In one timeline, he instructed her: "Remain where you are. I'll send a protective detail to escort you here. Please keep the item on your person… needless to say, if anyone else learns you have a piece of intact Vulcan technology, I don't believe the Unwritten Rules will deter them from hunting you."
In the other timeline, he told her: "Please make your way here as soon as possible. A protective detail will draw unnecessary attention. Remain inconspicuous… I don't believe I need advise you how sought-after Vulcan's technology is, nor to what lengths others would go to to obtain it."
He was surprised when, in both timelines, Tattletale responded with a gleeful, "
Oh, I'm not worried about that at all, Boss. Computer: one to beam up." Then the line went dead. He glared at the phone. What games was the girl playing, now?
"Team Alpha, make your way to the Undersiders' loft. Enter as needed, obtain Tattletale. She is in possession of a valuable item… restrain as needed, terminate the others if they interfere," he instructed.
"Team Alpha, make your way to the Undersiders' loft. Hold and observe only," he also commanded.
He had only just finished issuing orders to confirm her location via call trace when, in both timelines, he was suddenly surrounded by swirling light. He lurched to his feet, shouting for his guard-
He was… someplace else. It was a dim room, small; he found himself standing on some kind of platform, pitted and with faintly glowing circles visible under his feet and embedded in the ceiling. A few yards in front of him was a wide, elevated console. And behind that console was the subject of his vexation: Tattletale, bereft of mask, half her hair missing, and clad in what looked to all the world like gold silk pajamas with a badge of some sort pinned just above her breast.
That
fucking grin spread across her face as she looked at him, like she was experiencing the joy of Christmas morning. "Hi, Boss!"
"Tattletale-" he began to snarl. Then he realized he had only
one timeline! What had happened to the other? He attempted to split again… the timeline didn't split. He tried again with the same result. What-...
"Ahh," she said, and her grin grew, more toothy than he'd ever seen on her even at her most arrogant. "I wouldn't have known, you know… it could have been one of your body doubles. But a double wouldn't have tried to use a power and failed… and
flinched." Her voice was silken. "Hello, Coil. Or should I say Thomas? After all, you're not `Coil' here."
"Tattletale-" he repeated, taking a step-
"Ah, ah, ah!" Suddenly she had what looked like a hot glue gun out and aimed at him, the metal of its construction belying any such mundane origins. He froze. "That's right… a little gadget Vulcan put together. You'd be
amazed at what it does to human skin. Step back," she ordered, her smile gone. He hesitated, but obeyed. "Good boy."
He was starting to sweat underneath his costume, but kept the nervousness out of his voice with an effort. "What do you hope to accomplish here, Sarah?"
"Accomplish? Nothing. This is me, monologuing. I'm known for that, y'know? Don't worry… I'm gonna say my piece, and then I'm going to beam you back down… and if you're good, you don't have to find out what this-" she waved the weapon in her hand -"does to you. Which you should be concerned about, since you can't `control fate' here, can you? No do-overs."
She smirked. "Vulcan gave me the idea, you know…
pre-cognition as simulation. If your power was just two-path precog, then how do you beat that? The same way she did: by coming at it from outside. So I promised the rat a piece of cheese" - she fingered the badge on her chest - "which made you restart your simulation, so you could try to cover all the bases. Then I know where you are. And thanks to Vulcan, we have this lovely place which can't be pre-cogged. Here, we can… discuss things. All civilized and stuff." She smiled. "If it makes you feel better, you would have beaten me, if we'd stayed where your power actually
meant something. My plan kinda hinged on it."
He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her, so many times, and in so, so many ways. And when he wasn't killing her, she was going to be drugged to her eyeballs and begging him for more. "So Vulcan has suborned you," he concluded, somehow managing to hide his fury without another timeline to divert it into. "What did she offer, then?"
"Nothing!" she said happily. "Well, she
did 3D-print me a sapphire the size of my fist, and that's pretty awesome… I like glittery things, so sue me. But she just… did it. Like: `Here… here's a rock worth more money than you've ever seen in your life, just because.' You know what she asked for in return? Not a
fucking thing."
She shook her head. "I didn't believe it until I could check it with my power. I didn't think people like that still existed, you know? Everyone wants something… but not everybody thinks they deserve what they want. I think I forgot that. Can you believe it? Me, of all people, forgetting that." Her thoughts turned inward briefly, and for a brief moment Coil considered trying to rush her, to grab the tinkertech weapon, but the lack of spare timeline made him more nervous than he cared to admit.
It didn't matter; her gaze sharpened as she looked at him. "I deserve this, though: I want you out of my life. No more threats, no more fake promises. You're going to leave me alone, and you're going to leave the Undersiders alone."
"Concern about others beside yourself? That's unusually altruistic of you, Sarah."
She didn't react to the name. Instead, she simply shrugged. "You're right. But it occurred to me when I thought about it, without my power distracting me: I like them. Brian, Rachel… even Alec. They didn't ask to be what they are any more than I did. So you're going to leave them alone. Don't worry about their problems, the bullshit solutions you promised them… I'll deal with those."
"You've got a weapon pointed at me," he pointed out. "Do you expect me to disagree?"
"Not at all. I expect you to agree to anything, and the minute you get back to Earth you're going to start plotting. You'll kill me, or enslave me, and maybe kill the others just to hurt me. I mean, if you wanna be logical -- and trust me, Vulcan
loooooves logic -- I should kill you, here and now." He shifted… he wasn't going to just die, not without a fight…- "But I'm not going to. After all, I said I'd send you back, and unlike you, I keep my promises."
"So you trade one master for another. Do you expect Vulcan won't find a way to use you as well?"
She shrugged again. "Maybe she will. In fact, I'm hoping she does, because I want to be useful. Because you know what? I think I like her, too. But I don't like
you."
Her chin lifted, speaking to the air: "Computer? Beam him back to
where he started." He gasped as the swirling light seized hold of him again, the world dissolving away. When the light faded, he found himself not back in his office, but standing in the middle of a lonely street.
He blinked; it was outdoors, and daytime, but the lamp posts were archaic… not proper electrical lights, they looked like they took ordinary candles. The houses along the row were likewise throwbacks, their exteriors simple plaster or wooden shakes. The street wasn't asphalt, but cobblestones. The entire town looked like something from a movie… in fact, it could have been mistaken for a fantasy kingdom like the Wizard of-
Coil's blood ran cold.
Fantasy kingdom. Tattletale, you bitch!
Before he could react, a small creature stepped around the corner. It was small and ugly, potbellied with a too-large nose and scrawny limbs, yet was dressed in a medieval outfit that featured nothing less than a doublet and pantaloons. It saw him and its beady eyes went wide as it squawked loudly with alarm. More squawks could be heard as the residents of Ellisburg awoke to the intruder in their midst.
He split the timeline and ran. In one, he bolted for the containing wall as fast as his feet could take him, while in the other he sought cover, trying to sneak out.
In the first he died before even got close to the wall. In the second, third, fourth, and fifth, Nilbog's creatures sniffed him out and ran him down.
He was run through with a lance wielded by a goblin in chitin-like armour before he could create a sixth.
"Where have you been?" The Doctor had met her the moment she'd re-entered sickbay, his arms crossed and an aggravated look on his face. Behind him Taylor was still sleeping quietly, which was probably all that was preventing him from giving Lisa the tongue-lashing he clearly had saved up.
"I had stuff I had to take care of in Brockton Bay," she excused sheepishly.
"That arm is less than two days old!" he growled quietly. "You're supposed to stay here so that I can monitor for signs of rejection, not galavant around a city breathing in automobile exhaust!" He threw up his hands in frustration. "You and her… why did she even bother giving me audio output if nothing I say is going to be heard?"
Lisa smiled. "Well, I think you've got a
lovely voice."
The compliment caught him off-guard, distracting him from his rant. He blinked, blushing slightly. "I… well, thank you. Now, if only you'd pay attention to the content sometime."
"I'll try. Speaking of which…" She held out the communicator to him in one hand, and the dermal regenerator in the other. She'd made her jaunt back to Brockton Bay to call off Coil's mercenaries, and now it was time to hand them back. If she wanted to make this opportunity work, stealing from Taylor wasn't the way to start.
The Doctor took them from her. The regenerator he ignored, but he turned the communicator in his fingers. "I'd wondered where that had gotten to," he remarked dryly as he eyed her. He pondered it for a moment, then reached out to pin it back onto her shirt. At her questioning look he merely raised an eyebrow. "If she wants it back, she'll say so."
She won't was left unsaid.
Lisa's throat tightened, but she pushed back the emotion. "Do you think she'd let me stay? Like… to help out, and stuff?"
"I think something could be arranged. If you ask."
She grinned, one that was somehow more honest and less sinister than her usual. "And maybe have friends over? And maybe you could look at them? Brian broke his knee, and Rachel apparently has a bunch of burns which the PRT hasn't bothered to have Panacea heal. Of course, we'll have to get her away from the PRT, but I'm sure they'd roll over if it was
Vulcan asking..."
He glared at her. "And do they pay attention to doctor's orders as well as you?"
It took a microsecond's thought about the pair to answer that question. "Worse!"
"You're going to be unceasingly annoying, aren't you?" he sighed.
She hooked her arm (the new one!) around his. "Haven't you heard? That's my
superpower."
(fin)