- Location
- England
Geg. Otherwise known as Vod Cowby.
(Worm) To Boldly Grow...
- Thread starter ScottotheUnwise
- Start date
- Superhero
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Fixed. I blame the old laptop keyboard. R is target self by default in COH which I do find myself playing a lot when I should be doing —well a lot of things.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Ascalon?
---
Nice episode. AI meets far more advanced AI is fun. Dragonslayers get Dragon-slain. Alexandria finds she can't just order the Guild around.
What could go wrong?
...
Investing in a really good (external?) keyboard may be wise... A friend was using the same 'schoolchild proof' k/b (1996 model?) three laptops on...
EDIT:
Yeah, a PS/2 to USB converter was involved. But, this also supported an old heavy-duty PS/2 3-button trackerball, which isn't obviously available in USB form... All into one USB socket, if you've a shortage of these...
Last edited:
I've been using an ancient PS/2 Model M kbd built in '86. As far as I can tell, it's pretty much indestructible (even though some of the keys are worn so bad the text is gone and they're polished smooth). A USB->PS/2 adapter and you'd be up and running with fewer spelling errors in no time. There are also plenty of current keyboards available that have similar properties, no adapter needed.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Thank you and @Ace Dreamer for catching those. Ka-fixed.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
In Purity's (ahem deluded) mindset Keptain's interference in her deniable overwatch resulted in Empire forces trying to rescue Purity —blowing away the smoke. The pretend hero part was shooting at the Marchers but really targeting anyone closing on their position. Playing up restraint in not blasting gang members indiscriminately.
Kaiser should have disavowed Purity on site, but she can't blame him for caring. The ah infidelity anyone might point out misses that here they have something closer to a polygamous marriage set, or maybe a Friday (Heinlein) group marriage inclusive of the twins. Not really delving into it, but it made a sort of sense.
Kayden <> logic, film at 11.
Parahumans <> logic, lecture at noon.
I had a thought after last chapter that just re-surfaced.
How will Beardmaster's shard [EFFICIENCY] react to seeing a fully functional starship that's earring sized? Doesn't that kinda trump any kind of miniaturizing Colin has ever done?
I had a thought after last chapter that just re-surfaced.
How will Beardmaster's shard [EFFICIENCY] react to seeing a fully functional starship that's earring sized? Doesn't that kinda trump any kind of miniaturizing Colin has ever done?
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
I'm reasonably sure the idea is that he doesn't get this opportunity. Hence the implied "He'll be searching the Boat Graveyard" area. Also, dimensional shuffling, even if it's in a slightly different direction to that shards normally use, nice tech, but probably not a massive surprise, once it's looked at. Sort of a reverse of what the Valkyrie twins do? Related to Dodge of Toybox's stuff?
Sorry. I'd quite like to see [EFFICIENCY] going blue-screen, too.
Last edited:
Log entry 12 12.11.10
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Log entry 12 12.11.10 ----------------------------------------------
Taylor
Saturday dawned with a fresh text message on the cell line Freyja had set up for calls from New Wave.
'Keptain. The PRT requests your group of four come in and register as affiliates. A dog and pony show, pizza with the Wards. This is the polite offer, I would suggest taking it. Panacea and Glory Girl will be on site to assist in testing and monitor as a neutral party. At the Rig. Lunchtime.'
"Oh ha. Packing the building with teenagers sounds like quite a party indeed."
Hmm, I called Madison first as she was the most likely to have a reason not to go.
"Clements residence, Robert speaking." Military sounding voice.
I decided to play it straight without saying anything actionable. "Mr. Clements, this is Taylor, I'm a friend of Madison."
He hummed. "Really? I was of the understanding that a real friend would have noted her absence from school during the day she was abducted."
"I am the friend who tipped off the capes who did find her…" I note.
"In that case, how may I help you Miss Hebert?"
I think about it for a moment. "Madison and the rest of our circle of friends have been invited for a day out at the local amusement attraction. There will be something of a job fair in the offing, food, games of chance, the usual."
"As long as we understand that any job Madison takes requires parental sign off. She can interview for any position, but her mother and I get final say." He explained. "I will get her heading your way. I assume she knows where to meet you?"
"She has a map."
The click of him hanging up was followed by another click. "Freyja, how many listeners were on the line?"
"Inside the residence, his wife. Outside, well I can assure you there were two more parties listening. Whether the call was retransmitted is unknown."
"Were any of them PRT?"
"Absolutely. But unusually well connected without being in the direct chain of command." Freyja seemed distracted in her voice pattern, "This seems oddly familiar."
I called Sophia and gave her the same spiel but on the comms directly. She would 'happen' to meet us down by the docks near the movie theater. We would lose ourselves in the crowd and reappear in costume on our way to the landside of the light bridge. We could take the tourist bus or just make our own way across after signing in on the landside.
"I am not riding in the bus with the plebes." Sophia declared.
I sighed. "We will do this according to their rules. If they say we only come to the Rig on tricycles we will peddle." I snigger. "I would PAY good money to see that actually."
"Say what?" I wonder if she realized the old TV show she was parroting.
Emma and I were already on the bus, heading across town toward the northern Boardwalk area. Movie theater, game rooms, skate park.
Freyja to us by comms, "Have you considered what you will call your group?"
Oof. Had not thought that part out. "Thoughts?"
Sophia grunted. "We have a ship and a Keptain, why not go with Crew?"
Rolling eyes all around dutifully replayed on screens. Displayed right on our eyes as an overlay, this allowed us visual information as well as the audio from the earpieces in our conversation.
Madison's suggestion, with a sly wink, was "Swarm" but she just got booed.
Emma thumbed her way through a search on her 'phone', really just an interface to Freyja's connection.
"We should totally reference something about Freyja, but stick with the vague and unusual. What about using another word or phrase in Norwegian to stay consistent?"
"Keptain is hardly Norwegian." I note. "It is Hume in origin."
Freyja hummed for attention. "They are not mutually exclusive. In the history that survived to be recorded, the language was picked as standard because the largest group of survivors of a nuclear exchange –well, those with access to technology that still worked– spoke the language. There were shifts in pronunciation, a smattering of borrowed words in Rus or Chin, but you get the idea."
"Fine. What about Smaa?" I called on the memories implanted to translate "Small"
Madison didn't get it. The others did and considered. Possibly deferring to the Keptain by default.
"It means small." Freyja noted for Madison.
She brightened. "Oh, well that still nicely keeps my powers in theme. But if we use it won't that suggest details about Freyja?"
"If we go by Smaal", she added an 'l' at the end to draw it out, "we could easily talk about 'Smaal acts of kindness'."
"Seconded." Sophia bluntly started the vote.
"All in favor?"
Four "ayes." and one "acceptable.", later we were going to call ourselves SMAAL.
The bus let us off at the north end of the Boardwalk, a contested section that was mostly tourists, PRT themed cafes and a few of the things known to be Lung's holdings –openly. The reality is he had his fingers in many things not fully understood even by Thinkers.
Filing off the bus in two pairs, we split off from each other to make it harder to track us. Emma and I went into Fugly Bob's place and put in an order for the mini sliders they sold, something like a Krystals burger with pumpernickel rolls for the bread. It was a special they were running during the holiday months, so us getting a bag of twenty was nothing special.
Exiting and heading into a small park nearby, we passed out of sight and were gone.
Sophia stopped by a display of clothing and then she was gone from sight, Trjegul flying from the spot to link up with Madison a moment later. Madison turned into an alley, walked up to a dumpster and dissolved into a mass of bugs. Her choice was to fly over to the light bridge as a mass of butterflies and gold beetles.
***********************
Near the building on the shore that acted as a guard post as well as a small bunker at times, squads of Troopers were stationed, alternating between time on watch and relaxed readiness.
"I have a cloud of butterflies heading down the street –against the wind.", this from Hansen in the second floor watch point. "Make that a mix of butterflies and something glinting in the light."
Checking the duty roster, Lt. Mash offered. "We are expecting four new capes coming in for a social call. One of them is a bug theme."
"Master or Changer?"
"Tentatively it is showing 'Bugs, yes'." a small sigh. "I was hoping it was just bad intel. Now it seems to be intel of the bad."
Chuckles from those close to him. A fireplug of a man, short and fairly wide for his stature. A fool would call him fat and then Eat. Those. Words.
Painfully. With a side of boot leather.
"I suppose I should present a friendly face." He doffed his helmet's face shield, exposing a somewhat scarred American Indian features.
Coming out of the building's open doorway he almost ran into Pestilence reforming into a slightly taller than Maddie format.
She eeked a little as she was busy ironing out the details of her 'costume' as it were.
"Sorry about that miss. You would be Pestilence then?" He waited for a quick nod. "I was told to expect four."
We had been ready to come out at any point but his tapping foot made me signal a pause with the others for a moment.
"We are just about there." I said into the comms.
Madison curtsied, adjusting her composition from being largely roach to mostly beetles and ladybugs for a little color. Dragonflies for hair, spiders holding things together in places.
"They will be here any moment. Shadow Stalker, for instance, highly values sneaking up on people."
"You don't say." Lt. Mash made a point of cleaning his right ear with a pinky.
As he took it out, the hair on his arm stood up as he felt breath on the same side. "Yes, I do."
Turning, he noted the young –woman– unless his nose was completely failing him, standing there with some kind of multi armed rifle looking thing pointed down, her weight visibly resting on it midair. Dark one-piece clothing, red on the top with a dark jacket to match the bottoms in bumpy black material. Her face was covered in a visor that wrapped around with almost horns among her thick Afro hair.
"Shadow Stalker." Lt. Mash checked off two names on his sheet. "And?"
I stepped out from behind Pestilence on the right, Gingembre on her left. "Keptain."
I nod to Emma who stands up straight for her moment. "Gingem–" She breaks off as he turns around, checking off the two names and walking away.
"Bridge up! Five minutes duration on the first leg. Board the bus or start moving, the first section drops whether you are across or not." His voice rang out like a hammer.
Looking over, the sightseer bus was full to the brim. No room. Right.
"Ladies, we ride on top."
Pouting slightly, Emma jumped to the roof of the sightseer bus. Sophia phased up through the edge of it, playing at a no-clipping game cheat. I flew to it as it began to move, feet locking to the rooftop for stability.
Pestilence, well, she coated the windows as her swarm version climbed up the sides of the bus to reform in a sitting position on the side. The only one of us who swayed as it built up speed on the bridge was Gingembre, playing up using her claws to hold on.
The sightseeing bus slowed down after passing the first marker, the beginning of the second segment of the light bridge. Looking back, the first segment winked out of existence and the next section about a block ahead changed to a brighter color –becoming solid. At the end of the current segment the force field bubble around the Rig opened a facet that encompassed the bridge for just a count of ten as we passed through, then reformed.
"They take their defenses seriously." Emma noted. "Unless much of the fields are for show." She winked at me, sure that we were being monitored.
"We are not visiting to scope out weaknesses." I say.
Sophia scoffed. "Doesn't hurt to call them out. Just because we have powers does not mean we are who we said we are."
The phone number given to New Wave rang a moment later. Answering it visibly though we did not need to do so, got an answer to that.
"You have powers AND you are carrying a phone answering the number given to New Wave." The voice was known nationally as belonging to Miss Militia.
"I note they did not say they gave you this number." I respond while fangirling on the inside. My visible response was just a raised eyebrow toward the speakerphone in my hand.
There was a pause as if considering how to phrase it. "Affiliate phone have features that can be remotely activated. Lady Photon agreed to put us in touch, which allowed us to access the contact information stored in the phone."
Emma said it best from where she crouched. "Note to self, no embarrassing pictures on any affiliate equipment." She deadpanned it with such aplomb I almost broke through the reserve of the ranking officer present to giggle.
Gingembre however tittered at her own jokes.
I heard another voice on the line. "Teenagers. Spare me the posturing." Older. Female. Sounded like stripes rather than bars, or maybe a Mustang? Ah the memories jumping in to fill in gaps.
"Is that your commanding officer I hear?" I say.
"It is. Emily Piggot, Director of East North East. Who am I addressing?" She seemed bemused by the change in conversation.
"Keptain, speaking." I wait a moment. "The four of us represent Smaal."
That got a little bit of a chuckle from the battle hardened voice. "I assume you didn't just change your mind mid word. What language is that?"
I may not be the only one with implanted memories jumping to the fore. Shadow Stalker spoke up from where she squatted, next to Pestilence. "Kongenes tungen."
I chuckle at the silence. "Or Vas Hume if you prefer. Either way it just means what it sounds like, 'small'. We don't plan to expand or to hold territory or really to patrol in any sense."
"Hah. That doesn't sound like any cape I know of. You spandex types are drawn to fights like moths to flame."
"Hey!" Pestilence piped up, "I resemble that remark."
"Not patrolling is not being neutral. I mean that we are not going to hunt villains or rob banks. I believe the category would be something like Rogue."
Miss Militia's voice spoke up again. "You don't want to go the Rogue path."
I saw we were almost to the Rig itself, turning into a small parking area that looped the deck above where the fast boats dock. There was just enough room for the bus to turn around, then it stopped. The tourists that had been aboard filed off, but lined up not to enter, they instead formed a double row of phone-camera-wielding amateur paparazzi.
"I suppose we should go inside. Be there momentarily, Director." I hung up on her.
The four of us dropped down, two reforming out of smaller components –a gas and bugs– while Gingeembre just hopped into a 3 point landing. I floated down in as annoying a fashion I could, rotating around in a flip end for end.
Being the tall one was a mixed blessing.
White long hair, gray skin, gold top and black bottoms. Gingembre in blue top to contrast with her red fur/hair, dark bottoms. Shadow Stalker in a dark jacket over red top and black bottoms, now shouldering her weapon.
As the pictures started, Pestilence changed to show a green top with black bottoms of a suit. Her green metal visor matched the others among us, gold for mine, silver for the other two.
We passed into the visitors area, the gift shop, and then onward into the corridors that closed behind us as we moved into the Rig proper.
I pretended not to notice a few items from the gift shop appear on the table of the bridge itself.
A Legend plushie. Two action figures. A t-shirt with the image of Armsmaster and Assault on the front.
Children.
I totally did not send a mug bearing Alexandria's visage to the quarters I'd taken over aboard ship.
But I did pause at the door to materialize a small stack of bills on the cashier's counter to cover the items. Even the exorbitantly priced plushie. We aren't thieves.
Yet.
Taylor
Saturday dawned with a fresh text message on the cell line Freyja had set up for calls from New Wave.
'Keptain. The PRT requests your group of four come in and register as affiliates. A dog and pony show, pizza with the Wards. This is the polite offer, I would suggest taking it. Panacea and Glory Girl will be on site to assist in testing and monitor as a neutral party. At the Rig. Lunchtime.'
"Oh ha. Packing the building with teenagers sounds like quite a party indeed."
Hmm, I called Madison first as she was the most likely to have a reason not to go.
"Clements residence, Robert speaking." Military sounding voice.
I decided to play it straight without saying anything actionable. "Mr. Clements, this is Taylor, I'm a friend of Madison."
He hummed. "Really? I was of the understanding that a real friend would have noted her absence from school during the day she was abducted."
"I am the friend who tipped off the capes who did find her…" I note.
"In that case, how may I help you Miss Hebert?"
I think about it for a moment. "Madison and the rest of our circle of friends have been invited for a day out at the local amusement attraction. There will be something of a job fair in the offing, food, games of chance, the usual."
"As long as we understand that any job Madison takes requires parental sign off. She can interview for any position, but her mother and I get final say." He explained. "I will get her heading your way. I assume she knows where to meet you?"
"She has a map."
The click of him hanging up was followed by another click. "Freyja, how many listeners were on the line?"
"Inside the residence, his wife. Outside, well I can assure you there were two more parties listening. Whether the call was retransmitted is unknown."
"Were any of them PRT?"
"Absolutely. But unusually well connected without being in the direct chain of command." Freyja seemed distracted in her voice pattern, "This seems oddly familiar."
I called Sophia and gave her the same spiel but on the comms directly. She would 'happen' to meet us down by the docks near the movie theater. We would lose ourselves in the crowd and reappear in costume on our way to the landside of the light bridge. We could take the tourist bus or just make our own way across after signing in on the landside.
"I am not riding in the bus with the plebes." Sophia declared.
I sighed. "We will do this according to their rules. If they say we only come to the Rig on tricycles we will peddle." I snigger. "I would PAY good money to see that actually."
"Say what?" I wonder if she realized the old TV show she was parroting.
Emma and I were already on the bus, heading across town toward the northern Boardwalk area. Movie theater, game rooms, skate park.
Freyja to us by comms, "Have you considered what you will call your group?"
Oof. Had not thought that part out. "Thoughts?"
Sophia grunted. "We have a ship and a Keptain, why not go with Crew?"
Rolling eyes all around dutifully replayed on screens. Displayed right on our eyes as an overlay, this allowed us visual information as well as the audio from the earpieces in our conversation.
Madison's suggestion, with a sly wink, was "Swarm" but she just got booed.
Emma thumbed her way through a search on her 'phone', really just an interface to Freyja's connection.
"We should totally reference something about Freyja, but stick with the vague and unusual. What about using another word or phrase in Norwegian to stay consistent?"
"Keptain is hardly Norwegian." I note. "It is Hume in origin."
Freyja hummed for attention. "They are not mutually exclusive. In the history that survived to be recorded, the language was picked as standard because the largest group of survivors of a nuclear exchange –well, those with access to technology that still worked– spoke the language. There were shifts in pronunciation, a smattering of borrowed words in Rus or Chin, but you get the idea."
"Fine. What about Smaa?" I called on the memories implanted to translate "Small"
Madison didn't get it. The others did and considered. Possibly deferring to the Keptain by default.
"It means small." Freyja noted for Madison.
She brightened. "Oh, well that still nicely keeps my powers in theme. But if we use it won't that suggest details about Freyja?"
"If we go by Smaal", she added an 'l' at the end to draw it out, "we could easily talk about 'Smaal acts of kindness'."
"Seconded." Sophia bluntly started the vote.
"All in favor?"
Four "ayes." and one "acceptable.", later we were going to call ourselves SMAAL.
The bus let us off at the north end of the Boardwalk, a contested section that was mostly tourists, PRT themed cafes and a few of the things known to be Lung's holdings –openly. The reality is he had his fingers in many things not fully understood even by Thinkers.
Filing off the bus in two pairs, we split off from each other to make it harder to track us. Emma and I went into Fugly Bob's place and put in an order for the mini sliders they sold, something like a Krystals burger with pumpernickel rolls for the bread. It was a special they were running during the holiday months, so us getting a bag of twenty was nothing special.
Exiting and heading into a small park nearby, we passed out of sight and were gone.
Sophia stopped by a display of clothing and then she was gone from sight, Trjegul flying from the spot to link up with Madison a moment later. Madison turned into an alley, walked up to a dumpster and dissolved into a mass of bugs. Her choice was to fly over to the light bridge as a mass of butterflies and gold beetles.
***********************
Near the building on the shore that acted as a guard post as well as a small bunker at times, squads of Troopers were stationed, alternating between time on watch and relaxed readiness.
"I have a cloud of butterflies heading down the street –against the wind.", this from Hansen in the second floor watch point. "Make that a mix of butterflies and something glinting in the light."
Checking the duty roster, Lt. Mash offered. "We are expecting four new capes coming in for a social call. One of them is a bug theme."
"Master or Changer?"
"Tentatively it is showing 'Bugs, yes'." a small sigh. "I was hoping it was just bad intel. Now it seems to be intel of the bad."
Chuckles from those close to him. A fireplug of a man, short and fairly wide for his stature. A fool would call him fat and then Eat. Those. Words.
Painfully. With a side of boot leather.
"I suppose I should present a friendly face." He doffed his helmet's face shield, exposing a somewhat scarred American Indian features.
Coming out of the building's open doorway he almost ran into Pestilence reforming into a slightly taller than Maddie format.
She eeked a little as she was busy ironing out the details of her 'costume' as it were.
"Sorry about that miss. You would be Pestilence then?" He waited for a quick nod. "I was told to expect four."
We had been ready to come out at any point but his tapping foot made me signal a pause with the others for a moment.
"We are just about there." I said into the comms.
Madison curtsied, adjusting her composition from being largely roach to mostly beetles and ladybugs for a little color. Dragonflies for hair, spiders holding things together in places.
"They will be here any moment. Shadow Stalker, for instance, highly values sneaking up on people."
"You don't say." Lt. Mash made a point of cleaning his right ear with a pinky.
As he took it out, the hair on his arm stood up as he felt breath on the same side. "Yes, I do."
Turning, he noted the young –woman– unless his nose was completely failing him, standing there with some kind of multi armed rifle looking thing pointed down, her weight visibly resting on it midair. Dark one-piece clothing, red on the top with a dark jacket to match the bottoms in bumpy black material. Her face was covered in a visor that wrapped around with almost horns among her thick Afro hair.
"Shadow Stalker." Lt. Mash checked off two names on his sheet. "And?"
I stepped out from behind Pestilence on the right, Gingembre on her left. "Keptain."
I nod to Emma who stands up straight for her moment. "Gingem–" She breaks off as he turns around, checking off the two names and walking away.
"Bridge up! Five minutes duration on the first leg. Board the bus or start moving, the first section drops whether you are across or not." His voice rang out like a hammer.
Looking over, the sightseer bus was full to the brim. No room. Right.
"Ladies, we ride on top."
Pouting slightly, Emma jumped to the roof of the sightseer bus. Sophia phased up through the edge of it, playing at a no-clipping game cheat. I flew to it as it began to move, feet locking to the rooftop for stability.
Pestilence, well, she coated the windows as her swarm version climbed up the sides of the bus to reform in a sitting position on the side. The only one of us who swayed as it built up speed on the bridge was Gingembre, playing up using her claws to hold on.
The sightseeing bus slowed down after passing the first marker, the beginning of the second segment of the light bridge. Looking back, the first segment winked out of existence and the next section about a block ahead changed to a brighter color –becoming solid. At the end of the current segment the force field bubble around the Rig opened a facet that encompassed the bridge for just a count of ten as we passed through, then reformed.
"They take their defenses seriously." Emma noted. "Unless much of the fields are for show." She winked at me, sure that we were being monitored.
"We are not visiting to scope out weaknesses." I say.
Sophia scoffed. "Doesn't hurt to call them out. Just because we have powers does not mean we are who we said we are."
The phone number given to New Wave rang a moment later. Answering it visibly though we did not need to do so, got an answer to that.
"You have powers AND you are carrying a phone answering the number given to New Wave." The voice was known nationally as belonging to Miss Militia.
"I note they did not say they gave you this number." I respond while fangirling on the inside. My visible response was just a raised eyebrow toward the speakerphone in my hand.
There was a pause as if considering how to phrase it. "Affiliate phone have features that can be remotely activated. Lady Photon agreed to put us in touch, which allowed us to access the contact information stored in the phone."
Emma said it best from where she crouched. "Note to self, no embarrassing pictures on any affiliate equipment." She deadpanned it with such aplomb I almost broke through the reserve of the ranking officer present to giggle.
Gingembre however tittered at her own jokes.
I heard another voice on the line. "Teenagers. Spare me the posturing." Older. Female. Sounded like stripes rather than bars, or maybe a Mustang? Ah the memories jumping in to fill in gaps.
"Is that your commanding officer I hear?" I say.
"It is. Emily Piggot, Director of East North East. Who am I addressing?" She seemed bemused by the change in conversation.
"Keptain, speaking." I wait a moment. "The four of us represent Smaal."
That got a little bit of a chuckle from the battle hardened voice. "I assume you didn't just change your mind mid word. What language is that?"
I may not be the only one with implanted memories jumping to the fore. Shadow Stalker spoke up from where she squatted, next to Pestilence. "Kongenes tungen."
I chuckle at the silence. "Or Vas Hume if you prefer. Either way it just means what it sounds like, 'small'. We don't plan to expand or to hold territory or really to patrol in any sense."
"Hah. That doesn't sound like any cape I know of. You spandex types are drawn to fights like moths to flame."
"Hey!" Pestilence piped up, "I resemble that remark."
"Not patrolling is not being neutral. I mean that we are not going to hunt villains or rob banks. I believe the category would be something like Rogue."
Miss Militia's voice spoke up again. "You don't want to go the Rogue path."
I saw we were almost to the Rig itself, turning into a small parking area that looped the deck above where the fast boats dock. There was just enough room for the bus to turn around, then it stopped. The tourists that had been aboard filed off, but lined up not to enter, they instead formed a double row of phone-camera-wielding amateur paparazzi.
"I suppose we should go inside. Be there momentarily, Director." I hung up on her.
The four of us dropped down, two reforming out of smaller components –a gas and bugs– while Gingeembre just hopped into a 3 point landing. I floated down in as annoying a fashion I could, rotating around in a flip end for end.
Being the tall one was a mixed blessing.
White long hair, gray skin, gold top and black bottoms. Gingembre in blue top to contrast with her red fur/hair, dark bottoms. Shadow Stalker in a dark jacket over red top and black bottoms, now shouldering her weapon.
As the pictures started, Pestilence changed to show a green top with black bottoms of a suit. Her green metal visor matched the others among us, gold for mine, silver for the other two.
We passed into the visitors area, the gift shop, and then onward into the corridors that closed behind us as we moved into the Rig proper.
I pretended not to notice a few items from the gift shop appear on the table of the bridge itself.
A Legend plushie. Two action figures. A t-shirt with the image of Armsmaster and Assault on the front.
Children.
I totally did not send a mug bearing Alexandria's visage to the quarters I'd taken over aboard ship.
But I did pause at the door to materialize a small stack of bills on the cashier's counter to cover the items. Even the exorbitantly priced plushie. We aren't thieves.
Yet.
Last edited:
missing"
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Missed her chance and missed her quotation marks.
YuffieK
(Verified Ninja Princess)
Hmm. It seems that Freyja does take after her submarine ancestors. Sealed and surrounded by certain death and "if a
- Location
- Deep in the Badlands of Equestria
You left out a word, FTFY.
"Loot it to the bedrock." Is never a bad idea.
Single night to locate/tag a bunch of weapons/drug/money caches (from each of the local gangs), then on a diff night, go empty them all out quietly by transporter (or whatever Freyja is calling it these days). Everyone thinks a rival gang done it, nobody has a clue HOW they done it, and you have some working funds for future purchases.
Single night to locate/tag a bunch of weapons/drug/money caches (from each of the local gangs), then on a diff night, go empty them all out quietly by transporter (or whatever Freyja is calling it these days). Everyone thinks a rival gang done it, nobody has a clue HOW they done it, and you have some working funds for future purchases.
- Location
- Livin' in the Land of the LOST! *roar*
If you think extra-official supply management is a purely American, or even submarine thing, I have to suspect you've never worked with a supply-oriented person. It's just that in civilian life, they're called well-organized hoarders.You left out a word, FTFY.
Log entry 12a Supplemental 12.11.10
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Log entry 12a Supplemental 12.11.10 ----------------------------------------------
Our entry into the Rig was anticlimactic at best. The rooms turned out to be a sort of cafeteria area for the Troopers and Protectorate mixed with several conference room setups that had their walls recessed to make it a larger area. They'd removed most of the folding tables and stacked the extra chairs, but it made Winslow of all places look newer in comparison.
A red suited figure –Assault I think– stepped forward to welcome us. "Pay no attention to the scuff marks and dingy paint, this was a working oil rig for years before the Protectorate gained its use. Come forth young … people and partake of pizza!" His voice skipped a beat on seeing Pestilence up close.
Point for Madison.
A blue clad female figure with circuits turned away from opening pizza boxes to shove him aside. "And don't mind Assault, he just has to live up to his name sometimes." She set down a stack of paper plates to step forward and offer her hand. "Battery."
"Keptain."
"Gingembre."
"Shathow Thocker." First slice already in hand, talking around a trail of cheese.
"Pestilence!" Madison made a showy stance like out of some bad anime, then shifted from a mass of insects to a human girl wearing a green themed suit like my own. "Have to play it as Hume form so I don't gross out the pizza eaters." She smiled as Gingembre moved past her with an appreciative meow sound toward –yep– sardines.
Point for Emma.
I'm not sure if Sophia deserved a point for managing to ghost past Battery to snag both plate and slice in one move, let alone wolf half of it down, but then I wasn't raised by wolves.
"Decorum, ladies. Keep a hand free to shake. Or wipe as needs be."
Murmured responses told the tale.
There were other capes nearby, moving into the room but giving us space for a time. Miss Militia, Velocity in a corner thumb typing into a tablet, Triumph in his lion themed suit, Dauntless passed through with someone in a bird themed suit on their way out.
"Yeah, we have a patrol group heading out to cover things while we have this little meet and greet." Battery noted.
"Did you get voluntold to be our handler?" Sophia asked point blank.
Ah, there is a point for sure.
Blushing a little. "Well, it was either me or Triumph being closest in age. Or maybe pull in Aegis of the Wards. They should be here any minute, all but Clockblocker and Browbeat who are finishing a morning patrol. Vista will be along as soon as they reach the downtown HQ and then the three of them can be here in a jiffy."
I frown a little. "How so?"
She confided clearly. "We don't exactly advertise it, but Vista in one of Dragon's transports can cross the city in less than a minute."
"Ah, spatial compression. That must be convenient." I took a paper plate and found a slice of Buffalo pizza to take a bite. The chicken was nicely done and the spicy sauce was proof it came from one of the better Pizza places in town.
Treads from a heavily armored form coming into the room showed that Armsmaster had arrived. I was inwardly trying not to fangirl, aside from Alexandria he had been my favorite while growing up. Standing taller I realized I was looking down slightly as he approached.
"Keptain. I appreciate your promptness. We have a number of activities scheduled to avoid an overly tedious power testing scenario. Food, games, people of your age group to mingle." His delivery showed he was reading from a script.
"I can't promise to stay all day, but I thank you for the invitation." My stressing the last word got a chuckle out of Assault who was hovering close while Battery did her best to stay between him and any one of us.
"Will Freyja be joining us?" He asked.
I paused. She hadn't mentioned contacting them, but I could not fault her checking out the 'natives' as she could. "Freyja is always with us, in the chair so to speak. She coordinates our outings. Any question addressed to her in our presence can be answered if she so chooses."
Letting her know I approved of some sharing was fine.
"Thank you Keptain." Her voice came from my right, a foot tall image of her appearing on the table looking up at us. She chose the image of her previous captain, looking like my mother in this form. I rolled my eyes.
Fairly quickly the four of us were split off, each with a minder or two. Shadow Stalker was ushered to an exterior walkway where a firing range was set up vs targets out on the water, buoys or tethered balloons.
I watched how Miss Militia eyed the bolt caster as Shadow Stalker explained some of its functions.
I found myself addressed by a PRT officer, turning to find my entourage had split aside for a blonde hefty woman with an unfortunate bowl haircut. She moved with a certain hesitance, but like nothing would stop any step she took.
"You know how to handle standing among giants I see. I've seen adult capes near faint just being around this crowd." She accepted a small plate with some carrots and dipping sauce.
I smile a little at that. "I was raised with a rough crowd. You learn to hold your ground at the barbecue or find yourself hungry with only a hot dog at the end of the steaks."
She raised an eyebrow. "That sounded almost local. I was beginning to believe the rumors you are from outer space."
My smile unfolds. "There are rough places in space as well, but yes, I was locally sourced. Freyja, however, is not from this Earth."
"This Earth." She probes, ending it with a bite of carrot.
"Of course that is subjective, since she's been here for longer than humanity has. Since before most of the dinosaurs as well. She was trapped, and I set her free." I gesture down my chest. "All this is her way of saying thank you."
Her eyes drift to the open doors and rail of the shooting area. "Shadow Stalker was a known vig." She said that last like saying 'fridge' "here in the Bay. And Pestilence is a fresh trigger or my name isn't Piggot." And that was said like 'Pidge -oh'.
"Ah, Director Piggot." I said it right just to prove I'd caught the way she had. "I was not expecting to be welcomed by the local SO." I snapped to attention and laid three fingers over my heart. "You do my crew proud for the personal welcome. We are SMAAL." I clicked the heels on my suit together.
Her eyebrows climbed further as she noted Gingembre and Pestilence had both turned and saluted the same way. Shadow Stalker was outside and chose not to be part of the moment. I could give her that as she was still giving a rapid- fire description of what she could do with the bolt caster to a rapt Miss Militia.
I wave toward Sophia. "Don't mind my security officer talking shop. She doesn't get to show off her toys to appreciative audiences."
"Security? Now you have my attention. What does that make her?" She pointed at Gingembre.
"Science officer. While she is new, Pestilence will be working closely with her in a more specific Life Sciences role… Biology, she is a natural." I confide to her behind the cup of Sprite I'd slipped back into my hand.
She must have noticed my hand that had emptied for the salute, then where the cup reappeared just as I moved to take a sip.
"Fascinating." She chinned toward the double doors as the Wards filed in. "I look forward to speaking with you further, but I think the power testing groups are ready to start."
There were a few more minutes there as the Wards grabbed a slice or two and were promised the rest of the pizza would still be there later. I had Freyja beam a half pie of Buffalo Chicken pizza onto the ship into a storage compartment for later. The Director swept through the protectorate capes with a nod and relatively kind word, but she bumped fists with Troopers as she moved out of the area.
"The Director is a mustang, an officer from the ranks." Freyja murmured.
I chuckled while mouthing "I know." Turning to find a white coated man and a Ward in powered armor, ah Gallant approaching.
'You seem amused by the Director." He offered.
Shaking my head. "She just seems more at ease with the Troopers than the capes under her command. That usually happens when you spend more time in the ranks than at the rank."
Gallant seemed puzzled by this but the man in the lab coat laughed. "Dr. Phil Wenchovsky, PTG. You have that right. She was a field operator in her time, with enough pull to take an OCS commission instead of forced retirement. Her call sign was Lady back in the day." he held up a clipboard. "We have some standard tests if you don't mind sharing. Are you willing to let us scan your tech?"
I smiled, knowing this was coming. "No. it will stay with me, thanks. But I am willing to demonstrate certain uses in front of passive scans. To anyone but me or my crew our weapons are so much inert metal and carbon." I take out my stunner and turn it carefully upside down into my other hand.
He grunts. "No visible seams. Internal lighting with no clear buttons. Keyed to fingerprint?"
I shake my head slightly. "Genetic scan." I look at Gallant. "Catch."
Tossing it to him, he nearly fumbles it. He does lose his grip as it slips between his armored fingers with no friction to speak of. I raise a finger and it stops midair, spinning slightly.
I nod to the doctorate holder. "You can pick it up from there, nothing will activate."
He reached out and handled it. "As smooth as it appears. Oils don't stick to it." He wobbles it up and down. "It weighs less than a feather."
I shake my head. "It is much heavier than that but is set to move where directed. Or stay where I say to." As I say that it locks into place, unbudging.
Gallant tries to push it with his power armor, the whine of the servos picking up before he stops, "That is like Clockblocker's power." He says finally.
I wrinkle my nose under the visor. "Less time stasis, more fixed to relative coordinates and actively flying to the same point against any force. Like her bolt caster." I point to Shadow Stalker, who is standing on her bolt caster to the appreciative looks of Kid Win and Browbeat.
That worthy looked familiar, oddly quiet and shying away from direct looks. Was that Sparky? Noooo.
I shook my head at the odd thought.
"How do you have Tinker weapons and still have parahuman powers like flight and whatever it was that let you ignore Purity's blast?"
I shrug. "I never said I have parahuman powers. I am not in fact a parahuman." gesturing at my gray skin and then the white hair showing around my visor. "I just have good genes."
"Pull the other one, it has bells on." He deadpanned.
"Okay then. My weapons and other tech are not Tinker tech. They are Hume made."
Dr. Wenchovsky perked up at that. "Hume. You say that like it means something different from human, but not fully."
I trace a 'one' in the air for him. "Point, Doctor. Freyja's people are the Hume. She comes from somewhere, perhaps somewhen else." I salute him with my cup of soda.
I float up and pose as he plays a scanner of some kind across my feet and legs. "I can't detect anything being emitted. Wait." He brushed across the image of my ankle. "Ahah, a breaker state. Like Shadow Stalker but less like a cloud. You become a hologram."
We had always intended for them to make this assumption. It would leak but it would cover the fact that my method of passing through solid objects still required the Freyja ship sized passage. I could be trapped still, yet this 'proved' that I could pass through things anyway.
And then there was Freyja's ability to push or pull using the tractor beams. They offered nonlethal options that 'looked' like telekinesis with a few special effects thrown in. To play into it, I put a hand to my temple to trigger the effects.
With a pink glow around my eyes and head I caused a chair to slide across the floor toward me.
"Interesting. Is that an application of your flight or a separate power?"
I merely sat down in my freshly acquired chair. This was a game of trolling where we could and downplaying other areas. No one was asking how I fixed the corner of the building, yet I could feel them thinking about it. No. It wasn't mind reading, was it? I was starting to buy into the story.
********************************
Gingembre
Emma smiled as she found herself the subject of interest by a strong looking Hispanic boy and a tiny Chinese woman in a lab coat.
"I know I am Gingembre. And you are Aegis. And you?" She poured on the accent a bit.
"I am Dr. Flower Signal." The woman said.
Tilting her head and tapping an ear. "Did I hear that right? Flower … Signal?"
Smiling widely, the little woman nodded. "Yes, yes, that is what my name means. But in English it is Hua Zhao."
"Oh, right. Translator kicked in on me. I think it is still set from when we passed through ABB territory. So much easier when you know what people are saying about you. I can turn it off." I did so, not wanting any sudden phrases to be mistaken for now.
Aegis had been rolling over some kind of apparatus. It looked like a handle for a dumbbell set into a metal cylinder on wheels. "Behold the strength tester! Bane of all Brutes near and far." He hit a switch and it seemed to anchor itself to the floor. "Lifting force is measured in pounds, please let up if it sounds like the floor is bending."
"Demonstrate, por favor."
He grasped the handle and pulled. The readout lit up and showed a number going up past one fifty and slowing before it reached two hundred. It looked hard.
"And you."
Dr. Zhao waved something around like a meter or a tricorder –hah!-- as I stepped into position.
"The object is to lift?" I said, pulling it up. Bygul, my little shuttle and tugboat in training shifted its output to assist, forming up a short range but powerful lifting force. The number rose. Five hundred came and went.
A low screech hit my ears. "Oopsie!" The slightly smoking apparatus dropped to zero and Dr. Zhao turned off the mechanism that held it to the metal flooring, rolling it aside. There was a visible deformation like a bubble there, red and angry.
I stepped over to it, raising a foot knee high. Kicking down I flattened the bump with a muffled thump. The noise should have been deafening, but Bygul muted it for me and my delicate ears.
"Sigue siendo mi corazón" I heard Aegis whisper. I turned the translation on again and had Bygul play it back.
I smile brightly at him now, as he blushes brightly behind his mask. "I have very good hearing, you know."
"That should not have worked that way." Dr Zhao noted. "The force required to flatten that would have pushed you up to the ceiling!"
A sudden presence of a short girl in a green filmy dress next to us raised a hand and offered. "I got this… Powers are bullshit." She had been all the way across the room, but seemed to stretch into position close in one step.
Aegis clapped a hand over his face. "Gingembre, this is Vista. Vista who should not swear in public."
She winked at me. "But we aren't in public. Are these the new Wards to be?"
I shook my head slowly. "To be or not to be. That is the question." I give her a curtsy. "Or is it the answer? We are but Rogues I fear, though friendly ones without a hall to our name."
She was noting the smoking strength tester. "You did that?"
"Not on purr-pose." I giggle a little as I play the cat theme up, pretending to lick a paw.
She looks at me askance and then at Aegis who is frozen. "I think … you broke him."
I turn my paw and let my claws out a moment, close enough to startle him out of his freeze.
"Do that again." Dr. Zhao and Vista both say in near unison.
I flex so my claws come out again, this time with my palm up.
"Those are metal!" The good doctor is using a camera phone to record.
"Very metal." Vista echoes. "Amazing, even."
I hold my other hand up in a shhhh pose. "I wasn't born exactly thus. There are some things that have been … changed for the better." I let my tail curl around and the end extends slightly to show the metal at the tip of the stunner/blaster. It was smaller than the Keptain's, but mine had a flower shaped focus that irised open to use it, and closed to hide it with the fur of the tail.
"Prehensile tail. Cybernetic additions surgically grafted." Dr. Zhao was rapt.
Vista sidled closer. "You have a wet Tinker in your group?"
I sniggered. "We have no Tinkers at all. All of our tech is standard manufacturing –for a cluster spanning space faring society." I add the last with a hand on hip. "Star Trek got many things right, and just as many wrong. Like the Prime Directive. I think you might find us as close to the Borg or maybe the Ferengi as to the Federation."
Her eyes just kept getting wider.
Or was that her power in action?
**********************
Shadow Stalker.
"Are you creating the bolts as you fire them?" Miss Militia was digging the bolt caster, that was fucking clear. It was like showing off a new car to a total gearhead.
"I can call more bolts to me as I need them, like you and your ammunition." Sophia grinned to herself. "There are all kinds of bolt tips that can be swapped out. Anchor tip with a zip line, and ascender to pull me up, taser tips, cameras, you name it."
"Get out." The red, white and blue bandana face cover didn't quite hide the smile. "What about a flashbang?"
"Yep. Got those as well as smokers and choke and puke dispensers." I nod.
She winces. "Those aren't legal in this state."
"Considering I would only fire them at people firing illegal guns –or powers– at us, I think we would get a pass." I added confidently.
"Do you have a spare?" She asked.
"Trjegul, bring up the spare. Unlock to guest mode, ally in the field. Twenty bolts." I spoke, A moment later I passed over a bolt caster just like mine, but a gray color to my black. That was the default coloration without the 'skin' active.
Miss Militia echoed the movements I mimed to open the arms and rack in a bolt to the ready position.
"And you just sight in the target and shoot." I add.
Thwut.
The dampers keep down the noise. It was already winding in another tension pair, the next bolt in place and ready to fire as it cranked the third pair of arms ready for the next shot.
Miss Militia hummed to herself as she felt her power feeling around the device. It wasn't like the Tinker laser thing Kid Win had made. That had been slippery to her power, an unknown thing. She could form the outer casing but never the interior that made it work.
This?
She let go and watched it hold position in the air.
This bolt caster was real to her.
She flexed her abilities leaving a glowing green bolt caster in her hands.
"So much for borrowing." Sophia huffed quietly. Raising her voice, she called attention to Miss Militia sighting in her new toy. "She terk mah job!"
Assault, over where Battery had him hemmed in, was now laughing so hard he spilled his coke.
**************************
Off to the side, feeling like a wallflower now, Pestilence sat with a half eaten slice of pizza and a coke to hand. She was still in human form but was playing with a spider she'd found living on the Rig. it wasn't huge but it was clearly a hunting spider.
A voice cleared nearby. It was Kid Win, fresh from taking a moment to 'wash his hands'. "You like spiders? I have a pet tarantula at home."
"Really?" She smiled. "I can become any insect, spider or apparently anything with a chitin carapace. Or any combination of them. And control any of the above within roughly line of sight."
"Damn." He tapped the pistols and then his helmet. "And I thought I was lucky to be able to make stuff. That is a strong power there."
"Bugs?" Pestilence made a face, deprecating her own abilities.
"Wait, if I can pull up a picture, can you try something more exotic?" Kid leaned in as he typed on his phone. "Or are you limited to North American insects?"
Madison, bless her heart, just watched as he brought forth a picture of something vile and horrific. She immediately changed into one, then a dozen, then made it even bigger than what the picture showed.
"Cool!" He typed some more, with a few clicks. "This is from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, A Meganeura."
The pile of pale spider horrors each the size of a kitten danced happily and shifted to a Dragonfly with a four-foot wingspan. It looked around and buzzed, sounding like a drone as it took off.
I heard Assault clear his throat, then say in a bad Aussie accent. "Crikey! That's a biggun."
Battery turned to hit him but was upstaged by the woosh of Vista appearing next to Kid Win so fast she seemed to be teleporting. She grabbed his phone with a flourish. "No!" She winced as an even larger version of the Dragonfly passed in a tight loop around her. "We do not feed the Trolls!"
"Freyja, are there larger insects in the fossil record?" Pestilence speaks, having reformed in her clothed human form, but with a ten inch Dragonfly perched on her arm. "Or other things from where you come from?"
Ah she was smiling at Vista with a truly evil grin forming as the green dress shook in a moment of horror. Then she was somehow behind Kid Win, placing him between herself and Madison.
*********************
I got a notification from Freyja.
"Pestilence is requesting access to off-world insects as templates." Her little avatar displayed a screen next to the figure which showed something with many, many legs moving along a cliff. It wasn't until it zoomed in that I could see trees like palms brushing its underside.
I glanced over to Pestilence. She seemed so earnest, but there was also the figure of Battery who moved in between us and was waving 'no' vehemently. Well, at least Freyja had been projecting this video on only one side.
"I think we had better hold that for a later date. Save it for an Endbringer event unlock?"
Letting the screen next to her avatar dissipate, Freyja nodded primly. "As you say, Keptain."
Battery paused and looked at me quizzically. "The way she says that, like you are her commanding officer…"
"But I am her Keptain. It is as simple as that." With that I moved off to check on Pestilence now, who was wheezing a little after going back for another spin as a Meganeura.
Madison looked up at me with a flushed look in her human form, green suited version. "Too long in that form and nothing else is bad juju. It felt like I was suffocating."
"That would make sense. The oxygen was more abundant when that creature was common. Book lungs do not work as well."
"Coconut crab!" Kid Win was holding up another image.
Frowning. "That isn't an insect…"
A solid click of pincers next to me said that mattered little. She was almost three feet across in this form, at least two high in places.
Kid Win smiled wide. "She did mention crabs and exoskeletons being in her remit."
I murmured in a way only Freyja would catch. "Also lock down any off-world exoskeleton life forms. Especially any with carnivorous tendencies."
Pestilence turned my way. "Awww." She pouted a little as I noted the small gnats that had been monitoring me, perhaps all of us. She deserved another point or two there.
Then she grinned again. "I did see what she projected, by the by. But I won't do that indoors, just in case."
"As you were." I nod toward the space where Vista had been, a dolly zoom effect filling in as she stepped out of the room all the way to where Shadow Stalker was consulting with Miss Militia.
********************
By midafternoon, I'd raced with Dauntless to shore and back (after his patrol ended), letting him win… for now. No sense showing all our cards. Madison left them with a web covered wall, the material forming ropes in places. Shadow Stalker had gotten Miss Militia's promise not to overuse the bolt caster. Gingembre had mostly held her own against Browbeat and Aegis in various feats. A certain Clock themed Ward was still hiding after surprising Pestilence. It appears the rest if her continues unchecked if one part is frozen—even the human part.
Then came the dreaded pitch.
"You would all do better as Wards. It is a safe place to learn powers, to build camaraderie and public trust."
Odd that they'd put Battery up to making the pitch. I would have expected Miss Militia to be the one. Or, from the side eye Battery was giving the USA themed cape, that might have been the way it was supposed to happen.
"We are fine as we are. We already know our powers. We can act as Affiliates and will join in for disasters. We don't need the public to trust us, we have you for that." I counter her arguments with no heat. We can be friendly but not side with the Protectorate party line.
The carrot was pushed aside so the stick was brought out.
"If you find yourself in trouble with the law, you may lose that independence you seem to care for. Rogues are not allowed to sell products that cannot be reproduced by normal manufacture. If you compete with existing businesses, the government will shut you down."
"Odd. I haven't heard any word about Toybox being shut down."
Frowning. "Toybox is a villain organization."
"Really? Didn't they outsource the force fields used right here? Or was that a different group?" I keep my smile just touching my lips.
She waved that off. "That hardly counts. You spoke of being Rogues. What business will you be working in?"
Shadow Stalker beat me to the line. "Noneya."
Sniggers from around the room showed that the Ward teens were picking up on it, as did Assault.
"Oh puppy, no." He whispered.
"What do you mean, Noneya?" Battery growled.
"None ya business." Sophia smirked. She aimed her bolt caster over the rail and fired a grappling hook out, angling toward the parking area where the bus was preparing to leave.
Gingembre, Pestilence and I were already on Freyja, the tiny ship covered by an image of the crumpled paper plate my image threw across the room to the can by the same doorway to the firing rail. The flipper spun as if something had gone into the can, but Freyja continued on, catching up to Shadow Stalker's image. Trjegul had beamed her aboard, the smoke cloud he released covering her trail.
Our images inside pixelated then broke up into inch sized blocks of light that scattered across the floor of the room.
***********************
This left the Protectorate and Wards pretty much alone with their thoughts.
An email pinged to each of them, Armsmaster's automated scheduling software sending them to their various usual Saturday taskings now that the Director's little party had broken up.
Battery fended off Assault's arms and moved to where Hannah was cradling her new power created toy. "Why didn't you make the pitch? The Thinkers said you were the most likely to get through to them!"
Pausing, she let the caster dissolve and reform into a pistol in the holster at her hip. "I believed that until I spoke with Stalker." She looked out to the light bridge forming up to take the midafternoon tourists back to shore. "They think and act like a military unit. There is no way they will go for a split up and you know every Director would be fighting tooth and nail to get one of them. Well, maybe not Tagg. He has an issue with spiders."
She looked over to see Armsmaster coming in with Director Piggot, hip to hip. "You saw it?"
Nodding, Emily Piggot grimaced. "I don't know exactly where a teenager picks up a thousand-yard stare, but Keptain had it. Armsmaster has let it slip that he and Dragon made contact with Freyja directly. They are keeping secrets –the reasoning behind which I may yet disagree on– but suffice to say they have adult supervision."
Assault tried to say something, but found Battery's hand covering his lips.
She said what they all were thinking.
"Who are you and what have you done with the Director?"
It was the first time they'd seen the woman smile in months.
**********************
Max Anders was reading a report. It was hardly real time but his moles had slipped off to report this group, SMAAL, was visiting the Rig itself today. "I think you should table this grudge you have for Keptain and her girls. They are all but Wards in fact."
Kayden Anders sat up from the tanning bed, glowing brighter than the bed did when active. "Visiting is not joining. There will be a time for them to stand in the spotlight. They had better be wearing enough sunscreen."
That tore it. Kayden was off her rocker if she thought… He raised his hand with the glass of wine held to sniff. Kaiser, the man who had run the Empire for the last ten years noted the cloud of smoke curled around his feet. If Fog were here, then Night could be anywhere about in the shadows of the office. He would be doing nothing, for now. Instead, he picked up the wine bottle and poured some more into the glass.
"Purity, be a dear and tell Fog to stop posing around the floor. This isn't some old movie."
Our entry into the Rig was anticlimactic at best. The rooms turned out to be a sort of cafeteria area for the Troopers and Protectorate mixed with several conference room setups that had their walls recessed to make it a larger area. They'd removed most of the folding tables and stacked the extra chairs, but it made Winslow of all places look newer in comparison.
A red suited figure –Assault I think– stepped forward to welcome us. "Pay no attention to the scuff marks and dingy paint, this was a working oil rig for years before the Protectorate gained its use. Come forth young … people and partake of pizza!" His voice skipped a beat on seeing Pestilence up close.
Point for Madison.
A blue clad female figure with circuits turned away from opening pizza boxes to shove him aside. "And don't mind Assault, he just has to live up to his name sometimes." She set down a stack of paper plates to step forward and offer her hand. "Battery."
"Keptain."
"Gingembre."
"Shathow Thocker." First slice already in hand, talking around a trail of cheese.
"Pestilence!" Madison made a showy stance like out of some bad anime, then shifted from a mass of insects to a human girl wearing a green themed suit like my own. "Have to play it as Hume form so I don't gross out the pizza eaters." She smiled as Gingembre moved past her with an appreciative meow sound toward –yep– sardines.
Point for Emma.
I'm not sure if Sophia deserved a point for managing to ghost past Battery to snag both plate and slice in one move, let alone wolf half of it down, but then I wasn't raised by wolves.
"Decorum, ladies. Keep a hand free to shake. Or wipe as needs be."
Murmured responses told the tale.
There were other capes nearby, moving into the room but giving us space for a time. Miss Militia, Velocity in a corner thumb typing into a tablet, Triumph in his lion themed suit, Dauntless passed through with someone in a bird themed suit on their way out.
"Yeah, we have a patrol group heading out to cover things while we have this little meet and greet." Battery noted.
"Did you get voluntold to be our handler?" Sophia asked point blank.
Ah, there is a point for sure.
Blushing a little. "Well, it was either me or Triumph being closest in age. Or maybe pull in Aegis of the Wards. They should be here any minute, all but Clockblocker and Browbeat who are finishing a morning patrol. Vista will be along as soon as they reach the downtown HQ and then the three of them can be here in a jiffy."
I frown a little. "How so?"
She confided clearly. "We don't exactly advertise it, but Vista in one of Dragon's transports can cross the city in less than a minute."
"Ah, spatial compression. That must be convenient." I took a paper plate and found a slice of Buffalo pizza to take a bite. The chicken was nicely done and the spicy sauce was proof it came from one of the better Pizza places in town.
Treads from a heavily armored form coming into the room showed that Armsmaster had arrived. I was inwardly trying not to fangirl, aside from Alexandria he had been my favorite while growing up. Standing taller I realized I was looking down slightly as he approached.
"Keptain. I appreciate your promptness. We have a number of activities scheduled to avoid an overly tedious power testing scenario. Food, games, people of your age group to mingle." His delivery showed he was reading from a script.
"I can't promise to stay all day, but I thank you for the invitation." My stressing the last word got a chuckle out of Assault who was hovering close while Battery did her best to stay between him and any one of us.
"Will Freyja be joining us?" He asked.
I paused. She hadn't mentioned contacting them, but I could not fault her checking out the 'natives' as she could. "Freyja is always with us, in the chair so to speak. She coordinates our outings. Any question addressed to her in our presence can be answered if she so chooses."
Letting her know I approved of some sharing was fine.
"Thank you Keptain." Her voice came from my right, a foot tall image of her appearing on the table looking up at us. She chose the image of her previous captain, looking like my mother in this form. I rolled my eyes.
Fairly quickly the four of us were split off, each with a minder or two. Shadow Stalker was ushered to an exterior walkway where a firing range was set up vs targets out on the water, buoys or tethered balloons.
I watched how Miss Militia eyed the bolt caster as Shadow Stalker explained some of its functions.
I found myself addressed by a PRT officer, turning to find my entourage had split aside for a blonde hefty woman with an unfortunate bowl haircut. She moved with a certain hesitance, but like nothing would stop any step she took.
"You know how to handle standing among giants I see. I've seen adult capes near faint just being around this crowd." She accepted a small plate with some carrots and dipping sauce.
I smile a little at that. "I was raised with a rough crowd. You learn to hold your ground at the barbecue or find yourself hungry with only a hot dog at the end of the steaks."
She raised an eyebrow. "That sounded almost local. I was beginning to believe the rumors you are from outer space."
My smile unfolds. "There are rough places in space as well, but yes, I was locally sourced. Freyja, however, is not from this Earth."
"This Earth." She probes, ending it with a bite of carrot.
"Of course that is subjective, since she's been here for longer than humanity has. Since before most of the dinosaurs as well. She was trapped, and I set her free." I gesture down my chest. "All this is her way of saying thank you."
Her eyes drift to the open doors and rail of the shooting area. "Shadow Stalker was a known vig." She said that last like saying 'fridge' "here in the Bay. And Pestilence is a fresh trigger or my name isn't Piggot." And that was said like 'Pidge -oh'.
"Ah, Director Piggot." I said it right just to prove I'd caught the way she had. "I was not expecting to be welcomed by the local SO." I snapped to attention and laid three fingers over my heart. "You do my crew proud for the personal welcome. We are SMAAL." I clicked the heels on my suit together.
Her eyebrows climbed further as she noted Gingembre and Pestilence had both turned and saluted the same way. Shadow Stalker was outside and chose not to be part of the moment. I could give her that as she was still giving a rapid- fire description of what she could do with the bolt caster to a rapt Miss Militia.
I wave toward Sophia. "Don't mind my security officer talking shop. She doesn't get to show off her toys to appreciative audiences."
"Security? Now you have my attention. What does that make her?" She pointed at Gingembre.
"Science officer. While she is new, Pestilence will be working closely with her in a more specific Life Sciences role… Biology, she is a natural." I confide to her behind the cup of Sprite I'd slipped back into my hand.
She must have noticed my hand that had emptied for the salute, then where the cup reappeared just as I moved to take a sip.
"Fascinating." She chinned toward the double doors as the Wards filed in. "I look forward to speaking with you further, but I think the power testing groups are ready to start."
There were a few more minutes there as the Wards grabbed a slice or two and were promised the rest of the pizza would still be there later. I had Freyja beam a half pie of Buffalo Chicken pizza onto the ship into a storage compartment for later. The Director swept through the protectorate capes with a nod and relatively kind word, but she bumped fists with Troopers as she moved out of the area.
"The Director is a mustang, an officer from the ranks." Freyja murmured.
I chuckled while mouthing "I know." Turning to find a white coated man and a Ward in powered armor, ah Gallant approaching.
'You seem amused by the Director." He offered.
Shaking my head. "She just seems more at ease with the Troopers than the capes under her command. That usually happens when you spend more time in the ranks than at the rank."
Gallant seemed puzzled by this but the man in the lab coat laughed. "Dr. Phil Wenchovsky, PTG. You have that right. She was a field operator in her time, with enough pull to take an OCS commission instead of forced retirement. Her call sign was Lady back in the day." he held up a clipboard. "We have some standard tests if you don't mind sharing. Are you willing to let us scan your tech?"
I smiled, knowing this was coming. "No. it will stay with me, thanks. But I am willing to demonstrate certain uses in front of passive scans. To anyone but me or my crew our weapons are so much inert metal and carbon." I take out my stunner and turn it carefully upside down into my other hand.
He grunts. "No visible seams. Internal lighting with no clear buttons. Keyed to fingerprint?"
I shake my head slightly. "Genetic scan." I look at Gallant. "Catch."
Tossing it to him, he nearly fumbles it. He does lose his grip as it slips between his armored fingers with no friction to speak of. I raise a finger and it stops midair, spinning slightly.
I nod to the doctorate holder. "You can pick it up from there, nothing will activate."
He reached out and handled it. "As smooth as it appears. Oils don't stick to it." He wobbles it up and down. "It weighs less than a feather."
I shake my head. "It is much heavier than that but is set to move where directed. Or stay where I say to." As I say that it locks into place, unbudging.
Gallant tries to push it with his power armor, the whine of the servos picking up before he stops, "That is like Clockblocker's power." He says finally.
I wrinkle my nose under the visor. "Less time stasis, more fixed to relative coordinates and actively flying to the same point against any force. Like her bolt caster." I point to Shadow Stalker, who is standing on her bolt caster to the appreciative looks of Kid Win and Browbeat.
That worthy looked familiar, oddly quiet and shying away from direct looks. Was that Sparky? Noooo.
I shook my head at the odd thought.
"How do you have Tinker weapons and still have parahuman powers like flight and whatever it was that let you ignore Purity's blast?"
I shrug. "I never said I have parahuman powers. I am not in fact a parahuman." gesturing at my gray skin and then the white hair showing around my visor. "I just have good genes."
"Pull the other one, it has bells on." He deadpanned.
"Okay then. My weapons and other tech are not Tinker tech. They are Hume made."
Dr. Wenchovsky perked up at that. "Hume. You say that like it means something different from human, but not fully."
I trace a 'one' in the air for him. "Point, Doctor. Freyja's people are the Hume. She comes from somewhere, perhaps somewhen else." I salute him with my cup of soda.
I float up and pose as he plays a scanner of some kind across my feet and legs. "I can't detect anything being emitted. Wait." He brushed across the image of my ankle. "Ahah, a breaker state. Like Shadow Stalker but less like a cloud. You become a hologram."
We had always intended for them to make this assumption. It would leak but it would cover the fact that my method of passing through solid objects still required the Freyja ship sized passage. I could be trapped still, yet this 'proved' that I could pass through things anyway.
And then there was Freyja's ability to push or pull using the tractor beams. They offered nonlethal options that 'looked' like telekinesis with a few special effects thrown in. To play into it, I put a hand to my temple to trigger the effects.
With a pink glow around my eyes and head I caused a chair to slide across the floor toward me.
"Interesting. Is that an application of your flight or a separate power?"
I merely sat down in my freshly acquired chair. This was a game of trolling where we could and downplaying other areas. No one was asking how I fixed the corner of the building, yet I could feel them thinking about it. No. It wasn't mind reading, was it? I was starting to buy into the story.
********************************
Gingembre
Emma smiled as she found herself the subject of interest by a strong looking Hispanic boy and a tiny Chinese woman in a lab coat.
"I know I am Gingembre. And you are Aegis. And you?" She poured on the accent a bit.
"I am Dr. Flower Signal." The woman said.
Tilting her head and tapping an ear. "Did I hear that right? Flower … Signal?"
Smiling widely, the little woman nodded. "Yes, yes, that is what my name means. But in English it is Hua Zhao."
"Oh, right. Translator kicked in on me. I think it is still set from when we passed through ABB territory. So much easier when you know what people are saying about you. I can turn it off." I did so, not wanting any sudden phrases to be mistaken for now.
Aegis had been rolling over some kind of apparatus. It looked like a handle for a dumbbell set into a metal cylinder on wheels. "Behold the strength tester! Bane of all Brutes near and far." He hit a switch and it seemed to anchor itself to the floor. "Lifting force is measured in pounds, please let up if it sounds like the floor is bending."
"Demonstrate, por favor."
He grasped the handle and pulled. The readout lit up and showed a number going up past one fifty and slowing before it reached two hundred. It looked hard.
"And you."
Dr. Zhao waved something around like a meter or a tricorder –hah!-- as I stepped into position.
"The object is to lift?" I said, pulling it up. Bygul, my little shuttle and tugboat in training shifted its output to assist, forming up a short range but powerful lifting force. The number rose. Five hundred came and went.
A low screech hit my ears. "Oopsie!" The slightly smoking apparatus dropped to zero and Dr. Zhao turned off the mechanism that held it to the metal flooring, rolling it aside. There was a visible deformation like a bubble there, red and angry.
I stepped over to it, raising a foot knee high. Kicking down I flattened the bump with a muffled thump. The noise should have been deafening, but Bygul muted it for me and my delicate ears.
"Sigue siendo mi corazón" I heard Aegis whisper. I turned the translation on again and had Bygul play it back.
I smile brightly at him now, as he blushes brightly behind his mask. "I have very good hearing, you know."
"That should not have worked that way." Dr Zhao noted. "The force required to flatten that would have pushed you up to the ceiling!"
A sudden presence of a short girl in a green filmy dress next to us raised a hand and offered. "I got this… Powers are bullshit." She had been all the way across the room, but seemed to stretch into position close in one step.
Aegis clapped a hand over his face. "Gingembre, this is Vista. Vista who should not swear in public."
She winked at me. "But we aren't in public. Are these the new Wards to be?"
I shook my head slowly. "To be or not to be. That is the question." I give her a curtsy. "Or is it the answer? We are but Rogues I fear, though friendly ones without a hall to our name."
She was noting the smoking strength tester. "You did that?"
"Not on purr-pose." I giggle a little as I play the cat theme up, pretending to lick a paw.
She looks at me askance and then at Aegis who is frozen. "I think … you broke him."
I turn my paw and let my claws out a moment, close enough to startle him out of his freeze.
"Do that again." Dr. Zhao and Vista both say in near unison.
I flex so my claws come out again, this time with my palm up.
"Those are metal!" The good doctor is using a camera phone to record.
"Very metal." Vista echoes. "Amazing, even."
I hold my other hand up in a shhhh pose. "I wasn't born exactly thus. There are some things that have been … changed for the better." I let my tail curl around and the end extends slightly to show the metal at the tip of the stunner/blaster. It was smaller than the Keptain's, but mine had a flower shaped focus that irised open to use it, and closed to hide it with the fur of the tail.
"Prehensile tail. Cybernetic additions surgically grafted." Dr. Zhao was rapt.
Vista sidled closer. "You have a wet Tinker in your group?"
I sniggered. "We have no Tinkers at all. All of our tech is standard manufacturing –for a cluster spanning space faring society." I add the last with a hand on hip. "Star Trek got many things right, and just as many wrong. Like the Prime Directive. I think you might find us as close to the Borg or maybe the Ferengi as to the Federation."
Her eyes just kept getting wider.
Or was that her power in action?
**********************
Shadow Stalker.
"Are you creating the bolts as you fire them?" Miss Militia was digging the bolt caster, that was fucking clear. It was like showing off a new car to a total gearhead.
"I can call more bolts to me as I need them, like you and your ammunition." Sophia grinned to herself. "There are all kinds of bolt tips that can be swapped out. Anchor tip with a zip line, and ascender to pull me up, taser tips, cameras, you name it."
"Get out." The red, white and blue bandana face cover didn't quite hide the smile. "What about a flashbang?"
"Yep. Got those as well as smokers and choke and puke dispensers." I nod.
She winces. "Those aren't legal in this state."
"Considering I would only fire them at people firing illegal guns –or powers– at us, I think we would get a pass." I added confidently.
"Do you have a spare?" She asked.
"Trjegul, bring up the spare. Unlock to guest mode, ally in the field. Twenty bolts." I spoke, A moment later I passed over a bolt caster just like mine, but a gray color to my black. That was the default coloration without the 'skin' active.
Miss Militia echoed the movements I mimed to open the arms and rack in a bolt to the ready position.
"And you just sight in the target and shoot." I add.
Thwut.
The dampers keep down the noise. It was already winding in another tension pair, the next bolt in place and ready to fire as it cranked the third pair of arms ready for the next shot.
Miss Militia hummed to herself as she felt her power feeling around the device. It wasn't like the Tinker laser thing Kid Win had made. That had been slippery to her power, an unknown thing. She could form the outer casing but never the interior that made it work.
This?
She let go and watched it hold position in the air.
This bolt caster was real to her.
She flexed her abilities leaving a glowing green bolt caster in her hands.
"So much for borrowing." Sophia huffed quietly. Raising her voice, she called attention to Miss Militia sighting in her new toy. "She terk mah job!"
Assault, over where Battery had him hemmed in, was now laughing so hard he spilled his coke.
**************************
Off to the side, feeling like a wallflower now, Pestilence sat with a half eaten slice of pizza and a coke to hand. She was still in human form but was playing with a spider she'd found living on the Rig. it wasn't huge but it was clearly a hunting spider.
A voice cleared nearby. It was Kid Win, fresh from taking a moment to 'wash his hands'. "You like spiders? I have a pet tarantula at home."
"Really?" She smiled. "I can become any insect, spider or apparently anything with a chitin carapace. Or any combination of them. And control any of the above within roughly line of sight."
"Damn." He tapped the pistols and then his helmet. "And I thought I was lucky to be able to make stuff. That is a strong power there."
"Bugs?" Pestilence made a face, deprecating her own abilities.
"Wait, if I can pull up a picture, can you try something more exotic?" Kid leaned in as he typed on his phone. "Or are you limited to North American insects?"
Madison, bless her heart, just watched as he brought forth a picture of something vile and horrific. She immediately changed into one, then a dozen, then made it even bigger than what the picture showed.
"Cool!" He typed some more, with a few clicks. "This is from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, A Meganeura."
The pile of pale spider horrors each the size of a kitten danced happily and shifted to a Dragonfly with a four-foot wingspan. It looked around and buzzed, sounding like a drone as it took off.
I heard Assault clear his throat, then say in a bad Aussie accent. "Crikey! That's a biggun."
Battery turned to hit him but was upstaged by the woosh of Vista appearing next to Kid Win so fast she seemed to be teleporting. She grabbed his phone with a flourish. "No!" She winced as an even larger version of the Dragonfly passed in a tight loop around her. "We do not feed the Trolls!"
"Freyja, are there larger insects in the fossil record?" Pestilence speaks, having reformed in her clothed human form, but with a ten inch Dragonfly perched on her arm. "Or other things from where you come from?"
Ah she was smiling at Vista with a truly evil grin forming as the green dress shook in a moment of horror. Then she was somehow behind Kid Win, placing him between herself and Madison.
*********************
I got a notification from Freyja.
"Pestilence is requesting access to off-world insects as templates." Her little avatar displayed a screen next to the figure which showed something with many, many legs moving along a cliff. It wasn't until it zoomed in that I could see trees like palms brushing its underside.
I glanced over to Pestilence. She seemed so earnest, but there was also the figure of Battery who moved in between us and was waving 'no' vehemently. Well, at least Freyja had been projecting this video on only one side.
"I think we had better hold that for a later date. Save it for an Endbringer event unlock?"
Letting the screen next to her avatar dissipate, Freyja nodded primly. "As you say, Keptain."
Battery paused and looked at me quizzically. "The way she says that, like you are her commanding officer…"
"But I am her Keptain. It is as simple as that." With that I moved off to check on Pestilence now, who was wheezing a little after going back for another spin as a Meganeura.
Madison looked up at me with a flushed look in her human form, green suited version. "Too long in that form and nothing else is bad juju. It felt like I was suffocating."
"That would make sense. The oxygen was more abundant when that creature was common. Book lungs do not work as well."
"Coconut crab!" Kid Win was holding up another image.
Frowning. "That isn't an insect…"
A solid click of pincers next to me said that mattered little. She was almost three feet across in this form, at least two high in places.
Kid Win smiled wide. "She did mention crabs and exoskeletons being in her remit."
I murmured in a way only Freyja would catch. "Also lock down any off-world exoskeleton life forms. Especially any with carnivorous tendencies."
Pestilence turned my way. "Awww." She pouted a little as I noted the small gnats that had been monitoring me, perhaps all of us. She deserved another point or two there.
Then she grinned again. "I did see what she projected, by the by. But I won't do that indoors, just in case."
"As you were." I nod toward the space where Vista had been, a dolly zoom effect filling in as she stepped out of the room all the way to where Shadow Stalker was consulting with Miss Militia.
********************
By midafternoon, I'd raced with Dauntless to shore and back (after his patrol ended), letting him win… for now. No sense showing all our cards. Madison left them with a web covered wall, the material forming ropes in places. Shadow Stalker had gotten Miss Militia's promise not to overuse the bolt caster. Gingembre had mostly held her own against Browbeat and Aegis in various feats. A certain Clock themed Ward was still hiding after surprising Pestilence. It appears the rest if her continues unchecked if one part is frozen—even the human part.
Then came the dreaded pitch.
"You would all do better as Wards. It is a safe place to learn powers, to build camaraderie and public trust."
Odd that they'd put Battery up to making the pitch. I would have expected Miss Militia to be the one. Or, from the side eye Battery was giving the USA themed cape, that might have been the way it was supposed to happen.
"We are fine as we are. We already know our powers. We can act as Affiliates and will join in for disasters. We don't need the public to trust us, we have you for that." I counter her arguments with no heat. We can be friendly but not side with the Protectorate party line.
The carrot was pushed aside so the stick was brought out.
"If you find yourself in trouble with the law, you may lose that independence you seem to care for. Rogues are not allowed to sell products that cannot be reproduced by normal manufacture. If you compete with existing businesses, the government will shut you down."
"Odd. I haven't heard any word about Toybox being shut down."
Frowning. "Toybox is a villain organization."
"Really? Didn't they outsource the force fields used right here? Or was that a different group?" I keep my smile just touching my lips.
She waved that off. "That hardly counts. You spoke of being Rogues. What business will you be working in?"
Shadow Stalker beat me to the line. "Noneya."
Sniggers from around the room showed that the Ward teens were picking up on it, as did Assault.
"Oh puppy, no." He whispered.
"What do you mean, Noneya?" Battery growled.
"None ya business." Sophia smirked. She aimed her bolt caster over the rail and fired a grappling hook out, angling toward the parking area where the bus was preparing to leave.
Gingembre, Pestilence and I were already on Freyja, the tiny ship covered by an image of the crumpled paper plate my image threw across the room to the can by the same doorway to the firing rail. The flipper spun as if something had gone into the can, but Freyja continued on, catching up to Shadow Stalker's image. Trjegul had beamed her aboard, the smoke cloud he released covering her trail.
Our images inside pixelated then broke up into inch sized blocks of light that scattered across the floor of the room.
***********************
This left the Protectorate and Wards pretty much alone with their thoughts.
An email pinged to each of them, Armsmaster's automated scheduling software sending them to their various usual Saturday taskings now that the Director's little party had broken up.
Battery fended off Assault's arms and moved to where Hannah was cradling her new power created toy. "Why didn't you make the pitch? The Thinkers said you were the most likely to get through to them!"
Pausing, she let the caster dissolve and reform into a pistol in the holster at her hip. "I believed that until I spoke with Stalker." She looked out to the light bridge forming up to take the midafternoon tourists back to shore. "They think and act like a military unit. There is no way they will go for a split up and you know every Director would be fighting tooth and nail to get one of them. Well, maybe not Tagg. He has an issue with spiders."
She looked over to see Armsmaster coming in with Director Piggot, hip to hip. "You saw it?"
Nodding, Emily Piggot grimaced. "I don't know exactly where a teenager picks up a thousand-yard stare, but Keptain had it. Armsmaster has let it slip that he and Dragon made contact with Freyja directly. They are keeping secrets –the reasoning behind which I may yet disagree on– but suffice to say they have adult supervision."
Assault tried to say something, but found Battery's hand covering his lips.
She said what they all were thinking.
"Who are you and what have you done with the Director?"
It was the first time they'd seen the woman smile in months.
**********************
Max Anders was reading a report. It was hardly real time but his moles had slipped off to report this group, SMAAL, was visiting the Rig itself today. "I think you should table this grudge you have for Keptain and her girls. They are all but Wards in fact."
Kayden Anders sat up from the tanning bed, glowing brighter than the bed did when active. "Visiting is not joining. There will be a time for them to stand in the spotlight. They had better be wearing enough sunscreen."
That tore it. Kayden was off her rocker if she thought… He raised his hand with the glass of wine held to sniff. Kaiser, the man who had run the Empire for the last ten years noted the cloud of smoke curled around his feet. If Fog were here, then Night could be anywhere about in the shadows of the office. He would be doing nothing, for now. Instead, he picked up the wine bottle and poured some more into the glass.
"Purity, be a dear and tell Fog to stop posing around the floor. This isn't some old movie."
Last edited:
Nah, it was revealed earlier/a few chapters ago that, in this fic's version of events, Purity was faking being a hero this whole time, and all the effort went to waste. Along with abandoning her civilian identity.
As I say
I point to
Log entry 13 12.13.10
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Log entry 13 12.13.10 ----------------------------------------------
The city was finally feeling the Christmas spirit.
Yeah, no. Even with the special day coming next week, the dreary corners were still dreary. The white snow was dingy gray everywhere but downtown near the most expensive stores. It was obvious they were spraying faux snow out to go with their decorative lights.
The dojo was closed down for the week while they fumigated for rats. The owners suspect it is payback for facing down the Empire marchers so brazenly. The inspector was clearly a sympathizer. But the DWA got the contract and I got to say hi to Kurt and Lacey in passing.
I decided to go visit Fenway, Barnes, Dallon and Howell in costume to see what it would take to incorporate in a way that would block a Protectorate play against our Rogue status.
It was me and Sophia, as Emma was tied up for that afternoon in a photoshoot –Anne being tasked to provide transport. As cover for heading downtown in costume, Sophia and I, onboard Freyja, hitched a ride with Emma as far as the parking garage. We flit off to the side in the shadows, changing to just my cape form as I directed us down the street toward the law offices.
As far as anyone watching would see, the Keptain was alone today.
Landing on the steps where I'd first met Sophia, I had to consider it an unusual echo of .. what, four months?
Opening the glass doors I walked confidently across the lobby area and cleared my throat.
"Excuse me, can you see if Henry Fenway is available for a consultation?"
The woman looked up from a set of paperwork she was reading and gave me a thin smile. "Name?"
"I go by Keptain."
She stood to find she was still looking up to make eye contact, huffed a little. "If you think wearing some gray makeup and a wig is enough to warrant Mister Fenway's time you have another thing coming!" She all but hissed the last bit.
I blinked. Palming –okay beaming the card he gave me into my hand and flipping it upright– his business card with the handwritten note on the back, I thought about it for a second. "Oh, right, bonafides. How about this? Can you see if Mr. Fenway is available to see Keptain and Shadow Stalker?"
She looked at me like I'd slipped a lemon into her fruit smoothie. "Who?"
I held my off hand out and had Freyja beam Shadow Stalker into position, holding my hand like she'd been there the whole time. I'd strongly suggested she leave the bolt caster on her shuttle, and she was without the short cape. In deference to the weather, she had the black jacket of ship's material, with piping in red to match the blue jacket I'd added, mine with gold piping. I suppose the jacket itself might have been enough to confuse the woman, but how many teenagers at nearly seven feet tall with gray skin and white hair are there?
"Shadow Stalker." Sophia clarified. "Chop chop. The man gave us an open appointment. Wouldn't it be better to see what he thinks you should do before you go and do it?"
I glanced down to the secretary's hand on the underside of the desk. "I do hope your security knows better than to pull weapons."
"Keptain, there is a cape coming down the elevator." Freyja noted.
I turned so I could see the elevator directly, noting Sophia's stance going to 'ready'
"Calmly, Stalker. Don't start a fight."
As the doors slid open a bright light from within resolved into a fireplug of a woman, or rather a woman shaped glowing energy form. She had a mace and shield at the ready and only paused to check left and right.
Then she lunged out to the counter. The fact that she didn't swing on us was the only thing that prevented Freyja firing on her.
"Brandish." I nod to her slowly, waiting.
She took me and Shadow Stalker in, lowered her mace and visibly grumbled, "Fran, I love you to death hon, but that button is for villains!"
Fran pursed her lips and did that head shake thing that goes so well with a darker skin color. "They aren't signed with the Protectorate, the Guild or New Wave. Not listed as corporate capes or running a business, that is close enough to being a vill for me."
I wave a little, "Excuse me. Here to see Henry Fenway at his invitation. Might be able to satisfy the Rogue part if we don't get caught up in a fight with his coworker."
On cue, Mr. Fenway came in from a side door, wiping his hands with a paper towel. "I saw the alert light flashing in there but I don't hear any sounds of fighting as yet. Can we all just settle down and listen for a moment?"
I swear, the man could stand in for Matlock, though this time it wasn't a powder blue suit but a beige one. "Ah, Keptain. I was hoping you might swing by. And I see you brought Shadow Stalker as well." He smiled easily, gesturing toward an open conference room door. 'Fran, I will see them in two. Carol, if you wish to sit in?"
"No, no. I need to go and calm down Mr. Peters. Poor man is worried his wife is being Mastered of all things. Having the attack light come on has him under the desk. I may touch base with you later, Keptain, Stalker." She saluted with her mace then dismissed it from existence, the glow around her faded as she resumed more of a business wear look.
Closing the door on Fran and the lobby area, He immediately became less jovial but still friendly. "Call me Henry ladies. Are we speaking alone or will you have another by phone or other means?"
He points to seats around a table, taking a yellow legal pad out and a pen. I find myself raising an eyebrow. "You expect there to be more than just us?"
"Well, Shadow Stalker is known to me in her civilian identity, as is her mother. In our prior exchanges, she has requested to be present for anything binding." He jots down a note or two, in shorthand I think or else he writes like a doctor. "There is also a standard procedure to establish client privilege, a retainer fee. A dollar is considered enough."
I take out my phone and set it on the table face up. "We will have another present and can bring in our other members for a final draft or signing paperwork. Freyja, would you please handle the retainer?"
in the chair next to me on my left, since Stalker took the right, an empty space became full as Freyja projected her image into where a person would sit. She was using her equivalent of tractor beams –refusing to call them anything else after watching that damn show– as the chair moved back and creaked with 'weight'.
She had the appearance of the previous captain, gray skinned with white hair in dreadlocks rather than the curled version I was wearing.
"Is this your mother Keptain?"
"Nooo."
I felt rather than saw Shadow Stalker mouthing the words along with her as she did the practiced spiel. "I am the exploration class ship, designation FC-2045 Freyja." She paused and pursed her lips at Shadow Stalker, who stumbled a little as the script changed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." She put her hand to the table and beamed a small stack of gold coins. Hexagons with markings, lighter shade than gold. Oh no.
Smiling sweetly. "I am not sure of the conversion rate for these: Gold pressed Latinum. I expect you can evaluate them as higher than a local dollar and apply the remainder to any billable hours we engage."
Henry Fenway leaned back and tapped fingers on the arm of his chair. "I believe that would work, but now I am dearly in need of some lemonade and a long story."
*****************
Some time later, after an extensive if vague background we took a break for a pitcher of lemonade to be brought in and Fran giving us the stink eye over being tasked to take the 'coins' to a local place to be assayed and evaluated. I fully expected that Freyja had put some Easter egg into the coin markings that showed an exact weight –in metric units no doubt– or something like writing the anthem of her 'Federation' in tiny print along the edge.
"If you prefer, we could easily locate and confiscate gang money. Shadow Stalker has noted she has turned in 'finds' before." I used quote fingers.
Henry chuckled. "No doubt, but while coin of the realm is preferred I would be remiss in not taking the opportunity to hold onto the first coin Freyja here circulates as a foreign dignitary. Although I suspect the IRS would like to have a chat as soon as they consider the implications. That or the FCC."
"I do not carry enough in mass to apply more than a wobble to the national debt. And I have been resident on this continent since before there was a separation of this one from Europe, Africa and the southern American continent. They should be happy enough for a promise by my Keptain to not flood their markets with heavy metals pulled from the ocean by my version of the transporter referenced in Star Trek."
He shook his head ruefully at that . "I am sure there are some Paramount lawyers getting that itchy feeling, wanting to send out a cease and desist without knowing why it was needed."
"I can show prior art for my design that predates anything they have."
"Freyja, please." I note.
"Ma'am."
Mr. Fenway turned to me fully. "Now if that isn't enough to give a man the willies, seeing a young lady such as yourself giving commands to someone of distinction. Even a tall young lady such as yourself."
Sophia was clearly getting antsy as the back and forth. "Can we cut the smalltalk now? What do we need to do to keep them off our backs?"
"Which them?' he answered amicably.
She huffed. "All of them. PRT. IRS. FCC. FDA to name a few."
He jotted the list down with spaces to add details, leaving the acronyms in clear text but notations in his shorthand.
"For the PRT, sign on for affiliate status, demonstrate heroic tendencies to stop crime as you see it. Apprehending criminals is a bonus but not a requirement. Offer assistance for disaster situations. Give them a way to contact you officially. Considering your age, a text option that doesn't out you." He checked the first item. "IRS? Well if you find a way to market your group's skills you should keep an accounting of all income and hire a CPA to do your taxes. There are forms for cape related LLC. Then you withdraw cash from the LLC's accounts to make payroll. If you plan to sell goods there will be a NEPEA review to obtain a state license, or Federal if you plan to sell your doodads to the Military." He looked a question at us over that.
"We have not made plans to sell our … doodads as yet. But it would be possible we could compete in satellite launches, say, as we are space capable." I note.
He blinked and wrote a line in. "I can look into that. NASA has all but lost funding in the past years. Of course there is always the issue of proving what you can do. Offering to take one up pro bono would go a long way toward proving your ah bonafides."
Oh dear god, I think I found where Uncle Alan got his sense for puns.
"For the FCC, that sounds like you have more than one money making plan in mind."
Freyja took up that line. "Actually we may have less of an issue there. Dragontech is offering a joint venture on certain chipsets and code libraries that will improve the existing tech base without throwing it too far out of kilter. With the 'local' source, we will be minor shareholders at best."
He chuckled even as we groaned. "Minor. I like that. Bravo."
Freyja nodded. Oh god, is she flirting with him?
Then he looked thoughtful. "FDA?"
I glanced at Sophia for this.
"I was going over the catalogs of ship stores. There are seedstocks on file for fruits that grow in saltwater. Vines that grow in saltwater that separate fresh water out and sequester minerals. There are others designed to remove heavy metals or poisons from soil. Radiation sequestering trees. The differences between a Colony ship or a Scout was more about the size and how many were along for the ride." She looked back at Mr. Fenway. "We can sell food, agriculture itself, medicines. A dozen cures for things people die of currently. Leukemia for instance?"
It clicked. Terry, her brother. Yes, we cured him as soon as Kiki caught wind of Freyja's medical capabilities. But we had been wondering what would be said in six months when he went back for examinations to check if he was still in remission. He would show absolutely no signs of the cancer if they checked now. But if we sell it.
"There will be questions. Human trials. Will you produce it directly or license it to the Pharmaceutical companies?"
"Yes. And that is what we want your office to collate, the steps needed to accomplish any of the above." I say.
"You are aware of the rates we charge here, that sounds like a lot of billable hours." He admonished.
"We might see clear to sell stocks in the LLC itself, should that be necessary." Freyja noted.
He seemed taken aback. "Well that is a horse of a different color. Can I ask for a portfolio to show my fellow board members in consideration of such an investment?"
Freyja smiled, transporting in a glossy prospectus of ten sheets or so. The cover had our team name and a logo of her design, with a holographic foil image of each of us on the inner cover. "How many do you need?"
*******************************
"I have a sighting of Keptain!" Nessa crowed. "One of our watchers say she flew into their lobby. May be there to consult with Brandish."
Max raised a glass he'd barely sipped from as he watched Kayden, no Purity, pacing back and forth. Nervous energy from her tanning booth sessions, albeit she never tanned. "There you see? It is worth it to keep tabs on the comings and goings of New Wave. Open capes, open schedules."
"I want to blast her. There is no way she could spot me or evade…" She slowed as Max crossed his arms in negation.
"Purity, please!" He had spilled the snifter of 'thousand-dollar Scotch'. Pity. "Think for a moment. She cannot move faster than light so whatever no-sold your shot is active all the time. We need to mix it up. Hookwolf? Or Night and Fog? We don't even know if she breathes."
Kayden paused to huff. "Everything breathes, Max. But I see your point. Night and Fog then. Have them waiting for the girl to leave the building. Have Hookwolf nearby, watching and running interference."
Max inhaled slightly. She would press him so. "Nessa, arrange for them to just happen to be there to make it seem spontaneous. There is a Jewish owned deli in the foyer of the commerce building across the street. Have them arrange a scene and then go for Keptain as she exits."
***********************
We spoke with Henry Fenway for three hours. He pledged to invest fifty thousand of his own money after getting verification from Dragontech enterprises of the joint venture, obtaining five percent of the present stocks available.
This price was introductory. His fellow board members would have the opportunity to get ten percent of the total stocks split among themselves for four times that.
As we said our goodbyes, Sophia held up a hand at the door.
"You came here openly. The Empire watches these offices because of the New Wave link. Let me check things out." She seemed happy to do anything after the office time.
Holding her arm out level, she called out her bolt caster.
"Freyja, release three drones to Shadow Stalker." I add. "No sense in doing something halfway."
The drones appeared underslung on her bolt caster waiting to deploy.
Stalker grinned and pointed the bolt caster up as she faded to her shadow state –rising straight up through the high ceiling of the lobby area past the railings to each floor of the building.
There was an "eep" from above and we were treated to Brandish appearing at the rail of the third floor.
"Trouble?" She asked.
I wave back. "Stalker wants to check before I leave the way I came in." I called up. "Mr. Fenway…"
"Henry."
"Henry, I will see you again soon. You have our numbers and the accounts Freyja set up. I have no doubt she is already pushing your fax to the limits."
Freyja sniffed slightly. "As if." She seemed slightly insulted. "I beamed the documents directly to his desk inbox. As well as a communicator to reach us at need."
"If you would all go back to your offices or at least clear the foyer, just to be on the safe side. If there really is some kind of welcoming committee, Smaal would feel badly for involving you directly."
"We ah have some experience with such issues." Henry noted. "Fran, if you would deploy the inner shutters."
With a certain amount of satisfaction, Fran hit a button. Large panels of thick plexiglass deployed from either side, meeting in the center to lock into place along a track in the floor and along a metal rail that also deployed across the entryway. Another panel moved into place across the top, leaving me inside a box with about five feet between me and the doors.
"Assuming gunfire, this is adequate. But I would still advise moving back some." I say.
Across the comms I hear Sophia checking in.
"Drones deployed. Nothing visible on the sides or around the back. There is a panel van idling to your right. Oh, hello there. I see a ruckus starting in a deli almost across the street. Looks like the Empire."
"Take an overwatch without showing yourself. If I can de-escalate I will. Freyja, call the PRT hotline, please."
"As you say, Keptain."
I moved forward through the doors. An alert icon showed on my HUD, a symbol for 'hostile environment'. Gas. I felt the field extend down over my jaw to join the nextline on the costume.
As I moved forward, something blew out the glass windows of the deli, a long burst from automatic weaponry. Letting the door close behind me, I extended a hand and waved the flying glass to the side and down. No sense in leaving a mess.
A flashbang goes off in the street, followed by a gas grenade –or smoke?
The small area is enclosed in gray white mist in just moments, and something big flows out of the deli heading my way. My vision recovered in time to note the thing rearing up to slash –and it was just a naked woman, well she did have a loop of grenades across one shoulder. Lady Godiva she was not, brown hair to her ass, fair skin with some scarring here or there. Her face was lacking expression but she had clawed nails out and she swung at me from several feet away.
The slight wiffle of air passing was all I felt.
"Was that all?" I heard myself say.
The expression broke from serene to furious as she caught sight of her own hand. "Vas?"
Her snarl of anger was obscured by a rise in the mist. Her face changed from fury to glee.
"Keptain, your jacket." Freyja commented.
My pretty blue accessory was smoking as a cloying layer of green fog. Oh FOG.
"Oh. The horror. You have burned off my windbreaker." I deadpanned.
The women lunged forward and slapped me, or clawed, not sure. I let it happen as there was little she could do to me. We'd done power testing and she would have to be on par with Glory Girl to get past the field Freyja had put around me. This was something of a test of course, as she was trying to pin down who this woman was.
The woman looked around, her left hand tossing a smallish cylinder in the air that banged with a flare of light. The visor dimmed in time to block it, returning to normal just a moment later. She spun around like a ballerina and seemed to fall at me rather than attack.
I stepped to the side and pushed her away from me. Her own fall did more damage than I caused, welts showing on her bare skin as she rolled away and came to her feet.
"Nebel, versteck mich!" She shrilled.
The green stuff billowed up and around. Freyja's scans showed her outline clearly though, the HUD painting a nearly perfect image of her from light sources that passed through the Fog easily.
"Please edit her nether regions." I stated.
Freyja acknowledged with a whispered "Prude."
Sophia's chuckle said it all over the comm. "Me too. That is far too old a woman to be flailing around the streets all nekkid."
"Stalker, report." I knew she wouldn't have been idle.
"Three mooks tranqued, weapons beamed out. Deployed a shield wall to keep Fog out of the deli while civilians exfiltrate through the back. Can I hit him with a neutralizer?"
I danced back this time as –I suppose this must be Night if that is Fog– Night danced a few steps forward and jumped at me, hands and feet extended.
"Do it."
Her bolt came down into the mix as I lost my shit at the harridan jumping at me like a crazed squirrel. My assisted punch hit her square in the jaw.
Fog reacted as I swung, trying to thicken further. The bolt dispersed a powder across the area that reacted –ahem– badly with his acid.
"A Base?" I asked as I noted the woman was out cold. Night went nighty-night.
"Exactly so, Keptain. Along with the following shot of carbon black."
"Beam her in so she doesn't suffocate." I said, holding out my hand.
There was a howl of pain and anger as Fog was forced back into his human form, the body appearing to dive out of the air where Night had landed five feet away from me. He looked up at me rising –and there is that lack of PG rating again.
The fuzzing of the imagery reasserted itself to hide his extremely burnt skin down there "Sorry, Keptain." The rest of him was no less burned but that looked painful. "She is unharmed." I hit him with the stun setting, then again at a higher stun setting. "Well, as unharmed as anyone throwing themselves at a Brute rated cape can expect." He went down finally.
"Beam him in and keep them sedated."
"Do you also plan to teach me your grandmother's recipes?" Freyja breathed.
I chuckle, "Is that the Federation equivalent of 'teaching you to suck eggs?'"
She paused. "Accurate. The phrase loses something rendered in English."
Looking at my left hand, Freyja had added the image of a brown haired woman and a burned man, like I was clutching a Barbie and Ken doll pair. My right held the mouse shaped weapon.
Not a phaser dammit!
Clapping sound.
The man coming down the sidewalk from the deli side of the street was blonde, big and muscular. He had the barest of domino masks in place. Jeans and a t-shirt stretched tight, oh okay spirals of metal opened it up as he strode forward, signature hooks forming into a whole other form as he folded his fleshy bits around to the back where they disappeared.
The grin of the face formed in metal now, teeth prominent as it grew to massive size. I went from looking down slightly to looking up.
I tilted my head. "Feeling inadequate?"
The grin faltered. "What did you say?" His voice growled.
"You seem to need to grow to show your superiority. That suggests issues with bullies." I used the fake pout Emma had told me worked so to poke the bear in her competition on the runway.
It may have backfired as his anger burned cold.
"I was going to rough you up a bit. That was then, this is now." He started forward but paused as a clear voice sang out.
"YOO HOO!"
That isn't something you see everyday.
A woman had jumped out of the balcony from the law offices of Fenway, Barnes, Dallon and Howell, a particular woman named third in the list. Coming down without a care in the world, she shifted to a golden ball as big across as she was tall. And then she grew another three feet across. And again, still coming.
I swear I heard Hookwolf mutter "Fuck me..."
The city was finally feeling the Christmas spirit.
Yeah, no. Even with the special day coming next week, the dreary corners were still dreary. The white snow was dingy gray everywhere but downtown near the most expensive stores. It was obvious they were spraying faux snow out to go with their decorative lights.
The dojo was closed down for the week while they fumigated for rats. The owners suspect it is payback for facing down the Empire marchers so brazenly. The inspector was clearly a sympathizer. But the DWA got the contract and I got to say hi to Kurt and Lacey in passing.
I decided to go visit Fenway, Barnes, Dallon and Howell in costume to see what it would take to incorporate in a way that would block a Protectorate play against our Rogue status.
It was me and Sophia, as Emma was tied up for that afternoon in a photoshoot –Anne being tasked to provide transport. As cover for heading downtown in costume, Sophia and I, onboard Freyja, hitched a ride with Emma as far as the parking garage. We flit off to the side in the shadows, changing to just my cape form as I directed us down the street toward the law offices.
As far as anyone watching would see, the Keptain was alone today.
Landing on the steps where I'd first met Sophia, I had to consider it an unusual echo of .. what, four months?
Opening the glass doors I walked confidently across the lobby area and cleared my throat.
"Excuse me, can you see if Henry Fenway is available for a consultation?"
The woman looked up from a set of paperwork she was reading and gave me a thin smile. "Name?"
"I go by Keptain."
She stood to find she was still looking up to make eye contact, huffed a little. "If you think wearing some gray makeup and a wig is enough to warrant Mister Fenway's time you have another thing coming!" She all but hissed the last bit.
I blinked. Palming –okay beaming the card he gave me into my hand and flipping it upright– his business card with the handwritten note on the back, I thought about it for a second. "Oh, right, bonafides. How about this? Can you see if Mr. Fenway is available to see Keptain and Shadow Stalker?"
She looked at me like I'd slipped a lemon into her fruit smoothie. "Who?"
I held my off hand out and had Freyja beam Shadow Stalker into position, holding my hand like she'd been there the whole time. I'd strongly suggested she leave the bolt caster on her shuttle, and she was without the short cape. In deference to the weather, she had the black jacket of ship's material, with piping in red to match the blue jacket I'd added, mine with gold piping. I suppose the jacket itself might have been enough to confuse the woman, but how many teenagers at nearly seven feet tall with gray skin and white hair are there?
"Shadow Stalker." Sophia clarified. "Chop chop. The man gave us an open appointment. Wouldn't it be better to see what he thinks you should do before you go and do it?"
I glanced down to the secretary's hand on the underside of the desk. "I do hope your security knows better than to pull weapons."
"Keptain, there is a cape coming down the elevator." Freyja noted.
I turned so I could see the elevator directly, noting Sophia's stance going to 'ready'
"Calmly, Stalker. Don't start a fight."
As the doors slid open a bright light from within resolved into a fireplug of a woman, or rather a woman shaped glowing energy form. She had a mace and shield at the ready and only paused to check left and right.
Then she lunged out to the counter. The fact that she didn't swing on us was the only thing that prevented Freyja firing on her.
"Brandish." I nod to her slowly, waiting.
She took me and Shadow Stalker in, lowered her mace and visibly grumbled, "Fran, I love you to death hon, but that button is for villains!"
Fran pursed her lips and did that head shake thing that goes so well with a darker skin color. "They aren't signed with the Protectorate, the Guild or New Wave. Not listed as corporate capes or running a business, that is close enough to being a vill for me."
I wave a little, "Excuse me. Here to see Henry Fenway at his invitation. Might be able to satisfy the Rogue part if we don't get caught up in a fight with his coworker."
On cue, Mr. Fenway came in from a side door, wiping his hands with a paper towel. "I saw the alert light flashing in there but I don't hear any sounds of fighting as yet. Can we all just settle down and listen for a moment?"
I swear, the man could stand in for Matlock, though this time it wasn't a powder blue suit but a beige one. "Ah, Keptain. I was hoping you might swing by. And I see you brought Shadow Stalker as well." He smiled easily, gesturing toward an open conference room door. 'Fran, I will see them in two. Carol, if you wish to sit in?"
"No, no. I need to go and calm down Mr. Peters. Poor man is worried his wife is being Mastered of all things. Having the attack light come on has him under the desk. I may touch base with you later, Keptain, Stalker." She saluted with her mace then dismissed it from existence, the glow around her faded as she resumed more of a business wear look.
Closing the door on Fran and the lobby area, He immediately became less jovial but still friendly. "Call me Henry ladies. Are we speaking alone or will you have another by phone or other means?"
He points to seats around a table, taking a yellow legal pad out and a pen. I find myself raising an eyebrow. "You expect there to be more than just us?"
"Well, Shadow Stalker is known to me in her civilian identity, as is her mother. In our prior exchanges, she has requested to be present for anything binding." He jots down a note or two, in shorthand I think or else he writes like a doctor. "There is also a standard procedure to establish client privilege, a retainer fee. A dollar is considered enough."
I take out my phone and set it on the table face up. "We will have another present and can bring in our other members for a final draft or signing paperwork. Freyja, would you please handle the retainer?"
in the chair next to me on my left, since Stalker took the right, an empty space became full as Freyja projected her image into where a person would sit. She was using her equivalent of tractor beams –refusing to call them anything else after watching that damn show– as the chair moved back and creaked with 'weight'.
She had the appearance of the previous captain, gray skinned with white hair in dreadlocks rather than the curled version I was wearing.
"Is this your mother Keptain?"
"Nooo."
I felt rather than saw Shadow Stalker mouthing the words along with her as she did the practiced spiel. "I am the exploration class ship, designation FC-2045 Freyja." She paused and pursed her lips at Shadow Stalker, who stumbled a little as the script changed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." She put her hand to the table and beamed a small stack of gold coins. Hexagons with markings, lighter shade than gold. Oh no.
Smiling sweetly. "I am not sure of the conversion rate for these: Gold pressed Latinum. I expect you can evaluate them as higher than a local dollar and apply the remainder to any billable hours we engage."
Henry Fenway leaned back and tapped fingers on the arm of his chair. "I believe that would work, but now I am dearly in need of some lemonade and a long story."
*****************
Some time later, after an extensive if vague background we took a break for a pitcher of lemonade to be brought in and Fran giving us the stink eye over being tasked to take the 'coins' to a local place to be assayed and evaluated. I fully expected that Freyja had put some Easter egg into the coin markings that showed an exact weight –in metric units no doubt– or something like writing the anthem of her 'Federation' in tiny print along the edge.
"If you prefer, we could easily locate and confiscate gang money. Shadow Stalker has noted she has turned in 'finds' before." I used quote fingers.
Henry chuckled. "No doubt, but while coin of the realm is preferred I would be remiss in not taking the opportunity to hold onto the first coin Freyja here circulates as a foreign dignitary. Although I suspect the IRS would like to have a chat as soon as they consider the implications. That or the FCC."
"I do not carry enough in mass to apply more than a wobble to the national debt. And I have been resident on this continent since before there was a separation of this one from Europe, Africa and the southern American continent. They should be happy enough for a promise by my Keptain to not flood their markets with heavy metals pulled from the ocean by my version of the transporter referenced in Star Trek."
He shook his head ruefully at that . "I am sure there are some Paramount lawyers getting that itchy feeling, wanting to send out a cease and desist without knowing why it was needed."
"I can show prior art for my design that predates anything they have."
"Freyja, please." I note.
"Ma'am."
Mr. Fenway turned to me fully. "Now if that isn't enough to give a man the willies, seeing a young lady such as yourself giving commands to someone of distinction. Even a tall young lady such as yourself."
Sophia was clearly getting antsy as the back and forth. "Can we cut the smalltalk now? What do we need to do to keep them off our backs?"
"Which them?' he answered amicably.
She huffed. "All of them. PRT. IRS. FCC. FDA to name a few."
He jotted the list down with spaces to add details, leaving the acronyms in clear text but notations in his shorthand.
"For the PRT, sign on for affiliate status, demonstrate heroic tendencies to stop crime as you see it. Apprehending criminals is a bonus but not a requirement. Offer assistance for disaster situations. Give them a way to contact you officially. Considering your age, a text option that doesn't out you." He checked the first item. "IRS? Well if you find a way to market your group's skills you should keep an accounting of all income and hire a CPA to do your taxes. There are forms for cape related LLC. Then you withdraw cash from the LLC's accounts to make payroll. If you plan to sell goods there will be a NEPEA review to obtain a state license, or Federal if you plan to sell your doodads to the Military." He looked a question at us over that.
"We have not made plans to sell our … doodads as yet. But it would be possible we could compete in satellite launches, say, as we are space capable." I note.
He blinked and wrote a line in. "I can look into that. NASA has all but lost funding in the past years. Of course there is always the issue of proving what you can do. Offering to take one up pro bono would go a long way toward proving your ah bonafides."
Oh dear god, I think I found where Uncle Alan got his sense for puns.
"For the FCC, that sounds like you have more than one money making plan in mind."
Freyja took up that line. "Actually we may have less of an issue there. Dragontech is offering a joint venture on certain chipsets and code libraries that will improve the existing tech base without throwing it too far out of kilter. With the 'local' source, we will be minor shareholders at best."
He chuckled even as we groaned. "Minor. I like that. Bravo."
Freyja nodded. Oh god, is she flirting with him?
Then he looked thoughtful. "FDA?"
I glanced at Sophia for this.
"I was going over the catalogs of ship stores. There are seedstocks on file for fruits that grow in saltwater. Vines that grow in saltwater that separate fresh water out and sequester minerals. There are others designed to remove heavy metals or poisons from soil. Radiation sequestering trees. The differences between a Colony ship or a Scout was more about the size and how many were along for the ride." She looked back at Mr. Fenway. "We can sell food, agriculture itself, medicines. A dozen cures for things people die of currently. Leukemia for instance?"
It clicked. Terry, her brother. Yes, we cured him as soon as Kiki caught wind of Freyja's medical capabilities. But we had been wondering what would be said in six months when he went back for examinations to check if he was still in remission. He would show absolutely no signs of the cancer if they checked now. But if we sell it.
"There will be questions. Human trials. Will you produce it directly or license it to the Pharmaceutical companies?"
"Yes. And that is what we want your office to collate, the steps needed to accomplish any of the above." I say.
"You are aware of the rates we charge here, that sounds like a lot of billable hours." He admonished.
"We might see clear to sell stocks in the LLC itself, should that be necessary." Freyja noted.
He seemed taken aback. "Well that is a horse of a different color. Can I ask for a portfolio to show my fellow board members in consideration of such an investment?"
Freyja smiled, transporting in a glossy prospectus of ten sheets or so. The cover had our team name and a logo of her design, with a holographic foil image of each of us on the inner cover. "How many do you need?"
*******************************
"I have a sighting of Keptain!" Nessa crowed. "One of our watchers say she flew into their lobby. May be there to consult with Brandish."
Max raised a glass he'd barely sipped from as he watched Kayden, no Purity, pacing back and forth. Nervous energy from her tanning booth sessions, albeit she never tanned. "There you see? It is worth it to keep tabs on the comings and goings of New Wave. Open capes, open schedules."
"I want to blast her. There is no way she could spot me or evade…" She slowed as Max crossed his arms in negation.
"Purity, please!" He had spilled the snifter of 'thousand-dollar Scotch'. Pity. "Think for a moment. She cannot move faster than light so whatever no-sold your shot is active all the time. We need to mix it up. Hookwolf? Or Night and Fog? We don't even know if she breathes."
Kayden paused to huff. "Everything breathes, Max. But I see your point. Night and Fog then. Have them waiting for the girl to leave the building. Have Hookwolf nearby, watching and running interference."
Max inhaled slightly. She would press him so. "Nessa, arrange for them to just happen to be there to make it seem spontaneous. There is a Jewish owned deli in the foyer of the commerce building across the street. Have them arrange a scene and then go for Keptain as she exits."
***********************
We spoke with Henry Fenway for three hours. He pledged to invest fifty thousand of his own money after getting verification from Dragontech enterprises of the joint venture, obtaining five percent of the present stocks available.
This price was introductory. His fellow board members would have the opportunity to get ten percent of the total stocks split among themselves for four times that.
As we said our goodbyes, Sophia held up a hand at the door.
"You came here openly. The Empire watches these offices because of the New Wave link. Let me check things out." She seemed happy to do anything after the office time.
Holding her arm out level, she called out her bolt caster.
"Freyja, release three drones to Shadow Stalker." I add. "No sense in doing something halfway."
The drones appeared underslung on her bolt caster waiting to deploy.
Stalker grinned and pointed the bolt caster up as she faded to her shadow state –rising straight up through the high ceiling of the lobby area past the railings to each floor of the building.
There was an "eep" from above and we were treated to Brandish appearing at the rail of the third floor.
"Trouble?" She asked.
I wave back. "Stalker wants to check before I leave the way I came in." I called up. "Mr. Fenway…"
"Henry."
"Henry, I will see you again soon. You have our numbers and the accounts Freyja set up. I have no doubt she is already pushing your fax to the limits."
Freyja sniffed slightly. "As if." She seemed slightly insulted. "I beamed the documents directly to his desk inbox. As well as a communicator to reach us at need."
"If you would all go back to your offices or at least clear the foyer, just to be on the safe side. If there really is some kind of welcoming committee, Smaal would feel badly for involving you directly."
"We ah have some experience with such issues." Henry noted. "Fran, if you would deploy the inner shutters."
With a certain amount of satisfaction, Fran hit a button. Large panels of thick plexiglass deployed from either side, meeting in the center to lock into place along a track in the floor and along a metal rail that also deployed across the entryway. Another panel moved into place across the top, leaving me inside a box with about five feet between me and the doors.
"Assuming gunfire, this is adequate. But I would still advise moving back some." I say.
Across the comms I hear Sophia checking in.
"Drones deployed. Nothing visible on the sides or around the back. There is a panel van idling to your right. Oh, hello there. I see a ruckus starting in a deli almost across the street. Looks like the Empire."
"Take an overwatch without showing yourself. If I can de-escalate I will. Freyja, call the PRT hotline, please."
"As you say, Keptain."
I moved forward through the doors. An alert icon showed on my HUD, a symbol for 'hostile environment'. Gas. I felt the field extend down over my jaw to join the nextline on the costume.
As I moved forward, something blew out the glass windows of the deli, a long burst from automatic weaponry. Letting the door close behind me, I extended a hand and waved the flying glass to the side and down. No sense in leaving a mess.
A flashbang goes off in the street, followed by a gas grenade –or smoke?
The small area is enclosed in gray white mist in just moments, and something big flows out of the deli heading my way. My vision recovered in time to note the thing rearing up to slash –and it was just a naked woman, well she did have a loop of grenades across one shoulder. Lady Godiva she was not, brown hair to her ass, fair skin with some scarring here or there. Her face was lacking expression but she had clawed nails out and she swung at me from several feet away.
The slight wiffle of air passing was all I felt.
"Was that all?" I heard myself say.
The expression broke from serene to furious as she caught sight of her own hand. "Vas?"
Her snarl of anger was obscured by a rise in the mist. Her face changed from fury to glee.
"Keptain, your jacket." Freyja commented.
My pretty blue accessory was smoking as a cloying layer of green fog. Oh FOG.
"Oh. The horror. You have burned off my windbreaker." I deadpanned.
The women lunged forward and slapped me, or clawed, not sure. I let it happen as there was little she could do to me. We'd done power testing and she would have to be on par with Glory Girl to get past the field Freyja had put around me. This was something of a test of course, as she was trying to pin down who this woman was.
The woman looked around, her left hand tossing a smallish cylinder in the air that banged with a flare of light. The visor dimmed in time to block it, returning to normal just a moment later. She spun around like a ballerina and seemed to fall at me rather than attack.
I stepped to the side and pushed her away from me. Her own fall did more damage than I caused, welts showing on her bare skin as she rolled away and came to her feet.
"Nebel, versteck mich!" She shrilled.
The green stuff billowed up and around. Freyja's scans showed her outline clearly though, the HUD painting a nearly perfect image of her from light sources that passed through the Fog easily.
"Please edit her nether regions." I stated.
Freyja acknowledged with a whispered "Prude."
Sophia's chuckle said it all over the comm. "Me too. That is far too old a woman to be flailing around the streets all nekkid."
"Stalker, report." I knew she wouldn't have been idle.
"Three mooks tranqued, weapons beamed out. Deployed a shield wall to keep Fog out of the deli while civilians exfiltrate through the back. Can I hit him with a neutralizer?"
I danced back this time as –I suppose this must be Night if that is Fog– Night danced a few steps forward and jumped at me, hands and feet extended.
"Do it."
Her bolt came down into the mix as I lost my shit at the harridan jumping at me like a crazed squirrel. My assisted punch hit her square in the jaw.
Fog reacted as I swung, trying to thicken further. The bolt dispersed a powder across the area that reacted –ahem– badly with his acid.
"A Base?" I asked as I noted the woman was out cold. Night went nighty-night.
"Exactly so, Keptain. Along with the following shot of carbon black."
"Beam her in so she doesn't suffocate." I said, holding out my hand.
There was a howl of pain and anger as Fog was forced back into his human form, the body appearing to dive out of the air where Night had landed five feet away from me. He looked up at me rising –and there is that lack of PG rating again.
The fuzzing of the imagery reasserted itself to hide his extremely burnt skin down there "Sorry, Keptain." The rest of him was no less burned but that looked painful. "She is unharmed." I hit him with the stun setting, then again at a higher stun setting. "Well, as unharmed as anyone throwing themselves at a Brute rated cape can expect." He went down finally.
"Beam him in and keep them sedated."
"Do you also plan to teach me your grandmother's recipes?" Freyja breathed.
I chuckle, "Is that the Federation equivalent of 'teaching you to suck eggs?'"
She paused. "Accurate. The phrase loses something rendered in English."
Looking at my left hand, Freyja had added the image of a brown haired woman and a burned man, like I was clutching a Barbie and Ken doll pair. My right held the mouse shaped weapon.
Not a phaser dammit!
Clapping sound.
The man coming down the sidewalk from the deli side of the street was blonde, big and muscular. He had the barest of domino masks in place. Jeans and a t-shirt stretched tight, oh okay spirals of metal opened it up as he strode forward, signature hooks forming into a whole other form as he folded his fleshy bits around to the back where they disappeared.
The grin of the face formed in metal now, teeth prominent as it grew to massive size. I went from looking down slightly to looking up.
I tilted my head. "Feeling inadequate?"
The grin faltered. "What did you say?" His voice growled.
"You seem to need to grow to show your superiority. That suggests issues with bullies." I used the fake pout Emma had told me worked so to poke the bear in her competition on the runway.
It may have backfired as his anger burned cold.
"I was going to rough you up a bit. That was then, this is now." He started forward but paused as a clear voice sang out.
"YOO HOO!"
That isn't something you see everyday.
A woman had jumped out of the balcony from the law offices of Fenway, Barnes, Dallon and Howell, a particular woman named third in the list. Coming down without a care in the world, she shifted to a golden ball as big across as she was tall. And then she grew another three feet across. And again, still coming.
I swear I heard Hookwolf mutter "Fuck me..."
Last edited:
Draxsis
SANLOST
- Location
- United states
Oh hell, my sides are hurting from laughing, that ending was priceless. Hookwolf seems to have just remembered who works in the office that he's trying to assault the newest clients of. Something tells me that Carol is about to start enjoying things a little too much now that the mist and monster couple have been removed from the field. Not that I can blame her since I doubt she gets to cut loose as often as she used to and a perfectly acceptable target just waltzed right up to her office front door.
Kaiser is going to regret forgetting for a moment just why he has a watch on that particular building. Or at least regret forgetting that Brandish is both capable and willing to give his subordinates a beating when they decide to practically gift wrap and deliver themselves to her front door like this. Though he also probably wasn't counting on Night and Fog being neutralized quite so fast or completely either.
Kaiser is going to regret forgetting for a moment just why he has a watch on that particular building. Or at least regret forgetting that Brandish is both capable and willing to give his subordinates a beating when they decide to practically gift wrap and deliver themselves to her front door like this. Though he also probably wasn't counting on Night and Fog being neutralized quite so fast or completely either.
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
Hmm. Carol's going to go all 'legal' on him?
It... doesn't seem as though Purity is going to be happy about this...
Nice chapter!
It... doesn't seem as though Purity is going to be happy about this...
Nice chapter!