Finally completing the analysis, the computer output the information to the file on Sky Defender’s computer and finished the task, signaling its completion in the logs. Then it reallocated the used resources to other projects.
Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco
“Have the authorities gotten anything out of Heavy Metal yet?” Warden asked, leaning forward in her chair eagerly, hoping that things had changed.
“Not yet. He’s pissed off that we caught him at all, and from what the prosecutors are saying, he’s at least smart enough to call for a lawyer before considering any plea bargains,” Galvanic Action said, shaking his head unhappily. “I’d hoped he’d just squeal, if only to take other people down with him.”
“I think he will in the end,” Sky Defender said, the hero shifting in his seat slightly, his voice hard. “Everything I’ve read about Heavy Metal indicates that he doesn’t have much in the way of personal loyalty. I think that once they get a deal he’s willing to take, Heavy Metal will tell us what we want to know. Assuming, of course, that Dreamer doesn’t get to him as well.”
“The police are taking this much more seriously this time around. He’s in a high-security holding facility that’s kept classified,” Ocean Spirit said, shrugging as she added, “I know that doesn’t mean that he won’t be taken out of play. It’s much less likely to happen this time, and they seem confident that they can stop her, now that they know she might be coming.”
Warden saw Morgan shake her head slightly across the way, but her friend didn’t speak. Fortunately, Galvanic Action spoke instead, his tone dry. “I’m sure they are confident, and that they’ll be most apologetic if they fail. Heavens forbid that they ask us for help with securing the facility.”
“I never claimed that they were being intelligent about it. Just that they were taking it seriously,” Ocean Spirit replied, smiling warmly. “Now, despite that, he is in custody, and Orchid should be coming back on Monday, so assuming we get good information from him, I think that we just might have a chance to take down this mysterious villain soon.”
“While I look forward to that more than I can say, I don’t want us to forget that Destruction Corps was in the area,” Warden chimed in, frowning as she added. “I’ll be honest, with Blue Impulse out of the way, they scare me far more than the others do. I’m not saying that we should ignore them by any means; just that we shouldn’t focus too much in one direction.”
“That’s a good point,” Hypergizmo agreed, glancing at Warden as he continued. “The only question is what they’re after. We’re kind of blind at the moment.”
“Well… considering the one military research hospital got hit, what if they were here in part because of the reactivation of the naval yards?” Morgan asked, frowning as she leaned back in her chair. “I’m sure there are other possible targets, but isn’t the military planning to use some newer tech to update the fleet when they finish the yards? That could be making Destruction Corps nervous.”
“Wait, don’t they usually hit the inland regions, though?” Crimson Bull asked, frowning. “I’ve never heard of Destruction Corps having a powerful navy. It’s too hard to hide.”
“While that’s true, it’s not a guarantee that they’re not trying to build a naval force of their own,” Sky Defender said, seeming to consider the idea carefully. “I’m not sure they might be trying to destroy the yards. What would be worse would be if they wait until a warship was complete and then hijacked it. I don’t like the idea of them bringing a modern warship into range of the HQ.”
The possibility chilled Warden’s blood and she shuddered at the thought, murmuring, “You’re right, that’s a horrible idea. I doubt even our defenses would last long if they managed something like that.”
“If they were going to try to do that, isn’t the best approach by sea? Land is possible, but there’s no way we could keep track of all the people who’re going to be visiting the docks,” Black Comet suggested. “If Spirit can catch any attempts before they got close, nothing they can throw at her would have a chance, I’ll bet.”
“I wouldn’t. I’m not completely invulnerable underwater,” Ocean Spirit disagreed but smiled anyway as she continued. “Still, they likely won’t be expecting something like that. The main thing is figuring out when they’re coming, if they do. I can’t be patrolling the ocean constantly.”
Everyone looked at Hypergizmo, and the tech flushed slightly, nodding as he sighed. “Right, we need sensors dotted around the bay. I can do that. The supplier for most of my components is finally getting their stocks built up again so I should be able to do that within a week or two. It shouldn’t even cut into my time performing maintenance, though I will need your help placing them, Spirit.”
“Since you’re trying to save me effort, I think that’s quite reasonable,” Ocean Spirit agreed. “Now, we’ll keep all of you informed about further events. For the moment, that’s all, but things do seem to be working out, finally.”
Nodding, Warden stood and stretched, popping her back with a wince as she said, “Thanks, Spirit, everyone. I’ll see you all later.”
Glancing at Morgan, the two heroines headed for the door together. Both of their patrols had lined up for the first time in several days, so they were looking forward to going out shopping with Lilith. Warden was certainly looking forward to it.
San Mateo Mall, San Mateo
“Lilith, what are you looking at?” Rachel asked curiously, and Lilith looked up from the store window quickly.
“Oh, I was just looking at the sewing machine there, and considering if sewing would be an interesting hobby to take up,” Lilith explained, smiling back as she shrugged. “More of an idle thought than anything else, though. It’d likely be harder than I’m imagining.”
“Why sewing? I mean, you’ve got a microchip company you own,” Gina asked, looking startled as she took a step toward the window to look at the sewing machine display. “These aren’t even that high quality of sewing machines, either.”
“You’re right, they aren’t. It’s just your artwork and Rachel’s comments about the dress got me thinking that it could be fun to try making outfits. I’m not sure I’d actually enjoy it, but I don’t really know,” Lilith said, shaking her head as she stepped away from the storefront, smiling wryly. “It’s just something new, I suppose. Maybe it’d be like cooking; something of an experiment I could tinker with constantly for a long time.”
“That could be interesting, though it’d take you some time to learn. I doubt that was part of your… lessons growing up?” Rachel suggested, glancing around at the swirling crowd flowing through the mall.
It was rather busy, Lilith reflected. Enough so that she hadn’t been nearly as happy about their shopping trip when she’d seen the packed parking lot. The post-Christmas rush was pure insanity from her perspective, and the crush of humanity was almost suffocating. Still, she ignored the surreptitious photos that several bystanders were taking of her and the others as she nodded.
“You’re right. I don’t have more than the vaguest idea of how to go about it. It probably isn’t worth buying anything until I do more research into it,” Lilith said, sighing and straightening. “So, what’s next anyway?”
“I thought we could hit the food court and get something to eat before we went shopping. I need to swap out more of my wardrobe. With the recent changes, a bunch of my clothing is far too tight now,” Gina said, smiling as she teased, “Have you tried out the various fast food restaurants, Lilith?”
“I’ve tried several. The results have varied dramatically,” Lilith replied, looking suspiciously at Gina. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, if you’re wanting to try some decent food, there’s actually a pretty good burger place here—” Gina began, only to be interrupted by Rachel.
“Gina, no! We’re not going there!” the other woman said flatly. “And we’re not taking Lilith into there!”
“Oh, come on. I think it’d be fun!” Gina protested, and L
ilith’s eyebrows rose as she glanced between them.
“Why is this such a point of contention between you two?” Lilith asked, feeling a little confused by their reactions, and especially at the color rising in Rachel’s cheeks.
“She doesn’t want to go to a fast food place. The restaurant in question is famous for their waitresses who’re rather attractive, and who wear short skirts and very tight shirts. Gina also briefly worked there after high school,” Rachel replied tightly. “While I might not always object, with your particular power and their usual clientele, I don’t think it’s safe to so much as walk through the door with the mall as busy as it is right now.”
“Oh, right, you… you have a point there,” Gina admitted, frowning. “I didn’t think about that. You’d draw way too much attention.”
“I’m drawing attention just standing here,” Lilith replied, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Is it really that bad? I mean, aside from the one bar you took me to…”
“They have a bar,” Rachel said, and Lilith’s temptation to go along with Gina’s suggestion vanished abruptly.
“I see. What other options do we have?” Lilith asked, frowning. “For decent food, I mean?”
The two others glanced at each other, and after a moment Rachel asked, “Tacos?”
“I can deal with that,” Gina agreed, and smiled. “Come on, Lilith. Stop ogling the sewing machines.”
“Fine, fine… maybe I can just build one, anyway,” Lilith said, sighing as they wound their way toward the food court. Along the way, they passed a small cluster of women with cat ears and tails, prompting Lilith to wonder as to their source. She’d seen a handful of people with animal features since coming to the city, but information on how they’d come about hadn’t been part of the information she’d been taught.
She’d have to check on it later.
Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco
“Hello?” Ocean Spirit asked as she answered her phone, frowning to herself. Sky Defender didn’t usually call her directly, so this was rather odd.
“Spirit? Are you still at the HQ?” the man asked, his voice unusually flat.
“I am. I was just getting ready to leave for the night. What’s wrong? You usually call the control room,” Ocean Spirit asked, leaning against the doorjamb of her office. Most people never would’ve thought that she had an actual office, but there was a surprising amount of paperwork, even in the hero world.
“We have a catastrophic emergency, and I have to talk to you in person,” Sky Defender replied grimly. “Don’t tell anyone else yet, especially not Morgan or Warden. I’m a little concerned about Black Comet, Galvanic Action, and Blooming Orchid as well.”
“What? Why that group?” Ocean Spirit asked, blinking in shock. “That’s over half our team!”
“I’m less than a minute away from getting there; I’ll tell you then. I’m not trusting most lines at the moment,” the other hero replied and, without pause, cut the connection, leaving Ocean Spirit stunned as she looked at her phone.
“What’s gotten into him? I haven’t seen him that wound up before,” Ocean Spirit said, and after a moment she turned and returned to her desk, sitting down and worrying. Anything that could panic Sky Defender to such a remarkable degree was something that worried her. At least she wouldn’t have to wonder for much longer.
It was only two, maybe three minutes before Ocean Spirit heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching her door. There was a knock, but before she could answer it, the door opened and Sky Defender stepped inside.
“What’s going on?” Ocean Spirit asked, frowning at her fellow hero. “Is this really that much of an emergency?”
“Yes. One moment.” Sky Defender rotated slowly, and after a moment, Ocean Spirit realized that she could see a glimmer of light from the scanning arrays on his helmet. After fully rotating, he visibly relaxed and let out a breath. “Good; no bugs that I can detect.”
“Seriously, what in the hell is going on, Defender? This isn’t just a little unusual anymore,” Ocean Spirit snapped at him. “Searching for bugs in my office? Not trusting the Control Center? What’s wrong?”
Reaching up, Sky Defender did something that startled Ocean Spirit. For only the second time since she’d known him, he removed his helmet, revealing his pale complexion and crimson hair as he looked at her in worry. Sky Defender was from Ireland, Ocean Spirit knew, but she’d kept from trying to look for more information on him since he tried to keep his mundane life so private. Him removing his helmet wasn’t something he’d do on a whim and was a gesture of extreme trust on his part. Letting out a breath, she gestured at the chair across from her, and he took a seat, the chair creaking as he let out a breath.
“First, I’ll admit that I broke some of our rules, Spirit. Orchid is going to be pissed at me, but I’ve been feeling rather… uncomfortable about Lilith ever since we learned of her. So I took the blood sample that Orchid collected after the fight with Black Harbinger so I could run some tests,” Sky Defender admitted, sparking outrage in the heroine.
“You what? That’s against all of our rules, Defender! You’re not allowed to do that unless we have evidence that someone has done something illegal!” Ocean Spirit exclaimed, taking a deep breath, then letting it out with a hiss. “Still, you’d have accepted any censure for that. I know you that well. You wouldn’t be acting like this just because of that, so what in the hell did you find?”
“I know, I know. I started the tests two weeks ago, and I wish to hell I’d checked them last week! The computer had enough data to tell me what I needed to know then, but I hadn’t set up the filters right so it just output it to a file and… never mind that. First off, she’s been cloned, though we already knew that much. To my shock, I don’t think she’s actually lied to us about her origin, but what she didn’t bring up is damning enough,” Sky Defender replied, his mouth pressing into a flat line for a moment before he continued. “She’s related to you and over a hundred other class A and S heroes, Spirit. I want you to think about that for just a second.”
“Over a hundred… oh God, you’re talking about last year, aren’t you? Are you saying that she’s Shadowmind’s creation?” Ocean Spirit asked, her mind jumping through the hoops to realize what he was suggesting in only a few seconds, and she could practically feel the blood draining from her face. “Are you certain?”
“As certain as I can be. I’ve compared the scans of her brain structure to those of Shadowmind’s that we had, and the similarities are striking, though the ones of Lilith’s aren’t nearly as detailed. Think about what we heard last year, too. I read the reports again, and we were told that Shadowmind was trying to create the perfect body. She was discussing trying to fake her own death, depending on how it went,” Sky Defender said, scowling as he looked down at his hands, and after a moment Ocean Spirit realized that even through his armor she could see that they were trembling. “Lilith has been going out with Morgan and Warden for weeks, Spirit! No one knows who Blue Impulse was working with or for, not for certain, and she just happened to kick Blue Impulse’s ass, and then Dreamer shut him down for good? Warden and Morgan have been suggesting we focus on other things, too, and that makes me even more nervous!”
“Defender, I’m gathering that you think she’s a threat, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about right now. I mean, she could be trying to manipulate the others, which is quite bad enough as it is, but I don’t understand!” Ocean Spirit interrupted impatiently. “What are you trying to say?”
“How the hell do we know that Lilith doesn’t have Shadowmind’s powers? She was patterned off of Shadowmind, and if she managed to get her hooks into them over the last couple of months, they might be her puppets! Hell, even Insight’s report could have been altered by her!” Sky Defender said, almost explosively rising from the chair, pacing back and forth impatiently. “In fact, there’s a part of me that wonders if the Shadowmind we captured isn’t actually the original Lilith! Shadowmind has the power
to easily have copied her own mind into her original body with key differences, Spirit! Warden said that she was weaker, but that could easily be because the clone didn’t have as powerful of abilities as the original. What if Lilith is Shadowmind herself?”
“Oh. Oh.” Ocean Spirit flinched, and suddenly the depth of Sky Defender’s panic and worry was explained to her. Sky Defender had shields to mitigate psychic attacks in his armor, she knew, while her own transformation powers washed away most mental changes each time she shifted, so nothing that Shadowmind could do to her would last long. Of all of the others of the team, the only ones Ocean Spirit would normally be confident were immune were Morgan and Warden, but under the circumstances, that assumption was suddenly thrown into doubt.
“Exactly. You understand why I’m utterly appalled that we lost a week of time that we would’ve had to potentially figure things out? Orchid is at least far away, so I’m doubting she got hit too hard, and most of the others are probably fine. Lilith hasn’t been nearby, but both Morgan and Warden…” Sky Defender shook his head, speaking flatly. “Even if she isn’t Shadowmind, which I doubt, she lied to us. The data doesn’t lie.”
“Either way, we have to bring her in. She was put onto the wanted list for a damned good reason, and if you’re right, she’s a horrifying threat,” Ocean Spirit replied, her thoughts racing. “If, if Morgan and Warden were… adjusted by her, then we can’t have them in the way. We’ll have to make sure they’re not nearby when we take Lilith into custody.”
“You’re right. She’s just… I’m sorry, I just found out about this less than an hour ago and had to do comparisons quickly to make sure I wasn’t mistaken before coming to you,” Sky Defender said, taking a deep breath. “Still, I actually had a thought on that. We can use their own suggestion about Destruction Corps. It probably isn’t worth putting up the sensors after all, but still, if we claimed that we had several possible leads into where Destruction Corps could be hiding out, it wouldn’t be too hard to send them after one lead that’s fairly far away while we claimed to be looking into another and brought her in.”
Down with the Queen Page 13