“I’m not Eve. I’m Circe and have requisitioned this chassis for my own use,” the android replied calmly. “I’m not letting go, Doctor Johnson. I recommend you surrender, as your weapons are useless against this chassis, and the self-destruct mechanism was not installed.”
“What… no! You, Orchid! If you ever want a chance of regaining your body, you’ll call her off!” Johnson gasped, struggling for a moment, then pulling his hand out to show her the chips. “If you don’t, I’ll destroy these! They contain all the data that was used to alter your body. You’ll be trapped like that!”
Blooming Orchid’s eyes went wide and she looked at the chips, biting her lip for a moment. Then she looked at Circe and started. “Circe, I don’t know if—”
“I cannot allow him to escape, Blooming Orchid. However, if you can convince Lilith to ask the core Circe shards for help, they should have data which could be used to repair your body,” Circe replied calmly, to Doctor Johnson’s complete shock.
“What? That’s impossible! This was groundbreaking work!” Doctor Johnson protested.
“Are you certain?” Blooming Orchid asked hesitantly. “I mean, what he did was… horrifyingly extensive.”
“Mistress Amber created Mistress Lilith from nothing more than a few genetic samples. Reverting your body should be simple by comparison. Time consuming, but simple,” Circe said, and Doctor Johnson growled in frustration.
“Lies!” he exclaimed. “Unhand me, now!”
“Lies? She has a point… and I’d rather that you were in prison where you couldn’t do this to anyone ever again,” Blooming Orchid replied, her eyes darkening, and she sniffed. “Go ahead, Doctor. I’ll take my chances with her.”
With a frustrated grunt, Doctor Johnson activated both gauntlets at full power, frying the chip as he tried to point his empty hand at Blooming Orchid. Before he could raise it fully, though, Circe moved instead.
The sudden approach of the wall was a shock, and then everything went dark.
Chapter 35
Saturday, January 12th, 2031
Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz
Lilith looked up from watching Rachel’s magic play over her injuries and blinked as a near-perfect copy of Eve walked into the room, followed by a woman she didn’t recognize. Eve was dragging Doctor Johnson while the woman carried his gauntlets, and the drone hovered in behind them.
“Circe?” Lilith asked hesitantly, giving her companion a concerned look.
“I am, approximately. This chassis is causing rapid evolutions of code; thus I have been cut off from the standard network,” the AI replied with a slight nod. “Doctor Johnson, Mistress Lilith. He confirmed that this woman was Blooming Orchid before she was physically altered and weakened to a state close to that of a young human child.”
“Orchid?” Gina exclaimed, her eyes going wide.
“Yes, it’s me. It’s good to see you, even… even if you’re wearing different outfits. I’m… I’m a little stunned, still. I’ll definitely need to go see a psychiatrist, but… but Circe said that Lilith had access to things that could maybe fix me? What’s happened? I know she was born in a lab, but…” Blooming Orchid asked, her voice subtly but distinctly different.
“Err… I’m going to guess that she was abducted earlier than we thought, Lil,” Gina said, glancing at Lilith uncertainly.
Both Ebon Dragon and Doctor Johnson looked somewhat the worse for wear, Lilith noted, though Doctor Johnson looked like he’d been bleeding from his nose. She sighed and looked up.
“To make a very long story short, Blooming Orchid, Sky Defender discovered I was created by Amber, better known as Shadowmind. This caused him to panic and he attempted to kill me, thinking that I had mind-controlled Morgan and Warden. We escaped, if only just, and have been using the resources I have to attempt to bring down villains and, hopefully, get the death sentence on my head rescinded,” Lilith explained, watching the heroine’s jaw drop as she spoke. “As to being able to help… that’s possible, though I don’t know how just yet. There are a lot of systems I haven’t even begun to explore in the network.”
“You… that’s…” Blooming Orchid began, then shook her head and sighed. “Nope. I can’t worry about this right now. I’ve been kidnapped, tortured, reduced to a fraction of my former strength, and they were starting to brainwash me. I can’t let myself care about this at the moment. So, what’s the plan now?”
Rachel finished treating the worst of Lilith’s wounds and looked up, speaking calmly. “We turn these people in and escape back to the base before we get caught. Too many heroes are after us to stick around. Hopefully someone can unearth Dreamer before she suffocates, too.”
“That seems like a good plan,” Lilith agreed, standing up slowly. Before she continued, Circe interrupted.
“Pardon me, Mistress Lilith, but that may be difficult. I’m registering an intrusion through the front doors by Crimson Bull, and Ocean Spirit just emerged from the submersible chamber,” the AI said, pausing and frowning as she added, “There are no other exits that I’m aware of. Also, another woman is making her way toward the front entrance, but I do not have data on her identity. She appears mostly mundane.”
“Crap. I think I can teleport us back to the beacons, Lil, but I’m not sure that I can get those two as well. Or that we’d want to,” Gina said, glancing down at the two villains dubiously.
“Umm… what do you two think?” Lilith asked, glancing at the other two heroines. She was tired, drained, and would prefer not to deal with this right now.
“I’d… I’d like to talk to them, a bit,” Blooming Orchid said nervously, then looked down and added, “Or maybe not. I’m… I don’t know.”
“I think we should talk to Ocean Spirit. She didn’t sound as insane as Sky Defender, and she was the one who told us that Orchid had been abducted,” Rachel said, glancing at the other woman and sighing. “I don’t blame you, Orchid. Despite what happened to Warden, it’s obvious that you were affected more.”
“I think that works as a plan. Circe, could you guide Ocean Spirit to us?” Lilith said, deciding to sit back down with a wince.
The AI nodded and spoke. “Of course, Mistress Lilith.”
As she left, Orchid nodded, hugging herself as she admitted. “It’s… I’m having a hard time not breaking down. I thought I was going to lose everything. I still could.”
“Circe, is there anything that you can do to restore her?” Lilith subvocalized, and from the slight reaction from Gina, she knew the others could hear her too.
“Currently there are seventy percent odds of restoring her to her prior appearance, possibly more,” Circe answered promptly. “A full examination would be required to ascertain what may be done to restore her. Chances may range as high as ninety-seven percent, depending on what was done. This would require using technology which you are not allowed to access the details of, Mistress Lilith, but the usage in an undisclosed secondary location would be allowed.”
Lilith relaxed slightly, sighing and speaking up. “I inquired of the base computer, and even without a full examination, the estimate is that she has better than even odds of restoring you. Everything depends on the details, but… I think you have good odds of returning to how you were before.”
“Thank God!” Blooming Orchid exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I thought—”
The door hissed open and the shimmering figure of Ocean Spirit in her elemental state followed Circe into the room. The powerful heroine glanced around the room before speaking, a note of surprise in her voice. “I see you weren’t lying about this much, at least. I’m surprised. Hello, everyone… though forgive me if I’m skeptical about this woman being Blooming Orchid.”
“Then you’d best get used to being down a doctor!” Blooming Orchid shot back, obviously bristling as her back straightened.
“Hello, Spirit. We have a few gifts for you, assuming you aren’t about to try capturing us,” Morgan interjected, glancing at Gina and Lilith. �
�I got your email.”
“I see,” Ocean Spirit replied, her tone dry, and she glanced toward Lilith before continuing. “No, we aren’t going to try to capture you at the moment. We caught the doppelganger that had replaced Orchid, and she gave us this location, so we were going to be showing up in about half an hour to capture Doctor Johnson. As for you… well, considering that Dracula vouched for Lilith, we’ve been trying to get in contact with you to apologize and try to make amends.”
“Really? Then why did Sky Defender attempt to shoot me in the back of the head?” Lilith asked quietly, frowning slightly. “That was more than a little shocking. I was fortunate that someone warned me in time to dodge.”
“That was not anything that we’d planned. He was supposed to knock you unconscious, no more,” Ocean Spirit replied, frowning as she added, “Unfortunately, he had an encounter with Shadowmind when he first became a hero, and his fears from that time overwhelmed him. Dracula’s warning appears to have brought him to his senses, if only just. You have my deepest apologies, and his grudging ones.”
“We can’t afford to stick around here, Spirit,” Gina said bluntly, glancing at the door. “The others might let their emotions get the better of them, even now. We have to get out of here. Are you willing to take in these two jerks for us?”
“Of course I will. I’d like to discuss everything more, but I can understand why you aren’t willing to wait. But, what about Blooming Orchid?” Ocean Spirit asked, looking at the changed heroine in concern. “You’ve… changed immensely.”
“I’m going with them. Lilith says that they have some research of Shadowmind’s that might be able to help me. Doctor Johnson destroyed his copies of the technology, so I don’t have many other options,” the heroine replied, sighing as she shivered again. “I’m getting a little cold.”
“I’ll reply to emails now, Spirit,” Morgan added, pulling off her cape and wrapping it around Blooming Orchid. “You’ll want to excavate the collapsed area. I had to drop the roof on Dreamer… she’s scarier than any of the files claimed.”
“You dropped the ceiling on Dreamer?” Ocean Spirit asked, her disbelief palpable.
“I didn’t have much choice. She’d somehow manifested a copy of Sir Gareth. I’ll explain more via email,” Morgan said, raising an eyebrow. “Everyone ready to go?”
Lilith nodded as the others chorused their agreement, keeping an eye on Ocean Spirit as they gathered together. Just before Gina teleported them out, she saw Ocean Spirit look down at the fallen villains and shake her head.
Maureen skidded to a stop as she came around the corner and came face to face with a man in a crimson bodysuit with yellow trim, and her eyes went wide as she looked up, and up at Crimson Bull. The hero was looking back at her, and she swallowed hard.
“Err… hey, big guy?” she managed after a moment, feeling like the day couldn’t get much worse. At least the self-destruct seemed to have been fake, but she still had a bunch of scrapes and was caked in dirt.
“You must be Doppelganger’s sister, aren’t you?” the hero rumbled in return, causing her heart to sink as she swallowed hard. He grinned, continuing. “Look, she said she’d give us this location if we agreed to keep you safe. Don’t do anything stupid, and you’ll get out of this in one piece. Fair?”
“Ah, shit. Well…” Maureen paused, looking past him at Galvanic Action, and she slumped slightly, nodding morosely. “Sure thing. I told her this was a bad idea.”
“Could’ve been worse. You could be dead,” Galvanic Action chimed in, and Maureen let out a heavy sigh. As much as she’d like to disagree, he was right.
“Just a little higher, Crimson, I can see an alcove now,” Sky Defender said, and the bigger man grunted, hefting the boulder higher with obvious effort.
“I’ve… got it but make it quick, could you? This is heavy!” Crimson Bull replied, pushing up the rubble that they’d been working their way through. “Why do we have to do this?”
It had been the better part of an hour since he’d reached the lair of Doctor Johnson, and both villains were on their way to the SuperMax to be properly secured for the time being. He and Crimson Bull had been drafted into trying to dig out Dreamer, though there were decent odds of the woman having suffocated by this point.
“Because we’re the ones who can. No one else in the area is strong enough. I wish we had a terrakinetic, but…” Sky Defender began, slipping into the gap Crimson Bull had exposed. “Oh, this isn’t good.”
“What’s wrong? She a ghost now?” Crimson Bull asked.
“I’m not sure,” Sky Defender replied, looking into the alcove where he could see Dreamer’s dress, soiled by the dirt. “I see her dress, but she’s gone. No body, nothing else.”
“Uh… that sounds weird,” Crimson Bull grunted. “That mean we can get out of here, then? I’d rather be guarding the cute brunette.”
“Yeah, sure. You know she’s a villain, right?” Sky Defender said, grabbing the dress before slipping out of the gap and letting Crimson Bull set the slab back down.
The hero shrugged and laughed, stretching an arm. “Sure, but Nightsinger redeemed a villain, didn’t she? These two hadn’t even gotten started, not really. It’s worth a shot to keep them from going full villain, isn’t it?”
“I suppose.” Sky Defender replied dubiously, not entirely certain he agreed, but not willing to argue the point. Crimson Bull might be right, after all.
Shadowmind Utah Lair Alpha-Three
“Umm, there’s some debris in here, Circe,” Gina said, pulling off her goggles as she looked around the teleportation chamber.
The platform was scorched, with what looked like ashes and bits of metal scattered across the entire room. As she watched, a pair of remotes were gathering pieces of what looked like a robotic hand and arm from the floor.
“I’m aware,” the Circe android said at the same time as the base AI spoke. “Yes, a hostile intruder was disposed of. Cleanup is in progress.”
Everyone paused, and Lilith audibly sighed, shaking her head and leaning over to give Gina a kiss, then Rachel. Then she spoke as she gave Gina an affectionate smile. “We’ll have to come up with names to differentiate between the two of them soon. For now, though… both Blooming Orchid and I have appointments with the medical bay.”
“I think all of us do, actually,” Rachel interjected, looking worn out. “What a day.”
“It’s been a bad month,” Gina said, sighing. She wistfully hoped things would get better. “I hope that Ocean Spirit can help fix things. I want my painting supplies.”
“I agree on the month. I want my body back,” Blooming Orchid said, adding, “Also, call me Claire, Lilith. I want a better explanation of everything that’s happened, too… anything to distract me.”
“As you like. Come on,” Lilith said, smiling and giving Gina a hug as she added. “We’ll get there, Gina. I promise. You could always have Circe manufacture the things you need.”
“It isn’t the same!” Gina protested, but followed as Rachel laughed.
She did feel better, though. Things were looking up.
A moment later, Gina frowned and asked, “Wait… do we even have enough bedrooms with Claire here?”
“No,” Circe replied, but Rachel laughed more mischievously.
“Yes we do. Circe, please move my things into Lilith’s room,” Rachel said, smirking at Gina.
“As you wish,” Circe replied, and Lilith giggled but didn’t protest.
Gina, stunned, couldn’t come up with a good response, before finally muttering, “Cheater.”
Everyone laughed at that except for Circe, though Gina thought she saw the android version crack a smile.
Epilogue
Sunday, January 13th, 2031
Poenari Castle, Wallachia
“Yes, Mister President, I am quite certain,” Vlad said, pacing across the room from Ivanova, his tone level enough that most people would consider it simply polite. Ivanova knew better, after the years t
hey’d spent together. “Despite the apparent death of Shadowmind in captivity, I would not put much faith in her demise. She is far too adept of a psychic for that to be a guarantee of her death.”
Her beloved’s patience was obviously wearing thin, and as she raised an eyebrow at him, the dark-haired man Vlad appeared to be sighed heavily before speaking more sharply. “Enough. Your concerns about Lilith Carpenter are misplaced. You will either cease your foolish attempts to hunt her down and allow her to live her life, or you will not only create a deadlier threat than Shadowmind herself, but you will also lose any assistance that I might have otherwise been inclined to provide.”
He hung up the old-style phone abruptly, snorting in annoyance. The smoke from his nostrils was obvious, and Ivanova sighed and leaned forward, raising an eyebrow as she spoke. “They are being difficult again?”
“Short-sighted, ignorant fools, all of them,” Vlad growled, taking a deep breath, then letting it out. “Heroes are usually better than most, but zealots aren’t useful. At least Shadowmind was pragmatic, most of the time. I do not approve of what she was trying for, but she was better than most villains.”
“Why the obsession with Lilith, then?” Ivanova asked, tilting her head curiously. “You’ve been fascinated by her for some time. I’ve almost been jealous.”
“She’s… I recognize her powers. You have nothing to be jealous of,” Vlad said, then sighed and approached, giving her a kiss before he sat, obviously calming down. “They are unusual, but hardly unknown across the cosmos. The nature of them… some believe her ability to be the most powerful form of superpower possible, though another is more powerful on an individual scale. If she were to build enough of a rapport with others to use it on many people with powers, she and her allies would be unstoppable. In theory, that is.”
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