by JC Bybee
Like I said some of them are just damned annoying.
As Ace lifted the grate off the air handling system she was grateful for her more average stature. Even with her body armor, she fit with ease. At least she would if she dropped her gun, which she did. She made a mental note to come back for it. Einstein would be pissed if she forgot it. Ace then entered the heating and cooling ducts and made her way down.
As soon as she could she dropped out of the HV/AC system. Moving through it quietly was almost impossible. Once clear she realized that she was in the men’s restroom. It was quiet and empty, unsurprising considering the situation. That's when questions started to surface.
How had the Anti managed to get a group of hostages trapped at this time of night? Ace had learned to be paranoid in her time serving in the Exceptionals branch of the military. Something about this whole situation stank.
Well you are in the restroom.
She exited the restroom and continued moving through the floor trying to figure out where their target was. It would take time for Torment and Maniac to come in through the lower levels, they would have to be constantly on the lookout for traps. It was Ace’s responsibility to secure the scene if at all possible.
As silently as she could she began a methodical search of the floor. Room by room she went, checking and clearing each one. There was a general hum in the air that her sharper than normal hearing picked up on. It worried her. Her progress was unhindered by any traps, which also made her suspicious. Anti technomancers were always looking for ways to show off their power.
Just like that time in New Madrid with Tesla. She was so horrified when that shock trap didn’t stop you.
These thoughts were all going through Ace’s mind when she opened a door to what could have been a meeting room. The door swung open, easier than she had expected. There was a click and something slammed into her chest. The impact was followed by an ear splitting boom.
Chapter 2
Ace was momentarily disoriented by the sound that assaulted her. Had she been a normal, being that close to a sonic boom would have killed her. She hoped the hostages were still alive.
They’re fine, concentrate.
With a shake of her head cleared her thoughts and took stock. Sitting in the middle of the room was… well the closest thing it resembled was an assault rifle. The tripod it was resting on looked built to stabilize construction equipment. The bore had to have been at least the size of a .50 caliber and it was still pointed at her.
“That’s impossible!” The person that shouted was a man. He was tall and thin, his face haggard and his clothes were baggy. The anger on his face at her not being dead was clear.
Ace saw what looked like a remote triggering device in his hand and she lunged at him. A guy like him didn’t stand a chance of reacting before she closed the gap. She was the fastest Exceptional on record. In the blink of an eye she was face to face with the Anti. He still seemed shocked that the gun hadn’t stopped her. “You, you’re that damned Fifth that killed Blood Host.”
“You are under arrest,” Ace replied. She had a gentle hold on the arm that was holding the remote trigger. He tried to pull free, but Ace’s grip didn’t budge. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” Ace continued, pulling a set of suppressor cuffs from her belt. “Human laws have no authority over me!” he exclaimed, “I am Technosis! Machinery bows to my very will!”
The gun turned and Ace heard it powering up again, the same hum from before. She didn’t bother to dodge. Instead she finished cuffing Technosis and threw him, gently, aside as the gun fired. Another shot slammed into her, another sonic boom destroyed the rest of the windows in the room. This time she was prepared for the noise and she turned her hearing momentarily off.
“It’s not possible! This weapon killed Tomahawk!” Technosis’s high pitched denial grated across Ace’s ears once she allowed them to work again. Memories flashed at the mention of Tomahawk, but she squashed them back down.
Good, stay focused. Now that he’s taken care of, check the hostages.
She made sure her prisoner was completely secure and cut off from his powers and continued reading him his rights. Now that he couldn’t use his powers Technosis was much more subdued. That was usually how it worked. Antis acted high and mighty, but cut them off from their power and they were helpless.
Once Ace finished with her prisoner she went and checked up on the hostages. They were all bound and gagged, but seemed unharmed otherwise.
One of the Regs is an energy class. He put up a shield.
She would have to make sure whoever it was got a medal. He’d saved the lives of all the hostages.
Ace radioed out to Torment, “Subject apprehended. Far as I can tell none of the hostages are injured.”
“Nice work Ace. We’ll be up in a minute. Maniac is still handling some devices down here,” Torment sent back. As always her voice sounded extra strange over the radio.
While she waited Ace started untying the hostages and doing her best to keep them calm. In general they were all okay, just shaken. Being that close to a super weapon had that effect on people, even Exceptionals.
Her main question now was how had Technosis gotten ahold of such a weapon? Thirds weren’t known for their ability to create sophisticated machinery.
There’s something else going on here. Be careful.
“It was Homo Superior,” one of the women whispered as Ace undid her bindings.
Ace’s blood ran cold. Homo Superior was a shadow group. Supposedly they wanted to “cleanse” the earth of the “human taint”. Every government in the world, including those run by Exceptionals, denied their existence. Ace had to wonder just a little. People like Technosis didn’t just come out of nowhere with massive weaponry and start killing.
“How do you know that?” Ace asked the woman as she continued untying ropes.
“I can’t tell you here,” the woman replied in an almost inaudible whisper. Ace nodded. If the woman didn’t want to talk, then that was her business. Torment would be able to help. People relaxed around Torment, despite the impression her name gave.
It didn’t take much time for them to finish wrapping up the scene. Maniac had disabled all of Technosis’ traps with relative ease. Torment called in an Anti Transport Unit and the police were taking away the hostages to get their statements. Meanwhile Maniac was studying the gun that Technosis (still a stupid name) claimed had been the weapon responsible for the death of Tomahawk.
“You knew Tomahawk, right Ace?” Jacks asked as Maniac did her thing.
“Yeah I knew him,” Ace replied, not really wanting to talk about it. She had to push memories aside every time someone mentioned her former mentor.
Your next psych eval is going to suck.
“How did he rank compared to you? I mean I remember when he joined the E.E.D. Everyone said he was the strongest Fortress Class ever born. I believed ‘em to. The guy was hardcore. Do you think this could take him down?” Jacks continued.
Ace wanted to get mad at him, she really did, but she just couldn’t. It was his Quirk. People, normals and Exceptionals, just liked Jacks. That meant he got to ask questions other people couldn’t, because people were less likely to punch him in the face for it.
“Yes. If someone fired that thing at any Exceptional I’ve ever met it would drop them. That’s what it was made to do,” Ace replied. Jacks knew that Tomahawk had been her mentor, her friend. Everyone in the E.E.D knew. Most had the good sense not to talk to her about it.
“What is it? That’s my question,” Jacks said looking weapon over from a safe distance.
“It’s a hybrid between a railgun and a Gauss rifle,” Maniac said in answer to Jacks’ question. She was clearly fascinated by what she was finding on the weapon. Her eyes were a veritable storm of electricity. The answer had come more as a reflex than a response to Jacks.
Jacks just looked more confused at the answer. Ace’s head started hurting at the th
ought. She was well versed in the hyper levels of weaponry that had been developed in order to deal with Exceptionals. Why anyone would ever even consider meshing a railgun and a Gauss rifle was beyond her. “Shouldn’t that be impossible?” she asked.
“Most definitely. Whoever put this monster together was a genius, probably smarter than Einstein,” Maniac replied.
Jacks started swearing quietly under his breath while Ace just shook her head. “What’s it made out of? I can’t think of anything capable of withstanding that kind of force.”
Maniac shook her head. “We’ll have to take it to Einstein for that. You’re going to have to carry it Ace.”
With a resigned sigh Ace picked the weapon up off of its mount and shouldered it. “No matter how many times I see you do that…” Jacks said with a shake of his head.
“Deuce could have done it without touching it,” Ace replied as she carried the gun from the room. She had it over one shoulder and the mount under the other arm.
“Yeah, but that’s different. Powers like ours don’t have the kind of effect that physical powers do. It’s hard to explain,” Jacks said with another shake of his head. Lots of Exceptionals of the various classes were like that. They were constantly impressed by those with physical powers, despite what their own powers could do.
Ace remained quiet as she carried the impossible weapon out to their transport. Out on the street she stopped, remembering something important. “Damn. Be right back.” She sat the rifle down with its tripod and jumped, yet again, to the top of the building. There she found the assault rifle Einstein had given her.
“Almost forgot this,” she said back at street level. She put her rifle back on her shoulder and then picked the much larger one up off the ground.
“Good thing you remembered. Einstein’s going to be mad enough you didn’t get a chance to fire it. Imagine if you left it behind,” Jacks said.
Ace tried not to picture it as they loaded themselves into the transport. She had enough problems. She didn’t want to add the wrath of a mad scientist on top of it.
Chapter 3
“Hey rookie.” Ace looked up from her computer screen where she was writing her report. She hated paperwork, but she did it because she understood how important it was to the system. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t take any excuse to look up from her screen, even if it meant she had to deal with Left Hook.
Left Hook had come to the E.E.D just before Ace, which meant in he had slightly more seniority than her. He was also a jerk. Because of the difference in their seniority, small as it was, he liked to try and pick on her. He was a Fourth and a Speed Class. Ace was convinced that part of his problem was he was only a mid-range, not an upper tier Exceptional.
“What’s up?” Ace asked. She didn’t bother hiding her annoyance.
“Captain wants you down in interrogation. Says one of the witnesses wants to talk to you,” Left Hook replied.
That was unusual. Normally witnesses opened up to Torment or Angel. Angel was the one in charge of Ace’s E.E.D precinct. He was an upper tier Mental Class on par with Torment. They also shared exactly the same powers. There were rumors the two were dating, but Ace doubted that very much. Torment and Angel were both sticklers when it came to rules and a relationship with a coworker was a big time violation of department policy.
Ace saved her report and said, “Alright.” She paused looked him in the eye and continued, “Touch my stuff and we’ll have a repeat of what happened last time.”
He put his hands up in mock submission. “Sure, I read you.” Left Hook had messed with her desk right after her assignment to Torment’s Unit. She’d hung him upside down from a flagpole, on the top of a building. They’d both been subject to disciplinary action. A good cop Left Hook might be, but he was a terrible person.
He’s an asshole.
The interrogation rooms were in the basement of the precinct. Ace took the elevator and had to suffer through a number of awkward moments when members of the regular police saw her standing in the elevator. Most normals were adjusted to the Exceptionals all the way up the Fourths. The first of the Fourth Generation had been born over fifty years ago.
Things were different with her. She knew about the rumors that people spread about her powers. Some were right, others were wildly speculative. Yes she could, and had, survived being shot by a tank, but no she couldn't kill a person just by looking at them.
Well you can’t.
When she finally got to the basement she was more annoyed. She did her best to keep it under control as she showed her ID and was buzzed in. The entire floor was heavily secured. Antis had been known to try and break out known associates or witnesses against them. Not a one of the precautions could have stopped Ace, but she didn’t want to break in. She didn’t want to be there at all. She very much disliked taking part in interrogations. She didn’t even like taking witness statements at crime scenes. It always felt like she was intimidating people into talking, which was a clear violation of their rights.
Captain Angel met her on the other side of the mag-locked, all steel blast door. The Captain was tall and thin. His dark skin and eyes could have made him intimidating, but his face was perpetually smiling and his short, wiry hair was completely white and had been his entire life.
Sure, he gets an easy Quirk.
His tie was loose and the top three buttons of his shirt were undone. He looked stressed, despite the smile. “Thanks for coming down here Ace,” he said extending his hand. She shook it and said, “No problem Captain. What can I do to help?”
They started down the corridor. “Well, most of the hostages you rescued didn’t know much. The normals for the most part were grateful to make it out alive. The Regs were the same. A couple had a few bits of intel for us, but not much more than you’d already told Torment. And you were right; one of them had put up a force field to protect them from that… weapon. However there was one that was of particular interest. She’s an Unreg and a Used. Said she spoke to you after you secured the scene.”
Ace nodded. She remembered the woman. She hadn’t shown any of the usual signs of being a Used. “She seemed like a normal when I spoke to her, though she did say that Technosis was being used by the HSO,” Ace said.
Angel sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. “That’s what we were afraid of. Anyway we need you to go talk to her. Right now she’s scared and nervous. Apparently she’s an upper tier mentalist. She’s strong enough to block out me and Torment, and since she’s a Used she can’t drop her guard and let us in to help.”
Ace nodded. She didn’t like the fact that Angel had seemed to agree that the HSO was behind this incident. That meant the organization was real. And if that was true that meant they were likely responsible for Tomahawk’s death.
“I know what you’re thinking Ace. Just keep it under wraps for now, okay?” Angel said.
He doesn’t know for certain either.
Again she nodded. Ace didn’t want to think about a secret organization of Antis bent on world domination. Stuff like that wasn’t supposed to happen in real life. Not after the Exceptionals War.
Not everyone was satisfied with the outcome of the War.
They arrived at the interrogation room and Angel opened the door. Torment was sitting across the table from the woman that Ace remembered from the crime scene. Torment was out of her body armor. Instead she had on a black tank top and fatigue pants. She had to suppress a small pang of jealousy. Torment was a knockout, with model quality features and the kind of curves that drew the eye. Ace tried not to make comparisons between her and her commanding officer.
In the bright light of the room Ace could see that the woman had been crying. Her green eyes were red-rimmed. Her blouse was rumpled and the exhaustion was plain on her face.
She’s had a rough night.
“Ms. Carpenter, this is Ace,” Torment said as way of an introduction.
“I know who she is,” Ms. Carpenter replied. “I can’t help but know
who she is.” There was resignation in her voice when she spoke. She put her face in her hands, her long, wavy, red hair cascaded forward.
“You said you’d be willing to talk to her, correct?” Torment continued.
The woman nodded. She looked up and pushed her hair back. “Just me and her. You two can watch from behind the glass where Deuce and Jacks are placing bets.”
Ace blinked. Interrogation rooms were supposed to be proof against mind powers. If she could read Jacks and Deuce through the glass that meant Ms. Carpenter was one of the most powerful Mental Class they'd ever encountered, easily as powerful as Torment and Angel. The other two officers traded looks and Ace just shrugged. It’s not like the woman would be able to harm her.
But why you? No other Used has reacted like this.
“Alright, Ace please do what you can,” Angel said. Torment stood and the two of them left the room.
Once the door was closed Ace took the chair formerly occupied by Torment and said, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me your first name?”
“Emily,” came the reply.
“Why did you want to talk to me Emily?” Ace asked. She wasn’t very good at interrogations, or even talking to people for that matter. It was hard to develop conversational skills when seemingly everyone you ever met was intimidated by you.
“Because my powers are under my control when you’re around. The first time in my life I’ve been able to turn off the flow of information was when you walked into that room and confronted Technosis,” Emily replied. She was crying, relief clear on her features.
That can’t be true. We would know if that was true.
Ace sat there stunned. She’d never had anyone tell her that. She’d had to put down Used before. She usually saw it as a mercy. Used were Exceptionals who had little to no control on their powers. If they were physical powers it wasn’t usually a problem. Mental powers were usually the worst. It was the most dangerous Quirk there was.