by P. S. Power
Which was totally fair. Cin didn’t even suggest that she needed to not be worried about that part of things.
After all, the show was pretty much the only thing that made her happy in life. That, and having Tobin in her world. After the first weeks, the woman stopped talking about him totally. From her story, that was down to the fact that the woman was certain that someone like him wouldn’t be back home waiting for her to return. Then, everyone there had to figure that they’d run off like it seemed like. Cin, in order to simply escape and Kerry because she’d betrayed them all for drugs.
If the plan was going right, everyone would actually assume that Penny Cooper was still on the base. Working the front desk. Just forgotten, day to day. The only person that would really understand that one was actually Brian Yi. At least amongst those that hadn’t been told about it all. Burkes and Lancaster might get it as well. Lancaster had dated the girl for a while, which meant that his keen Agent’s mind had a method in place to handle her. That being the case he tended to take notes about where she was and when they’d last talked, just to make certain he kept it all in mind.
So, he might just notice her missing.
Interestingly, nearly two months after they’d left in the night, Cindy looked at where Penny’s book claimed she was standing, outside of their blue van, and shrugged.
“That’s it. We’re actually done for now.” It was just the truth, but it had come pretty suddenly. They’d moved on from taking out the big wigs to the little guys and gals that were mainly in the public eye. The people who had to stick things out to the end, even if they figured out they were going to die for the cause. The higher ups had moved into deep bunkers to hide from the ruthless killers.
On the great side, they’d never worked out who it was that was doing it. They honestly figured it was one of the other control groups that had taken offense behind the scenes over something or another. Probably minor.
To that end, they’d suspended everything they were doing. Totally.
Finally, that day, the last of the famous people who worked with Mariah had broken and gone to hide, even if it was going to ruin their careers. A mere hundred and eighty-seven kills later. About a third of the people in the group, all told. That wasn’t enough, but it was what they could do for the time being.
Penny was surprised to hear it. In fact, her words showed that one pretty clearly, going a brilliant green in color almost instantly.
“We’re finished, finished, or…”
The invisible woman waited, as if there would be some kind of catch to the whole thing.
“Well, our part is done for now. We might have to kill more of them, later, or fight if they don’t catch on to our subtle hints about not fucking with the IPB. If we could reach them at all, I’d keep going, but they’re too well protected from us. For now, though? Finished and done. There’s nothing left to do.”
The words left both of the other women feeling uneasy. Mainly because they kind of figured that Cindy wasn’t planning to go back to the base. That got her to shake her head at them both, for not trusting in her good will and fellow feeling. It was as if they thought that, once having been a serial killer, she was always going to be a bad person. As if the two things went hand in hand like that.
“I have to head back. Sara needs me. I know that isn’t exactly my way, but I promised to be there for the kid. Given that messing that up might mean the world ending, I kind of have to follow through.” Even if little kids could be boring pains in the ass. It was bad enough that she’d left without considering the girl like she had. Then, even she wasn’t going to take a little kid on a killing spree like they’d been on.
Especially a child she was grooming to become a hero one day. At worst a dentist. Something productive that helped people out like that.
Interestingly, both of the other women got what she meant, in their own way. Kerry was kinder about it all, thinking that Cindy was just being a good person. The kind that kept her word to small children. Even if it was hard for her to do. In her world that was a rare and wonderful thing that nearly never happened. Which left her feeling conflicted again, since she kind of wanted to hate Cin for what she’d done, using Kerry’s powers. This new bit made that part harder for her.
Penny got the whole thing however, knowing about how powerful Sara really was. A class ten, in potential, if not in fact at that moment. Even that very day the girl was probably a class eight or so, without actually trying. In short, she needed people to be there for her, if the world wasn’t going to end the first time she threw a fit over something. That meant going back. At least for her.
She shrugged though.
“Penny… Well, you were never really gone. Kerry… You don’t have to go though. You can be free, if you want. We can cover for you. Say that you died on the mission or something. Get you new papers and enough cash to start over.”
The thing there was that the woman had never wanted that kind of thing. She’d just wanted drugs to hold her anger back a bit. Now, after weeks of having her story tampered with by a psychopath, the woman didn't want those at all. She felt fine now. Kinder than ever before, thanks to her genetic alterations. The deep rage, a thing that the woman had earned in her life, was muted and smaller. Mainly because leaving her the old way wasn’t going to help anyone.
She’d also gotten a small upgrade on her self-esteem. Mainly because the woman had been bugging the crap out of Cin feeling sorry for herself all the time. Yes, she was slightly funny looking, but it wasn’t that huge of an issue really. She was snub-nosed, and a little round faced. A lot of people thought of her as cute, even.
To her it was all about being the child of incest though. Which was part of it, of course. So Cin had warped that part of her, day after day for the last several weeks. The woman was quieter, but stronger seeming. Also, a good bit nicer to be around. Instead of complaining about not having anything in the world to do outside of the IPB, she just shrugged and smiled, at first toward the air where Penny wasn’t standing, then at Cindy.
“Nah? I should head back as well. I have all those great food show ideas. I mean, all that horrible truck stop food taught me so much about what not to do to food.” There was a mock shudder then, as Penny smiled.
Unseen, but it was real enough.
“Good. We should… Ditch the van then and get something new. How much cash do we have left for that?” She knew that it was about twenty-thousand, but Cindy had gotten it, so had been holding on to that for them, paying for almost everything. Over-paying at times, by just enough to leave people feeling good, but not call attention to them.
“It’s that twenty thousand or so, like you suspect. I’ll… Let me see about picking something up? I can do that tonight. Then…” Well, then it would be time to go back and face the music.
Getting a new, or rather well used, SUV took her about three hours, once she worked out what was wanted. She paid in cash, the older woman who’d owned it asking far more than it was really worth. The lady knew that, but was weighing her sentimental value into the equation, which meant nothing to Cindy at all. Still, she had the cash and couldn’t keep it without it being a sign of what she’d been off doing, so over-paid enough that the woman was planning to lie about how much she got on her taxes.
It reminded her of her last real kill. Back when she did it for fun, working for herself, not the IPB. Cindy had told the man that it was because he’d cheated on his taxes. It hadn’t been true of course. Even then she hadn’t cared about little things like right and wrong. She didn't now, either, but things were… Different.
Odd seeming, really. Things mattered to her. Not all the time, but off and on. Her friends, for instance. Sara. Even Mark and Rachel. Bridget. Oddly enough, Tim and Taman. Possibly even Will Baker.
Dumping old blue, which had been their home for a while now, was harder for Kerry than for her. She kind of felt glad to see the thing fade in the rearview mirror. It didn’t hold great memories for her. It was just a thing
that had gotten her to the good times, around the country. That part had actually been more or less fun for her. Even working with Kerry to kill had kind of been nice. It left her feeling powerful and a bit giddy, as she drove back toward the base.
Then there was the one kill that she’d gotten, using her own mental powers. That had taken far too long, but showed that the basic idea could work. How to improve that though, she wasn’t certain, really. Probably by writing the instructions more clearly and maybe on more pages at once. She needed to work on that, if she ever got the chance. Killing at a distance like that was useful, or could be, for someone like her. After all, she wasn’t going to lose sleep over it if people just didn’t wake up one day.
From where they were it took them two days of staggered driving, stopping to look at sights, like they were on vacation, but when they got in, it was still pretty early in the day. Enough so that she and Kerry showed up for their morning meditations with Hobbs. That day it was just the red-haired man, Will, and Tobin. Bridget was nowhere to be seen.
The small man, who looked a lot like a jockey now, instead of a frog, being in shape and nearly five- feet tall, which was a good half foot more than the last time they’d met, practically jumped his girlfriend, actually pleased to see her. That got a warm response from Kerry. The whole kissing and hugging thing that was the result she’d hoped for, but not expected.
Will and Hobbs kept meditating, having pepper spray in their eyes. Sighing, Cin shook her head, took the container of stuff and sprayed her own face. It didn’t do much to her, if anything at all. There was a fine orange tint over her eyes, but that was about it for her. Still, that was the exercise, so she did it, then cleared her mind, until Hobbs told her what to do.
“Focus on the nail of your right thumb. Feel the shape at its edges.” That was all he said, until twenty minutes later. Then he washed the fire from his eyes, using a clean bucket of water. That didn’t work very well, but it was impossible to tell he was uncomfortable at all. Will, was in the same boat as her that way, really.
Then, he’d come for a mission, to learn how to fight. It had only been a few months, but even Hobbs figured that he’d done a good enough job to be going on with. The boy was strong and fast after all. Also smart and adaptable. That meant he’d learned well enough to do his job for the time being. He could be great, as a fighter, but only time and practice would deliver that to him.
It meant that this was his last day there, more or less.
The hyper fit man, Master Hobbs, looked at her and nodded.
“Lady Cin! I’d been told that you’d fled the IPB, in order to serve your own needs. It gladdens me to see you again.” Unless, of course, it was going to be his job to kill her. He’d do it, if ordered, but actually liked her well enough that it would be a hardship to him, emotionally.
She shrugged at the thought, since it was a warmer welcome than she would have figured on, given what he’d been told about her.
“You know how it goes. I missed you guys, so had to come back. Now, I need to shower. Then… I don’t know, report back in to Marcia?” That got a nod, and a wave from Hobbs, who wasn’t certain that she was going to survive doing that.
Still, it was about the right order of things.
Interestingly, her room was still there and the door opened when she tried using her thumb print on the reader next to it. So no one had tried all that hard to make it seem like she’d really left.
When she got out of the shower, clean for the first time in a week, having scrubbed hard enough that most of the stink of the van ride was gone, finally, she found Willum Baker standing out front of the building.
There was a charming grin from the purple haired man, who was dressed in a black velvet outfit that made it seem like he was about to go in for some really good cosplay. She was dressed up in tan. Like an IPB Operative. It was that or a skirt, since her jeans hadn’t really managed to last the trip very well.
“Hey, Will. Finally come to ask me out on that date?” That wasn’t his reasoning, but the guy actually winked at her, getting that she knew the real reason. He wasn’t in her league, as far as data collection, but he did have some talents that way. Enough to pick up that she was teasing, when others might miss it.
“Of course.” Then the words over his head shifted more than a bit, the font changing as she watched. Becoming clearer, and more intense. “Honestly, that isn’t too far from the truth. I’m heading back home later today. To my world? Tor and Timon Baker asked me to bring you along, if you were back when I left. I’ve waited here for an extra two weeks, just in case. You… Your powers might help us, over there. Things are getting tense. I think we might be losing.”
There was no explanation as to what was needed. She got that part, after all. Spy hunting. Working out who was plotting against her friends over there. Which to her mind were about three people. Tim, Tam, and Will. The kid with the purple hair was the only one she actually knew, she realized. Still, the others had helped her out, so it was fair enough to do that back.
“I see. Okay. I mean, if Ms. Turner is cool with that. I might be locked up in the brig for a while.” It was possible, actually. Technically not legal, or good, given that she’d been out working, but the woman loved nothing more than really selling the role being played by her operatives.
Will actually just shrugged then.
“Good. I’ll take care of that part then. She loves me, after all. I can tell.”
There was, at least, a bit of humor in the words. Marcia Turner didn’t hate the boy, but she really didn’t like him either. He was, in the end, too good at his job for her taste. A spy in training who had managed to merge almost completely with their world after no more than a few weeks. It wasn’t perfectly done, but he could have gone out into public and fooled most of the people, most of the time. He could have fooled professionals, with just a bit more effort.
So Turner couldn’t love him for it. Her mode didn’t allow for that kind of thing.
When they got into the office there was a sense of foreboding. Mainly because Lydia, the young secretary, frowned at her. It wasn’t real, but there were several layers inside of the thing. Relief, since she’d worked out the connection between who was gone and all the deaths from around the country. Anger, since she’d been kept out of the loop.
Worry, that Director Turner would have Cindy killed.
Which didn’t happen at all. In fact, when she pounded on the door, Will standing behind her, looking a bit strange in his weird clothing, Lydia wide eyed as she answered a phone call, Turner hugged her. Having moved all the way out into the front room.
“So, I hear that things went well? Cooper reported in first thing. A complete success?”
She shrugged, then moved into the room, Will crowding in behind her. So that she couldn’t get away.
Penny was in the room, wearing clothing, so she managed to be visible. After a fashion. She needed her dyes in place for that, or at least good makeup, but that would have to wait for later in the day. Then, as long as she stayed relaxed enough, she’d get to be a visible girl. One that looked more or less normal, as long as you didn’t focus on the fringes of her disguise too much. There were always holes in it. When she opened her mouth she tended to not have a tongue, for instance. Or teeth at times. Those could be faked, but wearing prosthetics for it all the time was uncomfortable. So, Penny didn’t bother most days. There were other little things like that, but most people missed them, unless they were focusing on that kind of thing for some reason.
Still, she reported honestly enough, getting that they weren’t pretending it wasn’t them that had done it. They couldn’t tell if the Mariah group was listening to them or their thoughts now, but they hadn’t gotten anything from Marcia the whole time, so it didn’t seem that likely.
“They can’t bring a good fight to us now. Really, they haven’t worked out that it was us yet. They seem to think it was the Jason Society. That, or one of the other more tech driven collectives. W
e probably aren’t done yet though. For now they’re just waiting. Hiding well enough that we can’t really get to them. Or…” She stopped, then glanced at first Penny, then Will.
Marcia did the same, thinking she was saying something about the spy from another world. That wasn’t her point. When she went on that part was clear.
“Well, really, Proxy could do it. He isn’t really a killer though. He could get to them however. We could, I don’t know, get him to take in a team, if we needed? Penny and I could do it. Kerry, if… Well, I’ve been fucking with her mind for the last two months. She can kill now and not feel bad about it. Mainly by assuming that I’ve been in control of her powers the whole time. Which is pretty much true, by the way. It’s… You know, using my powers for mind control. A new trick, really.”
One that everyone had to assume she’d had the ability to do for a while. Trivia had claimed she was a class five telepath, which meant she had to have that kind of power, more or less. At the very least, Marcia wasn’t shocked. She looked at Penny then, not making eye contact, missing where she was in the room exactly.
“You were in on this? The mind control, or was it a rogue operation?” She was about to get upset on Kerry’s behalf, but there was a soft snort. It came out of thin air, right over the visible tan outfit.
A thing that she understood after a moment of reading. Penny was intimidated by Turner, so was subconsciously making herself harder to see, but only for the one woman. She was more or less at ease with Cindy though, being old friends now.
“Cin was remarkably open about the whole thing. She even let Kerry ask her for help, pick what she wanted to fix, instead of just doing things to her. It was kind of tense for a bit. Kerry’s powers kept going after Mableton. Pelting her with rocks and dousing her with water mainly. I was about to start punching Yoder in the head when Cindy worked out what to do to fix the issues.”
She nodded.
“I mainly got her to calm down. Then I guided her on the kills that she made, at a distance. That way she wasn’t responsible for them, you know?” It was just possible that Director Turner might not have gotten that part of things. The boss was a killer after all. Not the kind to take joy in doing it, but she did her job, no matter how hard it got for her, inside.