“With any luck, Halley will be too tongue-tied at the sight of Lilith to say anything. And if all else fails, you could always kiss her,” Gina suggested with a broad grin.
“Why would I kiss Halley? I don’t know her!” Lilith protested, taken aback, and Rachel choked on a bite of her sandwich.
“No, no, I didn’t mean that!” Gina said, blushing a bright shade of blue. “I meant that Rachel could kiss you!”
“You should’ve been clearer,” Rachel said, clearing her throat as she pounded on her chest. “Damn it, Gina, don’t do that to me!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Gina said, her blush growing even deeper, but Lilith couldn’t help laughing.
Chapter 19
Monday, April 29th, 2031
Destruction Corps Headquarters, Unknown Location
“Hello, Commodore,” Da Vinci said calmly, giving Commodore Catastrophe pause, then she let her invisibility lapse.
Da Vinci’s workroom was chaotic at first glance, but she knew better than to believe it, as the inventor knew where every last tool was and could pick them up without even looking. Even more impressive, he could also operate all of the complex machinery without even focusing on it if he chose, though he was usually so focused on his work that there was no need for that. As she watched he was operating a machine with twelve arms that were doing minute work on a device the size of a joint of Commodore Catastrophe’s pinkie. On several workbenches she could see weapons and armor, each disassembled down to the tiniest part and carefully organized. They almost looked like the exploded diagrams she sometimes saw of weapons.
The inventor himself was immaculate in a lab coat reminiscent of the classic mad scientist, buttoning across one shoulder and down one side of his body, which Commodore Catastrophe found ironic, since she knew he was far from insane. The man was of Spanish descent and had lightly tanned skin and blond hair that he kept slicked back to stay out of his eyes. Eyes that were a bright gold like most of his works, as he stared intently at his work, then reached up to stroke his short beard contemplatively as he briefly paused in his work.
“How did you know I was here?” Commodore Catastrophe said, stepping into the room carefully, every step she took perfectly silent, though she was a little annoyed. She prided herself on her stealth, so the inventor noticing that she was coming was annoying, and a little worrying.
“You enjoy sneaking up on people, and such could interfere with my work. As such, I’ve embedded devices in your equipment which warn me when you come into range,” Da Vinci said, causing anger to well up inside her, at least until he continued. “It’s keyed so that only I can detect them. They utilize an essentially unknown form of quantum mechanics and look like natural parts of the environment if you aren’t specifically looking for them. I couldn’t detect them if I hadn’t made them myself.”
“They’d better be. If I’m ever detected because you didn’t want me sneaking up on you, I’ll strangle you once I get back,” Commodore Catastrophe said, her voice tight as she controlled her anger.
“Melzi, please make a note of that for me,” Da Vinci said calmly, adjusting something in the tiny device, not seeming to care about her threat.
“Done, sir,” Melzi replied quietly, his voice rich and smooth.
Commodore Catastrophe didn’t say anything more for a minute, watching Da Vinci work as she calmed herself down, since she knew that getting angry with the inventor wouldn’t help at all. He was simply too emotionally detached from anything that wasn’t his work, which could occasionally be a nightmare for their organization, particularly when he decided to go on a painting spree in his efforts to be like his namesake. Still, he was brilliant and didn’t care what they did with his inventions, which was why they put up with his eccentricities.
“What are you doing?” she asked at last, folding her arms as she looked at the device. “Is that a piece retrieved from one of the alien ships?”
“Of course not. This is the capacitor from a legionnaire assault rifle,” Da Vinci said, sniffing disdainfully. “I’ve come up with a method of increasing its power output by five percent. It will necessitate replacing the conductors with more efficient ones, but the improved power of the weapon should make the expense well worth the effort.”
Frustration rushed through Commodore Catastrophe again, and she was suddenly reminded of why Major Destruction refused to deal with Da Vinci if he had any choice in the matter. The inventor was stubborn, didn’t do what people wanted, and got sidetracked easily, which was the sort of thing that angered Major Destruction enormously. It was also why she’d been sent to question him, and not someone who would hurt the inventor.
“Why aren’t you examining the alien wreckage, then? Or the biological samples?” Commodore Catastrophe asked, her voice taut with anger. “We spent a good deal of effort acquiring them for you.”
“Because they’re useless,” Da Vinci said, clicking his tongue unhappily.
“What?” she demanded.
“They are useless,” Da Vinci said, turning away from his work at last to stare at her pointedly. “The metal is intact, but material analysis is suited to common engineers, not me. The machinery was carefully disabled or destroyed by nanites which also self-destructed, leaving it as something which appears to show tantalizing glimpses of technology, but which is completely and utterly worthless. If you want to learn about the alien metallurgy, give it to one of the others, not to me. It isn’t worth my time.”
“Fine. Unfortunate, but it isn’t as though we can prevent the aliens from sabotaging their own equipment,” Commodore Catastrophe said, a headache beginning to form. “What about the biological samples?”
“They possess the same issue, in a different way. I am not a specialist in biology, but I know enough to realize that the samples come from a cloned creature, and one which was never really alive at all,” Da Vinci said with a sniff, turning away. “There were no signs of stress or exercise, meaning that it was likely a decoy of some type. As the vessel which carried it split into five parts on reaching atmosphere, I believe that the species which built it was paranoid and made four of them decoys. Possibly all five.”
“Merde!” Commodore Catastrophe hissed, then looked up sharply. “Do you have any information of use regarding them?”
“Melzi,” Da Vinci said, his tone dismissive as he went back to his work.
Commodore Catastrophe looked up at the intercom pointedly, crossing her arms. If the AI didn’t have anything useful to tell her, she was going to be very upset, instead of just somewhat annoyed. She preferred not to be upset.
“My apologies, Commodore, but the professor was quite irritated to learn that the samples were all useless. However, he was able to detect a common element in them that isn’t part of most creatures on Earth,” Melzi said, his voice carefully pitched to be quiet near Da Vinci, yet audible to Commodore Catastrophe. “Using that information, I was able to recalibrate some of our sensor systems to find objects with those properties. It is not as precise as I would like, in part due to Shadowmind’s AI unveiling my node in Paragon City to the NSA, but I have some general areas where alien technology might be located.”
A holographic map snapped to life, and Commodore Catastrophe examined it, her mood improving immensely now that she was getting some information that was of use. The map showed most of the western United States, and she noted the five landing sites were glowing softly, which was only to be expected. There were also a couple of other locations that were glowing, in particular several locations she knew were military bases, as well as LANCE’s headquarters north of Paragon City, but there were several unusual locations and she frowned, tapping the one in Paragon City, her finger slipping through it.
“What’s this one? Or the one in Vegas?” Commodore Catastrophe asked, frowning to herself.
“They appear to be located near universities, so I believe that the samples were delivered to scientists for studies. I have no information on their progress, but I doubt
that they’ve determined much just yet. However, there are three sites that look particularly promising for our purposes,” Melzi said, and two of the locations brightened, one on the southern outskirts of Paragon City, and another in the mountains east of the city. “These two are of particular note. Based on the location of the eastern signal, I believe that a sample was recovered by Black Emerald. While attacking her stronghold has been discouraged in the strongest terms by General Mayhem, she usually is willing to sell information and might be able to give additional data on the biological samples. The other is near no villain, hero, or military site that I have found, so I would estimate it has heightened odds of being an alien itself, or some of its technology someone found.”
“Mm… and the third?” Commodore Catastrophe asked, her eyes narrowing. At least Da Vinci wasn’t interjecting.
The map drifted westward, until it showed a dot in the western part of Nevada, and nowhere near anywhere important, which caused caution to well up in Commodore Catastrophe, at least until Melzi spoke.
“This reading has been traveling westward for the last six hours and appears to be following the highway. I estimate that either a villain or other group is attempting to smuggle the sample out of the area,” Melzi explained calmly. “It could possibly be an alien as well, but I have no way of knowing at present.”
“Well, at least that gives me something to work off of. Keep track of the sample moving westward. If it ends up on a ship, inform me immediately,” Commodore Catastrophe said, straightening as she continued. “The others… we’ll see, but that southern one might be worth sending a strike team after.”
“If you do, and get the chance, I would still like to examine Shadowmind’s daughter, and I’m told she’s in that area,” Da Vinci commented, glancing away from his work, an unusual smile on his face. “She always does interesting work, and the woman seems like she might have things to teach me. Even if I’m not as versed in biology, it’s an interesting subject.”
“We’ll see,” Commodore Catastrophe said noncommittally. “The last attempt to capture or kill her didn’t go well.”
“Yes, well, that’s why I said that if you get the chance. I’d settle for her visiting a scanning booth voluntarily, though I know that something like that isn’t likely,” Da Vinci said, turning back to his work. “You all seem to prefer bringing me samples in pieces, anyway.”
Commodore Catastrophe rolled her eyes, then asked, “Is that clear, Melzi?”
“Of course, Commodore,” Melzi replied evenly, and the map vanished as the AI continued. “I believe that taking action is quite possible.”
“Excellent,” Commodore Catastrophe said, and turned to leave the room, bending light around herself again.
She wanted to surprise someone, after the annoyance of visiting Da Vinci.
Chapter 20
Monday, April 29th, 2031
Paragon State University, Paragon City
It was well before dawn when Okris approached the university, and it paused again, truly annoyed by the world it found itself on. Its current host didn’t blend in with the surroundings well at all, which meant that it had to spend energy on stealth, which was frustrating. The other option was to manipulate the savages around it into forgetting that it was there, but with all the recording devices Okris had quickly discarded that idea. It had considered using its armor for the raid, but that idea had also been discarded, as this shouldn’t result in combat, and expending the energy the armor would take seemed shortsighted, not when it would have to attack a military base later.
The engineering building Okris was looking at was much like all of the buildings in the city which the savages had built. Primitive steel, glass windows, and they had an odd obsession with a moldable stone they called concrete, rather than using something far more malleable and durable. It was irritating, particularly since the thick substance was good at giving false readings to Okris’s sensors. It knew that the equipment it needed was in the building, but the only question was where, on any of its eight floors.
Okris tapped the detector irritably, raising it a little to try to get a better reading, even as it examined the building for a good entrance. It knew that many of the doors were secured heavily, and there were enough beings with powers on the planet that the savages had even made it difficult for those with telekinesis to open them without setting off alarms, which was more irritating.
There was a window that had been left open on the fifth floor, though, and Okris considered it for a moment, then discarded the thought. The window wasn’t intended to open far enough for Okris to enter, and there was another, easier way to go about this. It waited impatiently, watching the path for the woman who’d be coming along soon enough.
The security guard came along the path a minute later, her shoulders hunched to raise the collar of her coat, and her breath coming out as a slight fog due to the chill. She wasn’t what Okris would consider a true warrior, but few of the savages were, at least in locations like this, so it cautiously reached out to the woman’s mind.
Nicole Palmore’s mind was like a house without locks on any of the doors, and Okris easily slipped into it, noting the savage’s petty concerns with a hint of derision. She was more concerned with getting her patrol over with so she could get someplace warm again than with keeping watch, though it was surprised that the woman was keeping a relatively close eye out. That made it easy to convince her that she’d seen something odd in the engineering building, and that she should investigate. It would even let her warm up for a second.
Hesitating, after a second Nicole took her radio from her belt and held it up, speaking clearly enough that Okris could hear her, even without being in her mind. “Cam, I think I saw someone in the engineering building. Is anyone supposed to be in there?”
The radio crackled to life a moment later, a man replying fuzzily. “Um, yeah, there are some grad students and a couple of professors doing some overnight experiments, but only a few. They could be running out for coffee or something.”
“True, but… I’m going to take a look, just to be safe,” Nicole said, lowering the radio to hook it to her belt.
“If you really want to, go for it. Just don’t take too long,” Cam replied, sounding particularly bored. “I’m not seeing anything on the cameras, and I want to go to lunch, already.”
“Yeah, yeah, then you should’ve gone on patrol.” Nicole muttered, walking over to the door to the building, and Okris carefully followed, leaving the bushes.
It was still in her mind, so it was relatively easy to convince her to swipe her badge over the reader and open the door wide enough for Okris to enter. She followed it, not seeming to realize that Okris was there, and opened the second door for Okris as well before she paused to look around, warming her hands as she did so.
Okris quickly walked down the nearest hallway, looking at its scanner in concern, trying to get a better read on the equipment it wanted. The woman was looking around for something that didn’t exist, so it was certain she would leave soon enough. If she was a mutant or other power-user, it might have considered taking her with it, as easy to control as she was, but she wasn’t, which it considered unfortunate.
The halls of the building were almost silent, and only one out of every three lights were on, making the shadows much larger than they would be otherwise. There were a few furnishings in the hallways, but not many, and most of the doors weren’t labeled aside from room numbers. That was irritating to Okris, since it made its task even harder.
A soft hiss from its scanner brought Okris’s attention back, though, and it quickly focused on the scanner, regarding the readings irritably. The readings were finally clear, but they also weren’t what it had wanted to see. The equipment it needed was on the opposite side of the building, on the second floor, and even now the signal wasn’t clear, which vexed Okris. In its experience the readings shouldn’t be having this much trouble at such a short range.
Shaking off its irritation, Okris co
ntinued down the hall, hunting for a passage to the higher floor. Nothing seemed to be laid out in a sensible manner, which was only to be expected of savages. If there were open shafts, it could simply float upward, but they couldn’t possibly do something that reasonable.
Eventually the hall opened, with a sign to a stairwell on one side, opposite one of their vertical conveyances. Okris ignored the elevator, preferring the relative simplicity of the stairs, and took to the air once in the shaft, pleased that it was at least closer to what it was looking for. Then it was on the right floor, and even closer to the equipment it needed… yet the readings were still fuzzy, and Okris grew even more perplexed.
That confusion vanished abruptly as it came around a corner and saw the wall. A wall of dull steel ran the length of the building, a hallway adjacent to it, and next to one of the doors was a sign that said ‘Experimental Labs’, with several hazard signs next to it. More importantly, Okris could feel multiple energy fields running through the wall, and it considered, then re-tuned its scanner as it pointed at the wall.
The energy fields helped protect against thermal and kinetic forces, Okris noted, and the one that was interfering with the scanner was a field that helped mitigate radiation as well, which was most irritating. If it had known something like that was in the building, it would have adjusted the settings of the scanner further. However, while all of the fields worked decently, they weren’t up to the standards that the Multitude used in its vessels, nor did they help if someone used one of the doors. However, the unexpected change prompted Okris to check what was ahead, as it hadn’t sensed any savages in the building so far.
Its senses were quite a bit more limited than it liked due to the energy field, along with other effects churning the mental realms, but Okris was able to push through them reasonably easily, and when it did, it took a moment to pause and consider.
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