Nine-to-Five 029 (Patreon)

Workforce Development IV

~~~

The children of Port Stanley were no strangers to snowball fights, snow forts, snow angels, and snowmen. Similarly, the adults were all too familiar with having to shovel snow away from their homes. Despite that, Port Stanley’s last White Christmas took place somewhere in the seventies. Snow was usually reserved for February, the latter half of January, and occasionally the first week of March.

This was the middle of the summer. People had woken up expecting to see a bright, sunny day, not four inches of snow.

“People of Port Stanley! You see the snow outside? I am the one making it happen. And I am the one who is going to make it worse every hour unless you give me the two jokers who messed up my plans. Don’t test me.”

They also hadn’t expected threats from the super-powered criminal known as Jack Frost on TV.

“Well,” Tim said as he looked at the holographic display in the middle of Mr. Cadogan’s office. The people gathered there had nothing but serious faces. It made him feel very out of place. “At least he gets straight to the point, right?”

He tried for a chuckle. No one joined him. Not even Gerald.

“The video was sent out to all the local news stations one hour ago,” Ms. Martel said in the same all-business tone Tim had grown to expect from her. “It took ten minutes for it to be shown to the public. A grand feat of self-control, I am sure. The governor’s office has yet to issue any sort of response. There has also been no reaction from the Committee of Heroics. They seem as surprised by this as everyone else.”

“I see,” Arthur Cadogan said. Unlike everyone else in his office, he was sitting instead of standing. With the windows darkened and cast in the light from the holographic display, he looked rather menacing. “Have we been able to verify Frost’s claim?”

“We have,” said the lab-coat-wearing doctor who had examined them the other day. Tall, thin, and pale, the man looked weirdly out of place outside his lab. “Our sensors do not lie. M Particles are being scattered all over the city. This is definitely the work of an Exceed.”

He must have pressed some sort of remote in his pocket because Jack Frost’s holographic face was replaced by an equally holographic image of Port Stanley.

“So cool,” Tim whispered. Amanda jabbed him with her shoulder.

“This is the current spread of M Particles.” A smattering of yellow sparks appeared over the city like falling snow. “And this is how it looked one hour ago.”

The number of yellow sparks decreased substantially. They were still noticeable but more akin to a light drizzle.

“The density of M Particles is not, in itself, the problem,” the doctor continued. “Exposure to M Particles does not seem to have any side effects on humans, nor does it increase one’s tendency for Exceeding. However, the drastic increase in M Particles is remarkable all the same. As far as I can tell, this Exceed has been using his powers since 4:00 AM without any signs of weakening or stopping. Instead, the M Particles in the air keep increasing.”

The display changed again. This one showed the city submerged in yellow light.

“Assuming the pattern continues, we are not looking at six or even twelve inches of snow. If the Exceed doing this is not found, the city will suffer. Regum Tower will be safe, but many buildings and power lines will start experiencing failures as the cold worsens and the snow piles up.”

Oh.

That was no bueno.

No bueno at all.

“However, that’s not all.”

“There’s more!” Amanda cried out.

“Unfortunately so.” The hologram faded away, and the windows returned to normal. The snowy wonderland that the city had become became visible once more. Despite how dire the doctor made the situation sound, Tim couldn’t help but find it pretty.

He really wanted to build a snowman but saying that now would be either insensitive or irreverent. Maybe both.

“As we all know, this is the work of Jack Frost. Few of you were familiar with him before the train hijacking, and there’s a reason for that.”

“He’s D-lister,” Tim said.

“Correct,” the doctor said. “The only reason Jack Frost is not a complete unknown is because he cooperated with a vastly superior Exceed one time. A display like this should be beyond him.”

“Could he have been hiding his power all this time?” Gerald asked.

“Doubtful,” the doctor replied. ”Otherwise, he would have used that power against my test subjects instead of throwing himself out of the train.”

“Our interns, doctor,” Ms. Steiner corrected him. It had surprised Tim to see her in the meeting. He might have only met the woman twice, but she had seemed way too nice to be a supervillain. She’d been flattered when he’d said so. However, according to Ms. Martel, all department heads and other essential personnel knew the full scope of Regum’s operations.

“Your paid interns,” Tim further amended.

“Irrelevant!” The doctor snapped at them. “The point I am trying to make is that Jack Frost shouldn’t be capable of this. The data your nanites gathered don’t support this being remotely within his capabilities.”

“So you can spy on us through the nanites!” Amanda accused him. She was another person Tim had been surprised to see in Mr. Cadogan’s office. He hadn’t expected her parents to let her leave the house with all the snow, though it probably helped that she did it early in the morning before it got worse and before Jack Frost’s threat hit the news.

“Not in the way you’re thinking, no.” The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. “Could we please focus on what’s important?”

“Please, do not tease the good doctor,” Mr. Cadogan said. He had an amused smile on his face. “He brings a good point. An Exceed whose powers increased in such a short amount of time is cause for concern.”

“Is it not possible he simply got better at using his powers?” Gerad asked.

“In such a short time frame? Impossible,” the doctor replied. “In the first place, Exceed powers aren’t like a muscle that will grow stronger the more you exercise it. At least, that is what most common research shows. If any Exceed could reach comparable levels through effort, the world would be a far more dangerous place. No, this is something else.”

“Oh!” Tim raised his hand. “What if there is another Exceed using his powers to make Jack stronger? Like an amp?”

“A pertinent question,” Ms. Martel said, looking at the doctor for an answer.

“The M particles do not support the idea of another Exceed helping him. They’d be less uniform if that was the case. Each Exceed creates a distinct type of M particle.”

“Oh! So they’re like snowflakes!” Tim said.

“That’s…” The doctor blinked. “Yes, that’s actually an apt way to describe them. Regardless, something was done to this Exceed to increase his power.”

“It is certainly something we need to keep in mind,” Mr. Cadogan said. “However, the more pertinent question is what shall we do now.”

“I mean...” Tim scratched his neck. “He did call us out.”

“Absolutely not!” Ms. Steiner said. “We are not trading you or letting you walk straight into an ambush.”

“It would be pretty dumb to take a guy like that at his word,” Gerald added. “Do we even know where he is?”

“There is an area near the coast where the M particles are at their densest,” the doctor said. “That should be Frost’s location.”

“Interesting,” Mr. Cadogan said. “This presents a good opportunity for us.”

“Opportunity?” Amanda echoed. “You want us to go to him?”

Mr. Cadogan shook his head softly.

“Nothing of the sort. I have no desire to pit you against an Exceed with obviously amped capabilities and dubious mental state. Better to let the police and the Committee handle him. I trust we can find a way to let the police know of Jack Frost’s location?”

Alice nodded. “It shall be done.”

“Good. That means we can expect the police to focus on relief efforts and the Committee to have its hands full fighting an Exceed. That gives us enough time.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes. “Time for what?”

“I was told you wished to go after Robards.”

Amanda’s gasp was much louder than any of Tim’s previous interruptions. However, he didn’t shush her with his shoulder.

He was a pal like that.

~~~

“This is Robard’s address,” Gerald said to them half an hour later. They had moved the meeting underground, to the doctor’s lab. Mr. Cadogan and Ms. Steiner had remained above. “My men have confirmed that he has been there all day. Based on the layout of the building, this would be the best way to go in.”

Amanda gulped as a red line appeared within the 3D display of the building, outlining the path they were expected to take.

Which she was expected to take.

“Of course, that’s only if we want to engage him in the building, something I don’t recommend,” Gerald continued. “We still have not identified his power. There’d be too much collateral damage if you engaged him inside the building. I suggest we draw him out instead. A fake fire would do the job. If not, at least it ensures the other people there get out before we confront him.”

“Are we…” Amana gulped to wet her suddenly dry throat. “...Are we really going to do this?”

“As I recall, it was only yesterday when you asked permission for this very thing,” Ms. Martel reminded her, making her flinch. “Have you changed your mind?”

“I… No! It’s just…well… Isn’t this too soon?” Amanda asked, looking around for any sort of support. “I thought we’d have more time to prepare. I wasn’t expecting it to be…”

Now.

“Are we even ready for this?” Amanda asked.

“You both performed adequately against an Exceed before,” the doctor replied. “There should be no harm in you fighting against another one.”

“You will have backup this time. My men will be providing tactical support every step of the way,” Gerald said. Then he added, “Of course, we do not have to do this if you don’t want to.”

"It's not that!" Amanda said, even though it was just that.

Ever since she learned of Robards, she had been waiting for the day when he could be removed from the equation, when her family would be safe again. Now, an opportunity to accomplish just that was presented to her on a silver platter, and she was hesitating.

She should be jumping head first into this! She should be eager to bring peace back to her family! To no longer need to rely on Regum for their security! She should be opening her mouth and happily proclaim she was in.

Instead, she reached for another excuse.

“How will we even hide our identities? Are we going to wear ski masks again?”

“Bah! Nothing so crude!” The doctor said. “In fact, I’m very glad you asked. A big part of why Arthur felt confident in allowing you to engage Robards is that your bodies have reached the desired threshold to manifest your armor.”

Tim blinked owlishly. “Armor?”

“Exceeds may be content to fight in silly masks, but there is no need for you to be. Your nanomachines can generate armor around your bodies to further heighten your defensive capabilities and increase your offensive options. Your test results confirm your nanites are ready for this.”

“Cool.” Tim looked at his hands. “How do we turn it on?”

“Quite simple, really. I just need to unlock the restrictions in your programming.” The doctor gestured to one of the terminals. “It’s why we came down here.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes. “So you can turn our powers on and off at will?”

“No,” the doctor replied. “Once the restriction is unlocked, it will remain that way. I will no longer have any control over it. No one will have any control over you but yourselves.”

It occurred to Amanda he could be lying and she would have no way to prove it until it was too late.

“Oh, in that case-”

“No!” Amanda raised her hand to stop Tim from volunteering himself. “I am the one who wants to do this most. I’ll go first.”

Yes, that was how it should be.

“Very well.” The doctor shrugged as he went over to his computer. “It makes no difference, really.”

The two watched in tense silence as the doctor typed out commands. After a few minutes, he hit one final key and stopped. Amanda was about to ask him what he had done when she felt it. It was like becoming aware of a muscle she had never known she had. Before she even realized what was happening, she was already flexing it.

“Whoah!” Tim said as he took a step back. He was looking at her for some reason and... oh....

Oh!

It was like water falling all over her skin. Not a cold rain, but a hot shower. It revitalized her. Awakened her.

It was powerful.

She was powerful.

"Well, Ms. Collins," the doctor said. "How do you feel?"

How did she feel?

“Ready.”

~~~

AN:

Scenes with too many people are always annoying to write. Anyway, we're going fast. I'm trying to go at a faster pace for this, since I have gotten a little too used to Ave Xia Rem Y's slower pace.