Supervillains 2 Chapter 17 (Patreon)

The girls had been boisterous at dinner. Even Mona had come out of her shell, but in public she had kept her Venus persona.

I knew she didn't want the attention that her popstar life had given her. It reminded her of the worst times in her life.

"That was wonderful, Master." Stella clung to me as we left the restaurant.

"Of course it was. That was the best restaurant in the city. When they recognized us, they even made room despite us not having a reservation." Melody seemed satisfied with herself.

Mona just shrugged. "It was very good."

"You barely had anything." Stella pointed out.

"But the steak was fantastic." Mona sighed.

Melody frowned and stared at the love struck hero oddly. "You didn't have a steak. Miles had the steak."

I had known she was riding backseat in my mind the whole dinner, taking satisfaction in my enjoyment of the dinner.

I had to admit; it felt a little odd. She still didn't know how to love or even enjoy moments in her own life. She’d relied on the input of others for so long that she never developed much of her own interests. But I was going to help her find her place and her own preferences.

I felt a slight telepathic hug in response to my thoughts.

She was at least going to try to understand what I wanted to do without resisting me.

"Either way, we need to get to the plane. And I need to talk to the triplets. Mona, do not harm them." I thought I'd throw in that last thought because she was being a little prickly even as we walked and others stared at me.

Before I could even get another word out, Stella was already flying us up and over to the nearest building.

The other two joined us a moment later.

"You know, we should increase this team's size." Melody said as we got into the air.

"Isn't three enough?" Mona sounded grumpy.

Mona already knew my plans, but I said them anyway. "Well, I hope to bring Angelina more into the hero gig one day. There’s also Obsidian, who may be able to be turned into a hero. And who knows what will happen with Emma? She’s a big unknown. But she might be interested in a rescue role. She always had a soft spot for children."

Melody shook her head. "That’s not what I meant. We have Stella here to take on any physically enhanced opponents and be the front line to protect us. Mona is in the back to deal the finishing blow, and I'm our support, using gravity and providing cover fire. But during this fight, I saw just how useful someone with a power to contain could be."

I knew exactly what she was talking about. "That cement hero was incredible."

"Just think about it. Something like that could help bind people or protect bystanders. There’s a ton of uses." Melody explained.

I thought about it. Emma and Obsidian wouldn't fit that bill at all. We needed something that could create physical barriers, though Obsidian could bind people.

"There aren't any good options I can think of in Point City's Bureau."

"Evergreen?" Melody already had an option in mind. Evergreen was a hero whose body was a living pine tree, and she could grow woody limbs. But she was a B grade super and while her wood was strong, I wasn't sure if it was enough to put up against the things that Stella would do.

"I'd snap her like the twig she is." Stella voiced the same concern. "It's a good idea though, and I can tell Miles is giving it some thought."

What I was trying to puzzle through most was Melody’s heavy interest in a hero with that type of capability.

But it didn’t take long before I figured out her angle. We’d been forced to kill several villains who had used the recent monster fruit. A hero with the type of power she was discussing would help us capture them instead.

"We'll give it some thought later. Stella, put me down. The triplets are already expecting me. You three get on the plane."

Stella set me down gently before flying into the cargo hold of the plane. Melody had to drag Mona along with her as the latter stared daggers at Lachesis.

Lachesis stood there waiting for me. If Mona bothered her, she didn’t let it show. "Thank you for your help." Atropos was pointedly looking anywhere but at me, but Clotho was focused on me this time rather than staring off into the distance.

"You have our thanks. Our plan can move forward." Clotho added.

"The guy's power was less than impressive.” I added.

Lachesis shrugged. "Doesn't matter. What he does makes a difference. Given that the plan will happen in two days, it is becoming clearer. There are fewer factors to play out before it occurs. Angel will certainly go through a vast change after meeting the boy."

I snorted. "Good. I didn’t have an issue with him before, but after he stole the finishing blow, I’m less concerned with him getting knocked down a notch."

"Yes, well, he works hard to maintain a positive public sentiment. That's one reason he's become such a thorny issue. But we have little time before you need to go. You have three questions." Lachesis' gold star eyes bore into me like she was already trying to figure out what I was going to ask.

There were a few questions that swirled around my head. I could ask for help with Obsidian, Emma, or Mona. Hell, now that Melody asked for it, I could find a hero that filled her requirements.

But if I came back without a single answer for the problems of Point City, I felt Kim would be upset.

I paused, suddenly curious why these three didn’t play a bigger role.

"This isn't a question, but why aren't you on call to help Kim?" I asked.

"I need to see the person. Then I can explore their potential futures for a day before the connection fades. Also, Kim and I had a small falling out when I refused to help her find a boy she had been looking for." Lachesis gave me a knowing smile.

Only then did I realize Kim had come here once before, asking for her to find me. "Why didn't you tell her where I was?"

"She would have died if she confronted you then. I told her as much, and that she should never try to out you. Now, questions. Time is short." Lachesis said those words as the plane's engines kicked on and started warming up.

"Where can I find Antiope?" She was the first of the problems that I needed to tackle back in Point City, plus she knew I was more than I seemed, and I wanted to nip that problem in the bud.

Lachesis closed her eyes. "Trade patrols with Victor tomorrow."

The only Victor I knew was Miss Point City's manager. Seemed easy enough. I could only assume that her words were purposeful to set me on the right path.

Now that the 'good' question was done, I switched to personal issues. "How do I turn Emma from the path of villainy?"

This one caused a longer pause, in which Lachesis frowned as she worked through the scenarios. A little vein pulsed at the side of her neck with the tension in her body. "Force never works, and if you try the highroad, she'll drag you into the mud. But if you join her on the low road willingly, you can turn her around."

I hated cryptic answers. But I read between the lines. If I joined Emma, at least temporarily, it would allow me to interact with her enough to try to make a change.

Rubbing at my forehead, I realized that made sense. She was much like a cat, always interested in her own tasks. I needed to join her there in order to have a productive conversation.

"Fine. That makes some warped sense. Now, what happens if I take a monster fruit or Libertech's drug?" They both came with risks, and the reasonable thing to do was to avoid them entirely, but I had to admit the power boost was intriguing.

If she could tell me the result, that took away the risk.

Lachesis swallowed loudly and cursed under her breath. "I hate you. There was such a slim chance that you'd ask that."

"But you use your power as a transaction, and you'll stick to answering me." I understood her better than she might think.

The fact that she'd traded favors for predictions of the future was already telling enough. There was something else she was hiding in how her power worked. Some sort of additional limitations. The freedom to predict the future, even if she only saw probabilities, was too extreme.

"Taking a drug that Antiope has will indeed boost your power after intense bouts of pain. I would advise against Monster Fruit; its results are wildly varied, even from what I can see."

"Give me more details on Monster Fruit, and you failed to include what happens if I take both." I wanted the full answer from her on this one. Maybe it was selfish, but it involved my own safety.

Lachesis rolled her eyes. "Given my words on Libertech's drug, there are very few futures that don't involve you taking it now. Monster Fruit is still too risky, in my opinion. About a forty percent chance you become a giant mass of cancer. Twenty percent chance you walk out relatively normal but empowered, and the rest have a wide variety of mutations. Now, we are done. I have repaid your favors, and your plane is about to depart."

She wrinkled her nose, not liking something she saw. I wondered if it went bad, just how bad it would go.

Seeing the plane's turbines whirring and ready to go, I knew she was right. "Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I don't see you again, Lachesis."

"It is mutual. You are a terror inducing to talk to. You do what you want, and too often that includes my death." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Get the fuck out of my city and don't think about coming back to steal any of my heroes."

I chuckled and waved over my shoulder as I went up into the cargo plane. Fucking fortune tellers. I hoped I never came back, but at least I had gained something from them.

Antiope and I would meet tomorrow, and I knew that taking the drug she was peddling would boost my power. I’d make my decision in the moment.

I watched the hatch close for the plane as Stella pulled me into a seat and held onto me for takeoff.

***

"So, how much did you hate the Directors at Mountain City?" Kim asked me the next morning in her office.

I had wanted to connect with her and give a verbal report given the gravity of what happened.

Chuckling to myself at the internal joke, I answered. "We agreed that we never want to see each other again. She even told me to fuck off."

Kim held her stomach as she laughed. "Lach is a prickly bitch. She is always transactional with her ability. I suppose that is one way to stop people from asking her for the winning lottery tickets every day."

"Wouldn't she just see an equal probability for them all?" I frowned as I said it, but that would make the most sense until the numbers were read. "If I had to guess, her power isn't as simple as she makes it out to be."

Kim shrugged. "She won't poke around in my future anymore, so it doesn't matter to me. Though the three of them do a great job of managing the city's heroes. Even if she's prickly, she looks out for her people."

I nodded. I could respect her for that.

Kim cleared her throat and got down to business. "So. We have another dead titan. It isn't the Leviathan or the Fenris Wolf, but taking out the Roc might make people trust planes more. I think we need to upgrade your team, which is why I'm not letting you get out of the new hero evaluation." She swiped something onto my tablet.

I frowned. "What's this?"

"New recruit profiles. Recruiting gets them through a basic physical test and ensures they have some control of their power, but they are all entirely green. They need a more seasoned eye watching their powers and giving them ideas on how better to use them."

I stared at the screen, then gave Kim a disbelieving look. I didn't want to be babysitting a bunch of new heroes. Really, I wasn't even that seasoned myself. Most of my time working for the Bureau had been in marketing.

"Maybe I should focus on leading my team and sharpening them for the next titan." I wanted out of dealing with the new recruits.

"Nope." Kim cackled. "You need to inspire the new recruits so as they become veterans, they still look up to you."

Blowing out a breath, I knew immediately she was going to keep pushing this onto me until I did it. "Fine. I'll deal with them if you go get a report out of the mad scientists. We need to stay up to date on what they are finding."

Kim wrinkled her nose. "Deal. Now, go see the newbies. And Miles, great job yesterday. You have the attention of all nine cities now that you've been involved in two titan takedowns. Even though Angel got the press, the higher ups noticed one commonality. You and your team were present at both."

I wasn't sure if having their attention was a good thing, but at least someone recognized it. "Good." I played it off cheerfully. "Stella was pissed that he 'stole the kill'."

"Media hogs." Kim rolled her eyes. "I hate media hog heroes.” Then she smiled knowingly at me. “Get to work. No more stalling."

I had hoped that I could get her talking more, but she saw right through me.

Sheepishly, I rubbed the back of my head and flicked around on my tablet for the details.

"Training room eight." I wandered through the halls until I found it.

Unlike some of the others that were scarred from constant training, this one seemed to be in much better condition. It wasn't new, but it wasn’t nearly as worn down.

"Hello." I waved as I walked in. On the side a table was setup along with some recording equipment so I could watch this later.

Nine women who looked like they were freshmen or sophomores at college were lined up in the middle of the room wearing generic super suits.

"Finally." A young lady scoffed at me. "What took you so long?"

I blinked. No one had been that rude to me in the bureau... well... since I started. And certainly nobody had been that rude since they had made me Deputy Director. "Got a problem?"

Luckily for her, I wasn’t really irked. She was just some entitled brat.

"Yeah, you all sent us home yesterday, and now you are late today." The woman crossed her arms.

I checked my tablet. "Amelia. Flight, and the ability to create fog. That’s not much in the way of heroism. And it says here you get dizzy if you overuse your fog."

"Don't tell everyone my power." She griped.

I sat down at the table and took the recording equipment, setting it up and then leaning back in the chair. "Well, Amelia. Since you've decided to become the spokeswoman for your little group, let's see what you can do."

"Me?" She pointed to herself, surprised at my sudden demand.

"Yeah, chop chop. I'm the deputy director of the bureau. My time is limited."

My title made her jump to her feet, and I saw the regret on her face. I made a mental note that she was malleable, even if she was snobby.

I scanned the rest of the group with my abilities. They had a pretty decent amount of power. There was a running theory that powers were growing stronger by the generation, and at least from the subset before me, I could believe it.

Of the nine of them, there were five A grades, two B grades, and two S grades. The S grades were a huge deal. There were only about a dozen working in the BSH presently, and only a few of them had the kind of powers to make them big heroes.

Maybe there were some diamonds in this group.

"Watch this." Amelia jumped up into the air, flying and spinning as fog spewed out of her mouth.

"This isn't a pageant. Do something with your ability." I said it, and the fog moved unnaturally around me.

There was only a slight pressure from it, but I wondered if she could learn to control it enough to give it some physical presence. That would be big.

I lifted my tablet and made a note even as my vision was obscured.

She came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Got you."

Grabbing her wrist, I twisted as I rose, performing a simple throw and smashing her into the desk. The impact sent the recording equipment and my tablet skittering across the floor.

"That wasn't very effective." I said dryly. The fog was already dispersing as she lay stunned in the wrecked table.

"But--" she argued weakly.

"This is the real world. Putting your hand on my shoulder and saying 'I got you' doesn't mean shit. I'm not even powered, just enhanced, and I kicked your butt. If you all want to be heroes, you'll have to do better than that."

As the fog cleared, I saw a group of ladies with passion burning in their eyes.

I sighed. Somehow, I had just gained a bunch of trainee lackeys. And knowing there might be some special powers in the bunch, part of me wanted to help them. "Okay, we need to be quicker. Amelia, get my tablet, then go find me a new desk to replace the one you ruined."

"But you are the o--"

Silencing her with a glare, she snapped to attention and ran out of the room, forgetting to get my tablet.

Another girl with white hair that turned a vibrant blue at the bottom walked over and grabbed my tablet. "She forgot this."

"Thank you..." I left a space for her to introduce herself.

"Ivanna." She bowed slightly in a dopey manner. "My power is over water, ice, and vapor." She was one of the S class heroes, and in a blink, I was trapped in a cage of ice. "I could have made it more restrictive, but as you've said, you are only enhanced. I didn’t want to accidentally harm you."

I grinned. "Thank you Ivanna. This is amazing. Now, let's see the rest of your powers." I focused on the remaining supers in the room as they each stepped forward and showed off their abilities.