Hostage Situation Pt 6 (Patreon)

 [A/N: this chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

Dragonslayer Base, Toronto, Canada

All was quiet, or nearly so, in the base. Mags had found some interesting fashion tips in a magazine; leaning back in her chair, she propped her boots up on the table and settled back for some good old-fashioned 'me' time. Geoff was working on something in the alcove that held the computer gear; if she listened hard, she could hear him hitting keys from time to time. Farther away, there was the occasional pop and crackle as Mischa worked on his armour; he'd said something earlier about re-welding a problematic seam. Ozone drifted out of the workshop, the smell bitter in the air.

Taking a sip from her coffee, Mags leaned back a little farther and turned the page of her magazine …

“Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!”

The outburst, coming as unexpectedly as it did, caused her to react most unfortunately. She jerked and flailed, the magazine flying off to the side and flutter to the ground in a heap. If her boots had fallen from the table, she would have been fine, her loss of dignity minimal. But they didn't; instead, she instinctively straightened out, causing her chair to scoot sideways, out from under her.

“Shit!” she blurted, just before she landed heavily on her butt on the wooden floorboards. A moment later, a waterfall of coffee cascaded over the edge of the table to form a pool beside her.

Grimacing, she rolled painfully sideways until she could stand up.

Mischa came pounding in from the workshop, the welding mask tilted back on his head. “What is happening?” the burly Russian demanded. “I heard shouting and banging. Are you all right?”

“I'm fine,” grunted Mags, as she rubbed her sore butt. “Mostly, anyway. Geoff, what the fuck was that all about?” Along with Mischa, she turned her gaze to the leader of the Dragonslayers, who was currently hunched over the main monitor for checking on Dragon's activities.

Saint turned toward them, eyes glinting with anger, then hooked his thumb at the screen. “Take a look,” he gritted. “I managed to decrypt that file.”

“O … kay,” Mags replied, still not quite sure what had precipitated the outburst. Geoff, as a rule, didn't shout very much. Something had to have him really worked up. Leaning past him, she used the mouse to click the 'play' option.

At first, there was no picture, only an odd buzzing sound. Then a distorted human voice, booming from the speakers. “ … … not hear … ly. … … hear is … zzing with … tervals in between.”

“Can you hear me now?” This was a different voice, one that was very familiar to Mags.

“Dragon?” She asked the question out loud.

“Yes, now shut up. This isn't the important bit,” Geoff said impatiently.

A little hurt, Mags started listening again. She was just in time to hear the unknown voice ask more or less the same question, and have it confirmed. Part of her wanted to ask why Dragon was talking to someone inside the Birdcage; more importantly, who was she talking to? But Geoff didn't seem to be in the mood to enlighten her. He should be happier. This is flat-out proof that Dragon's defeating her programming safeguards.

And then she heard the words “ … passing you on to Director Costa-Brown,” and her eyes opened very wide indeed. “The fuck?” she blurted. What the fuck is the Chief Director of the PRT doing talking to a Birdcage inmate? With Dragon's help?

“Shh!” she heard from both Geoff and Mischa. She shut up, and they all leaned closer to listen.

Costa-Brown was indeed talking to someone in the Birdcage. That 'someone' turned out to be Marquis; Mags had never been to Brockton Bay, but she'd heard of the man. The wobbly picture showing on the screen even matched pictures she'd seen, if she mentally removed the beard and the greying hair. But the focus of the conversation wasn't about him … it was about his daughter. Fascinated, Mags kept listening. The daughter in question had been adopted by … who?

Holy shit, New Wave adopted the kid of the villain they sent to the Birdcage?

Holy fucking hell, she's Panacea?

That was beyond surprising. It was astonishing. Panacea, who would otherwise have been seen as drab and invisible next to her glory-hunting sister, had an international reputation for being the girl who could heal any injury, cure any disease, even roll back someone's age. And she's a supervillain's daughter? Fuck me.

Costa-Brown was still talking to Marquis. And that was when Mags heard the thing that had caused Geoff's outburst. “Until you are released from the Birdcage, she will cease her healing activities altogether.”

Almost unbidden, her hand grabbed the mouse and clicked the file to pause it. “Did you guys just hear what I heard?”

“Da, I heard,” Mischa replied at once. Geoff didn't say anything; he just looked pissed as hell.

Mags clutched at her head, trying to shake sense into her own brain. “How can this even be happening? She's a fucking hero, for fuck's sake!”

“No.” Geoff''s voice was low and controlled. “She's a villain. Her father's a villain, she's a villain. If she's willing to hold her power over people to get him released, then she's no hero.” He stood up abruptly and paced back and forth. “Worse, she's got Costa-Brown at least talking about it. And Costa-Brown can order Dragon to do it. Dragon's already sent that communication system into the Birdcage on her orders.”

“But it's against the law!” Mags almost wailed the last word. She had been a police officer for years; even with all the cynicism that she'd picked up along the way, she still considered that there was a line, however faint it might still be.

“The Chief Director, she maybe says what rules are?” suggested Mischa. He shrugged massively. “If she says is legal, then Dragon does it. No conflict.”

Geoff sat back down in the chair and ran his hands through his already-disarranged hair. “Fuck. I don't know what to think.”

Pulling up a chair to face him, Mags captured his hands then sat down, still holding him. “Talk to me, love. Tell me what you're thinking.”

“Right. Right. Right.” He took a deep breath. “If we're to believe what Costa-Brown is saying, Dragon can let people out if she really feels like it. I don't like that idea. I really don't like that fucking idea.” His face twisted into a grimace. “Because you just know that she'll probably get it into that mess of silicon chips that she calls a brain that it will be a good idea to release the wrong people. All it'll take is one safeguard failing, just once.”

“The wrong people, love?” Mags squeezed his hands gently, prompting him to go on. “Who are the right people, then?”

“Well, Teacher, for one,” Geoff said. “He can give me a boost so I can keep up with Dragon. Her code's getting more complex all the time. I have trouble reading it, these days. Every day, I worry that it's found a way around the safeguards that I don't know about.”

A chill went down her back. Oh, shit. He's still obsessed with the guy. Ever since Geoff had gone to Teacher for the first treatment, he'd been a little ... different. She had hoped that after Teacher went to the Birdcage that Geoff gotten over whatever effect the asshole had on him, but that was obviously not the case.

“Well, we know that Dragon's not free of the safeguards quite yet,” she pointed out carefully. “Otherwise she would have been letting people out of the Birdcage to cover her own actions.” Turning her head slightly, she met Mischa's eyes. He nodded back to her, his own expression worried. He noticed it, too. Now, we've got to try to talk Geoff down.

Oblivious to the byplay, Geoff nodded, seeming to calm down a little. “Okay, we need to learn more. We need to know what's going on. And we definitely need to find out if they're going to cave in and let that scary bastard out of the Birdcage.” Even ten years later and in another country, Marquis' name still had the power to evoke fear. “And if we can leverage that to get Teacher out.”

“Birdcage is like inescapable gulag, yes?” Mischa scratched his chin through his beard. “Is no getting out for good behaviour."

All of a sudden, Mags wasn't as certain about that as she once was. Reaching across, she took hold of the mouse. “I think we need to watch the rest of this file.”

“Yeah,” agreed Saint. “Good idea.” He took Mags' hand and squeezed it as she clicked the mouse button.

<><>

Cauldron Base
Some Other Earth

Alexandria sighed to herself. Why did I even think that this might go smoothly? “David, please calm down. You're overreacting.”

Eidolon threw up his hands. “Why did you even say that to her? Now she thinks there might be a way to get him out!” His heavy eyebrows knotted together as he glared at her. “The last thing we want is for the public getting ideas like that about the Birdcage.”

“Dave, chill,” Legend suggested. Like Eidolon, he was unmasked, although his expression wasn't as unhappy as the other hero's. “She never made any hard and fast promises, and these are reasonably unique circumstances.”

“Unique is one way to put it,” said the Number Man, twirling a pen in his fingers. Despite the fact that he never looked at it, the writing implement spun in an intricate dance back and forth, back and forth.

Eidolon humphed out an aggravated breath. “We've had villains try to blackmail the government into letting people out of the Birdcage before. It never ended well for them then. Why are we even considering it now?”

“Because Panacea's not a villain?” Legend's tone was light, but his expression was more serious. “She's been using her powers to help the public for three years now. Like us, she's not charging for it. Unlike us, she doesn't get paid by the government. It's not actually illegal for her to suddenly set a condition for the resumption of her healing activities.”

“But releasing a vicious criminal like Marquis?” Eidolon shook his head, his entire body language rejecting what Legend had to say. “Breaking someone out of jail is a crime, and so is advocating that someone else do it.”

Alexandria shook her head, knowing that she had to step in again. “If the PRT releases him from the Birdcage, then that isn't breaking him out, because we're only going to do it legally, once we've discussed it with the relevant governmental bodies.”

Legend nodded. “The most she's doing is petitioning for his release, which is perfectly legal. Petitioning really, really hard, but still only petitioning.” He shrugged. “I can kind of see her point. Family is important, after all. And so are second chances.”

The Number Man chuckled dryly. “Very true. And you think that he would stick to the straight and narrow once he was released?” He turned his chair slightly, addressing the question to the fifth person in the room.

Contessa had been leaning back in her chair, apparently not paying attention to the discussion. But now she looked up. “Provided he isn't provoked or otherwise pushed back into a life of crime, he will. I have several Paths where he may be useful to our aims. Of course, if his daughter is harmed or killed, we can essentially kiss Brockton Bay goodbye.”

“Which is what I'm talking about!” Eidolon was back in full swing. “He's a dangerous man! Why bend over backward to pander to the demands of one teenage girl who isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things?” His power flexed around him, half-seen auras growing and then collapsing into nothingness.

“She's more important than you think,” Alexandria pointed out. “The only reason that she isn't better known locally is that her older sister is Glory Girl. But can you name three parahumans whose names are known on the international level, who aren't Protectorate?” She paused, saw Eidolon opening his mouth, and knew what he was going to say. “Or villains, for that matter?” she added hastily.

Eidolon glared at her. “It's still stupid,” he growled. “We're opening ourselves to a huge backlash. We let this go through, it'll be the first of many.”

“If we deny her and she goes public with her healing strike, the backlash is likely to be worse,” Alexandria said. “Yes, I know that she hasn't healed that many people when compared to the general population. No one person could, even if they went without sleep and rest. But she's tried. And more to the point, she's a symbol of hope. People are aware that there is someone in the world who can heal the worst injuries and illnesses in the world. She's a literal cure for cancer.” She looked around at the others in the room. “Symbols are valuable, too.”

“Also, Endbringers,” Legend noted. “If she stops healing capes injured in those battles, the practice of injured capes suing first responders if they don't do everything perfectly will come back in. With her still around, we get more capes back on their feet, which means we have more capes ready for the next attack.”

“I tend to agree,” the Number Man said. “I believe that having her on side, healing when and where she can, is better than the world knowing that Panacea has hung up the cape. Or the burqa. Whatever it is that she wears.” He tapped the pen on the table. “All in favour?”

“Well, of course.” Alexandria held up her hand.

“I think it's a good idea.” Legend echoed her action.

“I believe that it's a step in the right direction.” Contessa didn't raise her hand, but she nodded instead. “Consider me in.”

Eidolon sat there, glowering at the rest of them. “This is a bad idea. You know it is.”

“Since when have we let that stop us?” The Number Man's voice was light. “If we stepped back from every problematic decision, we would never get anything done.”

“David.” Alexandria made her voice firm. “We need your decision. Are you going to support us, or at least not oppose us in this?” She searched his face.

He scowled heavily. “I won't oppose you. But if he becomes any sort of a problem, then I will deal with him. One way or the other.” Standing, he picked up his glowing green mask from the table and put it on. “For the record, I think you're all making a big mistake.”

“And I believe that we aren't. Or at least, not as big a mistake as shutting Panacea down would be.” Alexandria's voice was blunt as she addressed Eidolon. “Yes, I understand that it's not an ideal solution. But sometimes there are no ideal solutions.”

He didn't answer her; at least, not directly. Turning away from the table, he spoke three words: “Door to Houston.” The portal opened directly in front of him, and he stepped through. It was only after the portal closed behind him that the awkward silence ended.

“Well,” murmured Legend. “That happened.” He stood and stretched. “Think he'll do something rash?”

“We can only hope not,” Alexandria replied, although she didn't sound happy. “Contessa?”

“I can't be sure,” the Cauldron enforcer said. “But I don't think he will. Though I wouldn't be surprised if he blows off steam for a while by cracking down on local crime. It's about to take a sudden dip.”

“Fortunately,” Alexandria said, “that's not our problem to deal with.” She stood as well, gathering her cape around herself. “Meeting concluded. Contessa, if you could stay behind for a moment?”

Legend left via a portal of his own, while the Number Man simply opened the door and walked out. Alexandria looked at Contessa, who looked back at her. “You know what I'm going to ask you.”

Contessa nodded. “Yes.”

Just for a moment, Alexandria shut her eyes. I wish she wouldn't answer like that. But of course Contessa knew that, and probably enjoyed her little joke all the more because of it. So I'm correct. It is Saint screwing with Dragon again. “Did he get the footage?”

“He did.” Contessa stood up. “He won't be a problem.”

Which meant that either he didn't intend to cause problems, or that Contessa would counter anything he tried. Either way, it was out of Alexandria's hands. The last thing they needed was a scandal implicating the PRT with, basically, anything. “Good.”

The last thing she saw before stepping into her own portal was the slight smile on Contessa's face. Saint, if he tried anything cute, was going to have a very bad day indeed.

Somehow, Alexandria was fine with that.

<><>

Boardwalk

Kayden leaned back against the seat, watching Amy Dallon – Panacea! - hold Aster carefully. For a teenager, Amy seemed to be pretty good at it, making sure to support the baby's head while cooing gently at her. For her part, Aster gurgled right back, reaching out to grasp at Amy's fingers with her own chubby little digits. The look of tenderness that filled Amy's face surprised Kayden a little, but not totally. It looked like her infant was well on the way to winning the teen's heart.

Meanwhile, I'm an ex-supervillain and she's a superhero, so there's that. Somehow, she had no problem looking past the 'hero' aspect and seeing the girl underneath. Amy had seemed reserved at first, almost withdrawn, but she seemed to be opening up a little. If only to make silly baby noises back at Aster.

“So that guy will wake up again?” she asked at length. The question wasn't bothering her all that much, though she was pretty sure she wouldn't mention the episode to Kaiser even if she saw him. She didn't want some poor dumb purse snatcher to end up crucified for her sake.

“Yeah,” Amy assured her. “I normalised his adrenals while you were talking to the cops. Thanks for covering for me like that, by the way. If it went out on the scanner that I was on the Boardwalk stopping crime in plain clothes, I'd have New Wave descending on me in about ten seconds flat.” She shook her head gently, rubbing her face on Aster's tummy. “I couldn't have that, could I? No, I couldn't have that.” The gentle tone of her words belied the meaning behind them; Aster gurgled happily and played with her hair.

“Well, no, I suppose not,” Kayden agreed, a little amused. Amy seemed to be well and truly taken by Aster, and the reverse was also true. “She really likes you. Not that I blame her.”

“I like her too,” Amy said, looking up at Kayden. “I get to meet lots of kids, but ninety-nine percent of them are in paediatric wards, and I don't get to spend time with them when they're healthy. It's nice just to sit down and spend time with her.” There was more going on than what she was saying, but the main thing that Kayden picked up on was the longing tone in her voice.

However, she didn't want to scare the girl off, so she didn't say what she was thinking immediately. Fortunately, she had another ready-made tack to go on with. “So, I never thanked you properly for saving my bag.”

“Oh, uh, I don't want money for that,” Amy protested immediately, almost automatically. “I'm a hero. It's kind of what I'm supposed to do.” But there was a tone of doubt underlaying her words, which got Kayden's attention.

“Well, okay, hero,” Kayden said with more than a little amusement, “how about we go and have some ice cream? Would that be sufficient to make it not a payment of actual money?”

“Well, um …” Amy rocked Aster and frowned slightly. The baby made spit bubbles and pawed at her frizzy brown hair. Looking down at the infant, she let a smile creep across her face. “Okay, you talked me into it.”

More like Aster twisted your arm, Kayden thought with a smile. But I'm not arguing. Standing up, she ensured that her purse was securely slung over her shoulder. “Do you want to carry her, or put her back in the stroller?”

“I'll put her in the stroller,” Amy decided, though it seemed to have been a close contest. “But I'll push the stroller, if that's okay?”

Kayden chuckled at the hopeful tone of her voice. “I have no trouble with that, believe me. I love her dearly, but she can get very heavy if I'm carrying her everywhere.”

Amy crouched beside the stroller, carefully fitting Aster into the restraints. “Which is why they invented strollers.” She tickled the baby, eliciting delighted chuckles. “There, that should do it.”

“You're very good with babies,” Kayden observed as they set off down the Boardwalk. “Have you had much experience? Apart from the paediatric cases, I mean?”

“Not really.” Amy shook her head. “I didn't even really think I liked them, till I met Aster. She's just adorable. I mean, I'm not interested in having kids any time soon, and I don't think I ever will, but if I did have any, I'd want them to be like Aster.” She glanced at Kayden. “I hope that doesn't sound creepy or anything.”

“No.” Kayden chuckled warmly. “I can relate to that exactly. I can't see anything wrong with wanting other babies to be like my baby.” She gave Amy a pat on the arm. “I hope you do have the chance to have a child of your own someday, and that they make you as happy as Aster does me.”

Amy didn't say anything, but her smile had a certain wistfulness about it.

<><>

Dragonslayer Base
Mags

“Love you too, pum-” The picture abruptly broke up, the sound dissolving into static. Mags sat back, her mind awhirl. That had been entirely too intense for her comfort. She hadn't been able to see Panacea or Glory Girl, but the raw emotion between Panacea and her ten-years-removed father had wrenched at her heart-strings in a way that she had not felt in some time.

“Well, damn.” Geoff broke into her musings, a speculative tone in his voice. “Looks like they're really going to do it, doesn't it?”

“Yes.” Mischa didn't say any more. Mags stole another glance at him; he was watching Geoff with a concerned expression.

“Excellent.” Saint sounded almost happy. This was a change from his original attitude, but Mags didn't have a chance to ask before he went on. “This means that they're really thinking about it, which proves that they can actually fucking do it. Which means that all this 'no way out' bullshit is just a bluff.”

“Except that they're the only ones who know how to get someone out,” Mags said, trying to strike the note of 'voice of sanity'. “So this leaves us back at square one.” For all that she knew Dragon could not attack their suits directly, she had no desire to attempt to breach the Birdcage. Automated defences would kill them just as dead. Or, for all she knew, knock them out and put them in the Birdcage, powerless, with a bunch of psychotic capes. Fuck. That.

And that was even if it weren't Teacher they were trying to free. She had never trusted the ugly, sweaty little man, and following Teacher's assassinations of public figures, she felt she was vindicated. He can stay in there for all of me. There's no way I'm letting him near Geoff again.

“You're not getting it,” Geoff said impatiently. “They've already communicated with him once; if they're going to get him out, they're going to have to do it again. Once they do that, I can hijack the nanobot control system. By the time Dragon gets to the Birdcage and manually shuts down the link, I'll have time to use it to send a message to Teacher and let him know what's going on.”

Mags looked at him askance. “Okay, I get that bit, but how does that translate to them letting Teacher out?” Please don't have a hairbrained scheme ...

He grinned, showing teeth. “That's the genius part. Thanks to this, we know that Panacea's so valuable to them that they'll let someone out of the Birdcage rather than lose access to her healing ability, right?”

It took a moment for Mags to understand, then her eyes opened wide. “No. Seriously, Geoff. Please tell me that you're not thinking of taking Panacea hostage to force them to let Teacher out of the Birdcage.” Christ, it's worse than I thought.

“Da, what she said,” Mischa said hurriedly. “Do not be kidnapping the healer that the PRT thinks so much of.” He took a deep breath and composed himself. “Much shit will fall upon our heads from a very great height if you do this.”

“But it's Teacher,” Geoff said urgently. “Don't you get it? If I can get access to him, I can get right back into Dragon's code! I'll finally know what that bucket of chips is thinking. She's got to be working on something to fuck us all over, and we need every advantage we can get to get out in front of whatever it is.”

Mags nodded, trying to think of the best way to dissuade him. “Yes, love, I do understand all that. But let's please not kidnap the teenage girl who can cure cancer. If we do that, and she gets so much as a hang-nail, it'll be a kill order for all of us.”

“Even worse,” Mischa put in. “You have seen her sister, the girl of glory? She is Alexandria package who does not pull punches. Mother has lightsaber like in Star Wars, father throws bombs. Uncle is giant from fairy tale, aunt and cousins fly and have zap lasers. Our armour is good, but against them we are walnut against hammer. Ебааааать, дружище. Please do not be inciting war we cannot win against scary cape family.”

Fuuuuck, mate. Mags knew enough Russian from Mischa to understand that part, and she knew the burly man well enough to know that his thicker accent was due to agitation. Mischa really did not want to go up against New Wave. Well, that was fine. Nor did Mags. Especially not for Teacher's sake. However, the trick was going to be convincing Geoff that it was a bad idea. This is going to be an uphill battle.

“If they can't find us, they can't attack us,” Geoff argued. “Look, this is literally the opportunity of a lifetime, but the window slams shut the moment they get him out. Dragon won't be sending communication nanobots into the Birdcage any more, and with that scary bastard alongside Panacea, getting hold of her will be a fuck-ton more difficult.”

He turned abruptly and hurried to a bookshelf, and pulled out an atlas. “Check it out. Less than five hundred miles as the crow flies. We head over under cover of darkness, wait till she separates from the rest of her family, grab her up and come on back. Then all we gotta do is tell the PRT that all they've got to do to get her back is let Teacher out. After that it's just details.”

Mags snatched the atlas from his hands and slammed it shut. “No! Geoff, it's a stupid fucking idea. We are not kidnapping Panacea!” And we're definitely not freeing Teacher.

“Why the fuck not?” Geoff turned toward her, his face creased with frustration. “There's nobody else who's that important that we can grab!”

Mags rolled her eyes. “How about the President? No, wait, parahuman Secret Service plus kill order if we do succeed.” Her tone was heavily sarcastic toward the end.

“Perhaps head of PRT?” suggested Mischa. “She is important, but no Secret Service to protect.” Mags shot him a quick glance; he gave her a fractional shrug. Even Geoff isn't that much of an idiot. Is he?

“Don't be stupid,” Geoff snapped, proving that he still had some self-preservation instincts. “That's the best way to get the entire Protectorate on our asses. And Alexandria's pretty smart. I don't want her up in my grille.” He shook his head. “I'd like to survive this mission.”

“And that's the exact same reaction you'll get if you kidnap Panacea,” Mags insisted, trying to get through to him. “Only worse, because Director Costa-Brown can't cure cancer.”

“No.” Geoff was adamant, though Mags couldn't tell whether he was trying to convince her or himself. “She's not Protectorate. They won't throw the resources into finding her that they would their precious Chief Director.”

Mags took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “Geoff.”

When she opened them, he was looking at her expectantly. “Yes?”

Despite her resolve, she paused for a moment to muster her thoughts. “You know I was in law enforcement before we started doing … this.” She waved around at the base surrounding them.

“Well, yes,” he agreed. “It's how we got into Richter's black box. But you were Fisheries and Oceans, not the police.” There was a slightly defensive tone to his voice.

“True,” she said. “I was never police. I never worked a kidnapping case. But I heard stories. And I need to ask you this, right here and right now. Suppose we manage to kidnap Panacea. We get away clean. They don't track us down.” Which she highly doubted, knowing the resources that the Protectorate could bring to bear.

“Okay …” he said warily. “Let's assume that. What's your point?”

“My point is this. We have her. We make our demands; release Teacher from the Birdcage and we let Panacea go. But some stuffed-shirt bureaucrat gets up in arms and refuses. Flat-out says no. It's impossible. Tells us that we may as well release Panacea now, because it's not going to happen.” She paused, watching his face to see his reaction.

It wasn't long in coming. “But they won't,” he protested, his face twisting in a grimace. “Panacea's too valuable. They'll deal. They have to.”

“But what if they don't?” She pressed on. “Suppose Costa-Brown suggests it and is fired by the President, and her replacement says hell, no. What are you going to do then? Release Panacea? Or start sending them fingers to prove that you're serious?”

For a moment she thought that she'd gotten through to him, but then his expression hardened. “And so what if we have to? We're trying to save the goddamn world from a dangerous machine, here! It's for the greater good.”

Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Mags dragged him down until he was face to face with her. “You listen to me, Geoff Pellick.” Her voice was a dangerous hiss. “The moment you start seriously considering mutilating an innocent teenage girl for the sake of the 'greater good' is the moment I start wondering what we're even doing on the same team. I've performed some criminal acts in the name of the cause, but abducting and harming kids is a line I am not going to cross. Do you understand me?”

Tense at first, Geoff slowly relaxed. “Yeah, sorry. I got kind of carried away. But what do we do instead? Threaten Dragon with Ascalon? 'Release Teacher or you die'?”

Mischa shook his head. “That will not work. She is bound to follow laws. And at worst, we kill her, what then? Teacher still trapped in Birdcage.” He spread his large hands. “Is best to drop this, I think. Teacher is not worth it.”

Geoff grimaced as Mags let him go. “You're right. Both of you. It's too risky.” He rubbed his chin. “Though now I'm wondering if we can't blackmail the PRT with the footage we have. The public would love to hear about something like this.”

Mags shared a glance with Mischa. They both shrugged at the same time, then the woman turned back to Geoff. “That's actually a workable plan. I know we can dissuade Dragon from doing a traceback, but that won't stop anyone else, so don't get careless, all right?” I highly doubt that it'll work, but if it keeps him busy, that's a good thing.

He gave her the devil-may-care grin that she had fallen in love with, all those years ago. “Hey, I might be a little obsessive over the subject, but I'm not stupid."

Unfortunately, my love, when it comes to Teacher, that's exactly what you are.

Putting her arms around him, Mags laid her head on his chest. “Sometimes I worry about you, that's all. I know we're fighting a war, but there's such a thing as going too far.” Especially where Teacher is concerned.

He stroked her hair, then lifted her chin for a kiss. “I know, and I appreciate that you're here to keep me in line.” Lowering his voice, he continued. “Want to bring the massage oil to bed tonight? I want to show you how much I love you.”

“Ooh yes.” Smiling, she kissed him again, the warmth of anticipation spreading throughout her body. “I can definitely go with that.”

Thank god, she told herself. He's seen sense. She paused for a moment. Or maybe not.

Looking past him at Mischa, she flicked her eyes toward the workshop and made a cut-off motion with her hand behind Geoff's back. The large Russian nodded, and ambled nonchalantly in that direction. Good. Mischa can lock down Geoff's armour until we can talk him out of this idiocy.

<><>

Boardwalk

“Mmm, this is good.” Amy leaned back against her seat, blissfully nibbling at her ice cream. Kayden – she had introduced herself on the walk over – sat at the far end of the same seat, with Aster's stroller between them. The baby was wrapped up a little more against the night's chill, happily burbling to herself in the stroller. Occasionally she reached out toward the iridescent soap bubble that was the force field over the Protectorate base in the bay, but didn't seem more than mildly disappointed that she couldn't grab it.

“It is.” Aster's mother was carefully eating a sundae, which she was apparently enjoying just as much as Amy was appreciating the ice cream. “You're acting like you don't get to do this much.”

Amy noted again that Kayden was quite perceptive. Or maybe it was just a mom thing. She shrugged. “I guess I don't. Being Panacea's not quite a full-time thing, but I think I've been pushing myself too hard now, and I didn't realise it because nobody really called me on it until today.” And he's in the Birdcage, she noted. What does this say about my so-called friends and family?

“That doesn't sound healthy at all,” Kayden observed. “Do you want to talk about it? I can lend a sympathetic ear, and I'll throw in any advice I can think of for free.”

“I don't want to load you down with my problems,” Amy protested, though the chance to talk to someone who didn't have a stake in the situation suddenly sounded very attractive.

“You saved my handbag today,” Kayden pointed out. “Buying you an ice-cream doesn't even begin to cover that. I can listen to your woes and agree just how mean people are being to you, if you want. It doesn't cost me anything. And it's not like you've got a secret identity to worry about.” The grin she gave Amy made her look about sixteen, and awoke a reluctant answering smile from the biokinetic.

“Well, okay then,” Amy decided, thinking hard about what she was going to say. “I'm adopted, but you probably had that figured out already.” At Kayden's encouraging nod, she went on. “I found out a while ago that my dad's actually a supervillain. You've probably never heard of him, but he's been in prison for the last ten years. Anyway, I ran into an old minion of his …”

As she told the story, eliding over the more sensitive details, Kayden listened entranced, and Aster gurgled happily in her stroller.

<><>

Dragonslayer Base
Much Later That Night

Mags rolled over in bed, feeling the deep contentment that came from a good solid back massage from Geoff. She had responded to his advances, and they had made love until late in the evening; afterward, as usually happened, she had dropped into a deep and dreamless sleep. But now the glass of wine she had imbibed before the massage was making itself known, so she had to get up.

Trying not to disturb Geoff, she disentangled herself from the sheets and went to sit up, but her hand went down in the middle of his back. Or where the middle of his back would have been, if he had still been in bed.

“Geoff?” she murmured sleepily. He must be going to the bathroom too. Stumbling out of bed, she snagged a bathrobe and made her way to the bathroom, but he wasn't there either. That worked for her; she sat down and relieved herself. She was halfway back to bed when her brain started working. Where is he?

Entering the bedroom, she turned the light on, to find the bed entirely empty. Small stirrings of alarm were going off in the back of her mind by now. Belting the bathrobe around her waist, she headed out into the main area. Maybe he's spying on Dragon again? But no, he wasn't at the console. Data, of course, ran over the multiple screens, showing what the AI was up to.

But Mags had no eyes for that. What caught her attention was the sheet of paper taped to the keyboard. Turning on the light, she picked up the sheet and read it. Adrenaline kicked her brain into high gear; with the paper still clutched in her hand, she dashed for the workshop.

“Fuuuuuck!” she screamed. “Mischa! Get up!” Not hesitating for a moment, she slapped her hand on the red button inside the workshop door, which sent an alarm clanging through every room of the base. She wasn't sure what its original intention had been for, but it was a useful way of getting everyone up and awake.

Moments later, the big Russian showed up. His beard was in wild disarray and he wore a pair of boxers luridly printed with bright pink hearts. However, he also hefted a large assault rifle in one hand, and he looked awake and ready for action. “What is it, Mags? Where is Geoff?”

“Gone,” she said bitterly, holding out the paper. "I thought you locked his suit down!"

"I did!" he protested. She pointed silently at the empty space where his suit had been, and the opened-up shells of their two suits, trailing components. " ... oh. Son of bitch. He cannibalised our suits to bypass. Very sneaky. I will break fingers when I find." He took the sheet and read it. “'I'm sorry, but this is the only way. Carry out the blackmail mission as a distraction. If you can get Teacher released, I'll let Panacea go unharmed. Geoff.'” Pausing, he stared at her. “What do we do now?”

The curl of her lip was almost a snarl. “We're going to repair my suit, then you're going to stay here and run mission control.”

He blinked stupidly at her. “But what will you be doing, if I am to be doing that?”

“Going after my idiot husband and saving him from himself.” She turned and stomped into the workshop. “Whether he likes it or not.” 

Part 7