Assessments and Plans
AN: 1 of 4 to 5 side story blocks. Two reasons, 1 to show things, 2: to recharge my mind for the main quest. I do take requests, however. Sorry it was late.
Cauldron Meeting Room, Cauldron Base
August 24th, 2009, Late Evening Eastern United States Time.
"You called us here, Rebecca." Dr. Mother laced and steepled her hands together, leaning on the table. "Am I to presume you have information to share about the… Exalted?'
Rebecca Costa Brown, Alexandria, snorted. David, Eidolon, was actually eating a sandwich he had brought unconcerned about Paul's, Legend's, glaring, while Contessa was quiet and simply looking at her. Kurt, standing with his back to the wall as always, was the only one paying attention to her, though eying Paul as he clearly didn't know why the legendary Blaster was angry.
"Yes." She rolled her eyes. "And possibly more." Kurt's eyebrow rose.
"Interesting." Kurt leaned back. "I've read the preliminary data that's been entered into the PRT's system. It does make for some… interesting conclusions."
Dr. Mother spoke. "Did they explain
why they distort precogs like Coil and even Contessa?"
Alexandria shook her head. "No, but they didn't need to. I wondered why, in the Sidereal listing, tending to the Loom of Fate was listed as one of their duties. Then Tattletale explained that the Loom of Fate
is a prediction engine, not a 'set fate' engine." Dr. Mother relaxed a bit at that, and Alexandria nodded. "Other comments the teenager made, made it clear:
Essence, as they call it,
breaks the rules."
"That is obvious." Kurt's glasses glinted as they reflected the light. "Contessa's path to save… Taylor, wasn't it?" Contessa nodded. "Was kill Hookwolf
before he led his thugs to the Docks in Brockton Bay, which we voted
against." Kurt's tone was mild.
"And then we didn't need to, at all." Alexandria nodded. "Meaning… Essence is something the entities have
no idea about." Kurt nodded in agreement.
Dr. Mother looked at Alexandria. "Surely there is an explanation that doesn't mean we'll have to accept this … balderdash of gods and Primordials?"
Contessa actually spoke. "Is it too hard to accept?" Everyone turned to her. "Before Eden, would
any of you accept truly, that the Entities existed?"
Kurt stopped Dr. Mother. "I see your point, Contessa." He sighed. "My numbers don't
know, they can't assign probabilities. Your paths can't say either, except accept the offer to
go to Yu-shan, with a parahuman they accept." Contessa nodded. He turned to Dr. Mother. "Just because
we believe the information to be false… without proof
either way, we need to keep an open mind.
If, what they say, is in …" He smiled briefly, amused. "
Essence, true?" He shook his head.
"We don't have a choice." Alexandria nodded. "The potential gains?" She shrugged. "Our objective is to
kll Scion, and remove the threat of the entities. If that means…" Rebecca shrugged. "We are
all expendable. If
this is what we
need to win? To Save humanity?" She shook her head. "Whatever the price."
David looked up. "Bullshit. They can't kill Scion, or they would have already." He leaned back, shaking his head. "I am
warning you, these ideas… we thought the same about Glastig, about the Butcher. We're going to make the
same mistakes again, and we're going to lose more parahumans we could have used!"
Legend's eyebrow rose. "I'd be careful of saying that…
David." His repressed anger came though. "I
know you accessed the preliminary data. And the books. There
is enough proof to say that at least the three exalts that we knew about before Armsmaster's
brilliant." His anger came through again. "Idea
were gaining new powers."
David leaned back, unconcerned by the most powerful blaster's anger and clearly intent on making his point. "Or they could have just been figuring out their powers. Let's be real. The number of infinity trumps that don't have limitations is zero. I'm the most powerful one. We all know this. We have
plans regarding this." He sighed. "Why are we changing our plans as it stands?" His eyes were tired as he asked this question. "We have no proof, nothing but their words to say this, nothing
truly provable. If
I can't kill an Endbringer,
how can they?"
Alexandria shook her head. "We aren't switching our plans
right now. As you point out,
we don't have proof they can do what they claim. We don't even have proof for a quarter of what they claim -- some
indirect proof, I will concede, yes, for the ability to keep adding powers… but only indirect. But everything they claimed that we could test, was either true, or
understated what they could do."
David nodded. "Except, I
can take Shadowy Wings, not a question. She isn't all that." He sniffed. "
If she's as powerful as what we've been told, she'd have come to Houston to remove a few issues that came to light."
Alexandria raised an eyebrow. "What part of 'it takes time to train and add additional abilities' is hard to understand? And which
matches what we have on her?"
David shook his head. "I'll admit even presuming that they are Infinite trumps, you get all your powers at once, just about, remember?" He leaned back. "And if the profile we have on her is 'anything for her family', then 'learning' to kill an Endbringer would be top of that." He looked at Legend, who nodded in acceptance of that point. "So, forgive me if I doubt severely that they can do what
I haven't been able to figure out. Because, as it stands? Too good to be true." He shook his head. "We've been searching for enough parahumans that can
harm the Endbringers decisively, or even Scion for
how long now? And a whole batch of them just fall into our laps?" He snorted. "Does
anyone else see the problem here?"
Paul leaned forward. "How so?"
David leaned back a tired look on his face. "As stated, as far as we know, there's realistically
only two people,
theorized, at that, that could gain the ability to kill an Endbringer. Dauntless of Brockton Bay, and
me. And we all agree that in my case, it's just finding the right power." He raised an eyebrow in question to determine if anyone would disagree. Waiting a moment he continued on. "Even if we take their words as true, which
is stupid… we cannot abandon everything we've worked on until now. Didn't they say they doubted they could do anything to enhance my powers?" He received a nod from Alexandria. Before either could say anything else, a voice broke in.
"Infinity Trumps like yourself, or even any other parahuman at all, have not shown any realistic capability to kill an Endbringer to date, at least from the Entities. We
theorize you can, once you discover the right power, but that's it, and the reason we theorize you can, is I cannot path you." Contessa's voice was pointed. "And they
do have limitations, they even admitted to such. Mostly how
long they can sustain their abilities at a time. I cannot path them once they start using their powers. Which means…"
Kurt broke in. "It is
very likely Scion cannot, nor could, oh, Ziz." Kurt shook his head. "Every time I run numbers on them, they prove them wrong, Eidolon." David didn't change his expression, but he did respond.
"And if their abilities aren't up to instantly killing the Endbringers? Will they have enough power to do it?" Eidolon's tired snort answered his own question. "And let's be honest. We don't know what price the … beings behind these Exalted, if they aren't entities themselves, playing a different game… will require. We might end up like Eastern Europe after World War Two."
Dr. Mother nodded. "I
don't like this." She looked around. "
If the 'Gods' and these… Primodirals… had their answer to the Entities,
why? Why haven't they deployed them before, or did they wait intentionally 'til we were desperate enough to accept
any help, no matter the price?
"
"That's a question I have a
partial answer to, I believe," Contessa interrupted, shocking everyone.
Dr. Mother and Alexandria traded a look. "Please," Dr. Mother asked.
Contessa shrugged. "These 'Gods' are
not omnipotent. Primordials are limited, that seems obvious." She clearly didn't have a problem with what she was saying. "They didn't
know the threat until recently."
Alexandria blinked and thought. David snorted, not impressed, but Kurt and Dr. Mother were looking thoughtful. Finally Paul spoke for the group. "Like the Greek gods?"
"Makes sense. There are a
lot of similarities in various mythos to the information we were given." Alexandria leaned back. "But the only way to be sure is to… ask. And not the Exalted."
David stood up, eyes tired and resigned as he looked at them. "And if they lie, in a way you can't detect? You are leading us into disaster. This isn't the way to do it. Trusting them?" He snorted. "Even if their stories are
true, these...
beings probably aren't any better. Who's to say we won't end up fighting
them." He shook his head. "I'm going to go train and prepare Houston, just in case these …
Exalts get the idea they can come to
my city and give me orders."
Legend's eyebrow rose, as David strode out, clearly done, but not caring what the others decided. "Well. I see that your suggestion is the majority view, Alexandria. And David's position, while I disagree with it, and think he's over exaggerating, should bear some consideration."
"Yes." She shook her head. She blew out a breath, and looked around. "Part of the discussion I had with the teenagers was their disgust at our current methods."
Legend's eyes grew cold. "Which
we will discuss." Kurt tilted his head.
"I have a feeling I will be displeased." The Number man commented dryly.
Dr. Mother snorted. "Let us have
them do better!"
Legend spoke coldly and clearly. "It isn't so much that I truly have a problem, Doctor, with what they accused us of doing. I have a problem with
not knowing. Are we responsible for the Case 53's?"
Kurt suddenly straightened and looked intently at Dr. Mother.
"Yes, we are. However, I
assure you, we did warn them, as we warned you." The middle aged woman shook her head. "We removed memories, because the Path said we couldn't
trust those not to talk about what we did."
Kurt's eyes narrowed. "How long ago was this… plan adjusted or evaluated?"
Alexandria blinked. "What do you mean?"
"He means
how often do we check the underlying assumptions of what we're doing, and adjust our plans accordingly." Legend's tone was bitter. "I don't remember a
single discussion about it."
Dr. Mother looked at the two remaining men, both of which had pointed looks. "It was what the Path suggested would be…"
Kurt stared. "Forgive me. You mean the same agent that we
know for a fact the dying Entity
crippled?"
Alexandria shook her head. "I will be fair, Kurt, while we didn't bring you or Legend in fully, for reasons that should be obvious…" Legend snorted. "I, at least, thought about the plan on occasion. I just didn't see anything better."
Kurt's eyes narrowed. "... So, while you didn't reconsider as a whole, it's because your, and only your judgment, said there was nothing better?"
"Correct." Alexandria nodded. She looked at Legend, a look in her eyes that was hard to decipher. "I don't know how you do it, but your hands are just as dirty. Remember your idea about the Siberian?"
Legend looked at her, considering what she said and then nodded. "And I remember who
objected." She nodded.
"I did, and I was not … truly accepting of what we are doing at that time, but…" Rebecca was interrupted.
"You saw nothing better." Kurt finished. His eyes hooded as he clearly thought it though. "I will agree with you, that knowing wouldn't have truly changed anything. But the objective is clear. Either a silver bullet parahuman,
or an army enough to overwhelm Scion, as we previously discussed."
Dr. Mother nodded. "So… I take it your objections
aren't over doing it?" She looked at the two men.
"No, they are not. My objection is
not being informed." Legend sighed. "I will admit I find the concept of wiping memories distasteful, but…" He shook his head. "It's quite possible I suppose that if enough people
talked about granting powers and what we were doing, we'd have lost our positions."
Kurt nodded in agreement. "I understand the risks, and why you did it. But as Legend does… I find it distasteful that you did not bring us in fully."
Dr. Mother shrugged. "We at first didn't trust you, admittedly, and as for Legend… I believed he'd play his role better if he didn't know."
"Really." Legend's voice was dry. "Thank you ever so much."
Alexandria shook her head. "You're a good man, Legend. We weren't sure you'd keep the secret, simply because it'd be distasteful to you."
"... Rebecca, if you think that of me, I'm honored… but you don't know what I am willing to do to see my son
survive." Legend's voice was cold.
Kurt nodded. "In the situation we are in, there is truly no cost not worth paying." He leaned back. "I suggest we table this discussion til later." Everyone nodded. "While I would argue you going to Yu-Shan is an
extreme risk, Rebecca, it is you or Eidolon, realistically." Legend's eyebrow rose.
"Your logic, Kurt?" Legend leaned forward.
"Simple. While we know all three of you are immune to the Scream, as well as several other master abilities you have encountered, which would give you the highest chance of avoiding any similar abilities these 'gods' or 'primordials' have,
you are not a thinker, or able to run a thinker power." Kurt nodded.
"And unlike Eidolon, I am willing to at least seriously consider the chance that they
are allies." Alexandria dryly said. "Though I think I
should take some of Eidolon's thoughts into consideration."
Contessa shrugged, as she stood up. "To be honest, I don't need to model or run a path to have a good idea what these Gods want."
Dr. Mother turned to Contessa. "Oh? What do you think they want."
"What Gods always want." Contessa's flat statement was her last as she left the room.