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Chapter 15

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Part 5

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14 January 2011

Kayden Anders' apartment
Brockton Bay
Earth Bet

Lisa's trembling hands clutched a fine china cup, barely registering it was almost hot enough to scald her fingers. She was still trying to process the fact that she was both alive and in one piece because she was sure Purity was about to blast them in the next century the moment she saw the Sith at her doorstep. Thinker or not, Lisa wasn't sure how she ended sitting on a modern couch beside the mousy glowing woman, with the grinning Sith lounging on a couch across a delicate glass coffee table.

The tea was strongly fortified too, and for that Lisa would be forever thankful, even if it was still too hot to try. That no one apparently cared that she was underage and that she usually didn't drink, the shenanigans of the hopefully late and very much not missed Coil notwithstanding. The Sith on the other hand? Just the Apprentice was more than enough to turn Lisa into a raging alcoholic at this rate, and this was the infernal woman trying to be nice… That didn't really compute and even Lisa's power refused to give her good answers on this front.

Lisa looked at Purity, who was nothing like her Cape persona, then back to the happy Sith, and prayed that her tea would cool down enough to drink yesterday. Almost dying, or worse, being kidnapped by Coil's henchmen so he could do unspeakable things to her, for real this time, knowing what he had been doing to her in disposable timelines, and now almost dying again, because the Sith were crazy… those events didn't make for a good head-space, no sire!

"Let me get this straight!" Purity hissed furiously, something decidedly at odds with how she looked – tiny, unassuming, more than pretty even when caught unkempt and without a touch of makeup. "You," She jabbed an accusing finger glowing with power at the Sith, "want to offer me a job, with all kinds of benefits."

"That's right!" Aria nodded and sipped her tea, which should have been practically boiling, and pointedly not fortified with whatever rot-gut Kayden had on hand… or was it paint-thinner? Lisa's power wasn't too sure, however, it was damn strong, that much was certain.

"And you," Purity looked at Lisa a bit softer, "are what? Moral support, or human shield?"

"Thinker who got an offer she couldn't possibly refuse, for a second time in just a few months too!" Lisa chipped in.

"Coil won't ever darken your doorstep again." Aria reasonably pointed out.

"And if one day I dearly wish that neither you nor your Master or other aliens darkens my doorstep?" Lisa asked pointedly.

"Then you're either out of luck or your services are no longer needed, and you'll be able to enjoy your retirement."

The damned thing was that Lisa's power was sure Aria was truthful. It was also sure that if her service were deemed indispensable, she wouldn't be allowed to retire anytime soon if ever. As if that wasn't bad enough, Lisa could have sworn that her power was practically giddy at the prospect!

"You know, the Unwritten Rules are supposed to be a thing!" Kayden grumbled while delicately sniffing her tea. The way she glowed brighter spoke volumes about how she felt about the situation.

"Those are of no consequences as far as we're concerned." Aria shrugged.

That right there described the Mandalorians in a nutshell – something vital about keeping the world from being on fire even more than in usually was, and they didn't give a damn about it! It wasn't hard to figure out why, as Kayden amply demonstrated by warily glancing at a large muted TV showing the events in Canada. Villains going off the reservation and setting Earth Bet on fire, well that wasn't the Mandalorian's house, not to mention that such chaos would offer benefits, if different, compared to a stable place to trade with.

Possibly more benefits in the short to medium term, without sustained major investments, Lisa's power promptly supplied.

"We do offer a number of benefits." Aria began her sell, "and you won't be able to find equivalents to many on Earth Bet."

"They're actually very good benefits as long as we follow the party line and don't betray them." Lisa piped up, and she didn't even have to lie on that front. It was still hard to accept that working for honest to God Sith offered much better long term prospects compared to being one of Coil's conscripts, or potentially in Kayden's case, being a not so reluctant Nazi.

Unless the Nazis won, which they very well might if the wrong people triggered with the wrong powers – a depressingly realistic possibility, because Earth Bet couldn't have nice things, and if those somehow materialized, they came with all the strings attached. You know, like genuine Sith… Lisa stared at her fortified tea with ill-disguised interest and dared to take a sip, which promptly led to a coughing fit. She wasn't sure if it was the hot tea or whatever paint-stripper Kayden put into the drink that caused it, and didn't particularly care. Lisa carefully took another sip and this time managed not to splatter it all over Purity's expensive table.

"You know, you'll fit right in. You already have the right idea about dealing with us." Aria pipped up.

"Do I dare ask who else you drove to drinking?" Kayden asked warily.

"A great many people all across the galaxy, some are doing hard drugs in futile attempt to reconcile their new reality." That very happy response took Lisa aback. She could see it happening too, even though her exposure to Sith and their unique brand of madness was very much limited so far.

"You know, you aren't making a good sales pitch…" Kayden mumbled and froze when both Lisa and Aria focused their attention on her.

"You're not about to jump out of your skin now or begin blasting the building to pieces around our ears, so it worked," Aria announced, making Lisa splutter.

She was a Thinker damn it, she should have seen this coming as something almost obvious! What the hell, power?!

The distant sensation of mirth Lisa got was anything but reassuring. Perhaps, the Sith was right and she could use a long vacation, preferably far away from both Earth Bet and any Sith… One could dream, right?

"Now, on a more serious note," Aria continued, still smiling, yet no longer acting or looking at all irrelevant. "Our offer comes with the prospect of either Mandalorian or Imperial citizenship and safe home on a world of your choice you can pick up later from an approved safe list. This, of course, comes with all duties, responsibilities, and benefits such citizenship entails, including access to the best hospitals and medical science in at least two dimensions, the education you can only dream of on Earth, state of the art childcare, no Endbringers, crazy villains or Max Anders darkening your doorstep and endangering your daughter…" Aria trailed off. "Who is hungry and about to make it known."

Kayden stared at the Sith wide-eyed, a depressingly common occurrence, as Lisa found out the hard way, then put down her cup and vanished in a hurry when a baby began wailing in a nearby room.

"You're insane!" Lisa hissed at her boss, good ideas be damned! "You almost got us both killed, more importantly, you almost got me killed!"

"Nonsense, we were safe." Aria waved a hand.

"Yep, you're insane. Fuck my life…"

"Do you really think I would have allowed her to blast us or something?" Aria asked with genuine curiosity.

Lisa was about to snap back when the words registered and she clamped her mouth shut. If this was almost anyone else, she would have concluded that they were drunk on their power. With Aria being a Sith, that much was given, surely, however from what the Thinker had seen and heard so far, her new boss wasn't boasting. She might have been able to drop Purity before the Empire cape could burn them to crisp.

"It was still insane!" Lisa repeated stubbornly.

"You're too tightly wound up." The Sith concluded and Lisa gaped at her.

At that point, Kayden appeared with a crying bundle in her hands and tore off towards what was presumably the kitchen.

"Human brats, what's with them, wailing and unhealthy colors?" Aria asked in clear exasperation.

"How would you know?" Lisa blurted out before her nearly non-existent brain to mouth filter could even try to engage.

"My kind of niece? Cousin?" The blue woman shrugged and waved a hand uncertainly, "she was the same."

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Part 6

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14 January 2011

Kayden Anders' apartment
Brockton Bay
Earth Bet

Kayden held her daughter like a lifeline, her mind raced through all the terrifying implications her 'guests' represented, all the while, she acted on autopilot, preparing Aster's meal. Her baby girl kept fussing, thankfully not knowing the kind of danger calmly sitting in the next room. At first, Kayden was in shock at being found out, and worse, trouble following her right back home. That nearly led to a confrontation, which might have brought the building on top of their collective heads, something that she didn't really think about when she saw the alien on her doorstep. It was a painful irony that it took a Sith of all people talking to defuse the situation and prevent Kayden from risking Aster's life. That by itself had her in a daze for the rest of the meeting, with her brain refusing to think straight. It didn't help that every time the blue woman opened her mouth, Kayden had the instinctive need to lash at her and remove the threat, no matter how bad an idea it might be in the long run.

One thing was certain, she could no longer hide, and that left her with a limited number of bad options. Returning to the Empire, and Max's poisonous influence, wasn't something she was looking forward to. Running alone with Aster, well that obviously wasn't the best of ideas for all kinds of reasons. Going to the Protectorate? Even if she didn't do hard time for her acts as Purity, the odds of keeping Aster weren't good enough to ever seriously consider that option.

Throwing herself at the dubious mercy of the Sith? Needless to say, that was probably as bad if not worse choice than the rest. The real question was what option would be best for Aster?

Surrendering to the "authorities" was really out. Kayden knew how broken the Foster Care system was even when there weren't people after you because of who your parents might be, and that was on a good day.

She put Aster's food on the oven and nervously tried to distract the still fussing little girl, when her daughter stared at something over her shoulder. Kayden warily turned around and reflexively lit up with her power, something that made Aster squint and giggle at her. The alien was right here, leaning on the door frame and studying her curiously.

"Just some food for thought, Mrs. Anders," The blue woman took a sip from her coffee, nodded to herself and continued. "We recovered the identities of virtually all known Parahumans in this city from Coil. Any number of people and organizations could have followed suit. Your so called 'unwritten rules' are a joke, which ceases to be relevant the moment someone decides it suits their purposes." The Sith took another sip of the fortified beverage. "This is quite good. It certainly beats most commercially available blends of Caf. Anyway, your little syndicate's days are numbered. Your local government is about to secure the region and remove any elements which might provoke us into action."

"I though that you had a deal with the Empire…" Kayden trailed off when the alien snorted.

"The only empire we have a deal with is the Federated Empire the Mandalorian Freehold is a valued member of. Your little syndicate happens to be both a potential thorn in our side, and worse, your ideology is in a direct clash with the Mandalorian Ways. It is only a matter of time before we would have to make an example of your so called 'Empire'. The question, Mrs. Anders, is where will you find yourself, when your little crime syndicate is no more, and all the people who have an ax to grind with it's members are out for blood?"

Kayden looked away from the alien and stared at Aster, trying to calm herself. Meanwhile, her daughter was apparently fascinated with the strange blue woman, and was both giggling and waving at her. Well, apparently, she was a bad a judge of character as her mother.

"Our offer stands for now, Mrs. Anders. Safety and bright future off world, away from all the issues ravaging Earth Bet." The Alien finished her drink, floated the cup to the counter next to the sink and turned around. "Think of your daughter, Mrs. Anders, and what future she could have."

Only after the Sith left, Kayden registered that the woman had pointedly been calling her Mrs. Anders ever since she came to the kitchen's doorstep. She had been putting an emphasis on the family name, one that Kayden would have noticed much earlier if her mind wasn't racing in so many directions.

"There is a comm unit on the table, just press the button and call us if you agree to our offer." The Sith announced from the living room. A brief muttered conversation followed by a bit of shuffling ensued and Kayden heard her apartment's door open and close. She leaned on the oven, hugging Aster for all she was worth, and thanking God that they came through this in one piece.

Naturally, Aster was unamused and uncaring about her mother's problems, she was hungry too and there were no more distracting blue women to take up her attention for a few moments, so she made her displeasure known in a hurry. All things considered, Kayden was grateful for that brief distraction. Soon, her daughter's food was warm and she busied herself with feeding her baby girl.

It was afterwards, when the full gravity of their situation hit her, leaving her mind spinning for a solution which was not forthcoming.

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14 January 2011

Detention Center

PRT HQ

Brockton Bay

Earth Bet

As soon as Armsmaster stepped foot in the PRT HQ, he found himself surrounded by tense troopers and a number of his former colleagues, who politely requested that he remove all his gear and accompany them to Master/Stranger screening. That's how he found himself in a mostly empty and featureless cell, specifically build to ensure there was nothing to use either as a weapon to hurt others or against himself. A long, familiar, battery of tests followed, one which would ensure he would be stuck in the same room likely for days. At that point, he didn't particularly care, even though he knew intimately how bad the desire to tinker could get when not regularly exercised.

"Armsmaster." Piggot's voice came from a loudspeaker built into the ceiling. She sounded particularly irate this evening, which was to be expected, really.

"Director." Colin dully nodded in the direction of the closest hidden camera.

"I need both an explanation and a report over the events in Canada."

"Dragon was my friend." Colin spoke in a voice he barely recognized, which was fitting, because even thinking about what happened to her and the fact that the Mandalorians simply confiscated her hard-drives, was simply infuriating. The fact that they were likely one of the best options for bringing her back if at all possible, didn't help.

He had been desperate, Colin recognized that. The aliens weren't acting of the goodness of their hearts, he knew that intellectually, he simply didn't really care. Getting the Dragonslayers for what they did, that had been more important, even if he hadn't been able to recognize it properly at the time.

"We've all lost friends and more in this line of work, Armsmaster." Piggot chided. There was more than enough barely restrained anger and frustration in her voice that he could easily recognize it without software to aid him.

"That's true, Director." Colin answered stubbornly. It was just that, even now, he found it hard to care. He had lost people before, true. Friends even. None of them were Dragon, and the fact was that this not only confused him but easily drove him beyond what he would have usually considered. What he felt now, that his anger was more or less burned out and the Dragonslayers were in custody, Colin frankly wasn't sure.

"Give me a verbal report over your actions ever since you decided to go rogue. We'll see where we'll go when I've heard you."

Having nothing better to do, Colin recited the events that happened over the past few hours in a dull, far-off voice. He was pretty sure that his career with the Protectorate was pretty much over, the only question was what the exact consequences would be. Armsmaster wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in some deep dark hole, where he could tinker under close supervision as far away from a position to cause any trouble as possible. He wasn't sure how to feel about the possibility, perhaps he deserved it. How easy to endure any feasible punishment would be was another question, one which might not be particularly relevant in the long run.

The Sith would have their due, he was certain of it. They had Dragon or what was left of her too… Colin stared at the white padded wall of the cell and for the first time since hitching ride back to Brockton Bay, wondered why did he come back? Was it a misplaced sense of duty? The right thing to do, or merely a habit? He didn't really know, and in the same vein, he wasn't sure what he would do if his days with the Protectorate were numbered.

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