Got the Grimoire, Chapter 38

Chapter 38
Everyone was exhausted and foul tempered by the time we got out of the meeting. Worst case scenarios had been considered, contingencies drawn up, a dozen different plans proposed, thought through, and then discarded.

The collective agreement that everyone got behind though was that I couldn’t fall under Valefor’s sway, period. Such a thing would be disastrous to the extreme. Despite my reassurances that Valefor’s powers wouldn’t work on me thanks to my preparations, I was still ordered to make hourly check-ins or be considered compromised and placed in Master/Stranger confinement. The fact that everyone else had to do it too helped me avoid the resentment just a tiny bit.

As we all began to shuffle out of the stuffy conference room, I wracked my brain for things I could do to help in the meantime, while we waited for more intelligence on Valefor. Since the Thinkers in Watchdog couldn’t help, we were relying on civilian/ police sightings, which was just asking for an ambush. My mind kept jumping to the scrying pool I still had access to, but it wouldn’t pin down Valefor’s exact location, just his surroundings and I wasn’t much of a Thinker when it came down to-

Dammit, I need to focus. I’ve got access to a Thinker, duh!

I just had to hope that if she focused on only his surroundings, then maybe Lisa could get a clear picture of where he was at. Though I wasn’t sure where the anti-Thinker abilities came into play. Was it a bad thing that I was working against the Fallen’s mysterious leader without much information to go on or was it secretly a blessing in disguise considering most of the reports I read just had her listed as ‘Stranger: Yes’? 

I guess I’d figure that out later. For the moment, I sidled up alongside Armsmaster as he started making a beeline for his workshop. “So Piggot mentioned that Lung and Oni Lee are in custody. Got any more details?” I asked curiously.

“Three vigilantes did it,” he replied distractedly, clearly already starting to get into the Tinker-zone. “Kage, Firestorm, and the bug girl you helped a couple of weeks ago. She uses the name ‘Arachne’ now.” I gave him a minute to gather his thoughts as we kept walking, knowing he’d elaborate if I let him. “Powerful or wily if they took down both ABB capes. Didn’t seem to get along well with authority, but other than some second-degree burns on some of Lung’s men, no injuries that crossed the line. I’m hoping we can build some sort of working relationship with them.”

“Brockton can always use more heroes.”

Colin grunted in neither confirmation nor denial. “Their actions could lead to larger consequences than we’re ready to deal with.”

“I thought I did that with just my presence.”

“You do,” he confirmed, shooting me a wry smile. “But you at least apologize for it.” I blinked. Had he just made a joke? “Did you need something other than asking me for details that will no doubt be in some email or report later?”

“Yeah. I have an idea of how to track down Valefor, but it would require me to bring in some outside assistance.”

“Who and how?”

“Well one of my many gifts is a pool of water that can allow me to spy upon my enemies,” I explained. “A clairvoyance power. The only problem is that it shows me my foe and a bit of their immediate surroundings, but doesn’t exactly act as a GPS or anything like that. Are you familiar with the Thinker known as ‘Tattletale’?”

“Villain. Undersiders. Suspected to be their leader, or at least their brains. Has claimed to be psychic.” He glanced at me, eyes narrowing. “You know her?”

I weighed how much information to give. “Weirdly specific knowledge, remember? As a Brockton Bay cape, I know quite a bit about her and how her powers work.”

“Do you know her identity,” he leaned in, almost eagerly. “If you could provide information that would lead to her capture-”

I set my jaw and glared. “Doing such a thing would be highly unethical. Don’t ask me to do something like that ever again unless they cross the line first.”

He backed off, startled at my defiance. I was usually a lot more compliant and affable. “I- Yes, of course.” He grimaced. “Apologies. Perhaps that was too overeager of me.”

I decided to offer an olive branch. “Look, I’ll tell you this: She’s just a kid who was forced into the villain's life by a literal gun to her head. Compare how often the Undersiders have been active lately since Coil was brought in. I’m sure you’ll notice a correlation.”

Colin nodded, ill feelings forgotten or at least pushed aside by professionalism. “You’ve done a lot for us. I’ll trust your judgement on this matter. Use whatever resources you need if it helps lead to Valefor’s capture.”

“Thanks. Sorry for getting pissy, I just… Feel bad for the kids who never had a chance to be anything else, ya know?”

“That’s a noble sentiment,” Colin said. “But don’t let it blind you. After a certain point, they do have to take responsibility for their own actions.”

He was right and I knew it. After all, I could have applied that very logic to even as heinous a villain as Jack Slash, but chosen not to. Was that me being hypocritical or just pragmatic?

Both most likely. You humans are oh so contradictory. 

I blinked and shook my head. “Sorry, did you say something else?”

Colin gave me a puzzled look. “No, you just zoned out for a moment. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, fine, just… tired.”

“This is your first work day in several days,” Colin said with an amused expression. “Been partying a little hard or something?”

“Or something,” I admitted, feeling somewhat relieved that Colin was still up for bantering despite our little disagreement. “Never did have the best of sleeping schedules.”

“Well try. A good routine and schedule is vital for anybody,” he said with a lecturing tone. “It helps-” I was saved from anything further by his phone going off with a particular ringtone. “I have to take this. But don’t forget what I said.” He awkwardly gave my shoulder a quick slap, something I’d seen Assault do to just about everyone, but clearly it was unpracticed. I felt touched by the attempt anyway.

The tinman attempts to become a real one. How droll.

“See ya, bossman.” I waved goodbye and then veered to the side and into the wall, stepping through it’s shadow and into my Tinker lab.

Since I’d been effectively grounded from active patrolling, but still needed to earn my paycheck somehow, I decided to do some more enchanting, specifically work on my anti-Master abilities. I started with three different items, each one subtly different in how the magic worked. Then I submitted an email request for Gallant and a few volunteers. 

Since I knew it would be a while before I got any response, I began the menial work of enchanting more Necklaces of Bullet Resistance (patent pending) and called Crystal.

“Well well, Mr. Bigshot finally remembered lil ol’ me,” she drawled as she answered. “Too busy taking down supervillains?”

“We talked like… two days ago,” I protested. “And how the heck did you hear about that already?”

“Well Kid Win was on Console duty and he told Gallant about it, who of course told Vicky, who then told me. Audacious, taking out the entire ABB alone like that,” she said teasingly.

“It wasn’t the entire ABB, just Lung, Oni Lee, and some of his better guys. And I wasn’t alone, I actually had backup this time.”

“Oh okay, not the entire ABB, just the most dangerous. I did hear something about other vigilantes than Kage. Arachne for one, but Firestorm, huh? Who’s that?”

She didn’t sound suspicious or anything, Crystal was cooler than that, not one to jump to conclusions, but still… “That… might be something to tell you about in person,” I ventured. “You busy tomorrow night?”

“Hm, not particularly. Have something in mind?”

“Dinner at my place? You can see it before I show it off to my team and meet my roommate while you’re at it.”

A beat of silence. “You have a roommate?” Her tone was skeptical to the extreme. “I know for a fact that you don’t have anybody in town that you like enough to actually cohabitate with, not to mention you can afford your own apartment if you really wanted one.”

“Yeah it’s a bit of a new development, but something to be discussed in person.”

“Okay, I hear you. Mind if I bring Amy? You’ve been neglecting your lesbian bestie.”

I groaned and dragged a hand across my face. “She told you about that?”

“Of course she did. And don’t sound embarrassed. It’s kind of sweet,” Crystal laughed. “You’re the only person I know of outside of family that she doesn’t just tolerate, but actually likes. You should be honored.”

“Yeah,” I said grouchily. “I feel so honored right now.”

“Oh get over it, you big baby, you’re so easy to tease. So, tomorrow night?”

“Sounds like a plan. Oh and… Stay safe out there, yeah?”

That got her attention. I must have sounded more worried than I thought. “What’s going on?”

“...The PRT has reason to believe that the Fallen are in Brockton Bay. Including a pretty powerful high-level Master.”

I heard a quick intake of breath from the other end. “How bad?”

“Not Heartbreaker bad, but… not too far down the ladder either. Try to avoid eye contact with people you don’t know. Tell your family too, but keep it quiet. We don’t want to cause a panic or worse, set them off before we find them ourselves.”

“I’ll be discreet. Thanks for the warning.”

“Of course. Be seeing you.”

“Bye.”

She hung up and I let out a breath. I had wanted to keep Valefor’s presence on the down low, but I couldn’t just withhold information from my girlfriend like that, not if it meant the potential for her or her family to get hurt. If something like that happened… Well, there would be hell to pay for numerous parties, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to ever forgive myself for something like that.

Speaking of…

I dialed Lisa next.

“What’s up, Mak?” If the very concept of boredom had a voice, then Lisa was doing an excellent impression.

“Oh, just checking in on you. How’re things?”

I could practically hear the gears turning as her power fed her information, the boredom quickly vanishing. “Okay, you are seriously worried about something. What is it?”

“Valefor is in the city.”

“The Fallen guy? He’s got some funky power stuff going on, but nothing you can’t handle I’m sure.”

Right, Valefor’s real powers weren’t exactly public knowledge. Kind of smart of him honestly. “His real power is a hypnotic gaze combined with the ability to implant commands. He could easily fit in with Alec’s family.”

“Shit. That explains some weird things in the news and online.”

“Yeah. So keep an ear to the ground and don’t make eye contact with anyone you don’t know.”

“Alright, will do. Was that all you wanted to pass on?”

“Welllllll… Since you bring it up, I might have a way of tracking Valefor down, but I’d probably need the help of my favorite Thinker…”

“Flattery will get you nowhere. What do you need my powers for, oh Mr. Eidolon 2.0?”

“I have a clairvoyance ability, but it only gives me an image of the person I’m using it on, not their exact location. Figured if I paired that with your powers…”

“Well look at you, actually using your brain for once.”

“I’m not that dumb, just forgetful.”

“Whatever you say. So when do you want to get started on this little side project of yours?”

“I’m stuck at work for a while, but how about tonight at like… six? I can bring pizza?”

“Bring literally anything else and you have a deal.”

I let out a chuckle. “That bad?”

“None of us are very good at cooking, except Brian, so it’s Fugly Bob’s or pizza way too often.”

“Oh c’mon, it can’t be that bad…”

“The staff knows our order. And they know me by name.”

“Ah… Well there are worse things.”

“Let me know when you discover them. In the meantime, bring literally any other kind of food, I’m begging you. Just something light on grease.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Catch you later.”

She hung up and I got back to work. Half a dozen bulletproof necklaces later and I finally got approval from the Director to test my new items, once I got the proper approval that the items were safe, seeing as it was called tinker-tech on paper. Also I had to source my own volunteers, but that wouldn’t be too hard. Protectorate members had some leeway when requesting volunteers to offer certain perks.

I submitted photos, descriptions, and scans of my empowered items to Colin as the resident Tinker and only had to wait a few minutes before I got back a signed approval form. Then I called up Gallant’s Ward phone.

“Magus?”

“Are you available for testing some power interactions with me? Specifically the anti-Master items that the Director requested.”

“Of course! I’ll get on the first transport back to the Rig.”

I frowned. “You were just here this morning…”

“Ah…” A note of embarrassment entered his voice. “I didn’t know you’d be able to come up with something so quickly. It’s only been a few hours after all… My mistake for underestimating you.”

“It’s fine, I need a few minutes to round up some test subjects anyways. Head to my lab when you arrive.”

“Will do.”

After he hung up, I shook my head at the ridiculous fact that the PRT HQ and Protectorate HQ were two separate buildings and locations. I felt like it would be so much easier if it was all consolidated.

I sent out a quick email through the internal communication network, offering a half day as well as hazard pay in exchange for assistance with testing new and experimental tinker-tech. Not as many takers as I’d have wanted, but I managed to get three office staff and a bored trooper that were all reasonably healthy and looked like they could keep their mouths shut by the time that Gallant arrived.

“Thank you for joining me today,” I said with a small smile, trying to set them all at ease. “As you all know, Masters are of particular irritation to the PRT. Really the world at large, walking op-sec hazards that they are. Now as some of you may or may not know, I am capable of blocking some Master effects, including that of the Simurgh. I am also capable of creating empowered items, similar to Dauntless. We’ll be testing to see if what I create can also block Master effects, using Gallant’s tinker-tech,” I motioned to the Ward, “and my own Master abilities.”

That caused a bit of shuffling. The trooper spoke up. “We weren’t aware you were a Master, sir.”

“I’m a Trump,” I said with an amused tone. “You can safely assume that I can replicate practically any class of parahuman ability given time and energy. Now, will that be a problem with anyone? I won’t hold it against you if you drop out.”

None did. The Protectorate and PRT chose their staff well now that we’d gotten the moles out.

“Good. You’ll each receive an empowered item. Don’t be too rough on it, but you don’t need to treat it like glass either, they shouldn’t break easily.”

I gave the office workers each an item, a ring, a necklace, and then a bracelet, all infused with power and meant for one task: To keep the wearer’s mind their own. To the trooper, I handed a pair of glasses with a similar enchantment. Honestly that was the item I was most hopeful for blocking Valefor’s ability, but it wasn’t wise to put all your eggs in one basket.

“Alright, Gallant, if you would?” I gestured toward our test subjects. “Just a bit of giddiness or something, nothing dangerous.”

He nodded and one by one, hit each individual with a blast of bright pink light. Each one took a step back from the small amount of kinetic force that Gallant was imparting, but none of them showed any signs of altered emotions. I glanced to Gallant and made a gesture towards my eyes and he shook his head. None of them had been affected. That was a good sign.

“Very good. Now we’re going to stress test that. Subject One, step forward. Gallant, continuous barrage.”

And so we proceeded. The ring lasted half a dozen shots before Gallant’s beams began to have an effect on their emotions. Bracelet, about twice that. Necklace and glasses both held out until Gallant asked for a break himself. We took a fifteen minute break, all grabbed a snack or drink, then reconvened and put my own power to the test.

Hypnosis was such a useful branch of Magecraft. Just a shame that I couldn’t use it too often so that I didn’t scare people. One by one I locked eyes with each of the test subjects, each one’s mental defenses crumbling under my power, though with each one I had to put more power into it to actually have an effect. I kept it simple, just an order to walk out of the room. Nothing invasive or unkind, I didn’t need that kind of reputation. Finally I reached the trooper with his glasses and…

My power stopped cold. My brand of hypnosis was very much akin to Valefor’s, in that it required eye contact and while the other items helped safeguard the mind, prolonged power exposure still left them vulnerable. The glasses, blocking the direct access point of my hypnosis, stopped my powers almost easily. Just to test it, I pumped more and more mana into it. I had to be certain that what I was giving out to my comrades would actually be effective. To my relief, nothing happened even after almost a minute of prolonged eye contact.

“Alright, thank you all for your assistance.” I gathered my items. “I’ll speak to HR and arrange for the hazard pay. Standard non-disclosure applies of course. Have a great rest of your day.”

They all shuffled out while Gallant crossed his arms and glanced at me. “So… You have Master abilities.”

“Mhmm,” I said as I began to get my lab back in order. “Have for quite a while now.”

“Does the Director know?”

“‘Course she does. As does Armsmaster,” I gave Gallant an amused look. “Try not to sound so suspicious.”

“Sorry, force of habit. Master powers are… Frightening.”

“Yeah, I get that. It’s why I don’t use them except for emergencies, like when we fought the Simurgh.” I chuckled at his small start of surprise. “It’s how I fought off her Master abilities, by basically controlling and then redirecting her attempts to influence people and then creating a bubble of ‘normal’ thought around me. Fire with fire, if you will.” 

“That only burns everyone,” he said evenly.

I felt myself getting annoyed. “Look dude, just because I have certain powers, doesn’t mean that I use’m willy nilly. I used them today just to make sure my anti-Master items will actually help against Valefor, but that’s it.”

“If you say so…”

“I do. And why are you looking at me so strangely?”

“Nothing, I just… It’s nothing. See you, Magus, but I gotta head back to HQ. I have a patrol later with Kid.”

“Take care of yourself.”

He left and I let out a sigh. “What a little prick.”
--------

I finally finished with my work for the day, producing another three of the anti-Master specs as I began to tentatively call them, handing them off for further testing by R&D. I’m sure that the PRT had access to at least a few Masters that could verify they worked as intended, even if I’d already submitted all the data and results from that day’s testing.

Once I’d clocked out and changed back into my civies, I sent Mimi a text that I’d be late getting home that night, did my hourly check-in with Console, and then hit the grocery store. I grabbed all the ingredients I needed, then teleported a short distance away from the Undersiders lair and walked the rest of the way there. I wore the face that the Undersiders had seen previously, not my real one, but a close approximation, and texted Lisa once I was there. She told me to just head on up and I let myself into the loft without any of the previous time’s fuss.

“Heya,” I greeted Lisa once I walked in. “Sorry I’m late, work got busier than expected.” I blinked when I noticed Alec. He hadn’t chosen to take refuge in his room this time. “Oh, hi. I’m Mak, nice to meetcha.”

“Alec,” he replied with a lazy wave of his hand, eyes only flicking toward me once then back to his game. “Sorry, but I’m feeling too lazy to try and hide my face from ya.”

“Oh? Why would you need to do that?” I asked innocently.

He shot me an unimpressed look. “I ain’t dumb, I can guess that you’re either our boss or Lisa’s benefactor in some other way. Truth is, I don’t really care, so long as I get my games and a place to lay low.”

I arched an eyebrow, but gave a slight nod. “Sure, fair enough.” I tilted my head as I contemplated it for a minute. “Want me to kill your dad?”

He froze, then turned and stared at me, his expression gone cold. “You know…?”

“Yup. Thinker powers are just one of my many gifts.” I gave him a sharp smile. “I could do any number of things to him and while he’s avoided being on my immediate list because he isn’t an S-class threat, I could easily arrange for something. If you wanted. I’d probably get around to it on my own time anyway, but I figured, why not at least make the offer. Seeing as Lisa is a friend and all and you two are kind of friends too…”

He stared at me long and hard before his mask returned and he just gave a slight shrug. “Sure, if you want. I won’t believe it ‘til I see proof though.”

I began to get cookware together in the kitchen when Lisa wandered it, giving me a wry smile as she glanced out toward where Alec continued his game. “I think you just made a new friend,” she said. “Not an easy thing to do, especially when your opening move is to offer to kill his dad.”

“Pft, hey, I know if someone had offered the same thing to me, albeit for my step-dad, I’d have probably leapt for the opportunity.”

She gave me an odd look. “You’ve never had a step-dad. I looked it up when I was researching you for Coil. Your mom died when you were real young.”

Oops.

“Forget you heard that.”

“No,” she said smugly. “Now I wanna know all your little secrets…”

“It might make you question my sanity.”

“I already do that.”

I snorted and went back to cooking. “Get me drunk sometime and I’ll tell you.”

“You aren’t a weird drunk, are you?”

I thought about it. “I mean… I give hugs a little more freely, maybe get a little more inclined to roughhouse with my buddies, but I’ve never like… done anything weird, weird, if you know what I mean.”

“Then we have a deal,” she smirked. “Say, are you having a housewarming party for you new place?”

“That’s the plan,” I confirmed, getting the oven started. “Why?”

“I want an invite.”

“Huh?”

“As payment for my help tonight. I want an invite to your housewarming party.”

I gave her an exasperated look. “Lisa, c’mon. You know why I shouldn’t do that.”

“Oh c’mon, I don’t wanna do it for blackmail reasons, honest!”

“Then why exactly do you want to be there?”

“Because it’ll be funny. For me at least.”

I sighed. “I’ll think about it. And if your identity gets blown, then it’s not on me, alright?”

“Deal.”
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A/N: Bit of an abrupt cut off, but if I kept going then I wouldn't have gotten done until way later and I'm already sleepy. Hope this will suffice. As always, you guys rock big time, I truly appreciate every little bit that you contribute. Also I'm making some steady progress on my little side project that y'all voted on. 'I'm Not a Damn Kryptonian!' won by quite a large margin and I'm playing around with the mechanics/ metaphysics of it. Quite fun stuff, it'll be a fun little thing, but of course, this fic takes priority over that. Catch y'all later.