“And remember, if you need something you can come here before 7 pm. Or go to my house at any moment, I will be waiting!” Was the last thing she said to the little girl as she left her office.

She was tired, she had spent two hours teaching the girl to read. At the beginning, she didn’t know anything, but as they moved forward the girl started picking it up. Before she knew it the girl could read and write as if she had always been able to.

The girl’s writing was still on her desk, [My name is Alexa] said the piece of paper, and some other phrases. The letters were perfectly made, as if she had printed them instead of writing with her small little hand. Had it been in any other situation it would have been something to celebrate, a girl learning to read this fast? She was a genius. There were no two ways about it.

Eleanore didn’t mean it in the normal form of the word, “Misha? Start a search for missing kids. Age between 2 and 8 years, don’t specify anything, just give me all the names.” She would need to start searching. She wasn’t sure if something would come from it, but it was right.

“Are you sure boss? If we don’t specify anything the list will be long, mostly populated by vagrants and orphans.” Her secretary asked back.

“Just…do it, if you need to limit it in some way then put only Core Users and blonde girls,” Eleanore answered back.

“....Blonde will make the list empty. You know how the Saintsworths are with blonde ones.” Misha said back.

Right, “Well, then only girls and Core Users! Just get me a list of missing children's reports! I don’t care what it has, I just need…I don’t know!” Eleanore screamed frustrated.

Alexa was an orphan, an abused kid, an escapee from human trafficking…or worse, the daughter of a Super Villian who wanted to train either a successor or a weapon.

And Eleanore wasn’t sure what she rather have. Her original plan was to try to teach the girl how to read, and when she wasn’t able to even write her name, then she would get her back to her home and get her to open up. Nothing opens up a kid like a good meal, a warm bed, and a shower. Perhaps they could stop by a toy shop and get her something to play with?

But that had been gone to the trash as soon as she actually tried to teach her, the girl was smart. She probably had some Tinker attributes in her Core Power. It looked like she was some kind of shapeshifter, probably the reason why she was able to learn this fast had to do with how her mind and power worked.

And that was part of why this was such a problem, the girl…had serious issues, that had been confirmed as soon as her system mate showed up.

That was…troubling. The thing spoke like how the machine half of Vulcanus spoke.

“Boss? You have a call…She claims to be a friend of yours.” Misha said while redirecting a call to her phone. The number…was indeed from one of her friends.

“I need a favor.” The voice spoke without waiting to greet her.

“Well, hello to you too Lisa, are you having a good day? The weather is quite pleasant isn’t it?” Eleanore said with sarcasm in her voice.

“...Sorry Lena, had a terrible day at work. Found an abused kiddo but the school isn’t doing anything because she wasn’t one of theirs.” Her friend on the other side of the call said.

What were the odds?

“And what did Miss Baker do about it? If you sent it to the system I can’t help you, you already know that.” Eleanore said it first, she would love to help of course. But Eloise knew better. Even if she was somewhat aware that her work was dubious at best, she wouldn’t send her in that kind of search…right?

“I just need you to keep an eye open okay? You work in that shady part of the town, right? Near the Super Villain’s sector?” Eloise asked on the phone.

“I do…And my employer doesn’t kidnap street kids, if your abused kid ends up in this area most of the people here will send it to an orphanage. The big boss made them rules, no one is to mess with kids.” Eleanore had been the one to make that rule, but Eloise didn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, I don’t trust them Villains. I trust you.” Eloise said on the phone, “Listen…This girl, Alexa. She had dead eyes, Lena. There was no hope there.”

The voice at the other side of the line broke, she could hear her friend whimper, and usually she would be giving encouraging words, hell. She may even check out early and go to her.

But something made her stop, the name. That goddamned name!

“I….I don’t know what happened to her, who did what to her. But she was like me, no hope. No dreams, nothing. It was…it was like if I was staring at a doll!” Eloise spoke amidst sobs, “And I couldn’t help her!”

Right….

“...Alexa you said? Do you have a description? I will cash in some favors, but I may need your access to the school network. Or a way in.” Eleanore said as she sat at her desktop and started writing.

“...*hic* short, around a meter tall. Short messy blonde hair, blue eyes….such pretty eyes….*hic*” Eloise was a mess when speaking, “She was wearing a light sundress and a pair of sandals….Can you…can you make sure she is okay? I gave her my card, but…I don’t think she will come to me….I didn’t go to any of the teachers that tried to help me either.”

…The description was a mess, but it sure as hell matched part of what Alexa looked like when she came in.

“Is she a Core User?” Eleanore asked in an even tone.

“....Lena, I will get mad. You'll only help her if she is one? What? Are you going to sell her to a pharma? To your boss? To a Villain?” Eloise asked one after the other in a rapid shower barrage of questions.

“Lisa calm down. If she was a Core User I would need to move faster, if not I can move more slowly. If you don’t want to answer that’s fine, I will still do my best to help her if she needs help.” Eleanore answered.

This was good, if it was indeed the same Alexa. Then that meant that the girl wasn’t showcasing her Core Power to everyone, it meant that not many would come looking…If someone ever did, no wait.

“Lisa? Where did you find Alexa?” Eleanore had heard that some schools would go on a tour across some R&D organizations.

“We were on a tour to the Saintsworths Research and Development laboratory. This one is studying about the therapeutical use of artificial animals to help in the development of emotionally stunted kids. They wanted to use our special class as a marker.” Eloise answered.

Right, as if.

The Saintsworths weren’t the Heroes everyone thought. Vulcanus never found proof of their involvement in shady deals, but Eleanore didn’t doubt for a second that they had some shady dealings. And the mere fact that not a single one of their higher-ups would walk into the same room as her or any of the truth-seeking Core Users was enough proof to her.

“Okay, I will try to ask them later.” Eleanore would never do that of course, she didn’t need more eyes on Alexa. Especially not the Saintsworth’s eyes.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Oh, that’s okay. I already filed inquiries, both as a Teacher and as a Civilian. You focus on your side Lena.” Eloise said in a small tone, “I will call you if she comes…If she goes to you…don’t tell her about me okay? If she goes to you instead of me just make sure she is fine.”

“....Okay Lisa, we should go drink sometime,” Eleanore said as an e-mail arrived in her inbox. It was a general single-use key to the school database, it should be enough for her.

She would use some of the programs from Billy to get access and get a backdoor in place, it would help her find information about all the missing children lodged in the school system, perhaps some information about Alexa would come around?

She would search till seven at least, if Alexa came…she would prod more at the girl, if not…Well, she would stay awake till midnight waiting for her.

—-----------------------------------------------

In the end, Alexa didn’t come, neither to the office or her home. Eloise didn’t call her either, so she hadn’t gone to her… And well, Frank didn’t have a way to host a kid, so if he had ended up with the girl the man should have called her, or someone close to her. So that meant that Alexa either had spent the night on the streets or…she had returned home.

Eleanore was walking towards the induction of new minions thinking about that, she was bringing her mask with her today, usually, she wasn’t part of these things. She hated this aspect of their work, the fact that society couldn’t give the less fortunate a way to work and made them turn to these types of jobs…

And the fact that some organizations like Haephestus’ Forge were needed…It made her stomach recoil in disgust. But she knew that if Vulcanus didn’t make it, someone else would.

And then what? What would happen if some crazy pyro like Scorcher took their spot? Should she hope that the woman wasn’t as mad as she seemed and started burning everything to the ground? Hope that she would do better? As if. The woman was crazy, it was a sad case of course. A grieving mother who turned into a supervillain, but that didn’t mean that she was free of sin just because of that.

Eleanore hated those kinds of people. The kind that thought that since they suffered, their rants were justified, that everyone else should suffer as much as them.

No, she was seething already. And this wasn’t such a time.

“Cerberus? Well I’ll be, what are you doing?” Gabriel teleported to her side with his smirk already on. “Did someone rat on me again? I didn’t do it!”

The man was a nutcase, someone who truly believed they were an angel thrown to the earth. Someone who had been too affected by their Core.

“I am doing part of the evaluations today. Send them my way when you are done.” Eleanore said walking to another of the rooms they used for the newbies.

This base had been designed in such a way that it was a labyrinth, if they needed it to be. The base could isolate itself and no one could access it no matter how many tunnels they walked or found.

Truly a work of art from the Core Powers of plenty of people.

“Sure boss, now about those days…” Gabriel said while asking her about vacations, again. The man was crazy, but at least he had some type of moral compass, and still tried to act as if he was part of the good guys…half the time.

At least he hadn’t killed anyone!

Besides vigilantes…or crazy villains…Or crazy core users….

She should probably warn Alexa about staying too close to Gabriel.

But for now, she walked to one of the stations and started monitoring the tests on the induction, the fact that SuperForce had come was surprising, and the fact that he was also searching for Alexa was… worrisome.

So far two people seemed to be searching for the little girl, and both had done so for different reasons. If she included herself on the list that was three people, what had Alexa done that moved so many people?

She…wasn’t the first case of an orphan wandering the streets, most of the minions that worked for them had been one such case at some point, that was why she had made those orphanages after all.

Superforce sought Alexa as a young Core User who needed guidance.

Eleanore and Eloise sought Alexa since she was a girl who was abused. Even if both had different reasons to believe such. Eloise had seen a kindred soul, and Eleanore saw the evidence of a fragmented mind with her power.

The testing they gave the minion candidates was, as usual, lackluster. Most of them were average at best, people who got power and felt at the top of the world. Among those very few noticed the danger of the place they had found themselves in.

One was the WolfMan, who managed to sniff out the hidden turrets and always stood with someone in front of him to get cover. Sylph seemed to know that something was amiss even if she wasn’t quite sure what.

Golem…Didn’t seem worried, but had extra points since he always stood near Alexa and any other girl to protect them with his body.

And then there was Alexa, she seemed to know the turret was there and even shared that information with those near her. And that was worrying, the fact that Alexa knew of them and where they hid…

Spoke very badly about her past, it meant that her past as someone who was under a SuperVillain’s vigil was almost certain. Now if she was a daughter or some attempt to make a human weapon? That was another different point.

The last test she had for Alexa was a simple question, how many people could she defeat? Her answer…wasn’t quite the one she wanted, since she implied that she could kill everyone here.

That cemented the idea that she was probably the attempt of some Villain to make a human weapon or an assassin. But that he had failed or that Alexa had managed to get one over on them and escape.

Now she only needed to convince Vulcanus that she wasn’t a risk…And keep her around, teach her about how society worked…Easy.

—-------------------------

“We are keeping Rhapsody.” Vulcanus spoke after she returned from showing Alexa to her apartment. It was one on the same floor as her, near her teammates.

“Are you sure boss? Superforce seemed to want her.” Gabriel spoke after Vulcanus declaration.

The room had all the lieutenants and some of the people that made sure Haephestus’ Forge could work as an organization.

“Yes, if SuperForce has problems with our employees I will deal with him later. Cerberus, will it be a problem if we start nurturing Rhapsody for a Lieutenant position?” Vulcanus asked making almost everyone turn quiet.

Vulcanus didn’t train Lieutenants, he just gave them work. Most of those who had risen to that position had done so with effort, they clawed their way to that position with power and wit.

“....I…need to do some psych evaluations…And she needs education.” Eleanore said stunned at this development.

Vulcanus wanted to train someone? Why? He….didn’t need one. He may like to pretend to be human, but he wasn’t. He wouldn’t die, ever. He probably had a thousand backups in foreign servers ready in case his body had some problems.

His Core was probably not even on this planet anymore.

“...Why? She seems to be able to get the emotional intelligence and reasoning skills of her form. Just feed an adult to her Core Power.” Vulcanus way of saying that seemed to imply that they would just need to throw a body at Alexa for her to shift into.

“...Are you….Do you want to make Alexa eat a human adult body?” Eleanore’s voice rose an octave at the implications, “Do you want to make her a cannibal?”

“...You misunderstand me Cerberus. I suggest giving Rhapsody, one of our Minions a way to acquire a…how did she say it?” Vulcanus said as he fiddled with something on his seat and a projection of Alexa showed on the screen at the end of the room. “Ah right, here it is…a Blueprint.”

As he said those words the Alexa in the recording said the same. She had said that as long as she got biomass and a blueprint she could get her power to work.

“...She may have the emotional intelligence and some degree of…intelligence. But she is emotionally a child.” Eleanore said trying as best as possible her temper in check.

Vulcanus was a man of logic, no…A Machine of Logic.

“...I don’t want to rain on your parade boss…But the kiddo may be smart, but she has some gaps in her knowledge. So we may need to get her some degree of schooling.” It was Billy the one that came to her aid.

“Right, she needs school. At minimum I want her to attend school with kids her age.” Eleanore said turning to look at the image of the blonde girl.

Alexandra Saintsworths. A girl who had that accursed name, it wasn’t that weird, to be honest, plenty of people had that last name and nothing to do with that organization. As soon as the Core Powers started manifesting the Saintsworths had started taking in people in trying to get ahold of them.

It didn’t work, if anything it only made them spread their last name across the world and made them not as much of an enigma. They ended up having to come up with that weird system about using their emblem (The Golden Eagle) on their clothes, jewelry, or tattoos to distinguish the real ones from the diluted ones.

Alexa didn’t have anything like that, so she wasn’t one of them. If she had been part of that clan she would have tripped any of the multiple alarms Vulcanus had set up.

“Fine, she will get schooling on the level she deems needed, not the one you wish for her. Nor the one I want for her.” Vulcanus said after thinking for half a minute, not enough to come to a conclusion under normal circumstances.

“You promise?” But Eleanore asked nonetheless, because she wasn’t dealing with someone normal. He could probably think of a thousand plans in those thirty seconds thanks to his Machine Core.

“I swear it. I will not attempt to make Alexa follow any plans she herself doesn’t want. Nor will I attempt to affect her choice.” [Truth]. Her Core Power stated.

She couldn’t use the more esoteric aspects of it, most of those in this organization had some degree of resistance to her mind-reading aspect.

Really, her power wasn’t as good as they thought.

The Guardian of Truth Core.

Her power allowed her to perceive truth and deception, and read the intentions or vague thoughts of the people that was near her.

And at this moment, Vulcanus truly had the best intentions in mind for Alexa. And that scared her. This machine pretending to still be human was interested in Alexa? What had he seen?

She could only hope that Alexa’s first mission ended peacefully without any problems and that whatever Vulcanus was hoping to see in the little girl wasn’t there.