Respite 8.2

2005, July 6: Cauldron, Ivory Coast, Africa

"What's the rush?" Eidolon asked as he stepped into our meeting room. "I had plans today."

My chair, a large, leather thing that threatened to swallow me whole even with my newfound teenage height, had been turned so the back faced the room. I'd have loved to have a white cat on my lap so I could do the full Bond villain schtick, but alas, pets weren't allowed at the Kim household. I'd have to see if Riley could change mom's policy.

Fortuna, not quite in Contessa-mode, lounged beside me like a big cat herself. Her trademark fedora was skewed to the left, partially depressing her bangs so they better shadowed one eye, giving her an air of mystery.

"Oh? Is coaching little league baseball more important than a Cauldron executives meeting?" she asked with a coquettish smile.

That almost made me blow my cover. Eidolon? Coaching little league? Either the man finally discovered a hobby or he was being punished for some reason. And what a cruel punishment, to subject those poor children to the workaholic mess that was David Stabler.

"No, but we do have a game this Saturday. It's a commitment I made; I should be there."

"You can admit you enjoy it, you know," Legend said with a chuckle as he floated in, Hero at his side. "I hear the Starships are doing well."

"They're alright. What's this about?"

"Not a clue. Contessa? Good news or bad?"

"Are surprise meetings ever about good news?" Eidolon huffed.

Hero took a seat and looked around. "Alex isn't here so… Birthday party?"

"Really?"

"Hey, a man can hope."

Just then, the woman in question flew in with the Number Man and Doctor Mother following behind. "Hyunmu is awake," she said succinctly. "And sitting right there."

I swiveled the chair to face them, rolling my eyes. "You're no fun, Becky. I had this whole Bond villain reveal planned."

"Life is no fun. And then you die. Not me of course. I'll be around to spoil your grandkids' fun."

"Truly Cauldron's greatest sin, inflicting you on future generations," I drawled. Then more brightly, "Hey all, had a nice nap. What'd I miss? You know, besides a new baby sis."

"Andy!" the room erupted into a frenzy. One moment, Hero was in his seat. The next, he was in front of me, patting me down and running a dozen different scans.

I let him have this. "I'm fine. Really. For me, it feels like 2002 was only yesterday."

"That's not reassuring."

"Yeah, well, I'm back and ready to get to work. I've been catching up on everything and wow, you guys have been busy. Seriously, bravo. You've accomplished a lot."

"Not all of us were taking a snooze, princess," Hero teased. "Are you sure you shouldn't take a week off? When did you wake up?"

"Friday. And yes, I'm fine."

"Today's Wednesday, Andy. Take another week off. No, two."

"Really, I'm fine," I repeated. I had a feeling I'd be doing that a lot over the next month or so. "I made all the best meds in the world, remember? I gave myself a checkup."

"We have investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing," Eidolon snarked sarcastically. "You know what that sounds like, right, kid?"

"Like someone finally explained the concept of humor to you?"

"I liked it better when you were asleep."

"Great to see you too, Eidolon," I sassed back. And, truthfully, it was. Comparing this acerbic, sarcastic asshole to the man I remembered was like comparing night and day. He still wasn't pleasant to be around, but at least he wasn't so single-mindedly focused on being the paragon of heroism that he couldn't be deviated for even a moment.

Clearly, whoever his therapist was, she deserved a raise. This bore further examination, but I could conceivably entertain teaching him how to drain other Shards to recharge himself now.. maybe…

The Number Man, Kurt, coughed pointedly. "Hyunmu is evidently fine. Now, if we could get to business?"

And so, the first Cauldron meeting began since my awakening. The documents Fortuna arranged for me were largely up to date, but there were details they'd left out that kept the meeting pertinent nonetheless.

For starters, something that didn't exactly make the news: Richter had been quietly recruited into Cauldron. Theresa Richter, Dragon, was a famed hero now, the backbone of the Guild and warden of the Birdcage, but that didn't mean her father felt the need to join her in the limelight. Rather, he'd been convinced via Fortuna's social-fu to relocate to Babylon.

From there, he built several failsafes scattered across alternate earths so that his potential passing would not shackle his daughter indefinitely. Most of her limitations were designed to be released over time, just as a child was entrusted with more responsibility as they matured. Any of the Cauldron executives, Fortuna and Hero especially, would be able to take over Dragon's "maturation" should the worst come to pass.

When the programming tinker wasn't managing his daughter's operations, he worked closely with the Number Man to keep track of our finances. He'd also released several other programs, capable of machine learning but not quite sentient, for a variety of purposes, mostly dealing with money laundering, corruption, and cybercrime.

I was a little miffed that they'd started to treat the Babylon facility as an all-purpose tinker safehouse, with Hero and Dragon also having their own labs there, but a bigger part of me was excited to meet one of the few unambiguously good people in the setting.

The only other major bit of news was the destruction of the Blasphemies, not because of who they were, but because of how Hero did it.

Hero, proving that he hadn't been sitting with his thumbs up his ass, saved the king of Spain, Juan Carlos I, from the rogue tinkertech constructs. Then, to prevent the Blasphemies from reforming themselves, he'd touched on a Shard-exclusive wavelength to dismantle them for good.

Like with tinkertech in general, he had only the faintest idea of exactly what he'd done. He described it as identifying, isolating, and analyzing the unique signal the Blasphemies used to communicate with each other, only to then block it off through a "trans-dimensional reciprocal wavelength predicated around sympathetic signals."

As far as we knew, no other tinker had seen fit to contribute to the Blasphemies. No one was trying to remake them, nor were there any hints at a new rogue unit being formed. We'd have to see to determine long-term results, but we were hopeful that Hero's work fully sealed off that avenue of Shard communication for good.

More to the point, Hero had touched the Shard network.

Sure, he didn't really understand fully how he'd done it or why what he'd done was so important, and even if he did, there was a lack of vocabulary in proper science to describe the process, but he touched the Shard network. If we were correct, he was the first person to ever successfully communicate with Shards, however indirectly, and in turn to hamper said communication.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It was super exciting to hear, not least because I felt greatly vindicated in making him do his goldfish impression years ago. It was hard to keep in mind sometimes, but I wasn't the only "genius" tinker in the room. Truthfully, without the World Rune embedded into my soul, I had a feeling I wouldn't even be competitive with the guy. Keeping the guy alive might be my greatest contribution to Cauldron's cause because by the way things were looking, Hero was our best bet for stopping the Cycle.

After I fully explained and stressed the significance of his discovery, he made it his goal to understand the process. Hopefully, with a better understanding of the network, we'd be able to shut it down, or divert the Shards' energies for more productive uses.

"Alright, great. Hero's got his new project, we've got Hatchet Face lobotomized and on ice, Peter Pan's got a few more Case-53s that want to emigrate out of Neverland, and Melpomene stopped someone in Thailand from finding out about Cauldron," Eidolon listed off. "Anything that needs me to be involved?"

"No, not unless you have any thoughts on how we should reintroduce Hyunmu to the wider world," Alexandria said. She turned to me with a taciturn stare. "Congratulations on being the only Ward to undergo orientation three times."

"Nope. Have fun, brat."

I watched him leave with a curious glance. "So… Therapy's really working out for the guy, huh?"

"Somewhat. His grandfather was a big fan of baseball and this helps him feel closer to him," Fortuna explained. "It helps that he has a lunch date planned after."

"Date? Like romance? Or at least sex? We're talking about the same guy, right?"

"Three years is a long time, Andy."

"Clearly. Well fine, I don't need to keep digging into his personal life; I've got plenty on my plate as it is."

Hero coughed pointedly at that. "You. Did you want to remain in the Phoenix area?"

I considered the question. Naturally, I wanted to stay with my mom. But by the same token… "Do we have to tell people I'm back? My priority is to train to use the Mask and my armor. Then work on the hextech capacitors to build a mech. Oh, and make new potions, expand the Worldstone network, and add some more enchantments. Honestly? I think I can be more productive being a hermit in Babylon than I can as a Ward again."

"Be that as it may, you're going to have to enter the public eye eventually. Especially since you'll be setting an example for young Riley."

"Oh… Oh fuck… I'm going to have to teach Bonesaw bioethics…"

"Not true. Riley is not and never will be Bonesaw. You shouldn't treat her any differently because of what you saw in your vision, Andy," Legend admonished.

"You can say that because you don't know what I saw… but point. Riley isn't Bonesaw and she never will be if I have anything to say about it."

"Exactly. And don't you want to meet up with your old friends? I hear Raquel is still around Phoenix."

"Yeah, I read that in the files. I should meet with them, get it all out of the way. Any chance I can avoid any public appearances though?"

"Not entirely. You're a hero, one of the biggest. And that means people will want to know you're safe and sound."

"And not crippled for life or anything."

"Yes, that too."

"You're conflating a public appearance with public commitments," Alexandria added. "At this point, I think it's abundantly clear to all that you are unlike any Ward in the system."

"Does that mean no PR events?" I asked hopefully.

"Not none, but relatively few. No pointless patrols to show the flag. No school campaigns. We may have you give some lectures at the university-level, demonstrate what you're building, perhaps be seen visibly cooperating with other tinkers, but your time is too important to be wasted on meaningless PR campaigns."

"Oh, yeah, that sounds a lot better. So, Phoenix, huh? Feels like I've come full circle."

"You have. I'll inform Director Lyons. She'll have to be read in on some things, such as you having a lab out of the city."

"Thanks, Alex."

"Welcome back, Hyunmu."

X

"How was your meeting, Yusung?" mom asked as I came through the Door. She was seated at her piano, trying her hand at music composition. Riley was on the ground next to her, doodling all over a coloring book.

If there was one thing I could say for Cauldron, it was that the Number Man did right by my mom. She lived the life of the idle rich, teaching music lessons more to keep busy than because she needed money.

She had initially vehemently refused any money from my Wards stipend or pharmaceutical dealings, saying that parents should be doing the providing, not the other way around. That went out the window within days when the paparazzi started to hound her for her opinion in a language she barely spoke.

"Hey, mom. Hey, Riley. Meeting was fine," I said. Truthfully, I hadn't even bothered to get dressed for it, slipping into Cauldron HQ directly after rolling out of bed at ten in the morning.

"Hi… oppa…?" Riley said, testing the unfamiliar word on her lips.

"Just Andy, squirt. Say, mom?"

"Hmm?" she hummed, plucking at a key.

"What are we doing about Riley's schooling? She's six, right? So elementary school? First grade?"

"We're going to homeschool her, at least for a while."

"Alright, I can help with that, right?" I asked.

I still wasn't sure about having Riley in the family. In a way, I'd always known this was a distinct possibility, but that didn't mean I was ready when she was dropped on me so suddenly. Even so, I wanted to do my best. Legend was right; she deserved the chance to become someone new and it was up to me to give her that chance.

"Of course, Yusung. Reading, grammar, math, science, and social studies are required by law. Fortuna and I spoke and she thinks she can acquire a discreet tutor for language, math, and social studies. I'll be teaching Riley music as part of her extracurriculars."

"That's great, so I need to add brushing up on first grade science to my to-do list?"

"No. I don't know how she did it, but Fortuna added tinkering and parahuman studies in lieu of science. You'll be free to teach her everything you know as you see fit."

"Got it. Biotinkering instead of biology," I nodded. "Bioethics and lab safety first. And then… epidemiology… Yeah, that sounds important for Riley to know."

"We can tinker together?" Riley asked, looking up from her coloring book with a hopeful smile.

"Yes, Riley. We'll be working together a lot."

"Yes! We're going to make so many cool animals!"

As she ran around the room with an excited squeal, I muttered, "I'll throw in Shojin kenpo for physical education while I'm at it. Maybe bleed off some of that energy."

Mom chuckled, "You do that. I think you two can get along well together. She really looks up to you, you know."

"How? We've never met. And she's probably only heard the sanitized stories about me."

"Petricite," she said matter-of-factly. I remembered then: Petricite was power-inhibiting wood. Riley could probably learn a lot from that. "Fortuna set up a small lab for her in Babylon and she's really taken to some of the wildlife there. Most of what she's been doing has been trying to understand Petricite though."

"Ah, that makes sense. Which reminds me; I'll have to take a tour of my facilities, make sure everything's as it should be and figure out which of my projects I should rush first."

"Ooh! Can I come? Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" Riley ran into me, clinging onto my stomach like the world's smartest koala, not that that was a particularly high bar.

I gently pried her off. "Nope, not this time. I need to take inventory on my own, Riley, okay? I promise I'll give you a tour when I'm ready though."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"You'll show me all the cool stuff you made?"

"Yup."

"Potions?"

"Sure."

"And Graggy Ice?"

I froze at that. I'd honestly forgotten I made the damn thing. I was trying to make hyper-efficient, stable explosives if I recall, kinda like Ziggs. "Graggy Ice?"

"Yeah! Auntie Fortuna said you had it but wouldn't tell me what it was. What is it?" she asked enthusiastically.

"It's beer. The perfect beer."

"Oh, like the kind that Uncle Eugene sometimes drinks?"

"Yup."

"Can I have some?"

"No. Absolutely not. Mom would kill me if I gave you booze."

"And who said you could make booze, hmm?" mom asked pointedly, eyebrows arched in judgment.

"Ah…"

"Andy's in trouble~ Andy's in trouble~" Riley sang in that obnoxiously adorable way only a six year old could.

"Ugh… This is Fortuna's fault…"

Author's Note

The Blasphemies were made pre-canon by an unwilling, unknowing cooperation of tinkers. Shards seemingly hijacked their bodies during their fugues, creating a connected S-class threat that went around assassinating political figures in Europe. I'm using them here as the jumping off point for Heroes development as he begins to fully comprehend the Stilling and all it's supposed to be able to do.

In some ways, this is coming full circle. With one caveat: Some of you may have noticed, but Rebecca, and Cauldron by extension, made zero attempt to regulate or direct Andy's tinkering. He is now well and truly an executive, with all the privileges and expectations involved.

Animal fact? Sure. Koalas are shit-eating, disease-ridden, smooth-brained idiots. I mean that literally. Eucalyptus leaves are not nutritious. They're so not nutritious in fact that they're actually fucking toxic. Not only that, koalas cannot digest them naturally. To digest eucalyptus, they need special bacteria in their gut. The only way for a baby koala to get this bacteria is to eat their mother's shit, a viscous, green substance called fecal pap.

And yes, they really are smooth-brained. For those of you who don't know why that matters, the wrinkly bits of your brain gives your brain more surface area, allowing it to pack in more neurons per volume. It's literally the part that gives humans (and animals) advanced cognition. Koala brains are almost entirely smooth.

Let me give you an example of just how stupid a koala is. If you pluck eucalyptus leaves out of a branch and put them onto a plate, a koala will not eat those leaves and promptly starve. They no longer recognize the leaves as food. Yeah, they're that bad.

Also, something like eighty percent of them have chlamydia.

They deserve to die out and the only reason they're alive is because pretty privilege made them the posterboys of Australian conservation efforts. Kinda like pandas and we all know how I feel about pandas.

Thank you for reading. To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/fabled.webs.