[Dead,] Katherine thought. [Eminence Equality is dead. Alexa is a supervillain, what the hell did I even expect...]

"...retiring," Alexa said. "To a lovely farm in the Nordic countryside where she can play with her labradoodle puppies and raise orphaned children. The announcement should go out anyyyyy moment now. Seriously, the Equalizer bureaucracy is a mess. The high council will evaluate the deeds of the best, brightest, most capable paladins and choose a new Pope from the lineup. The best Pope ever. Someone really special."

Alexa winked at Katherine.

"How can you be so certain that this girl will be chosen?" The lawyer stated. "She's just a teenager!"

"Money," Alexa shrugged. "I've been practically funding the entire Equality Order for the past four years. My dad left me a fortune, you see. Cotes, stop looking at me like that. I didn't kill your godmother, I swear. Her Eminence retired!"

Chalice started to snicker under her helmet.

[Equality doesn't retire,] Katherine stared at the hologram, not saying anything. [You liar.]

[Katherine, maybe Alexa used a mountain of gold from 2424 to politely ask Her Eminence to retire,] Martin suggested. [Let's not jump to conclusions.]

"You'll burn out my circuits with that death glare, Cotes," Alexa huffed. "You want to know the brutal truth? Fine. Her Eminence Verse 11:10 is very sick. Is that what you want to hear? The super tech that allowed her to see the future gave her a slowly growing brain tumor. I didn't do it. I simply told her about the tumor. It was actually supposed to kill her in about 9 years from now. If anything, I gave her a chance to pass on the mantle before her decisions started to be less and less coherent. The precognitive helmet she wears allows one to see the future global disasters, but not one of her own making. She and I talked and agreed that she should retire now, rather than gradually begin to make bad choices for the Order that would lead to our mutual doom. Happy?"

Katherine's glare lessened. She nodded.

"Nine years, huh?" Admiral Kolchi commented. "That seems like a rather specific timeline."

"My father's tech allowed me to see a series of likely future timelines," Alexa said.

"Oh? And what's that?" Dora asked.

"You're all going to die pretty soon, unless you and Chalice start to reorganize the Superstate to include mundanes," Alexa said.

"And if we don't? Who's going to kill us? Are you planning to threaten us into changing our laws?" Dora demanded.

"Pffff," Alexa huffed. "Dora, I'm a hologram. I can't even swat away a fly. Titanomachy operational systems like that toilet cleaner droid have like a billion safeguards, many of which you designed yourself. As part of Titanomachy, I can't possibly physically hurt the supers inhabiting it."

Dora turned to examine Ember.

"Our alien friend can't hurt the supers either," Alexa said. "She's nice. Right, Dimms?"

"Mrm... yes. I'm nice," Ember nodded inside of her green space suit, trying her best to appear like a completely harmless alien life form. [God damn it Alexa, why?] She hissed internally.

[You always wanted attention, sis,] Martin commented.

[Not this kind of attention, idiot!] Ember sent Martin a glare through her helmet. [What this shit am I even supposed to say? I can't even silently ask Alexa what this ridiculous plan is supposed to be, she's a freaking hologram!]

[It is rather unfortunate that we cannot mentally commune with her,] Katherine sighed.

[You're getting pretty emotional for Pope Equality,] Ember eyed Katherine. [Seems like Alexa's madness broke you way down to the core.]

[Perhaps,] Katherine replied. [I do feel rather... off center. Maybe that's simply because she's not here.]

[She wasn't with us before,] Martin thought.

[She was in Tartarus. This is different. People come back from Tartarus, if somewhat changed,] Katherine complained. [What if she doesn't come back? What if we're... abandoned? What if she's dead?]

[She didn't leave us without a backup,] Martin glanced at the hologram of Alexa.

"Cheer up friends," the holo-Alexa pranced over to the group of teens. "I bet Chalice or Dora can build me a body, if I ask nicely. They're like super smart when it comes to building doomsday devices, just not streets-smart like me, see?" She grinned.

Martin considered the potential consequences of this development. What if the real Alexa returned. Would there be two Alexas? Thinking about the potential number of Alexas inside Titanomachy drones made his head spin. It was very weird and confusing to think about so many copies of Alexa running... or more specifically floating around the station, doing mundane jobs.

Stolen novel; please report.

"I don't build doomsday devices," Dora defended herself. "I'm a hero."

"According to the Superstate Article 55-95, a self-replicating, self-aware, intelligent nanite swarm is considered a doomsday device," Alexa pointed out.

"I got rid of it!" Dora hissed.

"Just saying, babe." Alexa shrugged. "Consider embracing a small percentage of your villainous nature instead of hiding behind your shiny helmet and pretending to be a hero. You'd feel much better."

"Never!" Dora declared.

"Whatever you say." Holo-Alexa rolled her eyes. Something behind her beeped.

"Here we go, thanks for waiting, Cotes," she said and waved a hand. An enormous wall screen lit up.

"This just in. Eminence Equality has chosen to retire," a reporter spoke into a hand-held microphone, mountainous terrain behind him. "I'm West Torrei, the voice of the National Tribune, reporting straight from Tibet. For the first time in... centuries, or more correctly for the first time ever, the Equality leader is retiring before her natural death. I have been told that the Council of Elders and donors have already voted and... the new Eminence, one who is destined to usher a new age of justice and fairness for all nations of mankind, one who will protect us from the overreach of the Superstate is... Verse Twenty Four Nineteen!"

A large photo of Katherine came up on screen next to the reporter.

The real Katherine stared at the screen, her green-silver eyes wide in shock. Even though Alexa told her about this, she still didn't believe it, didn't think that such would be possible.

"That's right, you heard it first from the National Tribune, the new Representative of Humanity is a teenage girl! She was given an electromagnetic vector accelerator super-nullifying rifle at just fourteen years of age and has risen through the Ascendant ranks far faster than any of the others! My sources tell me that Verse Twenty Four Nineteen is currently inside Titanomachy, about to speak to the Great Five! Another first! I suspect that something truly extraordinary is about to go down for the heroes to allow a human representative inside the Superstate!"

"Satisfied?" Holo-Alexa looked at the lawyer with an incredibly smug expression as the screen behind her winked out.

The lawyer nodded. She was clearly trying to conceal fear of god behind her lenses, her lips drawn thin.

"What now?" Martin asked.

"Now," Alexa pursed her lips. "The Great Five, welp, Three now, will convene in their grand antechamber and try to sort out this messy mess."

The lawyer dug through her bag and produced temporary 24 hours guest passes for Nonpareil and Katherine. They looked like fairly mundane, albeit slightly glittering cards on colorful lanyards.

"Do not take these off," she said. "Or the station's doors will not open for you."

The girl and the fat man nodded.

Alexa's hologram manifested a similar pass. Martin squinted at her.

"I was supposed to be here with you guys today," she answered. "It doesn't hurt to pretend though."

"Please stay by me, Dixie," Dora said. "I will need to do more scans on you in my lab."

Ember nodded, not looking forward to being scanned. She was certain that Dora would eventually figure out exactly who she was.

"Oh and one more thing," the lawyer looked at Martin. "Martin Kilborne, your mother wishes to see you. She desires to congratulate you on attaining your hexagram."

Martin swallowed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see his mom.

"Ohhh, how exciting," Alexa grinned. "Are you going to introduce me properly to your mom, Martin?"

"I... hmmm," Martin muttered. "As... what?"

"Oh I dunno, maybe as your holographic best-friend-o?" Alexa grinned even wider. "Digital-female-girl-friend-ooo00?"

Martin blushed furiously and then rubbed his face with a frustrated expression. "I'm not sure if mom would approve of me walking into her office with a holographic replicant. She's kind of... like Ember, but worse. Much more stern. Her office might not have holo-projectors to begin with."

"Bah," Alexa waved him off. "Stop being such a pansy-jelly-leggoid, Mittens. Why'd I invest so much effort in trying to make you grow up faster?"

[It certainly wouldn't surprise her,] Ember thought with a snarky expression. [She'll probably say that poor Martin couldn't even get a human friend.]

[Shush you,] Martin huffed. He looked at Katherine.

Her Eminence Equality stopped staring into empty space. She recollected herself, reached out to Martin and grabbed his hand with her carbon-steel reinforced glove.

"I'm your friend," she said. "Don't be afraid, Martin. Without Alexa it's just you and me against all of them."

"Thanks," Martin exhaled. The awful tension in the pit of his stomach became reduced.

"Can't beat a best friend who's an Equalizer Pope," Alexa giggled. "Darn it, maybe this move will make Cottie too pomp. I can't have my minions out-pomp-ing me!"

"What?" Martin blinked.

"Equality Popes wear silly hats," Alexa said. "She'll probably look down at me once she gets her oversized future-seeing hat."

"Never," Katherine said, her gaze once again distant.

"No fancy hat?" Alexa tilted her head, holographic silver curls spilling and flickering.

"You think I want brain cancer too?" Katherine asked, green eyes refocusing on Alexa. "I am going to make my own future, thank you very much. Verse Eleven Ten depended on a hat and look at where it got her. Besides that, her hat had failed to account for you.”

"M-h-mm," Alexa nodded. "I do wonder how the real me is doing out there in the great beyond in the land of System Wizards. Thankfully I've got everything handled here to tie up all the loose tangly bits. Now I just have to make sure that Nonpareil, Dora, Chalice and our new Pope Equality will vote on reforming the Superstate and allowing mundanes into Titanomachy… right?”

“Right,” Katherine nodded.

“Right,” Chalice affirmed.

Alexa looked at Dora and Nonpareil.

“Sure,” Bob said. “I’d rather not be banished from the station. It’s… safe here. To hell with the hero hexagram only rule!”

Everyone looked at Dora.

“Yeah, fine,” Dora agreed after a deep pause.

“Perfect,” Alexa grinned at her companions. “See? Everything wrapped up quite nicely in… the end.”