As soon as the door unlocked Rachel pushed past the door and quickly entered the room.

“Sorry,” I said to our host. “She was just in a fight.”

“Wait. That noise outside and people in the street. That was her?” he asked stepping back. He was wearing casual attire with shorts. His looks screamed superhuman more than most. His hair was mainly silver streaked with green, and his eyes looked at me with a dull gray color.

“Yeah. Some guy named Astro-Stomper had beef with her and stopped us on the way here.” Rachel had already made her way to the bathroom to the right where she started running the sink and washing up. “They fought for a while until Harmony showed up and helped out.”

“More like she did it all herself in the end,” said Rachel from the bathroom while raising her voice.

“It doesn’t really matter though. In the end, the guy was dealt with and is being escorted by Harmony somewhere,” I said. “Anyway, I have the stuff here for you to look at.”

I opened the bag and then passed it to him. He looked at the contents briefly before closing the bag again.

“Well, I think I can do something with this. And I guess I haven’t actually introduced myself yet. I am Caleb or the Tech Guy by some.” He said reaching out his hand. I shook it.

“I’m Jason.”

He turned around and began walking into the living room. I followed him in, and we both sat down on the largest couch. There were some chairs on the opposite side along with a TV next to the windows pointed out towards the street we had entered from.

“So where did you find this?” he asked.

“Under my car. The security guard to the gates near my house found it. I took it off that night and then took it apart with my tools. It was a pain to break open. I broke a drill bit on it Thursday night when I tried opening it up. I had better luck in my shop. That was Friday.”

“That would make sense. The box is made of a tungsten alloy. With the alloys, it has retained its melting point properties while bringing up its durability almost to levels of the secondary metals. I can see where you melted parts of it and the electronics here when opening it. It is not the nicest way of opening it up, but it got the job done,” said Caleb as he began putting parts of the box on the table. He sorted it between the metal pieces and the electronic parts.

“Yeah sorry if my process was a bit rough. My worry at the time was to kill any functions it had as soon as possible. I still have no idea what it does exactly. I was able to identify some of the parts because I have some of them in stock at my place, but I can’t do that with every part. I guess that is where I need your help and expertise. Rachel suggested that you were the person to look for to find out who or where this was built. I’m not really sure where to start otherwise.”

Caleb kept looking over the parts and was now focusing on the electronics. Rachel stopped the water and stepped out of the bathroom. She had run her hair through the water and brushed it free of the dirt that had gotten it during the fight. She had also taken out the first aid kit and had wrapped her forearms in some bandages. Her clothes were still a bit dirty and worn out though she wouldn’t be able to fix them without returning home.

“Yeah, I should be able to do it with some time. The damaged parts will take a bit longer to read but first I have some questions that will make some things easier without having to search for the information. First off do you know about how long this device has been attached to your car? I need to know about how long it has been picking up information on you.”

“The security guard I spoke of said it hadn’t been since last we spoke so that would have been last Thursday, ten days ago.”

“And could they have picked up anything from you in the past two weeks or so that could be considered confidential or private?” asked Caleb.

He held the main board of the device to his eyes, and they started to glow green. A second later so were his hands. I paused and looked to Rachel. She wasn’t fazed by his actions, so I went over what I knew in my head. I had not taken anyone around with me in my car during the past week but beyond that, I had no idea what my past self had been up to.

“I haven’t said anything compromising in or near my car as far as I remember. If it had the ability to tap into my phone, however, that might be a different story. It can’t do that right?”

“It can’t do that I can tell from the processor on the board and what would be required to remotely hack your phone from the side of the car. I got a read on the device. It was turned on last week, but I can’t tell the date because of the corrupted data. It seems to have never been used before then. If they were planning on putting this casing on the outside including the matching paint then whoever did this likely wanted the device to be there for more than this past week.”

“Can you tell what kind of data it was sending and to where? I agree with you that they likely wanted to have it on there for more than a week. I would think that there would be better ways to hide it if they wanted to force me to use my tools in my warehouse shop to break it open.”

“I can’t really answer the first question without going through an in-depth analysis which would take me an hour I don’t have right now. As for the rest of your statements they are the parts that confuse me. Do you have any ideas, Rachel? I’m sure you have come across ways to track people through both technical and physical means,” said Caleb as he turned to Rachel who had found a seat on the couch across from the two of us. His glowing stopped and he set down the PCB board.

“There are a few different ways to track a person depending on whether they are super or mundane and what kind of information you need to get from them as well as how long you want to surveil them. For now, we will have to put aside what kind of data they could have collected and have to look at the rest. They chose to go the mundane route even though they could have gotten away with a super watching you for at least a week. They also weren’t going cheap by making that indestructible box. Can you say how much the electronics inside would cost?” Rachel asked Caleb.

“At least half the cost of the box around it. Tungsten is not cheap.”

“Then they would likely have money available to them,” said Rachel “But it ends up bringing more questions. Why didn’t they hire a super? They probably have the money for it. When was the box placed? Why didn’t the guard catch it immediately? What was the purpose of the box and why didn’t they hide it better? Did they want it to be found?”

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“So, it seems to me that I need to look closer at how the guard found it and who he is,” I said, “It would be best if we could confirm his information sharing was coincidental and nothing more. Then once you do your deeper analysis we can find out more and see where this piece of tech leads us.”

“Rachel should be able to help you get a background check on the security guard,” said Caleb, “I will have my in-depth analysis report done and sent to you on Tuesday. For now, I need you to do two things. The first is to start making a list of anyone you know that could want to harm you for whatever reason or would want you watched. The second is to install this software on your systems.”

He got up a opened a drawer to take out a USB device. I took it from his hands.

“What is it?”

“It is something I developed to detect traces of tampering and modification. If they wanted to track your movements then maybe they wanted to get a look through your computer. I would suspect that designs for a dynasty superheroes costume would sell for a lot of money.”

“But I already have security at the warehouse. The cameras and security systems around the building and door should alert me if something is wrong there.”

“Rachel didn’t ask the last question of a few that she could have. What if the purpose of the box was to be found? After all, it could only be opened by tools outside of your house and in your warehouse. It would create a good way for you to bring this device into your warehouse and past your defenses.”

“I guess that could be a possibility and the data within could be considered priceless. Is there anything else you can say about the box and its functions?”

“It has expensive pieces. It was picking up your audio and satellite location. The computer chip on board is not powerful enough for a remote hack but a high enough model to do any simpler things with it. It is expensive and likely built from a common base product, but now custom parts have been added and parts inside were switched around.”

Rachel’s phone rang and she pulled it out of her bag. We paused our conversation while someone spoke to her on the phone. It was short but I could see she was angry from the surprise call. She put her phone away and stood up.

“Was that call about the fight today?” I asked.

“Yeah. My father called and needs me to return home. I have to be interviewed by police now that Astro-Stomper is processed and in a jail cell for now until his sentencing is given, and he is moved to the penitentiary. You don’t have to worry about me or yourself about this matter. You were just someone who happened to watch the scene like anyone else. I will make sure you don’t have to deal with any of the reports or interviews unless it is absolutely necessary. And I will get you the information on the guard or at least a confirmation that he is clean and that there isn’t anything about his finances that could indicate wrongdoing.”

“Thanks for doing that. And how has the blade training been going so far? Do you think you like them the best or do you have something else in mind now?”

“I have enjoyed them after working with them for a few days. Go ahead and make them. Do make them a bit on the small side and as light as possible though. I don’t need them impeding my arms when they aren’t extended. And after that fight today I realized even more that I need more ways to do damage when needed. My fists and feet can’t always cut it when facing some people. Also, sorry I won’t be able to fly you back today. I have to be back right away,” said Rachel as she opened the door to the apartment.

“Don’t worry. I will find my own way home. See you later.”

She closed the door and Caleb spoke.

“There is one other thing I would recommend once you get home. If they were interested in planting this box in your car then they might have tried to do so at your home as well. Once you have run the software on your warehouse computer go through and check if you can find surveillance equipment at home. Be careful. And now that Rachel is gone I think now would be a good time for you to leave. If you have any more questions after I give you my report on Tuesday then send them to this number.”

Caleb passed me a business card and stood up. I looked at the card before standing up as well. It read ‘Caleb Smith - Technomancer - XXX-XXX-XXXX’. I pocketed it and followed him to the door. I brought my phone out and connected it with my car. It was still sitting on the street next to the warehouse. I sent it a command and the car started heading my way on autopilot as I made my way to the street. As I waited I called up Tabitha. She had been waiting for her super suit and it would be best if I get it to her as soon as possible. She accepted and said she would arrive at the warehouse in thirty minutes when I could arrive to greet her.

The car pulled up to the curb soon enough after our chat. On the way back to the warehouse I had a lot to think about. I had begun making an initial suspect list in my head along the way. I didn’t know many people in this world, and I knew the motivations of even fewer. The person who wanted me tracked could be someone I never have met before or one of the people I met for the first time at the party and mantle fight. John was an obvious choice because he seemed dangerous, and I couldn’t find much information in him. Maybe him being menacing and off-putting was just his job. Maybe he knew or thought we both knew he was watching me and has control over me. He fits all the checkboxes required to pull something on me. He has the money, would want to send me a message of control especially when my past self was thinking of leaving him, and it has been successful in putting me off guard. But if he would know I knew it was him then it would bring the question of why I don’t tell anyone. Does he have some leverage over me that I now don’t know of? Should I go ahead and out my suspicions of him to Rachel and Caleb? But what would that mean in the long run? I wish I had more time. I need it to look into other options. I am lacking the right or wrong information to do much of anything. I will need to wait for Caleb’s report. If what he presents points towards John then I will bring up my suspicions and worry.

My car pulled up to the warehouse and I got out. At the door, I saw Tabitha already waiting.

“There you are,” said Tabitha.

“Sorry about the wait. I was driving over here as fast as I could. How long have you been here?”

“Oh, not long. Where have you been? You are usually here during the day all day.”

I punched in the door code and walked inside with her.

“I had to meet with someone about a project. Here is your suit,” I said pointing to her newly painted yellow suit that I had finished the day before.

She walked past me and brought it out from beside the wall and looked it over. I stood over by my computer and my unfinished pants. I still had not finished sewing them back together and promised I would do so as soon as she was gone.

“It looks very good. Thank you for taking care of this quickly.”

“It wasn’t a problem. If you need anything updated just let me know in two or three weeks after you try it out for a while and get used to it,” I said trying to push off this next work assignment back as far as I could. “I’ll watch for your first fight on the news tomorrow and the rest of this week.”

“Yeah, my family has already been in contact with a superhuman camera crew to follow me around during my ‘first day’ as Legacy. I’m excited to finally go out there and beat up some supervillains. I have only ever been through training courses with other superheroes watching over me.”

“You seem like you already have your whole day planned if people are going to follow you around today. Is there something specific you are doing tomorrow?”

“I have already gotten some assistance looking for a group. The police and detectives working on a case need someone to clear out superhuman resistance for the arrest of some criminals, but I can’t say much more about it until after it happens. It will be a nice arrangement though. The police will get their criminals and an easier arrest without having to send their own in and in return, I get my first solo hero work and some publicity for working on a bigger case than pulling people from a fire.”

“That sounds nice. Do you need any extra equipment before you go now that you are already here?” I asked while channeling my inner businessman. “Maybe something to complement your helmet’s functions.”

Tabitha paused. “I don’t think so. Your equipment is good but not that good. If I need anything I will grab it from my family’s warehouse. But if I need anything for my suit I will let you know.”

She began taking down the suit from its stand and then slung it over her shoulder. I pulled the stand away for her and held her helmet.

“Well, thanks for stopping by. I will see you later. Thanks for stopping by,” I said as I walked her to the warehouse door. I handed her the helmet.

“Bye Jason,” she said as she rose into the air.

“Bye Tabitha.”