Within the Apple Chapter 6A

Chapter 6

The Rig

“Please tell me this report is a joke,” Emily Piggot groaned, looking over to where Assault was grinning like a loon, her heart dropping as she saw the grim look on Battery’s face beside him.

“Not a bit of it,” Assault said cheerfully, clearly far too happy. She was going to have to find a reason to put him on punishment duty, she could tell that already.

Armsmaster’s lips were a thin line as he considered the report, no doubt remembering his time as a Ward under the eccentric teachings of Myrddin.

“And you’re certain that he believes it,” Emily pressed, “It’s not just an affectation?”

“As sure as I can be,” Assault confirmed with a nod, “I may not have Armsmaster’s lie detector, but I am a fair judge of body language and the like…:”

Emily nodded sourly, knowing that was true. Of all her people, in fact, he was probably the best judge of people. And that included both Protectorate and PRT agents.

“That is… disturbing,” She admitted wearily.

“On the bright side, he’s heroically inclined, cheerful, and relatively restrained in his actions,” Assault offered up. “Both occasions he engaged with criminals he used non-lethal means to end the fight basically before it could even get started.”

“There is that,” She conceded.

That was something an outlier among most Parahumans, she knew, and was almost always a sign of someone with significant training and experience under their belt. Young triggers were prone to excess, and that tended to show in how hard they were on their collars… and anyone or anything in the immediate vicinity.

Still, if Assault was right, this was a potential live grenade in her lap. Mental issues were basically par for the course with Parahumans, one reason why she did not trust them… not even the best of them… They were people who had broken when put to the test.

No amount of powers could put that back together.

You couldn’t unscramble eggs.

“For the moment I want you to back off recruitment attempts,” She said, “We’ll use an official hands off approach, monitor and evaluate. You said that he indicated that he didn’t plan to be in town for long?”

“That was what he said,” Assault nodded with a grin, “Something about getting home to his girlfriends.”

Not going to ask. I know he wants me to, but I’m not, Emily thought sourly as she just nodded. “Good, maybe he’ll be out of my hair before he can cause trouble.”

Fat chance of that in this town.

She did take a little bit of pleasure in the obviously disappointed look on Assault’s face when he ignored the bait he’d dangled out there.

“Believing that powers are magic isn’t all that crazy,” Miss Militia said diplomatically. “I know that it seems silly, but for anyone not prone to doing the research, it’s an easy answer…”

“No.”

Everyone at the table looked over to where Battery was seated.

“Have something to add?” Emily asked, curious as to what the heroine might have to say. She’d been quiet thus far, letting her husband do the talking as she was wont to do, but Emily knew that she was one of the more stable and normal heroes she had in the roster.

“It’s not something he came up with because he doesn’t understand science,” She said with a shake of her head. “His story is too in depth, he was dropping little hints and details that he didn’t need to for his story. Talking about the genetic, molecular, and atomic structure and how that affected magic.”

“She right,” Assault nodded.

“More than that, the way he was talking… it was like he had access to research that I know doesn’t exist,” Battery said, her face a mask of confusion and concern. “He practically said that he’d learned his magic from someone else.”

“That isn’t how powers work,” Miss Militia said.

“Exactly,” Battery said, “but he believed it. Magus… his trigger must have broken him. The only thing I can think is that he built a whole new reality up around his powers. I’ve never even heard of anything like this before, Director.”

Emily groaned, leaning back as she thought longingly of a cold beer that she could never again touch.

“Carefulinteractions, then,” She ordered. “Don’t push him, don’t try to prove him wrong… that might make him snap… Colin, I’m looking at you.”

Armsmaster looked up as most of the others hid their snickers. Assault didn’t bother.

“Understood, Director,” He said firmly.

“Let’s just all hope that he gets the hell out of this city before he runs into Hookwolf… with his attitude toward the Empire,” Emily shuddered. “He might not be inclined to hold back as he has thus far.”

“Not sure I’m feeling all that bad for Hookwolf if that’s the case,” Assault chuckled. “From what he said, if he’s telling the truth, I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to run circles around that thug.”

“I couldn’t care lessabout Hookwolf,” Emily snapped. “What worries me is the Empire’s reaction if Magus does something permanent, and the likely collateral damage if he lets loose. I’ll wager a month’s pay that those stun bolts aren’t the only blaster tricks in his quiver, and what little I know of magic users in fiction… if that’s what he based his mental state on… fireballs and other bits of siege warfareare the least of what we might expect.”

Assault at least had the decency to wince at that.

She took some pleasure in that, pitifully little though it might have been.

*****