Chapter 37: Proactive

September 13^th, 2023

“Good evening, this is Wallace Kronkite and tonight we have a very special guest. In her first ever individual interview; Miss Moria O’Shannan, President and CEO of Strife International. Also known worldwide as the Arch Villainess, Lady Strife, is with me tonight.”

“Why Moria O’Shannan suddenly proposed this one hour live interview was not revealed to me, but she assured me it would not be in vain. She stated only one requirement for the interview, that one specific question would be last.”

Seated at a forty-five-degree angle, the two were both in low arm, well-appointed chairs with a single glass table between them. Lady Strife on the right facing the cameras and Wallace on the left.

Sipping her customary diet Coke, she waited unconcerned for her harshest journalistic critic to begin his interrogation.

“Miss O’Shannan, Catherine Larkin strongly hinted that you served your apprenticeship under the same teacher as her. Was the Smith your teacher in Devices?”

“Yes, he discovered me when I was nine years old.”

“What of your parents? How did they react?”

“Mother was long gone by then. Dad chased her away when I was four when she tried to sell me for porn vids.”

“You mother tried to make indecent videos of you when you were four?” He interrupted, more wary of her intent for releasing skeletons than incredulous.

“Yup, both of my parents were druggies and mom wanted more money than dad gave her on a weekly basis. Dad booted her to the curb and I never heard from her again. Back to your question, Dad was offered 4000$ a month for the rest of his life by Master Smith if he would agree to let me become his ward permanently, promising to teach me all I would need to know to ‘get ahead in life’. I know for a fact that a contract was drawn up and notarized. Dad also was given a complete tour of Master Smith’s workshop and an itinerary of what he planned on teaching me for the first three years of my apprenticeship.”

“Your father sold you for forty-eight thousand a year to a stranger when you were nine? Did you have any contact with him after that? Where is he now?”

“Once a year my father took me to Christmas Eve mass until he died of AIDS when I was twelve.”

“What was it like, living and studying under Smith?” There was no sympathy offered by the sixty-year-old experienced interviewer who showed his dislike for his target in not so subtle ways.

“A workshop, plain and simple. Anything I wanted, I had to work for. Master Smith had a points system.”

“Explain, please.”

“Breakfast was porridge and a glass of milk. If I wanted orange juice or eggs, I needed to complete the day’s studies. Each assignment was worth a certain number of points. Clothes, sheets, calculators, swimming clothes, shoes, food, internet, you name it, it had a price. In the beginning, I was given the bare tasteless minimum. Even my clothes were castoffs from the salvation army. That Asshole made damn well sure that I worked if I wanted anything.”

“You were nine when this began. How long did you study under Smith?”

“Twelve years. I returned to study under him for fourteen months a couple years later.”

“If it was that onerous, why did you stay?”

“I learned things you couldn’t imagine. I was fourteen when I made my first Device.”

“What did you make?” Intrigued despite himself, Wallace Kronkite asked professionally.

“A gun.”

“Who did you use it on?”

“The Old Fossil, of course. I walked into his den and shot him in the face from five-feet. And let me tell you, that felt damn good...” A childlike grin lit up the amazing forty-year-old woman’s face. “But his shields were always the best and it ricocheted off and blasted a four-inch hole in the wall to the outside.”

“What did he do?”

“Added lessons. Paint composition, coloring, brick manufacturing and cement composition, insulation properties and manufacturing.”

“Did he say or do anything about you trying to kill him?”

“Nah, that was part of our agreement. If one of my devices could draw a drop of blood, I would get a million dollars and a thousand points. The internet was ten points a month for reference. He even cleaned the mess, after giving me the extra study material and deducting fifty points, of course.”

“Did you develop and build your famous armor under his tutelage?”

“Yup. Stupid me didn’t listen to him.”

“Smith told you not to build it?”

“No, he said ‘not yet’. He wanted me to develop a firmer foundation before I started something that ambitious. He was right. It added a year to my schooling.”

“Did he help you build your armor?”

“Yes, he is the best when it comes to micro structures. Saved me months of time. Before you ask, he helped in all aspects, more of a sage offering his advice than hands on. And no, all the ideas, math and circuits were mine alone.”

“How is Catherine Larkin’s time with Smith different than yours?” he asked hoping for some insight to the young world renown super genius.

“Catherine is given everything on a silver platter.” The former apprentice stated with zero rancor.

“Why the difference in treatment?”

“Different personalities. For me, Master Smith needed incentives to get me off my ass. I was short, fat, lazy and a know it all. Catherine has to be coerced to stop from working. Besides it was a different time. Back then, Master Smith and I could go anywhere and no one would think us anything other than a father daughter or an uncle niece. Do you think there is anyone under the age of thirty that doesn’t know Catherine Larkin’s face? Her Q is a 98 for the twelve to twenty-five zone.”

“Then the ‘silver platter’...”

“Yup it’s a consolation prize for her not being able to go out, because you fuckers won’t let them eat in peace or even see a play without getting mobbed.” The seven second delay was useful in cases such as this.

“How would you describe Miss Larkin?”

“The absolute smartest fucking human being on the planet. Bar none. Also, the sweetest individual I have ever met.” Lady Strife in her strictest mode straightened and glared straight at the center camera, unconsciously intimidating the crew and their assistants. “But she holds a grudge and you fuckers better be quaking in your bloody turbans and over starched uniforms.”

Clearing his throat to lessen the tension of in the room before continuing his questions, “During her last conference, Miss Larkin stated that Smith was the smartest in the room, herself included. What do you make of that?”

“I stand by what I said. She is the smartest human. Who is to say that our little blue marble doesn’t have people that are not human on it?”

“Can you offer an example?”

“Rule is no longer alive. Yet moves. He is by all definition’s dead yet alive. An Undead. Leonard is not human. Just ask him. The HA has a term for those like him. Inhumans. Not that they use it correctly, but it fits.”

“Is Smith human?”

“Ask him.” The most powerful woman in the world flippantly replied. She knew, just was not saying.

Not willing to go that far off tract, “What did you do when you left Smith’s house?”

“Chose a pseudonym and went out and smacked around self-important, impotent pretend Heroes.”

“You chose to be a Villain. Why?”

“There weren’t any good villains to beat up. I had a lot of aggression back then,” she reminisced fondly.

“Do you still believe that choosing to be a Super Villain was the right choice?”

“Definitely. There were and still are Heroes that only pretend to be ‘good’. Take Silver Crest in Miami. Today he was served for eighteen counts of sexual misconduct with minors. Last week, Captain Chaos dropped a building over in Wales on Uglath. Not the one the Villain was hiding in but the next one over where he and many others had a good view. ‘Coincidently’,” with raised quotation fingers, “It was a building Captain Chaos owned that failed rezoning the previous month. The list of similar infractions are endless.”

Those two tidbits were not unknown to the well-connected journalist, nor ‘the countless others’ Lady Strife referred to. “And the Villains? Are you trying to say that there are none worthy of your talents? What about Rule, Ometron, Gates and Dr. Death?”

“Rule only had twenty-five zombies under his control at that point. Besides he was active in India which is now and was then a mud hole making it impossible to find anyone without a total mobilization, which the Deli government would never permit. Those slums are notorious for good reasons. Ometron self-destructed and was never a long-term threat. Note, he hadn’t entered the Super world until after I hung up my suit. As for Dr. Death, he isn’t a person. He is a living testament from over a thousand years ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“Contrary to the teen-angst books and TV shows. Leonard has been awake and alive since the founding of Prague in the seventh century. He is over fourteen hundred years old and remembers everything and everyone he had ever met. Killing him would be equivalent to the total destruction of the Smithsonian, all that history and knowledge lost. He is willing to speak for hours to anyone Knowledgeable on any subject, which is why he is so often found in the Vatican. Not that those hypercritical fuckers ever had clean hands. Besides, I am not sure he can be killed.”

“Dr. Death kills people to live.”

“Yup, at least three or four a year and has for millennia. I heard he has agreements with multiple unnamed countries to dispose of his choice of death row inmates.”

“Killing is still killing. That is not a subject we will agree on...” Wallace Kronkite returned to the topic of one Moria O’Shannan, questioning her for over thirty minutes about her numerous small workshops worldwide which began as the SI Manufacturing Conglomerate, continuing through the founding of SI, Moria O’Shannan’s Device that revolutionized communications and her other business activities. Ending with the reasons she spun off the communications division at the threat from the senate.

“What happened in Bonn?”

“The magical items that the Ottoman Scarab team wore were trapped, soul-bound Magical Artifacts. Those things were driving their users insane, simultaneously building up a soul charge during the four years that the team wore them and actively used them. All the signs were there for anyone to see that cared to look. Not that anyone cared or wanted to look too closely.”

“Did you not tell anyone?”

“I did. No one had any interest in doing anything about it, even those that believed me. The Ottoman SIB told me to mind my own business and let them handle their agents. Yes, the Scarabs were directly employed by the Ottomans. The Skit in Berlin tried to arrest me after sitting through my presentation in order to keep the matter quiet. The HA couldn’t have cared less. They were on the Hero list, which meant they were the good guys until they weren’t. It’s still that way. Black and white, even when they know they are in the wrong.”

“So, you killed them.” It wasn’t a question. It was a fact that the world already knew.

“Nope. They killed themselves and everyone else around them, while trying to kill me when I confronted them. They thought I came to put a halt to Amethyst’s dirty little secret and tried to silence me.”

“How did they kill themselves? The recordings from the satellite feed show you attacking them with some sort of energy Device and that quarter of the city going white in the resulting explosion?”

“I found out months later that the five were linked together by their Artifacts and souls. They were scared of exposure so either one or all, decided to self-detonate. I could never find out the exact mechanics since the Artifacts were recovered by an ‘unknown government agency’.”

“It was not anything that I did, or any Device I employed. I never carried any Device, ever, that was explosive. Never have and never will. I like my life too much and a five Kiloton explosive Device up close and personal would ruin anyone’s day, even mine. The destruction of those residential blocks and deaths of its citizens were all their doing. Some Heroes they turned out to be, don’t you think? I was a convenient scapegoat for the powers that be who wanted to hide those Artifacts and be able to use them again.”

Pointing at Wallace Kronkite, “And you never asked what Amethyst’s dirty little secret was. Which means you already know, Wallace. All those fuckers going to extremes trying to hide it shouldn’t be all that surprising to you. Should it?”

Interrupting the aged reporter, “Allow me to ask your next question. Why bring that up now?”

Reluctantly, the aged interviewer nodded, knowing he had lost control of the interview. That was the question going through his mind.

“Yellow Jacket has Amethyst’s old Scarab artifact and it’s been fifty months since she emerged. She has less than six months, maybe as short as three weeks before she self-detonates, eclipsing the former team’s output by one to two Terajoules, All by her little lonesome. Let me give you a nasty little secret. All the previous owners of that little artifact were bumped off by the SIB before they could get that far. None of her predecessors lasted thirty-six months before they were killed. Yellow Jacket wasn’t about to let that happen and she relocated to Paris. Who knows how many close calls she has had since then?”

Checking her watch, “Night all, and thanks Wallace. Was a fun time. Let’s not do it again.” The cameras followed Lady Strife’s back as she walked out of the room panning away from Wallace Kronkite, who was offering his closing remarks.

“Did Moria just offer up personal information, just to stop Yellow Jacket from blowing up a city?”

“Looks that way to me. And to call you a ‘Princess with a silver spoon’.” Clarissa chimed in for good measure.

“You can give her a call,” Seeing Cat inching towards her bag with or without my permission.

*Click. “Are you okay...”

“What does everyone think?”

“Wallace is an ass. Dude, he was low.”

“Fuck Kronkite, Thunder. What about Strife’s suggestion that Yellow Jacket is a walking time bomb?” Drake, the President of the UF branch of HA reiterated.

“Can’t risk it. When was the last time Strife made a mistake?” Suggested a LA based Heroine.

“And to come out publicly like that, means she is positive Yellow Jacket is a dead woman and a walking, talking bomb. What did she mean by bloody turbans and over starched uniforms?” Wondered aloud a Chicago based Hero.

“Didn’t you see her presser? Larkin has been attacked dozens of times. You just know she knows who the bastards are and will get even sooner or later.” Responded the Austin based Hero who was openly a fanboy of the young genius.

“What will the EUHA do, Drake?” Demanded Eagle, one of the two Heroes present without an assigned territory.

“Bring her in for a checkup. It’s about all they can do under the charter until she openly breaks the law.”

“And if they don’t find anything? Artifacts are magical, there aren’t a lot of good mages anywhere. What will they do then, Mr. President?” Helio, still the youngest and most sincere, had lost some of his idolization towards his boss, but continued to be respectful.

“They will ‘suggest’ that she go on vacation, probably suspend her license for the rest of the year.”

“That will not work. That crazy bitch won’t listen to anyone. She loves Paris,” chimed in the most powerful of the group of executive Heroes. Indigo rarely attended what he considered organized time wasters, but the reason for this particular gathering looked intriguing.

“You know her, Indy?” Helio asked familiarly. One of the few that were in attendance who was in the rogue Hero’s good books.

“Spent some time last summer in Franco. She propositioned me the day I arrived, she was a bit strung out and I passed. Heard she is hard on her partners. Besides, I spent most of my time in the countryside. Normandy is a scary and ghastly place to visit, but I promised my father that I would.”

Turning to Drake the older rogue Hero stated clearly, “Drake, it’s time to clean the List. Strife is right, there are scores of idiots and losers on the List that should be in jail or expelled. You have a week to show me progress or I will do something myself.” The UF’s most imposing Hero stood with that warning and exited the contentious room, leaving behind that final ultimatum.

No one believed that the Rogue Hero would not use drastic measures if their leader sat on his hands in this matter.

“Eagle, go talk to him. See if you can calm him down.”

“I agree with Indigo. You are wrong this time. Time to clean house, Drake.” She too left the building.

“Andy, you look pale. Can you talk about it?” Margery Jackson watched her husband of twenty-seven years, concerned.

“O’Shannan doesn’t make idle threats. I counted four in that interview alone.” General Andrew Jackson replied, equally concerned as his wife, yet for different reasons.

“They won’t be able to do anything about the Hero?”

“Not legally. According to O’Shannan, killing her is just as bad as leaving her there.”

“Won’t someone be able to convince her to leave on her own?”

“Depends on her stability. If she is unstable as was suggested, then maybe not.”

“How much is a Terajoule?”

“Four Terajoules per Kiloton. The Bonn explosion with the five members of Scarab was five kilotons. O’Shannan suggests that Yellow Jacket will be larger all by herself.”

“How much damage can a six Kiloton explosion do?”

“The bomb that fell on Hiroshima was approximately twelve Kilotons in yield. When detonated at a thousand feet, it wiped out everything in a mile radius. Ground level, half of that.”

“And Yellow Jacket’s six?”

“Quarter mile radius for a ground burst, but she can fly if I remember correctly,” somberly, the General of DSI stated.

“They will have to expel her. Poor girl. What was that about Catherine Larkin and grudges? You must know.”

“Catherine’s assassination and kidnap assertions were not fabricated.”

“Strife said ‘Bloody turbans and over starched uniforms. Is one a particular group from the middle east?” OPEC, she meant.

“Yes.” He said with resignation. That the ones directly behind the attacks were open allies would be problematic for everyone involved.

“And the stuffed shirts are someone’s military? Or more than one country’s?”

“More than one.”

“Will you be sleeping at your office this week?”

“Tomorrow at least. Maybe Friday too. Can you take one of the kids with you on Thursday to the symphony?”

“I’ll give you a pass this week, but there will be no skipping out next week. Is that understood?”

“Of course, dear. I enjoy our nights out too.” He placated his wife with the usual false platitude regarding the symphony. Two hours of elevator music a week was a small price to pay for a happy home.

“Can nothing be done?” Cat asked later than evening.

“What can the HA do?” I countered.

“They will have to test her. I’m not sure how they even can do that. They will need someone very knowledgeable in magic.”

“Any mage they can find will offer one of two results. What are they and their consequences?” Magic was a subject we rarely discussed outside of Clarissa’s efforts.

“They find nothing wrong and do nothing, or they discover that Moria is right and do nothing. As long as she is a good girl, the Heroes Association can’t remove her from the List. Even if they do remove her, she still hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“And the Franco government?”

“It will take them a year to make up their minds. Moria said that Yellow Jacket is probably an S-Rank now. Even if they decide to move, what could they do if she didn’t want to leave?” Giving me her puppy dog eyes, “Can you help?”

“And how would you like me to help?”

Catherine regarded me for a long time before speaking. “Master Smith. How much for a wearable Device that safeguards the citizens of Paris from a ten Kiloton explosion centered on a single person?”

“In order to make one that you want in time, it will have to be a collar such as yours. She will have to agree to wear it. Even then, it might not be completed soon enough.”

“What about stasis?”

“And do what with her once you have her secured? I can’t drop her on an island and let her be. She flies,” I added.

“She does,” Cat frowned. “What does she need to do to self-destruct?”

“I don’t know exactly. It’s probably a function of the Scarab artifact. Could be a simple mental command. Why are you assuming ownership of this issue?” I asked.

“We both know that no one else will do anything in time.”

“Moria gave the world plenty of time. Why don’t you see what happens in a week or so then revisit the subject?”

“I don’t think so. Can you let me borrow, Stasisbot and SquatBot?”

“In two weeks, ask me again.”

“Fine.”

...

“Yellow Jacket’s physical which was released on Monday, showed no signs of irregularities. The Heroine’s response to Moria’s assertation that she was a ticking time bomb was a straightforward one. “She’s lying.” That too, made headlines as people debated publicly and privately.

SI announced the relocation of their west Paris manufacturing plant later the same day. Pene, Espaine was awarded the contract effective as soon as the temporary plant could be cleaned out and certified. The fallout from that was greater at the government level, but lesser to the common citizen. Companies moved and closed all the time. It was the timing that scared the Parisian authorities who wondered if her announcement was an excuse to justify closing a major industrial plant or in response of them not acting.

...

Friday Catherine entered my den drenched in sweat, exhausted. I stopped her before she could even report that her latest Device was ready to be tested, leading her to the shower and the bed with instructions that she was to sleep.

Not even a hint of defiance came from my student as she curled up and hugged my pillow, shutting her eyes in contentment. I kissed her on the shoulder before closing the door behind me.

“How long has she been asleep?”

“Since yesterday afternoon.”

“What happened?” Frowning, Clarissa observed her sister student.

“She over did it on the latest Device. She pushed the boundaries almost too far.”

“Is that the ‘push back’ you warned me about?”

“In a sense. For you, it’s dangerous in a different manner. If Catherine makes too large of a miscalculation, she will prematurely age herself. She came very close this time.”

“You didn’t stop her. What happens if I do something like that?”

“You can lose soul power.”

“I will get weaker.” Clarissa translated what I said into something she identified strongly with. “Can it be recovered?”

“No.”

“I don’t care what you need to do. Make sure I don’t get weaker.”

Stalking into the bedroom, still dressed in her riding gear, Clarissa took Cat’s glass of water off the side cabinet and threw it in her face.”

“Huh?”

Smack! “You dumb selfish princess. You fucked up this time...” The berating of the semi-awake younger girl continued for twenty minutes before she began repeating herself.

That was when I stepped in and separated the two. Cat didn’t even fight back or defend herself. She knew she was in the wrong from Clarissa’s words alone, let alone how long she had been asleep.

“Have you even seen Boris today? What about him. Get your ass up and make sure he’s alright. Then you can sleep again after you eat. Move it princess.” Dragging the naked girl out of bed, down the stairs and out into the yard, Clarissa did not let up until both were back inside. Then she stormed off in anger.

Knowing she was in good hands, I returned to my den and opened up to today’s edition of Cloaks. Clarissa’s anger might prove to be more effective than my punishment. Time would tell.

...

“I’m sorry.” Barely able to keep her eyes opened, Cat knelt before me with her arms crossed resting on my thighs with her face squarely between them.

“What did you do?”

“I reached too far. I didn’t have you check and evaluate. I was arrogant. I was SURE.” She said the last word as if it was the greatest of the crimes she had committed this year.

“You have a resource right here. Remember you are still a student. Mistakes can and will happen. But to not use all the resources available was dumb.”

“yeah.”

“The earth will still be here if you need an extra month or a year. Do you think that any of those countries that you promised Cores to are ready for delivery?”

“no.”

“Are any of them even on schedule?”

“Norge. Germania is one month behind and Russe is close to that.”

“They were promised the original Cores that you have completed. The new ones are for what?” I prompted, knowing that she had plans but no one else would be able to match up to her on their side.

“The project needs one. I want to give Moria a couple. The rest I was going to sell.”

“So, you rushed and pushed, only for them to sit on a shelf.”

“ ... yeah.”

“A single variable could have cost you ten years. Please plan better in the future.”

“yeah.”

“You can work on anything directly related to Boris for the next month only. No research or testing on anything else.”

She winced and stiffened to argue.

“Boris only.” I repeated with my hand resting on the back of her head. “Now return to bed and get some more rest. Nothing outside of light exercise for a week.”

Cat stood with some difficulty from her abnormal fatigue levels, leaving my library quietly.

“Catherine.” She turned and looked, not at all please with either of us. “Make sure you thank Leonard for his gift.” The enchantments on it might have been the key for her not aging this time.

Instinctively, she grabbed onto her bracelet. “I will.” And headed up the stairs for the night.

...

“Is KittyCat not talking to you?”

“She is mad at herself mostly. She is out shooting with Boris right now.”

“I saw. She showed me her new visor. It’s pretty tech-y. I bet you could make a fortune with the military if you sold those in bulk.”

“It’s a training aid for the both of them.”

Displeasure in every gesture, Clarissa came to the main issue behind her appearance in my den. “This book. What is your price?”

I had left a condensed tutorial on Darkness magic on her pillow this morning while the two were exercising. It had taken me ten months to write.

“Consider it a reward.”

“Reward...” The two centuries old Inhuman savored the word and found it unacceptable. “I cannot accept this.”

“I reward my apprentices as I desire. It’s a primer. Knowledge you will need eventually, if you chose to progress in your desire to learn all three spheres of Magic that you are capable of. I agreed to treat you as I would any other student in my household. You willingly accepted my offer of full privileges that every student of mine gets on entering my household.”

“You will learn what I require, Clarissa childe of Leonard, from Florence, Apprentice of Smith.”

“This is not what I agreed to.”

“Yes, it is. It is what I intended when I agreed to instruct you. To teach all that you can learn in your time under my aegis. Do I treat my other student differently with her studies?”

“The debt will be too great.”

“You waste your time and mine playing around while recovering between lessons. I’ve had enough. I require an essay on the first chapter by the end of the week. Dismissed.” She stormed out. By contract, she was unable to go against a direct order when it came to anything I considered student duties.

There was too much talent in that woman for me to let her continue her wastrel ways. She was not happy with the supposed unasked for debt. Clarissa progressed admirably in Blood magic but did little else with her time other than fool around with Catherine.

That was going to change starting today.

...

Cat entered the house still wearing her new silvered visor, which contrasted with the leather shooting outfit. The rifle was slung across her back, diagonally left to right and both of her pistols were holstered. I recognized the telltale electric flickers indicating that the Device was active. I had suggested that she wear it for two hours on and then off until she adjusted to her new toy.

The HUD was exceedingly well done. It allowed seamless communication with Boris, even as far as superimposing his tracked vision over hers and vice versa. The screen allowed her to see what he was focusing on. She wanted and needed a bodyguard. The best I could do for now was to help them cooperate to their fullest. The Visor was a good step toward that. Time would be needed for that to continue, time without Clarissa’s good intentioned influences.