Mind Games - Chapter 21

“-but she just casually shrugged off our offer and then jumped away across the windowsills of the building!” Brazier cried, finishing his story as he threw his hands up in agitation.

“I mean, props for the cool exit, but still... vigilante shenanigans, not cool,” Onibi muttered.

Charcoal simply nodded along with the story.

“Uh-huh,” I hummed, my fingers dancing across the keyboard as I continued to work on my own project. “And you decided to come tell me this... why?”

Charcoal snorted and Onibi grinned as Brazier crossed his arms, looking down on me from the other side of my desk.

I sighed. Right, office politics. “I honestly don't mean to be insulting, really I don't. It's simply that this isn't my case. Moreover, I don't have any experience dealing with vigilantes. In point of fact, actually, I don't have much experience dealing with... well, anything, really.”

The self-deprecation at the end, coupled with the faux-helpless shrug took the fire out of Brazier's stance as he subconsciously mirrored the way my arms had spread open, releasing the tight hold he had on his own posture.

Hmm, another data point in the little experiment I'm running. Productively channeling the Sidereal's manipulative tendencies is an interesting challenge.

“I know, but you have good information last time and we're kind of running into a brick wall as far as this girl is concerned,” Brazier sighed, rubbing at his face.

Charcoal rumbled, “Anything would help, kid.”

I sighed and leaned back, flexing my muscles and generating a series of sharp pops in my vertebrae, then tilting my head to the right and left to do the same there. With a last longing glance towards the work I'd rather be doing, I turned my gaze directly towards the small band of heroes. “Okay, she gave you an email? Have you tried contacting her? Maybe get someone down in IT to see if they could package a worm into an attachment or find her IP?”

Onibi nodded. “They gave it their best shot, but the email is internationally-registered in some European country we'd never heard of. They also said something about a 'ghost-server' or whatever. It got really technical.”

I hummed and rubbed at my chin. “Okay, so she knows what she's doing on the tech-side. That's rare enough. High-end martial skills, good physical fitness, young age, at least some degree of technical knowledge...”

Making a show of mulling over the list of skills, I frowned. “And she's a vigilante.”

Brazier narrowed his gaze. “That's why we're here, yes. She's a vigilante. She's breaking the law.”

“I'm more concerned with the fact that she's in the occupation to begin with than the legal ramifications,” I replied, drumming my fingers on the desk.

“What do you mean?” Onibi asked, preempting whatever Brazier was about to say – which was likely impolite – given the way his mouth snapped shut and he glared at her.

“She has marketable skills, training, intelligence, shows forethought and planning, wants to keep a dialogue open between her and a nominally hostile force intent on bringing her in for flagrantly violating the law,” I stated thoughtfully. “You don't see that in... most people, let alone ones her – our – apparent ages.”

“Kids are pretty stupid,” Charcoal stated, his voice like gravel, then turned to me. “No offense.”

“Some taken,” I replied, shooting him a grin to take the stingsing out of it. “Anyway... my point is, is that something doesn't add up. I see two – no, three, possible scenarios. The first is that she's either naturally intelligent or has some form of secondary application of her quirk that enhances her thinking process and allows her to perform at a level of skill and insight that is inconsistent with her age. In this scenario she's ultimately still young and inexperienced and treating this entire thing like a game to show off how smart she is.”

“That doesn't fit with her leaving before the press arrived,” Brazier pointed out.

“True,” I nodded. “But she's not showing off for them, she's showing off for you. The heroes.”

All three blinked as that theory sank in.

“It's conceivable she might have a grudge against heroes in particular or the broader concept of authority,” I speculated. “She understands how the system works, but doesn't want to involve herself in it because of ideological reasons. She's using her power to do good, but on her own terms and tweaking your nose in the process. Tactics like giving you an email address are as much about being able to alert you to a potential crisis as they are being able to rub your face in her being better than you.”

“So your first idea is that she's a prodigy with a chip on her shoulder,” Onibi sighed. “What are the other two?”

“My second hypothesis is that you can't find anything on her because she's not local,” I replied. “Even if she's visibly Japanese, that doesn't mean much in this day and age. My advice would be to prod her with a foreign language or two the next time you see her, attempt to determine if she has any habits or mannerisms that might point to an overseas education or upbringing. If she's just some Japanese girl with an ax to grind against the system and a desire to do good, you'll be looking at the very rich or the very poor for her to have slipped through the cracks so completely. If she's foreign-born, though, there will be a paper trail somewhere out there.”

Brazier was nodding now, his shoulders relaxing their tension. “Okay, that-that's good. That's useful. Contacting foreign hero agencies is tedious, but it might just net us something. What's the third idea?”

“I had dinner last night with my girlfriend,” I stated, raising a hand to forestall any objections, “and her parents. Her mother has a quirk called 'Enhanced Blood.' It gives her a slight regeneration factor, keeps her looking fifteen years younger than she would otherwise, and at a high degree of physical fitness with minimal effort. She's also exceptionally intelligent and perceptive due to heightened senses brought upon by secondary effects of her quirk.”

Charcoal whistled lowly, the sound like wind hurtling through a cavern's mouth.

Onibi snorted and crossed her arms, “Some women get all that luck.”

Brazier, though, for all of his prickliness, was scowling at me thoughtfully. “You think our vigilante might be older than she looks.”

“It's a possibility,” I granted with a shrug. “It's not impossible for someone our age to develop the kinds of skills she'd need to perform at the level she is, I can personally attest to some of that, but it is statistically unlikely. Anomalous, even.”

“And if she's been active under the radar for a while, she might have been running under an alternate identity or have a way to change her form,” Brazier muttered.

Onibi shook her head. “She's not wearing a mask so she'd have to alter her appearance pretty radically. Shapeshifter quirks like that are vanishingly rare, Haruka.”

I perked up slightly, shifting my focus away from playing my little game with the three as I interwove truth and lies for a multiple choice backstory. “Oh? I'd have thought they were more common than that. Transformation quirks are effectively a third of the Japanese classification system, after all, and they always feature highly in movies and tv shows.”

“Just another lie about the glamour of the hero industry, kid,” Charcoal chuckled. “Transformation quirks are pretty common, it's true, but that's technically any quirk that lets you change any physical aspect of your body into another.”

Onibi chimed in. “So if you can change the color of your eyes? Transformation quirk. Change the size of one or more of your limbs, or your entire body? Transformation quirk. Most of them are... well, the person only gets a set number of forms they can take. Like, Ryuukyu for instance. She's either a human or a dragon and, yeah, there's some in-between stuff she can do, but it's all basically on that spectrum.”

“Most transformation quirks aren't particularly...” Brazier struggled for a word, then snapped his fingers, “-dynamic, that's true, but it's not impossible. True shapeshifters are notoriously hard to document unless they're caught young or involved in a sufficiently high-profile incident.”

“Even then, though, they're mostly snapped up by movie studios and government spooks,” Charcoal huffed loudly. “That kind of quirk basically sets you up for life.”

Distantly, I was reminded of the X-Men Notoriety Problem, as I liked to call it. I didn't know if it had a formal name or anything, but it was the seldom brought-up fact that Marvel mutants had a significant population in most timelines and the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Hellfire Club only represented... probably point-one percent of that group. Xavier, Storm, Cyclops, Magneto, Avalanche... to say nothing of Scarlet Witch or Jean Grey, were the most powerful of their kind. The majority of mutants just had shitty powers that didn't lend themselves well to climatic battles or grand sweeping narratives.

And that wasn't even bringing up the Morlocks.

It's all well and good to argue that quirks are a muscle and that, conceptually, there's no such thing as a 'weak quirk,' but realistically there's a significant power divide when one person starts out being able to grow prehensile eyebrow hair and another person can make objects weightless by touching them.

 “-and I'm not necessarily arguing that our vigilante is a high-end shapeshifter,” Brazier stated, bringing me back into the conversation from my ruminations. “You heard Bootstrap. His girlfriend's mom had a secondary quirk effect that rejuvenates her. We could be dealing with something like that and our teenager could actually be an old hag-”

I suppressed a twitch.

“-or we could be dealing with a more limited transformation quirk,” he continued, talking with his hands as he gesticulated. “Something like... I don't know, clay skin? Only being able to make changes that are skin-deep, but with an enhancement property to physicality? That would fit with a lot of what we've seen.”

“I think we got what we came here for,” Charcoal rumbled, shaking his head as he stood. “Theorizing is all well and good, but we don't have enough evidence to speculate on a detailed quirk write-up. Thanks for the food for thought, kid.”

As Brazier grunted and Onibi gave me a bow, I stood up as well.

“One last thing,” I stated, holding up a hand as they began to leave. “None of my theories are necessarily mutually-exclusive. You should feel free to mix and match from them if need be. They're just ideas, after all, so don't get married to them.”

“Always a good idea to keep perspective. Thanks for the reminder, Bootstrap,” Onibi hummed.

“I'll follow you out, if you don't mind. Hot Ice wants to see me downstairs,” I stated, shutting and locking the door behind me.

“Good to see you're getting used to locking up. Hate to see you get caught with the door open, that's a write-up,” Charcoal nodded at me before ambling off.

It was, apparently, a rule that unless you were physically present inside your office, the door had to be shut and locked. This included maintenance closets, janitor storage rooms, and other such areas. The only rooms that weren't locked as a matter of course were the bathrooms and that was only due to the sheer impracticality of it. Though, even if you were just going down the hall to use the toilet, you still had to lock up behind you unless someone else was in your office monitoring it for you.

All of which was to prevent an infiltrator from being able to simply dodge into an unoccupied room to get out of line of sight or prevent someone from accessing a workstation they weren't supposed to be using. There were random checks to ensure that you were following procedures, too.

Grabbing one of the shitty energy drinks from the vending machine, I popped the can as I made my way towards the level Hot Ice had directed me to, using my badge to access the elevator as I did so.

Finally turning around one of the corners in the labyrinthine building, I rapped my knuckles against a door before opening it.

“Hey Boss, what's-”

“Bootstrap!”

I blinked, juggling my open drink as I caught the juvenile body that came flying at me. “Ooof! Be more careful there, Tye! You almost turned your new clothes into a sticky mess.”

“Tyelovuyo! Don't make a menace of yourself!” The boy's mother called out, stepping up to pry her son off me while giving an awkward bow. “Deepest apologies, Warrior. Our son was simply too excited. Please excuse him.”

I shook my head and patted the boy's chitinous skull. “It's fine, Xgaiga. As you say, he is simply full of energy. There is no harm.”

“Everything good?” Hot Ice asked from across the room, where she and a pair of suits were sitting, going over papers. “You're a little late.”

“Brazier and his team wanted my insight on Perspicacious Mauve Avenger,” I replied, waving her off. “Feel free to blame them.”

Fuyumi scoffed under her helmet. “I will. You were useful in the initial appraisal of that weirdo, but there's no reason to expect you have any kind of special insight into her.”

Hmm... I feel both called out and seen. I wonder if that's a problem?

“Anyway,” she sighed. “We need to get some more statements today and get more details on the trafficking operation. I would have given you the full details, but I thought seeing Tye would be a good surprise and a break from whatever you're working on.”

“If that's a polite way of asking if I'm finished filing the forms you handed off earlier, I did,” I grinned behind my mask, working my body language to give off that impression. “I was just killing some time by finishing up my practical submission for the Office Hero test next week.”

Hot Ice chuckled. “So studious, I'm impressed you're not waiting until the last minute.”

I rolled my eyes. “Since I handed in the signed contract this morning, that makes it official, right? No point in putting it off if my job depends on it.”

“Just make sure you don't overwork yourself before Thursday. Remember that your quirk re-assessment is coming up,” she teased lightly.

I made a show of cupping my chin and tilting my head. “Ah, that reminds me... any chance I could have a quick word with your father about tomorrow? I'm supposed to do the Agency's CQC test, right?”

Hot Ice frowned. “If you need to ask about something, I'm ready to make myself available/ Having second thoughts about the contract?”

I pursed my lips, visibly hesitating to show my reservations before responding. “It's about your potential endorsement of my girlfriend for the recommendation exam at UA.”

The pro hero frowned, then cast a glance towards her compatriots and rose before beckoning me to follow her to a corner of the room. “Is everything all right, Shinso?”

“No,” I stated bluntly, “but explaining the situation would cause you a substantial amount of emotional pain and frustration, and I don't want to do that. Least of all to someone who is a decent and kind person such as yourself.”

Fuyumi's eyes narrowed. “Shinso... as an individual who is now employed by the Endeavor Hero Agency, you have both a societal and professional obligation to report any crimes you bear witness to or have knowledge of. You understand that, correct?”

I nodded once. “No crime has been committed.”

“You're sure, because the way you're talking leads me to believe that you should be reporting something to me,” Hot Ice stated severely.

I stared at her for a long moment, weighing my words once again. “There are... certain decisions one can make as a parent which are entirely legal, but utterly abominable nonetheless.”

There was another pause, then the pro-hero reached up to remove her helmet and stared at me with her bare face. “I like the way this conversation is going now even less than I did before.” She looked away and sighed deeply. “There's nothing I can do?”

“Taking legal action at this point in time would needlessly complicate an already-delicate situation. I'm currently handling it to the best of my ability, but will seek advice and help in the event there is something that can be done,” I stated formally, and Fuyumi grimaced openly.

“If you fully explained the situation, I'd only get angry and frustrated?” Fuyumi asked, the question almost a growl.

“If you actually understood the full depth of the situation? You'd likely implicate yourself in assault or outright murder,” I confessed.

“I honestly don't know if it's more disturbing that you think I'm capable of doing something like that or how sure you sound that I would resort to doing so,” Fuyumi muttered, taking a deep breath. “Alright. I'll arrange a meeting before you leave today. Dad's working late anyway, anyway and I'll need to drag him home for dinner, so it's not too significant of a request.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Don't thank me,” Fuyumi stated, then turned a serious look back towards me. “I mean that, really. I don't like what little you've told me about this situation with your girlfriend. I really don't like it. It... brings up bad memor-”

She cut herself off and shook her head violently to clear it.

“Bootstrap! Are you done talking now? Can we-” Tye began, only to be shushed by his mother.

“We'll talk more when we have time,” Fuyumi promised with prejudice. “For now, we have work to do.”

The conversation with Tye and his mother was something of a relief even with the heaviness of the subject at hand. Their ordeal was, for the most part, over. They were safe. Even if their refugee status was taking time to process and approve, Endeavor was putting some weight on it in a discreet way. Given that and the fact that the shadowy forces behind the entire affair were still under investigation, I couldn't say there were no further complications waiting in the wings, but...

They were safe, and that was the important part.

Seeing justice done would be my duty, now.

In more ways than one.

I knocked on the door, given it was after hours, and was rewarded with a deep baritone voice calling out, “Enter.”

I opened the door and stepped into the room, giving the older hero a short bow. “Thank you for taking the time to see me, Endeavor.”

His beard extinguished, he looked at me with an expression that was no less grave and severe than it had been in days prior. “My daughter implied that it was both significant and urgent. She said that it involves your girlfriend?”

I nodded. “I'll explain the situation in as much detail as is feasible. Given the particulars, I didn't want to needlessly involve your daughter, which I hope you'll understand the reasoning for once I've clarified matters. After that... I'd like your permission to make an unreasonable request.”

“An unreasonable request?” Endeavor asked, setting his elbows on the desk heavily and leaning forward. “I've extended a great deal of trust in you already, Bootstrap. I strongly believe you'll develop into a hero worthy of the title, but the level of investment I can devote, even to one so promising, has its limits. It will be an uphill battle to convince me you're valuable enough to expend further time and resources on you.”

I smiled. “Then it's a very good thing I'm not asking you to go to further trouble on my behalf.”

Endeavor snorted and waved me on.

~~~

As promised, the next chapter of Mind Games is here!

Not much to say other than that. I'm hoping to get one more chapter out before/with the end of the month Monday night. Likely, it'll go up with the new poll for April, so look forward to that.

As for what it's going to be? I'm thinking either more Mind Games or The New Ron.

Not sure right now, but I'll start later tonight. The one that doesn't get chosen will start off the new month while the poll runs.

Thank you again for all your support and know that I'm extremely grateful for it.