138 Interlude: Time Goes On

Columbus, Ohio, July 27th, 16:16.

Inside of a meeting a casual room, with dim lighting, comfortable couches and even a pair of large TVs, each hooked up to various gaming consoles, a group of people can be seen, each wearing an eclectic mix of clothing, the only common factor being the colour scheme of reds and blacks, a scheme mostly matched by the room itself.

Inside, there are five people.

Two of them are playing a shooting game together. They are dressed in similarly casual clothes, a man and a woman. The only striking differences between them other than gender being that the man has short black hair while the woman's is long and blonde.

The man also has the roman symbol of I decorating a simple and otherwise blank, domino mask, while the woman has II in the same spot.

Behind them, at a table and snacking on some cheese and crackers, is another woman, though she is more of a girl, late teens at best, with brown hair, a loose suit and the symbol III stitched to her chest, as well as her mask.

Across from her, is a man wearing far less clothes than anyone else present, simply in a pair of shorts and nothing else but a mask that covers from his eyes over to the back of his head, leaving his large chest tattoo in the shape of a hollow heart, with the words 'Corda et Mentes' bannered over it. He has a constant smirk visible even as he sips on his glass of brandy with the number VI on his mask.

Lastly, in the a corner of the room, there is the man with a red X tattooed to cover his entire face, from temple to jaw. He is wearing what was clearly a nice suit once upon a time, but has since been ruined, making him look more homeless and destitute than anything else. Not helping the image, are his glassy eyes and the needle currently embedded in his arm.

Into this scene, walk another trio of people.

The King, Queen and Jack take one look at everyone present and all but the Queen, who instead moves over to X, sigh at the sight.

"Alright, stop fucking around and pay attention!" King demands, causing the rooms occupants to turn their focus to him, except for X, who is out of it until Queen reaches him and stabs five different needles into his neck, injecting them all at once.

The others all watch with morbid amusement as he starts spasming and frothing at the mouth, all until X's heart stops beating.

Then, the very next moment, he is up again, on his feet as if he didn't just die. "Oh hey guys! When did you get here?" He says, having not realised that anyone else was even in the room, but he is ignored, as his resurrection has stopped being novel to those present.

"I called all of you here to give you a piece of advice and a warning," King starts, and everyone listens intently, reasoning that he rarely addresses them directly, so it must be important, "I'm sure you've all seen or heard of by now, but just in case you've forgotten, Boss has a guest who will be staying with us for now, a Tinker, like Boss. The only people who've met her were you two, I believe?"

Moving his eyes from Jack to Queen, the both of them nod their heads, though Queen decides to add to her confirmation. "Yeah, little slip of a girl. Doubt she's even had her first period yet." Her words cause King's mouth to twitch in grim amusement, and when he speaks again, his tone shows the severity of the situation.

"Yes well, that 'little slip of a girl' is the girl formerly known as Bonesaw," pin-drop silence befalls the room as the name brings everyone short, "she was brought here by Tear, who, as I'm sure you are all aware, was a member of the Nine for all of four months before she ended the group altogether, killing Jack Slash herself; and for those of you who were not here when the gang was founded, Tear and Boss have some sort of weird mother-son relationship that I am frankly too scared to ask about."

The silence from his words doesn't abate, and King takes it as an opportunity to give his final warning now, leaving immediately after, so that he can get back to work. "So, treat the guest well, for all our sakes, and, and I cannot stress this enough, if Tear decides to visit again, which she likely will, please, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, do 𝘯𝘰𝘵, assault her."

With that, he simply leaves.

The silence in the room lasts a few moments longer, before Queen's whisper breaks it. "I punched 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳 into a 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭. I am 𝘴𝘰 fucked."

But despite her words, Queen doesn't look too worried, confident that Tear is unlikely to actually kill her if they are technically allies. Most of the others simply find it surprising and took King's warning to heart, not really caring all that much.

Jack however, is frozen completely still, her face locked into an expression of shock as cold sweat gathers all down her back. Looking down at her own hands, she realises that she is shaking, though, with the thoughts in her head, her fear is understandable.

"I almost died." she says, her voice not even a whisper, so quiet that no one but her even hears it.

In that moment, Jack swears to herself that she will do her best to apologise to Tear the moment she gets the chance, and hope that she isn't killed.

========

Unknown Location, August 2nd, 17:54.

Joining Toybox was both difficult and easy at the same time. Because on the one hand, all Stacy had to do was prove that she was, in fact, a Tinker; but on the other hand, she had to go through a rather tedious screening process before being brought to see the rest.

She doesn't even know 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 exactly they are, since one of the Tinkers has what is basically a spaceship, except it's limited to atmospheric flight for some reason.

It's really fast though, and it actually looked like it was bending the space in front of it as it travelled to make the trip shorter than it should be, which is just 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, but not important in the grand scheme.

Though it did help inspire some modifications for her own creations.

Now her beloved Robo-dogs 𝘤𝘢𝘯 actually fit whole tree trunks in their mouths, simply by having a microsystem built into each of their teeth that extends a wave of electromagnetism that adds theoretical density to the air in a field around the mouths, that forces time to effectively move slower, then another module in their jaws works to twist the temporal effects into more special ones, making the space that exists around their mouths to be larger than it is.

But despite doing her best to move on, simply finding enjoyment in having the opportunity to further her creations freely, Stacy has kept getting distracted by recurring thoughts to her old friends.

What happened to the family?

What happened to Lucy?

Luckily, at least one of those questions will be answered, as Stacy got a private message on her new and official PHO account, used to help advertise her products, though most of the advertisement is done via word of mouth, it's still helpful to have a known place of contact.

The message was simple. They claimed to be Lucy, and they gave a number to call. A number that Stacy has had typed out on her secure phone for the past twenty minutes, finger hovering over the call button.

She doesn't know why she's hesitating, but she is.

However, after taking a deep breath, she presses the button, and the phone rings.

It's picked up on the second ring and a rushed voice immediately fills Stacy's ears before she can so much as utter a greeting.

"Stacy!? Oh my god Stacy, is that really you!? Are you safe? Did you make it to Toybox ok? A-are- are you ok? Doing well?"

Hearing the concerned voice, Stacy lets out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding in, belatedly remembering to respond.

"A-ah, yea, I mean. Yeah, I'm ok, I guess. I've been keeping busy. W-what about you? What happened to- in, what happened? Are you ok? Safe?"

A laugh, short and fake comes from the other end before the voice returns. "Yeah, I uhm, about that," there is a pause, but before Stacy can start worrying, her friend continues, sounding both awkward an apologetic, "so, I found a group that can protect me, with a lot of freedom too, but one of the requirements to join is to have 'something to offer' and I kinda.. didn't, and, please don't be mad, but I might have kinda suggested that I might maybe be able to provide information on Toybox as my offer? So uh, I kinda, well..."

It takes Stacy a moment to process her words, but when she does, a flush of anger travels over her, leading to her scathing response. "Are you saying you want me to 𝘴𝘱𝘺 on Toybox for you!?" She whisper-shouts, her words turning sarcastic as she continues, "surely you might understand why I'd be 'hesitant' to turn fucking 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳." She practically spits the final word out, showing just how little she thinks of it.

The line goes silent for a moment, and Stacy briefly worries about getting too angry, before she hears her friend's quiet, subdued words.

"Look, I get it, and I'm sorry, I really am, but you have to understand, the person I was talking to was 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳," the name sends a brief shiver down Stacy's spine, as understanding washes over her like water from a bucket, "I panicked ok? But it turns out, that despite everything, Tear isn't actually that bad a person, it's not like she wants to know any weaknesses or anything. She says that if I can just keep her updated on who is in Toybox and what they can make, as well as sometimes who they are making it for, then that would be enough."

Stacy doesn't respond, simply thinking to herself, needing time to process everything she's being told. After a minute of silence, the other voice speaks up again, sounding more worried than anything.

"Ok, I'll just- I don't know. If you were wondering about Denver, some branch of the Elite has moved in and it took them less than a month to basically take over completely. Senior works for them now, I don't know what happened to Summer."

The line goes quiet once more, as Stacy struggles to think of anything to say before her friend picks it up again, sounding defeated. "Well, that's all I had to say, I guess. So, I guess I'll see you when I see you then?"

Before she is hung up on, Stacy manages to squeeze out four words, still in a state of mild shock at being asked to turn traitor.

"I-I'll think about it," she says, already knowing that she will do it. She owes too much, and if what her friend says is true, then it's not like it will be important information anyway, right?

"Okay. Goodbye."

𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬.

The line goes dead before her response can be heard, leaving her speaking to the cold, empty room, suddenly feeling more alone than ever.

"Bye."

==========

Unknown Location, August 15th, Unknown Time.

Inside of a sterile white room, with no decorations or furniture beyond the simple, plain table in the centre, with seven available seats. Of them, only three are already occupied.

The seat at the head of the table is occupied by a dark-skinned woman known as Doctor Mother, with long hair tied up in a neat bun, wearing a doctor's attire. She is occupying herself with a stack of papers that she is studiously working through, her expression cold and unchanging.

Only the seats either side of the woman are occupied.

To her right, is a man, known through all the world by a simple name. The Numberman.

Yet, contrary to his fame, he merely wears a simple black suit with a button-down shirt and thin-rimmed glasses, is clean-shaven and keeps his blond hair cut short, appearing for all the world to be nothing more than a normal, bookish, middle-aged man.

Before him, sitting on the table is a simple laptop which he is quietly typing away at, a bland expression on his face.

To the left however, is another woman. She has pale-skin and black hair that is worn only a little longer than shoulder length, looking to be somewhere between wavy and curly. She's pretty and doesn't wear any obvious makeup.

She is wearing a smart, black suit, with a simple fedora on top of her head.

Like the other two, she is occupying herself, leaning back into her chair with her feet on the table as she taps away on a phone.

For all intents and purposes, this appears to be a simple gathering of simple people.

However, that is only until a window in space opens up, revealing a brightly dressed man in spandex, who promptly enters the room, with the 'door' closing behind him.

"Ah, I hope I'm not late." The man, known to all the world as one of its greatest Heroes, one of the Protectorate's founders, Legend, greets the room politely, a warm smile on his face.

Unfortunately, only Doctor Mother deigns to even acknowledge him, and that is only with a short glance and a shorter hum.

Undeterred by their attitudes, Legend takes his seat, his smile only dropping slightly at the cold greeting.

Not a moment later, another 'door' opens, revealing none other than Legend's most famous teammate, Eidolon.

He walks in without a word, taking his seat silently. Legend doesn't bother trying to greet him, though he does give him a smile at the least.

Less than a minute later, the agreed upon time for meeting finally arrives, and the final member of the Triumvirate, Alexandria, walks through a 'door' of her own right on the dot, taking her seat.

She casts an eye about the room, and immediately her face sets into a small frown, noticing the one empty seat.

"Just on time as always Alexandria." Legend notes with his same warm smile.

Alexandria gives him a nod of acknowledgement, but she is too focused on glaring at the empty seat to give a proper reply.

It is only a few minutes of impatient, on Alexandria's side at least, silence later, that the final 'door' opens.

In walks another man, dressed only in silk pyjama bottoms. He plays with a fancy butterfly knife as he walks to his seat, ignoring Alexandria's scathing glare with practiced ease, flopping into his seat casually, resting his legs over one side of the chair's arms.

Seeing everyone's attention, bar the pale-skinned woman's, on him, the man simply slicks back his rose blond hair and gives them all a charming smile, 'coincidentally' showing off his toned body as he does so. "I'm sorry I'm late! I was having sex and lost track of time!"

Collectively, everyone else present decides to ignore Angel's odd form of greeting, having gotten used to his attitude by now.

"So!" The late entry says, clapping his hands with a closed-eye smile, "what's first on the agenda today?"

"I believe Alexandria had something she wanted to start us off with," Doctor Mother says, giving Alexandria the room.

All eyes on her, Alexandria mock coughs, ignoring Angel's eyeroll, and starts by saying a single name. "Lusia Abel. Eight months ago, you told me not to interfere with her and her budding network, now she is growing too powerful, both literally and politically. We need to do something about it before she becomes any more of a threat."

Her words cause a small frown to appear on her fellow Heroes' faces, with the other two men simply raising a brow while the women do not seem to react at all. The woman with the fedora does not even look up from her phone, ignoring everyone else present completely.

Doctor Mother, as the leader, is the one to respond, her voice slightly disapproving. "I thought we agreed that we would not interfere with her. She could prove to be invaluable when the time comes, what has changed?"

Alexandria's reply is swift and stern. "She is gaining power too fast, already she is approaching the point where we will be unable to control her. She is already resistant to the Path, and she is completely insane."

"I think," Numberman speaks up for the first time, his mocking tone matching his growing smirk, "that you are just upset with her because of this." As he finishes speaking, he spins his laptop around, showing the room a still frame of Alexandria in the nude as she fights some Villain or other.

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

Ignoring Angel's joyful laughter, Alexandria glares at Numberman, long since having past the point of feeling any shame. "And what of you? If not a threat, what do you think she is?"

Numberman pretends to ponder for a moment, during which the others in the room simply sit back, used to their personalities clashing.

"I don't think she's a threat at all, at least, not in the grand scheme of things. In fact, she's actually rather quite fun."

His answer causes Alexandria's eyes to squint as she renews her glare. "Explain."

Rolling his eyes, he turns his laptop back around and answers with a small smile. "We've been playing a small game, her and I. I suspect that it was originally her wishing to test my professional integrity, but it's a fun game regardless. See, she left me messages by opening multiple accounts and depositing amounts of money with only ones, twos and zeroes. She was speaking to me in morse code with money, quite amusing by itself, but here's where it gets fun.

"See, she challenged me to keep all of her money in one account, so she is constantly making new accounts, depositing varying amounts of money, whereupon I have to figure out which of the new accounts are hers, and transfer the money over. If I make a mistake and transfer someone else's money inter her account, she has agreed to pay back double whatever they lose, so it's not like anyone loses. It is quite enjoyable."

In the face of his casual admittance, each of the three Heroes frown, though none as much as Alexandria, as none of them are happy that he is fraternising with someone like Lusia.

Deciding to move onto someone she despises less, Alexandria turns to Angel, "and what about you? It's been nearly a month since I told you to infiltrate them, what have you even been doing since then? Fucking and Fighting?"

Acting offended, though doing a poor job of it with the grin on his face, Angel responds with the voice of a noble man, sounding as dramatically righteous as possible.

"I will have you know, I haven't 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 been fucking, I have been gathering intelligence, thank you very much! There is a process to this sort of thing, for example, did you know that she has an estranged aunt? One who remembers all the little things that little Lusia liked when she was a kid, and who is also surprisingly nimble for forty five. I'll do my job, don't you worry about that. I've never failed before, have I? So don't question me."

Beset on all sides by people disagreeing with her, Alexandria can only concede the point, though not without attempting to get the final word.

"All I'm saying is that I don't trust someone so clearly insane to not watch the world burn."

"She won't."

Two, simple words, yet they bring silence to the table as everyone's eyes snap to the fedora wearing woman, who is still looking at her phone.

"Every Path I've done with her template gives the same answer, no matter the small changes. She won't let this world die, though she would likely be fine with letting one alternate earth die, but any more is incredibly unlikely."

It's rare for her to speak so many words, but once she is done talking, a single question pops up in the heads of everyone present. Why would she not let this world die, if the alternates don't matter?

However, that question is answered before it is even asked, as the woman finally raises her head to look at them all, speaking only four more words before she is gone.

"She's sentimental," she casually says, as if the implications are of the weather, before simply getting up and turning around, "Door me."

Another 'door' opens up, she steps through, and it closes, leaving the room in silence once more.

"Well, with that matter settled," the good Doctor says, "let's move onto the next item."

=================

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Another 3.5k chapter because someone said they wanted to see the Hearts' reactions to finding out Lusia and Riley's identities. It's not really much of a reaction, because this is supposed to be realistic and real people don't like, throw up at the thought of meeting someone scary.

Also, if you have any ideas you want in the fic, feel free to suggest them. I prolly won't use them cuz you're all stupid (affectionately) but who knows, I might?

Also, I once again feel like I didn't do Alexandria's character justice, so either I'm just rlly bad at writing her character, or I simply have too high an opinion of it.

Also, I've started trying to experiment with 3rd person with the interludes, so if I accidentally mix up tenses that would be why :)

(5+)Advanced chapters with the links below!

pat/reon.com/user?u=41732867 (get rid of the first slash or check the description)

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