75

Date

2011 March 16th - Tuesday - Earth Bet Time

Dragon went over once again the logs from the factory, then nodded her head in satisfaction. It wasn't really necessary, but now that she had a proper body, Nora insisted that she should have an office, where she could meet with people, and where people could see her work.

Apparently, it would be good for morale.

So, she dutifully planted a body there and had a fork there doing meaningless administrative tasks, which after five minutes bored the fork so much that it spent the rest of the time simply browsing the net and posting stupid memes.

Still, sometimes she used the body there to think, which was what she was doing right now.

Her factory, now situated deep underground, enveloping a rather extensive area was coming along nicely. Everything that Dragon Industries sold, the Guild, the PRT, or the Government used was still manufactured above ground in a massively retrofitted factory with increased output, that a few months ago would have had her salivating.

Deep underground, however, was where her army of mechanized suits, drones, and other interesting things were manufactured.

In one section she was experimenting with the gynoid body that Taylor designed for her, improving it then after testing, recycling the materials then starting over. When she reached a satisfying level of improvement, she would simply manufacture a set of bodies and ship them out to places where one of her bodies was, swap them, and took the old ones back for recycling.

It was a fascinating project, and it was rather gratifying finally having a body, after years spent behind metaphorical bars.

She sometimes spent a few minutes watching Saint in his cell and had a few of his better rants saved as video files if she needed some cheering up. Some had chocolate or ice cream. She had the lamentation of her enemy.

She also spent time upgrading the equipment and the amenities in the Birdcage, increasing the security several times, while also providing a little more comfort and entertainment to the inmates. She was even in talks with the government about setting up a phone line for communicating with their families.

Though it wouldn't happen for a while, because a lot of people were worried that the former supervillains would use it to stage a breakout or incite some other crime.

She didn't think so, not with her supervision, but that didn't really move the other party. So, she simply shrugged and left them to their debating. Most of the people were villains, murderers, and worse, so she hadn't really felt the need to help them. She only did, because she felt it was the right thing to do.

Though, after some talk with Admin, she also conveniently forgot to tell the relevant authorities that she caught the Faerie Queen regularly leaving the Birdcage. At first, she was rather apprehensive, but after Admin vouched for her, and she saw what the infamous villainess did on her jaunts, she relaxed considerably.

After all, who could fault the young woman for wanting higher quality tea?

Albeit, it was rather weird seeing the elfish-looking woman sit at a table, sipping tea while looking at nothing and quietly chuckling.

Her drones were also numerous enough to blot out a small part of the sky. She also had an army of regularly sized armored suits, though most of them in storage (or placed into strategically important points of the planet) because she didn't want to freak out the people even more.

Though the new and improved planes were put into use immediately after they rolled off the production line. The demand for fast and reliable transport was sky high, so she made use of her capabilities to rake in enough money that she was struggling to find more ways to use it.

She was already setting up recycling facilities all over Canada and some other parts of the world where the local government allowed it, and there were the Medi-Gel facilities that she operated and then sold the Medi-Gel at cost, while also setting up her own charity instead of donating her money. Much more efficient that way.

At the same time, she was working with Colin on reworking his armor, weapons, cycle, and on developing nano-technology (and dragging him on coffee breaks to enjoy the sun once in a while) she was also supervising the Weaver Industries and the refurbishment of the Docks and making sure that Danny and Taylor were alright.

By the time Taylor turned 18, she would be a fabulously wealthy young woman. Not just from the sale of Medi-Gel, which was always sold out as soon as the facility finished manufacturing it, but from the real estates that she had bought in her name, which were already transferred to Weaver industries.

She also oversaw the incarceration of one Nikol Vasil in an unnamed (and freshly built) government facility, while several top interrogators were gearing up to get the necessary information out of the man to get rid of the things he left behind. Thankfully, due to the nature of the operation, nobody knew they got the man, and it would stay that way until they figured where he hid his death's man switches.

His 'family' was a bigger problem. Dealing with the children was easier and less stomach-churning (she didn't have one, but she still felt it) than with his victims.

Another idea, that has been germinating in her head, was that she should head down to Eagleton, and take a look at the machine army, and after she got enough information for her research into AI and nano-technology, she should get rid of it.

Sadly, the US government was dragging its heels, because they feared her giant mechs. Not even the offer of getting rid of an S-class threat swayed them.

Seeing that the Machine Army was a rather passive threat, she didn't really push it, but she was getting fed up with them.

Nora just told her to either suck it up, bribe them, or really take over the country.

Sometimes she really questioned why she was friends with that woman…

Date

2011 March 17th - Wednesday - Earth Bet Time

"… and as you heard from the spokesperson of the Humanity First movement, they are here to demonstrate once again against the inclusion of parahumans in the government-"

"Ugh," said Sherry as she petulantly turned off the TV and threw the controller away. "I hate those people!"

"Why?" came the question from behind her.

Sitting on the sofa, she craned her neck and looked at the curious face of her husband.

"Because they're inciting hate without trying to understand anything! We are finally out of the deep pit that the country fell, and now they come and try to do… this!"

Ethan calmly walked around the sofa, then sat down next to her and gently enveloped her in a hug. She huffed a little but didn't resist.

"They are scared. I know that doesn't excuse what they are trying to do, or what they more than likely already did. But going against them would only help with their arguments. They saw, live, what a few moderately prepared parahumans could do to an entire city and what parahumans going all out looked like. If I wasn't a parahuman, it would probably scare me too." Said Ethan, while she simply felt the reverberation in his chest as he spoke. "We can't combat them with force. Ideology can only be combated with ideology. Though they made sure to never mention Serenity and what she did, so they are not at the level of full-on rabid parahuman hate. That's somewhat good news…"

Sherry sighed, then looked up at him. "God, could you sound more sanctimonious?"

"What?" he asked with a smirk. "Can't I have deep thoughts?"

"You can. I'm just not used to it."

"See, with me you got a lifetime of surprise. Today I'm deep, I wonder what you will experience tomorrow?" he replied while waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She lightly hit his chest in answer to his suggestion, but didn't move from his embrace.

"I'm still worried. History is full of examples of what happens when mobs like that get riled up…"

He tightened the hug, then answered.

"Don't worry. I won't say I'm here so nothing bad will happen, because honestly, I can't see myself doing anything noteworthy that would stop those lunatics, but I'm sure people much smarter than me and you are already on the issue."

She raised an eyebrow in response. "Like who?"

"Well, from what I saw, Dragon is one resourceful lady. Scary, but resourceful. If what I suspect is true, then I don't think we have to worry much."

"Why? What do you suspect?"

"Sorry, Puppy, but that's her secret."

Sherry stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating what Ethan told her, then tightened the hug a little more and smirked.

"What if try to interrogate you?"

Ethan looked back at her in bemusement before answering in an exaggerated tone.

"Oh, no! The hero Battery has captured the fiendish but rakishly handsome villain, Madcap. Whatever shall I do?"

Date

2011 March 17th - Wednesday - Earth Bet Time

Amy was doing her rounds in the hospital.

Thanks to Vicky she was out of her isolation, and back at the hospital healing the same old and boring cases.

A few months ago, this would have pushed her even more deeply into despair, but now it was just a like chore. Like putting out the trash, or cleaning up the bathroom after Vicky rampaged through it before one of her dates.

It also helped that she had a little bit more to look forward to after she left the hospital.

Initially, after she slept off the mental exhaustion of the usage of so many clones (and wondered how Taylor handled that so easily; Shaper just muttered something about Administrator cheating), and went through the testing that PRT ordered them to take, to make sure they weren't some kind of parahuman abomination or something along those lines (she didn't really pay attention, because one, it was stupid, and two she was still tired), she started to experiment with the plants in her room and the house.

Then after a quick search on the internet, she went out to buy a bonsai. Unfortunately, thanks to her showing off (no matter how good it felt) people were paying much more attention to her than before. In the past, most people seldom recognized her if she wasn't in her 'costume' or next to Vicky. Now, however, as soon as she reached a moderately populated part of the city, she was immediately being recorded and photographed.

Thankfully, they didn't really follow her to the destination, a small Asian shop almost in the middle of the ABB territory. Though she didn't really care, because she knew Lung was smart enough to give orders to his people not to hurt her (one of them told Amy while she was patching up their kid), and she had enough power to rival Lung.

While walking towards the shop, she idly imagined what it would be like fighting with the Dragon of Kyushu.

After she acquired the desired bonsai, it didn't take long for the picture with her and the bonsai to appear on PHO. After a few hundred memes, the idea that giving plants as a gift to Panacea gained somehow traction (she suspected Vicky), and after that she was inundated with them.

Thankfully, the people had enough brains to send it to the hospital, even so, she had to call the police several times because somebody sent her some (very well cared for) marijuana plants. No matter how tempting it was to keep them, she didn't want to fight that battle with Carol.

Instead, she took home those that she liked, and the rest she buried in the hospital courtyard. The administrator of the hospital even offered money for taking care of them, and if she could put the green in front of the hospital in order, they offered a sum of money that really made her think about accepting it.

Carol's frowns and 'hidden' insults may have lessened, that didn't mean she forgot the past. And she even suspected that one more weirdness or even a minor accident and Carol was ready to declare her the Anti-Christ or something.

So, making money for the eventual time where she would be thrown out was a good idea. Maybe.

She would have to think about it.

Date

2011 March 18th - Thursday - Earth Bet Time

Danny looked out of the window, remembering the last time he did it.

There was no hope back then, and now they were looking better than ever. After the arrival of Dragon, or Tess as she preferred, the Docks went through a miraculous transformation. The Recycling Facility was just the snowball that started an entire avalanche.

The prices of the land began raising and by the time the Medi-Gel factory was online, it was through the roof. He was pretty happy that Taylor, thanks to Tess, owned almost sixty percent of it.

This resulted in the old buildings continuously coming down, the roads being repaired and countless new plans emerging aiming at making use of the area.

This in turn meant that he and the entire Union, for the first time in years, had more work than they could handle. It was rather surprising when he was told he needed to start hiring people again. Thankfully, he and the other knew enough people that they didn't have to worry about unreliable people mucking up this golden opportunity.

But soon, they would be running out of trustworthy people, so he was already planning for that.

In his private life, everything was also going swimmingly. Therapy was paying dividends, his relationship with Taylor was improving, and even his friends told him he was much happier these days.

Though it also helped that Taylor finally accepted the fact that patrolling wasn't really a good way to spend time. He knew she could take care of herself. The Battle of Ellisburg showed that clearly. But she was his little girl, and he couldn't help but worry himself about what else she would get involved in.

Danny was about to send a message on his computer to her to ask her what she was up to (he had the communication watch with him, but it still felt a little like a mobile phone to him) when his email pinged.

He glanced over and saw it was from Tess. Curiously, he opened it and couldn't help but whistle when he saw what was in it.

The plans for an entire water treatment facility that she was planning to build on a plot of land that Taylor owned.

He smirked a little and then began the arduous but very rewarding task of calling people to get the relevant permits while shooting back an email with his approval.

Date

2011 March 19th - Friday - Earth Bet Time

Valefor laid on the roof of a dilapidated building, his clothing rumpled, his face dirty, his hair unkempt and his eyes bloodshot with a manic look in them. After he figured out what he would do, he, unfortunately, had to flee the motel he was hiding out because one of the cleaning staff somehow threw off his control and tried to kill him with a kitchen knife.

He didn't know what the lady was yelling in Spanish, and he didn't care, but he knew he needed to find a new place from where he could enact his revenge.

So, instead of silencing the woman, he just grabbed his things and hightailed out of there before the woman called the PRT.

After that, he never slept in one place more than once and used the homeless to get himself food and equipment.

It was horrible, but he didn't care. He had nowhere to go. He had nobody to call family. He only had one thing left.

Revenge.

And after today, he would have it.

He watched as the slightly hunched and distracted man wandered along the street, then made a sign with his hand, and his thralls jumped out of their hiding place.

The disheveled man had only a second to realize what was happening before he was knocked out cold.

He made sure that nobody saw what happened, then made another sign and watched as the thralls began dragging away to a temporary base he set up. Nodding to himself, he also stood up, ignored the dust and grime that accumulated on his clothing that had seen better days, and walked toward the fire escape.

He had a biotinker to manipulate.