37

Interlude 7: Kayden

When Kayden Anders heard that all of the Empire's identities had been revealed online, there was only one thing on her mind.

It wasn't the Empire. She had been trying to distance herself from them for a while already. It was difficult for her, since she had grown up with them her entire adult life. All her friends, and her family, were in there. She was still struggling, as it made her life rather lonely. She had the occasional yearning to re-join, but she held fast to her decision. Now, because of that little bitch Tattletale, her decision was finalized. There wouldn't be much of an Empire left when all this was over, and further association would just be suicide.

It wasn't Max, either. While she had once loved the man, she didn't any more. She was thankful to have had the good luck to actually realize how manipulative he was. He seemed so charming, so powerful, so caring. It hadn't been any single event, and she couldn't remember when she started doubting. But when she began to suspect he only wanted her for her power, it took her over a year to confirm. He never truly loved her. A man like that only loved himself. She didn't know which of the twins he was fucking these days, and she didn't feel any jealousy – only pity. Max would probably throw them under the bus to keep his own skin. Right now, he was more of an enemy than a friend; and his reveal actually hurt him more than her.

It wasn't even herself. She already knew she would lose everything once the news spread. There was no escaping it. But with that bit of hopelessness and panic also came a type of clarity. She had no chance of going back to work tomorrow, so she could just forget that. And she would probably get kicked out of her apartment by the landlord if the PRT didn't try to arrest her first, so she would have to move. But this wouldn't be her first time she'd had to abandon everything. When she left the Empire, she had nothing. The Empire, and Max, had provided everything for her – a home, a job, an income, friendship, safety, purpose. She had restarted from nothing once, and she could do it again.

It was her children. Aster and Theo were the only ones she cared for now. The two children were her world now. They were her new purpose in life. And there was nothing she wouldn't do to protect them. And that was no exaggeration. She had killed people before, and she would be lying to herself if she said she'd never do it again. She was powerful enough that she could stalemate Lung and probably annihilate the local PRT if she needed to. She knew, and she made no illusions about it. Despite attempting to walk the heroic path, she was perfectly willing to drop straight back into the deepest depths of villainy if it meant she could keep her daughter and son.

Max would probably be calling her up for backup right about now, but there wasn't anything he could actually offer her any more. His assets would be frozen, his home searched. The Empire would be at war any minute now, and it wasn't a war they would win. Kayden could see the writing on the wall; she had no business staying in the Bay.

She just needed to get home to her children first.

Abandoning all pretenses, she flew straight out the window from her job, transformed into her unmistakable glowing form. She flew directly home and entered through the balcony. She felt a spike of fear when she saw several armed men standing inside with her children. At first she thought it was the PRT coming to take her children. Aster was crying. Theo was trying to put on a brave face, but on the verge of breaking down himself. Despite her fear, she could feel a swell of pride for the boy.

She couldn't just kill them. Her power wasn't that precise, nor was she fast enough.

"If you hurt them, there won't be enough…" she started to say.

The only one in the room not dressed in combat gear stood up and held up a hand. "Kayden Anders, we're not here to take your children away. In fact, I think you're about to receive a deal of a lifetime. Please. Sit."

Kayden, or Purity as she was now, settled down in her own living room but didn't revert to her normal form. Just to give them an ever-present threat. If she couldn't save her children, at the very least she would have instant revenge, if those men were stupid enough to do it. Those guns weren't PRT-issue. Their uniforms were close, but not exact. They didn't have any containment foam dispensers either. She knew for certain that they were mercenaries, and people didn't exactly complain as loudly when you killed mercenaries in your home.

"What do you want?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Mr. Pitter. I'm sure you've heard the news already. And that makes you a woman in need at the moment, Mrs. Anders," the man said. Kayden hated how his voice came out. That smug, smarmy tone he took, the way he continued to use her real name despite staring at the bright light of her cape form… she despised the man already.

"What I need is for you to get the hell out of my house, and I'll consider not killing you."

Mr. Pitter ignored her. "Even if we do nothing at all, you're about to lose your home, your money, and your children, Mrs. Anders. We could leave and let you try to fend for yourself against the US government… or you could allow us to help with that." Taking her silence as interest, he smiled and continued. "You see, my employer needs someone like you. A loving mother. One who truly cares for her children. We would never want to separate you from them. In fact, we want to help you stay together. Give you new identities. A new home. Full custody of your children under your new identity, naturally. And, of course, a new job."

"What kind of job?" Kayden asked. She was expecting assassinations or jailbreaks. Things that Max requested often while dangling divorce settlement concessions in front of her. It was unavoidable, being the most powerful Blaster in the city.

"A nanny."

Kayden paused. She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly. "What?"

"Your job will be to care for your children. And one other."

"That's it?" she asked. It sounded too good to be true. And after dealing with Max so often, she was rather wary of when people said things that sounded nice.

"You will be expected to keep them in good health, of course. And defend them from all others who would seek to take her – as you would for any of your own children. Whether they be other villains, heroes, police. If you lose her, the consequences will be… dire."

Now that sounded a bit more like what a villain expected. They were essentially just asking her to be a permanent bodyguard for a child. She wondered what was so special about this one. Still… a little kid. Whatever these villains were doing with this kid, it couldn't have been good. But wasn't this an opportunity? Give a child a proper, loving home that a villain wouldn't, or couldn't? Then again, it could be a case 53. Or a psychotic kid who could be a danger to Aster.

"Anything else I need to know?" she asked.

"A few limitations. She will be receiving a medical visit every morning. She is not to speak to anyone else before. Do not ask questions about her, do not investigate her identity, do not investigate the treatment. She is not to attend school, or associate with anyone aside from yourself and your family. You are not to use your powers except in defense of your children, nor reveal your own past or identities. Standard conditions for living a new identity. We can discuss pay and other things afterwards, but these conditions are non-negotiable."

"Let me see this girl," Kayden said.

Mr. Pitter nodded. He opened up a laptop that showed the video feed of the girl. She was wearing some kind of Tinkertech collar – most likely a shock collar or something. She was younger than Theo. White. Malnourished. Exhausted. What the hell had these people been doing to her? Seeing the sight of such a pathetic young girl made her motherly instincts instantly jump at the chance to nurture her back to health.

"I'll do it," she said.

"Good. Why don't you get in our van, and we can discuss the details en route to meet her?" Mr. Pitter suggested. "After all, the PRT could be on their way to your home any minute now."

Author's Notes:

- just a mini-update with a short interlude. In case anyone was wondering why Purity wasn't blowing everything up.

- Funny thing about how Coil seems like he's winning right now, I actually planned a bunch of "win" conditions for him, then a bunch of backups should they fail. I decided to actually make him fail 80% of them and he's running mostly on backup plans at the moment. For example, I'm pretty sure, in-character, he doesn't want to actually be the director of the PRT, because it puts him in the spotlight. He would rather have a stooge there, but it's something he chose in order to avoid something else.