Withinthe Apple 16B

*****

Xander watched as Miss Militia led Taylor out to take the tour of the facility, leaving him with Legend, Armsmaster, and the local Director, Emily Piggot.

“Well, such company,” He grinned, taking a seat and casually putting his feet up on the table. “I’m honored.”

“I assume you know why I wanted to speak with you further,” Legend said, taking a seat across from him without commenting on where he’d placed his boots.

“I can guess,” Xander nodded, “and in furtherance of that subject, I made some calls when I got back, reached out to some contacts I have. Specialists, Generalists, that sort of thing.”

Legend stared for a moment, feeling the confusion from his companions, but leaving it be for the moment.

“Dare I ask?” He said finally.

“Nothing to be too worried about, really, just some certified Geniuses on the multi-versal stage,” Xander said, his lips turning up as he saw both Director Piggot and Armsmaster shift and straighten up. “You won’t know the names, but or… well, you might actually…”

Xander chuckled, thinking of his discovery of the old comic book companies that had gone under after Cape action became the nightly news instead of a fantasy retreat. Like in his own world, DC and Marvel had existed here on Bet, but it had been cut off long before the later versions of characters took root.

Outwardly he just shrugged, “They’ll have a peek at things from the outside, but I’ve expressly forbid them sending any help for the moment.”

“I see that your lack of concern with your identity extends to other things as well,” Legend said tensely.

“You’re from another dimension?” Armsmaster asked sharply.

Xander nodded, “Been through several, was heading home when I made the mistake of using this one as a mid point. You guys have problems.”

“I think the people in this room are aware of that,” Piggot said sharply.

Xander chuckled as Legend visibly grimaced.

“So sure of that, are you?” He asked her. “I’m sorry, Director, but you don’t have a clue. Even the Endbringers are barely the tip of the iceberg.”

He knew he had their attention there, while Legend merely looked resigned, Armsmaster and Piggot were leaning forward with intense looks.

“What do you mean by that, Mr Magus?” Piggot demanded in a hard voice.

“Before you answer that,” Legend spoke up, “I should mention that this information is highly classified, and if you listen to what he’s about to say, you’ll both be bound by those rules as your members of the PRT and Protectorate, respectively.”

That caused them to both consider it, and Xander let them think it over. He wasn’t about to let local rules tie his wrists, but he knew that the locals themselves didn’t have that option.

“How highly are we talking,” Piggot asked suspiciously.

“Presidential access and higher,” Legend said dryly.

“Higher?” Piggot shifted, stiffening. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

Xander snorted, “You think they’re going to trust a politician with information he probably can’t do anything about anyway? If there’s not some cabal sitting over the President by this point, you lot have one of the most honest superhero worlds I’ve ever encountered. Trust me, I’ve seen it before, it’s pretty much inevitable. If you’re lucky, your local cabal is at least pretending to be the good guys.”

He looked over at Legend evenly, eyes narrowing as he scanned the thoughts running through front of the man’s mind.

“If you’re not, they’re probably looting the planet and looking for a way out,” He said, not breaking his gaze with the Parahuman.

After a long moment he nodded and settled back.

“In the latter, case, though,” He grinned, “I wish them the best of luck, because getting out is a hell of a lot harder than getting in.”

*****

Miss Militia found herself rather impressed with the young parahuman she was escorting.

Apprentice was sharp, polite, highly observant, and unless she missed her guess, eager. All good hallmarks for a young parahuman, with few of the warning signs that she’d come to recognize that would indicate their heading down a bad path.

Apprentice was young, though, clearly Ward age… and she reminded Hannah of someone, and it took a while for her to connect the dots.

Taylor Hebert, Hannah realized with that sense of relief that you felt when something was gnawing at your brain and you finally realized what it was.

Apprentice looked very much like the poor girl Hannah had seen in the hospital not long ago. Briefly, she considered warning the Heberts that there was a look-a-like Parahuman out there, particularly one who didn’t wear a mask, but a second later she shook her head.

No one would ever mistake the two for one another, superficial resemblance aside.

“Are you alright?” Apprentice asked, looking at her with concern.

“I’m fine,” Hannah smiled, waving off the concern, “Just had something bugging me and it took a bit to figure things out. What do you think of the Rig so far?”

“I mean, it’s pretty awesome,” Apprentice said with a grin. “the force field and bridge are amazing to see from the city, of course, but from the inside it’s even better somehow.”

“Well, we do appreciate the security,” Hannah admitted as they reached a security door and she hit the buzzer to announce them to the Wards within. “This is the Ward’s facilities here on the Rig. We have larger and more comfortable ones at PRT HQ in the city, of course, but we try to cycle the wards through the Rig often enough for them to be comfortable with security here.”

“That makes sense,” Apprentice said as they waited for the door to open. She frowned, eyeing it after a moment, “Is it broke?”

“No, just on a delay so anyone inside can put their masks on or leave,” Hannah assured her just as the door shuddered and began to slide open. “See?”

“Cool.”

They walked into the, admittedly cramped version of the Ward’s Room here on the Rig. Hannah noticed that only Vista was present, being one of the few of the Wards who could easily make it to the Rig without being observed that wasn’t much of a surprise however.

“Vista, how are you today?” She greeted the young Shaker.

“All good, Miss M,” Vista replied as she glanced curiously past her. “Who’s this?”

“This is Apprentice,” Hannah told her, “Magus apparently found her and took her under his wing.”

“Apprentice?” Vista asked dubiously, “I mean, it’s not the worst name ever, not by a longshot, but I don’t think it’ll grow well with you.”

Apprentice rolled her eyes, “It’s only until I complete my studies, or get to a point where I can work on my own I guess. Then I get to pick my own name. Magus has this whole thing about teaching, I guess.”

“He’s teaching you? Cool, I guess, what? Tactics and stuff?” Vista asked curiously.

Apprentice shook her head, “Power use.”

That took both Vista and Hannah aback.

“Power use? How’s that work? Parahumans rarely have the same sorts of powers,” Vista objected. “What can he teach you?”

“We have the same power set,” Apprentice said, “identical, or as close as I can tell.”

“Are you perhaps related… no, sorry,” Hannah held up a hand, “I should not have asked that, but you took me by surprise.”

“It’s alright, and no,” Apprentice shook her head, “Magus is… not from around her. We have no relation to one another, besides teacher and student.”

“That’s just weird,” Vista said, flopping down into an old but comfortable couch. “Never heard of identical powersets before, how about you, Miss M?”

“Related ones, certainly, but nothing identical, no.” Hannah admitted, but then went on to shrug, “With cape weirdness, though, there’s always a first time.”

Vista nodded, clearly trying to look wiser than her years… and mostly succeeding, “ain’t that the truth. So, Apprentice, you like to do anything cool?”

*****