SepticGentleman

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Written with @JunkMail

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Weaving through the Homecoming crowds took longer than Radvi wanted. Even with his ATV’s sirens blaring, people were slow to make way - either out of innocent hesitation, drunken confusion, or outright malice. Tensions between students and security were still very much high. But to Radvi, that didn’t matter. None of it. Just Arianna - finding her, catching her, making her confess to what she’s done and why she did it.

Was the evidence against her absolute? To most, no. Against any notion of putting two and two together, why she had murdered a staff member day one and no better ideas of how the prisoner outbreak could have been perpetrated, no one else was doing a fucking thing. Just a small group of ‘core components’.

Radvi was sick of this. He wanted an ending to it.

And D? D was more so just... happy to be there.

They made it down to the woods. Once they were close enough, Radvi and D dismounted the ATV and hoofed it on foot, Radvi leading the way. His glasses were displaying the location up ahead, where Arianna had remained still all the while. He had no idea what to expect, save maybe Eli’s presence. His taser was drawn, his gun was at his side, D was right behind him - he steeled himself for the worst.

They both bolted right through the party in the woods. The thirty-or-so people gathered together, just minding their own business, not expecting a cop and a vandal to come rushing through without stopping for any of them. Radvi paid them zero attention, D forwent any usually expected gestures like feverishly dancing or pretending to have a drink - he was, in this moment, all business.

The duo rushed further through the woods, until they reached it - the spot. There, together, were two figures, Eli not in sight among them. Just Holmes, and… her. In plain view, looking weak and vulnerable, masking herself as something far inferior to what all evidence truly painted her as. Radvi didn’t need or want to hear any excuses. His glasses showed him the blue outline highlighting Arianna, telling him everything he had to know - this was the enemy, and she was right here.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Radvi shouted at Holmes, taser pointed through her, straight at Arianna, who looked like she was about to speak. The woman’s eyes met Radvi’s, and without another word she pivoted on her heel and ran. Completely disregarding Lynn’s request or offer of help. She didn’t run back in the direction of the body- instead she ran perpendicular to Radvi’s position- deeper into the woods and parallel to the deadfall. With no further warning, Radvi went after her, taser raised. D followed behind, passing a glance at Lynn and nothing more. Brushing past the trees, Radvi caught sight of Arianna, and with no better of a chance likely coming, he took his first shot with the taser. Out went the dart, missing - inches away from the target’s shoulder. Second shot, aimed at the center of her back, and it landed.

It felt like fire. Cold, freezing fire that burnt away at her mind. It was almost like hitting one’s elbow at the wrong spot, but the feeling quickly encompassed her entire body. She felt herself falling apart. She felt every cell go radio silent. In her entire life Arianna had never experienced anything like this. She had been hurt before, but this? This was pain. She screamed, her body rapidly losing its rigidity and form, and fell. She hit the ground with a heavy and wet splat. The only thing left of her being a puddle of bluish goo. The forest was still.

A hardly noticeable look of shock found itself on Radvi’s face. Somehow, he was surprised Trevor’s invention worked to such a significant degree against his target. The feeling was quickly replaced with that familiar fervor to hunt her down, resuming his pace along the deadfall, towards the newly formed puddle. He popped out the front cartridge of the taser and replaced it with a new one along the way, two new shots loaded in. D followed Radvi close behind, not showing his excitement, yet it was certainly there.

A third shape surged from the woods with preternatural speed. It was unmistakably Arianna. A tad older in appearance, but less dirty and far more driven than her terrified doppelganger had been. She sped directly into Freaky-D like a bus, shoulder checking the vandal so hard that his entire body left the ground and tumbled down the deadfall. She turned, flowing and crashing like water, and drove her foot into the crook of Radvi’s knee. She pulled his head back with one arm, and with her other she grabbed the taser. She surged forwards from her position behind Radvi, using the taser as an anchor point, and flowed over the man’s shoulder. Her entire weight shifted from pulling the man backwards to throwing him forwards, and he was thoroughly separated from the weapon- now in Arianna’s grasp. Her expression was neutral, but in a fit of anger she snapped the weapon over her knee in a surprising show of strength and emotion.

Radvi quickly recovered from the ambush, though it was clear he was hurt. He then went for the only offensive tool he had left - his gun. Maybe it was the heat of the moment clouding his judgement, but he completely passed off any notion of what little damage such a thing would do to his opponent. He flicked the safety off, raised the gun towards Arianna, and began firing. Once, twice, thrice. They all hit home, her body contorting like ballistic gel, as she absorbed the shots. She surged forwards again, ignoring any further shots as if they were nothing, and grabbed Radvi by his vest. She threw her weight to the right, wheeling Radvi around with her and pulling him off balance. He went over her hip.

And down the deadfall.

Radvi went down, maybe just five or six feet. But when he did, all those racing moments in his body led to the mistake of tucking his arms in. His elbow - of the arm, with the gun still in his hand - connected with a stone embedded in the ground.

The barrel was underneath the right side of his jaw.

And the gun we-

…

…

…

Ages seemed to pass in a matter of se-

…

…

Everything was… blur-

…

…

Gurgling. A warm feeling, running out of the wound. Sight cut in half. Dropped his gun. Clutched-

…

What?

…

He scrambled. He couldn’t get up. He twitched violently, trying to hold everything together. The open streak running up his cheek, his eye split open, ending in a hole above his right brow. Broken glasses on the ground beside him.

Everything spun. He couldn’t collect his thoughts. It was all going dark.

He saw a figure on his left. A dark, bent body and a head of blurry, broken lights and shapes. Stumbled towards him, hands hovering above him. Didn’t know what to do.

Needed help.

…

…

…

Help-

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Beeping. From Radvi’s glasses, clipped to his collar.

“Alert. Target detected by other device.”

“SHIT-” Radvi called out in astonishment, eyes wide. He dropped his coffee out of his hands, spilling it onto the table as he scrambled to put the glasses on. D just watched in idle amazement. Radvi could see the readout indicating that the PSI chip he’d given to Eli had activated. The waypoint marker guided him upwards, to a spot further along the station’s ring, somewhere nestled in the woodland. A whole month of nothing, and suddenly this. Arianna was back, and Eli - maybe others as well - were in her vicinity.

In danger.

“C’mon!” Radvi said, bolting upwards and away from the mess he’d left his table in. D stood up as well, following behind. Radvi made it to his ATV and started it up, ready to roll out immediately - until he felt something clasp at his abdomen, and the sensation of something heavy on his back, static making his dreads lift up a bit.

“Wh-”

D was on the ATV too, seated behind Radvi, holding him tightly.

“You have rocket-powered skates.” Radvi said sternly, “What the hell are you doing.”

“I love horses.”

Radvi sighed, dropping his head.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Noelle was gone.

She had been for a while, actually. No sign of her anywhere on the station. Radvi had only noticed such a few days after the breakout. Once he did, he made a trip to the High Rise, only to discover that it had been demolished during the event. And it was pretty low on the priority repair list.

Now, it was back in business, but under new management. Some woman Radvi had never met before took over, saying that Noelle simply left because the Promise was going to hell. No notice, no goodbye, just… gone. An unceremonious departure.

Oh, well. She had her reasons.

Radvi got himself some coffee, the newly-managed High Rise being one of the few places still open during Homecoming. Somewhere to get drinks that wouldn’t completely wreck your head. It wasn’t busy, of course, and the new owner was mostly just lounging about. But hey, Radvi got his coffee, and that’s what mattered. He found his way back to a little alcove where D was seated. His ATV was parked nearby. He sat down, and forced himself to relax a bit. Sipped some of his coffee.

“So far, nothing’s come up.” Radvi said to D, who was just kicking his foot idly. “I’m starting to think this is just a giant waste of time.”

D turned his head, somehow exhibiting concern without any expressions to form.

“Almost all of the security force has written me off as a loonie and a traitor, for working with you. Because you’re still on their shit list ever since orientation. Why… why even did you kick Anderson’s face?”

D shrugged. He didn’t have any good of an answer.

“Hmm.”

Pause. Another sip of coffee.

“Wish you’d just tell me what you’re doing up here. Or how you survived getting spaced. Or who you actually are or, anything.”

A moment passed before D’s helmet blinked out, the default grin giving way to a dimly lit black surface. The sounds of… breathing, began to emanate from it. Strained, slow, as if being assisted by some form of medical equipment. And shortly after came the accompanying sound of a heart rate monitor, a constant beeping, evenly spaced out. He played these sounds for what seemed like years, even though it was only about ten seconds.

_{“...What the fuck?”} Radvi muttered to himself.

After a few more seconds, the sounds stopped, and D’s face blinked back. The crosshair eyes and the giant, toothy grin. He turned his attention towards Radvi and just gave him a silent, unmoving stare.

“You are…” Radvi said, “All kinds of weird.”

D chuckled. Radvi sipped his coffee again.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

“He’s down, he’s down!”

“Keep the rods on him, watch his hands. Stromeyer, gag him.”

Cloth, wrapped into mouth. Muffled screams, crying.

“Parchek, hand me the bat.”

“Here.”

“Hold his arms up.”

Swing. Impact. Crunch of bones. Screaming. Once more, other arm.

“Jesus Christ…”

“Focus. Roman, you have that nail gun?”

“Yeah.”

“Achilles tendons. Both of them.”

Piercing of flesh. More screaming. Twice done.

“Alright. Radvi, go get the rope.”

“...”

“Radvi. Radvi!”

…

…

…

Radvi shot awake.

He was sitting down at a table, in front of a shop that had been closed for Homecoming. D was seated across from him, hands folded, twiddling his thumbs.

‘BAD DREAM?’ flashed across D’s helmet.

“Yeah…” Radvi said, quickly regaining his composure. All the sleep he’d been losing was catching up with him, it seemed. Somehow, he’d let his guard down in the open enough to drift off. He didn’t even remember finding a place to sit down - did D take him there? No one else was in the immediate area to see them. He felt like he was starting to lose his mind for a moment.

“Sorry… about that.” Radvi said. D just shrugged, nonplussed. He was perfectly fine keeping watch while his buddy caught forty winks.

Radvi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes.

“I need something to keep me awake…”

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Homecoming was underway. All the station was lit up, all the occupants were celebrating, all the faculty were attending, all the agents were patrolling - Radvi included.

He’d taken a moment off his assigned ATV route to stop and observe the surroundings from an elevated level. His hands were on the railing as he scanned the vastness of the decorated ring. The absolutely boggling part of all this was that it was fulfilling its intended purpose - getting people to forget about the breakout. Maybe for most, it took a lot less time to pass an event like that from the mind. Maybe most hadn’t suffered any personal tragedies at all during the ordeal - just witnesses to other peoples’ loss, as well as the incompetence of the security force for getting locked up in the spire tubes.

Things were going to shit. And Homecoming was just a brief interlude before people resumed realizing it.

Radvi had the prototype taser fastened to his belt, along with a pack of extra projectiles supplied by Trevor. It didn’t function like a normal taser with wires and all, no current to bother running from point A to point B. But, as stated, it was a prototype. If anything came up, and there were no nullifiers around, maybe he’d get the chance to run the field test his R&D friend wanted so bad. And if Arianna were to show up - even better, despite voiced concerns. But if she did... why would it be tonight? Radvi had to accept the fact that he still knew so little about his suspect - who she was, what she wanted, why she wanted it. But he was still resolute in his belief that she was an enemy to this station, and had to be stopped.

Three. Hundred. Casualties.

Radvi sighed. He turned his head and-

“FUCK-”

D was suddenly there, leaning on the railing to Radvi’s right. Radvi, appropriately, expressed his startled shock and flinched backward. D’s response was just a soft, synthesized chuckle. No one else was in the immediate area to report the scene, thankfully. Too busy elsewhere, celebrating.

“God-… damn it!” Radvi exclaimed, as the jumpiness wore off, “What is with people popping out of nowhere today?”

D shrugged. Radvi sighed.

“Fine, forget it… What are you doing out here? What’s your plan?”

“Do I really look like a guy wi-”

“Okay, okay, nevermind, listen. I need to talk to you - the Chief told me he’s willing to give you a pass, ID and everything, so that security will stop chasing you.”

‘DO GO ON?’ flashed across D’s helmet in bright yellow letters.

“If…” Radvi continued, “You can prove, wholeheartedly, that you aren’t working against us. You’re not an enemy of the station, you don’t have any nefarious plans.”

“Do I really loo-”

“No you don’t look like a guy with a plan!” Radvi interrupted, somewhat irritated at the repeating voice clips, “But the Chief is the one who has to be convinced here. You do that, you’ll have an easier time helping me get this Arianna woman. And that is what you want to do, right?”

Two thumbs up from D, and a little twinkle on his big dumb grin.

“Alright. We’ll work on it. You still have that PSI chip?”

D took his spare chip out of his pocket and held it up with a bit of flourish.

“Keep it plugged into...” Radvi continued, “Whatever device you have on you. If by some ungodly chance she shows up tonight…” He took the taser from his belt and held it up for D to behold. “We’ll be ready.”

D nodded his head. He liked Rad’s confidence. He shared it, even.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Promise R&D wing. Trevor’s block. Radvi had been called over for something, quote-unquote, ‘bitchin’’.

“Here.”

He handed Radvi a handgun-looking tool - a taser, specifically. Grey surface with a yellow business end, multiple white constructional markings, a little ‘TN’ on the grip.

“It’s a taser.” Radvi said, in a rather unimpressed tone.

“It’s an anti-parahuman taser.” Trevor retorted, “It’s a prototype power-draining tool. It leeches the potential energy paras use for their bullshit, stores it inside the projectiles, and renders it inert.”

“Huh…” Radvi said, admiring the concept as he looked down at the work in progress in his hand. “So this is what you’ve been working on all this time.”

“Me and a bunch of other guys have been working on several null tech prototypes.” Trevor said, grabbing a pack of extra projectiles from his desk, “This is just the simplest thing I could pump out as soon as possible, and just in time for this dumb-shit homecoming nonsense Dunbar’s throwing. You’re gonna be my guinea pig - take it out for a spin, use it on any shit-kids who get too rowdy, tell me how it goes.”

“What about Arianna?”

“Who?”

“A-… y’know, the… the Jello Bitch.”

“Even fucking better - if she decides to turn up. Although I have my doubts on how well it’ll affect her specifically, given her power. But beyond that, I still need to see how it works on different paras with different variables in their physiologies.”

“Trevor, I’m not going to go shooting anyone with this unless they actually need to be shot, alright?” Radvi said as he held the taser up.

“Oh don’t you worry.” Trevor replied as he took a seat back at his work desk, “Whole station caught up in the festivities, kids sneaking alcohol into the punch bowls, too drunk or too pissed or both to be reasonable about how they swing their shit around? You’ll have a bunch of targets in no time! I mean SERIOUSLY-“

He slammed the desk with his hand.

“-what the FUCK is going through Dunbar’s head with this horse shit?!”

The sound of a door shutting was the first thing to answer Trevor’s question, followed by Gennedy clearing his throat at the entrance and crossing his arms at the two. “Is there an issue in here?”

“Not in here specifically.” Trevor replied, nonplussed by Gennedy’s presence, “But on the station as a whole? Plenty.”

“Trevor.” Radvi said as he turned his head, reprimanding him for his tone of voice.

Gennedy grunted in response, but didn’t seem to disagree with Trevor’s statement. “Dunbar and several others think it’s necessary to regain some good faith between security and occupants.” the man explained, walking forward to inspect the newly developed tool that Radvi was holding. If he wanted to see it, he didn’t voice his request. “I can’t say whether it’s the best decision or not, but Wrath and I thought funding projects like this one would be… more effective uses of our time. Rather than encouraging misdemeanors.”

“Spin them around blindfolded while we make up new ways to neuter them.” Trevor replied all so candidly, “Which I’d be all for, but unfortunately, a lot of those kids down there have enough brain cells to rub together to see what a crock of shit this all is.”

“I have to agree with him, sir.” Radvi added, “We both know at least a handful of students down there aren’t going to just sit and take this. And… who knows whoever else.”

Gennedy shrugged at this. “Wrath voiced similar concerns. Unfortunately we were outvoted. All I can do now is prepare my men and women as best I can.”

Radvi nodded. Trevor just leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Sir, before I forget…” Radvi continued, “I have some more info on my suspect. Including a name.”

_{“Jello Biiiiitch.”} Trevor said under his breath. Gennedy gave Radvi a pointed look, but didn’t say anything other than giving the man his attention. “Arianna.” Radvi continued, “Anderson gave me her name. He said he saw her during orientation. He saw the same footage I sent you and he recognized her.”

“How did Anderson witness the footage?”

“I… it was my decision to have Freaky-D show it to him. I thought that… since he was so caught up in all the past events, he might know something I didn’t.”

“Well, I hope you are up to damage control, then. We have an unpredictable potential distributor of that footage and unreliable information of a first name from a seventeen year old to show for it.”

“Sir, I know it’s hard to believe, but D isn’t pulling any tricks. He provided a sample of the suspect that Trevor-“

“Yo.” Trevor interjected with a wave.

“-confirmed was part of a super-organism. As for Anderson, I… I just don’t take him for the type to lie, sir.”

“I take it you don't take this super-organism responsible for over three hundred deaths as the type to lie either.” Gennedy said, his frown frown deepening with every word. He raised his hand to massage the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Okay, this is how it’s going to go, Jacob. You prove to me that this ‘Freaky-D’ person isn’t working against us and I’ll get him an ID so he can stay. But if he shows that footage to anyone, it’ll be your ass and Anderson’s, D’s, and anyone else that he shows the video to’s head. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Radvi replied, resolute.

“Good. Trevor.” Gennedy said, recognizing the other man before he departed from the lab, leaving the other two to their own devices. Trevor leaned forward from his chair, eyeing Radvi. “So you really are taking your stocks in a roller-skating clown and a teenage werelizard.” He said, “I mean, at least the clown has done some fair work. I know sound waves are something to work on to put up against Jello Bitch.”

“Yeah.” Radvi replied solemnly, “So… you still want me to hold onto this?” He held the taser up.

“Bedfellows regardless, you’re still the guy I trust the most among the security force around here.” Trevor replied, “You’ll do good work. I’m confident. In the meantime though, you should get ready to deal with tonight’s shitstorm. I’ll be pluggin’ away here.”

Radvi nodded, staring back down at the taser in his hand. At the very least, he was getting somewhere with all this.

One little step at a time.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

Black and White didn’t answer any of Keaton’s second barrage of questions. They instead left that task up to Radvi.

“I don’t know who she is.” He said, “Earliest I know she was here was during orientation. We don’t have a file because she’s not supposed to be on this station in the first place.”

He directed his words to everyone gathered around the table.

“During last month’s breakout, D gave me a sample of her… body, and I had it processed and stored in the station’s R&D wing. I was told she’s some kind of ‘super-organism’, that’s what Trevor called her.” He wasn’t going to take the time to explain who Trevor was because there was no way in hell that detail was important. “She can split herself apart down to the cellular level, and each cell can act independently. She can be in literally millions of different places at once. And the exact cause of the breakout was listed as hundreds of wiring sections that looked like they had been eaten through by acid. All those doors and consoles, busted in an instant. I don’t know what Arianna wanted with Coleman when she killed him but, she’s the only one I can think of who could pull that breakout off with the abilities she has.”

He paused for a moment before reaching for the glasses hanging from his collar. He held them in his left hand, taking the PSI chip out of the slot on the side with his right. He held it up for everyone to see.

“This is a power signature identification chip.” He said, “It’s hard-locked on Arianna, and it’s supposed to alert me to her presence when she steps within a hundred foot radius of it. But this past month, I haven't been able to pick up anything, and I can only assume it’s because she’s hiding in parts of the station too deep and cluttered for the pickup signal to breach through.”

As he took another look at the PSI chip, a thought crossed his mind. The backups that he’d asked Trevor for, he had three of them. And if Black and White were willing to act on faith in this group… well, for all he knew of the duo, and for all the help he needed now, he decided to go out on a limb. He put the chip back into his glasses, then reached into his suit pocket and pulled out all three backups.

“I had these spares made.” Radvi said, “They’ll work on your phones, let you know when she’s near. I’m technically not supposed to do this, but none of the agents will help me ever since they saw the footage of me working with him. They think he faked all of it.” He motioned towards D, who replied simply with two thumbs up.

“And why do you believe him, Agent Radvi?”

“When no else does?”

Radvi didn’t say anything. He simply gave D a solemn stare, thinking about what to say. Why he put his trust in the ridiculous lunatic in the first place, and why he continued to do so all this time. D didn’t pull any humorous gestures or play a sound clip in response. He just sat there, tilted his head a bit, and waited for Radvi to say something.

“...I don’t know.” He finally responded, “I just do.”

Black and White seemed content with the answer. Nothing said for the rest of those present at the table.

“So…” Radvi continued, holding the backup chips still, “If you’re all as wrapped up in this like Black and White say you are, then you should have these to help you stay safe. Problem is, I only have three, and there’s five of you. I can get more made, but not right away.”

D immediately shot his hand up like a kid in elementary school, waving it around like mad, pointing at himself with his other hand. Radvi decided that, seeing as D was all the more eager to help, and that he was able to incapacitate Arianna on his own, that he was one of the better options. So he tossed D a chip, who caught it and held it up in the air, playing a sound clip of an angelic choir as he gazed at it.

“Eli, I want you to have one too.” Radvi continued, turning to Eli and handing her the second backup chip. Among all the parahumans present, she was the one he trusted the most so far. Not out of any ill will towards the rest, but he just didn’t know them well enough. But there was still one chip left. He placed it on the table in between Archie, Natalie, and Keaton. “The three of you can decide who gets the last one.” Radvi said, “Whatever the case, you just plug it into your phone and the program will start automatically. If anyone gets a signal, everyone else will be notified, myself included. If she does engage any of you, loud noises - really loud noises, I’m talking maximum volume - will throw her off. That’s the best tactic we know at the moment.”

D chuckled. He was all too prepared for his next round with his gelatinous foe.

“The enemy has a name and a face now, at least.”

“Still no discerning her ultimate goal, however.”

“But for now-”

“HEY!”

Everyone turned their heads to see another agent running at the table. “Radvi, what the fuck are you doing?!” He called out, “Get him!”

Everyone’s attention turned to D, who responded in turn by dropping his head in a defeated manner, as if tired somehow. He then immediately bolted from his chair and made his rapid escape from the scene. The agent approached the table, Radvi specifically, and said to him, “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“Oh blow it out your ass, Felty.” Radvi replied dismissively. The other agent just grunted in anger before continuing his chase. Radvi turned to the remaining group and said, “I’m gonna move along. Rest of you take care, and keep your eyes peeled. If anything happens, you can come to me.”

“We will also be keeping in touch.”

“Until then, farewell to all of you.”

Black and White proceeded to vanish into thin air, leaving the rest to their own devices. Radvi was making his way in the same direction D and the other agent had run off, but Lord knew if he was going to do anything about it himself. All that was left was Archie, Natalie, Eli, and Keaton at the table.

And one spare chip.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

There is only one stat that matters, and that is GUMPTION

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

ARCHIE

---

"What kind of disaster are we talking about here?"

“The likes of which that may put the Promise, and every living soul on it, at risk of demise.”

“Some conscious force was behind the breakout last month, and it would be safe to assume that they are planning worse for the future.”

“We don’t know when, or how, or why.”

“But we believe it best to be prepared.”

NATALIE

---

"I came here to get treatment! Because there was nothing Earth could do for me anymore! How am I going to be of any help to anyone else?! That's supposed to be your job!"

“Miss Ellis, we understand that you are experiencing a degree of mental anguish, and for our apparent disregard of it at the present moment, we apologize.”

“But we are not directly recruiting you into any specific plan of action. We are informing you of what may likely descend upon you in the future, and advising that a shared network of information could aid in lessening the damages.”

“We stated before that we occasionally serve as counselors. If you wish, we can discuss your personal issues at length another time, and potentially aid you in that regard.”

“For that, however, you would have to trust us enough to speak with us at all. And that’s something you will ultimately have to decide for yourself once we’re all done here.”

“But if you are willing, we are always available.”

ELI

---

"I want to ask the person that you answer to."

“A party concerned for the future of both the Promise and beyond.”

“As well, wishing to remain unidentified, and we intend to respect said wish.”

“We understand this answer is unsatisfactory.”

“But even we have rules we must abide by.”

KEATON

---

“Letting us know who we’ll ultimately be helping is important, but so is winning our trust. Why should we trust you? Why do you see us as ‘core components’? Trust is a two-way street, so if you could explain in a way that helps us come to the same conclusion, that would be great.”

“As we explained to Miss Wessex, we cannot elaborate on the nature of our supervising party.”

“We understand trust is an issue, and of course, we don’t expect all of you to trust us right away. Miss Wessex and Agent Radvi have their own opinions by now.”

“That is why we are laying most of our cards out on the table at this moment. So you can unpack it all at your own pace, and when we speak again, you’ll have a better forming of your own opinion.”

“We are individuals concerned with the safety of this station’s inhabitants, and we feel - given the events you’ve all been involved in - that you will ultimately end up in better positions than most to aid said inhabitants.”

“It’s not a choice we’ve made on our own accord.”

“But it’s how things have all fallen into place.”

“A few more things. To confirm, were you in the room during Lynn’s interview? If you don’t mind me asking, could you explain why you were able to do that, able to watch us in this mall and know precisely when and where we’d all be gathered together if you can’t even locate a suspect for a staff murder?”

“Yes, we were there.”

“For all of your interviews, not just Miss Holmes’.”

“We can hide our presence without affecting our own perception of our surroundings.”

“Invisibility, in short. It’s all the cloak-”

“-without the dagger. We apologize, but it was at our superior’s request. And Chief Gennedy… disapproves of our presence, during matters of police business.”

“As for the suspect, locating them is what we are attempting to accomplish.”

“We can go anywhere, but we don’t always know what the right place and the right time are.”

“And why was Salamandra aboard the ship? She was arrested years ago, and there was absolutely no reason she shouldn’t have been sentenced to death. Why was she aboard this ship? Why were any of those criminals who escaped last month aboard this ship?”

“At first, it was for the purpose of rehabilitation.”

“When that failed, it turned to incarceration.”

“Criminals who can accrue such high body counts in such short amounts of time were deemed best put far away from Earth’s populace as feasibly possible.”

“And this station was considered the best available option, in that regard.”

“Having an educational facility within arm’s reach of a prison is an awful situation, most assuredly.”

“But they are both governed by one party. A party who, ultimately, take the safety and considerations of humans over parahumans.”

“Give us access to Cara—not the censored, tame program you have installed all over the ship. The real deal. The one that has access to the cameras, the files, and everything else we might need. Give us what we need to help you."

“We cannot fulfil this request. Not by our will, but because we don’t have such control over Ms. Fuller like you believe we do.”

“However, if you wish for Caroline to assist you in your endeavors, perhaps you might exercise treating her more as a person than a mere tool.”

“Try addressing her by her real name. That should help.”

“Caroline Fuller. A woman. A soul.”

RADVI

---

“What about you, Agent Radvi?”

“Is there anything you’d like to share?”

Radvi stood there for a moment, as it dawned on him that he had something that may improve his chances of getting these other ‘core components’ on his side. Or rather, both he and Freaky-D had it.

He took out his phone, but then briefly thought of an alternative, better method that was available. He looked at D and snapped his fingers at him, and as if in some form of perfect synchronization, D knew exactly what to do - he balled his hand into a fist, gave his own helmet a knock, and his jolly toothy grin was suddenly replaced with a playback of all the POV footage he’d sent to his friend the cop.

First, the few seconds of footage from day one, showing the woman - Arianna - standing by a not-dead-yet Dr. Arthur Coleman in mid-torture.

Then, the footage from the day of the breakout.

“Well, can't have you running around anymore and ruining my fun. Or food.”

“Pay the court a fine or serve your-”

“Y’know a lot of people die quieter than you.”

“Dead or alive, you’re comin’ with me!”

And then D getting his ass beat, a full display of his enemy’s abilities, and finally the weaponization of incredibly loud noises (the playback having cordially lowered volume so as to not blow anyone’s ears out), and him scooping up a lump of her in a mason jar.

And the last shot was him handing that jar to Radvi.

@JunkMail @He Who Walks Behind @Silver Carrot @Typical @Skai

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

---

In the span of just a couple of minutes, three more people had gathered around the table. The remainders of Anderson’s female friends he’d been sticking with since day one. Natalie and Keaton, Radvi had met before - during their rounds of questioning a month back. The other one, Cordelia Holmes, he’d never met directly. All he knew about her was from the various security reports that he’d read. And from what he understood, she wasn’t the sort who appreciated the presence of any figure of authority - which led to the question of why she would approach the table while he was there. But he wasn’t about to go and instigate anything, though he sort of thought Holmes was thinking of doing the opposite. So he tensed up a bit, at least. In fact, there seemed to be some feeling in the air that he was not wanted there. And yet, all he’d done was say ‘hey’.

Oh, well. He should just get back to patrolling and let the kids be.

“Uh…” He began, during a moment when all was silent, “Yeah, Eli, I’ll talk to you later when you’re free, I should just get back to my patrol.”

And as he turned…

“Leaving so soon, Agent Radvi?”

“JESUS-” Radvi blurted out, jolting a bit as the elusive, monochromatic, faceless duo - Black and White - manifested out of thin air, right by his sides.

“We would actually like you to stay for a moment longer, if it’s no trouble.”

Radvi took a moment to collect himself before responding to them. “Don’t you fucking do that! Christ…” He said, regaining his composure. That idling sense of paranoia was starting to get to him.

“We apologize for our sudden appearance.”

“Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“But we wanted to address all of you while you were still in one place.”

“Given everything that’s happened of late, it’s a rare occurrence.”

Black and White faced the table, and everyone around it. Expressions of shock were abound. A little bit of suspicion and paranoia were creeping in as well, as they had expected. But they were being truthful - everyone was together, and that was deemed something rare, so they took this moment as a prime opportunity to introduce themselves to the group whom many events seemed to be revolving around. As their master had wished of them.

“I am Mister White.”

“And I am Mister Black.”

“We are ‘attendants’ to the Promise at large. We generally serve as advisors, counselors, observants, so on and so forth.”

“We have taken a special interest in the lot of you due to the events that took place a month ago - and shortly further back, on your first day aboard this station. We‘ve read all of the reports, you see.”

“There is that helmeted fellow too, though we don’t know where he resides at th-”
_{“AAAAAAAAAA}AAAAA-”

Crash.

Black and White turned their heads as, seemingly out of the sky, Freaky-D had dropped onto the nearest table behind them at the mention of his being. If anyone had looked upward, they might have surmised that he’d leapt from a single floor up. He hit the corner of a table, causing it to quickly flip over onto its side. D fell onto the ground just as fast, sprawling out with his gaze fixed upward. After a brief moment of silence from all surrounding parties, he slowly picked himself up, grabbed the table and placed it back upright, took one of the chairs, carried it to a spot near Radvi, turned it around, and sat with his arms crossed and resting on it. He briefly waved hello as everyone stared at him.

“...Right, then. Moving on...”

Black and White returned to facing the group.

“We consider matters that affect the Promise as a whole as matters that we must see to personally.”

“We apologize that this may come to you as an abrupt invasion of privacy, but we decided it best to be upfront in our conduct.”

“We see all of you, Mister Anderson…”

“Miss Holmes…”

“Miss Plasse…”

“Miss Ellis…”

“Miss Wessex…”

“Agent Radvi…”

“And… you...”

D simply nodded as White addressed him, a soft and synthesized chuckle sounding from his helmet.

“...as ‘core components’ in these events.”

“Things are happening aboard this station that have resulted in great harm, and even death, befalling its inhabitants.”

“It is in our best interests to assist in bringing this matter at large to a close, though we cannot act directly against it due to certain… physical, non-physical, limitations.”

“To be brief, we are incorporeal.”

They both waved their hands through each other’s in perfect symmetry, displaying how their bodies phased right through.

“We cannot harm, and we cannot be harmed.”

“We can do nothing substantial to prevent further disaster from striking the Promise. The security force is also lacking in this capability, from what we’ve seen.”

“Not you Jacob, we know you’re trying your best.”

“Uh…” Radvi replied quietly, not entirely sure how to respond.

“Thus, we both would like to formally extend our aid - in the admittedly limited fashion we are capable of - as we view all of you as being more and more likely to witness the brunt of whatever force acts against this station and its inhabitants.”

“And hopefully, moreso, finding opportunities to stop them in their tracks.”

“We will answer whatever questions you may have towards this rather broad topic, and share any information we feel may aid you. If it falls under our jurisdiction to provide, of course.”

“And if you in turn would share your findings with us, however apprehensive towards the notion you may be…”

“We would be very grateful.”

“So… who would like to go first?”

@JunkMail @He Who Walks Behind @Silver Carrot @Typical @Skai