Heroes of Millaine IC 2 - Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

[Hyperbolic sine]

Part of Declan had been hoping that the alert had been sent by Waterworks, who had finally returned to Millaine and had something to say to all of them. It had been a fragile hope, of course, so he wasn't particularly surprised when she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

And, you know, if it had been an actual alert he really wouldn't have had time to dwell on it, anyway; instead, it had been a member of the Circle calling on them like some kind of personal army. Declan was...not impressed. He stood in the room, arms crossed, silently staring at Halwick.

[Zelphas]

Marina glances down at her phone as it buzzes, then quickly mutes the alert.

"Hey, could you switch it over to the news, quick?" she calls out over the chatter of the diner break room, unwrapping her lunch for the day. She takes a big bite of her sandwich, not tasting the food as it converts instantaneously into water in her mouth and absorbs into her being. Quietly, Marina "chews" her lunch, staring at the screen to see any urgent news bulletins that may arrive.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: OOC

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Since I haven't heard from Cap I'mma just forge ahead. Cap you can feel free to jump in if/when time and opportunity permits.

Bastion, Sean, and Declan

The Senator looked briefly surprised by your resistance, but he quickly buried the expression behind a sneer. His reply came with the full measure of the contempt he had made an only token effort to hide during the Hearing...although that contempt was less aimed at you than at your objections. "What...are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry. I was under the impression that you people were at least moderately clued in. That you had been working on this. Or that at the very least you were Heroes and would defend lives where asked! Do any of you know even the first thing about what my organization actually does? Or have you heard a few rumors and decided that if this were a movie we would be the bad guys, because we don't advertise our existence for all to see?"

"I have time to fill you in. I don't have time to waste arguing if you don't plan to help regardless. Know this: in the past months we have been fighting for our lives against the machinations of time travelers with artificial powers. Over a dozen of us are dead already, not least one of the Commanders of your Corps. We finally think we have a reprieve and now we have these traitors to deal with. They we cannot fight. Whatever they have done to circumvent the bindings is a one-way street. I came to you because you have have faced these enemies before and have dealt with their new toys, and because you are one of the most powerful cohesive teams the Corps can field. If you can at least deign to hear me out, then ask whatever questions you need to. If you are not willing to help regardless, if you have already decided I cannot be trusted, then say so and I will call upon someone else. And just hope it doesn't cost any lives."

Marina

One of your coworkers obliged. Now as we all know whenever somebody turns on the news while on-screen (and especially when someone is asked to turn on the news) it will immediately display a broadcast about the latest plot hook, on whatever channel it happened to be tuned to, and conveniently just starting even if someone had told them they should watch it and so was presumably already watching it. Said report would invariably contain all necessary details to drive the watcher's next decision and disseminate them in comfortably under thirty seconds. Every single television show and movie ever just can't be wrong.

So when there was no urgent breaking news report of some crime or disaster or explosion or whatever you could rest assured that whatever this "critically urgent" alert was about it probably couldn't be too bad.

(Ironically enough what was on the news was a panel of pundits discussing the disappearance of Waterworks and whether she would come back and what it meant for the Heroes of Millaine.)

[manwithaplan]

Bastion's head swivelled to look at Sean, and then back to Halwick.

"Neither of us said that we refuse to engage, Halwick. But there is a problem with your tone."

"Understand that these Heroes were very good investigators, and very good at saving lives, before your appearance. We drove your little pack of mutineers into hiding, and kept APEX out of the hands of Better World. But even for good investigators, it has become extraordinarily difficult to see which of these shaded organisations has truly good intentions. The Broken Circle may very well be right about you. It is a very complicated and very burdensome series of political and moral questions that you have hindered us with, and I say you, because you are a perpetrator of this madness. So you will not come into this place and lambaste us like fools for not seeing your way of things."

"It is a credit to the Broken Circle - and they were already ahead - that when they contacted us to assault Better World, they gave Sanders their information and then left her to her own devices with it. They did not approach our operator to say, as you just did, that they 'needed our help'. Halwick, if a person is in danger, tell us. If the city is in danger, inform us. If a law is going to be broken, let us know. We will respond. But you implied that we might want to help you, personally, and I want it to be very clear that we do not, and we will not tolerate your injecting that into the conversation."

"...now continue."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Had this been one of those Dymaran anime, Declan would have had a persistent "stare" sound effect.

Since this was reality, there was no such sound effect, but the staring was there all the same. Bastion had said all that needed saying, and now was Halwick's turn to explain.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That is what I am trying to tell you! They are coming after us. If we fight them ourselves they will kill us. We, the Circle of the Shared Dream, need to field as much external power as we can as quickly as we can to defeat them or we will die. For reasons that are becoming less clear to me with every passing second, your team was our first choice."

Halwick barked out a short scoff of a laugh. "They are 'ahead' of us, are they? The...Broken Circle, you called them?" He smirked slightly at he said the name, although it was more bemused than contemptuous. "So I am to understand that a group that has kidnapped and experimented on Dreamers, assaulted OUT-SIDE agents with robots, tried to initiate a campaign of mass murder, and, oh yes, attacked members of your own team on several occasions are morally ahead of a group that has done...what? I am aware that Rhett said that Felicity said that Avis said that his powers said that our conflict with the Better World Institute would lead to some manner of disaster, but I can hardly believe you find that entire chain of people sufficiently trustworthy, given what you know of them, that their mere accusation makes us more guilty in your eyes than they are. So what have we done to earn your mistrust, hm? Because here is a truth that you might not know, and you may confirm it with Mr. Hyers if you like: the primary goal of my organization is to maximize human life and minimize death on Aranth. And here's another point you may wish to consider: Avis's claim about our causing a disaster is not credible. If it was we would have changed course of our own accord long before it came to this."

Spoiler: Sean

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To be fair if there was anyone who might be able to slip a lie past your nose it would be the Senator with super-speaking powers. But even that would mean obfuscating your senses, controlling his biological reactions so perfectly that you couldn't tell if he was speaking truly or falsely. But just as lies have a scent, so does truth. Maybe not in the day-to-day scale of people simply deigning not to lie. But when somebody speaks with a conviction on a subject they both truly believe and are personally invested in, that's something you can tell. Halwick may still be incorrect or misinformed, but he is undeniably being honest.

"Surely it can't just be operating in secret. There are plenty of powerful Dreamers who do not advertise their power. Just because we do not act in the open does not mean our intentions are malign. Just because we have to take the occasional convoluted, and even questionable action to achieve our goals does not mean we cannot be trusted. I should think you of all people should be able to agree with that, Mr. Steele."

Spoiler

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Halwick just knows everybody's secrets, evidently. Taking bets on whether he knows about Marina. Bastion take a Hero Point as if you need any more.

[Llyarden]

Sean frowned slightly as Halwick berated them - he wasn't really paying much attention to the 'we're the good guys really' spiel, but some of the rest of what Halwick was saying was interesting (though it sounded rather like the Senator was trying to avoid explaining anything in detail as much as possible.) Maybe that's why they hated Maestro so much...

Then he chuckled. It wasn't a particularly good-humoured chuckle. "Now I get why you're called Filibuster. You do a whole lot of talking and never listen - pretty much the first thing Bastion said was that we would help people if they were in danger."

"As for what you do...yeah, maybe you really are trying to help. I'm willing to believe that you mean well. And I'm sure you have well-educated scientists, politicians, and whatever else in the Circle mulling over what the best course of action is before you do anything. But you aren't omniscient."

"That's the first problem. The second is that powerful Dreamers that are unregistered can get in trouble with the law if they actually use those powers, and IN-SIDE and other covert agencies have internal accountability. But the Circle is a law unto itself, making unilateral decisions on what you think is best for Ilessia - or the world. How is anyone supposed to trust that your decisions are the right ones - especially when we don't even know what decisions you're making or why you're making them? Pointing out everything the Broken Circle has done since your schism is hardly a compelling argument when for all we know the Circle has done a dozen times worse."

"In any case, knowledge of the Circle is spreading. It's not just Truthspeakers that know about you now. And if all these time travellers you're talking about know who you are enough to fight you, it sounds like the Circle isn't going to be a secret forever. So if you're so confident that you're the 'good guys' - or at least not the 'bad guys' - why not let the people you claim to be trying to help judge that for themselves?"

He shook his head slightly. "More importantly, though...why come to us? I don't mean the Circle trying to get us involved - you explained that already. But I refuse to believe that you couldn't have put us on the path of the Broken Circle - and their 'toys,' whatever they are - without ever revealing yourselves. You obviously have some pull in Hero Corps already." Sean nodded to the critical alert on the screen. "So what's so special about what you want us to do that you felt it necessary to reveal yourself as a member of the Circle?"

[manwithaplan]

Sebastian clenched his fists for a moment, but they relaxed again by the time Sean was finished. Bless the man, he thought, for not getting hung up on my name. The Heroes had trusted him a lot less, the first time he met them in this building.

"The Broken Circle is transparent and vulnerable. At least somewhat. You may not understand those things, but they mean a lot to us."

"Even so, Hyer has the right way. It has been made clear that we do not like you, but if your piece is urgent, then say it."

[Quellian-dyrae]

It was like Halwick couldn't resist arguing, like every point he disagreed with he had to answer. "In fact, the first thing he said was 'no'," he pointed out. "You will excuse me for adopting a defensive posture in the face of immediate arbitrary refusal. He also specified that while you were willing to save lives, you were not willing to assist us specifically. And yes, you are quite right, there are absolutely ways by which we could have acted to secure your involvement without revealing anything to you. Some people would call that a show of good faith, but what do I know?"

"As far as our operations go...sure, as far as you know we could be worse. But also as far as you know, we could be doing more good than Hero Corps and the Assembly Cleanup Crew combined! Absence of evidence is not evidence of wrongdoing! And as far as unilateral action and lack of oversight..."

Halwick gave a half-weary, half-exasperated sigh. "You don't know us. You do not know us at all. We are a group of powerful Dreamers - both powerfully gifted and powerful in the more mundane sense of the term - doing what we can. Our power gives us more options for that, and yes, more freedom. We work together and coordinate where we deem it useful to do so. That...is a simplification, but it is more-or-less it. No, we're not immune to being wrong or making mistakes. Yes, we try our best to avoid them. And yes, we are quite confident that our collective analysis is more comprehensive than Avis's single power that can only see the worst-case scenario."

Finally, though, he turned back to the actual matter at hand. "As I said, the...Broken Circle has turned entirely against us. They seek to destroy us. We believe them to have the means to do it. To be more tactically specific, part of the initiation into the Circle involves a ritual that binds our powers. It allows all of us to draw from each other's powers in times of need. It also renders all of us immune to one another's powers. However, our understanding is they have secured the assistance of those thieves that tried to assassinate Senator Pawlitzki, and that the procedures they used to supplement their personal powers will be sufficient to either overcome or circumvent the protections. We are unsure of the specifics, but regardless, if they are able to wield their powers against us, and we cannot do the same, it is not a battle we can win."

"We came to you for assistance because you were already fighting them, you are already at least minimally informed about us so there would be less risk of exposure and less need to explain things, and frankly the Heroes of Millaine are one of the most powerful cohesive teams in the Corps. That you have already battled enemies supplemented with this technology or whatever it is was also a factor. What else do you want to know?"

[manwithaplan]

"...Are you saying that you have a lead on Felicity's people, and you want us to bring them in right now?"

"That would have been a superior opening statement, sir."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Mr. Steele?

It's always nice when you get to know your teammate's name from someone else...but hey, at least he finally knew it. Well, his surname, but that was a start. Oddly familiar, though.

"Yeah, it would've." Declan said, finally breaking his silence. "Senator. If you have intel that would save lives, then out with it. We will do our jobs. But that's it. If that aligns with your goals, then good. But don't even think about trying to use us. I've had enough of that."

Then, having said his piece, he fell silent again.

Right, wasn't that guy named Steele!? The one who seemed pretty eager to help us? Ah, no, wait, but he was a PE, not an operator...

For the briefest of instants, Declan looked inquisitively at Bastion before refocusing on the Senator. No distractions.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Halwick got an exasperated look on his face. "Are you willfully mis- No, listen. What we know is that they are going to attack us. Sometime today, or at the latest within the next few days, as best we can determine. We want you to defend us and in doing so stop them. There is no distinction between working with us and saving lives in this case. You can work with us, save our lives, and defeat the Broken Circle, or you can refuse and we will try to get assistance elsewhere. This will in all probability put both our lives and the lives of whoever we get to help us at greater risk, because whoever we get to help us will not be the Heroes of Millaine. That is why my opening statement was 'the Circle needs your help'. I am not withholding information. This is a simple matter. We need your help, will you help us?"

[Llyarden]

Well, 'the Broken Circle is going to attack us in the very near future and we can't fight back' would've been a more useful start to the conversation than 'the Circle needs your help.' But I guess it would've been less dramatic, and Arch forbid a politician say something simple when something impressive-sounding would do.

Sean was quiet for a few moments. "So, I'm assuming you already thought all this through before you ever came here, but for the sake of saying it aloud - if you want our help, the Circle's gonna have to reveal itself to us. Not just you, Senator, but all your members, contacts, supporters, whatever. We can't protect people we don't know are there. Oh, and I guess we'd need to know how this 'draw power' thing works, too," he added, after a moment's thought. It sounds like Copycat's power...

"Though...if this whole issue is caused by the Circle's existence preventing you fighting back, can't you just...I don't know, de-Circle-ise or something?" He gave a slight shrug - he assumed there was some reason they couldn't (though an organisation you couldn't leave even if you wanted to didn't exactly scream 'benevolent') but there was no sense in not asking.

"Oh, and what are these toys you were talking about?"

[manwithaplan]

Bastion glanced back at Declan for a moment. His head tilted, like some sort of power-armoured wink, and then they were back to conversation.

"The coloured suits," he said to Sean. "Power augmentation, skill augmentation. A series of personal enhancements. Hero-Levels fighting as if they were Nation-Class, and with augmentative magical weapons. I have successfully reverse-engineered many of the supplementing properties of those weapons, and produced a prototype for my operator outside. Mine is less conservative than the models we were up against."

Turning back to Halwick, he nodded. "Hyer has said many things that I agree with here, but my support will not be conditional in that way. Keep as many of your secrets as you please, but if you know where to find these renegades, I will take them on."

[Zelphas]

Marina sighs, looking over the ongoing news with seeming disinterest. Nothing major. If it was something major, then it'd be on the news, and that's why they'd call us all in. It's nothing major.

...

A few seconds later, Marina glances down at her phone again, frowning slightly. She considers for a long moment, then shoots off a quick text. It's still probably nothing. It's almost definitely nothing.

----

A few moments later, Sean's phone would buzz.

Spoiler: The Text

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If it's an emergency, tell me where to go to help.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"...very well."

"So, how will this work, Senator? We can't be full time bodyguards." Declan said, curtly. They were paid to be on standby at the base. They couldn't just desert their post and hope nothing else happened in the meantime.

Then, something clicked.

"...and yeah, Senator. How does this power sharing work? Because we could certainly benefit from sharing powers among us."

Spoiler: OOC

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Thought I posted already. Sorry! >.<

[Quellian-dyrae]

Halwick nodded to Bastion as he answered Sean's question. "That is a more thorough accounting than I could have provided. We don't know the specifics of what resources they have assembled, just the general source and that it is almost certainly sufficient to circumvent or, much less likely, overpower the bindings. If they are relying on technology and augmentations rather than their own powers I suppose that would do it."

He seemed at least a little mollified as the discussion seemed to turn to the practicalities of helping rather than the question of it. "I'm afraid I must apologize that I may not be able to answer all of your questions.
It is not that I do not see the value in full disclosure, but the bindings we accept to join the Circle prohibit more than just using our powers against each other. Much of what I have said here I am only able to tell you because you are already aware of our existence and the majority of the Circle has approved speaking of it. There are some matters that even given such conditions I am unable to speak of. Or, more accurately, unable to communicate to you. If you doubt me in this, you are welcome to ask Mr. Kader what he heard me say when you had first arrived."

"The specifics of how we share our powers is unfortunately one of those things. What I can tell you is that it is not something we can offer freely, regardless of the tactical merit. It isn't an a la carte selection of fancy powers. It's all or nothing. I could go on about how this would likely impose limits upon you in the future that you are unlikely to appreciate, but it's a moot point; to induct you into the Circle would make the Broken Circle just as immune to your powers as they are to ours." He considered for a moment before appending, "Although I suppose that would be of little concern in Mr. Reynolds's case, given the purely defensive nature of his powers. Similarly, no, joining the Circle is not like joining some club or new job. The bindings involved protect many of our secrets; once you have accepted them...well, it's like signing a contract, only rather moreso. You can cease to come to meetings or take part in the Shared Dream, but the restrictions you agreed to remain in force."

"I am, in fact, unable to personally tell you the identities of other members of the Circle. We may reveal ourselves, but not each other, unless directly authorized by the individual in question. While we voted before I came here on what generalities I could reveal, we did not discuss revealing our identities. The reason for this is that you should not actually need them."

"As you say, Mr. Reynolds, you could not be expected to simply stand constant guard for us. There are too many of us, and to gather in one location would simply present too easy a target. Either we would have to be sequestered away from you, opening up the possibility that they bypass you entirely, or we would have to be in your presence during the battle, exposing us to area attack. Likewise, presenting a concentrated target for them to attack gives them the option of whelming forces against us. That would force us to enlist a larger defense force, which would inevitably lead to more casualties on both sides."

"And this is the other reason we came to you first. Your team has a unique tool that, with a bit of improvement, will allow us to ensure that whatever their plan of attack, you will be able to respond to it. Those beacons that were set up for your teleportation device. With a few upgrades to the device itself to extend its range and tie the rapid response functionality to certain alternative triggers, and the beacons to track the appropriate markers, you will be able to detect and instantly transport yourselves to any member of the Circle that isn't in a projection-blocked location. They'll likely want to target us when we are outside of projection blockers anyway, so they will be able to discern our locations and expect minimal security. We will simply make sure not to travel together. Any time multiple members of the Circle are detected in the same location, it will have to be them, either together or coming after one of us; we set up automated alerts for that, and as soon as you get them, you teleport over and hit them full force."

"Is there anything I missed, or do you have any new questions knowing what you now do? And most importantly, does the plan of action sound viable, and do you have any suggestions for improving on it?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"...Well, obviously I didn't mean joining your Circle. I meant making a second. For us." Declan said, frowning at Halwick. He heard him the first time, when he said the Circle binding was making them defenceless. But two different bindings shouldn't interact with each other. "Making us stronger should be in your best interest, now."

[Llyarden]

While Halwick talked, Sean...kinda closed his eyes for a few moments, just listening. The sudden chiming of his phone got his attention, and when he opened them again they were almost visibly shining an orange-ish yellow before fading back to their normal hue, and he pulled out his phone, glanced at the message, and started composing a reply while he spoke. It was, perhaps, rather impolite of him to just randomly respond to a text in the middle of the important meeting...or maybe he'd set his phone up to play a different set of ringtones if Waterworks contacted him. One of those two for sure.

"Just calling us in when there are multiple 'Circle' members together isn't a guarantee by any means," he observed. "Between the powersuit team that attacked Senator Pawlitzki, their demons, Fillmore's nanomorphs, Moreau's 'Zen Ragers,' plus any remaining people who are on their side like Anderson was, anyone Gosselin can manipulate into working for them, and anyone they can control with any powers they steal from other Circle members...a lot of that relies on them having had time and resources to prepare, so maybe it's just the nine of them. But even then, they can send a pretty damn big force against a single Circle member just in the form of the powersuit team alone without triggering a multiple-Circle-member alert. And unlike you, I assume they'll have no compunctions whatsoever about revealing your identities to their people."

"They have Amelia Gosselin, plus whatever ability you used to predict their attack would happen in the next few days. They know your capabilities even if we don't, and they will have almost certainly seen this coming."

"I'm not saying it's a bad idea," he added. "But we need more."

"And even if you can't tell us how the power sharing works, can you at least tell us what sort of power aside from their own and each others' they'll have access to? Because...y'know, if they can turn into ghosts or something because one of the Circle can, that's gonna be a problem." He glanced around at the almost entirely physical-force-based team.

Spoiler: Waterworks

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Not exactly. The Circle believe that the Broken Circle, together with the demon summoners that escaped our battle on Salenseal island, are going to attack them in the next few days. They want us to be ready to respond and protect anyone who gets attacked, and take down the Broken Circle and powersuit team. Still working out details.

[manwithaplan]

Bastion shrugged.

"Precognitive counter-operation. With a web of seers, we can confuse their predictions and get the advantage on them."

"Kay Jordan has the ability, as does Magnus Mindrider. I can also gather some operators from the Verdanian Corps, and..."

Something nearly dropped off his tongue before he paused. Light bulb.

"If you make your own Circle, include a precognitive Dreamer. Then Declan and Sean can also participate."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I see," Halwick answered Declan, considering for a moment. "An interesting thought, but unfortunately not one we are in a position to implement. The original process that created the Shared Dream was done long ago, none of the people originally involved are still alive today. We are able to add new members into it, but creating a new one...I won't call it impossible, but it would take someone with extensive experience in direct shaping of Spiritual Energy. A master ritualist, or a Dreamer with the power of magic. And they would need a full knowledge of how the process works, which as I said cannot be shared outside the Circle. We had a member who would have been capable of it. We no longer do," this last was said flatly.

He answered Sean with a slender smile. "Fortunately, the situation is not so dire as all that. Fillmore's nanomorphs have already been removed from the equation when you helped SIDE capture his lair. I suppose it's not impossible that there might be a couple of stragglers, or maybe he managed to build a new one or two since then, but he no longer has the forces he once did. Felicity's access to Dreamers to use her drugs on has likewise been substantially curtailed thanks to your efforts, and we have not seen any pattern of missing Dreamers that suggests she is trying to create more of her drug slaves."

"As for the...'powersuit team' as you call them, the thieves really, while we don't have the details of what exactly they're doing for them, we were able to postcognitively view their encounter with the Broken Circle. In short, the Broken Circle offered them a job, they were...skeptical of the benefit to them, and the Broken Circle were unwilling to take no for an answer. As best we can tell, they aren't working with them intentionally, which means they would not make a good attack team - they'd just use the opportunity to flee. I suppose Felicity could drug them, but given that most of their powersets involve clarity of mind, I expect that what they would gain in loyalty they would lose in effectiveness. They might be able to get the imagination controller to summon a few demons or other minions, I suppose, but the sort of city-scale invasion they had performed previously almost certainly requires elaborate setup, and would draw fire of all sides while being trivially easy for a Circle member to escape. It's simply impractical."

"But in any event, all of those options are of little importance for our purposes for one key reason - the bindings only protect the Broken Circle themselves, and they are the only ones we need you to protect us against. If they wish to field other forces against us, we don't need you to jump in. We are quite capable of defending ourselves. I am fairly confident that they no longer have the resources to field truly credible threats beyond themselves, but even if I'm wrong, we can easily escape some minion horde and allow SIDE and Hero Corps to dispatch them as they usually would. Or if they attack us backed by their minions, then we just need you to handle the Broken Circle themselves, and you can leave whatever forces they bring with them to us. If it's more than we expect then more of us can teleport in to assist."

He frowned when Sean said they wouldn't have compunctions against revealing their identities to others. "As I said, the secrets I keep are not because I do not recognize the value in giving you information. I am bound not to communicate certain secrets. I literally cannot do it even if I want to. And yes, they are too. They might be able to use some technological cheats to get around the protections against each other's powers, but that doesn't mean the rest of the binds are broken. They can't tell others any secrets that I couldn't. Indeed, their ability to disclose information about the Circle is more restrained than mine, since I have the majority of the Circle behind me to authorize certain disclosures, and they do not."

"As far as what powers they can access through the Shared Dream...I can't speak to specifics, but it is honestly safest to assume that they have access to functionally any power that does not have an extremely narrow niche. That is, don't expect them to have powers that are highly specialized for a specific situation, but if you're asking generally 'can they do X' the answer is probably yes. However, the truth is that we tend to use each other's powers more for convenience and utility than highly tactically. When we use one another's powers, they will either be weaker than our own powers, or take substantially more effort to utilize at full strength. And we don't have the same sort of experience with them as we do our own powers, so more advanced applications don't come especially easily to us. And using one another's powers does come at a non-trivial cost in energy; we can't fuel all of our own powers simultaneously. So while you should be prepared for tricks, it is likely that the majority of what they will be doing will be drawn from their own powers. Although Amelia is admittedly an exception. Her hyper-analysis power does make her especially gifted at utilizing the powers of other Circle members to great effect. In the past she was often able to tell us how we could use our own powers to greater effect than we normally do."

[Llyarden]

Using their powers better than they can...well, that sounds unpleasantly familiar.

"It sounds like you know about these 'thieves,' Senator. Since I assume they aren't protected by the Circle's secrecy...spell, or whatever...can you tell us anything about them - or their suits? At best, we might even be able to get them on our side, but even if that isn't feasible...I'm not really a tech guy, but if we could find some sort of vulnerability in those suits that we could exploit at a convenient moment, it might cause a little confusion in the Broken Circle's plans if nothing else."

Then Sean was quiet for a few moments. It didn't...seem like he was still thinking about the plan, exactly - or at least, not in strategic terms any more.

"Uh, one other thing, Senator. And...I'm sorry to have to ask this, but...what happens if the Broken Circle goes after people the Circle's members care about? You said people can withdraw from the Shared Dream, so it sounds like you can choose to not connect with each other and act alone, if you wanted to - or if you were pressured to. Would they all be willing to put their loved ones' safety at risk to warn the rest of you - us - that the Broken Circle was making a move?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"...I see." Declan replied, then fell into silence again, mulling over the plan to try and find holes in it.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"We have gathered some information on the thieves themselves, although as I've said, we're not particularly clear on the exact process they used to improve their combat power so dramatically, and we can't be certain that the process will be identical for the Broken Circle. But in terms of the individuals involved, the imagination controller is Ayako Hall. He's rumored to have masterminded several high-profile but unsolved heists throughout the Arbera region. The power manipulator is - or, at least, most commonly goes by - Steffie McGee, a probable grifter who has been...accused of committing several con jobs in Arbera. The hyperintellect is Bernard Kramer, a rather notorious Adaran hacker. The mage is Michigo Parris, who is a top suspect in several high-value thieveries throughout the country. And then the skill modifier is Matfey Michael, who has a reputation in the criminal world as a highly competent hit man."

"And before you ask, most of this information we acquired through our contacts in SIDE and other law enforcement, we aren't sitting on evidence of a bunch of master criminals, it's just that most of what they have is hearsay and circumstantial. Enough to paint a fairly clear picture of who they are and what they've done, but not enough to convict. ...Well, I suppose they could convict Kramer and Michael if they could actually track them down, but that's another matter."

"In any event, they're all Dreamers of non-trivial personal power. Hero-level by all accounts, but of course, all that really means is that if they were actually targeted by Hero Corps they could put up a halfway decent fight. Or that was the case before they banded together, anyway. We've come to the conclusion that they deluded themselves into believing that if the government regulated Hero Corps more strictly, it would make things easier on them, and that's why they targeted Pawlitzki." So, evidently, Halwick wasn't going to admit to being in any way wrong about the Hearing. Well, what do you expect? It hardly mattered; last news was the law wasn't even going to make it out of committee, let alone get passed. (Seriously you guys have racked up so many bonuses against it it's pretty much dead as the APEX dragon. I don't know if I ever really made that clear.)

Halwick had a boss of a poker face, but Sean could still catch a brief scent of pain and anger when he asked his second question, before both emotions were ruthlessly quashed. "They...could try," he admitted. "As we do not advertise our power or connections, we do not have the luxury of making the sort of grand threats that Hero Corps or the Ilessian government makes to curtail such possibilities. Not, of course, that anyone targeting the loved ones of a member of the Circle should expect anything less than a ruinous response in return." ...Yeah, he totally wasn't talking about the Broken Circle there. "But while such a strategy could prove effective in taking down a few of us, we would notice the pattern. And I think they know that. The goals and the secrets of the Circle are worth our lives, come down to it, but if the lives of those closest to us were on the line...I am quite certain I am not the only one of us who would deem that a change in the equation. If they do that, if it comes down to that..."

He paused for a moment, considered, and nodded slightly to himself as he came to a resolution.

"I think that would leave us no choice but to declare war. Whelm all forces, whatever the risk and cost, to ensure their annihilation. It would get...messy. Again, the reason we are coming to you is because we believe you have not just the personal fighting power, but the concentration of power, necessary to deal with them directly, while containing the risk of collateral damage and...other fallout. Other options increase the risk to both us and others, and as such we would prefer to avoid them. But if they forced our hand...well, those options still exist."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Heh."

That sweet, sweet feeling of being right. Well, Halwick would never admit it, given that he framed the thieves as having deluded themselves, but that was satisfying enough.

Back to the matter a hand, though, it all seemed more or less settled, as far as Declan was concerned; he was somewhat curious as to what "whel all forces" referred to, but he was also sure Halwick wouldn't answer, so he didn't bother asking, opting to remain silent instead.

[Llyarden]

"I see," Sean said, quietly. "Then..."

He sighed.

"I appreciate you probably can't give out this information yourself, but...could the Circle put us in contact with the people they care about? Hopefully you're right and the Broken Circle just go for you directly, but if they don't...well, like you said, the reason you came to us is because we can fight them without as much risk to other people."

"I know I've made it pretty obvious that I think the Circle should reveal itself, and I still believe that. But that being said...I'd rather be part of keeping the Circle a secret than risk innocent people getting hurt. It's up to you whether you trust me on that."

He paused for a moment. "Also...you mentioned Gosslein's ability to use your shared powers better than their owners can. Does that mean you can tell us more about the personal powers of the other Broken Circle members, too? Most of what we have to go on is seeing their handiwork and a two- or three-word summary of their powers, so...anything more you can tell us would help."

[manwithaplan]

Bastion had checked out.

Inside his helmet, he was firing off half a dozen text messages at once.

[Operator Jordan, have you been doing your readings on precognitive networks? There is about to be a major engagement. I want you managing a unit of seers.]

[Mindrider, hope you're safe and comfortable. Millaine Crew wants a precog-net to stop the secret society running Ilessia from being destroyed by a splinter cell. Do you have free time? Would you like to get involved?]

[Miss me, Kiera? I need to get some alone time with Thomas today. Got a job for you too, if you're precog and want leverage with the crazy Dreamer cult at the top of Ilessia. No pressure though.]

[Bastion here. I am preparing a precog net for a very important engagement. I don't know who you are, but at some point I had this number pinned in my folder; says you're associated with one Serena Valor. Can you get me in touch with her today?]

[They call you Prophet? I don't think we've met, but you're in my folder for precognitive Dreamers. Would you like to help Millaine's team this week with a network?]

Spoiler

Show

3 Successes to recruit Kay.
Edit Scene to recruit Magnus.
1 Success with Kiera to get a fair audience with Copycat.
6 Successes to recruit Selena and Prophet.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I will relay your offer, but I wouldn't expect much of a response. It reveals no secrets to say that our families are spread throughout and beyond Ilessia. All matters of trust and secrecy aside, to protect them all, you would need to get them all together, would you not? Which so doing would make them collectively a more tempting target. That said, your general reasoning is sound. There is little reason not to step up security measures for the time being in the general sense."

Halwick answered with a slender smile. It might have been the closest he'd come to an indication of approval in the entire conversation. "Indeed, while I am prohibited from revealing the powers of another Circle member to one who does not already know them, simply discussing powers that one already knows about is not opposed to the Circle's bindings.
It's a little gauche, but I suppose that can be forgiven seeing as they're trying to kill us," he said dryly.

"Do bear in mind what I said before, though - we have access to each others powers, but we are not experts in their use. They may be capable of things I am not aware of. And of course, I have no idea what new options the thieves' tech might offer them."

"But basically, Amelia's power is hyper-analysis. She understands anything she sees, hears, or knows about. She can look at a Dreamer and know its powers, look at a piece of technology and know what it does, even look at a trained fighter and know exactly how they can fight. She can't...predict the future, quite, but she can analyze probabilities in an instant and is able to perceive a narrow course of events that will lead to specific short-term outcomes. This is something you cannot underestimate. Her power is not combat-focused whatsoever in itself. She cannot kill with a look, or unleash harmful energies. She has no particular physical enhancement and as far as I know has not dedicated any particular effort to combat training. It's just...if there is a way to disable her enemy, or to avoid an attack - or even turn an attack back upon her foe - she will see it, and she will be perfectly able to take it. However, her power is not without flaw. It does require a certain amount of attention and intention - she can fail to analyze that which she does not wish to look at too closely. And she is not actually hyper-intelligent, so she can only process so much information at once. Her predictive powers work best in the short-term, and with fewer variables. It's also fair to say that her power tells her what can happen, what is more or less likely to happen, and what needs to happen to achieve a specific result, but it can't tell her what will happen."

"Avis is a Dark Precog. His power is mainly just precognition, but it is limited to predictions of dire events - he can only see the worst possible futures. Calamities, disasters, mass deaths, and so on. He can focus his power to see the future on a smaller scale, but still only dark futures - he could predict how a single person is likely to die, how a single business venture could fail, and so on, but he couldn't predict, say, who a person is likely to marry. I know that he is also able to...sort of project his predictions onto people, or...steal bad events from the future and hit people with them in the present...or something along those lines.
Alter probabilities to trend towards bad ends, maybe. I've never been quite clear on the details. He can definitely use his powers to harm and to kill, and I...believe he can use them to make indirect harm more likely to happen, although that could just be him predicting harm that was already likely to occur." Halwick shrugged. "He can also show people visions of their own impending perils to distract or hamper them. I know it's proven more effective than one might expect in combat, I'm not sure if it's just because his visions are that disturbing or if this also influences probability against them."

"Felicity is a biochemical manipulator. The key tactical point to understand about her powers is that there should have been a slash between 'bio' and 'chemical'. She isn't just capable of manipulating chemicals that impact biology; she can manipulate biology and manipulate chemicals. She is a powerful healer and regenerator, and able to attack with a vast array of substances - poisons, acids, diseases, glues, oils, drugs, and so on. But do be aware that she doesn't need to use a chemical to harm people - she can directly alter an enemy's biology in all manner of harmful ways. And as you've seen, she is able to alter the biochemistry of the brain to exert influence. She is also quite capable of heightening her strength, speed, and so on. She can both augment and impair the physical traits and physiologies of others."

"Nathan's only Dreamer power is his technopathy. As technopath's go he's a powerful one, but not really anything out of the ordinary. Interface with and control technology from afar, same as any of them. It's his genius in inventing and Dreamtech, specifically robots and nanotech, that really make him dangerous. Even without his squadron of nanomorphs, he will still have access to a suit of nanomorphic powered armor. I'm sorry to say that I don't have the faintest idea of what all it might be capable of, but he has bragged in the past that despite being human-scale and actually less bulky than the modern Ilessian suits, it is equipped with technology to rival a mid-scale mecha."

Meanwhile, Bastion got some texts back.

There were...several typing notifications popping on and off the thread with Kay, before she finally sent back, Me?

Magnus's text was more direct. The secret society running Ilessia?
Might need to fill me in on that one, but yeah I can make some time.

Kiera responded, Heya! Nah never been much for divinations myself, but I'll let him know.
He'll probably just mindlink you.

Spoiler: Bastion

Show

Sure enough, maybe a minute or two later, Copycat's voice drifted into your headspace. ~Kiera said you wanted to talk,~ he sent, inflecting it more as a prompt than as a question.

[manwithaplan]

"Bring all of them on. A squadron of four is a manageable threat, even if their abilities are considerable. My operator will also be available to assist us."

Turning around, the Bastion moved back to the door, sliding it open and calling to Murderblade.

"Bring me that case. It is time for a new set of drills."

-

To Kay: Do not fear your potential, Kay. I still believe in you.
Shall I send you the mission dossier?

To Magnus: Yes, we should convene over everything that has developed. I will prepare a dossier for you.

To Kiera: Thank you for your kindness.

Spoiler: Quellian

Show

Yes, thanks for tuning in. I'll make this simple.

Whatever you've heard about the Circle of Shared Dreams, they're real. Nathan, Amelia, Felicity, and Avis are in. Or they were - they went rogue, and they're planning an attack on the rest of the membership.

As part of assisting us in our effort to protect them, the Circle is going to use our teleportation beacons to create a device that can track their own positions.

I want to reverse-engineer this device; leverage against the Circle will be a very valuable thing for me. But it's not going to be easy.

I'm setting up a network of seers, ostensibly to feed us valuable predictions. I have established for them a leader with no experience in this area. Using your superior powers, I want you to backdoor this network and use the extra processing power to provide tactical support for my secret mission.

If you do this, my first priority in blackmailing the Circle's constituents will be to wipe out those ugly rumours that are on you. They have all the connections you can think of - even Halwick is among them. Whether you're worried about the legal consequences, the effect on your reputation, or your relationships, I'll have them solve all of it.

That's the deal, Thomas.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Not combat focused? I saw her kill a power armoured Haptaran with a fork. Or was it a spoon?" Declan commented.

So there were two people who would target his weakspots, and one other who could in all likeness shut down his coating. Could there be a worse matchup?

"Since you can use all their powers, I don't suppose you can work with Maestro to make some power dampeners or something?" he asked the Senator.