I know... I know. I'm sorry.
Discussions go
here, as usual.
Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
*******
THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE, PART II: COURTSHIP AND CRIME FIGHTING
Chapter Eight - Buried Secrets
"No offense, Sorina, but I don't think you realize exactly what you're dealing with here," Raymond was saying the following morning as he and Sorina entered Phalanx Headquarters. "The raw computational power needed for that kind of work is almost off the scale." Firmly slamming the door behind him to shut out the mob of reporters that had apparently camped overnight on their doorstep, he sighed and pulled off his helmet.
"The theory is perfectly sound," she protested, following him down the hall and pushing her goggles up onto the top of her head. "Besides, I've learned not to underestimate the ingenuity of college students. All you have to do is tell them that something is nearly impossible, and they fall over themselves trying to prove it can be done."
"Prove what can be done?" Manticore asked, coming out of the decrypt room with a sheaf of papers. "And did I just hear the front door slam?"
"That was me," Raymond admitted. "Damn reporters outside."
"Yeah, well, States' dating life is always big news, and 'freedom of the press' is one of those things we're
supposed to protect. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Oh... yes, we were talking about a class that I'm teaching next week on the use of Brownian motion for programming advanced computations and artificial intelligences," Sorina explained as she paused to shake hands with Manticore.
"Brownian what?"
Raymond grinned. "It's a scientific theory where you tag a molecule and then try to predict where it's going to end up after a certain length of time. The easiest version is to use a liquid, then a gas, then a superheated plasma."
"But isn't it nearly completely random?" Manticore asked, frowning.
"Almost certainly, considering the laws of probability," Sorina began, "but if you consider that no two molecules can occupy the same space, and-"
The archer cut her off by raising his hands in surrender. "Never mind, forget I asked. Science is Posi's gig, not mine. By the way, since we're likely to be holed up in here for a while thanks to the press, the breakfast fairy paid us a visit - there's coffee and bagels in the kitchen if you two want some. And don't worry, man - there's at least a couple sourdough for you, and some dark Russian rye for the good doctor here."
"What about tea?" Sorina asked hopefully, but Raymond gave her a slight push down the hall in the direction of the kitchen.
"Come on, come on, you're between me and caffeine. If we make some serious progress today, we'll see about getting a samovar and tea set for you that you can keep here."
"Promises, promises," she murmured, entering the kitchen behind him where true to his word, Manticore had left several bags of bagels for the Phalanx members. "As if you could afford a decent samovar..."
"As a matter of fact, I can. And I'm guessing that Steve hasn't been in here yet, or most of these would be-" Raymond was saying when a red-blue blur zoomed into the room, snatched a bag off the table and vanished back out into the hallway. "-gone."
An instant later, Steve was back, glaring into the fridge. "Damn it, who finished off the last of the peanut butter?"
"You did," Raymond reminded him as Sorina sliced a rye bagel in half and began adding lox and cream cheese. Rummaging around in the bags, he found a fresh jar of peanut butter and tossed it toward his roommate, who easily caught it and frowned. "Crunchy?"
"Oh, shut up and stop complaining."
Pouring two steaming mugs of coffee for himself and Sorina, he carried them down the hall to his lab while she followed with two plates of bagels. "So how much data do you think Gaussian actually sent over?"
"I've no idea," she admitted. "I did leave instructions to send over any pertinent information based on what the lab techs found, so it could be a lot, or..."
"... it could be nothing," he finished, handing her a mug after she'd set the plates down on the workbench. She clinked her mug lightly against his, murmuring "
Za vas."
"What's that mean?"
"It means 'to you.'"
They drained their mugs, set them aside, and then pulled up chairs side by side in front of the large bank of computer monitors, bagels in easy reach. Out of habit, Raymond pulled over one of his notebooks for the occasional random stray thought, then he gestured for Sorina to get started.
"You're more familiar with Vanguard's data than I am you lead, I'll query as we go."
Her fingers were already tapping at the keyboards as she pulled up the first several files the Vanguard techs had sent. "It looks like this is... energy readings. These are maps... This one is... I'm not sure yet, but it might be the data files we tried to pull off those terminals in their communications room. This must be what they got off the scanners we brought back from the War Zone."
Raymond remembered the room they'd found in the caverns beneath the crashed Rikti mothership. After they'd discovered a highly sophisticated communications center, he, Sorina, and the rest of their Vanguard team had conducted an impromptu data raid, hoping that the scientists back at the Vanguard base would be able to decipher it.
He leaned forward to peer at the monitors. Sure enough, there were charts depicting energy signatures. "Those... see if you can coordinate them into one cohesive chart." Almost without thinking, he started doodling in his notebook, creating a sort of free-form flow chart referencing filenames so that he'd have something to work with later.
As Sorina continued to type, she began compiling the data into what constituted a typical Rikti profile. "So what this looks like is the regular Rikti we were slugging it out with along the way."
He typed in a few commands at a second keyboard and information began scrolling past. "So far, nothing special that I can see... admittedly, I'm not as up on the latest Rikti research as you are." He managed to keep the resentment out of his voice, but they both knew that Raymond and the other Phalanx members still quietly resented Vanguard's 'hands-off' attitude when it came to their ongoing battle with the Rikti.
"It wasn't until those others came through the portal that things went strange," she agreed, continuing to sort through the data. "This segment right here... this is the portal itself. Those are the generators. And judging by the sheer levels of energy, these would be Hro'Dtohz's scans, so..."
"That... right there... can you get more info on that?" He pointed to a particular segment of the spectrum, and Sorina focused in on it. "It doesn't look like theirs the signatures are all wrong. And that's not Circle magic, either." Tapping the keys again, he pulled up his files on the Circle of Thorns, and a depiction of their magical energy appeared on the screen. When compared to the typical Rikti magus, the similarities were clear.
"That's probably Av'Adn and his crew." Reaching across her to type at her keyboard, he created a second profile to compare with the first.
"So if it's not Thorns magic, then what?" she mused, taking an idle bite from her bagel as she leaned back in her chair.
"There's got to be something different about them... something that sets them apart from other Rikti to allow them to use magic."
"Your existence: abomination among Rikti! Your status: nothing!"
The big Rikti leader had been furious when Av'Adn had arrived with his cadre, not only because of their interference in his battle with the Vanguard team, but...
"Hro'Dtohz seemed rather insistent that there was something... wrong with that group," he said slowly, picking up a bagel of his own but not actually taking a bite. Instead, he waved it at the monitors where the two profiles of the Rikti were slowly compiling. "The Rikti already engage in genetic engineering... not to mention they use cybernetic implants to enhance their strength and power."
Then he frowned.
"Sorina, did they send over any biometric data on those other Rikti? Genetic info of any kind?"
She wiped her hands with a napkin and began typing again. "Yes... here, let's take a look."
Another set of side-by-side comparison images appeared and began taking shape Rikti DNA sequences both from the typical Rikti that Vanguard had fought, and the ones that Vale and his group had managed to secure just before...
Raymond grimaced to himself and took a bite of his bagel, trying not to remember those last hellish moments in the War Zone where six good men and women had given their lives to save Sorina's and his. Still, the images came unbidden into his mind...
Phillips disintegrating in a hail of blaster fire and magic...
Etienne, Carleton, and Halley caught in the explosions of the sabotaged generators...
Vale and St. John's suicidal attacks giving himself and Sorina a chance to escape...
Briefly closing his eyes, he wondered if he'd ever be able to forget that feeling of sickening helplessness as he'd stood there and watched them all die.
"What the hell are they DOING?!" he shouted over the chaos, when he saw Major Vale draw his arm back and hurl something, end over end, straight at Sorina. A moment later, the other soldier did the same, and Sorina stretched out her hand. Telekinetically reaching out, she drew the two projectiles toward her, catching them in her palms just as Raymonds blasts blew the portal ring completely apart...
Vales and St. Johns military tags, each one wrapped around a hypo-syringe...
"For... Vanguard..."
Opening his eyes once again, he let out a long, quiet sigh.
I may not have been able to save you, but I promise you, all of you, I won't let your sacrifices be in vain...
*****
Sorina abruptly sat up in her chair, then leaned forward, using a pencil to trace a section of the DNA chain.
"Here... this. This is different."
Raymond peered more closely at it, then frowned. "I could be wrong, but those look like an awful lot like recombinant DNA sequences artificial in origin." He glanced at the DNA chain of the typical Rikti, then back at the representation of Av'Adn and his mages. "Whatever those other Rikti were, they were not a mutation or an evolution their difference is a deliberate one."
"Recombinant DNA? As in perhaps deliberately assimilating a specific type?"
"That'd be my guess." He leaned back in his chair again and took another bite of his bagel, looking thoughtful. "Well... you and I both know that Rikti DNA is based extensively on human DNA. Even if Vanguard wants to keep as firm a lid on that one as possible."
That was one secret he could completely understand Vanguard wanting to keep under wraps. Earth had been devastated during the first Rikti War, and it was widely believed that the Rikti were alien invaders. But Vanguard knew, as did Raymond, Sorina, and select others with Omega Clearance, that the Rikti were in fact from an alternate Earth... and they were the altered remnants of humanity.
He glanced over at Sorina, and was startled to see that she had gone absolutely ashen, her dark eyes wide and staring at the monitors in dawning horror.
"
Nyet... nyet, nyet, nyet, Ne mozhet byt'... eto nevozmozhno..."
"Sorina? Sorina, what's wrong?" he asked in alarm, turning to face her even as she recoiled from the computers.
Looking as though she were about to be ill, she swallowed hard and shut her eyes tightly before covering her face with her hands. "Oh, Raymond... can't you
see?"
Completely confused by her reaction, Raymond turned back to the computer monitors. He tried to clear his mind, allowing the free-flowing chains of thought that so often had served him well in his scientific pursuits.
Two types of Rikti.
Two types of magic-wielding Rikti.
Earth-trapped Rikti using magic stolen from the Circle of Thorns.
Rikti using non-Thorns magic.
Rikti that had subjected themselves to genetic engineering.
With recombinant DNA sequences.
With
human recombinant DNA sequences.
Coming through the portal from the Rikti homeworld.
Which has no magic.
And no normal humans.
And no access from Primal Earth in over seven years.
And then it all fell into place.
"Holy Mary, mother of God," he whispered, feeling an icy chill creeping down his spine.
"
Da," she whispered brokenly, her face still in her hands.
"But we have to be sure... Sorina, how many of Av'Adn's group do we have profiles on?" She turned to look at him, her dark eyes filled with a deep sorrow. "You're thinking it too... I can tell," he said softly. "God, Sorina, I..."
Turning back to the computer, she sifted through the files that Gaussian had sent and eventually had five distinct biometric data sets created on the monitors Av'Adn and his four lieutenants. One by one, she isolated the recombinant DNA sequences from each the biological chains of data that separated them from the rest of the Rikti.
Then she moved slightly to access another computer, and Raymond recognized the familiar logo of Vanguard. She entered a series of passcodes, and glancing over her shoulder, he saw:
DNA REGISTRATION
PROVIDE SEARCH PARAMETERS
For a moment, she lifted her hands from the keys and closed her eyes, and Raymond saw a shudder rack her body. Instinctively, he moved his chair closer to hers and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, wishing that he was wrong, but suspecting that he wasn't.
Slowly at first, then more quickly, she began entering the DNA sequences into the system.
SEARCHING...
MATCH FOUND: Bearer of Aegis
MATCH FOUND: Hero 1
MATCH FOUND: Infernia
MATCH FOUND: Plum Blossom
MATCH FOUND: Ill Wind
MATCH FOUND: Glacia
MATCH FOUND: Prestidigitator
MATCH FOUND: Mystic Maiden
MATCH FOUND: Ruin
MATCH FOUND...
The list went on and on, with almost fifty names appearing.
"Is..." He swallowed hard and tried again. "Is there any chance that..."
"... it could be wrong?" Sorina finished. She slowly shook her head. "Even with only partial matches, the chances that any two individuals, except perhaps identical twins, will have the same DNA profile can be as high as one in one billion or greater."
Together they stared at the monitors and the stark truth revealed there.
"So Av'Adn and his mages..." Raymond whispered, feeling the same sick helplessness once again, "they've been created from the DNA of the members of Omega Team."
*****
For a long time, they sat in silence, staring at the monitors without really saying them.
Jesus... he thought, his mind flashing back to the last days of the first Rikti war. The invasion had been going on for over six months... and humanity had been losing. With the Rikti forces becoming more and more entrenched, it looked as though Earth would be completely lost... until Dr. Steven Sheridan, aka Doc Science, had come up with a last-ditch, desperate plan to save the world. With the help of Statesman and Hero 1, two of the world's greatest heroes, he devised a stratagem to take the battle to the Rikti, and hopefully cut off their connection to their homeworld.
Statesman led Alpha Team, a group of over a thousand united heroes, in a frontal assault against the Rikti. Raymond had originally insisted on joining, but Statesman had ordered otherwise. Instead, he had teamed with relief workers and emergency services, using his scientific experience to keep the citizens of Paragon City alive after the Rikti had destroyed much of the city's infrastructure.
Hero 1, on the other hand, had led Omega Team, a group of fifty magically talented men and women, on a stealth mission to take out the Rikti portal. Knowing that destroying the portal from Earth's side would only be postponing the inevitable, they had opted to travel through to the Rikti homeworld, and disable it from there.
Forty-nine went through... with only the hero Ajax surviving because he'd been caught in a Rikti stasis ray moments before passing through the portal. The rest arrived on the Rikti homeworld and destroyed the portal, but with their only way home gone, and hopelessly outnumbered, it was assumed that the team had perished.
At least we thought
they'd all died... Raymond shuddered. But three years earlier, there had been definitive proof that some of Omega Team had in fact survived their assault. First had been the unexpected return of the sisters Glacia and Infernia. At the start of the second Rikti War, when the earthbound Rikti succeeded in creating a portal back to their homeworld, the sisters had snuck through on a transport, bringing back with them a veritable mine of information on the Rikti homeworld. They'd immediately been seconded to Vanguard, and even now were still helping in the war effort.
But the second... Raymond's hands clenched into fists as the memories washed over him.
Sister Psyche's screams as Rikti energy blasts had torn into her from behind, killing her in an instant.
Synapse's spinal cord severed as he went down in a bloody heap, nearly carved in half by a Rikti gunblade.
Manticore's neck broken by a single brutal blow.
His own armor breached by a Rikti sneak attack... before he'd exploded with the force of a nuclear blast.
And just before he'd died, he'd seen an abomination that had followed the Rikti through the portal to Earth... a twisted and powerful mutated warrior that had almost snapped Ms. Liberty's neck, had nearly killed Statesman...
The Rikti called him the Honoree... but Raymond had known him as Hero 1.
The greatest hero of Omega Team had somehow survived... but the Rikti had warped him, remade him into a weapon against his own race, and the Honoree had only been stopped when Lady Grey and the other leaders of Vanguard arrived and drove him back through the portal, or so Raymond had been told after the Dark Watcher had drawn upon his mystic talents and resurrected the fallen members of the Phalanx.
Since that day, every time the Rikti managed to create a portal to their homeworld, the Honoree would repeatedly come through, aiding the Rikti war effort and demoralizing the hero forces of Earth with the unavoidable fact of his fate. And it was one every hero would share if the Rikti won the war.
"Damn them," he whispered. "It wasn't enough that they warped Hero 1 into whatever godforsaken mutant he is now... this is just..."
"It's worse than that, Raymond," Sorina said quietly, the tremor in her voice not quite under control. "Think about it the
only thing capable of stopping the Rikti was magic. That's why they wiped out the Midnight Squad in the earliest days of the War... as soon as they realized they were vulnerable, they went after the Squad with a vengeance and destroyed them almost overnight." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "And if you believe the rumors, the only reason the Rikti didn't gain more of a foothold underground is because they ran into the Circle of Thorns down there. Vanguard was never able to confirm it, but we suspected that the Rikti had stumbled onto Oranbega, and the Circle fought back."
"That would at least explain where the earthbound Rikti gained their magical powers, then," Raymond said, fighting to keep his emotions under control and trying to treat this as one more scientific investigation. "They encountered the Circle, and somehow mastered the most rudimentary elements of their magic."
Then he realized where Sorina was going with her line of thinking. "Oh good God... if Av'Adn takes control of the Rikti on Earth, and they genetically engineer themselves as capable of using magic... our last advantage over them is gone."
To be continued...
The second story has committed the awful crime of not being finished yet!
