Forging Hephaestus

by Drew Hayes

  The large person with gray skin was a stranger to Tori, as was the blonde gal wearing street clothes and chatting it up with a younger man in red-and-black robes. He at least looked somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t place where she’d seen him. Probably from a crime scene, which he’d then bargained his way out of the consequences of by killing an even worse person. As though sensing her thoughts were on him, he gave her a long glance paired with a toothy smile. Tori noted that his irises were stained a deep maroon. She had no doubt the look was meant to be intimidating, which made it less effective. Even before being paired with Ivan, Tori hadn’t been one to rattle easily. Sharing a house with a living incarnation of destruction had only increased her idea of what constituted as scary.

  The last person in the room, aside from Ivan and Tori, was a middle-aged woman with raven-black hair and a costume done in deep reds. She made a beeline around the table, coming right up to Ivan and giving him a big hug, followed by a peck on the right cheek.

  “Must I schedule one of these every time I want to visit with you?” the woman asked. “It wouldn’t kill you to come around here more often.”

  Ivan nodded slightly; he seemed to be just the tiniest bit uncomfortable by this strange woman’s open display of affection. Tori’s suspicion was quickly confirmed when he dodged the question entirely, gesturing to her and saying, “Morgana, this is my new apprentice. Perhaps you should introduce yourself.”

  “Apologies,” she said, not seeming particularly sorry in the slightest. Still, she turned to Tori and gave a slight bow. “My name is Morgana, and I am the councilor who represents meta-humans that were innately born with their abilities. It is a pleasure to meet you, Apprentice.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, too.” Tori wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this woman, which was par for the course with nearly every other villain she’d met so far. At least Morgana seemed pleasant, and she certainly held herself with an air of earned confidence. Then again, if everyone here was on Ivan and Doctor Mechaniacal’s level, there was no reason they shouldn’t feel confident.

  “Sadly, I don’t think there’s time to do proper introductions around the room, but I can fill you in quickly,” Morgana offered. She turned, pointing to Xelas and the gray-skinned creature still deep in conversation. “Over there are Xelas, the robotic one, and Gork, the tall one. Xelas represents artificially-created beings, be they mechanical or biological, while Gork is the representative of all naturally-occurring nonhuman and alien creatures.”

  Tori was hoping Morgana would also elaborate on just what the hell Gork was, but she kept right on going, pointing to the lady in street clothes and the man with red eyes. “Over there are Stasis and Balaam, Stasis being the woman. She represents all our meta-humans who were turned via accident, experiment, prototype serum... you get the idea. From what I’ve heard about your powers, she would be your councilor.”

  “I’m actually planning on using my technical knowledge to build meta-suits,” Tori said quickly. Morgana shot her a look that spoke to surprise, curiosity, and perhaps just a hint of attentive interest.

  “Well then, that will put you under Doctor Mechaniacal, who you are already acquainted with, since he represents all our science and gadget users. Anyway, Balaam oversees our magic wielders, regardless of the source of their power. And since you likely know that Pseudonym is the representative of our retired members, that should catch you up to speed.” Morgana flashed Tori a dazzling smile, nothing like the dry attempt at intimidation Balaam had thrown her. Tori decided that she liked the woman; it took more strength to be welcoming and kind than scary.

  “Everyone,” Doctor Mechaniacal called, clapping his hands together. “If you could all please take your seats, I think it’s time we got this meeting under way.”

  The rest of the attendees made their way around the horseshoe shaped table, some snagging one of the provided sandwiches as they took a seat. Morgana leaned in and gave Tori a quick hug, pausing only to whisper in her ear.

  “Try not to let them scare you too much, but don’t forget that they are scary people.”

  Then she was gone, hustling across the room to sit on the end of the table. Tori found herself wishing the older woman was seated nearer to Ivan, who plopped down between Xelas and Stasis. She was the first person to show Tori more than perfunctory kindness, and if the warning held any value at all, Tori was going to need every friend she could get.

  Chapter 10

  “As you all know, the reason we’ve called an emergency meeting is that we’ve got a confluence on the horizon, and a much wider window than we prefer working with,” Doctor Mechaniacal said.

  Ivan had always found it impressive that Wade could deliver his speeches in a way that was affable yet still held an air of authority. Leading this group was never an easy effort; hold the reins too loosely and they’d run wild, too tightly and they would rebel. Only Wade, with his gentle expressions and powerful mind, had managed to do it consistently and well over the years. Once or twice, he’d tried to get Ivan to take on leadership roles, and each attempt had been an unmitigated disaster.

  “We’ve had our mystics consulting oracles and looking for portents while the tech department analyzed data on geospatial anomalies and quantum oscillations,” Doctor Mechaniacal continued. “All signs point to the window for the confluence opening up on Thursday night and closing by Monday morning. That means we’ve got a little over seventy-two hours where the confluence could strike, and by current indications, it’s going to be a doozy.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Balaam interrupted. He paused for a moment to look around the room, clearly curious to see if someone would call him out on his small act of rebellion. Those dark red eyes lingered on Ivan longer than anyone else, but when Balaam was met with silence, he continued with a slight smirk on his face.

  “Two crystal balls cracked when their seers tried to look into the heart of the energies gathering, and from the fire that broke out this morning, I’d wager the AI oracle department had issues as well.”

  Some of the councilors turned to Xelas, who gave a slight nod, then narrowed her metallic eyes and glared at Balaam. Though she did in fact have ocular lasers, Xelas merely chose to metaphorically drill a hole in him for the slight of pointing out an issue in her department.

  “Balaam is correct,” Doctor Mechaniacal agreed, retaking control of his meeting. “By every measure we’ve utilized, this confluence will be the biggest we’ve seen in at least a decade. That means a lot of new metas, many of whom will have extremely potent abilities.”

  “Psssst.”

  Ivan closed his eyes and tried to will away the soft voice whispering in his ear. For a sliver of a moment, he thought he had succeeded, until the voice spoke again, this time louder.

  “Psssst. What’s a confluence?” Tori asked.

  “Does Apprentice have something she wishes to add to the meeting?” Balaam’s voice was much louder than when he’d made his own interruption, and from the gleam in his eyes, it was clear he’d been waiting for Tori to make just such an error in etiquette.

  Ivan readied himself to respond but realized Tori was talking before he could get a single word out.

  “I was asking what a confluence was. I’ve been in the tech world for a long time, and I’ve never even heard of one of these things.” Tori’s voice was earnest but unapologetic. It left little to object to, aside from the interruption itself, which Ivan considered a shockingly diplomatic move from her.

  “Oh yes, certainly,” Balaam said. “Let’s just pause this highly important meeting so we can explain to an apprentice something that does not, and likely never will, concern her.”

  “Balaam motions that we pause the meeting to explain to Apprentice what confluences are, and I second it.” Morgana, who had been looking a bit bored off in the corner by Balaam, seemed to positively glow as she stole his dickish remark and twisted it to her use.

  “Wait, what?” Balaam’s clearly rehearsed evil smile
fell away as the meaning of Morgana’s statement sank in.

  “Motion has been announced and seconded,” Doctor Mechaniacal said. “All in favor?”

  Ivan, Xelas, Morgana, and Doctor Mechaniacal raised their hands, while Balaam looked around frantically as his joke quickly turned against him.

  “Doctor, come on, I was obviously being sarcastic.”

  “The council of villains does not recognize sarcasm, Balaam; you were told that on your first day here. It’s the only way we manage to get anything done,” Doctor Mechaniacal replied. “The motion carries. We will now pause the current discussion so that Apprentice can be brought up to speed. I would like to recognize Balaam’s motion for its commitment to the continuing education of our next generation of members.”

  Ivan barely suppressed a grin as Balaam crossed his arms and fumed silently. No doubt he was going to hold this against Tori, but since she was Ivan’s apprentice, there was already inevitable enmity there.

  “A confluence, in the simplest of definitions, is what its name would suggest,” Doctor Mechaniacal said, turning his attention to Tori. Ivan could practically hear her straighten up to listen more closely. “It is the gathering of many forces simultaneously, causing unexpected reactions that can neither be predicted nor reproduced. We still don’t understand what causes confluences; however, we have learned to measure the indicators of their gathering. Now, while many of the effects of a confluence are benign, there is one that happens with great frequency that concerns us greatly: during a confluence, the number of meta-humans created increases exponentially.”

  “Not only that, but those that occur during a confluence tend to be more powerful than average,” Stasis added. As the councilor representing meta-humans created by external elements, she was the largest expert in the effects of confluences. “Most people at this table were either born during a confluence, created during one, or arrived during one, in the case of Gork. It’s true of the big name capes as well: Quorum and Lodestar were both made during a potent confluence, and it’s believed that Professor Quantum was part of, if not the cause of, the very first confluence we know of.”

  Behind Ivan, Tori nodded her head. There was scarcely a person alive, let alone a meta-human, who didn’t know about Professor Quantum’s famous experiment and how that had created the first known meta-humans and apparently opened the doors to the creation of others. No one was quite certain what he’d unleashed that day; all they knew was that all of a sudden, the hard rules of science and reality had gotten much more malleable.

  “As such, the time during a confluence is very important for both our organization and the Alliance of Heroic Champions,” Doctor Mechaniacal said, resuming his portion of the impromptu lesson. “The more meta-humans that can be identified as they are created, the less wanton chaos we have as people try to adapt to their abilities. Not to mention that it certainly helps to get first choice of the new crop.”

  “So, it’s basically the cape and villain version of NFL draft day, only with just two sides and you have to be really on top of scouting,” Tori said. “Plus, if you fuck up, someone might level a building.”

  “That part is their problem,” Balaam snickered, still slightly sulking in his corner.

  “That part is everyone’s problem,” Ivan said, speaking for the first time since the meeting had begun. “When new metas do that level of damage, the capes end up making examples out of some of us to calm the public’s nerves. It’s in our interests to minimize those instances as much as possible.”

  “Make examples out of ‘us,’ you say? You must be confused, little puppy; only real villains live in any danger, and we’re all strong enough to handle it.” This time, when Balaam’s eyes flashed, there was nothing faked in his vitriol. He wasn’t trying to be scary at all; he genuinely hated Ivan and had no qualms about letting it show. This, funnily enough, made him far more terrifying than when he put on his cheesy attitude to seem scary.

  “Balaam, none of that.” Doctor Mechaniacal’s voice grew a few shades harder, a difference too slight to notice in most men, but from him, it was as blatant as if he’d aimed a gun at Balaam’s face. As kind a man as he could be, Doctor Mechaniacal had not been forced to fake his own death without reason. Anyone who forgot what he was capable of was a fool, and often a short-lived one.

  Before Balaam could reply, Doctor Mechaniacal turned to Tori, gave her a reassuring nod, and continued with the explanation.

  “Apprentice, your analogy was an apt one. Confluences are when we have the chance to gather top-tier talent before they are hauled away by the AHC or give in to their base urges and commit the sort of crimes that will get them courted by gangs or locked up. Thus, it is important that we have a strong system for locating new meta-humans, as well as dealing with them when their powers manifest. The goal for this meeting is to coordinate shifts throughout the window, trying to make sure we have the ability to mobilize as many of our people as possible once it begins.”

  “I understand. Thank you for taking the time to explain.” Tori dipped her head respectfully and Doctor Mechaniacal let a genuine smile light up his face. Most people couldn’t tell the difference, but to Ivan, there was no mistaking a falsehood for the genuine article.

  “It is our duty to pass on knowledge to those younger than ourselves. But now that you’ve been brought up to speed, please hold all questions until after the meeting, so that we can finish at a proper time.”

  Doctor Mechaniacal turned to face the rest of the conference room, and all eyes moved to him.

  Including the pair that didn’t belong to any of the invited guests.

  “Pardon me, is today Tuesday the eleventh, and are you a clone of Wade Wyatt, or the original?” This voice was weathered, strained, and all too familiar to every member of the council. Only Tori found it foreign. She spun around to see who had spoken, only to let out a half-strangled gasp as her eyes fell upon the intruder.

  “N-Nexus.” She instinctively gripped the arms of her chair and made to rise; Ivan put his hand on her shoulder for reassurance. He would have been more surprised if she didn’t have this reaction to Nexus. Even aside from his unique appearance, he was easily the most famous criminal of all time. Nexus rarely acted, but when he did, entire cities were wiped off the face of the earth. Despite the best efforts of every cape the AHC could throw at him, and even a few villains on occasion, no one had ever managed to kill or incarcerate Nexus. He could be stopped, occasionally, but never taken out for good.

  Tori’s head whipped around so quickly that her mask came loose at the corners, nearly covering her left eye. The discomfort didn’t even seem to register as she stared at Ivan with an expression of naked distrust. “Is he part of this organization?”

  “Not in the slightest,” Ivan assured her. “But no one knows how to stop him from turning up wherever he pleases. Since sometimes he drops useful information, we’ve all learned to deal with it.”

  “Ahem; still waiting. I’ve gotten a little turned around and the clone thing would help a lot.” Nexus stood patiently as Tori recovered and the others sat awkwardly in their chairs. His appearance was the same as it had been since he first surfaced: dull brown hair and a two-day stubble across his narrow face. He wore simple clothes and a dusty brown overcoat that nearly swallowed up his lean body. Nexus could have passed for human if not for his kaleidoscope eyes like a sea of shattered glass, always twinkling and swirling, shifting each time they met another’s gaze, never the same twice. For all their remarkable appearance, he barely seemed to use them, head bobbing about as he stared at what appeared to be empty space to the rest of them.

  “No, I’m not a clone,” Doctor Mechaniacal said at last.

  “Really? Is this one where you secretly are but are hiding it? No, you almost always try to kill me when I ask you about it in those. Hmmm. I could have sworn I—oh! Never mind. Another me found the one I was looking for.”

  Nexus gave a slow shrug, as if to say he was sorry for the interruption.
As he gazed idly through the room, his broken eyes fell on Ivan and Tori. His eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

  “She’s finally here? I thought she was never born... must have just come along later than in the other ones. Already the apprentice, huh? Well, that’s no surprise; you always end up learning from Ivan. At least, in the ones where Ivan is still alive. And you’re still alive. At any rate, welcome aboard. I look forward to seeing which you choose when the time comes.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” Tori asked. Now that the initial shock had faded, she puffed herself up, determined to regain the ground she lost earlier.

  “The metal or the flame, of course,” Nexus replied, tilting his head slightly to the side. “That choice is usually inevitable, no matter how other things play out. Such a simple thing, yet it carries such consequences.”

  “Look, are you going to tell us anything about this upcoming confluence, or are you just here to dick around?” Stasis was on edge—no surprise to any of her fellow councilors. They were all aware that she was the only one with cause to actually hate Nexus, and yet she was also the only one who was proven to be beyond his reach.

  “Oh, you’re here, Stasis. You should have said something earlier, would have saved me the trouble of getting my bearings. As for your question, how could I tell you about the confluence? I can’t see the future. At any rate, I was looking for a different Wade. Since that’s done, I suppose I’ll go try wiping out one of the surviving Tampas and see how that alters things.”

  In the span of a blink, he was gone. There was no effect or visual cue; Nexus merely stopped being in front of them and presumably started being someplace else. Tori turned to Ivan, who met her uncertain eyes with a simple nod. It was unnerving the first time anyone met Nexus, and often never stopped being so on subsequent encounters. He would explain things to her, but not here.

  “I’d like to motion that we take a ten-minute break before resuming the meeting,” Stasis said. From the way she was gripping the sandwich in front of her, Ivan suspected that there would be at least two more broken pieces of equipment by the time she’d worked off her anger in the gym.