Dashing devil 5 bold beg.., p.32
Dashing Devil 5: Bold Beginnings, page 32
"You're asking me to aid the mission of a man who sees me as an adversary," Stepper stated, not a question but a clarification of the stakes involved.
"Yes," Granny affirmed. "But this is about more than Crimson Paw, or you, or your past encounters. It's about those prisoners and the chance to do right by them. I wouldn't reach out to you if I didn't believe your involvement could be the difference between life and death."
Stepper's demeanor shifted, the weight of the request settling upon her. “We are aware of this annual event but have never been in a position to do anything about it. Us putting a stop to it could start a war. But if Crimson Paw is already acting to disrupt it, then not only is he further along than I thought, but we can covertly assist him… to a limited extent. However, there is the issue of Crimson Paw viewing me as a threat, especially if he will be with Silver during the mission. Him I can avoid. She almost killed me several times during our last encounter.”
Granny understood the idea of intervening in a mission led by someone who considered her an enemy was fraught with complexities. Still, the chance to make a tangible difference, and to perhaps amend past missteps had to hold a certain appeal.
Silence hung in the air as Stepper considered. Granny could practically see a whirlwind of strategy, potential outcomes, and the unforeseen consequences of aligning with those who had every reason to distrust her.
“Do you plan to tell him that we will be coming?” Stepper asked cautiously. “I don’t want my people walking into a trap.”
“No dear,” Granny shook her digital head. “I don’t think that would be wise. I do not believe that Crimson Paw would attempt to entrap you. There is a high probability that if they were aware that you would be present, he would be removed from the mission. Silver, Mind Witch, and Director Davis are all quite terrified of your benefactor and that she might decide to whisk Crimson Paw at any moment. As you made one attempt already, it is prudent to keep your involvement a surprise.”
Finally, Stepper nodded, a decision made. "I need details—every piece of information you have. If we're to do this, it must be executed flawlessly, with full understanding of the risks and the dynamics involved."
Granny's avatar smiled, a gesture of thanks and acknowledgment of the complexity of Stepper's decision. "I'll provide you everything we have. With your support, the odds shift markedly in our favor—not just for this mission, but for the chances of forging something new from the fires of this mission."
As the call concluded, Granny reflected on the intricate web of alliances and enmities that defined their world. This mission was a gamble, not just in its objective, but in the delicate balance of trust and cooperation it required from those involved.
Turning her attention back to Tinker, Granny felt a cautious optimism. The inclusion of Stepper and her Wardens, covert allies in a mission fraught with danger, added a new layer of complexity but also hope. In the high-stakes game they were playing, every move counted, and sometimes, the most unlikely alliances could turn the tide in their favor.
Chapter 33
“So, how would you use my Power to scale a twenty-foot wall?” Laura asked with a scowl on the third day of her training. She had managed to run the course eight times today, although she had yet to clear any obstacles she couldn’t on day one. Boyd had also ‘killed’ her three times today, but she very nearly caught him with the Paciferiline on the third.
The yoga pants and sports-bra-clad Hero aspirant lay sprawled out on her back on the training room floor near his desk after she finished panting and drinking the bottle of water he passed to her. She was coated in a thin sheen of sweat that made her glow under the bright lights in the room. It was a good look on her.
“Liquid adhesives,” Boyd replied with a smirk. He switched away from his tactical planning systems over to an inter-team messaging app and sent her a packet of information on several adessives he thought might work well with her Power. “I think the most promising is an industrial product called Covalyte. It’s made up of two liquids meant to be sprayed onto surfaces. Alone, they just form a thin coat on any solid they are applied to. Once you press two surfaces that are coated in it together, they instantly exchange electrons and form a strong covalent bond.”
“But then I would just be glued to the wall,” Laura raised an eyebrow as she rolled to her side and propped her head up on one hand.
“There are two options to release your hands or feet,” Boyd replied as he turned to her. “You can use the enzyme that breaks the bond before pulling yourself away, but that has some downsides. I would recommend trying to use your Power to remove one of the two liquids, probably the one on the wall so you don’t have to reapply it to your hands and feet with each movement.”
Laura blinked at him, “Would that work?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Boyd shrugged. “I know that the liquid takes a while to dry, despite forming a bond quickly, so it sounds like it could work. This wasn’t their designed purpose and I have no idea if your Power will work with semi-dry fluids or if it will allow you to separate the two liquids once they are bound, but it’s what I would try first if I were you.”
“I feel like gluing my hands to a wall and then using them to support my weight will result in my skin peeling away, which sounds both painful and like it wouldn’t get me to the top of the wall.” Laura peered at him, likely pondering if he was trying to get her to test the theory as some sort of lesson on what her Power or body couldn’t do. There were a few of those lessons mixed into the course, but this wasn’t one of them.
“Wear gloves,” Boyd shrugged his shoulder and smirked as Laura let out a groan at the simple solution. “Lesson two, your Power isn’t your only resource as a Hero. We operate in teams for a reason. We have Base Support and the ability to requisition equipment for reasons.”
He picked up a small box he’d prepared in advance from his desk and tossed it so that it landed just in front of his trainee.
Laura pushed herself up and sat crisscross-apple-sauce before scooping up the simple cardboard box and opening it. In it was a pair of dark blue fingerless gloves with several support straps that would wrap around her forearms.
“I had Tink whip those up for you. Check the palms.” Boyd waited for her to flip them over to reveal the feature he was talking about. “Those ridges provide extra grip and surface area for liquids to cling to, she made a pair of shoes with something like it near the toes as well. I thought about having her add fluid reservoirs to them, but then you have to worry about them taking damage and you getting whatever you fill them with on you or otherwise somewhere you don’t want it.”
“I can use equipment?” Laura stared at him, her pale green eyes wide with surprise and annoyance.
“Did I say you couldn’t?” Boyd asked with a devilish grin.
“Then couldn’t I just have Tinker make me a jet pack and just fly over the wall?” Laura asked, confusion filling her tone. “It would probably be a lot faster.”
“Have you ever operated a jet pack before?” Boyd raised an eyebrow.
“Well, no, I’ve never had access to one or cause to use it before now.”
“Well, it would certainly count as testing your limits then,” Boyd said with a chuckle as he shook his head ruefully. “You are welcome to ask her for one, but most people take a while to master their use. As a reminder, any day that you get hurt counts as a failure. Also, notify me in advance before you try it out, I’ll make sure Hope is on hand.”
“Are they that dangerous?” Laura asked with a raised brow, looking far less certain about the idea she likely thought would make the course a breeze. “I see Heroes use them all the time. The Pulse Brothers, for example, but also a lot of tech users.”
“The Pulse Brothers use jump packs,” Boyd corrected her. “Jump packs are similar to jet packs, but don’t allow for sustained flight. I still wouldn’t recommend one for you, but if you want to try one you are welcome to knock yourself out. Hopefully not literally. Tech users are a special breed. Many of them have Powers that allow them to integrate with or better understand the technology they use which grants them finer control than most people. I’m not saying you can’t learn to use one, but learning to fly safely takes time—even for those of us with wings.”
“Okay, but I can have Tinker make me other things, what about a grappling hook?” Laura asked with some excitement in her voice. Boyd watched as a series of ideas crossed behind her eyes.
“Sure,” Boyd shrugged again. “The gloves and adhesives were an idea as to how you might use your Power to climb walls, but you can brainstorm with and ask her to make whatever you would like.”
“Wait. Shouldn’t I be focusing on using my Power over gadgets?”
Laura was looking for traps in his instructions. Which was good, and meant that at least one of the training videos had sunk in. A Hero had to keep an eye out for catches in conversations with all sorts of people.
“I personally stayed away from gadgets and even weapons through most of my training so as to make sure I wasn’t dependent on equipment that may or may not be available, or that could fail when I need it,” Boyd replied, keeping his tone neutral. “However, I have always been at least an A-Ranker with a diverse Power set. Many lower-ranked Heroes use such things to good effect, allowing them to address situations and enemies that they otherwise could not. Raev, for example, is an excellent shot with side arms. She used stun and pulse pistols to make up for her lack of a ranged offensive ability… although lately, she has decided to move away from them.”
“That wasn’t much of an answer,” Laura complained, glaring up at him from where she still sat on the floor. “You always give vague and terminally unhelpful responses to my questions.”
Boyd chuckled and then smiled at his frustrated trainee.
“It’s intentional. The purpose of this exercise is to get you questioning your limits. What you can do. What you can use. The solutions to problems you can come up with. How well you think outside the box. Once you start questioning these things, you start pushing your boundaries. If I answer your questions directly then all we achieve is setting new limits for you, the ones I inadvertently put in place for you with my advice.”
Laura blinked at him again, then her lips pursed. “Then why didn’t you just say so?”
“Because this exercise is also a test. One of the things being tested was your ability to problem-solve on your own,” Boyd explained. “It’s an area to improve on for you, which is likely the result of you focusing your ability to do so on medical-based tasks. I’m no doctor, but my understanding is that the majority of the time the goal is to identify a problem and then use existing prescribed methods to address it. That’s great to a point, but a Hero has to be ready to invent their own methods to address problems, so we’ll focus some training on getting you into that mindset.”
Boyd could read in Laura’s expression that she wanted to take offense to his statement but couldn’t. He decided to throw her a bone, “I’m not saying you have no ability to think outside the box. I saw the acid burns on the wall yesterday. Trying to burn handholds into it was an excellent idea and would likely have worked on a different material like concrete or wood that is more susceptible to acids. I don’t know exactly what materials this room uses to create the obstacle course, but it is not concrete or wood. It was still a good idea.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Laura grumbled, still clearly not enthused that he had called out what she likely thought of as a learned strength as a weakness.
“That’s enough for today,” Boyd rumbled as he stood from his chair. “Your practical skills training later will be with Tinker. She’s been chomping at the bit to sit down and discuss different fluids you might make use of in the field and has samples of some she wants you to try to play with. You can also talk about any equipment you might want to try out with her.” He reached down to offer her help standing. She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
“Thanks,” Laura said as she brushed imaginary dust off herself. “I think I’m going to try to stick to minimal equipment like you suggested, for now at least. It’s probably a good idea to see what I can do on my own before I start to become dependent on gadgets and things.”
Boyd nodded his approval. He had nothing against Heroes who leaned on equipment, but he did view it as a crutch. It would be better for his trainee to start her career learning what limits she could reach on her own. “A wise decision,” he summed up his thoughts.
“I’ve at least learned that if you say something like ‘I personally’ it means you think that whatever follows is better than the alternative,” Laura laughed before turning and gingerly walking towards the door that led directly to the base’s medical ward. “See you at breakfast.”
Boyd chuckled and turned to head for the elevator and up to the Great Room. He planned to pass through it on his way to the medium-sized bedroom to rouse his loves but he heard a soft sniffling sound on the way. He followed it to its source and found Daisy doing some prep work for breakfast.
“Good morning, Daisy,” he announced himself as he approached.
The fairy spun to face him for just a moment before she quickly turned her back on him to resume chopping potatoes for hashbrowns. In that moment he could tell that while she wasn’t actively crying, she had been recently.
“Good mo-rning,” she tried to inject a bright and cheery tone into her voice, which was abnormal on its own, but it was also spoiled by a tightness in her throat that made her choke on it.
Boyd sat in his customary spot and asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Ehem,” Daisy cleared her throat to ensure she wouldn’t choke on her words again but then sniffled before saying, “Yeah, everything is fine.”
The big demon didn’t think he should push, the fairy housekeeper never responded well when he did so. Instead, he created a mental list of things that might elicit tears in the spitfire. He hadn’t talked to Connor in a few days, but he doubted she would just be crying if something happened to him. She was more likely to steal the Osprey if something was wrong with her brother than cry during breakfast prep.
The list wasn’t all that long, so he took a shot in the dark. “Is it about Bianca?” Boyd had been trying not to think about the young woman who was very likely dead by now. She was an innocent he’d failed to protect.
Daisy’s shoulders stiffened and her fluttering wings faltered, causing her to drop a few inches before she recovered and returned to the right height to make use of the kitchen counters. She didn’t respond, but he saw her head nod slightly once.
“There is still a chance…” Boyd tried offering the only platitude he could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well received.
“Don’t bullshit me,” the fairy woman interrupted him with a hiss as she whirled in the air to level a red-rimmed glare at him. “I don’t need false hope. I get it, I know the statistics on missing person cases. I looked them up last night. She’s dead. She was probably dead before we knew she was missing. I don’t need someone telling me there might be a chance. I need the truth.”
Boyd sighed and nodded his agreement. She said she needed the truth so he would give it to her, even if he doubted it was what she really wanted. Still, prolonging the healing process would be good for no one.
“If not before we knew she was missing, then certainly shortly afterward. If whoever took her intended to let her live, they would have released her once her case made the news.”
Fresh tears welled in her iridescent eyes as her face crumpled into remorse. She sank to the floor and covered her face with both hands before turning away from him. Her shoulders shook with restrained sobs.
Boyd knew better than to try to hug or otherwise physically comfort the young woman. He didn’t have any words that would make what had happened to her friend alright. All he could offer was a promise.
“I can’t change what happened to her,” Boyd rumbled softly. “All I can do is promise you that I will find out what happened to her and who is responsible. From there, I will ensure that whatever monster took her faces justice. I’ll make sure that they can never hurt anyone ever again. I promise.”
Daisy kept her back to him, face still buried in her hands. “You mean it? You promise?”
“I do,” Boyd confirmed, “and by now you should know how seriously we take our promises around here.”
“Yeah, I know.” Daisy nodded again before she straightened up and wiped her eyes with a kitchen towel before turning to him. Her bright eyes were filled with a blend of sadness and anger and Boyd felt a pang in his chest, witnessing the depth of her sorrow. “I know you don’t make promises you can’t keep. Are you close to catching them?”
“I suspect that she was taken by the group we are targeting,” Boyd confirmed. “I had a little hope we might find her during our last mission against them. Now, with this next one, we will be making a lot of arrests.”
He growled, “Once those arrests are made, we can Mental Powereds pull the heads of these monsters apart until we know what happened to her and who did it.”
The familiar fiery resolve reentered the fairy woman’s eyes. “Then make sure to end this group, rip them out root and stem. It ends with this. For Bianca, for everyone that they’ve hurt.”
Boyd nodded, the weight of the task pressing down on him. "For Bianca, and for all those ensnared by their malice. We'll bring an end to their evil. That's a promise."
“Good,” Daisy responded but then seemed unsure what to do with herself.
“Take the rest of the morning off, I can handle breakfast,” Boyd half offered and half ordered. “I’ll give Laura a break from her training videos, too. Spend some time together. Do something you enjoy. And remember, every one of us is here if you need us. You are not alone. Hope is correct when she says that even if you aren’t one of my lovers, you are a part of this family.”
