The sheer warmth of the water from the decontamination shower surprised him as he turned the tap on.
Steam filled the narrow cubicle as he furiously scrubbed off all the filth from the previous battle. He’d grabbed the harsh chemical soap he used from a cabinet nearby. It made his skin and nose itch, but it was better than remaining covered in pus.
Theobold’s words about the chance of sickness came back to his mind, and he scrubbed harder. Once he felt clean, he simply stood there and enjoyed the hot water. It’d been too long. Dr. Kunibert’s bunker would have been the last time he’d enjoyed a shower, he knew.
He’d been so tired then. A tiredness he should have felt now after so much activity. Instead, he felt relaxed and energized. Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he turned off the water.
"I need to get one of these for home. No. Wait. I wonder how many perk points it would take to turn a building I’m refurbishing into a corporate bathhouse. Set up a small entrance fee for non-employees. I’d pay one to have one of these in the morning."
Arthur kept mulling over the scheme as he dressed, eventually deciding to ask Pydes about it when he got back. The dragon should be able to set something up. Plus, it would be a good chance to drill him for information. He had to have something by now. Especially if Arthur could show Rathnil was acting up again.
With a final adjustment to his cap, he started back to where the rest of the group was waiting for him. His walk took him through the lab section of the facility. As he went, his eyes traveled over the equipment. Dust covered most everything, though it all still appeared in good condition to his eyes. He paused in front of what he thought was a centrifuge.
"I wonder how much The Assembly would see this stuff for?" Arthur thought as he traced a finger through the dust. "Or perhaps they’d rent out the lab space? The Greenhouse is well stocked, but this place probably has a better setup. I doubt Lisa or Dr. Muriler would say no to moving."
He stepped back and studied the room, trying to imagine it full of people in lab coats.
"Maybe they’d sell the building outright for the right price? I could expand Apocalypse Assortments into a R&D lab. The files mentioned a cryogenics lab. I bet Dr. Muriler could do something with that."
Arthur wiped his finger off before he left the room. No point in showing everyone he’d been touching stuff that didn’t belong to him. When he walked into the room, the first thing he noticed was the unease. Everyone had formed a trio of groups.
Captain Swordsman, joined by the rest of The Assembly, stood near the cube. Inside, he could see Deliah, The SEM, watching as though expecting a command any second. Augustus and Theobold flanked the destroyed door to the offices. Both held weapons.
Lisa scowled as she stood near the door that led back to the ladder used to get in. With her arms, her entire pose screamed combative. Arthur swallowed the sigh that tried to escape his throat and put on his best managerial smile.
This one showed off as much of his new teeth as possible. A technique he’d learned stopped most customers from calling on him too often when they didn’t actually need him. It turned out to be surprisingly effective.
"So, what happened while I was gone?"
His words seemed to hang in the air until he glanced towards The Assembly. Lady Pidgeon met his gaze with her own bird-like eyes. He didn’t find them strange anymore. She seemed to sense that too, and she nodded her head towards Lisa.
However, it was Power Drill that spoke. His deep voice sounded frustrated as it resonated around the room.
"Your friend offered to experiment on us and didn’t take it well when we said no."
"I merely asked if I could run some tests," Lisa asked, her tone affronted. "No one else I know has been inside a cryogenic chamber aside from Miss Heady, and she won’t talk about it."
Arthur blinked, taking a moment to process the statement. When he did, he turned to Lisa.
"Wait, what? Carina has been in a cryogenic chamber?"
Lisa blinked back, looking confused herself. "You didn’t know? She has powers the same as this group. Surely the relationship doesn’t surprise you."
"Well, not that. More the cryogenic chamber bit. I knew they had them. I didn’t know Carina had been in one." Arthur tried to shrug the news off, even as he wondered how old that made her.
Captain Swordsman motioned towards the lab. "The Heady Siblings woke up about a year before we did. Enough time for them to get their gang set up before we could stop them. More's the pity. If only we’d all been on the same curriculum. We could have done so much good."
"Curriculum?" Arthur asked, curious now.
"Government departments." Mr. Nimble snorted as he twitched. "We were a heroic force. They were for shadow work. At least that was what the files said."
"Files that called our little group failures," Lady Pigeonette said, her tone affronted.
Arthur watched them devolve into squabbling, catching Lisa's eye. She was glancing towards the offices with an intensity that made it obvious why his security team guarded the entrance. When The Assembly’s spat died down, he asked another question.
"You mentioned being failed experiments when we entered too. What makes you think that?"
Lady Pigeonette looked towards him again. Her eyes were sad.
"The files your little stunt in the office got us access to were extensive. We can’t get into everything. However, we saw enough. We were designed to be better. Our powers are stronger. I, for instance, was meant to communicate with any type of bird. Not only that, but to soar with them. Neither happened."
Mr. Nimble laughed. "I’m fast, sure, but they wanted a teleporter. Captain here? He should be a one-man army."
"They didn’t mean to make me at all. Supposed to have super strength and durability. A bruiser. Dunno what happened to give me these." Power Drill shrugged.
"The Heady siblings are the only ones who got anything close to what they should have," Captain Swordsman finished. "They even got their temperaments right. Pity."
Arthur tried to take in the information before shaking his head. It would take him a bit. For now, though, he had a second question. Once more, he looked towards Lady Pigonette.
"You let us in after learning who Lisa was. Why?"
"I hoped she could get more information out of Deliah. No such luck," Lady Pigonette said.
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Please. Genomian Inc. would never employ such terrible security features as that."
"I broke into The Greenhouse by threatening to kill a man," Arthur pointed out. "Maybe don’t brag."
"That was different." Lisa sounded genuinely angry.
"Was it?" He couldn’t help but look smug as he turned away from Lisa and back towards The Assembly. "Either way. I came here to make you an offer, and she’s here to get the data she wants. Perhaps we can go to the director’s office and discuss things there?"
"Finally," Lisa groused as The Assembly members nodded and headed towards the door.
***
Arthur and the members of The Assembly retired to a nearby cubicle as Theobold and Augustus watched Lisa copy the files.
He didn’t think she’d do anything to damage the office. However, from the way Mr. Nimble and Power Drill watched her warily, he figured that sending his security with her would be a show of good faith. Before he started his pitch, he surveyed the room.
All the damage remained from the fight with Officer Gregory. Cubical walls and furniture still lay in pieces across the ground. The robot's melted and exploded torso didn’t remain in the room anywhere he could see.
When he turned his attention back to the group, he noticed they all looked confused and unsure. It made him wonder how hard the news they’d found in the files had hit them. This might be an easier sell than he thought. Provided he pitched it right.
"So, I wanted to talk to you all about the city’s defense." He started, watching Captain Swordsman perk up at the idea.
As he continued talking, he put his briefcase on the table. With practiced movements, he flipped open the latches and reached in. Murmurs filled the room as he pulled out a Multipup eye and laid it on the table.
"I got this from a corpse brought to me by one of my scavenger teams. I’m sure you’ve seen them around the city." He looked at Lady Pidgeonette, who nodded. "This Pit Fiend attacked them while they were poking around trying to find bricks and other construction materials for housing. I can guarantee they won’t be the last."
"And you want us to help protect the citizens from this threat?" Captain Swordsman asked, some of his old confidence entering his voice. "We can do that."
Arthur nodded. "I would. But not in the way you're thinking. I’d like to set up a department to hunt the monsters and keep the people safe throughout the city. My external security team is perfect for local issues. What I need is a group that can move quickly and strike hard. Lady Pigonette would be a perfect scout for this type of issue."
"You want to hire us?" Power Drill asked, sounding skeptical.
"I do."
"Why?" Power Drill turned to Captain Swordsman as he spoke. "This is a mission we would do without needing payment. We fought Riccardo and then the cultists without backing. Why would we need it now?"
The question didn’t shock Arthur. As an independent group, it made sense that they would have reservations. He simply needed to improve his offer. At least, he figured that should be enough. However, he wasn’t sure how to make it better. So, instead, he tried a different tactic. A common enemy.
"Because it would allow us to show a united front," Arthur said while giving his most stern expression.
Captain Swordsman gestured to the eye. "The Pit Fiends?"
"No," Arthur said as he held up the eye so they could more easily study it. "Multipup eyes aren't purple."
"It’s got a purple tint. The cultists?" Lady Pigeonette guessed as she looked at the eye.
Arthur nodded and put it back in the bag. "Exactly. I got most of them to work for me. Their leader is another story. He made a deal to escape, one I had to take because of special circumstances. If you form a department with me, it shows the people we’re united if they come back to cause trouble."
He left out the bits about the grove and the fact that he needed the dragon to move if he wanted to take the store. Or the fact that the head of the cultists was a dragon at all. He didn’t know if The Assembly knew about the goddess, but he didn’t want to become guilty by association.
"May we discuss your offer?" Captain Swordsman asked carefully.
Arthur smiled and picked up his briefcase. "Sure. Let me check how Lisa is doing, and then I’ll swing back."
His smile grew as he reached the door and heard the furious discussion behind him. He couldn’t help but feel good about his chances.
***
Lisa sat behind the desk, staring at a monitor as she typed away on the keyboard.
She didn’t so much as twitch when he entered the room. Theobold saluted him as Augustus nodded. Arthur waved back before moving around and examining the room. He found it pleasing now that he had the chance to see it without a security robot threatening to shoot him.
There were numerous books on the shelf on the wall. He picked through them, but none caught his interest. Most were psychology and medical textbooks. Useful, but he didn’t understand them. He continued to slide his finger along the spines until a name caught his eye.
The book was thin, hidden between two bigger books. When he read the name, he couldn’t help but smile. It was a comic book title, Mr. Justice. Not the most creative superhero name he’d ever heard. But he supposed some other things had now slid into place.
He left the comic where it sat and moved over to Lisa. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she set up files to be transferred to a USB stick that hung out the front of the computer.
"Any luck?" he asked.
Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle when she jumped. She scowled at him before gesturing to the USB with one hand.
"Yes. Why are you bothering me?"
He shrugged. "They’re discussing my offer for them to come and work for me. Did you find anything particularly noteworthy?"
"There are a few things," she admitted as she alt-tabbed over to a file named The Medusa Core.
A quick glance did not fill him with confidence. The words radiation, core, critical, and testing all stood out to him. That was enough for him to know he didn’t want anyone messing with it. Someone had deleted the part about where they’d stored it. Not that it took a genius to guess.
Arthur tried to keep his tone even as he asked his next question. "And what did you intend to do with that information?"
"Me?" Lisa asked. "Nothing. I simply want to collect all the information I can."
He started to respond before a knock stopped him. With a smile, he nodded toward Mr. Nimble. "I’ll be right out."
When the hero zipped away, he turned back to Lisa.
"Get me anything you can about the projects they were doing and if they were working with anyone else. I’m curious to see what you find."
"Like I’d do any less," she muttered before turning back to the screen.
With that said, he moved back towards the cubicle where The Assembly waited. It appeared that it was time to hear their answer to his proposition.222Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pOCofNvjc
