Star Harbor Nights

The 4B security agent escorted Allison at a brisk pace. She felt numb, drained. Under other circumstances she would have been paying close attention to her surroundings as she was lead through the unfamiliar--and potentially unfriendly--environment, but for now she was content to let herself be lead through a labyrinth of halls.

She'd been brought to the Department after being revived on the scene by their field agents, who had taken her statement and then conferred with headquarters. Given that she'd been found unconscious outside a ransacked jewelry store, along with four badly injured and now seeminlgy comatose heroes, it wasn't really that surprising that she'd been brought in for further questioning... but it wasn't reassuring, either.

But then, nothing about 4B ever seemed to be reassuring. The Department had never been linked to anything overtly evil, but Allison had heard stories... everybody had.

They'd come in on the ground floor of a five story office building, but had already gone down three flights of stairs when they came to a box hallway with a row of windowless doors. The guard stopped outside one of these and pressed the asterisk on a keypad next to it.

A buzzer sounded, and the door opened revealing a woman with scarlet hair, smooth, unlined skin, and middle-aged eyes. Like everybody else in Department 4B, she wore a dark suit that wasn't quite black. Hers was aubergine.

"Agent Suzie Velvet, psi-specialist," she said, offering a purple-gloved hand to Allison, who shook it lightly. Allison wondered if the gloves were because Suzie Velvet was herself touch-sensitive, or because so many of the other psychics she dealt with were.

"Please step inside," Agent Velvet said to Allison, who complied mutely. The agent seated herself behind a oval-shaped desk and gestured towards the other chair, which Allison took. They were both of a nightmarishly unnatural, supposedly ergonomic design.

"So you're Mindfyre," Velvet said. "I love the 'y'. Very trendy. Excuse me asking, but if you keep your mutation a secret then how do you explain your unnatural hair color?"

"How do you explain yours?" Allison countered. The "trendy" comment had hit a nerve.

"Very clever. I've seen your name a couple of times on Department bulletins... not really in the papers much, though," the agent said. "It must be tough, having a companion who's that much more famous than you. Ever get jealous?"

"Companion?" Allison said, blinking. The man in her life did have a certain celebrity status, but he wasn't in anywhere near the same field as she was, so there was no rivalry there.

"Amphitrite," Agent Velvet clarified. "Having a member of the Pantheon for an, ah, housemate has got to grease a few wheels, but I bet it gets trying at time, too."

"I cope," Allison said flatly. "Amphitrite's not a full member, anyway. Her father made it clear she'll have to earn her place like anybody else, and I don't think she'd have it any other way."

"Of course she will," the agent said, smiling blandly. She looked towards the open door, where the security op stood at attention. "Henderson, I think you can leave us."

He shut the door behind him with a click. A second click sounded a moment after, and an instant feeling of unease and loss fell over Allison. She froze up. It felt like something had been severed, physically disconnected from her... but what was it?

"Psychic dampeners are woven into the walls of this room," the woman explained with a semi-apologetic smile. "With the door sealed, it's completely thought-proof, cut off from all psionic spying and prying... and all the normal telepathic background noise kind of falls away. Most sensitives aren't even aware it's there until the first time they feel it gone. I heard they've installed the same devices in the halls of Congress... they're not worried about telepathic spies, they just don't want any thoughts getting inside. Isn't that funny? I heard that from..."

"Is it really necessary?" Allison asked curtly. She'd never really considered herself that telepathically sensitive. She tended to keep her walls up, and she had thought she did a good job of keeping the noise out on her own. She realized now how wrong she'd been, and was feeling more isolated every second.

"It is if the rules say it is," Agent Velvet said, smiling the smile of polite officialdom and gesturing to the chair in front of the desk. "Now, the sooner we begin this interview the sooner we can open the door."

"I told the field agents what happened," Allison said.

"We just need to record your statement in a null-psychic environment, to rule out mental tampering or mind control. It's S.O.P. when dealing with a psionic, and doubly so with allegations of mind control on the table. Now... you are Allison Powers, alias Mindfyre," Velvet stated. "Mutant Classification: DCG. Abilities and secret identity are both on record with this office. In a moment I'm going to start a tape recorder. Because part or all of this tape may find its way into a public record, there will be no further mention of your civilian identity from that point on. I therefore need you to affirm that you are Allison Powers now so if a question arises later, I can testify that you have done so."

"I affirm it," Allison said.

"Alrighty," Suzie Velvet said. She pressed a button on the box and a highly aritifical vaguely feminine voice read out a time and date stamp. The agent began speaking immediately. "Agent Suzie Velvet, psi-specialist for the Crescent Bay Office of Department 4B, interviewing costumed heroine 'Mindfyre' following a 181 with possible mind control. Mindfyre, can you tell me what happened earlier tonight?"

"I was on a routine patrol of the city..."

"When you say 'routine patrol', do you mean you were following any kind of formal search pattern, or wandering aimlessly?" Velvet asked. "We have to be specific."

"I was roaming, I guess you'd say," Allison said.

"Go on."

"Well, I was roaming the city in search of any disturbances when I saw four figures breaking into a jewelry store."

"What time was this?" Velvet asked.

"It was around midnight," Allison said.

"Can you be more specific?"

"It was maybe a quarter after midnight," Allison said. "I think."

"Some psi-actives have an extremely precise sense of time, owing to heightened sensitivity to their own biological cues or an awareness of some external factor," Agent Velvet said. "You don't?"

"My abilities are on record," Allison said, a little impatiently. The psi-specialist stared at her, smiling that blank smile, and Allison realized she needed to answer the question directly. "No."

"Some mutants have been known to omit the more minor aspects of their powers as inconsequential," Agent Velvet explained. "Glad to see you haven't done that. It undermines the effectiveness of the registration program when crucial information is held back."

"Oh, yes, I told the government about my ability to produce fire and lightning and shove things around with my mind so you'd all be caught unaware when I conquer the world with my uncanny power to sense elapsed time," Allison said hotly.

"Please don't be flippant," Velvet said. "I'm just doing my job. You saw four figures. Could you identify them?"

"Not at that point," Allison said. "I was flying fairly high up. Once I descended, I could tell by the armor that it was the Aces."

"The registered supergroup by that name?"

"Yes."

"What were they doing?"

"They had ripped the protective bars off the window and smashed it, and they were in the process of robbing the display cases when I interrupted them."

"Did you hail them? Identify yourself?" Agent Velvet asked. "Give them a chance to explain?"

"No... they didn't appear to see or recognize that I was there at all," Allison said. "Until I probed one--Diamond--mentally. It was like her mind was gone. I gave her a little 'push' to try to wake her up, and that's when she attacked me."

"And that's when you got the laser burns?" Velvet prompted.

"No, she used martial arts," Allison said. "Wait... what did I say? I meant Heart. I probed Heart."

"Mmm hmm," Velvet murmured. "You're sure about that now?"

"Yes," Allison said. "The dampeners... it's a little disorienting, being in here."

"I know," Velvet said. "So you snuck up on four much better known heroes without announcing yourself, invaded the mind of one, she defended herself, and then what?"

"I... that's not what happened!" Allison said.

"What isn't?" the agent asked, looking puzzled.

"What you said," Allison said.

"All I said was, 'I know, I'm sorry. Then what?'," Velvet said. At Allison's incredulous look, she added, "We can always play the tape back."

"No, I... sorry," Allison said.

"Let's take a little break, shall we?" Velvet said.

She pushed a button on the recorder, which announced "Recording paused."

"Can we open the door?" Allison asked.

"Let's not just yet," the agent said. "I have something to propose that I'd rather didn't leave this room."

"Should the recorder maybe be on for this... proposal?" Allison asked warily.

"It should be, but it isn't," Agent Velvet said. "Look, Mindfyre... Allison... you don't get to be a psi-specialist without having a little bit of psychic talent. Mine's mainly in shielding, but I'm just sensitive enough to miss it when I'm shut up in a room like this, which I am... just about every God damned day. So if you're feeling cut off, disoriented, confused... well, I feel your fucking pain, honey, but when this little debriefing is over you get to walk out of here knowing you won't have to be stuck in a box like this for a good long time."

"So unlock the door and we'll both get a little respite," Allison said.

"I don't want a respite, I want a permanent change of scenery," Velvet said. "It's an unwritten rule that psychics can't get any other jobs in the Department, because they're always short of psi-specialists... and because nobody fully trusts us. It goes without saying that no other branch of the government will take us."

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Allison asked.

"Take a message to the Pantheon," Velvet said. "Tell them I want to be their official 4B liaison."

"Uh, I can tell them you said that," Allison said, thinking the woman must have cracked from overexposure to the psi-dampeners. "But the Pantheon is outside 4B's jurisdiction."

"Only through an insane technicality," Velvet countered. "One which the government is determined to have overturned, and in case you haven't noticed, this government tends to get what it wants. If the Pantheon acquiesces willingly, though, they could name their own terms... including handpicking an agent for their liaison."

"And that would be you," Allison said dully. She knew she shouldn't even bother listening, but the ever-growing sense of detachment she felt was making it hard to form an emotional response. "Why? What would the Pantheon get from that?"

"Somebody who doesn't give a shit about stealing their technology or spying on their members," Velvet said. "I just want out of this box. I want a cushy, high-profile job that gets me on magazine covers so I can retire in a few years and write books, guest lecture, that kind of thing. I get that, and they get to appear like they're playing ball with the Department without giving up a damn thing."

"Where do I come into this?" Allison asked, feeling nothing but mental lethargy and mild curiosity. "I'm not even a member of the team."

"No, but you're known to be close to some of their members," Velvet said. "Oh, not publicly, of course... but remember, we're not the public. We know all about you. You have influence with Amphitrite, she has influence with her father and uncle. You get credit for the idea... you tell them you've figured out a solution to their little diplomatic problems, and that you know the perfect agent to help fulfill your scheme. It wouldn't hurt your chances of getting into the team, I'm sure."

The rising indignation that Allison felt seemed to cut through the mental fog like the prow of a speedboat, but Agent Velvet continued obliviously.

"That's just a bonus, though," she said. "This would really be a very profitable bit of quid pro quo for you. See, this jewelry store thing could go a lot of ways. Just looking at it straightforward, with the remote control angle, it's a pretty tangled mess... it could be simplified considerably."

"What do you mean?" Allison asked coldly.

"Well, you've got a lot of potential... power-wise, I mean," Velvet said. "And you've already established some impressive contacts. You could be big... huge. Bringing four once-beloved civic heroes who've gone rogue to justice could be just the thing that rockets you to stardom. You agree to take my case to the Pantheon, and we can erase the tape and start over."

"And if I disagree?" Allison said. For the moment, she was still affecting the chilly disaffectedness she'd been feeling a few moments before.

"Then I have you taken to an isolation cell while I make my own tape," Velvet said. "Where an unstable pyrokinetic confesses to attacking four veteran crime fighters, hospitalizing them. And poor Diamond, with second degree burns all up and down her arm... do I have to go on?"

"No, you do not," Allison said, getting to her feet. "I made up mind already, back when you suggested I lie to get in with my friends in the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a family, not a soulless bureaucracy... you get ahead with them through honesty, not mind games and deceit. I already gave my statement on the scene, and I stand by every word I said."

"I see. Well... congratulations," Velvet said. "You passed."

"I... what?"

"Routine morality test," Velvet said. "We have a case where a rookie hero fights four established do-gooders... and there's no witnesses or evidence to support your story... which the Aces are in no condition to confirm or deny. So, we set up this little encounter to give you a plausible opportunity to cover your ass. You stuck to your guns, even when given a strong incentive not to. Congratulations."

The psi-specialist spoke with confidence and force, but Allison thought she saw disappointment at the back of her eyes. She wondered if she was disappointed that Allison hadn't failed the test, or if the deal had been offered in earnest after all. The damn dampeners did make it hard to think.

She was past caring, for the moment.

"So can I go now?" Allison asked.

"Absolutely," Velvet said, rising and gliding over to the door. "We'll just take you back up front and get you processed out."

Agent Velvet punched a code into the keypad by the door. The lock clicked open. Allison looked forward to the rush of the outside world returning, but instead found the world clouding over, becoming a pixelated swirl of muted color and strange flashes. Her vision cleared, but she wasn't sure what she was looking at... purplish nothingness with a kind of amber haze... until she turned her head a little and saw the tops of buildings silhouetted against it.

She was looking up at the night sky through the harsh glow of a street light. With that, everything else she could see and feel clicked into place. She was lying on a stretcher, outside the scene of the foiled robbery. The limp forms of the armored Aces were being carried into a pair of ambulances.

A man stood over her, dressed in a charcoal suit.

"I'm agent Scott Tyler, 4B," he said. "Can you tell me what happened here?"