Prologue to Sofa Surfing
Originally Published by Jason Cochrane on Nov 05, 2016 at 12:47 AM
The morning was as brisk as the business at the Wicked Witch Cafe. Lycra mafia jostled for position with blue and white collar patrons in queue for their piping hot cup of morning libation.
The magical elixir was being dispensed with ruthless efficiency under the steely yet tranquil gaze of Mat "Harvest" Black. The customers all respected Mat. He stood tall and imposing behind the machine. He said little. He didn't have to say very much as his presence was felt throughout the cafe. It was neither unpleasant nor menacing but it carried with it a heavy weight of authority and the unspoken warning of "do not upset my tranquillity or you will be very sorry".
All locals knew that Mat doubled as the bouncer for nights when the Wicked Witch opened as a bar and speak easy. He was one of the most feared bouncers in Southside. This was not because of any action he had taken. This respect arose purely out of the implied action that he might take. No one seemed prepared to actually find out if the implication was capable of being delivered.
Aki and Wendy were waiting tables. Wendy was her usual self. She provided the light levity that the customers craved. She bounced from table to table delivering orders, getting distracted and listening to customer stories.
Conversely Aki, despite her unflappable effervescence, worked with mechanical precision. Orders were delivered. Small talk was brief and her smile was well received even if it was a hint plastic.
In the eye of the storm among the swirling maelstrom sat three people. The "central sofas" of the cafe were prized seats and the three had occupied them since the cafe opened. Periodically Wendy and Aki spirited away empty cups from the trio and returned with fresh infusions.
There was man and woman in the blue uniform of AEGIS. They periodically passed a small child back and forth between them. The third of the party was a tall red haired woman in flannel and jeans. The woman steadfastly refused to take the child and visibly shied away when the child came near before being whisked back by one of the pair of AEGIS Agents.
"C'mon Tara, Adrian, you promised to keep her away from me," protested the flannel clad Jean.
"We're trying," struggled Agent Adrian Hooper while wrestling the infant. "We don't like it any more than you but Jennifer likes you Jean."
Agent Tara Breen casually plucked the squirming infant from her partner. "We've got it Jean. She won't touch you but you really shouldn't ask to meet before day care opens."
"Yeah, well," Jean back leaned further in her sofa and folded her denim clad legs into lotus, taking away her away from the struggling child. "It's not like it's the fate of the universe or anything."
The Agents ignored the quip with cold impassivity.
"Okay. Moving on," Jean knew when to quit and this was probably well past that time. "Are you really going to arrest Jim Hawkins?"
"Well..." Adrian hesitated. "They are our orders." He stressed the word "are".
Jean pressed. "And the Androids too?"
"Them too...kinda," sighed Tara.
"You know that's not fair. Right?"
"How do you figure?" Tara asked around her coffee.
"Aki, Ako and Aya were acting under orders" protested Jean. "You can't hold them responsible. It's like being mind controlled and that's an absolute defence against all criminal activity."
"Yes but that requires AEGIS to acknowledge independent sentience in the Android first," Tara explained by rote. "Otherwise the Android is considered to be a tool of crime and subject to standard impounding."
"Will you two look at Aki over there for just a moment?" Jean gestured at the aforementioned android. "She's acting independently. She's showing personality and individuality. She's a person. Why won't Director Thorne accept that?"
Adrian sympathised. "We know. We haven't arrested her have we? The rest of the Mentors and us persuaded the Director to place the Angel Androids under surveillance before executing the warrant."
"Gothya!" Jean exclaimed triumphantly. "You called her a her! That means you think of Aki as a person."
"Yes, yes." demurred Tara. "Well done. You caught us out... after we already secured a stay of execution."
Jean's moment of triumph deflated like a punctured balloon.
"Don't pout dear," Tara conitnued, "were pretty sure she was a full blown Artificial Intelligence. Now we can pretty much prove it and get the warrant dropped."
"Okay but what about old C'ptn Hijack out front?"
Adrian responded. "Sorry hon. Freebooter's old puppet is pretty much a robot. We have to take it in as evidence."
Jean pouted. "Yeah, okay. That's a fair cop. Machinist and the Band won't like it though."
"Tough," Tara shut down any further objection. "They knew the deal when they got the badges. Freebooter's Robot, or C'ptn Hijack as they call it, belongs to AEGIS R&D now."
Aki floated by with fresh coffee. "So I can tell my sisters we're free to go."
"Not yet." Adrian noted and then added with a smile, "Don't leave town and no contact with Dr Otaku."
"Oh, Tadashi won't like that," noted Aki as she glided away to deliver more orders.
"Tadashi is not a nice person." Tara called out. "Get a new boyfriend."
"Tadashi is heavenly..." murmured Aki as she moved out of earshot.
"And that," thumbed Adrian towards the departed Aki, "is why Director Thorne won't drop the warrant yet."
Jean slumped even deeper into her sofa. "Does love count as mind control and vice versa?"
Adrian and Tara exchanged a thoughtful look and gave jointly perplexed shrugs.
"So that's the Angel Androids and C'ptn Hijack. What about Jim Hawkins though?"
Jean surveyed the flow of clientele in the coffee shop. At the moment everyone was able bodied and without apparent fear of the future. Jim Hawkins, AKA the Freebooter (and operator of what had been christened C'ptn Hijack) had no such luxury. Jim was out there somewhere trapped in his own body facing his own imminent mortality and at the same time a wanted felon. Jean knew Jim was a criminal but as far as criminals went he was relatively minor. No one had ever been seriously hurt from his actions. Admittedly as Freebooter, Jim had caused considerable chaos.
When he recently released rogue Brain-Bots on AEGIS staff many superheroes suffered side effects. Patriot had suffered a seizure but recovered. Major Dare had apologised profusely for shooting various people in the back. It was Solar Man who appeared to be the most upset after he was subdued robbing an armoured car. No one was hurt. Everyone recovered. Mind control is a complete defence to wrongdoing. Despite this Solar Man was devastated at the event to the point of being inconsolable. Jean didn't know why.
On the other side of the ledger were Freebooter’s positive actions. He gave to charity, particularly medical research. He often stopped mid "exploit" to rescue others or perform acts of kindness. If the world had to have supervillains then it needed more of them to be like the Freebooter.
"Ah..." Adrian's awkward expression said volumes. Something about the intended fate of Jim Hawkins wasn't sitting well with him.
"About that..." Tara's voice too spoke of reservations.
Jean finally leaned back into the conversation. "I know those looks. I know those noises. Something's up. What?"
"Well. You see..." spluttered Adrian, "Eric spirited Jim away to Claremont. Professor Summers took him in."
Tara carried the idea onwards. "While Claremont is officially just a school it has always had an unofficial amnesty around it."
The couple begame to alternate sentences. It was something they did when they had already talked something over endlessly. Some people found it unncerving. Jean was familiar with it. She had seen it for many years. In Jean's mind it simply became one flow of consciousness, albeit from two different mouths. What was it called? Stereo.And so Jean listened on with a slightly bemused expression while taking in the rambling chain of thought.
"Yeah. It's a home to young supers, reformed villains and a bunch of others so it's always been kind of off limits."
"But Professor Summers has refused to hand Jim over to AEGIS."
"And while the Director and the Professor really don't like each other, I don't think they want to provoke another super civil war."
"Yeah. I mean who would we side with? It’d tear the whole community apart."
"So.... the Director just can't go in and get Jim by force."
"But Jim can't leave on foot or by vehicle because AEGIS will pounce on him. Plus he's too sick to teleport out so he's stuck sofa surfing in Claremont until..."
"...Until he dies."
"Which sucks because the Claremont Docs think he has less than a year."
"And while he's a bad guy, is it really right to dump him in Blackgate Prison or Providence Asylum until he dies?"
"Yeah. He only became a crook to try and find a cure for his disorder and crimewise he's pretty petty."
"We had thought that maybe... you know it might be possible to adapt some of the tech Dr Einstein was using to cure Jim..."
"...But it's under AEGIS R&D lock down as outlawed tech... And re-purposing it is something that would require some sort of super genius."
"Which we aren't. Emi has the necessary access and aptitude but she isn't speaking to us at the moment..."
"Plus she wouldn't approve."
The tumult of words momentariialy ceased.
Tara dropped in the final sentence. "So Jim's a stalemate and a death sentence."
Jean paused. She could see Adrian and Tara's torment over this. Trying to save someone despite their past deeds was something that Next Gen just did. It was wired into the whole dysfunctional DNA of all the Next Gen teams. They helped people: good people and bad people. Now that the pair had moved from Next Gen to AEGIS priorities differed and in this instance it didn't sit well with the either of them.
Jean's coffee mug was firmly and loudly placed on the table before them all.
The words were enuciated with steel. "Try. Harder."
"What?" The blue clad pair paused in their fussing over their small daughter.
Indignation burst through Jean's composure. "Come on! You're these two great Next Gen heroes. You saved the world time after time. You travel time, space and dimensions! Changing jobs shouldn't change who you are! You taught me that. You two. Both of you. Are you really going to let Director Thorne stop Eddie and Extent from doing what's right?"
Jeans raised her coffee to her lips with an arched brow. Again there was only the noise of the bustling cafe.
Adrian's eyes twinkled. "You know this is why the Director hates you. Right?"
"I got raised by good folks. As for the Director: Meh." Jean shrugged dismissively, "Most iterations of the Director hate me... well except for one. Anyway I'm used to it. So, what have you got?"
"The tech is outlawed on Earth," opnined Tara. "Only supervillains would have it."
Jean shuffled further away from the clutching grasp of tiny Jennifer. "Scratch that," she murmurred while gingerly pushing the child gingerly away using only her boot.
"Jim wouldn't survive a dimension hop or time trip. The shock would kill him." Adrian crossed options off his fingers.
"What about Farside?" Tara excitedly offered. "Could he make it into space?"
"Hmmmm... maybe but Farside City won't help. They don't like anyone except the Atoms."
The excitement was building as the brainstorming continued. Jean found herself drawn into the conversation. "What about further afield?"
"The Lor Republic? Yeah they definitely have the tech knowhow to maybe do something but they don't like us Earthlings."
"They do not at all" stressed Tara.
A thoughtful look crept onto Adrian's face. "...but... maybe if G'Em was with us..."
"Oh, oh!" Tara picked up the train of thought, "And if we call in a favour or two for transport."
"Yeah. That might work."
Jean smiled the smile of victory. "I guess it's time to get the Band back together."
Originally Published by Jason Cochrane on Nov 05, 2016 at 12:47 AM
The morning was as brisk as the business at the Wicked Witch Cafe. Lycra mafia jostled for position with blue and white collar patrons in queue for their piping hot cup of morning libation.
The magical elixir was being dispensed with ruthless efficiency under the steely yet tranquil gaze of Mat "Harvest" Black. The customers all respected Mat. He stood tall and imposing behind the machine. He said little. He didn't have to say very much as his presence was felt throughout the cafe. It was neither unpleasant nor menacing but it carried with it a heavy weight of authority and the unspoken warning of "do not upset my tranquillity or you will be very sorry".
All locals knew that Mat doubled as the bouncer for nights when the Wicked Witch opened as a bar and speak easy. He was one of the most feared bouncers in Southside. This was not because of any action he had taken. This respect arose purely out of the implied action that he might take. No one seemed prepared to actually find out if the implication was capable of being delivered.
Aki and Wendy were waiting tables. Wendy was her usual self. She provided the light levity that the customers craved. She bounced from table to table delivering orders, getting distracted and listening to customer stories.
Conversely Aki, despite her unflappable effervescence, worked with mechanical precision. Orders were delivered. Small talk was brief and her smile was well received even if it was a hint plastic.
In the eye of the storm among the swirling maelstrom sat three people. The "central sofas" of the cafe were prized seats and the three had occupied them since the cafe opened. Periodically Wendy and Aki spirited away empty cups from the trio and returned with fresh infusions.
There was man and woman in the blue uniform of AEGIS. They periodically passed a small child back and forth between them. The third of the party was a tall red haired woman in flannel and jeans. The woman steadfastly refused to take the child and visibly shied away when the child came near before being whisked back by one of the pair of AEGIS Agents.
"C'mon Tara, Adrian, you promised to keep her away from me," protested the flannel clad Jean.
"We're trying," struggled Agent Adrian Hooper while wrestling the infant. "We don't like it any more than you but Jennifer likes you Jean."
Agent Tara Breen casually plucked the squirming infant from her partner. "We've got it Jean. She won't touch you but you really shouldn't ask to meet before day care opens."
"Yeah, well," Jean back leaned further in her sofa and folded her denim clad legs into lotus, taking away her away from the struggling child. "It's not like it's the fate of the universe or anything."
The Agents ignored the quip with cold impassivity.
"Okay. Moving on," Jean knew when to quit and this was probably well past that time. "Are you really going to arrest Jim Hawkins?"
"Well..." Adrian hesitated. "They are our orders." He stressed the word "are".
Jean pressed. "And the Androids too?"
"Them too...kinda," sighed Tara.
"You know that's not fair. Right?"
"How do you figure?" Tara asked around her coffee.
"Aki, Ako and Aya were acting under orders" protested Jean. "You can't hold them responsible. It's like being mind controlled and that's an absolute defence against all criminal activity."
"Yes but that requires AEGIS to acknowledge independent sentience in the Android first," Tara explained by rote. "Otherwise the Android is considered to be a tool of crime and subject to standard impounding."
"Will you two look at Aki over there for just a moment?" Jean gestured at the aforementioned android. "She's acting independently. She's showing personality and individuality. She's a person. Why won't Director Thorne accept that?"
Adrian sympathised. "We know. We haven't arrested her have we? The rest of the Mentors and us persuaded the Director to place the Angel Androids under surveillance before executing the warrant."
"Gothya!" Jean exclaimed triumphantly. "You called her a her! That means you think of Aki as a person."
"Yes, yes." demurred Tara. "Well done. You caught us out... after we already secured a stay of execution."
Jean's moment of triumph deflated like a punctured balloon.
"Don't pout dear," Tara conitnued, "were pretty sure she was a full blown Artificial Intelligence. Now we can pretty much prove it and get the warrant dropped."
"Okay but what about old C'ptn Hijack out front?"
Adrian responded. "Sorry hon. Freebooter's old puppet is pretty much a robot. We have to take it in as evidence."
Jean pouted. "Yeah, okay. That's a fair cop. Machinist and the Band won't like it though."
"Tough," Tara shut down any further objection. "They knew the deal when they got the badges. Freebooter's Robot, or C'ptn Hijack as they call it, belongs to AEGIS R&D now."
Aki floated by with fresh coffee. "So I can tell my sisters we're free to go."
"Not yet." Adrian noted and then added with a smile, "Don't leave town and no contact with Dr Otaku."
"Oh, Tadashi won't like that," noted Aki as she glided away to deliver more orders.
"Tadashi is not a nice person." Tara called out. "Get a new boyfriend."
"Tadashi is heavenly..." murmured Aki as she moved out of earshot.
"And that," thumbed Adrian towards the departed Aki, "is why Director Thorne won't drop the warrant yet."
Jean slumped even deeper into her sofa. "Does love count as mind control and vice versa?"
Adrian and Tara exchanged a thoughtful look and gave jointly perplexed shrugs.
"So that's the Angel Androids and C'ptn Hijack. What about Jim Hawkins though?"
Jean surveyed the flow of clientele in the coffee shop. At the moment everyone was able bodied and without apparent fear of the future. Jim Hawkins, AKA the Freebooter (and operator of what had been christened C'ptn Hijack) had no such luxury. Jim was out there somewhere trapped in his own body facing his own imminent mortality and at the same time a wanted felon. Jean knew Jim was a criminal but as far as criminals went he was relatively minor. No one had ever been seriously hurt from his actions. Admittedly as Freebooter, Jim had caused considerable chaos.
When he recently released rogue Brain-Bots on AEGIS staff many superheroes suffered side effects. Patriot had suffered a seizure but recovered. Major Dare had apologised profusely for shooting various people in the back. It was Solar Man who appeared to be the most upset after he was subdued robbing an armoured car. No one was hurt. Everyone recovered. Mind control is a complete defence to wrongdoing. Despite this Solar Man was devastated at the event to the point of being inconsolable. Jean didn't know why.
On the other side of the ledger were Freebooter’s positive actions. He gave to charity, particularly medical research. He often stopped mid "exploit" to rescue others or perform acts of kindness. If the world had to have supervillains then it needed more of them to be like the Freebooter.
"Ah..." Adrian's awkward expression said volumes. Something about the intended fate of Jim Hawkins wasn't sitting well with him.
"About that..." Tara's voice too spoke of reservations.
Jean finally leaned back into the conversation. "I know those looks. I know those noises. Something's up. What?"
"Well. You see..." spluttered Adrian, "Eric spirited Jim away to Claremont. Professor Summers took him in."
Tara carried the idea onwards. "While Claremont is officially just a school it has always had an unofficial amnesty around it."
The couple begame to alternate sentences. It was something they did when they had already talked something over endlessly. Some people found it unncerving. Jean was familiar with it. She had seen it for many years. In Jean's mind it simply became one flow of consciousness, albeit from two different mouths. What was it called? Stereo.And so Jean listened on with a slightly bemused expression while taking in the rambling chain of thought.
"Yeah. It's a home to young supers, reformed villains and a bunch of others so it's always been kind of off limits."
"But Professor Summers has refused to hand Jim over to AEGIS."
"And while the Director and the Professor really don't like each other, I don't think they want to provoke another super civil war."
"Yeah. I mean who would we side with? It’d tear the whole community apart."
"So.... the Director just can't go in and get Jim by force."
"But Jim can't leave on foot or by vehicle because AEGIS will pounce on him. Plus he's too sick to teleport out so he's stuck sofa surfing in Claremont until..."
"...Until he dies."
"Which sucks because the Claremont Docs think he has less than a year."
"And while he's a bad guy, is it really right to dump him in Blackgate Prison or Providence Asylum until he dies?"
"Yeah. He only became a crook to try and find a cure for his disorder and crimewise he's pretty petty."
"We had thought that maybe... you know it might be possible to adapt some of the tech Dr Einstein was using to cure Jim..."
"...But it's under AEGIS R&D lock down as outlawed tech... And re-purposing it is something that would require some sort of super genius."
"Which we aren't. Emi has the necessary access and aptitude but she isn't speaking to us at the moment..."
"Plus she wouldn't approve."
The tumult of words momentariialy ceased.
Tara dropped in the final sentence. "So Jim's a stalemate and a death sentence."
Jean paused. She could see Adrian and Tara's torment over this. Trying to save someone despite their past deeds was something that Next Gen just did. It was wired into the whole dysfunctional DNA of all the Next Gen teams. They helped people: good people and bad people. Now that the pair had moved from Next Gen to AEGIS priorities differed and in this instance it didn't sit well with the either of them.
Jean's coffee mug was firmly and loudly placed on the table before them all.
The words were enuciated with steel. "Try. Harder."
"What?" The blue clad pair paused in their fussing over their small daughter.
Indignation burst through Jean's composure. "Come on! You're these two great Next Gen heroes. You saved the world time after time. You travel time, space and dimensions! Changing jobs shouldn't change who you are! You taught me that. You two. Both of you. Are you really going to let Director Thorne stop Eddie and Extent from doing what's right?"
Jeans raised her coffee to her lips with an arched brow. Again there was only the noise of the bustling cafe.
Adrian's eyes twinkled. "You know this is why the Director hates you. Right?"
"I got raised by good folks. As for the Director: Meh." Jean shrugged dismissively, "Most iterations of the Director hate me... well except for one. Anyway I'm used to it. So, what have you got?"
"The tech is outlawed on Earth," opnined Tara. "Only supervillains would have it."
Jean shuffled further away from the clutching grasp of tiny Jennifer. "Scratch that," she murmurred while gingerly pushing the child gingerly away using only her boot.
"Jim wouldn't survive a dimension hop or time trip. The shock would kill him." Adrian crossed options off his fingers.
"What about Farside?" Tara excitedly offered. "Could he make it into space?"
"Hmmmm... maybe but Farside City won't help. They don't like anyone except the Atoms."
The excitement was building as the brainstorming continued. Jean found herself drawn into the conversation. "What about further afield?"
"The Lor Republic? Yeah they definitely have the tech knowhow to maybe do something but they don't like us Earthlings."
"They do not at all" stressed Tara.
A thoughtful look crept onto Adrian's face. "...but... maybe if G'Em was with us..."
"Oh, oh!" Tara picked up the train of thought, "And if we call in a favour or two for transport."
"Yeah. That might work."
Jean smiled the smile of victory. "I guess it's time to get the Band back together."
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