Chapter Forty-Six - Endemic

The Quantum Mothman--No, even in the privacy of her own mind, Emily had to give the name the right emphasis--The Quantum Mothman was in the same room as her. It was a bit heady and crazy to think that she was sharing space with a real life celebrity.

Though, to be fair, Melaton was also a bit of a local celebrity, but that wasn’t the same. Melaton was small fries compared to the genius at the front of the room.

“Yes, well, ah,” the Quantum Mothman said. He turned towards the board as if seeking guidance, then turned back to them, the antenna on his head wobbling about with every gesture. “Hmm, yes. Please, tell us your name, and a bit about your power. Not going to be a big dangerous patrol, but it’s still best to know.”

He pointed to Glamazon first, probably to start at his far left. “I’m Glamazon,” Jezabelle said. “I can produce balls of light. Low kinetic damage, slow-moving, but very bright.”

Quantum Mothman nodded. “And the endemic portion?”

Jezabelle looked around. “The what?”

The scientist gestures around with his hands, but no one seemed to understand. “Powers! All powers are multifaceted. They have useful bits and less useful ones. Most come with a social aspect. This is called the endemic. Very dumb name. Misleading. Some powers are immediately social, they tend to gain smaller side-benefits that match over time. Others are based upon physical changes. These are material powers. Your balls of light. They’re material. If they make people fall asleep, then that’s endemic. Think of it as corporeal vs cognitive.”

Emily found herself paying rapt attention. It wasn’t every day that she got a lecture from such an incredible figure.

She supposed that her power was more material. As was Teddy’s. And Athena’s was probably more endemic, though they hadn’t really tested it yet.

“Right,” Glamazon said. “I guess I don’t have an endemic bit.”

Quantum Mothman shrugged. “It will come. All of my powers have developed both, though not at the same speeds.”

“How do you get more than one?” The man in the trench-coat and wrappings asked.

“Win an Endgame,” Quantum Mothman said, his jovial voice turning rather serious. “It rewards you with an additional power. That is all. Your name?”

“I’m Hindsight,” the man said. “I can see what happens a few minutes ahead if I focus.”

“Precognition? Simulation? Other mechanism?” Quantum Mothman asked.

“Ah, I think it’s a simulation?” Hindsight said. He didn’t sound all that certain.

The Quantum Mothman nodded along. “Yes, plausible. Will have to test. Affiliation?”

“I’m with Nimbletainment. I just signed on this past week.”

The older hero made a humming noise and his antenna twitched about. “Will see then. Corporate heroes don’t get as much studying. More money, less science. Sad, but understandable. Next!”

The woman pacing behind the chairs looked up. “I’m Cheatah. Spelled C-H-E-A-T. I can move faster than most. And my, ah, endemic thing allows me to cheat.”

Quantum Mothman’s head tilted to the side. “Interesting. Vague though. Yes, can keep it to yourself, no harm.”

“Thanks,” Cheatah said as she continued to pace.

“Good! Now you, in the large armour,” Quantum Mothman said with a gesture to the man three seats to Emily’s left. It was the big guy that Teddy had been talking to.

“I’m Slaymaker,” he said. “Independent. I can hit things hard.”

Quantum Mothman’s head tilted to one side, then the next. “Yes. I believe you. And you, little one?”

“I’m not little,” Teddy said. “I’m a bear. And I’m, uh...” Teddy looked at Emily, but before she could say anything, Teddy remembered her new name. “I’m Ursa Minor.”

Glamazon ‘aww’d.’

“Very well done,” Quantum Mothman said. “Don’t recommend the very young to participate in too many things. Best to take it slow, build up to it. Become very fearsome later thanks to accumulated points. Still. And you?”

Emily didn’t jump. She had... maybe a whole minute to prepare. That wasn’t nearly as much as she wanted, but it certainly was more than nothing. “Hello, I’m, uh, The Boss.”

She cringed. Saying it out loud like that was so lame.

“The Boss,” Quantum Mothman repeated. He didn’t have an ounce of judgement in his voice and that somehow made it worse.

“Y-yes?”

“Not certain?”

Emily nodded, then shook her head, then used her voice. “Y-yeah, I mean. Yes, I’m certain that’s my name.”

“And your power?”

“I can, um, teleport others to me? But only people I’m close to.”

The hero hummed. “Interesting limitation. Usually comes with greater power to compensate. Built-in social aspect too.”

Emily nodded along. He was the expert on the matter.

“Yes, well, good,” Quantum Mothman said. “Now that you know each other’s names, please pay attention to this map.” He flipped the whiteboard over to reveal a detailed map of Eauclaire. There was a route marked through it all in red. “This is your path. The map is on your devices, with a tracker. No getting lost.”

“Should we expect anything on route?” Hindsight asked.

The older hero shook his head. “Nothing big. Mostly publicity stunt. Crime rates fairly low at the moment, unlikely to run into crime-in-progress. Perhaps minor villains or ne'er do well testing out powers, but even that isn’t likely. Just follow the route. Sign autographs if willing. Smile at cameras. This is more to get to know one another.”

Emily kind of wished there would be more crime to tackle. It sounded far easier than trying to talk and socialize and the like.

Quantum Mothman clapped. “Okay. Time for you to go. Doors are that way. Goodbye.”

And just like that, the hero flounced off, hands buried in his coat and head ducked low as he power walked away.

For a long few moments all the heroes--and Emily and Teddy--sat around, the air filling with an air of uncertainty.

Glamazon was the one to break it. “Well alright,” she said as she jumped to her feet. “Let’s head out, shall we? I kinda know my way around here, so follow me... ah, unless you guys want to use the facilities before we head out?” She bent over to pick up the box of phones Quantum Mothman had brought and hugged it before her.

“I don’t need to poop,” Teddy whispered to Emily. It was more of a stage whisper. One that everyone heard.

Emily contemplated just dying as she endured the looks from all the heroes. “We-we’re good to go,” she said.

“Cool,” Glamazon said. She grinned at them, then gestured to the far end of the room. “Come along!”

“How do you know your way around?” Hindsight asked as he started walking next to Glamazon.

The group formed up in a sort of row. Glamazon and Hindsight at the front, Emily and Teddy in the middle, and Slaymaker right behind them. Cheatah, for her part, lingered at the back, a bit detached from the rest.

“I’m joining up with the good guys,” Glamazon said. “I got the whole tour.”

“The HRF are alright,” Hindsight said. “But their wages are a bit poor for my tastes.”

“It’s not about the money,” Glamazon said.

“The marketing contracts aren’t much better,” he added.

Glamazon huffed, hands clamping onto her hips. “It’s not about that, either. It’s about setting an example and making the world a better place.”

Emily eyed the back of the woman’s head. She’d seen Jezabelle lapping up attention before, and be rather... rude as a sidekick. Part of her really doubted that Glamazon thought the way she said she did.

They crossed a few intersections, the floor tilting down as they went. Emily had the impression that they were heading deeper and deeper underground, not helped by the way everyone in the group stayed quiet for a while.

Finally, they reached a small chamber with a pair of guards standing at attention. They looked like people that had been checking their phones moments before.

Glamazon tucked the box with the phones under her arm, then started handing them out. “One each,” she said.

“Thank you,” Emily said as she took hers. It was a sleek little flip phone, of all things. A bit old-school, but it looked new. Maybe it was tougher than a standard smartphone? Or more disposable?

“Does it have games?” Teddy asked as she poked at hers.

“I don’t think so,” Glamazon said. “It’s a work phone, so that the folks in charge can keep track of you and for you to call for help. Just press the red buttons on the side for anything.”

“Wait, this thing is some sort of tracker?” Teddy asked. “That sounds like some sort of capitalist trick to get people to keep working for lowered wages.”

Emily patted Teddy on the back and pulled her aside before she could really get started.

Once everyone had a phone and Glamazon looked appropriately smug about keeping things more or less organized, she led them to a door by the back. “Alright, let’s go!”

***