We talked for the next several hours. Anne and I explained what we knew about how ultrahumans worked and negotiated with each other.

Paul would stop us from time to time and ask us questions.

What was the relationship between DURABLE, the Stratospheric Guard and the U.S. military?

How were Tanisport’s four ‘official’ heroes linked with them? Were they independent contractors or government employees or something in between?

If the Tanisport P.D. had actually hated the Grunters, why had the Mayor cozied up to them before the mansion raid? And why was the DA’s office not being stopped by the same Mayor from pursuing the case against the Grunters?

Why were Lieutenant Doyle, Major Fraser and Colonel Goldman being so cooperative?

Was there a rift between the city administration and the federal government in handling us?

We didn’t have answers for any of these questions.

When I told Paul about Lumina’s and Quintana’s response to my comment on the Blackhats, though, he had an interesting insight to offer. “You messed up,” he pointed out. “There’s no way the cops didn’t find the bodies of the Blackhats, and given how you fought them? The deaths are easily traceable to you.”

“So they knew I’d killed the Blackhats?”

“And they also figured you were lying about it. That’s why their trust score dropped.” Paul shook his head. “Your power may give you a direction, but you need to think about what other groups - and organizations - are doing as well.”

“You think there’s a rift between the federal government and the city administration?”

“And DURABLE may be playing peacemaker between the two, for all you know.”

“This is all very complicated,” complained Anne.

“Welcome to real life, dragonfly. Politics rules everything. You’re going to have to deal with it if you want to play in those leagues.”

“I wish Andrew got a skill for handling politics.”

Paul chuckled. “Numbers won’t help you with that. Only practice will. You want to do good for people? You need other people who can help you handle this stuff.”

“Like who? We can’t exactly put out a want ad.”

“Well, before getting hit by a Q-phase whatever, I was somewhat practiced at handling politicians.”

Anne’s eyes lit up. “Dad - are you saying you can help us?”

“Obviously, kiddo. You do have to promise to listen, though, and do things the way I say. Do you have a lawyer?”

“Uh…. Andrew’s taking me to meet his tomorrow.”

“The one who handles his payment applications?”

“Yeah - I can file one too.”

“I see. For how much?”

“She worked as a support,” I replied, “so about ten thousand per hour, less taxes and the lawyer’s cut. So maybe thirty thousand dollars?”

“Young lady, it’s going straight into your college fund.”

“... Okay, dad.”

“Anne,” a thought struck me, “did you get a level up?”

“Uh…. let me check.” Anne pulled up her interface. “Oh. Oh wow.”

“Is it good?” I asked cautiously.

“Um… I got 3,615 XP and a level up. And I unlocked Inventory.”

“Anne, that’s great.” I grinned.

“What’s special about her having it?” asked Paul.

“She can now carry an entire arsenal, undetectable. And switch into it in a fraction of a second.” I vanished the Lightning Hammer and made it reappear. “Imagine her being able to do that with her armor.”

“I can see the advantages,” nodded Paul. “And she can take it with her to school, concealed? Undetectable?”

I nodded. “I used to carry my armor around after the Damini, in Inventory. Just in case I needed it in school.”

“I may not be able to carry the whole of it,” confessed Anne. “My Strength’s at 8 now, which means I can lift twenty-four kilos.”

“Vitality?”

“Nine. I’m up to 90 HP.”

I nodded. “That’s good. Still, if you start taking HP damage you need to run.”

“Yeah, I don’t exactly heal from food like you do.”

“True enough.” That had been one of the weird features of my power that didn’t carry over - most food and medicines had no effect on Anne’s health points.

“And what about you, Andrew?” asked Paul.

I took a moment to pull up my interface:

HP: 130/130

PP: 340/340

MP: 600/600

CP: 264/2640

AP: 272/272

PSYDEF: 51

Level 11

$ 340,206

XP: 8240/21000

Ethics: +328

“I got to Level 11,” I replied. “Two level ups.”

“What does that mean?” asked Paul.

“It means I got two boosts to my stats. I’m at 17 Perception and 24 Intelligence now.”

“Do you actually feel smarter when your INT score goes up?”

“Er…. I wouldn’t know. Do smart people feel smart?”

Paul shrugged. “Generally, no. But it enables your other abilities, so that’s what matters. Although the fact that you got a 3.9 GPA argues that the number isn’t really wrong.”

“I wonder…” Anne grinned. “Alexa. Leaderboards, search: Belessar, Nanocloud.”

The Leaderboards screen popped up:

Rank

Name

Class

Country

1042

Belessar

Inventor

United States

23846

Nanocloud

Inventor

United States

“Wow,” Anne murmured. “You jumped almost six hundred places.”

“Is that good?”

“Most heroes take a dozen or more battles to get to that level. If they last that long.”

“That doesn’t fill me with confidence,” muttered Paul.

“Supports don’t advance fast, Dad. And Andrew totally rocks the battlefield. I mean, he fought side-by-side with Chikaradzuyoi - the man is the strongest Herculean in the world. And the other inventors are no slouches either.”

“They’re good?” I wondered. “They seemed pretty down-to-earth.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Alexa, show Jetstream, Falcao, Adelaar.”

New names appeared on the display:

Rank

Name

Class

Country

276

Falcao

Inventor

Portugal

337

Jetstream

Inventor

United States

403

Adelaar

Inventor

Netherlands

“Add Lady Lumina, Soundwave, Viking and Quintana.”

Rank

Name

Class

Country

3741

Lady Lumina

Herculean

United States

4286

Viking

Herculean

United States

12037

Soundwave

Inventor

United States

14136

Quintana

Shifter

United States

I frowned, confused. “I have the highest leaderboard ranking in Tanisport?”

“Yeah. And you had it from right after your first battle.”

“That doesn’t sound right….”

“Andrew, I saw how other ultras fight. And I saw how you fight.” Anne shrugged. “You are… very different.”

“How?”

“You go all out, Andrew. Most of the others - they hang back. Avoid real fights. Pick off the aliens from a distance.”

“Even Herculeans?”

“Even Herculeans. They all hang back, Andrew. You charge in. You don’t flinch, you don’t retreat. Even if it means you get hurt, you go all out.”

“Because I’m in an armored battlesuit.”

“It’s more than that, Andrew. You’re brave. They aren’t.”

“It might be a bit early to make that judgment, dragonfly,” murmured Paul. “All the same, let’s focus on what’s important.”