“Soundwave calling,” her secretary announced.

“Patch him through.”

Lady Lumina’s screen flickered to life with Soundwave’s masked face. The ultra seemed nervous. “Hi, Lumina. I thought I’d quickly catch up for a bit.”

“Sure, Soundwave. What’s on your mind?”

“I just wanted to clear the air about Liverpool. You know how sensitive my armor is….. I really couldn’t get it working in time, Lumina.”

Lumina sighed internally. “I have full faith in you, Soundwave. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks. I just wanted to assure you that what Belessar said… it wasn’t true.”

“Consider me reassured. This isn’t the first time a rival has tried to drive a wedge between us.”

“Thanks, Lumina.” The relieved inventor hung up.

She glanced across the table at her companion. “What do you think?”

Viking was a huge, hulking man even out of costume. As a result, many villains tended to underestimate his intelligence - which usually ended with them behind bars.

That same intelligence could be seen in the gaze he focused on Lumina. “I think he may be lying.”

“You’re sure?”

“Just a feeling. A strong one.”

Lumina nodded. “So Nanocloud was right. Soundwave actually hung back during the battle.”

“And her assessment of Quintana wasn’t wrong, either. I know she’s shirked her duties before.”

“That’s just perfect,” muttered Lumina. “As if I didn’t have enough problems already.”

“Do you care?” Viking asked, bemused.

“Shouldn’t I?”

“Storm knew about the both of them, you know.”

A pang shot through her. “I know. He could play them like a fiddle.”

“You’re not too bad a conductor yourself.”

“That’s sweet but not true. Soundwave is only in it for the money, and Quintana…” She sighed. “I wish I could get her to do more.”

“Because she’s your friend?”

“Because she was my friend, back when we both answered to Storm. Now, though… I can’t get her to do more, no matter what I try.”

Viking shook his head. “Nobody gives it their all. Not really. Heck, I’ve held back a time or two because I was too exhausted to go on.”

“But never when others were in danger.”

“If there are aliens in the city, everyone’s in danger. Besides, what can you do about it?”

Lumina sighed. “Nothing. They only follow me out of courtesy.”

“And democracy. We elected you our city leader after Storm, didn’t we?”

“An electorate of four people. And only because we didn’t invite Belessar….”

“We never invited Grumman either. For better or for worse, we’re the only ultras aligned with the city administration instead of going around doing our own thing. We need them.”

“The hard part is, if I push them too hard they may not show up to the next alien incursion. Which makes things harder for the rest of us.”

Viking shrugged. “So don’t push them. Let things slide. They show up, they fight, they do what they can. If they’re not doing their job, the Stratospheric Guard will downgrade them from frontliner roles.”

“The Guard may not know…”

“They take that into account, Lumina. Besides, what exactly does Nanocloud have to complain about?”

“Maybe she expected more from us as frontliners. Dedication, commitment, something.”

“She’s not the judge of that, SURGE is. She may not even be an ultra for all we know, just Belessar’s girlfriend in a suit. And Belessar has no reason to complain - after all, SURGE acknowledged him as anchor.”

“That concerns me, too. Tanisport’s never had a villain acknowledged as an anchor.”

“Other cities have, we’ll get over it.”

“Did you read about what he did to the Blackhats?”

Viking shrugged. “Yes. But that was poorly handled, Lumina. Even if he assassinated them - which I’m not sure about - Quintana shouldn’t have shot her mouth of.”

“She was just reacting to the … stress. It’s Agni, Viking. She scares the bejesus out of anyone sane.” Lumina stood up and walked to the window. “One of the highest body counts in the world… and she shows up in our city.”

“And targeting Belessar. Let’s not forget that.”

“Whatever it is…. She’s never operated on American soil before.” Lumina turned back to her friend. “Do you know what I see?”

Viking shrugged. “Buildings?”

“The Twin Towers. A few thousand tons of jet fuel was enough to bring them down.” Lumina gestured at the skyline, with dozens of skyscrapers. “If Agni hits those buildings on a Monday morning, how many will survive?”

“We can only hope she stays focused on her objective. Although I have no idea why she’s fixated on Belessar.”

“I can take a guess. She fights against any ultra who aligns too closely with the military.”

“That’s just a theory, you know.”

“It’s the only one that makes sense. Pakistan, Sudan, Colombia - every time it’s been against militaries that were either forcing ultras to serve them, or ultras who were too close to a military.”

Viking leaned back in his chair. “There are entire books written about Agni and her motivations. The only thing people have concluded is that nobody actually understands them.”

“Well, we’re going to have to. Since she’s in our city.”

“You think if she kills Belessar, she’ll leave?”

“And if she thinks we’re aligned with Belessar, we’ll be her next targets.”

Viking frowned. “I hadn’t considered that.”

“I’ve been reading up on her. In Medellin she hit every ultra aligned with the cartel militias. And she’s from India - which borders the one major country which isn’t a signatory to the CJM.”

“China? What do those …. they have to do with anything?”

“Think about it, Viking. How does China treat their ultras?”

A short bark of laughter. “China doesn’t have ultras. All citizens are born equal, and serve at the pleasure of the Party.”

“China’s the only country which uses its Masters to mind-control ultras into military service. India’s a full signatory and has always kept its ultras away from the military, except against aliens. She may be expelled from the country, but in some ways Agni will always hold that … dislike that Indians have.”

“The distrust of an ultra-military nexus? Yes, they’re quite rabid about that….”

“Whereas the US has always been neutral on the issue. So far.” She shook her head. “What if Belessar is meant as an experiment?”

“I don’t follow.”

“You saw him in Liverpool, Viking. How did he work with those soldiers? Smoothly, right?”

“Almost naturally….” Viking paused. “Damn.”

“I missed it too, at first. It was only after I reviewed my tapes that I realized… he was too comfortable. Almost as if he was part of their unit, rather than a civilian contractor.”

“You think he’s military.”

“I think he's an active duty soldier. And Nanocloud, too. Probably highly trained commandos or something.”

“Is he actually an inventor?”

“Lord knows. He may be an elemental with healing abilities, packed in an armor suit built by an inventor, and with the training on top of that.”

“And you think he’s intended as …. proof of concept.”

“Proof that despite Blindsinger, Agni and the other failures, the US military can actually have ultrahumans work effectively in coordination with its troops.”

“Which would be noticed by Congress.”

“Which could lead to compulsory military service for ultras.” She sighed. “Every election, there’s at least a half dozen politicians screaming that ultras should be required to serve in the military for a fixed term, and hang all international treaties.”

“Or freedom of choice, for that matter.”

“Plus the massive reduction in costs, which probably looks good to the politicians on paper.” She sighed. “And that’s how we might end up like China. With every combat-capable ultrahuman yoked under a mind-controller, and every Master kept in line by threats to their families.”

“We’re reaching. We don’t actually know that Belessar’s pushing that agenda.”

“The question isn’t whether we believe it. The question is, does Agni?”

“Damn…. It’s scary but it fits.” Viking stroked his beard. “What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Nothing, my friend.” Lumina stared out of the window. “Absolutely nothing. That’s all we can do.”