If there was a deeper level of hell, I did not want to visit. Just getting copied on the various reports sent to Technica, with the obligation to read them, made me consider weapons of mass destruction, simply to get rid of the paperwork. With the added responsibilities regarding the convention, and the paperwork that went along with it, there was a part of me that simply wanted to dump the whole thing into a virtual shredder and get rid of it that way, right before building an underwater lair and cutting all communication with the outside world. Why did humans have to be so difficult? Why did they have to insist on every report being filed in triplicate?

Luckily, my exams were made for mundane humans, not for Powered with a literal super-computer wired into their spine, amongst other places, meaning that completing them was reasonably simple. Otherwise, the idea of taking time off in the middle of the semester would cause a massive headache.

It made me wonder if there was any point in pursuing my dual-degree, other than wanting to tick that particular box and not wanting to give up. Unless something major happened, I did not need a degree for future employment, not with my involvement with the Guild and its council, and what I learned in class was a fraction of what I could learn from books and papers, thanks to the information-processing capabilities my link with Galatea gave me.

A short, mental command opened the door to my underground office, right before Sophia would have had to stop in front of said door. There was no buzzer or anything, requiring me to keep an eye on the cameras observing the hallway leading towards it, but then, there were only two people I would actually let into the room. For everyone else, Technica and I had prepared a reception-room reachable from another hallway, with a secret door leading into a room next to the office. Arrangements like that made a three-dimensional model necessary to keep track of the layout of Technica’s underground complex, especially after Galatea and I had added our own construction.

“Hey.” Sophia greeted me, a tired grin on her face. “I’m so done.” she added, plopping down on my lap, snuggling in a little.

“Oh? Hard project?” I asked, knowing that she had been working on a large project for one of her classes, data-collection and analysis. I had offered to help, but she had rejected my offer, wanting to do the work herself. I was not too happy with it, but at the same time, there was a part of me that admired her intellect and drive.

“Far too many numbers, with far too little reporting-accuracy. How are we supposed to get good results if the data is skewed in the first place? We added the various surveys we are using up, for the fun of it, and even if each person eligible for the surveys filled them out, there are five percent too many answers. Unless someone got more than one survey and answered them, with mutually exclusive answers.” she complained, while I gently stroked her head, letting her vent her frustrations. It was one of the reasons I preferred the hard sciences, an electron did not suddenly become a proton, just because it was feeling positive.

“What are your plans for the last week of May?” I asked, when she wound down for a moment, a smile on my lips.

“Nothing special, at least so far. Why are you asking?” The look on her face was both suspicious and intrigued at the same time, turning my smile into a grin.

“Well, you know that they are a lot more,” I paused for a second, trying to find the right word, “Flamboyant with their Powered, both sides of the law almost acting akin to actors in a movie, or stunt-people, just that they do their own stunts, which also are real.” I explained, getting a frown of confusion and a nod in response.

“Yes, I’ve heard about it. At least some are a lot more public and willing to work for publicity and a certain reputation, compared to what we have here. I mean, when was the last time that you’ve heard of any Powered on the Continent trying to rob a bank? If you just look at the news-casts from overseas, that’s an almost daily occurrence there.” she paused for a second, not getting pulled into my pace,

“But what does that have to do with anything? You don’t want to go overseas and rob banks, do you?” Her voice took on a slightly accusatory tone, making me chuckle as I remembered our original meetings, with both of us ignoring the local laws, each for our own purposes. But since then, she had made close contacts with the Heroes Association in another country, in addition to fulfilling her previous purpose.

Now outright laughing at the look on her face, I shook my head and explained. “No, you do not need to worry about that. Their flashy ways are not for me. No, the reason I asked is that the Guild hosts a convention together with their Heroes Association and Technica decided it would be a good opportunity to network for me. I hoped you would join me.”

“Oh.” she paused, a frown of consideration on her face.

“It will be interesting to meet Starburst again, this time wearing my costume.” I added, the smile on my face turning mischievous. Meeting again was more than a little exaggerated, the meeting I had with the overly famous heroine had been a short one during a meet and greet the previous year, with just a few words exchanged. But the way Sophia’s face changed colour made the insinuation worth it.

“Yeah, I will make it work.” she instantly agreed, making me laugh a little more, even as her earlier frown returned. Not wanting her to actually worry, I quickly explained that I had merely made a joke, softly kissing her temple in apology.

“The last week of May you said?” she asked and I could see the gears in her head turn. “I’ll go with you. Just to make sure you don’t get carried off by some floaty heroine.” Now it was her turn to grin, while I nodded in agreement.

“Wonderful. I will have to make some new gear for both of us.” I nodded to myself, trying to imagine gear that would make it obvious that we were together, both as literal Partners-in-crime and also as romantic partners.

“Oh, regarding your troublesome surveys, if you want I can help you with the number-crunching or maybe Galatea and I can whip up a simple database for you. Would that help you?” I suggested, getting back to her earlier topic, before I had derailed her.

“No, I want to manage on my own. Getting your help would be a bit like cheating.” she shook her head. Accepting her decision, I leaned back, relaxing as I held her in my arms. For a little longer, we simply snuggled while the part of my mind that was in constant contact with Galatea formed one equipment-rendering after the other.

It was a problem of the kind I hated, one that had no right answer. I wanted to design equipment that was functional, while not being purely utilitarian, carrying a certain intimidation-factor but not making me look like some sort of movie-villain. In addition, it had to have a theme that I could mirror on Sophia’s equipment, while keeping the functionality of her gear and make her look good.

No matter what equations I used, no matter what formula or model I applied, the best I could do was churn out samples, studying and discarding them, while constantly refining the look I wanted to have. I could feel Galatea distribute the computing-load around, making sure that the computing-nodes I had within my body did not need to carry too much of it.

After a while, Sophia and I each focused on our own work. Even the relatively short break meant that there were a few more reports, all requiring a lot of time-investment if I did not want to take someone else’s research at face value. It made me realise just how important the lower parts of an organization like the Guild actually were, the numerous accountants, researchers and clerks that collated the information upon which decisions were based. If one could corrupt or influence those people, the so-called low-level bureaucrats, you would not need to control the upper levels of an organisation, decisions based upon corrupted data were almost as good as decisions made with ill-intent.

Internally, I made a note to always verify. Which sounded almost impossible, even for me. I would have to closely work with Galatea to automate some of the process. Finally, it was time for the two of us to leave the privacy of my office, and return to the campus, with the countless humans, some of whom would want our attention. Personally, I would have preferred to remain in private with Sophia, but she insisted that we engaged socially with our peers in either of our roles.