You know, for being a normal-sized dude, She sure seemed to praise my size a lot. It was gratifying, but I’d seen pr0n. Those guys probably had to eat raw meat before they performed or risk losing consciousness. Admittedly, I had experience with virgins before, I knew how to make sure that they were sort of… glazed over before I took their virginity, and to be fair, I was trying to test her newfound control HARD.

Well, hard and wet, anyway. The trick is to use your mouth and your hands first, make sure that she is rolling so hard that either she doesn’t notice when the deed is done or is so out of it that she doesn’t care.

And, wonder of wonders, she managed to hold back from zapping me the WHOLE TIME. It probably helped that before the job, she unloaded extra energy, and nearly drained herself during the job itself, but she’d had a couple of hours to relax and recharge, and even in the midst of a screaming loss of control, she hadn’t lost it completely.

It was rough to have to hold yourself back, I knew full well, but power always has a price.

We rested for another couple of hours afterward, and she’d had the foresight to make sure to pack a Vasily-sized meal in a cooler on board. We ate, we drank, we had sex a few more times, both of us went for a quick swim in the ocean, and we were back on the ship just before sundown. It was fun, and an experience I would treasure, and she had even been courteous enough to make sure that I had fun without risking her carrying a little baby Vasily.

Redshift, however, was not happy when we came back on board.

“Look, I get it. Successful job, you were both all excited, and I steered clear when I ran down and saw what was going on. But seriously, couldn’t you have waited till you got back? I was worried that you lost the stash.”

She sighed, and I carried the bags into the dining area. They may have been limited to fifty pounds per bag, but there were six of them, and they were easy enough for me to lug over. Redshift beamed when I stacked them on one of the loungers, and in a few moments, he had all six bags emptied and stacked on one of the tables.

“Did you really just disintegrate anything smaller than a twenty-dollar bill?” I asked.

She nodded, “Yep. Ashed them all. Honestly, Uncle Sam should get down on his knees and kiss my ass for taking them out of circulation. We netted almost three million from the twenties alone, plus loose gold jewelry, some pretty rocks, and a bit more.”

She grinned evilly. “I must have vaporized a thousand pounds of small stuff. With all of the pre-packaged stock, I am betting our little run cost them about fifty mil or more total.” She glanced up and we noticed both Kjootoo and Caelo, flanked by Tino, approaching. “Hey pops. 3 mil retrieved, 50 mil up in smoke.”

Kjootoo looked at me, “Was my message delivered?”

I nodded, “Loud and clear. They agreed and asked me to convey their apologies, although it did get a little messier than I had hoped.”

“How messy?”

“Some assassin type, called the Blade of Zorro, decided to call a vendetta. I broke his wrist, and he decided that laying broken in front of me was a good time to start threatening, a very disgusting way, anyone that ever got close to me, including Naomi and any children she might ever have.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I lost my temper a little. I tried to use him to open a window on the twelfth floor, but I missed. I mean, he stuck for about half a minute, but then he peeled off like silly putty off of newsprint. Class E, I think.”

Kjootoo nodded, “So at least one of them paid for their stupidity. This is good, they canceled a couple of my more loyal dealers, and threats against my daughters and employees cannot be tolerated.”

I nodded, “I will admit, I wasn’t really thinking about that, I was mostly thinking about him threatening to open up ‘my woman’. You know I don’t kill people if I can at all help it.”

Kjootoo smiled slightly, “I suppose you forget the list of my sins. You were vastly more merciful, killing him quicker than I would have.”

I nodded, “When I mentioned your message, they backed off and said they would renegotiate. We were gone before…” I looked at Naomi, who nodded, “before they knew anything was missing.”

He smiled, “It was very well done then. No interference from capes?”

I chuckled, “I ran into an old friend, but I was way off the beaten path at the time. I had already lost my armor, so she found me treading water in my skivvies, nowhere near anything. She knows about my little anger management issue, but she’s high-end. This little drug war thing is definitely not something she wants to get involved in. She does know that the Hotel is a cartel hotspot now, though… I just figured that it would be fun to let the DEA raid whatever is left.”

He chuckled, “Who is this old friend, if I may ask?”

Naomi sighed, “Galactica.”

I have heard the expression, ‘jaw dropped’ before, but I hadn’t actually ever seen it happen unless you had done some prep work, like making sure that the jaw was broken enough that it had to be held up or pinned shut.

His jaw dropped.

“It was no big deal, she just fished me out and dropped me on the pier, as a helpless civilian lost at sea. Umm… pretty far from the shore.”

“How far out?”

I looked thoughtful. “Couple of miles I think. I sort of lost control when I was jumping. I didn’t want the local cape team up my ass.”

“And she did not question why you were there?”

I chuckled, “Oh, she knows my job just fine. But between her career, school, promo stuff, and trying to find time to have a life, she’s not going to go chasing down a little cowl action.”

“She will be silent? Are you sure?” He looked… dangerous.

“Absolutely sure. We have an understanding. I was there when she awakened. Dead, but there. We have a long history, and I don’t interfere with her stuff, and she doesn’t interfere with mine.”

“Was she your lover?”

I almost burst out laughing but stopped myself by clenching my teeth. “Oh hell no. She’s underage, and even if she wasn’t… hell no. And before you ask, no, I won’t ask her to work for you or even turn a blind eye, but you are small fry in her book, she won’t even tip anyone off.” I smiled. “My contact network is part of why your daughter hooked up with me. The upper ranks of Proteus don’t even care about you in the slightest. No offense, but compared to the other Cartels, you are considered something of a minor nuisance.”

He nodded slowly, “I have worked hard to maintain that distinction. Too dangerous to be worth the trouble to shut down an operation that does little harm. My power is my reach.”

I smiled, “Well, your reach is pretty safe now. The only blowback will be if the Cartels decide to strike back.”

Kjootoo grinned, “Oh… that’s not going to happen. After last time, I scarcely expect them to get within a hundred miles of me now. We have, if you will excuse the profanity, become the scariest motherfuckers in the underworld, and now, thanks to you and my daughter’s work, we have also become the scariest motherfuckers that can strike anywhere that displeases us. I wouldn’t lay odds against Galactica being capable of shutting me down, but I will take your word that we are beneath her notice.”

I shrugged, “As well we can be. But if you decide to hang another superteam in Times Square, that might change. As long as we are maintaining a level course, we should be good. If Vigilantes come knocking, humiliation would work better than a graphic example, but after that Hyde video came out, I don’t think they would come after you without exercising every alternative first.”

Caelo had remained silent during the exchange, well, she was always silent, but she hadn’t made any signs. This time, though, she waited until my attention turned back to her, and then, mostly hidden, she signed “We talk.”

I looked at Naomi and sighed. “Will you be so kind as to excuse me while you divvy up the rewards? I need to take a walk.”

Naomi looked at me, looked at Caelo, and then nodded.

I wasn’t even slightly worried that they would divvy things up unfairly. It was ‘close to’ three million dollars, but I figured it was actually closer to about 2.5 million. Not all the bags had been packed to the 50-pound limit, and 1 pound of 20 dollar bills was about 9 grand. I suspect there might have also been packs of fifties, which might drive it up, but I was looking at half a million dollars, which was my biggest payday ever.

My needs were simple. I’d like to pay back Mickey for some concessions he’d granted over the years, and maybe get a better car. It would be nice to have an apartment, but not really necessary right now.

My food needs were also taken care of. It would be cool to actually help pay for my granddaughter's college fees, but she’d know where it came from and get all heroic all over it, and was smart enough that between her own academic scholarships and Proteus’ contribution, She’d graduate with her criminology doctorate free and clear anyway. Maybe I could buy her a boat or something.

So basically, that meant I’d probably just shovel it all back into equipment we might need for more jobs. Maybe I’d simply tell Naomi to keep my share to cover my expenses, like a new costume, and to hold out a little for my personal use, like going out on a date and refusing to let her pay. It might be nice to retire for a while, but right now I was having fun, and in the end, it never lasted. I was no financial genius or real estate mogul, and most properties got lost when you had to change identities.

Although there was that whole Powerdox identity thing. I doubted very much that the mask laws would last more than a few decades, but if they did, I could keep that identity solid and funded for a while at least. Do more jobs, and earn more padding.

Supposedly when you earned enough money it was supposed to be impossible to get rid of. Sure, if you were smart and knew how to manage and invest it… Unless, of course, it was wiped out in a war, conquest, or an economy simply going belly up. Nothing lasts forever, except maybe me.

After a few moments, Caelo came out of the dining flap and started walking along the side of the ship. I was sitting on the… aft? Stern? Abaft? Rearcastle? Uhh… I think that aft was a direction, like starboard and port, just like forward was a direction. The stern was...like the name of the butt end itself, I guess. Abaft was… more aft than here?

One of these days I’d have to learn the terms better, especially if I spent much time on a ship. French was easy compared to all the crap the military mind could come up with, especially the navy. I should know, I’d spent a lot more than most people in various militaries. Even their abbreviations were an entirely new language. ‘surfpacfleet’ and ‘eswas’ enlisted surface warfare specialist award.

It was a little chilly this evening, so she was wearing a sort of jumper, with long fluffy sleeves, of pale violet with a pair of tight jeans. She didn’t fill them out the way her sister did, but it was a matter of variation, not attractiveness.

If I were being strictly honest, I think that Lindsay and Caelo could probably share clothes without any problems, although I corralled that thought before it could go someplace weird. Yeah, I was still a 26-year-old with almost a hundred years of practice. Don’t let anyone try to fool you, the wisdom of age and changing standards were mostly a factor in getting tired. I might have been mentally tired on occasion, but the body was always rarin’ to go.

Speaking of rarin’ to go. Caelo signed. “You slept together.”

“Yeah, I figured that secret would last about as long as it took to get back.” I squashed the additional thought, I wouldn’t exactly say slept.

“It didn’t last that long. My sister was radiating satisfaction and hope from miles away. Thank you.”

I was a bit surprised, “Thank you? I thought you would get irritated at me defiling your sister or something. You know we aren’t in love or anything. I like her a lot, maybe even love her, but I have been in love before. This isn’t it.”

“She’s not in love with you either. But before you came here, she was sunk into a permanent depression. Hopeless, knowing that her life was going to be nothing but endless horror, conflict, and restraint, without ever being able to touch another human being. Now she knows, she has a future. Maybe not children, with her gift, but I am no foreseer, able to see the future like Windfall. All I know is that she’s filled with life again, and hope.”

“I won’t pretend I actually intended to turn her life around. She mostly just got lucky, finding someone that could resist her power long enough to get it under control.”

“You are a good man.” she signed, and I started laughing.

“No, sweetheart, you know full well I can resist your scans. I am most definitely NOT a good man. I am not driven to kill, but today I killed a man in cold blood, and I feel absolutely zero remorse. I would do it again, and after what he said, I would do it even if he begged for his life. I am a very bad man and have done many bad things, and I intend to keep doing bad things for a very long time.”

She shook her head, sighing. “I wish I could get in and see. I hate to admit it, but I have become a bit overly dependent on my gift. But I know you are a good man, even if you don’t. You are protective, obsessed with outliving everything you care about, and clawing for control in a life that has felt out of control since you first awakened.”

I chuckled a little harshly, “Can you blame me? I have put two wives in the ground and outlived all of my children and most of my grandchildren. I do outlive everyone and everything I care for. In the end, all that’s left is to take what I can, enjoy what I have, and not think too deeply about anything.”

I snickered a little, “Did I tell you I had a motorcycle once? A Matchless Silver Hawk, 1932, that I picked up in 1940. I loved that bike. A bit fragile, but it was my baby. I must have driven all over Europe and Russia. Things were… easier at the borders back then. If you spoke the language, they let you in, that’s why I speak so many languages.”

“And then a war started. The Third Russian Revolution, I got roped into it for almost ten years. Everyone was convinced that with Stalin dead, a brand new kind of communism, one that was done right this time, would spread all over the world and bring a new Utopia.”

“It was the same old system with new faces. While I was at war, my beloved bike was turned into tank parts, I think. The same thing happened in China, and South America, and everywhere people tried to live happily and share instead of being greedy and money-grubbing, greedy and money-grubbing always won. Even when greed and money-grubbing were turned into a virtue, in the end, the same types of people wearing brand new faces wind up in charge, and it’s happening now too.”

I shrugged, “Proteus is the new face of plenty and utopia. They give gifts of technology to everyone, drag everyone into their fold, and protect everyone… and I won’t argue that the protection is needed from the real powered psychos. But in the end, they do the same old thing everyone else does. The same personalities are in charge, and they want the same stupid things. Our way or NO way.”

Caelo was watching me closely.

“So I do what I always do. I wait until my bike is seized, and survive. I wait until a government topples, and survive. And always, at least in small ways, I give the system the finger. It’s what I do, and the only thing I know how to do… and you know what? No matter what you do, or where you go, giving the system the finger is considered evil. Nothing lasts, but everything recycles.”

I chuckled, “So I figure, enjoy what I can when I can, give the system the finger, and try your damnedest not to hurt anyone that’s just trying to live their lives. Everything and everyone else is fair game. And sweety, that does not make me a good man.”

She was smiling slightly and shaking her head. “No, that makes you the best man.”

I shook my head, and she continued. “You have literally the most powerful ability in existence. You cannot die or be killed. You can survive anything. You can make the worst possible choices, and simply outlive the results. Sure, there may be temporary pain, but in the end, you will always be standing while everyone else lives, or dies, with the consequences. And now, you can turn anyone’s abilities against them… and yet, what do you want to do? Simply live, protect people, and give the controllers the finger.”

She giggled, “And also have sex, but that’s a basic human need. Closeness and intimacy. Giving the reaper himself the finger. You think you lack motivation, that you lack the will to become a power broker, but you don’t, you simply made the choice to be a good man instead. You are not stupid, you could have gotten to the top, and stayed there… forever.”

I shook my head, “Nope. I couldn’t. Sure, I like running a decent op, but ruling people? Making them do whatever I wanted? Ugh. That would be awful. I like it when people tell me to go to hell.”

“Exactly. You are a good man. You value people’s rights to make their own choices even above your own needs and convenience, but you won’t hesitate to deal with them if they choose to harm others. Besides, you kind of forget where you are right now. I consider my father a good man. He’s had to do some horrible things to some horrible people, and he protects his own, but in the end, he is much the same way.”

“Louis is like that too, but he tends to get too far into his own head… He is about to make a choice that will be forever, and he cannot see that some people are just evil, and want to rule everything and never pay a price for anything. He is convinced that his idea is the best for everyone because it will let the smallest become the largest, but he doesn’t understand that some people just are not like him. He cannot see that, no matter what you do, there will always be the same old people with new faces.”

“I need your help. I love him to pieces, but he is making a terrible mistake, I need you to help him change his mind, but what he has in mind might affect you too… unlike some people, you have already been offered all the kingdoms of the earth, and turned away. You can grasp what he offers and not be affected by it, and maybe, just maybe, he will understand that humans need to be humans.”

I nodded a little, wondering what he had in mind. He created a sort of pill that could awaken latent metahumans, but it had a horrible effect on anyone that was NOT a latent metahuman. I had seen a video of what happened to the ones that failed, the stuff of absolute nightmares.

Was it possible he had created a pill that ANYONE could take and become a metahuman? If so, then Caelo was not just right, she was horribly right. A small number of people became Metahumans each year, and a section of those simply could not handle it. They went crazy, power-mad, or suicidal, and more than a few of them decided that they wanted to take it with them when they went.

Making EVERYONE that way? What would happen when tens of thousands of people simultaneously decide that they needed to rule, or destroy, the world? Sure, there would be lots more metahumans running around, but there would be no way to keep up with the awfulness. If this pill worked, and he distributed it broadly, it would lead to the same sort of problem that handing everyone a big red button that would randomly kill someone every time they pressed it.

Out of sight, out of mind. Most people were only aware of their own surroundings. People outside of that radius simply did not exist, whether it was, friends, family, neighbors, or whatever. Even the best of people could rationalize that away… just one small sacrifice, a few lives to be sacrificed for the greater good… multiplied by eight BILLION people. And that wasn’t including all of the psychos, narcissists, and just plain divorced from reality folks that would never even understand what they were doing.

Just one nutbag. One. Given the power of a minor god… Warlock, in his quest for purity, had unleashed an apocalypse on Earth. An apocalypse that took almost every superpowered individual on the planet to stop its mere echoes every few months for the last eighty years. What would happen when that was repeated a million times? Ten million?

She was right. Even if his motives were pure, Alchemyst had to be stopped.