Vol.4 Ch.1 – The Price Of A Name I
Chapter 1: The Price Of A Name I
“Is that the girl you two rescued?” Ophelia Devereux asked.
Ophelia, like all the others at their table, was part of Elaine's squad at Project Divinity, one of many secret government projects designed to take back the world the Outsiders had conquered.
After returning from the Battle of Ohio, where their Project had fended off the horrific creations of a mad scientist named Amadeus Caulder, Elaine and Cassie had been sent to apprehend a group of scouts and potential saboteurs that had been sneaking around Base 15, the military compound in New York State that was their base of operations. Elaine and Cassie had actually managed to find the scouts, four of Caulder's cyborgs and their handler, a gorgeous, turquoise-haired woman with butterfly wings.
That woman had betrayed her master to save Cassie's life and Elaine and Cassie had, in turn, saved her from Caulder's clutches.
And that woman was currently sitting at a table in the cafeteria, happily chatting with Rachel Cypher, the base's resident medic and also daughter of Lilith and step-daughter of Lucifer.
“That's her,” Elaine confirmed. “Glad to see she's up and about again.”
“Damn she's pretty,” Ophelia said. “Not at all what I expected from that bastard Caulder.”
Everyone at the table nodded. Caulder's creations tended toward the grotesque and the vile. But this girl wasn't just pretty compared to the lobotomized cyborgs they had fought before, she was genuinely beautiful.
A slight frame, a gorgeous face framed by that turquoise hair and vibrant butterfly wings behind her back. The white sundress she wore added to her positively elfin appearance, even with the tactical harness strapped to it.
Elaine couldn't spot the little pistol the girl had used to save Cassie on her and she wondered if the girl had been denied access to her gun. Then again, the only people who went armed at the compound were Rachel, Jeanne, Prudence, the Professor and the Lieutenant General – and their guns were special.
Either way, she was glad to see the girl hale and healthy, though she did wonder how the other one was doing, the one who had been turned into a cyborg dog. Elaine hoped she was okay as well.
Elaine was pulled out of her thoughts when the butterfly girl's gaze snapped up to meet hers.
**
Subject 259 still worried that she might be killed for her involvement with that bastard Caulder – stars above she loved being able to think that – but so far at least her gambit to escape his clutches by getting herself killed was working out far better for her than she could have hoped.
She had saved people for the first time in her life, she had been given food and, even better, fruit, and the information she'd given this Rachel lady would truly hurt Caulder. And even if they did decide to kill her after all they would be far more merciful about it than her former master would have been.
But she was beginning to suspect they had plans for her other than death. The notion that she needed a name spoke to that. You didn't pick out a name for a corpse.
She was pulled out of her musings when Rachel asked: “Would you like to meet the two you saved?”
259 hesitated. “Would they even wish to talk to me? I was their enemy.”
“You saved Cassie's life,” Rachel said. “If they didn't care about you they wouldn't have brought you to us to have your implants removed.”
259 opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again. Finally she said: “I would like to meet them but I have no idea what they look like. They had those scary helmets on.”
“See the raucous group on the right?” Rachel asked.
259 nodded.
“The toned girl with the fluffy brown hair is Elaine. The one with the long blond braid is Cassie.”
259's eyes widened. Everyone in their group was beautiful but the toned brunette awakened something in her she hadn't known she was capable of. The juxtaposition between the toned body and the classically beautiful face framed by fluffy brown hair was truly special.
“Well look at you swooning,” Rachel said, pulling 259 out of her thoughts and causing her to blush. “Don't worry, Elaine just has that effect on people. Not sure how much of it is her natural charisma and how much is the Awakener thing though.”
“Awakener thing?”
“See the cadets in black?” Rachel asked, then looked around and did a double-take. More than half the cadets no longer wore their uniforms. Things had clearly gotten a lot more relaxed after the Battle of Ohio, as the cadets had taken to calling it, and Rachel wondered when Hayworth would crack down on it. Or rather, if. He, too, had gotten a lot more relaxed after she'd slept with him. But she continued undeterred: “Those guys are what we call Shard Bearers, people with a powerful Soul Shard inside them. The guys in white, meanwhile, are Awakeners. They can rouse the potential of those Soul Shards, making their Shard Bearers stronger. And there is a certain animal magnetism that draws Shard Bearers to Awakeners.”
259 blinked a few times as she processed this. “Are you suggesting that...”
Rachel nodded. “You are a Shard Bearer. You could be like the people here and help save the world. Not with intel but as a fighter.”
259 was shocked. “You would trust me that far?”
The reaction took Rachel off-guard. “That's your objection?”
“I was working for your enemy less than 24 hours ago.”
Rachel looked her dead in the eyes. “And would you betray us to Caulder?”
“I'd rather die.”
“See?” Rachel asked with a grin. “”And if you think we're too trusting, consider that we're keeping you under surveillance by half a dozen of our most competent fighters. So, I ask again: Would you like to join our fight?”
259 considered a moment longer, then nodded.
**
The butterflies in Jeanne's stomach were practicing evasive maneuvers and her cheeks felt like they were on fire.
Babe.
Did Rachel have any idea what that kind of casual flirtiness was doing to her? She knew Rachel and her weren't exclusive and never would be. Rachel was a succubus. Sex was not a big deal for her. Reading anything into her behavior was stupid.
Jeanne knew that.
And yet things between them felt too intimate to be casual fuckbuddies. Foolishly Jeanne had bared more of herself to this woman than to any lover, both her emotional scars and her most depraved desires. But Rachel had done the same, showing Jeanne a less carefree and seductive side, letting herself be vulnerable around her.
It confused the fuck out of Jeanne.
But right now none of that mattered. Rachel had asked for her help and it was help that would benefit both the poor butterfly girl and Elaine, the woman responsible for the other set of butterflies doing cartwheels inside her stomach.
Jeanne might have wondered what that help was about but if it involved Mariana Ionescu there really was only one thing it could be.
Mariana was one of the Shard Bearers on Alejandro's team and she held a Soul Shard of Mnemosyne, Greek goddess of memories. And while that didn't sound like a skillset that was particularly suited to combat Mariana was nevertheless a force to be reckoned with. A natural-born mage, Mariana could use her powers to learn just about any spell she wanted and she could summon forth information and even objects from people's memories. That latter skill was still fairly limited but once she leveled it up a bit more she would be a monster.
And so Jeanne knew what Rachel was planning: She wanted to try and see if Mariana could find out the butterfly girl's name.
Names had power. Not just in a metaphysical way but in a simple and personal sense. There was a reason both angels and demons addressed nearly everybody by their first name. The Lieutenant General was a special case, as he had explicitly requested not to be addressed that way. Even that normally wouldn't have mattered but they had been instructed to try not to undermine the mortal authorities.
But Subject 259, the butterfly girl, had no name and that just wouldn't do. The ordeal she had suffered at Caulder's hands would not be truly over until the girl had a proper name, to show her that she was seen, that people cared.
And so Jeanne was off to find Mariana.
**
“Thank you for saving 202 and me,” Subject 259 blurted out, bowing at the hip in front of the soldiers Rachel had brought her to.
“Did you tell her to do that, Rachel?” Elaine asked.
“She'd be groveling another way entirely if I had,” Rachel said.
Cassie, meanwhile, stood up from their table, went over to the still bowing 259 and reached for her hands. The gorgeous blonde's hands were so warm and soft and 259 basked in the contact as she looked back up at her. When their gazes met, Cassie said:
“No, thank you for saving my life.”
When Cassie let go of her hands 259 immediately missed the contact but before she could think about just how touch-starved she was she turned to face Elaine.
“Would you allow me to join your team?”
**
Mariana Ionescu was partaking in her favorite hobby: People watching. Terminally shy and introverted, people were something that used to both scare and fascinate her. Before the Invasion she had most often been described as a bookworm and while the observation was easy to make, it wasn't entirely correct.
Mariana had spent most of her time with her face stuck in a book, reading in cafes and public squares and libraries. But more often than not she had found her attention drifting from her book to the people around her, cataloging lives and experiences, living vicariously through people that were so much more outgoing than her.
Awakening to her powers as a Shard Bearer had made it even worse, in several ways. For one, the powers of Mnemosyne were almost perfectly suited to her personality, allowing her to not just revel in her hobby but actually deriving power from it. Although she supposed that was to be expected, given that her personality was, at least in parts, a reflection of her Soul Shard. However, Mariana had also taken up with Alejandro, which was proving to be a poor fit. Alejandro was a good man and competent in a fight but he was also gay. Not that she had an issue with that. To be quite honest, her preference in literature might have been one of the deciding factors she'd had in joining a gay Awakener. Not only because she just frankly liked reading about – and people watching – gay and lesbian couples but because having an Awakener with an incompatible attraction made it easier for her to fade into the background. And that was the problem.
Sergeant Caldwell's team already had members at Bond Level 10 and Sergeants Walker and Wright had members at Bond Level 9 already. Mariana, meanwhile, was stuck at Bond Level 4. She didn't really blame Alejandro for that. While increases in Bond Level didn't necessarily require intimacy and attraction, looking at Caldwell, Walker and Wright strutting around with their respective harems was proof if proof was needed that intimacy helped. A lot. And not only would Alejandro and her never be intimate but she was so withdrawn that Alejandro often forgot about her when he could instead be messing around with his two boyfriends. Again, not his fault, precisely, but he was beginning to feel like a bad fit for her.
And so Mariana was people watching. It wasn't merely her favorite pastime but now, with Mnemosyne's powers and Alejandro's neglect it was just about her only way to grow stronger. She was sitting in a corner of the training hall, watching the other cadets testing out their new weapons and spells and snatching up threads of memory wherever she could. So engrossed was she in the act that she didn't even notice the gorgeous blond angel coming up beside her.
“Mariana?” Jeanne asked to her right, her tone implying that it hadn't been the first time she'd tried to get her attention.
Mariana looked up to see Jeanne, the Maiden of Orleans. The thoughts and memories swirling around her were the most intoxicating concoction, full of all the rich history and centuries-old regrets of the living legend and mixed with the very real, very fresh emotional insecurities of someone terrified of falling in love.
And as she thought of all that she saw Jeanne's expression shift, that slight annoyance coming over her. Jeanne was very good at hiding it, much better than most people, but she couldn't stop the feelings entirely. Mariana understood the problem. It must have been ten seconds since Jeanne had last spoken and that hadn't been the first time she'd tried to get her attention. When Mariana was lost in her own world she tuned out other people and when she was interrupted it took a few moments for her mind to catch up with the idea of actually responding to a query, making it extremely annoying for other people to try and talk with her. For most of her life that had suited her just fine, that even people who knew her would think twice before approaching her, but that, too, was becoming an inconvenience.
Before Jeanne could storm off in annoyance she replied: “Jeanne. What can I do for you?”
**
Getting Mariana out of her own mind was always a bit of a struggle. Jeanne had said her name three times before Mariana had looked back up at her and even then it had taken her almost a minute to actually reply. Jeanne knew that she shouldn't be getting annoyed at it, that this was just who Mariana was, but though she'd tried to hide it the subtle shift in Mariana's expression had told her that her annoyance had shown through. And while Mariana did seem like she regretted coming off as annoying, the girl was in tune enough with who she was not to apologize for it.
And somehow, all of that fit her. She was pale, with long curly black hair, waifish almost to the point of looking malnourished, and with the kind of heavy-lidded expression that might look quite sensual if she ever tried to make it so. Jeanne had obviously not been alive at the time but from the descriptions she'd heard from other celestials Mariana was a dead ringer for one of the old world oracles, like the soothsayers of Delphi. And it wasn't just her appearance. Her mannerisms and her way of speaking, all of it. She had a slow, languid way of moving her body and her voice was soft and wispy.
Even knowing what she was capable of magically Jeanne might have considered Mariana unfit to fight on the front lines but that had been before she'd seen the girl fight. In combat, in any high stress situation, it was like she became a different person. Deadly serious, awake and aware of her surroundings and terrifyingly efficient. She wielded her assault rifle with sniper precision and used her magic for anything the gun wasn't capable of handling. Outside of Elaine's and Jordan's teams, Mariana was possibly the single most capable fighter at the compound, her horrendously low Bond Level notwithstanding. And so Jeanne said:
“We need you to dive into someone's memories.”
**
Elaine couldn't have been more surprised if the butterfly girl had started honking like a goose. As such, she thought that the bewildered “Uhhh...” she let out in response hadn't hurt her image as a badass too badly.
“I think you skipped over a couple steps there,” Rachel told the girl.
“R-right,” the girl said, then began again. “I am... my designation is Subject 259 and thanks to you I was released from Caulder's control.”
Elaine gave the girl a nod, letting her know that she knew that much. She found the idea of referring to this girl by a designation given to her by Caulder utterly distasteful, though before she could voice this the girl continued:
“Miss Rachel here then asked me about Caulder's plans.”
“And she told us quite a bit,” Rachel interrupted. “Expect a briefing soon.”
“Right. And after that she informed me that I was a... Shard Bearer?” She almost asked the last with a glance over at Rachel.
“Exactly,” Rachel said.
Elaine's eyes widened. The girl had handled her gun with more confidence than a mere civilian but... After what the girl had been through, high stress combat situations might not be the best place for her. “And you're sure you want to join us?”
“I—“ The girl began with a stutter, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again she spoke with determination: “If you'll have me.”
And there it was. That reaction Elaine knew. Yes, the girl had experienced unimaginable trauma. But instead of running away from it she had decided to face it head-on. That, Elaine could respect.
“We'd love to have you,” she said.
**
“Whose memories?” Mariana asked.
This was intriguing. Her abilities allowed her to snatch up snippets of memories simply by being around people but that was the weakest part of what she was capable of. Her real power ran far deeper and it was also far more invasive. Few people would allow her a full dive into their memories. Alejandro had let it happen once, to let her try the ability, and it was the only reason she was even at Bond Level 4 with him. There were no filters, no blocks. She could root around in someone's memory and find out whatever she wanted.
In fact, she might have spent a bit too much time looking at his intimate memories while she'd been in there...
“Have you been keeping up with what Elaine's team has been up to?” Jeanne asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“I know there was a big commotion,” she said slowly. “I saw Elaine and her blond teammate carrying two unconscious women in here.”
Jeanne nodded, then summarized: “Those two were forced to work for Caulder. We freed them from his influence. One of them is still unconscious and the other wants to join Elaine's team.”
“And you want me to find out if she's trustworthy?” Mariana asked.
“No,” Jeanne said. “Her loyalty is beyond question. We need you to find out her name.”
Mariana bit her lip. This implied that the girl might not have full access of her memories or that there might be things she had almost forgotten about but to Mariana even that was child's play to find out. And of course, if she was the only person who could possibly help, then Sergeant Caldwell wouldn't be able to refuse a simple request... Yes, this could work. In fact, if she played her cards right, this might solve all of her problems at once.
She smiled up at Jeanne. “Sure, let's go.”
**
Elaine was still mulling over the idea of this willowy butterfly girl joining her team. The girl had an ethereal beauty to her, like a fairy come to life, but despite how light and willowy she looked she had demonstrated that she was capable of tough decisions and amazing feats when necessary so, placed in a suit of armor, she would probably do quite well.
Keeping the girl around would probably involve helping her deal with her trauma but that was a small price to pay. Elaine was not a fan of the idea of 'fixing' a person but if the girl wanted help with putting herself back together again then she would be happy to help.
She felt a soft smile come over her lips for a moment before she noticed Jeanne approaching. She did her best not to let the smile wither. She was still upset at Jeanne but it was the kind of upset that could still be fixed with a polite conversation. And, judging by Jeanne's slightly haunted expression when their eyes met, the angel had clearly taken it harder than Elaine had.
Accompanying Jeanne was a willowy woman with curly black hair. Elaine had seen her at the compound before, of course. There really weren't that many people around and so she knew everyone at least by appearance. But all she knew about this girl was that she looked like a Greek oracle, that she was part of Alejandro's team and that she spent a lot of time sitting in the training hall, people watching.
“Jeanne,” Elaine said as the two women approached, then gave the black-haired girl a nod.
“Elaine,” the angel said, then met the gazes of everyone in attendance and gave them a nod.
“Hey Mariana,” Rachel said.
In response the black-haired girl startled, then looked over at the succubus. “Hello Rachel.” She turned to the others. “Hi.”
The girl's voice was like whispers on the wind.
“Can we help you?” Elaine asked.
“Oh, she's not here for your help,” Rachel said. “I asked Jeanne to bring her here because we need her help.”
“What for?”
And then something odd happened. Rachel reached out to place her hands on the butterfly girl's shoulders, then yanked them away like someone had kicked her and then stepped on next to the butterfly girl instead, bumping her shoulder into hers.
Elaine's lips drew into a thin line. She could only think of one reason Rachel would hesitate to touch the girl like that and it made her want to murder Caulder even harder. Rachel was worried the girl would startle if touched from behind, which was the kind of consideration one gave abuse victims.
But before Elaine could think through the implications some more Rachel told the butterfly girl: “Mariana might be able to find out your name.”
The girl's eyes went wide, then her hand shot up to her throat, where Caulder's choker used to be. “I...”
Even Elaine was thrilled about that. She had only just thought that leaving the girl with nothing but a designation wouldn't do and evidently Rachel and Jeanne had thought the same thing.
“Would you like that?” Rachel asked gently.
The girl looked over at Mariana, who was openly staring at her wings. “Can... can you do that?”
It took the girl a moment to snap out of her staring. “I can try.”
“Then please.”
Suddenly the girl seemed to draw herself into focus, looking a lot more mentally present than before, then said: “A trade.”
Everyone present tilted their heads.
The girl looked over at Elaine. “She wants to be part of your team, right?”
“Yes,” Elaine replied, not sure where the girl was going with this.
“Then I want something from you,” the girl said. “I will find out her name but in exchange I want payment from you.”
“What do you want?” Elaine asked. What could that girl possibly want? Credits? Weapons? EXP?
“I want one of your memories.”