by GoozX and The Eurostar
"The Prince, Chapter XIX: That One should Avoid being Despised and Hated
Now, concerning the characteristics of which mention is made above, I have spoken of the more important ones, the others I wish to discuss briefly under this generality, that the prince must consider, as has been in part said before, how to avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible; and as often as he shall have succeeded he will have fulfilled his part, and he need not fear any danger in other reproaches."
The EPS:
Dr. Charles Elias Walker sat behind his desk, reading over a mixture of files from recent events. The letters EPS were bolded along the top with a subtle white trim, short for Enhanced Procurement Sanction. No other words on the cover stood out, none of true importance. Turning the page, his name was at the top, followed by the numbers 2B01. His bio was not of much importance to him, in denial of what he truly was, and having already read it over dozens of times.
The next page was titled with the name William Marcy Tweed, number 2B02, Walker's first captive, his first soldier:
Tweed is strong and well built for a man of his age.
His metagene allows for him to become invisible to the human eye and lets him become totally intangible.
Tweed was once the kingpin of crime for the criminal underground in and around the Chicago area, but things changed. His ego got the best of him. Like all great kings, he fell.
Tweed was in the gym, sculpting his obese but muscular body with excessive lifting. His concentration was solid as his muscles contracted, lifting the huge weight high into the air.
"It makes him hated above all things, as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects, from both of which he must abstain."
Vidalia Owens, number 2B03:
Seductive and deadly.
Owens' metagene allows for empathic and slight telepathic goads into the minds of those around her.
On occasion, she's been known to make people change their minds about their deepest convictions.
A powerful ally and soldier.
Should be kept out of direct combat, as to avoid weakening of her power, but should always be on the sidelines, changing the feelings of the enemy.
Owens worked in the hydroponics station, enjoying the downtime with the plants she loved, possibly the only love she would ever really know and be content with. There was a sadness within, something she would never show on the outside.
"It makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate, mean-spirited, irresolute, from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock..."
Andrew "Andy" Reynolds, 2B04:
Loose cannon.
Emotions easily manipulated.
Strong ally. Will not go rogue.
Finally sees the EPS as his home and will fight to keep it.
Reynolds lounged in one of the few recreation rooms. He pressed a button on the remote control, changing the channel.
"...and he should endeavour to show in his actions greatness, courage, gravity, and fortitude; and in his private dealings with his subjects let him show that his judgments are irrevocable, and maintain himself in such reputation that no one can hope either to deceive him or to get round him."
John Doe, 2B05:
Everything once known about this captive can be thrown out.
Cole Lochlan.
Will do anything to win a fight. He'll kill without doubt or remorse.
One of the main reasons metas should not only be feared, but held captive and killed.
He is in check for now, but at the first chance he gets, he'll rebel once again, killing me without a second thought.
One could only wonder what fun he would have if given possession of little Eddie. I bet Cicciotto would love that.
Cole removed his shirt. Bandages still covered his ribs, busted from his defiance of Walker. He grinned and jumped high into the air, landing in one of the Olympic-sized pools in the headquarters.
Turner, 2B06:
A super-soldier made by the MCCA to lead their division of looking over metas and keeping them in check.
Cloned from the blood of MCCA Director Richard Stephens to take over after his passing.
Turner is powerful but can be kept in check by info provided from secret MCCA files.
Knowing how he was built shows his weakness to be contained.
Power limit unknown, skill unbelievable.
Must be kept in check.
Turner's room was empty. A book was missing from his personal library.
Tom B. First, 2B07:
Proved too unstable and handed back over to TriVext for captivity.
Not useful while in coma state.
Showed signs of power.
To be observed in future.
Status unknown: lost?/missing?/dead?
As Lance Lorenzo walked on the ground of a small, supposedly haunted island, he had a strange feeling, a flashback of his time in a coma, of being a large complex, something he has not even had time to think about in recent weeks. But as quickly as the memory hit, it was gone and would soon be forgotten.
Edulcore Cicciotto, 2B08:
The Eurostar, the revolutionary.
Class Alpha metahuman, originally with superspeed.
Later early powers included varying the density of his body from a very low, ghostlike form, to a very high, near-indestructible form.
See files on Revolutionaries for more info.
Cicciotto sat in his room. What he did had been right, was it not? He had stayed to be with the one he loved, to retain his connection with Vidalia, and also his son, his responsibility. Yes, what he did by staying was right, even just. Cicciotto picked up the book he found the night before, The Prince. Flipping through it, he noticed a message etched along the side, reading, "Not all as it seems." A message for him? Cicciotto stepped out of his room. A figure had been waiting for him.
"That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided it is well known that he is an excellent man and revered by his people, he can only be attacked with difficulty. For this reason a prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects..."
"You?" the Eurostar asked. "Did you leave me this message?"
The man once known as Special Agent Turner simply nodded his head. He had disabled the camera over Cicciotto's room hours before.
"After all that has happened, why would YOU want to help me?"
"You might not expect this, but we both have something in common. In our own ways, we have helped the world, and this prison suits neither of us. I am offering a truce. When the time comes, I offer my help in exchange for the same."
"You are sick if you think I shall trust you."
"You know that you would not be able to escape here alone, not with Eddie, at least." The confidence in Turner's voice was strong. "And while you can handle your own against most of the EPS, you still fear Lochlan." He paused, then said, "Lochlan fears me. When the time comes, you disable my chip, I protect you from Lochlan."
Eurostar was silent, not knowing how to respond.
Turner tipped his fedora in Cicciotto's direction and parted with a few words. "When the time comes..."
"...the other from without, on account of external powers."
Tobias Christopher returned to the group's new apartment complex after a thorough but fruitless search for an assassin. A few floors above him, Marv Velo assisted the coroner with carrying Sonja Ljzavet's body to the elevator.
Walker closed the booklet in front of him and smiled. Everything was under his control.
"...hatred is acquired as much by good works as by bad ones, therefore, as I said before, a prince wishing to keep his state is very often forced to do evil; for when that body is corrupt whom you think you have need of to maintain yourself--it may be either the people or the soldiers or the nobles--you have to submit to its humours and to gratify them, and then good works will do you harm."
Edulcore Cicciotto:
I run upstream, along one of Turner's arteries. I have turned into iron, split up and tied to his own blood cells. I am heading toward the chip, the damned device that each EPS member (minus myself) carry.
The chip is a slavery mark, both a handcuff and a gun pointed to the temple. Step out of the track, and through the chip Walker sends his punishment. Turner has asked me to disable it. In exchange, he will protect me from Lochlan, the bastard that has total power over this strange body of mine, an exoskeleton gift of Tempus, a talos (or android) from the future for whom I have worked as a... what's the English word? A herald?
Not is all as it seems.
What had Turner meant? That he is a friend? That the girl, Crasher, is not to be trusted? Does he know of her? Or was he meaning that Owens does not really love me, and she is using me, maybe under orders from Walker?
That is really not important. If she is really in love with me, and her powers, instinctively unleashed, make me too deeply love her, I can't blame her. If, as I have heard one time when I was in air form in Walker's section of the headquarters, is pretending to be in love with me, as per Walker's orders, in order to keep me chained to this place, I would be mad at her. But, in both cases, I simply can't think of getting away from her. And her, for fear or conviction, doesn't want to escape with me. It's a stalemate, and I am stuck here, to the point of denying a free lift when that Crasher came here to free me.
But even if I can't flee from this place, I am determined to make life harder for Walker. I don't know if I ever will need Turner's help. I don't trust him. He is a cold-blooded killer, something that doesn't put me at ease. Two months ago I would have easily fallen for his offer. Now, after two months in Hell, having him not betray me would really surprise me. Yet I want to help him, because that will make Walker unhappy. Maybe I will do the same to each EPS agent. Who knows?
I have reached it, the chip. I don't know how it works, but that's not important. I don't want to disable it. It signals Walker the location of each agent who holds it. If I were to disable it, Walker would quickly find out. No, I'm doing something different. I am cutting all the little nerves that connect the chip to the neural system. It will be a bit painful for Turner, but I know that he has endured worse.
Done. Now the chip functions, but it is completely harmless for Turner. Done.
I turn into air, and with a gentle breeze, I write four letters on the dust on the table, near Turner's bed. When he awakes, he will know, and with a wave of the hand, nothing will remain to be read by anybody else.
Still a gust of wind, I run through the corridors of the EPS compound, through the hydroponic section, where my beloved Vidalia, my tenderly hated Vidalia, holds and rocks my Eddie.
Farewell, my two loves. I don't know if I will be back tonight. I can't leave you, but that's no longer my choice.
This body is powerful and indestructible, yet I don't know if this very night I will be still alive.
Because now the revolution begins.