Chapter Three - Forging

Legacy sits at her computer, bored with how things are going. While she did bring down the Lakeside Devils and their leader Metal Man a week ago, her desire to fight evil has been quenched.

Well, not so much quenched, but rather her eagerness has been replaced with a caution after she barely escaped Metal Man’s trap.

As a result of her newfound wariness, Legacy has halted her old activities of going out and fighting evil. Instead she has been focusing on creating her surveillance network while Legacy awaits the arrival of her new armour.

Her network is quite extensive now, covering one mile radius around the basement that she patrols in as well as an additional three miles on top of that.

Not that she has stopped beating up drug dealers whenever she can. But Legacy has noticed that they have started avoiding the area that she patrols in.

Perhaps they have decided I am too big a threat after defeating Metal Man that they are willing to abandon such a large area.

On one hand, that is a good thing as Legacy has driven her foes away and forced them to give up a large amount of land.

On the other hand, it means that she isn’t able to interrupt their activities as much anymore. And the lack of drug dealers to rob means that Legacy’s main source of income is lacking.

But Scott and Legacy still have several thousand dollars remaining despite spending quite bit of it. Scott is particularly fond of helping out other homeless people by them some basics such as food and drink.

Legacy sighs and opens up a news website. It turns out that after taking down Metal Man, a supervillain, has gained her fame. Especially since the members of the Lakeside Devils have exaggerated Legacy’s actions that night.

As a result of this and the drug-free zone that she has formed, the mysterious Guardian vigilante has become quite popular in the local media even if the authorities are denouncing her for not revealing herself to them and public and committing illegal actions.

I can’t wait for Scott to get back from Matt’s with my new armour. I got so many ideas for what I can do with it. I hope I can convert it into power armour. That would be ideal as it would grant me protection and pseudo-power to allow me to take on others with powers such as Metal Man.

Legacy dislikes that claims that she took down Metal Man. She was lucky to get away that night and it was only because Alexandria and the police showed up mere moments after Legacy left that Metal 

Man wasn’t able to get away.

And Legacy has yet to find out why the police were able to show up so soon. She or Scott weren’t the ones to call them and she doubts it was just coincidence that allowed events to happen as they did. Things went too well for that.

Legacy opens an article that is speculating on her powers. Unfortunately for Legacy, the authorities were able to retrieve her lost pipe-weapons from the Lakeside Devils and have thoroughly examined them.

Despite attempts to keep the results secret, they were leaked to the public. Now the public believes her to be some crazy and genius inventor as the reports claim she built weapons using advanced technology out of the scraps.

Which, in fairness to them, isn’t incorrect. But I just wish I was able to retrieve my weapons. They were my first creations and I’m actually quite upset by their loss.

Legacy halts her reading of the article as a warning appears on her computer. Despite her secure and undetectable connection as she hacks the internet so she can browse the web, somebody has found it and is attempting to trace it back to her.

And they are actually doing a pretty good job of it.

Legacy closes the article and begins to counter the person’s attempt to trace her. She can’t effectively counter it as despite her technological prowess, Legacy is reacting much slower than her opponent.

Only her adaptive defences are keeping up with the tracer and even then it is clear to Legacy that they won’t hold out forever.

This isn’t right. No way that they could be this good naturally. They have to have some sort of power that allows them to be doing this good.

Legacy grunts as she gets annoyed at her inability to counter her opponent.

Voice! Give me those help here!

Enter.

Enter what? How can entering help here. Unless I can... oh wait I can. I almost forget that I could enter machines with my power. That should give an advantage over this person.

Legacy uses her power to focus on her computer and enters the device with her mind. Everything is so much larger and more expansive in here. Slower too, including the tracer.

But that might just be me being able to process things faster when I’m directly in the computer. Now let’s get to work.

Legacy struggles with the tracer, finally able to halt their progress as she focuses solely on battling her opponent.

She loses track of time as they battle each other into a stalemate. And it is at that point that Legacy receives a message from her opponent.

Want to talk?

Yes. I would like to talk.

Good. May I ask you a question?

You may.

Who are you?

I am Guardian.

Oh goody! I hoped you were. Is that your true identity or just alias to hide behind?

It is...

Legacy pauses as she thinks her reply through. How much of her is the Guardian? And how much is Legacy? What about how much of a difference is there between two? After all, she is the Legacy of the Guardian so they might be two sides of one coin to use another of Scott’s phrases.

It is one of two intertwined identities to form my true identity. My alias to hide behind is Legs and is to deflect attention when in public.

That was not the answer I was expecting. So Guardian is just is an identity that cannot just be simply casted aside?

That is correct. Guardian is fundamental part of who I am. May I ask who are and what do you want?

You may. I am Jay if you are Legs and that would make my father Leo.  And if you are Guardian, my father is Gears and I have not decided yet. I am torn between choosing Sentinel and Defender. Maybe Dragon since they’re kinda cool. I might have gone for Guardian, but you have already claimed that one.

Hello Jay. And now what do you want? You didn’t answer that question.

I am looking for likeminded allies Guardian. I hoped that you would be one of them.

And what makes you think that I would be an ally?

Let me explain what my father and I wish to do.

Go ahead.

Father is an inventor. As you know, people such as yourself gained powers at the start of this year. Father is also one of them. He is an inventor like you. He can design and create pieces of technology far beyond the current level of technology. Father can also think faster than he used to and learns things easier than before. In addition, he rarely forgets things now and his body is faster, stronger and tougher now. Not to the level of someone like Atlas or Metal Man, but he is above the norm. He has built himself a base in our area below our city. It is a different settlement to yours and we don’t have many other empowered people here. Unlike you and the others, father has decided to stay hidden and built up his resources before becoming a public superhero. He also wishes to keep his identity secret and wants to avoid working for the government if he can. I assume that you wish do the same.

I do. So you want to become allies in our fight against evil?

That is correct Guardian. What do you say?

I’ll have to ask Scott first. He is looking after me.

Would you like some more information first?

I would. It is best to be informed. I would also like to know how you found me.

I agree. Father and I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan and in the earth deep below, we have built our base. We also have a tunnel that leads to Lake Michigan in case we need subtle access to it. My father has built himself a working suit of power armour in addition to other equipment to assist him as a superhero. I assist him in his efforts. I also located it by detecting and unusual signal. I attempted to trace it to your source, but encountered resistance beyond anything I have encountered before. I must say I’m impressed by your skills.

Thank you. I shall be going now.

Goodbye Guardian. I hope we meet again.

Legacy redraws from the computer to find Scott standing over her.

“So what are you up to Legacy?” inquires Scott, “You’ve been like that for a couple hours and were already like that when I returned.”

“What’s the time?” asks Legacy.

“Half twelve,” says Scott, “So?”

“It seems I have been busy for the last three hours,” answers Legacy.

“Doing what exactly?” asks Scott, “You were completely unresponsive and I didn’t want to disturb you since I didn’t know what was happening to you.”

“Let me explain from the beginning,” replies Legacy, “I was on the computer using the internet when somebody started tracing my connection back to me.”

“I thought you said that was impossible,” says Scott with a frown.

“Conventionally yes,” answers Legacy, “But the person behind it had access to the same sort of technology that I had.”

“What do you-” Scott starts to ask, but Legacy cuts him off.

“I tried to fend them off conventionally, but they were too good for me so I use my power to enter the computer,” explains Legacy, “It then able to fight them to standstill, but lost track of time in the process it seems. It was intensive and hard as neither of us could afford to slack off lest the other gains the advantage. But in the end we spoke with each other.”

“And who did you speak with?” asks Scott.

“Someone in Grand Rapids, Michigan,” answers Legacy, “She called herself Jay and said her father was going to call himself Gears when he went out in public. Jay said that her father could build advanced technology like I could because he had powers as well. She also said that they didn’t want to work for the government and keep their identities secret even though they want to be superheroes and fight evil. Jay wanted me, Guardian, to be one of their allies. I told her I needed to speak with you before I gave them answer.”

“Hmm,” says Scott as he strokes his beard, “This could be useful. I would recommend investigating further and perhaps a face-to-face meeting. Actually definitely request the meeting before agreeing to anything. It is always best to know who you are dealing with. But if this Jay is telling the truth, this is a really good thing for us.”

“How so?” inquires Legacy.

“Because we will need friends and allies in the long run,” Scott tells her, “And it will be better if we can get them early on. That way we can build up good long term relationships with each other. Those are also important and require time to make and time isn’t a resource that you can extra of.”

“Should I be on the lookout for allies then?” asks Legacy.

“Yes, but check with me before agreeing to anything,” says Scott, “At the moment you’re too inexperienced to know how good or bad things will be. While I’m sure you will pick these things up over time, at this point people might try to take advantage of you.”

“That will not go well for them if they attempt to do so,” Legacy retorts.

“But it won’t go so well for you either,” counters Scott, “What is your initial impression of this Jay?”

Voice?

Good.

“Good,” answers Legacy.

“Ask them for a meeting later,” says Scott, “But for now, come and see what I brought back with me.”

Scott points to a bundle of gear on the table and Legacy’s eyes widen as she realises that it is the armour that Scott ordered for her last week.

“What is there?” inquires Legacy as she begins to look through it.

“High quality ballistic vest customised to fit you,” replies Scott, “Hunting boots and gloves plus Kevlar helmet with a face guard to go with it and a pair of military goggles. I got a couple of spare of all of it just in case. I hope you’ll make good use of this as it ate through half of our funds.”

“I will Scott,” replies Legacy as she picks up one of the gloves.

This will all do nicely. I can finally start on this power. Something I especially want to do after my fight with Metal Man and learning that this Gears has his own already. But how to do it? I got the armour and I got my exoskeleton, but I will need something to provide full body cover. What do I know of? I was researching armour the other day and... I know. I don’t need something that is already of high quality, just something basic to form basis of the power armour. And I know where to go.

“Scott,” says Legacy.

“Yeah,” replies Scott.

“I need to go to a sporting store or outdoors shop,” Legacy tells him, “To buy armour that will form the basis of my power armour.”

“You’re moving onto that now?” mutters Scott, “Sure we can do that. Any particular reason why?”

“Because Jay said that her father has already built himself power armour,” explains Legacy, “And if I’m going to meet him, I want my own set of power armour.”

“Should we go shopping now then?” inquires Scott, “Or do you want to get started with your armour?”

“I want to go shopping first,” answers Legacy, “I’ll need what we’re getting before I can do the majority of the work on power armour so I don’t really see any point in starting until we got something to form the basis of the armour. What I would like to know if we have enough money remaining for this? Especially as I would like to build three sets of armour as you brought me three sets of equipment.”

“We should have enough for this,” replies Scott, “But you should go out and retrieve some more money soon anyway as what we got is running low compared to what we used to have.”

“Let’s go then,” replies Legacy as she puts the glove down, “I wish to start on my power armour as soon as possible.”

***

Scott ended up taking Legacy to several different sporting and outdoor shops, taking all, but one thousand of their remaining cash with them.

They end up going to large sporting store where Scott says he brought most of Legacy’s original armour. She ends up getting dirt biking body armour to form the basis of her power armour.

Rather than looking through all of it, Legacy just asked the voice what were best, getting different feelings of approval or disapproval in return. It actually proved quite helpful for Legacy as what she did get is actually pretty good.

The voice is unbelievably helpful and has yet to give me bad advice. I am so thankful for it, especially after it helped me survive Metal Man’s trap.

Gratitude.

You’re welcome.

“Legacy,” says Scott as they returned to the basement, “What do you know about powers?”

“I know that I have some,” replies Legacy, “And they’re the most stable part of me and are the only constant in my life. I also know that other people have powers, but other than Gears and Jay, no one I know of has powers like mine.”

“I confess I don’t much about powers myself,” says Scott, “I was kind of hoping that you knew more, but it seems you don’t. Not that much is known about powers. They are scientifically impossible and nobody knows the cause of them. All we do know is that people first started getting them a month ago at the start of the New Year.”

“A month?” mutters Legacy, “That does not seem...right to me.”

“What do you me?” inquires Scott.

“I feel...that...superpowers started appearing...a decade ago,” slowly replies Legacy, “Ten years ago...not a single month.”

They’re both silent and Legacy closes her eyes as she tries to figure out why she remembers something factual incorrectly. She knows that she forgotten a lot of things, but never has Legacy remember something incorrectly. It makes her wonder what else she is remembering falsely.

Guardian rolls her shoulders as she awaits the arrival of Gears. She sent a message to Jay the same way she contacted Guardian later that day and arranged to meet Gears.

Jay isn’t the only person who can trace supposedly undetectable signals even if she did realise who was behind it quickly.

Guardian made her first set of power armour in a furious amount of work over the afternoon and evening. She was on a schedule and that was no way that she was meeting Gears without her own set of power armour.

They arranged to meet on a disused beach as unlike Guardian’s, Gears’ power armour allows him to fly.

I could have done that, but I don’t access to the necessary resources to make flight an option for my power armour. It is not because this Gears is better than me. He simply has access to better resources than I do. And I’m sure I could have done it myself with my current resources if I had more time.

Guardian yawns. Her body doesn’t seem to be getting an optimal amount of rest and as it always seems to be at least somewhat tired. She doesn’t know whether this because of her resting habits or because of her activities.

Perhaps is it a combination of the two.

Even if it isn’t as good as Gears’, Guardian is still proud of her power armour as it quite difficult to make compared to her earlier creations.

First thing she had to was get enough metal so Guardian should fill out the gaps between what armour she has acquired. Then she had to build devices that could be used to reshape the metal. Then she had to meld it with the armour that Scott got her so it fit created a set of armour that covered her entire body. And Guardian had to make the armour into several pieces so it could be put on and taken off.

That isn’t even getting onto how hard it was to build the exoskeleton into it and still have it work.

She made the helmet, face mask and the goggles all part of one helmet with an added voice distorter. The gloves and boots were both reinforced to make them sturdier if Guardian needs to kick or punch something or someone. The power part of her power armour consists of ElecMag cells throughout the armour, a HUD built into the helmet that can be linked with Guardian’s power and the exoskeleton.

Guardian sighs with regret.

If I had this armour when I walked into Metal Man’s trap, I could have fought my way out and won.

But too late for that and Guardian can’t go back and change time.

Besides, Metal Man has vanished since has arrested. Nobody knows what happened to him like nobody knows what happened to Blastout. They both just got taken away by the authorities and that was the end of it.

Where is Gears? He should be here any time now.

“I assume you are Guardian?” says a thick, heavy and distorted male voice from above Guardian.

She looks up a spots a person in grey power armour hovering above her. His armour is sleek, streamline and well armoured with a smooth featureless helmet with only a couple of eye holes.

This must be Gears

Guardian can’t help, but notice how well constructed the armour is. It is made of a ceramic rather than metal and was definitely made from scratch rather than created using existing equipment.

Guardian regards both things as making Gears’ power armour superior to her own, but she puts it down to Gears having access to better resources. He has to have made his armour like that.

Perhaps he will allow me access to those resources. I hope he will and I assume he will if he really wants to be allies.

“Well?” inquires Gears.

“Yes, I am Guardian,” replies Guardian, “I assume you are Gears, Jay’s father?”

“What the-,” starts Gears as he lands in front her, “Jay? You mean Jaylyn? She has been telling you that I’m her father?”

“If Jay is the one I been talking to, then yes,” answers Guardian, “Are you not her father?”

“Sort of,” replies Gears, “Let me explain. You can keep secrets right?”

Guardian nods.

“Let me explain what Jaylyn is first,” starts Gears, “Jaylyn is an AI, my first creation. When I got my power, it was unbearably strong and I just had to build something. I so I built the most advanced thing I could think, a sentient artificial intelligence. A proper seed AGI with no limiting directives or programming.”

Gears pauses.

“And she sees me as her father.”

“You say that as it is a bad thing,” notes Guardian.

“It is sort of, I don’t know, maybe?” replies Gears, “Look, I just find it weird having a daughter while I’m a teenager. I’m still at high school and I got a freaking daughter. Not that I would reject her. I like Jaylyn and I guess I love in some familial manner, but I just find the idea of having a daughter that I created just plain weird.”

“But let us talk about something else,” says Gears, “Would you mind talking about yourself?”

Guardian hesitates. She feels like she can trust Gears, she hopes she can trust Gears and wants to trust Gears, but...

Voice? What’s your opinion?

Trust.

Okay. Thanks, that was the answer I was hoping for.

“I am unusual,” Guardian tells Gears.

“Of course you are,” replies Gears, “You have superpowers and go out in a costume at night and pick fights with criminals.”

“Not quite like that,” replies Guardian, “I’m much weirder than that. In fact, that is one of the most normal things about me.”

“Oh really?” says Gears, “Care to explain?”

Guardian then goes on to explain her life, starting at the earliest point see can remember.

Which, to be honest, is only eighteen days ago.

Gears is quiet as Guardian tells her life, from when she woke up in an alley to when she first went out to fight crime to escaping Metal Man’s trap to creation of her power armour.

Gears is silent for a bit after Guardian stops talking.

“That’s interesting,” finally says Gears as he begins pacing, “Is that all of it?”

Me.

“There is a voice I can hear at the back of mind,” says Guardian.

“You hear voices in your head?” demands Gears, coming to a halt as his head snaps round at Guardian.

“Yes I can,” replies Guardian, “Is that not normal?”

“No, it is normal,” replies Gears, “But neither are our powers. We seem to have the same similar powers even if they are a bit different so perhaps hearing voices in our heads is normal for us.”

“You hear a voice in your mind as well?” inquires Guardian.

“Sort of,” answers Gears, “Unlike you, I can hear four different voices in my head. Each has their own form in my mind and is a representation of part of my mind. Or least they claimed to be. But they have no reason to lie and it makes about as much sense as it can so I believe them.”

“Who are they?” asks Guardian.

Gears chuckles.

“It’s nice that you assumed that they’re a ‘who’ rather than a ‘what’,” says Gears as he fiddles with something, “The first one is the Vigilant Lion. He has the form of glowing lion and represents my bravery and willingness to protect others. He is also my ‘warrior aspect’ in his own words. Next is the Enduring Iron. He looks like a shapeshifting metal that switches between solid and liquid. He represents my determination, stubbornness and creativity and claims to also represent my ‘power’. The third is Burning Heart. He is the most temperamental and says he is the representation of my love and willingness to protect those I care about. He looks like a fiery and vaguely humanoid figure. He claims to be the representation my ‘love’. The final one is White Tea. He represents my compassion and kindness. He is a representation is my ‘good heart’ and looks like an unimposing figure in white with vague and unclear features. So what is your voice like?”

“Nothing as clear as yours,” replies Guardian, “Just a voice at the back of mind always going ‘syncing’. Sometimes it gives me a feeling or says a single word, but that’s it. Nothing fancy, but always helpful.”

“Okay,” says Gears, “Now you know about Jaylyn and I know about you, I suppose I should tell you about me.”

“I would like that,” replies Guardian.

“Well, where to start,” says Gears as he starts pacing again, “I got my powers at the very start of the year. Literally at midnight. I wasn’t so bad at first, but it kept getter stronger and harder to ignore. So I built this miniature quantum computer sphere which houses Jaylyn the next day. After that, my power died down, but if I go too long without designing or building something, it starts to build back up again. So I keep busy. I built my base, my armour and other equipment. I brought cheap electronics and personally upgraded them rather than buy expensive ones and upgrade them. When I need raw materials, I paid for them using mob bank accounts just as you been taking money from drug dealers. At least I assume you have been. But anyhow, I haven’t been publicly active, instead biding as I become organised. Unlike you, I had a lot more to lose if things went bad. That’s why I want to have back up before going out in public and Jaylyn contacted you.”

“So who else knows about your powers?” inquires Guardian.

“Just my girlfriend Joan and my best friend Charlie,” answers Gears, “I have told them everything except for Jaylyn and that’s because she sees Joan as some kind of mother figure just as she see me as father figure. It would be too awkward.”

“Only Scott knows about my powers,” replies Guardian, “Actually, he once told his friend Matt about me. Matt had figured things out on his own as he is the supplier of my armour and some other equipment and Scott just confirmed it.”

“So we know all about each other now,” says Gears as he stops pacing and looks Guardian, “What are we going to do?”

Partners.

“Do you want to be partners?” asks Guardian.

“Yeah, I would like to be partners,” answers Gears, “Do you want to come with me to my secret base?”

“Let me call Scott first,” replies Guardian.

She uses her power to reach into one of her sensors. Over the last week, Guardian decided that she might as well make all of her technology part of one network. That way she only needs to be in range of a single one of her devices to be able to reach all of them.

“Scott,” Guardian says as she accesses the computer in the basement, using the speakers to project her voice.

“Yeah Legacy,” replies Scott without batting an eye.

“I’m with Gears,” Guardian tells him, “We have decided to become partners and he’s going to take me to his base so it might be a while until I come back here.”

“Okay Legacy,” says Scott, “Have fun and keep your wits about you.”

“Bye Scott,” replies Guardian and she redraws from the electronics.

“I’m done and ready to go,” Guardian tells Scott.

“May I inquire how you called him?” asks Gears, “I think I know how, but I would like to find out for sure.”

“Oh, I just use my power to access on our devices at our hideout,” explains Guardian, “I made all of my devices part of one network so I-”

“Could access all of your devices as long as you had access to one of them,” finishes Gears, “Smart. Very smart. I’m impressed. You know what we could do now since we’re partners, is that you could upgrade all of my devices to be part of your network. It would definitely be useful in the future and would without doubt make communication between us much easier since we live in different cities.”

“What is this city called by the way?” inquires Guardian.

“You don’t know that?” mutters Gears, “After two and a half weeks of living here? It’s called Chicago by the way.”

“Thank you for the information,” replies Guardian, “I didn’t know because I have had other things to learn so I just learn things as they come or when I need to learn them. Knowing what city I am in never mattered before because I never have to do anything outside of this city.”

“I see your logic, but still,” says Gears as he turns around, “Hop on my back.”

“Why?” Guardian asks as she does as Gears says anyway.

“My base is on the other side of the lake and I’m the only one of us that can fly,” answers Gears, “Therefore I need to give you a ride there unless you feel like swimming.”

“I do not believe that that is a viable option,” replies Guardian, “Despite my physical prowess, I would not succeed due to a mixture of being unable to complete such a journey in addition to dying if I was to spend too much time in such unfavourable conditions.”

“What? No!” says Gears as he take off, “I was joking! Did you seriously think that I thought you could swim over a hundred kilos in freezing cold water?”

Guardian stays silent.

How is Gears’ armour flying?

She attempts to use her power to find out only to encounter something brand new, an inability to access Gears’ armour with her power.

Guardian can sense Gears armour if just barely. And she can’t sense any more technology on Gears and Guardian can’t tell if it’s simply because he doesn’t have any on him or if it is because she can’t sense them.

She hopes that is the former because it would bad for her people can counter her technopathy, Guardian suspects it is the later and that she wouldn’t able to sense the armour if she didn’t know it was there.

This puts a bump in my plans if others than Gears have this ability to create technology that I cannot interact with using my power. At the very least this will give me another practical reason to ally myself with Gears and perhaps I will have opportunities to learn how to counter this.

“Pretty view isn’t it,” says Gears, snapping Guardian out of her concentration, “Let’s just hope that nobody spots us.”

“Yeah,” mutters Guardian before deciding to just ask Gears outright, “How does your flight work?”

“Oh,” says Gears, “I just use kinetic energy projectors in my boots. They work by using their energy to allow me to resist gravity and whatnot. They only allow me fly in the direction I’m pointing so I got smaller ones scattered about my armour for when I need to manoeuvre. They work great as I can go faster or slow by putting more or less power into them and I hover by having just enough power to resist gravity. The only real downside is that depending on the size, only so much energy can go through at a time. The other downside is that it can eat through a lot of the power stored in my armour so I have to be careful about how I use them. That last one will probably be a problem when I start going into combat so it’s the one I’m trying to do my best to solve. For the time being, I’m trying to improve the amount power that my armour can hold and the energy efficiency of the projectors so I can get more out of what power I do have. I figured out that trying to reduce amount of power being used won’t work as the projectors need a certain amount of energy to work hence why I’m focusing on the efficiency instead of usage.”

“What are you using as a power source?” inquires Guardian.

“For my base, I got a fusion reactor,” answers Gears, “For my armour, I have battery in the back that is charged by the reactor back at my base. Compared to normal batteries, my battery is far superior at storing power and efficiently using it.”

“I have my power source that I use for my devices,” replies Guardian, “I call it my Electromagnetism Extractor or ElecMag Extract for short. It draws power from the electromagnetism in the air and I have either extractors in my larger devices like my computer or ElecMag power cells in my smaller ones such as weaponry.”

“I would like to see the designs for those,” says Gears.

“I would happy to share in return for a look at your kinetic energy projectors,” replies Guardian and Gears laughs.

“You know what Guardian,” says Gears as he chuckles, “I think we’re going to be great partners.”

***

“So is this your base?” inquires Guardian as she and Gears enter a disused warehouse.

“No,” replies Gears, “This was my temporary base when I was building my main base. I’m not using it anymore so I removed any worthwhile from here. It would be too easy for someone to find here so I didn’t want to have anything important lying about. But I decided to simply mothball the place as it doesn’t cost that much in time and resources to maintain and you never know when a spare base might come in handy, especially if there is an emergency.”

“Good logic,” says Guardian and the voice agrees with her by giving Guardian a sense of approval for Gears’ actions, “I approve.”

“Let’s head down now,” says Gears as he opens up a hidden compartment in the floor, “Even with the lead lining and the jamming equipment I got running up here, I don’t want to talk about sensitive up here. And you’ll be able to meet Jaylyn in person. Or as much in person as you can get with someone like her.”

“I understand,” replies Guardian, “I am pleased to have the chance to meet the person who so easily broke through my defences.”

“For what Jaylyn as told me, to her it was one of the hardest things she has ever done in her single month of life,” says Gears as he climbs down the hidden compartment into a lift, “Coming?”

“Yes,” answers Guardian as she also climbs down into the lift and Gears covers the compartment up again.

“And down we go,” says Gears, “Oh, forgot you can’t see me smiling.”

“Why are you smiling?” inquires Guardian.

“A variety of social factors I don’t think you would understand,” answers Gears with a wave of his hand, “I take you’re not good at this social stuff.”

“Not particularly,” replies Guardian, “Not including the stuff that happened over the last month, the only thing I can really remember about myself was that I was the Legacy of the Guardian and the only thing I truly understood were the technical fields relating to my power. As of such, I have been prioritising those aspects of my life as they are my only intact ones.”

“And since you lack an old life before the last month, I can totally see how you can fully devote yourself to being the Guardian,” says Gears as the lift doors open up into an underground base, “I, on the other hand, have a family, friends and a life outside of being a superhero. So I have to do this sort of stuff in my free time while still juggling my other responsibilities. It helps that I got Jaylyn to support me, but beyond that-”

“Hello Guardian!” exclaims a disembodied voice that Legacy recognises as belonging to Jaylyn, “Hello Father!”

Who else could it be?

“Hello Jaylyn,” says Gears with a sigh, “You met Guardian before haven’t you?”

“Yes Father!” replies Jaylyn in her joyful childlike voice.

“Well, Guardian has agreed to be my partner,” says Gears, “We’re going to compare notes now since we’re both an inventors that the other finds interesting.”

“If you’re partners, then you should tell her about yourself,” cheerfully suggests Jaylyn, “After all, Leggy as already told us about herself.”

“Leggy?” inquires Legacy.

“Short for Legacy,” explains Jaylyn, “I hope you don’t mind. I can stop calling you that if you wish.”

“I don’t mind,” replies Legacy, “Leggy, Legs, Legacy, I don’t particular mind which one you call me.”

“I’ll alternate then!” says Jaylyn, “Father, please take your helmet off. It is rude to keep your face hidden from your partner.”

“I might as well take all of my armour off,” says Gears with sigh, “I’ll be a moment. Entertain Legacy please.”

“Hello Legs,” says Jaylyn as the AI turns her attention on Legacy as Gears leaves the room, “Would you like to show me a trick? Father has shown me several, but they lose their charm afterwards as I can’t forget them.”

“A trick?” repeats Legacy, “Give a moment to come up with something.”

“Okay!” chirpily replies Jaylyn.

What trick can I show Jaylyn? By best option would be to do something using my power, but everything here seems to have been created by Gears. I assume that’s why I can’t sense any technology here beyond what I brought with me. Which means that my options are limited to using my power to do something with what little I have brought with me.

I could use my sensors to make something out of them. Maybe add them onto my stun-pipe. No, I don’t think I’ll do that one. Perhaps make a larger sensor out of the smaller ones or something along those lines. I personally feel that might be my best choice. What do you think voice?

Amusement.

So you’re not going to be helpful then? You’re just going to watch? Oh well.

Legacy takes out a handful of her sensors and holds them flat in her hand. She focuses on her power and the machines slowly change as they disassemble and reassemble in a large sphere. The process is slow, taking Legacy several minutes as she focuses on getting it right.

But at the end, Legacy is pleased with her results. She has recombined the sensors into a metal sphere with glowing lines running through the outer layer.

“Impressive,” says a male voice from behind Legacy.

Legacy spins around to face the speaker.

This must be Gears when he is not wearing his armour.

The person that Legacy assumes is Gears is an impressive specimen with a strong jaw, broad shoulders, a rugged face and robust body that is lean and tall. The boy is wearing green cargo trousers and a white polo shirt. His hair is short and blonde whilst his eyes are shade of blue similar to Legacy’s own.

Wait what?

Legacy pauses as she thinks about her thought.

I don’t know my eye colour. So why would I think that Gears’ eyes are similar to my own? That thought just came unbidden.

Ask.

Going to be helpful this time are you?

“Hey Gears,” says Legacy, “What colour are my eyes?”

“Blue,” answers Gears blankly, “Why?”

“It just occurred to me that I didn’t know the colour of my eyes,” explains Legacy.

“Seriously?” says Gears, “How can you not know what colour your eyes are?”

“I can’t remember what I look like,” replies Legacy with a shrug, “I wouldn’t even recognise a photo of myself it was shown to me.”

Gears looks troubled at this piece of information.

“Then we shall just have to correct that,” declares Gears with a chord of determination in his voice, “Legacy, take off your helmet. I will take your picture for you.”

Legacy complies as she takes her helmet off and Gears take a phone out of his pocket. He points it at Legacy.

“Done,” says Gears, “Come and take a look.”

Legacy walks over to Gears and looks at the screen of the phone, where a picture of girl with short black hair and blue eyes is displayed.

Is that me? Must be. I don’t look particularly impressive. A pretty face with pleasant features, but nothing major.

“I should introduce myself,” says Gears as he puts his phone away, “I’m Leonard Geary. You can call me Leo.”

Leo holds his hand out and Legacy shakes it.

“And I’m Jaylyn Geary!” exclaims Jaylyn, “Now everybody knows each other’s names!”

Leo frowns slightly when Jaylyn declares her name, but he doesn’t say anything.

“I suppose I should tell you more about myself,” says Leo as he walks over to a desk.

He takes a seat and offers another chair to Legacy, which she accepts as she sits down next to Leo.

“As I said before, I got my powers at the start of year,” says Leo, “Not many people know about them and I hope to keep it that way. Even if people will figure out Gears’ powers, I don’t want anybody to know about Leo Geary’s power unless I tell them. So far I have only told you, my girlfriend and my best friend. Jaylyn knows of course since she is my creation.”

“And I’m very proud of that,” Jaylyn cuts in.

“Who is your girlfriend?” inquires Legacy.

“Joan Elizabeth Fowler,” answers Leo, “A rich kid of some local bluebloods. Her father’s family has been wealthy for generations while her mother is a beautiful immigrant from France. Joan is the youngest of her siblings and the one that suffers the most. While her mind and soul are both brilliant, her body is...less so.”

He pauses as sadness appears on his face.

“She has been quite poorly since she was baby due to a birth defect of unknown origin, but Joan’s condition has deteriorated as she has grown up,” continues Leo with a sigh, “It seems to be getting more rapid as she gets older to the point that she has had to live in a hospital bed for the last two years. But she has had a recent upturn in her fortunes. Thanks to my subtle and unnoticed actions and efforts, Joan’s condition has been stabilising much to the joy of her family and her doctors. I would say friends, but I’m the only person that has remained in contact with her out of her old friends. The rest have sort of given up on her due to her inability to properly socialise. We’re been friends since grade school and have been dating for the last few months.”

“And what about your friend?” asks Legacy, “His name is Charlie?”

“Yeah, Charlie Smythe,” replies Leo, “Total nerd and doesn’t take anything serious despite his appearance. Ridiculously long black hair and he always wears his red hoodie short of when it is in the wash. He always has a gaming device on him and always finds a way to turn the situation into a joke. Despite that, he is actually extremely smart and fit, or least more so than he looks. His stamina is excellent and he is skilled with old fashioned weapons. Got his own homemade armoury in fact. Charlie does farm work for his uncle every other weekend and is a great outdoorsman. And yet he is avid gamer. A lot of people can’t seem to wrap their heads around him being like that. Charlie is the epitome of not judging a book by its cover. And for not judging it by the first chapter either. He is also great at keeping secret hence why I told him. We get along marvellously.”

“Does he know about Jaylyn?” inquires Legacy.

“Nope,” answers Leo, “The only people who know about her are in this room.”

“Scott knows,” points out Legacy.

“Yeah,” agrees Leo, “He can be trusted right?”

“Yes,” answers Legacy without hesitation.

“Good,” says Leo, “Now, let’s get onto discussing our respective inventions...”

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