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Bio Forge Master (Rewrite) by Throwaway1971

Books » Private Rated: M, English, Romance, Words: 137k+, Favs: 57, Follows: 75, Published: Dec 12, 2023 Updated: Mar 15, 2024

29Chapter 27: 22

Bio Forge Master

Chapter 22

Fran Moss/Esper (Puppet)

The nature of their bond was hard to describe and even harder to explain, even they had a difficult time naming what their bond is.

The one known as Esper pondered over what to call itself, and what to call the others that shared the same mind. There is a surprising amount of fiction on what one calls a group of mentally connected individuals, and despite this, none of them truly fit perfectly.

He wasn't part of a hive, not truly he was but wasn't. He still had some individuality from the others. But the same can be said of them all in truth.

He wasn't a collective, but this was more fitting than hive, they were all distinct and had different ideas and desires, and yet they were all intrinsically connected in ways that are difficult to explain.

They weren't a group of telepathically connected individuals, because they all started from the same mind. All of them were imprinted via psionics and neural link downloads.

They weren't clones (but they were technically), obviously not physically but also mentally. Their minds weren't perfect copies, they ran off incredibly different substrates. Esper's brain was significantly better designed than Fran's, which was significantly better than Patches modified one, and far, far above his (or their) original one.

It wasn't even intentional on Fran's part, the brain by itself is extremely over-optimized, a product of natural selection with its limitations, and one that is incredibly specialized by evolution. It's about as good as it can become, to the point that pre-Scion it was the most complex object on earth.

Each version of the brain that he/they did was slightly more improved, and with each subsequent generation being better.

Using the Matrix technology to run a neural lace that increases speed, then creating a body with perfect neuron placement allowing for maximum performance with minimal overheating? It used a neural lace, but it also served the purpose of serving as a radiator, allowing the brain to run and operate at much higher temperatures, the entire nervous system really, multiple times the hertz.

This of course was a constant through Fran, Patches….

And finally, with him, being the latest iteration of Fran Moss, with a brain that was improved in both ways along with Feel It Out helping Fran find ways to further optimize and improve… It was strange in all honesty.

Several science fiction and fantasy books went on to describe transhumanism as liberating, frightening, alien, isolating… and there for sure was some of that. But it was mostly just strange.

He didn't know what to think about it beyond feeling what the other two felt, he could even close the link (but never fully) to think for a bit. He was sure that his self from the future would know the exact thing down to one word in the dictionary.

None of the bodies disliked the connections they had, while they all came from the same person, they were different enough to have different perspectives which allowed them to come to realizations that otherwise they never would've had. It was rather beneficial; it also addressed the natural fear all social creatures have.

Fran Moss would never be alone again, and they were all happy with that.

But for all the mental 'dialogue' they had with each other, they did have to disconnect every once in a while, to watch a sunset or just not think and just… be.

An excellent description of their connection was like being online. Though it was probably healthier and more constructive.

For instance, the reason his connection was off right now. It was because using psionic powers could result in shared backlash, as evidenced by the killer headache they all suffered after killing Lung and his pet Oni Lee.

It had been… almost disappointingly simple compared to the Butcher, even though he had thought of a dozen strategies that could've ended that fight and counters the Butcher would've likely used. Augmentations that would have won that fight, and all the reasons they wouldn't work.

Lung… it wasn't that he was a much simpler creature, he could've easily liquified his brain but showing you weren't Manton Limited in front of a paranoid Protectorate hero like Armsmaster is just asking for trouble. So Esper went for another method, he knew for a fact that Lung needed air, so he considered it the 'gentlest' way to subdue Lung that wouldn't paint him as a loose cannon or some sort of villain.

Still, he was ashamed to admit he thought of Glen Chambers at that very moment, he could metaphorically hear the man harping on the importance of good PR.

The Vader choke or anything more 'violent' would be too frightening, making Esper look like a violent vigilante, so he had to do something else.

So, he had a dumb-sounding idea that worked, remembering all those videos of the Crocodile Hunter and how alligators' jaws are at their strongest when snapping shut but could easily be held closed with one hand or scotch tape. So, he did it, he metaphorically clamped his mouth shut while stretching his lips shut and closing his nostrils.

The seal wasn't perfect, but that worked in his favor, since Lung could still get some air to breathe. So, he decided to recover it rather than attacking him or trying to hold his breath, which in turn gave Armsmaster a chance to strike. Severely hurting Lung and injecting him with a sedative he had cooked up, probably something that could withstand the tremendous internal temperatures Lung was containing. Few sedatives worked when the blood was well above the boiling point, after all.

Then of course Oni Fucking Lee had to show up, and just like Lung, he was so. Disappointingly. Easy. To. Defeat. Just move his mask down slightly to block his sight with telekinesis and pull the pins on his grenades.

Honestly, Esper was about the worst possible matchup for anyone that needed line of sight and used grenades.

Pushing a human against a wall, or in this case, another human - was well within his abilities to do. Truthfully, he did so mainly out of curiosity and wow did he not expect Lung to rip through Oni Lee to escape. He sensed the sheer panic in the man he didn't think he'd ever experienced before!

After the hilariously large explosion, he legit expected Bakuda to show up in a tank and hit him with an RPG or something, but no… that was it. He had practically neutered the ABB, with their biggest beat sticks gone they would be vulnerable, and this was the perfect time to strike.

Though he said 'strike' like he was going to capture them, but no he was going to steal all their shit, and… well Patches had been wanting to examine a parahuman, so he figured he'd nab the mad bomber before she did anything crazy like turn the ABB mooks into living bombs or something.

So, after passing Armsmaster off to Patches, he went to capitalize on the situation, he just needed to ride through the city and look through the minds of anyone who wore red and green bandanas. He loved that there were no true telepaths in Bet because otherwise, minions wouldn't use such easily identifiable clothing.

Raiding came on both digital and real fronts, many ABB members found their bank accounts drained and their wallets missing. He even managed to get to Lung's apartment and take everything inside!

Lung kept monitor lizards, they were now pets for the girls, and he got the spare masks for both Lung and Oni Lee. They were going on the trophy wall.

No sign of Bakuda though, though what he did do was gather plenty of evidence and send it all to the public prosecutor, well not before making sure he wasn't corrupt of course. And seeing as the public prosecutor wasn't in his office to alert the PRT, it gave him plenty more time to loot the ABB for all their worth!

By the time he reached his final stop, he had collected half a million digitally, three hundred grand in cash, a few pounds of gold, jewelry, and other valuables, and (no joke, Esper couldn't believe it himself) Honjo Masamune! The actual fucking Honjo Masamune from fucking Japan!

No goddamn wonder Lung fancied himself a damn Shogun, this fucking thing owning it was like the Japanese equivalent of owning Longinus, no wonder he let it go to his head! Well, either that or being an escalating Rage Dragon did that.

The sword itself wasn't special, it wasn't the Japanese version of Excalibur or anything, a single swing with perfect form from them would shatter it from just his physical strength. Still, it would go to his trophy wall all the same, who knows maybe one day he'd have a use for it.

Still, aside from a priceless Japanese relic, Lung seemed to like collecting artifacts. He had some of those little Jomon clay men, real historical magatama amulets, lots of common katanas, polearms, kanabos, and other Japanese weaponry. All less valuable than the most priceless katana that is certain.

Overall, though? There was a lot of looting to be done, and Esper was loving every second of it!

When he was done, he popped into the Workshop, built himself a few magitech devices, and then popped away. Which leads to him standing on top of a rusted hunk of metal in the middle of the bay.

Ironically named 'Wyrm of the Sea' was a feeder class ship, a class that rose in popularity as the intercontinental trade dried up, in the days before Leviathan they were used for taking containers from smaller ports into larger trade hubs. But when trade became more national, they started traveling all across the coast, moving goods from the north to the south and vice-versa.

The ship, like all container vessels, is owned by a very illegal and criminal-looking web of owners, operators, firms, and more. To the point where it doesn't have an owner that can easily be pointed to, this, of course, is by design.

During the strikes after Marquis was caged, the ship was taken over by rioters and driven into the bay, this resulted in the ship losing several compartments to flooding, and it runs afoul of the rock formations that had destroyed the first pilgrim ships to arrive in the bay, and so it stayed there. Half of the ship was underwater, and the rest blocked the entrance to the bay itself.

The city, of course, didn't want the giant sunken ship to kill its economy, so it fined the owners, and the fine would increase by one hundred thousand dollars per day if it was not removed, it was a perfectly valid and legal decision to make. But it cemented the owners' turning on one another immediately, the legal battle that caused the parties to all claim to have no ownership of the vessel and pay millions to lawyers to not be settled with the fine already at three hundred million dollars.

It was horrible since none of them could open a rescue operation because it seemed like they were responsible for the vessel. Thus, it stayed, the Wyrm rolling in the sands whilst the hull tilted and fell to the side. A dead dragon much like what Esper did to the Dragon of Kyushu.

The economy of the city had well and truly been destroyed by this thing, before it crashed it had been entirely a hub of commerce, with it running goods to be loaded into ships from upstate.

And so, Esper decided to clear it up. The story said it clearly that capes not solving problems like this was the cause of the world going to shit, well he decided he would end the cycle!

He wasn't powerful enough to lift an entire ship over his head like Superman of course, and while he could if he overclocked his psionic augments and various other experimental bits, he had inside it would simply boil him alive and result in his physical body being sublimated as he transitioned into a psionic entity akin to a particularly vicious ghost (aka pulling an Alma), so plan B it was!

Firstly, he had to check the damage, most of the hull was corroded to shit at least the portion below the water, obviously. Surprisingly however the overall structure of the ship was still surprisingly strong, so it gave him an idea, however it would take him… at least four hours tops (possibly an overestimation really, but better to be safe than sorry), and he had access to forcefields so why not make use of them?

Taking the magitech devices and securing them to portions of the hull that had suffered the most damage he used his own telekinesis to attach the devices along the hull and turn them on, sealing the ship along the hull perfectly, not allowing any water in or out.

Actually, they'd make a good defense against Leviathan, so Esper quickly opened the connection and shot it over before closing it back up.

Then he focused and gave the ship a push with some effort, and for the first time in years the Wyrm shifted. Esper then he 'primed' his Trans AM augment to increase the threshold of psionic power he could bring to bear but didn't fully activate it.

The augment itself was a small thing, similar to a pacemaker in both size and shape. It produced just enough GM particles that he could use them to pull a kaioken to multiply his psionic potential so he wouldn't sublimate.

And let's be honest, it really was just the kaioken, a multiplier of strength that covered you in a red aura and left you exhausted afterwards. GM particles were weird, they're extremely lethal, mutagenic but in the comic book fashion and utterly harmless at the same time.

It was really confusing but it increased his own psionic potential after the first time he used it, he wasn't sure if he would develop any newtype powers but that seemed possible with enough time, and the fact that Feel it Out considered it the only valid way to increase his psionic potential was just crazy.

Truly, that perk was worth every point. It lets you play Hot and Cold with what you can improve, it lets you find security issues and simultaneously guide you to improve it whilst giving you a better understanding of the flaws. Hell, it might even help with finding buried treasure either by improving your treasure hunting gear or something!

But what was he currently using it for? Finding a better way to remove the boat from the bay.

He had already attached the force field generators to the hull, and with some finagling he had them also doubling as water pumps to empty the vessel out using some hoses that were still on board along with some of his own psionic abilities to help it along. It would take a few hours for the boat to empty, but it would be worth it in his mind.

And so, he decided to relax as he waited for the ship to empty and enjoy the view of the ocean.

Half an hour of pumping out water and moving containers off the ship, he was ready to do this and with a mental tug he gathered power and activated the Trans-AM system, giving him three times the strength and speed, utterly useless really, but three times the toughness, that was a ridiculously vital thing.

See the power of the Trans-Am triples your physical capabilities, but it doesn't mention what it does to others. With the extra resistances, he could use more of his psionic potential without turning his innards into meat soup and char his skeleton. In a rather ironic case, it's his physical body that is actually the limiter for his psionic power!

Funny how that works.

This meant that to become more powerful he had two options, either go the Alma Wade route or find a way to strengthen his body. Much like how Space Marine librarians are able to withstand much stronger uses of the warp due to their physical resistance.

With the Trans-AM system, his psionic power is tripped in range, his precision is tripled in finesse, his efficiency is tripled in amount, and his psionic output is tripled.

But it was more than enough to move an entire ship of twenty-three thousand tons, which is about half the overall weight of the Titanic.

He wouldn't be alone of course, but he needed to take the first metaphorical step.

Lifting his hands into the air, because no way is he one handing this bitch, he brought forward the powers of a mind unbidden, unashamed, and unlimited in its potential. Beneath his feet the ship started to vibrate, the air was filled with the sounds of things falling, and chains rattling and readjusting.

The water beneath the ship started bubbling as long trapped gas was released from its prison beneath the ship.

the ship started to right itself towards the other side. He could feel the people from the other side of the bay watching in awe, but Esper paid them no mind and focused on his task.

The sounds of metal popping and whining became omnipresent until finally stopped.

The ship once again sailed, the hull protected by a forcefield projected from five different devices across the entire hull. It would only last for a few hours, so he would have to move quickly.

Though he did earn himself a few minutes to catch his breath as the red glow around him faded, allowing the full weight of exhaustion and strain to finally hit him, causing him to fall to his knees as he sucked in air like he ran a marathon at full sprint and didn't stop once.

It was only when the winds picked up and threatened to push the ship over did, he returns his focus on keeping the ship steady, thankfully the amount of force to stabilize it is far smaller then needed to lift it, but still made his head throb.

Oh yes, before he left the city, he was going to take himself a well-earned… Well, a nap seemed inadequate to describe it. Maybe a short lived medically induced coma perhaps?

Shaking his head and lightly smacking his cheeks, he turned the ship slowly to the ocean and sailed away. It didn't take long for him to find a place between Brockton and York, Maine. A short two-hour tip, that was thankfully utterly uneventful. No flying capes, no patrol boats, only a single fishing vessel blaring its horn, but Esper could easily tell the captain and the crew were very happy.

He chose to lead the ship away for two reasons, Brockton did not have the necessary infrastructure to dismantle the rusting hulk anymore with the people that owned the docks leaving and taking their cranes and equipment with them, and the second was to push the container ship over the state line, making it a federal case, something the city has attempted to do for years without success, so laying it inland in the beach was ironically his best option.

Finally coming up to the spot he had surveyed and once more exerting his powers, slightly lifting the nose of the ship he accelerated all he could until the ship's rotors hit the shore and the entire thing came crashing down.

Luckily for him the tide was high, it prevented the ship from being dragged back into the sea so easily. Regardless he used his power to further strand the ship and used the containers still on the ship to surround the vessel and provide protection and prevent it from moving much.

It was only a few seconds after the ship was stranded did Esper detect a dimensional breach some distance away and an object approaching fast. He didn't need to turn to see who it was, and he was willing to bet money he knew who it was.

When the object was close, he spoke into the hull, which acted like an amphitheater and made his voice travel forward and echo, "So, what can I do for the Library of Alexandria today?"

She simply floated there, clearly used to people either being in awe or running/fearing her, but still capable of taking it in stride.

"Do you have any idea of what you almost did?" She asked stoically.

"Well, besides defending myself against two criminals wanted for multiple homicides, and giving back the city billions of dollars a year in trade? No, I don't know what I did." Esper retorted, after using his power he had the beginnings of a killer migraine and was currently out of fucks to give, as he begun to walk towards a nearby road.

"The Boat Graveyard is used as an antenna and reflector for several tinkertech radar systems, and sonars." Esper just looked at her and rolled his wrist in a 'go on' gesture, "They activated the internal Endbringer alarm in the PRT, you're lucky that Dragon intervened directly and told the Director that Leviathan wasn't approaching. I was flying here before the recall could be issued."

That could've been bad news, Esper knew that the Endbringer truce was one of the few things she actually did care about from his vague memories of the series, primarily from fanfics because the original story never failed to depress him every time, he tried to read it.

Besides, activating an endbringer alarm under false pretenses is probably a super high-level crime in Earth-Bet.

"Well, sorry for taking you out of bed, miss, but since you're here could you take care of a small problem for the city before it develops?" Maybe he could get three rabbits with a single rock? Or perhaps three sharks with a single boat would be a better metaphor?

"Which is?" She asked as she crossed her arms looking unimpressed.

"Well, there's a tinker in town, the Cornell Bomber I believe. Real maniacal one from what a precog friend of mid said. She's building an EMP bomb that could take out the electrical grid from here to New York allegedly. And who knows what else, seeing as Lung isn't able to hold her leash anymore." Esper said.

She clearly found the idea to her liking, it's the sort of thing she would do after all, and something she'd definitely want to prevent. Esper had an extremely difficult time getting a read on her, the woman dead to his psionic abilities, just like the corpses in the morgue.

Honestly watching her move gave Esper the creeps.

"You're not exactly a known quantity for the Protectorate, we would need more evidence than that." She said finally, and Esper felt his lip twitch at the very obvious bait she laid out.

"I've got a few tinker tech bombs I've looted from the ABB in a pocket dimension, and well… just look at the blue mushroom cloud." He said, pointing towards the city, "Besides, one of the gangs just lost its leader and biggest deterrent. I imagine the PRT would gain a lot of good PR if it's seen that you came in to help clean up the rest of the gang and to deal with a potential Tinker Terrorist." He added with a shrug.

Alexandria knew he was playing her, but the possible benefits were simply too good for her to dismiss entirely, and it allowed the negotiations to pass easier for Esper if he did try to press the issue.

Over a thousand criminals in a day is an excellent amount even for Alexandria, and it would justify Costa-Brown not sending aid for a while.

"Be that as it may, we'd still have questions for you." Of course, she wouldn't let that go…

"I'll answer what I can, we're a bit far from the city but ask away." Esper said as he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled, and a few minutes later a motorcycle drove itself towards him, "So… ride and fly? Or do you want a ride?" He asked.

The question caused her to crack a faint smile, "No thank you, I prefer flying."

"Fair enough, I'd probably prefer it if it didn't give me a nosebleed." And that's putting it mildly, still he rode off but not so fast that Alexandria would have any trouble talking to him.

"So, Esper, is that correct?" She asked.

"Yep, that's my name don't wear it out I kinda like it!" He quipped back with a chuckle.

"How long have you had your powers?" She was reciting some standardized questions.

"Eh, about a month give or take." Esper said with a shrug.

If she was surprised, she didn't show it and continued asking questions, "Have you always lived in the bay area?"

"Born and raised." Technically the truth… the best sort of truth really, "Only left once, and that was to Boston to pick up my dumbass brother."

"How long have you known each other?" Alexandria asked.

"Hell, as long as I can remember really." Esper said, "Practically grew up together."

"Have you given any thought to joining the Protectorate?" She asked.

"Not really, I don't want to settle in just one city." Esper said, "I want to see the country, travel around."

"What would you say your affiliations are?" She asked.

"Neutral." Esper said without any hesitation, "Let Patches be the hero, I just want to travel and live my life."

"If you could have any superpower other than what you have, what would it be?" Esper blinked at the question.

First of all, is that really a standard question she asks? And… that actually is a pretty good question, honestly.

"If I could swap powers? I think I'd want to be a healer like my brother." Esper said, "Or a biokinetic like Panacea. Either or." He wasn't even lying either; Panacea's powers were awesome in his opinion!

She certainly seemed to like the answer, but then again, the world needed more healing capes anyway.

"What motivated you to move the 'Wyrm of the Sea'?" Alexandria questioned.

Okay, he had a good answer for this one, "It's the best I could do for the city without having to fight. I don't particularly care about punching other capes in the face, and I don't have the patience or the ability to heal like my brother has. So, I do this and whatever debt I owe to this shithole is paid in full." He explained with a surprising amount of emotion in his voice, he needed to sell just how much he didn't want to be in the city.

"Fair enough." Was that a bit of sympathy he heard in her voice? "Would you be willing to trade contact information?" She asked.

It wasn't any skin off his nose actually, "Sure." He said as he used his power to keep the bike steady as he pulled out a notepad to write his number down and give it to her while getting a card in return.

"Did you find anything else of importance during your looting spree?" She couldn't hide that amused smirk when she said it.

Esper just pulled out a katana from his pocket dimension.

"This is the Hanjo M-

"Masamune, I know, one of the many treasures that were stolen during the fall of the Japanese government, the Protectorate has had them in the catalog of important items for years." Alexandria said, cutting him off, "Where did you find it?" She asked, looking at the sword with strange intensity.

"Lung had it in his office." Esper answered honestly, "Along with a bunch of other priceless relics."

"I could easily return it to the Japanese government." The 'in exile' part wasn't mentioned, "Please give it to me so I can return it to its rightful owners." It wasn't really a request either, and far be it for Esper to try and arm wrestle the Library of Alexandria on something, besides it would give her an out for not bringing in Esper.

"Sure, have at it." He said, giving it to her naked blade first (besides it's not like she'd cut her hand open or anything), while still looking at the road.

It was just his luck however as he passed the sword to her a pickup that past them swerved and lost control, the driver clearly distracted by Alexandria flying beside a motorcycle. She obviously went to help the drive, despite all the fucked-up shit she's done she still tries to be a hero and Esper as well as the others respected her for it.

But it was enough of a distraction he needed to use the teleportation magitech device integrated into the bike, it cost a lot to recharged it, but he felt like the expense was justified in this case.

Rebecca Costa-Brown/Alexandria

"And please, pay more attention to the road." She said finishing her standard speech on car accidents, she'd heard enough jokes about her causing so many accidents wherever she went that she actually made a speech about it.

Hero and Legend thought it was hilarious, and Elidon did as well… even if he tried to pretend to be super serious all the time. Back then… things were better, there was still a chance at a better life and things didn't seem so grim and hopeless.

Then Hero died… it was probably at that time things started to seem less bright, she still hadn't forgiven Doctor Mother and Contessa for stopping her from ripping the Slaughterhouse apart with her bare hands! At least Contessa had the decency to seem genuinely apologetic but was it a result of the Path or a genuine human response she had no clue.

Alexandria had a hard time reading Contessa even at the best of times.

Still, after ensuring the driver wasn't in danger, she looked towards where Esper was driving. She wasn't surprised in the slightest that he was going, a possible teleportation device or Mover ability. She didn't know, he was difficult to read… which honestly surprised her.

Possible Anti-Thinker effect? Was it a natural expression of his power, or connected to a tinkertech device his brother created?

Still, she couldn't help but feel like Esper… She felt like Hero and Legend would like him. He may say he'd leave the heroics to her brother, but still he handed over a priceless relic without even a bit of push back. Granted it could be also due to it being her that was asking for it, but Alexandria had the feeling that he genuinely didn't care that he gave it over.

And his justification for moving the Wyrm of the Sea? She loved it, he reminded her of Hero. Hero focused more on solving problems rather than fighting.

She knew others would be asking for a reward to make it worth their while, if anything Esper reminded her of when she and her friends were being heroes because it was the right thing to do. It may have been some form of bias on her part, but she didn't really agree with Doctor Mother's assessment of him… or his brother Dr. Patches in fact.

Ever since the healer cape appeared Doctor Mother had been asking for him to be brought in, even asking Contessa for a Path to getting Dr. Patches to work for them, she believed that Doctor Mother was hoping his skills could be used to improve the formula.

That day she needed to respond to an emergency in LA, so she never heard if Contessa made a Path or not. But seeing as it was never brought up again the Path must've taken too long or would've cost too many resources to go through with.

Shaking her head, she was about to lift off and fly towards Brockton Bay only to stop when her phone buzzed, humming curiously she pulled her cell out and checked it. Her curiosity just grew when she saw it was a text from Contessa. Opening it she read it silently as she hovered in the air.

"... Why does she need me to remove her picture from the Protectorate database!?"

Deciding to question the Boogeywoman thoroughly when she was finished here, she put her phone away and flew towards Brockton Bay.

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