Yuriko checked out of the hotel in a strange mood. The talk with Lilibeth's—her—grandfather took most of the morning, and if the old man had stopped tiptoeing around the issue, they might have been done in half the time.

There was a thread connecting Benjamin Daublin-Lawson to her, but the connection was muffled and a bit tenuous. It didn't convey thoughts and emotions as other threads do, and she supposed that was normal for family. Technically, he wasn't, but also, he was. Very little of Lilibeth's original body remained, but there remained an indelible imprint. That was one of the comments the old man threw out casually, that she barely looked like the old her.

Daublin-Lawson was an old family and was one of the wealthiest in the nation. The founders were blonde and blue-eyed, just like she was, but none of the women were as tall. None had her build, and the facial features were different. But those were the founders, and the latest three generations had mixed features. Not all of them were blonde, much less blue-eyed. Not all had pale complexions, and intermarriage with southerners had given a couple of branches caramel coloured skin.

Yuriko had similar features to the Daublin-Lawson ancestors, but Lilibeth didn't. The difference had been something the old man had commented on, mostly as an interesting sidepiece to the rest of the conversation. Vanity Alterations, while not at all that common, were well-documented to bring the power holder into an idealised version of themselves. Which had been the point he had made. For her to look closely like the founders meant that subconsciously, she must not have been willing to cut all ties with the family.

Obviously, that wasn't true, but there was no real point to contesting the view. While she was nearly incapable of lying convincingly, it wasn't as if she had to speak up to deceive. Keeping silent and letting others come to their own conclusions was a learned skill after all.

"Vanity powers," the old man chuckled. "They are the oddest things. It's not always looks, by the way. You don't move, act, or express yourself the same way you did before your Alteration. A social aspect is almost guaranteed, and a minor way to fight. You have a compelling voice, I've heard. I wonder, does it work through mass media?"

"I'm not sure." Her Mien worked through mass media, which was why she was bothering with her celebrity career, but her Command? She doubted it. No accidental domination from her. Not unless it was her Intent, anyway. She certainly had not tried, and had no reason nor desire to even bother.

For some reason, Alexis had a slightly smug grin that disappeared when she glanced at him.

"For what purpose did you bring that up?" Yuriko asked evenly, her gaze narrowed.

Benjamin snorted and shook his head. "Nothing of note. A simple observation and a question. Not many Altered Human powers work through a screen anyway. It would be quite the outlier if yours did." He gave Alexis a rather significant glance, though there was nothing quite overt about it. She only caught it because of the small flare of emotion from both of them.

She walked to her Nitstuda Civilian in the parking building, got in, and drove out into the streets. She had a bit of a drive home, about a couple of hours in clear traffic and about twice that if she got caught in the Neo Prism rush hour. She could take the circumferential road that skirted the city and over the bridge north of the city, but that still added another couple of hours to the drive, not to mention the rather horrible condition of that road.

After another half hour of circuitous talk, the old man finally got to the point. Well, one of them anyway.

"New factions are forming, and old ones are restructuring," Benjamin said, "the Company is opening up new positions, adjusting policies, moving goals."

Yuriko arched an eyebrow, then asked, "You're asking me to…?"

Benjamin chuckled, "Not as such. I'm not blind, nor foolish."

She nodded for him to continue.

"While some rules have been loosened, it doesn't change the gravity of your actions, which makes overt movement difficult."

"But not covert ones."

"Indeed," the old man's smile was sharp enough to shear paper. "Of course, nothing is for free, and there are more methods of payment than mere Torries."

"Alright. Let's say I'm interested."

"Good. Then it means we can continue to assist you."

"Hmm."

The old man shrugged. "There are audits, after all."

"Fine."

While dealing with rush hour traffic wasn't pleasant, so was driving on a broken road. Yuriko took the interstate exit towards the city, entering southwest of Jackstone District, and made her way towards Winderfield Island. Main SW Avenue was a radial road that ended up in the middle of the island, on the roundabout that contained city hall. She didn't have to go all the way there, or course, but the avenue was the shortest, though technically not the fastest route. And so, while she suffered in a traffic jam for an hour, simply because a farking hauler driver forgot to account for the low ceiling of a pedestrian overpass on his route, where his vehicle snagged on the concrete, blocked two lanes of a six-lane avenue, and caused a massive bottleneck…

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

She should have just flown.

Unfortunately, she didn't want her Regalia identity linked to her celebrity one. There were advantages and disadvantages to being openly a cape, but going unmasked would complicate her life a bit too much. Discrimination against Altered Humans was still there, even if it had toned down a bit over the past weeks. Trawling Capewatchers Online brought her to cape hater threads, and the vitriol she found there made for poor Quintessence. Some threads had already latched on through Regalia, and the Quintessence she squeezed out of it was particularly foul. It was still usable, but it tainted the other droplets drawn from other threads, which befouled the entire barrel.

Tainted Quintessence wouldn't stabilise into Ambrosia unless she refined the filth away. It also lingered in her dreamscape and generally got in the way. There was also a bit of the filth from her celebrity activities, but they were easier to purify. Actually, just the process of making Ambrosia was enough for that.

Altered Human hatred felt different. Cloying and pervasive. Almost…unnatural.

"There is quite a bit of speculation on your alter ego in several Network forums," Alexis said during a lull in the conversation. "You've built quite a reputation as a knee-capper of petty criminals. Any reason why you only go after the small-time crooks?"

Yuriko shrugged, but didn't answer. Since they were talking circles around the issue, though Alexis was being a bit blunt and her grandfather didn't quite appreciate it, if the side-eye he gave the younger man was any indication, she wouldn't say anything incriminating either.

"I heard you tangled with old Mansfeld and handed him his ass, good for you," Benjamin said after a while.

Who?

At her silent question, the old man chuckled. "Big, blonde mullet? Hotter-than-you attitude? Chased you in your car more than a week ago?"

Oh. Him.

"What about it?"

"The Nation," he said simply. "An anarchist group that seeks reform through whatever means necessary. Often, that means violence. They have often been in contention with the Company."

After a couple of moments spent in thought, Yuriko asked, "And how does this relate to the favour?"

The old man flashed a wide smile. "You are definitely more than what I initially thought. I would trade favours and fortune for some of the Nation's gathering places to…become uninhabitable."

"And what of the people?"

He shrugged. "Spilt blood is wasteful, not to mention that it would bring too much heat. We can handle some of it, but not too much. Certainly not for free."

So, favours would be used to clean up, making the exercise a net-zero game. "What is your quarrel with them?"

"They stand in direct opposition to us. They wish anarchy, we wish order and the rule of law. Peaceful and meaningful progress. Done through the proper channels of the law."

'Or', Yuriko thought sardonically, 'through wealth and riches leveraged to bring people under their sway.' Not an entirely uncommon tactic, considering she encountered something similar back home in Rumiga.

"So… you want me to do 'something' to clear out the Nation's safehouses? Meeting places? Where would I even find those? And you know my schedule is quite packed."

"We will handle logistics and coordination, of course. And most activities of such nature often occur under the cover of the night. You know that."

"Alright, fine."

"Good. Doctor Dunn will coordinate with you once the schedules are set." He tapped the side of his cup, then asked, "If you already have anything to ask for that is not monetary, it would be good to know as soon as you can name it."

Yuriko hummed in thought. There really was only one thing she needed at the moment. "Glimmer."

Both men's eyes widened a fraction, and while Alexis stared hard at her, Benjamin quickly got himself under control. "Which kind?"

Yuriko tapped her lips, "The first, homogenous one would do."

"You should be aware that Glimmer of that purity is not…safe to consume excessively. Two is often beyond that limit."

Alexis added, "I hardly think you need more of it. There can also be…unpleasant and unforeseen side effects."

Yuriko chuckled. "I don't want it for that. Merely a curiosity. And I'm more after finding out where it came from in the first place."

At that point, both men frowned. Benjamin said, after a long moment, "That is not something easily provided. Glimmer is complicated, and is tied to… inconvenient things."

"Where does it come from in the first place?"

"Somewhere beyond the Republic." His frown deepened. "I, personally, have not looked. The medicine is not needed in my case, and the more illicit uses are distasteful. The margins are a bit too low as well."

"A pity."

"Ah, but I can have a team put together a dossier. I'm sure we have data lurking about in some corner."

"I suppose that is acceptable. Thank you."

She finally crossed the bridge over the Santana River, and she exited Winderfield and landed in Burmington District. From there, it was another half-hour drive to reach Oakmont Estates and her current home. She could feel Desire's rising lust as she drove. The Chaos Lord was still in between the layers, but she was always close enough to clearly sense.

She wondered if Scarlett wanted to patrol tonight or maybe tomorrow. Although Brilliance and Speedrun wouldn't be able to accompany them. The two of them were apparently headed out into the countryside for a bit of recreational hiking.

As she pulled into her garage, her Anima perception swept the apartment building. Scarlett wasn't home, but it was early in the afternoon anyway. She should be on campus, or rather, on the way back.

After she excised the parasite in her friend's brain, she kept a close watch on the girl. Aside from lost memories, nothing much had changed, which was a bit unfortunate considering Scarlett still harboured the scars inflicted on her by the traumatic introduction to capehood by the Unfettered. Still, progress was progress.

It was the last thing she asked her grandfather before they parted ways, actually.

"News and location of the Unfettered."

"Why do you want that? You aren't planning on confronting them, are you? Don't be foolish. Those serial killers has been on the loose for years."

"I know, and I intend to do something about it. Are you telling me that there's no way for the Company or the government to track them at all?"

"Of course not." He retorted. "Otherwise, they would have been killed long ago."

He shook his head, "Intelligence is sparse, but I'll throw it in for free. You managed to fight them off without getting hurt, so if you do manage to wipe them out, good riddance."

Yuriko grinned, "Oh, that's exactly what I intend."

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