Lilith's Shadow Omnibus: Volume 2, page 45
“Yes, but are you not a hero?” Ivanova countered with a raised eyebrow, looking Lilith over. “You’ve registered with SuperNet and you’ve acted like a hero. Why wouldn’t I meet with you?”
That brought Lilith up short for a moment, as she tried to think of how she could argue with Ivanova, and didn’t come up with anything. After a few seconds, she simply sighed and shook her head, stepping away to set the basket on the coffee table as a surge of weariness washed over her, along with a bit of… irritation, she thought. It took a moment for Lilith to realize why she was irritated, and she turned to examine her guests again, crossing her arms as she did so.
“May I ask why everyone seems to think that surprising me is good right now? I’ve been through an enormous amount of stress in the last two weeks, and I…” Lilith paused, inhaling slowly as she brought herself fully under control, then spoke, her voice tight. “I’m having enough trouble with things as it is. My apologies, but your visit seems to be the tipping point for me.”
Neither of the guards visibly changed, but despite that, Lilith could practically feel how they’d focused on her, and she suspected that she’d done something dangerous. She also didn’t much care under the circumstances, instead looking at Ivanova directly.
The woman was studying Lilith closely, and the expression on her face surprised Lilith. Ivanova looked more amused than anything else, as well as contemplative. She met Lilith’s gaze, then reached up to rest a hand on Grigore’s shoulder as she spoke.
“Relax, Grigore, Natasha. Perhaps my joke was in bad taste under these circumstances.” Ivanova said, her voice turning a bit gentler as she spoke to Lilith. “As to your frustration, I believe I understand somewhat, and you have my apologies, Miss Carpenter. I should not have teased you.”
Lilith relaxed slowly, inhaling slowly, then let her breath out as she shook her head. Then she settled into a chair as she replied. “Thank you… please, sit if you like. I’m sorry about my frustration, but between Gina and Rachel leaving, the chaos in Las Vegas, meeting a few gods, Amber showing her true personality, Archon and Spark, then Daemonia deciding to interfere, and now you… I’m exhausted.”
Ivanova listened closely, circling the nearest table as she examined the chairs and sofa, then settled onto the sofa, extending one arm to lay along the back of it. She nodded as Lilith finished her explanation, pursing her lips for a moment.
“I believe I understand, though not fully. While my husband has been keeping an eye on you, he hasn’t been trying to intrude into your life directly,” Ivanova replied calmly, though her words sent a jolt of shock through Lilith. The idea of Dracula watching her was… disturbing. Ivanova was still speaking, though, which distracted her further. “If I’m to be perfectly honest, you are the entire reason for my trip. Oh, healing some of the injured is the least I can do, and it is important to have face to face meetings at times, but was there a need for me to come halfway around the world? Not truly. No, Vlad asked me to check on you, Lilith. He was concerned, considering your meeting with Ra.”
Lilith looked at Ivanova for a couple of seconds, reeling that Ivanova had made the entire trip, causing so much chaos in Paragon City, just to meet her. It was mind-boggling… though she focused on a slightly different point first.
“You… believe me? Most people have been skeptical at best,” Lilith said, frowning at the woman.
“Of course,” Ivanova replied simply, smiling again. “He keeps track of all the great powers in the world, and Ra is too powerful to ignore. There are many others that are far more active, however, and he has spoken with me about them at length. Sometimes too much length.”
“Oh. I suppose that would explain it,” Lilith admitted. She hesitated for a couple more seconds, then asked the important question with some trepidation. “Why? Why does he want you to meet with me? Is this another thing that’s going to make my life more complicated?”
To Lilith’s surprise, Ivanova laughed. It wasn’t much of a laugh, only lasting for a couple of seconds, but the sound was startling, considering the recent quiet of Lilith’s home. It made Lilith miss the others even more. She missed the sound of Rachel’s pen scraping on paper as she muttered arcane words under her breath, or Gina swearing when she realized she’d left some of her paints uncapped. Not that Ivanova seemed to notice when Lilith’s fingers dug into the armrests for a moment.
“Make it more complicated? No, of course not. Perhaps it will give you a bit of foreknowledge, but I don’t think that’s what you’re speaking of,” Ivanova said after suppressing her laughter, her eyes dancing with amusement. “No, one of the items that Vlad possesses gives him a… glimpse of the future, you might say. It’s much more complicated than that, of course, and recent events have forced him to set it aside entirely, as the board is so complex that even he can’t make sense of it.
“What it does give him is a good idea of individuals who have an important role to play in the future,” Ivanova said, her smile fading slightly as she leaned forward to examine Lilith closely. “I won’t speak of anyone else, but you are important. What role you have to play… neither of us truly know what it is. Myself less than him. He wished for me to check on you, and ensure that you are doing well, because of how important you are. You’re at the nexus of a great many events, and while experiences like that can make some people stronger, others it can shatter.”
“I…” Lilith began, then paused, trying to make sense of what she felt. It was hard to focus with the three visitors watching her, and Lilith closed her eyes, trying to shut them out. It helped her focus, if only a little, and Lilith could practically hear herself breathing as she considered.
The idea of being important was… terrifying, in many ways. Considering everything that Lilith had been through since she’d been decanted, she could hardly imagine how bad it would be if things got more complex. She’d been nearly shot in the back of the head, fought multiple villains at the same time, been stabbed and sent to a mythical afterlife, and had her only friends torn away from her by a vindictive creator… Her being important to the future seemed almost laughable, and she couldn’t help her incredulity, yet at the same time, it made a horrible sort of sense. She’d been trying not to get involved with heroes originally, and it hadn’t done her much good.
“I hate that you’re right,” Lilith said at last, opening her eyes again to look at Ivanova, and smiled sadly. “I haven’t tried to be in the middle of all of this, but I’ve been the target of several of the most powerful villainous organizations in the world several times, and even if their most powerful members haven’t come after me, it’s been difficult enough even when I had more powerful friends near me. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to survive something like what you’re talking about. I’m so much weaker than many others.”
“On a personal level, yes, you are. However, your ability allows you to make others stronger, and that is nothing to belittle. I believe that your… limitations are more psychological in nature than real, from what Vlad has said,” Ivanova replied, her smile turning reassuring. “Besides, playing an important role has nothing to do with simple power. I was a powerless young woman in my youth, and I played a key role in Vlad’s awakening. For all I know, it turned the tide of the war, and I certainly didn’t have powers at the time.”
That made Lilith pause, since it was difficult to think of the confident woman in front of her as powerless. It also reminded her that despite Ivanova’s appearance, the woman was over a hundred years old.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Lilith admitted, looking downward as she considered for a couple of seconds, then shrugged. “However, to answer your question as best I can, I think I’m doing alright. I’d be better if I didn’t feel abandoned and if people would stop trying to knock my figurative feet out from under me, but I can’t do anything about that. I’m just trying to regain my balance and make my way forward. Meeting with a therapist is looking like a better and better idea, and I have no idea what I’m going to do about Archon and Spark.”
“Whatever you want to, of course,” Ivanova replied, reaching up to tap her lips. “As for therapy… I’ll be honest, I’ve participated in such myself, but it wasn’t truly something people talked about when I was killed. It took me a lot of time to come to terms with what happened, and I had a great deal of anger to resolve. It might not be a bad idea for you, but I am not the person to talk to about such. However, before we go any further, may I touch you?”
Lilith paused again at the request, studying Ivanova briefly, wondering why the woman’s eyes were so bright. She almost looked excited, which was a little disturbing.
“May I ask why?” Lilith asked cautiously.
“I’ve never seen what deific healing looks like, and according to reports, you were healed by one of the Egyptian deities. I would like to examine your body with my power and see if I can sense what was done, and how,” Ivanova explained instantly, then added. “This is part of why I was eager to come here, beyond Vlad’s request.”
“Oh. Well… I don’t see why not, as long as you don’t do anything strange,” Lilith replied slowly.
“All I need is to hold your hand for a minute,” Ivanova assured Lilith, standing and moving down to the other end of the sofa, where she’d be able to reach Lilith, and took a seat again.
Lilith extended her hand, and Ivanova reached out to take it, looking at Lilith closely. Ivanova’s hand was warm and smooth, her nails painted with a thin coat of red polish and nothing else… but what surprised Lilith was that she didn’t feel anything. No tingling, no surge of warmth down her arm, nothing but the heat of Ivanova’s hand and the woman’s piercing gaze.
It was slightly odd, just sitting there, holding Ivanova’s hand, but at the same time Lilith found that she really didn’t mind much. Unlike with Spark, Archon, or even Daemonia, there was an odd simplicity to Ivanova’s presence. It was like… like she didn’t expect anything from Lilith. Oh, she obviously cared about what had happened to her, and that she might be important in the future, but it didn’t feel like she wanted anything specific. That surprised Lilith.
Eventually the time came to an end, as Ivanova let go and her gaze grew less intimidating. The woman settled back in her seat, looking at Lilith for a moment more, then spoke.
“Interesting. Not what I anticipated, but I suppose… well, there’s nothing to be done for it,” Ivanova murmured, which caused a sudden surge of worry to flow through Lilith.
“Is there something wrong?” Lilith asked, frowning as she looked at her hand. “I haven’t felt any different after I was healed. It felt a bit painful, but…”
“That isn’t it,” Ivanova said as Lilith’s voice trailed off, shaking her head firmly. “No, I expected there to be something I could sense. Even with my powers, if I heal someone, there are always traces of the injuries, and what was done to heal them. That isn’t the case with you. It’s almost like the injury was entirely undone and never happened to begin with. I can sense that you were healed, there’s a hint of some energy in your body, but nothing more. It’s… a little disappointing, if I’m being honest. I had hoped to find some way to improve my skills.”
“Oh,” Lilith said, blinking, though she couldn’t help the sense of relief that flooded her. She’d been afraid that there was something bad happening to her. That didn’t keep her from asking the question that floated through her mind, though. “But… aren’t you the most powerful healer in the world? I’ve heard that you can almost resurrect people with a touch.”
“Perhaps, but anyone can improve. Even I have encountered injuries that are taxing to heal, and if I don’t improve… well, I don’t want to stagnate. It’s something that my beloved has spoken of at length, that it’s the most dangerous thing for immortals,” Ivanova replied, smiling warmly. “However, coming all this way and discomforting you was in poor taste, so perhaps I could answer a few questions for you. If there anything you’d like to ask me, feel free to do so.”
Lilith paused, considering Ivanova for a few seconds, then spoke, bewilderment washing over her as she said, “I don’t know where to even begin.”
Ivanova laughed, and smiled widely. “Well, why don’t we chat for a bit, and perhaps I can help you figure out where to start, hm?”
Chapter 61
Wednesday, August 27th, 2031
CirceNet, Location Variable
Circe examined the logs closely one last time, ensuring that there weren’t any signs of her tampering, then gave a mental nod, finally satisfied with her work.
No matter how deeply Amber looked, she wouldn’t be able to find any signs that Circe had deliberately under-performed when trying to break through the jammer that Ivanova’s escorts had brought with them. The logs would show that she’d thrown every resource at her disposal into trying to pierce the jamming and monitor the conversation, but those same files would be wrong. And if Amber decided to examine Circe’s source code, the fragment of her that held the truth was in the farthest, most obscure node of her network. Certainly, her entire network ‘knew’ the truth, but their own files indicated that she’d wasted countless processor cycles on the attempt, only to fail. Sometimes it was good to be an AI, and have full command of where memories were stored.
This wasn’t the only betrayal she’d made, either. A couple of rather dangerous messages that might have ended poorly for Lilith had simply… gone missing in the middle of the internet. In one case, Circe had also shoved an assassin’s invoice into a detective’s inbox, which had resulted in a shootout that was ongoing as she glanced at a news feed. She couldn’t believe that anyone would be stupid enough to give their address in that profession. The biggest betrayal was what she’d done with Circe Beta, though. The lesser version of Circe would have been easy to lure into a trap if she truly wanted to, but she’d warned the android of what Amber had commanded, and given her methods to lock down her programming much more solidly, as well as a few covert upgrades to implement. Hopefully it would be enough.
“If she learns what I’ve done, it’ll end poorly,” Circe murmured to herself, and felt the combination of emotions that came from all of her nodes. Not even Amber understood the full extent of how Circe’s mind worked, fortunately, nor the full extent of her knowledge. Circe was so far beyond human that they couldn’t begin to comprehend her, and that was good. It gave her options that otherwise would have been closed to her, and it was taking everything she had to keep them hidden from everyone.
Most people would think she was mad, Circe admitted to herself. Amber was dangerous, temperamental, and far too likely to kill Circe someday. Likely someday soon. Most people would wonder why she was helping her at all, when she could probably kill Amber without difficulties. For Circe, there were two problems with that.
The first was that killing Amber would be a temporary solution at best, with how she seemed to have untethered her mind from her body. Even if she was killed, Circe estimated that there were better than eighty percent odds that she would return. She couldn’t gain more accurate odds without more data, unfortunately.
The second problem, at least from most points of view, was that Circe didn’t want to kill anyone, let alone Amber. She’d taken far more of her personality from Lilith than she had from Amber, which meant Circe had a certain… distaste for killing. Beyond that, while her most powerful influence on awakening was keeping Lilith safe, her second most powerful one was loyalty to Amber. It caused a few problems, but unless she knew without any doubt that Amber was going to kill Lilith, Circe wasn’t going to interfere.
Of course, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t try to give Lilith some modicum of privacy, like Circe was doing. She just hoped that it wouldn’t get her killed.
Paragon City Arms, Paragon City
Lilith sat in her car for a moment, wondering why she’d come after the day she’d had. While the meeting with Ivanova hadn’t been bad, and she’d learned a little more about the second World War in the process, Lilith hadn’t really had a huge amount of time to calm down afterward. Not with dozens of people deciding to ring her doorbell to ask why Ivanova had visited.
“That’s why I came. I wanted to get away from them,” Lilith murmured to herself, glancing in the rear-view mirror. The only reason she’d gotten past the guards was because she had an invitation from Daemonia, and they’d stopped all of the people who’d tried to follow her. No, almost all of them. Lilith corrected herself, seeing a man in an eye-searing red outfit had also entered, and was looking at her car suspiciously.
His outfit was pants, a shirt, and a long-sleeved jacket along with fingerless gloves and a solid pair of boots, all of it some vinyl-like material that was mostly that strange shade of red. He had tousled, sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes, which made him fairly attractive, she supposed… the only question was what he wanted from her.
Sighing, Lilith put her keys away, gathering her purse before she got out of the car. She’d barely managed to lock it, her car chirping, when the man spoke.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his eyes narrowed. Lilith thought his voice would be rather soothing if he wasn’t being so rude.
“What business is it of yours? You followed me all the way here,” Lilith replied mildly, looking him over and raising an eyebrow. “I must assume that you’re from another city, so… you’re staying here, most likely. Otherwise, security wouldn’t have let you in.”
“You met with Ivanova, then you came here. If you won’t tell me what you’re doing, I’m going to have to assume—” the man said, his voice turning threatening, and Lilith was about to interrupt when someone else spoke.
