Rue: The Hunt for Harmony - Part 3

Gathering / Conference

Caring for little more at this moment than keeping their promise to Allyson, Rue meets with an unexpected ally to arrange for the Green family's protection.

Rue: ‘’Are you still at Vigilant Tower? Need a protection detail for Harmony's family. A strong one. Also, need someone to fix their door. R’’   Rachel: "We're still a bit stretched after the blackout. Is it urgent? What's the threat?’’   Rue: "I can stay here until you can send a team. Zaebos has possessed Harmony.’’   Rue slides down to sit on the ground, pulling their knees up to their chest and resting their head against the brick wall as they hit send.   Rachel: "Oh shit. I'll send someone as soon as I can. Are you okay?’’   They blink once, twice, but the message doesn't fully register in their brain, the screen somewhat blurry. They put their phone down on the ground, rubbing their eyes with shaky hands.   Rue watches in horror as Harmony asks them if they trust her, standing directly next to the gate. She's right there, so close to her that Rue can see every little line on her face, every fleck of colour in her eyes.   ''No...'' They mutter breathlessly as the woman takes off her lab coat and turns away from Rue. They reach forward, their hand fading right through her. They stare despondently as Harmony steps through, the blast from their other hand doing nothing to stop her.   The face that looks back at them twists and transforms into something so familiar, yet so wrong. Blue eyes have turned red, a horn protruding form her pale forehead and a vicious smirk contorting her face into something so unlike Harmony it hurts.   With a gasp, Rue jolts awake, their skin clammy. Looking down at the phone next to them, it's only been a little over 10 minutes since they drifted off, but they frantically berate themself for the slip up nonetheless.   Seeing another text from Rachel asking them again if they're okay, Rue types out a response with shaky fingers.   Rue: ‘’I'm fine. Let me know when they're on their way.’’   After taking a moment to calm down, they reach into their pocket for the notebook and pen, opening it to a blank page. A few minutes later, they receive another message.   "Century is in disarray, Rue. They've lost a couple dozen agents. The Centurion has made the protective detail a high priority but it's still probably going to take until morning. In the meantime, I'm gonna send a hero over to relieve you. They should be there soon."   Rue glances over at the message that pops up on their screen, holding the pen in their mouth as they quickly respond.   Rue: ‘’Thank you. I'll come over to the Tower to debrief when they're here.’’   "Damn, Rue. You look like you could sleep for a week," comes a female voice from nearby as they send the message. Rue looks up, hoping to see a familiar face, preferably a powerful one, but sees just a fairly unassuming brunette woman in a hoodie and jeans. One they don't recognise, "You about ready to hand over? I can take it from here."   Rue stares at the woman with a frown, slowly pushing themself up as they try to figure out why Rachel would send over a stranger, ''I'm sorry,'' They say, confused, ''Do we know each other?''   The woman chuckles as a line if pink energy passes over her, revealing the trademark white-on-pink image of Brainiac, before passing over again returning her to how she was, "Didn't think I went around with the pink hair all the time, did you?" she says, taking a few steps forward to greet Rue, "I've got to maintain my secret identity somehow, you know?"   Rue's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, the weary smile not quite reaching their eyes, ''You look... different.'' They say, relieved to know that Brainiac will be watching over the Green family as they await the detail, although they can't help but feel a little guilty about leaving their post, ''Thanks for covering.''   "Incognito mode," she says, winking playfully, "It's no trouble," she continues, nodding towards the apartment building, "They up there?"   ''Yeah...'' Rue looks up at the building with a sad expression, one of the lights still on. ''I uhhh, I might've broken their door earlier.''   "Ah, don't worry about it," she says, flippantly, "If anyone tries to get in while I'm here, they'll spend the next month contemplating all the possible meanings of the word 'oops'," she giggles lightly to herself but quickly realises that there's other things going on here, "And how about you? I heard what happened. How are you holding up?"   ''I'm fine,'' Rue shrugs, one glance at the woman before them telling them just how unconvinced she is by the statement. ''I will be fine. We're going to bring her back and I'm going to kick her ass for being an idiot.''   "Oh, I'm sure you will," she says, hoping not to offend the obviously edgy less experienced hero, "But... In the meantime, if you want, I could..." she trails off momentarily, motioning to her temple, "Make if feel a little better?"   ''You- Wh- huh?'' Rue looks at the woman with a puzzled expression. ''I'm not sure I follow. What would feel better?''   "Well, you're upset now, you're tired, probably not quite thinking straight," Braniac continues, seeming a little awkward to have to spell it out for them, "I could give you a little... psychic boost, shall we say. A little bit of happiness mixed with a bit of energy. Y'know..." she says, shrugging, "just to help you get through the rest of the night."   ''Oh.'' Rue looks a little flustered by the suggestion. ''Um... Sure? Thank you.'' They know that they could use a little energy boost, the fatigue making them sluggish and less sharp than they feel they need to be right now, ''Don't suppose you could give Mrs. Green a little bit of happiness, too? She could really use it.''   "I definitely could do that, Rue," Braniac says, sighing heavily as she seems to consider the notion, "I could make the whole family happy, I could make them forget Harmony ever existed, or I could convince them she was a villain and they're better off without her. But I won't. When you're a telepath like me, it can be easy to forget that people aren't just robots to be reprogrammed on a whim. It's what leads a lot of people with mind-altering powers down a dark road. It happened to Tommy Delaney in the eighties, it happened to Gorgon, and I won't let it happen to me. For me, the line is drawn at personal choice. If Mrs. Green came and asked me to make her feel better, I would, but she doesn't want to speak to any more superheroes right now, and I will not alter her thoughts without her permission. I hope you can understand that." She takes a breath, hoping she didn't just spill too much too quickly.   ''No, of course, I understand. If there's anyone who values bodily autonomy it'd be me.'' Rue shakes their head, fully understanding Brainiac's reasoning when another thought springs to mind, ''Ah.'' They start, opening their little notebook to what to anyone else would seem like the most bizarre shopping list, ''Speaking of Gorgon... Any idea what Combat would want with Gorgon's eyes?''   Braniac's face quickly drops, "He took her eyes?" She asks, clearly concerned, "When? How? That's seriously not good..."   ''Tonight during the whole situation at Century HQ,'' Rue explains, holding the notebook out for Brainiac to see the list they'd jotted down. ''It's not the only thing he took either...''   She takes a momentary glance over the list, her brow furrowing as she looks it over, "Okay, so the Phase-shifter armour can make him intangible, not great, the disruptor is not great against people but can destroy structures from a distance, and... really?" She says, looking up at Rue a little incredulous, "The Toymaker's ring?"   Rue gives a shrug, ''Maybe he just wants to feel fluffy?'' They say unconvincingly, remembering how their body changed the moment they put the ring on.   "Yeah... I'm sure that's it," she says, returning the notebook and taking a moment to collect her thoughts, "Not sure what he's planning. Could just be trying to increase his power. I don't really know anything about the guy though."   ''He's... Strange.'' They acknowledge, putting the notebook away. ''I genuinely think he just wants to fight us for the sake of fighting.'' They stifle a yawn, looking up at the apartment once more with a pensive look.   ''Will you be alright over here tonight? I just... I don't want them to be left alone right now.''   "Sounds like an... odd guy," she says, following Rue's eyes back up to the apartment, "They'll be fine, Rue. You need to focus on yourself. Come here." She continues, reaching a hand towards the other hero's head, "Physical contact makes the boost more reliable."   Rue flinches slightly as Brainiac raises her hand, but once they understand the process they hesitantly shuffle closer, allowing her to touch their head.   As a gentle contact is made, Rue quickly feels a wave of calm wash over them, the burden of the world on their shoulders feeling lifted slightly. It's not gone, but they suddenly feel like somehow, eventually things will work out for the best. They take a deep breath and a long blink and, as they open their eyes again, they feel like they've just awoken from a short nap.   “That’s… really helpful, actually.” Rue says, feeling a little more refreshed. “Thank you.”   "No problem. Just, get some rest, yeah? This is a psychic band-aid, not a cure." She says, pensively, "And if Combat's got Gorgon's eyes, you'll need to keep your wits about you."   “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.” They say, frowning a little at the comment about Combat. “What exactly do those eyes do? Might be good to know what we’re up against if it comes to that.”   "Well, Gorgon's eyes are magical," she says, taking a moment to collect her thoughts, "They put anyone who makes eye-contact with them in an almost... hypnotic state. Gorgon could walk to someone and tell them they were on fire and it became their truth. They'd roll around on the floor trying to extinguish the flames. She could tell someone that they were an inanimate statue and... Well, you can see where she got her name."   “Ah… That is bad.” Rue says, cursing themself for letting Combat get away with a weapon like that. “Are there any ways to undo the magic?”   "I'll be honest, Rue, we didn't have the time to do a lot of research on it," she says, pensively, "And she wasn't exactly in a talking mood after she tore them out of her skull..."   Rue winces at the thought of that, a distant memory pressing against their mind as they remember what Quade did to Ralph years ago, “That’s… understandable.” They say with a sigh, “I’d better get going,” They continue after a beat, “I’ll be sure to add the list to my report of tonight’s events.”   "Yeah, she..." Brainiac gets understandably quiet, "I'm still not sure what happened to her," she gets momentarily lost in thought before returning to the present, "Yes, of course. You go ahead. I've got this place locked down until Century gets in touch."   “I appreciate it, thank you.”   They quickly say their goodbyes to the incognito hero, their limbs a tiny bit lighter as they walk towards the Vigilant Tower in the administrative district.   With the power back on, the streets are busy despite the late hour, with people eager to get back to their own homes from both the tower and fire stations across the city. Police officers are directing traffic where the lights haven’t reset properly. People are shedding layers of coats and scarves now that the temperature is going back up, and it strikes Rue as odd that people are seemingly moving back towards normalcy, when their own world still feels entirely uprooted.