Parahumans.
At first, they were merely of passing interest, another Force-sensitive sect amongst the hundreds he had met… and destroyed, in the Galaxy. When it became clear they were not using the Force, they became more interesting, but only slightly so.
In truth, Anakin himself could replicate the vast majority of their powers with either technology or the Force. Of those he couldn't, it wasn't that they were impossible, he had simply never cared to learn.
Now, having started to bond with the youngling and being responsible for her training, his perspective had changed. Parahumans' powers were no longer a passing curiosity, but instead something he needed to understand if he wanted to guide her.
Fingers typing on the keyboard, Anakin continued to code almost unconsciously even as he thought about what he had learned those last few days.
Trigger events were not widely known to the average population, information about them seemed to be somewhat curated on the internet, presumably to prevent those foolish or difficult to control from seeking powers without understanding their consequences.
Second-generation parahumans had an easier time acquiring powers, but that could indicate a genetic modification or spreading pathogen. Perhaps an attempt to create a race of soldiers and tools?
What he could find was that they were, almost without exception, traumatic, life-changing events, often referred to as the worst day of their lives. The developed power also seemed connected to the type of trigger event.
Dinah, as a Thinker, had experienced strong emotional and mental strain in a short period of time. Anakin had yet to ask her what it had been, mostly because he had yet to fully understand the process.
The phenomenon was clearly artificial, either restricted to this planet or the local star system and truly didn't seem to be connected to the Force, at least not on the human side. Anakin had only interacted with a few parahumans, but none of them were significantly more Force-sensitive than the average civilian.
Regardless, there were three aspects that most worried him. First, triggers were always traumatic, no parahuman gained power when happy, or even stressed in a mundane fashion. The event needed to be devastating to them.
Second, all parahumans were aggressive on some level. They seemed to be driven to conflict even when their powers were not particularly effective in that area or could be better utilized in other ways.
Third, the acquired powers did nothing to fix the problems that birthed them. More than that, parahumans seemed unnaturally averse to even speaking about such events, causing the trauma to linger like an open wound even decades later.
To Anakin, it felt like deliberate cruelty, as if designed by a malicious mind with a touch of irony… not unlike the experiments his former master was so fond of, or that the Sith had created throughout history.
Seeing as 'Earth' hadn't been on any Star Chart he knew of, it was possible this was a hidden Dark Sider experiment or, more likely, a rediscovered Sith weapon. They were well known for using primitive locals as pawns and experimental subjects, as well as leaving… gifts discovered long after their passing.
Unfortunately, Anakin had never been skilled in that particular aspect of the Force and Sidious hadn't trained him in Sith alchemy. Perhaps if he had a test subject to study, he could extract more information.
It was a pity he hadn't thought about it with Oni Lee or Lung, but he wasn't as interested in them at the time and he was unwilling to kill another parahuman JUST to experiment on them, or worse, capture one alive.
Not when results weren't even certain to come from the exercise.
The Endbringers were another indication. He understood their names were given from mythological figures, but the simple fact the name Leviathan was remembered by the locals was worrying. Such creatures were once used by the Sith as weapons of war.
A search on the internet gave him a description of the mythological creature that gave name to the Endbringer. It was not a perfect description of the creatures as he knew them, but the insatiable hunger, colossal size, and emanating evil were characteristic.
Perhaps Endbringers were an attempt to improve the colossal Sithspawn of old and, from the damage they caused and the powers they demonstrated, a successful one.
Regardless, he did not wish to assume things. While the Force dwarfed any technological marvel or horror he knew of, it wouldn't do to entirely dismiss such a possibility out of hand.
Perhaps it was not a Sith who had created such means, but a scientist attempting to copy their means through technology. Many such men worked under his former master. Even if none had this level of success.
Pushing his chair back, Anakin ran the program one last time and nodded when there weren't any mistakes. Earth's programming languages had taken him a few weeks to master, at least enough that his programs could freely interact with the underlying processors, but he had always been talented in that area.
Taking the small chip out of the computer, he turned to watch Dinah sparing with the droid.
The girl had just been sent flying, rolling to her feet in a second and reigniting her lightsaber. Glaring at the droid, Dinah released a long breath and took a second to look at her feet, correcting her stance… then she started spinning her sword, twirling the weapon around her body in a great display of dexterity.
Anakin pinched the bridge of his nose, he had NOT taught her that.
Hal waited until her lightsaber was almost behind her back and smacked the top of her head, hard. In the girl's defense, she didn't drop her weapon, but she still fell on her ass, robotic hand immediately holding her head.
"Aw! Why?!"
"Mistress Raven, spinning lightsabers are for expert Force-sensitive showoffs who can afford to present such openings," the android chided. "While I have a description of Form IV, Master Anakin has not registered its movements in my database at this time. Beginners, droids, and normal humans shall stick to efficient movements or they will be smacked in the head."
"Dinah, where exactly did you learn that?" Anakin asked.
"Ah, well…" the girl avoided his eyes. "It's just… there was a tutorial on PHO?"
"Ah, the internet. Such a wonderful fountain of idiocy," Hal nodded, leaning on his staff. "And to think meatbags used to believe the source of their stupidity was a lack of information. Oh how wrong they were."
Anakin couldn't help glancing down at the chip on his hand, maybe he shouldn't have made it after all? "I hope you have not been posting on this PHO?"
"No!" Dinah quickly said, turning off her lightsaber and scratching her aching head with both hands. "You told me not to. Plus, there's like, 89% chance they track me using it."
"Good, while I have no doubt the workshop's location is already widely known, I would prefer this house remains hidden for now."
"So… what were you making?" she asked, putting the lightsaber aside and starting to stretch.
Anakin sighed but threw the chip toward Hal. "Here, insert this into your circuitry. It will allow you to intercept her phone's signal and scramble its location, preventing any future tracking."
Dinah had been stretching her legs, both hands on the ground and her head between her knees, but she immediately snapped to attention, glancing at the chip and then towards Anakin with a glint in her eyes.
"Thank you!" the girl threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Having slowly gotten used to her antics, Anakin wasn't as disconcerted by the physical show of affection, but it still took him a few moments to reciprocate —after so long, it was taking some effort to relearn such things.
Finally, he smiled down at her and put a hand on her hair, tussling it until she looked up at him with a large smile.
"You mean Mistress will finally be able to acquire a verified account and start posting?" Hal said with some amusement, even as he inserted the chip through an opening on his neck. "Oh, the horror."
"Shut up," Dinah growled, finally releasing Anakin. "Right, about PHO, people keep asking: why did you cut off Victor's legs?"
"Finish your stretches," Anakin said and then lifted an eyebrow when she started to obey. "Did you not ask me to avoid killing?"
"No, I mean, yes! It's just… I guess you shouldn't be so brutal? And why the legs, wouldn't the arms be better since he's a sniper?"
"... Moderation does not come easy to me. I am attempting to correct my actions, but even without using the Dark Side, it is not easy. As for why I took his legs? I did not want Victor to flee."
"That IS one way of doing it," Hal nodded in approval. "Very efficient, I might add. I will have to keep that in my memory bank for later."
"Seriously?" Dinah said, a little disappointed. "But, didn't you already capture him?"
"You misunderstand," Anakin shook his head. "I have dealt with the likes of the 'Empire' before. At first, I miscalculated the lengths they'd go to, thinking the gang still respected the authorities, but they had gone unchallenged for too long.
"I understand men like Kaiser. They have built their power not only on brutality but also on reputation, a reputation that would force his hand. Even if Kaiser recognizes he's outclassed, he cannot simply accept a total defeat without a justification even his most staunch detractor would accept."
"So… you're saying the Empire is gonna attack us again?" Dinah asked, sitting down in a meditating position in front of him. "But, aren't they afraid of breaking the Unwritten Rules? You said Victor aimed for your head, right? Won't both heroes and villains turn on them?"
"In a healthy city? Perhaps. Here, no," Anakin shook his head. Crossing his legs, he sat in front of her and decided to teach her a little. "The Travelers broke the truce, they attacked you before Lung was dealt with, and yet, no villain is hunting them down. Why?"
While Dinah thought about his question, Hal rested his staff against the wall and walked towards the geological compressor. Briefly checking to see if his crystal was finished before starting to work on finishing the second droid.
Anakin would have preferred to give the droid an electrostaff instead of his own lightsaber, but even with the ABB, he didn't have access to any materials strong enough to make one, and one of Hal's goals was to help teach Dinah.
"I don't know, they can't find them?" Dinah finally answered, then paused. "No, there's only a 2.7% chance anyone finds them so… they aren't looking?"
"The Travelers are a powerful team of capes, they are not local, show no desire to gain territory and, besides breaking the truce, are not antagonistic to the Empire, Coil, or the PRT. They don't threaten any of their objectives.
"Men like Kaiser don't follow the rules because they believe in any code, but because the veneer of civility gives them an advantage. Hunting down the Travelers will only give the Empire a minor increase in reputation while requiring them to make a large effort and take major risks."
"So, everyone is just gonna ignore it?"
"They will certainly claim to be searching and, were the Travelers to present an easy opportunity, every villain will join the fray, most likely only after the Travelers have received enough damage. But effectively yes, every gang will ignore the Travelers. Now, what does this say about our impending attack?"
Dinah looked at him for a moment and then frowned, her eyes looking down in thought. Anakin knew the girl was young, but she was also incredibly smart, he was fairly certain she could come to the right conclusions.
"That the Empire will just lie about ignoring the rules," Dinah said, sounding incredibly disappointed at the realization. "Say they didn't break anything and think people will believe them. No, they'll ignore them because there's no advantage. Even the heroes wouldn't kick up a fuss."
Anakin smiled. Yes, the villains in the city would ignore the Travelers and attack him because, contrary to the roving parahuman group, he did threaten their plans, he did take territory and showed a willingness to challenge anyone.
Coupled with the disrespect he showed in the meeting and what the Empire certainly thought was a good counter to his powers, namely, the varied attack vectors they employed, fighting him was far more important than dealing with the Travelers.
"Indeed, the Empire certainly believes so," Anakin had his doubts.
Without Lung, it was the perfect moment for the PRT to regain control of the city, but that wouldn't affect his confrontation. As long as the damage didn't spread, the PRT would still let his confrontation with the Empire happen and attempt to deal with the survivors.
If the authorities had been biding their time as he suspected, that is.
"They're like Coil," Dinah growled, her true hand gripping the lightsaber while her robotic hand dug into the ground. "Nine eight point seven, three, nine, four percent chance they attack us this week. They won't leave us alone."
"First, they will attempt to free Victor," Anakin said. "Thus the reason for his mutilation. Without his legs, Victor will require carrying and, without Rune, the Empire does not have an easy way of transport. Any rescue will require significantly more effort, be it logistical or from parahumans. It will also involve a significant amount of manpower."
Dinah looked up at him, seeing the serious look on his face and, slowly, realizing his true goal. "You aren't going to wait for them to attack, are you?"
"I have never been a patient man."
That, at the very least, had remained a constant throughout his life. Be it as a Jedi or a Sith, Anakin had never been content with waiting for things to happen. It had never sat well with him.
The Empire would have to gather their forces to attempt Victor's rescue and, while he didn't think they'd deploy their full complement, Kaiser would have to deploy enough personnel to either rescue Victor and cover their retreat or beat back the Protectorate entirely.
The Empire was far too accustomed to being handed the initiative. They fought other gangs and the Protectorate but were never truly challenged, their numerical superiority, power and organization had made them arrogant. They freely broke the rules while assuming others would simply follow their lead.
He would break that misbegotten belief. Still, that was not Dinah's concern, there was no need for her to split her focus so much. Anakin would deal with the Empire.
"Tell me, how goes your planning?"
"I can't attack him directly," Dinah grumbled, both her hands relaxing as she laid them on top of her knees. "Gah! If I ask the chance he's gonna be someplace, it's always 50% at most, but if I ask the chances I hit him there, it immediately turns to 1 or 2%! So annoying."
"His power still counters yours. As long as he has options, you will not be able to directly attack him."
"I know, but it would be nice. Can you deal with the Travelers if I point them out?"
"Have you located them?"
"They're always in his downtown base. According to Hal, there's a park there, so they're probably underground or invisible… or in a parallel dimension. PHO says Toybox has one, so maybe Coil bought it from them."
"Good," Anakin gave her a proud smile. "I certainly can. What else?"
"Well, the Undersiders are somewhere in the Docs, but I think Hal and I can convince them to side with me. Also, there's only a 5% chance he's directly controlling any of the heroes, so at least they won't defend him."
"The Undersiders?"
Those children didn't leave a very good impression on him, but they didn't feel evil, just selfish and self-centered. Kids who didn't think, or care, too much about others.
"Well, before you, I saw one of them rescuing me," Dinah confessed. "I don't think the others… cared all that much, but they could be useful and you said it's gonna take some time until I get better with the Force, right?"
"Indeed, the means by which my former Master empowered his tools are a perversion of the Force, a trap for any he chose to anoint. Were we desperate, I would still empower you, but we have time," Anakin shook his head, thinking about his plans. "I believe I could eventually replicate a ritual used by Dathomirian Witches — much of what they called spells were not restricted to the Dark Side— but I have very little knowledge of it and such things were never my specialty. It would demand much study and adaptation."
"Either way, I could use some minions. Have them help with some of my predictions," Dinah said, then couldn't help smirking. "And I like the thought of stealing the Undersiders from him."
"I will suggest you wait until Hal's new droid is ready," Anakin said. He could go with her, but he could feel she wanted to accomplish this by herself. "Does Coil have any other support?"
"Well, there's around a 75% chance he sends the Empire after us if I beat him," Dinah shrugged. "I was gonna mention it, but you're already going to deal with them so… Yeah, I bet he's got other capes too, but they aren't really gonna help him on their own."
"And in case he flees?" Anakin probed. "Those like him are never without means of escape. You have said he spends much of his time out of the city, have you narrowed down where?"
"Yeah, I got Hal to show me a map, he goes to Concordia. Still can't narrow down where in town though," she looked up at him and Anakin sensed the attack coming. "I was thinking, could I hire Faultline again? We got all that ABB money, I could send her after him in the other city and cut off his escape?"
"That will not work forever," he snorted, ignoring her begging eyes since he never intended to deny her in the first place. "But yes, Faultline should be willing to work in another city as long as you are able to give her a target."
"Great! I'm still limited to a few questions per day, but my power grows every day, I'll narrow it down soon."
"Good, meditate with me?" He asked, adjusting his posture and unclasping his lightsaber, putting it in his lap.
As limited as her sensitivity was, Dinah wouldn't be able to even sense the Force for a few months yet, but meditation would help her when the time came, and Anakin recognized her presence helped him center himself.
Dinah nodded, imitating his posture, her lightsaber in front of her. Together, they closed their eyes.
"Oh, your power is growing by the day, Mistress?" Hal said, causing them to glance his way. Changing his voice, he mocked. "Be careful it doesn't grow too much and escape from your hand, consuming you in a wave of darkness."
"Shut up!" Dinah quickly barked, blushing. "You said you wouldn't mention it!"
Anakin glanced at her robotic hand, frowning, then he noticed the modifications and sighed. "Dinah, what did I say about equipping lasers into your prosthesis?"
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