Chapter 39 : A new enemy ?

[Author note : You guys know the drill by now... Patréon (e instead of é) : search for Cathbel. A lot more to read there if you're interested. Enjoy !]

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Four months after the events in the United Kingdom, Ned was working on the subdermal implants that would act as a platform for a lot of his future creations. Not only would he be able to use it to remote control his armors, much like Tony Stark did in the third movie, he also hoped to use them for his own version of the extremis virus. They were supposed to act as sensors to monitor the extremis' nanites, as well as send signals to his armors, either to suit up or pilot them from the outside. Thankfully, despite the very small size of his implants, he should be able to cram it all in there by using his shrinking enchantments. The truly difficult part however, was to prevent outside magic to influence them. If he built an implant whose natural state and size was to be the size of a fist and someone cast a dispel on him…

Ned shivered as the image passed through his mind. He was more than happy to hear the bickering duo come back from their crime fighting. Despite having similar temperaments overall, Mel and Winston often argued. It was nothing bad, but Mel's teasing nature clashed with Winston's strict mindset. And during their patrols or stake outs, they had nothing but each other to speak to for hours sometimes… So, when they came home, they were usually arguing about one thing or the other.

As he watched and listened to their interactions, Ned smiled, wondering idly what manner of miracles made it possible for him to… give birth to them. Ned never fancied himself a god and, unless something was very wrong with his mind, he never would. Therefore, he couldn't consider himself their 'creator', which was why he preferred to consider him their father. The process of their creation was the result of a set of fortunate circumstances. In Mel's case, at least.

In his past life, Ned was a programmer, a software designer. That's what he built his company around before he was killed for it. And at the beginning, he did everything by himself until his programs were recognized and clients started to sign contracts with him. So, it was safe to say, he always knew his way around the keyboard. However, despite being rather intelligent, it was nothing like he was now. In this life, if he wasn't as much of a genius as Brainiac, he would still be at the level of Bruce Wayne or maybe even Lex Luthor. It was almost easy for him to start writing the code for an advanced AI…

However, when he connected said AI to a magical power source… Mel was born. As for the code he initially wrote, it changed completely ! In fact, it was an entirely different language now. And while his code was initially rather large, now it was humongous. Years later, he was still trying to decipher it and new lines kept getting added as she lived her life. Not that he didn't love working on said code ; it was almost hypnotizing, mesmerizing. Something he was sure was impossible but still was, a mystery he couldn't comprehend but longed to…

And then, he reproduced the accident for Winston, Symmetra and Bastion, as well as a couple of others.

« Why Overwatch, though ? » Ned muttered to himself.

He re-created Amélie Lacroix, AKA Widowmaker, for a couple of reason. First off, she was an exotic and extremely beautiful character in the game. And if he was to see a hologram all day, he'd prefer it to be of a beautiful woman. Might be sexist, but that's just how it was, for him. Secondly, and perhaps, most importantly, she was French, like him. Well, the him from before his death, anyway.

However, the others… He didn't really know why he stayed with the theme. Especially since he didn't know all that much about the lore. After a while, he shrugged while deciding to keep things as is. After all, why not ? Even if no Overwatch character could rival a powerhouse like Superman, they were still pretty strong. And since the bodies he made for them were completely mechanical, he could make as much additions or improvements to their designs as he wanted !

« And I ask you again, Winnie ! Why bother ? The kid was a criminal. If anything, they did us a favor… »

Winston shook his head at Mel's words and retorted calmly :

« I know you don't mean that. After all, you're able to process as much data as I am, so you know. One : Who are they ? This force was composed mostly of regular No-Majs and although they didn't possess powers, they were extremely well trained and coordinated. The way they operated and especially their female leader. She… » He stressed the word « … was a powered individual, no doubt. Enhanced strength and durability, probably an enhanced endurance. And above all else, she possessed a healing factor. Not exactly someone you'd find in regular law enforcement agencies… »

Mel shrugged and told him to go on, glancing from the corner of her eye at Ned. He was finally paying attention !

« Secondly : why capture him ? The boy proved to be extremely arrogant and entitled. With the little power he had, he thought himself above normal civilians. Their methods in dealing with him showed how ruthless they could be. If they were interested in preventing the teenager to do any damage, they could use more… drastic actions. But they took him and I haven't been able to find any evidence that they brought him to a police station or another law enforcement facility. I can only assume that, this paramilitary force is either a sanctioned or unsanctioned black ops unit or belong to an organization far more nefarious. In any case, we should investigate what they plan to do with the teen… »

« The metahuman… Was she the leader ? »

Ned suddenly asked as he tapped at his keyboard, opening a folder labelled Silver Lad stuff where he kept data on known and less known threats and criminals. He opened a search engine specifically designed to sift through the data and entered the probable powers of the Meta in the group.

«… And healing factor ! »

As he finished entering the filters, a list of names appeared on screen. A few had detailed information such as gender, height, hair and eye color and the things they were known for. Some had a picture of them above their names. While some were just names and incomplete data about what Ned remembered of them.

As Winston looked over his shoulder, he shook his head while saying :

« She isn't in your files, father. It's the first thing I checked. Yes, she was their leader, if her bossy and prickly attitude is anything to go by. She had white hair with blue eyes and was fairly attractive if you move beyond the fact that she was clearly a psychotic sadist… She was also well-versed in martial arts, as well as the use of cold and hot weapons. She was especially proficient with a sword, it seemed. »

« Also, her team called her Ravager. » Mel said as an afterthought.

« Another reason why this group is shady… » Winston muttered.

It was unknown whether or not Winston knew it, but Mel had always shared his concerns. The reason why they were arguing was because she liked to get a rise out of the big lug. Moreover, she had noticed that Ned was, once more, letting his mind roam free. He was unfocused, thinking of completely unrelated topics. It was often the case, of course, but in these times, an argument between the siblings tended to draw him out of his own mind. Apparently, it worked !

« Ravager… Ravager… » Ned muttered as he cupped his chin in thought. After half a minute, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his palms. « Nope, can't remember. It does seem familiar, though… As does her description. Unfortunately, attractive psychos isn't exactly rare in this reality. White hair on the other hand… » He looked at Winston sharply and asked : « Was it white or silver ? »

« White ! » He answered instantly.

« Okay, that'll narrow things down… I'll create a file on her. Give me a minute… »

After the file was made, they tried to look for traces of the group on CCTV, but couldn't find anything. All they had, was the blurry image of a black chopper taken from afar and disappearing outside the city. As for the people themselves, they couldn't be spotted on any cameras in the vicinity.

Tapping his desk repeatedly with his finger, Ned commented :

« Not only are they good, but they've got a pretty decent tech support as well… Unless it's the job of another meta ? See this ! » He put up a footage of the scene. You could easily see Winston trying to talk down a rampaging teen with a strength enhancing power. A couple of overturned cars, bent road signs, broken pavement and windows… And then, the feed was cut, replaced by static. « They somehow managed to infiltrate the city's surveillance system and disable one particular camera. That's not exactly easy… And powers enabling to control technology are pretty rare. One way or the other, these guys… They've got resources ! »

« You thinking government, Père ? » Mel asked with a pouty face.

« Not sure. Could be ? I don't know enough, yet… »

« Well, then… Shall we just look for more data ? » Winston proposed. As the two looked at him (he had this face saying : 'I've got an amazing idea !'), the gorilla continued :

« If we can't find our mystery agents themselves, let's track what they seem to be after… »

« Criminals ? » Mel asked almost at the same time as Ned questioned :

« Kids ? »

Winston shook his head and said :

« First, we should investigate Metahuman disappearances and try to figure out a pattern, if there is one. I highly doubt that, if they are not at their first capture, as their seasoned teamwork against Metahumans seemed to point out, they have not some criteria for who they take… »

« Hm… » Ned hummed as he cupped his chin once again. « They probably wouldn't target people too high profile like the Flash, for example… Or ones with some kind of backing. They'd also need to positively identify them as Metas… So that would mean, putting them under surveillance or accessing genetic samples. You're right, Winston. Let's do that ! »

And so, they did just that.

* * * * *

After the Golden Trio (as Ned had put it) passed their NEWTs, each of them started to work on their next trek of the journey of life : making a career. One of them, Ronald Weasley, was not sure what he wanted to do with his life…

Unlike his best friend and his almost-brother-in-law, he was not exactly interested in law enforcement. Throughout all their adventures during their years in Hogwarts, Ron felt terrified. And even though he liked to brag about them, actually living through them was… awful. He wasn't some kind of hero, or defender of justice, nor an auror or hit wizard. He was just… Ron !

The reason he was a somewhat passable keeper in Quidditch was because he memorized each and every possible strategy the pro chasers used. And then, he studied the ones usually more or less successfully copied and implemented on the pitch. Like in chess, he just placed himself in advance. And he was usually pretty good at predicting how the game would flow. A pity he was actually so self-conscious and afraid to be put on the spot…

As he, Hermione and Harry met up at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, he shared his thought with his friends. Hermione remarked with a sly smile :

« So, you do have brains, after all, huh ? »

Harry smirked slightly as he noticed the ramping up of one of their epic arguments. Before it started however, he interjected :

« Wouldn't that talent make you a great tactician, though ? »

Ron turned his head to his friend and fixed his friend for a second before he looked to the side, to nowhere in particular. His gaze seemed pointed inward to a memory or… outward, to the future.

« A tactician… »

And then, something pretty miraculous happened ! For a while, Ron was… silent !