She grinned, “Thank you, master.”

  That hung there for a moment, as we totally eye fucked each other, then we both got up and headed for the bedroom…

  Chapter Fourteen

  The autonomous defense implant was a meta-energy powered nanite swarm. It was completely independent in day to day function, though Thea could override it if necessary. Besides defense, I’d also installed comms and health monitoring. Installing technology in my body was something I’d been avoiding up until then, not when I could wear it or conjure it in a moment’s notice.

  I suspected I’d upgrade it at some point once I’d gotten those medical nanites fully developed.

  Point being, the only way to steal it was from my cold dead body. A necessary precaution. Even that wouldn’t work, because if the health monitoring part of the nanites noticed my death, they would self-destruct, as would all my technology in the labs on Earth. The only thing left would be Thea who would be left in control of the ship she was a part of.

  They were autonomous, so could defend me from threats I didn’t see coming. The basis for that was a meta-energy scan field that looked for all known threat types. Be it a bullet, explosion, plasma, some other kinetic weapon including a sucker punch, or cold, electricity, lasers, gravity, fire, telekinetic, shadows, and just about every other super threat out there, including magic.

  Once an attack in progress was detected, it would take less than three nanoseconds for the shielded response to kick in. For most threats, it was a simple and relatively weak quantum phase field tuned to phase shift that threat alone which would form over my body. For instance, if a sniper shot at me the bullet would just stop dead at my body, and then fall to the ground. A gravity attack simply wouldn’t affect me, and so on.

  Those protections would be injected into me and Thea, I was keen to make sure she was protected as well. All of it was something I already knew how to do, and already had conjure type devices for in my head. So it was simply a matter of porting those current technologies over to an interactive defense nanite web that would live in my body.

  Lastly, a nanite swarm was better than a single device implanted in me, because it removed that single point of failure possibility. If a nanite went bad, it wouldn’t diminish my protections one bit.

  The shielding device I created for the beach house was very similar, but it would also block any incoming teleports past the shield, unless a security key had been sent. My worry there was any teleporting super could simply walk up to the shield and teleport to the other side. Not really a threat for the personal shields which would conform tightly to our bodies, but a security concern for the house.

  Folding space for powerful gravity supers would also fail, with the addition of a phase shift gravity field being formed anywhere within my property when such a thing was detected.

  Just in case, there was a much more robust system around just the lab, a shield that would eat anything and made of pure meta-energy. It wasn’t just me the government would attack, but they’d go after my resources as well. Thea had also ensured my money would be very hard to find, if not impossible for anyone else but Rose to figure out. The only other meta-energy A.I. in existence on Earth.

  Despite the relative ease of porting it all over and designing a nanite swarm, it took me two days, not one, to have it ready. Since it was going in our bodies, and we were depending on them to keep us alive, I’d tested them extensively.

  I just hoped it would be worth it. The renewal of humanity’s promise and future, but chaotically so, instead of my hoped-for quiet transition. I had no illusions this would fix everything, but I also had no doubt at all it would freeze the doomsday clock and roll it back some. I was naïve to hope for that original best-case scenario in the world’s response once the energy extraction in progress was detected. If only by inference, with the quickening superhero rate sinking.

  “I think we’re ready, give Rose, Angel, Serena, and Echo a heads up, so all our allies and friends know what’s coming. Also, send the dossier to the press now. We’ll blitz social media and hijack all news channels for my statement in two hours.”

  Plus, it’d be better if I told Faith before I told the world, what my secret and self-appointed mission was. I just hoped they all took it well, but especially Faith. I’d talked to her yesterday for a few minutes, but she was still thinking it over. A part of me wanted to go get her, but that’d be a mistake, especially given her unique circumstances.

  She nodded, “You realize that’s a felony, and you’ll really be a supervillain.”

  I shrugged, “No more than when Rose did it two years ago when preventing World War three.”

  She sighed, “Hopefully you’ll scare them as badly, so they leave you alone like they leave the Silver Seraphs alone.”

  I chuckled, “Maybe, but I won’t have the rest of the nukes under my control.”

  She snorted, “You have much worse under your control.”

  I nodded, “Perception. Nuclear war is a known risk and solidly established fear in humanity’s general psyche. Meta-energy is a little too magical and undefined that way, a vague fear with very little understanding. The response won’t be the same.”

  She smiled, “Message sent, and dossier delivered.”

  I added, “If I thought doing an interview would work, I’d do so. But it won’t have a large enough impact fast enough, and I don’t want to have my message cut up and reassembled to imply something else. Nor do I want to tour the world’s news agencies, this will be the most effective tactic to short circuit the current insanity and paranoia out there.”

  I grinned widely, and she gave me a questioning look.

  “Just thinking, that you’ll be the sexiest minion ever. My sweet naughty Thea.”

  She giggled, “Yes, master. Shall I relax you before you address the world?”

  That sounded like a great plan, but I suspected my allies and friends would have some questions.

  She tilted her head a moment later and made a face of disappointment, she really did love getting on her knees for me. More than was sane, perhaps.

  “Rose is on the line, with Daniel and Alyssa.”

  I nodded, I kind of expected her to parse it first. It’d only be a matter of time before the other two groups and Faith called as well.

  “Put them on.”

  She nodded.

  “Hi, Rose.”

  Rose said, “Are you sure about this, it could make it much worse, as well as make your life hell.”

  I replied, “In the press maybe, but it will short circuit the rising tensions between countries, who are even now raising their defense levels and shifting troops. Even the titans running countries are looking for someone to squash.”

  Daniel snorted, “Yes, and they’ll all be focused on you.”

  “I won’t be responsible for the next world war when I’m trying to reduce the risk to humanity that has been the status quo the last two years since the titan outbreak. It was clear to me last year after quickening the current status quo is unsustainable. It’s going to be hard enough dealing with the guilt from the deaths during rioting. You’d do the same, fortunately in your case it makes more sense to keep a secret. My knowledge would be much harder to reproduce than your power.”

  Rose sighed, “He’s right, Daniel. In the big picture the governments going to war and dragging titans into it is the biggest danger. There’s a ninety eight percent probability that him coming out and becoming the target of governments fear will completely derail the current buildup of fear, suspicion, and tension between countries around the world. Even if the press drives the people into a panic in their thoughtless way for ratings, it’ll be worth it to stop the billions of deaths a world war would cause.”

  I was happy to hear she agreed with me, though I hoped the riots would die down as well.

  Daniel said, “Tell me you have plans.”

  “I figured I’ll have to prove I have meta-energy tech, or too many idiots will inject doubt into the public consciousness and call it a bluff and continue with the alien story angle. So my plan is to be attacked at least once at my beach house, and when that fails I can disappear. After that I’ll move to another location, one they won’t be able to find. I hope I’m still invited to the next barbeque?”

  Rose snickered.

  Alyssa said with a grin I could hear in her voice, “Of course, no one would dare attack you there, with me, Faith, Bob, and Ash present.”

  Daniel said, “Not to mention the adorable but terrifying Rose.”

  Rose replied, “Hey!” in mock anger.

  I snickered.

  Thea interjected, “Oracle and Bob are calling.”

  “Conference them in.”

  Thea added, “Faith too.”

  I nodded to conference her in too.

  It was a good thing. They all challenged me as Rose and Daniel had, but in the end they all agreed with me, including their A.I.s of the likely turnouts. It lessened the weight of my action in my soul, and I knew it was the right decision. Faith also seemed really worried about me, which I took as a good sign, though they all did to a lesser extent.

  It was only Daniel really, and Rose, that had any confidence I could defend from that first attack I was going to stick around for. Really, Daniel was my only threat that way, and he was my ally and friend. Controlling meta-energy was a game changer, and even more than that which I hadn’t shared at all, was my deeper understanding of the universe and quantum phases.

  At the same time, I’d be giving up my anonymity as a hidden titan and my concealed technologies, most likely all my government contracts would be cancelled. I’d also no longer be welcome at the Super Max prisons for my rehabilitation project. I had no doubt the U.S. would at the very least, seize my public lab. I’d probably even let them do that, that lab had no meta-energy tech, or even tech they weren’t aware of. Just the stuff I’d sold to NASA and other agencies and companies.

  So it better be damned well worth it, because that wasn’t a small sacrifice in my eyes. Who knew how long I’d be hunted, and no doubt be infamous the world over.

  When the call ended, after a long chat once everything was settled, there was still forty-five minutes before my speech to the world. So, my sexy minion took care of that relaxation.

  “Good afternoon, my name is Jonathan Starr, the Adept. I had no intention of ever introducing myself to the world, or revealing what I’m capable of, but recent events and paranoia around the world has made me reevaluate that decision. It was my intention to anonymously reduce the alien energy in the core of our planet to twenty five percent of what it was after the alien ship crisis four years ago. Such actions would also ameliorate the crisis of the status quo the last two years after the titan outbreak.

  “The math seemed pretty simple to me. A quarter of the quickening supers, a quarter of the titans in those quickening supers, and a quarter of the resultant titans that choose to be supervillains. It would give our team titans the world over, and Rose and Oracle some breathing room, as without them the destruction in cities would’ve been far worse.

  “Add to that the benefit of cooling our core slightly, less and smaller sea monsters on our coasts, and as a result the natural disasters also calming down to the old levels, it seemed a no brainer.”

  I paused for a moment.

  “There are no aliens present in our solar system. I and I alone am responsible for the drop in alien energies in the core of our planet, and the resultant meta-energy radiation it gives off. There is no other shoe, what I’ve described is the extent of my plans, and there is no need to panic. On the contrary, there is reason to celebrate the lessened threat against humanity and our world from within. I hope you take those words to heart.

  “There are a few other things I’d like to say, to clarify my position. I will not share the technology that is capable of harnessing and controlling meta-energy. The result of that would be horrific, for several reasons, not least of which would be the resulting deadly threat against all supers. I’ll also address a couple of questions that most of you must have.

  “First, some will wonder why I don’t take all the energy out, then there would be no more supers or titans. I will simply state that isn’t an option, and that it would be destructive in the extreme. A quarter lessens the threat to half of what it was two hundred years ago when this all started, before it was doubled four years ago. Yet, supers are also a boon to our world and our safety, despite what governments would like you to believe they benefit our world tremendously.

  “Second, some will wonder why I chose to come forward. The answer to that is the growing tension between countries. If nothing else, knowing a single being on the planet is responsible for it and not any government, will prevent another world war.

  “Third, some will doubt me, say I’m lying for some reason, and accuse me of perpetrating a hoax in an already dangerous time. Some no doubt, will even say I’m working for the aliens. To those people I say watch me very closely. It’s only a matter of time before I’m attacked by overwhelming odds by government soldiers and supers in an attempt to seize my technology. What happens will be all the proof you need.

  “Fourth, I neither expect nor do I want anything for what I’m doing. I’m not holding this over any heads, it’s simply an act to protect the world. Save the obvious benefit to me. I live on this world, so it’s in my best interest and survival to not see it destroyed. Point being, it’s not a wholly selfless act, I live here too folks.

  “Lastly, I’d ask my and every other government to let it go. Don’t even try, I won’t put every super’s life on the planet in danger by allowing technology that could defeat them getting out. I hope to still work with you on the various projects I am willing to work with you on, but I won’t bend on the other. Good night.”

  I looked at Thea.

  Thea replied, “Nothing yet from our government. The news moves faster. Six media outlets have already tried to call you, but I’ve given them the prepared statement that you won’t be giving interviews. I’ve also inundated social media with the memes we prepared, as well as copies of your dossier and the speech you just gave.”

  “Thanks, love.”

  She beamed.

  “The ship is also ready, I’ve made it a lot nicer inside, including our quarters.”

  I nodded. That was the plan anyway. Once I’d beaten off the first attack leaving an empty and mocking house behind while I disappeared would be the thing to do. We’d live and work on the ship, but also be on the planet often.

  It was a perception thing, more than a necessity. I didn’t want to be seen as trapped in my own house, I also thought if I disappeared then they wouldn’t bother attacking the house again.

  I just hoped I did a good job, and there were no threats my defenses wouldn’t account for. Daniel or betrayal by someone I trusted were really my biggest dangers that way, but I didn’t believe for a second that either was a true threat.

  She frowned, “The government is sending two super teams and a homeland security task force to take you down and seize the technology. ETA is just under ninety minutes.”

  “Predictable. It’s the holy grail for them, and how they can finally put supers in their place which they failed at so spectacularly twice in the last seventy years. Beach?”

  She goggled, then laughed, “Fine, let’s watch the sunset.”

  I conjured a pair of swimming trunks.

  She changed into a pink bikini that put all her gloriously sumptuous curves on display, yet it was conservative enough to cover most of her breasts and ass, if nothing else. She put up her gorgeous wavy light brunette hair in a ponytail, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Her lovely green eyes sparkled with mischief as we moved to the backdoor, out onto the deck, and down to the beach.

  “I don’t think they’ll miss it, but if a press chopper doesn’t show up, I want you to set up a streaming video to the press showing the coming fight. I don’t want anyone to miss what happens.”

  I conjured a beach blanket on the sand, and we both laid out on our stomachs so we could look out over the ocean and the setting sun.

  Honestly, it felt a bit arrogant, but I really wasn’t worried, and it was mostly a show for the people that would be watching. I wanted to make it very clear I had the technology I claimed to have.

  As long as they didn’t drop a nuke on me, I was confident I could handle it. My tech had limits of course, but I could always teleport out if my protections were about to overwhelmed. Phase shifting didn’t work against all attacks, some had to be shielded against in our perceptive quantum phase.

  The only ones that had a chance of doing that were titans, and it’d take more than one of them.

  “What teams?”

  “The San Francisco Guardians and the Seattle Angels. They’re all very by the book law wise, and government stooges even more so than most superheroes approved for superhero work. Not unlike Jet up in Chicago.”

  I rolled my eyes. Jet still tried to take down Mythic almost constantly, save during a sea monster or team titan threat. Not that the former happened at all anymore for the last six months, with me taking them down before they reached land. Point was, it was embarrassing in the extreme because he was so outclassed, and it made him the obvious example in comparison.

  She continued, “The team captains are two S-class bruisers with enhanced invulnerability. Frisco has an energy pulse SP class, a gravity wielder, and a telekinetic. Seattle has a mind control and reader telepath, fire wielder, and a sonic.”

  Eight of them, two teams of four.

  “Think that’ll be enough, love? Or should we ask Ash to drop by and attack our shields too?”

  It wasn’t commonly known, but Ashley was the strongest titan on the continent, by a good amount. A third stronger than the other three in the superhero game. Of course, strength didn’t mean everything, a weak ice magic wielder could take her down, if she didn’t get him or her fast enough.

  She giggled, “I think they’ll get the point. I also went ahead and gave the press a head’s up. I’m sure they’ll have coverage here shortly.”