[Will Chase]

It had been a long year. After he'd shot the doctor Will had felt lost - he had never killed anyone before, and he had hoped that he'd never have to. Killing changed a person, he'd seen it in his colleagues and now he'd seen it in himself. He'd withdrawn after that, had stopped talking to his family and many of his old friends - Ash was still making the effort, for which he was at once absurdly grateful and intensely guilty. Self-loathing was not really a new thing for Will, but never before had it been quite so pressing. Of everything that had come out of that day, the only good thing was the strange friendship between he and Claire that had come into being, a friendship very much based on how that day had affected them. A lot of things could change in 12 months, and a lot of things had. Will still wasn’t sure of his own opinion of the new Hero Program; he didn’t doubt that many of the people involved truly believed that what they were doing was right, but the same was true of most police officers, and Will had seen firsthand how such a position could be subverted. That was what the Hero Program was, in his eyes - just another police force, except this one had powers and a competent PR department. But there had been changes on a personal level as well, and those were not nearly so public. He had told no one, in fact. Will’s power had changed, in a fundamental and frightening way. He had thought that he was the weakest of their group, capable of little more than could be accomplished with decent hearing, but if what he now thought was true, then he had significantly more potential than he had thought. Will had lost his old power, he could no longer sense threats as they neared. What he had gained in its place was much scarier. He could hear things, like he had in his dreams right after the accident. Voices in his head. He might’ve thought he was mad, and indeed he had for a time. But there is only so long you can go before you start looking for a slightly kinder explanation for what you’re going through than schizophrenia. People around him could have no secrets. Anything they tried to hide, he could pluck from their minds. While his initial withdrawal had been because of the death of the doctor, his new ability made crowded places legitimately painful for him. Too many minds fighting for his attention, too much noise. That was why he was meeting Dominic in a place outside the city for their talk. Well, that and the subject matter. After all, it wasn’t every day you told a man you thought his organisation was involved in something far darker than it should be An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 480 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

Dominic had not seen Will since that night in the tunnels. 'The Event' in fact. It was a pity, Dom had liked Will, he had probably been the main voice of reason in the group, the one with his head actually screwed on straight. Dom would be honest about the fact that even he had been a little carried away by what they were experiencing. Now would be the appropriately dramatic moment to say 'The Event' changed all of that. Unfortunately it wouldn't be true. Dom was a business man, he saw opportunities, and in them, in Alice in particular, he'd seen a chance to do something big. Money factored into it, but it wasn't the be all and end all. The perspective of the entire planet had shifted, and he had made sure he was at the head of it. There was a lot of money to be made out of the Hero Program, that he knew, but he hoped that it could be something more. Already Paladin was someone that was looked up to. Paladin branded merchandise was flying off the shelves, a lot of it purchased by younger girls, but equally by other segments of the population. That would slow down as other Heroes joined the ranks of the program, but Paladin would be remembered as one of the originals. Dominic would have met Will anyway. They might not have known each other long, but they had been through things that normal people simply wouldn't be able to understand. He took a moment to remind himself that a few million more people had just been through the same experience, except many of them without others to go through it with. At least America had set up the MNRU and other institutes to assist new metahumans in their painful adjustment to their new abilities. The Hero Program, however hastily it might have been cobbled together, was thriving. Already there had been two new recruits on the West Coast, one of which in particular Dominic was interested in meeting. There were Heroes everywhere. They were still a precious resource, but a potent one. Dominic didn't have access to all the data. He had been part of the team that had pushed the Program through, but he didn't run it. Still, he knew that the Hero Program was starting to combat the outpouring of meta crime that had followed 'The Event'. It was odd that Will had asked to meet so far outside of the city, and would have been suspicious had Dom not trusted Will implicitly. As it was, he had been driving for about half an hour before he saw his turning. Slowing, he drove down the small road. Will had always been reclusive, the least likely of the Survivors, besides Persephone, to share his problems with the others, but judging by this he had become a virtual hermit out here in the hills. Climbing out of the car, he spotted the ex-cop. "Will!" He called out, striding over and pulling the other man into a hug.

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[Will Chase]

Will would've liked to say that Dominic's embrace caught him by surprise. But surprise, well it wasn't something he had the luxury of anymore. In the time Dom had taken to get out of the car and reach him Will had felt his spirits rise and fall in equal measure. The trust placed in him by the younger man was humbling, and served to take a little bit of the edge off the self-loathing, but that Will was violating it simply by being there was deeply demoralising. Pain was still an issue unfortunately, Dom's embrace having squashed Will's left arm between the two of them. His elbow had never quite healed fully, still tender even a year later. Will smiled through the pain, happy to see his friend regardless of everything. "It's good to see you Dom. I hear you're some big-shot PR guy in the Hero Program now. Tired of running around in spandex?" Will's smile vanished quickly, however. After all, he was here for a reason. "There's something I need to talk to you about." He paused. "Well, several things. Why I called you, and why we're here instead of somewhere else." He managed another, smaller smile. "Trust me, you'll be surprised." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 204 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

Dom laughed, "What? Do you miss seeing me in that outfit?" He shook his head ruefully. "I don't think it's the best place for me, it was fun but… I don't think I was cut out for it." He beat a fist against his chest dramatically, "I'm just too darn selfish, too busy enjoying all this money I'm making." It was true, Dom had been wealthy for some time, but the advent of the Hero Program and the vast sponsorships that Paladin and other Heroes were attracting meant that he was doing better than he ever had. Not that he did it for the money, he worked too much to really spend it, and probably wouldn't have known what to do with most of it anyway. In truth, he knew he could do more in this position. People were responding well to the Hero Program, but with every metacriminal that hit the papers people became just a little more restless. The Grand Central attacks might have been the perfect moment to introduce the Program, but public opinion could change rapidly if events like that became a recurrence. He smiled broadly at the ex-cops comment, "I don't know, I've seen a lot in the past couple of years. Coming back from the dead, a girl stop bullets and keep walking, there was that girl last week who could fly and shoot lasers out of her fists. Oh, plus the one that can somehow make shadows pick things up. A great hit with the alternative crowd though." He sat down on the hood of his car. "Whatever it is buddy, spill."

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[Will Chase]

Will shifted his weight, scanning the area around the two of them for what must've been the tenth time. Once again, there was no one present. He knew he was being paranoid, but he couldn't help it. His voice was quieter than he'd intended when he spoke. "I'm different now than I was. My power has changed in ways I didn't expect." Will kept his eyes focused on Dom's, letting the man see how serious he was. "I'm not just a sensor Dom. I'm a telepath. A full-blown telepath." "I could tell you exactly what you're thinking about right now without even needing to try. Just by being around people I pluck secrets from their heads. If you so much as think about something, I know exactly what you were thinking. And that's not all. With enough motivation, and enough time, I can go inside your head and change you." Will scowled. "I can't control it Dom. I can't go where there are too many people, I tried to get the train last week and ended up with a migraine." But that was enough about him and his self pity. He'd called Dom here for more than just to give himself a chance to vent. "It's been useful for one thing though. I learned something recently, about the MNRU. There's something rotten there Dom, something no one knows about. I only caught a glimpse, but what I saw, well, I'd prefer not to remember it." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 245 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

Dominic had expected something big; Will had always been dramatic and coming from Dom that was a damning indictment. He hadn't expected something this big. "A telepath?" Knowing better than to interrupt Will once he had start it, Dominic listened quietly, realising that to Will this was probably equivalent to having a proper conversation now. He winced, sure, he had to be careful around technology now, but at least a slip on his part was merely expensive monetarily, as opposed to morally. It seemed wonderfully ironic that Will, the Survivor who had been determined that they share the truth with the world, was now the one that couldn't help but find the truth in everyone. "I can help you. What with the Hero Program and Paladin's success I have plenty of money lying around. After everything that happened by rights part of that money is yours. I know money can't solve every problem, but if you've decided you're going to hole yourself up in the hills it can at least give you something to live on." He frowned at what came next however, and it wasn't what he expected. He had visited the MNRU himself. He'd not been shy about displaying his powers, and tended to be open about them with prospective Heroes. Of course when he'd been invited for a session at the MNRU he'd gone along. A lot of Heroes went through there before they were cleared for active duty, and there were even more new metahumans that found themselves there. Through good luck or bad. The thought that there was something dirty within those clinically white halls made him shiver. The Hero Program might employ some of the most powerful metahumans in the nation, but every meta on the West Coast went through the MNRU at some time or another. "Shit." He turned away to look back across the hills towards the city. "You were always more at home with conspiracies than I was. What do we do now?"

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[Will Chase]

Dom's calm acceptance helped steady Will, kept him focused on what really mattered. As pressing as his issues might've seemed to him at times, they were nothing compared to whatever the MNRU was really doing. Will had only caught a glimpse, a tiny flash in the mind of a passer-by, but what he'd seen was enough to leave him very disquieted. He needed to know more, and to do that he needed to get close enough to someone important to learn what they knew. Unfortunately for that plan, the MNRU was highly secretive - not to the extent that it was noticeably suspicious, but the kind of information they had on metahumans across the country was enough for the government to give them a bit of leeway. There were very few public details on the leadership of the organisation, and even Will needed a point to start from. That was why he was here, talking to Dom. "I don't know much Dom, I've not even got any real confirmation that they're dangerous. I need more information, and to do that I need to meet with someone high up in the organisation, or be there when someone else meets with them." Will shrugged, giving his friend a slightly guilty smile. "I'm afraid that's the main reason I contacted you. No one in the MNRU is going to meet with Will Chase, ex-police officer, failed PI and hermit. But they will meet with Dominic Weaver, PR expert and founding member of the Hero Program. I need you to arrange a meeting with someone important, and I need to be there when it happens." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 274 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

So no pressure then. What Will wanted Dominic to do was use his position and influence in order to get him into a meeting with someone high up in the MNRU, one of the country's foremost metahuman research institutes. Dominic was more involved with the Government now than he'd ever thought he would be, ever wanted to be, in truth, but this was definitely something he never thought he would do. He was no fool, he knew that governments and corporations got up to things that would have been frowned upon should they come into the light. He'd thought it would take a little longer for corruption and greed to rears its ugly head however. He had never met the woman who ran the MNRU, but he knew her name at least. Dr Joyce Williams, brilliant by all accounts, and he supposed you had to be to deal with the science defying powers of metahumans. "The woman that runs the place is called Joyce Williams, there's other people there but I don't know them, I've visited, but not done much else with it. Most of my time is taken up with the Program these days." He paused for a moment, ruminating. "I can at least try to get a meeting, and it shouldn't be that hard to bring you in as a colleague or something, but if you've been in there they might recognise you. Do you have to be in the same room?"

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[Will Chase]

Dominic's understanding was simultaneously reassuring and disquieting. Reassuring, because it was nice to be trusted at your word, and because it told Will that whatever was going on at the MNRU was definitely not something that Dom was involved in. Disquieting, because Will was still in his self-flagellation stage and nothing made a man who thought himself worthless feel worse than a person placing faith in them without hesitation. Dom had given him a name at least. Dr Joyce Williams. A woman to watch out for. "I don't need to be in the room no. In fact, I'd prefer not to be - I've never visited the MNRU before so they shouldn't know me, but I'd rather not give them an opportunity to learn anything. I've managed to stay relatively off-grid for now, it'd be a waste to just give them a chance to find out about me." Will smiled slightly. "I was just telling you how they're hiding a dangerous conspiracy wasn't I? I'm fairly sure people with strange abilities are supposed to avoid coming to the attention of those." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 181 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

"People with strange abilities are pretty much a conspiracy in and of themselves. Remember, they'd been hiding for centuries before we showed up." Dominic's face took on a momentary faraway look. "It's strange, I always knew I'd be part of history, but I never thought it would be quite like this. Although I suppose none of us can see the future." That would be a terrifying power indeed. Currently the government was doing its best just to categorise metahumans, but that was clearly an impossible task. Even amongst Heroes, who's powers the government had reams of data on there was no clear link between one power and another. There were some metas with abilities that produced near identical effects, but the methods that led to those effects were so different that it showed no clear origin of the powers themselves. The Doctor would have known, perhaps the Families knew, but whatever they knew, they weren't sharing. It must be hard to break the habit of centuries of silence and secrecy. That said, he doubted the government would release everything they knew either. The Event had kickstarted a new race in science, to replicate the effects of the Doctor's virus. As it was metahumans were still a minority, a bare fraction of the population of planet earth. The ability to create new metahumans at will would be worth more than some countries. "Just what do you think they might be trying to do?"

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[Will Chase]

Dom wasn't wrong - Will hadn't managed to learn much about the Families in the year since the Event but they were pretty damn conspiratorial. He wasn't really surprised though, they had been hiding for centuries; it's kind of impossible to avoid becoming a conspiracy in those conditions. Will couldn't yet say whether they'd been wrong to do so either - even with things like the attack in New York, the US at least was still in a kind of superhero golden age, where people were still expecting life to turn out like a comic book where no one ever really dies. The dream would shatter eventually, and Will doubted the result would be very pretty. Hell, there still hadn't been any laws passed in regard to metahumans, so there wasn't even any guarantee that they wouldn't end up in some form of segregated society - at the minute people were protected under standard discrimination laws, but with the existence of people like the Doctor, and even Will himself, there was no guarantee that would remain the case. There's no difference between two people of different race, but when one of them can throw trucks or read minds it's quite a different playing field. Will had learned very little indeed about the Families, but there hadn't been much more public information about the MNRU - considering that there was no public information about the Families, that was saying something. It was a large part of the reason why he was so suspicious; the things he'd learned could've been the work of an isolated group, but with so little public knowledge about the greater MNRU it made him worried that the whole of the organization was rotten. It probably wasn't but... well... it wasn't like there was any shortage of reasons for him to be paranoid lately. "I don't really know what they're doing Dom. That's what scares me. What I saw... it looked like they're experimenting on humans. And not the good kind of experiments either, they're not testing medicine. It looked much worse." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 342 Words

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[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Will Chase

In truth Dominic hadn't paid much attention to the MNRU, it was linked to the Program, but only as they were two different aspects of the Government's interest in Metahumans. Many Heroes went through testing at the MNRU, and any data taken from those tests was classified and only accessible by high up members from both institutions. That was as it should be, no Hero wanted to details of their powers broadcast publicly. It was still some time since the launch of the Hero Program and no one had cottoned onto the fact that Alice's power was not a simple strength and toughness package. Dominic had worked quite hard to ensure that. Inevitably someone would work out that her power was more complicated than that, but right now every metahuman with strength based powers and a testosterone problem viewed her as a challenge, which meant that they would try and take her on instead of stay away. Once she got her hands on them there was no escape. Dominic was now reconsidering his wilful ignorance of the MNRU. Experimentation was inevitable, he was reasonably sure that the six survivors had all been part of the Doctor's experiment, a test group so to speak. Even so, the MNRU was big, half of the metahumans on the West coast must go through there at some point or another, and that was only of the metahumans that they knew about. It was theorised there could be as many as double the numbers, although how anyone was theorising that Dominic had no idea. It wasn't like anyone even understood what the Doctor had done. "Then we find out what they're doing, and when we have proof, we stop them. We can't sit by and let them experiment on people. We can't tell Alice, you know she'd probably just blow the doors open without bothering to ask questions first. Now this is your area of expertise more than mine. What do we do first?"

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[Will Chase]

Will had experience with revealing corruption in an organisation to the public - he'd done it with the SFPD after all. But that had been a rather different situation. He'd been a member of the SFPD for years after all, he'd known all the dirty little secrets, kept records every time he saw something dubious. This, well, this was a different matter altogether. The MNRU was a recent creation, and one that Will had never even set foot in. If he wanted dirt he'd need to talk to people in the organisation, and with such a recent one he'd have to go for the very top - in its early days corruption was subtle, leaders would only pick people they'd thoroughly vetted, and the MNRU had only existed for a year so its leaders would be very careful indeed. But it wasn't like any of the MNRU's leadership would talk to Will about their illegal experimentation. His job would've been a lot easier if people were that dumb. "The first thing I need is that meeting with someone in the MNRU's leadership, Joyce Williams would be perfect. She's too important to the organisation, there's no way anything is going on there without her knowledge. Even if I can't get much from her, I should at least be able to get us somewhere else to look." An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded Will Chase 225 Words

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