Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]

“Is there a reason you are leaving this barrier up?” I ask. “Do you plan to trap me in here?”

“I do not believe my barrier is sufficient for such a task,” Clara says. “In either case, its primary purpose is to block light and sound, so that the two of us may speak in confidence. Now then.”

She walks up to me, slowly and confidently, maintaining a presence of complete control despite the fact that I completely negated one of her Skills and I’m confident enough that I can break her barrier the instant I need to. I decide not to, choosing to maintain my commitment to resolving this confrontation without violence if I can help it.

More than that, though, it’s her confidence that has me worried. I don’t get the sense that she’s particularly powerful on her own. But if she’s really with the government, I’m sure she’s got more than a few fancy Ethertech gizmos and some handlers better suited for combat than she is.

She hands me the first two pictures, leaving me speechless. There’s a woman standing on top of a massive tower in the middle of a gigantic metroplex. I’m not familiar enough with the Chicago skyline to be certain, but with the background covered in the waters of what is presumably Lake Michigan, I don’t have any reason to disbelieve her claim that this is, in fact, the Windy City. No reason, that is, except for the face of the woman in the photo. It’s mine.

This woman isn’t quite the same as I am. She has cybernetics covering most of the right side of her face, including one which replaces her right eye with an eerie red glow. Her mechanical arm is similarly on the right instead of the left, carrying a sword that is made of some deep black material. Finally, her wings. While mine are vaguely angelic, having changed from teal to silver during my ascension into a [Valkyrion], hers are tinged in black, with a shape more reminiscent of those of a bat. Or maybe a demon or a dragon, based on the one wyvern I’ve seen and fought.

There’s one more difference between her and me. Her left eye is… I can sense the hatred, the malice, the contempt just oozing off her. Still, there’s no mistaking it. She is Seraphina, and close enough to be a twin, if not a clone.

“She isn’t me. The cybernetics are all wrong, as are the wings. However, I can’t deny that she is Seraphina.”

“Explain yourself, Miss Mortensen.”

“I’m saying that there appears to be another version of me out there. I’m not sure when this happened, and I can only speculate as to the how or why, but… Yes, this appears to be some sort of clone of myself, one motivated by hatred and bent purely on destruction.”

“Very well.” Clara sighs. “Although this makes my investigation much more difficult, I couldn’t sense any lie in your voice or your eyes.”

“I think it’s time you give me a proper explanation of exactly who you are.” I keep Filia out and maintain my mental link with her, although I’ve raised my swordstaff slightly, keeping them upright rather than pointed squarely at my interrogator.

“My name is Clara Bennett, as I said.” She pulls a wallet out of her [Inventory], opening it vertically to reveal a law enforcement badge.

I shudder, wanting absolutely nothing to do with her in any capacity and cursing my perennially poor luck, getting myself caught up in this utter morass.

“Special Agent, FBI, System Crimes Division.”

“I guess that answer the question of who’s in charge of dealing with people who abuse their System-related powers beyond the ability of local cops to deal with. Of course, it leaves two important questions. First, where the hell were you jerks when we had to deal with the Order of the Wilds? And more importantly, who watches the watchers? Or we just have to pray to the goddess that no president or FBI director ever gets power-mad and decides to use your team as some sort of secret police?”

“To answer your question, the Order of the Wilds incident, along with two other related situations shortly thereafter, one in Salt Lake and the other down near what was once West Palm Beach, were the impetus behind the creation of the System Crimes Division. For the fact that we were unable to properly intervene in these matters, you have my sympathies, and my thanks.”

The fact that she completely brushed off my other— and larger— concern is not lost on me, but I doubt she’ll answer even if I do press the matter further. There is one, much larger issue at play, and I think it cuts to the heart of why she’s here.

“Given that the President authorized the System Crimes Division at some point between June and now, why were you unable to properly intervene with the whole toppling of the government not even two weeks ago?”

“The same reason a meteorologist can predict a hurricane, but then be powerless to do anything but get out of the way when it makes landfall. The army had already been spread too thin just maintaining basic order and protection missions for major cities across the country, and couldn’t be recalled to Washington in time to defend against such a massive attack on such short notice. Instead, our president and a few top advisors went into hiding, with a small force of a couple thousand soldiers, activated National Guard reserves, and DC law enforcement and Secret Service officers to mount a desperate, last-minute struggle in defense of our nation’s capital.”

She uses the terms ‘our president’ and ‘our nation’s capital’ in an obvious appeal to patriotism. She’s volunteering this information— all mostly in line with what Nicholas has told me before— as a way to build rapport with me. She wants something from me, but I’m not following her angle just yet.

I decide to flex my own abilities just a bit. [Defiant Spirit] doesn’t directly tie into breaking me out of barriers like it does with resisting mental intrusion and power-suppression effects, but it does allow me to resist any Skill that attempts to restrain or bind me. And this barrier does count. Pulling on that font of power near my heart and grasping at the cosmic veil behind me, I grip with all my strength, pulling on the boundary between this enclosed space and the outside world. It gives slightly, and then it shatters into pieces before fading away and dissolving into Ether.

“Interesting display, Miss Mortensen,” Clara says. “However, I didn’t come here just to make idle talk with you. Now then, let us discuss the terms of our agreement.”

My grip on Filia tightens as I start casting a simple [Repulsion] barrier in the event this conversation does turn into a battle. “I didn’t agree to shit, and I hope you’re not planning to force me to work with you.” My gaze narrows, thinking of what other leverage she might try to use on me. “If you or one of your agents so much as lays one finger on Chloe, I promise, I will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy.”

“Threatening a law-enforcement agent in the line of their official duties is a serious crime, Miss Mortensen. You could be looking at a decade or more in federal prison for what you’ve just said to me.”

“Even if you were physically capable of arresting me, you’re currently just the agent of a government that no longer holds sovereignty over its own territory. As far as I’m concerned, that badge and two bucks will buy you a bottle of soda at one of the vending machines on campus.”

Clara raises an eyebrow at me, but true to her stoic demeanor, disregards my insult. “Nevertheless, your country needs you, Seraphina.”

“My country? The country that treated me like shit? The country that continues to give tax breaks and special privileges to rich cocksuckers who extract more money for themselves in a day that most of us get paid in a year? The country that has always been willing to go into debt to find more money for special agents, more money for more bombs and weapons, more money for the lobbyists and CEO’s? The country that then somehow never had money when it was time to make sure I and other kids had enough food to eat? To make sure that we could see a doctor when we were sick? To ensure we each had a warm bed in which to sleep, in a neighborhood that wasn’t ravaged by drugs, gangs, and cops alike?” I sigh. “You’ll have to respect that appeals to patriotism don’t sit particularly well with me.”

“Nevertheless, Miss Mortensen, your actions and public statements to this point, including earlier in this conversation, are not associated with a nihilist. I do believe, based on everything I have seen and heard to this point, that you care deeply about your fellow human, even if you don’t have any trust in laws or institutions.”

“I’m not sure what the difference is, at least as far as you are concerned.”

“It means, despite the fact that you harbor hostility toward the US government in the abstract and animosity toward me in particular, that you aren’t categorically opposed to assisting me. It just means I need to play my final card.”

“Why go through all this, then? Why tell me all this presumably classified information, since you seem to care about the government and its rules? Why waste both of our time with this pointless discussion if you have something to offer me that you feel I’m actually interested in? Aren’t we both busy women?”

“Major Richardson is correct about you. You are a stubborn one. But ultimately too honest and naive for your own good.”

I glare at Clara.

She continues. “Coaching my words with politician-speak won’t change the reality, and I figured you weren’t the type for that sort of doubletalk.”

“Go on.” My face softens slightly, though I’m still incredibly antsy at how much time she’s already wasted.

“I’m not privy to all the details, but what I can tell you is that the cybernetics on this clone Seraphina are at least one generation ahead of the ones currently installed into your own body. And, still more relevant to you, her combat parameters are currently considerably higher than your own, even factoring in the projected power spike you would have gained upon your second ascension. While none of our remote devices have been able to properly [Identify] her, we estimate that her fighting ability is comparable to someone around Level 85. And still increasing at a marked rate.”

“How is she gaining that many Levels so quickly?” The Experience scaling factor associated with level differential should completely override any attempts to gain levels against weaker enemies. I’m just not sure where or how she’d be able to fight enough high-leveled opponents to gain that many levels, even if she has been fighting pretty much constantly since the day the System arrived. Towers can help, but the gap between where she is and where I am is even larger than the gap between myself and most of the supposedly high-level combatants defending the city on a daily basis. And that’s even counting this Seraphina lookalike having a Unique Trait like my [Touched by the Multiverse] to gain Experience at an accelerated rate.

“Although this part is still unconfirmed, there are intelligence reports which suggest that this Seraphina was the secret weapon of the Legion. In addition to being laser focused on clearing dungeons and Towers, she’s also been specially trained and given large numbers of both parameter-boosting and Experience-boosting items to gain levels and combat potential at a greatly accelerated rate.”

Loath though I am to admit it, that could explain it. Enough [Experience Pouches] and [Level Apples]— especially if the Legion has found a variant which works up to a maximum level of 96 or 128— all fed to the same person, could allow for that person to overcome the brutal Experience curve. It’s as Lindsey and I feared back when Chloe and I first found them. Only, instead of being fed to some centibillionaire tech tycoon, they all went to a shadowy form of myself.

This, right after Chloe and I both expressed that we didn’t want to take up a position as Ladies Protector, so as not to get the people too dependent on us. And because neither of us want to rule, either as elected officials, or as tyrants. The irony isn’t lost on me.

Worst of all, Clara has made an interesting point. That Seraphina isn’t me. I’m not responsible for her actions. But, if she’s allowed to ransack major metropolitan areas and lead this legion as some sort of Dark Angel, that would be strongly to the detriment of the way of life Chloe and I currently enjoy. Which means, as much as it disgusts me, I don’t have the luxury of remaining neutral in the conflict. Either I submit to this Shadow Seraphina and live as a servant of the Legion, or I fight, doing exactly what Clara wanted from the start.

I so hate being manipulated like this.