Chapter 59 – Theorized

“And so… I managed to free Ann, and now she works under me… aaand send.”

“Umm, what was that about?” Ann asked.

“Oh, I was messaging mother.”

“M-mother?!” Ann’s eyes widened in horror.

“No, it’s not what you think! I’m, uh, a triple agent. So I have to message her from time to time, to pretend I’m spying on the heroes, you know?”

“A… triple agent?” Her eyes stayed widened.

“Well, it’s… a long story,” I said whilst scratching the back of my head.

“You shouldn’t really be surprised about anything with Aster. She just accidentally stumbled upon yet another outrageous position now,” Fern called out to us whilst entering the living room.

“Hey, it’s not my fault! Typhoon told me to just go with it! So I did!”

“Yes, yes. Good girl.” Fern walked up to me and patted my head.

“Umm… so you are planning on… doing something to mother?” Ann asked.

“Well… I don’t exactly know where she and father escaped to. The heroes tried to trace back the signal, but it was jammed again. They told me to just keep doing this for now, and maybe she’ll let something slip eventually.” I shrugged.

It was definitely weird at first, but I’d gotten used to it. Being a triple agent sure was easy. Definitely easier than being loaded into a cannon and fired at enemies.

“I see… then… when that time comes, I’ll do my best!” Ann declared.

“Of course! Let us get our payback together!” I raised my hand for a high-five.

Ann stared at it for a moment, but then seemed to have determined herself and high-fived it.

“That aside, they are not our only problem at hand. You remember what Fractal had told us, right?”

“Yeah…” I frowned.

Assassinating powers.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I had a strange thought…” Fern began. “Who else is known for manipulating powers themselves? Mama’s cult. They temporarily disable powers, don’t they?”

“You… you think they joined forces or something?” I looked at her, shocked at the revelation.

“I don’t know. It’s possible.” She shrugged. “Both parties are way too secretive. For all I know they could be bitter enemies instead.”

“Hmm…” I crossed my arms in thought.

Mother had called me just after my powers had begun acting up, hadn’t she? And right after I’d agreed to the meeting, my powers had magically returned. Was that a coincidence? Or could everything actually be related?

The bell to our door rang.

“Hmm? Didn’t we tell Troy to screw off?” I asked nobody in particular, before walking to the door and opening it.

Beyond the door stood a delivery man next to a large box.

Oh right, I’d ordered something, hadn’t I?

“Hello there, a package for… Aster Degrim?”

I winced upon hearing my last name and mentally noted to change it at some point. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.”

“Can I ask you for a signature here?” He handed me a pen and showed me the delivery form.

I signed it.

“Thanks, miss, have a nice day!” The man left.

I grabbed the surprisingly light box and carried it inside.

“What’s that Aster?” Fern asked as I plopped it down in the living room. I immediately began unpacking it.

“This? This is my secret weapon.”

Fern’s eyebrow rose while Ann kept curiously peeking in.

“Is it a cannon?”

“No!”

Fern chuckled at her own joke, and I grumbled in response.

Finally, the wretched tape and cardboard gave way and I reached the contents inside. There were about seven of them, but I picked out one and lifted it into the air to show the other two.

“A… corkboard?” Fern asked, confused.

“Exactly!” I grinned. “When Fractal told us about the secret plans of our enemies, I decided to work on a counter!”

“And… you need a corkboard for that?”

I let out an evil villain laugh. “Back when I’d just become Aster, I’d used this baby to… uh…” Stalk you. “... to research criminal activity in the city. And as a result, I found not only you but Fractal as well!”

“Huh… And you are planning on… what, searching for Mama’s cult and the Brimscythes with this?”

“Exactly! They won’t be able to hide from me now!”

“Hmm… Fractal told us to not do anything for now… But I feel like whatever you do, it will be good for our side anyway.” She then glanced around the room before turning back to me. “Well, we’re mostly done with the home improvement, and honestly, I’m way too curious about what you come up with if this corkboard is as powerful as you say.”

I grinned.

Fern grinned back.

Ann just looked confused.

With a bit of help from Fern, we relocated the corkboards into my room, and the others left me to my research.

First, Mama’s cult. Unlike the Brimscythes, they were a relatively small group. And if we could somehow rescue the girls and get them on our side, we would be at a huge advantage.

And thus, just like the good old days, I used the combined power of the internet and corkboards and began researching. There wasn’t much info to go by though. They only made a couple of appearances, including my own encounter with them.

If only I could somehow meet them again… Maybe I could even befriend the girls? They yelled about punishing villains, so they had to have some heroic tendencies, right?

Hmm… What if they were just a misunderstood group of vigilantes? What if their Mama was actually a good person? If only I could just meet and talk to them…

Then, my phone rang. My normal phone, not the one mother left me.

I grabbed it and looked at the caller before a smile appeared on my face and I picked it up.

“Hey, Alex! How are you doing?”

BottledChaos