In a complex energy field was a man who almost looked like he was on fire. Perhaps more made of lava that dripped up, it was interesting to watch. I read how the device worked from Adam's mind as well as the extensive documentation on the nearby computers. I let Adam push the button to enable Conner to hear us.
"Hey Conner. My name is Jessica, I'm friends with Adam. More importantly I'm here to help you." His mind was a little fractured, and he swore there was a cage around reality. It was hard to decipher through the filter of his memories but it wasn't anything too intimidating for me.
"Is Adam here?"
"I'm here Conner. She really is going to try to help you. Please cooperate. Maybe if we're lucky you'll never have to worry about hurting anyone ever again. You won't even have any episodes after this, you'll be grounded to reality."
"Now Conner I'm going to be trying to draw your power out of you and into me. I'll be able to contain it. That way you won't risk falling through dimensions again, you won't have any visions, and most importantly you won't accidentally hurt anyone else." I admit I was a little eager to have his power, but I did legitimately think it would help him.
"But what about the cage? The jailer?" I saw his fragmented memories. Hmm.
"I'll be able to see them. We'll get to the bottom of this, alright?" I began by activating my copy of Sync's power, and a rainbow aurora appeared around and over me, though it was colour shifted towards purple. I could feel several resonances around me, and I tuned my own signal until I could feel the man in the transparent cell. Well transparent from this side at least.
With that connection formed I had a target to pull from, and I began to harvest his power. I quickly saw a problem with this. He was far stronger than just a supernova, there was such a deep well of cosmic energy that I wasn't sure I could absorb it all. I tried to search for a source, see if he was drawing more in from somewhere else. But try as I might he didn't seem to have any core or portal or dimensional linkage. His entire being was filled with this exotic power, enough that if he could release it all at once… well I don't truly know what would happen. The Earth would be done for certainly.
The only thing that likely saved the Ultimates and the Avengers before them was how little control he had over his own power. If I had a well of power he had all the water in the world. And I was trying to contain the ocean in said well. Yet clearly his body could contain it well enough. Adam even had a similar power born in the same reactor accident, shouldn't I be able to hold it too? I kept scanning how his body was being held together, how it shifted as I drew on his powers. Quickly I began to exhibit a similar physical state to him, my body seeming to almost ignite with a violet flame.
The other Ultimates seemed a bit put off by this, jumping back. As if I was about to explode. I had this damn it. If this bastard could contain an ocean in a damn thimble I would capture it with a bucket. I got another idea. I began to pull the new power from the Shard it was supposed to be contained within and brought it to others. I fed it back into the container itself instead of just being held in the Shard, I was remaking the Shard with his powers. I was, to continue this poor tortured metaphor, making the bucket out of water to contain even more water.
I kept drawing, I infused more Shards with his energy. Sync's power got a boost, which only made my semi-solid state fluctuate more, but I tamped down on the ripples in my being. I had this damn it. My missing Shards and arm reformed in the light of his power, the excess energy natively healing me as I shifted to a higher energy state.
"Jessica, are you sure you can do this? Your readings are going off the charts."
"He's a lot stronger than we thought he was, but I've got this." I grunted out.
I would do this, I had to. Now that I understood his full power I knew that this cell couldn't contain him if he released his hold on his powers. Honestly it was almost intimidating. But my ambition wouldn't let me stop. I summoned my armour onto me, it bit into my skin as it fused to me. Then it too became made of the same energy matter hybrid I was. I began casting spells to better hold all the energy I was taking from him, reinforcing my body, my mind, my soul. That was it.
I set my mystic sight on him. The energy was tied to his soul, that was where I could hold it. If the material world was insufficient then I simply wouldn't keep it there. I needed to create a feedback loop. His power would go into my soul, which would empower me to take more of it, only to repeat. I knew how to do it. Simultaneously both my Entity self and human self cast the same spell.
"By the ageless [ANIMA THE IMPOSTOR]"
[BY THE MORTAL JESSICA MICHELSON]
Both selves accepted the call for power. After all, to my extra dimensional self my human form was from a foreign dimension. The light in the room intensified, I was creating a supernatural reactor and some of the power was bleeding off. I grasped my human form and regained control of the runaway reaction, letting the bleed off return to sustainable levels. It was working, I could feel Conner returning to a human form. I had to cut it off at just the right time, otherwise I would accidentally steal his soul.
Time unwound before me as I watched for the exact moment to cut the link and seal the wound that would be left behind. Once I found it I pulled on Fateweaver, infusing it too with both my new power and Challenger's Shard. I wouldn't, couldn't miss. Short of divine intervention this man would live to see his day in court. I could feel America recoil at what I was doing, pulling on reality like this looked horrific to her cosmic awareness. I was practically rewriting the stars. Anything above me could push back on this, a better reality warper or the literal divinity we had wandering around. But in a contest between me and myself, well of course I won.
The link cut with a zapping sound. I closed my eyes briefly and luxuriated in the sensation of an entirely new kind of multidimensional being. I could see what Conner had felt, this spreading sensation where locality began to lose meaning. And I briefly caught a glimpse of the cage around reality. The bars closing in. He had wrongly thought it was metaphorical, unable to handle the scale at which this had to be happening. But something was chaining down the universe, perhaps even the multiverse.
Again I felt so very small in the face of what had to be an impossible foe. But I rallied, I had done it before and so I would do it again. I opened my eyes to see the other Ultimates looking at me with worry clear in their eyes. I didn't need my armour so in the blink of an eye it detached and returned to my pocket dimension for minor maintenance. The magical circuits had been stressed beyond their intended capacity, but I had over-engineered them just in case. My grin would have lit up the room had I not already been doing that with my new form.
"Full success. Conner Sims has been depowered and I'm safely containing it all."
"But now you seem stuck in a state similar to what Conner was. I'm worried it's going to affect your sanity Jessica." Adam said.
"Give me a couple minutes to get used to it, I'll be able to power down soon enough. Oof. This is quite the rush." My feet returned to the floor. I hadn't quite noticed when I'd taken off. I walked over to the cell.
"How are you feeling Conner?"
"It's gone, it feels cold without it. I feel blind. But I'm here, not everywhere."
"I think this will help you, we won't need such draconian measures to make sure you won't hurt anyone now. I'm not sure when or if you'll be moved, but I honestly believe this will be what's best. You're here now."
"And the cage, the jailer, you see them too right?"
"Yes Conner. I see them. But we'll handle it, alright? Trust in us, trust in Adam." I was a little somber at that. I didn't know how we would do anything against whatever this was. But how could I ignore it now that I knew it was there. I pressed the button to turn off the audio to the cell.
"And before you ask, yes I'm in my right mind. There really is a cage around us, closing in. He was wrong about what the cage was though. If only it were so simple to destroy as civilization. I'm not actually entirely sure what it is, I'm still getting used to the new senses, all of my old ones don't work through it."
"So he wasn't in a state of limited culpability?" Adam asked.
"He definitely was, and still might be to some extent. His mind couldn't handle it, even mine is struggling to wrap around what I'm seeing, but it's not driving me mad."
"We'll see about that." T'Challa said. I just rolled my eyes and finally powered down. I didn't lose my new sight, or the feeling of disconnection, as if I could be anywhere, but I wasn't awash with power flowing off of me anymore.
Everyone minus Jessica was back around the meeting table. Adam was going over the readings the tech in the room and his own powers picked up. Monica started them off this time.
"Are we sure it was a good idea to let her try that?"
"Try? She more than succeeded, which might very well be the problem." T'Challa said.
"Is no one going to poke the elephant in the room? That name, we all heard it right? Anima the Imposter. Why do I know that's her true name. There was so much I couldn't catch but that fact was very clear." Carol brought up.
"We could at least try asking her. She's seemed truthful every time we asked her about herself." America suggested.
"Seemed. That's the keyword there. I don't like the idea that someone on our team has a title like the impostor. We try to be open and accountable, but what if she hasn't been this whole time? Do we have any way to make sure she's telling us the truth?" Carol rebuted.
"Unfortunately Jessica is our magical expert. We'd have to go to Doctor Strange or another practitioner if we want an answer like that. There might be an X-Men member who can do that, but I'm not aware of anyone like that. In this case I'm also not sure if mere technology would be enough to ensure she was being truthful." Adam admitted. He was certain she had powers that would let her fake her way through any polygraph inspired test. No matter how many vital signs or speech pattern analysis would work if she used her path to victory power.
"Then it's decided, we go to Strange and ask if he and Jessica are willing to do whatever magic would be required to ensure she's telling the truth. It won't even be that hard, they're both at the Sanctum right now."
Our lesson was interrupted by the other Ultimates knocking on the door. At first I thought there was something wrong, but when I read their minds it was worse than I thought. They were here because they weren't sure they could trust me now.
"Are you being serious? You want to make Jess undergo the ritual of truth because you heard her name and are scared of it?" Steven was going to bat for me at least, but I gently touched his arm.
"It's okay Steven. I'll go through it and we can ease everyone's worries. It's not too arduous a ritual last time I checked. Though I suppose I shouldn't help in setting it up. Sorry about this."
"That doesn't mean-" He began.
"I understand why they would doubt someone whose true name is akin to something like The Liar or The Traitor. You might want to put some translation magic on them though, I suspect we're going to get some answers in Shard-speak."
I stood alone awkwardly as I watched Steven prepare the ritual. It really was simple, and when directed I stepped into the center of the ritual circle. What made it work despite being technically simple magic was that it was effectively a contract. I had to submit to the ritual and allow it to speak for me. It would state the truth as I knew it, it could even catch things you weren't consciously aware of. At the same time if I wanted to even someone of my level of magic could break free of the spell, but it would be blatant and obvious that I was choosing to do so.
"By the power of Agamotto the All Seeing I ask you to answer in nothing but absolute truths. Do you accept?"
"Yes, I accept the influence of Agamotto the All Seeing. I will answer."
"Is your true name Anima the Imposter?"
"That is one of my names simplified for your own ability to speak and hear it. I am Jessica Michelson, but I am also [ANIMA THE IMPOSTOR]."
My eyes dropped. I didn't want to see their expressions. I did anyway, I don't know if I could go back to only seeing from one point of view anymore, not with Conner's power. They learned so much about me thanks to the translation charms. It was a tale of all who I was, my totality. Or at least what defined me, my good traits, my bad, all of it. From my desire to save everyone, even if it meant forcing my will to be done. My willingness to resort to mind control, especially more minor forms of it. The subtle Master and Stranger Shards I'd used for so long. I'd mostly stopped that here.
Jean Grey's lesson in telepathy had included best practices and politeness in a world with empaths and telepaths. I'd taken the not so subtle warning to heart and adjusted accordingly. Here at least. We'd had so much we needed to do back on Bet and the connected worlds. Was it so wrong of me to correct things? I tried to allow for a variance in belief, but I wasn't sure I was succeeding. Was it wrong to subtly wear down someone's racism until they at least became tolerant even if they weren't happy with people who they perceived as different?
It expressed my lust for power and knowledge in all its forms. That I was always watching where I could to learn everything. Even if I didn't personally experience it I was recording at all times. It expressed my arrogance, my confidence in being right even if the whole world was against me. It expressed my ego. It expressed my wrath, how I could go beyond eye for an eye. My prideful nature, my constant drive to be seen as better, as more heroic. It brought up my casual disregard for things like laws where it suited me so long as I could justify the cause or the results to myself. It wasn't a blanket free check, there were limits, restrictions, and ways I had tried to check all of my worst impulses.
My good traits were there too, tied inexorably to everything else. How fiercely protective I was of anyone I loved. How I cared about everyone to an extent. How I was more than happy to take pain instead of letting another suffer. How I wanted that power to help beyond just for its own sake. How my willingness to impose my will on others came from an almost paternalistic belief that I had figured things out, and if others disagreed it was because one of us didn't understand the other. That one was a mixed bag at best, I did think I knew best and was sincerely trying to help. But was I actually right? I didn't know, but I was trying damn it. My willingness to adapt my beliefs when sufficiently challenged, not that that happens too often anymore.
My love for my now all adopted kids, my hopes and dreams to create a multiverse that was in harmony. Not directly under my thumb, but I did want to always be ready to lend a hand. Whether to help or crush what threatened my realm would depend on the problem. It admitted the little things, like how I found it hard to get motivated when problems weren't in front of me, or that I was trans, or that I loved being able to surf the web while actually doing things.
It spoke of my fears, that one day I would become a tyrant and need to be overthrown. That I would fall for someone and manipulate them to be mine, that one made me shudder the most. I'd never done anything like that, but I had the ability and it scared me. That I would never find happiness, that I would ultimately harm the universe by trying to make it my personal version of utopia while actually creating a dystopian nightmare. Worries that I already had done that. Worries that I was the weak link in my goal to be a hero, that I would have been better off overwriting myself with the simulated Anima. That I was a terrible mother.
On and on it went. To hear an Entity in full was to experience entire books in single word answers. Three words? It would take a while. But eventually they came to, and now they knew me better. And I was still under the power of Truth. I had waited patiently for them.
"Have you ever intentionally deceived us?"
"Not that I know of. I have used understatement to sound better, to angle your opinion on me and my actions. I didn't express my full desire for Conner's power, but I was truthful in all that I said. I believed it would help him in a similar way to when I freed the Birdcage inmates by depowering them. They still went to jail, but not forever."
"Do you plan to harm us or any heroes?"
"No, not at this time. I could change that depending on many factors, both my own change of heart or another's."
"Are you spying on the US government?"
"If by spying you mean gathering information to bring it to someone else then no. I do look for my own interests, but mostly in sub-minds. I'd rather not personally go through all that boring work. I catalogue everything I can, anything could be a hint at a new power or a new threat."
"Do you intend to give this information to anyone under any circumstances?"
"I could easily foresee that happening depending on the information in question and what I would be getting in return, as well as the confidence in said deal. I'm not so foolish as to let someone scam me, but most information isn't that important. This also technically covers things like sharing my research with you, what I get is gratitude and an improvement in our relationship."
"Have you ever murdered anyone?"
"Depending on your definition of murder, yes. Is it murder to kill another in defense of someone else? I have never killed anyone I didn't think was a threat to the lives of others, excepting mercy killings. Cases where I couldn't undo the harm done, usually at the request of the individual. Closer to assisted suicide."
They all looked unsettled at that declaration.
"Have you ever stolen anything?"
"Yes, primarily information for the same reasons I gather them. I don't particularly care if information is supposed to be secret by law, as laws can be corrupt. I do try to avoid using or consciously experiencing personal information with some exceptions. I have also stolen powers, although there haven't been any laws protecting those from being taken."
"Will you steal our powers?"
"No, because I don't want to harm you. I will however do my best to replicate and study all of your powers. I also may end up taking Sorceress Supreme, but I don't have the power to choose whether or not this happens. But I don't value the originals or titles in their own right."
"Will you ever kill an innocent?"
"Almost certainly, but the future is uncertain. I would almost certainly bring them back to life however. The most likely way is to underestimate my power and kill one by accident, or overestimate an opponent's power and kill them."
"Will you betray us?"
"Unlikely, and not under any foreseeable circumstances other than being controlled. But I am working on preventing that."
"How many people have you stolen the free will of?" Adam asked. It was one of his big issues, he believed that people needed to be free to make their own choices. It was also one of his big issues with Conner. One of the reasons the Anti-Man had attacked the world was to force humanity to see that they were one race, to eliminate bigotry.
"Depending on your definition I have stolen the free will of over seven hundred billion people."
What? What did the Truth mean by that?