"Seriously, Julius, that is not funny. Give me that photo."
I immediately reached for the photograph.
Unfortunately, Julius was faster.
The former Roman general leaned back in his chair inside Site-19's executive lounge, holding the photograph just out of reach while looking entirely too pleased with himself.
"Hm."
His eyes scanned the image.
"Well, that's disappointing."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What is?"
"I was expecting something embarrassing."
He turned the photograph around.
Instead of embarrassment, what greeted us was something entirely different.
The image showed me standing in the center of what looked like a universe-sized laboratory. Complex mathematical equations filled the air around me like living constellations. Entire dimensions seemed to be folded into calculations so advanced that even looking at them made my head hurt slightly.
Magic circles rotated around me.
Thousands of them.
Millions, perhaps.
Each one appeared more advanced than the last.
In the photograph, I looked calm.
Focused.
Completely absorbed in my work.
The version of myself inside the picture looked less like a human researcher and more like some ancient cosmic scholar who had spent eternity studying the secrets of reality itself.
The strangest part wasn't even me.
It was the background.
There, floating beyond the impossible equations, was the Herta Space Station.
Or rather...
A future version of it.
The station dwarfed planets.
Entire fleets surrounded it.
The technology visible in the image looked billions of years beyond anything currently existing.
It resembled a civilization that had already mastered the universe and had simply moved on to mastering the multiverse.
Even stranger were the details hidden in the distance.
If one looked closely enough, there were fragments of things that should have been impossible.
The corpse of SCP-682.
Destroyed.
Permanently.
The Scarlet King.
Gone.
Erased.
Dead.
The photograph painted a future where impossible threats had somehow been defeated.
A future where knowledge had won.
A future where humanity stood at the top.
Julius lowered the photo.
"...Well."
"...Well," I agreed.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
Then I rubbed my forehead.
"Julius, that camera shows a person's deepest desires."
"Yes."
"We do not use it for fun."
His expression immediately became a little guilty.
"Slightly for fun."
"No."
I pointed at the photograph.
"That thing can create blackmail material on practically anyone. We use it to analyze dangerous anomalies, politicians, senators, hostile world leaders, and SCPs. We do not take random photographs of Overseers because we're bored."
Julius winced slightly.
"Fair."
"We've literally used that camera to discover secret ambitions that people have hidden for decades."
"Also fair."
"We once secured three billion dollars in funding because of that camera."
"...Very fair."
I folded my arms.
"And how did you even get SCP-978 out of containment?"
Julius looked completely unapologetic.
"I'm O5-2."
"That's not an answer."
"It is technically an answer."
"Julius."
"I'm O5-2 and therefore I don't need permission to access a Safe-class object."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
Then he grinned.
The idiot.
I loved Julius like a brother.
That was the problem.
It made it very difficult to stay angry at him.
Eventually Julius sighed.
"Fine."
A small burst of magecraft appeared in his hand.
The photograph ignited instantly.
Within seconds the image was reduced to ash.
"There."
"Good."
The ashes drifted onto the floor.
For a moment silence settled over the room.
It was a surprisingly peaceful silence.
No containment breaches.
No apocalypses.
No hostile gods.
No eldritch horrors trying to devour reality.
Just two Overseers sitting in a room.
Honestly, moments like these were rare.
Most people imagined the O5 Council as cold masterminds manipulating the world from the shadows.
They weren't entirely wrong.
But they never saw the other side.
The paperwork.
The stress.
The endless responsibility.
The knowledge that if you made a mistake, millions of people could die.
Sometimes it was nice to simply sit down and argue over something stupid.
Julius finally broke the silence.
"You really do want to become the smartest person in existence, don't you?"
I considered the question.
Then shrugged.
"Probably."
"Not world domination?"
"No."
"Not becoming a god?"
"No."
"Not infinite wealth?"
"I already have infinite wealth."
"Fair point."
I took a sip of tea.
"I just want to know everything."
Julius laughed.
"That somehow sounds more dangerous."
"It probably is."
The former Roman general shook his head.
Then his expression became serious.
The moment of peace ended.
Back to work.
"Speaking of dangerous things," he said.
"SHIELD?"
"SHIELD."
I pulled up a holographic file.
Several reports appeared between us.
Darius's intelligence network had recently forwarded the information.
According to Foundation spies embedded within SHIELD, the organization had recently acquired something unusual.
Something potentially anomalous.
Something dangerous enough to warrant Foundation attention.
Julius immediately focused on the reports.
The teasing vanished.
The Sentinel of the Foundation returned.
"I assume you want me investigating this?"
"Of course."
"Any details?"
"Very few."
I enlarged the file.
"The object was recovered during a covert operation three days ago. SHIELD has already moved it to a secure location."
Julius frowned.
"And Hydra?"
"Unknown."
That was concerning.
Hydra still existed inside SHIELD.
The Foundation had swallowed most of Hydra after World War II through the Chaos Insurgency, but remnants remained.
Enough remnants to cause problems.
Enough remnants to potentially get their hands on dangerous anomalies.
Julius stood.
"Then I'll start immediately."
I nodded.
"Good."
As Julius walked toward the exit, he paused.
"Oh, and for the record."
I already knew I wasn't going to like whatever came next.
"The photograph was adorable."
A pen flew across the room.
Julius laughed and disappeared through the doorway before it could hit him.
I sighed.
Sometimes the most dangerous man in the Foundation acted like a child.
And honestly?
That was probably why I trusted him.