Sophia and I had managed to get our conversation back to lighter topics, mainly relating stories about our different roommates and people we had met at college. It came of little surprise to me that neither of us had managed to fully trust others, that she had never told the people she met about being Powered and where her scholarship came from. Both of us had been used to hide that part of us, even if I had been forced to reveal it, thanks to Clark.

But not all was light, she had managed to get me to describe what exactly Clark had done to me, even if I fudged the explanation of my survival quite a bit, just telling her that Galatea had managed to save me, using an experimental tool we had been working on. Her eyes got a little wide when she saw my new, shiny and obviously artificial arm but she took it in stride. I noticed that the time we had spent apart seemed to have healed some of the pain she had been under but I was glimpsing some of it.

We talked for some time, until there was a knock at the door, causing me to mask myself again. Sophia called out to let whoever was knocking in and Isleen came through the door.

“Hello you two. How are you feeling, Sophia?” she asked, looking friendly and harmless.

“Hey Glenna. Much better, but I still feel as if I have been run over by a truck.” Sophia answered and I made note of the name.

“I’m afraid that’s to be expected, from what I’ve heard you had quite the ordeal. Oh, speaking of which, Metis, my husband asked me to get the after-action report from the Guild. Do you know who was in charge of the operation?” she asked and I was glad for the mask hiding my face, until I remembered that I was dealing with an empath. While the damage was likely already done, I retreated into the mentally shared space between Galatea and me, letting Galatea take the helm. That threw Isleen for a loop, her eyes growing wide, but it gave me a few moments.

The problem was that I had no idea what reports the Guild actually kept or what they shared with local authorities. It was quite possible that it was a routine request and refusal would be suspicious, but at the end of the day, there had been no Guild-sanctioned operation, just Technica and me, acting on our own. Caught out, I instantly sent a message to Technica, asking for advice.

While I waited, Galatea, using my voice, answered the question, stalling for time.

“I’ll have to take that up with Technica, I was merely on support. In addition, I’m not a full member of the Guild, at least in a technical sense. I’m operating as one, due to my apprenticeship with Technica but I’m not inducted.”

“Impressive. I can’t feel you at all, as if you had just flipped a switch and deactivated your emotions. Would you relay my request to Technica then?” Isleen marvelled, while I was quite happy that Technica seemed to be at her desk, working, because she had answered already.

“I already did and she already answered. You must’ve misunderstood something, the operation that saved Sophia wasn’t a Guild-operation but one under Technica’s personal authority, so reports are going to be held in strictest confidence.” Galatea explained,

At that, Isleen looked as if she had bitten into a lemon, she was not happy about that.

“Could you at least share what you know? We have quite the mess back home, a student was kidnapped from a University Dorm and the whole dorm was gassed for that. It’s a sleepy, little town and suddenly we have what the media is calling a terror-attack. My husband, Fin…” she caught herself, before continuing, “I mean, Curadh, gave a press-conference, telling everyone that the one kidnapped was recovered but we need something.”

“What exactly are you two talking about?” Sophia finally interjected.

“Simple, dear. You were taken from the dorm, the whole dorm was gassed with some knockout-drug and the Heroes Association threw a lot of resources at finding you, including every law-enforcement agency within a few hundred kilometers. There were a few hints but little else, a few drunk students thought that they saw some sort of truck, but none agreed on details, so we had a bit of a problem. And then, all of a sudden, we were called by Technica, telling us that they had coincidentally found you during an operation and you were recovering here. But, I get the feeling that there is more to it, a lot more.” Isleen explained and in the end, she put two and two together, realising that it was quite the coincidence that I was on some random operation that just happened to stumble upon my former, and maybe future, girlfriend and having the resources to rescue her.

“Operation?” now, Sophia seemed to start questioning how the things I had told her fit with what Isleen was speaking about.

“There certainly was an operation, the one who kidnapped you had quite a few underlings waiting in the location they’d prepared for you. But, as I said, it wasn’t a Guild-operation, Technica led it, after she was asked to.” Galatea started to explain and Sophia raised an eyebrow.

“How did you know that I was in trouble?” she asked, her voice calm, maybe a little too calm. She knew relatively well what I was capable of, so drawing the conclusion that I had spied on her was not too far off.

“When we split, someone I trust kept an eye on you. She told me that you were in trouble.” I hedged, taking the driver’s seat again. Galatea could have answered but she hated lying, so her answer would have been along the lines that she had been asked to do it, or maybe worse, that she had kept an eye on Sophia.

Isleen looked surprised again and I heard her mutter, “Now the emotions are back?”

“You mean…?” Sophia asked, letting the conclusion hang in the air, glancing at Isleen who caught the look.

“More secrets? I’ll leave you alone again.” she sighed, “We’ll just have to make up a third party. Can you at least tell you where she was taken?” Isleen asked, as she was getting ready to leave.

“I am not sure if that would be a good idea. She was transported across borders so that would open a huge kettle of fish, nothing to say of the measures taken by Technica and me.” I answered truthfully. Now, Isleen looked as if she was suddenly having a headache.

“Do I want to know?” she answered and must have felt the shift in my emotions, “You know, I don’t think I do. I’ll be back in an hour or something like that.” she announced, before leaving.

Sophia waited a few moments after she was out of the door before speaking.

“Why was Galatea speaking for you?” she asked, her voice controlled but it caught me by surprise.

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to stall again, my voice slightly panicky.

“Don’t give me that. I lived with the two of you for half a year and while the two of you are similar, there are certain quirks in your speech that the other is lacking.” she answered, grinning a little, undoubtedly because she caught me out.

That meant I would either have to lie, which I did not want, or I would have to come clean. I felt Galatea give her vote in the back of my mind, pushing me to tell the truth.

“I told you about getting attacked by Clark, remember?” I started, after taking a deep breath. Sophia nodded, looking a little confused, not seeing the connection.

“When he attacked me, what Galata did to save me was, essentially, integrating herself into my body. Where I am, she is and vice versa, she can even control my body, which has the advantage that empaths, like Isleen, cannot get a read on her, she might be too alien for that.” I explained and Sophia looked a little worried.

“Good thing I know Galatea, or I would want to run screaming into the hills.” she muttered, making me understand once again just how strange my state must sound to others. For me, it was simply sharing my body with my daughter but looking at it from the outside, some people might think of Galatea as some sort of electronic body-snatcher, like something out of a bad sci-fi movie.

“It was either that or finding out if there is a life after death. I am not sorry to share a body with my daughter.” I answered, maybe even more for Galatea than for Sophia.

“It’s just a little strange. So, you had Galatea have an eye on me?” she asked, changing the topic.

“Sort of. When I left, I told her to cut the connection.” I swallowed, hard, trying to remember the emotions I had felt back then.

“And I decided that she wanted me to cut the connection between the two of you. Which I did, but I kept my own connection, keeping an eye on you. You are my friend after all.” Galatea added, now using her own voice again.

Sophia shook her head and started to yawn.

“I’m sorry, but I think I need a nap. We’ll speak about that later, is that okay for you?” Sophia announced, yawning again.

I just smiled and nodded, telling her I would see her later. As I did, I realised that while I had fed my body, my electronic parts needed some juice as well. It was not yet critical but I would have to get back to my own workshop.

After standing up to leave, I hesitated for a moment, there was a part of me that wanted to give her a kiss, at least on the cheek, but I was not sure if it would be welcomed. In the end, I just wrote down the number I currently used on campus, so that she could contact me, squeezed her hand before leaving the room.

I was certainly not fleeing from my emotions and the memories of that day, even if I felt Galatea remind me that I needed to at least make an attempt to understand them.