Starheart

Atalanta: Mercy

So the first plan was bust. Have the virtual reality target Alya's fears so that when she woke up she'd be a fully fledged revenant then all Atalanta would have to do is wait a couple of weeks. They'd all be begging for a savior and she'd swoop in, kill the revenant and be the hero of the world. Then it would be all to easy to forward plans to improve the world, to make it hers. No somehow the revenant had broken free which shouldn't have been possible in her state. Atalanta would make sure it reflected on all of them.

Lucan was also a factor. The liar. She should have throw him out of his office window while she had the chance. Still with any luck he'd focus on the mythicals rather than her. That was another thing had Alya tricked Lucan into revealing his lies to her. She wondered if it was really because Alya had hated the idea of her being used as much as the mythical "super soldier" projects or whether it was the first thing that came to mind to save herself. 

Still Lucan had vanished somewhere even Atalanta couldn't see which meant the corporation was as good as hers. A hologram Lucan flashed to life and started to give a speech. One that would make people afraid and then give them exactly what they wanted to hear. It wouldn't even surprise her if the real Lucan let it stand.  

"I am here to tell you that in the very heart of the capital there has been an attack on me by individuals with supernatural abilities. They exist among us and are a danger to us all.We have realized the comparative lack of security in this city due to the threat of these new beings and have received permission from the government to upgrade the city due to our ability to successfully fight off this threat. We of course agreed to cover the costs as we realize the necessity of this"

That part had been easy. Using fear to make people overreact was an old trick but still incredibly effective and by paying not just for the reconstruction but for the newer plans there was no apparent disadvantage to the government. Sacrificing her first body by sending out the blast had been a deliberate act to allow the corporation to invest in anti EMP technology that would have seemed too suspicious otherwise. No one wanted to see London shut down like that again and it would remove her only real weakness so even if the mask slipped she could simply take over by force. The programmed hologram continued. 

"I also have a confession and an apology owed to all of you. We were aware of the existence of such beings and I'm sorry we didn't warn you sooner as we had no idea how aggressive they would be and we suspected they could have even infiltrated the corporation. However countermeasures have been worked on and I can reveal we have created an AI that can tell these beings from regular humans at a glance." 

Atalanta grinned to herself. She couldn't really tell mythicals from humans that easily but now she'd get to decide who counted as a "mythical." Activists, business rivals, journalists and even the odd politician who stood against her could now be labeled as mythicals and eliminated. She'd have fun hunting them down personally. Now for her little promise to Alya to judge humanity individually. It was simple. Whoever chose to stand with her would live.  

"Anyone who is afraid or angry by this sudden revelation come to the capital where you will be outfitted with the means to defend yourself and others from this threat and as a way to prove your loyalty to humanity."   

The recording ended and the hologram flickered out leaving Atalanta standing alone.