Thomas Calvert had always believed that information was the most valuable resource in the world. Money could be acquired. Territory could be seized. People could be manipulated, bought, threatened, or persuaded. But every advantage eventually traced its roots back to knowledge. The person who knew more usually won.
The principle was simple enough, yet it explained the rise and fall of empires, corporations, and criminal organisations alike. Those who understood a situation better than their opponents dictated the terms of engagement.
Which was why the report sitting on his monitor had held his attention for nearly forty minutes.
Taylor Hebert.
The name itself was unremarkable. If he had encountered it under different circumstances, he would have forgotten it immediately. A teenage girl from Brockton Bay currently studying at Winslow, with no noteworthy family connections beyond a father employed by the Dockworkers’ Association.
Ordinary, painfully ordinary, and yet Armsmaster's report painted a very different picture.
Thomas leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin as he reread a section for what was probably the fourth time.
Officially, the document was heavily restricted. Unofficially, restrictions only mattered when people lacked the means to bypass them.
The report itself was surprisingly thorough. Armsmaster had never been the sort to leave details out, particularly when discussing powers. There were pages devoted to observed capabilities, limitations, hypothetical applications, and projected threat assessments.
Thomas found himself ignoring most of it.
The exact mechanics interested him far less than the implications. Armsmaster's conclusions, if accurate, pointed to Taylor Hebert possessing something extraordinarily rare.
A power that allowed her to retain knowledge across repeated timelines.
Thomas understood immediately why the PRT had reacted the way it had. He also understood why Director Piggot had classified nearly everything surrounding the girl.
A power like that changed things, and Thomas knew this because he possessed something similar. One that carried him from relative obscurity to influence, and from influence to the power he now held over Brockton Bay.
His own ability, however, had limits. Hard limits. Every advantage it granted came with restrictions that had to be navigated carefully.
Taylor's power did not appear to suffer from the same constraints.
His gaze drifted to the report's summary section. In the span of days, Bakuda had died, Lung had been eliminated, and Oni Lee had followed shortly afterward.
Individually, none of those accomplishments would have impressed him. Together, they suggested something far more unsettling.
Inevitability.
Given enough attempts, enough failures, and enough opportunities to learn, eventually success became less a possibility and more a certainty.
Thomas knew exactly how dangerous that was.
More dangerous than most people would ever understand.
The average person imagined powers in terms of explosions, forcefields, and visible destruction. They granted advantages, and some even granted overwhelming advantages. But very few allowed their owners to erase mistakes.
Few allowed for perfection.
A slow smile appeared on Thomas's face. The report did not leave him feeling threatened. If anything, it had the opposite effect.
Most people bored him eventually. Heroes, villains, and even his own subordinates became predictable once he had them figured out.
Taylor Hebert did not.
The report raised too many questions for that.
Thomas closed the file, and the screen went dark.
For several moments he remained seated, listening to the distant sounds of the building around him before eventually rising and crossing to the window.
Brockton Bay stretched out below.
His city, or at least the city that would one day belong to him.
His reflection stared back from the glass. Neatly dressed, professional, and respectable. The sort of man people trusted.
A useful disguise.
His thoughts drifted back to the girl at the center of it all.
Taylor Hebert.
Interesting people were rare, useful people rarer still. So if the reports were accurate, she was far too important to ignore.
Thomas found himself smiling again.
Meeting her was long overdue.