While it was nice that some of the upper level labs had soundproofing in their walls, Fractal wasn't taking any chances. Dampeners had been installed all around the three levels above and below the lab, while Grade 4 Titanium had been hastily put together in a box for observers. Not exactly the best defensive measure considering the one she was bringing in, but creating a whole new material for a unique situation takes time and money. Both of which she was somewhat short on right now, despite everything Dr. Gore had given her.

The fact that she was testing something of her own creation also contributed to it. She couldn't be in two places at once, after all.

Soft humming had been emanating from the metallic face mask that was on the table, a side effect of the polymers she had opted to use as a battery. Fractal was confident that she could work out that flaw upon proper testing, but the real issue is that this device simply wasn't meant to be used as an external device. While it looked sleek and sci-fi in appearance along with thin metal plates to put on the neck for support, in truth it was a hack job of appropriating another division's atmospheric filtration device and upgrading it with acoustic amplification in mind. It would have been far better as a device implanted within the throat, but such an operation would have been infeasible for today's test. Many things to do, and little time to do them.

Admittedly, there had been some gratefulness for the busy schedule Dr. Gore kept giving her. It kept her from thinking too hard about the dangers of various Villains or particularly worrying Heroes. To say nothing of what was coming... but surely that was handled, right? A lot of these people were packing some pretty dangerous powers even if their personalities were just as volatile. Behemoth getting beaten back, even if it wasn't a complete kill, was proof enough of that. But an Endbringer like Behemoth was one thing... Slaughterhouse Nine or other Endbringers were a different issue entirely.

That's not to say there weren't glimmers of hope. Ironically people like the Hopeman, and-

"Fractal. I understand you desired my presence today?" Ah, right on cue. A young male (admittedly more on the feminine side) floated into the room through the entryway, light somewhat twisting around him as his long white hair floated gently behind him. To Fractal's glee, he used the doors! There wasn't burning a hole through the wall like last time! Even if it was super cool to see him use his powers, repairing walls gets expensive.

Her joy wasn't diminished as she spun on her heel to face him. "Singularity! Good to see you, how's my boy? Adapting well to the world, I hope?"

Singularity's face had that look of confusion on his face, but there was still a slightly bemused smile. "There are those who still fear what I am capable of. But their fear is irrelevant to the work required, of which there is much to do." They both knew Singularity wasn't really her child; he was actually a sapient crystal that was projecting a body using assimilated material. God only knows where the recovery teams had found it, but the moment she saw it she could tell it was no ordinary object. A few tests and a miniature black hole later, and she had been proven right.

But she didn't want to leave it there in case he held a grudge, so she had spent time searching for gravitational anomalies to track him down and apologize. To her shock he had seemed confused, but that act led to a slowly burgeoning friendship. One she had to convince Dr. Gore to let occur (and admittedly one with some quirks), but it made her a friend! Her first real friend that wasn't also her boss, and superpowered! It was exciting!

Well, that and it also meant access to using immense gravitational powers to test or even forge new materials. In exchange she gave Singularity a place to rest and recover if he ever needed it, an offer he had yet to take up. She also gave material and lessons on the application of gravity manipulation and theories on dark matter, an offer he did take up with a degree of voraciousness. But he also sometimes came by to hang out, which was... it was pleasant.

"I imagine so. Well, I'll try not to take up much of your time today then. I'm admittedly hoping you can stick around for a bit just in case we need to rapidly dispose of something." Looking over to the mask on the table, which Singularity also looked at. "It is a peculiar device. Is it a request of the Doctor's?"

Fractal shook her head. "Nah, personal. Trying a different angle, seeing if I can't start supplying some Capes in the area. If the mask doesn't pan out, I'll at least get some good data to work off of." While this wasn't really related to Project: PERSES, Dr. Gore had given her a large degree of autonomy that she could use on things like this. It spoke to the trust they had... that or desperation. The rising number of Capes in the area along with the occasional outbreaks from their labs no doubt had the big lizard on edge.

To say nothing of the public competition. Umbrella Corporation may hire and field a large number of Tinkers like herself, but then you had corporations like Sandevy Industries which had a significant presence within Brockton Bay. It didn't take a psychologist to notice Dr. Gore's frustration at the rival company's reach interfering with hers. It likely explained why Dr. Gore had even given her this kind of influence without much oversight: Results were needed. If not legally, then illegally.

The doors hissed once more, as if on cue. Looks like the test subject was here.

Silver hair that shone in the light and equally silver eyes that looked around with the energy of a kid in a candy store, the woman that hurried in surprisingly had little in the way of facial expressions, but more than made up for it in body language. Looking around and having a spring to her step. "Woooaaaah, I knew this place was huge but it keeps going! I bet I could make such an echo in here!" It was only a second later she noticed Fractal and Singularity, upon which she ran up to the two with a surprisingly wide smile on her face that didn't quite match her eyes. "Oh you two look cool! Is the job going to be testing on you?"

Oh, shit. Fractal quickly got up as she shook her head. "Oh, no no no. No need for that, Babel. I'm Fractal, I'm the one who hired you. I am hoping for some testing, but Singularity here is mainly for if anything goes wrong. No no, let's get things situated." More like 'get things under control', but who's asking?

"Awesome. Show me what to do, let's earn this paycheck! You want me breaking anything? I'm really good at that, I could do it right now." Babel looked a little fidgety despite the small smile on her face. It was a little disconcerting to Fractal, and painted a dangerous picture regarding Babel's past activities. Best to hurry this along.

Fractal pointed at the mask on the small table. "The job will be testing that mask. It's been outfitted with a material currently titled 'Alloy Sigma-4', and the goal is to achieve quantum acoustics with your powers. We do this right, then utilizing your sound powers it could achieve all kinds of new effects. Singularity and I will be inside that titanium box reviewing the data we get from it."

"I like the sound of that! What effects are you looking for? If I get an idea I'll have a better idea of what frequency or decibel I should try to hit... I'm pretty sure, anyway. It'll be a blast to find out." Babel was already scooting over and getting the mask off the table, looking it over and poking at the inside a few times before placing it over her mouth and putting on the neck braces to support it. At least she had enthusiasm? It'll still be cool to see at least.

Still, Fractal had to admit that Babel had a point. Knowing the desired end goal would be proper. "The goal is to use your acoustic powers and tune it to Alloy Sigma-4 to replicate quantum effects such as tunneling as well as manipulating the wave functions of things. In layman's terms, using sound to teleport objects and alter their speed. Another bonus could be using sounds to heat up or freeze things in a focused manner. I will stress, however, that you're not to destroy the titanium observing room or the sensors built into it. You're only allowed to project your powers towards the targets. Violation of these boundaries will result in a pay deduction."

Babel gave something of a lazy salute, but somehow she still managed to look rather excited. Fractal for her part took this to scurry into the titanium room with Singularity floating behind her, sealing the door with a hiss before she hit a button on a microphone. "First test. Let's try to teleport the object."

To her shock, Fractal didn't even wait for the basketball to land on the ground before there was a hit on the sensors. Even in the isolated room she felt a little on edge as the frequency meter gave back some very unusual data as pieces of Babel's mask shifted to account for the use of her powers. Unfortunately, the ball didn't teleport, instead being launched forward like a superball as it hit the wall and bounced back towards Babel. Half a second later, there was something of a shriek as the ball exploded in midair with rubber chunks hitting the floor.

"Ffffffuck, that could have been bad." Fractal quickly hit the button again. "You okay there? Not injured?"

"I'm good! Don't worry, I can keep going! That was a bit weird, but I think we got it!" Babel held a thumbs up to the observation box even as Singularity tilted his head. "...we?"

Fractal shook her head softly. "Notes for later. She might be talking about everyone in the room, but not important right now." She hit the button again to speak to Babel. "Alright. If you're sure, I'm dropping the next ball."

Again, Babel didn't wait for the basketball to hit the ground. The odd feeling increased as the sensors picked up frequencies that were unusual, mixed with data from the mask as it shifted again. This time there was a distortion in the air as the ball was launched forward, only visible for a half-second before it vanished. Babel stared for a moment before she jumped up. "Yes! I did it! You saw that, right? I made it shift!"

"That... oh my god that was so cool. She did it." Fractal was completely stunned, the colors on her face shifting rapidly before returning to normal as she scrambled to hit the microphone button. "A-ah, yes! Yeah we saw that, that was astounding! I'm not sure where it went, think we could do it a few more times? Let's see if you can control its range before we move on to temperature control." Knowing her luck, that basketball was going to bean somebody on the head.

But Babel gave an enthusiastic nod, and soon enough there were more attempts. The next basketball had ended up fused into a wall and popped, but after that Babel had started to make a game of seeing how fast she could make a basketball teleport around to her singing. She was even learning how to alter the momentum with each 'shift', something that Fractal didn't think Babel would pick up on so quickly. The data the sensors were getting with it was utterly insane, but it just meant a ton of numbers to refine for a new reiteration. Plus seeing Babel casually using powers like this was just fantastic. A wonderful sight!

No wonder there was a Kill Order out on her. But Fractal was getting too much of value from this display alone to actually follow through with such things.

As fun as it was to see this happening, things also needed to move forward. "Great job, Babel! We've got plenty out of this, and you managed to add a second effect into it! I mean... shit, I'm pretty impressed. I just need you to freeze or heat up some mannequins and then we can conclude the test with your payment. You're doing fantastic so far!"

Babel turned with what Fractal could only assume was a grin under that mask, even as the basketball just vanished from losing interest in it. Damn it, that was probably going to hit someone too. "'kay, just freeze or burn them up with my voice. I can totally do that! You think I could keep this thing too?"

"Ah... sorry, that's a rough prototype. I worry it'd break if you really went all-out with it. But tell you what, I'll look into making a better mask with the data we've gotten here, or even augmetics that won't impact your looks. How does that sound?"

"Deal! You better not be lying to me!" Babel did a twirl before facing the mannequins that were coming up from the floor. The first one exploded from the first few notes of her song, and the second one had a bit of smoking before it too started to crack and fall apart. But soon enough mannequins were turning into solid ice or bursting into flames, or even some combination of the two. Babel even started to dance around them as she sung, occasionally needing to back up when a fire got a little too large for comfort.

"Is this wise, Fractal? She seems... careless." Singularity narrowed his eyes as he watched the carnage unfold. Crossing his arms over his chest. "I've watched her at times. Her actions are childish: Cruel and without consideration of consequences. She could easily erase this city with that power."

Fractal just shrugged, her vision far too focused on the data coming through the mask and sensors. "There's a decent amount of people in this city which can erase it. You're one such person. But I'm not sure we have to worry about that from her. You saw how eager she was to use her powers. For someone to see it. If she destroys the city, who would be around to watch her?"

"She could destroy this city and then go to a different one to address that problem. People are everywhere, and even the Endbringers will not change that." That... oh. From his frowning, Singularity well and truly felt this person was a danger. As much as Fractal hated to admit it, he was also making some very good points. Babel had been known for causing destruction not just for money, but for aimless entertainment. Unpredictable to boot. Even her following instructions here likely only held weight so long as Babel felt it was worth it to follow them. The second she decided otherwise was the second no amount of money could change it.

"Those are... fair. I see the logic." She sighed, before looking back through the glass to Babel trying to make an ice sculpture with a few mannequins. "But right now things are going okay. She's putting her best foot forward for this. I feel like I'd be doing a disservice not only to myself, but to you if I didn't do the same. I mean hey, I took a chance on you and here you are. Maybe she just needs that chance too."

That's when Babel turned around to face her. "Aw, that's nice of you! You're nice. I'm loving the vote of confidence."

The sudden act made Singularity freeze in place as Fractal stared a bit. This was supposed to be soundproofed. Either there was a flaw somewhere, or Babel had somehow managed to make out what they were saying through... vibrations? Fractal just looked at the microphone system. "Well, now I just feel stupid for putting that in."

"Oh you didn't know, I don't blame you. Hey, check this out!" Before Fractal could say anything, there was an sound coming from Babel that could be politely described as 'unholy', which was making the frozen mannequins start to shake. To Fractal's surprise, they were starting to change color as the sensors started to go wild. What in the world was she doing?

Her train of thought was crashed by warning lights coming from the sensors. An issue came up in the mask; the power supply was experiencing fluctuations. But with these readings-

"Sing, get it off of her! It's going to blow!"

The moment she said that, she fell to her knees from the sudden gravity increase, Singularity floating up as the top of the titanium box just made loud crunching noises from being pulled in, disappearing moments later from being absorbed into his body. She almost missed the event, one of his tendrils shooting forth and connecting with the mask. Judging by her sudden jerking, she was too focused on her effects to anticipate the event, much less resist it being pulled off of her with the clamps snapping like twigs. "HEY! What's the-"

She went silent as the mask erupted in blue flames in front of her, before twisting and drawing in on itself as gravity began to compact it down. Both flames and ruptured mask were the size of a marble before it vanished, and the tendril retracted back.

That. Man, that was cool to watch. Like it could have gotten really ugly, but that was cool!

Babel was quiet for a moment before pointing to Singularity. "He did it. I didn't break the box, he did. I still get full payment, right?"

Fractal just sighed at that as she got back up on her feet to exit. "I... yes, yes you will. More importantly, are you okay? You didn't get hurt or anything?" Please don't be injured, please no, please don't go on a killing spree...

Babel just looked confused, like a deer caught in headlights as one of her hands got fidgety. To Fractal's worry, she was actually quiet for a few seconds. Like she was trying to process it, before she spoke up in almost a whisper. "You... were worried for me?"

"Yes? I mean it'd be really bad for you to get injured due to my work, last thing I want is-" Fractal immediately went quiet when Babel walked up and put a finger up to her face where her lips used to be. Admittedly there was fear here. The smile on Babel's face made it even more terrifying. She could feel a slightly increased pull, which only meant Singularity was gearing up in case he needed to throw down. That wasn't good.

But the pull stopped when Babel spoke up with a cheery tone. "That's really nice to hear. I don't hear that often, so it was nice to hear that." She then took a few steps back, withdrawing her finger from Fractal's face as she kept that unnerving smile. "I'd love to do this again sometime. Payment's in my ride?"

"Ah... yeah. Mean yes, it's there. Think on whether you want a mask or augmetics for later, I'll need a heads-up." Fractal was somewhat dumbfounded, but also just glad her internals weren't being used for a Picasso painting right now. Better to go along with it.

"That'll be fun to play with later. This was fun, thanks for inviting me! Can't wait for the new tools!" Before Fractal could say anything, Babel had already run outside the doorway. Off to the designated vehicle, and from there? Whatever Babel did on her free time.

Well, shit.

Singularity floated over with a raised eyebrow. "For better or for worse, it would appear you have a positive reputation with her. Perhaps that will keep me from needing to reduce her to background radiation?"

"Maybe... maybe." There was a second or two before Fractal turned to go for the databanks. The mask may be destroyed and the sensors themselves broken, but the data acquired from both would still be intact. Using soundwaves to teleport or rapidly change the temperature on an object was sure to be of value to Dr. Gore. Yet... there was still that childish glee that would not be contained. "But you gotta admit, it was cool watching it all go down. And the way you just rose up and no-selled that explosion? Talk about radiating power!"

Singularity only sighed with exasperation, but there was no hiding that smile.