"Yes," says Minerva. "Can you fly, or do you need me to carry you?"

Can she fly? She reaches inward, past the stress and fear and sorrow roiling in her heart, past the exhaustion seeping through her bones, into her very core.

She's always believed, on a very fundamental level, that things will work out; that tomorrow will be brighter than today, and that people have good in them, sometimes buried deep but almost never entirely gone. Some of this was probably childish naiveté; she's seen, now, that the world is often cruel, that people's lives and dreams can be crushed underfoot by the cruelty of others or the sheer indifference of the systems of the world, or just the crushing inevitability of time, entropy, death.

But she also knows that people aren't powerless against these forces. They never have been. The hopes and dreams and hard-fought victories of the people who came before her are why she's able to live in the incredible world -- worlds -- that she exists in. And she knows that her hopes are more than just fantasies and aspirations; they're the key to the power she now wields. And so she truly believes that someday, somehow,

All Will Be Well

Blue Light pulses outwards from her ring, lightening her heart and bringing her hopes bubbling to the surface. She smiles, floats off the ground, and looks expectantly at Minerva.

And for a moment, the world looks rosier to Minerva - specifically, to this particular Minerva-drone; less like the world will inevitably spiral into destruction with her constant attention only slightly delaying it before the inevitable death of her and everyone she loves, space colonies possibly excepted, and more like saving the world is an actually viable plan. The balance of emotions shared between the Minervas begins to adjust before her external monitors notice that there is no rational reason for this update and she perhaps ought to wonder if the person who warned her that she had mind-affecting powers might have mind-affecting powers. Do a system reset to before the emotion? Quick cost/benefit calculation... probably not worth the expense she'll need to do it the hard way...

All this occurs within the blink of an eye, as Minerva smiles and also takes off. She does, in fact, have a safehouse on the outskirts of Chicago where she cna drop Musoka off, and a reliable bodyguard - that is to say, this one of her.

She follows, still tired but filled with a renewed sense of purpose.

In this mindstate, it's a bit easier to think about somethings, and so think she does. 

Ah, well. No use putting it off, really.

<...hey. I... still need to process what happened tonight, and I'm... not ready to trust you again, yet. But... we need to be able to work together, and... I do get why you did what you did.>

<I'm sorry, Musoka. I... it seemed like the best course of action, at the time, but in hindsight->

<...I don't want to get into it right now. Just because I understand doesn't mean I'm not upset. And I've always found it miserable, being angry.>

<Alright.>

<...you could talk through this with someone who isn't me, you know.>

<...Like who? I don't want to bother Minerva any more than we already have.>

<This world has thousands of superheroes; they'll have therapists with the relevant kinds of experience. I can look into it while you sleep, maybe get an appointment set up if I find someone promising?>

...huh. That's... a really good idea, actually. 

<Yeah, please do. I think that's likely to help.>

<Of course. ...I want to make things right.>

...oh. There's something Musoka should have thought about sooner, perhaps. 

<...See if you can find someone experienced with relationship therapy. I'd like you to be involved, too. ...If you want, I mean.>

<Also... I think you should pick a name for yourself.>

...Huh. She wasn't really expecting that.

<...I'd like to be involved, yes. And I can pick a name, I suppose. Out of curiosity... why?>

<...You're really obviously a person? You... didn't act as much like one, before all this, so I didn't really think about it, but...> 

she sighs. <This has to be at least as weird and hard for you as it is for me. And I don't want to forget that.>

<Alright. Call me... Ceru.>

<Ceru! It's pretty; I like it.>

She continues to fly in thoughtful silence.

...lots to think about overnight.

For now, though, she should get started on looking into a therapist. For the two of them.

...By asking Minerva, who'd almost certainly be able to recommend someone, or know someone else who can. 

Musoka and I both think we should talk to a therapist to work through our trust issues. Know anyone who might fit the bill?

...Also, she asked me to pick a name for myself, so I'm going by Ceru now.

And Minerva shifts some of her spare attention from trying to calculate how to channel the consequences of Livia's overt attack into persuading the Tyrant to expel her from Novapest, instead of it ending with either Livia escaping all consequences for her crimes (again) or overt war between two nuclear-armed powers...

Understood, Ceru.

She pauses. I can provide you with a list to select from who might be qualified. And a fraction of a second later will then dump a list of twenty names on Ceru.

She looks over the list, does some research online. Cassie Clark, Jessica Yamada, and Misty Young all look promising; she shows their profiles to Musoka.

<These are my top 3 picks. Do you like any of them?>

<They all seem pretty nice! ...If I had to pick, I'd choose Cassie, I guess. Seems like a very thoughtful writer.>

<Alright. I'll inquire about appointments with all 3 for tomorrow.> which she does, via email.

<Oh, I have some fun tidbits that I didn't have time to share with you earlier...>

Octavian does what while fighting???