Couple collapse the PRT

“Isn't that part of what the Wards is for?” I asked. “To keep kids from going villain, or to give them a second chance if make a mistake in the first place.”

My mind cleared a bit with that last statement, and I realized that I was slipping back into being a little too rational, subtly shifting my body language and expressions to make me more convincing. I forced my mind to go blank; I didn't want to manipulate people who were supposed to be friends and colleagues.

That was why Miss Militia was so stiff now. She was probably wondering if any of her previous reactions to me had been real, or if I had simply manipulated my way into having her like me. Worse, she was likely wondering whether I would be able to break the Brockton Bay division up if I really wanted to.

It wasn't that I couldn't if I wanted to.

The easiest way was to suss out preexisting stresses and drive a wedge into them. People tended to want to believe things that confirmed what they already believed, so having someone echo their deepest, darkest feelings was fairly easy to do. It would be harder and take longer to create new divisions. Simply lying was one way that people tried, but that could be found out quite easily, unless it confirmed something the person already believed. It was better to use selective truths if at all possible, because those tended to create longer lasting splits.

Being able to repair something meant being able to destroy it. Destruction was much easier than creation, after all.

But these were people who genuinely wanted to be my friends, or at least colleagues. I had no reason to betray them and every reason to help them.

***

Progress