Origins

People called her the “kid genius.” When Holliday put it to her, she answered with a bare “Yeah,” then rattled off her title: lead engineer for the Occult Industrial Complex.

“I'm the lead engineer for the occult industrial complex.”

“我是神秘工业园区的首席工程师”

Those who find fame young tend to end up at big companies. By the time of the Cadenza Incident, she was already working at Fairfax Industries. She recalled to Haze that the rest of them had been more rattled than the boss, while she herself was “just a kid freaking out,” afraid of losing her job. Maximilian Fairfax, though, was surprisingly calm. As she saw it, he never expected Cadenza to last forever; he only wanted to make the most of an opportunity before legislation caught up. Besides, the man gets to say he created one of the United States.

“Honestly, the rest of us were more rattled than he was. I was just a kid freaking out cause I thought I was going to lose my job, but Fairfax was surprisingly calm. I don't think he expected Cadenza to last forever, he just wanted to make the most out of an opportunity before legislation caught up. Plus the guy gets to say he created one the United States.”

“说实话，我们其他人比他更紧张。我当时只是个吓坏的孩子，因为我以为我要失业了，但是菲尔法克斯出奇地冷静。我觉得他没指望凯登泽会永远存在下去，他只是想在立法出台前充分利用这个机会。而且，他还说他成立了美国的一个州。”

Her verdict on this boss is very nearly a biography in miniature. When Mirage asked what Maximilian Fairfax was like, she said: “I like him. He’s got enough of an ego to think he can play god but not too big of an ego to think he is god.” When Mirage went on to ask whether he was a good person, she answered that she didn’t think anyone was a good person.

“I like him. He's got enough of an ego to think he can play god but not too big of an ego to think he is god.”

“我喜欢他。他足够自负，认为自己可以扮演上帝，但又不至于自以为是上帝”

Yet she will not be taken for anyone’s pet. When Wraith called her Fairfax’s pet genius, she shot right back: “I’m no one’s pet anything.” Billy sees it quite the other way: he points at her and says, don’t act like you’re blue collar, you were handpicked by Fairfax himself. That is Billy’s charge, and she has never answered it.

“I'm no one' pet anything.”

“我才不是什么人的宠物”

“Don't act like you're blue collar, McGinnis. You were handpicked by Fairfax himself.”

“别装得像个蓝领工人似的，麦金妮。你是菲尔法克斯亲自挑选的”

Nor does she have any story to tell about her own gifts. When Dynamo asked whether she had ever considered being an adjunct professor, she said she would make a really bad teacher: she doesn’t know how she does what she does, it just comes naturally, and if she tried to teach, it would probably boil down to “try it again, but don’t suck this time.” Dynamo laughed that she would be the Lash of academia; put like that, she said, she kind of wanted to give it a try.

“I don't know how I do what I do, it just comes naturally… if I tried to teach someone it would probably boil down to me saying "try it again, but don't suck this time"”

“我不知道我是怎么做到的，都是自然而然发生的……如果我要这么教别人，那到头来估计就是我要说“再试试，不过这次不能搞砸了””

Old Friends and Foes

Paradox: The Thief and the Robbed

Between Paradox and her lies a theft that will never be untangled. She says it to her face: “Stop stealing my shit.” The answer is a single “No.” Paradox makes no secret of it, either: what she wants is McGinnis’s research.

“Hey Paradox. Stop stealing my shit.”

“嘿，悖论，别再偷我的东西了”

Pocket: The Boss’s Kid

When Pocket asked why she was helping him, she said he was going to take over his dad’s company, and she wanted to keep her job; and if Pocket thought she had a dirty conscience over what she had done at FI, she didn’t. Pocket said she had no conscience to get dirty; he only wanted to know whether his father had sent her. She answered: of course he sent her; as for why, that was a question for his dad.

“You're gonna take over your dad's company, and I wanna keep my job.”

“你要接管你爸爸的公司，而我想保住我的工作”

On Pocket’s family she draws the lines sharply: his dad is awesome, his mom is a real bitch, and his sister takes after his mom. Pocket asked back when she would realize that his dad was a monster. She said: don’t put your problems on me, dude; you asked, I answered.

“Your dad's awesome, your mom's a real bitch, and your sister takes after your mom.”

“你爸爸很厉害，你妈妈很刻薄，你妹妹像你妈妈。”

The “Arin” she speaks of is none other than the name Pocket has put away: Arin Fairfax, first heir to the company. She has complained that Arin can judge her yet has no problem hanging out with Mo & Krill; and she told Apollo that the last thing she needed was an Arin 2.0.

“I don't get how Arin can judge me but have no problem hanging out with you two.”

“我不明白艾伦为什么会对我有意见，却和你们两个一起玩没问题”

Pocket has not let her off, either. In another clash, Pocket insisted: “You’re complicit, McGinnis.”

“You're complicit, McGinnis.”

“你是同谋，麦金妮”

Kelvin: The Name She Never Gets Right

She calls Kelvin “Kevin,” and when corrected she insists she said it right; her “I think I know what I said” earned only his “I think you do too.” Afterwards she mocked herself: his name’s Kelvin, and she’s gonna get it right next time.

“Took out Kevin. Kelvin. His name's Kelvin. I'm gonna get that right next time.”

“处理了开文。开尔文。他的名字叫开尔文。下次我要念对了”

Lash: Sparring Partners

Lash calls her “McG,” and she tells him there’s “no need for pet names.” He says he likes her, and teases her that she must have a crush on him; she tosses back only “Shut up.”

“No need for pet names Lashole.”

“不需要起个宠物名字，老鼠”

Bebop: Respect for the Craft

Her interest in Bebop lies in the one behind him. Learning that he was the work of Shelly Fisher, she asked whether that craftswoman was looking for a job; told that she had retired, she sent word through him: tell her she did great work. The two also discovered that they both like blowing things up.

She asked him, too, what was stopping him from mowing down humanity with that death laser. The answer: it would disappoint Miss Shelly.

“Well, when you see her tell her she did great work.”

“嗯，你见到她的时候要告诉她，她做得非常牛”

“It would disappoint Miss Shelly.”

“这会让雪莉小姐失望”

Grey Talon: Care With a Sharp Tongue

She urged Grey Talon to “step into the 20th century,” telling him charm doesn’t win fights, guns do, which he doesn’t have. She calls him “murder grandpa,” and worries he might have a stroke; should he fall and break a hip, she would have to step in. He shot back with a single “Don’t worry about me.” After she pulled him through, he admitted he owed her one.

“Charm doesn't win fights. You know what does? Guns. Which you don't have.”

“魅力赢不了战斗。你知道什么能赢吗？枪。而你没有枪。”

Lady Geist: A Familiar Face at the Parties

Lady Geist sniffs that she smells of motor oil and labor; she answers without a flicker of shame: that’s because she works for a living; turns out being a human being is good for the soul, and the lady should try it sometime. Still, there is something about the lady she admires: at Fairfax’s parties, the art with which the lady pretends to be interested in people strikes her as something else.

“Oh I wasn't talking about murder, I was talking about pretending to be interested in people at fundraisers. I've seen you work the room at Fairfax's parties, it's something else.”

“哦我说的不是击败，我是说假装在筹款会上对别人感兴趣。我看到你在菲尔法克斯的派对上非常活络，很有东西”

Seven: Prodigy and Craftsman

Seven says she was once a prodigy and has since plateaued: no more than a craftsman who executes pedestrian ideas at the highest level. At first she answered, “I still am”; when he said the word “plateaued,” her voice went low: “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Yet she does not only cross swords with him. When Seven said a certain thing was impossible to take off, she chided him for giving up too quickly, and told him to come find her when this was over. Speaking of Seven, she also admits that he is as scary as people say.

“When this is over, come find me.”

“等这一切结束了，来找我”

Mirage and Calico

Mirage came on behalf of the Djinn to ask whether the R&D department would be open to developing something that isn’t a weapon. She said the company is always looking for interesting problems to solve, and she was happy to run it up the flagpole. She also said that not many people can relate to working for world shapers, and invited Mirage to get a beer sometime and talk shop. Calico, for her part, says she is very familiar with her, and that she has nothing to worry about today, because the ritual is starting. McGinnis pressed: “Are you a friend of Max’s?” She got back a vague “Something like that.”

“We're always looking for interesting problems to solve. If the Djinn have one, I'm happy to run it up the flagpole.”

“我们一直在寻找有趣的问题来解决。如果镇尼有什么问题，我很乐意提出来”

“The ritual's starting.”

“仪式要开始了。”TL

Deadman Danny: A Partner Known Only by His Title

Deadman Danny pilots the Chimera she built, yet in her mouth he is only ever “the Test Pilot.” When he goes down, she calls it out to the others; when he goes missing, she calls that out too; when she warns him, it is by that same title. His names for her are far warmer: he calls her “Maggie,” and says the lady is perfection; even when the two of them land on opposite sides, he keeps muttering that they should be on the same side.

“Careful, Test Pilot…”

“小心点，试飞员……”

Anecdotes

Having brought down Yamato, she put it plainly: her opponent runs a street gang, while she drives the whole Occult Industrial Complex.

“Yamato, you run a street gang… I drive the occult industrial complex. You never had a chance.”

“大和，你是管一个黑帮……我管的可是神秘的工业园区。你毫无机会”

When Yamato asked whether she builds war machines, she said only “Among other things,” before conceding, “Pretty much.” What troubles Venator is not what she makes but how she makes it; later, bringing Venator down, she let fall a single line: she doesn’t take orders from the Vatican.

“I don't take orders from the Vatican.”

“我可不听梵蒂冈的命令。”TL

She carries a whole load of gear on her back. When Abrams asked how she didn’t throw out her back carrying it all, she said it’s lighter than it looks: souls don’t weigh a whole lot. She has owned up, too, that when a spectral wall goes wrong it leaves a comrade on the far side of it, and that it happens a lot. Going into battle she announces that the souls are primed, and before she opens fire she muses to herself: spectral munitions… what will she think of next?

“It's lighter than it looks. Souls don't weigh a whole lot.”

“比看上去轻多了。灵魂也不会重”

Violence weighs nothing on her. When Paige said people were about to kill them, she corrected her: people are about to try to kill them, because they’re gonna kill ’em first. She has said, too: don’t think she has never killed someone with her bare hands.

“You think I've never killed someone with my bare hands? Come on.”

“你以为我赤手空拳就不行了？拜托”

Touched on a sore spot, she parries with a joke. Once, when the Doorman tried to play on her insecurities, she told him the joke was on him: she has a god complex. The Doorman has said something heavier still: her creations are responsible for the deaths of millions, and she is a monster. He has wondered, too, why the other Fairfax directors always host events for their teams at the Baroness Hotel, while she never does.

“You wanna play on my insecurities? Joke's on you, I got a god complex.”

“想拿我的心病做文章？那你可打错算盘了，我本来就有神性情结。”TL

She has her professional habits, too. Rich kids like Apollo she mocks for thinking that having greatness handed to them is the same thing as being a prodigy; having brought Apollo down, she adds that nepotism, it turns out, doesn’t win fights.

“Turns out nepotism doesn't win fights.”

“看来裙带关系可赢不了架。”TL

Students out of Blackmore Academy win no more favor with her: they’re all the same. She once worried, too, that Apollo would turn out to be one of those Blackmore kids who demand an internship.

“Blackmore Academy kids are all the same.”

“布莱克莫尔学院的学生都一个德行。”TL

Nor is she scornful toward everyone. When Ivy said Carlos thinks Fairfax Industries is bad for the country, she replied that if Carlos paid her mortgage she might care what he had to say; and when Ivy, another time, asked how you can work at Fairfax Industries, she asked back whether Ivy just wanted moral superiority over someone she had just met. Yet after reading about Ivy in the paper, she thanked her in earnest for making New York a little better; and facing her in a fight, she says she appreciates what Ivy did for Spanish Harlem, but she’s gotta do what she’s gotta do.

“I read about you in the paper. Thanks for making New York a little better.”

“我在报纸上看到了关于你的报道。谢谢你让纽约变得更美好”

“Appreciate what you did for Spanish Harlem, but I gotta do what I gotta do.”

“感谢你为东哈勒姆做的一切，但我必须做该做的事”

Among her companions, drink is never far from her lips. When Silver invited her to get a beer and talk shit about people, and when Infernus invited her to the bar, both times she answered, “I’m in.” Alone, she calls herself “Mags” and tells herself no pressure; at the end of her rope, all she wants is a vacation and a drink.

“I'm in.”

“我来了”

“God I could use a drink…”

“天哪，我真想来一杯……”TL

She regards her own end with a black humor, too. When Holliday asked how long she thought she would stay with the company, she said: “Probably until I get bored or I open some portal to hell and die.” Then she added: “I think about it a lot.”

“I dunno. Probably until I get bored for I open some portal to hell and die.”

“不知道。可能我觉得没意思了我就打开什么通往异界的传送门，然后消失”

Open Questions

“No, but I'm very familiar with you”

“不认识，但我对你可是了如指掌。”TL

“Great, I thought of a new way to weaponize souls in the shower, I need to go to the lab.”

“太好了，我在淋浴的时候想到一个把魂做成武器的新法子，得回实验室去了。”TL

“They'll be plenty of time for gray area weapons testing later.”

“灰色地带的武器测试以后有的是时间。”TL