Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Amelia, Ch 379- Victoria


It wouldn't be quite accurate to say I could feel the distortions from Missy's power, but my senses did give me a good idea of when it happened. The part where gravity in the entire region lessened by about five to ten percent, and then those attack drones slammed into the side of the castle hard enough to leave a hole through several feet of stone, that was her power in action. Holy shit that girl has improved.


Back when I was Glory Girl, I would have been jealous. More than a little insecure at the idea of her 'love rival' being so much more powerful than her. I just laughed. I really need to challenge her to a match some day.


Not today, though. Now I had far less impressive opponents to play with. I bolted forward toward the castle. They clearly thought it was important enough to defend, and that meant it was important enough for me to break into tiny little pieces. It was easy enough to dodge the Yangban, they were pretty pathetic all considered. And the sad part was they didn't need to be.


Some kind of badly watered down aiming power that actually would have been a real threat to me if at full power. Bunch of energy attacks that would have done real damage if they could hit. And some serious forcefield and danger sense abilities that honestly did keep me from hitting back. All in all, it was fifty people with a bunch of powers at one sixth of what they should be.


They'd have been better off just using the aiming power and this long range laser and whomever did the forcefield without sharing their powers.


I took a few potshots, just enough to intimidate them into wasting power on bolstering the forcefields. The longer they turtle, the better off I and the rest of the team are.


"Vertigo Lance." The weapon appeared for me to catch, and I fired it at the stone wall, activating the destruction mode. The built in sensors did the work of finding the best frequency to hurt this material, and soon the wall cracked.


I felt the threat, and redirected my weapon straight below at maximum intensity. The Yagban teleported into a cloud of dirt and sand too thick even for me to see through. I didn't need to see to fight. I was also right up close and personal with them. Forcefields against forcefields, and mine was power dampening. Yet again, if it were their forcefield generator vs me, I'd have lost. But this was fifty different forcefields, dampened fifty times.


I punched one upside the head, just enough to render him unconscious. Another got his shin snapped in half. Each half step hurt another two or three. This is fucking pathetic. The Yangban thinks they're competition for Avalon when this is the best they can do? Fuck, give me the right five Protectorate members not including the Triumvirate and a month to train them, and they'd shred this sad excuse for an army. I jabbed one of them in the ribs hard enough to send them flying into another member.


<Path Thirty Six.> They'd all instantly recovered from their injuries.


Wha? Did they pick up Alabaster's power? Well, maybe this is a fight I can- Everything changed just a little. I dived sideways and rolled to my feet as streams of that high intensity laser carved through the muddy ground, sending billowing steam into the air.


Another sudden disruption of perception and I dived backward, avoiding a barrage of lightning, or something like it. Okay, maybe they can fight back. Another disruption sent me up against a wall. Well, fuck. "Frost Lance."


I fired in front of me, building a shell of frozen air to protect me. More blasts of energy hammered my position, but at least I didn't have any more of those damn time skips fucking with me. Those things didn't trip my combat sense at all. Line of sight? Probably.


"Light Lance."


I set it to wide spectrum, low intensity. Basically a flare gun that didn't turn off, complete with the possibility of damaged retinas. Then I bolted up the castle wall, avoiding the occasional shitty potshots. Once on top I grabbed one of those assault rifles and fired it down into the crowd of confused Yangban. Lucky me that I can control my hearing, or this would suck. Their forcefields were enough to stop bullet fire without any real trouble. Maybe if I were firing a couple dozen guns at once it would work, but that wasn't my plan.


The gun didn't take long to overheat, and I tossed it down into their crowd while it just kept firing away. I went stealth mode and bolted forward toward the castle itself. I'd have more advantages there, where the fighting would be in narrow halls and all my close quarters combat advantages would come into play. I still needed a way to beat that damn time fuckery, but in theory it just meant I had to kill the one guy on the team providing the juice.


A patch of Yangban appeared in front of me, and I fired another stream of ice into their group. They teleported out immediately. Guess they still had that power on hair trigger. I fired behind me on reflex, and the screams of pain told me I actually achieved something. I bolted down the hall, punching a normal guard, stealing his assault weapon, and firing it behind me as I ran. They were relying on some kind of precognition. The more chaos I could throw into the system, the better my chances.


My power simply ignored everything that wasn't a danger to me. That included bullet fire.


I just about bolted into a hallway, before my power screamed that it would be a bad idea. I tossed the gun in, and watched as it was cut to shreds by Tinker weaponry. Okay, so no going that way.


"Magnetic Lance." I caught the weapon, dialed it to max, and fired it into the corridor. Dark smoke billowed from the walls and through the carpeted floor. My power was still very insistent I don't go into it. That was fine, I was the distraction, after all. My job was to cause so much damage that they stayed focused on me even after the others started attacking the barricade devices.


"Vertigo Lance." I tuned it to the function of being a disorientation aura and sent it to fire constantly. Anyone within range would get instantly dizzy while I rushed through this maze of a fortress. Everything was designed to look identical and throw off invaders, that much was obvious. I started punching walls to give myself a way to figure out where I was.


Much later, I was still running around. I had nuked a second and third trap hallway, but as near as I could tell there wasn't anything important in the building anymore. They didn't evacuate, I could still see a few people in the central area, but the Yangban either gave up, or decided I wasn't as important as the rest of the team.


In a way, that was a comfort. As long as the Yangban aren't coming for me, that means they're still out there fighting. But now I'd gotten a good idea of the actual layout of the building in its entirety. "Frost Lance and Vertigo Lance." If I can't find a through the building, then I can make a way.


And by 'make a way' I meant 'bring this whole fucking building to the ground and punch whatever crawls out of the rubble'.


I cut my way through the structural supports keeping the building standing. Oh, the outer walls were too tough for me to bring down so easily, but this structure inside was much more vulnerable, made basically like a very squat skyscraper. After a few supports were torn, the building started to rumble and I felt a handful of Yangban come into threat detection range again.


It was too late, however, the building was starting to cave, and only by virtue of my position near the outer wall did I avoid getting buried as well. I blasted my way out to view the sky and a few remaining opponents.


A dome of rock near the center blossomed open, revealing a less than happy looking middle aged man and a much younger woman that simply looked terrified. They were wearing the basic uniform of the Yangban, but it didn't include the face or body concealment of the rest.


My power was kind enough to let me know the man was a serious threat just in time for him to close the distance and hit me hard. Ribs cracked from the blow. The fuck did that come from? I landed feet first against the wall and barely registered my suit's complaints that it was damaged before bouncing down to the ground and charging forward.


He brought up a hand, and I narrowly avoided the wave of energy.


Seriously, who the fuck is this guy? I was getting a feel for the attacks. A high end telekinetic of some form. Or maybe air manipulation like Stormtiger that was similar in nature. Either way, my power's threat estimates ranked him as around a match for Alexandria. I fired the ice lance into the the ground near his feet, which was annihilated by his next blast. But it gave me cover to-


I was fast enough to dodge, this time, and lashed out with a hard kick at the target. Bones broke. Unfortunately, they were mine.


I flipped back, issuing the mental strength to mend the limb.


<You do not belong here, foreigner. Contact your people, tell them to cease their attacks or I will kill you.>


<Ah, is that how it's gonna be?> I went back into a combat stance. <Don't think you can beat me?> No. <Power come with some nasty side effects?> Yes. <Or are you that scared my team's going to win?> No. Ah, well, fuck me then.


"Harpe." My sword manifested itself. It was made to kill Endbringers, this guy can't be that dangerous in comparison. My perception of the world changed as I took my war form. My senses dulled, to the point that I'm fairly certain I could be considered legally blind and deaf. I'd never bothered finding out. All my mental processing shifted to the point of obsession on one goal. How do I kill the man in front of me?


I charged forward, and moments later found myself flying sideways. Fuck he's fast. My armor took enough damage that it wouldn't be shunt capable anymore. I pushed Harpe in front of me, then activated the time freeze feature, allow me to halt my movement in mid air, then redirect myself back like I'd grabbed a post and spun around it. Luckily, the weapon was only super sharp when the time divider was active, or I'd be missing a hand.


At least I caught him off guard this time, slamming feet first into his shield. He stumbled back, then blasted me with a wide wall of kinetic energy, knocking me to the ground hard enough to bruise me even in this state. I faintly tasted blood in my mouth. This guy can keep up with my combat mode? Oh fuck yes!


I was on my feet instantly, darting forward. My combat precog didn't show any particular weaknesses, I couldn't quite win but I wasn't at risk of losing any time soon. I could keep going for hours, and whatever weaknesses his power had, I was pretty it meant he couldn't afford that kind of fight.


Harpe's time divider collided with his shield, and it turned out my weapon had him beat. He reflexively stumbled back, avoiding his face being sliced open. Then he pushed off the ground with his power to launch himself away from me.


I smiled, dropping Harpe to let it recharge in whatever weird Tinker-Limbo it was stored in. "Vertigo Lance." I fired more around him than at him, causing the area to explode into clouds of concealment that he'd need to burn power to remove. I was just thrilled to have a legitimate challenge for a change.


Then I felt the crackle and shift of the space around me. Fuck! Dozens of new bodies started to shunt into the area. They weren't ours.


One hundred and sixty one against one? My combat senses were overwhelmed, but ultimately it all pointed to one thing. I was going to lose. And surrender meant a fate so much worse than death. I smiled slowly. "Harpe."


==================


A/N- Psst. Chevalier. Your girlfriend's got a masochistic streak and might be clinically insane.

 

Amelia, Ch 380- Taylor


The water had already reached up to my ankles, and the only reason it wasn't filling faster was a combination of the Khonsu forcefields reducing the pressure, and Theo plugging as many of the vents as he could. But pure iron wasn't all that resilient compared to whatever insane pressures there were outside the ship. Frankly, it was a minor miracle that we hadn't imploded under the pressure, a testament to just how durable Endbringer tissue really is.


I looked at the barricade device, wondering just how much water it could take on before something shorted out and we were completely fucked. From above it seemed the Yangban had stopped firing. Although I wasn't entirely sure of that. We were down so deep that my range couldn't find the surface. The only blessing I could count was that they weren't teleporting into the ship again. That would have spelled the end for all of us. And probably them, too.


Lachesis was broken up the worst of all of us, helping Clarice patch up the damage done to her side. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't... there was too much to keep track of. They had some kind of super targetting powers and I just couldn't keep up."


I put on my game face. I may be virtually useless down here, but at least I can maintain morale. "It's not your fault. No one could have kept up with everything that was going on." Except me, and of course she'll know that and be even more upset that I put it this way. "I was the pilot, and I didn't react in time, it's my fault more than anyone that this happened." Hopefully that'll mollify her a bit. Why is it always me in situations like this? Nurture and comfort is Amelia's job, I'm the intimidating one.


Clarice patted Missy's leg. "You did the best you could. We all did." Her head turned to look up at me. Oh, god damn it, I know I suck at comforting people, but please don't let me turn out worse at it than Bonesaw.


I looked down at the water lapping against my armor. "The ship's propulsion is damaged and the controls are completely off line. We don't have a lot of time before we need to get out of here. Aceso, you know these suits the best of anyone. What are the odds they hold up long enough to get us to the surface?"


I couldn't see her expression through the suit, but her pausing for a moment to look down at her side didn't bode well. "They can't, not for nearly as long as we need. Zach and Theo get out, because of their powers. Zach will be able to bring one person along. Two if we plan properly."


"I can take someone!" Theo insisted.


Clarice shook her head. "No you can't. You've been pushing your power way too much already. If you try to take another person up, both of you are going to die. As it stands I'm not entirely confident you'll be able to make it to the surface just by yourself."


Missy interrupted. "He can take me along, I can get us both to the surface in no time."


Clarice took Missy's hands and pressed them together between hers. "Not through that much water. The medium is too dense and resistant to compression. At best, you shave a few seconds off a minutes long surfacing process. Once the doors open for Zach and Theo, the rest of us are dead in between twenty and thirty seconds, depending upon how well our forcefields withstand the water pressure. There's no way to be certain they will hold because we've never bothered to test how they work under these circumstances."


God damn it all. No sense in taking too long to discuss this one, time to bite the fucking bullet. "Which brings us to the question of who stays behind."
Clarice didn't look at me, instead focusing on Theo and Missy. "Me, of course." Her... partners? started to protest, but she kept speaking over their arguments. "I'm the one with the most recent backup and the least applicable abilities for what might be a short term survival situation. It could take weeks for Atropos to locate the rest of the barricade devices. All of you offer something that can speed that process up. The best I can do is..."


She trailed off, and Missy pulled her into a hug. "You're talking about killing yourself like it's nothing."


"I have a backup. Pantheon can function for a few days without me. Just forgive me for being too busy for next week's movie night."


Theo moved over to the pair. I wanted to berate him for not staying near the sides where he was needed to plug holes as new ones appeared. He knelt down in front of his girlfriends. "That's not the same thing and you know it."


Clarice looked away from both of them. "It's better than nothing. It's better than any alternative we have. There's no way to save everyone, so it's better to sacrifice the one that's least useful. The one that deserves it most."


Oh. I took a step closer to the girl that was by some convoluted path my sister in law. But I didn't know how to handle this situation. I got along with Clarice, sure, maybe I was even fond of her. But we weren't that close and there was always that history between us. The history where she tried to saw me open and poke around inside my brain with all the glee of a little kid tearing open the wrapping on her Christmas presents. Sure, that wasn't really 'me', and she'd never do anything like that now. But the knowledge of it remained.


Missy grabbed Clarice by her shoulders and shook her hard. "No! You do not get to kill yourself over guilt!"


"It's not killing myself! Or, not for very long. I'll be fine in a few days."


"No, that just means we have a copy of you. It's not the same as being you!"


Clarice didn't resist Missy's outburst or shaking, but it didn't change her mind, either. "No, that's not true. The clones are us in every way that matters, they have to be! If you're not then I lost both of you already and I'll be happier when I'm dead."


Fuck. I glanced over at Zach, who was staying quiet as well. This wasn't a situation for my pragmatism or his perverse form of wisdom. I could see him fidgeting under his layer of armor. Or maybe he was shivering, his suit had virtually no shielding against any possible attack, instead being full of high energy cost gimmicks and weapons that he could easily restore with his powers. Once he hit the water outside, the chances were good that he'd respawn up on the surface instantly. But for now he'd become dust four times in the few minutes we'd been down here.


"Dammit, Clarice, I should slap you for saying that!" Missy sobbed, still gripping Clarice's shoulders. "It doesn't work that way and I won't let you sacrifice yourself like this. You don't get to atone for your sins by being a martyr. You don't get to leave us like this."


Theo pulled Missy back and wrapped his arms around the girl, then he extended one arm out to grip Clarice's hand. "Missy, please. That's not going to help. We need a plan, there has to be a way to get us all out of here alive. Yelling won't help us find that plan."


Self sacrifice? I knew a lot about that, didn't I? Clarice was right, though, of all of us she was going to be the least useful for until the barricades were removed. It would get especially messy if this took long enough that they got the old barricades back in working order. Once our own equipment ran out of power, the CUI could bring in more reinforcements and undo damage. They wouldn't be able to fight her from her position in orbit. The irony of Lily becoming this world's equivalent of the Endbringers was not lost on me. Her going around slowly decapitating-


Oh, there's an idea. "Umm, Clarice, I've wondered this for a long time, but I've never really found a time to ask. How did you surgically remove your head and survive?"


"It's not that hard, all you have to do is... oh." She paused for a second, realizing what that question really meant. Zach's power is limited by weight... or, more appropriately, the amount of mass equal to his carrying capacity at Earth's gravity. Remove most of that mass, and it made his job a lot easier. "I don't really have the equipment here to do that to myself here."


Fuck. "Mine, then. It's the smarter choice anyway. I'm a lot heavier than you are, and the way my powers work make pretty much everything from the neck down redundant. I can live without it for a while." I hesitated for a second. "Or, well, you know what I mean. Can you make that work?"


Clarice stood up and sloshed through the shin deep water toward me. "Yeah. Yeah! That's easy. I'll need Theo to make me some surgical tools, and I'll have to dismantle your suit for raw materials that spoof your biology enough that Zach's power doesn't leave behind the life support systems when he brings you to the surface. I can do that in less than ten minutes."


I smiled nervously, even though no one could see it through the mask. "Yeah, I guess I won't be needing the armor for a while. Besides, everyone else has been getting upgrades lately and I was starting to feel left out." I hit the open command on my armor, exposing my face to the painfully cold air, I felt the hair inside my nose stiffen. And this is what Clarice and Zach have been putting up with all this time? "We'd better do this fast, we don't know how much longer this ship is gonna last."


Clarice gave me a hug, and I watched as the suit raised alarms where she was cutting it apart with her fingers in what I had to believe was a very methodical process. "I promise your next suit of armor will have even more geek fetishes in it than Lily's."


"I'm going to believe you don't understand what you just said."


=================


A/N- Not the usual method of solving problems through decapitation. But it works!