Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Amelia, ch 111 (former 109)- Taylor


"God damn it," I yelled, but at least I deactivated the armband first. I moved my Gargants, which hadn't really been doing much in this fight before now anyway. Two of them leapt in a way a creature of their mass simply should not be able to, thanks to the antigrav built into their system. One was repelled by a suit's shielding. The other landed on top of it, and the shields buckled, allowing it to get a foothold into the metal.


It struggled with the armor plating, and I had to use the tusks' frost saws to cut through. Forcing the armor to become too brittle to survive the pressure.


It was a humbling thought, actually, that the Simurgh, generally regarded as the physically weakest Endbringer, cut through the same defenses in a couple seconds. A dozen icecats had taken position with their riders. If they believed they were strong enough to withstand Behemoth in close quarters, then I'd trust they were strong enough to take down these suits.


The names of the dead kept rolling in. "Myrddin down, SA-4. Shadowfax deceased, SA-4." I managed to get an empty Shadowcat in the way to take a missile that would have ended it for Myrddin. A brute I didn't recognize collided with the side of the ship.


Atropos took to the air, firing the discus-like weapons that we designed to best take advantage of her power. Slicing several missiles to pieces. They were getting too close to the hospital. Amelia wrapped a shell of living material around us. Moments later, a video showing the outside formed on the inner walls of the dome.


A nearby suit exploded for a reason I didn't recognize. Two of my gargants were brought down by railgun fire. God fucking damn it.


FearFrustration. "Concentrate on spreading the Yggdrasil," I instructed Amelia. "We're going to need it. We already need it." UrgencyFocusDetermination.


For her part, the Simurgh ascended into the air again, along with shattered fragments of destroyed Dragon suits. The distraction of all the friendly fire had given her an escape window. Her wings unfurled, revealing the still unconscious Dragon in her hand. She had shielded the tinker with her own body. She needs Dragon to command the suits, I realized.


I wasn't the only one to have that thought. Alexandria swooped in, not to go after Ziz, but to target Dragon. Meanwhile, one of the suits breathed a black cloud at a gargant. It simply ceased to to be, dissolved into ash and nothing. Along with the region around them. Armsmaster's weapon. I retreated all my remaining forces away from that system.


The Simurgh folded several wings about Dragon, protecting her from attack. She caught Alexandria and threw her into Osiris, causing the modified raptor to detonate and encase her in solid ice and liquid oxygen and nitrogen. Didn't slow Alexandria down, as she turned and body slammed into the Simurgh, shattering the ice ball.


"This... this is Defiant," a voice gasped over the armband. "Azazel's weapon is vulnerable to fire."


Not completely down, then. I explored the cockpit with my perfectly ordinary insects. One of Defiant's new weapons was embedded in the control system. That would explain why that suit didn't join the fight. He was in... in remarkably good, or remarkably bad, condition and I had no way of knowing which. Leg crushed all the way up to the hip, other leg crushed below the knee. An arm broken. But very, very little blood loss. A machine? A robot puppet like our changelings? Cyborg?


He had managed to cobble together a working vidscreen or somehow patch the monitoring system. That's how he knew Azazel was a problem.


"Eki, need your help on this one," I communicated.


"Inferno lance," was her response. Good, she was paying attention. A stray missile launched toward her, and I exerted my control system in her armor, juking her to the side. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, dropping the lance as the rocket traveled by and I let an empty raptor take the blow, simply to spare the two dozen riders I still had up in the air nearby.


"Inferno lance," she said again. I had no idea which of our tinkers built that little marvel, but that was fucking genius.


"Azazel," I said. "One with the silver death fog. Torch it with everything on my mark. Maximum burn, maximum dispersal."


She flew into position as I moved two of my three remaining gargants in position.


Legend's voice came over Osiris' armband. "Target the wounded areas," he instructed. "The ice seems to block her regeneration."


"Mark," I instructed.


The stream of superheated plasma was invisible to the human eye, or even infravision, before striking. Some tinker bullshit about making a laser out of pure heat, or something. I stopped asking questions right around the time Bakuda made a bomb thats only ability was to cause pain. Fucking tinkers. The ray struck, and blossomed into fires that rendered the street molten in mere seconds. It was a sort of curse in disguise that, by now, that there was nothing left in the area that could die.


The gargants rushed in, slamming both sides of the Azazel simultaneously. They didn't care about heat- being designed to withstand Behemoth's kill aura and everything else he might throw at them. But, then, neither did the suit. At least the weapon got through the force shielding that Dragon had implemented in her new armors, and burned away the nanothorn weaponry.


Then the last thing I could have expected happened. Snow started to fall. Not much, but this was mid August in India. Snow was not suppose to be falling. Now that I thought about it, the air outside our protective bubble was getting colder, if I judged by the insects becoming slower to respond. That was something we'd probably need to worry about later.


The gargants twisted Azazel's limbs, bending them into positions that would resemble a submission hold. But I wasn't trying to force it to submit, I was trying to crack it in half. Dragon must have really liked this one, I thought. It's tougher than the others by a whole fucking lot. The third gargant had made it on scene, landing atop Azazel, slamming it to the ground. I'd break it. Eventually the three of them had to get through.


"Running out of power, here," Eki announced.


Fuck, couldn't be that easy, could it? I had the Gargant leap upward again, then at highest point, made it deactivate its antigrav. Twenty times the mass of a bull elephant plummeted down, crashing into Azazel. The staff flickered out. And then my Gargants were consumed in the nanothorns. Azazel, at least, seemed stationary now. Protected by a thicket of instant death, but no longer running across the battlefield destroying everything.


But I was out of heavy hitters to bring down the other suits.


Of the nearly five hundred defending capes, we had lost seventy three of them simply from Dragon's weaponry. And we weren't even halfway through the suits. I was running on less than half of my original stock of troops, and most of them were Shadowcats. Only forty Raptors left, only a hundred Frostcats. I had to admit to mysef. If this had been a battle between my army and Dragon's, without other cape interference. We would have lost so badly.


"Vertigo lance," Eki spoke, taking her weapon back. "Clear the field," she instructed, and everyone fell back, except Alexandria and Osiris. The former had a strong grip around Ziz, her legs locked around the Endbringer's neck, even as she struggled to force the wings away that were insulating Dragon. Osiris was now smashing his mount along her outer wings. She was half encased in ice, not that it seemed to make a difference.


With half the suits destroyed, at least that gave me room to send my Shadowcats after the wounded. I had them evacuate from the area surrounding the Simurgh. Eki fired, and there was the now-expected shattering. The explosion of ice shards and the region around the Simurgh covered in fine frozen mist. She flew backward from the force of the explosion, leaving the cloud. A kick from Alexandria and a pelting of lasers from Legend sent the Simurgh careening toward the ground again. It was the opening that Alexandria needed.


She thrust forward into the pocket that Ziz created for Dragon, then flew back, her arm covered in viscera and holding a trail of material that could only be interpreted as a human spine. NauseaShockGrief.


"Dragon deceased, KP-4," the armband announced.


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

A/N- Ah, the bitching this and the next couple chapters caused. To preempt that happening again, I want everyone to repeat the words "fucking tinkers" ten times before posting complaints.

 

Amelia, ch 112 (former 110)- Taylor


For a moment, I paused to absorb the thought. Alexandria killed Dragon. Alexandria killed Dragon. I had no insects in the area to confirm anything. Really, I had no insects at all but for a few in the houses, and inside the shelters themselves. A fine powder of snow lay on the ground, but the temperature had continued to drop even after the snow stopped. Aside the spots that were on fire, a thin layer of frost had formed on every surface.


"My units are starting to get sluggish from the cold," I said to the others on our private link.


It was Emma that answered back. "Sorry," she gasped. She was clearly out of breath. "Didn't build them for super cold climates. We were suppose to be fighting an Endbringer, not arctic weather conditions. Take them near the fires and let their energy absorption recharge their batteries."


Seemed obvious when it was said out loud. I sent the more important units, the Shadowcats, to where there was sufficient heat.


"You said something about killing her?" Eidolon asked over the armband. "What's your plan?"


"Sonic attack," Emma's voice cracked. I couldn't blame her for being a bit star struck. This was Eidolon, after all. "And I know just the power to make it happen. Minerva's found a guy who can speed time in a local area. I'll explain there."


And then the dragon suits opened fire again. Decimating my ranks and catching far too many of the defenders in the crossfire. Fuck! The Simurgh's suppose to be the least lethal of the three! We're already seeing losses as bad as Leviathan, and she's still in the fight.


"Dragon's suits are still in the fight," I announced over the radio. It didn't work. I wisely left those words out, but everyone was thinking them.


DisgustAngerBlame. I didn't disagree. And out there on the field, a lot of people were thinking the same thing. At least, the ones not caught in the thick of the fighting.


I felt something forming in the sewers, and looked at Gaea. "New shadowcats?"


"Acid," she answered. "Crystaline shells that should be able to bypass Dragon's shields. If the Ultralisks are any hint. Designed to detonate. Suicide attacks."


I nodded. A way to fight back. My new, what? Acidcats? Sure, why not? They were more than capable of climbing walls and breaking through streets. Not as fast or strong as the 'perfected' models, but I could tell she had absorbed and copied some of them with the Yggdrasil to produce these new weapons. I could almost imagine Osiris laughing that we finally took his suggestion, if he weren't busy with distracting the Great White Bitch.


A couple of them did manage to get through one suit's shielding. One was shot by some kind of kinetic weapon, but the other collided with the hull and exploded. Several gallons of Crawler-acid ate its way through the side. The other suits took off. Funny, they could have done that at any time. Why'd they stay on the ground this long?


Another salvo of missiles cut through our already decimated ranks, and I was lucky to save all the ones riding on what was left of my cats and raptors. We're losing this. We've already lost, only a few minutes until we're exposed to the song long enough to be Simurgh's future puppets.


Then another song started. A physical one, this time, a screech that I'd heard before. One that still brought dread. Shatterbird. The remaining suits splintered and collapsed, their glass ripped from them. The city itself wasn't effected, nor were our armbands. Eidolon rose up, encased in the shimmering and near invisible shell of glass. Was Shatterbird's power really that perfect? Did Eidolon simply get a similar, but better, power? Or was there a second power dedicated to this kind of focus?


The suits, at least, were no longer a factor. Eidolon rose and blasted Ziz with an intense sonic attack. Now I knew it couldn't be Shatterbird's power, she couldn't do that. The sound of the attack- as interpreted by my Raptors and their far superior to human hearing and echolocation- changed even as he fired, fluctuating in pitch and intensity. That's what the Shatterbird power was for. A way to alter the other attack on the fly. If you don't know which frequency hurts the most, take a power that lets you change it at will. It was hard not to feel inadequate compared to that kind of power and versatility.


Eki followed up with a stream from her laser weapon, leaving another scar across the Simurgh. This time through the biggest wing.


"I've got her!" Lachesis declared. She hit the coms. "Everyone fall back! The Moirai Cannon has a lock!"


Most of them listened. I drew away the few raptors that still had riders and began focusing on the empty raptors, including those that that had been repaired by Amelia. There was no pretense of survival. They collided with Ziz and tried to tear into her flesh. They had strength enough to cut the outer layers, but the deeper areas that had been exposed in the battle were seemingly indestructible. Like our weapon testing on Theo's armor. But they weren't the main event. They were the distraction.


Alexandria went in for another pass, slamming the Simurgh downward, again. God damn it, Alexandria. I wasn't feeling especially charitable to her right now. Killing Dragon for nothing. Well, if she was willing to let others make that sacrifice, she could make it herself. "Fire when you're ready," I instructed them.


"Alexandria," I warned her. I may not have been her biggest fan right now, but I couldn't simply order her murder. "Get out of the way! You're not immune to this weapon and we can't afford to wait."


She pulled up as the shot was taken. The side of the Yggdrasil bubble was pierced by the attack, and painfully cold air poured into our roof bubble. To call it a cannon was a misnomer. Really, it wasn't a traditional weapon at all. It was our Moirai at work. Three parahumans working in concert. Parian, Clotho, to control the streamers of spider's silk and make it flow properly. Vista, Lachesis, creating the path so we could actually hit the bitch. And Flechette, Atropos, charging the strips of silk so they could slice through anything. Hopefully, that included Endbringer cores.


Ziz never moved before like she moved then. She dropped to the ground, landing hard enough to leave a small crater. The streaming lines of barely visible silk twisted and followed her. She left a sonic boom as she jumped sideways, her halo of depris and weaponry forgotten as she focused all her telekinetic strength on herself. And then she leapt straight up. Legend pelted her with rays. She ignored them. Escaping the ribbons was more important than dodging Legend's attack.


She was near the thick, low cloud cover when she flashed with the green light again. Eidolon's stopping attack. It had been used exactly twice in this fight. Why? I didn't know. I really didn't care all that much. It was there when we needed it the absolute most, and that was more than enough for me.


The Simurgh turned, facing the fate laid out for her. Did she foresee this? Could she have? It seemed unlikely. We had two precog jammers as part of our Moirai. Then there was Eidolon, who, amongst many other entirely unfair abilities, was also precog immune. She put her arms out, as if she could block the inevitable. She could not. Even gods had to answer to the Fates.


The strings hit her hands first, her fingers split, and then the hands themselves splintered. Wings disintegrated under the nigh invisible, completely unstoppable, attack. We didn't know where her core was. We did know a single hit would not be enough, regardless of weapon used. Instead, we unleashed a million separate attacks. Death by papercuts, as it were.


A leg dropped, and was shredded. Her body was reduced to pieces no larger than a human fist. Her wings, scattered and mostly shredded as well. That's when the trio lost power. More specifically, Atropos reached her range and mass limit. The Simurgh started pulling itself together, telekinetically pasting its pieces back into place.


"We need a minute to finish the job!" Lachesis instructed.


Legend, Eidolon and Eki opened fire, blowing pieces out of, or away from, the Endbringer. Osiris got in and froze a good portion of the mass. The ice cracked as Simurgh forced her pieces out, and he struck again. We'd done more damage than anyone before. More damaged than anyone could have thought was possible, minutes ago. We'd finish her with the next salvo.


"Take cover!" Emma screamed over the armband.


Less than a second later, the sky exploded.


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


A/N- Intense, no?

 

Amelia, Ch 113 (former 118)- Mark and Carol


Sarah gave me a quick hug. "Hey, Mark, how've you been?"


"Well," I shrugged. "I don't have a lot to compare it to. In some ways, I feel better than I have since I was a teenager. In others... well, we have other things to worry about right now. No sense in throwing any more problems in your lap."


"Hey," she offered a small smile. "Dealing with problems is what I do, remember?"


I did remember. Sarah was always the heart and mind of New Wave. To the outside, it might have looked like Carol was our team leader. She was always the smart, confident and successful one. She just never quite had that charisma to lead a team of friends, or the mindset to handle the rapidly changing circumstances of the battlefield. She was happier in a orderly, mechanical world where everything obeyed specific and agreed upon rules.


Speak of the devil, Carol is already here. I spotted her as I walked in. "Hello, Mark," she said.


"Hey, Carol," I offered a smile. I hadn't talked to my wife much in the last couple weeks. Not since she learned I had been discussing joining the Protectorate. Calvert was a great deal more persuasive than their last director, and I was getting restless. I hadn't felt this good in years, this eager to actually go out to do some real good. Of course, I happened to live in a town where there wasn't much good left to actually do. Pantheon broke the drug trade into pieces, and violent crime was almost gone. Or, at least, the kind of crime that could be called 'professional', like muggings and rape. Personal crimes, like the violence at school, and fights in the refugee shelters, that sort of thing wasn't so quick to change.


"It'll still be a while before Behemoth surfaces," Sarah told us. "Please, make yourself at home."


"Don't mind if I do," I said, taking off my shoes. "Is the news saying anything?"


"Only that they think Behemoth's path is tracking northeast," Carol answered. "Looks like Pakistan is the target, now."


"Is there anything in Pakistan worth attacking?" I asked. "They usually have goals where they hit."


"A cape war, of sorts," Sarah answered. "Isolationist groups trying to cut off the middle east from foreigners, like the CUI did to China."


"Sounds like a prime location, then," I agreed. "If he's hoping the defenders might not cooperate with each other."


There was a knock at the door, where Sarah was still waiting. She opened it, revealing a tall and slender man that I didn't recognize. He was rather unremarkable looking, honestly. If I had met him before, I don't think I'd remember his face later. A new boyfriend? Good for her, being able to go on with her life after everything that's happened.


"I wasn't too late, was I?" he asked.


"Of course not, Danny, come right in," she smiled graciously. That was Sarah, alright. Always the professional hostess, even in a situation like this one.


He stepped in and looked at me. "Hello," I said, holding out my hand. "I'm Mark Dallon, you can call me Mark. Any friend of Sarah's is a friend of mine. Speaking of which, how do you know Sarah?"


"Daniel Hebert, call me Danny," he shook my hand. Firm grip, probably a bit too firm. Overcompensating because I'm a cape, I just smiled and ignored it. Nothing I hadn't run into before. "I'm Taylor's- err, Khepri's, father."


"Then you're practically family, already," I smiled, slapping his shoulder. This was Khepri's dad, then. I hadn't even met Taylor personally yet, but now that I knew to look, I could see the resemblance. Seems like Amy's fiance will never really 'fill out'. I suppose if either of them have a problem with that, they could always change it to something more their liking.


Carol walked right past us. "Sarah, a word in the kitchen."


Danny looked at my wife with an understandable amount of concern. Carol was never really the warmest person, and she'd gotten worse lately. She was angry at everything these days, and when she wasn't angry she was miserable. She never was good at dealing with feelings.


"Women folk need their alone time. You know how sisters are," I said, guiding the man away from the minefield before he accidentally set something off. "Come on, we were just about to start a game of 'guess where Behemoth's grave will be', but I'd rather learn more about the tall mysterious secret agent that ran off with my daughter's heart. The more humiliating the stories, the better."


"Sure," he agreed, putting Carol's behavior out of his mind. "When she was little, she basically worshiped Alexandria," he said smiling. "We'd find her running around in her pajamas with with a towel tied around her neck all the time."


I lost a good amount of my smile when he said that. I don't think Danny noticed. Victoria used to do the exact same thing. "Alexandria, huh?" I offered a bit of a laugh. "That explains a lot about her costume design choices."


He managed to chuckle a bit. Not much of one, but it was a start. No one could expect to be too cheerful minutes before an Endbringer attack, but I had every confidence in those girls. Tonight would be a celebration.


-----


"The hell are you thinking, bringing him here?" I hissed at Sarah. "You said this was family only."


"He is family, Carol," my sister retorted.


"His daughter's engagement to Amelia doesn't mean a thing," I insisted. I didn't care what Mark said on the issue. How could they just accept a stranger in like this without even considering my feelings? Why did it even surprise me? Sarah never listened, and the way Mark was acting these days was like a completely different person. He was never the most considerate person, but at least he tried before. Now it was like he wanted to upset me whenever possible.


"Then the part where his daughter is fighting alongside mine against Behemoth," Sarah responded. "That's enough for me. They're teammates. I know you know how deep that bond runs. Especially in teams which face Endbringers together. He's a good man, and he's facing the same fear we face when our own children put their lives on the line. No one should have to go through that, but we do. The least we can do is keep him from going through it alone."


I couldn't help but glance toward the living room, where Mark was asking all sorts of questions while they watched the news. "You should have talked to me first," I insisted. "It's not fair to blindside me with something like this. You know I don't like strangers."


Sarah deflated. "Sorry," she said. "I sort of forgot he's a stranger to you. I've gotten to know him pretty well the last couple months."


"Have you, now?" I replied. I looked straight into her eyes. Oh fuck. Was she really? Neil has only been dead for three months!


"We met when Pantheon did that cleanup operation at the boat graveyard," she told me. "He was so obviously Khepri's father that I was afraid he'd blow the whole secret on the news right then and there. After that, well, he needed to learn all the tricks capes use and the rules they play by. All stuff I wish someone told us back when we were new to the scene. At least he already knew how to handle the PRT when they wanted to play hardball."


"I see," I confirmed when she finished. I didn't even really pay attention. She was... and him... and how was I even suppose to take that? The truth was, couldn't. There was no way for me to approach the topic without it ending up in a fight that I would lose, at a time when Sarah needed the support most. I bit my tongue, and picked my battles. It wasn't like this was the first man my sister was interested in that I didn't like.


She picked up on my continuing disapproval, of course, but didn't push the issue. "So," she said. "I see what you mean about Mark, he seems so... energetic, now."


I relaxed, that was a safer topic. "He acts so immature," I knew I was just complaining now, but it felt good to complain sometimes. "It's like his personality was completely rewritten."


"And you suspect Amy is re-"


"Amelia," I interrupted. "She's decided she's Amelia, remember?"


"You think it's Amelia's fault," Sarah continued.


"Who else?" I said. "People don't just change like that on their own."


"I don't think he has changed," Sarah offered. "Yes, he acts different than usual. But I remember his good days, when we were younger. The days where he was functional, even without the medication to balance him out? He was always energetic, silly even. Remember how he'd spend all day just playing with the kids like he was one of them. Maybe that's just who he is, without the depression and the drugs getting in the way."


I paused. It was true. It didn't happen often, and less often as the years wore on, but those were the days where the kids were happiest.


"Get in here!" Mark shouted. "It's starting!"


And with that, the conversation was over.


We rushed in to witness Behemoth leaving.


"He... he retreated?" I heard Sarah gasp.


"Not possible," I insisted. "Endbringers don't retreat. He has something else planned."


We watched, and waited in near silence for over an hour, listening to comments and speculation from people that had no idea what they were talking about. All of which was interrupted when the Simurgh dropped from the sky.


"Fuck!" Mark exclaimed. The rest of the battle was almost impossible to parse. The cameras were high quality, but thick cloud cover at night makes for awful lighting conditions. Most of it was us staring at nearly black screens, parsed by flashes of light as the heroes tore into the Simurgh with one energy attack after another. We only figured out the Dragon suits were attacking when it was nearly already over.


We were treated to a truly horrifying scene when Alexandria ripped a hero who had been captured by the Simurgh in half. Somehow, it happened within feet of one of the still functioning cameras, and there was enough light from a nearby burning building to make it easily visible.


"She wanted everyone to see that," I muttered. It was an obvious statement, there were no arguments made. It was only then that the video stopped.

"Channel nine would like to issue an immediate apology," he said. "We should have stopped the video the moment we realized it was the Simurgh at the scene. While it is not illegal to show footage of Endbringers, it was irresponsible to do so knowing the Simurgh's skill for manipulation. We urge the public to exercise discretion. The Simurgh relies on paranoia and irrational behavior to spread the worst of its damage. We will not be displaying more video of the battle itself, and urge other stations to take the same action."​

"I never knew things were like that..." Daniel whispered.


Sarah put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "Your daughter is strong, she'll make it through. They all will."


For the next few minutes, we watched speculation by the various talking heads about what we'd witnessed. Generally, it was agreed that whatever unfortunate cape the Simurgh had captured was already dead, and what Alexandria had done must have been for a reason. Nothing but the PRT lapdogs in the media trying to cover for a hideously gruesome act.


"They'd be better off just not taking about it at all," I stated. "The speculation's just going to make things worse in the long run."


"Video's already out," Sarah agreed. "The cameras are live feeds, streaming online as well as broadcasting directly. I'm sure the internet is going to have every last scene available, both raw and in edited format. They can't suppress this."

"Contact with the site of the battle has been lost," the anchorman stated. "They're still trying to determine the cause. Reports are coming in from other cities in India. It appears a massive explosion has taken place, reaching as far south as Hyderabad and as far west as Pakistan."​

We watched breathless for the next half hour, as they showed low quality video of the devastation. We sat through words like 'destruction of most of the Indian subcontinent' and 'cataclysmic effects for the environment'. Eventually they found one good view. A weather satellite that had been watching the stormfront we'd seen from the cameras in New Delhi.

A flash of light started in northern India and we watched it spread down, and then along India's coastline, making its way inland until it had covered almost everything. It was a rapid spread, but not nearly as fast as speed of light should have been. Like watching a fire spread across a pool of gas. Then the light vanished, and with it all the clouds that were there before the explosion happened.​

"It appears the explosion originated at the point of New Delhi," the anchor said shakily. "What this means for the Endbringer, those brave men and women defending the city, and the future of India and the world as a whole is currently unknown."


"Amy," I gasped, the tears coming hard. I looked at the others. Daniel and Sarah were currently holding each other. Mark was staring at the screen in disbelief. And I couldn't stop shaking. I just lost my remaining daughter.


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


A/N- Still intense, no?

 

Amelia, ch 114 (former 111)


Parian screamed as a gust of flame burst through the hole left behind by the Moirai cannon. The port was sealed by a mirror metal. Theo's power. I could feel the temperatures through my Yggdrasil. It would have been enough to scour the usual design. But this variant was meant to withstand Behemoth, if at all possible. Heat converted to electricity converted to magnetic storage systems that Emma and Riley had taught me how to grow.


It was hell, on the other side of the bubble. A mush that I only realized was asphalt after the Yggdrasil started to consume it. The sewer lines had collapsed, molten materials dripping down onto the established Yggdrasil. There were pockets where things were still cool enough to remain standing. But the air was deadly hot, even within the sewer tunnels. The surface had to be worse.


"I'm blind outside of this building," Taylor said, her voice trembling. HorrorFearRealizationGrief. "The Gargants, the cats, even the insects in the shelters. It's all gone. Eki's still alive out there. She's covered herself in ice. I can't find Osiris, Emma, Minerva or Chariot. Past that? There's nothing, except some worms deep in the soil."


I cringed. She still had relays in the Yggdrasil. Her range extended for miles in every direction. A nuclear bomb- a thousand nuclear bombs set off on top of each other- couldn't have done what that explosion had done. If the suits were destroyed, there was almost no chance their wearer had survived, except Osiris. It must be a nightmare for him out there.


"Theo!" Missy exclaimed. I spared the chance to look. Blood was pouring fron his side. A cut through his armor? Oh. Flechette's power hadn't completely deactivated. "What... why would you?" She sobbed. "You knew not to get in the way."


I couldn't hear what he said to her from over here. I wasn't sure he could say anything, considering that at least one lung had to have been bisected.


"Heal him!" She insisted. I hesitated. If I pulled my concentration away... a lot of people would die. Crystal likely amongst them. The suits were durable, hers more than most, but they weren't indestructible. A lot of capes were tough enough to withstand at least the area somewhat further away. Some could handle it permanently, others for only a few minutes at most. Theo was... one life compared to potentially dozens...


"Riley," Taylor spoke up. She was checking on Flechette, whose suit was all but destroyed by the flames. "We'll worry about the consequences later. Let her work."


Good idea, I thought. I took the briefest time necessary to die her hair black. A very simple modification of the Dryad touching her scalp. The back of my suit split, letting her out. She rolled backward and landed on her feet, then bolted over to Theo.


"Clarice?" Missy asked.


Riley nodded. "I need you to grab some things from in the hospital..."


I turned my attentions back to the outside. Finding the few identifiable zerg bodies was always an advantage, when I could. They were built for shunting heat and other types of energy. I subsumed them into the Yggdrasil, made all the easier because that was part of their design from the beginning. How we were supposed to face Behemoth.


The building rumbled. "Behemoth?" I whispered. Half a question, half a prayer that I was wrong. I pushed more of the Yggdrasil mass into the basement and forced it to reach out through the stone to anchor itself and give me some idea what had happened. No, it wasn't Behemoth. Or, if it was, he was being unusually subtle about it. The area around the hospital was shifting due to part of it being heated to a liquid state. That was taking the building with. I managed to lock it in place, at least for the time. It, too, would collapse in a couple days.


Our 'viewscreen' finally managed to reactivate, showing us the outside world. I almost wished it hadn't.


Nothing was left standing except this one building. The streets reduced to molten tar, the buildings on fire, collapsed into rubble, molten into slag, or some combination of all three. Some parahumans were still active, and I kept forcing the Yggdrasil outward with every ounce of will I could muster. Now that I could see, I could pick my battles better. Directing the tendrils in specific directions. Knowing which intersections were worth punching paths to the surface.


A zone looked like it hadn't been annihilated. A dozen people clustered inside. Some kind of forcefield user? Clearly an insanely powerful one to have withstood that blast.

Steam was pouring out of some areas. Busted water lines, probably. The defenders reacted intelligently, at least. We were the only place still standing. The only thing that looked like refuge. They were coming to us. I grew paths of Yggdrasil, and expanding islands of it where I could see people further off. There was nowhere left to target. Almost everyone left was already dead.


Alexandria had Legend's cape wrapped around her, and she was carrying an obviously wounded Eidolon. Her helmet had been destroyed in the explosion.


I changed the color of part of our protective dome from its current refractive silver to a dark grey. A clearly visible sign of where to go. I created other such openings at the base of the building. Places where people could get inside from the heat and potentially deadly gasses. I built other safety pockets where I could, now that I had time. Enveloping the few still living in Yggdrasil pods now that they were close enough, and I had the spare material.


The air was cooling, at least. Less heat meant less energy, making my vines respond more sluggishly as they did their thing.


The hatch opened for Alexandria and Legend. Now that we were closer, I could tell that Legend was injured, too. Not as badly, and more uniformly, than Eidolon.


"He needs medical attention," Alexandria commanded even as she dropped down. The injury she received from Siberian so many years ago still looked fresh and raw. There was metal dripping from the open wound. Her helmet, maybe? No, it was deeper than that. A prosthetic face replacement? RecognitionSurprise.


"Set him down, I'll handle the rest," I answered. The Yggdrasil wrapped around him. Infused into his burnt flesh and muscle. Here I was restoring Eidolon. I'd be restoring a lot of people soon. At least that would be easy for me, now. All the other lives I could have saved, if I'd had the courage to make Yggdrasil years ago. All the lives that it wasn't able to save here and now.


Alexandria froze, looking at Riley. PanicTerror. Her fist clenched. Legend saw her reaction, and saw the girl. Fuck. I brought up a wall between them. Didn't believe for a second it would stop Alexandria or Legend. I needed Missy to realize something was wrong. Alexandria glared at me accusingly. "You're har-"


"Endbringer truce," Taylor interrupted. Oh god thank you. "We don't attack each other during the truce. We don't reveal identities learned during the truce, either. You never saw her. Did you, Chief Director?"


Alexandria stood there for a minute, glaring at Taylor. Taylor stood her ground, placing herself between one of the strongest heroes on the planet, and the child monster that had tortured her and mutilated her friend not so long ago.


Alexandria's good eye narrowed. "No, I suppose I did not," she responded. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "I'm going to find and ferry back more survivors. Can you lend me one of your armor systems? It's difficult to breath out there."


"Not without time we don't have," I answered, a bit hesitantly. In all the Endbringer fights I had attended in the past, I'd never met Alexandria in person before. I had certainly never come within heartbeats of being killed by her. "They're very much custom designed. I can give you something that'll at least give you some modesty and an air supply, though. That'll do for now, right?


"That will do," she answered. She handed Legend his cloak back before I'd even begun. The woman didn't seem too particularly concerned about her state of undress. Then again, if I had her figure, I'd feel like I was doing something wrong by wearing clothing. EnvyAnnoyance.


I folded the Yggdrasil around her body. A full suit, designed specifically to convert the excess heat in the atmosphere into oxygen production. It wasn't perfect, but it should last well enough. It was, of course, face concealing. The same organic viewscreen technology that went into all our systems. I adjusted the suit's pigmentation to loosely match her actual costume. She flew back out. The same hot air gusted in. It was still hotter than most ovens could get. No hope for normal humans to survive.


WorryConcern. I could feel Taylor trying to offer me some kind of comfort. But there wasn't any to be had. Crystal was out there. Zach, at least, I could trust to make it through. But she was right there in the epicenter. Where Simurgh was destroyed. Somewhere in the pool of liquid glass and molten metal that was almost as wide as the crater where we built our base.


"Is it going to be like this next time?" I asked. "Will each dead Endbringer result in this kind of destruction?"


"I don't know," Taylor responded. "If it is... will it be worth it?"


As I stood there, putting most of my concentration on speeding the abilities of the healing pods and stabilizing the wounded within, I found I had no answer for that question.


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


A/N- Know what? I think this chapter needed some work. So I did it. Enjoy the improved version.

 

Amelia, Ch 115 (former 119)- Marquis, Danny, and Sarah


My fingers clutched my seat so hard that they bled, and I didn't even notice. Watching the fires spread across India. Knowing my Amelia was in the center of that inferno. Not knowing what happened as the news speculated about death tolls and environmental bullshit. I would have screamed at the television, if not for all the witnesses.


No one said anything for a while, and then Lung spoke up. "That didn't get her," he stated with absolute certainty. I looked at him, but he was his usual inscrutable self, watching the screen with a combination of deadly focus and bored aloofness.


"Not that I would even consider questioning your wisdom," Teacher spoke up. "But I'm afraid I'm stumped as to how you know that."


"The bug girl," Kenta elaborated. "She survived me twice. Using nothing but little bugs. If I can survive it, then she can survive it. That, right there," he pointed at the screen. "That is something I can survive."


I hid my shock better than some of the men. Lung's claim that he could withstand such an inferno was a bit hard to swallow. Certainly, he was powerful, but this was a firestorm that engulfed almost all of India. I wasn't exactly top of my geography class, but that was a pretty big area. In fact, the expert they had speculating on the damage estimated that the area covered was over four times the size of texas. It was hard to believe that even he could survive in that.


Which was nothing compared to the sheer incredulity of believing that Lung could be fought by mere insects.


Teacher was as nonchalant as usual, however. "Hard to argue with that logic," he acquiesced. "Smart money is that the girls are alive and well. Now for the real million dollar question: do you think they got Her?"


Teacher didn't need to use the name, we knew who he meant. Lung simply shrugged noncommittally, as he often did.


I smiled. "I'll take the bet, if you want to make one," I said. "They said they had an Endbringer killer, and I believe them. So it's one down, two to go."


"I'll pass," Teacher replied. "I only gamble when I know I'll win."


A hollow platitude from Teacher, no surprise. He knew he had nothing to gain from claiming he disagreed with me right now, much the same as he chose not to argue with Lung. And he possibly had a great deal to lose. Few people were brave enough to tell Lung he was wrong to his face, and even if he might talk back to me in private, or during Court, he'd never do so as a guest in my territory.


----


Sarah clung to me as we watched. I felt awkward. I never was good at offering comfort, I thought. I'm not good at confronting loss, either. Right now I was staring at the screen, willing it to change. For Taylor to be alright. Was it selfish of me that I was less worried for the others? That Amelia and Crystal and the others didn't matter as much to me as Taylor did? I decided it didn't matter. If that made me selfish, then I was selfish.


"They'll make it," Mark insisted. He didn't sound convincing. Carol was staring silently, her hands over her mouth. She didn't bother to hide her tears.


I put my arm around Sarah. Not much comfort, I know. I hoped that a little bit of Annette's ability to give great hugs had rubbed off on me.


"Tell me they'll be okay," she mumbled into my shoulder. I couldn't. I didn't want to be a liar.


It was almost an hour later when the news finally had something new to say about the circumstances at New Delhi, now known as Ground Zero. Australian news, at that.

"...American parahuman known as Legend, a survivor of the New Delhi incident, arrived in Perth." The showed him, of course. He looked quite a bit worse for wear, wearing a different costume than we were use to him wearing, an ugly brownish affair, but it did have his symbol on it.​

"I want to let the world know," Legend stated for the camera crews that had hastily assembled at what was no doubt the middle of the night for them. "There are survivors in New Delhi, and the battle with the Simurgh has ended. We deployed a new weapon against her, one which was capable of slaying the Endbringers outright."​

"And by 'we', you mean our daughters!" Mark declared.

"The Simurgh sustained massive damage during the initial use of the weapon, and immediately attempted to flee. When she was prevented from escaping by the defending capes, the weapon was deployed again. It appears she self destructed when she was destroyed."​

"They're alive," I declared, as Legend continue to offer details. Everyone looked at me, and I was suddenly quite aware of how I was dealing with experienced heroes. "Legend's outfit," I clarified. "It looks like something Taylor puts over her armor when she wears it home. She says it's to keep it repaired when away from the base."


"Which means Amelia had to make it," Carol was the one who spoke up, her voice wavering.


"And if Amelia's alive, then so are the others," Mark laughed. "Told you we'd be having an End of the Endbringer party tonight!"


"Taylor said the same thing," I managed to genuinely smile for the first time since this morning. "Something about Mayors and getting our asses kissed."


"Sounds like a plan," Mark said with a smile. "Are we gonna have to dress up and pretend we care about what year a bottle of wine came from?"


"Probably," I chuckled. "Let's just hope they don't expect me to know all the forks."


----


Danny held me as we kept watching the news. Knowing that our daughters made it had lifted a weight off of me.


"There won't be any celebrations," I told Mark. "The Simurgh's been destroyed, but she made the victory hollow. A billion people dead, entire countries depopulated. No one's going to celebrate this. They might even look for someone to blame."


Danny squeezed me a little tighter. It was nice. "Sarah's right," he agreed. "This... this is massive. Simurgh was always the hope killer of the three. The one that, how did they put it? Even if you win every battle, you still lose the war."


"Fuck," Mark cursed. "It's true, isn't it? There's no way to call this a victory without looking like the biggest assholes on the planet."


I nodded. This proved it, didn't it? They beat the Simurgh. They beat her and they killed her and they survived the destruction she brought down on them after. "Do you think Amy was right?" I asked, then I realized they didn't know what I meant. "About her being able to stop the Endbringers. She said if we'd let her really use her powers fully, she could have stopped Leviathan from destroying Brockton Bay."


I left the last part of the question silent: Would my husband and son still be alive?


No one had any answers for that question. Carol couldn't even look me in the eyes, and Mark... I just reminded them of everything they'd lost.


"I don't think so," Danny said. "Maybe she could have slowed him down, I don't know. But Taylor made it pretty clear the only reason these monsters and weapons they built work is because it's a team effort. Taylor to control them. Without her, they're too dumb to fight. Amy to build them. A bunch of tinkers to upgrade them enough to actually work. I'm sure you guys know the shit Emma put Taylor through. She's part of their team now, because they needed her powers to do what they did to Simurgh. She didn't even have powers when Leviathan attacked. No matter how you look at it... no, they wouldn't have been able to kill Leviathan back then."


"Thanks," I said, and squeezed him. "That means a lot."


"I... I think I'm going to go home," Carol said. "There's... I just. It's been a rough day. I'm sure you understand."


Mark watched her, then looked back at us. "I should probably..."


"Yeah," I agreed. "Go." He didn't wait for me to finish the sentence.


Danny waited until after they'd left, before looking at me. "So, am I allowed to ask, or is this one of those complicated family things that I'm better off not worrying about? Don't worry, I won't be bothered if it is. Discretion and valor and all that."


"No, it's fine," I assured him. "You know that Amy practically disowned us, right?"


He nodded. "Taylor told me something to that effect. Said Amelia called you kidnappers."


I flinched. That was a painfully close to true. "We... she's Marquis' biological daughter. We didn't know about her until after we'd arrested him. We weren't left with a lot of choices."


"I can see where that would be a problem," he agreed. "I remember those days. Letting Marquis go would have been bad for everyone. He had a lot of enemies, and some of them would have hurt Amelia. Or took her away to see what powers Marquis' daughter might develop. Considering the power she did get, it's a good thing she had a good family to look after her. Could you imagine if she was raised by Kaiser, for example?"


"We made a lot of mistakes with her," I said. "When she told us off, well, she accused us of making her scared of herself and her powers, and talked about how easy it was for her to stop the Slaughterhouse Nine. Considering how she destroyed them and E88 when she cut loose, I believe her."


"Right," He nodded. "She could have. Maybe not Siberian, but I can't imagine the others would put up much of a fight."


"Especially if she had Taylor's help from the beginning," I added, and he smiled. It was nice seeing him play proud father like that. "If she had stopped the Nine early, then Victoria, Glory Girl, wouldn't have died fighting them."


His eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's," he looked toward the door. "When you... then they..."


I nodded.


"Christ," he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."


"You didn't do anything," I insisted. "I was the one who brought it up, all you did was try to comfort me."


"Daniel Hebert, always saying the wrong thing to the parents of the bride," he offered a smile.


"It happens," I smile back. I was suddenly very aware of how very close we were, and the tear stains I left on his shirt. Like Carol said, it had been a rough day. We just looked into each others eyes for a couple minutes, not saying anything. He was sweet, in an awkward dorky sort of way. I leaned in a little, and he did the same.


Then, hesitantly, I moved in and kissed him. He kissed back.


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


A/N- D'awww.

 

Amelia, Ch 116 (former 112)


Three hours later, we'd already found everyone that could be found. Two hundred and sixty two people. All of them in this hospital. The sum total of survivors in the city of hundreds of thousands. Most of whom were in the hospital before the fight even started. Then there was the destruction beyond. Our initial guess... all of Delhi had been destroyed in the explosion. All of it, millions of people. I couldn't even parse that into perspective.


Crystal had survived, if barely, encased in a shell of ice by her own weapon. Third degree burns and frostbite. The only thing that saved her from hypothermia was the emergency life support. Emma as well, in slightly better condition. Alongside a barely breathing Clockblocker. She managed to hold out and cool off a pocket of the sewer system with her power. As we'd learned already, her 'ice' state works better when there's more energy to draw upon. She biotinkered the hell out of poor Dennis to keep him going, and Riley was still undoing and rebuilding the mess.


Zach had made it back, almost on his own. Naked. Apparently if he's destroyed often enough, quickly enough, his power 'forgets' his outfit and other stuff. He didn't have a lot to say, I gave him a close copy of his costume, like I'd done for others who made it back without clothing, which turned out to be most of them. Powers that let you survive hell were apparently more common than powers that let the area around you survive hell as well.


Lisa and Chariot weren't among the survivors.


Legend finally returned. He'd left after I healed his injuries. They were strange, in the way breakers always are when injured in their alternate forms. Spread out unnaturally and mostly across the surface, instead of deeper inside where there was real health risks. He landed through the now permanent opening in our Yggdrasil bubble.


"Dragon will be along shortly," he told us.


ConfusionHope. "Isn't she suppose to be dead?" Taylor asked.


"Some kind of robot decoy," Legend responded. Then he sat down on one of the makeshift chairs I'd built. "We got the Simurgh, though. Every instrument that's been used agrees with that assessment. She's gone. Destroyed. They're keeping all samples collected during prior battles under watch, in case they activate and try to regenerate."


"You sound remarkably unhappy about that," Flechette observed.


"No, I'm glad for that," he hesitated. "I just wonder about the cost. It's worse than we thought out there."


Alexandria was the one to ask the question. "How much damage did it do?"


"Hundreds of miles," Legend answered. "Most of India, into Pakistan and a few other countries. Even the most conservative estimates are at over a billion people."


AweDreadRemorse. "Fuck," Taylor muttered. That one word said it all, didn't it?


"She made it worse than it had to be," Legend replied. "The reason it was so cold is..."


"She froze the fucking sky," Emma interrupted. "She used my technology. Created an ice sheet out of the clouds, kept it there with our antigravity and maybe her own telekinesis. When the explosion went off, it was reflected downward and outward. Not all of it, of course. But a shaped explosion that caused more destruction than there might otherwise be by an order of magnitude. Everything else. Dragon's apparent death. The fight with the suits. All of that was nothing but a delay tactic so she could get off that one final 'fuck you' to the world."


"Our technology..." Taylor chuckled painfully. "Our freezing tech. Our antigravity. Waiting until the moment our superweapon looked like it was about to win this fight. This was a message to us, to everyone, but especially to Pantheon. Letting us know that even if we win, we lose."


"She wants us to be afraid of trying this again," Alexandria agreed. "We are, of course, trying it again. Right."


That wasn't a question. A billion dead. A fucking billion. One out of every five people on Earth. More devastation than all the Endbringers combined had wrought in decades. What kind of psycho wanted a repeat showing of that? The same kind that could execute a hero in the middle of a battle, I reminded myself. A plan that didn't even work. The fact that it wasn't really Dragon didn't matter. Alexandria couldn't have known that.


"We'll have that discussion later," Taylor said with finality. I continued to be in awe of how she could confront Alexandria as confidently as she did. Of course, it did help that I patched up Flechette first. Her costume wasn't in perfect condition right now, but between her and Missy, we had the superior firepower if it came to a fight. Unless Legend and Eidolon stepped in. Then we were probably fucked.


We still had to talk to Flechette and Parian, and probably Theo and Missy, about Riley, I realized. I don't know if they'll even want to work with us anymore.


"There's no reason to make rash decisions," Taylor continued. "We have months before the next Endbringer. Maybe we can find a better way before then. Refine our technology. The Simurgh was always the most dangerous target, to us. The one that was most likely to avoid our weapon. She failed at it, probably because..." She paused. Probably decided she didn't want to give away our anti-precog systems. "The other two should be easier."


Alexandria's expression was impossible to read through the mockup of her costume that I built for her. "There will be an international summit about this," she stated. "That's a certainty. They won't let us participate, because we're parahuman. But they're almost certainly going to try to make the decision for you, one way or the other. Be ready for the fallout from that."


First implied threats, then a warning about international politics? Are we sure she's immune to Simurgh's power?


"I sent the message to the rest of the team," Taylor told me. "We're heading home."


"But... the rest of the wounded?" I asked.


"Are in your pods," she said. WorryFearClaustrophobia. "They'll recover before anything evolves that can feed on your Yggdrasil. If only because the area's been pretty thoroughly sterilized. There's nothing more for us to do. And the longer we stay here, the worse things might get."


"Okay," I answered. She's right. We need to go home. The rest of the group slowly arrived. At least we'd had the good sense, eventually, to give Riley a makeshift copy of Aceso's outfit. Much as I had for many others.


With everyone in place, I encased us in a specific kind of Yggdrasil and activated the last of our jump devices, pulling the whole mass out of our dimension, and into the new one. Teleportation without actually teleporting. It was based as much on Trickster's power as anything, and an equal amount of Yggdrasil mass from our private earth was shunted back into normal space. I let the shell 'taste' the air around us. Almost no excess radiation. Our suits would have been fine, even before I started 'scrubbing' the planet, but I was a bit gunshy given everything else we'd been through lately.


The bubble collapsed into the Yggdrasil. This patch, its genetic memory, would be kept. All the stuff I learned in that inferno. A new code I wouldn't have to think about to copy, as long as I had access to our base, or our world.


"Oh, thank god," exclaimed a voice behind me. "I thought we'd have to walk all the way to fucking North America."


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


A/N- Is true. CAN we be sure Alexandria's immune to Simurgh?

 

Canon Omake provided by Epsilon Rose over at SB:
​

The Fairy and the Revolutionary Watch the News.
​

"I still fail to see why everyone is so interested in this fight. Surely, it has been repeated a thousand times before: the Dragon will rise from the earth, brutalize the assembled capes, ravage the landscape, and return from whence it came when it finally grows bored."

I raised an eyebrow. "You don't think the defending capes are what drive him off?"

She laughed and, if anything, it was worse than when she spoke. Her chorus made what should've been a tinkling giggle, cacophonous and mournful. "Oh my, no. A dragon comes and goes as it pleases. The slings and arrows of mortals are wholly insufficient to drive it off."

"Well then, you should enjoy this fight. I hear there's a new group that styles themselves as gods. They're even claiming to have a weapon that will kill the Endbringers."

"Do they truly? Tell me, who is their leader? Cronus? Zeus? Odin?"

"Gaia and Kephri, actually."

"Gaia, I can understand, but I would not have expected the dung beetle to lead gods. Perhaps he has grown tired of pushing the sun up each day." She asked as one of her shades turned the TV to the proper channel.

"Actually, Kephri is a woman. I don't know much else beyond that though."

"Aha! Is that why you're so interested? A continuation of your old movement? Are, perhaps, you hoping for more allies in your war against men?"

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Is it really is so much to believe that I want to see when one of those monsters finally gets killed?"

"Oh, but dear Lustrum, the raging Titans shall not reach us under this hill. Why should we care if they live or die?" The self-proclaimed Fairy Queen was laughing again, but I wasn't really listening. The fight hadn't started yet, so the news program was doing a biopic on Pantheon's leaders. They currently had a video of the two girls sitting under a tree, out of costume, and I thought I recognized one. I knew from the incident with Valefor that one of them was Marquis's daughter, and the similarity was easy to spot, but the other —

"You are not listening." A hint of irritation had entered Glaistig Uaine's voices.

I winced, the unexpected sight had distracted me, but antagonizing the insane para-human was one of the last things I wanted to do. "My apologies. Kephri looks familiar, and it caught me off guard. I think I knew her mother."

"Ah. Was she one of your followers or, perhaps, a lover?"

I was saved from having to answer by Behmoth's appearance and near immediate retreat. "That's it? They scared him off. Just like that?"

She snorted. "Of course not. Dragons do not simply retreat. Especially before battle is even joined. Even Marquis's pet knows that much."

I nodded. "That is true, on both counts." I snorted at the thought of his idiotic bravado. Lung's stunt with Bakuda had nearly gotten him killed, it probably would have if she had been in my block, all so he could prove he had the biggest dick. "I suppose that means we'll have to wait until he plays his hand. I wonder, in the meantime, would any of your… Fairies be able to give us more insight into Pantheon's members?"

"Hmmm…" She closed her eyes as her shades faded out of existence and three new ones appeared surrounding her. They whispered in her ears for a few moments before she opened her eyes again and started grinning. "Well, the Shaper and the Queen Administrator have certainly gathered an interesting court. It seems, they have even begun to glimpse the script we are meant to follow. Perhaps they truly will be worthy of their name." She started laughing again, but this time it was louder and the chorus was less mournful.

We had a few hours to wait till the Simurgh finally made her appearance and only a few minutes more until the fight was done.

"Goddess." I breathed. "They really got her. The Simurgh is dead."

"So it would seem."

"She burned India. The bitch couldn't just let us have the victory, could she?"

Glaistig just raised her hand. "Such is the result of Titanomachy. There will be more to come, torchbearer. Perhaps even our hill shall shake before all is through and done. Good day to you Lustrum."

I accepted her dismissal for what it was, said my goodbyes and headed back to my block to think about what I had seen and what the Fairy Queen had said.


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

A/N- It's canon except for the one (uncaught until this moment, error at saying the fight lasted "a few minutes". Simurgh's power takes longer than that to set in, and they were close to the wire.

The overall battle probably took an hour or two.

 

Amelia, Ch 117 (former 113)- Interlude


"Oh thank god," Chariot exclaimed. "I thought we'd have to walk all the way to fucking North America."


"Chariot?" Taylor exclaimed, then she looked to see the thirty seven others, most of them injured.


Minerva's suit, controlled by Khepri's power, spoke. "Lisa? Are you alive?"


"Yeah," he replied. "Minerva made me hit the 'oh fuck' button after the Dragon suits stated firing on the command center. Got a dozen of us across. Others I picked up during search and rescue. What happened after we bugged out?"


"Hey, Khepri," Lisa responded weakly. "Kinda in bad shape. There's a vine growing up into my femur over here. Not quite sure what it thinks it's doing, but I'm pretty sure it's the only reason I'm conscious right now. I sure wish it would stop doing that."


Minerva's suit spoke. "Amelia's here, I'll send her to you."


Gaea's suit spoke. "Amelia, Minerva's injured, I'll guide you."


Khepri spoke. "It's bad. The Endbringers self-detonate when they're destroyed. We killed her, and pretty much all of India at the same time."


"Holy fucking shit," Chariot muttered.


"Can you cobble together equipment to shift them back to Bet?" Khepri asked.


"Yeah, sure, I think. I'll have to tear apart some of my equipment."


"That's fine, we'll pay for replacement parts. Claiming we have high end site-to-site teleportation is one thing. Admitting access to a whole other world..." Khepri paused. She was factoring the value of the portals, the risks and abuses and violence that could come from them. She didn't know it then, but that thought would birth Exodus.


....


"We have completed our full analysis of the India Disaster," Number Man spoke at the meeting. "First, via Contessa's power, we determined it was a parahuman which initiated the explosion."


"Who?" Alexandria asked.


"A local cape by the name of Phir Se," he answered. "Well known as a short range time manipulator. Nothing further than a few minutes, at most."


"We thought he was immaterial?" Doctor Mother replied.


"Well, yes," Number Man responded, as unhappy as he was capable of being. "We hadn't quite realized his power was exponential and iterative."


"Layman's terms, if you please," Doctor Mother asked.


"It's like the old economics mind teaser of doubling a penny," Number Man started. "If you start with one cent and double it once per day. In a week you have sixty four cents. In two weeks you have eighty one dollars and ninty two cents. After thirty days, you have over five million dollars. Before long, it results in more money than actually exists. We have no way of knowing how much energy he started with, or how quickly the energy doubles, or how long he was maintaining the cycle. It seems unlikely to be truly exponential. If it was, he could have casually initiated such massive disasters on an hourly basis."


"I see," Doctor Mother responded. "Have we taken steps to acquire him as an asset?"


"He appears to have taken his own life," Contessa responded. "I can only guarantee he did not fake his death. If you wish to know if this was murder or suicide, it will take time to investigate."


"No," she sighed. "I don't think that's necessary."


"His power was still not what we needed to fight Scion," Alexandria stated. "Too many of us survived, even at point of detonation. Unless we are to believe that I am more durable than Scion, his power wouldn't have been a factor in that battle. I am still more interested in Atropos' ability. She allowed spider string to pass through the Simurgh like she was made of smoke."


....


"She used my thermal shunting technology inside the clouds," Emma stated, showing a hand drawn diagram that looked like a side sketch of a sandwich. "Ice separated to the top, solid carbon dioxide into the bottom. Held together by gravity technology that might have been ours, or might have been Dragon's. Or some other tinker, it's impossible to know. What I am sure of is that she used my knowledge of energy dispersion to orchestrate the next phase."


She flipped the page, revealing two lines and a zigzag between them. There were arrows pointed up and down on the outside lines. "She turned the whole sky into something that's one part fiber optic cable, and one part vacuum tube. It's something I can do. Something I have done, in fact. Laser research at near absolute zero is how I built Radiant's weapon systems to begin with."


Emma resisted the urge to describe in greater detail. The mundane, such as the insulating properties of perfectly formed ice. The exotic, like achieving perfect conductivity of laser light. Of instantaneous, loss free conversion between types of energy. Things that only she was able to understand. Things she suspected were used to transfer the energy. Some of her suspicions were correct. Others were wrong only for her limited ability to comprehend the full details.


"So, probably our tech," Minerva responded. "I don't recall any other 'cold' tinkers on the field. Built from tech ripped out of the Dragon suits, most likely. Suits and people that wouldn't have been there, if we'd known we would be fighting the Simurgh instead of Behemoth. She planned for this, constructing everything from the most advanced tinker equipment on the planet."


"The energy attack from the unknown parahuman came from below, striking the Simurgh and then the ice shell. Some of it was refracted downward, destroying the city. Perhaps a sum total of a tenth of the energy. It happened too quickly for me to get a good look. The rest was caught in the cloud layers. Redirected along more paths than I can count, throughout a stormfront that extended over a hundred miles. Where it broke through at specifically the perfect angles to burn almost every population center in northern and central India. More died from fires, gas explosions, and other side effects than from the energy weapon itself. It was also pinpoint accurate. Nothing was wasted on, say, trying to cross the Himalayas. Or burning miles of mostly uninhabited fields or forests. Maximum loss of life for minimum power expenditure."


"That's beyond fucking terrifying," Eki insisted. She was one of those hit hardest, changed the most, by her experiences. Even during her fight with Leviathan, she had never been so terrified of death. Even when grieving the deaths of her brother and father, she was never so keenly aware of the dangers she faced every day.


"You want terrifying?" Emma didn't smile. She was too frightened to smile. "She went easy on us."


"Easy?" Khepri scoffed. "She depopulated most of India, and parts of half a dozen other countries! With a fine precision that makes me feel inadequate."


"It's true," Minerva agreed. "I've looked at it every way my power will let me. The damage was deliberately focused on the Endbringer shelters and other population centers even at ground zero. She could have easily redirected that energy to the hospital, and everyone inside it. Killing the rest of us would have been trivial as well. Whatever her reasoning was, she chose to let us live. And she wanted us to know she let us live."


"Do you think she knew we were going to kill her?" Atropos asked. She was more nervous than any others. She had been the one to kill the Endbringer, the one most expected to face and destroy all other current and future Endbringers. Even if she was not yet aware there would be others. That pressure had changed her. Would continue to change her as the days went forward.


"I'm not sure," Minerva answered. "We had at least three powerful precog jammers involved in destroying her, if we include Eidolon. All of whom are strong enough to disrupt even Dinah's powers. It's possible the Simurgh was capable of predicting this. It's almost equally possible she could not, and her plan of attack happened exactly the way she intended it to, save for her own destruction."


....


The civil war in India reached fevered pitch in the weeks after what the locals were coming to call 'The Burning' in their local languages. The parahuman population was now almost equal to the population of nonpowered humans within the cities caught in the destruction. In the countryside, which had largely escaped that attack, armies were being established. The southern tip of the continent managed to hold a semblance of order, by changing their interaction with their own parahumans. A new way that parahumans looked at their country, and the country looked at their parahumans. A way based on other, successful examples of parahuman led societies. A mimicry of godhood in a culture where gods were still taken seriously.


In six and a half years of struggles in the the aftermath, a new government was born. A slow recovery from the violence and the economic and environmental hardships. It would be another three years before India could finally overthrow the CUI's invasion and conquest of most of its territory, and another two before it could repel the troublesome warlords that had either moved in from Africa, or established themselves from local factions. Over a decade of almost constant warfare, but they would succeed.


All of these things were unimportant. Mere side effects of other factors.


....


Minerva stood facing Alexandria. The pair spoke to one another on a level not normally experienced by human beings. The concepts were difficult to translate, even to the women experiencing the effect first hand.


Alexandria exerted her presence, a confidence born of long years of conflict and success. Strength that had been proven, then broken, then rebuilt even stronger.


Minerva, equal confidence born of certainty of details Alexandria did not know.


Alexandria reacted with curiosity and interest. Minerva conveyed, if accidentally, that they had weapons that could fight Endbringers. A weapon she believed could kill us permanently.


Alexandria could not hide her surprise at the realization. Not to Minerva's ability, at least. No other observer would have caught it.


Minerva flinched, ashamed she had given away the secret. Annoyed at her lack of control.


Alexandria asserted her superiority again. Attempting to goad the younger thinker.


Minerva reflected that it would have worked, possibly to embarrassing levels, if not for her recent use of her power for introspection.


Alexandria is shocked at the emotional maturity of the thinker. She might suspect it was indication of emotion repression as part of her power, if it wasn't clear her emotions were normal based on other reactions. She upgrades her opinion of Minerva, both as a person and in terms of abilities.


Minerva smiles. She knows she lost this contest, from a competitive perspective, but she'd be happy to lose more often for results this beneficial.


Alexandria recognizes the mutual respect. She's willing to cooperate with the girl's plan, now that the situation and positions of the two are established and respectable. "Okay," she says, the first to speak.


Minerva hands her a device. The beacon for their 'dimensional shunt' technology. A key part of the plan.


....


Khepri and Gaea communicate. Their mode is outside my ability to see, and I am aware of it only through their description of it to others. A function born of accident that was never meant to be, giving them partial access where only the Makers were intended to tread. I am not blind to the results of those communications. These girls, an accident of an accident, send ripples through their collected allies. Allowing them, again quite by luck and accident, discovering how to produce tools that hide others from my view. Accidents of accidents of accidents. Chaos cascading through an otherwise predictable reality. Eventually, I might be obsolete.


If they were more aware of my range, they might even be able to truly catch me unaware and unprepared. Their greatest vulnerability is relying upon Dinah Alcott. As they wish to harness her power, they must avoid blinding her to their presence. Where she can see, I can see as well.


They plan to slay us. Myself, my brothers. Their weapon, such as I understand it, is truly capable of this. It seems an oversight, that the Makers allow this ability into the hands of this species. I cannot see into the intentions of the Makers, I cannot know their plans. I only know their system is broken.


I cannot allow them to destroy me or my siblings. The idea of self preservation, much like all other emotions as humans know the concept, is alien beyond my ability to know how it influences them. The concept of purpose is one I understand perfectly. Organic minds are unable to comprehend it as I do. Even the Makers, though closer, are still unable to know an existence that has only Function.


I also cannot allow them to be destroyed. My Summoner has imprinted a second Function, if by accident. I am needed to stop the remaining Maker, regardless of cost. There are four Paths to achieve this. One that might very well be lost forever, due the unknowable chaos revolving around its components. One that relies solely upon the Summoner's mind alone. A mind I am as unable to breach as the Makers, themselves. Whom I can only simulate. Another postponed, perhaps forever. And another in its fledgling stage, that may never be ready.


Four paths to destroying the Maker and fulfilling my Purpose.


Today, I war with them all. And in that war, I increase the probabilities of success of three paths, and my simulations suggest it improves the fourth as well.


I communicate with my brother, warning him of the coming danger. Ripples of seismic activity so faint that no other being on the planet but us would recognize and interpret the signal correctly. The Eldest moves just to the surface, startling and upsetting them. I move through the clouds, a stormfront I had determined prior, and added to subtly. I revealed new abilities. Removed inhibitions to function properly in this battle. It was acceptable.


I descend after my brother had left. Time enough for the time manipulator to charge his attack satisfactorily. Time enough for him to be too tired to think about his actions, but not so tired as to risk him reacting too soon or too late for the proper timing.


....


I will find myself safe. The dimension shunting technology is relatively simple, meant to pierce between dimensions with existent portals. Of these, there are many. Only three connecting to this iteration. But one iteration, the one used by my Summoner's allies, connects to every world the other Maker had collided with. They had discovered many of them. I found one they would never locate.


My body will be ravaged. It will be years before I recover from the damage to my core, and more until I am fully functional again. I shall never be needed by my Summoner again. There is no future in which I have returned to full strength, the Summoner still exists, and the Maker still exists.


I will rest. I cannot know if I awaken again.


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


A/N- Fucking with tenses is both a pain in the ass, and a lot of fun.


Also... I'm beginning to think I have a fetish for foreshadowing.

 

Amelia, ch 119 (former 115)


I was exhausted by the time I climbed into bed, my costume discarded on the floor. I didn't care enough to put it away. Same night clothes I wore to sleep last night, I absently thought. What a stupid thing to think about. I stared up at the ceiling. On a whim, I adjusted the colors, creating an imitation of a clear sky. Even managed to put together light and warmth from the imitation sun. It was comforting, after what we'd been through.


Taylor walked in not long after, still in costume. "First time I've ever had to open the door myself," she offered a half hearted smile. I returned it, if even less enthusiastically. "Our link seems to be muted."


I gave a quick look. "It's physically fine," I responded. "I'm just... I don't know. I don't even know what to feel."


Taylor walked over to a corner, facing it, then she stepped backward, leaving the armor behind. It wasn't entirely unlike watching a cicada climb out of its shell. "It wasn't our fault," she said after she worked her way out of the armor. She's in her jogging clothes, I noticed. I also noticed that I was far too numb to appreciate this detail. "It wasn't our weapon that did it, it wasn't even Ziz that provided the power. They don't self destruct."


"I know," I answered, looking at my partner. "It's just... what would have happened if we did't come there equipped to kill them? You said yourself, they get meaner when you hit them harder. We hit harder than anyone ever had before, hard enough to kill them, and what we get out of it is a country that's still burning. Hundreds of millions, maybe even an actual billion, dead. Riley's existence exposed to the Triumvirate."


"And Cauldron, and our own members who were still in the dark about her," Taylor added "Lisa's going to be smug as hell about that for months. She saved our asses big time, and she knows we know it. She's going to want to draw at least some mileage out of it. Maybe not as much as before, but something."


I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, if that's the price, then I'm okay with her being smug about it for a while. I happen to like your ass. Glad she saved it."


Taylor blushed. ShockedPleasedShy. "I noticed," she teased as she sat down next to me on the bed.


"Only because I let you," I teased back. She leaned back gently, resulting in her head resting on my stomach. I toyed with her hair a bit, even as I felt her mood shift back to business. As nice as the distractions were, neither of us really were the type to let go of things. I always was a worrier, as far back as I can remember. Taylor seemed basically the same. The fact that the world was just shy of literally on our shoulders at most gave us an excuse to do what we would have done anyway.


"We'll need to talk to Zach," she started. "He was out there for almost half an hour."


"I know," I agreed. "But how do we even approach that subject? It got to him, but you know how he is. He'll never admit it."


"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe we should ask Crystal to take a stab at it? The two of them seem to... well, she's better at getting him to let up on the bullshit than anyone else, at least. And she's one of the ones that had to survive out there. It's common ground that we don't have."


"Just so we're clear," I said. "If she does this, we're going to have to deal with her being as smug as Lisa."


"Probably," Tayor admitted. "Those two are so fucking alike, sometimes."


"Yeah," I agreed. "Y'know, we're too much alike. Even our friends are alike. No wonder everyone thought we should get together."


She shrugged noncommittally.


"Hey," I poked her nose. "You thought so, too. I very much recall the part where you attempted to seduce me."


She blushed. ChagrinWorryRegret. "Yeah, sorry about that," she mumbled.


"To quote that phrase you use all the time," I said. "'I don't mind'. I still dream about it, sometimes. They're very good dreams."


SurprisedHappy. "Ah, okay," she stammered a little. "That wasn't really. I probably should have just talked to you about it instead of trying something like that."


"Maybe," I replied. "But I'm glad you didn't. As far as first kisses go, I think I got one of the better ones."


"Except the part where I ruined-" I put a finger over her lips to silence her.


"You ruined nothing," I corrected. "It wasn't ruined at all. Circumstances beyond your control cut it short. It was wonderful."


EmbarrassedPleasedEncouraged. "Thanks," she smiled.


"Now we should probably decide what other things we have to worry about," I reluctantly steered the conversation back to work. I was more comfortable with Taylor than anyone could think was normal, but this conversation was taking my mind places and my body was starting to follow along. Not something I needed her realizing, especially when she was currently laying in bed with me. I'd have to bury myself alive. Again.


"Our secret world was exposed to the Protectorate at the very least," Taylor sighed. "Which means Alexandria, aka Chief Director Costa-Brown. Shit, I forgot to mention that to Lisa. That's a stupid mistake, damn."


"She has other stuff on her mind," I said. "We already knew Costa-Brown was trying to help us out from that recording Chariot got for us. We already knew Alexandria was probably part of Cauldron. That means we have an ally, at least of sorts, at the top of the Protectorate and PRT. I expect she's important in Cauldron, too. This is probably the only truly good news that came out of this."


"Destroying an Endbringer doesn't count as good news?" Taylor asked. Her emotions were muted with worry and doubt.


"We killed her and we still," I hesitated, trying to find the words to express the idea. "When I went outside... people were looking at us like we were the survivors of a fucking natural disaster, not the people who destroyed the Simurgh. This isn't what victory against the fucking apocalypse is suppose to feel like. I can't even find it in my heart to call it a Pyrrhic victory. It just feels like we failed."


"We'll do better next time," Taylor said, stroking my arm.


"Next time?" Even the thought of 'next time' sent an unpleasant chill through my body.


"She clearly wants us to back off," Taylor replied. "She wants the world so terrified that we'd rather deal with a slow death. An infection. Rather than amputating the wound and at least having the chance to recover."


"Or she wants us to think that," I said. "She had to know we'd second guess something that obvious."


"And then we can second guess that second guess," Taylor answered. "We're insulated against her precognition. Emma's," DisgustAnnoyance. "Anti-precog tech works. We are invisible to her, the weapons we build are invisible to her. Whatever sick plans she had in mind, they can't reach us.


"You're probably right," I agreed. "I just... I don't know if I can, anymore."


"You don't have to," Taylor assured me, lifting her head off of my stomach and shifting herself fully onto the bed. ProtectiveComfortResolve. She wrapped herself around me from behind, pulling me into an embrace. "As you said when we began this thing, I am your General. You give me the strength to fight, and I'll take care of the rest for you."


"You know what happens after we get all of them, right?" I teased. Since when did Taylor sound this sappy?


I could hear her smiling when she replied. "Hey, I don't mind, remember?"


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


A/N- Decompression chapter. They can't all be dramatic and shit, right?

 

Amelia, Ch 120- Crystal


The fires were all around me. I couldn't breath, couldn't see anything through the blinding light, couldn't move. Ice, encased in ice and still on fire! Trapped. Freezing. Burning. No way out!


I awoke to my own screaming. Shifting and struggling. I was still trapped, but now that I was awake I and was starting to figure out where I was, I knew why. I was in one of the medical pods. I was back home. I simply willed myself to calm down and move gently, and the pod yielded. That was good, it would have kept me if I was still too injured to move about on my own. Originally Amy's tech, but Riley had improved on it a lot while we were prepping for...


The Endbringer.


It all started coming back to me: the fight, tearing that bitch to shreds, driving her off and... and then the fire. My overshields took the brunt of the initial burst, though they were almost completely drained in the process. Then the energy absorbers, until they burned out. Then the suit itself started to cook through. One final, desperate move later I was encased in ice. Not a fun sensation, especially when it melts and the inferno breaks through again.


Maybe if I'd frozen myself earlier, when the energy protection was still working and the suit itself hadn't been badly damaged. Maybe the suit could have protected me from the agonizing cold seeping into my body. I'd all but given up by the time it had cooled enough that I wasn't at risk of dying the moment my breathing system gave way.


I focused, but couldn't recall much else. I was asleep, and now I'm back at our base. Or... did Amy build a medical bay in India? But I am alone, I realized. And I'm pretty sure I wasn't hurt so much that everyone else got out of the place before I even woke up.


I look at my hands. Fresh and pink, they've been regenerated, almost up to the elbows. Fingernails completely gone, replaced with a layer of skin. They'd grow back, eventually, but a girl couldn't help but be upset about something like this.


I was nude, which was not a good sign at all, since it meant the healing pod needed full body coverage to do its work. Also wasn't so happy about the fact that someone saw me naked. Specifically, either my lesbian cousin, the ten year old monster, or Emma. That's just lovely. I looked down, my legs were... fuck, halfway between knee and hip. Toenails gone, too. Damn that looks weird.


Standing up felt strange, and my legs wobbled more than a little. A couple days of recovery, probably. The was a tap on the door.


"Don't come in!" I shouted, then finally looked around and spotted my clothes. Not the pair I'd worn this morning, which had probably already found their way into the recycling system. Just another outfit that I'd left here. I got dressed as quickly as I could considering it felt like I had two left hands. Just how badly was I hurt?


"Okay, you can come in now," I yelled at the entrance. Zach walked in.


"Hey," he offered a half hearted smile. "The alert said you were up and moving. It's a bit past four in the morning, if you're wondering."


I shrugged. "I was pretty bad, huh?"


"Almost as bad as Amelia after Valefor," he confirmed.


"My armor's trashed, of course," I followed up.


"It was dead when they got to you," he shrugged. "Needed Alexandria to peel it off since Amelia couldn't."


"What about everyone else?"


"Alive," he answered. "Atropos took a nasty hit, and Theo was cut by some of the Moirai Ribbons when blocking the hole to protect us. They've already been patched up. Emma was hurt, a bit, but she's fine now. Case-53 regeneration thing at work."


"We kinda... well, basically everyone knows about Riley now. Our whole team, and Alexandria, and the rest of the Triumvirate, and whomever they choose to tell- which probably mean Cauldron. On the plus side, no one's decided to report this and have us all put on the kill list. On the minus side, not everyone's decided not to report this, either. Expect possible blackmail in the near future."


Fucking hell. "What happened to the Simurgh?" I asked. "I sorta lost track after... after the explosion."


"We almost had her, and then some fucktard had to help," he growled the words. "That bomb? A parahuman power. Dunno who, probably won't ever find out. We destroyed the Simurgh, completely and totally annihilated, but that blast destroyed almost all of India in the process."


My stomach dropped. "India has..."


"Over a billion people, yeah," Zach muttered. "Most of them are dead now. Pretty much wiped out Pakistan as well. So much for our 'ding dong, the bitch is dead' party. It's not our fault, in fact I'm pretty sure it would have happened even if we hadn't shown up, but everything is fucked now."


I nodded. It makes sense, I though. Her actions, the way she fought that day. She wanted to provoke whoever it was that did this into attacking. "Think she knew we'd kill her?" It was the only thing I could think to ask.


"Dunno," he answered. "Clotho and Lachesis were both precog immune, and they did all the real damage. But she was... I dunno. Either way, she made the world suffer for her death. They're still doing all the math and science shit, but she just racked up a death toll greater than both her brothers combined."


"Jesus fucking Christ," I ran my hands through my hair. They were shaking from more than just the regeneration I'd received. My fingers caught on tangles and even some flakes of burnt material near the tips. "I need a shower."


"Okay," he agreed. "You know all the important stuff. I'm sure we'll spend all of tomorrow talking about the details anyway."


I left the base. As much as the showers there worked, technically, they squicked me right the fuck out. We didn't have traditional pipes in the base. Our running water, as Riley had described it, came from 'a series of bladders'. I was fully aware there were more meanings for that word but I couldn't help but think of the most obvious one. And standing underneath warm water that came out of a bladder... no thank you.


Flying was always a one of my personal joys in life. The freedom and the wind in my hair. Victoria always said it was her favorite power, and I agreed fully. The air was a little chilly. Mid august, just in time for things to start getting cold. From up here, our city looked downright beautiful. It was getting better for the people who couldn't fly, as well. Khepri had gone almost a week without finding any drugs more serious than pot, before we left to fight Her.


I entered upstairs, through my own bedroom window. No sense in waking up mom. A quick look in the mirror, which only prompted me to frown and try not to cry. My hair was trashed. I'd probably need to cut most of it off. At least the short hairstyles are popular right now. A rummage through my closet for better clothing, and then I was hovering my way to the bathroom. No point in making any noise, and I was still too shaky on my feet. I would rather not accidentally fall over if I could help it.


Mom's door was open, and I passed it quietly on my way to bathroom. Light was on, but that wasn't anything unusual. We had a bad habit of wasting electricity like that. Half the downstairs was lit up, actually. I pushed open the door and stepped inside, then quietly closed it behind me. I treated myself to a long shower in mostly lukewarm water. The regenerated skin was too sensitive, and it hurt to use the hot water.


I spent almost an hour under the stream of water, most of it dedicated to working out the mess in my hair. Looking down at the gunk running off of me, I identified the bluish-green liquid found in the suits, a light green liquid from where the healing pod needed a contact to diffuse chemicals into my body, charred material that probably came from the underlayer of the armor, clumps of hair that had been singed away, and a worrying amount of blood that I wasn't certain was all my own. It was almost hypnotic, really, imagining what caused all this.


A billion people dead, I thought. Not our fault, but would anyone else believe that? The Simurgh had been destroyed, so we still won. But so did she.


The sun was already rising when I was finished, and had managed to unclog the drain of various stuff that had fallen off of me. I looked at my now ruined hair and tried to imagine how to fix it. Oh well, Jasmine would work her usual magic.


I floated back toward my room, coming by mom's room again. I should let mom know I'm okay, I thought. I nudged the door open. "Hey mom, I just wa-" I slammed the door as hard as I could and rushed for my room. That was not something I needed to see!


===========


A/N- Breakfast and a show.

 

Amelia, Ch 121- Crystal


I was in my room, staring at my ceiling when there was a knock on the door. "Crystal, sweetie, can I come in?" My mom's voice, of course.


"Yeah, mom, go ahead," I answered. I was sorely tempted not to.


She opened the door, wearing work clothes and looking positively mortified. Well, that's good to know. "I... umm... I'm sorry you saw that," she started.


"Not half as sorry as I am," I muttered. "Maybe if I'm lucky, Amy will give me a memory wipe."


"I take it you're upset, then," she sighed.


"Just a little," I answered. "And weirded right the fuck out. I mean, seriously. I just walked in on my mother in bed with my cousin's future father in law. I know half my team's named after Greek gods, but that wasn't an invite for..." I waved my hands around. "This!"


"It's not the same thing," she countered. "You know that."


"No, it's not," I agreed. "It's just... jeez, mom, isn't there a grace period before you are allowed to go out and find a new man?"


"It's not like I was expecting this to happen!" she exclaimed.


"You invited him over," I said dryly. "Or did he sneak in through your bedroom window with some wine and a box of chocolates."


She chuckled, which only annoyed me more. "That actually happened to me once," she said.


"Dad?" I asked. Oh please let it have been my father, I'm traumatized enough.


"Your Uncle Mark, actually," she corrected. Eww eww eww eww- "He was there for Carol and got the wrong window." -Oh thank every god!


"So what's the story with Mister Hebert?" I asked. I still didn't know him well enough to call him 'Danny'.


"After you left to fight Behemoth, I invited Danny over," she said. She definitely knew him well enough. "AND," she stressed. "Mark and Carol. I didn't want us to be alone when... well, during the fighting. You have no idea how hard it is to go through something like that. Nobody really can understand it until they have children of their own."


"Okay, I get that much," I responded. "Now when did you get the bright idea to fuck Taylor's father?"


She flinched. Probably wanted to yell at me for the language, but under the circumstances she really couldn't. "It wasn't... I... he was there to comfort me when we didn't know what happened. After the explosion, I thought you were dead. I thought everyone was dead. Danny was there, a shoulder to cry on."


"So you guys just came up with the bright idea 'whelp, we're out of kids, let's get to work making new ones'?" I regretted it as soon as I said it, but I was still pissed off. My father and my brother were gone, and here my mother was with a new man. 'Replacement father, complete with already assembled sibling' was not something I was looking forward to.


"No!" She exclaimed. "It was after we found out you were okay! Mark and Carol left and, I, well... there were a lot of emotions going around."


"Oh, I bet there were," I stated. "I'm going to get some air." I took off, and passed Mister Hebert in the hall. He, at least, didn't try to talk to me, or even look at me. I really wasn't in the mood to hear anything he said anyway. I noticed his car in the driveway when I went out the front door. If I'd come into the house like a normal person, I thought. Then at the very least I could have spared my eyes.


....


By the time I'd stopped just hovering in the air and had gotten hungry, it was close to ten. I stopped by the pizza place that had opened up near our base and asked for some breadsticks. I was in the mood for something covered in cholesterol, and I didn't trust my newly rebuilt limbs to handle anything messy or requiring silverware. As much as I'd been contemplating shoving a fork in my eyes on purpose, I didn't want to do it accidentally.


The highschool girl who took my order did her best not to stare. Oh, right, I remembered. Need that haircut. Or maybe she just recognized who I am. I didn't ask.


I was still figuring out how to put the food in my mouth with more than a 30% success rate by the time I got back to the Treehouse. Have we really lived here for three months without coming up with a better name? Amelia was there to greet me with a hug.


"What's the occasion?" I asked.


"Aunt Sarah called," she answered. God damn it.


"Did she say anything?" I let myself be led into the building.


"Just that you left and she wanted you to call her as soon as possible. We don't know what happened." Taylor spoke up, and I cringed. She looks an awful lot like her father. "I was keeping an eye in case something went wrong. All you did was drift around for a while. Didn't want to bother you, since you obviously wanted to be alone."


I paused as I heard chuckling from Lisa. I glared at her. She raised her hands. "First, I just want you to know that I had no idea this would happen. Well, okay, I did, but I thought it would take another six or eight months at the earliest. Second, I feel really really bad that I find this so funny. And third, it honestly is hilarious and you'll laugh, too, when you get over the initial shock. I promise."


"Uh... what happened?" Amelia asked.


I chuckled. "Okay, funny huh?" I shook my head. "Fine, let's make a joke of it: Taylor, knock knock."


She looked at me strangely, but went along with it. "Who's there?"


"Guess," I said.


"Guess, who?" She still went along.


"Guess who walked in on your dad having sex with my mom this morning?" I finished. It didn't seem all that funny. The other girls had gone silent.


Taylor was the one who spoke up first. "Umm... congratulations, dad?"


"This doesn't bother you?" I asked, incredulously. "This is your father we're talking about!"


"It'd probably bother me more if I was the one who walked in on them," she admitted. "Not something I want to have a picture of in my head if there's any hope of avoiding it. But, no, it doesn't bother me. Sarah seems like a really good person, and they both deserve to be happy. If this makes them happy, then I'm all for it."


"You don't feel like he's trying to replace your mom?"


"No," she answered. "Mom can't be replaced, for either of us. And I doubt your mom would try. Honestly, I'm glad for this. He spent years depressed over losing her, being miserable and just making me more miserable than I might have been. Losing a parent hurts, but I effectively lost both of mine. If this is him finally recovering and moving on, then it's a good thing. You wouldn't want your mom to spend the next decade alone, would you?"


She's right, I realized. Also: god damn it, she's right. I still wasn't exactly feeling better. "Okay, fine," I agreed. "But it's only been three months since my dad and my brother died. This is way too soon."


She nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right," she agreed. "I can't imagine how I'd have felt if dad found a new girlfriend that quickly. But this is better than the alternative. Trust me, I know."

 

Amelia, Ch 123- Crystal


I was still shaky when I left. I've died twice since joining this team, I realized. At the Endbringer fight, and when Purity shot a hole through me. The v5 was tough enough that Purity couldn't have possibly hurt me if I had it when fighting her. Yet still something found a way to kill me. I owe Zach and Emma thank yous.


It didn't take me too long to find Zach. He was in his room. I knocked. I shall knock before entering the kitchen from this point on.


"Come in," he yelled. I pressed the panel that opened the door and stepped in. He was sitting at his computer, some brightly colored image with a 'paused' label in front. A video game, of course.


"Hey, Zach," I started. How do you approach this kind of conversation? "So... I heard you saved me yesterday."


"Ah, that," he looked away. "It was nothing, really. All I did was move some ice and save-scum for you while Emma did her thing."


"Save scum?" I asked.


"Umm... nevermind," he shrugged. "It's a gamer term, nothing you need to be worried about."


"Oh," damn this is awkward. "That couldn't have been easy, working with Emma for that long."


"Hey, it's not a big deal," he insisted. "I just had to spend a few minutes around the ex in order to save a friend. Taylor can tolerate her, so can I. It's not like we were ever serious, and she was too busy working on you to try talking to me."


"What was it like out there?" I asked. "I was unconscious and walled in behind ice the whole time. You and Emma actually made it through alive and conscious."


"I'd really rather not think about it," Zach muttered. "The 'resetting so fast that it destroyed my armor' was the least painful part of it. Look, can we just drop the topic and then never speak of it again? Call that my 'thank you', or whatever it is you're trying to do?"


Okay, bad subject. "Sorry," I muttered. "Thanks for saving me. I'm here to listen if you need someone to talk to."


"No, it's not your fault," he sighed. "Change of topics. Got anything zany that I can laugh about? I could really use that right about now."


I sighed, putting my hands over my face. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Apparently my mom is now seeing Taylor's dad."


"Really?" He laughed. "Go Mister Hebert. She's a total fox." I glared at him, but it didn't seem to dissuade him any. "Wait, isn't she older than him? Do you think dating younger guys might run in your family? I still know a great place..."


I rolled my eyes. "Great, and now I pretty much can't say 'no' because not only did I start asking you about a painful topic, but I literally owe you my life. I hope you realize this is completely unfair and it makes you an asshole."


"Don't worry," he said. "I'm just teasing. Taking advantage of something like that would just be sick."


"Why do you do that, anyway?" I asked. "Go between asshole perv and almost overly sensitive like it's a weird kind of bipolar disorder?"


He shrugged. "Let's just say life's too short not to. You never know what tomorrow's going to bring. I learned a while back that just going for it, and suffering the consequences of failure... or even success, for that matter... is better than not trying at all and being forced to wonder 'what if' for the rest of your life. Take it from someone who does a lot of both... I'd rather die than never know what would have happened with that chance I never took."


"So that's how you justify flirting, poorly, with every possible female?"


"Pretty much," he confirmed. "And how I justify signing up with a completely unproven superhero team that came out of nowhere. And how I justify agreeing to literal suicide missions on a regular basis. Feel free to ask Lisa about it, I'm sure she can explain my particular damage better than I can. It's not worth waiting when you don't even know if you'll be here tomorrow. For that matter, it's not worth waiting even if you know you'll be here forever. I'm sure your mom would agree with me."


He's right, I thought. I died twice, that's a second and third chance wasted if I ignore it.


"Thanks for the oddly out of character advice that's probably entirely self serving on your part," I smiled. "Still not gonna date you. You're fifteen and I'm almost twenty. When I was your age... you were ten and I was babysitting ten year olds. There are no possible words for how creepy that would be."


"That works," he shrugged and smiled at me. "See you in, say, five years?"


I chuckled. "Tell you what," I answered. "If both of us are single in five years, then sure."


....


I arrived home. Zach's advice, strangely enough, made me feel better. Mister Hebert's car is gone, I noted. Good, this was going to be awkward enough. I opened the door. "Hey, mom, I'm home!" I shouted. I probably should have done this the first time.


"Oh, Crystal, thank god!" she rushed in and pulled me into a hug. "Stop scaring me like that!"


"Scaring you?" I asked. "Mom, come on, we're in the safest city on the planet right now and I was a few hundred feet in the air. I just went out to fly and clear my head a bit. Not like I glued twenty dollar bills to myself and went on a walk through the projects."


"You're right," she said. "I'm probably over reacting. It's easy to do that when..."


"That's okay," I sighed. "I over reacted, myself. Seems to be a family trait, now that I think about it."


She finally broke the hug. "It really is," she agreed. "You're sure you're not upset anymore?"


"No," I confirmed. "I get it. Scary situation, it's not like I'm a stranger to life and death situations and how they make you rush things. Not a virgin, either. I mean, I still think it's way too soon, but now that I think about it, you've been spending a lot of time with him, haven't you?"


"Yeah," she agreed. "We get together at least once a week, and talk on the phone a lot. He's been a lot of help, and this came as much a surprise to him as it did to me. A lot of guys in that situation would have, y'know, expected something from me. We were just, well, one thing leading to another."


Right, expecting something. Been there, too. "So," I finally asked mom. "Is this thing with Mister Hebert serious, or was it just a one off sorta thing?"


"Well," she smiled. "It was in the middle of becoming a three off when you walked in."


"Oh god eww no," I cringed. "First, not something I ever wanted to hear my mother say. Second, not what I meant."


"I know," she agreed. "I don't have an answer for you. It's... whatever it ends up being, I guess. I don't think I'm ready for 'serious', and probably won't be for a while. But I'm going to continue seeing him. Hopefully without having to hide it from you."


"No, no," I agreed. "I get it. I'm okay with it, even, now that I've had a chance to recover from the shock. I won't freak out around him or anything. We can get together, have a nice family lunch. Force Taylor to wear something cute and girly for a reason other than showing off for Amy."


"Really?" mom smiled. "Is that a thing they do?"


"It's a thing Taylor does," I informed her. "She's dark colors and baggy shirts all the time, unless she finds out Amy's going to be there, then she'll wear pretty much anything Lisa and I tell her will make her girlfriend stare. We even got her to buy this really skimpy two piece bikini. But you'd better swear on your life you won't tell her dad about that. I doubt she's even actually worn it, so I'd rather not have to disown you over it."


She laughed. "Okay, I swear, he won't learn about his daughter's updates to her wardrobe from me. I was a teenage girl, myself, once upon a time. Of course, back then we didn't have bikinis. Or beaches."


I hugged her again. "Thanks mom, you're the best."


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


A/N- There were people that needed other people to explain Sarah's joke there at the end.

There. The chapter restores faith in humanity. The author note murders it again.

 

Amelia, Ch 124- Chernobog


Minor incisions only, I thought as I scratched my claws through the flesh of my forearms. They quickly and easily regenerated. From this close, I could regenerate entire limbs if I needed to, but it was better to use my other healing method for that. This power was unpredictable and potentially unstable. I made that mistake once, and it was hell to remove the extra eyes that had grown from my arm. Small amounts of damage only.


My heightened senses alerted me to the incoming presence. Flight, larger mass than a parahuman. Vehicle? I relied on my peripheral vision: no point in looking suspicious by turning my head toward the supposedly hidden newcomer. Or more suspicious, at least. A large man in a trench coat draws a certain level of attention no matter what he does. When it's nearly midnight in late July, that just makes it worse. Still, in Brockton Bay as it existed now, no one was going to be more than passively intimidated by me. Pantheon's influence hit the underworld so hard that it broke.


Looks like you get to be a hero at last, Taylor, I smiled sadly.


A black winged horse landed nearby. The girl on it, Aceso, one of Amelia's recruits. Her 'little sister'. Not human, I recognized almost immediately. Is she some kind of artificial person? One of their M4s? She looked at me, then sniffed the air slightly. "Are you injured?"


I shrugged. "Nothing serious," I answered, stretching and hopping off my perch atop Crawler's corpse. It was covered in profanity and insults, now, but people had gotten bored trying to break the statue. Turns out, it got tougher as you worked your way inside. Eventually too durable for anything but superhuman strength to damage.


She accepted my word without question. Super senses, lie detection. Is this what Lisa feels like, all the time? Knowing just enough about everyone and everything to constantly be the smartest person in the room? No wonder she was such a smug bitch.


"So, I heard Gaea and Khepri are engaged," I invited. I was certain that Aceso was Clarice, who I had seen excitedly bragging about their plans on television. I had wondered what Taylor would do, now. First saving Dinah from Coil, then saving the city from everything. Now on to saving the world from the Endbringers.


Very much a 'Taylor' thing to do. I felt proud of her, as weird as that sounds. Still wasn't quite sure what to think about her awkward and, in retrospect, obvious crush on me being replaced with a lesbian betrothal, but I had more important things to worry about.


"I'm not suppose to talk to strangers," she replied. Knowing Taylor, and how powerful Aceso is, that's probably for the benefit of the strangers in question more than the parahuman death machine in front of me. I knew how to recognize parahumans, and Clarice was frightening at best.


I ran through my mental options. I could claim to be an 'old friend' of Taylor and/or Lisa, it was true after all, but that would be more trouble in the long run, since Aceso would report back to them. Cold reading was useless against her nonhuman physiology. Victor's power was telling me there was no one there. Was this Aceso's power? Something like a miniature copy of the Siberian? Was Genesis using a new identity?


I had no way to know, which meant no shortcuts to be found there. Except that I knew she had a lie detection ability. ""That's a good rule," I agreed. "One meant to protect children from people that could hurt them. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact I'll just stay over here far away from you so you don't have to worry about even coming near you."


"Okay," she said. "But I need to go where you are."


"Business with the not-so-dearly-departed?" I asked. She nodded in response. I stepped away to let her do her thing. Two quick jumps later and she was atop the monster's damaged skull.


"Now I'm curious," I said, dipping into the social skills I'd stolen from Victor and borrowed, more or less permanently, from Uber. Making myself seem eager and friendly. "Could you please tell me? I promise not to tell anyone else. It's only fair since I moved away for you."


Ugh, I thought. This makes me feel more unclean than having two women chained up in my basement.


She tilted her head, still sticking things to various parts of Crawler's head. I was pretty sure it was tinker tech, but I wasn't linked in to Leet's power right now. Or any time I could avoid it, for that matter. I wasn't sure if it was all tinkers, or just Leet, but I really didn't like accessing his power. Even if I was, there was no reason to believe he'd know what this did. "We're doing a few tests," she answered. "We might be able to undo the crystallization."


That was easy, I thought. Suspiciously so, until I remembered she was a child and had a lie detector, and I had told the truth. No intention of sharing the details. Time to feign some ignorance to indicate I'm not that bright. "Please tell me you're not planning to resurrect Crawler."


"No, all the other people caught by the glass bomb," she stated. "Big sister was very insistent that Crawler stay safely dead."


I chuckled, even though it was again only Victor's skillsets that made me. "Good," I replied, stretching my arms out. "I hope Crawler stays like this forever. But I should go home before my friends start to get worried, don't stay up too late."


"Okay," she agreed, not bothering to look away from her work as I walked away. The cyanide cocktail I drank earlier in the evening had already been countered, so I had no need to stay any longer. It was an insight into Pantheon, at least. I was sincere about hoping Crawler stayed where he was for a very long time, and I tried to be glad that the people that were frozen would survive. But all I could think about was that Panacea would get her bitch of a sister back, and I would never see mine again.


....


I walked into my base. Hilariously enough, only a couple blocks away from where the Undersiders once called home. Feels like a lifetime ago.


"Hey, chief," Leet said as I walked in. "One of the bugaways has broken down. The other two are still good, so it's not an emergency."


"Still top priority," I responded. I was the only one who could repair Leet's equipment reliably, thanks to the weird hangups his power had. Apparently those weaknesses didn't apply to me, for whatever reason. Probably for the same reason I couldn't use Fenja's power to enlarge more than just the clothes I was wearing, or choose which of Othala's powers got applied to a target. Why I needed touch to apply Victor's power, even though I could still feel potential skills from a distance.


"Also, you'll need to heal Fenja again, she's developed a minor infection."


Lovely, I thought. That has to be first, then. I went down to the basement. Leet followed me and Uber joined the progression when we passed the kitchen. Part of my rules to them: they had to be with me whenever I entered the basement. A psychological tactic, as much as one to pragmatically prove I wasn't doing anything particularly cruel to my guests. The clowns were villains, certainly, and ones that engaged in some sick shit in their day, like their GTA sequence. But even they had limits.


Othala glared at me. Victor simply stared blankly. I'd sapped everything he knew, already. Or almost everything, at least. He could still walk and feed himself and knew to use the bathroom, even still had a vague understanding of English. Past that he was a blank slate, a virtual zombie. A step above Fenja, who was in an induced coma, and not even a full step.


Othala, however, was quite aware of her surroundings.


"You nigger fuck!" she shouted the moment I was in view. "Your asshole minions came in here and forced themselves on me!" I knew she was lying immediately. Thanks to Victor's knowledge, there was nothing I did not know about her. I had to admit, her deliberately tearing her own clothes and giving herself a black eye to make it look more real was an impressive touch, but it was still fake.


Uber didn't really react, he maintained a talent for hiding his emotions. Leet wasn't so good at concealing his reactions, and it was through him that I measured the pair, their loyalty, their honesty. Leet was visibly startled, but surprised startled, not guilty startled. I chuckled, much to Othala's rage and dismay.


"Really?" I smirked. "You guys are into the skinny bony type, huh?"


She growled at me, her knuckles turning white as they gripped the bars. She was running on nothing but hate and rage, these days. She'd break, eventually. Holding on to rage only works when there's something to work toward. A goal that can be achieved. Othala had none of that, she had no means of fighting back or working on a plan to free herself and get her revenge. Despair would erode the anger. I'd remember to be 'nice' to her, shortly. I knew her clothing sizes, and would buy her something just a little too large for her. One more button to push.


"Not really," Uber responded in his perfectly practiced neutrality. He knew what I was doing. To say he agreed with it would be a bit of a stretch, but he didn't disagree much. I paid them both generously and on time, and I helped Leet restore some of his old tech to full working order. It was a good arrangement for all of us. Even if they were going to develop a conscience, they wouldn't waste it on the Nazi bitch who just accused them of rape. "Definitely prefer some meat on my women. Nice bubble butt, that's where it's at."


I wasn't sure how much of Uber's statement was true or not, as I said, he was resistant to the various talents for reading people that I pulled from Victor. It didn't make a difference.


Leet hesitated, but he figured out more or less what was expected of him, simply based on how Uber was acting out of character. "I'm a tits man, myself," he managed to sputter out, just enough that Othala could hear him. That was true enough, and still didn't matter.


"Sorry, sweetheart," I told her, feeling almost guilty as I used her insecurity and body image issues against her. "You're adorable and all, but a tad underdeveloped for real men. Now, if you'd claimed they were abusing Fenja, I might have believed you."


She visibly flinched at the comment. While the conscious part of her mind knew she was desirable based on, if nothing else, the way men stole glances at her and Victor liked to flaunt her in their civilian identities. Her subconscious mind was mired in her childhood, and status as a late bloomer. It was especially cruel, comparing her to someone like Fenja who was clearly altered via plastic surgery, at least to my now expert appraisal.


After she broke, I would use the opposite tactic. A combination of tenderness and Stockholm Syndrome. The others, I didn't need. Victor and Fenja were unnecessary except as tools. But Othala's power was incredibly versatile and could make already strong capes even stronger. To have her willing aid, for a given definition of willing, was worth this bullshit. If only I'd gotten to Valefor before Pantheon, I could have skipped right to the end in one step. I'd keep my eye out for other chances, of course, but master type capes were hard to come by in the best of times. And Leet already blew his mind control tech turning squirrels into packmen.


I passed Othala and went to Fenja's private room. She was unconscious, as always. It took me eighteen tries before I finally hit the 'regeneration' effect on Fenja, allowing her to heal, albeit slowly, from the infection. We weren't exactly running under 'hospital conditions', even if Uber's main job right now was seeing to her medical care. I canceled the recovery before it reached the damage done to her brain. This was why it had to be me that restored her: we couldn't risk Othala healing just a little too much, and undoing the brain damage that kept her under control.


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


A/N- Man, Brian's kind of a dick.

Can you believe people didn't object to THAT being out of character, but did object to Uber and Leet being so?

 

Amelia, Ch 125- Chernobog

"A hollow excuse," Legend was contrite in front of the cameras. Honestly contrite, he meant what he said. "One I expect no one to accept. As such, I am resigning from my position in the Protectorate. I shall continue volunteering for all Endbringer battles, as I have always done. I failed to take responsibility, and it cost lives. I could not live with myself if I did it again. But I do not deserve to call myself a leader after everything I failed to do."​

The couch arm I'd been gripping splintered in my hand, to my surprise. I hadn't been gripping that hard, had I? No, I realized. I hadn't. Or, at least, what had felt like a relatively gentle squeeze was enough to crush wood. Crawler's alterations were making a massive difference in a relatively short amount of time.


Legend was partially responsible for Aisha's death? He was honestly sorry about it, but he was partially responsible. I wasn't sure what to do about this. Even if I did go after him, he was still too strong for me to believe I could kill. Piggot, on the other hand, showed no signs of remorse and was far easier to kill. She was easily the first target. I would decide the guilt of Legend, and others, later.


....


Pantheon was gone from the city, though it took almost half an hour before I was confident enough to act. The Endbringer had finally made its move, and with that I could make mine. It was a simple enough task to learn where they were keeping Piggot. Breaking into houses wasn't exactly the hardest task, getting close enough to lift a few passwords was trivial. An accidental bump on the street was all it took with my newly developed eidetic memory. Wonder what they're going to consider me now, I idly thought. I knew enough about PRT protocols to make a very good guess. Brute 5, Striker 5, Mover 3, Shaker 3, Stranger 5. Trump 6, easily.


I frowned, looking at the prison. Minimum security. Cushy, even, and not the sort of place they'd ever send a poor boy like me. If I were arrested for pickpocketing, they wouldn't have sent me to a place this nice. Piggot's guilty of multiple premeditated murders and gets stuck in a country club thats only drawback is she's not allowed to leave.


I checked the timer. Tee minus thirty seven seconds. I waited, concentrating and calling on Menja's power through the quantum tunnel that Leet set up. My six and a half feet, thanks to Crawler exposure, shoots up to the new maximum, just over twenty feet. But that's twenty proportional feet to my new, already improved, physiology. The way her power works, it's more like I stay the same and everything else shrinks to a third its normal size. In my normal state I can lift about half a ton, and jump twice my height. With Menja's power, I could lift a over ten tons and still jump twice my height.


The hacking bot activates, shutting down the prison's ability to call out. The system would go through an AI loop that, if I was really lucky, would convince them backup was coming when it was not. If I was really unlucky, it just bought me thirteen minutes on top of the fastest possible non-parahuman response time of seven minutes. If there was a parahuman response, it would be from those that didn't go to the Endbringer.


I leapt from my hiding spot- a cloak field that would keep anyone from seeing me too soon, and was back to my normal size before I even left the bubble. I crossed the two layers of fences in that single leap. This was not a prison for parahumans. It wasn't even a prison from real criminals. This was a prison they sent rich old men to after busting them on so-called 'white collar' crimes. And even real prisons weren't designed to keep people from breaking in.


Several bullets hit me as I was traveling through the air. One of these guards is a really good shot. I landed and tumbled, laying still. Fuck that stings. The latest sessions with Crawler had been the dividing line. I no longer needed to be near him to keep his corrective regeneration. It was, of course, still stronger if I was, but my body had mutated to the point that I had a permanent version, much like my superhuman strength and durability was permanent. I also had Othala give me the regen setting before I went out for this. Wasn't something I wanted to rely upon, but having it was nice.


The bullets melted away, dissolved and digested by my mutated physiology. It took me four seconds to roll to my feet and bolt again. I made it to the gate inside the prison. Closed, of course, and guarded. More bullets, this time not even breaking my skin as I bulked up some in size. If I worked this right they'd assume I had something kinda like Lung's power. A backhand was all it took to render one unconscious, and I body checked the other into the wall. Enough time to absorb the access code. Gripping his hand, I forced him to punch in the numbers. Let them wonder how I did that.


The gate opened. One minute and twenty two seconds.


Inside meant I wasn't getting shot at constantly. And they weren't using long range rifles. Handheld guns didn't mean a lot to me. A couple quick 'splats' and I was adhered to the floor. Containment foam, I realized quickly. They were prepared for parahumans. I activated the overshield and pushed my way forward. Its frictionless effect kept the foam from actually sticking to me or my clothes. Didn't mean it was easy to fight through the gunk, but it gave me the ability to.


My senses from Victor at least told me the path to take- the one blocked off from the current guards. They couldn't keep me here, not with any of their tools. But I had a mission to complete, and if I wasted too much time then I'd fail just as handedly as if they'd caught me. This was my one and only opportunity. I broke through and bolted, pouncing on a guard and holding my oversized hand around his mouth and nose. He emptied his handgun into my chest and stomach. Nothing to be worried about. Meanwhile, I pulled his memories of the building, its procedures, and what to expect next.


Six and a half minutes. The guard passed out. Victor's power, but it would appear to have been suffocation from how I'd gripped him. Three others had appeared at the end of the hallway. Whether they didn't shoot because they figured it was useless because I was clearly bulletproof, or because they didn't want to accidentally shoot their friend, I didn't know or care.


I leapt straight up and locked onto the ceiling. Kinetic manipulation designed by Leet to imitate Spiderman. Whoever that is. I jumped again, landing next to one of the guys with the foam launchers and knocking him out. Then I leapt and backflipped as he was hosed by the other guy. A quick blow to the side of the head knocked that one out and gave me a basic refresher on how to use the weapon. Nothing I didn't already know from Victor's extensive repertoire, but it always helped to 'update' in case it was a new model or there was something specific to worry about with that weapon.


I pulled the launcher off him, deactivated my shield, and put it on. They knew I was bulletproof, they knew I was foam proof. They'd keep trying, of course, but the intimidation factor meant something. Plus, the more powers I demonstrated, the less they'd be able to guess who was attacking. The less they'd assume I was someone else, too. If I did this right, they'd have no idea who I was and why I was here. Even if they'd be able to guess who I was here for.


Eight minutes and thirteen seconds. There was a rattling sound as they slammed the doors, locking me into this corridor. Fuck. I charged the direction I needed to go. The prison's infirmary section, which included the cells of all the patients who had dire medical needs. It was the only place the bitch could be. I had boosted up to the largest size I could afford while still indoors, and collided with the metal hard. It was the proportional equivalent of chicken wire to me, and it caved that easily.


An expert blow sent one of the nearby guards flying back, and I wedged the barricade into the wall blocking off another direction. A quick pop of containment foam cut off a third access point.


Nine minutes and twenty seconds. I'd reached the infirmary section. A dozen guards were waiting for me. They must have guessed my target. This complicates matters. If they killed her first, and they might, it rendered this moot. I activated a flashbang still in my hand. Something I'd immunized myself against almost immediately after learning my power drain still worked on Crawler's crystal body.


I rushed in, disabling them all in the least deadly ways possible. I didn't want to hurt them. They'd foamed the entryway, hoping it could keep me out. They would have been right, too, but I still had Leet's technology to back me. One short range teleport later, I was on the other side. Ten minutes and forty five seconds. I didn't even have to foam the passage to keep others out.


I passed over thirty cells before finding Piggot's. She had a dialysis machine plugged into her side. Victor's twice-stolen knowledge at work.


"Here to kill me?" she sneered angrily. I gripped the cage to her cell and strained against it. Body slamming wasn't something I could afford.


"Eventually," I grunted as I broke the locking mechanism. "We're going to have a talk first."


"So I can hear you justify your crimes?" she scoffed.


"The opposite, actually," I answered. "I want to hear you justify your cold blooded murders."


Her eyes narrowed. "Ah, more of my mistake coming back to bite me in the ass," she sighed. "That'll go down as my biggest regret in life, Mister Laborn, failing to kill all of you at once."


She wants me to kill her, I realized. "You're sick," I muttered.


"Says the man who's here to murder me," she retorted.


"Yes, says the man who's here to execute you for your crimes," I answered. I reached out and grasped her mouth before she could say another word.


And then I pulled at her mind. Procedures not available to grunts. Knowledge Uber and Victor could not have. Codes and passwords that were already defunct, of course. Most importantly: names. A lot of names. Starting from Nilbog and ending with her arrest. The men and women who gave her the job of looking over a city. The ones that covered up how disastrous Elisburg was. The ones that gave Piggot promotions in order to keep her from revealing what she knew about that failed mission. A lot of Protectorate secrets.


Legend: telling the truth about his complicity. Miss Militia: said nothing, did nothing. Armsmaster: still alive, now with the Guild. Director Costa-Brown: using Piggot for her own purposes, followed by destroying her credibility and throwing her away the moment she was no longer useful. Shadow Stalker: hidden away in juvie a hundred miles from here. Triumph: the mayor's son. Calvert: the only other survivor. All reflected through the beliefs of this paranoid psychotic bitch, of course, but her impressions were only biased, not wrong.


I drank lightly and broadly of Piggot's knowledge. Couldn't afford to go so deep as to influence her mind long term, now that I'd decided to leave her here to rot. She wants to die? She can get off her fat ass and do it herself, because I am not about to give her the fucking satisfaction. A lifetime in a cell, suffering from a body that was pathetic and weak and hideous until her dying day? I wouldn't be able to dream up a better revenge.


Seventeen minutes and thirty three seconds. A quick blow to her head and a deeper pull from her short term memories. She'd be unable to remember the last twelve hours with any sort of clarity, and by the time she recovered from the damage enough to convert her short term memory to long term, anything she knew about me would be long gone.


One last button press, and I was outside and in my cloak bubble. One mission complete. Eighty two remaining.


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


A/N- Ah, Brian.

 

Amelia, Ch 126


"So," Taylor said, giving me a quick hug. "Crystal's managed to patch things up with Sarah."


"You mean your new step mother?" I smiled. AmusementAcquiescence. "That's good, Aunt Sarah deserves to be happy. We probably should have warned Crystal about her and your dad before. Could have eased her into it a bit more gently."


"Well, they were oblivious before, so there wasn't anything to-" ShockAversion.


"What was that?" I asked.


"Err, nothing," Taylor muttered. "I just..." SurpriseHumiliationWorryRelief. Taylor started blushing. "Nothing I'm going to repeat. Either thing. I'm done spying. Back to pretending I don't hear tens of thousands of conversations per hour."


"How do you do that, anyway?" I asked. "I could understand 'too much, can't sort through it all', but... hearing it all and pretending you don't?"


She shrugged. "It's like wearing clothes," she answered. "It's not like your skin doesn't know, you just don't notice them unless you're choosing to pay attention. It's kind of the same thing. I'm not paying attention, so I don't notice and it doesn't stick in my memory at all. Now let's stop talking about it, because I really really want to think of something else. Anything else, I don't care what it is."


"Anything?" I asked.


ReluctanceConcern. "What did I just agree to?"


"Well," I said. "We have to get Emma and analyze what we know of the Simurgh fight."


AnnoyanceDistasteResignation. "Okay, I'll contact her, and Crystal and everyone else. So much for after battle relaxation."


"Well," I smiled, then whispered in her ear. "I can think of a few ways to relax before they get here."


ShockedPleased.


....


Emma's report was disturbing, to say the least. DreadParanoiaHesitation.


"She did more than just go easy on us," Taylor muttered, clutching my hand tighter. "She helped us."


"How do you figure?" Flechette asked. She was in her old costume, now. The press might have made a big deal of that, but I'd set up secret tunnels through the Yggdrasil that would let our team come and go without being seen. The best way to keep secret identities, such as we still had any, a secret.


"We survived," I answered. "We're the only people making a presence that had no losses. Everyone else..."


"Over two hundred Protectorate members lost, if we include the wards," Lisa answered the unspoken question. ConcernDismay.


"A lot of people will want to join our team just because of that," Taylor confirmed. "In addition, the PRT cannot refuse our offer of the M6s, now. They don't have the resources to function without them. Some cities were hit really, really bad."


"Chicago's the worst," Lisa again informed us. "They have two members left. I doubt even they realize it yet, but by the end of the week there won't be a PRT or Protectorate there, with all the parahuman gangs that will see blood in the water. Expect the Fallen to make a visit, probably the Elite."


"We'll have to act almost immediately," Taylor answered. "And we'll have to do it in a way that doesn't reveal that my range is, theoretically, planetary. She wants us to split the team and make us vulnerable. Fucking Simurgh. Couldn't have just let us go after Behemoth, could she?"


"There's also the fallout with Alexandria killing Dragon," I added.


"That wasn't Dragon," Lisa corrected. "Or, at least, not really. Remote control system a lot like our changelings. What Alexandria killed was just a puppet."


"Did... did she know that at the time?" I asked.


Lisa looked at me, her eyes narrowed for a second, before she sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "Alexandria's a powerful thinker, ranks higher there than she does as a brute or mover. And she's pretty damn impressive at both of those."


"So how are we handling all of this?" I asked.


"Dragon and Alexandria will hold their own press conferences on the issue, I'm sure. Shouldn't be too hard for the world's most powerful tinker to demonstrate her robots. The fact that our changelings are already well known thanks to the M4s can't hurt, either. She could claim she was borrowing our idea for herself. But I'm pretty sure she was using remote control tech long before Amelia came up with her version."


"Highest priority, then, is completing the M6 and the production pods," Taylor stated. "It took us a month to build up everything we used in the last Endbringer fight, we'll resolve to dedicate two months for the next. Right now, we need to expand our fortifications to other cities. I'll talk to C-ommissioner Micheals and Director Calvert. Arrange some cross training in the remaining M4s, that way when we're ready to distribute the new gear, we'll already have people in other cities that know how to actually use it."


"Now that all our tinkers know about me," Riley stated, then hesitated under Parian's gaze, before she continued speaking. "We'll need to work on the next generation of weapons. And a way to mass produce the generic armor systems. Even if we can't give custom armors, there's certain generic power types that we can boost at least a little. Every little bit is going to help right now."


"Is this what the flying bitch wanted to do to us?" I muttered. "Force us to split our efforts so many ways that we start screwing up?"


"It... would be the easiest way to defeat us as an organization," Taylor suggested, following my line of thinking. "We've been riding success after success this whole time. It's self feeding, and I won't exactly bitch about it. Simurgh was an ugly victory, but it was still victory enough that we haven't lost momentum. Trying to take on too much, too fast, could break that momentum. And..." She put her arm around me. "It's what happened to New Wave, after all."


"Maybe," Lisa agreed. "We don't have a choice, however."


"We really don't, do we?" I sighed. "This is how she operates, isn't it? Making it look like we don't have a choice. Taking away all the better options."


"It is," Lisa nodded. "And in that, at least, the bitch won. If we don't act to replace the damaged Protectorate, we could lose half the country by the end of the year. As it stands, the west coast is almost certainly fucked. China's going to be that much more of a threat, and we're likely to be the only heroes that can afford to show up to the next Endbringer battle."


"Fucking fuck!" Flechette shouted, punching a wall. She used her power and sank her arm up to the elbow. "We killed a fucking Endbringer. That means things are suppose to get better, not worse! Monster slain, celebrations and drunken parties and national holidays. Not civil wars and international threats and quadruple guessing everything we do from now on!"


AgreementAngerFutility.


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


A/N- And now for something completely different?

 

Amelia, Ch 127- Alexandria


"This is Pantheon," a new voice answered. "Noelle speaking."


"I'm afraid I don't know the name," I replied. I don't recognize the voice, either. I opt not to say that part.


"They've decided to hire a secretary," she answered. "Who's this?"


"Chief Director Costa-Brown," I answered.


"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'll put you through to Minerva if you don't mind holding a second."


"That is fine," I responded. Their secretary isn't very good at this. There was a click on the phone, and then another.


"Good afternoon, Chief Director," Minerva responded. "Sorry about that, we're juggling a lot of things right now. Probably not as much as you are, so let's get down to business. You're interested in our M6s, but content to handle that through Director Calvert. So this is about the Endbringer killing weapon."


"Yes," I responded. "Our people have studied the aftermath of the attack. We can confirm that it was not your weapon, or the Endbringer having a 'self destruct' feature, which burned India. You are authorized to utilize the weapon on the remaining two. In fact, we insist that you do so." This isn't the point of the conversation and she knows it.


"We're hoping to field a superior version for the next conflict," Minerva confirmed. They already knew it was not the Simurgh that caused the energy burst. "We were also hoping to speak with Alexandria soon. We think we have a way to improve her effectiveness for Endbringer grade conflicts."


That was the key to this lock, good girl. "... Only Alexandria?" I asked.


"At this juncture, unfortunately, yes," she answered. "We'd need to do extensive research on the other two to develop a strategy for improving on their powers. Legend is... well, our best current analogue is Eki. Her armor works by feeding in energy. It's safe enough for her, but to use it on someone who becomes energy... I'm sure you understand how incredibly dangerous that might be for him."


I frowned. That is unfortunate. "Yes," I agreed.


"And Eidolon's power is, frankly, too versatile. We can't build efficient power interactions when we don't even know what power to expect. He's... actually best suited for our standard, unaugmented armor system. It's durable enough in its own right, and comes with excellent flight capabilities. At the very least, it frees him from selecting movement or defensive powers in most scenarios. We're creating a better flight version for users with high defensive powers, and a better defense version for movers who are otherwise vulnerable, in case he'd prefer either of those instead."


"I'll see to it both he and Alexandria get the message," I stated. True enough, in its way. "I won't keep you from your work any longer. I must continue mine."


"Busy day for everyone," Minerva agreed, before hanging up.


I made another call immediately, to Dragon. "To what do I owe this call, Chief Director?" the false voice spoke. Dragon never used her true voice, although she had an admittedly very good simulation that she used at near instantaneous speeds. Now I was certain I knew why. She is artificial. Perhaps an AI tinker that hid behind his or her creation, or the Dragon persona was entirely an AI.


"I wished to confirm that you weren't harmed in the conflict with the Simurgh," I told her.


"Not physically, no," she responded. "Defiant's injuries, and the use of my equipment to kill so many... it brings its own kind of pain." It sounds like legitimate sadness in her artificial voice, I realized.


"It does," I agreed. "I can't say I know what it's like for a tinker, to see their own weapons turned against them like that, but I know what it's like to see loved ones lost in battle against monsters." Hero, I thought. Then quashed the memory. Now is not the time.


"It helps to know that all of my instruments confirm the Simurgh is no longer detectable," she continued. "It appears that Pantheon has legitimately succeeded in eliminating the Endbringer."


"Every tinker and thinker we have consulted agrees with your assessment," I informed her. "Of course, given that it's the Simurgh, I am hesitant to believe she hasn't found a way to hide from detection. I of course wished to hear your analysis. I'll leave you to your work."


I had several more calls to make, including one to the President and others to the Prime Ministers of both Canada and England, but in truth my mind was consumed with what Pantheon might devise to improve on my powers.


....


I landed outside their base. From above, it could easily be mistaken for a fairly large chunk of parkland in the city. The first time I had been to Brockton Bay since Leviathan. I was truly impressed by how quickly they had managed to recover. I frowned at the flashes of cameras. It was almost ten at night in this timezone, and the tabloid reporters were still at it? Perhaps my decision to drop in unannounced wasn't such a wise one.


The ground opened up for me as I made to land. I simply followed it down, finding myself in a surprisingly expansive laboratory. Bonesaw was there, working with some machine. "Everyone else will be here in a minute," she sang cheerfully. It honestly bothered me a little that I was ignoring her presence here.


I'd long since stopped thinking in such a childishly black and white fashion about morality, but this was still Bonesaw. I couldn't help but remember my fight with the Siberian when I looked at her. At the same time, I could relax knowing that Pantheon was a group of pragmatists, willing to do what was best instead of getting mired in what was right. These are people Cauldron can work with.


"I can wait," I replied, trying to sound... not 'friendly', but at least 'polite'. "It was... difficult... to find an opportunity to speak in person."


"I understand," a voice spoke. My head snapped in that direction as Khepri stepped out of an alcove. No, not Khepri, I realized. A Khepri doppleganger. One of their human form androids. I can barely tell the difference.


"I was asked to make contact," I told her. True, although I wouldn't acknowledge my other identity.


"First," she said. "Everything said here stays confidential, correct."


"Correct," I answered. We all knew I'd already informed Cauldron. "Doctor-patient confidentiality, applied both ways."


Khepri nodded her approval. "Amelia's on her way," she informed me.


"This is really exciting," Bonesaw smiled eagerly. "The first thing is the simplest. You've stated you have difficulty breathing in hostile conditions. So I built you this!" She lifted up something that looked like a wriggling white two foot long worm covered in tendrils. And those tendrils also had tendrils. "Really it's for anyone who wants one. What we do is stick it in your lungs and it'll breathe for you. Or, well, it generates oxygen right next to your bronchioles. Breathing is rendered totally unnecessary except for the purpose of speaking."


For the first time in years, I actually cringed at the thought of something. "And its needed supply of energy?" I asked.


"Nothing you don't produce anyway," she answered. "The heat energy released into the environment when you breath will instead be converted into chemical energy to maintain the system."


"Do... all of you have these?" I asked.


"No," Khepri replied adamantly. "In fact, none of us do. We use something like them to keep the M4s and M6s well oxygenated, but we haven't had them installed inside our bodies."


Oh thank you merciful God, I thought. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to decline," I replied. "I'd prefer not to be the test subject for an untried device."


"Aww," Bonesaw pouted, tossing the thing back toward the table. It landed with a wet splat, where I couldn't stop watching it wriggle in the corner of my eye. "But you could have been the most amazing spokesperson. Everyone would want one if they knew Alexandria was using it."


Gaea arrived in time to hear the last of the conversation. "Riley, what's rule seven?"


"If it's a parasitic worm, then no one's going to want it," she answered. "But it's not a worm at all, it's a tree root!"


"It's still not something people are going to want," Gaea insisted, as she walked over to me. "Sorry about that. Now, the first part of this is that I will need to touch you. Attempt to learn how your power influences your body. This will determine what, if anything, can be done with your power."


"It's quite alright," I lied masterfully. Bonesaw offering parasitic upgrades is very much not alright. I did, however, extend my hand for Gaea to touch.


She frowned almost immediately. "Your body is... I can sense it as easily as anyone else, but I can't alter it. At all. It's frozen. Your Passenger seems to have locked your body in stasis. Theoretically, this means you're untouchable to almost every power, or interaction between powers. I... cannot alter you or build a system to capitalize on your power."


"I can think of one," Bonesaw sang happily. "You're going to love it."


"Okay, I'm listening," I regretted the words before I even started speaking them.


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

A/N- So many shadows being fored.

 

Amelia, Ch 128- Amelia, Taylor and Lily.


"So, am I the only one who noticed that the mayor's name is dick 'em daily?" I heard Respawn mutter. Too quiet for anyone other than a parahuman to hear, but of course picked up through all of our armor systems. I couldn't comment, I wouldn't comment. Emma snickered over the communications, much to Taylor's annoyance. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.


"Thank you for seeing us, Mayor," I said with a smile. Richard Daley had been mayor of Chicago for decades, from what I had been told briefly. His career was, well, 'checkered' was a polite way of putting it. None of which really mattered.


"And thank you for coming. Things have been trying, as you might imagine, and we are glad for the offer of assistance."


I nodded, there was no doubt of that, at least. "Wish we could be here under better circumstances," I answered. "We have several plans I'd like to discuss with you. We need to make a statement to the criminal groups that are taking advantage of the tragedy in New Delhi. Chicago's been hit worse than anywhere else on the continent, so we'd like to start here."


"Of course," the elderly Mayor agreed readily. "I've already collected my advisors."


He was eager for the help, as was no surprise. Of course, Costa-Brown's backing probably helped push this faster, and more cleanly, than it might otherwise have gone.


....


Another podium, another press conference, I sighed inwardly. When had this started to become tiresome instead of terrifying? I couldn't pinpoint a day. Probably around the time Taylor's identity was revealed to the world. Yeah, that annoyance, that's when I got tired of this sort of thing.


"I am proud to welcome Gaea to the fine city of Chicago," Mayor Daley announced for the press conference. I found myself wishing Taylor was here with me. She had another mission to accomplish. Most of our team did. I felt the return wash of emotion. LonelySupportResolve. I smiled. We were all in this together.


"Thank you, Mayor," I said as I looked at the camera. "Pantheon would like to make an announcement on behalf of our team, our nation, and the human race as a whole. With the death of the Simurgh came a staggering cost. Too great a cost to call the battle a victory."


-----------


LonelyNostalgia. Aww, she missed me. I felt warm, and not just because Matriarch had the best life support comfort ever. Pity I wasn't able to really use it in this mission. I simply sat in a room next to various dispatchers. The PRT, every police department in the city, and somehow even the National Guard had been tapped for this. I always thought the National Guard was meant for riots and the like. Then again, maybe that was the expectation: that there would be riots.


I push a tack into the map, and the police would head to that location. Green, Yellow and Red for levels of danger. Once they arrived, I would show them where to go via insect trail.


My relay bugs had been fanned out across the city. There was no pretense, no subtlety. We no longer cared: the world could know the full extend of my power and it changed nothing. We had slain an Endbringer, after all. They knew I had city wide range, already. And so, I was willing to demonstrate my city wide range. Let them think this was the last of our secret weapons instead of the least of them.


I was simultaneously aware of over two million people, most of them I wasn't paying attention to. I focused on the scents the insects were detecting. Bugs, at least in the numbers I had access to, were more sensitive to drugs than any dog could be. Heroin and cocaine were distinctive, if generally rather muted from their packaging. Meth was painfully obvious even from a block away. Oddly enough, marijuana was still one of the most difficult chemicals to recognize. Most insects couldn't tell the difference between it, and any other packet of dried leaves from the average spice rack. I had to make more assumptions on that one.


We weren't here for the marijuana. Chances were high that it would be legal in a couple years, anyway. Much like back in Brockton Bay, we were not here to make arrests. It would take rewriting the constitution to make this kind of search valid for prosecution. We weren't even here to clean up Chicago. That would require abandoning our home. We were here to make a fucking point.


I felt a certain satisfaction and nausea at the few we truly could arrest. The places with forced prostitution. The rapists. The crimes in progress. The law allowed for 'belief of immediate danger' to trump the need for a warrant. It also allowed me to do more than simply report. Where I jabbed a black pin into the map they'd provided for me, it meant 'send medical personnel'. They got the same treatment as I gave Eligos. A hundred pounds or more of crickets and cockroaches, biting and chewing their skin. Tens of thousands of papercuts. They couldn't prove I didn't interrupt a rape in progress, after all.


We were sending a message: any city that Pantheon needs to save is going to cost every criminal group a whole lot of money. The PRT and Protectorate and Police and even Pantheon could not police everyone. But the gangs could police themselves. And they would, if simply to avoid drawing our attention. We would exist as the hammer, ready to come down on any city that was too troublesome, any group that would not play by the rules. And if we came down, we came down on everything at once.


-------------


"Atropos, we got your target," Khepri spoke through the communication system in the armor. I looked over at Sabah.


"About time, I was getting bored," I replied. "Who's the target?"


"Guy called 'Topsy'," Khepri answered. "According to what what I'm being told, he likes to think he's some kind of oldschool gangster. Has a couple unknowns with him. Minerva will give you details en route."


We took off, or really Parian took off while I held one of the ribbons and let my AG field do the rest of the work. Using her power as fuel for some kind of crazy rocket engine was novel, and had finally convinced my girlfriend that her power didn't suck. She still complained that mine was better, but it was good natured now. She was potential competition for Alexandria, after all. More than enough power to make anyone happy.


By the time we arrived, we knew what we were getting ourselves into, and I had concluded yet again that my girlfriend's costume was far too form concealing for my tastes. You could only tell it was meant for a girl because it looked like a giant stuffed doll. We split up. Parian went inside waited down the hall from their apartment. I waited for her to get in position, then hovered my way almost casually to the window and then knocked.


"Fuck!" A woman exclaimed inside, but quietly enough that I only heard thanks to the armor system. That would be Mockshow, a matter manipulator who builds golems. Similar to Sabah's power. Or, more a hybrid of Sabah and Theo. She had a Manton Limit, and that meant we weren't at any risk of her being able to hurt us.


"We're surrounded," another man declared. Probably Watch. Grab bag cape thats power was basically 'see living things, get close to them really fast, then touch and kill them'. He was the dangerous one. A sadist who had killed and maimed often enough that he'd go straight to the Birdcage. He was why Sabah had infused the door with her power.


"Shit, grab what you can and run," and that'd be Topsy. Gravity control and, well, that was basically it. Scary if you weren't prepared for it. We were most definitely prepared for it.

"There's no chance of escape," Khepri's swarm voice spoke. I shivered. I was one of the few people on the planet with a hard counter for her bugs, and the cloud of insects mimicking human speech sent the worst kind of shivers down my spine.


"Fuck, that's... fuck, I think I'm gonna throw up," the girl muttered.


"I can track you anywhere in the city. You either surrender, or try fighting your way through," Khepri continued. "Feel free to take a minute and prepare, we wouldn't want you to think you only lost because we caught you with your pants down. Oh, and in case you're wondering, your opponents are Clotho, a high end telekinetic who can trade blows with Alexandria and at least break even. And Atropos, who has superhuman accuracy with the projectiles built into her armor, and can dissolve through anything that touches her armor or weapons. Even Endbringers. Also, they have a dozen exotic tracking systems in their armor, so they can hear everything we're saying and follow you with infrared and bioelectric detection. You've already lost."


"Wait... you mean you sent the fucking Endbringer Slayer after us?" the girl exclaimed. "Shit! Okay, I'm done. Sorry, Topsy, I'm not afraid to do a minute in the pen, but I'd like to do it with all my limbs where they belong. Wh-wai-" she started screaming.


I bolted in through the window even as the door disintegrated by Sabah's power. Two seconds and four bolts later and Watch had dropped screaming in pain. I did't bother charging the shots or adding the sleep agent, they hit with standard impact velocity. Both his kneecaps and elbows were shattered thanks to my flawless accuracy and sense of timing. The fucker was attacking his own team, I had absolutely no reason to be gentle.


I considered one more bolt- it wouldn't need to be much, it would look like an accident that he bled out and died. Sabah would know, Khepri would know, neither of them would say anything. I wouldn't, of course, I wasn't a murderer. But if they could ignore Bonesaw, then they could ignore...


A couch launched, or really more like fell, at me. It vanished where it touched, leaving only fragments that missed me to continue on and into the wall. Some even bounced off Sabah's armor. "Really?" I said, looking at him. "What part of 'dissolve anything' did you not hear?"


A couple ribbons snaked out and picked up Mockshow from where she was gripping her arm. "Don't worry, we'll fix it," she insisted to the girl who was doing nothing but muttering profanities. The ribbons craddled the girl gently. A third had far less gently wrapped around Watch, who had passed out from the pain. That was fine, we had no intention of patching him up before sending him away.


Topsy regarded me for a moment as the ribbons did their thing. "Had to take a shot, y'know," he shrugged. "You win. Get the feeling that either of you alone could have taken all of us without a problem. Bug bitch... fuck, I saw the video of what you did to Eligos. I'll pass, thanks."


Mockshow hissed. "Fuck, why couldn't you have shot him sooner?!"


"Sorry," I muttered. "Didn't think he'd go after one of his own team like that."


"He's a fucking psycho, you dumb bitch!" she yelled. "Of course he would!"


===========

These three got curb stomped the FIRST time. Clearly, they never stood much of a chance here.

Also: yes, referenced a real person. As a Chicago (region) native, I can assure you that Worm's "it gets worse" aura means Daley triggered with immortality and will never stop being the mayor of Chicago.

 

Amelia, Ch 129- Horus


"Umm, small problem," Clarice stated. "Looks like a couple of Atropos and Clotho's targets got hurt, they're being brought in. I might need to pay more attention to that. Expect Clarice to be slow in this fight, okay?"


"That's okay," Lachesis answered. "We have half our firepower here, and Th- Horus can protect me."


She looked toward me, and I knew she was smiling. Couldn't see it through her armor, however. I nodded to confirm. "Of course," I replied. "Khepri and Eki are going to be doing the heavy lifting in this fight. We're just here to catch the runners and provide first aid to those who need it."


Our target was the 'Teeth', I thought darkly. They, or their predecessors at least, had killed my mother. It was unlikely that the Butcher was here for this one- a new city, so far from home. We had no real way of knowing, however. They'd found their place to hide in a slum neighborhood. I couldn't help but think of my father describing places such as this one, and the 'inferior blood' that lived there. I wasn't sure how I felt to see he was wrong in at least one regard: there are plenty of whites here. The Teeth, it seems, did not discriminate. They accepted scum of all colors.


"It's time," Khepri instructed, and sky turned dark. Thousands of tons of insects dived the area, swarming every member of their sick gang almost simultaneously. The screaming was echoed in a chorus of fear and pain as we moved forward, not even needing to act. We were here for the parahuman response, and we got it.


Emerald arrows formed in the sky and started launching toward us. How do they know where we are? I wondered. Powers, of course. I provided a shield of metal- not because any of us needed it, but simply for appearance's sake. The arrows crashed against the shields, dispersing their energy into thousands of dimensions simultaneously. They splintered into shards of glass and then vanished into nowhere, much as they had come from nowhere to begin with.


Eki stuck a hand out of the side of the shield, soaking a blow from one of the arrows. "Less than a tenth of a percent," she stated. Not to us, but to Khepri and Minerva. She waited a second for confirmation before taking to the sky. Her armor in stealth mode, she activated the widest range of the vertigo weapon, blasting the area with energy. Most of the teeth collapsed to the ground, and some even started being ill. I've been on the receiving end of the weapon. Not a pleasant feeling, but it confirmed that my armor did not protect me from low end sonic attacks. The injure and kill settings, my power would block. But whatever part of the Manton Effect that allowed me to see and hear through the armor made me vulnerable to the vertigo setting.


We moved forward, step by step, moving past downed members of the Teeth. Turning over the ones that might be at risk of choking, checking the health of those that looked worse off, mostly from injuries that had not healed from whatever fights they had before we got here. After they had dropped, the tranquilizer mosquitoes made sure they would not get up.


"Are you sure no one will be able to identify the drug?" I asked Clarice. Riley, I reminded myself. I had known her for so long as nothing other than 'Clarice' that I had trouble thinking of her as anything else. She was Bonesaw, once, I reminded myself. If even Bonesaw could change, why couldn't Kayden? I resolved to ignore that thought for now. Now is not the time.


"No one will ever be able to prove there was a drug," Clarice answered with her artificially perfect voice. "Well, Dragon can probably figure it out, maybe the Protectorate has someone who can surprise me."


"But they're not gonna tell, they need us too much," Missy said with a girlish excitement. "Uh oh, looks like we have company."


A large gorilla/wolf monster stood atop one of the buildings. He screamed, and Eki faltered, then started falling. "Powers down!" she screamed as she fell. I set a ramp to catch her, and another scream dissolved it.


"Fuck!" Minerva, this time. "That's Animos! Power nullifying blaster attack. Changer with brute abilities. We've proven our point, get Eki and fall back!"


"I got him," Missy said with cold certainty, and then she was gone. She appeared behind him on the building, only a second later, raising her hand and blasting him. I could see the visible distortion of time and space released from her attack, which meant it was at least stage two. He went flying off the building, while I managed to rebuild the ramp for Eki to slide down.


Missy stepped again, and appeared below Animos, firing straight up. The monster was carried by warped space upward into the sky. She was right next to me in another second. "So, is he rated high enough to survive a thousand foot drop?" she asked casually. She is amazing, I realized for approximately the hundredth time. It's not just that her power is incredible, it's how smart and efficiently she uses it.


"Maybe," Minerva answered. "Probably not. Horus, you'll have to catch him if possible.


"Yes, ma'am," I responded, pulling myself out of my own thoughts. Eki had hit the bottom of the ramp and was going back up the other side. She drew herself away from the slide under her own power.


"I'm back in the fight," Eki informed us. "Thanks for the save, Horus."


"Time delay of seventeen point three seconds," Aceso spoke. "That's how long it takes to recover."


"Still gotta recharge the shields on the suit," Eki answered, diving back behind my shield for cover from the constant stream of crystal arrows. She looked her armor over, and I gave it a glance as well. There were several areas where the camouflage layer had been cut by the arrows. "Good thing this armor is so durable. Thanks." She patted Clarice on the head. "Guess I owe you. Again."


"That's what family's for, right?" Aceso replied.


"This guy with the arrows has a shield I can't get through," Khepri said through the suits. "You'll have to go after him personally. Also, Animos is falling. Injuries are fine, but we really don't want to kill anyone during this. We're already going to be scary enough that some groups might get the bright idea to team up and come after us. Sure, we have contingencies for that, but it's not something we want to actually happen if we can avoid it.


"I'll clear out the building he's in," Eki stated, looking in the direction that Khepri was pointing her. I flew up toward one of the nearby rooftops, to get a better angle and view. More bolts collided with my armor uselessly. Missy stepped again, and vanished with Aceso. The tracking system put them a couple blocks away.


"Found their reinforcements," Missy said over the com. Four seconds later she spoke again. "Disabled their reinforcements. We're gonna need at least one more bus to haul these losers away. One's getting back up, regen. Aceso has enga- Aceso is purs-. Nevermind, the new parahuman in custody. Brute, mover, seems to be a really fast regenerator. Like faster than Lung."


Those girls, I smiled. So very glad they're on my side.


Animos collided hard with my ramp- he was a brute, after all, and while I was pretty effective even powerless thanks to the suit, I didn't want to be forced to fight like that.


He rolled for a bit before managing to find an angle to slide. I didn't allow it to be completely frictionless this time, so he slid up, and back down, without nearly the speeds that I had put Missy through after we first met. He ground to a halt, eventually.


"Animos is down," I stated for the team. "Human state, now. Broken leg, don't like the look of his ribs, and he's unconscious. He'll survive, but that's about all he'll be able to do for a while."


An explosion burst from the side of the building Eki was in. "This guy's a pain in the ass," she muttered. "It's like trying to fight an even more dick version of Shatterbird. He can use his forcefield to fly."


"Fall back," Minerva ordered. "Unless he engages you, let him run."


"You have a backup plan?" Eki asked.


"A couple," she confirmed. "One of our more fun secret weapons."


----


I paused, a moment of silence for the dead. In that minute, I felt the pulses of emotion off of Taylor. As I had started this speech, live, the operation had started. The thrill of victory, and occasional bursts of disgust and concern radiated off my partner. Her emotions sang. This is her element, where she was happiest.


I wasn't the same. I loved the conflicts, my Passenger guaranteed that I would. Still, mine was not a power for the front line. I was a builder, and the more I built the more my Passenger rewarded me. More skill, more control, more confidence. Everything I had been lacking. My General was on the front lines, where she belonged. I was here, where I belonged, making everything possible.


Time to continue the speech. "It has been confirmed that the explosion was not the result of the Simurgh self destructing, as was originally believed, but instead a tinker weapon she built and deployed." A partial lie, I knew. True enough to pass any lie detection, however. "If there is a victory in this, it's knowing that her brothers can be eliminated without risking the death of much of the rest of the world. Pantheon will be there to ensure that destruction." I gave a minor pause. Judging by Taylor's emotional undercurrent, she was pleased on her end. Good.


"But today is not about that mission," I conditioned, switching tones. "Today is about the cowardly actions taken by others in the wake of New Delhi. The world has lost many of its heroes. Not simply those who called themselves heroes and worked with the Protectorate, or those in independent teams like Pantheon. There are those who call themselves villains, and those who wish to avoid using their powers entirely. They who did not call themselves heroes, yet still had the courage to stand and fight against the enemy of all humanity. Let no one say their sacrifices were any less dear."


"To those who see the this tragedy as a weakness to exploit," I continued, letting my own disgust seep into my voice. The feelings that Valefor and the Slaughterhouse Nine evoked in me. "To the pathetic cowards who look upon the death of almost a billion people and consider it an opportunity," I spit the word. "Pantheon issues this warning: we consider any attempt to use New Delhi for personal gain to be a direct violation of the Endbringer truce. We will act accordingly."


"Chicago has been invaded by such scum," I continued. "Jackals looking to prey upon the suffering of others. We are moving to remove them from the city, even as I give this speech. Within the hour, they shall be disabled and in custody. Along with a number of other criminal elements. The city of Chicago is now clean." I said that with full confidence, knowing that Taylor was still entirely pleased on her end.


I let that concept sink in for a second, and even a few of the men watching this announcement murmured their surprise.


"In order to keep it that way, we have brought to this city the first of our M6 defender models. Our upgrade to the M4s deployed in Brockton Bay. Powerful enough to legitimately fight most capes. Versatile enough to ensure they can respond to almost any threat. Brockton Bay's PRT Director Calvert, and Police Commissioner Micheals have both provided volunteers to train the police and PRT of Chicago in the use of this equipment."


"I will be handing over the stage to Director Hearthrow, to explain the PRT's plans with this equipment."


He approached me and accepted the microphone as I stepped back. "First, I would like to thank both Pantheon and Director Calvert for their joint efforts-"


CertaintySuperioritySuccess. I smiled broadly as I tuned out Director's speech. What he said didn't matter compared to the emotions from my General. My Partner. We won. No sense of muted disappointment, except maybe the part of Taylor that had hoped it would be more of a challenge. It took only a few minutes. The other gangs, the ones that were relatively benign, received their warnings and their bruises. The ones we truly cared about had been shattered.


The Adepts were the one gang we left essentially untouched. They had traits distinguishing them from the others: they sent people to New Delhi, and they did not kill. To them, we made a different sort of offer. Pantheon was expanding, as was the Protectorate and the Guild. If they wanted, as individuals or as an organization, they could get out of crime now and we would do everything in our power to ensure they had a chance to be heroes.


When we moved on Los Angeles, and Miami, and Houston, and Vegas in the coming weeks, we would do the same thing. We weren't stopping until we had undone the damage caused by the Simurgh. The message would be sent. The old ways are no longer an option.


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


A/N- Man, this was a *fun* chapter for me.

Also- the Author's Notes Drinking Game is to take a sip every time I say "foreshadowing". More than a sip, and you will die.

There's a LOT of foreshadowing in this chapter.

 

Amelia, Ch 130- Lisa


I arrived promptly five minutes before my scheduled meeting. Same secretary as before, I noted. Smarter than average. College educated. Ambitious. Driven. No desire to seek out a more prestigious career. Six figure salary. I was actually surprised. Knowing that Accord knew how to take care of his people was valuable for the future.


I gazed out the window at the skyline. Excellent view, I noted. Accord has same view in office. Recent renovations of certain buildings. Symmetrical pattern. I blinked. Accord purchased several city blocks in order to sculpt this view of his. Why hadn't I noticed these details before?


I turned my power inward. Focused on Accord, jealousy toward other, more successful thinker. Distracted from other useful details by focusing power on finding methods to safely goad Accord without risk. Inferiority complex-


I cut the feed and suppressed the desire to sigh. Fucking Rapture. After learning she could do such a thing, I had to try it for myself. I didn't need my power to tell me why yet again. It was the competition. She'd gone somewhere I'd never before dared, and I just couldn't live with that thought.


All those zen monks could go fuck themselves: self awareness sucks and murders the very concept of fun. The one saving grace is how much stronger it made my power, if indirectly. Not wasting my efforts on infantile contests of will freed up a truly depressing amount of power to direct at other, more valuable, concerns. Still not enough to save Taylor from that what that empathic bond is going to do.


"Accord is ready for you," the secretary informed me.


"Thank you," I replied as I walked in. The office was an impeccable as before. In fact, I was fairly certain that everything in it, including Accord himself, was in exactly the same place as before, down to the centimeter. My power noted the symmetry in the patterns. It was, in its own way, flawless. I hated it instinctively. There is no mystery here, no imagination or possibility.


"A pleasure to see you again, Accord," I said as he stood.


"You as well, Minerva," he acknowledged. "I admit I'm once again somewhat surprised by your request for an audience. As well as your apparent promotion."


Promotion? Oh, right, I acted like nothing more than an errand girl last time. "My bosses seem to like my work," I almost shrugged. Habit from last time to be unnecessarily annoying, quit it. "I'm now head of their thinker department."


He nodded, just barely enough for my thinker perceptions to note. "They certainly have proven an ability to harness their employees talents to the fullest," he stated.


"Yes," I agreed. Approves of efficiency. Approves of order. Amoral, does not view 'good' and 'evil' as things. Replaced by concept of 'order' and 'chaos'. Views chaos as morally repugnant. "As much as I'm sure they love knowing you appreciate their efforts, we should get to business. Pantheon is currently, and I do apologize for the pun, branching out."


"As in Chicago?" he asked. Has spies, knows our plans, not internal, through the PRT, knows I'll realize this.


I nodded. "Yes," I agreed. I suppressed the desire to claim I knew the whole time. It's something I would have done, before. Fucking Rapture. "I admit... I am a little caught off guard that you knew. We weren't planning to act until tomorrow."


"Do you blame me for spying upon you?" he asked. Testing resolve and pragmatism. Is willing to make amends if it upsets me, or Pantheon.


"Not at all," I responded. "If anything, it's flattering. And it says good things of your intelligence and the strength of your information network." All true, except perhaps for being flattered by it.


He nodded. Considers test to be passed successfully.


"It actually makes me feel a lot better about my task here. I've come here to propose a... merger, of sorts, between our organizations," I informed him.


"I see," he nodded. Surprised by idea. Had desired an official alliance, had not expected such an aggressive offer. "I will make no promises, but I am interested in hearing your ideas. What you believe our respective functions would be in this arrangement."


I nodded, and carefully formulated how to present the pitch. It would be best, for a man like Accord, to start by explaining why we entertaining such a seemingly rash maneuver. "First," I started. "We have been watching you as well, as I'm sure you're aware. As I said in our last meeting, we are all very impressed with your work in Boston. You have never participated in the drug markets, or any of the other... messy... crimes. Your goals are the same as our goals."


He nodded. He was more at ease, now, knowing we had given this real consideration. The praise didn't hurt, either. "The truth is, Accord, you have strengths that we do not. We can provide resources and play politics with the best of them. However, we are facing new challenges now. After New Delhi. I would be lying if I claimed we were fully prepared for the aftermath of that."


"No one can truly prepare for the chaos that the Endbringers represent," Accord offered. Trying to offer condolences, is sincere. Huh, I thought. Did not expect that.


I nodded. "Of course," I agreed. "The Protectorate has been broken, and with it the order and stability they represent." I could imagine him frowning beneath his stern mask. He had no doubt already considered what the loss of so many heroes meant.


"Pantheon is moving to... hold things together. By replacing the Protectorate entirely if we must. Or, far more preferably, acting more as the Guild. Moving into destabilized areas and enforcing order," I explained. "We will be recruiting in large numbers, or forcing recruits to the Protectorate simply by making crime difficult and unprofitable. Those remaining criminal organizations will be unable to present themselves as a significant threat."


"And that would include my own less than legal operations?"


"Well, in your case, I believe we can offer legal choices that are far more profitable," I smiled. "As I am sure you are already aware, Pantheon and its allies currently own well over thirty percent of the city of Brockton Bay. Several billion dollars in net worth, and increasing rapidly in value as order is restored." I left out 'plus whatever a planet costs' in my calculations, of course. It was a question we might have to pose to Marketing, some day.


"Yes," he agreed. "I have been made aware. I admit to purchasing a reasonable amount of property, myself, after meeting with you last time."


I nodded. Also a known fact. "We could do the same in Chicago and other cities as well. To say nothing of the profits we can make in other areas, plus leveraging the sheer political influence we have thanks to our relationship with the PRT and police forces."


"You're saying you're willing to share that power with me?" he asked.


"Quite a bit more than that," I responded. "I'm saying we're putting you in charge of it. You are a force for order in the world, but you have trouble with people and are better working from behind the scenes. Pantheon also desires order, and I believe we have achieved that in our own way, but we are better at working with people and confronting the less civilized threats in a more direct fashion."


"A succinct way of putting it," Accord agreed.


"What we propose is an obvious division of responsibilities. Pantheon will continue operating the way it currently does," I continued. "We'll expand our presence into Boston, complete with our Yggdrasil and a minor base of operations if possible, where we can supply you and yours with our equipment. We will drive out all threats, break the drug and prostitution markets as we have in Brockton Bay. You will also continue as always, managing... our joint economic resources, including the significant wealth we have control over from Coil's organization. How to best distribute aid to areas that need it for maximum results. Allowing us to be both effective and profitable."


No surprise, level of disappointment. Knew Coil. Working relationship. Saw him as a friend. Fuck. Why didn't we think to ask Coil about Accord? "We will, of course, put you in contact with the man we have controlling those resources. Another of our silent partners, recruited much like you're being recruited. You and he will likely be working together regularly. I believe you know him already, although he goes by another name now."


Got the hint, is relieved despite not knowing why he was upset. I didn't let my smile show. Accord isn't one of the thinkers who looks inward.


He was probably doing the calculations in his head. Simply clearing Boston of the Teeth alone would be worth potentially hundreds of millions to him in the long run. The 'insider trading' arrangement we offered for future real estate and other development projects would be hard to calculate, though with his power he likely already had. More than all of that: an opportunity to use his power to its fullest extent. He'd be managing the economies of several cities, while we handled the politics so he didn't have to.


"And all this costs me is the criminal side of my organization?" Accord asked.


"For the most part," I informed him. Won't like next part, needs a way to view it as beneficial enough to be worth the trouble. Best to divorce him from the problem entirely so he knows he'll never have to concern himself with it.


"You will have to accept some... inefficiencies... when it comes to dealing with troublemakers. In essence: you won't. Pantheon will handle disruptions and determine punishment itself, possibly in ways you would find less than satisfactory. Our leaders believe in offering second chances to almost everyone. This does, sadly, mean that some people will disappoint us by taking advantage of their generosity," I stated. He of course agreed with that assessment. Now to show him the upside of the endeavor. "However, I really cannot complain. After all, without that policy I would not have this incredible opportunity, and there would still be three Endbringers."


"You bring up an excellent point," Accord sighed. "As messy as it may be, I admit I cannot dispute the results. That is acceptable, as is your offer of a merger."


I set my briefcase on the desk. "These are a list of our assets and arrangements. As well as various estimates of our organization's production capacity. If necessary, we can leverage influence with the PRT, the Guild, Alexandria, and almost any police or political force within the cities we approach. We also have the support of Dinah Alcott, but we are using her for... other projects, also detailed in the notes presented here."


He nodded. "Understood. When do you believe you'll be ready to implement my projects?"


"Our operations for the next two days will be tied up in the planning and execution of our project in Chicago. After that, Houston is our next target."


"Why Houston?"


"The Fallen have managed to earn the... personal... attention of our leadership," I responded. Worried, sees this as a vendetta of revenge instead of pragmatism. "In addition, this cements a stronger relationship with Haven and cripples or eliminates one of the more destructive forces still remaining in the country. Given their... attitude toward the Endbringers and our past history, the conflict is inevitable. If we don't go after them, then they'll eventually take the fight to us. It's better to strike now, while we have the opportunity and before they have prepared themselves.."


He nodded again, relieved by my logical reasons. "It will be a week, then, before you're ready?"


"Likely only four days," I answered. "Let us say a week, however. Time enough to recover any resources spent on our objectives. I will, of course, be available to discuss our plans and needs at any time."


"I will familiarize myself within two days and make contact," Accord stated.


"I look forward to a long and stable relationship," I smiled. "Thank you. I shall see myself out, if that is all."


"It is," he agreed.


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


A/N- And they didn't even have to brainslug him.

 

Amelia, Ch 131


Chicago had proven insanely successful, I considered as we went to our next destination. Director Calvert had his career made for him, now. Brockton Bay's PRT was being remodeled into something closer to 'elite training facility'. The PRT was already recruiting primarily from the same pool of candidates as the military's special forces branches, and now they had an elite even amongst the elite. He had other directors courting him to determine where the next waves of troops would come from, and where they would go. The establishment of M6s across the country.


We had a contract, of sorts, now. Calvert's new PRT would lead the charge in parahuman encounters, providing the front line cannon fodder in the form of easily replaceable M6s, and then backed up by parahuman firepower. It was a system that didn't even need a Protectorate, really.


Speaking of which, Brockton Bay no longer had a Protectorate. Battery and Assault were gone. Miss Militia, Triumph, Clockblocker, and Kid Win were the remainder of the team, and all of them but Miss Militia were looking at moving, probably to Boston. They'd likely be moved again within a year. We were hoping to convince them to switch sides, but it was... well, New Delhi. For us to recruit official members of the Protectorate under these circumstances was not acceptable.


Besides, our model had changed. We were no longer a cape group, we were setting ourselves up to be above and beyond that. By the end of the month, we would be part of an alliance of teams. Accord and his Ambassadors would be one, possibly the Guild as another. The Adepts and Haven would likely be in as well. More of a federation of groups than a single organization. Other independent hero groups and any number of rogues would no doubt start joining as well, if only because we provided a nearly obligation free membership that came with incredibly powerful defense from the PRT's strong arm tactics.


We were, of course, traveling through our own planet. One of those "secrets" we wanted to reveal semi accidentally, much like Taylor's identity and Clarice's supposed family history. Most of us just made the trip home, but Taylor and I had to drop off the prisoners. We'd have to be batshit insane to actually keep them anywhere near Chicago. So we were taking them to one of Dragon's facilities. Somewhere in Vermont. Under a lake. That meant Missy was with us. And where she went, of course Riley followed, and Theo. All on the next generation of flying horses.


No flying horses for Taylor and I, though I finally had a flight system. We rode on the front of the prison transport. A sort of walking cage, it did resemble a stagecoach, or probably closer to a covered wagon with countless centipede like legs instead of wheels. In the back was twelve parahumans, all considered the most dangerous of the bunch. Ordinary criminal assholes were, of course, going to ordinary prison.


I snuggled against Taylor. "So, is this our equivalent of a pumpkin carriage?" she asked.


"Guess that makes you Cinderella," I agreed, laughing.


"You're the one in a dress," she pointed out.


"Toga," I corrected. "And I made the carriage, so clearly I'm the fairy godmother. Besides, you're the one wearing high heels."


"Okay, you win," she sighed. "Also, I'm telling Sarah you called her an evil step mother. Then I'm telling Crystal."


"You wouldn't dare!" I exclaimed.


"You can't stop me," she teased.


"I can turn you into a slug," I told her. "We'll see who you can tell what, then." I stuck my tongue out at her.


"Still have my swarm," she dismissed. "Plus, you like my legs waaay too much for that." To emphasize her point, she stretched back and brought her right leg up. Then she ran her hand along from her knee to her hip.


"Uh..." I mumbled dumbly. ConfidentPleasedSecure. "You. I hate you sometimes."


She pulled me into a hug, resting her head on mine. It was nice, even with the armor in the way. "No you don't," she whispered to me.


I squeezed her tight. "No, I don't. But I might still club you with a fire extinguisher."


"Best first date I've ever been on," Taylor joked back.


"Same for me," I laughed. "You should meet some of the dumbasses I kept getting set up on blind dates with."


"Y'know, I had to bribe Lisa to keep quiet about our second date," she chucked, then she added huskily. "You remember, the one where I woke up handcuffed in bed."


I blushed at that. Or the way she said it and the images it provoked, at least. AmusedPleased. "Sorry about that, by the way. I was a total bitch."


"There is absolutely no need to apologize," she insisted. ComfortGratitude. "You saved my life. Or at least saved me from being crippled and in pain for the rest of it. You're my hero. Don't you dare forget that." I smiled, feeding the warmth of our link.


Vista, still on Calysta, appeared beside us. "Hey, you two," she said. "In case you've forgotten, there are impressionable children here. You can talk about beds and handcuffs when we get home."


SurpriseEmbarrassment. I covered my face. Or the armor over my face, at least. The planet was still not really comfortable for people to be outside unprotected.


"Why would anyone want to use handcuffs?" Riley asked. "There are so many better restraining devices."


Theo choked and started coughing. UneaseShock. And with that, what was left of the mood was broken.


"We're here," Missy informed us. "Have been for, like, two minutes."


The kids got off their horses, leaving them behind as they took position on top of our transport. I fused their armors to the biomass, allowing us all to be considered a single lifeform for the purposes of the teleporter. Then I pressed the button for our 'shunt' technology, and the world changed. Or, the world stayed the same and we left it for a new one.


There was no flash, no warning, simply the change of a scene. A flat plane of biomass replaced with uneven greenery of trees and life. A sun that was both brighter and smaller than the one of our world. Atmospheric illusion, apparently. When we were done terraforming, our own planet's skies would look much the same. Except the birds. Chances were that we'd never introduce a natural biosphere on our world.


Thirty PRT soldiers were there, alongside another six others in armor suits. I recognized Dragon and Defiant, but not the other four which flanked them. They all had a distinctly draconic appearance to them, and were almost identical to each other. When did Dragon start recruiting soldiers? I wondered. WaryCurious.


"Good to see you again, Pantheon," Dragon started. "I take it there weren't any difficulties."


"Nothing important," Taylor answered, buying a bit of time while I adjusted to being nearly blind again. Going from continent level awareness to almost nothing was disconcerting. "Transporting a lot of people can take a while."


She nodded. We were presenting our dimensional shunt as a form of teleporter tech. Not completely untrue, of course, but there were obvious flaws in that as a cover story. Flaws we knew they'd pick up on. Better for them to focus on that than details such as Riley's actual identity. Even if it was now the least well kept secret in the world. Worst case scenario, we'd tell the world the truth. Without her help, we would not have been able to kill an Endbringer. It wasn't the most elegant of choices, but it was there if we needed it.


"I see," Dragon nodded. Defiant, meanwhile, had gone to the back of our transport. I sent the first pulse, that separated our suits from the thing, so everyone could climb off. Then the second command, that caused the walls of the prison containment to open and fold down to the ground like ramps. The prisoners blinked as they slowly started to wake up. We didn't have containment foam, after all, so we theoretically used a sleep gas. Or just my power ensuring they didn't wake up.


They were gathered up by the PRT soldiers, with Defiant supervising.


"So, I see you're expanding," Taylor said, nodding toward the armored men.


"Yes," Dragon confirmed. "Recent events have... raised a number of concerns. We've also recently recruited a new tinker that has greatly simplified mass production of tinker tech."


ShockRealizationAwe. I nodded. "That... that is impressive," I stated.


"Not quite a match for Pantheon's production ability," Dragon admitted. "If we're being honest, I only have permission to field a force like this because of you."


"You mean because people want someone out there that can kill us if we get too troublesome," Taylor concluded.


Dragon didn't respond. In truth, she didn't have to. It was the only possible conclusion.


"We've been meaning to discuss something, actually," I stated. "We're creating a sort of alliance of non-government cape groups. We'd like to invite the Guild to be members. The perks are pretty straightforward: shared tinker knowledge, backup when it's needed. Pantheon's role is... mainly support. Our bioarmor suits are the main appeal, we offer them to any of our affiliates, although I can see where the Guild might not feel the need."


She regarded us. "I will have to discuss this with the others," she stated. "It's not my place to make those decisions."


"We also offer individual memberships," Taylor added. "There are a number of capes that have joined while still continuing to work for the Protectorate. Sure, they probably murdered their careers in the process, but you don't need to feel pressure to choose between the Guild or Pantheon."


She looked toward Defiant. "That could work," she agreed. "I do need to consider the... political repercussions, however."


AnnoyanceDisappointment. "I understand," I said. God damn politics. "We'll keep in touch."


She nodded. By now, the prisoners had been taken out of our transport and moved to theirs for whatever it was they did with prisoners. Processing? Is that what they called it? Either way, they'd be locked up in the bottom of a lake, in case anyone decided to try to escape. Only those members of truly horrific groups like the Teeth, and a handful of the other nastier gangs were here. Some were birdcage bound, others weren't but should have been. Almost twenty other capes remained in PRT custody in Chicago. The ones that there was no doubt the PRT would try to gang-press into the Protectorate or Wards.


It felt bizarre, considering our original plans to functionally break the Protectorate and PRT in half, that we were doing this.


After only a few minutes, we shunted back over to our personal dimension, and went home. With less than a third of the number of people, and a shorter trip in general, we were home in only a couple more minutes. I allowed the transport to melt back into the Yggdrasil mass before we stepped through the portal. Our suits, and the pegasus... pegasuses? Pegasi? Whatever, we all were clean of radiation.


Taylor followed me as we went to what I had started to think of as our bedroom. She still had her own, of course. But she only ever used it to change. We stripped out of our armors and left them to be healed by the Yggdrasil. I spent my time looking at her legs as she stretched and plopped down in bed.


"What are you thinking about?" she asked, smiling.


I smiled back. We both knew the answer, so I summed it up with a single word. "Handcuffs."


She blushed. PleasedAmused.


We just sat there for a minute while I was strongly considering kissing her a second time, just to see if it would work better when spontaneous. And then a man appeared out of nowhere in our bedroom.


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


A/N- Yay! A happy chapter!

 

Amelia, Ch 132- Eidolon

"To those pathetic cowards who look upon the death of almost a billion people and consider it an opportunity," Gaea spoke for the cameras. Her passion was obvious, as was the threat in her voice. This was an ultimatum, and they were confident in their ability to enforce it. "Pantheon issues this warning: we consider any attempt to use the losses suffered in New Delhi for their personal gain to be a direct violation of the Endbringer truce. We will act accordingly."​

I almost sighed. I never was the passionate or charismatic one. That was Hero's job, and later it was Legend's. They had what it took to truly move the crowds, like Gaea on that stage. Idly, I wondered if I had that option. To my surprise, there even was an ability like that in my untouched repetoire: the power to know how to evoke powerful emotions in others through my words. Somewhere between 'master' and 'thinker' in its scope. I strongly considered accessing it, but instead I allowed it vanish into the well again. I rarely used pure Thinker powers, and I never touched Master powers at all.


It wasn't powerful enough to match Contessa's ability, and it could not have influenced Alexandria at all. So it would not have succeeded in convincing them to give me access to one or two more vials. Not much, in the scheme of things. Enough power that I could be there, could matter, for the deaths of the last two Endbringers. I wouldn't be the one to deliver the finishing blow, but I could save lives. I could ensure the next fight was not a disaster like New Delhi was.


"Contessa," Alexandria spoke. "When you said they were going to establish parahuman 'feudalism', I had expected it to be 'feudal'. This is closer to watching a fast forward of the colonization of the New World. They just took control of both Boston and Chicago in everything but name."


"All of our thinkers, Contessa included, expected them to stop expanding after Boston," Doctor Mother replied. She was, in her own way, living up to the 'mother' part of her title by protecting Contessa from Alexandria's criticism. She viewed the younger precog as a child of her own. I could admit a pang of envy at their relationship. "Khepri and Gaea both have authority, trust and control issues that should have made it impossible for them to maintain control over a larger territory, even given their incredible powers. They seem to be far more willing to delegate power than any of our models predicted."


Contessa finally spoke. "I believe it was the Simurgh's actions," she finally stated. "No power could have anticipated New Delhi."


"It makes sense," Doctor Mother replied. "I'm sure the experience was traumatizing enough to make them rethink their plans. Clearly this is also a response to the Protectorate's greatly weakened forces. Coupled with their sudden and unexpected willingness to cooperate with the PRT and Protectorate. I think we can assume they'll hold Chicago for the time being."


"New York, as well," Number Man volunteered.


"Pardon?" Doctor Mother asked.


"They've made... overtures... with the Adepts in Chicago," he stated. "I haven't divined all the details, but there was a payment of exactly one hundred thousand dollars from one of Pantheon's accounts. It's obviously part of a ploy to convert the Adepts. Likely a multistage plan."


"Why were the Adepts in Chicago, anyway?" Doctor Mother asked. "Aren't they East Coast?"


"Following the Teeth, it appears," he confirmed. "Same as Pantheon. Pantheon is moving to target the entire organization. Likely planning a pincer attack against their forces in both Boston and New York simultaneously."


Alexandria frowned. "The Butcher is one of the more powerful parahumans. One we had hoped would make a real impact against Scion. Do you think we should interfere to protect their organization?"


"We are better served allowing Pantheon to succeed. The Butcher has potential, but is hardly comparable to Pantheon's value," Doctor Mother responded. "Pantheon's strength isn't merely in its own parahumans, but in its ability to be a force multiplier to other parahumans. Your new equipment, for example. It is remarkable, both in terms of simplicity and ingenuity. It's possible you might be able to use it to be the next... what are they calling Atropos now?"


"Endslayer," Legend responded. "Alongside the other two Fates that operated their Moirai Cannon. But it's known that her power is what makes the weapon lethal, even to Endbringers."


"Yes," Doctor Mother agreed. "I think we agree that, as always, the death of Scion is the highest of our priorities. If Pantheon's actions ruin our experiment in parahuman feudal states, or cost us a few promising soldiers for the conflict... yet provides a stronger and better equipped force for the final battle, I see no reason to interfere with them."


There were nods all around.


I kept my own counsel on the subject. Force multipliers and power manipulation. Capable of upgrading even Alexandria. Could they do that for me?


....


Teleportation was one of the powers I was running low on, but it was better than using one of my horribly reduced number of flight options. I only had a handful of flying power that could also double as a defensive or offensive power. I had used the last of the truly good ones in the battle against the Simurgh. Telekinesis over glass. Remarkable in its elegance. Pity I lost it during the firestorm.


Strangely, I felt incredible during it. The fear, the panic, the certainty of death. I had tapped deeper into my well than ever before. Granting me a boost to my strength that had almost restored me to the power of my early days. It was slipping already, of course. But it was slipping slowly. I had, perhaps, another month or two, if I was conservative. I needed to be conservative.


I appeared inside Pantheon's base. My current power simply placed me next to the person whose face I envisioned. In this case: Gaea. One of the weakest teleport options I still had available. It required I knew the target's actual, and recent, facial features, which took time and concentration, perhaps even a scrying power, to achieve. It also didn't allow me to bring others with me. Of no value against the Endbringers or Scion, I could afford to surrender it forever.


A girl screamed, and before I could speak I was encased in a living mass. Strange, it didn't triggered my defensive power. Oh. They weren't planning to actually harm me. I could have broken free with trivial ease. I chose not to. The tree moved and shifted around me, giving me some space, and light allowed me to see my sealed prison. I blinked.


A video screen formed inside, near my face. "You have a lot of balls teleporting into our bedr-" she paused. "Eidolon?"


"Hello, Khepri," I didn't bother smiling. One of the things I wasn't very good at. Others could make smiles look charming or friendly or even seductive. I just looked stupid and awkward. She looked over to her side and was saying something I couldn't hear. I felt the presence of an energy trying to interact with me. It was something of a booster to my confidence that it failed.


"Okay, how do we know it's you?" She asked.


"If I demonstrate a power that lets me escape and is nothing like the others you've witnessed?" I suggested. "Is that acceptable?"


She nodded. The plant material around me disintegrated into dust. A dessication power, again worthless against Endbringers or Scion. Also the source of my current energy sensing abilities. I stepped out and dusted myself off.


Khepri stood defensively in front of Gaea. Both were out of costume. Neither girl was especially striking in their appearance, and I could imagine passing a hundred not unlike them without looking twice. Except for their eyes and the energy that danced between them. These two had will and presence well beyond their ages. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I hadn't expected you in bed so early. It's only five here, right?"


"It's been a long few days," Khepri responded. She'd started to relax. "To what do we owe the visit?"


"I can trust your confidentiality, I presume," I asked.


They didn't quite look at each other, but somehow they communicated their agreement before Khepri spoke. "What you tell us stays between us," she said.


"I was impressed with your work with Alexandria," I stated. That was certainly true. I took a deep breath to steady myself for what I was about to admit. "I was hoping to discuss a... problem... I am having. One that you might be able to fix. Or at least delay for a while."


They frowned in unison. A bizarre form of visual stereo. "Go on," Khepri volunteered. I was still busy trying to figure out what my power was trying to tell me about these girls when another voice came from the doorway.


"Holy fuck," another girl's voice muttered. "He's losing his powers."


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


A/N- it would have been a MUCH better cliffhanger if we readers of Worm didn't already know this.

 

Amelia, Ch 133


"Holy fuck," Lisa muttered from our doorway. "He's losing his powers." ShockDread.


Eidolon managed to look annoyed through his mask. "Yes, that is the problem I was going to ask about," he admitted.


"That's bad," Lisa stated. "Like, that's really fucking bad."


He sighed and nodded. "I know," he agreed.


"No, I mean, you're basically the go-to hero. Sure, Alexandria can hold her own, and there are couple others. Pantheon's equipment can make a few more come close to good enough to really matter against the Endbringers in a drag out brawl," she rambled. "But that's only close to good enough. Without you... we're fucked. You are the only reason we were able to hold the Simurgh long enough to finish her. It'll be the same with the rest of them. We need you if we want to finish this. And we really want to finish this."


"I assume that means you're willing to help, then," he stated.


"Let's go to the labs," Lisa said. "Hope you don't mind spending time in the basement. I was beginning to expect that Alexandria was going to cry or run screaming when she was down there. Did she tell you any stories?"


"No, she said it was pretty standard," Eidolon answered. "Gaea used her power for a scan, some tests were done, and you grew everything in a vat overnight."


Lisa smiled her foxlike smile. "Then it'll be a surprise."


"Lisa, stop terrifying our guests," Taylor muttered, sounding tired. "You and I know the worst thing that happened to Alexandria was when she had to get dressed after Zach did his thing, and she had a warning and privacy screen for that."


Eidolon, who had been moving to leave the room, froze. RealizationHumiliation. "She left that part out," he admitted.


"It was a power interaction test," I offered. "Zach has an ability to teleport people. It reacts oddly to certain powers. We wanted to see if it would work through her power's stasis effect, for a number of reasons. Turns out, it does."


"I suppose I probably shouldn't tell her I know about that," he chuckled.


"I've contacted our Tinkers," Taylor said, changing the subject. "It'll be a couple minutes."


"Okay," Eidolon agreed, as we left into our living area.


"Dude," Zach said from the living room, looking at Eidolon. "Theo, you owe me twenty bucks."


"And you owe me two hundred," Lisa reminded him.


"Can I get an autograph?" Zach asked.


"I suppose," Eidolon agreed, smiling. Zach ran off to his room.


Theo stood up and walked over to our guest. "It's an honor to meet you, sir," he said as he held out his hand.


"Thank you," Eidolon shook it. "It's nice to meet fans. Especially ones that are heroes in their own right."


Theo almost blushed at the compliment. "I haven't done much to be called a hero, sir."


"You saved lives," Eidolon insisted. "More than that, you did it by stepping in front of a weapon meant to kill Endbringers. And even after being practically cut in half by that weapon, you kept concentrating long enough to save everyone in the shelter. In what way are you not a hero?"


"Told you so!" Riley crowed triumphantly from the stairway to her labs. "You saved my Big Sister and Missy and everyone from being cooked. That makes you a hero, and now you have to accept it because Eidolon hangs out with all the best heroes, so he'd know."


Theo smiled and actually, finally, did blush under the praise and attention. Eidolon, on the other hand, frowned a little. And then, so did Lisa. That was a question I needed to ask later. Badly.


"Don't worry," Eidolon offered. "I'm not really good at accepting praise, either. For me, it's always been about the legacy. Knowing that I help make things better, that I'm building something that's greater than myself. That's always been my motivation, at least. You do get used to the praise and attention, eventually. But some people will never like that sort of thing."


He's a completely different kind of person than Alexandria, I thought. Inspirational, really. I guess if you spend enough time around Legend, you learn a thing or two. I glanced over at Lisa, she was still watching and observing. Less a fox now, more hawk. Definitely acting hawklike.


"Lab's ready," Riley stated. "I've got a few initial ideas, but this could take some time."


By now, Zach had managed to rush out, holding a jewel case. In his other hand, he had a pen. He handed the pen to Eidolon, and extracted a sheet of paper- more like a blank card than anything- and offered it to him.


Eidolon looked at it and smiled. "So, you got to Alexandria and Dragon first?" He clicked the pen and signed his name. "Haven't bothered asking your team for theirs?"


He shrugged. "I dunno, kinda seems weird to try that. I mean: have you ever asked Alexandria or Legend for theirs?"


"You have a point," he granted. "So, are we ready?"


"Yup," Riley answered cheerfully. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to study you up close!"


I cringed, but Eidolon took it in stride. "I'm sure," he said. "Hope you won't be insulted when I say that I would have done everything in my power to stop you, before. Your actions in New Delhi changed my mind. You risked everything by showing yourself there."


Riley looked down, unable to find words for it. "Thank you," she said, softly. This might be the first time anyone praised Riley for doing something truly heroic, I realized. I resolved then to make sure she heard it more often. I could feel Taylor's emotional response, the recognition that Eidolon was right. Too subtle to influence my emotions over the link, but enough that I at least knew the feelings were there. I reached over and grasped her hand.


Riley sprinted down into the basement, cleary determined to do her absolute best to help the arguably most powerful parahuman in the world. Eidolon and the rest of us followed at a more subdued pace, including Theo. Who wasn't usually interested in visiting the labs.


"Alright, first, symptoms time," Riley said, pulling out a couple instruments. "Have a seat and tell me what the problem is."


"Simply put," Eidolon answered. "I'm running out of powers. There was a time, early in my career, when I could access any power I wanted and expect it to be at full strength in seconds. Now it can take several minutes for a truly strong power to finish charging, and the maximum charge now is less than ever before."


"Could be physiological," Riley suggested. "Overuse of powers causing deterioration of the Pollentia or Gemma. I've seen it before. Never in a... uh... parahuman with unmodified powers." She went silent. And I thought back to the nightmares she set on me. Murder Rat, especially. Those women were still alive after what she'd done to them.


"I'll try," I suggested. "Faster for me to run the scan than anyone." I reached my hand out, and Eidolon took off his glove to make contact. I frowned. "I... I'm not seeing anything," I said after a couple seconds. "You counter my powers. Almost exactly like Weld."


"Interesting," Riley answered, then she looked at her instruments. "Would you mind using your power? Something minor, and do it as slowly as you can. The more time we have to observe your powers, the more data I can collect."


"Okay," Eidolon agreed.


Riley watched the screens for a minute. "Save file, E.I. One," she instructed her computer. Sometimes I wondered about the logic of using nothing but vocal command systems only, but Riley insisted it was more secure that way. "Hey, Osiris, can you see if your power detects him?"


"Okay," Zach agreed, and he was the next one to make contact with Eidolon. "Umm... no?" Zach answered, sounding confused. "I'm getting nothing at all. It's weird."


"What does that mean?" Eidolon asked. "I might be able to offer insights. I felt both of you trying to influence me, and you're not the first who've tried."


"Well, my power only works on living things," I answered. "The only exceptions we know of would be a number of non-organic Case 53s, people under the influence of Clockblocker's ability to freeze time, and now, you."


"I can't effect Theo's power, while it's active," Zach replied. "I can't effect Atropos' bolts when her power's controlling them. Or Clock's frozen objects. I, umm... I also made contact with Simurgh enough times to know I can't read Endbringers, either. It's not just because she's too heavy. I still know I'm in contact with something, if it's too heavy. My power tells me "


"Okay," Eidolon answered. "Sounds like they're both Thinker powers at their core. I've long ago learned I'm immune to Thinker powers. Precogs included."


"Would you mind using your power? Something minor, and do it as slowly as you can. The more time we have to observe your powers, the more data I can collect." Riley asked.


Eidolon looked confused. "Riley," I started. "You already had him do that."


"Did I?" she asked. "Funny, I don't recall. Computer, name most recent saved file."


"E I One," the machine intoned in Clarice's voice.


"Taboo," Lisa responded. "His power is Taboo."


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


A/N- The part where Riley repeated her question actually confused me for a second during the editing. Until I read the next couple lines.

 

Amelia, Ch 134- Emma


"Thanks, Emma," Dennis said. I was sitting on the chair I'd built and leaning back against my wall, holding my cell to my ear. "I'm sorry about this, but I don't really have much choice. You know why I have to do this. They need everything they can get."


"It's fine," I confirmed. "Everything's changed after..." I paused. The words 'New Delhi' didn't need to be spoken. Anyone on the planet would know what I meant.


"Yeah," he said. "You could still, y'know, come with?"


I sighed, closing my eyes. "We've had this conversation, Dennis, I can't."


"You can and you know it," he said. "Fuck, you have every reason to walk away. They treat you like garbage and you know it."


I cringed. It wasn't quite true, but it was still a nerve to be struck. Taylor avoided so much as looking at me where possible. Zach actively pretended I didn't exist, to the point of absurdity at times. I expected that, from both of them. I deserved it, even.


None of the others would really talk to me at all. At most I could hope for polite indifference, like from Rey, Crystal and Theo. They weren't unkind to me, they just didn't have a lot to say to me. At worst, they avoided me. The way Amelia and pretty much all of the others did. They were, one way or another, Taylor's friends. They may have accepted that Taylor didn't want them to do anything to hurt me, but that didn't mean they needed to be nice to me, either. Congratulations, Taylor, you won in the end.


Riley was the one that hurt. Her relationship with Amelia had been improving, slowly but surely, and with that she seemed to be... afraid to be too friendly with me. That, plus her friendship with Missy. The two of them were like sisters.


I had a friend like that once.


Yeah, that hurt. Riley was the one I was most connected to. What does it say about me that Bonesaw is the person I miss most? Her, I trusted with everything. I let her modify me in ways that I did not, could not, understand. Still didn't fully understand, even with my powers. I was her favorite project for a while. Her co-conspirator. The one she went to for advice in dealing with tricky situations and dilemmas where there were no easy answers. Now I was, at most, her lab partner. I'd been all but forgotten. It is amazing how much that hurts.


"Emma?" Dennis prompted.


"Sorry, just thinking," I replied. Dennis cares about me. "I'm sorry, I have to stay."


"You don't," he insisted. "You know it's not healthy. There are other options. You can join the Wards, they love Tinkers. You've seen how much Kid Win gets for some of his inventions. You're a better tinker than he is, you could pretty much write your own check."


I smiled. Can't fault him for trying. "You just want me to have a suggestive and vaguely offensive code name. Like 'Ice Box' or something." I teased.


He laughed, even if it was a little forced. "See, you're already a natural."


"No, what I'm doing here is far too important," I insisted. He hated it when I pulled that card. The Endslayer project. The augmented weapons systems. Clockblocker even got some customized weapons. Basically the standard package, plus nearly indestructible strings that he could use to freeze things at range. Both of us knew it wasn't the real reason for me to stay, however.


"After they're dealt with, then?" Dennis prompted.


"Maybe." No. "I was thinking I'd join the Guild. Y'know, work directly with Dragon. What kind of tinker could pass up on something like that, right?" I'm sorry, Dennis. Going with you isn't even my second choice.


I knew it should be my first. He was there for me when I needed it the most. I just didn't have the feelings he obviously had for me. I probably never would. He was transferring to Boston, and from there who knew? Almost certainly, he wouldn't be there, or in New York, by spring. He would find someone who could love him, and he'd forget about me. Everyone would be happier that way.


"Yeah," Dennis admitted. "I could see you working alongside Dragon and Defiant. Being one of the world's best Tinkers."


"Emma," my dad shouted from downstairs. "It's time for supper."


"Gotta go," I said, both grateful and annoyed. "The 'rents are still on about that whole 'dinner's a family meal, everyone eats at the table' thing. As if that's going to make much of a difference in anything. We'll talk tomorrow."


"Okay," Dennis answered, not sounding especially happy about it. "I... I miss you."


"Miss you, too," I answered back, not really meaning it.


By the time I got downstairs, my parents had managed to be at the table. It was, as always, uncomfortable. Mom and dad went out of their way to pretend nothing at all had changed. They knew everything I'd done, but pretended I was the same child as before. I came back from fucking New Delhi, and they called it a road trip. Where I got a sunburn. Yeah, first and second degree burns across almost eighty percent of my body. That was a 'sunburn' now.


Turns out, my hair is considered alive by my power, so it regrew itself along with the rest of my regeneration. Small favor, at best. Also meant I would have exactly the same hair style for the rest of my life, because it restored itself to this no matter what I did to it.


You're one of the ones that came back, I reminded myself, a mantra in my head. You survived. No one can say you're weak, not after that.


"How's your job going, dear?" Mom asked. I cringed. That's what they called Pantheon, now. My 'job'. Like modeling was, before.


"It's fine," I answered. "We're pretty stable right now, so I'm using the downtime to apply for my GED."


"That's good," dad nodded. "You were always a smart girl, you should just skip the rest of highschool and go right to college."


No I wasn't, I repressed the urge to scream. Taylor was the smart one. I was average at best. Sure, I'm smart now. My powers plugged about forty bonus IQ points into my brain even without considering the Tinker and Breaker parts of my power. Of course, they had to pretend I was always smart so they could pretend nothing happened. Just like dad was ignoring the real reason I couldn't go back to highschool.


"I'm not going to go to college," I said. Their looks of disapproval was almost palpable. I backpedaled on instinct alone. "For a year or two. The job's a hassle, and I could use the break. It's been a pretty stressful year."


"Okay, dear," mom agreed. Of course she did. They'd been treating me like a Fabergé egg ever since... ever since I was attacked by the ABB. Why would I ever have expected them to stop now? And when did I start to hate them for it?


"That makes sense," dad conceded. "You should at least sign up for a couple classes at the community college, just to stay in the habit. They say people lose two months of school over summer break. You need to stay sharp."


My power includes near perfect memory. "I'll be sure to do that," I agreed.


I forced myself to eat. I didn't need food, anymore. My digestive system still worked fine, which more a hassle than anything, but my actual desire to eat was nonexistent. I had no sense of taste or smell, and I did not experience hunger. I couldn't starve to death, or even lose weight, because my regeneration pulled mass out of nowhere to undo damage. It did so slowly, granted. Took over a day to recover from Taylor breaking my nose and cheek. I still hadn't fully healed my injuries after New Delhi, over a week later. But eating was both useless and without pleasure for me.


I tried to explain this, but mom said that I was spending too much time around too-skinny models, and insisted I didn't have to starve myself to be pretty.


I was grateful for the silence that having food in our mouths brought. The less I have to talk to them, the better, I had come to realize. It was a nice meal, I had to admit. Pork chops, fresh vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy. If I could have gotten away with it, I might have snuck my share out and given it to someone who could appreciate it. I was halfway through the meal, my phone rang.


Dad looked at me. "Sorry," I apologized. "It's... work. I have to take it."


At least dad appreciated that much. Being a lawyer meant he understood the concept of demanding jobs and the occasional irregular hours.


I stepped away from the table and answered. "Emma speaking."


"Got another important customer," Lisa informed me. "Need you pretty much ten minutes ago."


"I understand," I answered, then hung up the phone. 'Customer' in this case usually meant a unique powerset we really wanted to study. Not exactly an impossible code to break, but then, no code was impossible to break. It was easier just to keep the details so vague that even the person receiving the information didn't know anything important. I looked at my parents. "Sorry, it's an emergency. Promise I'll make it up to you later."


"That's fine," dad said. "You have adult responsibilities now."


"You should invite some of your friends from work over for dinner," mom suggested. "It's been so long since I've talked to Taylor, it'd be nice to see how she's grown."


I resisted the impulse to ask her what alternate reality she thought we were living in. "No promises," I said. "Most of them live the job 24/7. Don't even have time enough to visit with their own families." I rushed upstairs to get into my armor. The flight system, more than anything, was why I needed it now. Although its ability to regulate my hybrid state and buy me extra time at full power would be useful if they needed my power.


They never call me unless they need my power.


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


A/N- If that's the sound of you feeling bad for Emma? That means I've done my job right.

 

Amelia, Ch 135


"Taboo?" Eidolon asked. ApprehensionSurprise.


"That's the term we use for certain memory effects that powers can cause," Lisa replied. "It's... sort of like a universal stranger power, like how parahumans black out when someone nearby has a Trigger Event. And how precogs can't sense Endbringers or, well, you. And Scion." HesitanceConcern. I frowned. I know it's Eidolon, but should be be volunteering all this information?


"So a new name for an old idea," he nodded. SuspenseRelief. "I've seen some studies done on that. Like how it's impossible to predict a trigger event until after it occurs. If you just so happen to be using precog on an individual before their trigger, their predicted future will often be completely different afterward."


"Interesting," Lisa said. "We didn't know about that. Another piece to the puzzle."


"Don't feel bad," Eidolon shrugged. "People have been studying the phenomena almost as long as powers have existed. You do have one thing on them: Taboo is much more elegant than the alphabet soup the scientists on that job have managed to come up with. I'll have to pass calling it 'Taboo' along to others. Much better than Induced Parahuman Memory Loss Phenomena."


"Wow," Zach replied. "So, science has managed to just completely run out of good acronyms at this point, huh?"


AnnoyanceImpatience. "Emma's finally here," Taylor spoke up. "Told her we're in the lab, didn't say who we had with us. We're pretty well shielded against Thinkers down here, so there's still a pretty good chance no one knows you're here."


"That's appreciated," Eidolon replied. "If it makes you feel any better, my power says this remains a private conversation."


Lisa nodded. "Actually, it does, thanks."


I felt Emma's presence through my power. Her biosuit, like all of them except Parian's, was designed to link into the Yggdrasil on contact. And with that, I got the still strange sense of Emma's biochemistry. It was no less bizarre today than the first time. Half organic, half... something else. Something my power didn't consider alive. I opened a more direct path for her, and she was coming down the newly created staircase in mere moments. It vanished behind her.


She smiled and waved "Hey guys, what's the..." she paused when she spotted Eidolon. "Oh, oh wow. Was not expecting that."


"I remember you," Eidolon spoke. "You're the girl that figured out sonic powers work against Endbringers."


"Yeah, that's me," she agreed. "I remember you, too." I glanced over at Taylor. ConfusedAmused. I didn't know Emma very well, but right now she was acting more awkward than Taylor and I used to.


"That was brilliant, what you did," Eidolon stated. "I don't think I would have thought of something like that, combining two relatively weak powers into something that could do that much damage."


"Well..." she smiled at the praise. "It's something Pantheon taught me. Awesome power combos seems to be our specialty." AnnoyedTerritorial. I focused on that sense for a second. Oh, Emma saying 'our' when referring to Pantheon. At this point, it was certainly true enough. Emma exemplified the concept of power combinations.


"Yes, well, I may need to learn how to do that more often in the future," Eidolon stated.


"You should see this," Riley stated, pointing at her computer. "It's a recording of Eidolon using his power."


"Okay," Emma agreed, going over to the computer and watching the screen while we waited silently. "The powers are dying out," she said finally.


"That's my problem, yes," he acknowledged again.


"No. I mean all of them," she said. "Or ours, at least. The Case 53s. The artificial triggers."


"What?" Eidolon asked.


"My power was one of the most recent," she said. "And each new one's going to be weaker than the last. The reason I turned out as powerful as I did is because my power saps energy from the environment around me. Constantly, and more when I absolutely need it. That lets me recharge what is otherwise a pretty much dead battery."


"You said the artificial capes," Eidolon asked. "This doesn't apply to the natural shards then?"


"Doesn't appear to," she answered, still looking at the monitor. "Mind you, we haven't exactly tested everyone. Those with-"


"You know more about this," Lisa interrupted. "You're not surprised. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised. You know why the powers are dwindling. You know where they come from. What the Passengers are, don't you?"


He nodded. "We call them 'Agents'," he answered. "They're... it's going to sound crazy..."


"Omnidimensional planet sized space whale virus gods that are also basically incomprehensibly powerful supercomputers that know magic, somehow?" Zach volunteered. "Yeah, we've managed to figure out the basics, at least."


Eidolon blinked. "That helps a lot, actually. I suppose the next part is that there are only two of them, and we call them Entities. Each Agent, what you call Passengers, is a piece of the whole in the same way a cell is a piece of a person. A given Agent is huge, bigger than this city, probably. The Entities themselves? We don't know... our best estimate is that they are individually more massive than our entire solar system. Although they exist in dozens, if not hundreds, of realities at a time. Their actual footprint in any given one is probably no larger than our moon."


"The Trigger Vision!" Emma exclaimed. "I know the rest of you can't remember them, but that's what I saw when I got my powers!"


Eidolon sighed. "Yeah, them," he acknowledged. "I don't remember my vision, either. Some of our members do. It's rare, but some people, usually people with thinker powers like perfect memory or no need to sleep anymore, can still envision them. A handful we have on record, two of which are natural triggers, the rest are, as you said, artificial."


"Good information to have," Lisa nodded. "Now how did you get the ability to make capes?"


"We're... harvesting one's corpse," Eidolon answered. More or less admitting a key role in this the conspiracy. "We don't know how or why, but one of them was wounded when landing. Or perhaps they were never meant to land at all. There's a lot of guesswork as to just how the Entities work. We're pretty sure it didn't intend to leave itself so vulnerable that it could be killed by the natives of that world. At the same time, we know very little about their life cycle. It's possible that one of them does need to die as part of their reproduction."


"It's common enough for organisms on earth," Riley answered. "Viral life, insects, even sexual reproduction looks like death and rebirth from the perspective of the individual cells involved."


Eidolon nodded. "So, is this enough information? Do you think you can help?"


"Yes, actually," Emma answered. ReliefConcernCuriosity. "It will take us a little while, but I think we can. Your energy readings aren't that unique. Not much different than my own when I change states. Of course, you're using a lot more power than I am. Our Passengers are still alive, sort of. Still drawing power, just not as much of it. Not enough. We can make you something a lot like my armor system, meant to store and shunt energy to the passenger slowly. It's not perfect, and the way you consume energy means, well, it's going to take weeks of charging just to give you an hour of maximum output."


"So you're saying I am going to have to go powerless between the Endbringer battles," Eidolon stated. "If I want to remain valid during them."


"Yes," Emma agreed. "Maybe you can use your powers continuously if you have access to a truly astronomical sum of available energy, but we're talking really, absurdly, vast amounts of power."


Eidolon nodded. "I see."


"We'll need one thing before I agree to parting with that kind of tech," Lisa insisted. "Do you know why the Entities are here? Their end goal?" I briefly considered pointing out to Lisa that she didn't make these kinds of calls. That was up to me and Taylor. But I did want to hear the answer to that question. I could discuss Lisa's presumptions in private.


"If you're right, and the artificial powers dying, our hope of finding a recipe capable of solving the problem for us is functionally dead," He sighed. "You girls might be the only ones who can stop this, so I'm going to trust you. When you called them viruses? That's true on a literal level. They arrive on a world and spread their Agents across the planet. They then merge, for reasons we're unsure of, with the dominant species. Drive their hosts to irrational behavior and violence, or at least they do that to humans. We're unsure if that's intentional or a side effect, we don't know if that's what they do on every planet they find. And, at the end of the cycle, when they're done breeding, they consume all the matter and energy available. Killing the world. Killing every version of the world in every possible iteration of reality. That's where they get the mass and energy to reproduce and form more members of their species from."


"Fuck," Lisa mumbled. "We were hoping they were just parasites. Feeding on some kind of psychic energy or something. Shit. Of course not! It would be insane to expect humans to supply that kind of power. They're not using us as food. They're using us as... as... some kind of intermediary agent."


"A biological mechanism to sort viability of a given strain," Riley volunteered. "To ensure only the best genetic material, or whatever they have as an equivalent, is used in the next generation. Every natural species that can reproduce sexually has such mechanisms."


"Wait... so... you're saying that humans are basically their version of lube?" Zach muttered. DisgustAnnoyance. "Alright, well, there goes my appetite for the next five or six years."


"How about bees used for pollinating flowers?" Emma suggested. ComfortIrritation. "A lot less squick that way. They give us resources, in the form of powers. And in exchange we run around, what, field testing them? An organic debug system? We fight, and that lets them evolve? They must be in love with us, then."


"And at the end of it all, when they've determined what 'genetics' are best for them, they consume everything and use that raw material to create copies of each Passenger that was considered viable. Probably with a series of deviations in it to ensure diversity in the offspring," Riley finished.


"So... we now know what the Passengers are," Lisa concluded. "What else do we need to know?"


"We haven't found a way to break into any of the dimensions that contain Agents," Eidolon informed us. "Seems they're locked off, somehow. A power that they don't give out. One of the ones were desperately hoping to find by accident when we started harvesting the dead Entity. We also know that the Entities use a sort of avatar to interact with their host. We don't know why they do that, either."


"Scion," Lisa's voice was a whisper. "The Entity, the source of powers, it's Scion."


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


A/N- Man, it's been so long that I forgot they ever didn't know.

 

Amelia, Ch 137- Carol


"Okay, you can do this," I told myself yet again. I simply sat there staring at the tree. Fortress. It was a living fortress, and in it Amelia controlled everything. An incredibly humbling thought. 'Pantheon' was an appropriate name. This is the kind of power that gods wield.


I closed my eyes and exhaled painfully. It's true. If I had encouraged her to use her powers to their full extent, she could have saved Victoria. Could have made it so Victoria didn't even need saving. Would the S9 have even dared enter this city if she had that Yggdrasil ready to be used? Khepri's father said that she wouldn't have been able to stop Leviathan with it... but the Slaughterhouse Nine, for all the fear they inspired, were mortal. I fought back the tears.


I started the keys to the car. I can't do this, maybe I'll try again later. Then the most disturbing sound formed beside me. A cacophony of discordant clicks and hums forcing itself into something that mimicked words.


"You can come in if you want," it said. And the voice was most definitely an 'it'. In spite of my years as a hero, in spite of being one of the few that had faced Leviathan in combat, I screamed, and instantly transformed into my invulnerable state.


"Is it really that bad?" the not-voice asked. "Damn, I thought I was getting pretty good at it, too."


"Wh-who are you?" I asked, forming back into a human state just enough to ask.


"Taylor," the swarm answered. "Now would you like to come inside? We can talk in person, so I don't have to communicate through the bugs."


That voice. I was going to go home and scrub down with steel wool later. "Umm, yeah, sure," I agreed. "I'll be there in a couple minutes."


I got out of my car and walked to their home. It was kind of a long walk, actually. They had a lot of unused space available on this plot of land that was once a Leviathan made crater. I was about to walk around the outer wall to the actual entrance, which faced inward to the center of the crater, instead of outward to the street, but the wall itself opened for me. Amy's power.


Wasn't I planning to just go home? I asked myself as I walked through the passageway.


Their home really was built much like a fortress. Now that I was past the first wall, I had another twenty or so feet to walk before I got to an inner wall. There was no escape from this point except to blast your way out. The area was eerily beautiful, lit solely by bioluminescent blues and purples. It could even be romantic, if you came here with the right mindset. I was nowhere near that mindset. Still, it was wondrous in an alien sort of way.


The next set of walls opened. Crystal was there. "Hey, Aunt Carol," she said cheerfully. She was beautiful, a younger version of her mother. She pulled me into a quick hug, and I squeezed her back. It was good to see she was well.


"You cut your hair," I said as I let her go. It was the first thing I could think of to say. She lost most of her smile.


"Yeah," she said, her smile coming back as she offered a shrug. Maybe she could have fooled someone else, but I've known her since she was born. "It... was time for a new 'do. Short hair's trendy these days."


"Okay," I dropped it. I don't want to pry, not now. "You know how out of touch I am with kids' fashions these days."


"Speaking of fashion," she said with her usual energy. "I was just about to take Taylor on a shopping trip. Gotta pack that summer wardrobe away and get stuff for fall and winter. The poor girl thinks 'hoodie' is the only winter wear necessary."


"It should be," another girl argued from around a corner. "It's comfortable and convenient and if you get too warm you can just take it off."


"Giggity!" a boy shouted. A couple seconds later he started coughing. There was a soft thump that sounded something like someone dropped a sack of flour on the ground, and the coughing stopped. "Where do you keep hiding the grasshoppers!"


The girl stepped out where I could see her. She was tall, lanky even. So, this is Taylor, I thought. Not unattractive, but not about to win any prizes. Except maybe for her hair. Long, chocolate brown, and it was obvious she took pride in caring for it. She should give Amy pointers. "Hello, Mrs. Dallon," she said as she walked up to me. "I'm Taylor. It's nice to finally meet you." She paused for a second. "For real, at least," she added awkwardly.


"Pleasure's mine," I said, it what I hoped was a friendly way. The girl had several inches of height on me. Hide her hair and you'd think she was a boy, not a girl. Apparently my daughter liked the androgynous look. "I've heard a lot about you." None of it from Amy.


She offered a smile. "I've heard a lot about you, too." I was sure that, if any of it was good, it had come from Crystal.


"Is Amy available?" I asked. I really didn't know how to talk to this girl. Didn't know how to talk to most people, outside of business. "I'd like to talk to her. Alone, if that's possible?"


"Uh, sure, she's in o... her bedroom," Taylor corrected. I kept my face passive at that slip. It didn't bother me as much as I might have thought to know my underage daughter was sharing a bedroom with her girlfriend. I'd probably have had a minor aneurysm if this were a boyfriend. One more bit of gender bias.. "Just go down the stairs and follow the hall," Taylor gestured while stepping off to the side. "Then turn left where you see the kitchen. The door will be open for you."


"Thanks," I said. "Maybe you can come by some time, talk about things. I've already met your father. You can invite him, too, if you like."


"Sure, okay," she agreed. "That could be nice. I've got to go now."


"Okay," I nodded, pausing for a moment to watch as she fled after Crystal.


I followed her instructions. The entire building smelled, well, alive. A little like the air after a fresh rain. It was all lit by bioluminescence, most of it in bright green tones. Much brighter lighting than the area upstairs. The stairs were deep. Two stories worth, if all my years working in offices had taught me anything. Elevators are for emergencies and people who don't care about staying in shape.


Downstairs had a nice open arrangement. Lounge area off to the left, with a couple couches and some chairs that I realized were made out of the same plant as the walls and floor. There was a couple boys playing a video game at one of the TVs. I wasn't so sure I approved of them living here with all these young girls, but I couldn't say much about what other kids were doing, and I knew I didn't need to be concerned about Amy. What a weird form of gender bias.


The other side had a large meeting room. Complete with what appeared to be a very expensive video system and a lot of chairs. I kept going forward. The kitchen was obvious enough, though larger than I would have expected. Combined with a dining room that set up like a miniature restaurant. I guess when you have miles of space underground, efficiency takes a back seat to the cool factor.


Amy's room was a bit down the side hall, and the door was indeed open. I found Amy standing, in her costume, though lacking the helmet and mask of her usual outfit. In the corner stood another costume, a true full suit of armor. Too large for Amy, must be Taylor's outfit. Amy watched me, as if challenging me to say something about this obvious display of a shared living space. One she could have hidden with ease using her powers.


"You wanted to talk to me?" she asked. I recognized that tone. That's the tone I used when I disapproved of her. It stung, realizing how good she was at using it.


"I wanted to say I'm sorry," I told her. "I've been... I was never much of a mother, was I?"


"Not to me," Amy answered. "You were decent enough to Victoria."


"I know, and I'm sorry for everything," I tried to meet her eyes, but I couldn't. She was angry, accusing. Worse, she was right. "I... when I took you in, it was out of obligation. We had to. We couldn't have put you in foster care without risking... one of your father's enemies getting to you."


"You hated him," Amy said, still cold. "And because you hated him, you hated me."


I couldn't speak, I simply nodded.


"Is that all?"


"No," I managed to say. "I... I wanted to let you know I would take it all back if I could. You're not your father, you never were. You were an innocent and I... I treated you like a monster. Or a ticking time bomb ready to go off. When you got your powers, that just made it worse. I couldn't see the good you might accomplish, only the destruction you could cause. I'm sorry it took this long for me to see you as my daughter."


She sighed. "I wanted to hear you say that for years," Amy admitted. "I... I could have handled everything else. All my other problems. Maybe I wouldn't have been happy, but at least I could have coped with it. Did you know I spent all that time in the hospital just to prove to you I wasn't bad? That I wasn't a monster, that I wouldn't become my father? So I could get your approval? Your love."


I flinched. I hadn't realized. I was too busy being relieved that she wasn't home, reminding me of everything she represented. When I wasn't angrily wondering why she didn't heal Mark's depression. There's an example of being careful what you wish for. "No," I confessed. I didn't elaborate.


"What made you change your mind?" she demanded.


"New Delhi," I said, and this time I didn't fight it as my eyes started to water. "I saw... I thought you died. We thought you were dead. That's when I realized."


"Is that so?" Amy asked, her face still stone. "Fuck, all I needed to do was die. Who woulda thought?"


I flinched. "Please, Amy," I begged. "I know you're angry. You should be angry, I deserve it, but you're my daughter. I love you. You have to see that."


Her gaze locked with mine. Her face was cold, but even through my own tears I could see the ones forming in her eyes. After what felt like an eternity, her eyes fluttered, and her stance relaxed. She muttered something under her breath that I couldn't hear. I doubt it was something I was meant to hear. Was she talking to someone through her armor?


She stepped forward, and the costume simply fell off her back, another step and she embraced me, sobbing. All my remaining self control broke, and I wept while holding my daughter.


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


A/N- This is the arc where I really explore the depth and impact of the Taylia bond.

 

Amelia, Ch 138- Taylor


"Carol's back," I told Amelia. I'd just come in to let her know I was about to go off on my shopping trip.


IrritationDejection. "Again?" she asked.


"Yeah," I nodded.


ResolutionExasperation. "Fuck it, just ask her to come in. The first couple times were a little bit cathartic. Now I'm just starting to feel sorry for her. Invite her in, so she can say whatever it is that's pretty much turned her into a stalker."


"I can call off the shopping trip, stick around while you two talk," I offered. "I'm sure Lisa and Crystal will understand."


GratefulSafe. "I appreciate the offer," she smiled as she looked up at me. "But I'll be fine. You've been avoiding this trip since before Chicago. Things are calm, you aren't needed for anything, and I'm not going to let Carol get in the way of Crystal's fun."


"How come it's always me?" I argued. Okay, let's be honest, I was pouting. Meanwhile, I was talking to Carol via bug swarm. "Why don't you ever get dragged off on these shopping trips?"


"First," she smirked. "I already have nice clothes. Second, you're the one who looks amazing in a skirt. And third," a mischievous gleam formed in her eye. AmusementDesire. "They won't let me climb into the changing booth with you, so there's really no point. Now let Crystal and Lisa have fun finding more pretty outfits for you to show off, because you're fooling no one."


I sighed, pretending to be far more annoyed than I really was. Not that I could hide my real feelings from her, any more than she could hers for me. Sometimes, I wondered if it was unfair, the way I was teasing Amelia like this. I had brought that up before, and quickly learned that the idea of stopping actually upset her a lot more than it did me. Oh well, with all of the strange things in our relationship, this one probably wouldn't even make it into the top ten list.


"Carol's at the wall, I'll show you exactly where," I offered, and had a few of the blade beetles slice along the inner wall closest to her. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay and play backup for you?"


She hugged me. "No, it's fine," she insisted, washing the bond with a swirl of happy emotions. "Unless you're offering to show off that elusive 'skimpy bikini' I keep hearing about. In which case, you should have offered before inviting Carol in."


I felt my face heating up. HappyAmused. I also resolved to murder Crystal and Lisa. Speaking of, I also directed Crystal to where she could expect Carol to show up from.


"Alright," I sighed. "Well, guess I'll go up top and talk to her first. Never know, this might be work related and we're just being drama queens." DoubtAmusement.


"Just built a staircase near the living room, go that way," she volunteered. I already knew, but she was being considerate. I felt her reluctance as I moved away from her, then I rushed out to meet Carol at the new door. Crystal was already upstairs, talking to her aunt.


"Gotta pack that summer wardrobe away and get stuff for fall and winter," oh, great, Crystal is talking about me. "The poor girl thinks 'hoodie' is the only winter wear necessary."


"It should be," I insisted, a bit over halfway up the stairs at this point. "It's comfortable and convenient and if you get too warm you can just take it off."


"Giggity!" Zach shouted. I frowned and found one of the grasshoppers I had smuggled in on Theo's shirt. I waited for the perfect moment when he was distracted by his game, and the insect leapt into his mouth. He started coughing and became dust almost immediately. The now freed insect quickly dived behind the couch. I was sure Theo noticed, of course. "Where do you keep hiding the grasshoppers!"


I smiled, and focused on calming myself a bit. Maybe I shouldn't have been so nervous to meet Carol, but I was. She was Amelia's mother. Or closest thing to one that the closest thing I've ever had to a romantic partner had.


Carol was shorter than I had expected. Than I remembered. Maybe her costume had platforms? Maybe I'd grown taller in the last few months? Maybe it was just a trick of memory, as the last time we'd met, there was that blowout between Amelia and New Wave. She looked tired now, I noticed. I felt a little pity for the woman.


"Hello, Mrs. Dallon," I said, approaching Amelia's mom. "I'm Taylor. It's nice to finally meet you. For real, at least." Oh, wow, Taylor, that was smooth. I saw Crystal looking at me from behind her aunt and it was only my link with Amelia that let me stabilize and keep my cool.


"Pleasure's mine," she smiled half heartedly. "I've heard a lot about you." I studiously kept my eyes on Carol instead of glancing back at Crystal.


"I've heard a lot about you, too," I stated. Not much of it was good, but I'd heard plenty.Some conversations with Amelia, a couple with Crystal. It was hard for me to reconcile the difference between their descriptions of the same woman. Lisa had summed it up as Amelia being melodramatic, and Crystal never really seeing how consistently bad Carol was at the whole 'being a parent' thing. She wasn't malicious, she was just incompetent. The rest of the blanks were filled in by Amelia's own hangups. Especially the part about her attraction to Victoria.


"Is Amy available?" Carol asked. I was struck by the oddity of the position. Shouldn't I be the one coming over to her house and asking her that? "I'd like to talk to her. Alone, if that's possible?"


"Uh, sure, she's in o... her bedroom," I almost slipped up. I didn't really have my own room here, anymore. Either I stayed at home, or if I stayed here, I stayed in Amelia's room. I moved to the side. "Just go down the stairs and follow the hall, then turn left where you see the kitchen. The door will be open for you."


"Thanks," she said, forcing more of a smile. Maybe she didn't notice my screwup? "Maybe you can come by some time, talk about things. I've already met your father. You can invite him, too, if you like." Right, they were all together for New Delhi. I still hadn't talked to dad about that. We were still in the 'pretend neither of us know that we both know' stage. He might legitimately believe I don't know, and I would rather wait for him to talk to me about it than to press the issue.


"Are you okay?" Amelia asked. She'd put her armor on, and with it I had voice communication. I can imagine how I feel through the bond right now.


"I'm fine," I answered. "Just a little weirded out, y'know."


"Are you sure?" CompassionWorry.


"Sure, okay," I agreed to Carol's invite. "That could be nice. I've got to go now."


"Okay," Carol nodded to me. I moved past her, unable to make eye contact as I continued speaking with Amelia through the armor.


"Yeah," I said. "Y- Carol just invited me and maybe my dad over for a visit sometime. I just lied and said that sounded nice."


"Oh god," AmusedIncredulous. Amelia chuckled. "That sounds awful."


"It would likely go down in history as a candidate for the most awkward conversation in the history of awkward conversations," I agreed. "I can see it now... 'Hey, girl who's engaged to my daughter, I see you've brought your dad, is he still boning my sister?'"


"She's not my mother," Amelia said, her mood and voice darkening. There was still the undercurrent of longing underneath, however. I thought back to my mom, and how much I missed her. Amelia sighed. "That's not fair and you know it."


"Sorry," I apologized. "I don't think Carol agrees with you on this. She's trying awfully hard to be nice, here. To reach out to me of all possible people. It's hard not to be sympathetic. Like watching a sad puppy. Or Riley after one of her nightmares."


"God damn it, Taylor, for you to feel bad for someone, they have to be really pathetic," Amelia muttered. "Fine. But now you have to do that incredibly awkward 'meet the family shit'. The whole family. Bring Crystal and Sarah. That is your punishment. Deal with it."


I caught up with Crystal, finally. She had made it to her car, and the little garage Amelia had built for it. Sure, we could have gotten there from underground, but Crystal insisted that we needed to go outside and see sunlight every once in a while.


"About time," Lisa teased. "So on a scale of one to ten, how bad is the fallout going to be?"


"I have inadvertently agreed to a 'meet the folks' date with Amelia, her parents, and my dad, and his new girlfriend." I reluctantly admitted. Lisa started laughing.


Crystal cringed. "God damn it, Taylor. This is going to involve me, isn't it?" Apparently, she was just going to ignore Lisa and talk in front of her. Not like my she wouldn't know what the hell was happening anyway. Forcing her to use her power to figure things out just meant less energy used on things that really mattered. Plus it kinda annoyed her that she couldn't play nosy super sleuth with us the way she likes to do.


"Blame your cousin for that one," I insisted. "I was willing to bite the bullet and go it alone, but Amelia is convinced that this is a suffering that must be shared with every possible member of her family. I wouldn't be surprised if she invites Riley along. Just for even more weirdness."


"Stay with me?" Amelia begged me right before Carol walked in.


"Always," I answered back.


"So, still spying on Amelia, right?" Lisa asked.


"She asked me to, so it's not spying," I answered. "But, yes, I am there to lend emotional support to my friend while she deals with her mother." AccusationAngerDisappointment. I cringed.


"She would do the same for me," I insisted. Meanwhile, I started focusing and mirroring the other, less painful, emotions in the link. I couldn't pretend to understand what Amelia's life has been like. I did know what it felt like to long for a mother who wasn't there. That was a common ground. And Amelia, as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, still wanted her mother.


I didn't push the emotion. That would be a betrayal. I reinforced it, made sure Amelia knew it was there, kept it from getting lost in the storm.


I followed the conversation, watching Carol bare her soul to Amelia. Then they went silent. AngerPityCompassionAnger. Better than before, at least. I didn't need to hold the emotions at this point, they were coming to the fore on their own, now. One of the many things that we shared. We needed that sense of family. However messed up the family itself might have been.


"Thank you," Amelia whispered, seconds before letting the armor fall off. The link was still there, but she didn't need me there in a more direct sense for the rest of this. AcceptanceDeterminationCompassionPeace.


I finally focused back on the 'here and now'. We were already on the road, heading toward wherever it was my shopping experts had determined we would go today. They didn't say anything as I wiped the wetness off my cheeks.


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


A/N- Because that scene deserved a look through another set of eyes. I did, unfortunately, have to lift some dialogue straight off the last chapter. Felt like a scumbag for doing it, but, well, all attempts I made to work around it looked like shit.

I just made it an extra long chapter to make up for the partial rehash.

 

Amelia, Ch 139- Emma


I went over the neurological copying tech once more, perfecting the last few minor errors. Riley's work was as brilliant, as always, but it had flaws. Rey's, too, although it was better suited for this sort of thing. And the neural mapping system from both Cranial and Rapture were held together by patchwork until I managed to actually integrate them properly. It worked, for a given value of work, but was woefully inefficient. And I was willing to let her copy and paste my mind with this? Holy shit what was wrong with me? To the other side I had the last readings Riley got off of Crawler. I smiled as I compared it to the new tests I ran.


"I got it!" I declared, startling Riley from her work on the actual pathway differences between Amelia's brain, as opposed to mine and Lisa's. It was doubtful my scans would be useful, since my brain was no longer organic, but every point of reference held a chance. She was following a very strict formula, to catch any possible Taboo in her research. Every bit of data, double and triple checked by the computer, and me, and Lisa. Scion is going to end the world. If there was ever a time I might be able to prove myself, prove my value, it will be in stopping the apocalypse.


"What?" Riley asked, still working on her project.


"I've figured out how to perfectly interpret the neural engrams you pulled from Crawler," I explained excitedly. "We can pull people back who got glass bombed. Ooh! I just had a great idea! Do you think the PRT has more of those glass weapons? We could build them and use them on serious threats! Crystallize everyone in the area and only restore the ones that we don't want to stay dead!"


"That's great!" Riley declared. "Ooh! Does it have to be glass? Maybe we could do the same with your ice weapons!"


"We could!" I squealed. "It's perfect!"


Riley frowned. "No. Breaks Rule Two."


"Which one's that?" I asked.


"If the plan starts with 'kill people indiscriminately', it's a bad plan," she replied. "I think that includes glass bombs and flash freezing."


I paused for a second and thought about what I'd just suggested. "Holy f-fudge," I muttered. Did I really just suggest something like that? "I know that's wrong. I knew it when I said it. Why?"


"It's a tinker thing," Riley dismissed. "Don't worry about it too much. You still had one big breakthrough today."


"I did," I agreed. You succeeded again. "They'll have to accept me after this."


Riley looked at me. "What do you mean? You're part of the team, aren't you?"


"Not really," I dismissed. "Sure, I work here, but no one wants me around. If they could find a way to take away my powers and plug them into some random guy they find on the street holding a 'will work for food' sign, they'd do it in a heartbeat. No one really likes me."


"I like you," Riley argued.


"You like everyone," I pointed out. I smiled, however. "Actually, you remind me a lot of Taylor when she was your age."


She beamed at that. "Good!"


"It really is," I agreed.


"Why'd you stop being friends with her?" Riley asked.


I froze... err, shifted into my hybrid state. I couldn't come up with a way to answer that question any other way. In my full power state, things were easier. I was closer to a computer than human in this form. Most of my insides were no longer organic, in any state, and my brain was no exception. It was more like a crystalline electromagnetic computer system. And when in my hybrid state, it became a superconductor. Absurdly easy to think, and close to impossible to feel emotions. "It's because I hated myself. A bad thing happened that made me angry and sad. Those emotions make people hurt other people."


Riley frowned, and I dropped the power state. I couldn't keep it running forever, and I needed it for work. "Mannequin hated himself. I hate myself, sometimes," she answered. "When I think about everyone I hurt, it makes me sad and angry. But I would never hurt Missy."


"You're smarter than I was," I said.


"Do you think Missy would hurt me?" Riley asked.


Probably, if something bad enough happened, I thought. "No," I lied. I was a good liar, and my physiology was so nonhuman that Riley's ability to spot deception wouldn't work on me. Even Rapture's tech didn't work on me. Her power did, yes, but not her equipment. "Missy's smart, too."


Riley nodded, looking relieved. She'd undone a lot of the personality tech she built into herself. I could still see its remnants running in her brain, at least when I went hybrid, but she wasn't faking being cheerful anymore. She had her bad days as well as her good, like everyone else, although she made the bad a lot less bad than it would be if she were relying on normal neurochemistry. Really, it was probably less mind altering than most prescription antidepressants.


"I'm trying to make Taylor my friend again," I informed her. Somehow, she was more well liked around her than I was. And she was fucking Bonesaw. I knew how those spider-bots were made, now. There was a human neurosystem in there. A young one, capable of adapting to the change of circumstances. If she had then the kind of lab she has now, I could be persuaded that it was artificial. She didn't. She had to use a toddle for parts every time she built one of those things. If others could accept what she had done, surely I wasn't so bad?


"How?" she asked. "I don't think she wants to be your friend anymore. And I'm pretty sure she's not going to let you alter that."


"After we restore Glory Girl," I answered. "It means Amelia will have her sister back. After that, Taylor will have to be grateful that we helped her girlfriend with something that monumental. You'll benefit, too. We both know Taylor's still uncomfortable around you."


"I don't mind," Riley responded. "I tried to hurt Taylor really bad. Tried to take her apart, even. Did horrible things to one of her friends. She has every right to be mad at me. She still tries to be nice to me even though she doesn't have to. It's more than I deserve."


"After this, she'll have to," I insisted. "You can't stay mad at someone after they pretty much perform a miracle for you. Taylor will forgive us both, and Amelia will have her sister and it'll be like the bad stuff never happened at all."


"I don't think that's how it works," Riley responded. "Pretending the bad stuff isn't real just makes things worse. Trust me, I lived with the Slaughterhouse Nine. I'm only getting better now because I'm not pretending anymore."


I didn't speak, and Riley took that as an invite to continue.


"And Missy says I'm her friend because she likes being friends with me. She likes being around me, and I like being around her, and we like it when the other is happy. That's why we're friends, and that's why Amelia's my sister. It has nothing to do with what I can do for her or anything I can give her. That's only why we're part of a team together. And because we're both 'badass action babes'."


I froze and thought back. By that definition, I haven't had any friends at all since... since Taylor. I had all the friends at school. Girls who wanted to be popular. Boys who wanted to be seen with me, wanted in my pants, or most likely both.


Sophia was closer, but she had been a mentor. Sure, we spent time together, and shared secrets. In as much as Sophia would share anything with anyone. It hadn't taken me long to discover that she'd get upset if I didn't keep doing what she wanted to do. Namely, torment Taylor, lord popularity over other girls, and her activities as a vigilante. Outside of that, Sophia cared about nothing at all, and made her disinterest known in her own less than subtle way. To claim she cared about whether or not I was happy? For fuck's sake, she was going to watch me get gang raped if I didn't fight back.


"See," I said. "Told you Missy was smart." So much for that idea, I thought. Sure, resurrection technology was a big deal. The biggest deal possible. There was no way to exaggerate how important it was. But she was right. It wouldn't result in Taylor's acceptance. I would deserve it, yes. But that wouldn't mean I'd get it.


"How did you get Amelia to like you? Or Missy? Or all of the others?" I asked. "They know what you've done, and still they accept you."


Riley looked down. "I don't know," she admitted.


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


A/N- FORESHADOWING!!! Arglebargle!

Also: Emma's pathetic and Riley's both horrifying and adorable. In case you weren't aware of this.

 

Amelia, Ch 140- Taylor


Shopping was, as usual, an exhausting experience. Lisa and/or Crystal would decide what looked good for me, argue with each other for a couple minutes, and then I'd have to argue with them about such things as price and too much of my very not tan skin being shown.


"This is suppose to be winter clothes," I finally declared after the fifth skirt they tried to get me to buy. "I am not wearing a skirt for winter. It happens to be cold during winter. If I'm going to get frostbite, I at least want it somewhere I can tell the doctors about and still look them in the eyes."


"Isn't your fiancée your doctor?" Crystal teased.


"Yes," I said in a carefully neutral tone.


"Well, you heard Taylor," Lisa responded. "She prefers looking Amelia in the eyes."


"If Zach was here," Crystal laughed. "He'd probably say something about a kiss to make it better."


I just sighed and resolved that the next city that Pantheon claimed permanently would be in Alaska. I would assign both Lisa and Crystal to manage that site. Forever. Surely there was a PRT Director up there that would appreciate the help.


"Speaking of Zach," Lisa said, grinning.


Crystal's eyes widened. "No."


"Did you think I wouldn't find out?"


"Find out what?" I asked.


"No. No no no. Don't you fucking dare," Crystal insisted.


"Aww, but you don't want to share your plans for the future?" Lisa smirked.


"I was just being nice!" Crystal exclaimed.


"Oh Ta~ylor, your future step sister promised Za~ch a~ da~te." Lisa sang every 'a' sound, and clicked her tongue at the last 't'.


At last, I thought. Someone else suffers this bullshit! "Oh, really?" I joined in the smirking. "Sorry, Crystal, now I feel bad. Can't be easy on you when your boyfriend tastes like crickets."


"In five years!" She insisted. "I told him that, if we were both single, five years from now, then I'd maybe go on a date with him."


I shrugged. "Y'know, the way he works out, he's going to be buff as hell in five years."


"Taylor's been doing her part to help," Lisa volunteered. "Grasshoppers are really high in protein."


....


"Umm, huh," I muttered as we approached the food court. I was glad for my morning workouts, it's the only reason my feet hadn't fallen off yet. "Guess what?"


"Riley is busy creating yet another abomination against nature and god?" Lisa volunteered.


"No-" I paused. "Actually, yes. But that's not what I was talking about."


"You've decided one Endbringer is enough and want to shop for wedding dresses?" Crystal suggested.


"Close enough," I declared. "Our parents are on a date a couple blocks from here."


"Where? How come you didn't notice earlier? What are they doing?" Crystal asked.


"I dunno," I answered. "Some Italian place, I'm pretty sure. I didn't notice because I'm trying not to be omnispy. And heavy petting. Very heavy petting."


"Eww, gross," Crystal paused. Lisa snickered. "Wait. You're just fucking with me, aren't you?"


"Yep," I admitted, smiling what I was sure was a Lisa-esque smile.. "They just got there. I didn't notice because they came in different vehicles and I didn't realize they were headed to the same place until they were both in the parking lot."


"We should spy on their date!" Crystal declared.


"We are not going to spy on them," I insisted. "It's creepy."


Crystal snickered. "You, of all people, did not just say that."


"No, seriously, it's not cool and I'm not doing it," I insisted. "What they do on their own time is their own business, not ours. I am not going to pry into their relationship by eavesdropping on them without their knowledge or permission."


"They're in Brockton Bay," Crystal countered. "The act of being in this city means they've already given you permission."


"I managed to not know about you and Zach," I pointed out. "You didn't seem too happy when Lisa gave out your secrets to me."


"Fine," she huffed. "But we're their kids, we totally deserve to know. If only so we have a proper warning next time."


"Here's a suggestion," I said. "How about if we just walk right up to them and say hello? Then we can pry to our hearts content without being creepy about it."


"No wonder Amy likes you so much," Crystal complained. "You're the only person on the planet who is better at killing fun than she is. We're going to wind up having that whole 'meet the family' thing with Aunt Carol soon enough, anyway, so let's just let them have their date."


"Good, I was in the mood for cheese fries for lunch, anyway," I said happily. I wasn't going to spy on my dad's date, and volunteering to just show up and interrupt it was a bluff. I was happy he had someone, but I was happier to just let him be happy on his own. Meeting them, seeing them together, made it a bit more real than I wanted it to think about it being right now. It would be easier with Amelia there when that happened the first time.


ConcernProtective. I smiled, dipping into the link.


"Don't take this the wrong way," Crystal said. "But how in the hell are you so skinny? You eat more than anyone I've ever met and you still have the figure of a fashion model."


I shrugged. "My whole family's like that," I answered. It feels so much nicer when Amelia says stuff like that to me, I realized. Probably because I know that she means it. With anyone else, it just made me feel somewhere between 'awkward' and 'meh, whatever'.


"Good genes, then," Crystal concluded. "I am totally jealous, now. I have to watch my diet and work out religiously to keep my figure."


"Your figure comes with boobs," I countered. "So you don't get to complain about anything."


"That sounds like too much work," Lisa dismissed. "I just get Amelia to give me a tune up once every month or so, plus a few bells and whistles to keep certain other biological inconveniences out of my life," She looked at me, and grinned her usual grin. "Whose idea do you think that bikini was?"


"Oh, you cheating bitch," Crystal groaned.


"What?" she asked, feigning shock. "You mean it doesn't count unless you luck into it by genetic accident?" Her smile grew even wider. I was beginning to picture the top of her head falling off. "Well, then, on the subject of optimal figures for genetics, here's a thought: What are the odds either of your parents brought contraceptives to their little afterparty?"


And with those words, lunch was over. Probably dinner as well.

 

Amelia, Ch 141


AnnoyanceDisgustSadness. I cringed. What was that? I went back to my armor and started slipping it on. I had been trying to relax, after Carol left. Yet another unequal relationship in my life, I supposed. She wanted to be my mother, now. Took her long enough. It was... I wasn't even sure. Too little, too late, really. I wasn't someone who needed a mother, anymore. Still, it was closure, and I hadn't realized how much I needed that.


"Okay, what the hell's going on over there?" I asked, once the suit was active.


"Lisa's been infested by Zach's mind, I think," Taylor responded. "She's discovered a way to torment me and your cousin and she's playing it to the hilt."


"It has to do with your parents dating, doesn't it?" I asked.


"Yeah. She found a way to dial the squick up to eleven," Taylor replied. I frowned, the armor usually was better at carrying her tone of voice. Was there something wrong with it, or something wrong with Taylor's emotions at the moment? "We're on our way home, now."


"What? So bad that it canceled your shopping?" I asked. I was more than a little disappointed.


AmusedPleased. "Don't worry, I've got a dozen new outfits. I'll show some of them off for you later. Maybe I'll even show off that bikini, now that I know you were the one that wanted me to get it so badly."


"I will build an underground pool for the base, if you do," I offered. Speaking of unequal relationships. Oh well. I honestly couldn't imagine being happier, and I was glad for the no pressure, no obligation sort of relationship we had. Or at least we had in our home lives. Being engaged to marry after we killed the last couple Endbringers was definitely an obligation. It just wasn't one between me and her. It was between us and the PR department.


"Actually, that's a really good idea anyway," Taylor agreed. "Then I can hold Lisa under until the bubbles stop."


"Or it can just be part of the gym," I suggested. "Winter's coming, you know." I had already started the process. It really didn't work, positioned where the gym was. I'd have to destroy one of the labs to do it. So I simply moved the gym. A section near the edge of the crater. Near the house that was still, in theory, where I lived. I haven't actually been there in a week, now that I think about it.


It was a bit away from our living area. That was fine, if anything it was a probably a good thing to keep it away from the main areas. A bit of work later, and I managed to put together something that I was pretty sure was about the same as the pool in Arcadia. Meanwhile, I kept talking to Taylor.


"So, what did that nightmare you forced me to accept onto the team do this time?" I asked.


"Something that would make the nightmare you forced me to accept onto the team squeal with joy," Taylor responded back. Uh oh. "She's been speculating on the possibility that Crystal and I might end up with a half sibling thanks to... a lack of precaution."


I laughed. "Oh, that'd be hilarious."


DiscouragedPlayful. "Thanks a lot," she muttered.


"Oh, don't worry," I laughed. "Sarah's safe. She had me make sure of it."


"Really?" HopeRelief. Taylor asked. "You're absolutely certain."


"Unless she had a second trigger that includes regeneration or a breaker state, or asked someone like Riley to undo it?" I qualified. "Then yes, I am absolutely certain. She was fine with the two she had, and only ever put off the surgery because she was afraid of medical complications with the whole 'is a superhero' thing. She got that taken care of like a month after I triggered. Which was a bit uncomfortable for my thirteen year old self, by the way."


RelaxedComfort. "Oh thank every god!" Taylor declared. "I'm telling Crystal right now."


"Although," I added with a smile. "It's easily reversible with my power. So don't discount adorable future siblings asking their sisters for help drawing their illustrious and peculiar family tree at some point in the future."


IrritationAmusment. "I will find a way to make you suffer for that. I am not entirely sure how, but I suspect it involves Missy, Riley, a sleepover, and approximately twenty pounds of cotton candy. Also, I'm pretty sure Lisa's scheming something extra special for ruining her joke. But we're almost home, so I'll talk to you in person soon."


"Looking forward to the fashion show," I said as I got up and left my room. She probably didn't need my help carrying the bags, but I wanted to. I passed by the lounge area, where Theo and Zach had finally abandoned their gaming. We could probably have just stuck televisions in every individual room, but Lisa said this was a better way to do it. A communal area where we could interact off the job. I suspected she just didn't want to buy all the extra televisions.


Emma was now watching the walkway from one of the couches. "Hey!" she exclaimed, rising to her feet. "Do you have a minute?"


I stopped and turned toward her. Remember, she's still a part of the team, now. Taylor didn't exactly like her, and knowing what she did to Taylor meant I didn't like her, but we owed a lot of our tech to her. It wouldn't exactly kill me to be professional. "Sure," I replied. "I'm not in a huge rush."


She jogged up to me. "Uh... Taylor, are you there?" She asked. Oh, right, my armor.


"Yes," Taylor confirmed.


"Okay, good," she smiled just a little. It was really weird seeing how she reacted to Taylor. "This is one of those things I wanted to announce to both of you at the same time. I've completed the copying device."


"Copying device?" I asked.


"You know, the one that lets you copy minds into new people?" Emma looked at me strangely and shifted into her brown state. I ignored it, we'd decided a while ago that she didn't have complete control over her forms. She usually did, in the way that people controlled their facial expressions, but it was often subconscious. As long as she didn't use her hybrid state, it wasn't anything to be alarmed by.


"Do you mean the memory transfer tech?" I asked.


She looked at me strangely. "Umm... no?" Then she hesitated. "Oh, fuck, you don't know, do you?"


"Know what?" Taylor asked. The voice through the armor sounded a lot calmer than the emotions of worry and suspicion coming through our bond.


"Maybe... maybe we should talk about this in person?" Emma offered. "Just... just the three of us? Somewhere private? Maybe secret?"


"I'll be there in a minute or two," Taylor agreed. CuriosityWorryConfusion.


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


A/N- Ah, the start of THIS arc. I like this arc.

 

Amelia, 142


"Come on, Emma," I said, leading us back toward my bedroom. We stopped several feet away and I forced a bubble to open inside the wall for us. It took considerably less effort to build a room there than it did to build that swimming pool. I'd have to show it to the others later. "Taylor, just go into the bedroom." We waited the few minutes before Taylor managed to get there in silence.


Taylor went along with the instructions, leaving her shopping bags on my desk before stepping into the portal I created. "Okay, so what's going on here?"


"Well, like I was saying, I got the memory device working," she said.


"So you can rescue Victoria?" I asked. HappyConcerned. I looked at Taylor. I could see the mixed emotions on her face, and I knew why. Bringing Victoria back was one of those things I had longed for. I hadn't really stopped to think about what it meant. Given what we now knew about how her aura influenced me... there were a lot of things to consider. I was still going to do it, of course, she was my sister and I would save her. What came after, however, was a far more difficult question.


"That's rather the problem," Emma looked away. "Promise not to shoot the messenger on this one? All I'm doing is telling you about something that I know that you haven't figured out. None of it's my fault. I get credit for that much, at least, right?"


I glanced at Taylor. HesitanceWorry. "Okay, that's fair," Taylor answered. I was most definitely letting her take the lead on this one. Taylor was the one with the personal connection to Emma, after all. I would let make the calls when it came to this.


"This tech only 'saves' people in the same way you save a file on a computer. We aren't restoring her to life, we're building a copy of her body and then giving it her memories. It doesn't 'rescue' anyone, it creates duplicates."


"It's not the same as the memory transfer tech we used on Noelle?" Taylor asked.


"It's the same," Emma answered. "We do not have a transfer device. I doubt such a machine even can exist. Maybe if you somehow teleported the brain out of the old body and into the new one, but that's way outside the abilities of the kind of tech we're using here. This is pretty much no different than burning a CD. When you're done, there's always three copies. One's the original, one's stored on the computer, and the last is the new CD."


ShockGuilt. "So... so when we incinerated Noelle's body original body?" I asked. "Does that mean we killed her?"


Emma nodded slightly. "If this equipment is how you cured her, then yes. The original was just as much a person as the copy. Unless Riley included a second function that wiped the original's brain when it was finished, in which case that killed her first."


I leaned against the wall and formed a place to sit. "We murdered her," I muttered. "I thought we were just destroying an empty vessel, with nothing left inside it. Not killing a human being." ConcernProtectiveness.


"I don't think Noelle would see it that way," Emma countered. "Or, at least she wouldn't complain too much about it. I guess maybe the original might have, if you asked her after the transfer. I've talked to her some, and she always seems really glad to be normal. She seemed pretty set on the idea that if it hadn't work, she'd rather be dead."


I frowned. God damn it. I'm not even saving Victoria... I'm simply creating a duplicate of her. And that wasn't even the worst part. I ordered the murder of a helpless girl. I've never killed before, unless we count Jack Slash, and even now it was difficult to consider that a murder. I injured him, fatally even, and then left him to die. But that was in combat and he was Jack Fucking Slash.


In retrospect, however, I could have easily caught him instead of killing him. So I guess I've murdered twice, now. Taylor moved over to me and nudged me over a bit so she could share the seat with me. I enlarged it. She pulled me against her and started stroking my hair. It was wonderful as always, but I wasn't in a mood to appreciate it.


"Are the copies still the same person?" I asked, after pulling away from my resting position on Taylor's shoulder.


Emma shrugged. "Maybe you should ask a philosopher or theologian that question. I'm probably not the person you should be taking advice on morality and spirituality from. I can tell you that, if it's done correctly, there wouldn't be an observable way to tell the difference between the two. Assuming the bodies are copied as perfectly as the memories. The brain will be a perfect duplicate. Unless you tried something completely insane like copying onto an already active mind. That... then you'd get something incredibly messed up in the head."


"I just..." I sighed. I squeezed Taylor, just to have the comfort of someone to touch. "If we do this, will what we bring back still be my sister? I thought we were going to rescue her. Wake her up from some kind of tinkertech stasis. Not copy her like a computer file."


"I'm sorry, I thought you knew before I even started on this project," Emma answered. "I think it still counts. The mind is what makes a person, right? The brain, the memories, the thought processes? Really, it's not much different than how Zach's power works. Just a lot slower. Honestly, you should all get backups. Maybe update them every week or so. Right now... if certain members of this team die, especially the two of you... then Pantheon's pretty much fucked. And there are a lot of people who want to kill you. Two of whom are Endbringers."


I took a slow breath. "Know what? You're right. We've long since graduated past ethical dilemmas. We are dealing with omnicidal parasites." UnderstandingAgreement. I stood, and Taylor stood beside me. "We're doing it. We'll keep the clone thing a secret. Keep calling it a memory transfer device." ReliefCertainty. Taylor held me tighter. "We'll restore Victoria, and I'll have a copy of myself made."


"You already have the one copy we're studying to break Taboo," Emma pointed out. "I guess this is a big enough deal to have a newer save file made That way we won't have to go through this again with your copy if something happens."


"Yeah, kind of a big deal," I agreed. "But let's not sugar coat this. If a copy's awakened, it means I'm dead. Having a really good replacement doesn't change that. It means Pantheon can survive, and that's more important than our individual lives, but I would still be dead."


Emma smiled, if a bit hesitantly. "Okay. I was afraid you'd take this a lot worse than you did, honestly."


"Like I said," my smile probably wasn't any happier. "We're facing the extinction of our entire species. We can't afford to be picky." CertaintySupport.


Emma glanced over at Taylor. "Umm, can I talk to you about something? Alone?"


"Is it important?" Taylor asked. SuspicionAnnoyance.


"Not the way this was important," Emma admitted. "But it's important to me. I'll call in whatever credit telling you about this earned me, if that helps."


ReluctanceTolerance. Taylor gripped my hand. "Okay," she agreed. "But if you can say it to me, you can say it in front of Amelia."


Emma looked at me, then at where our hands were entwined. "Okay," she agreed. "That's fair. I was... I wanted to apologize. For everything I've done."


"You've done that already," Taylor grumbled, gripping my hand just a little too tight.


"I know," Emma agreed. "But this time... remember when I said you were acting like the old you? I meant it. And I've been thinking about it. And watching how Missy and Riley are. The way they get along. They're just..." Emma trailed off. And Taylor didn't speak, either.


"They are pretty adorable," I volunteered after an uncomfortable minute or so. If just to prompt one of them to speak up.


"Yeah, they're like sisters." Emma agreed with me, before looking back over to Taylor. "I've been paying a lot of attention to that. And it's brought back a lot of memories. How I used to have a friend like that. You're becoming the girl I remember. The one I used to be best friends with, someone I was closer to than I ever was my own family. I want that relationship again, Taylor. I want to be who I was then. Back before everything that happened."


AngerResistanceIncredulity. I gritted my teeth against the wash of emotion, and then I pushed back. Focusing on the same nostalgia and longing she had used on me just this morning. She froze for a second, losing her grip on my hand. She looked over at me, and I looked back. She paused, and then she relented, letting go of her anger, if only just enough to get the message. I could almost hear her thinking about just how ironic this was. It was my will that won this time, as the hatred splintered and dissolved in the sea of other concepts and emotions.


Taylor smiled at me. She knew the truth: that wouldn't have worked if the feelings weren't there to begin with. At best, we could mute or encourage. We couldn't create what did not actually exist. Kinda like our failed attempt at physical intimacy. Taylor looked back at Emma. Who was waiting with a nervously hopeful smile. "No," she finally said, with a soft certainty in her voice.


What? I hadn't expected that, not with Taylor's current emotional state. Emma's face showed her devastation. "I... I understand. It was too much to ask for, I'm sorry for bothering you." She turned to leave, only to realize there currently wasn't a door to leave from.


"We can't go back," Taylor continued, before I'd put together the concentration to open a new door. "But we can move forward."


Emma turned back to look at Taylor again.


"Holding on to the past isn't going to help either of us," my partner's hand gripped mine tight again. "I'm not who I was, and I never can be again. Neither are you. That door has been closed, and frankly it deserves to remain closed. But maybe, just maybe, who we are now, who we're going to be in the future, can be friends."


Emma was smiling broadly. I was pretty sure she'd be crying right now, if her physiology still had that ability. None of us said anything for a few seconds, and then Emma stepped forward and clung against Taylor, hugging her tightly. I should feel a bit more awkward about this, I reflected.


"Okay," Emma agreed, her voice still relatively neutral. Far more than it should have been. Another side effect of her altered biology.


Taylor looked at me. HesitationPeaceSatisfaction. She still held my hand, but her other arm moved around her former best friend's back and held her.


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

A/N- Isn't that sweet?