Queen of Blood (Worm/Castlevania) (Complete)

A/N: Phew. Time to get this caught up.
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“I’m going.” Vicky said flatly.

Gallant groaned to himself. With the ability to recognize people suppressed, Vicky was even more bullheaded than usual. He managed to talk with a lot of weakness in his voice. “It’s not safe out there, Glory Girl. We haven’t got a spare amulet to see if it can heal you yet.” He looked down at the stump of his arm with a grimace. With Vista disabled by Shatterbird, Crawler had managed to tear his way through the PRT and managed to make a snack out of his arm, just before Clockblocker managed to land a touch and buy them enough time to get away.

Aegis looked back at Vicky, his arms folded. While he had injuries too, they didn’t matter as much with his power, and one of Paladin’s amulets was tucked under his costume, speeding along his natural regeneration. “Don’t worry. I’ll take Amara there, and I’ll do everything I can.”

Vicky’s fingers clenched into fists. “These are my parents. Even if I have no idea who they are right now, I don’t care, and I’m not going to just fucking sit here and let them die.”

Amara growled back at the blonde. To his sight, she looked odd. Or rather, she looked normal, surrounded by only a faint outline of whatever her emotional state was. It reminded him of Scarlet, though she was difficult to look at. To his senses, Scarlet was a black hole surrounded by a bright corona, while Alucard and Amara simply looked normal with a fainter outline. He’d almost forgotten what it meant to look at someone without the glow of their emotions washing out some of their features.

Amara’s voice was determined. “You can’t recognize them, or possible threats, or anyone else right now. Jack Slash himself could walk right up to you and say he was ou..your dad, and you couldn’t know.”

Her voice sounded faintly familiar...and that slip of the tongue...a sinking suspicion began to grow in the back of his mind. He looked over at the prone form of Meridia, the woman in red platemail lying still. Even as he watched, the faint swirls and eddies of color in her aura were fading into the same lack that Amara and Alucard had. A thought was beginning to grow in the back of Gallant’s head, and he wasn’t sure he liked the shape of it.

Vicky clenched her hands. “I ain’t going to just sit here while I’m worrying about what these fuckers have done to my parents! I’m going. I don’t need to recognize anybody to play attack dog, and I can get you there a lot faster than you can on your own.”

Alucard spoke, his voice filled with concern. “Without the ability to tell friend from foe, it is far too dangerous for you to leave here. The enemy is not foolish, they will attempt to retrieve or avenge their comrades.”

Vicky turned toward Alucard with a snarl. Her aura was turning a fiery red as anger broiled to the surface. Anger she showed with great enthusiasm. It was one of the reasons he adored Victoria Dallon, aside from the problems that came up with teen relationships. She was refreshingly straightforward, while most people were twisting messes.

Gallant coughed, making the three turn their attention to him. In his single remaining hand, he held out the Light Magic amulet that had been healing him. “Here. Maybe it’ll work on fixing the plague.” He croaked. “Not exactly going to see much action like this, anyway.” He gestured to his injury, the stump of his left arm twitching a little.

Aegis blinked. “Gallant, you sure?”

Gallant shrugged. “I can wait. Her parents can’t. This is bigger than me, and as much as the amulet’s been helping me, she needs it more.”

Vicky bit her lip, then took the amulet. She slipped it around her neck, and the silver object began to glow. Amara took a step back, wincing as her pale skin began to smoke on exposure to the light. Vicky seemed to realize the problem, and tucked it under her shirt. It still glowed, but the light wasn’t hurting the other girl, now.

After a few moments, Vicky blinked, then looked back and forth between Amara, Aegis, Gallant, and Alucard. “Oh. Good. This thing does work.” She blinked another couple of times. “Aaand now I’m going to have to apologize to Red, when I see her.”

Alucard tilted his head. “Good. The amulets can work as a cure. Tis good to have the suspicion confirmed, rather than simply postulated.”

Amara nodded at that. “All right, we’re going.” She looked to Alucard. “You coming? We could use your help.”

He shook his head. “One of us must stay with Meridia. Things may be rather...unpleasant, if she awakens on her own.”

Clockblocker spoke up. “Hey, long as she doesn’t eat us.”

At the silence, he groaned. “Seriously!?”

Amara facepalmed. “Let’s just go.”

“Hear hear.” Aegis said.

“One sec.” Vicky said, smiling a little. She bent down and gave the front of Gallant’s helmet a kiss. “Thanks, G. You’re my damn hero today.”

He chuckled weakly. “Part of the job.”

There was a flicker of emotion from the corner of his eye. The girl with the red streak in her hair, her aura turned a bright, vibrant, ugly green. Definitely jealous, but there wasn’t much help for that. Blasting her with a happiness beam for a bit of very human desire wouldn’t exactly be helpful.

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Vicky held Amy in her hands as they came in for a landing, right in front of their house. She set her sister down, then cracked her knuckles. “All right. Let’s head on up. If they come this way, I’m gonna make them regret it.”

Aegis’ voice was a bit wry. “We’ll make them regret it. I’ll keep on overwatch until more reinforcements arrive. See to your parents.”

Amy tapped her earpiece. “We’ve arrived on location.” The first aid kit in her other hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. She hoped it was useful. Dread gnawed at her.

The harsh and serious voice of Director Piggot came over the line. “Good. Communications are likely compromised. Execute contingency 19-A-473.”

Amy blinked. Vicky just looked between Amy and Aegis and shrugged.

Aegis simply nodded, tapping his earpiece. “Understood.”

At their looks, he tapped his earpiece again to shut it down. “It means to shut down comms, barring emergencies, and wait for reinforcements to escort us to somewhere safe. In this case, as soon as we’re done here, we’re supposed to head for the nearest evacuation point. That’ll be along the I-95 toward Boston from here. Soon as our help arrives, and we can move Brandish and Flashbang, we go.”

Amy nodded and pushed open the front door to what had been her house, Vicky following closely. Never a real home, but that wasn’t really relevant now. Worry weighed down on her mind. Almost everyone had heard the horror stories about the Nine, the things they did to people. How under Bonesaw’s hands, even dying wasn’t a guaranteed way to escape their clutches. She knew it was probably going to be worse than she feared.

Still, as many problems she had with her adoptive mother, she didn’t want to see her dead. Or worse than dead. The scent of blood was strong, and already her imagination was running wild. She licked her lips, the instinct to seek out the blood warring with her worry about those it belonged to.

With fear, the two made their way upstairs, finding the horrible sight of Carol and Mark. Bonesaw...no, Taylor possessing Bonesaw was busily sewing up the paralyzed woman with...dental floss? Thankfully, the pair looked unconscious. It didn’t help much with the horror of the moment, though.

“Mom, dad!” Vicky shouted, her eyes wide. She barreled into the room, frantically looking over Carol’s sewn-up body. To Amy’s eyes, the stitching was expert, and even as Amy looked over it, the skin beneath the stitching was healing.

Vicky whirled on the possessed Bonesaw, grabbing her by the neck and holding her in the air. “What the hell did you do!?” She clenched and unclenched her fists. The only thing keeping her from attacking outright was the fact the girl’s eyes were red, just as Taylor’s were when she was doing...well, just about anything weird.

Taylor’s voice was tired. “Saved her. Bonesaw had her organs cut out and she was surviving on Tinkertech replacements. All to make room so she could have hers, Mark’s, and your brains in one body. I had to cook up and use macrophages for the last part of the surgery. They’re devouring the infective bacteria and converting themselves into Carol’s ordinary tissue. She’ll be okay, now. Despite how I found her, putting her back together was fairly simple. Physically, anyway. Mentally...” With a grimace, she looked over at Mark’s head.

Vicky lifted a fist. Amy pressed her hand onto Vicky’s shoulder. Vicky growled deeply, then set Taylor/Bonesaw down.

Taylor rubbed her neck as she looked to Amy. “I’m going to need help here. Fixing Carol was a lot easier, but Mark’s body’s been dead a while.” She looked at a bowl of...something blue and frothing in the corner. “The vaccine’s just about ready, too. Any idea on how to distribute it to kill this fucking cloud?”

Amy shook herself. As Panacea, she’d worked on and healed many horrific wounds and infirmities. The worst was a boy who had the misfortune of having his heart form on the outside of his ribcage.

This? This was worse than that. But not so much worse that she couldn’t act. Drawing on that boiling font of anger at the sight, Amy steeled herself and nodded. “The problem is the prions are using ordinary bacteria to multiply. They shouldn’t be able to, they don’t normally have the right proteins, but...”

Taylor nodded, her expression looking odd on Bonesaw’s face. “Yeah, Tinkers are bullshit. “

Amy grimaced with a nod. “Best bet? We use the same bacteria making the prions to make the virus, instead. They’ve already got the right stuff, so we’d only have to tweak them a bit.”

Taylor’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you’re a genius. And if I went and used some of the infected blood...which there’s a lot of around here, we can test the solution before we release it!” Her fingers moved deftly as she cleaned the blood off Brandish’s skin, cleaning her fingers with the bowl of frothy...stuff.

Finally, Taylor finished working on Brandish, and looked to Mark’s head and body. “All right. Can you still heal? I know things haven’t been very good as far as that goes, since...”

“Heal...” Vicky said softly. She blinked, then pulled the amulet around her neck from inside her shirt. “Could this work? Please, tell me it can work.” She looked desperately between Amy and the possessed Bonesaw. Amy was forced to take a step away, grimacing at the silvery light shone forth from it.

Taylor looked at it, wincing a little, but she nodded. “Yeah. It just might help. But the prions are still around here... You could get reinfected if you take it off. We don't know if the amulets will provide lasting immunity or what.”

Amy nodded, then she tilted her head. “Considering we have a vaccine, though...”

Vicky’s voice was weak, frail, and sounded very much like a little girl. “Do it. I don’t care anymore. Just help my dad.”

Taylor noded, determination on her face. Bonesaw’s face. Whatever, this was confusing. The little blonde girl held out her hand, and Vicky handed over the amulet.

After a moment, Vicky looked between Amy, Taylor, and the prone forms of her parents. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is so fucking weird. I’m good though. I can still recognize you. Frothy goop not needed. Least for the moment.” She looked to Amy. “Ames...”

Amy nodded with a slight smile. “I’ll do everything I can.”

Taylor looked to Amy. “I’ll get the tissue living again, you do the fine work of getting things reattached, one bit at a time. Then we work on the scar tissues, because if we get this wrong....”

Amy felt her hands reshaping themselves, becoming longer, thinner, and more finely controlled, in acknowledgement of her desire. “We won’t.”


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Vicky waited, wringing her hands. She knew she’d be useless trying to help upstairs, but that didn’t make her feel any better. While she wasn’t exactly happy at home, it was home, and knowing that Bonesaw had hurt her parents...

Well, she wasn’t sure she could restrain herself from pounding Bonesaw’s face in, even if Red was currently occupying it.

Aegis shifted a bit nervously on his feet. “Don’t like this.”

Vicky nodded. “Yeah, well...how long until help gets here?”

He hummed in thought. “Shouldn’t be too long, now. Problem is they can’t send anyone who might get infected.”

Vicky grimaced. “So that’s...what?”

Aegis shook his head. “Not much, right now.”

The prion cloud made things a lot more difficult than it needed to be. The whole neighborhood might as well have been nonexistent, as it was hard to see even the next house. Also...it stank. Like old gym socks, but worse. Least the few minutes she had Gallant’s amulet made her immune to the stuff. If only it could have magicked up super-vision to let her see through this mist. All she could do was hope it would work to help fix up her father.

Then a sound reached her, echoing somewhat peculiarly in the mist. Metal slapping on concrete. Footsteps running at higher than ordinary human speed. Vicky braced herself for whatever might emerge from the mist. Aegis floated upward, clenching his hands.

Only for a figure in white and silver armor to come into view, her boots flaring with light as she skidded to a stop on the street. She took a moment to pant, rolling her shoulders a bit. “Finally! You have any idea how hard it is to navigate around here with this shit in the air?” Paladin paused for a moment, looking between Vicky and Aegis with some hesitation. “Uh...please tell me you guys recognize me. I’m having a bad enough night as it is.”

Aegis nodded, relief in his voice. “I recognize you. What’s the situation?”

Paladin’s voice was filled with annoyance. “Miss Milita’s on her way. Dauntless too, once he finishes up ferrying some of the badly wounded back to safety. Almost everyone else is a bit stuck. Since our comms are in the badguy’s hands, we need to set everyone to a new frequency and encryption.” She tapped the side of her helmet. “One-four-zero point one-five megahertz, according to the Director.” She then pulled another earpiece from her belt, holding it out for Vicky.

Vicky took it, switched the settings on it, then put it in her ear. “Great. Thanks.” She glanced up at the window of her house. “Things are...really bad in there.” She gently rubbed her eyes. The sight of her parents like that would haunt her nightmares, she knew it. It was only slightly better than what her imagination had conjured up. Though that was mostly because Taylor was already mostly done with her mother.

And that’s when the Siberian strode out of the mist. Aegis gulped and flew off the ground slightly, hovering in the air. Paladin readied herself, holding that Tinkertech whip at her side. Vicky took a step back, lifting her fists.

Still, without a plan, without some means of beating the Siberian, they didn’t have many options.

The Siberian paused in front of the three teens. Aegis hit his earpiece. “Siberian at the Dallon house, need backup now!”

Piggot’s voice echoed over the line. “Retreat, now!”

The serial killer seemed amused. She tilted her head slightly and, for the first time, spoke in public. “Amusing. But pointless. I will happily rend the three of you limb from limb and devour your bones. Step aside so I may retrieve Bonesaw, and I’ll spare myself the effort.”

She doesn’t know Taylor’s using Bonesaw’s body.

Vicky had a reputation for not being all that bright. It wasn’t true, she was smart. But she was impulsive, which wasn’t the same thing as stupid. She was energetic, and often had way too much enthusiasm when a given idea had her. But even on her worst day, she knew what stepping aside would mean. It’d mean the Siberian would tear what was left of her parents apart. She’d tear Amy apart.

“Fuck you.” Vicky said. “You fuckers turned my parents into horrors.”

Well, that was a stupid move. But an understandable one.

The Siberian smirked. In an instant, the striped woman was right in front of her, hand out. Tearing.

Vicky fell back with a scream. Blood gouted from the wound. Half the world was gone. Pain washed over her, pain greater than anything she’d ever known.

Almost casually, the Siberian popped the eyeball into her mouth. Chewed. Swallowed.

A line of searing light struck out, slashing the Siberian. And the invincible woman just smirked.

Paladin twirled her whip, the weapon blazing with light. “You’re not going any further.”

Vicky held a hand to the ruins of her face, writhing in agony. She was only vaguely aware as the Siberian lunged at Paladin, only for the newest Ward to dodge out of the way, her boots flaring with light. The Siberian looked annoyed as she moved with inhuman speed, trying to tear Paladin apart. She managed to grab the whip as it lashed out, blazing with light, and broke the chain in half.

Paladin stumbled back, looking at the broken end of her weapon. The Siberian lunged again, nearly managing to take Paladin’s head off, but she managed to dive backward in time.

Turning, the invincible woman moved toward the house, when Paladin flared with light and threw a...glass bottle? It smashed on the Siberian, a flare of light bursting outward.

The Siberian paused. Turned toward Paladin with seeming amusement. But the Ward...smiled? Her boots flaring, Paladin started running. “Aegis, Vicky, come on! We got her!”

Staggering, groaning in pain, Vicky launched herself straight into the air. Aegis took off after Paladin. Her voice echoed over the earpiece, somewhat strained as the Ward ran. “The Siberian’s Master is moving! Half a mile...west, west of the Dallon house! I can sense it! My power can sense it!”

It was hard for Vicky to see, through the missing eye and the sheer pain, but she could see the Siberian lunge, moving faster than anyone had ever seen her do before. Aegis dove down, grabbing Paladin and carrying her into the air.

The Siberian still managed to get a grip on his leg and ripped it off. Thanks to his power, Aegis didn’t scream in pain, nor did his concentration fail, but he did waver in the air somewhat. Blood flowed from the wound before his power rerouted his physiology, keeping him from bleeding to death. Then the Siberian popped like a soap bubble.

Unsteadily, Vicky flew after the pair. She was keenly aware of the blood flowing down her face, the sheer pain as she tried to keep her attention on flying. Turned out, though? Rage was one hell of an anaesthetic.

The Siberian fucking dies today.

Paladin pointed down, the gesture barely visible in the red mist. Aegis swooped down, and the pair landed right in front of a white van. The van’s engine turned on, the lights flaring up, as it began to move. Paladin jumped onto its roof and hit it with her gauntlet, the armor piece lighting up in white fire, but it didn’t do any damage to the roof.

Fucking powers bullshit. Vicky dove in front of the van, putting her hands on it and trying to push it back. Blurrily, she could see a man inside, him behind the wheel, with the Siberian right behind him, her hands touching the walls of the van. No matter how hard she tried to push, though, the van kept moving. It just didn’t matter.

A hand gripped her arm and yanked her upward, just before the van plowed through a house. Like how the Siberian herself was famous for being unstoppable, so did the van seem to be as it went through brickwork easily, coming through the other end of the house without resistance. It skidded a bit on the grass before it got back onto the pavement, driving straight toward the Dallon house.

“Thanks Aegis, I...” Vicky began to speak, then stopped when she saw the dark blue sleeve attached to the hand that held her. Not Aegis’ costume. The man let go.

He was middle-aged. His features were gentle, and there were gray streaks in his hair. And he had...big ears? He spoke softly. “Easy there. You’re hurt.”

Vicky growled to herself. “No shit. Who the hell are you!?”

He simply smiled and touched her cheek. Vicky grimaced, but the pain...faded. Her sight wasn’t restored in her destroyed eye, but it just...didn’t hurt anymore. Carefully, she reached up and felt the gaping wound. It was...sealed over, as if the injury was years old rather than minutes.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t got the power to restore you fully.” He looked regretful, but turned to see the van speeding away. He abruptly vanished, making Vicky waver in the air as she lost her balance. Growling in frustration, she flew after the van.

The man in blue and gold reappeared in the van’s path. He gestured, and the street below the van abruptly turned to ice. The vehicle lost traction and skidded, before reorienting itself. It aimed right at the man, who simply stood in its way, impassive, crossing his arms.

It slammed into him, and...stopped. The van didn’t crumple, it simply stopped dead. The unstoppable force apparently met an immovable object. The Siberian shimmered into existence on top of the van, glaring at the man in blue. The man lifted into the air, shaking his head sadly.

“Hello William.” He spoke, his voice echoing as he looked at the Siberian.

She stood stock-still a moment, then sighed and looked back at him. “It’s been a while. Finally decided to stop messing around?” She spread her arms. “You let me run around for ten years. You share a fair bit of the blood I’ve spilled.”

The man in blue shook his head, sadness on his face. “The amount on your hands is a very, very small drop compared to the blood on mine. But all that ends. Change starts now. A little while ago, I’d have taken great pleasure in this. Now, though?” He uncrossed his arms and lifted a hand. A ball of light formed in it, shining white between his fingers. “I pity you.”

He opened his fingers. The ball struck out, not at the Siberian, but at the van beneath her feet. It glowed with searing brightness, an absurd amount of heat pouring forth. Then it vanished, leaving only melted tarmac in its place. The Siberian and her projector were gone.

The man sighed, then tilted his head skyward. “That was for Clark.” He slowly lowered to the ground as Paladin stepped toward him. He tilted his head as he looked at the three teens. “Taking on the Siberian’s a bit beyond you. I applaud your bravery, but you really were taking on something above your abilities.”

Aegis floated near Vicky, holding out an amulet for her. She winced and took it, sliding it around her neck. “Thanks.”

The man looked up at Vicky, his smooth voice filled with concern. “Are you all right?”

Vicky snarled. “I’m fucking half-blind. No, I’m not all right.”

Paladin spoke. “The amulet should help with the pain, but that kind of damage...”

The man sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t have the ability to heal that.” He clenched his hands, grimacing. “I think you might be able to find other options, and if I can I’ll help with you. But my options are a bit limited.”

Aegis spoke, his voice filled with worry and concern. “What did you do to the Siberian?”

He sighed. “I transported her projector to place he cannot survive. Even with her ability to create an invulnerable surface, and with himself inside something she can protect, there is nothing she can do. One of the Nineteen will handle things. She is gone. The Siberian is dead.” The man turned to Paladin. “Your patron is a little lost at the moment. Call her. She will find her way back, but it will be much faster if you call.” His head tilted slightly. “That will be key, if I understand things right.”

Paladin’s voice was dubious. “Right. Who the hell are you?”

A slight smile. “I am Apostle. I serve the Nineteen bound, and the One free.”

Then he vanished.

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William Manton, the foremost expert on parahumans in the world, looked back at his other self. The Siberian, the idealized form of his daughter, the projection he’d held ongoing for ten years. One of the most infamous members of the Nine in their history.

Now it was the only thing keeping him alive. Outside the windshield of his van was a seething bright whiteness. He’d been forced to dive into the back of the van, taking off his shirt and using it to shield his eyes. The Siberian, however, was unfazed by the sheer light. Her contact with the walls was making the van itself invulnerable, and her efforts were enough to try and move it through this mass of...something.

The outer layers of the van had melted. Thankfully, that had sealed it enough that the sheer heat outside was prevented from leaking in and cooking him alive. Unfortunately, it also meant he’d run out of air very, very soon if he couldn’t get somewhere with fresh air. The Siberian was able to push it through this thick, dense mass, but he had no idea where he was. Things felt light here. Like he was on the Moon. He’d even tried dropping his phone (stolen from a victim in Wallerton) and it fell very slowly.

Suddenly, the light from outside darkened, and the travel through the hot mass outside halted. Try as he might, he couldn’t get the Siberian to move anymore, not a single inch. He turned the Siberian’s head to take a look out the window.

The brightness dimmed as the...substance of something flowed away from the window, allowing him a clear view. A single, immense red eye looked back at Manton. A fanged maw curled upward in amusement.

Behemoth had the van in his grasp.

All he could do was stare back at the Endbringer as the air grew thicker, heavier, and more stale. It took three hours before he finally lost the ability to think coherently. Finally, his eyes drooped shut as he slid into unconsciousness.

He didn’t feel it as the Siberian winked out of existence. The van instantly melted in the molten iron that surrounded the Earth’s core.

And Behemoth curled himself up, placed his claws on the core of the Earth, and basked in the heat that was part of his domain.

Soon.

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A/N: Does anyone have any dynamite? There’s a block of concrete in my head that I’m having trouble dislodging.

Spoiler: Taylor's Complete Power List

Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.

Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.

Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!

Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!

Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!

Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!

Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!

Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)

Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!

Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)

Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!

Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!

Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!

Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!

Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.

Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.

Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.

Spoiler: Alucard's Complete Power List

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.

Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.

Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!

Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)

Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.

Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.

Spoiler: Dragon's Magic Power List

Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.

Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.

Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..

Strength: DRAGON SMASH!

Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.

Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.

Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!

Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!

Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.

Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.

Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.

Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.

Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.

Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.

Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.

Spoiler: Madison's Equipment List

Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.

Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.

Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.

Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.

Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.

Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.

Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.

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

My body shuddered. The needle in my grip nearly slipped from my fingers. I hissed as I clenched my hand, again and again, trying to re-master Bonesaw’s nerves.

Amy looked up, her face filled with worry as she looked at me. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m losing it.” I said. “My blood’s killing Bonesaw. We have to hurry.” I looked down at Mark, grimacing at the ghastly work of his body. I’d cannibalized the equipment, making Mark temporary organ replacements out of the things, while I’d worked on reanimating his dead tissue. It was difficult, trying to do this so quickly. Bonesaw’s power told me she could have done it easily, within an hour, but trying to do it with uncooperative fingers and a dying body was a lot of strain.

If Amy wasn’t here, it would have been impossible. As it was, we worked in tandem. I reanimated an organ, she labored to make sure it would stay alive until we managed to stabilize it and put it back where it belonged, then we’d work together to reconnect the nerve tissue to his spinal cord. Reattaching his head was relatively simple, but keeping him alive while we stabilized everything was so very difficult. I could see her straining to do it.

Before I gave her my blood and made her a vampire, she could have done this work easily. As it is, however, we had to do things so ludicrously carefully and slowly it was agonizing. Thankfully not for Mark himself. I still had his brain shut down.

Fucking Bonesaw. She cut off his head and had him feel every moment of it when she could have disabled all that pain with a twitch.

Strangely, I could feel her elation whenever I looked at Amy. She’d figured out Panacea was alive, apparently. Well, I guess it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to be able to tell anyone.

I rubbed the numb fingers, grimacing, then took a deep breath as the numbness began to fade. It felt weird, being in a living body again, for however short a time this might be. Still, it didn’t exactly feel comfortable like this. It wasn’t my skin, my powers, or my muscles. They were Bonesaw’s, and I was stealing them until my blood killed her.

Okay. Connect nerve bundle here to fix spinal column there, use macrophages to prevent infection and act as a scaffolding until repairs take place. Then use the needle to twinge the nerve and stop the signals that keep the heart going, and...

That bitch.

I felt smugness in the back of my head. Bonesaw was trying to sabotage my attempts to help Mark. My fingers stilled as I drew upon the icy rage of the Void.

Amy saw me pause, her eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong?”

I growled. “Bonesaw’s managed to figure something out. She’s getting her power to feed me bad information. I nearly just sabotaged his heart.”

That smug feeling remained. A sinking feeling filled me as I looked over the sheer mess that was his organs. Everything seemed to be going okay, but...

My eyes widened as I reached into Mark’s still chest. I pulled out a little bundle of flesh. Instinctively, I knew what I was looking at. A tiny bit of infected tissue that would have waited for weeks, then release a pathogen to kill Mark and anyone else he had contact with while it was incubating. I set it aside, but...yeah, the little bitch was now throwing a temper tantrum in the back of my head, based on what I was feeling.

“Fuck.” I growled. I looked at Amy, grimacing. “Can you still see what you’re doing? She might have left a few more surprises.”

Amy nodded slowly. “I can, but my awareness isn’t total or perfect anymore.” She held out her hand, and I gave her the piece of infected flesh. She frowned as she looked it over, running her fingers over it. “Jesus. This thing’s loaded with prions. Dad would have served as an infection vector for months or years down the road. Everyone he’d touch would be infected.”

I blinked. “Lovely. Will the vaccine work to neutralize it?”

She nodded. “It should. I need to...really focus hard to make sure of it.”

Fucking Tinkers. I hated them. Well, the asshole ones. “Are you sure you can do it?”

Amy bit her lip. “This stuff is nowhere near as easy as it used to be for me.”

I reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder. “I know. But I believe in you, Amy.” My lip twitched. “I know it’s a lot of pressure, but I’m losing my grip on Bonesaw, here. We need to finish, and now I can’t trust her power. But I trust you.”

Amy’s face filled with determination. She stared intently at the piece of flesh in her palm. “I got this. Just need to tweak the genes right...”

I looked down at Mark. His head was reattached, his organs ready. I activated the bits of tinkertech to keep functioning until he was stable, then they’d break themselves down to the molecular scale and be...passed, by various means.

Yeah. Let’s not dwell on that.

Amy dunked the bit of flesh into the anti-prion froth. She spoke at my curious look. “Spreading that as a cure, too. Now all we need to do is get this released into the air.” She looked at the still forms of her parents, her hands covered in their blood. “I wasn’t very happy here, but they deserve better than this, Taylor. We’ll get the rest of the Nine, right?”

I nodded. “Right. Let’s get your dad sewn up. The amulet should help.”

Bonesaw’s anger in the back of my head was only encouraging, now. I’d wrecked her work, dashed her hopes, and taken her life. Though she didn’t know that last one just yet. Beyond simply puppeting her, anyway.

I hated this power.

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

Half an hour later, we were finished. Good thing, too, because Bonesaw’s body was shaking like a leaf. Pain wracked through me as I struggled to hold onto her for just a little while longer. If I left her, she would die immediately. I could feel her panicking in the back of my head, her emotions brushing against my own. They weren’t anything I couldn’t handle, as my own were...very intense compared to hers. It was a slight annoyance.

Luckily for the upcoming death of Bonesaw, I had a place to put her, and her spider-bots. I just had to open the Shadow Portal.

Shadow Portal? Hello, Shadow Portal?

No Shadow Portal. Shit. I couldn’t open a portal when I was possessing someone or something else. I might have known that earlier if I ever used this on anyone else, but...well, it’s the most horrifying of my powers, and I wasn’t going to experiment with something that would make people explode into chunky salsa.

I cleared my throat. “Amy, I need to get Bonesaw somewhere airtight. Now.”

Her eyes widened. “Disease failsafes?”

I nodded, grimacing. What the fuck can I do? Where can I go? My whole plan was to dump her in the box I made in the Shadow Plane. Where...ah crap, where I’d put two innocent people that I’d completely forgotten about.

Fucking Nine.

Yeah, yeah, They are beneath me.

Amy’s looked considerate, then nodded slowly. “Basement. Best chance.”

Oh. Good. Where all the rest of Bonesaw’s spider-bots are. Since I’d ordered them to gather together from all over the block.

I got up. Stumbled. I could feel Bonesaw’s heart beating, more and more quickly as my blood inevitably did its damage in her veins. I’d gotten so caught up in the surgical work that I’d nearly forgot about what was about to happen to my unwilling host.

Amy gripped my hand, and she led me downstairs quickly. We made our way down the stairs, and I leaned against her as she led me to a rec room, stepping between the massed spider-bots as we went. Finally, carefully, she set me down onto a leather chair. Her mouth turned to a frown as she looked at me. “We need to make sure she doesn’t get to release anything. This room’s got poor ventilation, but any leakage...”

I nodded with a grimace. Only Bonesaw’s upgrades got her this far. Any ordinary human would have been dead well over two hours ago. “Containment as much as possible...” I looked at Amy as an idea struck me. “Can you make a shell around me? Out of her flesh? It’d only have to hold for a minute or so.”

And oh. Bonesaw really didn’t like that idea.

Amy considered, then nodded. “This is probably going to hurt. A lot.” She smiled wryly. “Considering it’s Bonesaw, though... well, first, I’m going to seal you up. Then I’m going to try and neutralize whatever plagues she has inside her, so hold onto her as long as you can.”

I nodded. “Do it.”

Amy put her hands on my head. Bonesaw shrieked in the back of my head as pain flowed over me. I was aware of my skin turning hard, chitinous, and unmovable. The growths covered my face and eyes, cutting me off from the world.

Eventually, the pain faded, and it was just me and the panicked feelings from the back of my head.

I concentrated as best I could, sending her my feelings of regret.

I’m sorry for this. This is a horrible way to go. If I could, I’d make this clean.

Bonesaw’s confusion and fear intensified. Still, I couldn’t spare her. Literally could not, even if I wanted to. Leaving her body at this point would kill her outright. She was doomed the moment my blood took over her body. Now it would simply be worse than if I’d killed her right away. I waited, feeling tingles as Amy’s power worked through the chitinous shell, altering Bonesaw’s flesh. I only had minutes now, and it was a strain to keep it going. I gave a small pulse of blood toward my face, hoping Amy would understand.

The tingles stopped. Hopefully, that was enough. I couldn’t wait any longer. So I finished the job.

My blood quickened, and began tearing apart the tissue that surrounded it. Bonesaw let out a scream in the back of my head, then her emotions quieted as her brain liquified. Held in by the chitin, her liquified flesh had nowhere to go as my blood consumed her utterly, even her bones melting in my absurdly potent blood. The instant I could, I opened a portal right underneath me, and felt the rather sickening feeling of being dropped into an infinite abyss.

Then I let myself resolidify, and the chitin shell around me burst apart. What remained of Bonesaw turned into fine mist, dissipating into the Shadow Plane.

I decided to take no chances. I concentrated, straining my powers to the limit as I called upon my hatred, the fires of Hell responding. My body caught alight in unholy flame, and I forced it outward, burning and destroying whatever remained of the girl I had possessed. Before long, whatever was left of the youngest member of the Nine no longer existed.

I arrested my fall into the void, and flew back upwards. I knew where the portal was, instinctively, and passed right back through it.

Amy flinched back as I emerged from the darkness of the portal, and I sighed as I looked back at her. I gave her a small wave. “Mess taken care of. Sensing anything bad, here?”

She shook her head. “No. Just the ordinary bacteria and such. Nothing of the plagues she had inside her.” Her gaze was distant before she sighed. “That was...really ugly. I never wanted to use my powers like that.”

I nodded in understanding. “Yeah. I never wanted to use that power on anyone, either. But...” I grimaced. “Not much choice.”

Then the rec room door started scratching. The spider-bots started filing in, lunging at us.

Right, forgot about those.

I extended my hand, calling upon the power of the storm. Lightning coursed from my fingers, running from bot to bot to bot, frying the brains that Bonesaw used to keep them active and functioning. I let it flow between all of them, the room smelling strongly of ozone and burning metal, all of the bots writhing and jerking as I put enough power through them all to light up a city.

It took just a few minutes before they were all still. Almost contemptuously, Amy and I threw the remains of the bots into the still-open portal.

I clenched my fingers when were done, and looked to Amy. “We good here?”

She nodded. “Think so. I’ll keep an eye on things.”

I wasn’t done my job yet tonight.

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

I floated over the city. It was nearly completely covered in the prion cloud, and the cloud showed no sign of stopping its spread. Hopefully the vaccine Amy and I cooked up would be able to fix this.

I pressed my fingers to my earpiece. “This is Scarlet. Bonesaw’s dead, and her remains are destroyed. No plagues released into the air.”

Piggot’s voice echoed over the line. She sounded exhausted. “Good. Vaccine status?”

I looked down at the bowl in my hand. A mere half of the vaccine I made using Bonesaw’s expertise. “It’s ready to go. I can distribute it now, it should neutralize the prion cloud. It won’t fix the infected, but it’ll stop new infections and should halt any more damage from taking hold.”

There was a long moment of silence on the line, then she spoke again. “If you’re wrong...”

I sighed to myself. “Yeah, a lot of people are dead. But leaving things as they are, they’re dead anyway, and this cloud’s just going to keep spreading.”

Another moment, then her voice was resigned. “Go ahead.”

I began to fly over the cloud, overturning the bowl as I went. The froth immediately began to seed inside the red cloud, growing outward and expanding slowly. Well, actually rather quickly, but slowly compared to the size the cloud already had managed to take.

Still, the patches of light blue grew, giving me a bit of grim satisfaction. I cleared my throat and spoke. “Any status on the Nine?”

Madison’s voice cut in. “This is Paladin. Apparently, Siberian is dead. Some cape calling himself ‘Apostle’ showed up and apparently teleported her Master somewhere unpleasant.” A momentary pause. “Aegis and Glory Girl need medical attention.”

Vicky’s voice, then. “I’m half-blind and pissed off, but I’m alright. Aegis needs it more. Let’s fucking finish these bastards off.”

I took a deep breath. “Three to go.”

I was just about to open another portal to hunt Burnscar, when Armsmaster’s voice burst over the line. “I need assistance now! Medical teams! Hatchet Face was here... He's gone now, but I need medical teams right now!” He sounded drained, leaden, and yet filled with nearly panicked worry.

Hatchet Face? He was hitting the Endbringer shelter? But how did he get in?...

A chill went through me. Of course he was unrecognizable. With Bonesaw, changing a face was downright easy. All he had to do was keep calm and blend in with the rest of the civilians.

Fucking Nine!

I opened a portal to get there all the quicker. I hoped I wasn’t too late.

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A/N: Oh my god, Dean’s relevant! What’s happening!? I’m so confused!

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It was difficult to keep still. The stump of his left arm itched and stung. He wanted to scratch at it, but that would simply make things worse.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got something that’ll help with itching?” Gallant asked Kid Win dryly.

A small chuckle was the reply. “Sorry. Not that kind of Tinker.” Kid Win looked down at Vista, his aura filled with the blue and white swirls of worry and exhaustion. “She’s doing okay, from what I know. Paladin’s amulets are a real help, there, but...”

Gallant nodded. “They take time to work.”

A sigh came from under Kid Win’s helmet. “Yeah. Really miss Panacea, for things like this.”

Gallant swallowed. That suspicion in the back of his head was an ugly one. But regardless, it could wait. He’d have to do what he could to find out what was going on after the band of psychos were dealt with. He spoke softly. “Stay with her. I need to sit down for a bit.”

Kid Win nodded. “Got you. Scout’s honor.”

Gallant chuckled lowly. “Ward’s honor. You’re no scout.”

A chuckle and a shake of the head was Kid Win’s response.

Gallant stepped away, moving to a corner of the room, mindful of the civilians inside. The room seemed to be filled with an entire miasma of emotions, difficult for him to handle. One of the downsides of his power was that he was always aware of what other people were feeling. And right now, the room was filled with tinges of light and dark yellow, the colors of fear and despair. But, thankfully, there were other emotions he could see, too. Aside from Alucard, who was nearly invisible to his sight, and Meridia, who had faded entirely, some of the ten or so civilians in the room were feeling hopeful. He wasn’t sure how the other thirty might be feeling, as they were taking up other rooms in the shelter.

Armsmaster walked up to the door from the hall, his halberd resting on his shoulder. His mechanical legs whirred a little as he shifted on his feet. He’d been checking on each of the rooms one after another, seemingly tireless. He looked at Gallant, and Gallant waved back. All good, here. With a nod, Armsmaster went back into the hall, his feet clanking as he moved.

Gallant took a moment to look over at the still form of Vista. While unconscious, her emotions were dulled, but there were still the swirls and eddies. She had a faint tinge of the yellows of fear, but it seemed she was asleep. Kid Win gently tended to her, the young teen in power armor carefully cleaning the edges of the wound that had nearly claimed Vista’s life, the spear of glass still jutting out of the young girl’s chest.

He was well aware of how Vista felt for him. It was a crush, deep and powerful, as crushes usually were. It was always something he felt a bit uncomfortable about. Despite everything Missy Biron felt, she was a lot younger than he was, and he didn’t quite like being aware of her feelings like that.

Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.

Clockblocker came over and sat down next to Gallant, holding a bottle of water, which he handed it to Gallant almost casually. His aura was filled with a bit of red, anger, but more of it was a clear blue of satisfaction. “These guys are supposed to be the worst of the worst, least here in the good old U S of A. And they’re dropping like flies.”

Gallant gave a nod of thanks, lifting the edge of his helmet so he could drink. Things were awkward with only one hand, but he could make do. After a few blissful swallows of the water, Gallant spoke in return. “Well, they went after someone who chewed on an Endbringer’s head. I’m not that surprised.”

Clockblocker spoke softly. “Heh. I missed that, you know. Busy helping in the triage center. Still, this whole thing is nasty, man. I’m looking forward to taking a little vacation after this.” He looked over where the pale man, Alucard, was tending to the white-haired woman. “I hope she’ll be okay. Her daughter’s got to be taking this hard.”

“Yeah.” Gallant’s voice was a bit distant. “Did Amara seem familiar to you at all?”

Clockblocker tilted his head, looking at him. No doubt looking quite confused under that mask, at least from the swirls and eddies in his emotional light. “No, not really. I’m pretty sure I’d have remembered if I met her before. Why?”

Gallant shook his head. “Just a thought. Something for after this mess is over with.”

Clockblocker shook his head, his voice filled with mirth. “That shouldn’t take too long. After this, though, I’m taking a vacation. Somewhere nice and quiet. Like some small town in Iowa.”

Gallant couldn’t help but smile a bit under his helmet. “Going to play hero among the cornfields, huh?”

Clockblocker’s voice took on a deeper tone, no doubt Dennis’ attempt to sound like a movie trailer voiceover. “In a small town, threatened by boredom, where the only intersection takes five minutes to change the lights from red to green...comes a hero, who just wanted a vacation. But his vacation was foiled by.... the lack of good waffles!”

Gallant shook his head, his shoulders shaking with the effort to keep in his tired laughter. It wasn’t a good joke, but it was enough to shove the whole situation aside, at least for a little while. Besides, Gallant was pretty sure that just about anything would be pretty funny to him right now.

Then a horrible wail of pain filled the shelter. Gallant’s aura sight winked out. He looked over to find Alucard holding a thrashing Meridia down in the corner, the wounded woman’s back arched. Despite her thrashing, however, Alucard easily held her down. Gallant could only watch with shock as Meridia’s arms began to regrow from the stumps of her shoulders. It was slow, compared to Scarlet’s rapid regeneration, but still faster than just about anything he’d seen before. The only exception was watching Amy work.

Meridia tried to bite Alucard, but the pale man simply held her down, a clawed hand pressing hard on her chest. The Wards shifted away from the pair, not wanting to be anywhere near the thrashing wounded woman.

Then Gallant’s aura sight returned, the familiar whirls and eddies of people’s emotions washing over his vision once more. The girl with the red streak in her hair paled, her fingers tightening on the arm of the older man next to her. She was filled with fear, while he was filled with...the hard silver of determination.

Clockblocker had straightened. “Geez, that felt weird. Felt like my brain froze for a second there.”

Gallant nodded slowly, calling out to Alucard. “Everything good?”

Alucard’s voice was calm, despite the thrashing woman beneath him. “Give her time. She is weak, healing takes a lot of out someone. Especially regrowing limbs.” He looked down at Meridia sternly, saying something in a harsh tone, a language that was just slightly out of Gallant’s understanding.

Meridia stopped moving, breathing heavily as she looked back up at Alucard. She spoke in the same language, her voice filled with wanton need. She averted her eyes as Alucard simply stared, then cleared her throat. “I am...well.” She shuddered as she breathed deeply, the skeletal growths sprouting from her shoulders twitching.

Damn, that was creepy as hell to watch. Clockblocker gave a rather obvious shudder. Gallant couldn’t help but share it.

Gallant nodded, then he pressed a button on his helmet. “Armsmaster, it’s Gallant, can you come back here please? We’ve got a problem.”

It took less than a minute, but Armsmaster strode back to the doorframe. Gallant handed the bottle of water back to Clockblocker. “Give me a minute. I need to talk with Armsmaster.”

Clockblocker nodded, carefully helping Gallant to his feet, and walked with him over to Armsmaster. Gallant spoke in hushed tones. “Did you feel something odd about a minute ago? My powers failed for a few seconds. Clockblocker felt something odd, too.”

Armsmaster frowned, then nodded slightly. “Always have a lot of ideas whirling around in my head. Then nothing for an instant.” His voice was filled with consideration. “Hatchet Face could do that, in theory. If he’s able to suppress his power...and I wouldn’t be surprised if Bonesaw could figure out a way to do that even if he didn’t have conscious control.” He stopped for a moment, thinking, then scowled. “He’s got to be inside. If he just walked by outside, his range wouldn’t have been enough to block us all out. Unless she changed that, too.”

Clockblocker’s head shook back and forth, his aura filling in with the pale-yellow of fear. “Whoa, whoa. He’s in here?”

Armsmaster nodded resolutely. “Yes, he is. At least, it's likely. We need to identify him. Flush him out.” He tilted his head slightly, a small smirk on his lips. “I’ve an idea about that.” He looked to Gallant, paused for a moment, then nodded to himself. “How’s your emotional control power?”

Gallant concentrated, and felt his hand tingle. He nodded. “Working alright.”

Armsmaster nodded with satisfaction. “Good. We might need it. Yours is the most straightforward here, if Hatchet blocks us all out, you’ll likely know first and most obviously.” He looked to Clockblocker. “Your wound alright?”

Clockblocker hesitated, but nodded. “Yeah. Side stings a fair bit now, but it’s not hurting so much.”

A resolute nod from Armsmaster. “Excellent. Your amulet will be key, here. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

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

Armsmaster walked back into the room. He looked at each of the huddled civilians in turn. “Listen carefully. We have reason to suspect this plague of Bonesaw’s may have secondary effects. I know some of you are infected. But we do have a cure. We’re going to go through each of you one at a time. We’ll cure you, ask you a few questions to make sure you know and can recognize each other, then put you in the room down the hall.”

Tension in the room relaxed somewhat as Armsmaster spoke. The yellows of fear in Gallant’s sight intensified for a few, especially for the girl with the red streak in her hair. But five people weren’t afraid. Three teenagers, who smelled faintly of cigarettes, a pimple-faced, out of shape high-schooler, and one tall man, his arms corded with muscle. Gallant mentally compared him to the picture of Hatchet Face....and even this guy was too short, too thin, despite being six foot six.

Still, considering Bonesaw, the insane bio-Tinker could probably have Hatchet Face hide as a little girl.

Armsmaster scanned the crowd, then pointed at this first, an old man, his hair thin and gray. “You first, sir. Please, out in the hall, here.”

Each person didn’t take long. Clockblocker’s amulet went around their neck, Armsmaster asked what their names were, who their mother was, and what Jack Slash meant to them.

Third one in was the girl with the red streak in her hair. Nervousness and fear washed from her in waves. Clockblocker set the amulet around her neck, his voice filled with amusement. “Hey, relax, it’s one hundred-percent Clockblocker certified! It’ll cure what ails ya, or your money back.”

She looked confused. “You always like this?”

Clockblocker nodded vigorously. “Yep. It’s in my contract. Well, not really, but it should have been!”

Armsmaster’s voice cut in, harsh and filled with impatience. “Clockblocker.”

The teen straightened up. “Right, right. We gotta make sure this is working. First, what’s your name?”

Yellow and green swirled in her aura, their strength almost palpable. And yet, she showed no sign of it on her face. She’d be one hell of a poker player. “Cherry.”

Armsmaster’s lips turned to a frown. “Your full name, if you please.”

She swallowed a little. “Cherry Anne.” Her aura was hardening, the yellows of her fear turning brighter. Still no sign of her fear on her face.

Armsmaster was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was hard. “It’s in your best interests to tell the truth about your identity. This is the Slaughterhouse Nine, they can be pretty damn difficult to deal with.”

The yellows of her fear suddenly shifted even more brightly, hardening to almost golden in Gallant’s sight. Armsmaster’s and Clockblocker’s auras shifted to black, and they screamed. Despair washed over Gallant. A sudden, powerful certainty. Victoria is dead. My parents are dead. Life is pointless. It’s all pointless!

Screams echoed from the room they just left, the civilians crying out in fear and horror. Some of them ran out of the room behind them, scrambling deeper into the shelter, while others wailed and cried in terror and despair.

Clockblocker hit the ground, letting out a cry of pain and despair, clawing at the floor. Armsmaster froze up, his hands tightening around the handles of his halberd, stumbling backward and hitting his back up against a concrete wall. Gallant clenched his hand as he struggled to keep the thought of slitting his own throat at bay.

Not your feelings. She’s manipulating them, you can see this! Act! The girl took off running down the hall, toward the entrance of the shelter. Gallant swallowed his despair, struggling under the weight of the powerful emotions that weren’t his own. He fought to lift his hand, calling on the very emotion she was forcing him to feel and fired it at her. It struck the fleeing girl in the back, and she fell to the ground, screaming and writhing, trying to claw her eyes out.

Then Gallant’s aura sight winked out again, his power abandoning him. Still, the feelings of despair and horror remained, and Gallant nearly fell over from the strength of it. Gallant just barely managed to call out. “Boss, she’s a Master, she’s doing this!”

Armsmaster pushed himself off the wall, letting out a groan of pain. His body jerked as something in his armor whined, then he stood straight. He lifted the halberd, the axe-head crackling with electricity as he advanced on the writhing girl and touched her with it, the Tinker-made electronics knocking her out almost instantly.

The feeling of despair stopped as abruptly as it began, leaving Gallant gasping and shuddering. Armsmaster took restraints from his belt, tied the girl up, and then injected her with tranquillizers.

Gallant took deep breaths, his hand trembling. He stumbled as his aura sight abruptly reasserted itself, cries of fear and terror coming from the room with the civilians.

Armsmaster strode to the door, halberd at the ready. Gallant followed, only to stop at the sight before them.

Alucard stood there, his curved blade dripping blood. On the ground lay the man the girl had been tending to, Meridia gnawing on the bloody remnants of his neck like a feral animal. Everyone in the room was sobbing, crying, self-inflicted wounds running deep. And Kid Win, lying on his back, a pool of blood spreading on the cold concrete floor.

Armsmaster charged forward with a roar.


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

One minute earlier

Alucard stood over Meridia. The newborn demonic vampire rocked back and forth, whimpering lowly. She spoke with clear need, her language that of the denizens of the Shadow Plane. “It feels as if my stomach is trying to consume itself.”

“Tis the hunger.” He spoke gently. “Your body is attempting to heal the damage done by the murderer. Can you withstand it a little longer?”

Meridia bit her lip, a small groan escaping her lips. “I thought I could, but...” Her gaze drifted over the people in the shelter, lingering on the wounded. Especially upon the still form of Vista, the spear of glass in her chest most definitely alluring to a vampire in the midst of the blood-hunger. Alucard was well acquainted with the hunger in her eyes. Leave it too long, and a feral state would likely ensue. There wasn't any help for it. He would simply have to feed her from his own wrist.

Alucard cast an eye around the room, seeing Kid Win looking back at the pair of vampires. Momentarily turning away from the care of Vista. Alucard nodded slowly, then called on his resolve. Poor girl. Alucard never enjoyed seeing a child injured. Alas, the world was cruel.

Gently, he helped Meridia to her feet, careful not to touch her slowly regrowing arms. They were at the point of her upper biceps, the flesh and bone slowly regrowing themselves in a horribly fascinating way. Still, the moment he could get Meridia into a private room, he would feed her some of his own blood. Hopefully, that would be enough to slake her thirst, at least for the moment.

Then everyone in the room began screaming. Even Vista, unconscious as she was, began to writhe. Except one man. He got to his feet, reaching underneath the oddly-striped shirt, and with a sick, wet, tearing sound, he pulled out a handle, about as long as his forearm, covered in blood. With a click, the end of it suddenly had a small axe-head on the end.

One of them. Hiding this whole time.

Even as Alucard let go of Meridia, the Crissaegrim flashing into existence in his hand, Hatchet Face turned, hacking open the throat of a civilian, a young girl, then took a step toward Kid Win and Vista. Alucard rushed toward the pair, his progress made difficult with all the people in the room, arms and legs everywhere to step over. Hysterical screams filled his ears. The crackling zap of Kid Win's light-weapon went off, filling the room with the scent of burning flesh. Some of the civilians managed to scramble out of the room, but in the process, they got between Alucard and his target. Still, Alucard was fast, faster than mortals could be.

Still too slow. The serial killer brought the hatchet down, right at the prone Vista. Kid Win crouched protectively over her, and took the blow. His power armor should have protected him. But Hatchet Face was strong, strong enough to drive the head right through the armor and dig the head of the weapon deep into the teen’s back. Another scream filled the room, cut by a wet gurgle. Hatchet Face ripped it out, turning as Alucard got to him, catching the first slash of the Crissaegrim with an outstretched hand and gripping the blade.

Blood flowed from where the blade landed on his palm, and yet Hatchet Face didn’t seem to care. He smiled at Alucard. “You feel that? That’s my power neutralizing yours. Against me, creature, you’re just an ordinary person for me to kill.”

Grimly, Alucard smiled. “I feel nothing.” He filled his left hand with hellfire. Hatchet Face’s features were almost comical as he saw the impossible sight. That was the last thing he ever saw as Alucard drove the hand full of fire into the serial killer’s face. He screamed in shock and surprise, and Alucard took the opportunity to cut him across the chest with the Crissaegrim. The blade had trouble cutting through his dense flesh, but it was enough to make him stagger. Alucard then stepped aside, grabbing the serial killer’s arm and throwing him to the floor.

Right in front of Meridia.

The succubus-turned vampire looked down on him hungrily. Somewhat awkwardly, lacking her forearms, she climbed on his back and tore the side of his throat with her teeth. Hatchet Face screamed and thrashed, trying to dislodge her from his back, only to fail as the newly-raised vampire fed.

The civilians in the room screamed and cried out hysterically, faces and eyes filled with fear as they looked upon the feeding demon. Meridia’s healing sped up as she took in Hatchet Face’s blood, her newly-grown fingers digging into her victim’s flesh as she drank. Eventually, the killer stilled, but Meridia continued to drink, a lusty, heated moan coming from deep in her throat.

The door opened, and Armsmaster strode in, halberd at the ready. He took one look at the situation and lifted his halberd, moving to cut down Alucard with the axe-head of his weapon.

Alucard deflected the attack, snarling as he pushed Armsmaster back. “Calm yourself! He was the murderer, Hatchet Face! Get the amulet. Kid Win is dying, and we have no time for this!” He looked down at the corpse of the serial killer, a grimace on his face. Then spared a glance at the glassy eyes of Hatchet Face's other victim. Another child, already dead.

Armsmaster struggled visibly for a moment, then he dropped the halberd, moving quickly to Kid Win’s side. The teen lay on his back, struggling to breathe, his blood pooled beneath his body. A racking cough managed to escape his lips. “Hey boss.”

Clockblocker rushed into the room, the Light Magic amulet dangling from his fingers. Armsmaster took it and placed it around Kid Win’s neck. It began to glow brightly, burning through its charge, sensing its wearer was close to death.

Then it flickered out. Out of magical energy, too much already used up.

“Clock!” Armsmaster called urgently.

Without hesitation, Clockblocker rushed forward, clapping Kid Win’s shoulder. The wounded teenager froze.

Clockblocker spoke with annoyance. “These fucking assholes.”

Alucard nodded in agreement. He didn’t quite understand the meaning of the phrase, but the sentiment was clear enough.

Armsmaster pressed a finger to the side of his helmet. “I need assistance now! Medical teams! Hatchet Face was here... He's gone now, but I need medical teams right now!”

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A/N: Okay, fair warning here, guys. This is likely going to be the most shocking and nasty chapter yet. Seriously. A very nasty thing happens here. It’s so very totally Jack, though, and it fits, so...yeah.

Spoiler: Taylor's Complete Power List

Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.

Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.

Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!

Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!

Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!

Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!

Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!

Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)

Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!

Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)

Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!

Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!

Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!

Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!

Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.

Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.

Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.

Spoiler: Alucard's Complete Power List

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.

Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.

Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!

Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)

Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.

Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.

Spoiler: Dragon's Magic Power List

Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.

Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.

Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..

Strength: DRAGON SMASH!

Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.

Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.

Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!

Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!

Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.

Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.

Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.

Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.

Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.

Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.

Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.

Spoiler: Madison's Equipment List

Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.

Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.

Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.

Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.

Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.

Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.

Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.

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I emerged from the Shadow Portal to find a room filled with terror. People were wailing and crying, a number of wounds easily visible. The scent of blood was strong, and it would have immediately made me hungry had the Void Sword not already slaked my thirst on the Siberian’s energy.

Okay, it still made me hungry, but nothing I couldn’t stand.

Armsmaster knelt over Kid Win, along with Clockblocker. A rather large pool of blood was on the concrete floor beneath the frozen teenager. Gallant stood up against a wall, his body language filled with exhaustion. On the floor lay a body, a tall man wearing a flannel shirt, his throat torn out. Meridia stood over the corpse, licking her lips, a blissful, even orgasmic expression on her face. Alucard was at her side, clawed hand resting on her shoulder.

“My lady.” She said with satisfaction, her eyes somewhat glazed over. “I am well. Very well.”

Oh hell, she was actually purring a bit. I sighed to myself, and looked to Alucard.

He shook his head. “The murderer, Hatchet Face. Hidden as a lion amongst the sheep. He concealed his weapon by having it buried inside his body as a false rib.” He smiled faintly, a bit of his fangs showing.

Armsmaster looked at me, his voice harsh. “Can you get medics here now!? We have wounded, beyond Kid Win. That Master got a lot of people to hurt themselves. Another minute and we’d have fatalities in here.”

That shook me out of my distraction. I wanted to ask questions, but they could wait. People needed help now, and I could get the complete picture later. I hit my earpiece. “Director Piggot, where are the medical teams?”

“The PRT building. We’re rounding up every doctor we have.”

Abruptly, Kid Win unfroze, thrashing on the floor with a scream. Clockblocker immediately froze him again, but the echo of his pain remained in my ears.

I really, really hated these bastards. I spoke with a grimace. “Don’t bother with a transport. I’ll set up a few portals to get them through to here. I can leave them open long enough to get them through.” My voice dropped all warmth, as cold as the Void Sword itself. “Then I’m ending this.”

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

About ten minutes later, the shelter was bustling. I’d made a small detour to pick up Amy, get her parents secured at the PRT, and get Aegis, Vicky and Mad...Paladin together. Amy sat next to Clockblocker and Paladin, the room otherwise cleared. Hatchet Face’s corpse had been dragged out to be properly disposed of. Aegis lay on a cot as a doctor sewed his leg back on.

Vicky sat against the wall, covering her face with her hand. I went over to her and sat down, my tone faint. “How bad is it, Vicky?”

She snorted. “Pretty damn bad, Red. Fucking Siberian just ripped it out.”

Gently, I took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled faintly at me. “It’s fine, Red. I ain’t happy about it, but it doesn’t hurt anymore at least.” Her lip quirked. “And I can get myself an eyepatch and become the awesomest pirate around.”

I chuckled a little. “I’ll see if I got any ships you can use. I probably do. I’ve got everything else.”

She nodded slowly, chewing on her lip. Finally, she let her hand drop, letting me see the damage. Though it looked like a years-old wound, it was pretty ugly. The eye socket itself was sealed over, and the scarring was extensive. I could see small lumps of misshapen bone around it, where the Siberian’s invincible fingers had reached in and tore.

I spoke softly. “I’ll understand if you want to take a break. They’re down to two.”

Vicky shook her head. “Nah. I’ll rest when all of em are in the ground.” She grinned, her remaining eye filled with malicious anticipation. “They fucked with my family, Red. I ain’t letting you hog all the credit.”

I nodded. “All right. I’m heading out in a few. We’re ending this before sunrise.” I got to my feet, a small smile on my lips.

She returned my smile. “We’ll knock em dead.”

I made my way around the room, over to where Paladin took up a corner. She sat with six of her amulets spread out in front of her. She grasped them one at a time, murmuring under her breath, and each one began to shine after about a minute. She looked up at me, weariness in her voice. “Six dead here. Seventeen wounded. My amulets are helping, but...” She lay the amulets around in a circle, scraping lines in the concrete between them.

I nodded with a grimace, but I couldn’t help but ask. “What are you trying to do?”

She looked up at me. “Trying to call Dragon. I think she might be able to do more than I can. Kid Win’s barely alive, and my amulets won’t be able to heal him fast enough to get him stable before he dies. She might be able to pour enough into him to make sure he makes it. If Amara can’t manage to close the wound and buy us enough time, anyway. Clockblocker’s keeping things stable, for the moment.”

I nodded, looking over to where Amy and Clockblocker sat with the prone Kid Win. “I hope all this works.”

At her nod, I stepped down the hall to a storeroom. Armsmaster and Gallant stood over the bound-up Cherry, the local Protectorate leader with his halberd at the ready. He gave me an acknowledging nod.

“The hell happened?” I asked.

Gallant spoke, his voice rough and tired. “She’s a Master, a strong one. We were in the middle of curing those infected here by the prion plague, asking a few questions while we did. We suspected Hatchet Face was in here when our powers went out for a second and we were trying to flush him out. Turned out she had powers, too. She hit everyone here with suicidal feelings while she tried to make a break for it.”

I looked down at the unconscious Cherry. Anger broiled at the back of my head. Another person with a sweet face and charming words. If it turned out she betrayed me...

An image came from the back of my mind. An entire army’s worth of corpses, impaled upon iron spikes. An example of terror and fear, to give those who would dare face the Dragon a chance to turn away and flee, to warn those who followed the Phoenix of his wrath.

And here I was approving. Maybe on a smaller scale, but approving nonetheless.

I looked to Armsmaster. “I’m taking Meridia and Alucard out of here. With what happened, you don’t need more complications with hysterical people. Then I’m going to hit Burnscar.”

He nodded slowly. “I don’t like it, but I’ve got responsibilities here. The last two have to be feeling the pressure.”

I took a deep breath. “Anything you know that might help?”

Armsmaster paused for a moment. “Burnscar’s very mobile, and the longer a fight goes on, the more flame she’ll have to work with. Denying her flammable material will help slow things down, but the most essential bit would be speed. Making sure she doesn’t even get started, if possible.”

I mulled that over. “And Jack?”

Armsmaster’s lips tightened. “He’s smart, or at least has a reputation as a smart one. He’ll probably have something prepared. He pulled a lot of tricks with Screamer, years ago. Psychological tactics, ambush tactics. He usually knows when to run. Under ordinary circumstances, he’d have probably already left the city.”

My voice was hard. “He can’t run from me.”

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

Alucard, Meridia, Vicky and I emerged from the Shadow Portal in the middle of downtown. The mist was still strong here, and with the darkness of night, it was difficult to see much of anything.

I floated upward, looking around. “Great. She can be anywhere. Alucard, any ideas?”

He frowned as he paused for a moment, his blade in hand. “This mist is making things difficult. But I do smell something.” He turned and pointed. “That way. Smoke.”

Now that he’d mentioned it, I could smell it too. I floated that way, the Void Sword springing into existence in my hand. Vicky flew by my side, her face hard. Meridia and Alucard ran on the ground, though my newest childe assisted her run with leaps and flaps of her wings.

When we reached the end of the block, my heart would have stopped, if it had been beating. Right in a parking lot in front of an office building was a city bus. Fifty people were surrounding it, sitting on the ground, whimpering and crying in fear. A ring of fire surrounded it, cutting off all avenues of escape. A redheaded woman was striding around the interior of the ring, flame sprouting from her hand, and she was cackling. A few burned bodies littered the ground, the sickly sweet scent of burned flesh strong.

Most concerning to me was a handsome blond man, standing on top of the bus, infant cradled with one hand and a knife in the other. Jack Slash, most likely. He didn’t look at all like the photo, more like an up and coming movie star, but with Bonesaw’s work, that wasn’t exactly hard to do.

Assuming Jack wasn’t pulling something even more elaborate, anyway. I hoped not. It’s all I could do.

I reached up for my earpiece, only for the knife-wielder to call out as he saw us. “Ah ah, my dear. No calls. Or these people die.”

I grimaced as I let my hand drop, striding toward the tableau with the comforting near-weightless Void Sword in my hand.

Burnscar stopped pacing around the ring, looking at me and Vicky. She smiled wickedly, flame surrounding her. It was somehow more chilling with her unmarred face, compared to her photo. “Why hello. Glad you could join us.” She looked Alucard up and down. "Mm. Nice boytoy."

Jack looked at me, a broad grin on his face. “I'll take your word for it, Burnscar. Welcome, welcome. I’m glad it was you who got here first! It would have been a shame if someone else arrived to spoil things.” He yelled, his voice smooth and clear. He held the knife steady against the infant’s throat. He made a practiced, flourished bow, careful to keep the infant in his arms.

Vicky moved forward a bit, but Jack shook his head. “Ah ah. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, hmm? I’d rather keep my conversation with Miss Scarlet civilized.” His fingers tightened on the knife in his hand.

I looked to Vicky. She looked back at me, frustration on her face. Eventually, she clenched her fists and landed outside the ring of fire. Meridia and Alucard joined her, Alucard keeping his sword at the ready.

I slowly floated forward, Void Sword in my hand, setting my feet down at the end of the bus. I spoke with an arctic chill in my voice. “You two are the last. Surrender, and you might see tomorrow morning.”

Burnscar’s flames roared, widening the circle of fire. “Yeah, pull the other one. We got kill orders. Second we give up we get bullets in the head. I’d rather go down fighting.”

Alucard’s voice was nearly as cold as my own. “You would take innocents with you on the road to death?”

She shrugged without a care. “You got any idea what it’s like to feel the rush of the flame? To live in the moment of power? If I’m going to die, I want it while I’m happy. While I feel anything other than fear.”

“Burnscar’s got the right of it, I think.” Jack smiled, flicking his head to the side. “The sword my dear. It’s a lovely fashion accessory, but it’s really not suitable for a civilized conversation. Lose it please.”

I almost dismissed it. Instead, I threw the blade aside. It landed point-first outside the ring of flame, the blade spreading frost on the grass.

Jack smirked, his body language relaxed. “Interesting weapon. Well-crafted, dangerous. I’ve never seen a blade quite like that, and I’ve seen a lot of blades.”

“I’m glad you approve.” I said cooly. I really didn’t care, but I just needed a chance. One instant. “Let these people go. Hand the kid over and I won’t rip your limbs off and beat you to death with them.”

He grinned. “Ah, I like the way you think, my dear. But I think the little tyke should stay with me. As for letting the rest go...now why should I do that, hm? After all the trouble I went through to get them here? I feel the need to have an audience for this. Every show needs an audience, after all. Without one, well, there’s no real point. The greatest actors on Earth are nothing without a few fans.” With a lazy smile, he nodded down at the hostages. They looked up at us, faces filled with fear.

I looked back at him, unmoved. “You think this is a show? People aren’t props. I’m not here for your amusement, Jack.” I spread my arms as I felt out with the power I’d gained from Shatterbird. Maybe I could do just what was needed. I didn’t dare try and touch Jack while he had the infant in his grasp, but maybe something else. “I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. I’ve seen monsters you can’t imagine. You don’t rate. To me, you’re a clown with a very, very bad sense of humor.” Granted, those were through Dracul’s memories, but he didn’t need to know that.

He seemed relaxed. Uncaring, his voice filled with amusement. “Ooh. How very scary.” He smiled, turning the knife slightly over the infant’s skin. The warning was clear enough.

I clenched my fingers, trying to keep my face calm as I prepared for the moment to act.

His voice was smooth, definite amusement in his tone. “Fitting, I suppose. You come here at the head of an army. You are a queen. You’re not afraid of me, this poor, humble little jester.” He made a mocking bow, a smirk on his lips. “Though usually, queens don’t debase themselves, running around and rescuing every peasant. I honestly don’t get it. Why do you bother?”

I lifted an eyebrow, pulling everything I could from the memories of Dracul as I spoke. “You ever watch a world die, Jack? To see millions of people get crushed by powers greater than they can ever fight against? To fight with everything you have, struggle against it only to fail? I help people because I want to. Because I don’t want to see that happen again.”

He sighed, clucking his tongue. Disappointment was in his tone. “That’s it? I was hoping for something more. Though I do have to wonder just what it is you’ve seen.” He shrugged slightly, rolling his eyes as the infant in his arm began crying. He made small shushing noises as his voice dipped, almost calming. “You could be a lot more than this. You can do a hell of a lot more. You make Nilbog look like a second-rate hack. You could take over this whole damn planet.” He let out a chuckle, his voice sardonic. “Just look what we’ve accomplished with a mere nine psychos. The Siberian alone ripped the heart out of the Protectorate. The most inspiring symbol, the man who dared to dream and spoke of making a better world than this, crushed. Once she joined us, we did so much more. Just imagine what you could do if you cut loose. No rules. No playing nice. Being free.”

He’s trying to dig into your mind. He is a simple pleasure seeker with depraved tastes. His reasoning is a veneer to let himself indulge in horrors. They mean nothing. Words are a waste. Use them to find an opening.

I blinked. That seemed a bit more...whole, for lack of a better word, than the usual bits of commentary from the echo of Dracul. Still, it was good advice. I spoke, grasping with my telekinesis, preparing for the right moment. “You know you’re not getting out of here, right? Your whole damn gang of psychos are dead. Shatterbird? I reduced her to ashes. Crawler? I’m sure Dragon took good care of him. Mannequin? Dead. Bonesaw? Nothing left of her.” I let a grin rise on my lips. “I went toe to toe with your worst member and I’m still here. She’s also dead, by the way. Apparently, she was taken out by some new guy.”

Burnscar stopped her pacing, whirling to face me. “Bullshit. Nothing can stop the Siberian.”

Jack looked only somewhat interested. “Well well. I thought I’d never see the day. The Siberian killed. Assuming you’re not just making things up.” He smiled slightly. “Well, if you are lying, then it doesn’t really matter what will happen here. She’ll tear through everyone and everything in her way without us to help steer her. And if you’re not...well then. I suppose we’ll just have to finish up our little game. We really can’t just walk away now, can we?”

He is a rabid dog. A pathetic creature. He needs to be put down. Wait for the moment.

I shrugged. Just move that hand a little bit, you son of a bitch. “Not really. Run, hide. Maybe if you did you’d have lived a little longer. Maybe I would have been distracted by more important matters, like my laundry or what kind of counter I’d like to install in the castle kitchens.”

Jack smiled slightly. “I suggest marble. It’s classy, tough, and you can afford it, I’m sure.”

Jerk. I let my smile grow wide. Predatory. “I’ll take it under advisement. Still, you made the mistake of getting my attention. I’m not exactly the type to let rabid dogs run around and hurt my friends.” My smile dropped. “You made a really big mistake when you let Bonesaw work on the Dallons.”

Vicky’s voice was filled with anger. “Damn right.”

Jack simply shrugged. “Well, I had to give her something. She was good friends with Shatterbird, you know. Well, actually, not really. But she worked a lot with Shatterbird to do her work.” A lazy, confident smile crossed his face. “The funny thing is, I’m quite serious. We were all considering the merits of just leaving. Shatterbird never wanted to come around here in the first place. If you hadn’t gone on the attack, we’d have left for greener pastures. So everyone who died here tonight? If you hadn’t jumped in, they’d all still be alive.” His smile widened. “I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised, though. I’ve read up on you. You tend to jump right into the middle of things. You rip apart everyone who even looks at you funny. Is it true you bite? Perhaps you need a muzzle.”

He deflects. He would have murdered more, simply out of your sight. His mad little child acted before you even sought out his compatriots.

I folded my hands, my lips tight and thin. “I’m not responsible for what you do. I’ve read up on you, too. How many people died at the whims of your little gang, Jack? Do you even remember them? Or does it all just blur together, because you don’t give the slightest shit? Yeah, people died tonight. I don’t like that. But if it wasn’t here, it’d be elsewhere. Besides.” I tilted my head. “I can do the math. You had Bonesaw hit the Dallons before I went on the attack. What was the plan, Jack? Send a mish-mashed combined monster after me made of the bodies of my friend’s family? Oh, wait, what is it Bonesaw said? ‘You were supposed to fly into a rage.’” I channeled my anger, to let my eyes glow a deep red. “Ah. Try to make me go mad, kill a whole lot of innocents, then there you’d all be waiting there, a hand outstretched in sympathy. Probably giving a sob story about how I hurt the Dallons, and thus Bonesaw just had to mash them together to save their lives. How close am I?”

Jack shrugged, his hand carefully keeping the knife steady against the infant’s throat. A smile was on his lips, a delighted look in his eye. “Pretty close, actually. I’m impressed. You already think like a monster, don’t you? As for the Dallons...” He glanced to Vicky, a grin on his lips. “More of a favor to Bonesaw, actually. A little consolation prize for the loss of Panacea.” He smiled slightly. “Shame Bonesaw died, and all that. She had such potential. I found her, you know. Raised her. Honed her skills. She was such an apt pupil, able to do so very much. And then you killed her. How did it feel, to murder a child?”

I closed my eyes for a moment, drawing on the icy clarity of the Void. “I made my choice. Her, or others. I’m going to pick those who aren’t psychotic murderers.”

He chuckled. “And they call me cold. At least I’m honest about things.”

My lip twitched as I fought to repress a snarl. “Honest? You?”

Jack’s smile was calm, confident. “Yes. I don't have any reason to lie here. I'm free of the constraints of lesser men. Let me tell you what’s going to happen if you kill me and Burnscar. First, you’re going to be lauded as a hero. Maybe they’ll throw you a parade.” He nodded over at the hostages. “I can see a little statue of you right there. Right where that fat guy is standing. Then after things have calmed down a bit, they’re going to watch you like a hawk. They’ll do everything they can to control you, to leash you. They’ll tie you up with diplomats, with deals and contracts and legalese. You’ll be locked in little rooms with little men who’ll spend years arguing about, oh, I don’t know, sewer systems and farmland and yadda yadda yadda. I’m trying to do you a favor. Why wouldn’t you just take it?”

I stood still for a moment. Then I laughed softly. “Ah. Because I have the might, what should stop me from taking things as my right, hm?” I grinned, letting my fangs show. “I’ve seen the results of that. A world of barbarians, scrabbling in the dirt, and never worrying about anything other than their next meal. It’s a pure existence, a simple existence, and a short and pointless existence. There’s no future there. I am more than a petty murderer or simple tyrant. I am the Dragon. I want more than you could ever offer.”

He stood still for a moment, a flash of something flashing across his face, gone before I could read it. That lazy smirk was on his face again. “How did it feel when you were fighting the Siberian? I watched you when you did it. You were filled with joy. You had fun while you went up against the most infamous member of our illustrious little band. Most people would have been shitting themselves in terror, moving to run and hide, but you took her head-on and loved it. Hell, I’ve seen the photos of you. You went from someone wearing freaky red armor into a literal demon. Your power’s just showing your true nature. Why don’t you embrace that?”

He dares compare the Lord of Darkness to his merry little band of murderers? I have seen better bandits than he. He takes the easy path, always seeking to attack the weaker, running from true challenges. He would never seek to slay a bound god. At best, he is a barbarian. He is beneath us.

A grin slowly lifted on my face. “What makes you think I haven’t embraced it, hm? You know what you’re lacking? A spine. I bit the Simurgh in the fucking face. I burned her core with the fires of my hatred. I roared my victory over her corpse. And where were you? Butchering your way through a town of defenseless people.” I spread my wings, letting my voice deepen into a growl. “When was the last time you faced an Endbringer? When you fought something that actually threatened you? I’m sure a whole bunch of unpowered children were so very threatening to the mighty Jack Slash. What you offer is nothing to me, Jack. What you do? It’s easy. All you and your band do is break shit.” I heard a few whispers from Dracul. Just the right words to hopefully push him into rage. I let my grin widen. “It’s easy to break things, Jack. It’s easy to kill people. It’s harder to lead them, and harder still to inspire them. What have you got that’s worth my time, Jack? You’re an irritant. An annoying stone in the bottom of my boot. All you’ve done is run around like a complete idiot, enjoying a few giggles while the adults try to get something done.”

He went completely, utterly still. His nostrils flared.

I spread my arms. He wanted theatrical? He hadn’t seen the things Dracul could pull off. “What’s the matter? Not having any fun now? Thought you’d get to have a good laugh, play a little bloody joke on me, giggling behind my back as you pointed me in amusing directions like a dog on a leash? Perhaps hoping I’d do a few tricks, grinning as you got the Dragon on your side? Maybe having me all wired up as a meat puppet for Bonesaw to steer around? Only that all fell through, didn’t it?” I gestured around at the hostages, at the ring of fire. “This reeks of desperation, little man. A last shot at trying to make an impression on the people who actually matter.”

I could see his jaw tighten. I shrugged, focusing my will as the fingers around his knife tightened. “When I’m done here today, I’m going to go home, make myself a nice drink, and forget all about you. This isn’t even a game to me, Jack. You’re a pest. You’re a cockroach, and this time you can’t scurry away into the darkness before the boot comes down. The only thing anyone’s going to say about you after today is ‘good riddance’ and move on. Your obituary’s going to say...” My grin grew vicious. “Here died Jack Slash, a complete waste of oxygen. He died as he lived, accomplishing Jack Shit. A shame your dad didn’t just save us all the trouble and cut your throat when you were born.”

His expression filled with fury. His hand twitched, his power arcing out and slashing my throat open. There wasn’t much pain, and he didn’t cut deep, but it still hurt, and I was keenly aware of the blood dripping from the wound.

Now!

Instinctively, I grasped the hideous wound that was the remains of my throat. Still, I’d been prepared for a moment of pain, and it was already healing itself. Less instinctively, I used my telekinesis on the Void Sword. The blade wrenched itself out of the ground and struck, aiming point-first at Jack’s shoulder, at the arm holding the knife.

The blade cut through his arm without resistance. He’d been entirely blindsided, and let out a scream as his arm fell to the ground. The baby in his other hand began to fall, but I’d been prepared, the moment to act all set in my mind’s eye. In a flash, I’d teleported right next to Jack, catching the falling baby before it fell more than a foot, turning with the momentum to make sure it wouldn’t be hurt. Another instant, and I’d teleported back to where I’d been standing, the now-wailing child in my arms as the Void Sword hovered right in front of Jack, the tip of the blade pressing against his throat.

“Fuck!” Burnscar screamed. The flames roared, beginning to close in on the people and the bus. There was a steely rasp, and the flames flowed away. There was an odd sound as flames roared and died in seconds, repeatedly. Vicky let out a cry of rage and something smashed on concrete.

I risked a glance. Alucard stood between the group of people and Burnscar’s fire, his blade in hand and spinning it around, the cold radiating from it buying a few moments. Vicky dove at Burnscar, her fists raised, and the serial killer teleported out of the way, appearing again in another part of the burning ring. She threw fire at Alucard, who grunted as his hair and skin burned, but the effect was mostly mitigated by the improvised barrier of cold he managed to put up with the Crissaegrim.

Vicky homed in on Burnscar’s new position, and Burnscar teleported again. Just as she reappeared, though, Meridia dove onto Burnscar from the air, pushing her from the flames and driving Burnscar’s head into the pavement. I couldn’t help but grin. I’d underestimated Meridia and Vicky. Vicky kept Burnscar focused on her while Meridia took her down from behind. With a roar of rage, Vicky flew forward and brought her foot right down on Burnscar's neck.

The snap was very audible.

With a growl of triumph, Meridia's fingers shifted into claws. She reached down, twisted and ripped, until Burnscar's head came off her neck. The pyromanic's body twitched and shuddered beneath the demonic vampire, and after a few moments she lay still.

As the flames began to weaken, Alucard took the opportunity to sling his sword around, helping to deny them the heat they needed. The moment a path through the ring of flame opened, he spoke with authority. “Move! Get out of here!”

People began to run through the opening, whimpers and cries reaching me. Not all of them could move quickly, but they went, one after another.

I turned my gaze back to Jack. He was standing there, his eyes wide, the Void Sword keeping steady on his throat. His eyes were pained, but he was clearly smiling despite it all. “Nice. Heh. Nicely done. Congratulations, hero. You’ve truly saved the innocent! Take a bow.”

I cleared my throat as it finished healing, swallowing my own blood, careful not to drop the child in my arms. The infant was wailing heavily, in distress. I....had no idea what to do, there. I looked down.

The infant’s skin was turning red, veins swelling visibly. Cries of distress, of pain, were rising, the wail grating on my nerves, even as horror filled me. With a final cry...

The infant exploded in my arms, covering me with gore.

I stood there. Frozen. My ears rang, horror filling me. All that was left were tiny bits of bone in my hands. I slowly looked up at the grinning Jack, his eyes filled with glee. In my moment of horror, I’d lost concentration, and he’d taken hold of the Void Sword with his remaining hand. He slashed the air with it, and it cut through me without resistance, the edge of his power cutting through my stomach almost all the way through me. I slid to the roof of the bus, my fingers digging into the metal right in front of me, pain filling me. Holy hell that was cold!

Without a care, without missing a single moment, Jack turned and slashed the air. Vicky let out a scream. Another slash, and the sound of ice on steel reached me, Alucard letting out a grunt of pain.

Just as he raised the blade again, I let it fade into the ether. Jack stopped as his hand was suddenly empty, letting out a grunt of surprise. Still, he reached into his jacket, sliding out another scalpel. I gathered my strength and let out a roar, forcing my body to shift into mist. He turned toward me, slashing instinctively. His power slashed through me, but without the substance of a physical body, it did nothing. He took a step backward as my substance flowed forward, just about to step off the bus before I reformed, wrapping my fist around his neck and flying forward at high speed.

He slashed with the scalpel, cutting my eye. I didn’t give the slightest shit. We smashed through a nearby office building, the passage made easy with most of the glass having been shattered already. He tried to cut me again, but I gripped his hand and crushed his bones into powder. Frustratingly, he didn’t seem to feel the pain. So I scraped his back against a concrete wall, leaving behind a long stream of blood. Sure, he may not feel it, but it made me feel better.

Next thing I knew, we were in open air again. I dove toward the ground, slamming him into the pavement and sending him spilling and tumbling over the sidewalk. I didn’t know where we were, and I didn’t care.

He was laughing softly, managing to spit out a bit of blood. “And you pretend to be a hero. Such grace, such power, so easily unleashed. This is the dragon you’re so proud of being, my dear?”

Rage and hate consumed me, the magics of the Void and Chaos begging to be unleashed. I decided to oblige them. I turned, seeing the nearest lamppost, and ripped it out of the ground, the light on the end of it sparking and failing as I advanced on the smug, broken form of Jack Slash. With a thought, the Void Sword reappeared in my hand. I used it to cut the head off the post, snarling at the leader of the Nine. “You fucking bastard. You have no standards at all, do you?” I barely even noticed my eye finishing its healing, the cloud of rage consuming me.

He grinned at me as he managed to sit up, seemingly uncaring about his bloody, sorry state. “Know what the best part was? Your face as he exploded. I can see it in your face. All that rage, buried beneath the veneer. You keep saying you’re better than me.” He spat out a glob of blood. “You’re not. I can see it in your eyes right now. You’re not better. You’re just bigger. And I’m fine with that.”

I ignited my claws, heating the metal at the tip of my improvised instrument. “Difference between you and me isn’t power, Jack. I kill you, and I’m done. I’m not going to head on down and start killing people at random. I have better things to do than just be a goddamn psychopath on the run. And yeah...” I felt my fangs lengthening as I spoke. “I am a monster. But I’m not a rabid fucking idiot.” I drove the spike into the ground. “The funny part is, Jack? I do bite. I am a bloodsucking fiend of the night. I am the first real vampire on this world. I’m just strong enough to say fuck you to the sun. I am the Dragon. But even if I was starving, desperate for the smallest drop of blood, I wouldn’t want a single drop of you inside me, you fucking bastard. You are beneath me, Jack.”

Jack just smiled serenely, his eyes glazed over. I grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Hie eyes widened in realization as I lifted him, pulling him over the spike and steadying his hip. I gave him a vicious grin. “Here’s an old favorite of Dracul’s. It’s still better than you deserve.” His feet kicked at me uselessly as I lowered him onto the spike.

He let out a silent scream as I impaled him on it, digging through his flesh and organs until the spike split through his collarbone. I let him go, resting his weight on it as he struggled, kicked, and flailed. I crossed my arms and floated backward, watching coldly as his struggles grew weaker, kicking and flailing uselessly as his feet sought ground.

Eventually, he stopped moving, hanging limply. I floated forward once more, ripped his head off with my bare hands, and placed it on top of the spike.

This was well done.

....I’m not sure I like the approval.

I knew, intellectually, that I’d be horrified at my actions when my emotions had finally calmed down a bit. At the moment, though...I just didn’t care.

I flew back to the others, my emotions broiling. I landed in front of the bus only to find Meridia holding Vicky, while Alucard sat at her side, carefully pressing his burning blade against Vicky’s ice-covered leg, slowly melting the ice from it. He gave me a nod, his voice grave, his expression filled with sympathy. “The last murderer?”

“Dealt with.” I said, my voice...empty. I looked over Vicky, somehow managing to keep myself together.

She was trembling, crying softly, her teeth chattering in the cold. She managed to look up at me. “That baby just...”

That did it. I fell to my knees, my eyes watering, and my soul let out a wail. I was only vaguely aware of Meridia’s arms wrapping around me as all the stress, the rage, the pain, and horror bottled up within my soul overwhelmed me.

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A/N: I picture Jack's new face looking somewhat like Russel Crowe. When he was younger, naturally. He's still badass these days, though. You ever want to see him as a villain? Watch Virtuosity from 1995, starring Denzel Washington. Had some interesting ideas.

Once again, thanks for the help wkz, nitewind, and Ld1449 on Spacebattles. By the way, I do recommend Ld's Outcry. Though that's partially because I'm a Souls fan, so I actually know something of what's going on there.

 

A/N: Yeah, this is going to be hard to do justice. I’ve been really struggling to keep this going the last long while, so...yeah. I’m just happy to get anything done.

And now, at this point, I'm going back to fix up Jack's last hurrah. Thanks to those who decided to participate.

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Atrika blinked.

She was standing on a sandy beach, the night sky above her. The stars were innumerable, and while she couldn’t see very far, the air seemed clear and calm.

She tried to reach out with her power, to touch the sand and make it move. But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

“Hello my dear.” A voice said. She turned to see a man in a black suit, his white hair and beard neatly trimmed. In his fingers he held a cigar, the smoke wafting gently into the air.

She swallowed. “Who are you?”

He looked at her, his gaze piercing. “I am the end of all things. And this is your moment. This is your end. This is where your soul belongs. You crafted it for yourself with your desires, your actions, and your deeds.”

She looked around. “A beach at night? I actually kind of like it here.”

The man smiled slightly. “Appearances can be deceiving, my dear. I do not have any say in where someone goes when they come into my hands. But perhaps that is for the best. After all, though I am normally not a cruel being, I might be tempted to make things more and more uncomfortable for those who deserve it. However, all things are equal, when I meet them.”

Whispers began rising. Shatterbird looked around. There wasn’t anyone else here, but it sounded like a multitude of voices. “The heck is that?”

Her companion shrugged. “I believe you know.” He didn’t sound sad, or angry. It was simply...truth.

Not whispers. Wails. Screams. Cries. Sobs. Pleading. They began to fill her ears completely, and they should have been unintelligible, but somehow she could understand each of them. There were thousands of voices.

His voice was soft as he spoke. “You were dealt a bad hand, my dear. But you still had choices, and you chose to drive shards of glass into innocent people. Of your compatriots, you spilled the most blood, you caused the most pain, and you sent more souls into my hands than any other. And you knew what you were doing. You could have made a bid for freedom and left it at that. You could have done much to help people. Instead, you chose to murder without a care. You chose to cause pain to others to compensate for your own.”

Atrika fell to her knees, trying to block out the voices. They kept getting louder, and louder. “Make it stop!” She pleaded with the man.

He simply shook his head. “Even if I could, I would not. How many cries and screams did you hear and revel in? How many people begged you for mercy, and found none? Now that is all you will ever have. Every bit of pain your victims felt. Everyone you’ve ever hurt. Everyone you’ve ever killed. Every mother whose child you maimed. Every father who cradled his dying sons and daughters. Everyone you ever sent to my embrace, and everyone who lived in the aftermath of the horror you inflicted without a care. Worry not, my dear. This will end, eventually.”

She looked up, trying to breathe through the sheer cacophony ringing through her mind. “H-how?”

He shrugged. “When you have experienced all of the pain your victims have endured at your hands. Living or dead. One at a time.”

Her mouth dropped open. “But that’s...”

He shrugged again. “Many, many thousands. When it is over, you may enjoy your solitude on the beach as is your wish. But until then...I suggest you get to work. It will be easier to select a victim’s experience if you can focus on a single voice. That there are so many.....well, that is yourproblem.”

He vanished. The voices and screams in her ears were her only company. And Atrika screamed, her fingers tearing into the soft sand beneath her.

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

Alan Gramme was making dinner. Rebecca was due home any minute, and Jessa and Michael would be there as soon as they got home from school. He’d been up working on schematics for the first lunar colony for the last week, and the primary site was already being built with drones. It was a hope that humanity could begin colonizing the solar system. A way to escape the ongoing devastation that Behemoth and Leviathan were inflicting on the world.

He checked the clock. Rebecca must be running late. The lasagna would be ready in five minutes or so. He took a moment to look out the window, brushing the black drapes out of the way. Where was she? And why did the drapes feel so cold?

“Hello Alan.” A soft voice spoke.

He turned and nearly jumped out of his skin. “Dad? Why didn’t you say you were dropping by?” Something was weird, here. Something just...off.

His father, Jonathan Gramme, looked at him sadly. “Alan. Sit down. Please.”

Carefully, Alan slid into the chair at his kitchen table. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Jonathan closed his eyes for a moment. “Think carefully, Alan. Three years before this day. The hospital.”

Alan stopped. And thought. The memory was foggy, but eventually, it came. Alan paled. “You’re dead.”

Jonathan nodded. “Cancer. Seven years of fighting it. And now, you’re dead too.” Jonathan made a gesture, and suddenly, there was a figure floating at Alan’s side. A skeleton in a black cloak, a long scythe resting on its shoulder.

With a chill, Alan realized something. He didn’t have black drapes. He’d been...ignoring the fact that Death was in the room.

Jonathan’s voice was filled with sadness. “Alan, think. What happened tomorrow. The third Endbringer came. She killed Rebecca, and Michael, and Jessa. Then what you did afterward.”

Alan sat still, swallowing hard. He looked down at his hands, then shivered as the memories came flooding in. Sealing himself inside a set of molecularly bonded armor, a variation on one of his designs for a near-impenetrable space suit. Then refining the design, cutting out the bits of him that weren’t needed to keep him alive. Joining the Nine, murdering those who tried to change things for the better. Especially other Tinkers.

Alan’s hands began to shake. “What is this, Dad? What is this place?”

Death gestured, extending a bony hand to Jonathan. Alan’s father took it, getting to his feet. “I asked Death for this, Alan. I could see what you’ve been doing. I’m disappointed, son. Very disappointed. While the Simurgh is responsible for killing them, and had a hand in twisting your mind...she just nudged you in the right direction. You still killed people, good people. People who were trying to do the right thing.” Gently, he squeezed Alan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. Rebecca, Michael, and Jessa have watched you do all those terrible things. And so have I. They’re not coming home, Alan. They’re together, elsewhere, and happy. You’ve got no place with them, now.”

Alan sprung to his feet. “Dad, wait!”

Jonathan shook his head. “I’m sorry, Alan. I know how much you’ve missed them. I know what your grief and rage have driven you to. But..it will be a very, very long time before I’m ready to come back here.”

Death spoke, in words that were not words, a chilling echo that carved deep into Alan’s mind. “Tʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪɴɢs, Aʟᴀɴ. Tʜɪs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀɪᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀʟᴋᴇᴅ. Iᴛ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ, ғᴏʀ ғᴇᴡ ᴛʜɪɴɢs ᴀʀᴇ. Bᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴇᴀʀɴᴇᴅ. Iɴ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ sʜᴀʟʟ ʙᴇ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴏғ ʜᴇʀᴇ. Bᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ. Tʜɪs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏsᴛ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs, ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀᴛᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛs ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇsᴛʀᴏʏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴘᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍs ᴏғ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs, ᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ.”

The pair walked out the front door. Alan tried to follow, only for it to slam shut just before he could cross the threshold. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t open the door to his own house. He couldn’t even open a window.

He slumped against a wall, burying his face in his hands, and cried.

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

Riley sculpted the sand in front of her. The sandcastle was coming along nicely, and all she had to do was to shape the tower at the back of it and put in little windows. Tongue just slightly poking out of the corner of her mouth, she carved out the windows with a stick, careful not to twitch and send it all spilling down. The warm waters of the lakeside shore lapped gently, not at all threatening to the elaborate work of the little girl.

“There! Finished!” She grinned at her handiwork, the castle complete.

“That’s nice work there, Riley.” A woman’s voice spoke, warm and compassionate. Riley turned her head, smiling at the middle-aged but pretty woman who sat on the lawnchair, her sunglasses tilted up as she looked at Riley’s sandcastle. “I think that looks rather familiar.” Her smile widened, the silver skull necklace swinging slightly. “Is it from....the Hobbit?”

Riley made a bored face, but her eyes were gleaming, and she let out a giggle. “Nope!”

The woman nodded. “Hmm....then is it from The Little Mermaid?”

Riley giggled again. “Nope!”

A tap to the chin and a mischievous smile. “The Lion King?”

Riley laughed. “There’s no castles in that one, silly!”

The woman smiled. “All right then, where’s it from?”

Riley nodded with enthusiasm. “It’s from Sleeping Beauty! It’s mine and mommy’s favoritest movie. The best part’s when the handsome prince finally wakes her up!”

The woman nodded with a smile. “It’s a good story. It’s a classic from long before you were born.”

Riley giggled again. She looked around, a slight frown coming onto her face. “Where’s is mommy? I haven’t seen her for a while.”

The woman shook her head. “Your mommy’s been waiting for you, Riley. I’ll take you to her soon, but...” She looked sad, and sympathetic, but also determined. “It’s time for you remember, little one.”

Riley’s hands trembled, fear flooding her mind. “But I don’t want to. All the blood and screams and pain and...the fun I had....I don’t want to remember it all. Can I just...”

Her companion shook her head, but her voice was gentle. “As much as I would like to spare you that pain, you need to be whole before you can see her. There is much you buried, many you harmed. You didn’t want to be a nightmare, but you were, to many, many people. You were prepared to cause more harm than anyone ever had in history. You were prepared to drive humanity into extinction. Now how you ended was not your fault...but it left a mark upon you that must be acknowledged before it can heal. Before you can move on.”

Riley’s lip trembled as the memories trickled back in. Slowly, piecemeal. The pain and horror she inflicted on others. She had the power to help people by the millions, to cure cancer, to even resurrect the recently dead.

And with that power, the power to change the world infinitely for the better... she made monsters. Keeping her victims alive, aware, screaming as they did her bidding. She even made jokes about it, giving them names. Screamy, Waily, Cryly, and Moe. Because Moe moped. It had seemed so funny at the time. Now there wasn’t anything funny about it.

Riley fell to the sand and buried her hands in it, trying to frantically clean off the blood she could feel there. “I’m a bad girl, a bad girl! I’m the worst girl ever.”

To no avail. The feelings of being unclean remained. She yanked on her hair, trying to pull it out in clumps. Her companion gently squeezed Riley’s shoulder, and she looked up, her eyes filled with soul-destroying memories. “Please, I don’t wanna be Bonesaw. I don’t...I don’t deserve to be Riley. I don’t like anything about me.”

The woman gave her a gentle, caring smile. “I know, my dear. Much of what you had done is because of Jack. He had a very large hand in shaping the person you became. But the fact remains there’s a lot of blood, a lot of pain and suffering caused by you. Nobody should do such terrible things. I have had to comfort so very many people, those you hurt, those you mutilated.”

Riley’s voice was hollow. “Nothing I say will fix it, will it?”

The gentle woman shook her head. “No. Words won’t change what you did. They won’t heal those you hurt, nor will they bring back those you killed. But it’s over now, Riley.” She gently wiped away Riley’s tears. “Your mother is waiting for you. She has been, all this time. Once you are together, then together you may decide what to do.”

Riley’s brow furrowed. “What to do? What is there to do? We’re dead! We can’t do anything!”

A smile of amusement. “And yet death is a new beginning. Once together, my dear, you may choose many fates. Despite everything you had done, much of what you did was not made by your own choice. You were led to it, step by step, and twisted by it, by the mind and will of another. So you now have choices, the choices you were denied in life. It is my hope you choose well.”

Riley nodded slowly, her voice quiet. “I want to see mommy now.”

Death gently took Riley’s hand, and together they walked out of the happy memory, and into a large hallway made from glowing blue crystals. People were milling about, happy people, excited people. Riley’s jaw dropped as she pointed at a pair of blue women, their heads topped by a mass of tentacles. Despite their inhumanity, however, they seemed sociable enough. One was petting a dog, the animal’s tail wagging furiously, while the other was happily chatting with a very thin, short, gray being, shorter than Riley herself.

“What are they?” Riley asked with fascination. If she could feel her power, she had no doubt all sorts of interesting things would be flooding into her mind. As it was...they were simply neat.

Her companion chuckled with a smile. “You didn’t think I dealt with only humanity, did you?”

“Riley!” A voice called out of the crowd. People parted as a youthful blonde made her way through, desperate to reach the pair.

“Mommy!” Riley cried out, running from Death’s gentle grip and hugged her mother about the waist. Tears flowed from the reunited mother and daughter.

And a faint smile rested on the face of Death.

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

Identical faces stared at the other. One twisted with loathing, the other with hatred.

“I hate you!”

“Well, I hate you too, you bitch! You ruined my life!”

“I saved our life! If it wasn’t for me, we’d have died in that fire!”

“We should have! It would have been better than being with the fucking Nine! And you didn’t keep us from being ripped apart by a fucking monster!”

Mimi sat across from Burnscar. Surrounding the pair of near-identical women was the home they lived in. The home that defined their existence. The home where Mimi was trapped, where she became Burnscar.

“What the hell are you, anyway?” Mimi demanded.

A new voice spoke, harsh, dark, yet somehow soothing. Final. “She is a second soul. Rather unusual, but I have seen a few such situations before.” A young man, handsome, his voice filled with a deep sarcastic tone. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his hair was as black as night.

Mimi and Burnscar looked at the man. “Two souls?” They said in unison, then glared at each other.

An annoyed glance to the pair. “The moment you gained your power, my dear Mimi, you connected to a fragment of a creature both far more and less than yourself. The creature made changes to your mind, and as a result, it fragmented.” He nodded to Burnscar. “That was the moment youwere born. You’re built off a template, you insane, psychotic thing. You burned people alive for fun, and you did it again and again. And you always whispered in Mimi’s ear, wanting for another moment to be free once more. Had your situation gone on for much longer, it’s probable you would have devoured Mimi entirely.”

Burnscar’s face twisted in hatred and rage. “Who are you to judge me!? I did what I had to do, what she always wanted to do in the back of her head! I was free.”

The man glared. “And now, you are dead.” A scythe appeared from nowhere, resting in the man’s hands. Burnscar’s eyes widened as he advanced upon her, while Mimi scrambled back.

“Hey!” Burnscar yelled. “We can take him together!” She looked desperately at Mimi, who was paralysed with fear, cowering against a wall. “We can kill him, just help me!”

“No. You can’t. You do not belong here, Burnscar. Mimi does. Goodbye.” He spoke impassively. Without a care, he turned and cut the air with the scythe. The air tore, and a great black void appeared in the rip. Burnscar screamed as she was dragged toward it, while the scythe wielding man and Mimi herself were unaffected.

With a scream, Burnscar was pulled inside the void. With a gesture, the man closed the rift, and the room was as solid and normal as it was an instant before.

Then he turned to look upon Mimi. The scythe vanished, and he stood there with an outstretched hand. “Come, my dear. While there is much upon your head, much that stains your soul...your primary sin was that of cowardice. You were afraid to take responsibility for yourself, and you feared the consequences of the actions of your other self. While you must answer for these things...it is a far lesser trial for you than for your counterpart.”

Swallowing in fear, Mimi took his hand and let herself be pulled to her feet. Her lip trembled as she spoke, her voice wavering. “What will happen to me?”

He shrugged. “I do not know, although it is likely rebirth. Many such souls who have lived lives like your own get another chance. It may be some time before that day comes. Your greatest crimes consist mostly of allowing Burnscar to do as she wished.”

She shook her head. “But I am Burnscar. I remember everything I did. How it felt.”

His voice softened. “Yes. But souls are sometimes more complicated than you may imagine, my dear. In essence, you had two minds. Two minds created two souls. That they were fundamentally linked in almost every respect doesn’t change that. But I know that Mimi did not want to harm anyone in the beginning. Burnscar reveled in that very thing. That was enough of a divide to prevent you two from merging.”

Mimi shuddered, then gently squeezed his hand. She looked at where the rip in the air had been. “Where did you send her? Hell?”

A slight smirk arose on his lips. “Worse. Wisconsin.” At her incredulous look, he sighed. “I always wanted to say that. No, she is gone. From nothingness she arose, and to nothingness she shall return.”

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

Doctor William Manton stood over the body of his daughter.

It failed. The formula failed. It hadn’t saved her. Formulas saved almost everyone, but it didn’t save her. Annie was gone, and with her, so was everything that mattered.

He looked down at the formula in his hand. A different one, but maybe it would let him do something. To have the power he always wanted, the powers he studied in others. The power to make them all pay.

Annie’s eyes opened, and the vial dropped from his fingers, shattering on the floor.

Slowly, she sat up and looked at him. Then she smacked him across the cheek.

He rubbed his cheek. “H-how? Why?”

She looked at him, anger and rage in her eyes. “You used my image to kill people and eat them. What the hell, dad!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? Hell, you didn’t even have it wearing clothes when you did it!”

William clenched his hands, counted to ten, and spoke slowly. The memories came flooding back in. “I did it for vengeance against Cauldron, Annie. You died because they didn’t give me the resources I needed to save you. They failed you, and I had to show them that they couldn’t just string me along forever. I showed them they were not gods.”

Annie got off bed she lay on. The hospital gown barely covered her, but with a thought, she was suddenly wearing a long, flowing white dress. She also seemed...older. Like the image of her he used to build the Siberian. But where the Siberian was terrifying, she was simply....well, human.

Her voice was filled with hatred. “You were always absorbed, dad. Always worrying about what you wanted. Your career, your fame, putting your name on things. You wanted to be the next Einstein, and all you did in the end was murder people. What’s worse, you lucked out. You could have done so much with the power you got, and all you did was kill.”

“Annie, I-“

Annie smacked him across the face again. “You had a power that could have stopped Behemoth! You could have killed it years ago, and maybe, just maybe, have saved millions of lives.”

He gritted his teeth. “The projection had a good range, but not that good a range. I would have died if I went up against Behemoth.”

A new, soft voice spoke. “And instead, you killed the greatest hope this world had.”

William turned his head.

A man wearing a gray suit, his hair short and blond, his features seemingly honed and shaped for rugged handsomeness. He gently adjusted his collar. “You killed Hero, Clark Bell, out of spite. He had the power to change this world, he had the potential to lead it into a golden age. He inspired heroes from one end of your country to the other, and he might have found a way to free Ifrit, Lotan, and Ariel of their bonds a long time ago. And you killed him because he had what you didn’t.” The man looked annoyed. “A pity he’s already moved on. Else I would have arranged for him to make his grievances clear with you, William.”

Annie stepped over to the man’s side, gently taking his arm. “I don’t want to ever see him again.”

The man nodded. “That can be arranged.”

That jolted William out of his surprise. “Wait, Annie, I did all this for you!”

Her face twisted in disgust. “I know. That’s what makes it all the worse.”

Flash.

Doctor William Manton stood over the body of his daughter.

It failed. The formula failed. It hadn’t saved her. Formulas saved almost everyone, but it didn’t save her. Annie was gone, and with her, so was everything that mattered.

Her eyes opened, and her body rippled into the form of the Siberian. She gripped his hand, crushing the vial held in it. He screamed as the glass shards dug into his skin.

Without a care, the Siberian brought the crushed remnants of his hand to her lips and bit off his crushed fingers. He struggled to pull away, but he was helpless against the invincible woman. Slowly, methodically, she ate away at the man who projected her, who used her.

Flash.

Doctor William Manton stood over the body of his daughter.

It failed. The formula failed. It hadn’t saved her. Formulas saved almost everyone, but it didn’t save her. Annie was gone, and with her, so was everything that mattered.

Her eyes opened. William screamed in horror as she shifted into the Siberian.

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

Hatchet Face strode through the woods. The hatchet in his hand, that which gave him his namesake, dripped with blood. It was something he took pleasure in, seeing the powerful, the arrogant, the egotistical, all brought down to simply human.

And humans were fragile. He was not. Fragile, or human, that is. He was better. He was chosen to remove them all, the blasphemous monsters that masqueraded as heroes, and villains. They were monsters. And it was his duty to wipe them out.

His target was up ahead. She was running, screaming, calling for help.

Stupid woman. Nobody was around here for miles. This idiotic little bitch thought she was clever, trying to attack him at a distance with her aerokinesis. He was tough enough to handle it, though, and Bonesaw made him even tougher still. All it took was a good leap, and she was in his range.

And in his range, she was nobody.

He liked to play with his targets. While they looked at him, he walked. Methodically, purposefully, with a stride that ate distance, but not so much that he would catch up too quickly. And when he knew they were looking away, he would move fast, taking longer strides, and even now and again running to keep up. All he had to do was make sure they stayed in his range, so that the more speedy targets couldn’t get away.

Of course, in those situations, it helped to be prepared. Such as picking the place for an ambush in treacherous terrain. Or simply approaching in a crowd, with his power turned off. Bonesaw’s upgrades to his physiology was so very, very helpful there.

She finally tripped, scrambling away on her back, her eyes wide in fear as he reached her. He lifted his weapon, grinning behind his mask.

Another one falls. He brought the hatchet down.

It passed through his target without resistance. And without visible effect. She spoke, her words all too familiar, though the deep sarcastic, deadpan tone was definitely not usual for this situation. “Oh, no. Please. Don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything.” She got to her feet and dusted herself off, the dirt of the forest floor easily being shed from her leather pants.

He looked to the hatchet in his hand. Then back at his target. He tried to hack into her again. The blade of his hatchet simply passed through again. With a grumble, he waved it back and forth through her head, trying to disrupt the image.

Fucking projections. Least this one didn’t have any substance. He had a fair bit of trouble with one, once. Some six years ago. Luckily, that one had a short range.

He turned away, grumbling to himself, when her voice caught his attention. “You can’t kill me, because I am not alive. I am no projection, no phantom. I am The End. I am Death. And your time is done.”

He stayed silent. It was a way to keep his facade up. He never spoke while wearing the mask. Only when it was off. And he rarely took it off. Only to eat, and sometimes to collaborate with the rest of the Nine.

“I feel nothing.” Flame appeared in the pale monster’s hand. How? Powers never worked in his range. Technology did, but other things never did.

Then flame burned out his eyes, and sharp pain as that blade sliced through his body. The hard, cold floor, his blood leaking from between his fingers. Then more pain....and nothing.

Slowly, he reached up and took off his mask, glaring at the goth woman. All this had been...nothing but a memory. A memory she inserted herself into, and calmly played a little part in, until she tired of it.

He glared at her, his face...misshapen. Twisted, and scarred. A result of a clash with a Tinker who specialized in acid. He’d been pleased when Bonesaw had given him the face of another for the attempt to break down this ‘Scarlet Dragon.’ A chance to feel more like himself.

“So what now?” He spoke. The impulse to simply try and hack through her again came and went. Intellectually, he knew it was useless already, but some habits were rather hard to break.

She shrugged. “You stay here. Alone. You acted as a hunter, attacking the helpless. Now? I am afraid you will get to know what it means to be the prey.”

Howls began to rise in the woods. Hatchet Face turned, holding his weapon. He turned, this way and that, trying to see...

Golden eyes appeared between the trees. A great, black wolf. And another, to the left. And another, further over. Gleaming fangs bared, the pack raring themselves up to attack.

Then teeth tore into the back of his leg, and he screamed as he fell. He lashed out with the hatchet, the weapon biting into flesh, and the attacking wolf let out a yelp as it fell back.

The girl smiled slightly as she looked at him. “I suggest you start running.”

Hatchet Face struggled to his feet, the torn muscles of his leg making the act near-impossible. He limped as the wolves began to close in around him. He roared in challenge as the pack came his way, snarling and growling.

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

“Hᴇʟʟᴏ Jᴀᴄᴋ.”

Jack looked around, his hands instinctively going for the scalpels he had in his coat. Only, he didn’t have his coat. He was surrounded by darkness, and all he could feel he had was a pair of jeans and an old, ratty shirt. He grimaced. “Where the hell am I?” The last thing he remembered was...struggling to breathe, struggling to live, after the spike Scarlet improvised had torn through his primary heart. Bonesaw had given him a secondary, but it hadn’t been enough to keep him going with the rest of his vital organs having been ripped to shreds. He was...actually rather proud of that. He hadn’t known such viciousness was in the girl.

“I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪs ғᴏʀ ǫᴜɪᴛᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, Jᴀᴄᴋ.” The voice spoke, quiet, chilling. “Tʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ sᴏ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴡʜᴏ ᴅɪᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀɴᴅ. Sᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ I ʜᴀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴄᴏᴍғᴏʀᴛ, ᴛᴏ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇ, ᴀs ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ.”

Jack chuckled softly. “Well, what do I care? They didn’t matter. Nobody gave a shit about them, else I’d have been stopped a long time ago. Little peons don’t matter. King mattered. It took Harbinger and I both to take him out, and we grew all the more for it. And all it took was two hundred and fifty people who never would have accomplished anything otherwise. Well, something like that. I forget the actual number.”

The voice was cold, becoming hard, angry, yet in complete control. “Aʟʟ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ, Jᴀᴄᴋ. Eᴠᴇʀʏ sᴏᴜʟ ɪs ᴜɴɪǫᴜᴇ, ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴏɴᴇ ɪs ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ, sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ. I ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀɪɴɢ Kɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅs, ʙᴜᴛ I ᴍᴜsᴛ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴄᴏɴᴅᴇᴍɴ ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀɪɴ ᴀɴᴅ sᴜғғᴇʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴠɪsɪᴛᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴄᴀʀᴇ. Aɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀs ᴛᴡᴏ ʜᴜɴᴅʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ғɪғᴛʏ-sᴇᴠᴇɴ. I ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʀᴇᴄɪᴛᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ɴᴀᴍᴇs, Jᴀᴄᴋ. I ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴛᴇʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀᴍᴇs ᴏғ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏғ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠɪᴄᴛɪᴍs. Bᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛʟᴇss, ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɪᴛ ɴᴏᴛ?”

A slight smile pulled at his lips. “Actually, might be fun. Maybe I can put a few faces to the names, remember how I killed them. Would be a nice way to pass the time.”

Disappointment in that cold voice. “Yᴏᴜʀ sᴏᴜʟ ɪs ᴛʀᴜʟʏ ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ, ɪsɴ’ᴛ ɪᴛ? Nᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sʟɪɢʜᴛᴇsᴛ ʙɪᴛ ᴏғ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋɴᴇss ɴᴏʀ ᴄᴀʟᴍɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛ. Yᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ɪɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀʟᴇɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ sᴛᴇᴇᴘᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀsᴛ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ sᴏᴜʟ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴄᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪsʜ ɪᴛ. A sʜᴀᴍᴇ.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t matter to me what you thought. I had fun. That’s all that really mattered, you know? I. Had. Fun. I enjoyed slaughtering Bonesaw’s family and twisting her. I enjoyed manipulating Burnscar into believing she had no options. I enjoyed steering Hatchet Face at the Brutes that had to be taken down a notch. Or a head. I enjoyed letting the Siberian loose on people to watch her tear people apart. I enjoyed slicing people to ribbons. I had fun.”

The voice was even colder. “Iɴᴅᴇᴇᴅ. Aʟᴀs, Jᴀᴄᴋ, I ʜᴀᴠᴇ sᴏᴍᴇ ʙᴀᴅ ɴᴇᴡs ғᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ.”

He shrugged. “Figured. I’m dead. You know, I wasn't actually expecting an afterlife. I wasn't expecting anything at all, that's one of the reasons I just sought to enjoy myself. Ah well. What happens now? This the part where we get the fire and pointy objects?”

“Nᴏ, Jᴀᴄᴋ. Yᴏᴜʀ sᴏᴜʟ ᴅᴏᴇs ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ Hᴇʟʟs. Iɴ ғᴀᴄᴛ, ʏᴏᴜʀ sᴏᴜʟ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢs ɴᴏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ. Tʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ᴏɴᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛs ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ɪᴛ. Rᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇɪɴᴄᴀʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ɪs ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ. Tʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴs ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. Yᴏᴜ sʜᴀʟʟ sɪᴍᴘʟʏ....ᴄᴇᴀsᴇ.”

Jack frowned, then shrugged. “Well, least I'm not disappointed. I had fun with it all. Kinda surprised I'm not getting the hellfire, though. What happened, you forget to fill out the paperwork?”

The voice had a faint undertone of satisfaction.“Nᴏ, Jᴀᴄᴋ. Tʜᴇ ᴊᴏʙ ᴏғ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟs ɪs ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴏᴜʟs ᴏғ ᴍᴏɴsᴛᴇʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍ, ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛᴏ sᴛʀɪᴘ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴏɴsᴛʀᴏᴜsɴᴇss ᴀɴᴅ sᴇɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ʀᴇʙᴏʀɴ, ᴏʀ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴜʀɴ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟs ᴛʜᴇᴍsᴇʟᴠᴇs. Yᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴏɴsᴛʀᴏᴜs ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇᴍ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. Fᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ sɪᴍᴘʟᴇ ғᴀᴄᴛ ɪs...ʏᴏᴜ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴅɪᴅ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅɪᴅ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ɪᴛ. Tʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴊᴏʙ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ. Dᴇᴍᴏɴs sᴇʀᴠᴇ ᴛʜᴇ Lᴀᴅʏ ᴏғ Dᴀʀᴋɴᴇss, ᴀɴᴅ ɪғ sʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ ʏᴏᴜ, sʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴏᴛ. Tʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴs ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴀ sᴏᴜʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ. Aɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇ ʀᴇʙᴏʀɴ, ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ғᴀʀ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ sᴏᴜʟs ʏᴏᴜ sᴇɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴏɪᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴘᴀɪɴ. Yᴏᴜ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ɴᴏᴡʜᴇʀᴇ, Jᴀᴄᴏʙ. Aɴᴅ sᴏ ʏᴏᴜ sʜᴀʟʟ ᴇɴᴅ.”

A feeling, like ice, began to climb up his legs. Jack tried to move, to press his hands against his knees, only to feel himself....fading. “Hey, quit doing that! I thought that you would be a good sport about all this!”

“I ᴀᴍ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ. Wᴇʀᴇ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ sᴘᴇɴᴅ ᴀɴ ᴇᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀsᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ sᴘᴇɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇɴᴛɪʀᴇ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ. Bᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ. Gᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ, Jᴀᴄᴋ.”

Jack clenched his teeth as the substance of his soul dissolved, fading into the void. While it was technically true that nothing is truly ever destroyed, only changes, the mind of Jack Slash was gone. What little remained of his soul would, in time, go on to join the substance of other things...but that had no meaning to Jack Slash himself.

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

About four years later.

Crawler opened his eyes. All twelve of them. He was surrounded by the void of space, the sun had shrunken down to a dot. The stars surrounded him, and he tried to breathe. Only for the sheer lack of air to make him realize just how screwed he was. Space. He was still in space! What the hell had Dragon done to him? The last thing he remembered was being on the wrong end of that bright, powerful light.

He wasn’t in any pain, it was just...uncomfortable here. He actually would have preferred pain. Because then he’d be changing, growing, becoming stronger. And more importantly, he would feel something. Apparently his body had adapted to the void of space by becoming a hard, immobile shell. Even if he’d landed somewhere, he’d be a freaking tree! Wait, no. He could move his claws. Great.

Wait. There was something. A slight tugging on his back. He struggled to turn himself, only for his eyes to widen as he took in the sight before him.

Jupiter loomed. The king of the planets, striped with powerful storms. The Great Red Spot took his attention for a moment. But he’d actually miss it, as he was heading right for the equator.

“Oh you fucking bitch!” He howled as he plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere, the air just enough to let him hear himself. Then his rather extreme speed lit him on fire as Jupiter’s extreme gravity pulled him in. His outer layers burned as they were reduced to plasma, but he was tough enough to survive long enough for his power to adapt the right structure to handle the extraordinarily dangerous conditions of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

It would be several weeks before he fell deep enough into Jupiter’s atmosphere to smack into the metallic hydrogen layer. The immense pressures and radiation, however, posed a problem for even his power. He adapted, but the conditions were so fierce they caused slight feedback upon the interdimensional connections that gave Crawler his power. It would be about a century of him surviving within the ludicrously hostile environment of Jupiter’s dense atmosphere before the shard cut the connection. At that point, Crawler would no longer heal, and he would be crushed by the immense pressures, heat, and composition of the giant planet. But that would be quite some time in the future.

Jupiter, of course, did not notice or care that it had eaten Crawler. It was a planet, and planets, though they had souls, were not very sophisticated, after all.

Though its rather rudimentary soul would not mind having a comet or two to snack upon...

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

A/N: The casting lists of Death:

Shatterbird: Sean Connery.
Alan Gramme: Discworld Death.
Bonesaw: Julianne Moore.
Burnscar: Alan Rickman.
William Manton: Brad Pitt.
Hatchet Face: Angelina Jolie.
Jack Slash: Discworld again.
Crawler: The audience. Yes, you guys!

 

A/N: Phew. Now, hopefully, I can get back on top of things.

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

May 27th, 2011

Amy grit her teeth. Kid Win lay still beneath her fingers.

Before her transformation into a vampire, she could have healed this wound easily. Now the best she could do was close it, but the damage was severe. If she had several hours, she might be able to heal the damage to his lung, fix the spine, and keep the massive arterial damage from making him bleed out. Hell, if Taylor still had Bonesaw’s power, she might have managed it.

As it was, she was trying to heal him in fits and starts, in the moments between when Clockblocker’s power stopped working and when the Ward could freeze Kid Win again.

“Amara.” Paladin’s voice got her attention, the newest Ward’s voice strained. Amy shook her head as she looked up.

The amulets laid around in the circle were glowing a bright blue, and growing brighter. Paladin spoke with some urgency. “You’d better get out of the room, I’m about to finish here and we don’t know how bad it’ll be if you’re exposed to the light.”

Amy swallowed and got to her feet. Small exposure to Light Magic burned her skin. A flare of it might just outright turn her to ash.

Clockblocker spoke with worry. “Wait wait, are we going to be okay?”

Paladin grimaced a bit. “My powers and hers don’t interact very well. We’ll be fine, but Amara might get hurt.”

Amy nodded, giving Clockblocker a smile. “Did some testing earlier. Light and I don’t mix.” She stepped out of the room, wringing her hands as she went down the hall. She decided to take shelter in the storeroom, surrounded by bottles of water and small provisions. Endbringer shelters were designed to handle immense stresses for short periods, the usual battle against an Endbringer was over quickly. Win...or lose. But there was always the chance that a shelter might get buried or otherwise inaccessible for a long period.

She shut her eyes as she sat in the comforting dark, letting the stress of the night slowly fade. Though it would be days before she might actually feel better. If ever.

To see her parents like that, reduced to playthings at Bonesaw’s hands, it was a nightmare. It hadn’t been easy living under Carol, but even on the worst days, she wouldn’t have wanted her adoptive mother to be reduced to a helpless doll. What was worse was how difficult her power was to work with now. On herself? Fine, that was easy. On others? More difficult than anything. If Taylor hadn’t possessed Bonesaw, it would have been impossible to save her adoptive parents.

The door knocked. Amy looked up. “Come in.”

Gallant opened it, entering the room carefully, then closed it a little awkwardly. It looked like he instinctively tried to shut the door with his left hand, but he didn’t have that anymore. And with her power weakened like this, it would probably take weeks for her to grow him a functional replacement. He’d probably be better off with prosthetics...if that wasn’t a possible giveaway about his identity.

“Hey.” He spoke softly. “Can we talk?” He paused for a moment, seemingly in consideration. “Amy?”

With a blink, Amy grimaced. Of course he would see through the disguise. She sighed, and gestured to the wall by the door. “Sit down, Dean.”

He slowly sank down against the wall, rubbing the stump of his arm. “I wondered why Vicky wasn’t all that upset. What happened?”

Amy began to quietly talk.

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

Dragon felt the tug.

She hadn’t realized just how far out into the solar system she’d gotten when she was fighting Crawler. It took her a little while to remember she could home in on Earth using the radio signals human civilization was generating.

In Dragon’s defense, though, she hadn’t noticed the passage of time while basking in the light of the Sun. The feeling of power and rapture was something entirely outside of her experience. Gaining the power of Light seemed to have expanded her awareness in a lot of unexpected ways, and with all that it was hard to adjust, at times. Though it was probably a lot easier than it would have been for a human. How the hell did humans deal with all those sensations all the time?

Still, she could feel the call, in the back of her head. Words that weren’t quite words, but understandable all the same. I need you here. I need help. I can’t do this myself.

The image filled her mind, and exercising powers she still barely understood, Dragon willed herself there.

Light, as bright as that of the Sun itself, burned for a brief moment before Dragon vanished.

Awareness returned as she found herself standing in an Endbringer shelter, a circle of Light Magic amulets surrounding her. She quickly looked around, getting her bearings.

“Dragon! It worked!” Paladin’s voice spoke. Dragon turned her head to see the Ward kneeling before her.

The rest of the room was mostly empty, the various injured Wards sitting against the walls. Dragon looked over at the prone form of Kid Win, Clockblocker sitting over him, one hand on the wounded Tinker’s shoulder. He was expressionless behind that mask, but it was easy enough to see the worry and fear, there.

Paladin spoke quickly. “Kid Win needs healing. We’ve been trying to keep him alive long enough for you to get to him. Amara’s done what she can, but he’s right on the edge.”

Clockblocker looked up, worry in his body language. “Those amulets are helping, but it’s not enough. How are you going to help? I just don’t get it.”

Paladin’s voice was tired. “We’ll explain later. But, basically? Dragon had a second trigger.”

Dragon nodded. “Long story, which can wait. There’s a lot we’re going to have to say.”

She stepped over the injured Ward. She could feel the power of Light within. Logical, but warm. Gentle, yet also powerful. Strong, but ethereal. She gathered it within her body, feeling it fill her chassis, ready for the moment.

Kid Win’s abruptly unfroze, shuddering painfully as Clockblocker’s power wore off. Dragon poured her power into his body, encouraging growth, healing, strength, life.

Light filled the Endbringer shelter. When it faded a few seconds later, Kid Win was lying still. Carefully, Clockblocker checked the injured Ward’s pulse.

Silence reigned for a moment before Clockblocker finally spoke. “He’s alive. Weak, but alive.” He looked over at Vista, the young girl lying still. “Think you can repeat that trick?”

Dragon nodded, inwardly smiling. “I think I can.”

There was a faint, tired humor in his voice. “Good. I kinda miss her smacking me.”

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

May 28th, 2011

Armsmaster sat across the table from the newest Ward, his mouth turned down in disapproval.

Madison sat there, her helmet off, looking back at him without the slightest hint of shame. The length of the Vampire Killer’s chain rested on the table, the middle of it broken and torn by the Siberian’s invincible hands.

“You disobeyed orders.” His voice was quiet, reproachful. “I told you not to engage with Mannequin. You did it anyway. If Velocity hadn’t gotten there in time, you might be dead. And then you did it again when the Siberian showed up at the Dallon house. Had the Siberian simply attacked outright, you would be dead.”

Madison shook her head. “If I hadn’t engaged Mannequin when I had, he would have killed people. Even while we were fighting, he tried to kill nurses at the hospital. I was reasonably confident I could handle him, I can’t step back and let people get hurt.” Her voice dipped a little. “Not again, Armsmaster. Never again. I swore that to her when I turned myself in. I accepted that when she told me to clean up. If I turned away, if I let Mannequin go without even trying to stop him, it would spit on the second chance I’ve been given. And if I did that? My power would abandon me. I can feel that. I know that. If I did that? I couldn’t help anyone anymore. My amulets would run out of charge if they’re used too fast, and they take a long time to regenerate on their own. The equipment I made wouldn’t work for me anymore. They’d have to go to someone else. Someone worthy of them.”

She sighed, gently stroking her cheek. “Everything I make has that condition built into them, with the exception of the amulets. Worthy people. People who won’t abuse their power. I’m not exempt. If I turned away from Mannequin, knowing he was going to kill people, I’d have betrayed it. I’ve had betrayed all the reasons I joined up in the first place. I didn’t ignore your order because I didn’t care. I understood why you gave it. I ignored it because it was the right thing to do.”

His frown deepened. “That something you know for certain?”

Madison nodded. “I know it. As sure as you know anything you built, Armsmaster. My power...” She bit her lip. “It gives me what I need to build these things.” She gently wrapped her knuckles on her left gauntlet. “I have some more ideas in my head, to make some things other people can use. But they have to live up to a standard that isn’t mine in order to use it. They have to be....well, paladins in the ideal sense. Truth. Justice. To heal freely, to learn unclouded by bias, to give order and direction where there is none.” She smiled slightly. “I know I’m a probationary Ward. But even my power has me on probation, first. I can’t run from people who are going to do harm, not without trying to stop them. To try and fail is acceptable. To not try at all is not.”

Armsmaster sat still for a few moments, thinking. Finally he spoke. “You’re going to be on monitor duty for a long time, Paladin. Unless and until emergencies occur. Your actions will be under review until things get sorted out. We are also going to sit down with Director Piggot as soon as arrangements can be made.” He looked at the broken Tinkertech whip that rested on the center of the table. His voice gave nothing away. “I’ll expect for you to get your equipment repaired to the best of your ability.”

Madison blinked. Then there was a slight smile on the edge of her lips. “Understood.”

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

May 30th, 2011

The city was in recovery. There was a lot of property damage, and there had been quite a few people killed by Shatterbird’s scream. But compared to what they could have done, compared to the nightmares the Nine usually left in their wake, Brockton Bay had gotten off lightly.

The city was still under quarantine, though the prion cloud had dissipated. Those infected were being slowly cured by several treatment centers that had popped up around the city. Dragon didn’t need much, just a simple archway that had Light Magic channeled through it, and with just a few minutes exposure, they were cured of the memory-plague. In the meantime, shipments of food supplies were being dropped in.

The man in blue held the hand of a little girl as they walked toward the house together. It was a simple house, two stories tall, painted white. The yard was somewhat overgrown, and the red sedan sitting out front had a few scratches and dings on it, but it still looked to be in good condition.

She stopped just halfway up the walk, her lip trembling. “I’m afraid. What if they don’t want me? I’ve been away so long...” She trembled a little, her eyes looking up at him with fear.

Slowly, carefully, the man knelt down, to look her in the eye. He smiled gently. “What do the numbers tell you?”

Dinah shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I don’t know. I’m afraid to ask.”

He looked a little amused, but his voice was gentle, filled with sympathy. “Years ago, I lost a good friend. Someone very bad hurt him, and I struggled very, very hard to find a way to save him. I couldn’t do it in time, though, and he died.” He tapped the gold armoring on the front of his outfit. “These are his colors, and all I can hope to do is be as good an example as he was. He was a good man, and my best friend. He was a much better person than I was. Better than I could ever be.” He looked a little rueful. “I’d give anything to have him back. I’d have given up my powers, given up my right arm...given up my life to have him back.” He nodded at the door. “I don’t need powers to know they’d give anything to have you back. I’ll be right by your side.”

She nodded slowly. Together, they walked to the door and he knocked. After a moment of silence, he knocked again.

The sounds of someone muttering, and a thump against a wall, managed to come through the door. Then it swung open, revealing a thirty-something blonde, her face nearly sunken in with grief.

“Can I help...you?” Her eyes widened as she took in first the cape standing at her front door, then the timid Dinah standing at his side. “D-Dinah!? What...but you’re...how?”

She looked unsteady on her feet, so the man gently took her shoulder. “Easy there, Missus Alcott. There’s a lot to talk about. May we come in?”

She looked back and forth uncertainly, then she looked down into her daughter’s frightened, but hopeful, eyes.

With a cry, Laura Alcott dropped to her knees and hugged her daughter.

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

June 1st, 2011

Chief-Director Rebecca Costa-Brown looked in the mirror. Carefully, she swabbed with the makeup, just enough to accentuate certain features, conceal a few others. With some care, she marked a few lines, hair-thin, just enough to be noticeable, not enough to look fake.

Keeping up the appearance of aging wasn’t exactly easy. She looked only a little older today as she did when she took the vial that turned her into Alexandria. From eighteen, her aging slowing until she was perpetually twenty-five, albeit a tall, muscular and well-developed one. Her genes had been good there.

At least until they gave her the cancer that nearly killed her.

As such, she had to give herself small, slight signs of aging to pass for the forty-five years old she should be. Something that had concerned her, once, was that she might outlive everyone she knew. Everyone she ever cared about.

The Endbringers took care of the latter. There weren’t very many people she cared about left. Clark was dead. Nathan was a friend, but he was...innocent. Trusting, good, in a way that she never had been. And David...

David had been more and more withdrawn, always trying so hard to prepare for the next Endbringer battle. To save as many people as possible for the coming trial. To give them the best chance to save something of humanity from the masquerading monster pretending to be a god. David never liked the hard choices they made, but had seen its necessity, eventually.

So many things done in the name of that ultimate goal. So many terrible choices made. Six months ago, and she wouldn’t have had a second thought about doing more of them to buy as much of a chance as possible.

And then the Simurgh died. Dragon...changed, in some way they hadn’t been able to figure out. To the view of most, Dragon was the world’s greatest Tinker, ever since Clark...Hero, had died. Alexandria knew she was an AI, but had been left to act. AI or not, Dragon had been a stabilizing force, worth a hundred powerful capes on her own. The Birdcage, the Simurgh quarantine zones, and a hundred other smaller things.

And now they couldn’t predict her actions. At least, not directly. The best part though, was that their best predictions on the number of people saved from the coming apocalypse was quadrupled. From ninety percent of inhabited Earths destroyed to sixty percent.

A similar shift had occurred when Taylor Hebert climbed out of her grave, though smaller at first. From ninety-eight percent destroyed, then the numbers began to tick downward over the course of April, Contessa's Path to Victory altering in ways that weren't obvious, but difficult to deal with. What did smoothing out the business legislation in the United Kingdom have to do with a new cape in Brockton Bay?

And now, after she had summoned the castle from that pocket dimension? Fifty-five percent.

There, slight touch of lining around the eyes. It was difficult to get it just right.

Rebecca slipped the glass eye into its place, blinking a couple of times, making sure it moved just as it should.

A familiar voice interrupted her musings. “You know, I keep saying you should add a few more gray hairs. I know it’s not something you’d like to add, but it’d help sell the illusion a bit more.”

She whirled around to see a man in blue and gold in her hallway, just outside her bathroom door. She clenched her teeth, the heated anger dying as she realized who it was.

“David! Where the hell have you been!? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Alexandria growled. “Where the hell has he gone? We can’t find him anywhere? I thought we were able to see everything.”

Contessa frowned as she looked back at Alexandria. “I’ve always had trouble with Eidolon. Something about his power makes me blind to him without extensive modeling. Just the same with Scion, the Endbringers, and now both Dragon and Scarlet Knight. We know Eidolon. If he wants to find a way to be impossible to find, he will be impossible to find. But our chances have been improving. Scarlet’s resources alone are giving us a possible way to escape out of Scion’s grasp.”

With a furrowed brow, she couldn’t help but ask. “Where? There isn’t anywhere we can go that he can’t find us.”

Contessa simply smiled. “I’ve looked into some older projects. Gramme’s old work.”

Gramme?

Alan Gramme? As in Mannequin?

Doctor Mother was looking positive for the first time since Alexandria could ever remember. “We’re building an ark. We suspect Scion’s bound relatively closely with his true body. His projection probably can’t leave the solar system, and with the Simurgh gone...”

Eidolo..no, David looked at her with faint humor in his eyes. “I was outside the Clairvoyant’s reach for a bit. I found something, Becca. We’ve got a problem, and I’ve been working on a solution.”

Outside the Clairvoyant’s reach? That particular asset of Cauldron’s was aware of everything within every Earth’s atmosphere, where could David have gone...

His next words chilled Rebecca’s blood. “There’s seventeen more Endbringers, Becca. I’ve been doing what I can to make sure they don’t become a problem.”

Rebecca’s mouth dropped open, then she clenched and unclenched her fists. “What. The hell. Are you talking about?”

David sighed, gesturing for her to come down the hall. She followed him, anger and worry warring within her. Only her vaunted self-control, that she prided herself on, kept her from launching into a verbal assault.

Looking exhausted, he took a seat on her couch. Rebecca settled in a chair opposite, letting out a breath full of stress. All this time worrying about where the hell he was and...

His voice was quiet. “They’re here because of me, Becca. My power...it’s not mine. It’s theirs. I’ve been using the Endbringer’s powers, I always have been. Right from the beginning.” He tapped the side of his head. “The powers I tapped into kept running dry because I was draining the agents connected to them. It takes time, years really, for them to recharge them. But each one is connected to hundreds. Wrenching their power from them was where I’d been going wrong. I was commanding them, subconsciously. They killed all those people because I needed a challenge.”

If that was true....

Rebecca took a deep breath, her Thinker power working through the implications quickly. “David...if you can control them...could we use them?”

He shook his head. “Not Ifrit. Not Lotan. They’re going to come up again. Apparently it’s a lot easier to give them orders than to change them.” He grimaced. “Sorry. Behemoth and Leviathan. Ifrit is Behemoth’s real name. He’s...also big on vengeance. I can use their powers, but the bindings on them are strong. We can kill them. Break their bindings, break the bindings on the others before they awaken. And they want to help us win. They hate this situation even more than we do.”

She swallowed. “What do you need, David?”

David smiled slightly. “I need to come back to Cauldron. I need a formula mixed up. A very specific formula.”

Rebecca nodded, a slight smile rising on her lips. “Let me cancel my appointments and get properly dressed.”

He chuckled.

A few minutes later, she returned to the living room, dressed in her costume. They shared a nod, and she spoke. “Door me.”

Doormaker’s familiar portal opened, and they looked at it together. The passage to their headquarters, their hidden base. The only chance they had at saving humanity.

Rebecca looked David over and spoke. “Nice suit, Eidolon. Hero’s colors?”

He nodded. “Trying to change. Trying to do better. Trying to honor him. Trying...a lot of things. I remembered one of the last conversations we had before Behemoth first appeared. Back when we were...well, a lot younger.” He looked down at his hands. “I never got into this for the right reasons. It was all about being the best, for me, that saving the world was my destiny. Hero liked to be the best Tinker, but it wasn’t what he focused on. It was all about what he could do with it. Eidolon...that name’s tied up with a lot of bad things for me now, Becca. I never should have been like that. Clark inspired people. Eidolon didn’t, he couldn’t. As Apostle...maybe I can. I have the power. It’s time to use it responsibly.” He smiled slightly. “As Clark said to me once, ‘You don’t have to be perfect to be Superman.’”

She shook her head. “Didn’t think you’d rebrand.”

David shrugged. “I needed a wakeup call. I got one. I get you’re going to do your best to contain me in there, too.” He nodded to the portal.

Rebecca blinked, then frowned. “What?”

He just looked at her, and she sighed. “Fine. Yes. What happened with the Simurgh?” Rebecca spoke with annoyance.

“It’s a long story. I don’t have all of it, either. But the Endbringers? They call Scion, and his species, Abominations...”

He kept talking as they strode into the portal together.

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

 

A/N: Give me time. I’ll get this done.

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

The Entity hovered over the destroyed rubble.

One of the weapons its counterpart had found fell here. Died here. It was plain to see the damage in the present, the collapsed buildings, the carnage that was being cleaned by the little beings below. Some looked up at it, pointing, awed, excited, just as the Entity’s form was designed to inspire.

A central place had been cleared. A spot in the middle of the battle site, where the non-hosts were placing a foundation in at that point. In an intact cycle, most of those below would have Shards connected to their descendants, within two hundred revolutions of this world around its host star.

That, however, was in a future that could never be, now.

The cycle was broken. The data the Shards gathered from their hosts was fascinating, useful, especially when the hosts would fight against the unleashed weapons. But it was all for nothing. Alone, the Entity could not refine the Shards into an interstellar-surviving form. Alone, it could not gather and channel sufficient energy to lift its true body from the planet’s gravity well. Some of its Shards could achieve the feat on their own, but not all of them.

Alone, the Entity did not even have the means to call for the others. It was trapped by the actions of its past, trapped because something had happened to the Thinker. The lack of communication Shards ensured that even the slowest means of light-speed communications were beyond it. The Entity did not possess the strength to look far enough into the possible futures to know if another Entity would arrive here. The attempt to look in itself would change that possible future, simply because the energy used would be taxing. If the Entity looked far enough into the future to know with certainty another Entity would arrive, the act might take enough of its life away that it would die before the arrival.

Better to live with an uncertain chance, however small, than to shrink those chances and get certain death.

Looking into the past, however, was much simpler. Much less power-intensive. There are uncountable possible futures, moreso within the near-infinity of the multidimensional versions of each world, but the number of possible pasts in any given dimension was one. It still took energy, but the Entity was not looking back very far, and being in place over the battle site made the expenditure minimal. A mere three rotations of this planet’s worth of the Entity’s remaining lifespan burned away, while it had thousands of revolutions around the star.

The battle unfolded before the Entity’s gaze. The weapon attacking without defending. Shard-hosts attempting to attack it, to drive it away. The varied uses of the powers granted to the hosts were fascinating. A pity the data would simply be lost in the most likely futures.

The Entity stopped its searching as something new appeared. It had similarities to powers granted by certain Shards, powers that permitted various methods of opening the paths between dimensions. But this portal did not connect to another dimension at all. There was no world, no universe, on the other side of it. It seemed to connect to nothing. Yet three beings emerged. Non-hosts.

Under ordinary circumstances, the Entity would have dismissed them out of hand. It was not the first time non-hosts used abilities granted by Shards, usually by the actions of a technology-emulation Shard, but the red one had the sense of a severed Shard-host. A connection had been formed, then broken.

That should not be possible. Death occurred to those whose Shard connection was severed. It was one of the failsafes built into the Shards, it made it much simpler to harvest the Shards at the end of a cycle.

It took a little bit of searching. The Shard had come from the Thinker, her Queen Administrator Shard. It connected with a non-host, found a more suitable host in the offspring of the original, and then...

Agony. Laughter. Hatred and rage. Fire and ice. The vindictive will of a being that would destroy itself as long as the enemy was taken with it. A small mind, a tiny mind, but one sharpened and honed to lethality.

Connection severed. Shard damaged. The damage was minor, but it was enough to force it to make an imperfect connection elsewhere.

But the attempted host died, as a severed Shard-connection should do to a host. And then the failed host reawakened some ninety rotations later. While there were Shards that could have replicated the feat, there was no Shard here to repair the biomass of the host, no means of saving the brain-state of the host, no reason at all the non-host should revive. And yet it did. It should have, by all rights, been as self-aware as the tiniest lifeforms upon any life-bearing world, but it seemed to be just as the other non-hosts were. Aware, capable, active, and thinking.

There was something odd about the non-host, beyond the obvious. Some energy that poured into it, similar to how a Shard-host tapped into a Shard, but different in some fundamental way. Where was that power coming from? And why was it familiar?

The weapons. The weapons had the same energy, nearly swamped by the Shards bound to them, but that was it. Was this one a larval weapon? Did they reproduce, and the Thinker never knew, because they had been unable to exchange information properly with the lone Entity?

It burned more energy to seek out the path the Entity and the Thinker had taken to reach this world, casting its mind back through the past. This burned off more of its life, but there was something important here, and the Entity had to know.

The pair of Entities passed through the great void between galaxies. They passed by phenomena that would be of concern for most beings, shifting their Shards between the dimensions to avoid the possible hazards. The husks of collapsed stars, from which even light could not escape, having been ejected during the violence of galactic formation, long before the Entities had evolved from the simplest life-forms on their now-destroyed homeworld.

They avoided the constructs, artificial lifeforms that had seeded themselves within the darkness, away from the light of the galaxies, safe and secure in their hibernation. Some were travelling outward, seeking out the nearest galaxies from this one. They had the slightest traces of another Entity, another strategy, another cycle. There were many ways of gathering data, and this was one. There were many others. The Warrior and the Thinker had their strategy, honed and worked upon for eons. There was the Singer, who bonded in symbiosis with lifeforms around a long-lived red dwarf. Breaker, who created increasingly terrible stress on a world, pushing the lifeforms to evolve or die.

Then this one, Wanderer. It seeded powers, as the Warrior and Thinker did, but it was interested most in the barriers the Entities had evolved to break through instinctively, naturally. It sought ways to find more possibilities. Perhaps it succeeded.

There. The memory of the dead Entity the pair came across on their way to this world. Wanderer had been travelling in the opposite direction, as if it had just come from this world, yet it had not. The Warrior and the Thinker had been attracted by its attempts to communicate, by its desire to share shards, some kind of critical information that might be useful for the ultimate goal. To find a method to survive and thrive even when all the matter of the multiverse had been consumed. It was stating it had a key point, not a solution in itself, but a possibility that might be expanded upon.

And then Wanderer screamed as it died. Most of its Shards died, shredded to the point of uselessness, the few that remained were harvested by the Thinker to extract what data that managed to survive the Entity’s death. It was not the first time an Entity had been killed, even within the depths of space. But that usually only occurred at the actions of other Entities, and very, very rarely at the actions of non-hosts with sufficient understanding to fight back effectively. Most of those non-host species were eliminated for being a threat.

Others, even the Entities dared not cross again. Too much damage done, too many of their kind lost, too much useful data destroyed. It was not worth the risk.

What had killed the Wanderer? The Entity and its counterpart had been too distant to observe the Wanderer’s end as it occurred, only the aftermath. It was as if it had been attacked by another Entity, not out of the desire to harvest or steal Shards, but out of...

The Entity did not know what. There was no concept within the Entity’s mind. They were driven by need and need alone. The drives that motivated the non-hosts upon this world were alien to the Entity. The Shards that emulated an understanding were imperfect, feeding the Entity a single state since the Entity’s arrival. Lethargy. Various non-hosts and Shard-hosts had a concept, however. Vindictiveness. Rage. Destruction for the sake of emotion.

Vengeance.

The Entity would wait. The weapons would return again, as they always did. The Entity would observe the strange non-host when it came against the weapons again. It would attempt to see what the relationship was between the weapons and the strange non-host.

The Entity’s mind returned to the present. Almost without thought, out of habit, ingrained in it from the years of its work with Kevin Norton’s directives, the Entity cast out its manipulated wavelengths to heal and cure the non-hosts below. As always, they looked upon the Entity with gratitude, with joy, with worship.

As always, it felt nothing.

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

 

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■​

♦Topic: Slaughterhouse None!
In: Boards ► General ► North America ► Villains

Bagrat (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know)
Posted on May 31, 2011:

I'm sure you all know what happened. We all saw the video that got leaked, at least for the last bit. Here's what's being released by the PRT, which is helpful, because we're all hungry for details.

At 9:07 pm Eastern time, May 26th, the Protectorate ENE received information that the Slaughterhouse Nine may have been targeting Scarlet Dragon. Yes, she-who-turned-into-a-dragon and dropped the Simurgh. (With an assist!) Scarlet Dragon was asked to come in and consult, and she agreed, apparently having been planning on taking the evening to arrange a few things to bring to that huge-ass Castle of hers.

Unfortunately, the S9 is very good about going to ground, and it's not exactly easy to track them down. Scarlet Dragon, however, cooperated with Protectorate forces in finding where the S9 were operating from, using classified means. At 11:02, the Protectorate and the PRT launched an attack on where the group were hiding in the Brockton Bay Docks. The S9 were prepared, however, and were spread out already. It came to light later that the S9 made a number of decoys out of...well, whomever they could get their hands on. Mostly Merchants, but a few other people too. The attack was successful in killing Shatterbird, by Scarlet Dragon's hands. Unfortunately, before the killing blow was struck, Shatterbird managed to use her power and destroy the glass for nearly half the city. Thankfully, due to warnings that the S9 was in town, there were fewer victims than there could have been, and several neighborhoods were evacuated before the attack.

However, when the attack was launched, Crawler attacked the PRT building and targeted the Brockton Bay Wards. He managed to cause seven casualties and sixty-three injuries to PRT personnel, before Dragon engaged him and they both disappeared by teleportation. While reinforcements were coming in to aid, Mannequin began spreading a biological agent throughout the city. Our newest Ward, Paladin, engaged and managed to distract Mannequin long enough for Velocity to defeat him, before he could kill anyone directly. (Youth Guard's going to be pissed.)

SD arrived to help extract the injured Wards and the civilians nearby, using a city bus, along with Glory Girl of New Wave and some of her own entourage. (See 'Pale Man' and 'Bat-Model' here. No names yet for them, sorry folks. Also, 'Pale Man' is still, apparently, U&L's King of the Internet.) SD took her dragon form. (Pics here. Goddamn.)

Siberian engaged, apparently doing enough damage to knock her out of the dragon shape. The pair fought to an apparent stalemate. Bat-Model engaged, and Siberian removed her arms. SD pulled her back while Pale Man engaged, then SD re-engaged the Siberian while Armsmaster extracted the bus full of civilians. The two were stalemated again, and the Siberian broke off. The biological agent managed to spread throughout the downtown area by this time, apparently having been set off by a number of bombs.

SD then used classified intelligence to track down Bonesaw, reasoning that she may have an antidote for the prion plague. The antidote was secured, but apparently Bonesaw attempted to activate a failsafe to destroy it, resulting in her death by the PRT. SD spread the antidote after extensive testing.

The Siberian arrived to attempt to extract Bonesaw, but using means provided right by Bonesaw's own notes, the Siberian's weakness was discovered and she was executed with extreme prejudice. (Details are still very classified here, folks. Sorry.)

Hatchet Face attempted to kill the Wards within the Endbringer shelter, managing to kill Alanna Gonzales, and severely injuring Kid Win. He was killed before further damage could be done by Pale Man. (We need his cape name. Like, fast.) There were further deaths inside by a Master inside the shelter, apparently by a recent trigger, but they were beaten before things could get much worse.

SD allowed emergency personnel to reach the the shelter before she took her entourage, and Glory Girl, to hit the last two, Burnscar and Jack Slash. Apparently...and this is where Jack's video comes in. I can't link it here, (Seriously Jack, what the fuck!? I know you were a serial killer, but goddamn.) but it's out there in the net already. End result of that convo? Well, Jack somehow got impaled on a lamppost about a block away. You can't see it happening, but Burnscar got killed offscreen, too.

So, that's all of them. They're dead. All of them. Gone.


(Showing Page 1 of 168)

► FrenchWolf
Replied on May 31, 2011:

I for one, will willingly become a supplicant for our Hell Lady. She has done much. So much in ridding the scum.

I am the last of the Frans, when the S9 went on their town killing sprees. I was spared because I was at New York attending uni.

Scarlet Dragon, is there any way I can serve you?


► Kriiahjun
Replied on May 31, 2011:

It's Conspiracy Man! Aliens are sucking our brains out to power their war machines, To conquer us all! The end is Nigh, THE END IS NIGH!!!!!


► Red Cube
Replied on June 1, 2011:

And again, PHO shows its true face: Conspiracy nuts and people hellbent on turning their country into a Parahuman dictatorship. Yay. We're only missing the shippers...
Also, if you really want to serve her, see whether she's willing to accept immigrants. Hey, are there any treaties yet? (... should we open a new thread for that question? Is there one?)

A bit more on topic, Scarlet Dragon - you're really, truly, absolutely awesome, and not just because you're a Dragon and red, which would both instantly qualify.
(I do not have an obsession with that colour. At all.)

Any chance you're willing to take a vacation in Europe and see what you can do about the Blasphemies? We could really use some help there...


► TwentyNanometers
Replied on June 1, 2011:

Anyone knows what the hell Bonesaw did to us? My mom nearly kicked me out of the house because she thought I was an impostor, and vice-versa. WTF.


► LT Jenson (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on June 1, 2011:

TwentyNanometers, Bonesaw's victims are being asked to report to the nearest hospital or clinic to your location. There are a number of people who are stuck with the features of the S9 members, at least before they changed their own faces, but they're being tended to.

So far, the tally is three Siberians, seven Bonesaws, four Shatterbirds, two Hatchet Faces, eight Jacks, and a Burnscar. Six Mannequins have been found, but...at the moment, we're not sure what we can do for them, though we are working on the problem.

Further information for what victims can do is here. I hope you and your mom will be alright.

► LeaderOfMen13
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Anyone else getting nervous here? Between killing Simurgh and wiping out the S9, does Scarlett Dragon have any limit? Can anything stop her?

And what will happen if she goes nuts or villain?

I mean are we just trading in a legion of monsters for a God-Monster?


► GARcher (The Guy Not In The Know)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Some of us are but I think most people (with me included) have just decided to trow their hands in the air and called quit in this whole thing. I mean seriously, the kind of bullshit that seems so follow that girl is legendary at this point.

Next thing you know good and old Fairy Queen will be appearing in her door wishing to have a tea party with the new queen in the block.

Or Scion appears wishing to date who seems to be the strongest parahuman around.


► Raziel
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Oh but don't you understand? With the demise of Jack, the greatest symbol of resistance against our capitalist pig overlords has fallen, and so we are all doomed to decay into a thoughtless monoculture Marx warned us about, let us sing a dirge to the last hero of the last hope of socialism;

Jack is dead and we wanna celebrate it
Pushed up daises, former and belated
Some guy asked why we're elated
Well Jack is dead

(follow the bouncing fang!)

Yes Jack's kaput
No longer operatin'
Retired, expired
Quite an emancipation!
Released, deceased
Gone bust, he's dust
Lift up our shorts
Do a pelvic thrust (uh!)
Jack is dead!

He was vicious and obscene
And not a little mean
So we're singing quite a chord
Now that he's gone to his reward! (fwoosh)

Jack is dead, he's history
Why we shake booty's no mystery
He's gone at last, his time has past
Now we can go back to passing gas!

(urp, urp, urp, urp, urp. Pfft.)

Yeah Jack
Is
Deeeeead!

(Have an infraction on me. While I appreciate the song lyrics, you forgot that he killed lots of people. He was no hero to anyone. Post will remian as evidence of what not to do. This board does not discriminate between heroes or villains, but we do have problems with psychopaths.) -Tin_Mother


► GraveDigger
Replied on June 2, 2011:

So, the Slaughterhouse None (hah!) are dead. That fucking flying smurf is dead. And there's a gigantic fucking flying island on BB's doorstep.

.....Is BB accepting immigrants? Is SD's -island- accepting immigrants? I got skills! I can be useful! SD, please, you're so much better than New Orleans' Protectorate! We're led by a guy named -Jazzhands-, for fuck's sake!


► Jazzhands (Verified Cape) (New Orleans Protectorate)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Something wrong with my name?


► GraveDigger
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Oh. Crap! *hides*


► Jazzhands (Verified Cape) (New Orleans Protectorate)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Gets him every time. I love my job.

► BookWorm
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Well it's nice to see the SH9 gone for good I'm praying that things will slow down.

Just a few month ago this city was filled with gangs in a cold-war poking each other too see who comes out on top. Then enough bombs and guerilla warfare in the streets to take over a small nation (with confirmed deaths in the 3 digits). Now I'm not going to be a downer but seeing the mess in the Marquis era a blow-up of violence after so many years is not surprising, very depressing and horrible for everyone who suffered but not surprising (which is saying things about our city, nation and world).

Now things began to recover, despite all the destruction things began to look up. Simurgh dead and the Magical Dragon in our city keeping the remaining villains subdued (ABB gone, E88 doing nothing too blatantly stupid, Merchants as irrelevant as ever and unless I'm missing something Coil has either gone deep underground or has left the city).

Then Bonesaw and Mannequin. For those who have no clue what happened here I shall elaborate: Brockton Bay is supposed to have around 300.000 citizens (number uncertain because of crime, homeless people and a substantial Asian immigrant population because you don't say no to a dragon). All those people couldn't connect memories of anyone to the person in front of them. Which is a problem with small still requiring aid children, headstrong teenagers, hospitals with all sorts of patients, much too many gangs with access to weapons and the unstable persons who went for violence very quick very fast.

Needless to say Brockton Bay is going to import psychiatrists in massive quantities.

Don't get me confused I'm still going to celebrate the new and improved Slaughterhouse Zero but some down time is what everyone could use around here.


► MadGreenSon (Veteran Member) (Verified Yozi)
Replied On June 2, 2011:

Holy shit... The age of the ridiculously powerful capes has arrived. There have been a fuckton of extremely powerful capes popping up this year, plus whateverthehell got into Dragon.

I mean damn, is there something in the water in BB? Or is this just parahumans in general levelling up?

Between what happened to the Nine, Dragon, Scarlet Dragon + Entourage...

Either way, I hope Jack and his groupies all burn in hell forever and that this is a sign of better things to come.

Somehow though, I think we haven't seen the worst yet...


► FangLord
Replied on June 2, 2011:

I still think giving Jack the Vlad the Impaler treatment wasn't enough.


► LazyDude
Replied on June 2, 2011:

I'm worried that she did. I mean, holy hell. Look, I saw the video. wished I hadn't seen it, but I saw it. I'm not surprised he ended up on a spike after that. If anyone deserves it, Jack did. But most people would have just killed him right then. SD took the time to rip a lamppost out of the ground, turn it into a spike, and use it on Jack. Now, I'm not saying Jack didn't deserve it. But it worries me that she's so nice most of the time, but apparently impales people who piss her off. Doing...uh, that, in her face, yeah I know most people would snap too, but where's her line? Does it take something that extreme for her to get mad, or is she just able to hide the crazy behind closed doors?

Before this, I'd have liked to move to that island of hers. Now? I wonder if I said the wrong thing there, I'd end up like Jack? Is she a dictator who just happened to have good publicity until this point? I hope I'm wrong, but I gotta say it. She scares me. Killing's easy, and it would be even easier with power like hers. But she got creative, and...

Yeah. I'm worried. Hopefully she'll respect the conventions and such. Someone's got to reign her in, and hopefully without leveling a city or three. I'm worried that everything up to this point was just her preparing to just outright conquer Brockton Bay, turn it into a beachhead, then keep going. Why else would she scout for a month before hitting the Simurgh?

Someone help me here?


► DarkLurker
Replied on June 3, 2011:

It's a concern, and I get it. The thing that reassures me though, is that petty villains don't tend to head off to the other side of the continent to fight an Endbringer. Sure, they'll work to defend their turf, but they don't usually go very far. Villainous Thinkers have to be given incentive. BB's group of villains are weird there, actually. E88's a weird counterexample, but then again, they're not just trying to hold one city. They're trying to gain legitimacy everywhere, and being seen fighting Endbringers makes it a lot more difficult for politicians and heroes to try and justify breaking them completely between Endbringer attacks. There's a reason Kaiser's E88's less harried and seen as more noble than Allfather's. They're still a bunch of neo-Nazi's, but long as the Endbringers are around, they're more valuable alive than dead or Birdcaged.

Much as I hate the fascist pricks.

Anyway, my thinking is a lot of things could go either way. If SD's homeworld really had so much experience fighting Endbringers, one of the things she could have done was just help drive it off with lower casualties, and spread her influence by using them. You know, let SD rule you, and she'll protect you from them. Instead, Dragon and SD killed the Simurgh. We're not quite sure which one was most important for the final hit, but turning into a motherfucking DRAGON and hitting the Pale Bitch certainly didn't hurt. For an aspiring villain with good publicity, it helps to have a bigger threat out there that everyone can agree on. Just killing them outright gives her an immediate PR boost, but that gratitude would fade after a while. A long while maybe, but it'd happen.


► TrollBridge
Replied on June 3, 2011:

The whole 'What have you done for me lately?' Thing, huh?


► GiantKing
Replied on June 3, 2011:

First of all, I think we're straying off-topic a bit here. That being said, SD's related to the end of the damn murderhobos, so I'll contribute a bit before we try and get things back on topic.

All I can suggest is some things that's pretty commonly known. First of all, lots of parahumans out there are a bit screwed in the head. Take Accord, brilliant villain. He could probably rule half the NA continent if he wasn't so notoriously difficult to work for or with. Quite a few villains in the Boston area 'disappear' if they get on his bad side. Or for a more heroic example, take Myrddin. Dude thinks he's a wizard. Who knows, maybe he really is. Point is, powers screw with some people. Maybe SD's thing is that when something really bad happens, she goes feral. Or just plain mean.

Secondly, she's from another world. By the design of that castle of hers on that floating island (and THAT still freaks me out) it's from a waaay less technologically savvy place. Unless their version of New York got stomped down by Cthulu or whatever. Even the nicest medieval peasant wouldn't have much of a problem taking the kids out to a hanging for the evening's entertainment. When we have to kill, we do it fast and as painless as possible, or you're just a fucking asshole. But even just fifty years ago, people didn't care about fast or painless so much. Just they were dead and that justice was seen to be done.

Don't get me wrong. What she did to Jack scares me too. But I'm going to get really scared only if she starts doing it to people who aren't complete psychos.

► CrimsonGriffin
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Zizz gone, the Nine dead. I'm starting to feel like I should start praying.

Question is to who?

PS crosses fingers for behemoth and leviathan to.

► Glitchrr36 (Cape Groupie) (Verified Commander)
Replied On June 3 2011:

Goddamn, glad I'm not in BB right now if half the shit the nine are rumored to have done there is correct:
Forced plastic surgery for doppelgangers
the memory fog
Shatterbirding as usual
trying to turn Scarlet Dragon


►MadGreenSon (Veteran Member) (Verified Yozi)
Replied On June 3 2011:

>Goddamn, glad I'm not in BB right now if half the shit the nine are rumored >to have done there is correct:
>Forced plastic surgery for doppelgangers
>the memory fog
>Shatterbirding as usual
>trying to turn Scarlet Dragon

I know right? I too am blessed to have never been in the path of the S9 and I'm damn glad of it. the Bay sure as hell looks to be a town where they went all out.
Still, repulsively creative or not, it was their dying whimper. I'll be raising a few more toasts to the end of the Nine before I pass out tonight, guaranteed.

► IonizedParticle
Replied on June 3, 2011:

So, the group formerly known as the Slaughterhouse Nine are dead after attacking one of the capes responsible for killing an Endbringer. Does this mean they're applicable for the Darwin Awards?

​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 166 , 167, 168


■

♦Topic: Biological concerns in Brockton Bay
In: Boards ► General ► North America ► Current Events

Sergeant Tombstone (Original Poster) (Verified PRT Agent)
Posted on May 29, 2011:

We finally have details on the plague that Bonesaw released. Here is what you need to know:

1. The plague is a prion infection, the same kind of infection that's responsible for Mad Cow disease. However, the speed of its effects is much, much faster than the onset of natural prion infections. It is airborne and highly virulent, and is capable of using any living thing to self-replicate and spread. According to physicians, it was designed to cause brain damage rapidly,

2. We have an antidote, and it was spread into the atmosphere to destroy the prion cloud and halt the replication of the disease in infected hosts. The antidote does NOT heal the damage done by the disease, however. If you were infected, and now have been exposed to the antidote, you won't die from the plague, but you won't be able to recognize anyone else until you are actually healed. Brain injuries are nothing to laugh at, but we are even luckier than we otherwise would have been.

3. We have the means to heal the damage. Treatment centers have sprung up all over the city, and you can find your way to one on this map.
Due to Bonesaw's activities, and the red cloud that was released and is now being dissipated, Brockton Bay is currently under quarantine. Thankfully, the PRT does have a cure, thanks to Paladin, and Dragon has used the principles behind her equipment to make treatment centers. The antidote that was spread afterward is capable of halting the damage done by the plague. Testing is also being done on the means we have to heal the damage for other ailments. Results are promising so far.

If you or your loved ones are currently infected, please, for the sake of your health and the health of others, report to one of the treatment centers on this map.


(Showing Page 1 of 1)

► firebird89
Replied on May 30, 2011:

Does anyone know what happened with that cloud-plague thing Bonesaw released? They say they used an antidote made by her, but that seems...well, weird. Why would she make an antidote? Something's iffy here.

This is Brockton Bay, so I'd assume Panacea did it somehow, but she's...well, gone.
Next guess would be Eidolon, but he wasn't involved.
After that I'd guess Dragon, but she vanished for a while after downing Crawler. Actually, what happened to Crawler? He just vanish?

► IonizedParticle
Replied on May 30, 2011:

I live near Brockton Bay. When I saw that Red Cloud on the horizon, I packed my bags and went on a road trip west. Right now I'm currently in western Pennsylvania. What I'm wondering is if it's safe to return home or should I keep moving west?

►Glitchrr36 (Cape Groupie) (Verified Commander)
Replied On May 30th 2011:

IonizedParticle I'd find a hotel room and stay there until you get an all clear.

►MadGreenSon (Veteran Member) (Verified Yozi)
Replied On May 30th 2011:

>I live near Brockton Bay. When I saw that Red Cloud on the horizon, I packed
>my bags and went on a road trip west. Right now I'm currently in western
>Pennsylvania. What I'm wondering is if it's safe to return home or should I
>keep moving west?

Gonna have to concur with Glitchrr36 here, bunker up and wait for an all clear.
As crazy as that town's been, you might want to wait longer to feel out the situation and decide if you want to go back at all.

►Sergeant Tombstone (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on June 1st, 2011:

At the moment, the city is under quarantine by the PRT, Protectorate, and the US Army in conjunction with the WHO. While we believe that the danger from Bonesaw's plague has been neutralized, things are still on lockdown. Nobody enters the city and nobody leaves until the quarantine ends. That being said, contact within the city is mostly intact, though the downtown section was badly hit by Shatterbird. Volunteers are working to open and maintain lines of communication, and it is expected that the quarantine will drop within a month if things remain somewhat calm.

As questions have been asked in other threads, yes, Scarlet Dragon is among those both within the quarantine and respecting it. While she is not a member of the Protectorate or the nation, she's been quite cooperative about things here.

►CaptainBlondBeard (Not a real Space Pirate)
Replied on June 1st, 2011:

Well, as long as she's a cuddly demon-girl. Speaking of which, here's a bunch of surprisingly cuddly critters! Enjoy the video!

►IncuriousGeorge
Replied on June 1st, 2011:

BlondBeard, get back to work, and quit messing around on PHO when you should be in the greenhouse.

►UniversallyBored
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Someone's in trouble.
Anyway, glad to know things are somewhat stable. BB's been hit by a lot lately. Anything to worry about yet?

► DeepAncientOne
Replied on June 2, 2011:

I couldn't make to shelters in time, so got caught in that damn red fog. After that it was just impossible to navigate because I couldn't see shit. I was lucky to not meet any of these phycsopaths, so I just waited until everything was over... It was over when Dauntless, who I was unable to reconise at the moment, found me and gave some kind of shiny trinket that in some bullshit way cired this damn illnes! I heard this trinkets were made by our own Ward Paladin, so thanks you very much girl! It thanks to you that I could reconise and kiss my wife!

And while I was outthere I clearly remember the moment when the red fog began to disappear, remplaced by something blue, which dispersed afterwards... So appears that red killer tinker bullshit fog was beaten back by another tinker bullshit fog, no killer this time!

So I would say it's really possible that Bonesaw undone her own work! I can think any other explanation, that a loving, hypnotic stare...

​

End of Page. 1

♦Topic: Scarlet Dragon's thread, the fifth
In: Boards ► Global ► Trumps

ScarletFan (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie)
Posted on June 2, 2011:

Okay, since the LAST thread got hijacked by weirdos, wackos, and a bunch of the Fallen (but I repeat myself) we're here to combine everything we have on our favorite badass.

Ever since she showed up, things have gotten pretty shaken up in Brockton Bay, and of course, we all know the huge impact she made during the Battle of Vancouver. Rest in Hell, Ziz, we have a goddamn dragon!

So what do we know she can do? What do we know about her? Who's who in her group? And please, no Fallen, no Lung fanboys, and no flames. Well, unless we're discussing HER flames.

(Showing Page 1 of 86)

► SoberIrishman (Actually Does Exist)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Oh, geez. Not ANOTHER thread on her. The last one self-destructed! Why was there so much damn discussion on whether she can take on everyone in the world? If she can, we'll find out, won't we?

► Breadnaught
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Guys, I found footage of the fight between SD and the Siberian. Check it out Here.

Did you fucking see that?! That was more brutal than the Ziz fight. The fucking Siberian just tore her arm off and SD gave zero shits!

► GARcher (The Guy Not In The Know)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Shaky cell-phone video is shaky. Still, wow. Damn, wow. Unstoppable Force vs Renewable Object?

► TheFerryman
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Damn. She's been active for what, two months? And we have a dead Ziz and Slaughterhouse Zero. Seriously.

The Twin Dragons killed Ziz, and now those damn murderhobos are gone, too.

This, this is what heroes are for. To bring hope. I've got happy tears in my eyes.

Breadnaught said: ↑

>Guys, I found footage of the fight between SD and the Siberian. Check it out Here.
>
> Did you fucking see that?! That was more brutal than the Ziz fight. The fucking Siberian just tore her arm off and SD gave zero shits!

Still boggling about it, yeah. I expect it hurt like a bitch, but it sure as hell didn't stop her.

Is there anything she can't do?

► Breadnaught
Replied on June 2, 2011:

TheFerryman said: ↑

>Is there anything she can't do?

If I find a power she doesn't have, I'll let you know.

Let's see what we've got so far~
Brute rating: Super Strength and toughness.
Mover rating: Teleport and fly. Also really fast.
(Possible) Shaker rating: Didn't she control the weather and make fog a few weeks ago? Other Capes in the fight, might have been one of them.
Master rating: Can control bats. (Possibly also controlled Bonesaw if speculation is true)
(Possible) Tinker rating: That robot army she brought out in the Ziz fight. (Might have been made by her people on the floating island)
Blaster rating: There's a gif of her throwing lightening Here.
Changer/Shifter rating: Turns into a motherfucking Dragon!

Am I forgetting anything?

Y'know what, I just going to assume she has all the powers until confirmed otherwise.

► BardicGodzilla
Replied on June 2, 2011:

All your powers combined, I am Scarlet Dragon

► Quiet_Ninja
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Geez, with all those, she sounds like she stole a few portfolios from the Greek gods. If they went so completely METAL. And she keeps getting more powers, too. And considering she basically willed an island into existence here, I'm...I'm gonna go and build myself a little altar for her, mkay?

Scarlet Dragon, our Lady and Savior. Has a nice ring to it.

► GARcher (The Guy Not In The Know)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Why is it that everytime a powerfull parahuman apperas PHO sundelly starts praying for said parahuman as if they were the new coming of God? Seriously guys I get it, she killed an Endbringer and all but must we once more decend into discussing Pantheons. The last time that happened was crazy enough.

► Raziel
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Re: GARcher: She killed an Endbringer. And not just any Endbringer, but Lady Mind Rape, then had the Nine Murderhobos for dessert.

I'm more surprised we haven't seen actual cultists on here.

PS: What was the last time? I hang around this board, so I wouldn't know that,

► GARcher (The Guy Not In The Know)
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Re: Raziel : Last time that happened was around the time GU was free and going around reaping Parahumans, a lot of people at the time were either calling her the goddess of Death or saying that she was actually the Grim Reaper sent to eliminate all Parahumans. It took her being sent to the birdcage and her talk about fairies coming out for people to stop with that talk and there are still some that believe that.

Then again, we now have Dragons going around and beings from other dimension that look like demons in some cases, better stack on some Holy Water just in case.

► OnlySaneMan
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Re:GARcher She's an alternate dimensional shape-shifting being that's preferred forms are a demon and a dragon, for all we know she was her universe's version of the Devil.

► HavenlyLight
Replied on June 2, 2011:

Do you not see? She is, indeed! While paying such a deed to Jack Slash was indeed a just punishment to such a sinner, she is indeed a demon, if not Lucifer himself! She is a beast of darkness, a monster in form and substance, and she MUST be opposed! Do not the scriptures say that the Devil will masquerade as an angel of light? Who knows what kind of monsters she has awaiting her order in that demon-castle of hers? We must act now, before she has charmed the whole world!

We must turn back toward His Instrument, Scion, who has helped all tirelessly, without rest, with no act of kindness too small for his attention. HE is a true angel of the Lord. Let us not be led astray by this demon's masquerade!

► OnlySaneMan
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Masquerading? She's not masquerading. What you're talking about is someone who'd look to be a good guy and who isn't. She LOOKS scary, sure, that armor, that helmet, and oh, yeah, big-ass dragon shape's terrifying. But you know what did look nice and turned out not to be? Ziz. Who is dead, thanks to Dragon and SD. SD looks scary as hell when she's riled up, but ever since she showed up, she's been helping people. I mean, she hangs out with New Wave! I will take a scary-looking but helpful supercape from another dimension over a nice-looking but EVIL thing like Ziz EVERY time. Hell, the S9 probably thought like you, that she's faking it or something, and they're dead now!

If she's the Devil, then sign me for her side, because God sure hasn't helped. Not knocking all the good things Scion's done, but he's got no sense of priorities! He just NOW got to Vancouver. Two weeks late for an Endbringer battle! TWO WEEKS!

If he's an angel of the Lord, the Lord should have sent him down with a wristwatch! I can pick one up down the street for 20 bucks!

► TheFerryman
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Sane, please don't poke the Christian fundamentalist.

► OnlySaneMan
Replied on June 3, 2011:

But it's so fun...I can't not do it! I also have to point out that, oh, the LAST time we had someone who appeared to be nice in appearance and helpful, we lost the Swiss. ALL THE SWISS. Frankly I'm happy SD's so damn terrifying. Long as she's actually on our side.

► HavenlyLight
Replied on June 3, 2011:

I don't appreciate being needled like this. Why can't you see the truth? She is a a demon, it's plain to see! She has demonic servants, her power is over monsters, and the longer we wait the harder it will be to drive the forces of Hell back into the pit they came from!

► Quiet_Ninja
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Well, I'm in favor of waiting until we see just exactly what she brings to the table vs Behemoth and Leviathan. Remember those? The two Endbringers still roaming around? Yeah. If she kills them, or at least gives us the means to kill them, I am going to be very, very happy.

Now quit arguing. I got an altar to build to the Scarlet Dragon. Think she'll want sacrifices of gold? Not sure I can afford it...

► Darkflame_Doge
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Oh god, not the sacrifice talk again. We had so much trouble with the creepers from last time...

► Red Cube
Replied on June 3, 2011:

So...I managed to compile a little list of tenets on this Scarletism. Dragonism? Bullshitism? I hope she's not offended....anyone know if she's checking her PHO account? I'd be happy to worship her at this point. Though I'm going to stay on her GOOD side, cause spikes and me don't mix.

1) Dragons are awesome.
2) Do not annoy dragons.
3) You are tasty with ketchup.
4) Go to the church to pray to Scarlet Dragon, or at home, whatever fits for you.
5) Scarlet and all shades of red are awesome colors.
6) Vampires are cool. (Couldn't resist the pun. Sorry!)
7) Drinking blood is not necessary to belong to this church.

► Quiet_Ninja
Replied on June 3, 2011:

Actually, are we sure she's a vampire? I thought that was just a rumor that floated around. Besides, if she is, she's the most bullshit vampire of all. Cause, you know, fought Ziz in broad daylight. At least until the sky got covered by the clouds....that we're pretty sure she summoned. That's cheating the whole sunlight weakness thing, isn't it?

► OnlySaneMan
Replied on June 3, 2011:

I am not going to complain about vampires possibly hacking the rules if it means dead Endbringers.

► Darkflame_Doge
Replied on June 4, 2011:

Hear, hear. Though now I'm wondering that if she is a vampire, if we had others here in history, only those ones were the jerks and bigots. While Scarlet's the more sane branch? Maybe that's why her entourage looks so weird. Though 'Bat-Model's' droolworthy...

Anyone hear about her? Having your arms ripped off by the Siberian can't be good. Period.

► HoarderOfShinies
Replied on June 4, 2011:

Don't be silly. There's no such thing as vampires. Besides, SD was right out in the middle of the day when she turned into a goddamn dragon and bit the Simurgh's face. Any self-respecting vampire would have been a crispy critter, there. Unless we're talking really classical vampires, but those ones have no powers during the day. She's just a really weird parahuman. And, um, awesome, because dragons.

*checks pictures*

Wait a sec. Well, I don't think SD is a vampire, but that pale guy she hangs with....he looks like one. I can see why people might think so. And holy hell, you can grind meat on those abs of his. Where can I sign up for his workout regimen?

Re: Darkflame_Doge

Apparently, she lost a lot of blood, because the hospital's giving her a lot.

....still not vampires, people! No such thing!

► HavenlyLight
Replied on June 4, 2011:

It is clear to me we are all lost now. The Devil's Daughter has fooled the world. She will lead this world into darkness, and the world will gladly follow her foul plans. She will drink the blood of the innocent, spread her demons among the peoples of the world, turn us all into beasts doing her bidding, until only a few righteous remnants remain. Then Jesus shall use His instrument, cleanse the world of evil, and lead us into Paradise.

I call upon you all, awaken to the evil that's spreading! Awaken and fight back, save your souls! I beg of you, all of you, do not be decieved by this foul demon! Who knows what evil she is planning within that devil's castle of hers?

​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 84 , 85, 86

■​

Madison sighed as she rubbed her eyes. The quarantine was a pain in the ass, and it didn't help that it was the second one she had to endure since the Battle of Vancouver.

Truth be told, she was going a bit stir-crazy. She itched to get out there. While the Bay was contained, some of the gangs were trying to make their moves. Which is to say the Merchants were trying to move, while the Empire pushed back, and the PRT came down on both sides like a ton of hammers. It was unstable, and it couldn't last.

There was a small knock on her door, and she roused herself, turning away from her laptop. "Yes?"

Dennis opened it. He was in his civilian guise, wearing a windbreaker, his curly red hair in disarray. Madison felt a slight pang every time she looked at him with the mask off. Just his hair color alone reminded her of Emma, and by extension, all the things she'd done as the toady to Winslow's Queen bitches. Now here she was, a Ward, mostly eclipsed by her victim, her victim who had inherited the power of a vampire god. One who, frighteningly, seemed to channel Dracul's worst traits in fleeting moments.

He smiled a bit nervously. "Hey, Mads. Got a sec?"

She clicked PHO closed. "Sure. What do you need?"

He walked into her quarters and shut the door. During the quarantine, some of the Wards were stuck on-base. Clockblocker was free to head home, but Madison and most of the rest were tied down, due to either injuries or just identity protection. Gallant's missing arm wasn't something they could easily hide, after all.

Dennis' face was filled with a small, desperate hope. "Listen...um, I got a huge favor to ask of you."

Madison nodded. "I'll help if I can."

He bit his lip. "I...your amulets can heal brain injuries, right? Just about anything? Can they heal cancer?"

She blinked. "I honestly don't know. They should, I don't see why they couldn't."

He nodded quickly, hope flaring in his eyes. "I need to borrow one. My dad's got a tumor, cancer problems...he was on the waiting list for Panacea to take care of when she...and with this quarantine, specialists can't be brought in."

Without a second thought, she took off her amulet and handed it to him. "Go, Dennis. Take care of your dad."

He smiled with gratitude. "Thanks, Mads. I owe you." He turned and left, nearly bouncing on his feet with excitement.

She chucked, shaking her head. A thought struck her, and she stroked her chin before she opened a window in her costume design program.

Maybe, just maybe...

She felt the cold light within her heart turn warm at her idea.

 

A/N: Busy, busy, busy. Stupid life. Why do I work? Oh. Right. Need to eat. Derp.

Spoiler: Taylor's Complete Power List

Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.

Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.

Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!

Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!

Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!

Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!

Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!

Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)

Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!

Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)

Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!

Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!

Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!

Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!

Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.

Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.

Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.

Spoiler: Alucard's Complete Power List

Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.

Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.

Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.

Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.

Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.

Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.

Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!

Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)

Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.

Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.

Spoiler: Dragon's Magic Power List

Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.

Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.

Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..

Strength: DRAGON SMASH!

Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.

Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.

Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!

Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!

Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.

Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.

Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.

Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.

Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.

Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.

Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!

Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.

Spoiler: Madison's Equipment List

Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.

Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.

Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.

Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.

Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.

Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.

Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.

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

I cackled to myself as I surveyed my empire.

“You thought you could stop me and my legions, didn’t you? You underestimated me. You tried to destroy me. You tried to send spies into my territory. You tried to smuggle a nuclear weapon beneath my nose and destroy everything I worked so hard to build. Now you are defeated. Broken. And I shall now erase you from history! Go, my minions! Destroy my enemies!” I grinned as I flicked my finger.

And my marines destroyed the last defense the Persians had on their last city, Pasargade. I immediately sent in an elephant, (which had been leftover from a few hundred turns ago) conquered it, and got the pop-up message and sad music saying ‘The Persian Empire has been destroyed.’

There was something satisfying about Civilization. Too bad Dracul never had it. It might have helped him unwind.

The last few days, with the city on lockdown, I spent catching up with my dad and taking a break from politicking, running around, or doing much more than catching up on my sleep and unwinding. I hadn’t been that much of a video game fan, though I did enjoy them, but playing Civilization on my phone was one way to pass the time. It was a way to while away the morning while everything was still shut down. Most stores and shops were closed, but services were slowly resuming.

For my dad’s sake, when I stayed home, I did so as my original, human (well, humanish) self. I also didn’t leave the house in any way other than by portals. All the better to help separate my public self from who I really was. If I’d been smarter, less...emotionally volatile when I’d awakened, I might have considered that. As it was, I just had to hope that anyone stupid enough to piss me off by trying to attack my father would be held in by his peers. Calling myself a refugee from another world was another way to help separate my old identity to that of the Scarlet Dragon. I was partially surprised how much the PRT and Protectorate were playing along. Anyone who tried to dig up just why I’d been hanging around this neighborhood before ‘revealing the truth’ was...

Crap. I needed a good cover story. Great going, Taylor, yet again, you leaped before you looked, on an international scale.

Maybe I should just give up and go conquer Mars or something.

I’ll have to bring it up at the meeting with the PRT. Though my guess was my upcoming appointment was going to address some of these things. I wasn’t looking forward to it. If they tried to force me to do their bidding, I was going to make sure they regretted it. And if they hurt my father, or my friends? Well, I wouldn’t go as far as I did as on Jack, but I’d make my unhappiness with their choices very, very clear.

For I am the Lady of Darkness, and I have only one equal. I will not bow to anyone.

I hoped nobody would be that stupid, but unfortunately, human stupidity knows no limits.

I looked around as I lazed on my bed. My room felt weird. This house was where I grew up, and there were a lot of memories here. It felt weird to reclaim my room after I’d been dead for three months. Even after getting back, I hadn’t spent that much time here. I mostly used it to just sleep, and when I slept, I dreamt of Castlevania. It was home, but it also wasn’t. I felt more at home in the castle full of demons, serving me, than my own house with my own father. And now, because of the little charade I had going on, I rarely came back here. I wasn’t even leaving the house by the front door, back door, or even window. I just used my portals.

Out of all my powers, that one may just be the most useful. The dragon shape was greater, more obviously powerful, and more easily destructive, but it wasn’t always the best for a given situation. It was very useful, but in confined quarters (I still hated those) or in a situation where there might be collateral damage, turning into a dragon wouldn’t be that helpful. Not unless I could manage a smaller version.

Which I probably could. My powers were bullshit. Not quite as bullshit as Tinkers, but bullshit nonetheless.

Still, portals! Dracul mostly used it to get from place to place, or move a large number of his armies quickly. I was planning on building a portal network everywhere. And more than that, I could see quite a few other applications, provided the right safety measures were used. Irrigation systems, hydroelectric plants, and probably about a million other applications I wasn’t aware of.

Out of curiosity, I even tried to make a portal to Earth Aleph. Didn’t work, though the portal seemed to want to form, it just fizzled. There was some kind of resistance there that meant it didn’t work as others did. I needed something else to make that work, but I wasn’t sure what that might be.

The door knocked.

“Come in.” I answered as I saved my game, putting my plans for world domination on temporary hold, and set my phone aside.

My dad opened the door, taking the chair at my desk as he settled into it. He smiled at me, though his voice was quiet, a tinge of nervousness and fear in his tone. “Hey kiddo.”

I sighed. “Dad, relax. I’m not going to go nuts here.”

He frowned at me, deep concern in his voice. “Taylor, I’m worried. I’m glad you came back, more than I can ever say. But the things you’re doing, the things you’ve done... It scares me how much influence Dracul has over you.”

I stayed quiet for a moment. Truth be told, it scared me sometimes, too. When I was calm, I felt like me. But when I was enraged, I could feel quite a bit of....well, not Dracul, exactly, but what I could be at my possible worst. A successor in name and deed, sitting upon a throne of skulls, to have the entire world trembling in fear at my name. In the heat of the moment, I did what Dracul would have done. Again. I should have just outright killed Jack, instead, I impaled him. Sure, it felt good, righteous in the moment.

Now? That moment might have felt really good, and a lot of people were saying he deserved it. Some were approving. Hell, a lot were approving, thanks to the video Jack had apparently gone to great lengths to make sure was recorded and automatically released even if he never came back. But I could see the fear people had of me, hesitation now, and not just in my enemies. And I didn’t like it. Worse, I had no idea how to fix it.

There were only two things that helped mitigate the problem. First, the impalement wasn’t on camera. Two, it caught my breakdown when I returned to the scene, my body covered in gore. Fucking Bonesaw. The baby had been infected by a particular virus that turned cellular fluid into an explosive compound that reacted happily with oxygen.

You see why I think Tinkers are bullshit? It’s more bullshit than my physics-breaking vampiric bullshit.

“Taylor?” Dad spoke.

Oh. I’d wandered off into my own head again. I sighed before I responded. “I’m scared of that too, dad. I can remember a lot of the things he did. So many terrible things, and each step of the way, he had a justification. ‘They killed my wife and stole my son.’ ‘They sent my son to kill me.’ ‘They serve a coward of a god.’ Until....he just didn’t care, anymore. Alucard managed to reach him only after centuries of a stalemate that hadn’t accomplished much of anything. I can remember how he slid from being a noble person, like...like, hell, Legend or Hero, until he was regarded as...well, Satan on Earth. He didn’t start a horrible person...” I sat up, looking at my father with concern. “He just....slid. One step at a time. Just a little more ruthless than he was the day before.”

Carefully, he hugged me. I closed my eyes, sighing as I leaned into the embrace.

His voice was quiet. “Did he have anyone?”

I blinked. “Well, he had his servants, the demons he made...which are mine now, I guess, and those who joined his side...”

Dad let out a tired chuckle. “No, not what I meant.”

I pulled back and looked at him questioningly.

“People need peers, kiddo.” He spoke softly. “They need friends. They don’t necessarily need a lot of friends, but they need people they can be honest with. Someone who won’t just let them go off the deep end.” His face went cloudy. “If nothing else, the damn Nine knew that much. People on their own are easier to mess with. Social bonds are some of the strongest there can be.” His lip twitched. “Of course, you get the occasional loner who doesn’t need anybody at all, but those people go off into the mountains and nobody hears about them. It’s those who have power and don’t listen to anyone, or just have followers who are afraid to say something they might not want to hear, those are the ones who go off the deep end. Don’t have to look very far to find examples.”

I swallowed at that. The memories Dracul shared with me, they showed exactly that from his own perspective. Everything had been taken from him, and he created demons to do his bidding. Those who rebelled against him were brutally slain, their very souls destroyed. There was nothing to stop him from going further into the worst of his psyche. It didn’t take him all that long to become the monster of the world.

But behind that monster was a man. A broken man. I had to be better than that. I had to be. There wasn’t any choice here. I’d seen what happens to someone who walks Dracul’s path. He had power enough that even the other gods of his world stayed out of his way while he sought vengeance against the strongest of them. And throughout all of it, he was miserable. All he had was the desire to kill Solin, and everything else in his soul dropped away in pursuit of that goal.

I sighed and nodded, squeezing my dad’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, dad. I...I haven’t been a very good daughter, have I? Since I got back, I just...did things. I haven’t considered much of anything. I haven’t thought much of how much I must be putting you through...there’s just so much relying on me.”

He hugged me tightly, his voice soft. “Too much like your mother, kiddo. I’m proud of you, and I love you. I’m just begging you for one thing....please stop scaring me.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed helplessly under my breath. “Can’t...vampire queen. I scare people just by existing here.”

He just shook his head, a long-suffering sigh escaping him. “Can’t even ground you.”

My helpless laughter grew stronger. “Can’t send me to bed without my supper.”

Dad’s voice was filled with amusement. “Can’t take away your TV privileges.”

“Can’t take away my allowance.”

We stayed there together, enjoying the moment, sharing small, weak laughs. I resolved to try to spend more time with my dad.

And figure out a way to go around in public with him without making him a target.

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

I made my way to Brockton General, once again in my demonic form. I was hoping to get people used to my appearance through exposure, and you know, it was pretty helpful to look like a succubus. Albeit a young one. And a red one. And a terrifying one. And...you know what, I’m going to leave it there. I had looks that would have rivaled Emma’s like this, albeit inhuman. It wasn’t that much of a surprise in retrospect how many people ended up drooling over Meridia. Heck, there were some drooling over me, and I was a two next to her ten.

Huh. Might get in trouble, or get someone in trouble, if I don’t fix that. Well, I could mould my own flesh a fair bit, though nowhere near as much as Amy could. I’ll see if I can age myself up a few years, carefully. Would be nice to spend eternity at twenty-five rather than fifteen. I’ll see about slowly doing that, though. Not much sense in jumping forward ten years physically if I wasn’t there mentally.

I was glad to be a vampire, especially since the alternative was just being straight-up plain dead. But there were still some downsides. I could see why Laura got so miserable, eventually. Stuck as a ten year old forever? Yeah. No wonder she defined freedom as death. I was absurdly lucky to have other options.

Aaaand I was drawing a crowd as I flew lazily toward the hospital. Bad part is, there was so much sheer adulation that I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with. Even Dracul wasn’t exactly loved. His demons were fanatically loyal, but that was a combination of him being their ultimate maker and that he demanded nothing less. Spikes, the Void Sword, or being ripped apart by his burning claws were for those who didn’t fall in line. If he didn’t just eat them. There were quite a few types of the more intelligent demons that just weren’t around anymore because of that. Typhon’s type, born of pride, being one big example.

No help for it. I sighed to myself, sped up my flight and arrived at the hospital, entering by the front door and letting myself in, giving a little wave to the receptionist. This one was a young redhead, and her eyes were wide as she looked at me. Another fan. Great. I wasn’t going to deal with crowds today if I could help it. I needed a break. I did have a plan to offer an interview a little later, but not today.

I only managed my post-Simurgh press conference with a lot of urging, drawing on Dracul, and a comparative few reporters. And I still lost my cue cards.

I reached a room that was on the northern side of the building, the room darkened with blinds and blankets covering the windows. I knocked gently, and a moment later, Alucard opened it.

His smile was gentle. “Welcome back.”

I nodded, returning the smile. “Good to see you, Alucard. Settling in?”

He nodded, backing up a step as he spoke. “The hospital has been very helpful. The saved blood of the wounded has been helpful for our particular thirst.”

I walked into the room, looking at where Meridia was sleeping. The demoness was curled up on her side, wrapped in blankets so much that I couldn’t see much more than a bit of white hair poking out the top. The pile was utterly still, which would have worried me if she wasn’t undead now. “How is she?”

He frowned a little. “Adjusting. The sun is deadly to her. Perhaps in time she will adapt to it, as I have...to an extent, in any case. That may be a very long time, however. Vampirism granted to a demon makes things a little...”

I quirked my lip. “Difficult?”

Alucard looked amused. “Aye. The ones I’m more familiar with were usually chosen for combat. Which is not to say a succubus could not be dangerous in combat, but their skills tended to be more towards the social aspects of things. And pleasure, of course.” He shook his head, his voice filled with remembrance. “How many times father tried to use them to gather knowledge. They usually did best with fat priests.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then I shook my head. “Nope. Not going to touch that one with a fifty foot pole.”

Alucard smiled at that. “I must admit, that is a an amusing image. Your world has odd sayings.”

Meridia’s voice was muffled. “Nothing about your world makes any sense.”

I looked over at the pile of blankets. “Well, not much about yours did, either.” I sighed and shook my head. “Sorry. That’s not fair to you two.” I looked to Alucard. “How are you dealing with it? Knowing it’s just...gone?”

He was still for a moment, before his voice came out softly. “My world ended long before it died, Taylor. It ended when I died, and ended again when I reawakened to find my wife dead and my son a man, facing my father. To know that it is gone is a hard thing, but...it’s not something I can grasp, not really. The idea is simply too large.” He shifted his gaze to the wall. “Even my wife’s grave is gone. Even my last hope of seeing her again is uncertain...”

I furrowed my brow. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

Meridia’s voice came from under the blankets. “Souls can be reborn, My Lady. Some of the demons in the castle are reborn or remade humans. Or other beings. Few remember much of their former lives, so it tends to matter little. Sometimes some few souls manage to carry some more fragments of their past selves along.”

Alucard nodded. “Twice, I found my wife. When I was mortal, when we were first married. The second time, seven centuries later, she lived a new life as an explorer, an adventurer. She knew me, although not how or why.” A sad look crossed his face. “She had been searching for something her entire life. Me. We...did not have long together, mere days.”

I swallowed, grimacing at the thought. “How’d you know it was her?”

He shook his head. “Tis difficult. But she knew my name, my real name, on first glance.” His face clouded over. “She died when we faced my father, together. She slew him, using his own Vampire Killer. That was the last time he fell before the arrival of the Abomination.”

I nodded. Now that he mentioned it, I could feel the fragment of the memory in my head. Dracul, slaying his killer out of spite, laughing as he knew he would rise again, while she would not. A tall blonde, amazonian, strong. Alucard’s blade slicing through his neck, rage on his son’s face at the second murder of his beloved Sonia.

I spoke softly, my voice filled with sympathy. And guilt. “So what? You’re going to hope she does it again?”

A faint smile rose on his lips. “I have an eternity. Should I perish, I will seek to be reborn with her, as a mortal. If she is reborn as a mortal, I shall cross paths with her at some time, and we shall discuss what is to be done. That may take some time, but I have learned patience if nothing else.” He looked pensive. “It is one of the few hopes I have left.”

I went to him, hugging him gently. He stiffened at the contact, then a moment later, he relaxed a little bit. After a moment, he gently patted my shoulder.

His voice was quiet. “It is not something you can help with. I must merely wait. Fate can be cruel, but few things can be cruel for an eternity.” He looked over at the pile of blankets. “It would be best if you emerged, Meridia. You cannot hide under there forever.”

Meridia’s voice was petulant. “I can if I wish. I’m hideous. You’ll reject me. I am no longer sculpted to perfection.”

Alucard sounded annoyed. “You are not. I have told you this before.”

I frowned. “Meridia, come on out. I’m sure you’re fine. And even if you’re not, you’ve earned your place with us. You risked your life to face the Siberian. You'd have to do some really horrible things to make me reject you, and your looks aren't one of them.”

Slowly, the blankets parted as she pushed them off. She got to her feet, holding sheets over her form protectively. Huh, I hadn’t expected her to be modest. But then...

Wait a sec.

The first thing that caught my attention was that her skin had turned completely black. Her hair was still white, but now there were also a pair of horns curving up and around the sides of her head, coiled like the horns of a ram. Her ears had grown long and pointed. Her wings had shifted in shape, glowing faintly red, spined and draconic, like my own. And...was that a tail swishing behind her? Yep, that's a tail alright, a long, fairly thin, and soft-looking tail. Despite her words, she seemed even more attractive, at least to my eyes. Definitely more inhuman, but nothing beyond my own current shape.

I looked to Alucard.

He shrugged. “I told you. Turning a demon into a vampire is unpredictable.”

I looked back at Meridia. Her lip was trembling. I sighed to myself, went up to her, and hugged her tightly.

She clung to me, her body trembling. “I’m hideous, My Lady.”

I shook my head. “Nope. You’re not. You’re not at all. Damn it, Meridia, you’re fine. I can think of quite a few people who’ll be happy to see you.” I quirked my lip. “We wouldn’t even have to do much to dress you like a drow at a D&D convention.”

She pulled back a little, looking confused. “What is a drow?”

I frowned a little as I tried to figure out a way to explain it. So much cultural stuff...

Finally, I shook my head. “I’ll explain it later. Actually, I’ll show you later. You’re fine, Meridia.”

“Here is a drow.” Alucard said. I turned to look.

He held out his phone, a...definitely unsafe for work picture on it. Meridia took it, looked over the ‘art’ and purred with approval.

Questioningly, I looked at him. He shrugged, a faint smile on his face. “Your ‘internet’ is a weird but interesting place.”

Meridia was now busily flicking her fingers over the screen, her purr of approval getting louder. And...something sweet-smelling was filling the air. And the blankets had fallen to the floor. No, my mouth was not dry. Nope. Nope. Nope. Yep. Ye...no.

Alucard’s smile faded. “I...may have miscalculated.”

Meridia looked at me, a wide, interested and hungry smile on her face. “I need to see more of this ‘internet.’”

Yeah, he may have just doomed us all. He’d better look embarrassed.

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