A Darker Path [Worm Fanfic]

A Darker Path

Part Forty-Five: Calm Before the Storm

[A/N: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]


Relevant Side Story

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Heads up

Hi, Pan-pan!
So, I got a thing I think your power might enjoy sinking its non-existent teeth into.
If you can be dressed and ready to go at five minutes to midnight on the fifteenth, Imma swing by and take you to meet a person and do a thing. Dress dark; it won't actually change anything, but everyone wants to dress like a secret agent at least once in their life.
I promise you, nobody's going to die, and you'll help make someone's life a whole heap better.

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Heads up

What?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Heads up

What I said. You, me, help someone. 11:55 on Tuesday the 15th.
You down?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: Flechette
Subject: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Hi,
The fundraiser was really cool. I had a lot of fun. Where did you learn your parkour? That was insane!
Anyway, that wasn't the question I wanted to ask.
Wow, this is difficult.
One of the Rogues' Guild capes, Spitfire, has contacted me, asking if I wanted to chat and maybe meet up again sometime while she's not wearing the dragon costume. I think she wants to go on a date with me. Does she want to go on a date with me? Is this even a good idea?
Um.
Also … March's rapier. You're the one who beat up March, so she couldn't stop me from coming, aren't you? Thanks for that. She's … a real pain in the ass. Seriously, she's been a problem for me for the longest time. If I started dating Spitfire (I'm honestly interested, unless you tell me it's a bad idea) then I'd always be worried that March was going to come after her. But now she's in custody (and WOW, you made a mess of her) so that's totally a huge weight off my shoulders.
So anyway, I just wanted to ask you about Spitfire and thank you for what you did to March.

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Flechette
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Well, if it isn't my favorite New York Ward!
The fundraiser was definitely fun. Thanks for showing up, by the way. I really appreciate it. You totally helped make the show.
As for where I learned my parkour, it's the same place where I learned to shoot and fight. Sorry, but a girl's gotta have her secrets.
So, about Spitfire: she's a nice girl, and a bit shy, so I'm glad she reached out to you. Yes, she totally means it as a date. Yes, I mean a date-date. I think it will be good for both of you.
As for March: you're welcome. I hate bullies, and it's always fun to teach them the error of their ways.
Pro tip: if you wear the rapier when you go to visit her in holding, you might just get to see steam shooting out her ears, mwahahaha.
Oh, and one other thing. Some time soon, Imma go on a trip overseas. Interested in tagging along?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Heads up

I'm going to need more detail than that. What's happening on the fifteenth?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Heads up

Remember what happened with Bonesaw? It'll be kind of like that, only almost entirely different.
Tell me your power isn't leaning forward and looking interested.

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: Flechette
Subject: Re: Re: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Overseas? Where to?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Flechette
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Australia, actually. The Land Down Under. Don't worry about your bosses. I'll clear it with them first.

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Heads up

Okay, fine. You have my attention. I'll be ready.

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Heads up

Cool, see you then.
Toodles!

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: Flechette
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Sounds interesting. I'm in. Can I bring a camera?

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PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Flechette
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Just wanted to ask a question, and say thanks

Oh, I promise there'll be opportunities to take once-in-a-lifetime photos. Mwahahaha.
Toodles!

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Thursday Afternoon, February 10, 2011
Boardwalk
Aisha

Brian emerged from the shop and rejoined the girls. "And something for you," he said, handing Riley a small box.

"What? For me?" She tore the packaging open and stared at the phone within. It may have been a run-of-the-mill standard model, but from the way she hugged it to herself, it may as well have been encrusted with gold. "Thank you so much!" she enthused, freeing one arm to hug Brian. "Nobody's ever bought me a phone before!"

"Didn't the PRT give you some fancy-dancy high-end super-encrypted model?" Aisha asked, trying not to smile. Riley was so much fun when she was in a mood like this.

"Yeah, but that's not mine." Riley rolled her eyes expressively. "That's theirs. They're just letting me use it. But this one here is mine." She hugged it again. "I love it. Thank you."

Aisha pulled out her own phone. It was worn and battered, and maybe one day she'd switch up to a new model, but it had been through a heap of crap with her, so that day wasn't happening yet. "What's the number? I'll send you a text, so we'll both have each other's numbers."

"Okay, it's just …" Riley jumped as the phone rang in her hand. "What? I didn't even give you the number yet."

"Uh … that's not me?" Aisha held up her phone, which she still hadn't woken up. "Might want to answer it."

Tentatively, Riley swiped the Answer icon and held it to her ear. "Uh … hello?" A moment later, her eyes opened wide. "Atropos? How did you get this number? I literally just got the phone."

"Speaker!" hissed Aisha, making move-it-along gestures. "Speaker!" She definitely wanted to hear what Atropos had to say.

Riley hit the Speaker icon, and Atropos' voice became audible. "Hi, Aisha. Hi, Brian. Have you got enough pictures yet?"

Brian involuntarily looked down at the stack of framed pictures they'd picked out to decorate the living quarters. "What the hell? How did you even know … you know what, I don't care anymore."

"Wise decision. So, Riley, I love that stuff you made. Up for making more? This time so it works on skin contact?"

Riley blinked, her gaze going distant for a moment. "Uh, sure. I guess. You'd have to be real careful with it too, you know."

"Trust me, kiddo, I'm nothing but careful. Also, can I ask another favour?"

This time, Riley didn't hesitate. "Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, Barrow's coming to town, so …"

As Atropos explained what she needed, Aisha's eyebrows rose. She'd already seen ample evidence that the dark-clad cape was bullshit squared on a bullshit sandwich, but this was impressive even for her.

When she finished, Riley nodded, not seeming to care that Atropos couldn't see her. "Okay, I can do that. But do me a favour, please? Don't kill him. Bastard Son deserved it. Barrow doesn't, I don't think."

"That's legitimate," Atropos agreed. "I promise, I won't kill him. But to quote a famous genie, it's amazing what you can live through."

Riley smirked while Aisha chuckled. "I didn't say you couldn't hurt him," she confirmed. "I'm just not a fan of murdering people who haven't killed other people."

"And that's fair. So, how are you enjoying your new job? Everyone treating you okay?"

"Oh, totally." Riley's smirk became a real smile. "The, uh, the other juniors are all real nice to me. I get a kind of big-brother vibe off them, except for V, who's thrilled that there's someone younger than her on the team. She's taken it on herself to show me the ropes, and she really knows her stuff."

"Good, good. What about the adults? They're giving you a fair chance?"

"Uh-huh. Nobody makes fun of me, and they're all really encouraging. I like it."

"Excellent. Well, I have to go, but if you need to get in touch with me anytime, I'm there for you."

"I know. And thanks for giving me a chance." Riley seemed to be holding back sniffles.

"Anytime. See you soon."

When Riley ended the call, Aisha hugged her. It seemed the right thing to do, and from the way Riley hugged her in return, she thought so too. "How awesome is she?" Aisha asked as they separated.

Riley gave her a watery smile. "I know, right?" She wiped suspicious moisture from her eyes, then blew her nose. "Well, come on. Brian's money isn't gonna spend itself, you know."

Aisha cackled out loud. "I knew there was a reason I liked you so much."

<><>​

Tuesday Night, February 15, 2011
Outside the Dallon House
Taylor

I looked up at the frontage of the house, and nodded to myself. No lights glowed through the windows, and my power had Amy on its radar. She still didn't like me as a person, but she was mentally and physically prepped to come along with me. Good.

I wasn't in this game to be popular. In all honesty, I didn't give a shit about whether the public loved me or not. I just wanted to make the city work, to get it running smoothly, to get the crime rate down to a level where the cops could handle it, and keep it there. And if I had to shoot a few assholes in the face to get it done, then I'd do just that.

Now that I'd skimmed the biggest turds off the top of the sewage pit that made up the Brockton Bay criminal underworld, I wasn't necessarily obliged to kill everyone who pissed me off. I could and would if it became necessary, but if Ending a problem could be more easily done without killing, I'd do that.

Of course, there were always people who needed killing. But tonight, we weren't going to be meeting any of them.

I programmed the teleporter for its jumps, then snapped the cover shut and waited for the timer to run down. It stepped me into Amy's bedroom; she was sitting at her computer, dressed in the same dark hoodie and jeans she'd been wearing when she came out the last time. The bed had been artfully made up with an Amy-shaped lump under the covers and a spill of frizz across the pillow that could easily have been her hair.

She hadn't noticed me yet, so I pushed down on the bed, just enough to make it creak. Her shoulders tensed. Without looking around, she said quietly, "It's you, isn't it?"

"Bingo." I stepped up alongside her. "Ready to roll?"

With a sigh, she started shutting down the computer. "I guess so."

I moved around into her line of sight. "Last-minute reservations?"

"Yes and no." She pushed back from the computer desk. "It's not that I've got a bad feeling about going with you, but it's just …" She grimaced. "Is this really what a superhero should be doing? Hanging out with a mass murderer? Using my power to do what you want me to do? I mean, if Mom ever found out about Bonesaw, I'd never hear the end of it."

"Well, true." I saw her start of surprise as I agreed with her; she'd evidently expected me to argue from the get-go. "I am a mass murderer, yes. I've got my agenda, and I use killing to further it, but I don't kill for the fun of killing. I kill to End problems that can't more easily be Ended by non-lethal means. And sometimes I End problems in other ways, like asking someone with the right skillset to do something for me. I'd never ask someone to kill for me; that's my go-to. But there's killing that doesn't actually require the cessation of life, like you did with Bonesaw."

"And that's what you want me to do this time?" She'd almost convinced herself to go, I could tell. "Get rid of the mass murderer hiding in someone's brain?"

"No, actually." I smiled behind the mask, knowing she'd hear the difference in my voice. "That's my job, this time. You're not going to have to alter her personality in the slightest. The body modification is going to be somewhat more strenuous, though."

"More so than Bonesaw's?" She sounded doubtful.

Thinking of Sveta's situation, I had to chuckle. "Oh, you have no idea."

She snorted. "Fine, you twisted my arm. Let's go do this thing."

"I thought you'd never ask." I raised my hand and snapped my fingers just as the timer ran down, and the portal opened in the middle of the room.

"Okay, but I still think it's bullshit that you can teleport." For all her snark, she showed no hesitation in following me through.

We stepped out into a brightly lit office, where a woman sat busily typing on a laptop. Reaching behind me, I knocked on the inside of the door.

"Who—oh!" The woman, half-turning at the sound, saw us both. Startled, she jumped to her feet. "My goodness, you surprised me. How did you … when did you get here?"

"Just now," I said. "You both know who I am. Mrs Yamada, this is Amy Dallon, better known as Panacea. Amy, meet Mrs Jessica Yamada. As I understand matters, she's a remarkably good therapist."

Amy glanced at me, her nose wrinkling. "Just how deep are you in my business? I make a comment to my sister about how we all need therapy, and you bring me to a therapist?"

I met her gaze blandly, with the advantage that she couldn't see my eyes. "That's between you and your issues. But we can address that later. Right now, we have a young woman in a fairly problematic situation, who has asked for my help. Mrs Yamada, if you will?"

Mrs Yamada stood firm for a minute. "I'm aware she's asked for your help, Atropos, but I'm still not convinced that you're not going to just kill her."

I nodded. "That's totally fair. I do kind of kill people, a lot. But if I'd been going to do that, I wouldn't have Amy here to help sort out the aftermath. And you wouldn't have a whole pig currently residing in your freezer."

She stared at me. "But that was delivered by mist … oh. Oh, I see. How did you pull that off?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "She does that. A lot. Can you do me a favour and send someone to fetch that pig? I'm starting to get the idea of what I'm needed for, though now I'm really curious as to why we're going to need the whole damn pig."

"You'll see," I said lightly. "Mrs Yamada?"

The therapist gave first me then Amy a searching glance—no doubt gathering a lot more from my morph mask than most—then took up her phone. Dialling a number, she waited for a moment then gave a few terse instructions. Then she ended the call and nodded to us. "Come along."

I could feel Amy's curiosity growing exponentially as we followed Mrs Yamada out the door to her ad hoc office—zero decorations, nothing that said 'home'—and along to a locked storeroom. She carefully checked a screen attached to the wall beside the door, then nodded to herself. The electronic lock—also a recent installation—sounded its cheerful beeps as she tapped in the numbers, then it clicked open.

Within was padding taped to the floor and the walls up to about two feet high, and on that padding was a glass-and-steel ball, about two feet across. Inside the ball, as the lights in the storeroom came up, was a human face surrounded by a thick mass of tendrils.

Amy stopped and stared. "What … the hell?"

I gestured to the ball and its inhabitant. "Amy, meet Sveta. Sveta, meet Amy Dallon. I'm Atropos; I'll be facilitating today's modifications."

"Atropos." The voice, from the girl inside the ball, was soft and breathy. "You came. I didn't know if you would."

I chuckled darkly. "Neither did Coil, Kaiser, Lung or Skidmark. But don't worry; anyone who invites me to show up is in no danger from me."

Mrs Yamada looked from me to Amy to the ball, her expression worried. "I presume Panacea is going to be removing her powers?"

"No, that's not going to be happening." Amy shook her head. "If that's Garotte in there, I can't shut her down fast enough."

"Oh, ye of little faith." I stepped forward, reaching into my pocket. "Good eye, by the way. Sveta is totally the one they used to call Garotte." I took out one of the little plastic capsules I'd liberated from the PRT building; within was a single grape, treated with Riley's concoction. "Incoming snack, Sveta."

"You're not going to poison her—" began Mrs Yamada, starting forward.

I stopped and looked back at her. "No. I'm going to End her powers, but she's going to be perfectly fine. Amy, tell her."

"What can I say?" Amy said. "Atropos is a murderer a dozen times over, but she's always told people when she's going to kill them. And usually warned them twice. And she's already had me help out someone worse than Garotte, but you didn't hear that from me."

"Oh." Mrs Yamada didn't sound entirely convinced, but nor did she try to stop me when I knelt beside the ball and found the little hatch. It opened easily enough—there was an airlock-style arrangement—and I dropped the grape inside, then closed the hatch, which opened the airlock on the other side.

Sveta's tendrils found the grape immediately; half of it was crushed, while the other half got all the way to her mouth. "What's supposed to happen now?" she asked.

I stood up and put the capsule away, then took out my shears. "Three," I said. "Two. One." On the last word, I snipped at the air. "There. Your powers are gone."

"I'm still … me," she said doubtfully, stirring her tendrils.

I nodded. "No, true. Being a case fifty-three isn't a power that can be taken away. But being super-strong is. There's no biological way your tendrils are that strong naturally. And more to the point, your powers won't force you back into this form now … or make your tentacles attack people without your intent." I turned to look at the therapist. "Mrs Yamada, I'm about to open this hamster ball; if you want to leave the room first, feel free."

"No." Mrs Yamada's tone wasn't as rock-solid as she might've wanted it to be, but she didn't move. "I have faith in Sveta's self-control."

Amy nodded. "And I have faith that someone who's taken out so many terrifying capes wouldn't make such a rookie mistake."

"Thank you. I appreciate the vote of confidence." Putting my shears away again, I knelt next to the 'hamster ball' and undid the catches. One by one, they snapped open, then the two halves fell away from each other.

Sveta spilled out from between them, staring up at me. "What? How did you even do that?"

"Same way I'm gonna gank the Simurgh next week," I said lightly. "With the power of friendship. How are your tendrils feeling? Not so murder-y?"

She gingerly twitched the tendrils, then blinked. "Um … no? They don't seem to want to do much of anything, until I move them." She caught her breath. "You did it? You did it! You killed my powers!"

"And we're not done yet." I turned toward Mrs Yamada and tilted my head at the door, just as a buzzer sounded. "That'll be the pig."

"Pig?" asked Sveta as Mrs Yamada opened the door and a guy in an orderly's uniform rolled in a large flatbed dolly with the aforementioned pig carcass strapped to it. "Why is there a pig?"

The orderly stared at the tableau presented. I wasn't sure if he was more terrified of me or of the fact that Sveta was out of her hamster ball. Turning, he bolted from the room.

Amy smiled for the first time since I'd shown up in her room. Lacing her fingers together, she cracked her knuckles. "That's my cue. So, Sveta, was it? How tall did you want to be?"

Sveta blinked. "What?"

<><>​

Panacea, Later

Her mind still singing with the high that using her powers so differently gave her, Amy let Sveta hug her again, and patted her on the back. Dressed in a hastily scrounged T-shirt and jeans, the young woman was giving her newly reworked tear ducts—the old ones had leaked bile, of all things—a real workout. "I'd love to stay," Amy said, "but it's a school night and all, and I'm guessing Atropos has things to do."

"This is true," Atropos said, but not in a particularly urgent tone of voice. "You can handle things from here between you two?"

"I believe we can, yes." Mrs Yamada fielded Sveta, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Thank you again, and I apologise for doubting you. And Amy …" She held out her card. "If you ever need to talk—about anything—here's my number."

Amy accepted it with less hesitation than she might have done before going on this little expedition, and tucked it into her pocket. She didn't have to use it, after all. "I'll think about it."

Atropos nodded to Mrs Yamada and Sveta. "Take care of yourselves. If anyone tries to mess with you, let me know. Ready to go, Amy?"

"Sure." Amy stepped up alongside her, and watched her hands carefully. There had to be a trick in what she did.

But all that happened was Atropos snapping her fingers, and the portal opened in front of them. They stepped through; the room dissolved in shadow, to be replaced by her bedroom.

Slowly, Amy sat down on her bed, disarranging the carefully placed decoy, but she didn't care about that. "Wow," she murmured. "That was … a rush."

"It was pretty cool from my end of things, too," Atropos agreed. "So, before I go. Can I ask a couple of favours from you?"

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Two favours?" she asked, trying for sternness and not quite making it. "You're pushing it a little there, aren't you?"

"Little bit, yeah." There was a grin in Atropos' voice. "That colour-changing dust you made me that time was amazing. Could I get something like that, but it looks metallic until there's a loud noise or heat, and then it glows bright red?"

Amy tilted her head, considering the idea. "Sure," she said almost immediately. "Shouldn't be a problem. What's the other favour?"

Now Atropos brought her fingertips together in front of her. "Hear me out with this one. A bacterium that's capable of eating refined metals, rubber or plastics."

Amy stared, horrified. "What? No! You could bring down civilisations with that!"

"I know." Atropos was unmoved. "That's why I want you to also work with me to devise safeguards."

"Jesus," Amy muttered. "I'm really going to have to think about that one. The other one, sure, I can do that in an hour or so."

"Okay." Atropos raised her hand. "I'll get back to you on that." A snap of the fingers, and she was gone.

Long after her bedroom was empty of black-clad serial killers, Amy lay awake, staring at the ceiling.

What the hell does she want that for?

<><>​

Monday, February 21, 2011
A Little Way Outside Brockton Bay

They called him Barrow.

Even he called himself that, because after all this time of not bothering to use his born name, it had ceased to be his real name. All that mattered was the Lost Garden, and his disciples. He could not leave its boundaries, but why would he want to? All his needs were met within the boundaries of the Garden, and if he truly wished to go somewhere, he could take it with him.

His followers were capes who, like him, had become lost in the modern world and sought refuge in the sanctuary that was the Lost Garden. Mostly, their powers were enhanced or enabled by the wild untrammelled growth that accompanied the Garden's movement. All saw him as their saviour: infallible and unbeatable.

This attitude was entirely understandable. They had clashed with law enforcement before, both powered and unpowered. Outside the Garden, their combined powers and mutual cause made them formidable; within it, they were unbeatable.

The Garden itself was active and aware on a deep level. Those it considered allies had free passage and could seek concealment anywhere, while enemies would find thick undergrowth and wait-a-minute thorns wherever they went. Ambushing overly confident invaders of the Garden was child's play when the very environment cooperated all the way.

Better yet, the Garden did not exist wholly within Earth Bet. It was what some called a 'corner world', where physics worked differently. Cell-phone and radio signals did not cross the boundary, and Tinkertech often malfunctioned or ceased to work at all.

Mundane countermeasures such as flamethrowers and cutting blades could be met and defeated via a version of evolution that countered flame-wielding foes with fire-resistant foliage, or grew iron-hard tree bark against saws. Even poison could be absorbed by specialised growths and then spat back at the invaders.

The Lost Garden was supremely adaptable and infinitely capable of regeneration. Both a home and a sanctuary, it protected Barrow and his followers, keeping them safe from any possible harm.

This was why Barrow felt no fear as he stood at the perimeter of his Garden, on the side closest to the suddenly villain-free city of Brockton Bay. Across the boundary that separated the Lost Garden from the rest of the world, he faced a sole PRT officer plus two superheroes. None offered a direct threat, which was wise; they were not exactly within the perimeter, but his trees had been known to whip out thorny vines against those who drew his ire while remaining outside his domain.

They had come, of course, to warn him not to come to their city. He wasn't sure why the local PRT Director had sent so few, but at least this meant they weren't considering attacking in force. Bad things happened when they tried that; to them, not to his followers. He always made sure to leave some capable of dragging off their (usually disabled and cocooned) comrades, but he also ensured that some suffered lasting injuries. Object lessons were a thing, after all.

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" asked the PRT officer. "Atropos is not your usual villain. She's warned you. This means she knows you're coming."

Barrow had to smile. "Look about you. My Garden is not a subtle thing. Everyone with eyes knows of my approach."

The male hero—one was a man, the other a woman—face-palmed at that. His companion put her hand on his shoulder and murmured something to him, but he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said out loud. "I just can't not say something. Captain Reeves?"

Reeves gestured magnanimously. "Be my guest."

"Hi, I'm Assault, and this is Battery," said the red-clad hero, stepping forward. "You've heard of the Slaughterhouse Nine, Butcher and the Teeth, Heartbreaker, Bastard Son … right? People you don't want to run into, like ever."

"We have heard of them, yes." Barrow frowned. Where was this leading up to? "Are you going to tell me she is worse than them all put together? Because I find that hard to believe."

"How about, she killed them all?" Battery said bluntly. "They all came to Brockton Bay, and now they're all dead. Actually, let me back up for a moment there. She knew they would come to Brockton Bay, she said she was going to kill them, and she did. They died mainly because they didn't heed the warning to stay away."

"Oh, and you know the Endbringers?" Assault may have raised his eyebrows, but Barrow couldn't see them. "She's also said that the next one that shows up, she's going to kill it. And people are taking her seriously. That's the person you're looking to piss off by coming into her city. She's warned you. You know of the first warning. The next one is likely to be somewhat more pointed. You won't get a third one."

Barrow blinked. "Kill … an Endbringer? Is that even possible? Because forgive me for my rudeness, but your story of this Atropos is insane. I'm not at all certain that I can believe it anymore."

"She killed Shatterbird with a chunk of glass, blew Crawler to kingdom come, and cut Jack Slash's head off with Hatchet Face's axe," Captain Reeves said harshly. "She used the same axe to chop up Butcher into fourteen separate pieces, and stabbed Heartbreaker to death with a giant candy heart. She does not play games. She doesn't do non-lethal unless she's very specifically making that choice. If she wants you dead, you're dead, along with any of your …" He paused, clearly choosing his words carefully. "… followers, who try to get in her way."

"If she is so dangerous, so lethal, how many men have the PRT lost to her, Captain? And how many of your fellow heroes, Assault? And why has she not been arrested?" Barrow eyed the officer and the superheroes challengingly. This would be the acid test of their claim. Surely they would seek to make her seem as terrifying as possible, and when they did …

"None, of either." Captain Reeves stated the words without fanfare. "Oh, we were going to try to arrest her, but she's very good at dancing between the raindrops. And once she killed off the Nine, the Director read the writing on the wall, and gave orders accordingly. We don't mess with her, and she doesn't kill us."

Barrow smiled. "She will not kill my Garden, Captain. I, too, am no ordinary villain, despite the fact that you have insisted on slapping that label on me. The only way to get to me is to come into my Garden, and it does not tolerate intruders."

"That. Doesn't. Matter." Assault clenched his fists as he spoke. "People with more resources than you have tried avoiding her notice. They still died. Am I not getting through to you? Are you not listening? Atropos will destroy you. Turn around. Walk away. Go bother someone else."

"And there it comes." Barrow glanced at Captain Reeves. "It was an admirable effort, but I believe I shall continue on my path. Atropos uses guns and blades. Neither will be of any use to her within my Garden."

"Goddamn it, you moron! Atropos uses everything!" Raising his voice, Assault took half a step forward. "I'm trying to save your life, here!"

Battery put a hand on his arm, just as the undergrowth all around Barrow rustled threateningly. Barrow raised his own hand and frowned at Assault. "Come no closer. My Garden will protect me against such as you." And of course, his followers were watching from just out of sight.

"Come on," Battery urged her partner. "We gave it our best shot. No sense in giving him an excuse to attack us." She glanced sideways at Captain Reeves.

Reeves unsnapped his holster but did not draw his weapon. "Don't hold back on my account."

"I tire of this posturing." Barrow stepped back, allowing leaves and branches to swing into place, concealing him from the heroes and the PRT officer. "Tell your superiors. The Lost Garden is coming to Brockton Bay. We will not seek out Atropos, but neither will we bow down to her wishes."

Assault shouted something, but Barrow was no longer listening. Turning, he walked deeper into the Garden, leaving his followers to watch the perimeter. Unlike every other cape who'd been confronted by Atropos, he was never vulnerable. He couldn't be isolated or taken off-guard. And so, he would—

Brushing aside a hanging curtain of leaves, he stopped short, staring at the dark-clad figure who absolutely did not belong in the Garden. Even now, thorned tendrils crept out toward her—it was Atropos, it had to be, though how she'd gotten this far into his personal domain without the alarm being raised, he had no idea—but recoiled, every time. In fact, she stood in a quiet little clearing, with the plants apparently cringing back from her in all directions.

"Hi," she said pleasantly. "I just need to make sure that you know you've been warned to turn around and walk away from Brockton Bay." A tiny motion of her head seemed to indicate an eye-roll. "Just to make absolutely certain."

He stared at her, disbelieving of her sheer gall. She wasn't even armed that he could see. "You walk into my Garden, and you warn me against trespassing into your lands? Do you even understand the danger you are in, right now?"

Her hands barely seemed to move, but her long-coat fluttered and suddenly she was holding a shotgun. The action made a meaty chak-k'chak sound as she racked the slide. "I could ask you exactly the same question. Now, one more time. Are you going to walk away from Brockton Bay?"

He eyed the shotgun. It looked remarkably lethal at this range. "If I say no, are you going to murder me?"

She seemed to give the question a certain amount of consideration. "No. The Protectorate and PRT cared enough to come out here and try to save your life, and I don't want them feeling totally useless. Besides, I promised a friend I wouldn't."

He put his hands on his hips. "Then, no. I am not."

Too late, he heard the sheer unconcern in her voice, and realised that she hadn't said she wouldn't shoot him. "Suit yourself."

<><>​

Captain Lassiter Reeves, PRT ENE

Together, they watched as Barrow vanished into the undergrowth of his personal jungle. "I could maybe grab him," Battery muttered, but she didn't sound too sure of herself.

"Nope." Assault shook his head as they moved away. "Even with superspeed, that stuff would stick things out at ankle level, then have a bed of thorns waiting for you when you face-planted. We did our best, and he wouldn't listen."

"Goddamn it." Lassiter shook his head. "I thought we at least had a chance. Since Bastard Son, all she's done is make public appearances. But no, someone's got to poke the bear."

"Shh!" Assault held up one hand. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" asked Battery.

"Sounded like a pump shotgun." He looked around, then pointed at the otherworldly trees overhanging the boundary with the Lost Garden. "In there."

Lassiter suddenly had a memory flash. "Atropos has one of those. I mean, she literally calls it 'my good friend Mr Pump Action Shotgun'."

"Wait," Battery said. "You don't think—"

The two shots sounded so quickly that the untrained ear may have failed to tell them apart. Assault crouched slightly, ready to react, while Battery powered up the circuit-board lines on her costume. Lassiter didn't have powers or a cool costume, but he did pull his pistol, barrel skyward, finger off trigger.

Nothing came at them. The trees rustled, seemingly agitated, but they were beyond potential strike range. As the sounds of the shots died away, an ugly screaming became audible within the Garden. It went on and on, the sound of a man in agony.

"Captain, you're in charge here," Assault said tensely. "Your call."

"I have no idea what's going on," Lassiter admitted. "Let's pull back a bit more while I kick this upstairs. We don't want that thing rolling over us while we dither about."

"Someone really sounds hurt in there," Battery ventured.

"Someone is," agreed Atropos, appearing at the edge of the Garden with her shotgun resting against her shoulder. Far from attacking her, the plants seemed to lean away from her. She stepped onto clear ground; behind her, the greenery closed up again. "But don't worry. He'll live."

Lassiter wasn't even remotely surprised. If anyone could pull off what had just happened, it would be Atropos. After all, she'd also watered his plants for him that one time. "Do I want to know what you just did to him?"

"Screw what you did to Barrow," Assault broke in. "Did you seriously just intimidate a whole fucking bunch of homicidal plants into leaving you alone?"

"Something like that, yeah," she said to Assault; Lassiter could tell from the tone of voice that she was grinning broadly. "As for Barrow, that involved a conversation about how Kneecaps Are A Privilege." Somehow, she managed to slot the capitals into place. "He ignored two warnings, so my good friend here did something about that. The Lost Garden won't be coming to Brockton Bay."

Lassiter eyed her suspiciously. "Is he alive because we made the effort? Or were you always just going to blow out his kneecaps?" He did his best to ignore the fact that Barrow would probably never walk again. The man had been warned.

"Yes." She was still grinning, he could tell. Opening her long-coat, she holstered the shotgun. "If it's any consolation, he wasn't going to budge, no matter what you said. But you distracted him for long enough for me to get into position, so thanks for that."

She nodded politely to the three of them and strolled on past, then pulled out her shears and appeared to cut a rectangle out of the air. At the last 'snip', a shadowy portal appeared and she stepped into it.

As she vanished, Assault looked at Battery and then at Lassiter. "Is it just me, or do you ever get the impression that we're not paid enough to deal with crap like this?"

Lassiter chuckled darkly. "All the time, buddy. All the damn time."

<><>​

Low Earth Orbit
Simurgh

The Third considered its options.

There was an anomalous shard-host loose on the world below. Where the Third could read the past and project the future of every other lifeform, and indeed disarrange their patterns of thought with a mere effort of will, this one defied its power. Its actions could not be predicted. Worse, as it interacted with others around it, their actions became unquantifiable, spreading the murky area wider and wider until the Third's plans were under threat of becoming unworkable.

That was unacceptable, especially since the anomaly had made the claim to several different people that it was going to put an end to the Third and its fellow chaos engines.

Precautions, the Third decided, were in order.



End of Part Forty-Five

 

A Darker Path

Part Forty-Six: The Great Duck Hunt

[A/N 1: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

[A/N 2: Double length chapter, woo!]



Protectorate Base, New York
8:17 PM, Thursday, 23 February, 2011

Flechette

Lily lay back on her bed, smirking at the pictures Emily had sent. They had shared secret identities a few days before—contingent on Emily e-signing an NDA that Lily had mailed to her, courtesy of Legend—and now she was receiving texts of Emily making funny faces. The one of her dragon mask with googly eyes and a big silly-looking tongue lolling out the side of its mouth had made Lily laugh out loud.

An email popped up in Lily's inbox, showing Emily's email address and the caption Have you ever watched this? It's the funniest. Below that was a YouTube clip, which Lily clicked on.

She vaguely remembered watching it, many years ago, but Emily had sent it so she viewed it through in full. Classic Warner Brothers, with Elmer as the clueless hunter, and Daffy trying to get him to shoot Bugs, yet always being the one shot at. The classics, she decided as Daffy captured his errant beak yet again, were called that for a reason.

It had been two weeks since the fundraiser. Emily had messaged her shortly after that, and she'd tentatively responded. While Parian was the girl Lily had noticed, Emily had been wearing a dragon costume, so the deck had been stacked against her. And Emily was the one who had reached out.

Screw it, Lily decided. Next time I get some time off, I'm going to Brockton Bay. I'll let her know I'm coming, and we'll make a day of it.

After all, Atropos herself had put the seal of approval on their relationship.

If she says it's okay, who's gonna say no?

<><>​

Also in New York

Taylor

I leaned forward just as the teleport kicked in, so that I ended up with my hands on Director Wilkins' desk, looking at her from a range of three feet. She shrieked, flailed her arms so papers flew everywhere, and fell off her chair. As the papers fluttered to the ground, I considered going around the desk and helping her up, but decided that she would see any move I made as hostile.

"Hi," I said helpfully. "Not actually here to hurt you."

She didn't respond, staying down below the desk level. I knew she was reaching up under the footwell and activating the duress alarm. This wouldn't actually do much, because I'd remotely hacked the building before teleporting in. I didn't need alarms blaring and causing confusion; they were going to have enough of that in a relatively short time.

"I came here to give you two important pieces of information," I informed the desk. It continued to be a desk. "The first is that I'm taking Flechette and going on a brief trip to Australia. We won't be long."

Wilkins didn't show herself, but she couldn't let that fly. "I can't permit that."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that," I said patiently. "I wasn't asking for permission. I'm informing you as a courtesy."

She still hadn't shown herself. "If Flechette goes anywhere out of this building with you, that will be counted as kidnapping a Ward. In Legend's city."

I snorted. "If you tell Legend I've kidnapped Flechette, he will advise you that she's probably okay, which will be perfectly true. Because he knows me." I shook my head; we were getting off track. "Anyway, you never asked about the second piece of information."

Silence from behind the desk. She wasn't going to bite.

I was tempted to walk around behind the desk and ask her what she thought she was playing at, but by now she'd extracted her .22 pistol from its hidey-hole. If I did that, she would feel threatened enough to shoot and I'd have to take the weapon away from her, and she'd be needlessly traumatised all over again. Better to not even go there.

I made a bet with myself that Piggot would've stood up to me.

"The second piece of information, seeing as you're so eager to learn it, is that the Endbringer alarm is due to go off in about twenty minutes. The Simurgh, in Canberra." I said it as calmly and unemotionally as I could, to soften the shock. Professor Plum, in the library, with the candlestick.

It took her a few seconds to connect the dots. That was when she popped up from behind the desk like a jack-in-the-box, pistol held in both hands, aimed at centre mass. Her finger wasn't resting on the trigger, which was smart of her.

"Canberra is in Australia," she said quietly, as though it were a revelation of great importance.

"The capital city, even," I agreed. "Which is weird. Everyone seems to think it's Sydney."

"Where did you intend to take Flechette in Australia?"

I pretended to think for a moment. "… Canberra, actually. There's apparently a nice lake with an awesome name, and lots of cultural stuff. Young minds need expanding." The fact that Flechette was actually older than me was irrelevant, so I didn't bring it up.

Her grasp on the pistol became white-knuckled, and her hands began to shake from the tension. If she fired it now, she'd be just as likely to sign her name on the back wall as hit me. "I do not give permission for her to go into an Endbringer battle!"

"Point of fact," I said, holding up a finger. "First, as I said earlier, I'm not actually asking permission. I'm informing you of where she's going to be. Second, the word 'battle' presupposes that there's going to be a fight. I don't 'fight', unless I'm making a very specific point. I kill. There's no point I need to make with the Simurgh. She is going to die, though I will be having a few words with her first. Flechette's just coming along for moral support."

"You're not going anywhere." Her voice was as tense as the rest of her. "I'm the one holding the gun. Any minute now, troopers are going to burst through that door, and—"

"No, they aren't." This conversation promised to be tedious as fuck, so I short-circuited it. "I hacked your systems before I ever came here. Your security guys are watching looped footage. The duress signal got rerouted to one specific person, along with the actual security footage from this room."

"Who—" she began, just as her phone rang. Never taking her eyes off me, she scrabbled for it. "Hello?"

"Director Wilkins." Despite the fact that it wasn't on speaker, I could still hear Alexandria's voice on the other end. "Exactly what do you think you're doing?"

Wilkes drew herself to attention. "Chief Director—I—arresting Atropos—she's dangerous—"

"Yes, she's dangerous. Do you honestly think you're holding her at gunpoint against her will? The last person who pointed a gun at her, she shot his bullets out of the air. She's being nice. Now, put it on speaker. What has she said to you?"

Wilkins, starting to sweat, obediently put the phone on speaker. If I was of a mind to give a shit about such things, I might've actually felt sorry for her. But I wasn't, so I didn't. "I—uh—she wants to take Flechette to Australia, to fight the Simurgh—"

"End the Simurgh," I corrected firmly. "And her legacy. There's a difference."

Alexandria paused for all of two seconds, which for her was the equivalent of a jaw-drop for a solid five minutes. "The Simurgh? There's going to be an attack? Where? When?"

"Canberra," I said. "Fifteen minutes. Send the heroes if you want. It won't make a difference, but they won't be thrilled if they miss it."

"If I asked you how you know this, would I get an answer that made sense?" She wasn't even pretending to talk to Wilkins anymore.

I shrugged. "I know it because that's when and where it's going to happen?"

Alexandria's tone made it clear that she was currently rubbing the bridge of her nose with her finger and thumb. "I suppose that'll have to be good enough. Wilkins, I'm giving permission for Flechette to accompany Atropos to Canberra. Now, put down the pistol before Atropos makes you put it down. I need to make some calls." The phone beeped, indicating that the conversation was over.

"You heard the lady. Have a nice day." Raising my hand, I snapped my fingers, just as the teleport kicked in.

<><>​

New York Protectorate Base

Flechette

Lily looked up from her phone as a knock sounded on the door to her room. "Who is it?" she called out.

"I am shocked and surprised," a familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "You don't recognise me from my knock? Now I feel rejected."

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, not quite believing her ears. "Atropos?"

"Well, duh. Did you need me to go beat up March again to prove it?"

Lily glanced up at the rapier hanging in its sheath on the wall. "Ah … nope. Come on in."

The door opened and Atropos strolled into the room, then shut it behind her. "Hi," she said cheerfully. "You're going to need to suit up, because you know how I said we'd be going to Australia? We're going now."

"Wait, what?" Lily knew she should've been used to this sort of left-field shenanigans from Atropos by now. "You said you'd clear it first with the higher-ups."

"It's cleared. Chief Director Costa-Brown said it was okay." Atropos gestured at the dressmaker's dummy that Lily stored her costume on. "Or didn't you want to go to Australia?"

"Oh, I totally want to go." Dropping her phone on the bed, Lily went over and started pulling her costume off the dummy. "But my main question is: why? And why now? It's the middle of the night."

"Not over there, it isn't." Atropos described a semi-circle in the air with her finger. "Right now, in Canberra it's the middle of the day. As for why we're going, I've already done a wabbit hunt, so now I'm going on a duck hunt."

Lily stopped in the middle of donning her costume and stared at Atropos. "… wait. You sent me that email?"

"I did." Atropos admitted it easily enough.

"But why?"

Leaning against the wall with her arms folded, Atropos fairly oozed smugness. "You will absolutely find out."

Resuming her costuming up, Lily asked the next question on her mind. "If March was the wabbit, I mean rabbit, who's the duck? Is there a duck-themed Australian villain who's somehow gotten on your bad side?"

"Not Australian, and not duck-themed, but yes." Atropos paused for a moment. "Do you trust me?"

That one wasn't hard to answer. Atropos was many things, some bad, but untrustworthiness did not number among her traits. "Yes, I do."

"Good." Atropos may have smiled. "And do you believe in the power of friendship?"

For some reason, it sounded like a trick question. Either that, or it was an odd way of asking if Lily considered her to be a friend. But the answer was the same, no matter how she thought of it. "I think I do, yeah."

"Excellent. That's good to hear." She paused for a moment, which was when the Endbringer sirens started sounding. Audible through the base via the PA system, they were pitched for the Simurgh, with the warble that meant 'not here'. "One more question: do you believe I can End the Simurgh?"

Lily froze, then turned slowly to stare at Atropos. "Uh … why? Is that where we're going? To fight the Simurgh?"

"No." Atropos suddenly had her shears in her hand, spinning them one way and then the other. "I'm going to kill her, and End her legacy. You're needed for a vital role, but you will not be required to actually fight her." The shears vanished as fast as they'd appeared, and Atropos straightened up from her posture against the wall. "Ready?"

Again, the question seemed to have several levels. Lily was costumed up, so that was affirmative on one level, but then there was the deeper question. Am I ready to go up against an Endbringer?

There was only one possible answer. Atropos chose me for this. The knowledge put steel into her backbone.

"Yeah. I think I am."

<><>​

Canberra, Australia
Local Time 12:37 PM AEST, 24 February, 2011

Taylor

Leet had assured me that the teleporter had a global range, but I'd never tested it as far as Australia before. It handled the portal-step just fine, though it was going to need a bit of time to recover before we could teleport back. That was fine. We had time.

As the shadows dispersed, the Endbringer sirens became audible here as well. Lily glanced up into the sky in case the Simurgh was already waiting for us (she wasn't) and then around at the scenery. "It is so weird to know that it's after eight at night, back home."

"And here, that's last night," I reminded her. I gestured at the weird building with grass growing up over the top of it, and the angular flagpole on top of that. "So, what do you think of Canberra so far?"

Lily shaded her eyes as she looked around at all the trees. I didn't blame her; we'd gone from late winter to late summer, and I was glad I'd doubled up on the antiperspirant before I'd left the house. "Um …" she said at last. "Where is it? Where are all the skyscrapers? Where's the, uh, whatever they use for a White House?"

"There," I said, pointing again at the building with the flagpole on top. "That's their Parliament House. And that one," I pointed in the other direction at a blocky white building about a quarter of a mile away, "is the old parliament building. They build outward rather than upward, here. The tallest building in Canberra is only twenty-six stories high." As I spoke, I took a can of white spray-paint from one of my long-coat pockets, shook it up, and began to draw a shape on the grass.

"Is it just me," she asked, "or can you just walk up on top of it? And what are you doing?"

"Showing off," I said briskly. "Or to put it another way, building my brand. And yeah, last I heard, you could. I guess letting the general public walk around over the top of politicians' heads was their way of showing that they're all equal in the end, or something."

I heard a clik as she took a photo of the parliament house. "Ah," she said in a low tone. "I think the cops are coming. They're kind of acting like cops, anyway."

I'd already pinged them in the back of my head, and registered their intent as official but non-lethal. "Thanks." Capping the spray-paint can, I slid it back into my pocket and turned to face the newcomers. "Good afternoon, officers. How can we help you?"

There were two officers, a large solidly built man and a shorter but no less formidable-looking woman. They wore dark blue vests loaded with equipment over pale blue shirts, which made for an interesting contrast. The male officer took the lead. "Well, for a start, miss, you can't be out here vandalising the place like that. Why aren't you heading for a shelter?"

"Because we're passing the time until the Simurgh gets here," I said, semi-honestly. "This is Flechette, from the New York Wards. I'm Atropos; maybe you've heard of me?"

The female cop certainly had, from the way her eyes widened. "What, the one who took out the Slaughterhouse Nine and all that?"

"Jeez!" her colleague exclaimed. "You're that bloody Atropos?"

"She certainly is," Lily confirmed. "She's killed more supervillains than anyone. And she's my friend, so leave her alone."

"Okay, okay," the female officer said. "If you're here to fight, we're not going to bother you. Thanks for showing up. You take care and stay safe, hey?"

I nodded. "That's the general intention, yeah."

"Just one thing," the guy added. "How'd you get here so fast? The alarms only started going off a few minutes ago."

I grinned under the mask. "We walked."

"Okay, fine," he muttered. "Be a smartarse." But he moved away anyway, urged by his partner.

I went back to finishing the shape I was drawing. If squinted at from a certain angle, it might have vaguely resembled a map of Australia. As a final touch, I pulled out another spray can and painted a red X at a particular spot.

"I think someone's—" began Lily, about one second before a cape blurred into sight in front of us. He was definitely a Mover, with orange and yellow speed lines on his costume. Stocky and short, he had bulky muscle rather than the runner's build that most dedicated Movers tended to develop.

"G'day," he said. "Name's Pocket Rocket. Cops said a couple of Yanks had already shown up. That'd be you two?"

"That's us." I held out my hand to shake. "I'm Atropos, and this is Flechette, from the New York Wards."

His handshake was firm without trying to crush mine. "Whoa," he said, eyes widening behind the mask. "The Atropos? Thought the outfit looked familiar."

"The one and only," I confirmed. "Are there many other heroes in Canberra?"

"Not a lot." He grimaced. "I put the word out to Wave Rock Surf Club, and they said they'd show up. As for the others, they'll get here when they get here." He shaded his eyes with his hand and peered skyward. "Any sign of the Bin Chicken of Doom yet?"

Lily spluttered with laughter. "What did you call her?"

"It's a type of ibis," he explained. "Ugly as fuck, and they'll spread your rubbish far and wide. Nobody likes 'em. They've got white feathers … and I tend to be a smartarse when I'm fuckin' terrified."

I didn't look upward. "She'll be overhead in about five minutes. See the way the clouds are spreading out? That's her. By the time she gets here, it'll be solid overcast, exactly three hundred feet above ground level. Zero visibility above that point."

He stopped and stared at me. "And how the fuck do you know that?"

I looked back at him; the difference being, I could see his eyes. "Because she considers herself a chessmaster, and I'm gonna show her what a fool's mate looks like." Which didn't answer his question at all, but it sounded good all the same.

"Okay, five minutes. Gotcha. I'll be back by then." He stomped the ground once with his heel, then blurred away.

Lily shook her head, still giggling. "Bin Chicken of Doom. I can't wait to tell Emily that one."

"It is kinda funny," I agreed. "Here, can you help me with something?" Drawing the shotgun I'd confiscated from Ravioli, with Amy's metallic coating rubbed into the engravings I'd done with the angle-grinder on the sides of the barrel, I broke it open and pulled a couple of shotgun shells out of my pocket. "Can you treat all but the brass on the shells, and treat the barrels as well, so the shot doesn't tear them to shreds? Then load the shotgun and hand it back to me, please?"

She took the weapon and ammunition carefully. "Okay, I can do that. You think my power will work against her?"

I grinned as I drew my shears, then got out the tiny tub of stuff Riley had made and dipped the tip in. "Oh, I've got a hunch it might just work." Screwing the top back on the tub, I dropped it into my pocket again. "Once you're done with that, could you please treat the blades of my shears as well? Thanks."

She paused halfway through applying her power to the barrels of the shotgun. "Hold on a second. If the shotgun's for the Simurgh … what are the shears for?"

My grin broadened. "The rest of the Endbringers."

"Wait … no … what?" She stared at me as though I'd just started declaiming the Necronomicon in ancient Sumerian. "You are going to have to explain that one to me."

"It's an Atropos thing," I said lightly. "Trust me, it'll get done."

"Lucky I do trust you," she grumbled, then blew a raspberry at me.

"Which I totally appreciate." I glanced over my artwork and nodded in satisfaction. "Oh, and by the way? Don't freak, but there will be a party crasher. I have it totally under control. Understood?"

She gave me a medium-dirty look. "You do understand that saying 'don't freak' is basically an invitation to freak, right?"

"I'm trusting you not to freak. Because you're the most kickass Ward in New York, and pretty soon you're gonna have photos that nobody back home is going to believe."

She loaded the shotgun, clicked it closed, and handed it back to me, accepting the shears in turn. "God, when you talk like that, I feel like I should be ten feet tall and saving the world or something, not struggling with my math homework."

"Math homework is universal," I agreed blandly.

"Wow, these are cool." She ran her finger along the blade, careful to avoid the edges. "Where did you get 'em from?"

I chuckled. "Stole them from Kaiser's personal collection, along with the sword I killed him with."

"Oooh, ouch. A metal spike guy, killed with a sharp metal weapon that he used to own."

"That was previously owned by an actual Kaiser," I appended.

She winced and grinned at the same time. "Day-yum, girl. That's irony, right there."

I nodded, accepting the shears back and letting them twirl casually around my finger. "Killing someone with irony is harder, but so goddamn satisfying when I can get all the ducks in a row."

"Your ducks march in step, wear combat boots, and carry sniper rifles, just saying."

"Never said they didn't." I looked around as a loud crack heralded Strider's arrival with the first bunch of heroes and villains. Taking a deep breath, I raised my voice. "If I can have your attention, please?"

All eyes turned my way, or close enough that it didn't matter. Legend stepped out of the pack and strode toward us. "Flechette, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "But I think Atropos has something to say."

"Thank you, I do." I raised my voice again. "All fliers! That overcast up there is artificial! The Simurgh is creating it, with Leviathan's assistance! She's going to be getting here in about two minutes, so stay below the cloud cover! If she catches you in there, she will tear you limb from limb!"

"Oh, come on!" I couldn't see who was protesting, but it wasn't Legend. "Two Endbringers never attack at the same time! Besides, we must be fifty miles inland! Where's he going to find water?"

"Seventy," I corrected him. "But there's a nice big lake, less than a mile away. It's got a billion cubic feet of water in it, and he's lurking in there right now."

"You're sure about this?" asked Legend quietly. I could see Alexandria and Eidolon approaching now, both glancing in the direction of the lake with the amazing name. I mean, how could anyone go wrong with a name like Burley Griffin?

"It's what I'd do," I told him. "I'd suggest you ask the people I've gone up against about how well I can anticipate their moves, but you'd only get answers out of Ravioli and March. Anyway, we'll find out for sure in about a minute and a half." I looked over at Alexandria. "Which gives us just enough time to discuss the next order of business."

There was a crack as Strider deposited another group of heroes in the chosen rendezvous area. This bunch included one of Dragon's suits; I had no doubt there were a bunch more going supersonic on their way across the Pacific. I nodded to Legend and gestured at the sky, and he took the hint. Heading toward the new group, he raised his voice. "No flying into the cloud cover! We're reasonably sure the Simurgh will be using it to trap people! And don't go near the lake, either!"

Nobody questioned him when he said stuff like that, I noticed. It might've irritated me if I'd let it. But I'd got the point across, so it didn't matter. Now I had something else to address; Alexandria was paying attention, and time was short.

I looked her in the eye. "If I End the Simurgh today, here and now, what sort of bounty can I expect?"

A shocked silence spread across the crowd, barely broken by the crack of another bunch of arrivals. Others were coming in now from elsewhere, flying low under the cloud cover. I ignored them all, focusing on Alexandria, whom I knew (and she knew I knew) was also Chief Director Costa-Brown, a woman who had the ear of the President.

The Endbringers had had bounties offered on them early on, when it was thought they might be power-mutated capes, but over the more than a decade since Behemoth's first attack, that had gone by the wayside. Nobody seriously expected a single cape to be able to one-shot an Endbringer. Even the Triumvirate were stretched to their limits when fighting the monsters.

To ask for a bounty, as I'd just done, was akin to asking for a reward for baling out the ocean, or for blowing out the sun. It wasn't just impossible; it was essentially unthinkable.

And yet … I'd asked the question.

And yet … I'd killed 'unkillable' capes before now.

And yet … I'd taken on the Brockton Bay drug trade and beaten it, broken its back then shot it in the head as it lay bleeding in the gutter. Not one of the heroes before me could claim that of their home city. Or villains, for that matter.

Alexandria knew all this, and she met my challenge head-on. "I'd have to make some calls, but if you kill the Simurgh today, I'm thinking two billion dollars is a fair bounty."

"Good." I cracked my neck, first one side and then the other. "Make the wire transfer out to the Brockton Bay Betterment Committee."

The rest of the crowd was silent, apart from the newcomers asking what was going on. But it wasn't the kind of silence that came from anger or fear. It was the kind of silence that arose from sheer, stunned disbelief.

"I'll pass that on," Alexandria said.

That seemed to break some kind of spell, and everyone started talking at once, apparently forgetting that we were waiting on the Simurgh. "Ten seconds!" I yelled. "Brace yourselves! She'll be coming in hot!"

There was just enough time for the assembled heroes to look at each other in apprehension before the Scream started. Hidden by the clouds, the Simurgh was cruising back and forth while trying to narrow down my position. I saw heroes and villains alike grabbing at their heads, while I felt it trying to claw at my brain, though my power shielded me from the worst of it.

At the same time, there was a rumble of large amounts of water in motion; over the trees to the north rose a massive standing wave, with Leviathan embedded within it. If he wanted to reach us, it would take only a few seconds; the wave would roll right over the top of us, as well as any unfortunate citizens still out and about.

"It's stronger than I've ever felt it before!" Legend yelled. "We have to withdraw to a safe distance!"

I shook my head. "There is no safe distance! She's out for blood! My blood!"

"Then what do you propose?" bellowed Eidolon.

I turned to Flechette. Her face was pinched from the effort of withstanding the Scream, but she was still standing strong beside me. The faith she held in me was inspiring.

It was time to reward that faith. "It's duck season!" I shouted.

I saw the understanding light up in her eyes. "Wabbit season!" she disagreed.

"Duck season!"

"Wabbit season!"

Alexandria and Eidolon, and about half the crowd, were staring at us as though we'd gone crazy. Legend and Dragon were trying to stop the rest of the crowd from breaking down into a panic.

"Duck season!"

"Wabbit season!"

The time was right. I nodded to Flechette. "Wabbit season!"

"Duck season!" she screamed. "Fire!"

I still had the shotgun in my hand, and I pointed it upward at an angle. Just as the Simurgh swooped past at the right point … I fired.

The Flechette-charged pellets blasted straight into the cloud cover; a split second later, the Scream cut out.

"And now," I said, my ears trying to ring in the mental silence that followed, "we all step back."

Obediently, Alexandria and Eidolon moved out of the white shape I'd drawn, as did Flechette and I. Not two seconds later, the Simurgh tumbled down out of the sky in a welter of flailing wings. She hit the ground once, bounced, demolished a couple of flagpoles, then landed precisely within the outline I'd drawn out. If the cessation of the mental assault hadn't snapped the assembled capes out of their incipient panic, the double impact certainly did the trick.

As part of the same move, I turned and aimed the shotgun at Leviathan, a mile distant. "Fuck off," I growled, allowing my power to add its emphasis to mine, "or you're next."

<><>​

Leviathan

The Second hadn't seen the point of accompanying the Third to its regularly scheduled assault on a water-bag habitation. Worse, the location was far from the ocean. There was some water there, but barely a pittance. Hardly enough to hide under until the time was right, even if the Third had deigned to teleport it there.

It wasn't even expected to attack anything until the Third had located the anomalous shard-host, whatever that meant. The Third wanted it to hold back and be a menace until the anomaly had been located and disposed of. None of which actually sounded like what the Second wanted to do.

But the Third had insisted, and the Orders had backed it up, and so the Second was hovering on water, waiting to see what the Third accomplished.

What it accomplished, it seemed, was self-obliteration. A water-bag, outdoing even the Third's capability of anticipation, used some kind of weapon to bring the Third down. And then the weapon was pointed at the Second.

[Go away, or face equal destruction.]

The Second normally only communicated in the ripple and swell of water, but it heard that well enough.

It had never wanted to be there anyway. Allowing the water-hill to slump back into the basin, the Second called up a thunderstorm and started its run for the coast. If it didn't stop to attack anywhere, it could be there before more annoying water-bags caught up with it.

Especially the one with that weapon, and that Voice.

<><>​

Taylor

As Leviathan bolted under the cover of rain, and Eidolon and Legend streaked off to shadow him to the coast, I turned my attention back toward the Simurgh. She twitched feebly as I stepped up, putting one foot on her chest. There was no heartbeat, no rise and fall of breath, but the damage to the core in her main wing had been just enough to disable her—just as I'd planned.

"Listen up, bitch," I said, pointing the shotgun at her core. "There's no way out of this for you. You are going to die. But I can give you a quick, painless End, or …" I raised the shears. "I stick these in the hole I just blew in your core, and find something that gives you the equivalent of agony, and I jab it as hard as I can, as often as I can. Long story short, you can die easy or you can die hard. Your choice."

She stared up at me with her sightless eyes. The twitch of her expression, interpreted by my power, asked me the question.

I nodded. "What do I want? It's simple. You fix everyone you ever fucked over with your Scream. Every last Simurgh bomb, healed. Nobody with little pitfalls in their heads." I leaned closer. "And trust me … I'll know."

For a long, frozen moment, I thought she was going to go with the 'hard' option, just to fuck with me. This had been my best chance to End her legacy as well as her rampage, but I couldn't make her undo her work. I could only make her want to.

And then, she sagged ever so slightly in surrender. I felt the infinitesimal unthreading of the scar tissue the brief exposure had left in my brain, and I knew she was putting her power toward unfucking everyone she'd ever damaged in this way. It was a strain on her, especially now, but I didn't really give a crap.

Once my power told me it was done—it took a surprisingly short time—I nodded to her. "Good choice." Then I administered the coup de grâce. The shotgun boomed, and her core shattered into a thousand unrepairable pieces.

As I took my foot off the body of the Simurgh, the now-destroyed core directly over the red X I'd painted on the ground, Pocket Rocket finally found his voice. Staring at me, he shook his head.

"What the fuck just happened?" he demanded. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm the one who just netted Brockton Bay another two billion dollars," I responded cheerfully, resting the shotgun against my shoulder. "And what do you know, it was duck season."

Alexandria eyed me carefully. "What would it take you—"

"Wait!" called out Dragon, standing tall and pointing at me. "What have you got written on that shotgun?"

I held it up so she could see it, and she let out a bark of laughter, which was definitely an odd thing for a twenty-foot-long robotic Dragon suit to do. "I don't believe it. You actually called it 'The Power of Friendship'?"

"Well, think about it," I said, turning the shotgun so the glowing red text on each side was visible to everyone. "I said I would kill the Simurgh with the Power of Friendship. It seemed the simplest way to achieve that."

Alexandria shook her head as Dragon started cackling in the background. "Your puns are almost as lethal as your fighting skills. So, as I was asking, what would it take to get you to commit to killing the other two Endbringers?"

I tilted my head back to look at the now-clearing sky; it was shaping up to be a really nice day in Canberra. Even the thunderstorm retreating to the east at airliner speeds would be out of sight in a moment. "Let's walk and talk. I'm pretty sure that you're not going to want this to get out."

"Alright, then." We headed away from the remains of the Simurgh. Flechette was getting her pictures from every possible angle; her street cred among the New York Wards would be insane.

Once we were a little way up on the Parliament House, with a good view all around, I stopped and leaned against the retaining wall. My shears spun idly on my left pinky as I spoke. "A few things. First, ten percent of the Federal budget that would've been otherwise put toward handling Endbringer damage, for the next ten years. You know where to send it."

"The Brockton Bay Betterment Committee," she confirmed. "You seem very assured of their integrity. The sums we're talking about would tempt anyone to dip into the till."

I smiled under the mask. "They've already been given a strong object lesson in keeping their hands to themselves."

"Yes, true." She would've been kept aware of that, of course. "And the other things?"

I held up one finger. "The Boat Graveyard. You need to show up with Legend and a few others and remove it, give Lord's Port a chance to recover." We both knew the actual recovery would be accomplished with the Betterment Committee money.

She nodded in agreement. "Easily achieved. And?"

"One more thing. And you are not going to like this one." My tone also managed to express the fact that I didn't give a damn what she liked or didn't like.

Her expression turned wary. "I'm listening."

"Eidolon needs to die." I didn't make it a dramatic statement, just one of simple fact. Water is wet, the sun is hot, Eidolon needs to die.

It was interesting to see her go to full poker face in that instant. "Why?"

Intriguingly enough, she hadn't refused outright, or even cited reasons why not. She was willing to negotiate and hear me out, even when it came to the life of her teammate and (I presumed) long-time friend.

That was how much the Ending of the Endbringers was worth to her. Or how little Eidolon meant to her; one of the two.

"Some time in the future, if he's left alive, Eidolon's going to cause a major problem for Brockton Bay. People are going to die. A lot of my work is going to be undone. I'm nipping that in the bud now. Either he dies, or you get to deal with the Endbringers your way." The way that doesn't work, I didn't have to add.

Her eyes flickered, glancing down at the Simurgh. I had deliberately showboated the kill and made it look easy. That had to be factoring into her thought processes right now. "He does a lot of good …" she prevaricated.

"Does he save more people than the Endbringers kill?" We both knew the answer to that one. "He dies, or the deal's off."

"Wait." She'd finally seen the loophole that I was dangling in front of her. "You can kill powers, correct? Could you kill his powers but leave him alive? Would that satisfy you?"

"Hmm …" I pretended reluctance. With my morph mask and total control of my tells, she had no way of reading me like she normally could with people. "I suppose so. You have to convince him, though. He's got to be willing. Villains, I'll just take their powers away. Heroes get the choice."

It was almost hilarious how eagerly she grasped at the lifeline for Eidolon. Apparently she did care for him, after all. "I'll talk to him."

"You do that. He should be back in a few minutes. I'm just going to make sure Flechette hasn't wandered off and gotten into trouble."

Still twirling the shears, I strolled back down off the slope and past the water feature (I would've had the Simurgh land there, but that would've ruined it for the real ducks) to where Flechette was standing at the periphery of the crowd. There were a whole bunch of heroes, and not a few villains, who'd come fully expecting to suffer mindfuckery and maybe even die, and they hadn't even had to use their powers. The general air was, 'Okay, what now?'

"Ladies, gentlemen, and others!" I called out. They paid attention to me, even more so than before the fight. Any would-be hecklers were notably silent. "Thank you for attending the very last Simurgh battle! Or, as I call it, the Great Duck Hunt!" I held the shotgun high to a general cheer. Dragon added a steam-train style whistle that echoed off the distant Old Parliament House.

"What about Leviathan?" Ah, there were the hecklers. "You let him get away!"

"Pull your head in!" That was Pocket Rocket. "She told him to fuck off—and he went!"

"I'll be dealing with him and Behemoth in due time," I confirmed. "I've just concluded an arrangement with Alexandria for Ending the Endbringer threat for all time! When I'm done, there'll be no more Endbringer attacks! They are finished!"

Stunned silence greeted my words. They'd seen me destroy the Simurgh and End her legacy, but the idea of doing the same to Leviathan and Behemoth was hard for them to get their heads around. Then, Lily and Pocket Rocket began clapping.

The applause spread through the crowd until they were all cheering again. I headed over to Lily, who had her phone in her hand. It looked like she'd just gotten a picture of me coming down off the Parliament House.

"You said you were going to use your shears to kill the other Endbringers," she reminded me. "How are you going to do that? They're a lot more dangerous than the Simurgh was."

I grinned. "She was the hard one. The other two? Won't even see it coming." I raised my hands for quiet, and the capes closest to me shut up. The silence spread through the crowd until they were all listening again. "Thank you all for coming! You can go home if you want! We got this!"

As the crowd began to disperse, some clustering around Strider, Lily looked up at me. "And that's it? We just kill an Endbringer then go home?"

"Not quite." I shook my head. "Still got one more bit of business to take care of."

"What?" She saw where I was looking to the east, and turned her gaze that way as well. Legend and Eidolon were tiny dots in the sky, but coming on fast. Of the disturbed weather Leviathan had left in his wake, there was little sign.

"Eidolon," I said, then shut up as Dragon headed over in our direction.

"Hey," she said cheerfully. "I kind of expected a show when you attended but damn, you've got a way of exceeding expectations."

I gave her a polite nod. "It is kind of my business model. How've you been, anyway?"

"Making progress, making progress." She looked around as Legend landed next to us, while Eidolon touched down near Alexandria. "I'll leave you alone now, but we can catch up later."

"Totally." 'Making progress' sounded hopeful. Once she got rid of those particular chains, I'd be able to remove the backdoor into her sensory network. "See you around."

Legend nodded politely to Dragon, then turned to me. "Leviathan was swimming for deep water, the last we saw him. Nobody's ever scared off an Endbringer before."

"That was the general idea." I twirled the shears again. "You're okay with getting Flechette back to New York? I've got a little business with Alexandria and Eidolon to deal with."

"Sure." He turned to Lily. "Ready to go?"

"Just one second." She took a quick picture of me standing next to her boss, with the wreckage of the Simurgh in the background, then came and gave me a hug. "Thanks for bringing me along. It was amazing. Scary as hell, but amazing."

"You're welcome." I patted her on the back. "See you when you visit Brockton Bay next."

"Absolutely." She turned to Legend. "Let's go. I've got so much to tell the others about."

I turned and strolled over to where Alexandria was explaining matters to Eidolon. He was radiating something between anger and disbelief, and the anger was winning. As I climbed the slope toward them, he turned toward me. "What the hell is this? Why are you bargaining my powers against the lives of millions? Billions?"

Neither of us had visible eyes, but I knew where his were anyway. "Why are you clinging to your powers when you could be saving billions by giving them up?"

"But why do I even have to give them up?" He didn't quite shout the question, but his voice wasn't quiet. Energy began to gather around his hands; more a sign of agitation than intent to attack me, I gauged.

"Because you will cause problems for Brockton Bay in the future if I don't act now." I injected a thoughtful tone into my voice. "Or would you secretly rather the Endbringers keep causing havoc so you can be the big hero and fight them? Is that why you don't want me to End them?"

"I don't want them to hurt anyone!" His fists were clenched so hard now, he had to be bruising his palms. Turning to Alexandria, he gestured at me. "Tell her! You know me better than that!"

She looked at me, then at him. "I know you'd never do anything deliberately to cause harm," she said quietly. "But all too often, powers come with unintended consequences. And Atropos has shown an unparalleled level of prescience in matters like this."

"But … what if she hates me for something I don't even remember doing?" he pleaded. "What if this has all been a ploy to make me give up my powers, for some kind of twisted revenge?"

"I'd give mine up," she said unexpectedly. "If it meant the Endbringers would never trouble the world again, I'd do it."

"But she's not asking you!" He lowered his voice slightly, even though I could still hear him perfectly well. "And what about … well, you know. Him."

This argument was threatening to start going around in circles, so I stepped in. "I'll be dealing with him in due course, too. But here and now, this is about you and your powers. Not Alexandria's, and not Legend's. Yours."

Alexandria stared at me. "Wait … you'll what?" From the way both she and Eidolon fixated on me, it was lucky she didn't have eye Blaster powers (and that he hadn't picked any for the day).

I sighed. "What part of 'Can actually kill anything' did you not understand? He can die, therefore I can kill him. But that's for later. Eidolon, right now you have the choice to become the most revered hero in history. By giving up your powers, you will pave the way for me to End the Endbringers. You will save literally billions from death, starvation and misery. But I'm not going to force you to do this. You have to decide for yourself."

Even with that incentive, with all the certitude I was able to pour into my voice, it was a hard-fought decision on his part. He paced back and forth, fists clenched, head bowed. The desire to be the greatest hero in the world battled with itself, and the contest swayed from one side to the other.

Finally, he stomped up to us. It didn't matter that he was wearing an opaque visor; I could still feel him glaring at me. Only with my power could I tell that he didn't intend to attack me.

"Fine," he grated. "Let's do this. What do I need to do?"

I stopped twirling the shears and stepped forward. "Are you willing to allow me to kill your powers?" I asked formally. "And are you aware you are doing this so that the Endbringers will no longer bring death, misery and suffering to the world?"

He took a deep breath, then let it out again. "Yes," he said, more quietly. "Yes, I am."

"Good," I said. I slashed across his armoured chest with the shears, Lily's treatment allowing it to carve through the ceramic and metal like particularly soft butter. The tip, bearing Riley's goop, barely scored his skin; in doing so, I carved his official emblem on his chest, through the armour. As the last of Lily's effect left the shears, I snipped the air once in front of his face, then sheathed them. "And … done."

"That's it?" asked Alexandria. "It's done? His powers are gone?"

I nodded, then turned to Eidolon. "Go ahead. Reach for a power."

From the very moment that the shears had first scored his skin, Riley's substance had been racing through his bloodstream. It had long since reached his brain and set about cutting off his Corona Pollentia from the rest of his body, starving it of blood and ending his connection to his powers. The time I took to say those final words were all it had needed.

"I don't feel any different." He flexed his hands, looking down at them expectantly. "What the hell? How did you do that?"

"With style and panache." I gave him a slight bow. "Thank you for your sacrifice. The Endbringers are as good as gone."

"Wait," she said, as I started to turn away. "What you said about Cauldron not being allowed into Brockton Bay …"

"Still stands." I looked back at her. "If Doctor Mother shows her face in my city, I will shoot her in the face. Just saying." Taking out my shears, I mimed snipping out a portal in midair. "Toodles."

The portal formed right on schedule, and I left Canberra behind me.

<><>​

Cherish

Cherie looked up from the late TV show as the shadowy portal appeared in the living room, and Taylor stepped out of it. The moment the shadows dissipated, Taylor sagged. "Ugh, what a day."

Getting up from the sofa, Cherie helped Taylor take off the hat, mask and long-coat. "Come on, sit down. I'll get you a drink from the kitchen."

Slumping onto the sofa, Taylor let out a long sigh. "You are undoubtedly an angel in human form."

Cherie giggled as she headed through into the kitchen. "Well, that's a first. Rough one?"

"Little bit." Taylor had her eyes closed by the time Cherie came back with a glass of fruit juice, though she was still talking. "Saved Canberra, ganked the Simurgh, made Leviathan run like a little bitch, and depowered Eidolon. And I had to make sure I got every step just right. Whoof. Fun as hell, and it's a rush like no other, but damn it's good to be home."

Mr Hebert came downstairs at that point, and leaned into the living room. "Oh, hi, Taylor. You look like I feel after a long day at the Association."

Taylor chuckled, accepting the glass. "Trust me, I feel rougher than I look. But the PHO reactions are gonna go super-viral. Is that a thing? I suspect it's going to be a thing."

"Well, you'll have earned it." Cherie settled down beside her and gave her a hug. "Welcome back."

Taylor closed her eyes again, and leaned against her. "It's good to be home."



End of Part Forty-Six

 

A Darker Path

Part Forty-Seven: And As An Encore …

[A/N: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

■​

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♦ Topic: Duck Season is Over
In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► New Capes ► Atropos

Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me) (Verified Dethpicable)
Posted On Feb 24th 2011:

Greetings to the citizens of the best gosh-darned city in these United States of America. I love you all.

I hope you've had a fruitful and fulfilling day over the last twenty-four hours, because I sure have.

Just a few hours ago, it was midday in Canberra, Australia (yeah, I know, time zones are weird). That wasn't exactly anything to be worried about; midday happens there every day, around the same time. (Though I'm going to have to think about getting a summer-weight costume if I ever go back there at this time of year, because let me tell you, wearing all black down there gets kind of warm, kind of fast).

The thing to be worried about was the Simurgh; or, as I call her, the subject of The Great Duck Hunt. Most people who attend a Simurgh attack want to help drive her off before they die (or end up with their brains dribbling out their ears). Me, I was gonna bag myself a big noisy duck.

I'd already mentioned to people that I was going to End the Simurgh with the Power of Friendship, and that's exactly what I did. She came down to where I was, making all kinds of noise and hassle, and she even brought big bro Levi along to lean on us.

So, I made use of the classic Duck Season/Wabbit Season skit with my friend Flechette (I brought her along because she attended the fund-raiser in Brockton Bay a little while ago, and because people look at you oddly if you just try to start that skit up out of the blue) and shot that bitch out of the sky. Then I 'persuaded' her to let go all the Simurgh bombs before I finished her skanky ass off with the other barrel. One Endbringer, along with her legacy, Ended.

If you're wondering what Leviathan was doing at this point, it's simple. Once I had Smurfette down and disabled, I told him to fuck off while he still could. So he did. Won't save his sorry ass now that I've been asked to deal with him and Behemoth too, but at least he gets to enjoy the ocean until I come for him.

Oh, and by the way, kudos to the Aussie hero Pocket Rocket (@PocketRocket) for the nickname 'Bin Chicken of Doom' for the Simurgh. I looked up 'bin chicken' after I got home, and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Check it out [here].

So yes, The Power of Friendship is a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun. It's a nasty, vicious weapon, perfect for fucking up the entire existence of a nasty, vicious Endbringer. I'm going to be putting it up for auction (including the expended shells, still in the breech, that Ended the Simurgh once and for all) to the highest bidder. It's been suggested to me that entire *countries* might want to lease it to show off to their populace the weapon that killed an Endbringer. I honestly don't care; whoever wants to throw money at me for it, I'll funnel it toward the Brockton Bay Betterment Committee.

In not entirely unrelated other news, the Committee will be getting a large chunk of change to help them continue their good works. The US government has pledged two billion, plus there's been a few extra donations from other places that she's pissed off. And, if you haven't gotten any tourist-style pics of the Boat Graveyard, you might want to get those now, because (spoilers) it's going away soon.

Also, expect another stimulus payment soon. Infrastructure will be going into high gear, and they're expecting a housing boom because people will be moving into Brockton Bay. I mean, can you blame them?

Just a word to the wise, though. All of you would-be entrepreneurs who've decided to make a quick buck by racing into Brockton Bay, buying up cheap properties and either selling or leasing them at vastly inflated prices ... don't.

First: I know who you are.
Second: Yes, I know it's legal. I don't care.
Third: I don't only fuck up supervillains. They're just usually the ones who piss me off.
Fourth: This *is* a warning.

I am perfectly okay with people moving into Brockton Bay, settling down, getting jobs, raising their kids and living a nice, safe, prosperous life. The thing is, I want *everyone* to prosper, not just a chosen few. A prosperous population is a healthy population. More money moving through the system means better infrastructure, better schools, better public services. Everyone wins. The city wins.

Bottom line: anyone indulging in predatory business practices involving Brockton Bay can expect a visit from me, because I don't tolerate bullshit like that.

Last, and definitely least: Christine, Elijah (you know who you are), you've already been warned. Don't make me come over there.

To everyone else, have a safe and happy day.

Toodles!

​

(Showing page 1 of 973)

►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Uh, haha, wow.

Holy shit. She did it.

She actually went ahead and did it. With the Power of Friendship, even.

Atropos 1, Simurgh 0.

I can't even, guys and girls. I've been following Atropos' career more or less from the beginning, and this one's too big for me.

*pauses to breathe into a paper bag*

I thought Lung was big.

I thought Jack Slash was big.

I thought Butcher was big.

Hell, I thought Bastard Son was big.

But those were just the warm-up acts. That was just her flexing and stretching before she got serious.

Well, thanks to Dragon's multiple camera drones, we've just seen how goddamn serious Atropos can get when she wants to be.

I don't know what's more legitimately terrifying: how she was so sure of herself that she negotiated the bounty *before* the Simurgh showed up, how she knew the Simurgh was due before anyone else and went there first, how she thought so little of the Simurgh that she used an old Warner Brothers cartoon as inspiration for the kill, or how she used a sawn-off shotgun to do it with.

(Though I think the GIF of Flechette shouting "Duck season! Fire!" then Atropos firing, then the Simurgh coming in for a crash landing will *never* get old. I mean, NEVER.)

Also, I've heard a rumor that March, over in New York, got absolutely *pummeled* just hours before Flechette was due to come to BB for that memorable hospital fundraiser, and that the rapier Atropos was using ... was March's. March's theme is 'March hare' so she wears a rabbit-head mask ... so did that tie into Atropos' use of the Duck Season Wabbit Season skit?

I suspect we'll never know. I also suspect I know the answer. Because Atropos is a smartass like that.

As for the rest of it ... well.

To all of you people from out of town who think they might have a chance of coming to Brockton Bay and playing fuck-fuck games (as a PRT trooper friend of mine so colorfully puts it) ... haha, no, don't even try it.

How do I put this?

Atropos is like a vastly more dangerous Santa Claus. If you piss her off, she can step out of the shadows right behind you, no matter where you are. And if you incur a third warning, you'll *be* the piece of coal in the stocking.

Just saying.

PS: I looked up Bin Chickens. Pocket Rocket, you're a braver man than I ever will be.



►Spirit_of_Alaya (Verified Member of Atropos Fan Club)
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

That was appropriately hilarious and hilariously appropriate.

In other words, exactly what we've come to expect from Atropos.



►BlackQueen99
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

"Bin chicken of doom" sounds exactly like what a couple of tradies would call the city destroying angel, after a night of drinks at the pub.

Source: am Australian.

@PocketRocket - you're a legend, mate!



►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

I've got nothing to say, except ... well ...

I've been authorized to sit down anywhere at your convenience and discuss how we can work with you.

Damn fine work, there. I would've asked why you didn't pop Leviathan while you had him in your sights, but we both know that running won't save him.

On behalf of everyone you saved today, and everyone your actions have saved or helped in Brockton Bay ... thank you.



►Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me) (Verified Dethpicable)
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Thanks for the kind words.

@Reave - I'll be in touch. You, me and the Director. We're pretty much on the same page now anyway.
​

►RedSkinnedGentleman
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Lots of people are going to be eating crow on PHO, and generally around the world too, who doubted that Atropos could do what she said she was going to do.

I mean, seriously. A shotgun and a Bugs Bunny reference. Talk about an anti-climax.



►Daley
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

So, who's up for some memes?

Ziz forgot to Duck.

What's Atropos's favorite food? Freshly cooked Duck.

Why do you never play chess with Atropos? [pic of Simurgh's corpse in the chalk outline] This is why.



►PocketRocket (Verified Cape)
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Oh, hey. I wondered why my phone was blowing up.

Just gonna say, I did not mean to make that bin chicken comment. I get a bit mouthy when I'm scared shitless.

@Atropos - sorry I gave you a hard time when you showed up. You were totally right, all the way down the line. Those bloody pollies should be chipping in for your Betterment Fund. Its a bloody crying shame that theyre not stepping up as well when theyre the ones whose arses were saved.

I need to put the phone away now because Im already full as a boot and the booze doesn't look like it's slowing down any time soon.



►Perpetrator
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

I heard of this one time a Russian city had such a big party, they ran out of vodka. I suspect this is going to be even bigger, from what Pocket Rocket is saying. And worldwide.

​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 971, 972, 973

​

(Showing page 2 of 973)

►AntAuthor
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Oh yeah. This is a big fucking deal. From what I've seen and heard online, the celebrations world wide are gonna be legendary.



►ShyAnimeGirl
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

*chortles* Simurgh got Looney Tuned. I love it!



►TabulaRasa
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Has anyone seen the bodycam footage put up by that Aussie cop? He actually calls her a smartass.

He's never going to pay for another drink in his life, is he?



►TwinSolstice
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

I wonder how many countries she just earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom and/or Congressional Gold Medal equivalent from? I suspect every nation that has been hit by the Ziz and thus has a Quarantine Zone due to her at a minimum, which will probably expand to every nation to have ever suffered an Enbringer attack once she gets around to ganking the other two...



►MarineLupine
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Wait, Bin Chickens are real? What the hell?



►Veges
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

But who will think of the poor groundskeeper?

I mean, look at the damage to the flagpoles, and the grass!

That's going to take forever to fix!

(/s, if anyone wasn't sure)



►JulietWhiskeyMoFo
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

There are two constants in life, Death and Atropos. And I'm not sure they aren't the same thing.



►Sakin
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

New meme:

"The World's Most Famous Lawn Darting"

Also, another Atropos Fact:

"Why did the Bin Chicken of Doom pick Canberra? Because she thought the other side of the bloody planet would be safe from Atropos. It wasn't."



►BlackQueen99
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Just gonna say, if they put up a monument where it happened, they're also gonna have to put a sign there saying, "THE SIMURGH IS NOT BURIED HERE. PLEASE DO NOT URINATE ON THE MONUMENT."

Source: am Australian. I know my people.



►687simianreader
Replied On Feb 24th 2011:

Just a few thoughts:

By taking out Ziz the way she did, she didn't just end the legacy; she inherited part of the world wide rep built up around the Endbringers.

A hard fought battle to drive off an Endbringer is something that people can understand. But just making a casual meme skit to kill one, that is a whole other level of flex. She is not just a "very effective killer." Any thought about "I can take her" has got to be gone for any of the non crazy capes. She singlehandedly elevated herself to Endbringer level of respect and fear. And it's an international level of reputation and respect.

She is a force of nature like the Endbringers but she has also proven to be scrupulously fair and honest in her dealing, and importantly, *predictable*. It's much preferable to have a known force that one can work around.
​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4 ... 971, 972, 973

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: GreatAndTerribleAisha
From: Atropos
Subject: Bedtime already

Do I have to ping Brian's phone?

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Interested in another side gig?

What it says in the title.

If I brought you some biological material, could you make something out of it for me?

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: GreatAndTerribleAisha
Subject: Re: Bedtime already

But, but, Simurgh dead, everyone celebrating!

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Interested in another side gig?

*suspicious glare* what sort of bio-material?

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: GreatAndTerribleAisha
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Bedtime already

Still a school day tomorrow. And you're enough of a gremlin when you're well rested.

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Interested in another side gig?

Not a person. A critter. A pest. If I brought you something that needs to be eliminated, could you tailor a virus to attack specific genetic markers?

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: GreatAndTerribleAisha
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Bedtime already

Why can't we have a long weekend? I bet every other school in the state will be closed.

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Interested in another side gig?

What if I don't agree that it needs to be eliminated?

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: GreatAndTerribleAisha
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bedtime already

Just between you and me, they'll be letting everyone out after lunch. But you still have to show up in the morning and pay attention.

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: TheRealPanacea
From: Atropos
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Interested in another side gig?

Then you don't do it. I'm certainly not going to force you. That way lies disaster.

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: GreatAndTerribleAisha
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Bedtime already

Ugh, fine. I'll learn stuff. Just for you.

Logging off now.

■​

PRIVATE MESSAGE
To: Atropos
From: TheRealPanacea
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Interested in another side gig?

*sigh* I'm gonna regret this, aren't I? Okay, fine, bring it around.

■

<><>​

Taylor

Winslow was buzzing the next morning as Cherie and I climbed the front steps. Even I could feel the emotional currents going through the place, and I didn't have any kind of emotion powers. Cherie stumbled as we came in through the front doors, and leaned against the wall.

"You okay?" I asked. "What happened?"

"Wow, damn," she mumbled. "I think I'm high. I've never had so many happy people this close to me at once. Even on the bus it wasn't this bad. And I think half of them stayed home from school."

I chuckled. "Well, that's a new one on me. Come on, let's go sit down in the library for a bit. Get you used to this much euphoria."

It didn't surprise me that people were still thrilled over the Simurgh's death. She'd been basically asking for it for far too long. From what I understood, the parties were still going on in some parts of Brockton Bay, and pharmacies would've been sold out of headache remedies in short order if they hadn't already ordered in fresh stocks.

Every country on Earth that had been hit by the Simurgh, especially those with large numbers of people affected by her scream, was celebrating. It was a worldwide block party, and it was still ongoing. Only essential workers were being required to come in, and (at least in Brockton Bay) they were being paid overtime wages, as specified by Accord's plan for the city (in the appendix covering 'in the case of Atropos killing an Endbringer'). He really did plan for everything.

Once we got to the library, Cherie started looking a little better, though her eyes were still slightly unfocused. "This is wild," she mumbled. "I mean, I'm not religious, but it's like my personal vision of a thousand angelic choirs all singing in my head at once."

"That might be a little distracting, yeah," I agreed. "Think you can stick it out until lunchtime?" I'd already told her, as I had Aisha, that school would be letting out around then.

"I can do that." She tilted her head and frowned slightly. "That's funny. I just got a distinct down-note from Principal Blackwell. Like she's thrilled and terrified at the same time, and isn't sure which way to jump."

"I'm not surprised." At her querying glance, I grinned. "She got notification this morning that Winslow is about to get a distinct boost in funding. The whole school is getting a top-to-toe renovation, better facilities and equipment, and more teachers. The downside is that her management of the school is going to be thoroughly audited first, going back the full seven years. We're talking fine-tooth comb."

Cherie began to giggle helplessly. "She's never gonna pass that audit, is she?"

I shook my head solemnly. "No. No, she is not." What had started out as a bad day for Blackwell was going to become even worse when she found out that the School Board had already authorised the audit. As a karma-guided cherry on top, she was going to subsequently discover that all the really incriminating electronic records were refusing to allow themselves to be deleted or overwritten.

It was all part of my master plan. If the city were to prosper, every part of it had to be competently managed. Blackwell's management of Winslow had been anything but competent, so she had to go. She could most likely find a job elsewhere; with the amount of money about to end up in the local economy, there would absolutely be jobs available for everyone. Just so long as she didn't end up with the welfare of children in her hands.

Of course, if she really screwed up the audit, there was the possibility of prison in her future, which didn't bother me in the slightest.

Whether it wanted to or not, Winslow was going to become a tolerable school.

<><>​

House of Representatives
Capitol Building, Washington DC

Alexandria

Rebecca heard the raised voices from within even before she reached the doors leading into the House chamber. The two guards snapped to attention but did nothing to stop her, mainly because she'd called ahead. Holding the envelope in her left hand, she opened the doors and stepped through, then closed them behind her.

Nobody looked around as the arguing continued. It didn't seem to matter who had the floor; everyone else seemed intent on shouting them down. Rebecca's fingers itched with the urge to bang heads together, but she restrained herself. Instead, moving with all the imperious grace she could muster, she descended the long aisle toward where the Speaker was fruitlessly trying to maintain order in this most august of assemblies.

I should've expected this myself, she mused with an inward sigh. Apportioning two billion dollars out of the blue to one small city in the north-east of the US wouldn't have even made it through committee in less than two weeks, except that Atropos had requested it in return for Ending the Simurgh. Which she'd achieved, surprising the living fuck out of everyone there.

In her current persona of Chief Director Costa-Brown, she had passed on the bounty request and agreement, along with a discreet suggestion that the payment be fast-tracked for obvious reasons. With the actual, confirmed demise of the Simurgh (the remains were currently locked away in a location known to a very few people, of whom she was one) paying the bounty should've been a gimme. It wasn't as though there were any pros or cons to debate.

However, politicians were indeed politicians, and all too many of them—fully aware that this particular bill couldn't not pass—had taken the opportunity to attach as much pork as possible to the bill as they could hang off it. Neither side of the House was entirely blameless in this, and the impasse thus created as both sides railed at each other for what they themselves were trying to do, was threatening to hold the bill in stasis forever. Or at least, long enough for Atropos to get annoyed with them.

The Speaker of the House banged his gavel several times as Rebecca approached the Well of the House; gradually, as more and more members took notice of her, the voices died down. Every eye tracked her as she turned left at the bottom of the Aisle and walked—marched, rather—around to the desk of the Sergeant at Arms. Forewarned of her visit to the House, he rose from his seat and escorted her up the steps to the Speaker's podium.

The Speaker greeted her with a handshake, then spoke into the microphone. "Our very distinguished PRT Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown has requested a moment of your attention. She has the floor."

Ignoring the murmuring that emanated from those who had been heatedly arguing with one another just moments before, Rebecca faced front and discreetly cleared her throat. Getting this far had involved calling in a couple of markers, but if it worked, it would be worth it.

"Thank you, Mr Speaker," she began. "Honourable Members of the House." In many cases, the latter just wasn't accurate, but the old saw about honey and vinegar still held true. "I won't take up much of your time. I'm here to pass on a message regarding this deadlock on the wording of the bill before the House at the moment. The message is from Atropos."

As she spoke, more and more murmurs started up and continued until she dropped the name. That was when everyone shut the hell up. Taking the envelope, she lifted the flap and extracted the folded note, ensuring that the microphone picked up the sound of paper rustling on paper. Then she unfolded the note and held it up.

"The message is as follows," she said, and raised her eyes to look out over the House chamber. "Don't make me come over there."

Sliding the note back into the envelope, she nodded politely to the Speaker, then walked back down the steps to the floor. Not a word was spoken, not even a cough sounded through the suddenly silent atmosphere of the House. All she could hear, as she walked back up the Aisle and let herself out through the doors, was the sound of four hundred thirty-five people suddenly reconsidering their current priorities.

I have to hand it to Atropos, she mused as she walked out through the venerable corridors of the Capitol building. The girl does have a way with words.

<><>​

Midday

Taylor

"Rest of the day free, woo!" Cherie exulted, holding her arms up in the air and executing a passable pirouette. "So, what are we gonna do now? Go online and see how many different 'the Simurgh, she ded' memes they've got up on PHO by now?"

"More than you would've considered possible," I said with a chuckle. Just like with Riley, I was pleased to see how she was coming out of her shell and expressing herself more and more since the crap had been excised from her life. "I was actually going to have a chat with a frenemy of mine. Did you bring your mask like I said?"

"I totally did." Cherie dived her hand into her pocket and showed me a corner of the pastel pink mask she'd fashioned for herself. "I didn't think you had frenemies. Just friends and dead people."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't murder everyone who disagrees with me. Sometimes I let them just … be themselves. She still thinks like a hero most of the time, which means she tells herself that she's got to oppose me occasionally on principle."

"Huh. Okay." Cherie glanced around. "Did you want to find someplace to suit up?"

I knew there was nobody watching right at the moment. "Go wait at the bus stop. I'll be about ten minutes." As I spoke, I pushed my sleeve up and flicked open the control panel on the teleporter.

"Ten minutes?" Cherie frowned. "Why ten min—"

I didn't have time for this discussion, so I jumped into the girls' bathrooms on the third floor, which I knew to be empty. Taking off my backpack, I stashed it in the ceiling and pulled down the one containing my costume. It took me all of one minute to get changed, and to line the pack with the heavy-duty plastic bag that I'd taken from home.

The pistol was loaded, but I checked chamber anyway before I set up the next teleport. It was somewhat farther than a hundred yards, so I programmed in a series of coordinates and readied myself. Taking a deep breath, I hit the 'go' button, and snapped the panel closed.

The shadowy portal unfolded in front of me, and I stepped through. I was in a narrow alleyway between two buildings, though the walls leaned drunkenly toward each other until they met some little way above my head. Beyond the entrance of the alley, the rustic cobblestoned street meandered artistically from side to side.

The small goblinoid creature that shambled past seemed to be all heavy jaw and snaggled teeth, but there was nothing wrong with his reactions. As I raised the pistol, he spun toward me, eyes widening and mouth opening to let out what I just knew was going to be a deafening screech of warning. I fired first, the bullet punching through the back of his throat and severing his spinal cord just where it met the base of his brain.

Hollywood seemed to think that suppressors entirely silenced pistols, or at least made it barely audible. They did nothing of the sort; however, they did mute the sharpest part of a gunshot, and make it much harder to triangulate. Anyone who was unfamiliar with firearms might be left wondering what the noise was.

I knew the alarm would be raised in short order, so I wasted no time in dragging the little critter into the alley and stuffing him into my pack. The plastic liner stopped his blood and brain matter from getting everywhere, though he was surprisingly heavy when I shrugged the pack onto my back. But I couldn't waste time congratulating myself; I still needed to evade the opposition (while not drawing the attention of the PRT) until the teleporter recharged enough to make a proper jump out of here.

'Here' being Ellisburg, of course. Where the horrific little critter I'd just killed was the least deadly thing I was likely to encounter.

This was gonna be fun. And interesting. But mainly fun.



End of Part Forty-Seven