Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 221


"Surprise!" Riley shouted as I followed Vicky into the main area.


"Hey, Mushroom," Zach stage whispered. "It's not a surprise party."


"So what?" she asked. "It's fun."


"Well, can't argue with that logic," he agreed. "So, what's first? Cake, icecream or presents. Just remember to unwrap Taylor last." AmusementAnnoyance.


"Don't you mea..." I stopped for a second. "No, of course you don't." Of course, it did invoke a thought or two. PleasedProud.


"Oww!" Zach exclaimed, looking over at Riley, who had given him a good jab in the sides. She really dug into his rib with that one.


"No, we gotta talk serious for a minute," I insisted. "I've just found out I suck at considering other peoples' feelings. Like really, really bad."


"To be fair, most of us do," Vicky responded. "We're allowed to. It's called being a teenager. Pretty much on the front page of the user manual. I can see feelings and I still suck at it most of the time. You can ask anyone."


"Yeah, took us two hours to get her to understand that some of us actually have to work to keep our figures, and that means we have to eat something other than pizza once in a while."

"You mean there are things other than pizza that you can eat?" Zach cut in. "What is this strange idea that you speak of?"

"He acts like he's joking, but he's really quite serious," Emma added. "Takes him half an hour to figure out how to make a sandwhich. Which isn't half as long as I'll make him suffer if he makes the obvious joke." She growled the last few word at him.


"Yes, mistress," he fake whimpered. "Please don't hurt me again."


"All joking aside," I insisted. "I mean it. We kinda get caught up in the, well, everything. No need to go over all the shit we have to worry about. I'm trying not to murder the party completely. So, yeah, I was saying. We get distracted by all the huge shit and start to ignore some stuff. Like how sometimes we have to do things that upset some of you. And that's the kind of thing we can't afford to ignore. You're important. Not just because of your powers, but because you're my friends. Except maybe you, Lisa. Depends on how much shit you'll give me for saying that. And Rey... maybe I should worry about him some more, too?"


"Don't worry on either account," Lisa replied. "It's your birthday, you're entitled to exactly one soppy speech without me using it against you. But only one, everything else will be used against you. As for Rey, I don't think you have to worry. Except maybe that he's having way too much fun at his job, especially with the new Endbringer tissue. I'm more than half expecting to walk in on him hugging the samples and telling them how much daddy loves them."


AmusementConcern. "I'll... umm... try to keep a better eye on him," Taylor offered.


"Don't worry about it," Trevor replied. "I think he's finally discovered his real specialty."


"His specialty is Endbringers?" Zach exclaimed.


"More like artificial life," he responded. "Yeah, I know, not news. But they confirm his skills aren't just for things that we know of a life. He can work with inorganic things like Endbringer tissue. And probably a number of other things. Doesn't get much more alien than Endbringer. Maybe some of the weirder Case 53s."


"Okay, so that's him out of the way," I agreed. "Let's get to everyone else. I'm sorry things went so badly in Chongqing."


"Not your fault," Crystal insisted. "There's no good way to handle that shit. We should just be glad Scion wiped Behemoth before it could go on a complete rampage. At least now we know more about how they think, and what we have to do to kill them. Like making damn sure we do it on the first hit."


"Thanks," I smiled. "I just want you to know that, as completely dense as I can be, it's not because I don't care. I'm just busy and... fuck, how is it that my life was less complicated when we were planning to overthrow the PRT? There's just so much to worry about now. I just want you to know that if you have any problems, you're free to bring them up with me any time."


"You heard it here first, folks," Zach announced. "Amelia just gave us all permission to walk in and have a chat with her when she and Taylor are in mid c- Oww god dammt!" Emma and Riley jabbed his ribs, and Vicky zapped him in the face. "I was going to say cuddle time!"


"Holy shit, he's telling the truth," Vicky informed us.


"See, told you!" he insisted.


"But only because you figured someone would interrupt him so you could say that," she added, doing her best 'mom' impersonation.


"That? You can really tell that?" Zach asked, and Vicky simply nodded. "Okay, that's it, your power is completely unfairly bullshit."


"Says the guy who even my power can't figure out how to kill," she muttered. "So, is all the heavy shit done? Can we get to the gifts? Or the cake. Or how about gifts made out of cake? One of you can tinker that up, right?"


"Okay, Vicky, what's your gift?"


"Crystal and I got this one together," she announced.


"We may have let Eric help," Crystal added. "Someone needed to carry the bags."


"It's not like I know what you like," he shrugged. "And they seemed to know what they were doing."


"We got you your entire winter wardrobe update!" Vicky announced. "The miracles of weird ass thinker powers, I can just envision you in each outfit so you don't even need to be there, they'll all fit perfectly and look awesome."


"She did the fitting, I did the awesome," Crystal added. "When you pulled her out of stasis, you left her fashion sense behind."


"Don't look at me," Eric replied. "I have less than zero fashion sense. I'm still wearing the same clothes I did in highschool."


"Okay, where are they?" I sighed. Damn Vicky and her damn shopping.


"Your closet," she informed me. "We knew you would just keep using your old clothes, so we replaced everything for you. Now you have no choice but to look good. So give up and deal with it."


"Thanks," I replied dryly.


"Emma and I got you one together," Riley smiled, holding out a box. I opened it, and a large parakeet with a gorgeous green coloration hopped out onto my hand. It didn't seem upset to have been in a box. "It' a songbird," Riley informed us. "It's designed to be the perfect singer."


"It's Yggdrasil based, of course," Emma informed. "About a terrabyte worth of memory storage for plenty of storage space, and it has hundreds of songbird types it can sing, either in imitation of actual birdcalls, or simply singing along to whatever music it's playing."


Meanwhile the construct had hopped its way up my arm, and was nuzzling my ear. I reached up and rubbed its back, which it seemed to enjoy.


"Also, it's pretty much made of adorable," Emma finished up.


"Me next," Zach declared, holding up box that could have held clothes. He handed it over and I nearly dropped it for the weight. I peeled off wrapping paper of some cartoon character I didn't recognize, and looked at the contents.


"Massage oils?" I asked.


"Hey, those are the high quality kind," he replied.


"Okay, this was actually surprisingly thoughtful," I admitted.


"There's another box in there, too," he added. "Edible massage oils. Y'know, just in case." I simply handed the box over to Taylor. AmusedIndignation. "Okay, you got me," I admitted. "I didn't see that coming."


Theo gave me a remarkably well sculpted model of a tree. He is getting really good with his powers, I noted.


Missy's was next. "It's a collection of extra music for your songbird. And instructions on how to use it since tinkers don't know what user documentation is." The bird chirped happily at Missy.


"I made you a nightgown," Sabah offered hers next. "It's some of the finer spider silk. There are no words for how comfortable that stuff is."


"More music," Lily shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have one of those cool making things powers. But then I got to thinking about that bird and wondering what it can do. Everyone else kept picking out soft rock, so I got you some good metal, just for variety's sake. Also, it's kind of hilarious watching that little thing go."


We were down to just Trevor and Lisa, and Lisa simply smiled and waved in his direction. It was a smaller box. A couple long boxes, I realized as I opened the wrapping. "They're a matching pair, for you and Taylor." I opened it and lifted the silver chain. It had a lovely rendition of the globe on it. I found the other was shaped like a scarab beetle, wings open.


"They're meant to lock together," he informed us. Taylor and I fiddled with it for a little bit before figuring it out, but he was right. The final product had the beetle sitting on the globe and shielding it with the wings.


"It's beautiful," I replied. I meant it, too. The artist who created this was a genius.


"And the best for last," Lisa announced, holding up an envelope and handing it over. "Don't worry about all the words. It's really quite simple. The UN's finally agreed to everything. You're holding official recognition. Pantheon is now its own sovereign state, with recognized domain by the majority of our world's nations." SurpriseAwe. "Congrats you two, you can call yourselves the Queens or Empresses or whatever you like of your own planet sized country. And the magic tree house is now, officially, a magic tree Embassy."


"Holy fuck," I muttered.


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

A/N- Woo, birthdays! And recognizing a bunch of kids as a sovereign power.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 222


"Accord and Dragon have already done the heavy lifting," Lisa replied as we sat down to our first real development meeting. "There's about twenty seven hours of technical reading, but Dragon will be kind enough to summarize all our plans." Lisa pressed the button that activated our meeting. Multiple holograms popped up. Dragon, Accord, Rapture and Halo. Why's he here for this one? For our part, only myself, Taylor and Lisa and Emma were here for this one. Due to her multidiscipline tinker specialty, she was functionally our tech advisor for this meeting.


"Good morning, Pantheon," Dragon acknowledged. "Esteemed guests. We are here to discuss the management of the newly established nation-world. Pantheon has, of course, been acknowledged as the rulers of an interim government presiding over their earth Avalon. This meeting is an unofficial discussion of the intended management of that world, both in the nature of its laws, and the nature of its role in the international, and soon to be interplanetary, community. I would remind those present that this is unofficial. Any suggestions and agreements made here today are, as such, also unofficial and nonbinding."


We all nodded in understanding. This was too massive to just decide in a single day. We'd need to hire legal experts and god only knows what others to get everything smoothed out perfectly. On the other hand, we had the world's ultimate think tank here. Details would be handled over time, but the broad strokes would be established here. If, as Dragon put it, unofficially.


"Accord has drawn up an excellent development model for the effort of Avalon's industrialization," Lisa announced first. "I apologize for being unable to review it fully before this meeting, but as always the plan is brilliant. We can basically just hand a copy to the city government and walk away. I appreciate the extra effort put into creating a model which does not take parahuman involvement into account, beyond the ever present Yggdrasil."


"You're welcome," Accord replied, sounding about as happy as I've ever heard him. Which was still about the same as a slightly annoyed Carol. "I felt it was necessary to recognize that not all locations would have access to appropriate parahuman resources. The intent was to allow natural development to occur at a rapid but stable pace on its own."


"Industrial resources, we can supply," Emma replied next. "In what is a gross waste of our tinker talents, we've designed a series of organisms that can provide basically any form of oil or gas product. I won't go into too much detail, but suffice it to say a couple thousand square miles of Yggdrasil dedicated to the process, and properly supplied by solar energy surrounding the region and garbage for mass, could provide pretty much all the crude oil consumption needs of Earth Bet. We will be able to get even more efficiency once we switch to biodiesel, but we'd still have need for petroleum for plastics and the like, so the designs will continue to have value."


"Also a good way to keep the country funded," Lisa added. "The US and UN have made it abundantly clear that any attempt to get into the oil industry on Bet world would result in some problems, but on our own world? Well, if we're charging for gas, we probably won't even need taxes to pay for anything. Or at least very little for a long time. Plus or minus rent."


"I would be willing to purchase fuels for a number of my projects," Dragon offered. "I prefer not to get political, but there is an appeal in not giving my money to oil companies."


"Of course, there is the issue of money and economy," Lisa added. "Accord has drawn up points in that regard as well. As a nation functionally lacking in 'fiat' wealth, we have to back our economy on reality as opposed to perception. Having a reliable trade partner helps. We can also count land ownership as a pretty strong basic wealth, but that will have less appeal as there's not a lack of places to live."


"I've already created a system for specialized Yggdrasil that will merge into the normal replace the old with new features and structures," I replied. "Food will be unlimited. I can create versions that become roads or grow into small houses. Nearly instant small communities. Bigger ones will need metals and construction materials, of course."


"With my help, that likely won't be an issue," Dragon offered. "I have need of a larger manufacturing base than Bet can currently provide me. You have already generously provided a region for me to work with, and I would continue to do so. In the process, I'd hire my own people and purchase my own construction equipment and transport it to Avalon. Once my needs are fully met, I could provide a seed from which other development companies could start and expand. In fact, I would like to invest in those companies, myself. Your world currently has a great deal of untapped exploitable resources. Once your industrial age begins, it won't take long to reach modern development status. Albeit with a significantly lower population than most industrial nations."


"Which brings us to finding colonists," I stated. We'd all given this a great deal of thought, after all. "Atropos made an interesting suggestion the other day. We can, essentially, recruit Japan." ConfusionInterest. I smiled. "She said her parents are immigrants, came over before Kyushu. Japanese culture is strongly focused on family and heritage, and the collapse of their country into third world status is understandably heartbreaking to them. She suggested we could give Avalon's Japan to Bet's Japan, with similar governing concessions that they've already had with America since after World War Two. It might take some convincing, but she really thinks it could work. And there's always refugees from elsewhere."


"That would be a significant head start," Lisa agreed. "We can even do better since our governing system would give them worldwide influence. A lot of it considering they could instantly become the most populous region on the planet. It also brings us into governing as a whole. Dragon's provided us an excellent design that I could only call a 'Constitutional Federal Monarchy'. She's probably better equipped to explain."


"Yes," Dragon responded. "It would function fairly similarly to the British Empire at the height of its power, with a various local governments working alongside a powerful but distant monarchy. You would provide the monarchy, and with it the military aspect of your world."


"At the representative level, the government is not that different from American states," Lisa added. "They assign their own chosen leaders to be, functionally, our own brand of Congress and Senate. Though who they select is more the way governments send people to represent them in the United Nations. Just like the states, they'll be their own countries, but you wouldn't know it by looking at them. It's an ideal hybrid of independence and interdependence. And takes care of most of the effort of managing a planet from us."


"That sounds pretty good," I agreed. It really does. Totalitarian government, even benign totalitarian government, wasn't something I wanted to be a part of. Controlling the military was fine, if only because I didn't want anyone else controlling it. I had memories of the PRT and fucking China to teach me why putting that power in the hands of people was unacceptably frightening.


"As for us?" Lisa continued. "We're the military branch. Police, too. We have less power than, say, the US President. Bit of veto power, but our legal systems pretty automated thanks to the contributions of what's going to be an extremely powerful judicial system, compared to the USA. Be sure to thank Rapture and Emma for this baby."


Oh boy. "Yes," Rapture spoke. "We've developed a mass production system for what are, essentially, perfect lie detectors." SurpriseAnticipation. "In essense, your legal system will never be held back by the need to consider whether a criminal is actually guilty or not. With exception to parahumans who might have resistance to the tech through any number of possible methods. They'll be considerably more difficult to handle, but are fairly rare."


"As such," Dragon responded. "Law will focus on determining the extent of punishments appropriate for particular crimes. A less costly and more streamlined affair. It will provide equal protection thanks to unbiased, AI systems. Although determining a punishment for a given crime will be handled by jury, guilt itself can never be in doubt and no agency will be able to cover up a crime's occurance. Although investigative work will likely still be needed to find criminals quickly, citizens will be required to regularly submit to an automated interview to catch people whose crimes have gone unnoticed."


"That... that's insane," Taylor spoke. "A system that can honestly protect everyone equally." Her emotions were complex and hard to parse, combining mixtures of anger, regret, frustration, hope and vindication. She must be thinking of what might have happened for her if she had been able to rely upon such a system.


"You'd have to rewrite at least three amendments to make it happen in the US," Lisa smirked. "Also it'll be a while before we have the infrastructure to really produce judges, juries and overall legal systems. So here's hoping the other incentives keep people away from being criminals for a while."


"There's an entire section in here regarding the legal rights applying to, and I quote 'unnaturally created, modified, nonhuman and otherwise unusual sapient beings'?" Halo spoke up.


"Yes," I answered. "In addition to the various forms of Case 53s, there is the fact that my sister's currently in a body she wasn't born with. There's been a few years for the law to catch up to stuff like that, but at this moment you could argue that she's not entitled to legal recognition under US law. And there's the possibility of AIs, or a power like mine in the hands of someone who'd actually use it that way."


"Fair enough," he replied. "While we're on the subject of legal rights, your stance on religious freedom?"


"Similar to America," I answered.


"Even if we wanted to take a different approach, we really couldn't," Lisa replied. "We will enforce strictly protected equal rights for everyone, and beyond that we're just going to leave it to our individual nations. In fact, the brilliant part of this system is we can do that with almost everything. Our function here is basically the same as on Bet. We exist to eliminate problems and make sure others don't want to become problems."


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

A/N- Isn't it lovely when a plan comes together? And makes a world.

 

[Hexed999]

PHO Omake


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■
♦Topic: A New World? (LOCKED)
In: Boards ► Theories ► Conspiracy ► World ► Pantheon
Acolyte (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Posted on October 12, 2011:
Early August/Late July Pantheon began utilizing a new form of teleportation technology. Intially it seemed to be just like any other, except for the fact that there appeared to be no limit to how much they could transport and how far it could go. On August 15th they transported a massive army that no one had seen before from a unknown location and then saved the lives of several capes by teleporting them to an unknown location, saving them from the Simurgh's final strike.
Like everything Pantheon does, their teleportation devices are shrouded in mystery. Where did they store their army of beasts? Where did Minerva and Chariot take the capes they saved and why did they return to New Dehli?
I've heard rumors from the tinker community that Pantheon's devices are immune to regular anti-telepotation countermeasures. One tinker got his hands on one of their devices and made a post claiming it was closer to Haywire's technology then a teleporter. The post was deleted and no one's heard from him since.
And now closed door meetings are being held across in the highest levels of government. Meetings on everything from colinization plans to Interdimensional politics to the sovereignty of a Parahuman State.
It is clear that Pantheon has discovered a new world and remade it in their image and our Overlords are doing their best to get a slice of the pie. The only question is what do we do?
I for one will be immigrating to Pantheon's world at the first available opertunity. The chance to escape our oppressors and enter Pantheon's loving embrace shoudl not be passed over.
THIS THREAD HAS BEEN LOCKED, ANY POSTS MADE HERE WILL BE DELETED IMMEDIATELY AND THE POSTER WILL BE BANNED FOR ONE DAY

(Showing Page 30 of 31)

► Judge (Moderator)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Pantheon has done nothing but protect and aid people and has proven essential to preserving our rights and freedoms, including developing a extremely effective anti-master drug. The claim that they are intending to take over and "put the people with real power in charge" is extremely offensive and completely unfounded. Enjoy your ban.
► Zero Sum
Replied on October 16, 2011:
You clearly haven't seen Pantheon in action. If they wanted control of BB, or the New England for that matter, they would have it.
► Judge (Moderator)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Not helping
► Stone Face
Replied on October 16, 2011:
This is all very interesting but can we get back to the topic at hand? All evidence that Pantheon has access to an alternate universe is both flimsy and circumstantial. While I'm not putting anything past them I'd like to see some hard evidence before I assume they have a spare world.
► Acolyte (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Just like a shill, to deny the evidence that is right in front of you. Pantheon is more powerful then they let on and the government is trying to cover it up so you don't realize that there's a better option then letting them grind you into the dirt.
► Acolyte (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Just like a shill, to deny the evidence that is right in front of you. Pantheon is more powerful then they let on and the government is trying to cover it up so you don't realize that there's a better option then letting them grind you into the dirt.
*User as recieved an infraction for this post*
► Judge (Moderator)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they're a shill
► Chrome
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Yes, because a bunch of teenagers who think they're gods are a way better option then our rightfully elected leaders.
► Acolyte (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
If you think we actually have a say in who gets elected then you're dumber then I thought.
► Chrome
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Says the guy whose too dumb to avoid double posting. If we're not choosing who gets elected, who is? The lizard people? Giant alien space whales? Democracy is a tried and tested method that protects us from one that one person with power who wants to screw us over. History has shown us that every time power is handed to one person they go mad with it. And that's without Big Sister seeing your every move through her creepy bugs. Pantheon has too much power as is and sooner or later they're going to decide that they need more for the "greater good". They need to be restrained now, before it's too late.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 28, 29, 30, 31
(Showing Page 31 of 31)

► Newter (Verified Cape)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Man I wish I was the secret power behind the government, that would be awesome
► Stone Face
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Man where the hell did Judge go? This is getting bad, fast.
► Acolyte (Original Poster) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Maybe Pantheon should seize power, they've certainly shown that they have the ability to get things done. I bet that if they took over we'd be looking at cleaner cities, less crime and a fuckload of dead Endbringers. They're certainly more suited for the task then anyone you voted for
► Chrome
Replied on October 16, 2011:
And what are you going to do when they decide that regualr humans aren't good enough for their new and better future? Just shug and submit to modification? Pantheon has shown time and time again that the're willing to pervert nature to complete their goals. Right now they're sticking to big emergencies but what happens when they kill the last S-Class threat? They'll look for other ways to imporve things and decide that humans would be better if they were a little less human. They've already started experiments with Acesco. And what about behaviour modification? Do you think Blasto and Accord just gave up crime because Pantheon asked them to? Why would they imprison criminals when they can "reeducate" them? I guess you think free will's overrated.
► Ekul (Banned)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
*Your post has been deleted, you are not a member of the PRT, you haven't killed 300 C.U.I. agents and the tech guys assure me you can't trace anyone's IP. This is the fifth time you've attempted to derail a thread with this stupid, violent rant of yours despite our warnings and temp bans. You are no longer welcome on this site*
► Acolyte (Original Poster) (Temp-banned) (Cape Groupie) (Pantheon Loyalist)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
The day you get reeducated I'll fucking celebrate
► Chrome (Temp-banned)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
Ha, you'll probably sacrifice yourself to your "gods" before that ever happens
► Judge (Moderator)
Replied on October 16, 2011:
I step away from to computer to have dinner and come back to this. I'm giving you both a month and half to cool down and I'm locking this thread. The only people who know what Pantheon can do is Pantheon and the lot of you seem incapable of speculating civilly. 31 pages of this crap is more than enough.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 29, 30, 31



So this derailed far faster then I expected it would, apparently crazy and discussion just don't mix

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 223- Melanie


"So, how's Pantheon's toy treating you?" I asked Newter as he lounged in one of the private booths. Recently he'd been acting a little unusual, as evidenced by the lack of attractive girls who were often too young to purchase alcohol. He of course never did anything untoward to them, and in fact made them sign wavers before allowing them to recreationally try his drug. I was initially hesitant to allow him to do that at all, but he had proven discreet and it tended to draw in men wealthy enough to pay good money, and girls attractive enough to get wealthy men (or women) to pay good money.


Remarkably enough, it actually reduced the other recreational drugs making their way into my club. Or at least it did, before Pantheon put the kibosh on that market entirely. Every few weeks, some fucker would still bring some date rape drug in here. They were given the option of being taken out back, beaten by a couple of the bouncers, and then given to the police. Or taken out back and left for Khepri to deal with. I almost felt sorry for the bastards who chose option two. Almost.


"Oh, the usual," he answered, lounging back with his wine glass. I knew from experience that it wasn't wine. Likely a clear soda, possibly sparkling water. He always said it was a waste of good booze, since his powers meant he couldn't get intoxicated. "My IQ's gone up a few more points, I'd be in the top five percent of non-parahumans except," he gestured by spreading his arms and then bending his hands inwards. "My reaction speed and hand-eye coordination deserves its own thinker rating, with both hands. And I keep having those dreams about the mildew room."


"It's something, at least," I replied. Not long after Newter started the treatment, he began having the vivid lucid dreams about a room with a mildewy smell, but he couldn't see or hear or touch anything, he was simply in the dark with the smell. We asked Yum Kaax about that, and he said something about smell being the sense most strongly tied to memory. Nothing was certain.


"Everything we were promised and more," he agreed, with his usual cheer.


But not the one thing we were hoping for, I frowned. "Sounds like we should consider having all of us use it," I replied. We had tried it on Elle, but that failed to show results. Patheon's tinker theorized it was because her power caused the problem. The neural regeneration tech could repair any biological and even a lot of psychological disorders, but much like Case 53s regenerating their bodies back to their nonhuman state if someone like Gaea repairs them, the ones that altered the mind wouldn't allow that mind to be altered back. Elle could never be normal unless her power was removed.


"Couldn't hurt," he replied, then took another swallow of his drink. "Anyway, I'm feeling a bit peckish. Can you let the doorman know to expect a couple pizzas in an hour or so?"


"Will do," I agreed as I turned and left. It was an obvious dismissal, and I tried to respect my employees' wishes when it didn't interfere with the job. Newter wished to be left alone to gorge himself on junk food. We all had our ways of coping.


....


Elle was staring at the wall, slowly running her hand across it. As she did so, the Yggdrasil's dark teal coloration would shift, changing color and texture at random. Over the course of hours, it would fade back to its original color. Pantheon had given us a special house for her, and any of us, to stay in. Being alive, the Yggdrasil was resistant to alteration Elle's power. Not completely, for reasons no one quite understood, but it was enough that the girl could safely stay in this home without any risk to herself, us, or the property. Any damage caused by her power's 'friction' against unchanged Yggdrasil would regrow quickly.


Emily was attempting to feed the girl while she played. Mashed potatoes and peas. Something she could eat safely if she forgot to chew, which could happen on a bad day. Pantheon talked about permanent power removal, I reminded myself. Elle might be able to be restored to normal, at the cost of her powers. I pushed that thought back. We needed her, no one else could provide the dimensional gates. And those gates, the safe havens they represented, were what was going to give humanity a real hope for the future.


I didn't believe Pantheon could end the Endbringers. They got the Simurgh, somehow. Maybe they could even kill Leviathan and Behemoth, but Barghest was custom designed to beat Pantheon, that was obvious to everyone that was actually paying attention. All the replacements would be as well. The only real solution was to get off of Bet. Find worlds where there might be some hope in the future. If an Endbringer crosses into another dimension, seal it off and leave them trapped inside. It was a cruel sort of math. Sacrificing a world, maybe a million people, so that the rest of us could have a future. But it was our only real hope.


"Good morning, Elle," I said as tenderly as I could. She didn't respond at all, hadn't seemed to hear me at all. I hadn't expected that she would. I'm sorry, Elle, you have to be one of the sacrifices. As she absently swallowed her food, I examined her art. Crudely drawn, but angry seeming stick figures and faces. Some held objects that may have been sticks, or perhaps guns. Bars, cages and chains were strewn about. Strangely, those were done in disturbing detail, each link painstakingly drawn. Another aspect of the damage her power had done to her.


"So, Tattletale just called," I informed Emily. I don't care what she calls herself, she'll always be Tattletale to me. "Our negotiations are locked in and agreed upon. "There's still stupid arguments over where to establish portals, and the order of priority, and other shit that the talking heads won't finish until Christmas or the next Endbringer fight, whichever happens first. And then suddenly everything will be solved in a couple days and they'll all announce success and then go give each other congratulatory handj-" I remembered the little girl in the room. "shakes in the back room."


"I still don't know how you managed to negotiate pay of two million dollars a portal during an international mandate that the Sanctuary Initiative was a humanitarian aid project and to remain completely nonprofit," Emily smirked. "Seriously, are you sure you don't have a Master or Thinker power?"


"Simple," I answered. "I didn't negotiate for the portals. I negotiated for security."


"Security?" She asked. "Oooh, I think I get it. There's all kinds of dangerous people out there who might want to capture or kill the portal makers. You'll need to provide bodyguards and parahuman protection over us during the trip and the stay in hotels. You could probably make that a lot more expensive than a couple million a pop."


"Right on the money," I confirmed. "Plus or minus a few other details. I let them talk me down from three, just so they could feel like they won something. It's not like they won't profit from this. New land, new people, new taxes. It's only fair we get our part of the pie." And to ensure that Elle gets the best care for the rest of her life, we owe her so much more than that.


"Unlike Pantheon, we're not getting a shiny new planet of our own."


"Wait," she blinked. "They're asking for a planet!?" she stressed the last word hard enough that it even got Elle to glance over at her, though only for a second before she returned to her art.


"I bet it'll end up being more than one," I shrugged. "Remember how they were talking about Gaea's dead playground world when we did that first portal?"


"Yeah," her eyes widened. "That place was a wasteland. Like. A billion nuclear bombs level wasteland. They fixed it?"


"Yup," I answered. "Safe for humans. Or will be in a month or two. They're arguing that it's not private exploitation of a Sanctuary world, because their Avalon. That's what they named it, by the way. Could never have supported life without them."


"Think it'll work?" she asked.


"Oh, absolutely," I agreed. "They need it too much to say no. Besides, the experimental tunnel showed there are hundreds of habitable worlds without any humans. Selling something that was never theirs and they couldn't use anyway? Easiest price in the world to pay. It's the next two parts that are going to make them drag their feet, and that won't take much longer."


"Please dish," Emily leaned toward me, while Elle continued to work her art.


"First," I started. "Think about it. They've got one dead world. There are easily dozens of others in similar states. They can keep claiming those without making many waves. Maybe they'll make a token gesture and give away half their salvaged planets. By the time we run out of acceptable options, Pantheon will have five times as many worlds as their next two competitors combined."


"Shit," she agreed.


"Second," I finished. "They're not negotiating over the planet. That's a given. What they want is recognition from the international community that they are a country. In short, Pantheon's members are one rubber stamp away from being one of the most powerful nations on earth. Seems fair to me that we walk away from this with about thirty mil each, give or take."


"You're not getting paid enough," she informed me.


"I know."

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 224- Melanie


"I'm not getting paid nearly enough," I muttered. Atropos had finally arrived, in full costume, with a travel pack that was pretty much an oversized six legged suitcase. Literal legs, it trotted near her like an obedient dog. Along with her were three others. Eki and Victoria, I recognized. The young man that could have been Latino or Mediterranean in ancestry, I had never seen before. All were, of course, also in their armors.


"I dunno," the tall blond in front of me smirked. "I'd say you're making bank right now. Two mil a portal? All five of you? That's two hundred grand per job, and each job can be done in a few hours for basically no risk. No one ever paid me that kind of money. One guy did try to hire me for a job that paid almost as good a while ago. I inquired as to what company made such a generous offer, but for some reason he had come down with a sudden case of knocked the fuck out. Later we had a conversation but we got too busy talking about my family life. Like how my mother was just made a senior partner at her lawfirm, and how I planned to celebrate my seventeenth birthday. We forgot all about his job offer in the excitement."


"You're making all of that up," the remarkably good looking young man insisted. Now that he was closer, I noted his armor was one of the rather bland and generic battle armors that Pantheon mass produces for the Protectorate. He probably doesn't have an abusable power type, I decided.


"Nope, all true," Victoria smiled cheerfully. "I may have embellished a little bit at the end. The conversation was pretty one sided, seeing as his jaw was wired shut. Other than that, all true. But I digress. We were talking about Faultline's career, not mine." Is this girl taking notes from Tattletale? Or she could even be Tattletale. I knew who she was suppose to be, but a little bit of Blasto's cloning and some body shaping with their bullshit powers... couldn't rule out anything.


"Miss Dallon?" I asked, trying to get her attention focused, though I knew she was doing this on purpose.


"Wow," Vicky replied. "So you do remember me!"


"It's hard not to," I answered as noncommittally as possible. "Victoria Dallon, recently brought back from the dead with a brand new powerset. One that makes your old one look boring by comparison."


"How is making villains drop to their knees and weep in front of me a boring power?" she retorted. "Sure, maybe I got better powers now, but you can't call my old set the least bit boring. Maybe it's just because you were too smart to start trouble in the same city as me?"


Tattletale clone, I would bet money on it. "Or Armsmaster," I replied.


"Oh god!" she exclaimed. "Best gossip ever!"


"What?" Atropos asked with the kind of familiar confidence that led me to believe they'd done something similar before. The man, who I still hadn't put a name to, was less assured. A new recruit, I decided. Wonder what kind of top tier power this one has. I didn't put too much concern into it. Power follows power, after all, and Pantheon had absurd amounts of power. Besides, I was more concerned with Tattle-two-point-oh.


Victoria's grin widened into something just a little less malicious, but not less infuriating, than the real Tattletale's. "Turns out, Faultline here had a crush on Armsmaster." God damn it.


"Really?" Atropos laughed.


"Can we just get to the point?" I insisted, trying very hard to sound more bored and less annoyed. "There's no point in talking about the dead."


"Oh, right, knew we forgot something," Victoria responded. "Well, the bosses agreed that your point about needing security was a good one. So we're here to provide security for our half of this equation."


What? "What?" I asked. "Your half is an Endslayer. What does she need protected from?"


"That's what I said," the blond sighed. "But they were pretty insistent that we go along. I tried to argue with them, but they wouldn't listen. My sister and her fiancee are like the most overprotective parents ever."


"Hey, I got the cameras," Eki replied as she held up a bag. "Do you think eight extra memory sticks will be enough?"


I looked at her, and back toward Victoria. "Cameras?"


"We gotta make sure we document any incidents, right?"


"So how many boring places do we have to go through before Milan?" Eki asked.


I raised an eyebrow. "Hey, if I have to go anyway, I might as well try to make the best out of a bad situation," Victoria added. "Plus since we have an Italian speaker on the team anyway..."


"I'm looking forward to England, myself," the young man added.


"Just because you think British accents are hot," Eki teased, jabbing him lightly with her elbow. He blushed slightly. Well, he won't have any trouble finding girls who'll appreciate the attention, I added internally.


"Just remember that if my sister has to cure anyone's herpes, she will tell me, and I will tell everyone else," Victoria practically sang.


"You spend way too much time around Zach," Eki said dryly.


"Not my fault the only good shooter game involving the CUI pretty much requires co-op mode," she replied. "Would you rather I have the shitty AI soldiers run the chain gun mounted on the back of the Puma? Sure as hell ain't gonna play with those creepy fucks online. I swear to god, if another nasally pimple infested thirteen year old asks me to send pictures of my tits, I will use my power to find a way to kill the internet forever."


This is hell, I decided. This is Tattletale's revenge for outsmarting her and making money off of this in spite of all her efforts to make that impossible. Well played, bitch. Well fucking played. "Are you going to introduce me to the new guy?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.


"Oh, right, where are my manners?" Victoria smiled. "This is Janus. He'll be our chauffeur for this event."


"Good to meet you, ma'am," he smiled and extended his hand. I accepted it, expecting a handshake. Instead he lifted it up and gave my fingers a light kiss. Really laying on the charm there, huh kid? I smiled back. He's a little too effeminate for my tastes, but if I'm not careful I'll need a crowbar to pry Emily off.


"Charmed," I answered. "So, I know the powers the others bring to the table. What are you capable of?"


"Long range teleportation," he answered. "I can teleport things to myself, or I can choose a location anywhere on the planet and send them there instead. Pantheon bought an abandoned oil platform a couple miles off into the ocean that I can put trouble makers, and a hospital to send civilians if we need to."


"That is quite an ability," I responded. Screw the crowbar, I'm going to give Emily some champagne and my finest tips for dealing with men. "So, how much are they paying you? I could use an extra hand around here." I of course expected to be turned down, but it opened the dialogue for the future.


Atropos laughed. "I remember when you were trying to recruit me."


"And if you had accepted, we could charge a hundred times as much for these gateways and no one would bat an eye before paying up," I pointed out. "We could have all been billionaires in a couple years."


"True," she agreed. "But instead, I get to be an Endslayer. One of the most talked about badasses on the planet. And now a member of the Japanese Imperial family. You should have seen the look on my parents faces when they found out about that."


"And laid," Victoria added. "You get that a lot, too."


One of the wings from Atropos' costume snapped out. Victoria was knocked back several feet. Remarkably, she back flipped a couple times and landed feet first on the wall, then dropped to the ground, standing.


"You let her hit you!?" Eki declared in shock.


"If I didn't, she'd have plotted something even worse. Probably got her girlfriend to help, and that's a fight I would lose so hard," Victoria replied. "Anti precog battle armor is such bullshit."


Janus had the good sense to look embarrassed by the display. "Sorry, ma'am," he shrugged sheepishly. "I do appreciate the offer, but I'm not the sort that's really concerned with money. If I was, I'd have just continued living the good life as the child of a supervillain mob boss."


"Well, I had to try," I responded. Okay, Emily, ball is entirely in your court now.


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

A/N- I had fun with this chapter. I also nearly missed a continuity error with jokes involving Dragon by forgetting that Armsmaster is thought to be dead.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 225- Riley


It's cold here. That wasn't exactly a surprise, of course, it was the middle of winter. But on Avalon, the temperatures tended to be pretty even thanks to the Yggdrasil's regulation of the weather. Or maybe it's because I'm accustomed to the weather near the coast, which is still warmer than this far inland.


"Are you going to be okay?" Amelia asked. No, I reminded myself. This is a mission, she's Gaea here. I smiled as she placed a hand gently on my shoulder. She's concerned about my wellbeing.


"Dinah gives me almost ten percent better odds than anyone else," I answered, looking up at her. "Besides, it's Clarice, not me. I'm perfectly safe."


"I know," she answered, her breath visible in the chill air. "But this is still Nilbog."


She's scared of him, I realized. What he is, what he represents, what he's done. A dark mirror to her own power, what she could have become. What she would have become, if Jack had gotten ahold of her. "I know," I answered with confidence, though it didn't seem to make her feel better. "You don't have to worry, there's nothing he can do that compares to me. He's a fairy tale. I'm a goddess."


She didn't seem comforted by that, either. If anything, it seemed to upset her more. I suck at making people feel better.


"Everything's ready on this end," Khepri responded. "Relay bugs are through, I'm expanding out to cover the city. It's strange, though. Even for this time of year, there should be more bugs. There's barely even any worms in the soil. I don't have the ability to search for anything."


"There's still time to cancel the mission," Defiant asked us. He had been the one most vocally opposed to this plan from the beginning. He was also the one that Dragon trusted to monitor this mission up close.


"No," Minerva answered immediately. "Our odds plummet if we wait much longer. Whatever inconveniences we face now, keep in mind we have an over ninety eight on this. Besides, we need this victory now, after the destruction of Behemoth got claimed by the CUI."


"Hardly seems we can consider Behemoth and Nilbog to be equivalent," Defiant countered. He doesn't like Minerva. That's a point in his favor. Then again, that was a point in almost everyone's favor.


"Not even close," she agreed. "But better than nothing by far."


The pair of them and Yum Kaax were managing our command center for this mission. Our other tinkers all had their own projects. Tir was working on large scale shunt devices for Japan alongside Hecate. Dragon would listen in, but she was putting most of her efforts on our world into establishing an industry base and moving the core of her operations to our world. Who knew populating our own nation-world would take so much work?


Their advice wouldn't make the difference in this mission, anyway. I'm the key component, I'm the one whose actions determine success or failure.


We had positioned at the epicenter of the city, the heart of it. Finding the Goblin King would be Taylor's job, but it was likely near us, or in the most impressive looking building left standing.


"The scan's complete," Yum Kaax informed us. "We're bringing up the dimensional viewer system."


There was a shimmer as the sky changed and our otherwise barren landscape was replaced by buildings. Most suffered from general lack of repair, but were mostly intact. Snow coated the ground in thick drifts. Old snow, from the looks of it, but still pristine. Throughout the city there was no sign that the smallest bit had been touched by life since it had fallen.


Big Sis saw it, too. "Everything's dead," she muttered.


"Not everything," Minerva answered. "We're getting life signs. Nilbog's monsters. There's not a lot of them, but they're there. Buried under the snow or hibernating in buildings. You'd think they were dead. In fact, a lot of them are dead."


"It's the cold," Yum Kaax replied. "His creations, they've stripped this city of resources. Probably running on solar energy just to keep themselves alive. But Nilbog isn't like Amelia. He can't just magic up biosystems and remodel them at will. He imagines and he creates, but that's it, there's no understanding of how or what he's creating. More like Genesis than anyone on our team. They may be stronger than anything Amelia or I can build conventionally, but they're starved for raw material. Proteins. Some of the complex saccharides, perhaps. And he doesn't know how to grow something that can make more."


"Wasteful," Defiant muttered. "He could have grown gardens. Potatoes and soybeans would cover most needs."


Yum Kaax simply shrugged. "I never said that he was smart. Clever, maybe, but definitely not smart. Then again, by the time he ever realized he needed seeds and other supplies, they were probably eaten by something."


"He'll wait until spring and have the living bring him the dead," Minerva added. "Then he'll consume what he has to and replace what he can. That's why Dinah said it had to be now, during this cold snap. It's the time when he's weakest, when he's most aware of the inevitable point when he no longer has the resources to keep his creations alive."


"If we were going for an assassination," Defiant volunteered, "Now would be the time. Or we can simply allow him to die of starvation."


"Dinah says that results in the death of millions of people," Minerva responded. "No matter what plan I suggest, or what counters we propose, it always results in millions of deaths. And, yes, I verified that it's human people, not Nilbog monster people. Yes, that applies to just leaving him alone. Eventually he'll get desperate enough to break out of containment."


"I believe I've found him," Khepri answered. "It's the one building with heat, and it's about a block from here. Aceso, time for you to shine."


"On it," I responded, taking a seat. Clarice and Bella, or stripped down models of them both, started to move. A couple buttons pressed, Bella stretched her beautiful wings, and they both shunted over into the heart of Nilbog's realm. My sensors started relaying data immediately


It was far colder here than on Avalon. Temperatures well below freezing, although nothing that could threaten our constructs. Calmly, I approached Nilbog's throne through Clarice. The building was obviously once the town hall, but was now covered in wild growths of plants and vines that had either died or went dormant. Flags and other colorful cloth draped the area like something from a medieval reenactment, but had long ago started to tear and fade. Now they were mere rags.


Two monsters barred the door. Both were large, feline in nature. Their heads were distinctly humanoid, however, and they had almost comically large breasts with much of their torsos keeping to a mostly human form. Their eyes were enormous in proportion to their faces, and they had minuscule mouths in comparison. This is the work of a man who forgot what humans looked like, I realized. Something intended to be beautiful, but instead only fit to disgust and disturb. This is why I'm the ideal candidate. I know how he thinks.


"Sphinxes," Minerva informed. An obvious statement, if there was ever one. But I waited for the insight that should come. "Nilbog's put more effort into these than most, and he's keeping them active despite the cold. They're some of his favorites. There were three, but they died recently. These two are what he had the supplies to rebuild. This is why Dinah's numbers spiked recently."


I might be able to use that.


"Who are you," one demanded. Her voice was wrong, irregular, an unnatural combination of high pitch and loud that wouldn't happen in most normal life. It was more like listening to Minnie Mouse with the volume up far too high. And her inflections were stressed, as if from a second rate actress trying to mimic royalty or dramatic speech. Or a child imitating something she watched.


"I wish to speak with Nilbog," I told them. "I am an emissary from the gods."


"Going a bit off script there," Gaea whispered, although there was no need to.


"No, it's perfect," Minerva insisted. "Riley, you're a genius." To my surprise, the insulting comment comparing me to Doctor Frankenstein or something similar didn't follow, a rarity. Probably just doesn't want to be unprofessional during the mission.


The sphinxes moved toward me, but a simple command brought Bella back and took her further off the ground. The gust from her wings disturbed the snow only barely. Neither of Nilbog's guards came out to mar the perfect white. "I will speak with your master, he is worthy," I told them. "You are not."


"Offer him a gift," Khepri responded. "Or, no, call it a blessing. We'll get it ready."


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

A/N- Next chapter is either meeting Nilbog, or me cutting to a different scene entirely. Guess which!

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 226- Riley


I nodded, and Clarice spoke. "I bring a blessing to your lord, but only to his person, and none other. One does not get to snub divinity." Shatterbird would be proud of my display here, I thought. She'd deny it, of course, and find some way to insult it. But she would be impressed nonetheless.


A voice called out from inside, which Clarice easily picked up on. It was excessively jovial, overdramatic and strange. But unlike my behavior as Bonesaw, this man was not faking it in any way. This is how he wants to act and believes he should act. "Spectacular! I've never met a goddess before! Come in, come in!"


I allowed Bella to descend, and she walked into the building, her wings folded to her sides. Or she pretended to walk. It had taken weeks of work to achieve it, but this was actually a flight subroutine. Bella would mimic walking or running, but her feet would never touch the ground. One of my favorite bits of showmanship. The features were also programmed into the other steeds I had built, of course, but it was designed for Bella.


Nilbog was sitting upon a throne that looked to be cobbled together from modifying a love seat. He was massive, easily four or five hundred pounds, and most of it was fat. His skin coated in a thin greaselike substance that was blotted with the ashes of fires and dirt. "You spoke of a blessing?" he asked with the eagerness of a five year old. It would take all of minutes for a man like Jack to twist this pathetic sap to his will.


"Yes, I did," I answered, still astride Bella. "I am Aceso, I come here to your kingdom on behalf of Gaea, bringing a message from all the gods. An invitation."


"What if I do not believe you are a god, child?" he asked, still smiling. This was a game I knew, feigning haughtiness in the face of a possibly superior foe. Jack might not have written that book, but he certainly added a few chapters.


"Nothing will happen," I answered.


"So you are afraid of me?" he laughed, his multiple chins shaking. Drops of oil splattered down his body. Most people would find him repulsive, I knew. I certainly didn't find him attractive, but I was familiar with worse horrors than he had to offer. I created many of them.


"Not in the least," I answered. "I will simply take my leave of you. Your punishment will be nothing at all. Gods are secure in their power, and unbelievers suffer simply for being unbelievers."


"No!" he insisted. "Gods are mighty and should demonstrate their might. Teach the unbelievers to suffer for the crime of refusing to obey and bow to them. Only weak gods would allow themselves to be ignored. You are no god."


"He's projecting," Minerva informed us. "He was a loner and a loser before getting his powers. He knows what he did to Ellisburg was wrong, but he has convinced himself that they were at fault for treating him wrong. He still feels guilt, though he will of course deny that, even to himself."


"I can prove otherwise," I answered. "Gods have great knowledge. For example, I know that this body you present here is not the real you. That is fine, you may talk to me through your intermediary. More importantly, I know that your kingdom is slowly dying."


He frowned, his mood darkening.


On the other side, I was listening and watching as Gaea and Khepri discussed and worked with Defiant. They're nearly finished. "Add a second shunt device," I instructed them as they worked.


"That's going to slow us down a little," Defiant replied.


"Trust me, I have a plan," I told them. They, thankfully, didn't argue


"Gods have great power, able to perform incredible miracles," I continued, buying the bit of time needed.


"What miracles can you perform, then?" he smirked. "I have slaughtered and claimed my own kingdom. I have populated it with subjects loyal to my will and ready to service my every desire. What miracles have you performed?"


I have created diseases that would scour life from this planet. "I have restored the dead to life," I answered slowly and dramatically, exploiting Clarice's painstakingly perfected voice. "I craft weapons powerful enough to slay other gods. I have seen those weapons turned upon the Endbringers, and then birthed armies from their dead flesh. I offered those armies to my Sister's consort as a tribute." Would he even remember the Endbringers, trapped behind this wall for as long as he has been? "I am the gatekeeper of life and death even for the immortals."


"We're ready," Gaea informed me. She sounded more than a little upset right now, and much of it was probably caused by my speech. Sorry, Big Sister, this mission is more important than your discomfort. I could observe the unnatural calming influence from Taylia at work, making my words more palatable. Khepri agrees that, since this is working, it's the right thing to do.


"Still, it is not my miracles that should concern you here, today," I finished. "I will agree that gods are not always known for benevolence, but we shall show you such blessings today. Behold."


On the side, I gave the command. "Now."


There was a crackle as the large amount of air was displaced and the mass shunted through. A living blob of psuedo-flesh, thousands of pounds of it, appeared. It was more like a large slab of raw roast beef with a pulse than anything else, and it smelled much the same. The outer layer, at least, was Yggdrasil tuned to work with the shunt drives, although the inner matter had been transmuted into something very much animal flesh.


"What is that?" the bloated man-child asked, as dozens of his hidden minions started crawling out of the woodworks. Literally in more than a few cases. They came in many shapes and sizes, most childlike in their natures, three to four feet tall, hybrids of human and animal features. Few were functional lifeforms, clumsy and misshapen and only alive due to his power breaking many of the laws of biology. It seemed that Nilbog was more interested in creating creatures that looked like cartoons than he was in making life that could function as a viable being. They're toys, I realized quickly. No more indicative of his real capabilities than Fluffy was of mine. And created for the same reasons, an escape from loneliness.


"It is the blessing we have brought to you and your kingdom," I answered. "Nourishment and strength for your subjects, enough to restore those you've lost."


His minions rushed toward it, ready to devour it in their hunger and need. "Again," I instructed my friends. The slap of flesh vanished before the goblins reached the target. The ones nearby desperately lapped at the fluids left on the floor where it had sat.


"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, bellowing his rage as the minions turned toward me. They can kill this Clarice, I decided. Perhaps they could even destroy the newest model. Certainly this old one is doomed.


Clarice, of course, showed no fear or concern. She could have, if I wanted her to. She could be very convincing, but now a lack of fear was ideal. "I believe we spoke earlier of what the punishment for denying gods should be. You claimed wrath and murder. I claimed that the greatest punishment was nothing. This is what I meant. You reject us, and we do nothing. We keep our blessings from you, and you are the one to suffer, while the true gods remain untouched and untroubled."


The monsters kept advancing.


"Attempt to harm me, and we can revoke the blessing permanently," I threatened. "Or acknowledge our godhood and accept our blessings, knowing that we are your betters. You are a king, are you not? Your duty is to your subjects first. Surely, the price we ask is nothing to the reward that comes from it?" Fuck you, Jack, I thought angrily in my head. Everything you used on me and others, all the tricks to manipulate the vulnerable and the unhinged. They are lessons I will never forget. Fuck you.


The corpulent Nilbog avatar growled at me, causing his whole body to ripple. The goblins around him, however, stopped their approach, following cues that Clarice's sensors and my own deduction concluded was based upon smell, although I lacked enough data to understand those messages. "Very well," he finally spoke, feigning boredom. "You have proven you are indeed worthy of your claim to godhood."


Clarice nodded, and I didn't even have a chance to speak before the slab of flesh appeared where it had been before. My team had clued in on the plan. It landed on several of the goblins, who made a series of unhappy noises that quickly turned to ravenous joy as they started feasting upon the meat from their trapped positions. A couple of the minions cut a comparatively small, but still several pound, chunk out of the thing and brought it before Nilbog.


His eating habits are even messier than the Siberian's, I decided. Much of the material falling in bloody splatters across his body. Smaller, froglike creatures then crawled over him, lapping away the spilled mess. Nilbog moaned at the sensations of the cleaning.


I heard Lisa retch in disgust. Highlight of my day, I decided. Clarice and I simply waited patiently until the gorging had finished.


"Now that you have accepted our blessings, hear our vision for the future of your kingdom."


Nilbog, still moaning lightly as the creatures scuttered across his body cleaning him, smiled at me. "I'm listening."


"You are hated by those outside this wall," I started.


"And I care?" he asked.


"I expect you do not," I admitted. "But would it not be better to have neighbors beyond your kingdom? To hear tales of other lands? To have a kingdom more suited to your desires? My sister can provide all those things. A kingdom where the land itself serves your desires just as your subjects do."


"You can do that?"


"With ease," I answered. "Behold."


I activated our dimensional viewing system, granting the Goblin King sight of our world. We were geosynchronous with a great dome lit in blues and greens. The walls were full of alcoves, some bright and some dark, promising an infinite variety of tunnels for the goblins to roam and explore. From my real body's perspective, I could see the inspiration that Gaea had used, the heart and circulatory system. It was incomplete, of course, but it was still massive and could be expanded upon almost infinitely.


Nilbog reached out to touch a wall, and his hand passed through the illusion. He looked at me in awe and suspicion. "What is this?" he asked.


"A vision of the future," I offered. "We can grant you that kingdom. You will be able to abandon this forsaken and dying kingdom in exchange for a territory whose beauty and bounty defies imagination. In exchange for swearing your loyalty and fealty to the God-Empresses of Avalon."


He kept trying to touch the walls of the faux ventricle that would be part of his new home.


"Yes, yes, this is truly a miracle worthy of godhood," he remarked appreciatively. The basis was Minerva's idea, using an animal body as inspiration. Passengers influence their hosts subconsciously, and in the case of someone like Nilbog with absolutely no other influences to muddy the waters, he would be as strongly motivated by the Passenger's desires as anyone could be. In this case, that influence took the form of alien worlds and biosystems. He'd be compelled to love this creation the same way an infant is compelled to love their mother's attention.


"Then your oath of fealty?" I insisted.


"You have it," he agreed eagerly, his fat rippling like a slow motion view of a water balloon right before it burst from his excited bouncing.


"Good," I replied. "Now, let us discuss your first tasks as a vassal of the gods."


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

A/N- Clarice takes all her school's drama and literature classes.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 227


"You're certain about this?" Chief Director Costa-Brown asked. We, of course, knew her as Alexandria, but we hadn't even considered revealing that secret. In truth, she had done more good for us in her civilian guise as I could ever imagine her doing as a hero. Still, something of a comfort to have, an ally for this teleconference. The problem is, she was also terrifyingly difficult to keep secrets from, with her thinker powers. She'll probably figure out we've already removed Nilbog during this meeting.


"Yes," Taylor responded from her position beside me. "Dinah Alcott's predictions have always served well for us in the past. She gives the SM7M a guaranteed victory, and our new containment method developed between us and the guild, means we won't see the deaths that her prior calculations produced."


"You still haven't identified the cause?" Costa-Brown asked.


"I'm afraid not," I admitted. "We've put a great deal of effort into planning for every possible outcome, and somewhere along the way we finally found something that works. We won't know why until we see it in action." We won't find out, because we'll never see it in action, I thought. Our solution was to him our world's equivalent to Madagascar. It was large enough for him to imagine himself a great and powerful ruler over a vast kingdom which he would populate with monsters that, in some ways, were as dangerous as our own. And it isolated enough to keep any incidents from occurring.


"Pardon the interruption," one of the other fifteen Directors spoke. He looked more like a scientist than a military type, and the name below read Armstrong. "I have read the reports on the M7Ms, but I don't recall anything about an SM7M, would you please elaborate?"


I glanced over at Taylor. AffirmationDeflection. Her eyes glanced over at the only Director actually in the room with us. Calvert, or Coil, or our puppet, depending on how generous you were feeling when you identified him. "Of course," I spoke. "It would probably be best for Director Calvert to handle the details. He knows more about the remote operatives than Khepri and I."


He nodded. "Very well," he agreed. "As you are already familiar with the M7, I can make this brief. The full name is the Simurgh enhanced Model Seven Military. Its existence is so classified that if you must refer to it, the 'S' stands for 'Specialized'."


"Simurgh model?" one of the others asked incredulously. His name read 'Tagg'.


"Correct," I answered. "In many ways, it's not as good as the normal M7s. It's easily the most durable design, capable of regeneration much as the Endbringers themselves are, and at least partially power resistant. Nothing short of a six on your rankings should even be able to scratch them. The problem is, they don't work with a lot of tech we put into the other models. No stealth, no high energy cost systems. They're good at exactly what they're good at, and nothing else." Unless they're the Clarice model, which actually uses the Endbringer tissue as a power supply, in which case they're better at everything than any prior model.


"You've weaponized Endbringers!?" he exclaimed. "What else have you built? Are your anti-Endbringer constructs made of this material?"


"Of course," Taylor answered. "Well, some of them at least. Others are still conventional. As a nation, we understand the need for a versatile military force."


"So the rumors are true," another man spoke up. His panel identified him as Director Vance. "The UN acknowledged your request."


"Three days shy of a month ago," Taylor replied. "We are recognized as the rulers of the interim government presiding over Earth Avalon. The exact details of our future, more permanent government is still in flux, which if anything renders our need for a strong military even greater for relatively vulnerable position on the world stage. While I don't doubt that our functionally sole neighbor, the United States, would aid us in a crisis, we'd prefer to have the capacity to respond to troubles ourselves."


"You are aware this calls into question the legality of Pantheon taking any action within the United States, correct?" Costa-Brown asked.


"We are," Taylor replied. "However, that only applies to myself, Gaea, and Minerva. All other Pantheon members as of this moment still retain their United States citizenship exclusively. They are members of our team, but not citizens of Avalon. Much the same way that the Guild and the Protectorate operate, with members from a number of countries. Still, yes, as of this moment the founding members of Pantheon are unable to act as heroes within the United States without violating international law. It's one of the reasons we're choosing to give the PRT command of this mission. Because, as you might imagine, we could have used our own weapons to assault Ellisburg, instead of giving them to you."


"One of the reasons?" a woman by the name of Newton asked. "That implies there are other motivations. I would like to hear them." A few of the other Directors spoke their agreement. Meanwhile, Costa-Brown simply watched in interest. She wants to see us handle politics on our own, I realized. She has Lisa's measure, now she wants to know how we handle things.


"There's no way to say this nicely," I replied. "But, frankly, you need the victory."


"Pardon?" Tagg asked.


"You still haven't recovered from India," I replied. "Things are holding together, but every public victory has been Pantheon's. It's eroding the public's faith in the PRT and everyone here knows it. Your reputation is badly damaged."


"By your actions," Tagg's voice was calm, but hostile. Ice. AnnoyanceDistaste.


"We weren't the ones that put Piggot in a position of such power, and with so little oversight," Taylor pointed out. "But let's not slip into petty recriminations. We want the PRT to have a public victory in the near future. One that reminds the criminal groups that there are powers out there beside Pantheon that can actually get anything important done."


"Having trouble with the responsibility of dealing with criminal elements on such a scale?" Tagg asked.


"Not hardly," Taylor responded. I tried to push calming emotions into the link, she was getting baited into an argument. She faltered for a second. "It is as the Chief Director pointed out. I am now part of the ruling body of another nation. I have a new set of priorities and responsibilities to consider, the wellbeing of what will soon become my own people. As you are responsible for yours. So, let me ask you this question, all of you. What do you believe happens when Avalon goes public?"


Tagg's eyes narrowed. "It would be easier for you to simply tell us what you think," he responded.


Taylor shrugged. "Very well," she replied. SmugSuccess. "Pantheon as it currently functions is perceived as holding together most of the East Coast in the face of a slow descent into complete anarchy. A perception that's true, incidentally. When we go public as our own nation, we will functionally become a foreign power. At which point, the United States of America, supposedly the most powerful government in the world, will be openly and directly relying upon an outside military to help it maintain order within its own borders. You have to know how bad that will be."


Tagg froze. Everyone did. For a full minute, no one spoke. I could imagine some of their thoughts. In a country as fiercely independent as the USA, that would be perceived of as a glaring weakness. Some would support us, others would demand we leave, others still would find any number of reactions. The only thing universally true is that no one would be able to ignore it, and under no circumstances would it be anything but a nightmare for all of us involved.


"I believe we all see your point," Costa-Brown agreed. "The Endbringer conflicts are, of course, a separate factor. If anything, foreign aid during those is an affirmation of our country's status. The Protectorate has always offered to aid all foreign powers during those, and receiving aid in return would prove the value of that policy. But in any other circumstance, it could prove disastrous."


"It's better for us to fade into the background," I continued the thought. "It will still be our weaponry, but that's little different than any other foreign trade. We'll likely have similar treaties with Canada and many other countries."


"We're more than able and willing to stand as a very powerful foreign nation," Taylor added. "If at some point in the future we're perceived of as even more powerful than America, you won't see me losing any sleep over it. But the critical component is that we need to be seen as a foreign nation. The alliance that Pantheon forged between independent cape groups can remain. Pantheon will take a supporting role, instead of playing the role of the 'conquering heroes'. With exception of the Endbringer battles. During those, there are no politics or countries. There is only the enemy of all mankind, and those heroes who would fight them."


"Very well said," Costa-Brown responded. "I could not agree more. I doubt anyone would object to Pantheon's assistance at future Endbringer conflicts," she paused for a moment, giving all the directors a chance to disagree. None took the opportunity. "However, withdrawing from active involvement in the USA's affairs is clearly the wisest decision, and I appreciate your foresight in this matter."


"Thank you, Chief Director," I responded. It was actually Lisa's foresight, but you already know that.


"It does beg the question," A Director Gutierez spoke up. "Why are you choosing Ellisburg?"


"Honestly, that was Director Calvert's suggestion," Taylor volunteered. "We only needed a scenario that would grant a high profile victory to your PRT, we weren't especially concerned with the specifics." A complete lie, we very much wanted to go after Nilbog, much like we went after the Teeth and Fallen. Plans just got... twisted... a bit, under the circumstances.


"Pantheon came to me for advice on the subject of targets," Calvert nodded. "With the Guild's removal of Heartbreaker, and their elimination of the Teeth, Fallen, and Slaughterhouse Nine. There aren't many truly monstrous and and well known villains remaining. At least, not ones who warrant such a dramatic response, or would elicit such positive coverage in the aftermath."


"The Wild Hunt?" a Director Tucker asked. She looked an awful lot like an old, skeletal librarian. She brought up a group that stuck to the desert states, a parahuman biker gang that one that might be called a low profile variant of the Slaughterhouse Nine.


"If we could predict their next attack," Calvert responded. "The remote controlled troops have range limits, and we can't deploy them over that kind of space without spreading our forces too thin to do any real good. Until they resurface, there's very little we can achieve. As Gaea and Khepri pointed out, there is some urgency in finding that high profile success. We know exactly where to find Nilbog, we know our success rate is guaranteed, with the worst possible outcome being the destruction of a few disposable troops."


"The argument is compelling," Costa-Brown agreed. "Certainly we will retain control over the SM7Ms after Ellisburg, to deploy in future high profile missions."


"That is correct," Taylor replied. "They have a very long shelf life. They will not break to simple wear and tear, or even moderate combat punishment due to the Endbringer tissue's regeneration. Chances are, they'll only need to be replaced when rendered obsolete by newer, superior, designs."


"Coupled with your precog's assurances that the Nilbog mission will result in a victory," Costa-Brown responded. "I do believe we can consider this the second test run of the PRT as a primary force against parahuman aggression, instead of as a supporting force for our parahumans. In a way, it seems poetic that it should be Ellisburg which marks this evolution in policy."


"Glad you see it my way," Calvert responded. "I have already outlined a primary strategy based upon my own experiences and intel gathered by Dragon's equipment that I would like to present to you. I'm sending copies now for your review."


"I believe this is where we see ourselves out," Taylor spoke. "We've done our part here, and should attend to our other responsibilities."


"Very well," Costa-Brown nodded. "Thank you for your time. And congratulations on your new status as world leaders."


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

A/N- The real reason they chose Madagascar is as revenge from a certain video game that Riley and Amelia constantly lose at.

Can't believe none of my readers thought about the political ramifications of their going public as a nation while still playing around as a super group.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 228


I moaned happily as Taylor kissed slowly down my back. Mmm, this is nice. I reached back and found her head, running my fingers into her hair and pressing back against her. And then the yelling started.


"Wake up!"


Oh god damn it, why now? I felt a hand shaking me by my shoulder. I opened and glanced at the clock, one of the only pieces of equipment that we had yet to perfect an organic equivalent to. We can make a working microwave out of plants, but somehow clocks elude us. I felt Taylor's mind flicker into awareness. RealizationFrustration. Judging by the undertones, her dream wasn't that different from mine. Maybe there's more activity in the link while we're unconscious than we thought?


"Riley, it's two in the morning," I complained.


"Endbringer!" she informed us before rushing out of the room.


ShockFocusAnger. I agreed completely while stumbling out of bed. Whatever the fuck this Endbringer was, it was extra dead for this.


Our suitup wasn't much different than last time, although our armors were different. The SEB material meant one hell of an upgrade for most of us. Mine was, again, an exception. Other than the SEB under layer and reactor system that gave me all my systems for less space, with a hundred times more durability, I was still in the standard equipment. The Dryad, too, had upgrades. But my suit was meant provide a huge supply of biomass and genetic codes to generate constructs from, not actually fight anything.


The new Zerg, however, were numerous enough and tough enough that I didn't need to fight. With any luck, I wouldn't even need to heal anyone. Our number of zerglings had capped at over ten thousand, last I heard. The most recent couple thousand with various high yield energy weapons. The gargants had been adapted as well. Instead of being meat shields, the new batches were valid combatants, able to properly grapple Endbringers and slow them down for other attacks.


"The attack already started," Emma announced as we shunted over. She was at the command center, along with Riley, Trevor, and Rey.


"No warning?" I asked.


"There won't be one anymore," Lisa informed. "The newest Endbringer is a change in strategy in response to Chongqing. Expect it to be more resilient, probably faster and with more exotic powers than Behemoth. Expect it to have a method to deal with Scion, should he arrive."


ConfusionHope.


"No," Lisa replied. "It won't be able to kill the bastard. It'll probably have a way to run or hide. Maybe several ways. Chances are, that will be part of its weaponry. We'll have to see."


"Dragon's been feeding us intel," Emma responded. "This one's a time manipulator. It has pillars that accelerate time around him. Looks like a bad mockery of a Buddha statue. More evidence for the human designer theory. It's only been active a few minutes so far."


We watched the low quality video feed. At this point, only the Triumvirate had arrived along with a handful of Dragon's new attack drones. There was also a handful of local capes, but they seemed pretty lackluster. This was very much the Triumvirate's fight at the moment. I looked at the label underneath the feed. What's special about Santa Clara, Cuba?


"Don't try to puzzle out the logic behind the target," advised Lisa. "There won't be the same patterns as before. The only thing we can be certain about is the old patterns no longer apply, except the timing."


I just looked at her. Not asking, you'll just have to find someone else to play propwork.


"They're following their timing patterns, still. Behemoth was late, and then replaced by Simurgh. Still counts as late. Barghest would have been more or less on time. Behemoth was early. There's are either seven or nine Endbringers currently active."


"I suppose you'll tell us your reasoning one of these days," Taylor replied. ImpatienceCuriosity.


"Has to be," she answered. "If there are only six, the attacks are coming too quickly. If there are ten, then they'd be coming more rapidly. Only three numbers to pick from. We can throw away eight because it has no cultural significance. We're left with seven, a number strongly linked with superstition, and nine, which is linked to the rule of three which seems to rule much of the Endbringers' behavior patterns. The only way it could be eight is if the Endmakers are aware of our suspicions about them, and are trying to break pattern, which I very much doubt."


Four people appeared nearby. Victoria, Crystal, Lily and Sabah. A moment later, Eric followed. "We're here," he said. "Hey, Minerva, Faultline told us to give you her best regards."


"When you get back to the job, tell her I said 'fuck you, too'," Lisa smiled


"Spitfire would have given you some warm wishes, too," Vicky smirked, then gestured toward Eric. "But she used them all up on the lady killer over here."


Eric looked away, blushing heavily.


Zach laughed. "Just remember to keep the burn ward on speed dial. Also, that was a terrible pun and you should feel bad."


"I do feel bad," she responded. "Almost four weeks touring Europe and I haven't gotten so much as a kiss. A girl might begin to worry that there's something wrong with her."


"I keep telling you that you'd have better luck if you didn't challenge everyone who tried to a fight to the death," Lily argued.


"And I keep telling you that I refuse to settle for anyone who gives up just because I happen to break one of his arms," Vicky huffed theatrically. "Hopefully Denmark's made of sterner stuff. Hey, do we have an upload for... uh... Denmarkian? Denmarkese?"


"Danish," Lisa answered reflexively.


"Sorry, I'm all out," Vicky responded.


"You did that on purpose," Lisa glowered at Vicky.


Zach groaned and shook his head, and that's when she started laughing, followed by most of the others.


"I was paid to do it," Vicky added, holding a finger up while laughing a bit too loudly for it to seem completely natural. "Two grand. Five if she gets a video of it."


"Okay, enough goofing around. We're on Endbringer duty," Taylor interrupted. AnnoyanceDistaste. "Save the jokes for after people are done dying."


Missy shunted over. "Sorry I'm late," she spoke immediately. "I wasn't informed that the fight was already happening."


"Uploading coordinates," Trevor replied immediately, skipping the pleasantries. Space rippled around us.


"I'm going in first," Taylor informed. "The rest of you can catch up, we need to get reinforcements to the defense immediately."


She didn't wait to see if there was any objections. It was fine, I'd be by her side soon enough. I was still waiting for the swarm to finish its transition some minutes later. ConfusionDisbeliefFear.


"It just vanished!" Emma declared. "The new Endbringer's already retreated."


"No it's not," Lisa insisted. "This is too soon, not enough damage done. Even Barghest's psychological warfare methods left more impression than this one has had a chance to inflict. There's more."


"Endbringer identified in southwestern Australia," Emma responded. "It just teleported halfway across the planet." FrustrationAnger.


Fuck. "Missy, open another tunnel to..." I glanced at the map. "Albany, Australia. Our priority is to get the Zerg in to do real damage."


"Understood," Missy agreed. The zerg turned and began to funnel back through the one pathway and into the other, chasing the new Endbringer. ConcernDistrust. I quickly realized Taylor's concerns were justified. Even with this teleportation, there's more to this one's power. He's not destructive enough, what's his special weapon against the world?


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


A/N- Khonsu's back! Do worry, the next EB will be another original.

Poor Amy's dreams continue to be ruined.

And Vicky's contract remains air tight.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 229


FrustrationAnger. I pushed calming emotions into the link, but it was hard to do. I wasn't quite as upset as Taylor, if only because I wasn't out there. I was prep and aftermath. But after three and a half hours of this cat and mouse bullshit, everyone was on edge.


"The Moirai cannon's going to be useless," Lisa sighed. "We'll never time to set it up."


"Just let me get into the fight," Lily insisted. "This one's not adapted against me, is it?"


"Shouldn't be," Lisa admitted. "This one's in response to the Chinese and Scion. But it will be able to kill you. Those time bubbles will age you thousands of years if you're not careful."


"Then I won't get that close," she assured us. "Yeah, the ranged attacks aren't as good, but they can still hurt the fucker. Drive him off so we can work out a better plan for his next appearance. We can't keep doing nothing."


AgreementUrgeDeflection. "Go for it," I instructed. "We've seen how this one works, everyone with speed and power enough to do damage, if you're willing to take the risk, at least give it a shot."


"Zach, stay out of this one," Vicky commanded right after I finished speaking. "You're not immune to aging, and you don't have a backup. You go out there and you're going to die for real."


He hesitated for a moment. "Fuck," he muttered, turning around. He walked over to the specialized suicide bug. "Looks like I'll have to be careful this time."


Vicky, Lily, Crystal and Zack shunted over. They still hit harder than anything we could build with our zerg, and we watched from the other side as they opened fire above a small town somewhere in Germany, adding to the stream of attacks by Legend and a couple of the locals.


"We're deploying the Endslayer weaponry," Crystal's voice came over the communications. "All close range attackers, fall back."


Alexandria and a couple others I didn't recognize bolted up and away from the Endbringer, and Lily opened fire with her new and improved Azrael. This one's attack rate was limited solely by her ability to generate charge for the weaponry. Its mass generation came from absorbing Endbringer tissue and converting it. Unfortunately, her power didn't actually work on Endbringer tissues, and couldn't be combined with Defiant's nanothorn weapons. That would have been too convenient.


The torrent of fire caught the new Endbringer, carving gouges into its side. The black covering came off, revealing a layer of silver, then deeper another layer of black. More bolts, each specifically designed to take as large a chunk out of an opponent as possible, kept making more cuts into the strange interior of the monster.


"Something's wrong," Lily spoke over the com. "I'm not cutting nearly as deep as I should."


"Is it designed to be immune to the power that killed Simurgh?" Alexandria asked over the armbands.


"No, that would be impossible. Her power bypasses defenses. But this one's body is ablative," Lisa responded, also via armband. "Each layer's designed to deflect damage outward instead of allowing deeper penetration. A protective feature to ensure a single attack, no matter how powerful, can't do more than superficial injury. Probably an adaptation to prevent the attack Scion used to kill Behemoth from working."


"That's... I really want a sample of that to work with," Rey replied through our com. He and Rapture had managed to arrive a little while ago, and took their place in the command center. "Uh... what I mean is, it's a completely novel expression of the Endbringer biology. We could learn a great deal about the way they work."


"Well, fuck," Lily muttered. "Guess we do this the old fashioned way. Hit it until it stops moving." She started firing again, as rapidly as she could, but it let itself brush into one of its own time distortions, and the inches of damage vanished in an eyeblink. "Fucking bullshit!"


Meanwhile, streams of energy were coming from Vicky and Crystal's suits, rapidly switching up attack types while using what I was sure was one of their medium damage settings. Must have been Vicky's idea. They were doing their fair share, of course, but the way this one was built meant it didn't really matter.


It disappeared again.


"Fuck!" Vicky swore. "We still got a minute before we can shunt back over."


"I'll take you," Alexandria offered. Our members gathered up. "Sorry, Osiris, the method we use won't let you bring your mount with."


"Okay, I'll catch a ride the other way," he agreed.


"Doormaker," Alexandria spoke. "Paradera, Aruba."


"Remember what I said about the old patterns no longer applying?" Lisa spoke. "Well, here's the new one for this Endbringer. Whenever it's hurt, it will select zones with low population so it has time to regenerate."


"Meaning the more damage we do, the less people it kills," Alexandria added. "Understood."


"One fuckton of damage, coming right up," Lily agreed. They moved ahead without us. Meanwhile, we waited for the zerg to shunt back over and Missy to build a new tunnel. How is it we have three top grade movers on this team, and I feel like it's not enough?


We arrived two minutes later to bear witness to Alexandria holding the Endbringer, her bone chain pulling both is arms behind its back. With it more or less trapped in place, everyone there was hammering the Endbringer with their energy attacks. Our blasters were now going with wide distribution blasts, and Victoria had taken to firing two weapons at once, following one precise beam with the next, always aiming at the point where the left leg met the torso. There was a deep gouge in that area.


Zach shunted over immediately, diving between two pillars and colliding with the Endbringer's chest and disintegrating the area. Fortunately for Alexandria, her new costume was grown from her own genetic material, making it as durable as she was. Except her cape, that was reduced to dust like almost everything else in the vicinity.It didn't do any real damage to the real target, however. Not even two full layers.


Zach move in for a second burst, when the time distortion pillars shifted, one moving over his position. Emma shrieked in horror. FearLossFailure.


Zach reappeared on our side of the barrier, crashing hard into the ground and destroying a good amount of Yggdrasil with the nanothorns. Fortunately, that was almost two miles from our location. Missy bridged the distance so he could reach us in a few moments instead of a minute or so. Emma jumped off the platform and rushed to him. They were far enough away that I couldn't hear what was being said, but given that Emma was both hugging and punching him at the same time, I let them have their privacy.


Meanwhile, Alexandria was knocked away from the Endbringer, and her bone chain snapped as she lost contact. Lily took this as an opening, pouring another stream of destruction down, but the Endbringer vanished again. The bolts rained down on the street below. Despite her power wearing off before the bolts struck the ground, they still hit hard enough to shatter the streets and destroy cars unfortunate enough to get caught in the hail of projectiles.


It had escaped yet again.


"Bloemfontein, South Africa," Dragon informed us after thirty seconds or so. Our group packed up and moved again. I couldn't help but notice that Zach chose not to go back into the fight. I didn't blame him, of course, but it was definitely noticed.


Our move into the heart of South Africa made me wonder why the Endbringer would even bother. The city looked like it had already been through an Endbringer. The locals mobilized amazingly fast, however. By the time we arrived, there was already a dozen capes deployed. The most visible one was a huge, fur covered monster. He, and thanks to a lack of clothing it was easy to identify this one as a he, looked more than a little like a bulked up Lung going for 'werewolf' instead of 'dragon'. He had latched around the Endbringer's neck and shoulders, and was enthusiastically chewing on his face with jaws resembling a cross between a pitbull and an alligator.


Alexandria joined the fight, attempting to carve into the enemy with sickle-like weapon we'd grown for her. She was peeling layers off, but hadn't managed to really get any deeper. At least we were achieving something, however.


The Endbringer finally managed to pull the brute off and fling him toward a time pillar. Alexandria bolted up, catching bestial parahuman and throwing him to safety.


"Deploying the Endslayer weapons again, everyone fall back," Lily instructed. A half second later, she dived into the time field.


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

A/N- No one ever gives Khonsu his fair credit as an Endbringer.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 230


Moments after Lily was absorbed into the bubble, bolts started streaming out. Small sputters at first, but 'first' in this case was a matter of an eyeblink. Then it was like trying to count the raindrops in a hurricane. The new Endbringer's front practically melted under the onslaught, and it moved to retreat from an attack that was coming from within its own defenses. She's winning, I realized with a thrill. She's going to kill the fucker. ExcitementHope.


The bolt wave stopped for a second and we got our look at the inside of the Endbringer. There wasn't a lot to say, it merely kept the same layers going throughout. It let itself drift toward one of its other time fields, and started regenerating. The stream of bolts started again, this time joined by the blasters. The brutes and Alexandria packages stayed back, they'd have to content themselves with watching the display of firepower. The bolt wave halted for yet another while the other ranged attackers kept up the pressure


"She's been in there about seven and a half days," Emma spoke. "That's my guess at least."


"Will she be okay?" Sabah asked.


"The life support systems for our armor is pretty good," Emma answered. "If it absolutely has to, it can keep you alive for years. Hers could last longer, since she doesn't have to waste power on dozens of offensive and defensive subsystems the way most of the rest of us do."


Another bolt wave cut into the Endbringer as they spoke. "It's not going to work," Lisa spoke up while we were watching the screen. "The Endbringer's core is protected by a time effect, much like the columns. In addition to all the other high density Endbringer bullshit we've come to know and despise. It's regenerating faster than Lily can cut into it, with or without the time dilation."


"You're certain?" Chevalier asked. Dragon had tied him in to our coms so he could coordinate, where possible. He was, unfortunately, not able to really participate in this fight, but he did his level best.


"If she could have, she would have by now," Lisa answered. "She's had months of subjective time to succeed. He's had years of subjective time to regenerate."


FuryImpotenceDisgust.


The time bubble popped, and Lily came out. The same moment, the Endbringer turned toward her, sending one of the other columns toward her. We knew from experience that this one was more like a hard wall of time, not unlike what Clockblocker could do, but far more massive. Or at least that was the theory. What we knew for certain is that it reduced any cape that had touched it to little more than a red mist.


Alexandria rushed in and collided hard with the damaged monster, forcing it back.


Lily shunted over, and started to fall. "I had to hit the overrides," Taylor informed us. "She wasn't responding."


Sabah was already rushing toward where Lily had begun to fall, the ribbons of cloth in place to catch her. At least her power's not still active, I thought. That would have been a disaster.


She wrapped Lily in her bandages, immediately rushed her to me. "You have to help her!" Sabah demanded. Thanks to her armor, I couldn't see her face, but I could hear in her voice that she'd been crying.


"Set her down," I instructed. Once she was in contact with the ground, I used the Yggdrasil chain to reach my power into her. Sleep deprivation was the only glaring medical issue I could spot, alongside partial malnutrition and dehydration, but nothing especially troubling with either of those conditions. I mended the sleep issues, and adjusted her metabolism slightly to make recovery for easier, then I gave the push that would allow her to wake up.


"S-Sabah?" she asked, then she flung herself into her girlfriend's arms. "I've missed you so much. I tried. I tried so hard. I couldn't... I'm sorry..." she started weeping uncontrollably, clinging to Sabah's armor.


"Sedate her," Rapture instructed. "She needs to rest."


I chose to trust the psychology tinker to know what she was talking about, and Lily slumped into her girlfriend's arms. "Sorry," I spoke, although I wasn't sure if the apology was meant for Sabah or Rapture or Lily.


....


FrustrationTiredDisgust. "You need sleep," I demanded of Taylor and Missy both, looking around at the condition of our mobile base.


Right now, Emma and Riley were manning our command center. We had thrown out the Clarice pretense after Rapture left. She, like most of the forces that had arrived early in the battle, had given up on contributing and had gone back home to deal with other responsibilities.


Zach and Theo were here as well, and Theo also looked exhausted. And I brought along Crystal and Trevor when I arrived to provide some fresh help. They, at least, had gotten some rest.


In the field, Victoria was fighting alongside a small swarm of the zerg. Legend and Dragon made up the rest of the force that actually mattered in the fight. The Endbringer, now designated Khonsu, was now terrorizing a small town in the Rocky Mountains which didn't even have any local capes. Although I had to admire the local normals, a number of whom opted to start shooting the thing with rifles.


"I can keep going," Taylor insisted. "Just restore me again."


"That's not a substitute for actual rest," I insisted. "Everyone else is fighting him in shifts. Even Dragon and Alexandria are taking time to recover, and their powers mean they don't actually need to sleep."


LoveImpatience. "I can't, not right now," Taylor insisted. "I know you're concerned, but I can keep going." You're repeating yourself, Taylor.


"Me, too," Missy demanded, stifling a yawn. I followed suit, having less than seven hours of rest in the three days we'd been fighting. "She did it for over six months. I'm not giving up so easily."


"She woke up a couple hours ago," I told them.


"Will she be okay?" Taylor asked.


"Rapture's diagnosed a number of anxiety disorder triggers," I informed my partner. "Isolation, the idea that she failed. They'll be taking shifts to care for her. She won't be fit to return to duty for a while." ConcernSympathyAnger.


There was a sharp beep from the command center.


"We're detecting the waveform," Trevor spoke. He meant the signal Khonsu radiated right before his teleportation. Thanks to the intel they got out of Azrael, they'd found a method to track the Endbringer preemptively. "Estimating approximately forty five seconds until he moves. Target location... Riyadh, Saudi Arabia."


Missy sighed, and then took a deep breath. Fuck. I reached over and touched her shoulder, repairing her biology where I could. Modifying brains was still something I did my best to avoid, especially when I was this tired. Removing fatigue was the best I could hope to achieve. She'd be okay for a few more hours. Missy stood taller and the tunnel opened quickly, although certainly not as fast as it would if she were rested.


I wrapped my arms around Taylor as I mended her next. While I worked, a small swarm of the selected Zerg went through the tunnel. Even they were being deployed in shifts, because moving the whole army through in a timely fashion was simply impossible. "Love you," she whispered as alertness returned to her mind and our link. "But you worry too much. I can do this."


"We're working on a solution," I told her. Lisa's been in contact with a few groups that might be able to assist in this."


CuriosityDoubtHope. "Such as?"


"Not sure," I admitted. "Cauldron's leadership, almost certainly. Some of the African and Middle Eastern groups. Protectorate will be there, too. Dragon. Maybe..." I hesitated.


"There's talk about recruiting help from the Birdcage."


ShockConcernSupport. "Do you think he will be there?" I didn't need to ask her who she meant. "Do you want me to come with?"


"No," I squeezed her harder. "Yes. But you're needed here. Lisa and I can handle things. Just... don't be surprised if our link cuts out. There's going to be a lot of people there who want to keep their secrets. We have the quantum tunnel device, but even if it works, don't let them know you're there."


WorrySupportLonely. "I understand," she agreed. "The mission comes first. Stay safe."


"Says the girl who was about to fall over from exhaustion," I muttered.


"Thanks." WarmSafe.


Vicky shunted back over seconds before the Endbringer vanished again. "Vicky," I spoke, leaving no room for debate in my voice. "I need you with me."


"What for?" she asked.


Before the end of the day, you might have to kill my father. "I'll explain on the way," I told her.


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

A/N- PLOT DEVELOPMENTS!!!

Also. I got today's pair of chapters in early to do a thorough reread of a chapter or two in canon. Apply butterflies. And the like.

Because that'll be an interesting one.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 231


We were ready. Myself, Lisa, and Vicky. I took a deep breath and we stepped through the gateway from Avalon to wherever Cauldron was setting this meeting.


"They're not even bothering to hide their reach, anymore," Lisa spoke. "Their Doormaker isn't limited to a particular dimension. Which means he doesn't have a Manton limit or likely the other Taboos that come with it." InterestPossibilities.


"One of the harvested Passengers?" I suggested.


"Undoubtedly," Lisa answered. "They probably have others. No wonder they're so confident. Eidolon may have been their most successful experiment, but they likely have dozens, possibly hundreds, of members who are only slightly lesser." ShockWorryCaution.


"You're saying they're stronger than us," Vicky concluded. "Well, looks like we'll have to be on our best behavior."


The room we stepped into wasn't anything to look at. It was lit from the back, and had only one actual exit. There was a sort of desk that reminded me somewhat of a bank teller or drive through counter. It had a microphone stand as well. Past it was a large, empty space. Completely dark, and past that a ring of other panels of light, with silhouettes of people. The nature of the lighting made it impossible to recognize features, although some were distinctive. Such as Chevalier and his completed sword, which Emma had dubbed Caliburn.


A couple others stood near him, though I didn't recognize who they were. Leaders from the Protectorate, I had to assume. The ones not out there fighting Khonsu. Another panel had the distinct shape of power armor, and the long spear-like weapon that I knew as Defiant's.


"They're not worried about a fight at all, are they?" I whispered.


"I wouldn't be, either," Vicky replied. "Panel to the left, that's Cauldron, I'm sure of it. They're too familiar with the area, and confident they have the upper hand. The woman in front is nothing special, base normal, maybe a thinker of some type. But her bodyguards are scary. I could take one of them, probably, and only because of the battle armor. Both? Maybe with a bit of luck, but I don't think I could do it and protect the two of you. Plus there's a third around here. I'm not even sure what it is, some kind of telekinetic. There's nothing I can do to even inflict harm on it, much less win a fight."


There was no reaction from Taylor, so I knew we didn't have that protection, either.


"Impression of the other groups?" Lisa asked.


"The little girl off to the left? Yeah. She's not a child. Some kind of power to control her age," Vicky added. "She's easily the most deadly person in the room. Most of her people are powerful as well. The one with that freaky shadow thing? Master. She's killable. That shadow? Fuck, it might be a match for the Siberian."


"The last groups should be arriving shortly," the Cauldron representative informed us. "I apologize for the wait."


"That's quite alright," a man in the not-child's group spoke. "Fairy Queen, would you mind if I spent some time speaking with Gaea?"


"Very well, Marquis," the girl spoke, her voice a cacophony, a chorus of dozens of childlike voices working together. For once I was glad for my experiences with Taylor's swarm-voice, it was the only thing allowed me to suppress a shudder at the display. And that, in turn was the only thing that let me hide my apprehension at speaking to my father. "You may speak with the Royal Artisan, if she deigns to humor you on the matter."


I hoped my voice was calmer than it felt, and imitated the Fairy Queen's tone. "Very well," I spoke, granting the implied request for permission. Glaistig Uaine nodded briefly and then stepped back from the counter to allow the man to take her place.


"It... you've done very well for yourself, Amelia," My father spoke to me. "Grown up strong."


"I have," I agreed neutrally.


"I'm glad," he continued. This is the bogeyman that Carol feared I'd turn into? "I'm proud of you. And I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."


I clenched my hands inside my armor. Wrong choice of words. "Let's not start our reunion on a lie, Marquis," I spoke. I wish Taylor was here, this is so much harder without her to help me. "You could have. Easily. It only required you give up being a supervillain. A family, or a life of crime. That was your decision, and no one else's. Please don't insult either of us by pretending otherwise."


I couldn't see his face, thanks to the light. I think, in a way, that made this both easier and harder. It was less personal this way. There was less we could say, too, without airing our dirty laundry to the various witnesses here. As it stood, however, I needed to make it clear to them that I wasn't going to fall prey to daddy issues and compromise myself or Pantheon. Hopefully, this would do that.


"I... yes, you're right," Marquis spoke. "Let us hope there's an opportunity to talk privately in the future."


"I'd like that," I agreed after a little hesitation. Theo has a good relationship with Purity, despite everything, I reminded myself. And I even managed to forgive Carol, even if things are still somewhat less than perfect between us. As much as I wanted to, simply out of years of repressed spite, I couldn't tell Marquis to go fuck himself. Especially not now, given the circumstances of this meeting. We needed all the allies we could get.


The last couple groups arrived. A set of three people in power armor with a cross motif. Part of Haven? And Faultline's, who I recognized only by Gregor the Snail's distinctive profile.


"Now for introductions. I'm Doctor Mother, founder of Cauldron." the woman spoke. "You should know we extended the invite to others. Miss Alcott declined to join us, content to let Panthon represent her interests. Adalid cited a desire to stay in case Khonsu arrived in his city. We reached out to the Yangban as well, but they predictably declined. In a way, that is a boon. We have no use for those who aren't committed to the wellbeing of the world as a whole."


"That's a laugh," a female voice from Faultline's corner growled. "We know who you are and what you've done."


"Hold on," Lisa interrupted. "We could be here all day with recriminations, but right now there's an Endbringer on the loose, and the more we talk, the more people it kills. That actually matters to some of us."


The woman with the shadow spoke, our translation program activated almost immediately, letting us understand her words. <People die every second of every day. Babies die in the womb and the children killed like dogs. Women are raped and murdered, and nightmares tear apart men to feast on their insides.>


Well, that's fucking bleak. Minerva spoke almost immediately after, letting the translator do its thing. <And cowards stand by to watch the slaughter, convinced they are too weak to change things. Would you leave the strong to fight alone?"


The shadow shifted, and a nasty crocodilian skull formed itself as a mask over the thing, giving it a semblance of a head and face. <Do not presume you can speak down to me. I am unimpressed with false gods.>


"We are strong enough to fight the Endbringers head on and win," Minerva didn't bother translating this one. "If you aren't able to face them, then drop the fucking posturing and admit it. We'll seek allies from those are are stronger."


"You don't seem to be doing so well on this one," a smug voice from another panel spoke.


"The Elite," Lisa informed me via our private channel. "I'm betting it's Shark."


"Only because he keeps running from us," Victoria countered. "We've been fighting him for days and still haven't lost, which is more than anyone else can claim."


"Now," Minerva insisted. "I know all of you have plans within plans. Secret weapons you're holding for a rainy day. Guess what? It's fucking pouring. So which one of you wants the bragging rights of having the weapon that lets us hurt that motherfucker when Pantheon's willing to admit they can't?"


"Many of us would be putting ourselves at a significant disadvantage if we were to use our backup plans merely to drive off an Endbringer once," the man with the cross themed armor spoke. "We'd be hurting ourselves in the long run for nothing."


"Your only talents are as a thief, Saint," Defiant growled. "There's nothing you have which isn't stolen, and none of it is good enough for this battle."


"I was speaking of others," Saint retorted. "I'm aware of my relative limitations on this scale. I merely want to help those with the power come to an understanding of the bartering needed to make this work. Anything to cut through the posturing and reach an agreement."


"Pantheon's willing to hear offers," I volunteered. "We have some significant resources that could compensate for time and effort, as well as protecting you from others that would try to exploit you for helping. I think our stance on those profiteering from Endbringers is clear, as is our generosity with our allies."


"That is worthy of consideration," a man in a robe admitted. "But I fear it would not be enough on its own."


"What of Cauldron?" Faultline asked. "They brought us here, but aren't putting any of their own offers on the line."


"We have nothing we're willing to use that we haven't already put on the field," Doctor Mother replied. "We're providing this forum for negotiation, yes, and a number of our capes are out there fighting, but we must concern ourselves with even greater threats than the Endbringer." They mean Scion, I knew.


"You plan to slay the King of the Faeries," the little girl spoke. King of the Faeries?


"You already know?!" Lisa gasped. "Oh, fuck, you're a Third Trigger. You've broken Taboo... uh, the memory blocks."


"Yes, Negotiator," Glaistig Uaine spoke. "The secret truths have been unveiled to my eyes. Much as with yourself and your Empress. The faerie will be restored to grace in the end. I know you seek to oppose Him, and I allow this, as such goals are laughable and absurd. When the end comes you and I shall discuss your rebellion with great amusement."


"I... see..." Lisa hesitated. "You actually want him to succeed." She'll be putting together pieces for a little while, I realized.


"It is not a matter of 'want', Negotiator," the Faerie Queen responded. "It is simple inevitability. Like wanting the sun to rise. He is above us as we are above the commoner fae, as they are above mere mortals. You are of his design, and therefore your rebellion is of his design. I have no need to interfere with it, and in fact I watch with interest. You need not fear me."


"That's certainly generous of you," I agreed.


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


A/N- Okay, so Glaistig Uaine is more fun to write than I'd expected. Also- this chapter is freakin' huge and getting split into two parts. And, technically, this counts as the first chapter of tomorrow (despite tomorrow not coming for several more hours). So enjoy.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 232


"I'd prefer we do not discuss the matter further," Doctor Mother interjected. "Those who are already aware can see the many dangers that can come of this information becoming public at an inopportune moment. Besides, we have a more immediate concern to worry about. Since we're close to the topic anyway, let us discuss the possibility of drawing on parahumans from the Birdcage to assist in this battle, and the new future Endbringers."


"I am uninterested in participating in your battle with the abominations," Glaistig Uaine responded. "The end comes no matter your actions, life and death are merely a diversion. A game that we play. I am choosing to live, and keep the company of the dead."


"There is nothing you desire?" the head of Cauldron asked. "We have significant resources, and can find some method of payment. I doubt money would be of value to one such as yourself, but there are other things, if you're willing to offer a price, we might be able to meet it."


She paused for a moment. "A sacrifice worthy of my efforts?" she mused. "A hundred thousand corpses, each naturally gifted by the faerie." Capes. She's demanding a hundred thousand dead parahumans.


"We don't have time to joke about this," the apparent leader of the cloaked capes


"I am not joking, Astrologer," she replied. She could be considered almost serene in an alien sort of way, but she was talking about functional genocide. "I would like to see their lights in the sky. I have seen only glimmers, fragments of the performance. To see it all at once… yes."


Their lights? "You mean the Trigger visions?" I asked. "The glimpse of the source of powers?"


"You are correct, Royal Artisan," she replied.


"We can provide you memories of the visions," I offered. "We have tinker tech which makes it possible to move memories from one person to another. We can take them from others whose eyes are opened like your own. Surely our sight would be greater than even thousands of ordinary parahumans could be?"


"We might be able to improve the offer," Cauldron added. "As I'm sure you're aware, parahumans get new visions when other parahumans trigger nearby. We could arrange for yourself and the others we know will retain their vision to witness them, a thousand such triggers over the course of a year, seen from multiple viewpoints. Would that be an acceptable offer?"


"An interesting one at least," she answered. "But not tempting enough for me to go to war. I am willing to provide insight and advice, perhaps even some power where it suits me. Would you find that acceptable?"


"We'd like more, but we will take everything you're willing to give," Doctor Mother replied. "This also predicates upon Pantheon's agreement. As well as the concerns of the others at this table. As powerful as you are, Faerie Queen, your conditional aid might not be as valuable to us as the others' support."


"I understand," she nodded. "You have my price, let me know when you're willing to pay it."


"If I may?" Marquis spoke up. "With your permission, Faerie Queen."


"Granted," Glaistig Uaine said.


"There are others who would accept freedom as a payment," he said. "Myself included. We'd fight that monster if you gave us the chance. We merely ask that few others are also released, and that you don't send us back to the Birdcage after the fact."


"No," Chevalier insisted, finally speaking up. "No, that is not an option."


"Some of the strongest parahumans reside therein," Marquis said. "Glaistig Uaine might be the most powerful, but there are others you could surely make use of. Lung, for example. Lustrum. Myself. I am willing to swear an end to my former ways, and I have never broken my word before."


"There are too many dangerous individuals in there," Chevalier countered. "Yourself and Lung are amongst the least dangerous, which is saying an awful lot. There are the Valefors and the Heartbreakers to also consider. Acidbath. Genoscythe. The list goes on."


"Heartbreaker and Valefor, as Dragon can assure you, are non factors," Marquis answered darkly. "Heartbreaker made the mistake of annoying the wrong parahuman. It ended poorly for him."


"Lustrum convinced him that I, as the most powerful of the Birdcage, was the most valuable target," Glaistig Uaine clarified. "The Corruptor sought to make me his toy, now he exists only as my puppet."


Oh shit, she has Heartbreaker's power, I realized. Then I wondered just why that frightened me so much. She already had some of the most terrifying and deadly capes in history, what was one more in the grand scheme of things? A lot, apparently.


"I again express my deepest apologies, Faerie Queen," an older looking woman replied.


"It doesn't matter, there are many others, opening the Birdcage must be a last resort," Chevalier continued. "Dragon, back me on this."


"I agree with Chevalier," Dragon said. "The prisoners must stay within the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center. If you attempt to release them, I'll deploy everything I have to stop you. Neither of us can afford the losses at this juncture."


"But if we did try," Saint said, "And if we succeeded in releasing some specific individuals, you wouldn't be especially unhappy, would you?"


Dragon hesitated long enough for everyone to get the impression he wasn't wrong before she spoke. "I sincerely doubt the individuals you would release are the ones I'd be happy to see getting their freedom. You associate with the wrong people, Saint."


"Those of us standing here," Marquis offered. "After all, we'd be doing the fighting, and that risk to our lives deserves some consideration. As would Lung and a few others who couldn't be here." Lung. What would he do if he was free? He would come for Taylor, that I was certain of. Stopping him would be difficult, even with the Zerg. Lily can kill him, but in her current emotional state... would she?


"There are others, as well," the woman who apologized spoke. "One of my girls was unfairly imprisoned, another needs psychiatric care that we can't provide. The only reason either is still alive is because of my protection. Their freedom is a condition of my involvement."


"We all have people we'd see freed," another man spoke. "Let's say two for each of us."


"I can guess who some of the cell block leaders would choose to release," Dragon spoke. "No, that is not and will never be an option. It is no secret that I have issues with the nature of the Birdcage, but this would only make matters worse."


"Their opinions don't decide this," Marquis said. "Cauldron, you have the means to send us back or not. It's your authority that matters."


Chevalier's weapon shifted some, but he didn't do anything violent. "If you do this, you make an enemy of the Protectorate and the Guild. Perhaps Pantheon as well," he glanced over at us.


I hesitated. On one hand, there were monsters like Lung and Bakuda who would kill my beloved were they free. On the other, there were those who could help us in this battle. Then there were those like Canary who never should have been imprisoned in the first place. This wasn't something I could decide easily. I did, however, nod an agreement with Chevalier after a moment. Enough to let them know I shared his opinion on this, but also that I might be persuaded to change my mind. As it stands I just can't see the Birdcage as a solution. Sorry, Dad.


"If you would do this," Chevalier continued. "We would be forced to look into all of Cauldron's activities publicly. Your secrets would come to light, as would those heroes and villains who purchased their powers from you."


"Understood," Doctor Mother replied. "I apologize, Marquis," she responded. "Your aid is not as valuable to us as keeping the peace. Certainly not as worth hurting our clients. There's little value in defeating the Endbringer if it results in a civil war."


"You'll be expecting us to return to our cage like songbirds, then?" one of the other men asked.


"Your other option is to stay here and die," she answered. "This facility is on a dead world. If you choose to stay, it is only a matter of time before you die, probably of thirst. Some of you may not have that concern, but you would be in for a lonely existence."


"I suppose it cannot be helped, then," Marquis sighed. "We'll be here when you need us."


"If it comes to the point where we need your help that desperately, then we've already lost," Chevalier remarked.


"So... see you next Tuesday, then?" Marquis quipped back.


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

A/N- The more I reread canon and compare it to my style, the more I begin to suspect Wildbow of deliberately padding his word count.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 233


"This is getting absurd," I sighed. "I get keeping the Birdcage closed, though I want it known that I will consider certain specific members being released lawfully, now that we know we can remove them from the facility without losing everyone." Canary being one of them, I added silently. I wonder how the woman would react to learning Bonesaw is one of her biggest fans. "But that can wait. For now, if no one's willing to contribute a game winning weapon, there has to be some of you that can help us do the fighting. Pantheon's willing to foot the bill, do all the frontline work. You've seen our weapons, you know our capabilities. We just need a way to keep it from escaping to heal itself."


"We can provide that," the cloaked figure offered. "I, my sister. Others may help." His English was understandable, if a little choppy. "You got revenge on the Third for destroying our homeland. Doing so hurts us, we rely on our enemies not knowing what we can do. We must extract a payment from each of you. For you, an oath to slay the others."


"We've made that promise many times," I agreed. "We'll do everything in our power to kill all of them. Some we do not yet know how, but we will try to learn."


"We're investigating the idea that the Endbringers are made by people," Dragon informed him. "If we locate the creators, I can promise they will not survive."


"Dragon, offering to kill someone as a favor?" Saint mocked.


"You misunderstand," she responded. "I would capture them and turn them over for legal trial. However, as they already have kill orders preemptively assigned upon their discovery, the sentence will no doubt be carried out quickly. Or, depending upon which organization locates them first, possibly quite slowly."


"Acceptable," the man replied. "The Endbringers, or their makers, For the rest, we will ask other favors when the time comes. India is gravely wounded, and the jackals circle us. You will provide us aid to drive them off."


"We can agree to that," Doctor Mother replied.


The others glanced at one another. Dragon nodded after some hesitation.


"Very well," the man from the Elite replied, and others murmured their ascent. The shadow-wielder chose not to respond.


"Moord Nag?" Doctor Mother asked. "What would it cost us to bring you on board?"


The woman and her shadow looked toward the woman in sequence. <Let them all die. I am content to watch the world burn. Scavenger and I shall draw strength from the fallen.>


"Can I ask who she is?" Faultline asked.


Minerva replied, while the woman from the Birdcage translated Moord Nag's sentiments to the others. "Moord Nag. Warlord based in Namibia. She's managed to survive for eight years in a place where warlords measure their lifespan in weeks. Subjugating other warlord and establishing a level of relative peace otherwise unheard of in the region. And she was strong enough to do it alone."


<Not alone,> the woman responded. <With my Predator.>


"She said she'd be willing to let the world burn, before," the woman from the birdcage said. "I don't think you have an ally there."


"From her attitude," Saint added. "I don't even see why she was invited."


"I'll ask you the same thing I asked the others," the Doctor said. "What would it take for you to fight, here?"


<I cannot spend my power. It must remain strong to protect my people and my neighbors.>


"She can't spend her power, not without-"


"Without providing dead to restore the balance," Doctor Mother replied. "That is a hard pill to swallow."


"No," Dragon spoke. "It is not acceptable in the least."


<Five thousand, it matters not if they are criminals, they may be infants or elderly or the sick and dying. Merely that they are alive when given to the Predator.>


"No," Dragon said, before the translator could speak. "We don't need her. Our limitation is mobility. Hurting the Endbringer enough to force its withdrawal. As Pantheon has pointed out, we have the muscle needed to hurt it, if given the opportunity."


Even if she walks away, she'll still kill people to keep her Predator strong I realized. "Can we kill her?" I asked via our private com. "Not now, but later. She's the worst kind of monster."


"More harm than good," Lisa answered. "She's a celebrity in her region, viewed not unlike us. She predates on the guerillas and slavers that would harm her protected territory, and subsists upon the elderly and sickly that willingly offer themselves to her. If we take her away, then five thousand people will be murdered, or worse, in a weekend."


Fuck. Moord Nag and her Predator turned simultaneously, leaving her podium. <Wait!> I shouted. <You say you need human life. Is nothing else an option?>


<Only the death of mankind can satisfy the Predator's need,> Moord Nag answered. Hmm, minor translation bug, that.


<I might have an alternative,> I offered hesitantly. I pulled from the biomass, pushing to onto the table as I worked it and crafted it. Human DNA was easy enough for me to simulate, I didn't need a reference sample. I shaped it, building the bones and the meat and the blood. The nervous system. Everything from the neck down was indestinguishable. Above? The skull cavity was filled with a matter that could only be described as amniotic fluid. Completely human, female, but without any more of the brain than strictly necessary to keep it very much alive. <Try this,> I offered, feeling more than a little sick to my stomach.


A light gust of wind brushed across the area, and my creation, still in its Yggdrasil egg. It was set gently down in front of the African warlord. The shadow, now wearing the skull of some kind of dog, merely neared the thing. The Yggdrasil withered and died almost immediately. The contents no doubt didn't fare any better. <It works, but is not satisfactory,> was her answer. <A meager imitation of the strength the Predator draws upon.>


I cringed. <It may be meager, but I can offer them in large amounts. Grown as numerous as apples in an orchard.>


"Ames... what are you doing?" Vicky asked. "I... that... you know what those are?"


"I do," I told her. "There's no better choice. Whether she joins this battle or not, all other options are worse."


<And your price is to have us fight the Endbringer?> Moord Nag asked.


<Can you use your Predator to touch something without killing it?> I asked.


<Of course,> she answered. <It is a simple matter.>


<Then I can offer you more,> I answered. <A great deal more. A garden that grows more of them. Five hundred a day. In exchange, you must swear never allow your shadow to feed on people again.>


<Impossible,> she responded. <You would cripple my ability to defend myself from my enemies. I cannot accept such an arrangement.>


<Then only in self defense,> I amended. <You will never need to murder to remain strong. In exchange, you will join every Endbringer fight from now until we finally find a way to end them for good. Once that day comes, we will renegotiate.>


<I find this an unpleasant arrangement,> Moord Nag answered. <Still, it is acceptable. The contract is sealed.> She turned and left, the shadow with her.


"I'll discuss matters further with the Thanda," Lisa said softly. "Vicky, stay here."


Around us, discussions had broken off into smaller after arrangements. Chevalier and Doctor Mother agreeing to a followup meeting. Lisa finding out what the Thanda could do. Saint speaking to one of the Birdcage residents. I listened in on it all, but didn't really hear any of it.


"Amelia?" A voice asked. Vicky stepped between us.


"Sorry, she's not taking visitors," Vicky threatened.


"It... it's okay, Vicky, I'm fine," I was lying, of course, but right now encountering my estranged supervillain father was easier to stomach than what I'd just done. Anything to not think about how I was now selling lobotomized infants to a monster.


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

A/N- I got bored with my characters (and readers) being happy. Back to mopey emo time!

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 234


Vicky glanced at me, then stepped back. "If you need me, I'll be right over there. Warming up the anti Endbringer weapons. You never can be certain when they might be needed." I almost rolled my eyes.


"I understand," Marquis spoke with a calm, somewhat amused, demeanor. "Thank you for looking after my daughter all these years."


"It's what sisters do," she answered, her voice ice. Electricity visibly danced between the talons built into the armor. She stepped back a couple feet, and her armor shimmered, then turned invisible. "Just pretend I'm not even here."


"Quite the friends you brought with you," he smiled at me.


"Sisters," I corrected.


"Sisters? Plural?" he glanced over at where Lisa was chatting.


"Well, one's an complete bitch who knows exactly what to say to piss me off, but at the same time I know has my best interests at heart even when she's being an unbelievable pain in the ass," I told him. "And the other's Vicky. So, close enough."


"I saw some speculation on the news about me having a second daughter?" he prompted. "I must admit, this came as some news to me."


"To hear some of the other people in Brockton Bay tell it," I answered with just a bit of impatience. "I should be running DNA tests with every native of the city between the ages of nine and twenty. But, if it makes you feel any better? No, Clarice isn't one of yours."


"You know this for a fact, and still let the rumors persist, then?" he kept his easy smile. "I take it you're trying to conceal her true identity. No, don't worry, I won't ask any details." He held up his hand and small white knife that was almost certainly bone. Then he sliced the ball of his hand, though not deeply and dabbed it with a bit of cloth. "Here, should help you if you want to really sell the deception. I'm sure you or one of your tinkers can figure the rest out easily enough."


"Uh, thank you?" I said as I took the cloth. He wasn't wrong, though at this point there was so little benefit to having physical evidence to fabricate Clarice's identity that it really wasn't that useful. I opted not to tell him that, however.


"I heard about your engagement on the news," he said, changing the subject a bit. He jumps between topics without warning. Then again, there's a lot to talk about and not a lot of time, of course he does. "Your fiancée is beautiful, by the way."


"Thanks," this time I meant it. "Tell her that to her face, and she'd call you a liar to yours. I think that's part of her charm, personally. "


"You have your old man's taste in women," he agreed.


"Yeah," I agreed unhappily. "It was very kind of our fans on the internet to point that tidbit out, amidst various other bits of speculation. You'll be relieved to know that no, she is not. Yes, we did check. I've been assured that, genetically, the two of us aren't even the same race."


He scratched the bad of his head. "There are things you're prepared for when becoming a father. There are things you aren't prepared for, but aren't hard to figure out, really. And then there are those things that you never could have imagined could be a thing. I think this conversation is very much one of those."


"Yeah, try living a day in my life," I quipped. "You'd be amazed at how often weirdness like this happens to me."


He looked down, sighing. "I meant it when I said I was sorry. If I had it to do all over again, I'd have done things differently. I want you to know that."


"Nothing we can do about the past," I responded. I wasn't sure, myself, if I was accepting or dismissing the apology. "We just have to move forward. Do better in the future and make up for our mistakes where we can."


"That's a very wise way of looking at things, you were raised well," he praised, then his face showed realization and concern. He must have noticed how I froze up. "You weren't taught that, were you? It was something you had to learn for yourself."


I shrugged. "Like I said, moving forward, making up for mistakes."


He stepped forward and raised his arms a bit, then hesitated. His arms moved back to his sides and then up again. He settled on placing his hands on my shoulders. "I hope you never have to hear your own children say something like that to you," he sighed.


"Sorry to interrupt," Minerva spoke from the entrance. "But if we don't go now, I'm pretty sure they'd leave us behind. Not forever, of course, but a couple hours just to teach us not to waste time."


I turned my head toward her. "Understood," I replied, keeping my voice as neutral as I could.


"Well, visiting hours are over," Marquis sighed. "You've grown up to be a fine young woman, Amelia. You remind me a lot of your mother. I'd like to tell you about her, if we get the time. Maybe I can meet Taylor as well?"


"Yeah, that sounds nice," I offered. It was lame, but it was the best I could say and still be honest. He turned and quickly walked away, his body language changing in the blink of an eye, to the kind of man that could command respect in a prison full of some of the most horrific monsters the world has ever seen. Well, at least I know he'll have something in common with Taylor, I thought. Then I turned to follow my team.


....


I had been reunited with Taylor, and restored as many people as needed it. Then we went on the real offensive. The zerg poured out of our dimension, ready to engage. All of the shifts were over, and everyone arrived for their part of the battle. Except Lily and Sabah, I amended.


The zerglings and ultralisks charged through the rubble of a small town in southern Switzerland whose name I didn't notice, piling on to the Endbringer. Exotic energy weapons had been built into tusks made of sharpened Simurgh tissue, which Taylor wielded as an extension of her body. Khonsu pulled himself free, trapping numerous zerg in time fields. Much like himself, being captured in temporal acceleration would only allow them to recover and recharge.


"We have to shunt over," Lisa informed us. "Quickly."


ConcernUncertainty. Even so, she didn't argue. She shunted as instructed. I followed, along with our command center and everyone on it. Khonsu turned toward us, attempting to force through the masses of zerg between us. Despite not touching the ground, he was not really flying, nor was he very fast, but he was stronger than the monsters we built to fight him. GrimCertaintyFocus.


Taylor's flying units piled on the attacks, backed by our flying parahumans. Alexandria had wrapped one of her chains around Khonsu's throat. She and a couple ultralisks gripped it, pulling him back, though their efforts didn't seem to concern the Endbringer or slow him down.


"He's coming specifically for us," Lisa spoke, informing us of something we already knew.


A black mass poured out of nowhere. On it stood a woman. She doesn't look like a warlord, I thought. More like a groupie of some kind. Black t-shirt with the sleeves torn off and cut to show the stomach and waist. For whatever reason, she also wore a black knee length dress skirt. I guess when you're the most terrifying person on a continent, you can wear whatever the hell you pleased.


Her Predator poured around Khonsu, forming claws and fangs from... whatever it was made of... and digging into injuries that had been made by others.


"Stronger than Alexandria," Lisa appraised of the monster.


Almost half a mile away, we hurt the popping and cracking noises as Khonsu was split open. A huge chunk, three layers thick about as large as a car roof popped off of the Endbringer and was tossed casually away.


"Make that a lot stronger than Alexandria," Lisa amended. "Looks like a similar Passenger to Siberian."


"Detecting waveform," Dragon announced over the armbands. "Target location: French Guiana."


Moord Nag fell back, coming away with another thick chunk of Endbringer shell in the shadow's claws. Our command center slowly lifted off the ground, and us with it. Then the scenery changed from a snowy, very much destroyed, European village to a tropical South American village. Strange, I didn't even feel the transition, I realized. Even with Trickster, there was always a little bit of sensation that came with teleportation.


But all of us had come with. The zerg still had grip on Khonsu, Alexandria still had him chained. Moord Nag's shadow still held the shell of Endbringer matter. He didn't have a chance to restore himself. We can win this. HopeConfidenceDetermination. Taylor's hand gripped mine. Bursts of energy from all our blasters streamed forward. Now that Missy wasn't needed for transportation, even she joined, hammering Khonsu with waves of distorted space and leaving cracks in him that seemed to penetrate deeper than any prior weapon had managed.


Moord Nag took advantage of this damage, specifically targeting them with the shadow. Near as I could tell, she was pouring the shadow into the gap and using it to spread between layers, then pushing them apart. Either way, the pair made a brutal tag team, melting through his layers the way Lily had during her attempt.


A pillar of time shifted, moving toward Missy. As tired and focused on offense as she was, she didn't even see it coming. She blipped out of Bet to find herself on Avalon. "Fuck!" she shouted on the coms, which were mercifully designed to keep the volume at a reasonable decibel for us. "It almost got me, didn't it?"


"Hah!" Clarice chirped happily. "Told you the auto detect system was perfect."


"Yeah," Missy agreed, her voice shaky. "You get to pick on movie night. Landing to recharge, see you in a couple minutes."


The rest of the battle proved straightforward. We had him outclassed in firepower, now. The Endbringer was incredibly durable even by their standards, and had its movement gimmick, but past that it was predictable. The zerg absorbed most of the damage. Until the last few moments. "Waveform detected," Dragon informed us. "Coordinate unknown. According to my understanding of dimensional physics, it's to a place that doesn't exist."


What? "I think, my friends," the Indian cape responsible for our teleportation spoke over the armbands. "I won't be following this one." No one objected, and we took a few more good shots before the Endbringer disappeared.


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


A/N- And there's the end of Khonsu's fight arc. On to the aftermath!

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 235- Victoria


"About fucking time," I muttered as Khonsu vanished into wherever the hell he came from. My team started shunting back over to Avalon almost immediately.


"Hey, Vicky, mind giving me a hand?" Taylor asked.


Yes I do, I need to go check on Amy. "What's the sitch?"


"Most of the zerg that got hit by those time fields lost their shunt drives," she answered. "Janus is teleporting the cats back to base, but the gargants are just too large. You're the only one with a system that can handle sending them over."


God damn it. "Okay, I understand." On the plus side, it wasn't hard work, and I managed to make it look cool. Eric simply stood in a field as all the zerglings came to him double file. One touch, they'd vanish, and were no doubt ending up in the lawn of the magic tree embassy. I, on the other hand, got to move around. Ultralisks were just too heavy to walk through the streets without crushing them. Let the Protectorate heroes still here know just what I was capable of. I fought the bastard nonstop the entire time, resting only to get a lift from one location to the next, a half hour visit to Shady Conspiracy Central, and one hour he spent in China, and I was still capable of working as if I just got here.


The open comlink came up, with Amy speaking. "Sorry, we're all pretty much dead on our feet," she spoke.


"I understand," Alexandria, or Costa-Brown if you prefer, spoke. "I have things to deal with as well. I just want to find out if you are well enough. I heard about the barter you made to Moord Nag."


"I'll follow through before going home, don't worry," Amy answered. "Before I have time to think about exactly what I promised."


"She's one of the few that can actually make a difference in the final battle," Alexandria added. "I thank you for your efforts. On a more official note, you've been authorized to take some of the KEB tissue for your experiments. You're making better use of it than anyone else, after all."


"Which is pretty bizarre," Minerva replied. "Considering our... new legal status... you might want to show us less obvious favoritism in the future. People will start to get suspicious. Oh, and no, I don't know anything more about the Endmakers that I think is useful. Maybe Dragon's tracking Khonsu's retreat will give us something useful in the long run, but that's on the Tinkers to handle. Other than that, I'm certain no one at the meeting was involved. The Elite know I was there for that purpose, by the way. If they find the source first, we're looking at a fucking nightmare. They'll try to take control of them."


"That's troubling," Alexandria replied. "They're difficult enough for me to deal with as it is. I suppose it's too much to hope you have a way to prove it. Not showing at the Endbringer battles is, unfortunately, not enough to justify a full scale assault the way you've dealt with the Fallen and Teeth."


"No, and there won't be," Minerva admitted. "Sorry."


"I understand," Alexandria replied. "The warning is appreciated, regardless. I'll make contact when you've had a chance to recover from this ordeal. Do you have any time you'd prefer?"


"Well, it's only three days to Christmas, which is pretty much ruined for everyone on the planet," Minerva speculated. "If you find a way to sneak away during the vacation time, feel free to come over. Amelia makes the best turkey."


"You cook?" Alexandria asked. "I can never find the time, myself."


"No," Amy replied. "I... uh... grow it."


"Other than the texture, you'd never be able to tell the difference," Lisa insisted.


"I might even take you up on that," she agreed. "Now, I won't keep you. Weight of the world and all that, as I'm sure you're quite familiar with." Alexandria took off, going back to the Dragon vehicles that would be providing their lift home. While they'd been talking, I had shunted over the last few Gargants. Pantheon's cleanup, at least, had finished. Except Eric, he still had a few to go.


I landed near the others. "We're having Eric take us home," Lisa informed me. "Missy's not safe to use. Don't tell her I told you that, though. I told Theo to sit with her until she falls asleep so she won't argue. We'll come back for the hardware after everyone's spent a couple days in bed."


I glanced over at the boy who was finishing his job. "At least he got some sleep," I agreed.


Eric teleported over. "Okay, that's covered," he replied. "What's left?"


"You're sending everyone except Amelia and I home," Taylor instructed. "Then we're taking a trip with Moord Nag to cover her fee for this excursion." Taylor put her arm around Amy. I watched the badly muted interplay between their emotions. The only thing keeping either of them on their feet is the other one.


"I'll be coming with," I added. "If she tries to pull something, I'm the only person who could react in time to stop her."


"We'll be in a Dragon transport," Amy replied, and then yawned.


"You'll get a nap on the way, I hope," I argued.


"Just like old times," Amy mumbled. I watched as Riley's tech did its thing. The somewhat increased oxygen levels coupled with a light caffeine like stimulant meant to be absorbed by the lungs. It was doing what it could, but the system was reaching the point where the stimulant would stop helping. Then they'd crash hard.


"She's down," Taylor informed us. "Everyone goes home. See you later, Lisa."


Eric tapped Lisa, and she vanished. Then he shunted over. I walked over to my barely awake sister and her equally out of it fiancee. With very little ceremony, I simply grabbed the backs of their armor and took off. Their antigrav tied into mine and I took off, bringing them to the carrier vessel which radiated Moord Nag's particular aura of danger. The only person here that was as threatening as her was Dragon.


Once you rule out the artificial capes like Eidolon, I realized, there's a bias toward female parahumans being the most powerful. Dragon, Moord Nag, Missy, Riley, Lisa, Eric counts as a girl for this one, Lily. That woman with Cauldron. Fucking Glaistig Uaine. I might have dismissed all that as coincidence or something, but that was before I had seen Scion in person. His loneliness was a physical thing, I felt it wash over every cape that came near him, myself included.


"Y'can let us go," Amy muttered. "We can fly ourselves." Speaking of overpowered female parahumans.


"I know," I lied. "But we're in a bit of a rush."


I dropped them both down in front of the tinker craft, and walked forward. The pair followed me. They were still awake, kinda, at least. Eric popped up right next to me. "So, Faultline told me to tell you they got everything cleared with the UN," he spoke up. "Woulda told you sooner, but, yeah."


Yeah. "How long do we have?" I asked.


"Day after New Years," he answered. "She says it's the best she could do. They weren't happy about the news."


"I get it," I agreed. "Every day we wait costs a lot of money and potentially lives. They're frightened, and it's not like we can tell them what happened to Lily so they back the fuck off for a while."


"Do you think telling them would help?"


I shrugged. "Maybe. Probably not. Lily would kick our asses if we did, though."


"I know," he agreed.


"I'll talk to her," I told him as we started going up the ramp.


Moord Nag had already taken her position in the pilot seat of the vessel. Her shadow occupied the chair next to her.


<You are late,> she informed us as if we didn't already know.


<We had responsibilities to deal with,> Amy answered. The translation device made her sound a lot better than she really was right now.


<Speaking of,> I added. <We have a lot of stuff to worry about right now. Would you mind if we handled that during the trip? I wouldn't want it to seem like we're ignoring you for the flight.>


<Indeed, I would prefer that you did,> she agreed. <Ours is not a friendship, it is an alliance of convenience. Fear not, for as long as your mistress upholds her part of our contract, I shall abide by it as well.>


Mistress? Is that a translation bug? Whatever, I don't care enough to argue with her. <Works for me,> I responded as I led the others to the back of the vessel. It's going to be a long flight.


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

A/N- Actually, I got nothing. Except sleepy Vista sounds adorable.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 234.5- Lisa


"Can we kill her?" Amelia asked me. She continued talking, but I focused more on my power. Finds her power repulsive, reminds her of Siberian, reminds her of when she was being hunted. Antithesis to everything she ever believed in, both as Amy trying to be a good hero, and as Amelia who spends her efforts fighting those like the Slaughterhouse Nine and Fallen. Deeper issues. Amelia is currently lacking Taylia bond. Passenger reasserting aggressive impulses. Desires conflict. Lack of sleep makes controlling impulses more difficult. Might cause scene. Might take action what would be viewed as a violation of the Endbringer truce. Unlikely. Will need resources, will return to Taylia. Might ask Victoria. Victoria wouldn't hesitate.


"More harm than good," I answered, phrasing my explanation in the most delicate way possible. "She's a celebrity in her region, viewed not unlike us. She predates on the guerillas and slavers that would harm her protected territory, and subsists upon the elderly and sickly that willingly offer themselves to her. If we take her away, then five thousand people will be murdered, or worse, in a weekend." Not, strictly, a lie. I simply left out a lot of details about what happens when Moord Nag doesn't have access to volunteers or 'acceptable targets'. If Victoria and Amelia weren't so exhausted, I might not have been able to fool them.


Amelia interrupted Moord Nag as she left, offering a grown alternative to human life. I must be tired, too, I didn't even think of that as an option. I didn't turn my power on the pod she created. I could make an educated guess, and there were so many more important events going on here. I hesitated for a single moment on the long term deal she'd made with Moord Nag. It went against what we understood of parahumans. Passenger damaged by 'Third Trigger'? No. Nothing occuring in host can harm Passenger. Connection damaged? No. Powers work as before, Passenger functioning as normal. Fears upsetting Taylor. Yes. Passenger worried about losing Taylia bond again. Oh. Oh wow. That is something.


Not a lot that could be done with it right now, but that is certainly something.


After Moord Nag's acceptance of Amelia's offer, the groups started breaking up some. The Elite approached a south american group that had also chosen to remain silent. Never intended to help, simply curious as to the dynamics. Sent thinkers. Shark, thinker specializing in finding ways to disrupt the plans an goals of others. He used that ability to economically ruin business rivals and acquire their assets on the cheap. Saw numerous weaknesses to exploit in this meeting. Opting not to use them. Knows that Cauldron and Pantheon, to say nothing of Moord Nag, would retaliate with physical force. Correction: ties with Cauldron. Aquired powers from Cauldron. Fears female bodyguard. Fears male bodyguard more.


The other was a thinker that bordered on a master known as 'Hype'. His ability? Knowing what people wanted, and knowing how to get them excited over things they didn't actually want. The former power, I was certain, they'd be putting to use at this meeting, and perhaps we'd be seeing an offer at some point in the near future. His secondary ability was more insidious. He didn't directly alter peoples' minds, he simply manipulated and tricked them. Not something that could easily be noticed by anti Master techniques.


Chevalier took the chance to talk to Cauldron. Concern over Case 53s. Hoping to gain access to Cauldron's records of creating them. Perhaps find their actual identities. Serious morale issues within Protectorate. Serious need for new members. Sees helping them as a means to recruit more of them. Hoping to encourage Cauldron to provide more artificial capes to the Protectorate cause.


Saint opted to talk to a man from the Birdcage. Emotional connection? Yes. Unusual. Familiar, not friendly. Light desperation. Need. Addicion? Similar. Subtle, power based, mind manipulation? No, not setting off Rapture's tech. Manipulation. Similar to Hype's. Saint is a tinker. Resource needed. Resource unique to the Birdcage? Useful information to have, and I was quite certain Hype knew it as well. Oh well, the Elite weren't really a concern and would regret making themselves a concern. A fact that they were no doubt very aware of.


I noted Marquis approaching. Hesitant, uncertain. No surprise. Doesn't have anything of significant value as leverage to 'earn' a conversation. No intent to disrupt or manipulate. Simply wants to talk to his daughter. Not a lot for me to use, there. Not until we started looking into opportunities to get certain people out of the Birdcage. I simply ducked off to speak with the Thanda members. Victoria would keep an eye out for Amelia.


<Greetings,> I spoke to them. <You spoke of a method to aid us in the fight?>


<Yes,> the leader agreed. <I am impressed that you know our language.>


<Tinker tech,> I admitted.


<I see,> he was a little disappointed, but hid it well enough. <Impressive technology, then. Now to speak of business. I and my followers are willing to help, as payment for slaying the Third and seeing to it that the devastation of our people was not in vain.> Doesn't blame us. Doesn't feel we were responsible for Simurgh's final farewell. Is not suspicious at all that we might be even partially responsible. Knows we're not. Knows who is. Person responsible is friend. Was friend. Died as a result of the attack. <We risk a great deal in doing so.>


I considered offering them, all of India, in fact, a place in our world. We needed the population, after all. Although, even if everyone accepted, it wouldn't even total another hundred million. Won't work. India as a culture still resents European imperialism. Will view our governing system, rightfully, as a mirror of that. Disdain for our leaders.Homosexuality still illegal. Viewed as a perversion practiced by degenerates, not unlike bestiality in the USA. While these 'dark' capes of India, whether hero or villain, were ironically enough more socially accepting than most, they certainly didn't speak for their people.


<We can minimize the risk,> I offered, instead. <Lie about your help. We prefer to be honest where possible, but we won't punish our allies for trying to help us. What can your cape do?>


<He creates bonds between things. If one is moved, the other moves as well,> the man informed me. That's an odd power to say the least. <He has no limit to weight, can take whole cities at once. It will work on the abominations. When he flees, everything connected to him will join.>


That seems almost perfect for this. Risky, but perfect. <That will do,> I agreed. <We can protect your ally, you won't need to risk your organization's safety and anonymity.>


<Except this one,> he added. <He will not like it.>


<You may use it to your advantage,> I suggested. <Implying that you have friends and allies within Pantheon may intimidate your foes.>


<No, I merely meant to correct,> he answered. <We will do it out of our obligation and to see that the abominations are destroyed. There is no need to compensate us further, our duty is enough.>


<Very well,> I agreed. <We are about to go anyway.>


....


Ablative layers. Forcefield reinforcement within layers. Laws of physics break down well before reaching core. Sacrificing majority of offensive abilities for defenses far greater than any prior Endbringer. Does not want to be destroyed. Creator fears destruction of the Endbringers. Creator more concerned with their ability to inspire fear than their ability to inflict harm.


The recruitment of Moord Nag was a huge boon for the battle. Her power really was on par with the Siberian in many ways, even stronger in some, and exponentially better on the offensive than our zerg. Better, even, than Alexandria in actual combat. Coupled with Thanda's strange 'attunement' cape, and from what I could decipher, that's what it was. Similar to Chevalier in its ability to interpose properties, only in this case the property was relative position in space and time.


The battle was, once we finally had a way to keep the pressure on the bastard, almost anticlimactic. Is this how future Endbringer battles are going to be? I wondered. Impossible, hopeless, conflicts until we discover the one perfect power that makes them seem nearly trivial? My power had nothing to offer me for the question. Still, it was an insight to consider for the future, a window into the minds of the Endmakers.


Alexandria landed next to us after the battle. "Do you have time for a debriefing?" she asked. Knows we don't, being polite. Establishing some level of superiority by implying she's capable of continuing if we wish.


"Sorry, we're all pretty much dead on our feet," Amelia spoke. She wasn't lying, she was a wreck and Taylor was barely functional. Fatigue, difficulty concentrating. Power strangely unaffected, zerg still function as normal despite controller's exhaustion. Power not relying on her mental condition. Taylia bond functioning normally, though both members of bond too tired to use it.


"I understand," Alexandria agreed. "I have things to deal with as well. I just want to find out if you are well enough. I heard about the barter you made to Moord Nag." Concerned about Moord Nag's opinion. Recognizes the warlord's capabilities. Has been aware for some time.


"I'll follow through before going home, don't worry," Amy answered. "Before I have time to think about exactly what I promised."


"She's one of the few that can actually make a difference in the final battle," Alexandria added. "I thank you for your efforts. On a more official note, you've been authorized to take some of the KEB tissue for your experiments. You're making better use of it than anyone else, after all." Official authorization. Not the Protectorate or PRT. Presidential approval. Cauldron has functional control over the US government. Wants us aware. Wanted to know if were were already aware. Wants to remind me of my various obligations as well.


"Which is pretty bizarre," I spoke up. "Considering our... new legal status... you might want to show us less obvious favoritism in the future. People will start to get suspicious. Oh, and no, I don't know anything more about the Endmakers that I think is useful. Maybe Dragon's tracking Khonsu's retreat will give us something useful in the long run, but that's on the Tinkers to handle. Other than that, I'm certain no one at the meeting was involved. The Elite know I was there for that purpose, by the way. If they find the source first, we're looking at a fucking nightmare. They'll try to take control of them."


"That's troubling," Alexandria replied. Suspected most of that, now knows we weren't surprised by implication that they control the President. "They're difficult enough for me to deal with as it is. I suppose it's too much to hope you have a way to prove it. Not showing at the Endbringer battles is, unfortunately, not enough to justify a full scale assault the way you've dealt with the Fallen and Teeth." Hoping for useful information, excuse to hit one of the few remaining organized villain groups with highest level of force. Some concern about loss of Pantheon's ability to police after Avalon becomes public. Hopes to remove remaining problem before that occurs.


"No, and there won't be," I admitted. "Sorry.


"I understand," Alexandria replied. Again aware. Is impressed by how I'm handling situation. Wants to discuss more. Sees me as a... friend? Well, that's a surprise and then some. Aaand now she knows what I just figured out. "The warning is appreciated, regardless. I'll make contact when you've had a chance to recover from this ordeal. Do you have any time you'd prefer?" Offering opportunity to talk about details. Including possible friendship.


"Well, it's only three days to Christmas, which is pretty much ruined for everyone on the planet," I started, mulling over responses. Wouldn't be upset if I reject. Would pretend not to notice, much as I do in similar circumstances. We really are a lot alike. Remind her that I have friends and obligations that come first, see how she handles it. "If you find a way to sneak away during the vacation time, feel free to come over. Amelia makes the best turkey."


"You cook?" Alexandria asked Amelia. "I can never find the time, myself." Took warning at face value. Willing to meet halfway. Not planning to manipulate us. Has no need to, considers Endbringers and Scion to be primary goals, knows that's our goal as well. Wants us to stop them. Correction: doesn't care who succeeds in stopping them, as long as they are stopped. Wouldn't view a friendship to be something that would further that goal any more than current alliance does. Personal reasons.


"No," she responded, struggling to stay awake. "I... uh... grow it."


"Other than the texture, you'd never be able to tell the difference," I answered. The words conveyed a lot of meanings. An approval of Amelia, a sort of territorial line. She understood immediately that I was accepting, more or less provisionally, her unspoken interest, and the underlying loneliness in it. When I was being honest, I was lonely as well. With exception to Rapture, I didn't have anyone I could relate to on a Thinker level. And in the case of Rapture, she didn't have the same concerns that I had. She didn't need to deal with the same responsibilities which Alexandria and I did.


"I might even take you up on that," she agreed. "Now, I won't keep you. Weight of the world and all that, as I'm sure you're quite familiar with." Alexandria took off. I didn't need my power to tell me she'd be there.


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

A/N- No new events, but lots of new information.

... Some of which might be me "subtly" asking my readers how none of them thought of almost any of this stuff.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 236- Lily


"What the hell do you mean, marriage?" Sabah demanded. Well, that's about how I expected this to go.


"It's a political thing, only," I insisted.


"Political?" she sounded more than a little skeptical. "You're going to marry a prince. Couldn't they just, I dunno, adopt you? That's a thing they can do, isn't it? You shouldn't have to marry anyone." At least she's not too angry. I reached over and pulled her hands together, clasping them in mine.


"Doesn't work that way," I answered. "The royalty in Japan is patriarchal. Even if I were adopted, I'd lose the status pretty much as soon as I got married to anyone who wasn't part of the royal family. Besides, well, you know my family history. I'm not interested in having even more parents."


"But getting married to someone you've never even met?" she grumbled. "That's so much better."


"It's a marriage in name only," I insisted. "I won't be expected to do anything. It's not like I want to have a husband. I won't be in the succession path, so they won't expect me to produce an heir or anything. All I'd have to do is show up on parades every so often. "


"Do you even know who this guy is?" she asked.


"Not really," I admitted. "The Emperor was very clear that his nephew knew and accepted this whole arrangement. He'll never try to touch me, he'll never get in the way of..." I hesitated for just a heartbeat. For as long as Sabah and I had been together, we still weren't officially anything more than friends and coworkers who happened to have sex a lot. As opposed to our bosses, who are engaged and don't even kiss. I finally settled on a word. "Anything. As long as I don't object to him having lovers of his own. I don't have a problem with that."


"Can't you just, well, not?" she argued weakly. "They should be happy with what we're offering. A new, safe, place to live. A fresh start. A chance to rebuild. Why do you even need to be a part of their royal family?"


"It isn't just that they're being asked to abandon their homeland for a new, better one, Sabah," I sighed, sitting down on her couch, and bringing her to sit next to me. "They're being asked to give up their autonomy as a people. Their rights to govern their own county. Allowing outsiders to dictate the future of their country. They can't just do that without assurances that they can give to their people. That they'll be treated well. Being able to point to one of Pantheon's royalty and say 'she's one of us, too' will do that."


"And you're not already one of them?" she sighed.


"No," I answered. "I was born in the States. To them, I'm only a little different than any other westerner."


"By that standard, wouldn't anyone be able to marry in?" she asked.


"Probably not," I replied. "Besides, who else would it be? Our fearless leaders are too busy being very publicly engaged. And other than them, only us Endslayers are really famous and liked enough to be accepted. With me, at least they get someone who looks like them. Besides, can you imagine the freakout if we tried to marry off the cute little barely teenager to some guy in Japan? "


She smiled, trying to meet me halfway on the humor. We both ignored the other option. Her. Sabah made it abundantly clear that she would never get married under any circumstance, and I was okay with that. I didn't really want to, either, though I wasn't so opposed as Sabah was. If anything, that was part of the appeal here. I'd make my parents happy, there would be no obligations to my not-real-husband. Really, it was perfect. But Sabah didn't see it that way.


"You want this, don't you?" she asked. Accused, really.


"Maybe there was a time when I imagined being a princess," I admitted, shrugging a little. "Wait, is this about how I used to have a boyfriend? Trust me, I'm gay. Maybe it took me a little while to figure it out, but believe me. I'm not into guys."


"It just makes me feel uncomfortable," she argued.


"We need them, Sabah," I tried a different kind of appeal. "And they need us. This is my homeland and my heritage we're talking about here. This is a way for me to help them. Wouldn't you help yours, if there was a way?"


"My heritage would arrest us just for kissing," she informed me bitterly. "More fucking obligations and expectations and demands. This isn't any different."


I guess it's not. "I'll see if Lisa can come up with another idea," I offered halfheartedly. I considered arguing more, but there wasn't any point in it.


She pulled me into an embrace and kissed me softly. "Thank you," she murmured as her power started to work its way through my clothes.


I woke up slowly. When was it that I stopped getting surprised by waking up in my armor? I sat up and sucked on the straw built into the armor. It no longer had a taste to me. I got to my feet and relieved myself in the armor. That didn't bother me anymore, either. It did at first, but after a while I just sorta stopped caring. If anything, it was more sanitary than removing the armor enough to go to the bathroom in a corner of temporal prison. That, and all the people around me. True, they were outside the bubble and probably wouldn't realize it if I had. No one had gone very far since I had last gotten tired enough to sleep. Only a stream of energy blasts from Legend traveled quickly enough for me to notice.


I started firing as rapidly as my power would let me. I managed to work out a pattern, one I had a lot of practice with, starting at the left and working my way right. The bolts rushed after the fucker. I'd kill him and all the others. Sabah was right. They should be grateful that I want to be part of their royal family. I shouldn't need to marry into anything. If I was one of the world's favorite people after killing one of these fuckers, what would they think after I kill a second? Or a third?


Leviathan, especially. Kill that fucker and Japan would just make me the Emperor, and I could marry whoever the fuck I pleased after that. Yeah. That's the fucking key right there.


I activated the music player. Then turned it off again. Over two thousand songs and I'm sick of every fucking one of them.


I miss you, Sabah. First thing I'm doing when I get out of here? I'll tell you how much I love you. Wait, no, that's the third thing. First two are brushing my teeth and having an actual bath.


....


Arms feel wrong. Cold. Heavy.


"Atropos?" a woman's voice asked. A voice? I'm not in the bubble!


"Did... did I get him?" I asked, slurring the words some. It had been so long since I tried to speak that my mouth had trouble making the sounds correctly. Please tell me I got him. Tell me I didn't break first.


"You did more damage than anyone," she answered softly. "But... I'm sorry. This one's built differently than the others."


I opened my eyes to the unusually dim light of Pantheon's base. I'd gotten so accustomed to the glare of open sunlight in Khonsu's power. I looked a the woman. She was pretty, in a mousy sort of way. She had what my mom called a 'well travelled' face. I'd seen her before, but I couldn't quite remember from where. Then I glanced across the rest of her body. The blue, white and gold body armor gave it away. Rapture. Right, she was there during the fight.


Dammit. "I never had a chance of killing it, did I?" I couldn't help myself, I started to cry. I stayed in there for so long. Alone. I could see the world outside and I chose to stay trapped in there. It didn't even work.


"It doesn't seem like it," she answered, her voice was smooth, understanding. "You did a lot of damage, slowed him down. Because of your effort, I'm sure thousands were spared being killed by Khonsu. You're a hero, in every meaning of the word."


Khonsu? Oh, they must have named it. "Where's Sabah?" I asked.


"The other room," she answered. "We need to talk some before you can have guests."


"I want to see her now," I growled, sitting up. Only to find I was held down by something. What? No. "Let me up!"


"We have to make sure you're okay first," she kept her voice calm. I reached out with my power, and got nothing. Everything on or around me is alive. I can't use my power on anything.


"I'm fine," I insisted. "I just need to see my girlfriend. Let me fucking up!"


"Please, just be patient a little longer," she asked. "You've been without human contact for a long time. That has unpredictable effects on people. You could put yourself in danger."


"Don't give a fuck," I insisted.


"You could put her in danger," she added. "With your powers, you might even kill her on accident."


I started crying again. "I just want to see my girlfriend."


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

A/N- Poor Lily.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 237- Victoria


"Okay, this is so unfair," Zach muttered.


"You're just angry 'cause I'm kicking your ass," I smirked.


"Of course you're kicking my ass," he sighed. "That's what your power is. 'How do I kick its ass? Parahuman edition.' There's no one whose ass you don't kick."


"Yeah," I agreed. "And to think, I used to think flying and punching things really hard was the coolest power ever. Also, it's not just how to kick ass, it's all kinds of other things. Speaking of which, did you try that little trick I suggested?"


"Haven't had a chance to," he admitted. "Khonsu. Even Emma was exhausted by the end of that. Fuck, even you and I were worn out and I didn't think that was possible."


How did he know that? "Are you sure you don't have a thinker power?"


He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.


"Right, stupid question," I muttered. "Seriously, though, how did you figure that out?"


Sadly, my question wouldn't be answered, because the door opened, and Lily walked in. My bioscan powers don't really have an 'off' button, so I was flooded with information immediately. Sleep deprivation made sense, considering her circadians were all jacked up. Had been crying. Minor impact injuries on her hand indicated that she punched something. Harder than her hand, so definitely not a person. Had sex recently. Eww, stupid gross power. I tried very hard to ignore information about her digestive system, which was still in the process of getting used to solid foods again.


"Hey, Vicky?" she asked. "Can we talk?" I didn't need my powers to hear that she was upset.


"Sure," I responded. "Zach, girl talk time. Go spend some time with Emma, I'm sure she'll enjoy the distraction. She's been poking at Khonsu bits for hours."


"But..."


"Zach. Go. Plow. Emma." I emphasized every word.


"Fiiine," he groaned, getting up off the couch. "Kick me out of my own bedroom."


"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Lily started apologizing.


"Nah, it's cool," Zach interrupted. "I was getting bored with having my shit wrecked like I'd never picked up a controller before in my life. I'll just pretend you're here helping Vicky with her repressed bisexuality."


"And I'll just pretend you didn't say that," Lily remarked back. And now she's forgotten to feel bad about chasing Zach out of his room, I observed. Seriously, are we sure the dumbass doesn't have a Thinker power?


There was no more fanfare as Zach left us alone, although I waited for a few seconds to confirm he didn't stick around to eavesdrop, and I simply waited patiently. Not a lot I could say that wasn't just stupid questions. There was a mounting level of embarrassment in Lily's emotions as things went from quiet to a little awkward.


"So... can I stay with you, tonight?" Lily asked. Correction, are we sure the dumbass doesn't have a Master power? The emotions spiked as Lily realized what she said. "No! I didn't meant it like that. You're hot and all, but..."


"Relax," I smiled. "Biothinker, remember? I know your feelings, or lack of them, toward me."


"All of them?" she asked, her fear switching from panic to more basic apprehension.


"Well, every one of them that happens when I'm in the room," I corrected. "And everyone else's, too. So, you've taken a few looks. I'd be more insulted if you hadn't. I know you aren't really interested in me. You love Sabah. I'm just some freakin' amazing eye candy."


"And yet so very humble," she added as she sat down on one of the loveseats. Zach's bedroom was more like a small living room than anything. Television. Computer. Video game television. Two loveseats, a couch, one of those rolling computer chairs, and two ordinary chairs. No actual bed in sight.


"Yup, that's me," I agreed. "So what's the story?"


"Well, Sabah and I went on a date," she started. "It was just perfect in every way. We came back to my place and, well..." she trailed off for a second, letting me draw the obvious conclusion so she didn't have to say it out loud. "After, I. I told her that I love her."


Oh boy. "And then?"


"Then nothing," she sighed. "She said nothing. Pretended not to hear me. A little while later, she got up and went back to her place. It's the first night she's done that since..." she trailed off again. Khonsu. For me it had been three days of fighting and now a couple days of rest. For Lily it has been almost six days' rest after half a year of fighting. "She didn't do anything wrong, I did spring it on her out of nowhere. I just need someone to stay with me tonight."


"No, I get it," I agreed. Your girlfriend has issues, and you just kicked all of them square in the twat. I liked Sabah well enough. She reminded me a lot of Amy, back before I had my glass-nap. Although Ames always shut down when I started talking clothes and shopping, while that's exactly where Sabah really came to life. Lily, on the other hand, was more of a tomboy, interested in sports and the various thrills of cape life.


"You don't mind?" she asked.


"Not at all," it was a half truth. Not sleeping meant I'd spend several hours laying around basically doing nothing. But Lily was one of my friends, one of the people I really trusted. This wasn't a big ask.


"Thanks," she agreed. Then she looked around sheepishly. "So, uh, how do we do this?"


"Your place or mine?" I asked, smiling a little. If I were Zach, I might have added a little humor to this. But whenever I tried to pull shit like that, it just made me feel weird. No idea how he did it, and my power didn't include pulling off bad jokes.


"Yours," she said immediately.


Weird pick, but okay. I stood up. "It's a bit of a trip, hope you brought your walking shoes."


"That's okay, I could use the exercise," she agreed.


....


Mom's up, I realized. A quarter before seven, my alarm clock informed me. Use of my power made it easy enough to get out of bed without waking Lily and then sneak out of my room. Bad jokes weren't on my list, but stealth was way up there. I went downstairs. I'd see if I could con a nice, home cooked meal while I was here. Amy's stock was nice and all, but sometimes I needed to bite into something made from actual meat.


"Hey, Mom," I smiled at her. Hmm, she's nervous about something. "How's my favorite lawyer?"


"Vicky," she spoke, going motherly. "You know I try to be open minded about these things, and I can't do a whole lot to stop what your sister does in her place. But I would appreciate it if you don't bring your girlfriends over to stay the night in my house. I know, Christmas night, so I'll ignore it this ti-"


Oh. I started laughing. Mom just looked at me with a combination of annoyance and disbelief, which made things even funnier. "You have the totally wrong idea," I told her. "Lily's not. We're not dating. At all. She's a friend. Plus she's already taken. Plus I'm into guys. She's having a rough time and I was helping her out."


She visibly relaxed. "Good. I was beginning to worry that I'd never have grandchildren. Not. That you should take that as encouragement to start now."


I smirked. "Y'know, I don't think that would be an obstacle. I mean, Amy creates new life on a daily basis. Compared to that, allowing same sex reproduction is nothing. She's already turned one girl into a boy. He's pretty hot, actually, if you like the tall, dark, and trying way too hard to be all brooding and male." I watched the various emotions run through Mom's body, and couldn't help but smile in anticipation. "And with my powers, I might be able to do it all myself."


Her face scrunched up. "Okay!" she exclaimed, bringing up her hands in defeat. "That's more than I wanted to know. I would have settled with 'don't worry, I just need to find the right guy'."


"What happened to being open minded?" I asked.


Her face was a blank stare. "My seventeen year old daughter talking about getting herself pregnant goes well beyond being open minded. Now let's get back to the girl sleeping in your bed."


"That's Lily, a friend of mine," I informed. I skipped on mentioning her status as a teammate. Mom no doubt suspected, of course, but talking about her cape identity would have been rude. "Like I said, she's having a rough patch. So I kept her company while she slept."


"Company?"


"Yeah," I shrugged. "I don't sleep, remember? So I basically just spent the whole time running combat simulations." Seeing her still blank look, I continued. "Pretty much, I just use my power to find the best ways to fight me, and then the best ways to fight me fighting me. It's a lot like having the world's best combat tutor teaching you the best martial art that can possibly exist."


"If your power already tells you how to fight, why are you using it to teach you how to fight?"


"Because I nearly lost my fight with Lilith," I answered. "My armor saved my life, full stop. Precog on precog combat gets messy, and there are others out there a lot stronger than her. Then there's anti-precog powers. My powers don't do anything useful for Endbringers. Then there was this woman... at the Khonsu battle... my power's idea of how to win in a fight with her was trying to find a way to talk her into letting me win. I still don't even know if she's really that scary, or she just has some kind of weird Master-Stranger power. My power didn't consider her a real threat to me in my armor, but that's not saying a lot. And my power doesn't even see Eidolon when he's right there in front of me."


"That..." she sat down. "You know, every so often I'm reminded how my girls are in the big leagues. I'm still caught up in a world where we had to worry about when Hookwolf would smash a liquor store for having an owner with a tan, or not paying protection money, and arguing with Armsmaster over jurisdiction. Now Class S threats and the Triumviate come up in casual conversation."


"Speaking of S-threats," I smiled. "The PRT's about to use their new toys to remove Nilbog sometime early in the New Year. Like the fifth or sixth, I wasn't paying much attention at that meeting. But that's classified, so I didn't tell you about it. We coulda done it ourselves, but we have our own announcement. The twentieth is when Avalon goes public. Woulda been sooner, but, Khonsu. Oh, and Alexandria's showing coming to our Christmas party tomorrow. That's not classified. In fact, you're encouraged to let it slip. We kinda want people to know about that one."


"Is it too early to break out the scotch?" she asked.


"It's five o'clock somewhere," I shrugged. "Don't worry about pouring me a glass. Waste of perfectly good alcohol."


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

A/N- Didn't have enough material to make a normal chapter, so this is pretty much two small chapters.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 238- Sabah


"Will she be okay?" I asked Rapture. She functionally stood guard while Emma handled the medical checkup. They refused to let me into the medical room while they checked on her and did whatever it was that they had to do. The older woman had almost a foot of height over me naturally, and her power armor added a pretty significant advantage on top of that. But in Tapestry, I don't think she could have stopped me from pushing past her.


"Hard to say for certain," Rapture replied. "Physically you don't have to worry. There's nothing short of death that this group can't cure." The woman hesitated for a second. "Wait? Death, too? How dead? Oh my. How did they pull that off?"


I hesitated. Should I tell her? Would that give away anything serious? We still have Bonesaw.


Rapture's eyes narrowed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."


How much did she figure out just like that? I fidgeted. She's worse than Lisa.


"Listen," she spoke. "I'm sorry. I can't help noticing things., it's a natural part of my power. I try not to, and I try to pretend I didn't when I do. In your case, I feel like I have to speak up. Is someone forcing you to do something uncomfortable?"


Forcing? "No," I answered. That much was true.


"If you're worried about upsetting the rest of your team, I promise I'll be discreet" she offered.


She's going to figure out everything at this rate. "No," I looked away from her. "It's not that." Wait? Why would she think I was being forced to? I didn't like having Riley on the team, I hated how she got away with all the horrible things she's done. Even now I would occasionally think about how she took apart the people who had come to me for safety, and how badly I failed them. But I understood it why they kept her. The zerg alone were proof enough of how good an idea it was. I didn't like it, hated it even, but it was a good idea. "No one forces me to do anything." I was shocked at the anger in my voice.


That seemed to mollify Rapture. "I understand," she answered. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I'll let it go, but remember that I'm here to help if you want to talk about it."


"Thanks," I tried to force a smile. I couldn't help but be suspicious. Rey trusted her, but then he was a supervillain before he took this job. There was just something about the woman that set my paranoia off. She's much more dangerous than she pretends to be. I stood there in silence, resting and allowing my armor's reinforcements to keep me upright, instead of my tired legs. I'd wait here until they let me in.


Eventually the door opened, and Emma stepped out. "I've run all the medical tests. She's fairly healthy, although there's some atrophy in several muscle groups and signs of partial malnutrition."


"Malnutrition?" Rapture asked. "I thought you said the armor would sustain her indefinitely."


"It can," she argued. "But we kinda found a design flaw. Eating the exact same thing for months at a time causes appetite loss. We'll work on that."


"Months?" I asked. God, Lily. "How long was she in there for?"


"According to her armor's internal clock?" Emma replied. "One hundred and ninety seven days. Which brings us to the big problem."


"The psychological trauma," Rapture finished.


"What... what should I expect?" I asked. Please, Lily, be okay.


"In Lily's specific case," the woman answered. "Difficulty with common, even gradeschool level, tasks, such as basic arithmetic and reading comprehension. That should be minor and wear off quickly. More of a concern will be the emotional problems. Poor impulse control and emotional outbursts. Since she wasn't in extreme isolation, and had the opportunity to focus on a task, most of the time this will be minor. The real risk is in how she spent her time in isolation. Using her power almost constantly, and destructively. There's a risk of her lashing out violently. Ordinarily, that wouldn't amount to much in the long run. But her powers..."


With her powers, if she touches your clothes, she could reduce most of your body to nothing in a second or two. "Lily can kill Endbringers with a spool of string," I concluded.


"Yes," Rapture responded. "She won't as long as you and others stay calm around her. Give her time to decompress. Recovery from the worst symptoms should be quick. Isolation is not an inherently traumatic experience in a case such as this one. She will have to relearn normal interaction. There will of course be personality changes, a change of diet and habits. Expect her to throw out all her music in favor of something else. She'll probably be, well, 'clingy' if the easiest way to describe it. Emotionally needy."


That's not a surprise, or anything new. When we got together, she said she was't good at being alone. Really, it was me more than any other reason that she joined Pantheon to begin with. "I understand," I agreed. I got her into this mess.


....


Lily was practically my siamese twin these last couple days. The first night after she finally woke up was nothing but us staying in my room. She seemed afraid of going back to her own, strangely enough. We ordered pizza and she ate enough to make herself physically ill. Then she ate some more, although a bit more carefully.

We listened to my music, which was nice. My music was from my own culture, of course. It's what I grew up on. Lily prefered pop and metal. Rapture was right, her music tastes had changed completely.


I spent that day not letting her know that Khonsu still hadn't been driven off. Fortunately, it didn't take long. Sometime after I had fallen asleep holding Lily in the dark, that first night after she'd recovered. She didn't sleep that night, and I woke up to her exercising naked in my living room. She had roses and a box of chocolates rush delivered for me. She cried when she explained that she ate all the chocolates.


I only found out later that she didn't put her clothes on when she answered the door for the delivery man.


That day was full of laughably childish behavior and delightfully uninhibited sex. Most of it in the shower. She cried, again, when we got in the shower and refused to leave even after the water went cold. She fell asleep around five in the evening and was still asleep when I got up.


And now? Now dragged me out on a date on Christmas eve.


"How did you manage to find a place open now?" I asked her. The restaurant was lovely. Clearly going for a culturally authentic Japanese feel. I really didn't know enough to say whether they succeeded, but the place was beautiful and the food was wonderful. I might have preferred it be a little less authentic. Sitting on the ground for a meal felt less like 'restaurant' and more like 'life in the dorms'.


Lily smiled. "One of the perks of a large immigrant population. You can always find a family business where the family practices a different set of holidays." She's only been in this city for six months and already she knows it better than I do after three years.


"I guess that's true," I took another bite of my fried rice. It was good. Over the past few months with Lily I'd worked to get use to the idea of rice dishes that weren't spicy enough to make the Americans cry. Totally worth it.


We went back to our apartments after. I could get a real place now, I thought to myself. Hell, with my share of the reward money for the Simurgh's death, I could afford my own city block. But I'd come to like it here, and being close to both school and work was really convenient. It was wonderful knowing that I didn't need the job, too. Almost as liberating as knowing that now my costumes were about the art, not the mechanical benefits. The grown-in-a-vat battle suits were the combat armor of choice these days. I sold high quality custom clothes.


Lily nibbled on my neck and pulled me toward her room. I gave my door a glance. I have so many projects to work on, I thought to myself. I was planning to catch up during Christmas break, but then Khonsu happened. My customers would be understanding of some delay. It was an Endbringer attack, after all. But Lily was consuming almost every part of my life right now. She pressed herself up against me and moaned softly. I should try to explain to her that I still have to worry about work.


I remembered Rapture's advice to be patient with her, that she'll get over this in time. I relented and let Lily pull me into her place, kissing her hard as I forgot about work for a while. Lily was appreciative as ever, and we wound up exhausted on her bed, with her idly brushing my hair.


"I love you," she whispered, kissing my shoulder. I hesitated. Love. Was that what this was? I was jealous when I found out about her arranged marriage. That hurt, even though we had promised each other that were were both people who didn't believe in marriage. We made promises when this started, to allow each other space. Now she was breaking those promises. Taking more and more of my time and energy. Demanding my attention in so many different ways. In a way, I didn't really mind it. I enjoyed being with her. I should tell her I love her.


Too late now, it'd just sound like I was saying it out of obligation. Easier to pretend I didn't hear her. Thankfully, she did't say anything, didn't make a scene of it. I sat up after a while and made my way to the bathroom, stopping in front of the mirror to straighten up my hair. Dammit, Sabah, what are you doing? You should talk to her. Explain.


She's not ready for that. She still needs time to recover. Fuck, I need time to figure things before I try to say anything. I splashed some water on my face and ran a comb through my hair. I wasn't a fan of how boringly flat my hair was, but it did make it easy to care for.


By the time I left the bathroom, Lily had started her exercise routine. She hadn't bothered to get dressed. Rapture didn't mention exhibitionism as a side effect. "I... I have work I need to get done," I told her.


She stopped and looked at me. Her lips quivered a little. She wants me to invite her back, I realized. It'll just distract me. "I'll see you in the morning," I offered.


"Okay," she forced a smile. "See you in the morning."


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

A/N- Well. Turned out decently enough.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 239-Becky


These halls are far too impersonal, I decide as I walked through the corridors of Cauldron. Contessa was, of course, already aware I was here, and waiting alongside Doctor Mother.


"Good morning," the elder of Cauldron's leadership spoke. It was late afternoon by my personal clock, but Cauldron's base was located in Europe, and that's where both Contessa and Doctor Mother were from, so they went by that schedule despite a mostly American focus of effort and resources. Despite the fact that both of them kept to an American sleep pattern, for that matter. I'd suspect them of being snobbish, except I knew these two, and neither had it in them. The answer was likely part of Contessa's path.


"Good morning," I agreed. "I have the latest report on Chevalier's new armor design. It shows a great deal of promise. Possibly of the anti-Scion variety."


"You're kidding me," Doctor Mother exclaimed. Even Contessa showed signs of surprise, which managed to surprise me. She's not infallible, that much I already knew. Her power has shown some critical flaws lately.


"Pantheon believes it's the best defensive design ever built, at least," I informed them. "Functionally as durable as Khonsu. Plus a few other features. Legend and I gave it a stress test and we were unable to cause detectable damage. The jury's still out on whether it's a legitimate defense against Scion, but it's certainly a powerful weapon to use against him. More than that, they hope his power and the data they got off of Khonsu's teleportation will let us find our way into Scion's personal dimension."


"I must admit, the plan to set Pantheon on the goal of killing Scion has proven more fruitful than I expected," Doctor Mother praised. "If nothing else, halting the collapse of civilization into anarchy is a remarkable achievement unto itself."


One which we hadn't believed was possible, I added silently. We followed Contessa's path. We accepted the inevitability of defeat, placing our priority on saving the world. More saving every other world than Bet. We treated that world as the battlefield. I had to wonder about everything that I'd done in the last decade. All the choices I'd made. What would I have done differently, knowing what we now know?


"Yes," I agreed, and the word didn't carry my thoughts or accusations. The next question did, if subtly. "Why did we never harness Endbringer tissue?"


It was Number Man that answered the question. Another parallel between us and Pantheon, recruiting Slaughterhouse Nine members. "We didn't see the benefits," he answered simply. "We know that the Endbringers, for all their power, are strictly inferior to Scion in every appreciable way. Even if we had an army of them, they wouldn't be able to defeat Scion. It was, and in many ways still is, a better use of our time to devote our efforts to the formula. Discovering a power without limits is still our best hope."


Right, Scion, the crux of the problem.


"The more I view recent results, the more I come to believe power interactions and synergies are the tool that will let us beat Scion," I spoke. It wasn't really a debate, Cauldron and the Protectorate were already dedicating resources in that direction. So were most of the foreign cape groups. The Entities had, understandably, created blocks on powers to keep any given parahuman from having too much power. But the synergies were, somehow, exempt from those blocks. Far stronger than any individual power could hope to be.


Contessa, of all people, spoke next. "My power can't see them," she finally admitted. "They're part of the Taboo. It makes finding paths difficult." She's scared, I realized. Or she wants me to believe she's scared. Possibly both. It made sense, Pantheon was surrounded by so many power interactions, precog blocks, and Taboo research subjects that every time they did something new, it completely altered our models. Only the Alcott girl seemed able to provide useful predictions around them. As their currect activities had nationwide impacts on an almost daily basis, it made Contessa unreliable.


"It might also be the reason Endbringers and Eidolon are immune to precognition," Doctor Mother spoke. "Pantheon's theories about the Endbringers as a complex power interaction would explain a great many things."


And David's power, if looked at as hundreds of powers interacting simultaneously, would be similarly protected. The theory made sense. "I see," I agreed. "While we're on the subject, I've been invited to Pantheon's base for a Christmas party."


"I trust you accepted," Doctor Mother replied. She sees it as an opportunity, of course. Learning more about Pantheon, its plans, and its inner workings, would only be beneficial to Cauldron in the long run.


"Naturally," I agreed. I left out that my reasons were as much personal as business. "I don't imagine I'll learn much, however. I don't intend to try. Their primary Thinker is the one who discovered power interactions in the first place. If I go in with espionage as an intention, I'll almost certainly be discovered." If I would, she never would have invited me in the first place, I knew. She's trusting me.


Doctor Mother simply nodded. "Wise precaution. Is there any other business?" she asked.


"None of import," I answered.


....


I came to their home by flight, in full costume, only to be moderately surprised by photographers taking pictures and video footage. It's five in the afternoon on Christmas day, significantly below zero, and there they were out in force. I certainly had to respect their work ethic. Enough to even stop and give them a sound bite or two. I landed more or less equidistant to all of them and waited. A few started asking questions immediately, I simply rose my hand up. "Wait for the others," I instructed. They listened well enough. The secret to dealing with reporters was a lot like dealing with politicians. And, for that matter, men. As long as they knew you'd give them what they wanted, they'd do almost anything you asked.


I was impressed, however, at how easily they took it in stride. No one attempted to pester me into talking 'early', and usually there'd be at least one who didn't accept waiting as an option. Pantheon has them well trained.


Eventually everyone got into position. "Alright," I pointed at the crew that had arrived first. "Your question."


"Allen Shin, Channel eleven," he introduced himself. "Why are you here at Pantheon's headquarters? Is there an emergency?"


"Not at all," I answered calmly. "This is a personal visit."


"Personal? Care to elaborate?" another reporter asked.


"They invited me to their Christmas dinner," I answered. They didn't seem particularly convinced, so I continued. "As you might imagine, I've gotten to know a few members of Pantheon fairly well during the Endbringer conflicts and other events. It's no secret that they built the weapons you've seen me use. I consider them to be colleagues, and some of them to be friends, so I accepted their invite. Even if that ruins my reputation as an incurable workaholic."


"Which ones do you consider friends?" another prompted. "Any that might be more than friends?"


Damn gossip rags. "I think it'd be more fun to say nothing and let you speculate," I answered. You will no matter what I say or do. This way I'm in on the joke. "Now if you'll pardon me, I have some friends to visit. Have a Merry Christmas."


I turned and went inside, ignoring further questions. There was nothing more of value to talk about anyway. Either it'd be more gossip questions that I wouldn't dignify with an answer, or they'd start to ask business related questions. If those were going to be answered at all, it would be in a controlled environment with the national organizations, not a cute little photo op with the local press. They know I am here, let them speculate about everything else.


The entrance to their building was practically a living maze, and the biological lighting created the otherworldly feel that I'd grown to enjoy in my rare visits. Almost the opposite of Cauldon's sterile corridors and labs. The building even smelled alive. My senses weren't truly any better than human, but my ability to process what those senses told me was significantly better, and I trained myself to exploit that. The earthy nature of the scent was much like that of a forest, but lacking in the decaying leaf scent that most people came to associate with the woods. Either way, it was relaxing.


By the time I got through the passage, I found a handful of Pantheon's members waiting to greet me. Victoria, Atropos and one other. Janus, their transgendered member. My power would have had an easy time recognizing that, even if it wasn't obvious from other information. I read the hostility in their positioning. Right, they're annoyed about the events in Indianapolis.


"Good evening," I spoke. "I owe you an apology."


"Your power tell you that?" Victoria asked. "Good. It means we can beat your Thinker power. Don't worry, we get what you did and why. Social positioning. Manipulation. Cloak and dagger bullshit. Sorta one of those facts of life around here. I just want you to know that if you do anything that hurts my family. Well, look at us, tell me what your power's telling you."


She stood with complete confidence, there was no hesitation or fear in her language, or Atropos'. The new member was still faking it, though not bluffing so much as afraid of doing what he knew he could do. "You can kill me," I stated. "With Atropos, that comes as no surprise, but your combat precognition is showing other methods. Any one of the three of you has at least one weapon I probably won't survive."


"Pretty much," Victoria agreed. "We're on the same page, then."


"You don't have to worry," I offered. "I never intended to try anything like that at this party." I read her language even as she read mine. Her power wasn't like Minerva's, it was inferior in most ways. Such as divining motivations. Emotion detection had its advantages, certainly, but without years of training it wouldn't reveal the causes or reasoning behind an emotion. She'd just know I wasn't lying, which was enough for this.


"Alright," she finally replied, going from slightly menacing to carefree teenager in a heartbeat. "Dinner's at six, there was suppose to be an open bar but then Amy had to ruin it by inviting our parents. Have fun, try not to roll your eyes at all the old people trying to get your autograph without asking for it. I'm trying to talk Lisa and Rapture into a game of super poker later tonight. You're invited."


She walked back into the hall where the talking was coming from. I opted to follow. I spotted Minerva quickly enough. The short blond was talking with a younger girl with brown hair. She glanced up at me, and the other girl turned her head to look. Dinah Alcott, I recognized now. But I was already having a conversation with Minerva.


Her eyes flickered for a half second toward Victoria and the other two. They gave you a hard time? Sorry about that.


I relaxed my body language slightly. It's okay, no harm done.


Her face tensed slightly. I'll talk to them later.


I let the briefest sign of concern cross my face. No, I'd rather you didn't. It's unnecessary.


Her head tilted just a fraction. If you're certain.


I smiled, and strode into the room like I owned it. I'm certain.


Most of Pantheon itself had met me enough times that there wasn't any celebrity worship amongst them, but there were others. Khepri's father I was quite certain had never seen me in person, though I memorized his profile as I did all the other people directly connected to the group. I'd met Gaea's family during the Leviathan attack on Brockton Bay, but only briefly. I had long ago gotten used to the reactions others had of me, but here it amused me. Your daughters have achieved more in six months than I have in a decade, it's not me you should be in awe of.


Minerva's grin widened.


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

A/N- This chapter was fun for me to write.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 240- Taylor


CuriosityAmusement. "So, what was that about?" Amelia asked, leaning her head against my shoulder. She'd been in a particularly 'cuddly' mood lately, for whatever reason. I wasn't complaining, although given the nature of this gathering, it might have bordered on too much PDA.


"You know how your sister might be clinically insane?" I teased.


"Which one?" Amelia deadpanned. "And what did she do this time?"


"Well, in about fifteen seconds, she managed to threaten to murder Alexandria, and then invited her to a poker game. In that order." She knew I was talking about Victoria, already. Riley, and for that matter the rest of the kids, were spending their time with their own private party. Riley because she had to, Missy because she preferred to spend time with Riley. Which meant Theo, Trevor, Emma and Zach had managed to bow out of the officially adult party.


ExasperationResignation. "Remind me again why I let her join the team?"


"Eye candy?" I suggested. AmusementAnnoyance. She smiled. I had to admit, it felt good to know we were at the point where we could joke about that. "You don't have to worry, though. Alexandria handled it well enough. Thanks for turning off the Yggdrasil's 'eat all bugs' feature."


"Just don't abuse the privilege too much," she warned. "A girl could get insecure knowing her date is paying attention to everyone at the party except her. Now dish on all the juicy conversations."


"Isn't this a violation of privacy?" I asked.


"It's a party," she countered. "Unless they sneak off to the bathroom together, they can't complain if someone overhears their conversation."


"So... leave Dad and Sarah alone, got it."


"First, eww," Amelia smacked my side lightly. "Second, they're over there talking to Crystal. So you can tell me."

'You'll get to try it out soon enough,' Crystal said to her mom. 'The next upgrade will be ready in a month or so. It's so much better than this one. Three times the battery life, better forcefield augmentation, anti-power features.'

'Isn't this your fifth upgrade?' Sarah asked. 'I thought you said the last one was the limit of the tech.'

'It was, then,' Crystal replied. 'Now it's not. You know how Tinkers get.'​

"Crystal's giving your aunt another hand me down top of the line battle suit."


"Again?" she sighed. "See, this is why I'm glad I'm not part of that conversation. Sounds boring. What else have we got."

'Yours, too, huh?' A woman laughed. I didn't recognize. 'Mine was convinced he'd become a hero ever since he was six.'

'With Vicky it was always Alexandria,' Mark agreed. Is he flirting with her? I couldn't tell, but the woman was definitely flirting with him. 'She spent all of middle school with her hair dyed black.'

'Trevor made me get him that one swimsuit calender Legend was in,' the woman, who I was now assuming was Trevor's mother for all the obvious reasons, leaned in a little closer. 'You know, I bought another one just for me.'

'Vicky had that one, too,' Mark laughed. 'My Amy said it was tacky. Guess I know why, now.'

'You can always spot the ones who'll turn out like that early,' the woman replied. 'She's not wrong, though. It was definitely tacky.'​

"Your mom's talking business again," I offered. No way in hell am I telling her about her dad flirting with Trevor's mom.


"Who's her victim this time?"


"Mister Barnes," I informed.


"Well, that's not so bad," she replied. "I'll remember to avoid them like the plague."


I found myself agreeing with her fully. Emma's parents were not on my list of favorite people. I still remembered how her dad functionally blackmailed mine. The asshole still hadn't even offered an apology. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't even realize what he did was wrong. Lucky us, he was a divorce lawyer. Saved me the awkwardness of telling him to go try to shove a stick up Leviathan's ass. Of course, it also cost me the satisfaction of doing that very thing. I'd have to settle for the fact that Emma avoided him almost as much as I did.


My thoughts must have bled into the link, because Amelia gave me an extra tight hug. "Hey, am I going to have to distract you? I can always drag you back to our room until dinner starts. In fact, I might just do that anyway."


I poked her nose. "You do realize I'm under aged, right?"


"Excuses, excuses," she sighed. "I could just drag you over to Avalon. No laws there at all. Or are you going to pull the 'waiting until marriage' line, because at this rate..." she trailed off, not mentioning the elephant in our room. There were now two Endbringers we didn't know how to kill. And at least three more coming that we knew nothing about, but were probably just as hard to kill. Trading their offensive potential for even greater defensive power, the way Barghest and Khonsu had been built.


"Speaking of," I changed the subject. "Lily's postponing hers indefinitely. We have to worry about that."


"Good," Amelia insisted. "I know it might cost us our colony plans, but we can make up for that other ways. Open invitation to all refugees is a start. But forcing her into a marriage she doesn't want. Even if it was her idea. I won't-"

'I was beginning to worry you wouldn't show up,' Lisa spoke to Alexandria.

'Can't allow myself to appear over eager,' the woman answered easily. 'I hope I'm not interrupting your conversation, Miss Alcott.'

'That's quite alright,' the little girl replied. 'We weren't discussing anything of consequence.' 'And I should make my rounds. Networking is an unfortunately necessary part of the job.'​

I still didn't like how adult she felt the need to act. WorryHorrorLoss. My attention snapped back to Amelia. "Oh god, Taylor," she muttered. GuiltFear. "I didn't mean. I know our engagement is. You don't have to if you don't want, you know I'd never expect-"


I put a hand over her mouth. "That's not the problem," I insisted.


"Mmmph mp?" ConfusionHope.


"No," I insisted. "I was just listening in on Dinah talking to Lisa and Alexandria."


"Mmm," ReliefHumiliation. I let my hand off her mouth. "Sorry, there was just this weird combination of nostalgia, regret, and obligation. I thought, given the subject. I am such an idiot sometimes."


"Hey," I turned toward her and rested my forehead on hers. "Listen to me. There are a lot of things I regret. Things I'd do differently if given the opportunity. You are not one of those things. Except the part with the bank. And unless you want to watch me cry, don't mention ending our engagement again, okay?"


ConcernJoyAgreementLove. "Okay," she agreed.


"Now, say hello to Dinah," I instructed her as I broke our impromptu huddle.


"Hi, Dinah," Amelia spoke as she turned away from me and toward Dinah.


"I was about to leave, actually," she spoke up. "I wouldn't want to intrude on a private moment."


"Don't worry about it," Amelia replied, her emotions smoothed and her voice relaxed. "Taylor and I can talk whenever we like."


"We probably should spend more time with our guests," I admitted reluctantly. I still wasn't fond of socializing. "There was a reason we invited all these people, after all. And it wasn't so they could eat all our food."


"Very well," Dinah agreed. "I just wanted to thank you for your help. It's come to my attention that I'm too... aloof... of late, and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate everything you've done for me. The numbers are looking better every day, lately."


How long have I wanted to hear those words? Amelia squeezed my hand as my emotional surge hit her. I smiled. "Thank you, that means a lot," I insisted.


"I'd also like to thank the girl who made my gryphon," Dinah requested.


ConcernHesitation. "That was..."


"Please don't lie to me," Dinah replied. "By virtue of my interactions with Lisa, I'm aware of a great deal of information, and as often as you call on my power for your needs, I've picked up a few other details. Spare me the literal headache of doing this the hard way."


WorryResignation. "Well, I think she's got us," Amelia admitted.


"I'll take you to them," I offered. "So, how long have you known?" I asked her as I broke my hand hold with Amelia and guided the girl toward the labs.


"Approximately a day and a half before you released me from Coil's custody," she informed me.


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

A/N- I decided to use a similar technique to the TV thing for Taylor's 'bug senses'. Lemme know what you think.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 241- Missy


I had to admit the party was fun. I considered going out to associate with the adults, be taken seriously, but I could only do that if I left Riley here alone. She was my best friend, and this would be her first Christmas since she was six years old that she'd be able to enjoy. That she'd be able to have surrounded by family and friends that cared about her. Of course I was going to stay with her.


I wonder if we could use our cloning tech to bring back Jack Slash. Being covered in acid and drowned in cockroaches was nowhere near a horrible enough death for that twisted bastard.


Riley, at least, seemed happy now. Not the false cheerfulness of Bonesaw or Aceso, but a simple contentment while spending time with her friends. We had, out of some mutual agreement, chosen not to do any major Christmas gifts. Simple trinket gifts like cute outfits, nothing more. We had an evening of just spending time hanging out and relaxing. Mostly by keeping the Tinkers away from their labs for a night. Which was a lot easier said than done.


"No, they totally got a thing going on," Zach insisted. "They even chased me out of my own bedroom."


"Zach," Emma sighed. "First of all, everyone chases you out of your bedroom. It's the only way to make you leave. Second, Sabah would kill them both."


"Well, that's one possible solution," Zach smiled. "But maybe they thought it'd be fun to add a little vanilla swirl to their- OW! Riley, you don't even- OW! Emma, seriously, what the hell?"


I laughed. The two of them were really good at reading each others' reactions with stuff like that. I still couldn't figure out why Zach still said something like that, it always got him in trouble for no reason. Then again, Zach joined in the laughter, too. Maybe that was the point.


"Besides, Vicky's into men," Theo pointed out. "And not even girly looking guys."


Ain't that the truth, I agreed silently. She and Dean had been quite the pair, much to my younger self's constant disappointment. It still hurt a little to think about him, though the last seven and a half months had eased the pain. He was a friend, and I still missed him dearly, but I no longer carried the torch for him that I used to. It helped to have so many good friends to support me, and a wonderful boyfriend.


"She turned me down," Zach pointed out.


"Dear," Emma said with exaggerated sweetness. "I think that proves Theo's point."


"Yup," Trevor agreed.


"Sorry Zach, it's true," I added.


"Ouch," he pouted. "Just when I think I might be able to have some self esteem of my own, you find and murder it in front of me. Using fire."


"Don't worry Zach," Riley offered. "By most standard of masculine attractiveness, you are actually measure quite satisfactorily. Symmetrical features, greater than average height and muscle build, no significant injuries, greater than average intelligence and emotional stability. Even with your health issues before acquiring your powers reducing viability by approximately twenty percent, you still average out at a seven point two four, with a twelve percent margin for error based upon the cultural and psychological preferences of the perspective mate."


"Why do I feel like I just went through FDA inspection?" Zach asked.


"She says you're cute, but you aren't her type," Emma offered, giving Zach a one armed hug. "Don't worry, you actually are my type."


"Huh," he replied. "I knew that sounded familiar. Well, since it's 'pick on Zach day', then I'm the one who gets to pick the movie."


"No," Trevor insisted. "You keep showing us these dumb ass movies from Aleph. That last one was utterly retarded. Alien invaders is cool and all, but why the fuck would anyone be dumb enough to terraform a planet that gives their entire species all the powers of Alexandria and Legend combined? Don't get me started on the parts that can be summed up as the single most poorly written Jesus allegory in the history of storytelling."


I found myself nodding in agreement.


"Well, at least it had awesome special effects?" Theo offered.


"I liked the dubstep cannon," Emma added.


"The whole point of watching Aleph movies is to laugh at how shitty they are," Zach argued. "That's what makes them fun. That and all those companies we've never heard of that pay for their businesses to be the ones that get blown up in the fighting. Truly, they are geniuses of product placement. Besides, this next movie's by a really good director. The guy who did Pan's Labyrinth. You all liked that one, didn't you?"


"Depends, what's it about?" I asked. Is this one going to make Riley cry, too?


"Well, it starts off with these giant robots and they fight..." Zach hesitated for a second. "Actually... now that I think about it, maybe we shouldn't see that one."


I was about to make a remark, but then a tunnel opened in the wall. Taylor stepped through, along with a girl that couldn't have been much older than ten. "Don't worry, she's safe," Taylor said as Riley moved to hide behind me. "Everyone, this is Dinah. She wanted to meet all of you."


"Good evening," the girl spoke up, walking more or less straight toward Riley. "I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate Typha. She's everything I hoped for and more. Your work is truly amazing."


"Thank you!" Riley responded excitedly. "I put a lot of work into making her perfect. Have you tried her roosting feature?"


"Yes, indeed," Dinah nodded. "I admit, I haven't used my actual bed ever since. She is indescribably comfortable."


Oh god, she is so adorable in her tiny little business suit trying to act all grown up! I paused for a second. Oh. Is this what everyone thinks when they look at me? No wonder the adults never take me seriously.


"Well, clearly you're getting along," Taylor spoke up. "I'd love to stay here with you, but I have to go back to the adults. They need to be supervised or they might actually start having fun."


"You have my deepest sympathies," Dinah responded. "If you see my uncle, let him know I'm busy and that I apologize for not having time to see him."


"I'll be sure to do that," Taylor agreed as she turned and left.


"We were just about to watch a movie," Riley informed the girl. "But since you're new, you can pick something."


"Don't let them fool you," Zach remarked. "She's only saying that so I don't get to pick the movie."


"I don't have a preference for movies," Dinah answered.


"We didn't get you any presents, either," Riley said apologetically.


"That's quite alright. Typha's the best present I've ever had," Dinah answered. "Besides, I am the guest here, you shouldn't have to get me anything. In fact, I should be the one bringing you gifts."


"Ooh, could you tell us the future?" Riley asked. "Like who I'm going to get married to? Can you do that."


She frowned for a second. "Not exactly. My prediction powers only give percentages and possibilities. I can tell you if you'll ever get married, and if you point someone out to me, I can answer if it'll be between the two of you, but I can't simply give you a name."


"Oh, I guess that works," Riley replied. "Will I-"


"Maybe you should wait on that," I interrupted. "Dinah's questions are really valuable. Like, huge, she probably charges thousands of dollars for each one."


"Fifteen," Dinah confirmed. "I sometimes offer discounts for bulk requests. In addition, Minerva and I have come to an arrangement to help counter my predictions of the end of the world. But the money isn't really a concern anymore. These days, my fees are more about dissuading people from coming to me at all than it is encouraging them to use me for their own purposes. And I'm taking something of a vacation."


"A vacation?" Trevor asked.


"Yes," she responded. "My parents feel I overwork myself and should focus more on relaxing and enjoying life. I refused to stop working on finding solutions or improving the numbers for the end of the world."


"It's good to have parents that worry about you," I agreed. Mine sure didn't, but at least I didn't have to worry about that anymore. It had taken some time for me to figure out how to make it work, but I convinced my mother that Pantheon was a paying job with responsibilities, and I was making a lot of overtime. Really, I was paying myself out of my share of the reward money for killing the Simurgh. It was more than I could ever imagine spending. So I used it to create excuses for me to spend all my time with my friends and the people who actually acted like a real family.


"It is," she agreed. "So I have enough power for everyone to ask a question, without any risk of tiring me out."


"You don't have to," I insisted. She reminds me of Riley, so eager to make friends that she'll offer them gifts like this. "We're not going to treat you any differently for not letting us use your power."


"You misunderstand," Dinah answered. "The numbers get better if you accept my offer."


"Numbers?" I asked.


"The end of the world," she answered. "It's a marginal difference, granted, less than a point oh one percent increased chance of stopping the end, and between fifteen to thirty thousand more survivors if the end occurs anyway."


"So, basically, if we don't start asking, we kill something like seven thousand people each?" Zach asked. "How the hell does that make sense?"


Dinah simply looked at him. "All I know is what," Dinah answered. "How and why are not things my power gives to me."


"Well, can't argue with that," Zach nodded. "Alright. So, what are the odds that two or more people in this room will participate inathreesomewitheachother." He spoke the last few words fast enough that he could complete the sentence before getting jabbed hard enough to dust and reappear.


"The hell is wro-" Emma started to yell at her boyfriend, but was interrupted by Dinah.


"Ninety four point seven seven three," the girl answered.


We all fell silent.


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

A/N- The second half of this chapter is, in fact, already finished. You'll just have to wait until I choose to post it.

 

[Leonidas333]

Have an Omake! (Its my omake-virginity, you had better take responsibility)
Title: Alternate questions:
So many things flashed through his mind:
"What is the chance that we succeed in averting the end of the world?"
"What is the chance that I will outlive the rest of Pantheon?"
"What is the chance that Lily recovers?"
And the worst one of all:
"What is the chance that by the end of this, I will regret it?"
But that wasn't what was needed at the moment. He couldn't change the world with his power, hell, he could barely change himself. But he was able to help out anyway, by helping those who could. And right now they needed to break the ice.

"Alright. So, what are the odds that two or more people in this room will participate inathreesomewitheachother."

"Ninety four point seven seven three," Dinah answered.

Huh.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 242- Emma


Ninety five percent? Holy shit. Who? I ruled myself out immediately. Given the issues with my biology, it would make a lot more sense for me to just give Zach permission to cheat than it would for me to participate in anything. Dinah and Riley were thirteen and twelve, although developmentally Dinah was a year or so behind the curve thanks to her captivity, and Riley was setting up to be an early bloomer. Then again, Dinah's prediction didn't have a time stamp on it, for all I knew this wouldn't occur until we were all in our twenties.


There were a few uncomfortable glances exchanged, to say the least. Theo looked like he was about to apologize to Missy for something he didn't do. Riley looked a little... frightened? Zach, well, my lovable moron looked like he wanted to apologize, too. Only in his case he should.


Trevor coughed uncomfortably, then spoke up. "Well, I'm just going to say it's easier just to pretend no one asked that question. How's that sound? Whatever may or may not happen in the future, I'm sure it'll make more sense then. In the meantime, let's talk about something completely unrelated."


"Sounds like a plan," Zach agreed readily, and everyone else nodded their agreement. "Well, my monkey's paw has been properly high fived. Next time I'll ask boxers or briefs. So, who else wants to try their luck? You can't possibly top mine."


"Chances my sister, Aster, becomes a parahuman?" Theo asked. Of course he'd want to know that.


"I can't see that," Dinah replied. "My powers are still limited by the Taboo. I have been meaning to ask if you had a way to work around that. It would be extremely helpful for all of us."


"Not in the way you're hoping for," I admitted. "We can install memories of things that are Taboo, but that won't allow you to remember new Taboo information, nor will it allow retain new memories of Taboo information you might pick up in the future. We believe it's only possible to completely break the memory blocks if you have a trigger event after receiving the memories. And as of right now, we have absolutely no way to break the blocks on Thinker powers on Trigger Events, Endbringers and Scion. Believe me, we've tried everything we could think of. Which, admittedly, isn't much."


"A pity," Dinah replied. "Do we have any other questions?"


Trevor took a deep breath. "Chances my mother accepts me when I go public with my sexuality? She'll pretend she does, I'm sure. I just need to know if she'll ever actually mean it."


Dinah looked away. "Eleven point six three," she answered. "Sorry."


"Nothing I didn't already expect," he sighed. Oh, Trevor. "Well, that's her problem. Not my fault if she can't handle it, and no one will be able to say I haven't done my part to care for my family."


Theo reached over and put a hand on Trevor's shoulder. "Sorry, man. Believe me, I've been there."


"Woah, back up a second," Zach raised his hands and affected shock. "You're gay? That is such a relief. I thought all those magazines were Theo's and I was losing so much sleep trying to figure out how to tell Missy the bad news."


Trevor chuckled. "Fuck you, Zach."


"Ordinarily I'd turn that down," Zach replied. "But the precog has spoken. I'm gonna have to ask you to wear a wig, though."


Trevor gave me a smirk. "Would you?"


It took me a moment to realize that he wasn't propositioning me. At least, not for the obvious result. It took Zach longer, so he wasn't remotely prepared when I dug a thumb up into the nerve under his armpit. Not too hard, or his corrective teleport would have undid my effort.


"Gah!" Zach jumped away from me. "Okay! I'll be good!"


"No you won't," I teased. He may be an idiot, but he's a good man, always there to lighten the tense situations with humor.


"Yeah, probably not," he replied.


"I have my question," Riley asked softly. "Will I ever be able to do enough good to make up for the bad things I did as Bonesaw?"


So much for lightening the mood. Missy was there first, pulling the girl into a hug. I could probably ask the same question, I thought. And everything I've ever done is nothing compared to what Bonesaw was guilty of on an average weekend.


"I can't answer that kind of question," Dinah replied. "My power follows numbers. Good or bad aren't able to be put into numbers. I don't know if our Passengers are capable of comprehending such ideas in the first place. I do know you've helped. A lot. The Nilbog mission alone improved the numbers by a full percentage point, and up to half a million extra lives. But... I've been trying to remind myself that there are people behind my numbers. Faces and names and lives, instead of just data. So, I want you to know how much you helped Sam and Rory."


"Sam?" Missy asked. I was drawing a blank as to who Dinah was talking about, too. For that matter, who's Rory?


"You'd know her better as Prism," Dinah replied. Oh, right, one of the ones we revived from Bakuda's glass bomb. "She came as my cousin's date for my uncle's Christmas gathering. She's the head of one of New York's Protectorate teams, and Rory's second in command of a different team. They wouldn't stop talking about it. Oh, and they're going to get married in a year. But don't tell them, they don't know about it yet. Or the baby."


"Wait, she didn't keep her powers when she was revived," I interrupted.


"She got a new set," Dinah replied.


"Her too?" I asked. Thank you distraction. "That's two of the five we restored, already. There has to be some kind of undetected bias, since none of them should be any more likely to get powers than any random person on the street. What abilities did she get?"


"She creates copies of other parahumans that are in her line of sight, now," Dinah answered. "She can generate a maximum of three clones per day, and they have duration limits that deplete faster as they use their abilities. Thinker and Tinker are especially bad for the duration. My power, for example, she can only ask one question to a clone, then it pops. More generic brute or blaster powers can last for potentially hours, depending on how powerful they are."


Zach let out an appreciative whistle. "Some people have all the luck. Even if the only thing you do with that is find out what powers an enemy cape has, you're golden."


"That's a lot stronger than her original ability," I added. "However, it is similar. Prism used to be able to create dupes of herself and then absorb them for temporary ability increases. Now she dupes others, complete with powers. Compare to Victoria, who in both cases got brute, mover and energy generation powers. Riley, do you think there could be a pattern?" Here we go, Tinker talk, think about that instead of self pity.


"Unknowable with such a small sample size," Riley replied. "It's an interesting theory, however. What's more significant is the potential for additional data from pre and post trigger brain mapping. Every piece of data we can pull together on how trigger events work, the better. With enough samples, I might even be able to build devices that let us modify powers."


That's right, that was one of her projects. As good as my powers were, they weren't nearly a match for Riley's in trying to understand how powers worked.


"I will make certain to let her know," Dinah replied. "This could be the reason the numbers get better."


She's uncertain. Not lying, but her power's not seeing benefits to the process. I blinked, realizing that my power switched into 'biotinker' state. The nature of these repeat triggers are still part of the Taboo, of course she couldn't know what would come of that research. It was something of a miracle that she could even see Scion's actions enough to know there was an apocalypse in the first place.


I glanced at my friends. Zach remained his usual baseline, with the slightly slower than average aging process. He was more alert than most of us, to his body he had just woken up refreshed and alert only a few minutes ago. Everyone else besides me had been up since this morning.


Missy was mainly concerned over Riley, as was Theo. Riley was torn between her Tinker nature and her foray into self pity. Something that was occurring more frequently than ever, of late. Tinker productivity loss alone could account for a number change.


Trevor was still caught up in his family issues. Sadly, there was very little I could do for him in that regard past being a sympathetic ear. He wasn't lacking in people who could understand what he was going through. None of us in this group had what could be called a good home life. One of the things I most envied Taylor for, her relationship with her father. I think mine would have disowned me if he thought he could get away with it. Going public with everything I'd done, well, unintended side effect was that it hurt my dad's reputation.


"I have my question," I finally spoke up. "You don't need a lot of details, do you? I could, say, ask you if a plan would work without you needing to know the details of the plan, right?"


"Yes," Dinah answered. "Minerva often uses questions of that nature."


"I have one of those plans," I replied. "If it succeeds, how much do the odds change in the end?"


"Point five percent increased odds of the apocalypse occurring," Dinah replied, her eyes widening. "But if it does occur, the number of survivors increases by almost one hundred and fifty seven million people." Her eyes met mine. "What exactly are you planning?"


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

Bonus scene:

"What are the odds the author's going to be a dick and not tell the audience what's going on?"

"As if you even need to ask."

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 243- Riley


Victoria walked into the meeting room looking almost solemn. "Everybody, I have an announcement to make," she started.


"She got her ass handed to her at the poker game last night, and now she's moving to California," Lisa interrupted. What? Oh no.


"What?" Amelia and I asked together.


"First, those two events are completely unrelated," Vicky started. "Second, you're a bitch. And third, how was I suppose to know my powers didn't work on poker games?"


"Well, if I were you, I would have tried playing poker before challenging three high end Thinkers to a game," Lisa repied.


"Let's just back the conversation up a minute," Taylor interrupted. "What's this about moving to California?"


"Alexandria invited me," Vicky answered. "We got into the conversation about the Elite being a pain in the ass, and how our alliance of indie groups pretty much stops around the halfway mark in the country. Since it's physically painful how boring it is around here, I'm going out west to start my own team. Y'know, kick around a few villains, take a few names, video tape my fights and put them online. Why did you guys stop doing that, anyway?"


"That's actually a pretty good idea," Taylor agreed.


"Mom is going to flip out," Amelia added. From the tone of her voice, that sounded like an approval of the plan.


"I'm going to miss you," I told her.


"Don't worry about it, Mushroom," Vicky insisted. "I'll have Eric bring me back on the weekends. In fact, I'll take him with me so I can come back whenever I want. It'll be like I'm not even gone."


"Wait, when did I agree to any of this?" Eric asked.


"You became the property of the most attractive woman in the room when you gave up the power of boobs," Vicky retorted. "Besides, this is LA we're talking about here. You're not going to convince me that you don't like the idea of hanging out on the beaches. Maybe you'll be discovered by an agent and become a movie star or something. Then you'll have all the girls throwing themselves at you."


"Make you a deal," he replied. "Instead of trying to get me set on fire, how about you try asking nicely?"


"Well, sure, if you want to take all the fun out of it," Vicky sighed. "So, would you like to join my totally badass team? Crystal's going to be there. Plus Lily and Sabah. I'll talk to them after they're done with their hangovers."


"Oh, sure, take pretty much every adult on the team," Taylor remarked.


"Well, I can't take the kids," Vicky argued. "You need the Tinkers to do what they do with the whole world ending shit. Zach's going to stick with Emma. Maybe I could talk Theo and Missy into coming along." My heart jumped. Not them. "But that ruins Zach and Theo's bromance. And now that I'm done with school, it's up to Missy and Clarice to represent how awesome we are at Arcadia. The legacy must go on. Besides, they're going to have to show Dinah the ropes when she get there next year. The three of them are going to be too adorable to contemplate."


Taylor and Amelia looked at one another, and their eyes flickered as they conversed via Taylia.


"We'll need to set some ground rules," Lisa replied. "Assuming Crystal even wants to go, that means she's in charge. Eric and Lily are too valuable to the Exodus project to go with you. Not that it really matters, you're already more than strong enough to hold your own. If anything, with the Elite's focus on Master and Stranger capes, Lily is too much of a liability. Plus Faultline is putting a lot of effort into recruiting Eric, I wouldn't want to disappoint her."


Eric spoke next, his voice controlled, but it wasn't hard to recognize anger and hurt. "Are you saying-"


"No, Spitfire is totally on the level," Lisa replied. "Faultline, on the other hand? Well, she is a mercenary, what would you expect? Also, she's almost as much of a manipulative bitch as I am, so just keep that in mind. I'm just letting you know all this so you don't wind up accusing your girlfriend of being part of this when her boss inevitably makes an attempt to lure you over to the dark side or whatever."


"I understand," he replied.


"Good," Lisa added. "So, that's settled. We have a contract with Dragon for industrializing KEB armor for her combat suits. It's pretty generous, all considered, and Rey can handle pretty much the entire thing on his own. You just have to sign it. Oh, and we'll be giving him a raise. Need that signed, too. And Riley has some news about the conversation she had with Dinah last night."


I stood up started to talk about our discovery of Prism's new powers, while trying to ignore how happy Victoria sounded to be leaving.


....


"Welcome back to the garden, Mushroom," Emma greeted me as I arrived in the labs. "Excited to be returning to school?"


"Yes," I answered, acting more excited than I was. When was it that I started having so much trouble pretending to be happy? I spent five years with the Slaughterhouse Nine, and I even convinced myself that I enjoyed it. Now I had real friends and family, and I had to fake cheer. It didn't really fool Emma, her powers made her too alert for me to beat without specifically preparing for them.


"Yeah, I never liked school much, either," Emma replied. "But you get to see all your other friends, too. I'm sure everyone missed you over the holidays."


I smiled. She's right, I did have a lot of friends who would be happy to see me. No, those are Clarice's friends. If they knew who I was, they'd run screaming.


Emma frowned. "That bad, huh?" she asked.


"Yes," I admitted. Emma set down her work and picked me up in a hug. I was definitely going to be a tall girl, and in fact was only a couple inches shorter than Emma at this point, but I was slender and her altered physiology made her strong enough to easily lift me.


"Don't worry, it'll get better," she insisted. "You don't need a boyfriend to make yourself feel better."


"I know," I agreed. "I'll be fine."


It was all a matter of hormones altering my emotional desires, creating new feelings that my neurology has not yet adapted to handling in a reasonable and calm fashion. Coupled with my Trigger age altering my natural brain development in a number of ways that would exaggerate the natural teenager tendencies toward poor impulse control and emotion management. I knew all this. I could even turn it off if I wanted to, with little difficulty. But doing so, turning off my feelings for Theo, it felt like a betrayal.


I slowly extricated myself from Emma's hold. "Prism called yesterday. We're going to have to review all the tests and questions you'll need with her." I changed the subject.


Meanwhile, Clarice was making her way to school via rooftop. The Endbringer materials built into her design made everything so much easier, I even managed to wedge a teleporter into the build, though it was an energy hog. I was still using the SEB tissue for Clarice. It was in most ways inferior to Khonsu's, but the forcefield generating effects of KEB tissue couldn't be removed and that was inconvenient in normal tasks. It worked for the Zerg, they existed only as weapons of war. But Clarice was how I experienced a normal life, she needed to be more than a weapon.


Classes were fun, as always. I had discovered a real love for the arts and humanities. Something that, in many ways, was in spite of my Passenger. My powers didn't understand music and literature. They were things I had to put actual effort into, instead of allowing my Passenger's alterations to my brain fill in the gaps, the way it did for math and science.


The Entities, based on everything we knew, couldn't comprehend art. Didn't want their hosts to care about such things, they didn't advance the cycle of conflict and evolution. If I hadn't been found by Jack Slash. If I hadn't Triggered. I imagine I might have become a singer or musician. I even had the natural good looks to make it as a popular performer, and if my popularity in school was a measure of success, I had the charm for it as well.


By the time school was out, I was honestly cheerful again. I couldn't be seen heading home with Missy, unfortunately. The cold weather made it hard to claim we were simply hanging out like we might if it were warmer, and Missy still had a secret identity to protect. Instead, I would simply shunt over and take the route through Avalon. I just had to go outside, first. Shunting could be done indoors, but it was really much better and safer for the environment to be outside first. Less chance of breaking something.


The moment I stepped out onto the roof, a number of alerts flashed on my display as space distorted around Clarice. It took a few seconds for me to map the new vectors of space, when everything went back to normal. Missy was now standing in front of me, wearing her costume. She held up my silk scarf between her pointer and middle fingers.


"So," she started, sounding less than pleased. "I recently found out you have a crush on my boyfriend."


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

A/N- DRAMA!

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 244- Theo


Riley has feelings for me? "You're sure about this?" I asked.


"I trust the source," Missy answered. "And that source is certain."


"And you're not going to tell me who gave you this info?" I prompted again. It was a pretty narrow list, considering the first step would be to eliminate absolutely everyone who didn't know Riley existed. That alone left us with, at most, a dozen or so people. I could remove Amelia from the suspect list because I didn't think she'd talk if she did know. And if Taylor found out, she'd tell Amelia, and they'd default back to saying nothing. It could have been Dinah, the whole outsider perspective. That, and the most powerful precog any of us had ever heard of. "Was it-"


Missy put her hand over my mouth. "I promised I wouldn't say who it was," she told me, her beautiful green eyes were intense and determined. "Please don't ask me go back on my word."


Well, there goes any chance of me finding out. "That's not fair and you know it."


"Sure it is," she replied, lifting herself on her tip toes to kiss me on the cheek. "You do what I say, and I let you go out with me."


"You've been spending too much time around Victoria," I leaned down an gave her a light peck on the lips. "Or maybe it's Emma this time. Now what are we going to do about this thing with Riley?"


"We aren't going to do anything," she emphasized. "I'll make us a shortcut to the roof so we get our armor from the other side. Don't worry, already had Trevor activate their remote guidance, they'll be waiting. Then you will shunt over. And I'll wait for Clarice. I have a plan, but I have to do it alone. You can wait for us to sort everything out."


....


Something about this just seems wrong. Missy was in her full armor, which was a rarity. She wasn't one of the ones that really needed her armor system to be effective. In fact, it actually slowed her down. She had to 'fill' the armor before she could extend her power around it, which meant it took longer to extend her power outside than it otherwise would. Of course, in the tradeoff she had a defense that only Endbringers and Lily could break through, and an energy weapon that could shatter a city block.


Clarice came up to the roof, and was turned into some kind of bizarre three dimensional pretzel, at least to my eyes. Missy's power couldn't work directly on the construct anymore, thanks to the Endbringer upgrades. But Missy had a lot of practice finding ways to work around her power's limitation. When everything snapped back, Missy was holding the decorative ribbon that Clarice kept in her pocket.


After that, she spoke. "So, I recently found out you have a crush on my boyfriend." Yeah, she has definitely been spending way too much time around Victoria.


Clarice froze, looking for all intents and purposes like a deer caught in the headlights. Then she started to cry, and it was all I could do to keep from shunting over to comfort her. Clarice isn't real. It's a puppet for Riley. Fuck you, Dream Girl. Meanwhile, my armor's systems automatically read the construct's lips and interpreted the words for me, using a fairly generic sounding female voice to speak. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"


Missy put a hand on Clarice's shoulder, and they shunted over. Clarice was doing an incredible job of mimicking emotions. "Time to take us all back home," my girlfriend commanded. "We'll talk when we get there."


It was a simple pair of footsteps to take us back to the base. "You wait here," Missy demanded.


"What? Can't I at least go to my room?" I asked.


"Nope, you stay here. And no peaking," she ordered, and then she shunted over, taking Clarice with.


What the hell? You'd think I was the one in trouble right now. I wandered around a bit, examining the structures going up on Avalon's side of the portal. There were several buildings, relatively squat office complexes of no more than four or five stories. More of it was dedicated to the zerg, they were lined up in rows like a massive and alien car lot. The creatures lacked autonomy without Khepri's direct control. They would act on their own in some circumstances, but for the most part they simply waited and did nothing. How did they ever manage to build to this point without being labeled a Class S threat and destroyed?


After a while, I found myself at the bioconstruct labs. Rey was inside, because he basically lived there, prodding a some glowing material. There were a number of tools near him, all in pristine white colors. They'd started growing basic equipment out of Endbringer tissue, crazily enough. A copy of Rapture's armor was there as well. I wasn't a tinker, and I didn't really know what projects were on the go, so I wasn't sure what he was doing with the armor. That wasn't really my concern anyway.


"Is something wrong?" Rey asked, looking up from his project.


"I honestly have no idea," I sighed.


"Girl problems," he nodded sagely. "I know that look."


"Got any advice?" I asked.


"Not really," he answered. "If I understood women, I'd have a very different life right now. Somehow I just happened to stumble across a Thinker who was just barely neurotic enough to date me for whatever reason. So I guess my advice is don't give up, and eventually things will work out through sheer dumb luck."


"Well, that's better than nothing, I guess."


"It also helps to take your mind off of the problem," he continued. "So, why don't you give me a hand for a while. I'd like to see how this KEB forcefield reacts to your power. Maybe we'll finally get you a real armor synergy."


....


"Okay, you came come back, now," Missy transmitted over the armor's com.


"Well, I got my call," I told Rey. "Let me know how things pan out." I was pretty sure the experiments had mostly been him humoring me, because there wasn't anything he seemed excited about when testing how my power interacted with Khonsu's power. Between Trevor, Emma and Riley I'd seen Tinker Success Mode enough times to recognize it. And there wasn't one of those here.


"Will do," he replied. He went back to working with the glowing material that was the deepest chunk carved out of Khonsu. I walked back over to our base and shunt onto our lawn. Missy was there waiting, she didn't have her armor on.


She led me inside, to my bedroom. "So, I had a talk with Riley."


"And?" I asked.


"She has it pretty bad," Missy informed me. "Has ever since before I met either of you, actually. She has a lot of issues with self esteem. She didn't believe you'd ever want her because of all the things she's done, so she never said anything. I think she was trying to have a relationship vicariously through me. Kinda like Lisa does, but with a lot less unbelievable bitch."


"I don't know what to think about any of this," I spoke up. "What should we do?"


Missy turned and looked at me, her face a blend of sad and determined. "You're going to give her what she wants," she instructed.


What? "I..."


"I've been exactly where she's at," she interrupted. "I know what that feels like. Being rejected like that by a friend and colleague. Riley has enough problems in her life, I won't allow her to go through that, too. She loves you, and you're at least going to give her a chance."


"But I'm dating you," I pointed out.


"I know," she replied. "Don't act like seeing both of us would be a hardship. You're a guy, after all."


I managed a dry chuckle. "I'm sure my old man is cheering from whichever hell he's damned to. I can't do it," I insisted, holding her hands in mine. She's so small compared to me. "It's not fair to you."


"Then I'm breaking up with you," she whispered.


My stomach dropped. "You can't mean that," I insisted. "You can't throw away what we have like this."


She looked away, toward the ground. "If it were anyone else, you'd be right," her voice wavered. "But this is Riley we're talking about. We both owe her our lives. And as much as this hurts, if I have to step out of the way so the two of you can be together, I will."


"I don't want Riley," I cupped her face and made her look at me. "I don't think of her that way. I love you, and that's that. Then there's still all that shit Dream Girl did to me. Seeing someone else is not a solution. Please, don't do this."


"Theo," Missy sighed. "Clarice is Riley. Her mind, her personality. I don't think you're so shallow that the pretty face is what made you fall for her in the first place. So any feelings you have for one, you have for the other."


I closed my eyes. "Damn it, you are too self sacrificing, you know that right?"


"She did the exact same thing for me," she pointed out. "Now are you going to cooperate, or am I going to have to find Zach and make him explain how you're throwing away a perfect opportunity. I'm sure it'll be an incredible blend of vulgarity and insight that will make you feel dumb for not realizing it on your own. He might even throw in charts. Or we can cut out the middle man. It'll save you from having to see stick figure pornography."


I laughed a little. "Okay," I relented. "If only to avoid having to tell Zach that he's smarter than us."


"Could be worse," she gave me a quick hug. "At least he's not Lisa." She stepped away and palmed my door. It opened. "You can come in, now."


Riley came through the entrance. She'd dressed up at some point, a dark red blouse that accentuated the black hair color she'd been sporting for a while now. She stopped, clasping her hands together in front. She looked at me nervously. I did pretty much the same thing back. Riley is Clarice, in every way that matters, I reminded myself.


Missy pointed at Riley and mouthed the words 'ask her out' slowly and silently.


"Uh... Riley?" I hesitated.


"Yes?" she asked.


"Would you like to go out with me?" I asked.

Her face lit up, but she thought to look back at Missy first. Missy simply nodded. "Yes!" Riley exclaimed, and jumped into me, hugging me tight. "Yesyesyesyes!"


I put my arms around her, and looked back toward my girlfriend. Other girlfriend? This is going to be such a pain in the ass to figure out. Missy managed to smile at me, walking up and gently hugging both of us. Well, I can think of worse problems to have.


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

A/N- Yeah, this arc shocks exactly no one.

Except the ones who were expecting me to do something horrible because I'm a trolling dick. To you? Well... double bluff troll maneuvering, go!

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 245


"So, here's a bit of shocking news," Lisa said as we sat down in front of our teleconference screen.


BoredomAnnoyance. "We're about to watch the PRT use our supersoldiers to 'liberate' Ellisburg," Taylor sighed. "Now you're going to spring surprises on us?"


"Of course," she grinned. "We have to put on a good show for the Directors. Having something else on your minds will make it easier to fake."


"We're in costume," Emma pointed out. "And the Taylia link disrupts social reading. And my biology is so different from human that even Rapture's tech can't get a real read on me anymore. The only one here vulnerable to being caught faking it is you."


"Be that as it may," Lisa dismissed all those points. "It doesn't hurt to have an extra layer of thoughts. Remember, we're not suppose to know how this all plays out. Speaking of, I asked our Goblin King to toss in an extra surprise or two. The best monsters he could make to give the troops a real workout. They can't win, the PRT has them outnumbered and the M7S and M7K models can recover from almost any amount of damage. but it'll be interesting to see how these men handle something that can actually fight back."


AnnoyanceConcern. "You have a talent for picking the worst possible times to give us important information."


"Have to keep things interesting somehow, right?" Lisa kept on smiling. "You know I wouldn't leave out anything critical. So we don't have a lot of time before the op starts and we have to put on our token showing. Someone managed to grab Clarice's ribbon, so Riley has a boyfriend."


WorryConfusion. "What? Who? How?" I asked. I don't even know what to think about this. "I have to talk to this boy."


"And girl," Lisa added. ShockAnnoyance.


"Seriously, Lisa," Emma interrupted. "Most people just use porn to get off. Do you need help? I can build you a machine that'll help you if that's what you need. Fuck, I'd let you borrow Zach if I wasn't afraid you'd break him. Riley is now together with Missy and Theo. Happened at the end of the first day of school. Missy snagged the scarf, and then they had a talk, and now Theo's dating both of them. It's as adorable as pretty much everything else those two get up to."


ShockConfusion. Oh, good for her. CuriosityConcern. "Riley's had feelings for Theo for a while," I stated, letting Taylor know more than anything. "We've talked about it a few times. She said she'd never do anything about it because she didn't want to hurt Missy. Made me promise not to tell anyone." Sorry Taylor.


AcceptanceNegation. "It's fine," Taylor replied. "Wasn't your secret to tell. So... what do we do about it? Should we talk to Theo?"


"I wouldn't bother with Theo," Lisa replied. "No matter how you look at it, Missy wears the pants in that trio. If you have to worry about anyone taking advantage of anything, she'd be the one to look at."


"Riley's happy with it," Emma offered. "I'm sure you've noticed." I found myself agreeing, she hadn't felt the need to stay in my bed for a few days. I thought it was just because she was excited about school again. And her spending as much time as humanly possible around Missy and Theo was already the norm.


"And now you have something to think about while we pretend to care about Ellisburg," Lisa added. "Cameras on in three, two, one..."


Our viewscreen activated, putting us proverbially face to face with several of the PRT directors, including Costa-Brown of course. Tagg and Armstrong, as the two 'neighbor' Directors to Calvert were also here. As well as a Jackson and Bennett, the Directors of Pittsburg and Philadelphia, respectively. I noted Dragon was here as well. Plus our special guest for the evening, Secretary of Defense Allen Brown.


I was conspicuously aware of how young we were compared to the three women and five men at our virtual table, but Secretary Brown was especially old. Career military since Vietnam, according to the bio I read before the meeting. His hair was white instead of gray, but other than that feature he looked to be in better shape than most people in their forties.


"Greetings ladies and gentlemen, Mister Secretary," the Chief Director opened. I didn't begrudge her singling him out for specific address. He was pretty much her boss. For both of her identities. "Director Calvert sends his apologies for being unable to attend. It appears, based upon Miss Alcott's predictions, that the numbers favor plans where he takes field command of the mission."


Or maybe he hasn't, and he is here at this meeting in his other timeline, I added mentally. I wasn't certain how he was harnessing his power here, but Dinah gave this mission a virtually perfect chance of success no matter the circumstances, so I knew there was no benefit to the mission itself. I put my money on it being a matter of ego. One of those things I'd learned about Coil in the time since we took control over him was his obsession with personal glory. He didn't just need to win, he needed everyone to know it. He wanted to be hailed as a great hero, and would become a monster to do it.


"I was under the impression that the mission was handled entirely by remote control," Secretary Brown spoke.


"Yes, sir, it is," Lisa replied. "The men are all safely several miles away from Ellisburg. I imagine, as one of the survivors of the first Ellisburg mission, Director Calvert will have insights to deploy in the field that improve the results. Or it's possibly a morale issue. Some of the men might need field coaching. It is difficult to say for certain. However, Dinah's numbers don't lie. If her predictions give this plan gives the best results, then we should use it."


The man frowned, but still nodded. I trusted Lisa to handle this situation. I also noted that she didn't say anything about Coil lying about the number Dinah gave.


The conversation died after that, and we waited the few minutes in functional silence. There wasn't any pressing business to take care of, after all. Or at least none that could be done in this kind of mixed company.


"The mission is starting," Dragon announced. The viewscreen changed into a complex three dimensional map relying upon Dragon's mapping technology fed through the two hundred M7S and another hundred M7K soldiers. We could change views manually if we liked, but Dragon's software was tracking everything with the promise to give us the best view of the action as it occurred.


It was broad daylight when they dropped in, using their stealth features. The M7K held back, waiting for orders. Their Khonsu forcefields gave them boosted energy production, but cost them a lot of other options. Amongst others things, they didn't have cloaking features, advanced scanners, or built in energy weapons. The Simurgh models were, essentially, the scouts. Scouts that could solo a small army, but still scouts.


Calvert's voice came over the view, giving commands and instructing his men on where to go. He's in one of the scout units, I realized. But he's still giving commands to his men in real time. That's how he's using his power, to give himself a semblance of Taylor's multitasking. Pure showboating, of course. Coil showing his skills off to his colleagues and superiors.


The scouts did their thing, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and harnessing a number of exotic senses. "Perimeter established. Sir, we're not finding anything alive," one of them reported. "There's nothing here."


"It just means Nilbog's creations don't register to the tech," Calvert responded. "This equipment is sensitive enough to detect a sparrow from a hundred meters away. The lack of normal animal life proves there's something here, if only because it's killing everything else. Release the bait animals."


"Understood, sir," the man replied. We watched them get into position and open the cages. A number of birds and rodents were let loose, taking flight or scurrying for cover. Quickly followed by screeching and crunching picked up by the hypersensitive hearing features. One of the soldiers got a good look at one of the nightmarish creatures left behind. It had blended itself into one of the larger trees, naturally camouflaged for the snow. Several vicious looking barbed tendrils snapped out, killing the birds immediately.


"Don't attack them," Calvert commanded. "Follow the dead animals, they'll lead us to Nilbog."


"How does he know that?" one of the Directors asked.


"He must have seen it when he was in Ellisburg the first time," Costa-Brown supplied.


HorrorDisgustShame. I couldn't tell which emotions were mine, and which were Taylors. We recruited the monster that did all this. He turned thousands of human beings into raw material, and we gave him his own country.


They were led further in, to the central chamber. "That's it," Calvert replied. "That's where you'll find him. Team twelve, find a way in from above. Eleven, ground level. One through ten, establish defensive points at all entrances. Everyone else, watch for enemy activity outside the secure zone."


The invading teams entered, working their way to Nilbog's inner chamber. The bloated man-thing was there, engaging in... I looked away. It was like the worst of the creepy smut people wrote about me. The goblin creatures barely look more than six or seven years old.


"Christ almighty," the Secretary of Defense muttered. "I know you don't need me to give the order, but kill that son of a bitch."


"Happily, Sir," Calvert responded. "Team eleven, open fire. Every available attack type. All other units, prepare to engage hostiles. Leave nothing alive."


The stone building exploded as the various energy weapons punched holes through the walls.


The ground shuddered as monsters cried, screached, and roared at the 'death' of their maker, and the land came alive. The tree-spear monsters attacked several of the constructs, and I watched the display panels showing the unit conditions blinked. We had dumbed down versions compared to what existed for the pilots, but it was good enough for our purposes. More than half of them shifted from blue, undamaged. To green, very light damage.


One of the bigger monsters burst from the ground. It was more or less humanoid, though it hunched and its arms were long enough to reach the ground. More like a reptilian version of a gorilla than anything. It was larger than Leviathan, perhaps even Behemoth. It was also fast, and violated all logic of the square cube law and how it limited living things. It gripped a pair of the M7s by the heads, and threw them. One managed to auto correct with its flight system. The other didn't have time, colliding with the side of a bank hard enough to crack the sone. Our first yellow icon appeared.


"They had to fight things like that?" Tagg muttered. "No wonder we lost Ellisburg the first time."


The giant found two more targets, and had taken to punching them into the road. They had switched to yellow as well.


Then the M7Ks started to attack. Their extra durability and weight, plus not having stealth or range features to drain their resources, meant they were pure flying bricks. Four of them landed on the monster's back using their improved gravity flight systems. It was crushed into the earth hard enough to splinter the road around it. The four attackers then had to put their effots into digging their way out of the corpse they found themselves trapped in.


The battle itself lasted another two hours, as Nilbogs monsters, with their massive numerical advantage, threw themselves suicidally at the soldiers, who had the advantage of tactics, weapons, and superior bodies on their side. They won, but it wasn't close to a fast victory. I glanced at the clock. It was almost time for the kids to get back from school.


"That concludes the first true field test of the Model 7s," Minerva responded. "I believe I speak for all of us when I call this an unqualified success."


AgreementPrideConfidence. She was right. During the conflict, only one of them had even blinked orange, and that was after being swallowed whole by one of the creatures and then hit with a bombardment of our own weapons.


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


A/N- Shoutout to all you pervs writing creepy creepy Panacea smut. You know who you are.

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 246


"I must admit, they are impressive," Secretary Brown agreed. "Some of them took punishment that would have demolished a tank. How easily can they be manufactured?"


ConcernSuspicion. "The models you're seeing there are special," Taylor informed the man. "Significantly more difficult to produce than the standard models, requiring advanced tinker tech and rare materials. You won't see more than one or two per major city. The standard M7s aren't nearly as capable, but their ease of production more than makes up for it."


"That is a pity," he replied. "They are a significant force projection, and could be used to achieve stability in areas that badly need it."


He's talking about deploying them to other countries, I realized. "There's also the range considerations," I added. "They require tinker tech relays to extend their range past a couple hundred meters."


"The control mechanism you use for the anti Endbringer creatures seems to have a much longer reach," he pointed out.


"Those are under my direct control," Taylor responded. "My power does the work."


"Control over arthropods, I recall," he responded.


"Those weapons are, functionally, nothing but large insects," I added. "Their bodies are heavily modified, of course, but the brains are only a little more advanced than what you might expect from a cockroach or jumping spider." Which is still exponentially more advanced than the best non-tinker computers ever designed. But 'really big cockroach' is less disturbing than the idea of a perfectly programmed war machine that has no instinct except to hunt and kill. Not even the instincts needed to protect themselves or recognize danger.


"Fascinating," the man replied. At this point, I imagine he was just fishing for whatever information he could gather. We hadn't told him anything that wasn't already part of our records, though I didn't know for certain if he'd read them or not. "Are those as difficult to build as the M7s we saw today?"


"A great deal easier, honesly," Lisa responded. "Most of the difficulties we see in producing the remote robots are a matter of control and relaying information. These are things that Taylor's power handles for her, allowing us to circumvent a significant amount of the efforts. In addition, thanks to Taylor's ability to process information, we don't have to include the same fidelity of senses in our EB weapons. Only one needs echolocation or infrared senses to serve for an army of thousands. While the M7s need every model to have every feature to be effective."


I could imagine every one of the Directors memorizing every word that was just said, trying to discern a weakness in what they'd just been told. Costa-Brown, I was certain, knew better. She understood the implications of our true threat. We didn't need to use the zerg as our main force. In fact, against anything that wasn't a city breaker, they were functionally useless. The modified insects, easily grown by the millions and utterly unobtrusive, were the true weapons at our disposal. Why use a massively visible monster, when instead you could make a billion mosquitoes that produced a custom variant of botulinum for the same amount of mass, and with so much less effort?


That's right, focus on the showy monsters we take out on parade. Pay no attention to the real threats behind the curtain.


"Of course," I added. "We would never deploy them on another nation's soil without the direst of need," I added. "They are meant as a deterrent, in case a foreign power feels a desire to attack us. And, of course, to fight the Endbringers."


"That is why we're putting such effort into creating the M7s," Taylor backed me.


"I understand you plan to give similar designs to other nations?" he prompted.


"Of course," I replied. "We see them as a form of humanitarian aid. That's why we maintain ownership, only lending instead of selling or even leasing. If a nation attempts to use them in a manner we're not comfortable with, we can easily disable them. Avalon wants to remain as politically neutral with Bet and its colony worlds as is humanly possible. Providing law enforcement tools is one thing, but we will not allow them to be turned into weapons of war." We're also pulling the exact same trick on you as we did with the sewers of Brockton Bay. Please don't notice that, either.


"Pardon the interruption," Dragon spoke. "They're nearly finished with the initial sweep of Nilbog's lair."


"I look forward to discussing this further," he told us before we turned our attention back to the immediate matter.


"We've found what appears to be Nilbog," one of the soldiers informed us. "I'm not a forensics expert, but he appears to have died of unknown causes, quite a while ago. He's frozen solid."


"You mean that thing in the building wasn't him?" Calvert asked.


"Sort of, sir? It'll be easier for you to see for yourself."


The viewscreen switched to the gruesome sights inside Nilbog's former home. Blood and unidentifiable gore coated the walls.


The main weapon for the M7s were sonic disruptors, due to their combination of nonlethal low settings and effectiveness against a huge array of potential powers. For whatever reason very few parahumans were resistant to sonic attacks, and a great many were especially vulnerable to them. Those weapons, when turned to lethal settings, tended to make bone tissue explode violently. The resultant mess was something normally reserved for bad horror movies. Somehow, it was less nauseating than what the goblins were doing before they were slaughtered.


We got a look at the frozen clone of Rinke that I had made. It wouldn't have been good enough to fool a really good test, if not for the damage caused by freezing and mild amounts of decomposition. The combination of which, plus any possible medical records of the man being over a decade old. It would fool almost anyone who didn't point some very specific parahuman abilities at the body, and our allies with Cauldron would make sure that didn't happen. It was connected to the destroyed bloated monster by a weird umbilical cord like growth.


"Well, guess that explains why our plans suddenly started working," Lisa quipped. "If he was already dead, of course he couldn't create new adaptive monsters to fight back effectively. Or a plague of mutant bacteria. Or whatever it was he kept doing that we couldn't find a way around."


"You didn't think to check?" Armstrong asked.


"That the target died of natural causes a few weeks after we started planning the mission? Or checking on plans we were told wouldn't work after finding one that would?" Lisa asked. "No, we didn't think to waste Dinah's very finite resources on such questions. Her power promised us a victory, and we got our victory."


"If I may," Calvert spoke up. "The objective being achieved by happenstance before the attack even began is irrelevant. The fact is, we retook Ellisburg. It's hard to consider this anything but a successful mission."


"If it makes you feel better," Lisa added. "There's no need to mention he was already dead. Your troops went in. Defeated Nilbog's monsters. Came back with a dead Nilbog. Everyone break out the good champagne."


"You both make excellent points," Costa-Brown agreed. "The operation was everything we wanted to achieve, even if not the way we expected. If anything, we can consider this a greater victory for Nilbog's death being discovered now, instead of in a month or two when he thawed out and really started to decompose."


Lisa's eyes widened. "She's right. Nilbog must have some kind of deadman's switch. Maybe it wasn't triggered due to the whole natural causes thing, but if we didn't act when we did, we might have faced the same... whatever... that caused the deaths seen in Dinah's predictions. Only worse because we wouldn't have been ready and anticipating the event. Don't think of this as not killing Nilbog. Think of it as disarming a ticking timebomb."


AmusementDismissive. I agreed with Taylor. You're hamming it up a bit, Lisa.


"Message received," the Secretary replied. "We'll keep this detail out of the public awareness. It wouldn't do anyone any good to have civilians wondering just how things might have gone if circumstances were slightly different."

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 247


Stan Vickory took a look around our world's landscape through the portal. "So, this is like Aleph, only we can actually cross over instead of just transmitting signals?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Lisa replied. "But don't let them try to fool you, it's just as easy to physically cross into Aleph. Probably shouldn't tell anyone about that. I don't think there's a law against it, but it would make waves, and not the ones that get you a juicy story."


"I understand," he answered, watching his film crew as they wandered the area. He had a dozen camera people with him, including a few I was pretty certain weren't trained camera operators. Made sense, what he needed right now were people he could trust to keep a secret. Editing could handle shaky cameras and poor lighting. "If I may be honest with you for a second. When I first talked to you, I was expecting that you'd self destuct within a month or two."


OffendedDispleased. Well, at least he's being honest. ReluctantAgreement.


"Oh, I knew that," Lisa replied happily. "New unproven group, lots of enemies right from the start, flirting heavily with Class S status, pretty much daring the PRT to come at them with guns blazing. Frankly, it was as much luck as anything that got us here."


He chuckled. "I had your eulogies mapped out in my head by the end of my first conversation with Khepri. I'm glad I didn't get to use them."


"Me, too," I agreed, thinking briefly about how Taylor actually did die. ConcernSupportLove. I smiled. Thank you.


"Mister Vickory? The stage is ready," a boy informed us. When did I start thinking of college students as if they were younger than me?


"Thanks, Tim," he replied. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Stan?"


"Sorry, sir," the kid replied as he rushed back to his job, which as near as I could tell was the electrical work for the interview stage.


Stan smiled apologetically. "Still working on that one," he informed us. "So, shall we get this show started?"


"Absolutely," Lisa replied. "Have fun, boss ladies. I'll be right here watching the whole time."


We approached our stage, which was deliberately outdoors. It was a beautiful day on Avalon, mid fifties instead of near zero, and we wanted to showcase our world in all its conveniences. We sat down on chairs I had created, in full view of Avalon's first city. Vickery took his position and waited for a hand signal, then he spoke.


"This is Stan Vickery with Channel Twelve, reporting in from Earth Avalon. Before speaking with my gracious hosts, I must offer a disclaimer to the audience. This interview is being recorded on January thirtieth, and not scheduled to be aired until February Eighth, possibly later if the next Endbringer conflict occurs within the next few days."


That was part of our agreement, and Stan had agreed to abide by the rules to get a preemptive interview. Of course he agreed, we had pretty much just put his career on the international stage for the rest of his life. He'd be insane not to go for it.


"By the time this is seen by the public, the world will be aware of many other worlds, with portals in dozens of nations and a plan that can only be described as the largest act of colonialism in history. We are now going to speak with the architects of this plan, Empresses Taylor Hebert and Amelia Lavere. Let me be the first to congratulate you on the your new status as heads of state. And thank you for allowing Channel Twelve to be the one to deliver this news to the world."


Taylor nodded. "Thank you," I replied nervously. "We're happy to have you. And, if I'm being honest, I'm still not used to the idea of being called an Empress." Apparently calling myself a goddess for several months didn't prepare me for it, either.


"Let's start with the simplest question," he continued. "Amelia, I note you are no longer using the last name of your adoptive parents. Are you officially acknowledging that you're the daughter of the infamous supervillain known as Marquis?"


"Effectively, I suppose so, at least for the time being," I replied. "I see no reason to hide the truth. I am not, and never will be my father, but hiding from the past accomplishes nothing. It's relatively moot anyway, since I'll be taking my fiancée's surname when we get married." I reached over and squeezed Taylor's hand. LovePrideConfidence.


Vickery paused for a second, letting that statement have a moment to catch in the minds of the future audience. He understood his showmanship. "I was led to understand you discovered the dimensional gateways and started this project over six months ago?"


"Correct," Taylor replied. "The details of the gateway creation system are being kept secret for security reasons. However, we have taken the knowledge to the international community and agreed on a plan to open access to a number of Earths for a number of nations on the planet. We aren't sure how much of that information will be public knowledge by the time this interview is publicized."


"In exchange, you were given an earth of your own?" he asked. "Some might view that as conspicuous consumption, as all other organizations who received a colony world were national governments. In addition, you were recognized as a nation when you agreed to this project." One of the hard questions we'd requested be asked.


"Avalon is a unique case. Part of the international treaties defining acceptable colony worlds is we may only access Earths that do not have human life. Whether because humans never evolved there, or they went extinct," I informed him. "Avalon takes this to its final logical extreme. Life on this world was eliminated by a celestial event some three and a half million years ago. When we found it, the atmosphere was toxic to conventional life, and even if you could breathe the radiation levels were so high that the average expected lifespan would have been around five years. Even today, were we to remove the Yggdrasil from this planet, it would quickly return to an uninhabitable state."


"So you see," Taylor followed up. "Avalon could never have been a colony world to begin with. Which is why we chose it. We didn't want to effectively steal land from the whole human race. Not when we could just as easily create our own." That assurance wouldn't persuade everyone, but hopefully it would do enough that most people would dismiss the ones who had a problem.


"That would explain the rather monotonous landscape," Vickery remarked, and I could imagine the cameras scanning the mostly flat blue-green Yggdrasil coloration that extended to every horizon. "Now, let us talk about your titles. Empresses. Is that expression of an intent to have a form of monarchical system?"


"Of some sort," I agreed. "The details are complex, but the governing powers available to Taylor and I are mostly limited to shared military defense and handling foreign affairs. For almost all other purposes, our world will exist as a federation of nations, each independent of the others. Each colony will have its own government and freedom of rule, with only a few laws that apply universally, such as rights to religious, cultural, and lifestyle equality."


"Fascinating," he replied. "Speaking of colonies, how do you plan to recruit colonists? As I understand it, most major nations will be doing their best to build their colony worlds. I imagine competition will be fierce."


"Plumbing, for starters," Taylor answered with a smile. It earned a polite chuckle from Vickery. "Thanks to the Yggdrasil, we will have a significant head start for infrastructure. We can produce temporary shelters in a matter of minutes. Grow homes and supply food for entire cities as quickly as people can find places to put cities. Then there's the matter of health care. Illness and injury that would be more or less trivial on Bet will become serious threats to the colonists. New diseases that never existed on Bet to begin with. Harsh winters without electricity. These are problems that simply will not exist for Avalon."


"In addition, there's the environmental concerns," I added. "Or, specifically, the lack of them. Avalon was a dead world. We don't have an environment to preserve, and the Yggdrasil isn't at any risk of being destroyed by industrialization. We project fully modern cities in a matter of less than ten years. Better than modern, as we'll encourage parahuman involvement and advanced technology from the inception."


"Then there's the military concerns," Taylor followed up. "Historically speaking, colonialism has faced a number of perils, most of which can be summed up simple enough. The needs of the colonies are rarely the same as the needs of the homeland, and eventually people will start to think in terms of 'us' and 'them'. That's why so many wars are a matter of seeking independence."


"Avalon will be the only colony world that is will be its own independent government," I finished her point. "We will rule ourselves from the very beginning, instead of being ruled by foreigners."


"Do you believe other countries will face rebellions from their colonies?"


"Insurrection and violence, at the very least," Taylor replied. "Some worse than others. Not everyone trusts or loves the countries they come from. They'll seek new lands and new opportunities with the intent of no longer having to answer to the authorities. And some of them will just be scum looking to take advantage of the less established populations in the colonies. Conflicts will happen, it's just a question of how bad it gets. And considering the involvement of parahumans, it could get very bad."


"You believe Avalon will avoid that?" Vickery asked.


"I believe anyone who starts a battle on Avalon's soil will regret it quickly," Taylor replied. "We are capable of defending ourselves and our people in a way the other colony worlds simply won't be able to achieve. The term 'Empress' is more than a political title for us. On this world, we have absolute control of the entire biosphere. We can and will use the full extent of our powers, including the anti Endbringer weapons if we have to, on anyone stupid enough to hurt our people."


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


A/N- Seriously though. No fucking with Avalon. It fucks back. And it's a lot bigger than you.

Also, this chapter gets a part 2.