Seed 2-4
I never thought I'd see a day where I found it annoying to only have two hands, but here we are. I honestly can't fathom how I ever got anything done being forced to do things one-step at a time.
For just a moment I seriously contemplate adding a few extra appendages. My neural pathways are a little more flexible, and it wouldn't take that long to train my brain to use them with my implants helping to smooth process.
No, I better not. It would be too easy to compromise my secret identity and constantly adding and removing extra arms every time I went home would be a pain. But I am seriously getting annoyed at how crappy our kitchen setup is.
I had made a mistake in becoming used to cooking in multiple bodies and in my lab's small but very advanced kitchen. Compared to my personal kitchen, our oven and stove were antiquated piles of scrap that couldn't cook nearly as evenly or control their temperature so precisely.
It didn't change things too much but I was surprisingly irritated at not having nearly as much control over the creation process. I wasn't sure if that was just a personal hang up or just a thing all Tinkers in general had.
I cook all the time now for Dad and I, so I would be the only one to notice if I made a few upgrades to our kitchen. My mind suddenly starts filling with possibilities.
I can work on the plumbing so we use nanopure water, and a small computer with one sensor would let me more accurately control the temperature. Oh, making it electric would be even better and safer. Wait our electric bill could go up and Dad would be suspicious. Should I just add my one of my own generators to our house?
"No", I say to myself. Remember the rules I set for myself. Never do suspicious improvements to your home or workspace. I shouldn't do anything to bring attention to myself. Dad might decide to cook once in a while
Hannah should be here any minute and everything should be ready when she arrives. Dad has been uncharacteristically nervous, which had made me nervous in turn. I had spent a little more time than usual dressing up and we were using the good china.
I had looked up Hannah Fitzgerald just to verify who she was and I had learned a few things. She was adopted at the age of 11, a straight A student in school, and went right into the police academy after graduating high school. She transferred to the PRT after two years. She had also earned two commendations for bravery in the field.
She was active in politics and volunteered for the local chapter of the Bull Moose Party in her free time. She periodically bought plane tickets to visit her family in Virginia, and had a prescription of sleeping pills for insomnia. Beyond that there wasn't too much else I could learn about her.
Having a chance to really reflect on it, I was glad that Dad was starting to date again. I was a little worried about her being on a PRT strike team, as I knew firsthand how dangerous things could be in this city. I didn't want Dad to get close to someone only to lose them again later.
My home recon drone alerted me that a car was parking in the driveway. Speak of the devil, I thought. I made one more quick check on the food and my appearance before walking out of sight of Dad. He was sitting in the living room pretending to watch TV while trying not to make it obvious that he kept checking the clock.
Hannah was driving a new looking white Camry, and was checking her reflection in the car mirror. She seemed a little nervous herself as she touched up her makeup in the car. She took a deep breath and stepped out, giving me a chance to do a quick non-invasive scan from afar.
She was dressed in a dark notch collared jacket and pants. Despite her slim and feminine build, she was very well toned, even ripped. Which must have been very difficult considering her age and slower metabolism. She wore her hair short, and just a small amount of makeup that emphasized her eyes and lips.
I approved of Dad's choice, and was filled with curiosity on how they got together. I know that Dad is a great guy, but she seemed a bit out of his league.
She had the air of someone with military training in how she moved. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but she seemed a bit too aware of her surroundings.
She had a gun in a shoulder holster under her jacket, which I thought was a little weird. Though from all I knew it was probably normal for policeman to always wear a gun.
The doorbell rang, and I decide to wait out of sight while Dad went to greet her.
Should I hug her? No hugging could be weird for a first meeting, better make it a handshake. But is that too impersonal?
I hear Dad call for me, and try to look composed as I greet her in person. She smiles and says, "You must be Taylor, I've heard quite a bit about you."
"All good things I hope" I say as I return the smile and move toward her.
At the last minute I decide to give her a sort of awkward half hug. She has a strange smell on her that is like a mix of ozone and something familiar that I can't quite place. A perfume?
"Of course." she says.
"Would you like to sit down," Dad asks her.
"I'd love to Daniel." Dad held out the chair at the table as she sat down, while pushing her coat out so she didn't sit on it. .
"Daniel?" I think as Dad went to get the meal.
"It looks delicious", she says as Dad starts giving out portions.
I smile at that comment since I was particularly proud of the presentation of the quail. I had spent a day just watching cooking shows to see what I could do to make it look great.
"Taylor actually made it.", Dad says as he glances in my direction.
"Really? This looks really good." She carefully cut off a piece and slowly chewed it. "It tastes like it was professionally made."
"Taylor always was a good cook, but she's improved recently. She pretty much makes dinner all the time now", Dad says with pride.
I feel my cheeks go a little red and try to focus on Hannah to distract myself.
The dinner was a little awkward at first, since I wasn't sure how to talk to her. I kicked myself for not creating a list of topics before hand. I also had the S.C.I.O.N. make a mental note for me to work on updating my social interactions program.
Dad was a big help, breaking the ice by sharing the story of one of his old workers joining Uber and Leet for some extra money back when all they did was videogames. We made small talk after that and the atmosphere got a little more relaxed.
"So Hannah, what is it like being part of the PRT?" I finally ask.
"It's full of good people trying to make a positive difference in the lives of the people of this city," she answers.
Dad started laughing, causing Hannah to glare at him, clearly annoyed. "Hannah, it's okay to talk open with Taylor. You don't have to give her the official sound byte."
She looks a little embarrassed and flashes Dad a grin before turning back to me. "To be honest Taylor, its mostly boredom and training. I spend most of the time preparing and running drills. I clean and maintain our gear and we train all the time in tactics. I don't work every day, as there's a rotation for who is on call. The few times we see action can be scary, but you do your best to help when the time comes."
"Do you know any heroes?", I ask.
Hannah smiles, "I've met one or two of them in passing. Do you have a favorite?"
"Well, I used to like Armsmaster when I was younger."
"She had underwear with his face on it." Dad adds.
"DAD, why would you say that?" I say, as I struggled to stop myself from blushing as Hannah stifled a laugh. I made a mental note to work on a way to control my automatic blush response.
I ponder for a bit, as I hadn't actually thought about this topic in quite some time. "My favorite hero would probably be Alexandria," I finally answer.
"No big surprise there. Everyone loves the Triumvirate and all they have done for the world," Hannah answers. "I'm a fan of Legend myself. What about in Brockton Bay?"
"Probably Dovetail"
"Dovetail?" she echoes with a small hint of surprise. "That isn't a name I hear that often. Can I ask why?"
"Because she really doesn't have that great a power, but she trained and found a way to make it useful. I respect that kind of creativity and dedication. She goes at Lung or the Butcher with no hesitation. She's also considered to be Spree's arch enemy by a lot of people on PHO."
"I'll see if I can get you an autograph," she says. "Though you really shouldn't trust everything you read on PHO. A lot of their info is based on rumor."
"Do you know any juicy gossip that happens to be real," I ask.
"I hear a few things while on the clock," she says with a smile.
"Do you know anything about this Faust in the docks?" Dad asks. "I've gotten more Asian workers looking for work ever since he showed up."
I manage to keep my face calm as I initiate the mask protocol. The S.C.I.O.N. takes full control over my facial muscles and forcibly makes it so I appear calm. "Who is Faust?" I ask quizzically at Dad.
"He's a new villain who showed up a few weeks ago and has been attacking the ABB in the street." Dad says as he helps himself to more gravy. "He's all people have been talking about at work. There are the usual crazy rumors that go around for every new parahuman."
"Well I don't know too much myself" Hannah says. "All we have been told is that Faust is a powerful master who can create a variety of minions and can control them in relatively large numbers."
"I thought it was confirmed Faust was a hero and female?" I ask innocently.
"I thought you didn't know who Faust was," Dad says.
The S.C.I.O.N. helped me pull of the perfect sheepish grin. "Well….I might have read a few rumors about her on PHO."
"Well from certain witness statements, we think Faust is female." Hannah says. "But it's hard to say for sure since he or she can make or appear in different bodies."
"Is Faust a hero?" Dad asks.
"Are they fighting villains? Yes. I'm not sure I would call them a hero though." Hannah says.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because they are a vigilante", she says.
"Wait, so a vigilante can't be a hero?" I say. "What about New Wave?" I update the S.C.I.O.N. to work on keeping my voice level. I didn't want to seem too passionate about it.
"New Wave shows their real identities and train with the PRT. They follow the same rules and regulations as other heroes do." Hannah says. "A vigilante is wrong because they can have differing opinions on what is moral. Kaiser and the 88 consider themselves heroes for example."
"But Faust seems to be attacking gang members and making the city safer," I counter.
"But Faust isn't the police." Hannah says. "Something that makes America great is that no matter who you are and what you are being accused of, you get treated the same before the law. You have the right to know what you are being accused of, and the right for a lawyer to defend you. Faust is taking the law into his or her own hands. They have no role in punishing people for committing a crime. "
"What does Faust mean," Dad asks changing the subject. "It sounds a little villainous."
"Faust is the main character in an old German legend" Hannah answers. "He is a scholar that sells his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge and earthly pleasures."
"That isn't really a good name for a hero." Dad says.
"Actually, a past member of the Fallen used to have that name," Hannah says.
Wait, What? One of those attention seeking, Endbringer worshiping bastards is using my name!
"Really? Who are the Fallen?" I ask. I mentally congratulate myself for the exceptional acting.
Hannah gets an angry look in her eyes, but quickly hides it. "A large family run group of self proclaimed Endbringer worshipers. Most of them just want attention, but there are a few nasty parahumans among them."
"I'm surprised I haven't heard of them," Dad says. "Something like that would be all over the news."
"The PRT asked news stations not to give them any coverage or attention since that's what they want. They've tried to take over broadcast stations in the past to spread their message, but they aren't heard of much outside of certain areas in the South. We almost arrested two of their members who tried to buy some guns from an undercover officer a few months ago."
"What were their names?" I ask.
She starts laughing. "Xenu and Gozer believe it or not."
Dad and I share a good laugh at that, which causes Hannah to start laughing with us.
Hannah told me a few stories about some of the heroes she had worked with, which was fascinating considering that I theoretically could have joined the Wards.
"So Taylor, your Dad mentioned that you have really improved since you started being home schooled." Hannah says. "Are you happy where you are?"
"It can get boring at times, but I can't complain. Being able to focus has made things much easier." I say.
"The only reason I asked, is that I happen to know the principal of Arcadia and I think I can get you to the front of the line."
"What do you think Taylor?" Dad adds. "You can get into the best school in the city and have a fresh start."
I curse myself for turning off the mask protocol since something must have shown in my face for Hannah to look at me like that. She gave me this look of hesitance, and what almost seems like guilt. But why should she…..
Everything is so vivid. The dirt under my feet, the scrapes of pine needles against my dress, and the sun heating my skin.
I feel the cuts and pain from trying to dig Kovan free. I hear his screaming and see him thrashing as we try to dig him out of the trap. I hear his desperate wailing before one of the soldiers shoots him to silence him. It isn't like the movies. There is no flinging back or huge explosion of gore. Just a boy I went to school with and who used to call me names, slumping over.
A soldier jams his gun into my back and forces me to walk.
It was my turn to go next. I will be the third child to test the path.
I'm going to be the third to die.
I put my head under the table and just manage to not throw up. I'm shaking a little and I look at my fingers to make sure they aren't cut.
What the hell was that?
"Taylor, are you all right?" Hannah has gotten out of her chair and is looking at me with concern. "I didn't mean to upset you."
I mentally command the S.C.I.O.N. to re-initiate the mask protocol. The muscles of my face are forcibly restructured to give the appearance of being calm and collected. "I'm fine, I just had a bit of stomach issue," I say with false calm.
"Taylor I know you don't want to go to school" Dad says. "But you need to see more of the world then just this house. I want you to forget about Emma and make some new friends. You're funny, beautiful, and you have a good heart. I know you will do great at a new school. I don't want to push, but I think joining would be the best thing for you."
"I…I will give it some thought. I won't lie and say I don't think more social interactions would be good for me. On the other hand, things really have improved since I stopped going to school. I like being able to focus on my assignments and not have to worry about teen tra...drama. How long until I have to decide?"
"There is no need to rush," Hannah says. "You are already ahead of your classmates, so joining in the middle of the year shouldn't be too difficult. But it might be easier if you join at the start of the new semester."
Dad changes subjects to recent concerns about the education budget, and I try to reassure Hannah, who seems a little mortified she upset me. I am never more thankful for the S.C.I.O.N., which lets me follow the conversation while thinking on other topics
I definitely saw something that seemed very real and vivid. Based off of skin tone and projected growth from the brief glimpse, I am going to assume that was Hannah's past when she was a child.
I look at her as she occasionally snuck a glance in my direction and feel sympathy. I couldn't imagine what she had gone through, and I had so many questions I wanted to ask. How did she escape and come to America? What happened to the other kids she was with?
But the more important question was why did I see a traumatic memory from her past? Most likely, it is some kind of side effect from my new Seeds, but I had never heard of the Butcher, Bonesaw, or Overmind being able to see the memories of others. Why did it only start now?
My personal stats show elevated heart and stress rate, but no unusual brain activity was recorded. I have to get to the lab. My supplies have been restocked and I have put off working on a countermeasure for seed mental influence for too long.
I can't even think about possibly going to school at Arcadia right now. All I can think about is what I saw and what it could mean.
The rest of the dinner was uneventful. Hannah was going to get me autographs from Armsmaster and Dovetail. She also invited us to her place, promising this time she was going to cook dinner for us.
Thinking of what I had seen, I gave her a big hug, which surprises her briefly before she returned it full force. No one should have to go through that, much less a child. I take a little comfort in how normal and well adjusted Hannah is. If she can go through that and be okay, then I would be okay after losing Emma and mom.
I mention that all that eating made me sleepy, so I tell Dad I'm going to go to bed early. Considering how late Hannah ended up staying and my past data, Dad should be going to bed soon as well.
I spy on them with the drone while I wash the dishes.
"I'm really sorry about upsetting her Daniel", Hannah says.
"It really is okay. It was something she needed to hear. Beyond that I think it went well, don't you think?" Dad asks.
"I think so too. I'm surprised she gave me a hug."
"I'm not surprised at all. I wasn't lying when I said Taylor has a big heart. Besides who wouldn't like you" Dad says. He moves in close and put his hand on her face. She put her hand over his and Dad moves closer, blocking their faces from view.
Ohhhh, they were kissing! I feel a little embarrassed watching them, and turn off the feed to give them privacy.
I finish cleaning and take one last look at our shitty stove before heading up to bed. A little while later, I hear Dad come up. I wait until I can hear him start to lightly snore before I get up and head to my closet.
The false wall opens up and my newest decoy model untangles itself and crawls into bed. It's still a little freaky to see an exact copy of me have such inhuman movement, but I have gotten used to it, for the most part.
I take a few moments to do a little touch up to its hair and have it take my place in bed. I had gotten in the habit of pretending to go to sleep early in front of Dad so I would have more time at night to work.
The S.C.I.O.N. starts to upload the update for the Turing program to the decoy's implants. It isn't as good as I would like, but if Dad should come in, it could pass for me in the short term. Tomorrow was Saturday so dad would sleep in tomorrow.
The drones take a moment to scan for people looking and I carefully climb out of the window. I drop with a small thud and head to the street as one my trucks pulls to a stop.
I change into my costume and check previous scans from the drones while the truck heads through the docks to my lab. I find very few ABB have been out on the streets tonight, except for the guards at the border.
Bakuda has started giving out a few of her Tinker grenades to use, but most have gotten wise to the fact that I specifically try to make an example of anyone who uses them. Bakuda seems to have never heard of the word restraint, considering the damage some of them have done.
It seems no one has attacked any of my infiltrator Lusus for the third night in a row. I was a little disappointed that my infiltrators were not having too big of an impact. I had tried several times to make them look like easy victims, but word had apparently gotten around after the first two times I used them successfully.
While they weren't making much of a dent in the ABB's numbers, the paranoia they were generating was a complete success. My unwitting informants chatter suggested that there were at least a few cases of the ABB attacking each other.
The downside of the infiltrators had been that Lung had changed the time and location of the guns shipment he had ordered. After I had dropped off a payment to Epoch and Phoenix, they had been more than enthusiastic about teaming up to stop the sale.
I was planning to kidnap an ABB member, who was apparently ex Chinese military and had given some training to several ABB members. He would probably be part of the deal's security or knew who would be acting as security for the deal. I didn't know where he lived, but I did know he was going to be betting in some kind of cricket fighting tournament this weekend. I'd follow him and take him while he slept so he was none the wiser.
My own shipment of supplies had come in on time, and I paid a bonus to the men after I wiped their memory for the hour it took to deliver the goods to my trucks. Most of the supplies were already sorted out, and it was time to finally start tinkering again.
I put my mask on as the truck finally pulls into the side street where my hotel was. The monkey Lusus had worked on making sure the streetlights flickered, and it was very easy to miss where the street was.
Most of the lights were burned out, but you could make out the sign over the door reading the Step Back Inn. In contrast, the no vacancies sign was brand new and clearly visible on the darkened street. The building was four stories tall and looked dingy. Graffiti covered the walls, there was trash everywhere, and cockroaches swarmed near the storm drain.
When I had bought the place under a new identity, it hadn't taken much for it to look like the last place you would want to stay. I had already bought the buildings next to it, and was working to make the street as dangerous looking as possible.
The cameras and thermal imaging check for people looking, before I step out and head to the door. An infiltrator model opens it for me as I approach. I had tried to make this particular Lusus as shady looking as possible. It had the form of an older, creepy looking man with bad teeth. He didn't wear a shirt, and was covered in weird tattoos and badly placed piercings. A nametag reading Terrance was pierced through the skin over its chest.
I usually had it sit behind a closed and bulletproof screen while an older Turing program spoke through a loudspeaker. It had taken some work but the program fit my needs for making it seem like a real person, and to be as hostile as possible.
I was proud of the fact that despite being open for almost a month no one had come in. The hallways were dirty and unkempt, though a few rooms on the fourth floor were covered in plastic and equipment. I had interrogated more than a few ABB members there.
The entrance to my lab was hidden behind an out of order vending machine at the back of the hotel. It swung open as I approached, revealing a descending staircase. The small kitchen of the hotel was actually an entire elevator that went underground to my lab. I chose the kitchen since it was next to the loading dock, where I could park my trucks and move freshly grown Lusus from my Lab.
The stairwell opened up into a large cavern, filled with tall supporting columns. It was so wide that you couldn't see the walls. The Lusus and a few automated digging machines had been working day and night so I had all the space I could want. Most of my trucks had been busy just hauling away the dirt to be dumped elsewhere.
One of the Arachnid warrior model Lusus moved out my path as I descend and I had it bow to me in a fit of whimsy. The Arachnid warriors are four-legged bugs approximately two to three meters long with very tough exoskeletons. The rearmost pairs of legs are much longer than the two front forelegs, and serve as the primary locomotion, the forelegs being 1/3 shorter. They were built to use a powerful pincer-like mandible that is capable of crushing rock, metal and severing limbs as a means of attack. The two upper forelegs or "side mandibles" are utilized in the manner of swords for attack as well as defense.
I didn't use them because they were simply too deadly, and cost too much to make. But I was loath to recycle them, so the two prototype models I had ended up making now guarded my lab.
The modified golf cart opens its door and I step inside. It takes off with a jolt as I awaken the lab assistants. I take direct control of them and move them to the control center.
The cart stops in front of my large workstation consisting of an oversized chair in front of custom built computers. Beyond the chair and holographic display, the center of my lab was empty. Most of the real work went on in stations all over the cavern.
One of the assistants brings me a cup of fresh tea with a few drops of honey as I settle down in my chair. I remove my mask and take a sip as the holographic display is brought up to compare my brain scans.
I'm not sure whether to frown or sigh in relief that there is no change from past scans. But something definitely happened. I definitely saw what looks like a dramatic memory of Hannah from her childhood.
But the question remains why did it happen with her and no one else? It didn't happen with Dad, or anyone else I was near recently.
Thinking back, I definitely remember a feeling of guilt that she couldn't save the boy.
Looking over my recordings of the dinner, her face also showed traces of guilt when she looked at me. Could feeling guilty have caused her to send me a traumatic memory involving guilt? I didn't have a sure way to test it, but it was a good reminder to get to work on finding a way to combat a seed's influence.
After some experimentation I had thought of using Prions as a way to affect the brain. Prions were small infections disease-causing agents that are the smallest known infectious particle. It isn't bacterial, fungal, or viral and contains no genetic material while still being responsible for several brain degenerative diseases.
The mechanical arms at two of my stations start pulling genetic samples to combine with my newest generation of seed. It allows for more rapid growth in return for less longevity. I am going to start cloning a few parahumans and use different Prion infections to experiment with the Gemma Corona of parahuman clones.
It seems to be impossible to completely remove a power from a parahuman through technological means, but I think I can confuse the brain enough to temporarily disable a seed without permanent damage. My current tech just uses electroshocks on the right parts of my brain that should temporarily disable my seeds in an emergency.
The end goal is to keep a Butcher from transferring over when it dies. If I can accomplish that I can start using clones of Butcher hybrids in the field.
Unfortunately, microscopic biology was something I didn't fully pick up from Bonesaw's seed. There were parts that I could understand far beyond the norm, but making it work was taking a lot longer than I had anticipated.
I was having some success with project X, but I still paled at the projected costs in resources to fully grow the damn thing. I cursed my lack of judgment when I started it. I had started building it because I could, without thinking of the long-term consequences.
But the possibility of connecting its nervous system with an Othala clone was too tempting. I had finally managed to make a hybrid that could give one power to itself reliably.
The real Othala had four powers she could give out, but all of her clones differed in the number and type of power they could give. All told, I had seen examples of danger sense, invulnerably, regeneration, flight, super speed, and small pyrokinesis.
None of the hybrids could stand and it took extensive work to keep then from expiring. But Project X would take care of moving and keeping it alive. Project X was in suspended animation, but I would need to move it soon before it got too big to fit through the exit of my lab. If I didn't bankrupt myself growing it to it's projected full size.
Speaking of finances, I check my bank balance am pleasantly surprised to see that my profits balance had gone up considerably more than expected. Whoever the Number Man was, they knew their stuff. It still seemed a little surreal, just how much money I actually had.
Aristotle had advised me to start cutting back on the number of organs I was selling. I was selling so many, that I was having a noticeable effect on the size of the donor waiting list and in black markets around the world.
Aristotle had heard of several ongoing investigations on finding the source of my organs. He had concerns that one or two nasty people might come to the city to try and find me.
I laugh a little at that. They'd be in for a surprise if they came to Brockton Bay looking for trouble. But I decide to take Aristotle's advice to heart. It wasn't like I needed the money.
My attention shifts to the readouts as the new Lusus started growing. They wouldn't be ready until tomorrow so I put most my focus on my anti-mover concept. Oni Lee and Boli Dun were my biggest obstacles, and were still being giant thorns in my side despite my best efforts. Oni Lee always attacked from a distance now, so I couldn't catch him with a trap and Boli Dun moved too fast in her portals for me to catch her.
I had gotten inspired watching videos of fish swarm and move in amazing displays of speed and coordination as one. I had decided to recreate the same displays, but with birds that would swarm and move after movers over long distances.
Their beaks would be made as tough as possible and deliver a toxin that would incapacitate whoever they cut. A few would try to insert a tracking device I could hone in on. The bird model I ended up with was made from a mix of hummingbird and peregrine falcon DNA.
I had been unable to make a model capable of being tough enough to take the predicted stress of Boli Dun's portals and still be able to fly. They probably wouldn't' take her down, but they'd be Oni Lee's worst nightmare. I had yet to find where Oni Lee slept, but he liked to teleport to the same buildings in the docks for the best view of the surrounding area. The next time he was sighted, he was in for a nasty surprise.
I had taken Grue's advice to heart about not how many criminals were forced into crime, and was working on an alternative method for dealing with Boli Dun. She just wanted to help her family, but my attempts at trying to talk with her to make a deal hadn't worked.
She only spoke some kind of rare Chinese dialect, and my translation program couldn't reliably translate. I didn't really need to contact her anyway. The plan was to capture her, install a tracker, and then follow her to Lung. Once I took care of Lung in his sleep, I'd make a deal with her.
The flock itself was ready, but I needed them capable of directing themselves without too much input from me. The flock was only two hundred or so, but coordinating it and a large number of other Lusus wasn't feasible with my current server.
I had thought of upgrading the central server hidden at the top of an office building, but I decided to focus on my anti-seed technology first. It had become an even bigger priority after tonight.
My assistants went off without a word to the inactive swarm and started working on each birds implant. It was tedious but not difficult work. They should be done in an hour or two, and I started looking at the possibility of attacking a target to draw out Lee.
Unlike me, the ABB required rest and forcing Lung to get out of bed almost every night was taking its toll. Lung didn't bother anymore, unless I attacked an important target, since I was largely refraining from attacking indoor targets. I had the locations of two drug labs, and several meeting points, but I left them alone.
I'd only attack one or two to give the illusion that I was having a hard time finding targets to attack. When I built up my forces and identified them all, I would move in one devastating strike. I could preprogram Lusus to attack a target in a certain way without needing to directly control them. That way, I could focus on the parahumans while the Lusus dealt with the normal members.
For all intents and purposes, the docks were mine during the night. All the ABB were indoors and I was slowly but surely building up a map of ABB locations and vital personal. In another month or two I would be ready, and the docks would be mine.
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I made a note to work on finding better ways to force my brain to stay attentive. Working on each implant for the flock was unbelievably boring and took far longer than I anticipated since I kept getting distracted picturing different infectious agents for the brain.
The S.C.I.O.N. helpfully read my mind and informed me it was exactly 5:00 am. I was just about done with the flock. I decided to wait until tomorrow to hunt for Lee since he was probably in bed by now. I'd spend an hour in the UV room for a quick recharge and then head home.
I was just about to disrobe when the drones sent me an alert about a fire. I walk back to the main terminal and bring it up in the holographic display. The drone shows a tall column of smoke next to the wreckage of what looks like a car.
The remains of several ABB members are sprawled out nearby. Someone blew up one of the cars used by ABB border guards.
Is the Empire on a raid? I check the area and it is nowhere near the Empire's border, which gives me a sickening feeling in my stomach.
A drone alerts me to another fire and I shift views in time to show a tall figure hefting a huge bow. She casually pulls from her back what looks like an explosive tipped arrow and looses it after a fleeing ABB member. It hits him dead on and explodes, sending pieces of him everywhere.
She is wearing what looks like a cross between a badly beaten version of samurai armor and some kind of armored plate covered in spikes. Around her waist hangs a bloodied blue cape. On her back is a large pole shooting up from her armor with three heads displayed prominently on them. Mannequin's blank faced head from the Slaughterhouse 9, her predecessor Dissonant with his rotted mask still on, and what looks like Ario from Haven. She smiles with a mouth full of sharpened teeth and vanishes a moment later.
The Butcher.
She wasn't supposed to be in town yet, I think in a panic. There hadn't been any warnings or reports by the PRT. I wasn't ready for her yet.
I give the command to scramble all available drones to start looking for signs of the Butcher and the Teeth. Her projected teleport range is supposed to be a quarter of a mile, but she doesn't need to see where she is going. Studying how the Butcher acted in previous raids she should be focusing on attacking isolated parahumans to kill or capture.
A quick inventory reveals sixteen infiltrators, one Titanoboa model, my two arachnid warriors, three of my termite launchers, a fully upgraded and costumed decoy, and thirty-six spiders geared for healing or surgery. Though everything but the infiltrators are in the lab.
I order everything I have to head for the large elevator to meet waiting trucks at the top. I push my assistants to move as fast as possible to finish the bird flock. I put on my mask and head to a nearby stool.
I command several spiders to drag my surgical suite behind me. They work together and it is grafted onto my back in premade points on my spine. I feel a jolt as they connect my nerves to it and then add the long, mult-jointed appendages made of steel.
Each limb can be heated to prevent infection, and is tipped with a device designed to aid me in my work. These devices run the gamut from precision scalpels, grasping appendages, saws, and injectors. I move them experimentally and am glad that they are dexterous enough to be useful. I hurriedly join my assistant model Lusus in finishing the flock.
It won't be able to take down the Butcher thanks the Seventh's almost complete immunity to disease and decay. The swarm would distract her though, and I could hopefully attach a tracker. Then I could direct the heroes to her location and let them fight her. Armsmaster had been able to fight her off several times in the past.
One of the drones calls the PRT and keeps them on the line to give them up to date information on parahuman locations while I work on locating the Butcher.
I spy a large and growing mob coming fast from the Teeth's territory into the docks. Zooming in shows that they all looked exactly alike. That had to be Spree, the leader of the Teeth in Brockton when the Butcher wasn't in town.
He was a muscular man with a buzz cut, and his clones carried a mixture of weapons and armor. I observed a few of his clones shoot up from somewhere in the middle of the mob like they had been launched from a cannon.
He shot out four new clones in as many seconds. Thankfully the only thing his clones could do was mindlessly attack. I saw several with guns trying to use them like clubs.
The Spree clones were breaking everything that could be broken on the street while moving further into the docks. With the border guards down, Boli Dun should be waking up and moving right about now. Past response time for Lung was four to five minutes now. He had gotten a lot of practice since I showed up.
The Lusus are going up the elevator and the trucks should be at the loading dock in a few minutes. The clone mob is outside of my control radius. If I move the network drones into a straight line from my lab to the border, I should just be in range.
I finish the flock just as I spy two cars carrying ABB members pull up and start firing from the windows. A few of the clones go down, but there were far too many for a few pistols to deal with them.
I open the hidden door and the front door of the hotel as I activate the flock. It's a little bit of strain controlling them all at once, but I get them to start flapping and they shoot across the cavern. I have them fly above my lab while the network drones get into position and I move up the stairs.
I can see Kamaitachi get out of the car and walk around so it is between him and the rushing mob. He stands still as the air starts to twirl around him. The other ABB spread out in a firing line and keep firing as fast as they can reload. Most of them have pistols, but a few have what look like LMGs.
The mob was almost upon them when Kamaitachi suddenly explodes the wind outward and hurls the cars away. They go tumbling end over end, crushing several of the mobs.
The rest of the clones stop moving after that. Any that got too close to Kamaitachi gets blown off their feet and pushed back. Spree responds by upping the number of clones and the street started to fill up more and more.
But there wasn't enough space for all of them and the clones hindered each other as the front line fell down to the wind. Kamaitachi periodically waved his hand at any group that got too close and they were launched into the air.
While this is going on, I finally enter my truck and head off. Behind me a convoy filled with Lusus and overhead the flock moves as one.
Kamaitachi was still holding off Spree, but his power didn't last forever. Eventually he'd have to build up more wind and he wouldn't last long. Most likely he was just holding him down until Lung or Bakuda could get there to devastate Spree's clones in mass.
He never got the chance.
With a huge bang the Butcher appeared next to him with the explosive teleportation from the Sixth, throwing him into the side of the building so hard I briefly thought he died. She quickly lifts him over her shoulder and teleports away.
She took him alive. That means she is gathering people for a pit fight to build up the Teeth's numbers. She couldn't have gotten far and I notice that there was a temperature increase in the area she teleports to. I have the drones search for increased temperature locations and widen my consciousness in a larger search pattern.
I get two locations with unusual temperature spikes and spy two large moving vans at them. Both are in isolated spots, and look completely normal. I spot the license plate numbers and inform the PRT of their location. The drones alert me to the nearest temperature spike and I see that the Butcher has returned to the Spree mob.
The ABB members had turned and ran when Kamaitachi went down. But strangely the Spree mob had stopped running and instead was walking slowly down the road.
I realized why, when the Butcher appeared in front the ABB guards and they skidded to a stop and looked around for an exit in panic. They were just about to run when they all suddenly fell down screaming. They twitched on the ground in agony like they were being electrified, but I knew better. While I never used it, I had inherited the same ability to project pain from the First Butcher.
The Butcher walked forward and the screaming died, as she got closer. The Spree clones stopped to give the Butcher a wide berth in front of them.
She walked up to one of the men who was breathing heavily, and smiled down at him bearing her teeth. With a single motion she lifted her foot up and brought it down, crushing his head in.
She looked like she was about to say something when the rest of the men suddenly exploded with a high shrieking sound that broke windows and generated enough force to kill the nearest Spree clones. The Butcher was knocked onto her back and the street under her feet cracked from the explosion.
The drone changed positions and I saw the Butcher slowly roll over to her front with her long hair blocking part of her face. She was coughing and heaved blood onto the ground. She struggled to get up before falling back on her knees. She was hurt badly but wasn't dead. Though she looked pissed.
I wrinkle my mouth in disgust at Bakuda's use of Kamikazes. I feel a little guilty that I don't feel anything at their deaths. I remember Grue's comment that few choose to willingly become criminals. I doubt they chose to become bombs willingly.
I decide to up my threat assessment of Bakuda. She was clever enough to predict how the Butcher would react, and set a trap that would incapacitate without killing her. The theory that the Butcher's danger sense from the Third only reacted to attacks that could kill seemed to be true. The Butcher never saw that attack coming.
But Bakuda hadn't counted on Spree being near her. Spree supporting the Butcher gave too high a boost to the Sixteenth's power. Realizing what was about to happen I sent the flock surging ahead to try and stop it.
The clones parted and the real Spree walked forward to stand in front of her. Spree kneeled down to her and the Butcher nodded. The huge crowd of clones began to surround her and grew even larger as even more clones were spawned.
The street suddenly began to shimmer like wind hitting the water. As if it was made of clay, parts of the street slowly moved up and swirled around the Butcher. She was using the Eighth's ability to shape matter to form a protective ball around her. It grew until the Butcher was completely cut off from view.
Spree looked on and without a word the clones turned and began to kill each other. I had guessed right. She was going to use the Sixteenth's power to heal herself. While thankfully the Sixteenth's power in its weakened state could not be used to create a feedback loop of violence, it could still be used to temporarily power up past Butcher's abilities if a fight went on long enough.
Screams of anger and rage fill the air and a sea of thrashing limbs spread further and further as even more clones started to tear each other apart. While the clone's bodies disappeared in a few hours, the sheer amount of bodies covering the street was shocking.
I aimed the flock at Spree and he never saw it coming. They circle around him cutting with their beaks and flapping around him. He curses and puts his hands up collectively as new clones shot up from him.
The flock flew up and away with its job done. Spree struggles to stand up before falling down unconscious. The attack had worked, but I felt a surge of anger and disappointment since it had been for nothing. Despite Spree being unconscious, the clones continued to fight and kill each other.
The sheer viciousness brought up painful memories of Brockton Bay's Bloody Tuesday. That was the day when the Sixteenth Butcher arrived to drive the city insane.
My family had gotten lucky and been outside of the Sixteenth's range, but I remember the sheer terror on my mother's face when we started to hear the screaming in the streets. I was too young to really understand what was going on, but I remember how scared I was when I realized that Emma's house was in range.
The final death toll was believed to be around sixteen thousand in a morbid sense of irony, with most being the very young or old. They were the ones who weren't strong enough to last long against healthy adults before the effect wore off.
Emma's dad had managed to save his daughter's lives by locking them in the bathroom and throwing away the key. He couldn't lock himself away in time and he nearly beat his wife to death before the effect wore off.
Vehemence had been a relatively new member of the Teeth and that was why no one tried to take her out early in the very first pit fight. The Teeth had gathered from all over to fight for the right to succeed the fifteenth Butcher after what I now know was Codex's attack that rendered him a vegetable.
Vehemence had the ability to upgrade herself with violence committed in her powers range. She could power up a variety of physical and mental abilities and she had been similar to Lung in that the longer a fight went on, the stronger she got. Her main weakness was that it took quite a bit of violence for her to upgrade herself to a useful level and most fights didn't last that long. She had taken a dive early in the pit fight and waited until the fight went on long enough that she could easily deal with those that were left.
It was now believed that Vehemence had been the target of the Simurgh's attack on Boston considering the damage Vehemence as the sixteenth Butcher did. Her power in combination with the Ninth's ability to induce murderous rage was a nasty combination. Especially once it was discovered that Vehemence could power up past Butcher's abilities to unheard of levels once she powered herself up enough. Once she got going, Vehemence could create a growing feedback loop of violence that pushed her ability to the point she could affect several city blocks at the same time.
She led the Teeth on raids in different cities getting into large fights to power up the Ninths power then forcing numerous parahumans to join them or die. She had been smart enough to limit their activities until she had the numbers to stand against the inevitable backlash. Her nature as the Butcher made a Kill order impossible.
It was only when their numbers were high enough that the Teeth headed to Brockton in full force for revenge of the loss of the Fifteenth. She had been declared an S class threat and reinforcements had been quick to reinforce the city. The Triumphant tried to stop her and instead came very close to killing each other once they entered her growing range. Eidolon was unaffected but he was nearly killed by Legend and Alexandria.
No one was sure how he did it, but the vigilante Dissonant managed to kill the Butcher just when it seemed like the city was done for. With her power turned off, everyone focused on the Teeth with most being killed or captured right afterward. Though it was hard to differentiate the true Teeth members from those that had been press ganged. For all intents and purposes the Teeth were destroyed. The current Teeth have only the name in common.
People were still arguing about whether Dissonant went after the 9 to stop them as a hero or the Butcher collective was pushing him to commit suicide so they could get a better host. Quarrel took her chance while they fought and managed to kill him.
Quarrel was in some ways the most successful Butcher. She had focused on rebuilding and improving the teeth as a whole while taking steps from bringing too much heat down on them. Under her leadership the Teeth had been completely rebuilt and they were currently active in six different cities.
I am awakened from my memories as the Butcher starts doing something new. The blood from the Spree corpses has started to flow and pool around the sphere. The Butcher was using the Sixteenth's power to boost the Fifteenth's ability to heal herself. Carnal had been able to greatly expand his ability to heal by bathing in blood and it seemed his upgraded power was able to control blood in some way.
I saw a familiar portal open up down the street and Lung himself finally arrived with Boli Dun close behind him. The few Spree clones left alive ignore him as they finish each other off.
Lung runs with his head down and smashes through the Spree like they aren't even there before crashing through the empty sphere. He stops himself and looks around in anger. He screams in rage while killing several Spree clones that get near him.
The Butcher appears a moment later from behind him with the explosion being larger than normal but it barely phases a rapidly growing Lung. He tries to turn but she swings what looks like an over sized trench knife with both arms that severs his spine. Lung goes down and that is when I make my move.
The flock aims for the Butcher's eyes and I have them make one pass with their beaks. She looks up just in time for the flock to hit her in the face. Her face shows almost no emotion as one of the birds cuts open an eye and they pick at her. She doesn't even bother to put her hands up as her eye and cuts heals in moments
A moment later Lung explodes with fire and several of the birds go down while the Butcher thrusts with her knife at his face.
Lung actually opens his jaw impossibly wide and bites her hand as the Butcher's knife goes through his neck. He ignores the knife and starts swinging with his clawed hands while keeping his mouth shut over her wrist.
The Butcher puts her face into the fire in front of Lung and for a brief moment I think she is about to kiss him. Instead she screams impossibly loud using the Fifth's power and Lung falls back with his hands over his ears.
My flock suddenly finds it impossible to fly and they start falling from the sky.
The Butcher stands up without a care in the world as her burned face goes back to normal.
Lung jumps back up but promptly trips and falls down again. He acts woozy and seems unable to stand as the Butcher screams again. She is using the Seventeenth's ability to turn sounds into a discordant mess that induces vertigo and disorientation.
A portal opens up below Lung and he falls through it to land in front of Boli Dun. Lung shakes his head while the Butcher picks up Spree and drapes him over her shoulder.
The Butcher blows Lung a kiss as she teleports away.
I swear loudly and stop the convoy. Just when my forces were getting into position she leaves.
I direct what is left of the flock to move in a holding pattern. They would be useless with Lung there, and sure enough he steps into a portal with Boil Dun that closes behind them.
I feel this rage building up slowly as I look at the damage to the docks. How could I have been so stupid? I turn and start punching the side of the truck so hard that it dents. The S.C.I.O.N. send me a warning and I take deep breaths. Slowly I feel myself calm down.
Think Taylor. What did I do wrong?
I kept my forces in a centralized location and couldn't move them fast enough to fight the Butcher. I didn't have a countermeasure prepared in case the Butcher or Spree attacked.
Most importantly, the Butcher and the Teeth weren't afraid of me.
The normal ABB members knew who I was and what would happen if I caught them in the open. But the Teeth could care less about me. That would need to change. I wanted them to know what would happen if they invaded my territory.
I smile in relief as the tracker one of the birds managed to get on Spree sends a strong signal. I check his location against my map and the convoy moves out.
I pull up the relevant recordings from the police scanner as we drive past several police cars and a PRT van.
The docks hadn't been the only place hit. Accord's territory had been invaded, and most of the Teeth's forces had been in that attack. The Butcher knew from experience that new parahumans were the best way to surprise Accord. Considering the reports of a large fire spreading over several buildings, that was probably where most of the heroes were.
The Butcher was doing the same thing she always did when she came home to the Bay. She kidnapped people and parahumans for the pit fight to try and build up the Teeth's numbers.
I am just about to call the PRT when the signal goes dead.
I scream in frustration and I give myself a sedative to calm down. Don't get angry.
Remember what happened with Emma and the school. Getting angry solves nothing and helps no one. Clear you head and think about solutions.
Spree was moving at a speed that suggested he was in a car and he would have gone along a certain route. I pull up the route and breath slowly as I notice there are traffic cameras at certain lights.
The traffic cams do not take long to hack into, and I fast forward look at the right time. I compare every car to a list of stolen vehicles and get a match. I pull up the image and see Spree in the passenger seat.
I've got him. I call the PRT and leave a message about the make and model of the car Spree is in.
It takes fifteen minutes for the convoy to move to the same neighborhood Spree was last seen in. The drones move overhead and scout the area but I don't see the car.
But I do spot the driver of the car. The drones track him as he walks with coffee in his hands. I follow him as he goes to a restaurant with a large closed sign on the front door.
He knocks on the door and yells something. A moment later the door opens and he walks inside.
I feel my rage building again as I study the building. The S.C.I.O.N. injects a neurotransmitter into my brain to calm me down and gives me a warning about excessive mood swings.
I struggle to calm down and take deep breaths. I have never wanted to hurt something so badly in my entire life. Those stupid, fucking bastards are so unworried about retaliation that they can get coffee?
I can't get a good scan due the structure of the building, so I send out my specially grown rats to scout ahead.
They looked like regular rats but they had far superior eyesight, and their implants were some of the most sophisticated work I had ever made due to how small they had to be.
They crawl through small openings in the wall and looking through the rat's eyes shows me fifteen Teeth members with a mix of guns. All of them show physical signs of drug use, but they are all alert for the most part
In the basement is a large cage with almost a dozen people packed inside. They are mixed group of different ages and genders. A large man with glasses is trying to comfort a boy who looks terrified. I feel even angrier as I notice he is around my age.
I decide to use my airborne parasite. My robotic limbs quickly pull out the box and I introduce the chemical to activate them. I had designed them to be breathed through the lungs and to paralyze subjects. I didn't use it often because while it wasn't painful, the feeling of your lungs seeming to fill up with something moving had a large psychological toll.
I step outside and take a deep breath before putting on my mask. The rest of the Lusus are on standby while the spiders and I move in since the parasite won't affect them.
One of my trucks moves so its back is facing the entrance and it floors itself. It crashes through the wall and there are shouts of alarm as the doors open and I trigger the canister.
A dark, green cloud quickly begins to fill the room, and a few of the Teeth start firing at the truck as it pulls back. They start coughing and falling down as I send the spiders inside. The parasite should take care of everyone but there was no such thing as impossible when parahumans are concerned.
A few of the Teeth back away but the cloud moves too fast and the spiders start firing darts at anything that moves. One of them manages to shoot one of the spiders, but he falls over before he can aim at another. I walk forward slowly and look down in disgust at the Teeth.
They are motley and disgusting group. All them have different colored strips of cloth on their arms as trophies for accomplishments. Almost like merit badges that you'd see in the boy scouts. Looking down at them makes me angry but I manage to suppress it and I ignore them as I suddenly hear a strange buzzing.
I bring both of the warrior models beside me and the drones look around. I'm on guard as the buzzing gets even louder. It sounds familiar.
I hear someone shouting for help. One of them is screaming hysterically and I send one of the Warriors rushing to the basement. It breaks down the door and I see a woman scream at the sight of it.
Screaming.
There is someone else screaming. Where?
The Warrior pulls open the cage and the people crowd to the back. I move it back but don't see anyone injured. The Butcher would want healthy people to fight.
Who is screaming?
I feel a little dizzy and my face starts to go numb. I can hear one of the Teeth trying to say something but his words don't make sense.
I suddenly feel a massive headache and put my heads to my temple as I start breathing very hard. I had almost forgotten what pain is like.
I take two deep breaths and struggle to get my bearings as the parasite cloud slowly clears. I reconnect to the Lusus and freeze in shock.
The Spiders are tearing the Teeth into pieces.
They are screaming and wailing as their limbs are amputated.
Three of the spiders have opened up the ribcage of another who has passed out from the pain.
I scream STOP as loud as I can and am dimly aware I did it in my mother's voice without meaning to. The spiders freeze.
The S.C.I.O.N. gives me a warning and I immediately have the spiders inject everyone so the pain stops. I run to the to the man who drove Spree and personally start to close him up.
None of the Teeth are in danger of dying I notice with a dark thought. The spiders kept to their programming and didn't kill anyone.
Don't think about it just fix them. Don't think about what you just did and just fix them.
I move the spiders back and personally reattach everyone's appendages and close their wounds. My limbs move with quick precision and I feel see their eyes looking at me with horror. I am thankful for the mask to hide my shocked expression.
Why did I do this? The spiders wouldn't do anything without my orders and I didn't order this.
Or at least I don't remember it. I playback the last few minutes from the perspective of the warrior model guarding the hole the truck made. I actually gasp as I watch myself stand unfeeling as the spiders start to work.
I cut off the feed and I realize that I haven't been doing anything for several minutes. I can feel the Teeth looking at me and can see the looks of fear.
I have to get out of here. I immediately move to the stairs and try to figure out what I should do. Make sure the civilians are okay first.
Going down the stairs I hear panicked shouts and can see the men and women backed against the cage.
Ah, I didn't notice the lights are off. I feel for the light switch and turn it on. I look at the boy barely older than me, and move toward him when I notice he has a cut on his arm. My mechanical arms go up instinctively as I move forward to assure him.
He screams as he jumps back. "Get ba….
I hear the most terrible sounds of cutting mixed in with the screaming. They are begging for mercy and shouting everything they know.
I hear something huge move upstairs and Forest pushes us to the back of the cage while standing in front of us.
I feel my skin crawl as a giant six legged shape rumbles down the stairs in the dark and stops in front of the cage. It looks vaguely like a giant insect but towers over us and has giant mandibles, which tear apart the cage. Several people scream and I realize I am one of them.
Whatever it is immediately stops and heads back upstairs and I hear a woman's voice suddenly scream, "STOP". I can vaguely make out sobbing and movement. Forest is holding my arm so hard it hurts and I can sudden hear movement on the stairs.
The shadow is slender but has multiple arms on its back. The lights turn on and all I can do is stare.
Most of her body is obscured by long, leathery garments, which look similar to a laboratory coat or butcher's apron. Behind her back are six robotic limbs that move in an inhuman jerking motion all around her. Her mask encircles her face but allows her long hair to flow freely. It looks like a large fungus that is shaped to look like someone screaming.
She is completely covered in fresh and dripping blood.
She moves slowly to look at us and I realize with growing horror what is about to happen.
I am going to die.
….ack" the boy finished as he raised his hand up.
I see something unbelievably huge.
They took up the entire sky and they were constantly moving. They were grotesque and yet beautiful at the same time. They were like living sculptures of body parts that were constantly changing and moving. They scraped against each other and I saw pieces break off as they touched. They changed as they moved and I felt a mix of desire with disgust.
They're breeding, I realized. I see pieces of one of them flaking off and breaking into fragments. They phased in and out of the world as they swam through the sky leaving glowing ether in their wake. Like a giant dandelion breaking apart I saw their seeds burst apart in a cloud.
One of them kept getting bigger and bigger as it headed right for me till it was right over me before falling onto the boy into the cage.
A clear droplet of light was flung away from him and I feel my arm go numb.
I look down to see that my arm and parts of my chest are gone. But I ignore it since it isn't fatal and I have more important things to worry about.
I am certain I just saw a trigger event and the intelligence behind parahumans. I feel the memory fading and I wondered if I had dreamt the whole thing. It was like a thought at the tip of your tongue but you just can't seem to remember it.
I hear the sound of movement and focus back on the boy who I caused to have a trigger event. His eyes are darting between his hands and me.
"I am not going to hurt you", I say as gently as I could.
"Who are you?" one of the men asks. He moves to stand in front of the boy with his hands raised.
"I'm Faust." I say. I almost said I'm a hero, but I wasn't sure if I deserved such a label anymore.
"You are all safe now". They didn't look very convinced.
"What are you going to do with us?" the man asks. He was tall and his face looked like it hadn't been easy for the Teeth to capture him. His glasses were broken and he had a large cut on his forehead.
"Give you medical attention if you need it. Then let you go. But I want you to stay down here until I call the police." I say. I turn and walk back up the stairs.
"You do not want to go upstairs just yet." I say in a whisper as I change voices. I didn't want to hear my mother's voice anymore
I had propped the Teeth members up against the wall. None of them are saying anything and they have their eyes closed. One of them is crying.
I feel disgusted with myself. I'm no different than Emma or Sophia. I desperately want to get to the lab. I can't be certain if I am still dangerous to others yet.
Remember my rules, I say to myself. Civilian safety is first priority. Which means I have to get as much information out of them as I can. I will decide what to do with myself afterward. Even if it involves turning myself in to the PRT and coming clean about everything.
"Look at me", I say quietly. I command the S.C.I.O.N. to initiate the mask protocol to keep myself from crying.
Their eyes slowly open and look up at me.
I decide to take inspiration from what Emma told me the day my mother died.
"I really do not care about any of you. I don't care about your well being, about if you can turn over a new leaf, or your circumstances. I think you barely count as human beings, and I have to admit that I derive a significant amount of pleasure in seeing you in intense pain.
"But I will not kill you. I never kill people."
"Instead I am going to cripple all of you. It will last several years but it will not be permanent. First I'm going to make it impossible for you to gain an erection. Then your bones will be weakened to the point you might as well be made of glass. All of you will be given something similar to arthritis so you have crippling pain that never goes away. Every day, you will have terrible migraines and you will feel sick all the time. I will take away your vision and hearing to the point that your ability to experience or enjoy the world will be non-existent. Finally, I'm going to go into your brain so that you literally will be unable to experience pleasure like normal people ever again."
"But if you are honest with me, and your knowledge helps me save people I will not do as much, and it will not last nearly as long. Now I will take each of you one at a time where none of you can hear and start asking you questions. Answer me truthfully or don't. If this doesn't work, I have another method of extracting information from you. Though I'm not sure you will meet the definition of sentient at the end it."
It took me roughly thirty minutes to interrogate them all.
I get the names of two other sites, a list of contacts, and addresses. I heal every single one of them back to normal with no changes.
I place them back against the wall and make it so they will be paralyzed for the rest of the day.
Looking at the blood I wonder if I should clean it up before deciding not to. It isn't like it will make much of a difference anyway.
I instruct the Lusus to fill the trucks and go down the steps one more time.
The prisoners are still wary but are slightly more relaxed than they used to be. I place a memory drive with a list of everything I know about the Teeth and the ABB on the floor in front of them.
"Give this to the police." I say in barely a whisper. I walk to the boy and bow my head to him. "I'm sorry,".
I walk slowly up the steps and out to the trucks. None of the Teeth look up at me as I walk past them.
I take one last look at the building before I climb inside the truck.
I stare at my bloody hands as the truck heads home.
