How to cure your writer's block on one fanfiction:

Write another fanfiction from a completely different franchise.

"What the hell?"

With a simple contortion of her hand, the doppelganger had stopped all three bullets mid air, only inches away from her person.

"That was not a wise choice," she said.

After a moment, the bullets all clattered to the ground.

Kat coughed. "Are we going to fight an invincible enemy? Because I think I'd rather quit."

Elizabeth said nothing. She didn't even put her gun down. Now her entire focus was on her double.

"Tell me," Comstock said, pursing her lips. "Does the name 'Big Sister' mean anything to you?"

There was a slight rumble. Elizabeth felt a little blood drip out of her nose. But she didn't say anything.

"It's at the tip of your tongue," Comstock continued. "Let me jog your memory." She twisted her hand. A single bullet floated up into the air, spun around a few times, then zipped straight into Kat's leg. The Splicer let out a yelp. The force of the movement was so strong it pierced right through the suit's powerful armor.

Elizabeth started to feel odd. She could feel her blood running hot with anger. Her vision turned red.

"Provocation," Comstock replied, staring at her double.

With a blood-curling shriek, signifying her protector form, Elizabeth hurled herself at her doppelganger, the latter barely having time to brace for impact as the two were thrown through the air, bouncing across the concrete floor, before finally coming to a halt, both of them sprawled a few feet from each other.

It was the Big Sister who recovered first. "All threats must be eliminated!" she said robotically.

"Elizabeth?" Tenenbaum called out nervously.

Elizabeth jerked her head toward her two companions, who were staring at the scene with a mix of shock and horror.

"You're doing the scary thing again!" Kat added.

Tenenbaum looked at the former Splicer. "Again?"

A part of her wanted to stop what she was doing, to prevent them from seeing her in this state. But the other...no, the other was hell-bent on killing the doppelganger. The former had the sense to put on her helmet, blocking her face from the observers' sight.

But by the time she looked back, Comstock had gotten back on her feet.

"Make it a challenge, DeWitt!" she called out. "Why don't I give you one?!" She flung a hand in the air, and a tear opened up between the two. Something stepped out with a loud clang.

"My aim is true for my eyes are the prophet's…"

Elizabeth threw herself through the air, narrowly avoiding the Motorized Patriot's hail of bullets. The mechanical man stopped its attack, turned around and aimed the gun at Kat and Tenenbaum.

"Out of the way!"

"Scheiße!"

The two made a run for it in opposite directions, a spray of bullets covering the spot where they had once stood. Elizabeth leapt onto the patriot's arms, re-aiming the still-firing bullets at the ceiling.

"I think it will please you to know you and your friends will survive this, Elizabeth," Comstock said frankly. "I'm quite positive of that fact. But I think you're better off having some time to think." She raised a hand. "We will talk again, and this time I won't be nearly as civil." And with a snap of a finger, she was gone.

The motorized patriots ran on gears, each one working like a signal from the brain. If she could tear out the right gear, it would kill the patriot.

"The innocent have nothing to hide."

Elizabeth, on a hunch, tore out a single gear.

The Patriot slumped to the left and began turning in a circle, opening fire as it did so.

"NOT GOOD!" Kat screamed from somewhere.

By now the Patriot had figured out where Elizabeth had gone, and with a mighty jerk sent her sprawling through the air. Turning around once more, it adjusted its gun and opened fire. Rather than run away, Elizabeth ran at the Patriot, taking multiple hits to her person while doing so. She could feel the bullets hitting her armor, but right now her focus was simple: eliminate the threat, and it would all be over.

With another jump, she swung through the air and landed on the Patriot's shoulders. From here she could see Tenenbaum and Kat were trying futilely to get out enough shots from behind a concrete pillar to kill the Patriot. A pistol, as far as Elizabeth knew, was not enough to kill an automaton efficiently.

She swung out her shotgun. This was much more effective.

Arming it, she aimed the barrel at the Patriot's head, and fired.

There was a burst of flames and Elizabeth was thrown to the ground. The headless Patriot stood still for a moment.

"LOOK OUT!" Kat shouted, forgetting the fight match she had gotten herself into.

Elizabeth looked up to see the Patriot was beginning to fall in her direction. She rolled to the side, barely avoiding the impact as the mechanical man hit the ground.

Shocked by her survival, she lay there for a moment in disbelief. She could feel the ADAM in her blood cooling down as her protector form retreated to the back of her mind.

"Elizabeth?"

She looked up. Kat and Tenenbaum were standing above her, concerned.

"Are you alright?" Tenenbaum asked.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "A little scorched," she admitted as she got up.

Kat walked over to the Patriot. "What is this thing?" she asked.

"Motorized Patriot," Elizabeth replied. "My floating city, Columbia...these were among their soldiers."

"You know, this floating city of yours is starting to sound a lot like Rapture," Kat mused. She picked up the Peppermill gun. "Look at me, I'm an Italian waiter."

"Where did she go?" Tenenbaum asked, pointing to where the doppelganger had once stood.

"Someplace else," Elizabeth said. She paused, looking at the ground. There were drops of blood right in front of her double's footprints.

"What is it?"

"Nosebleeds..." Elizabeth said slowly. "Tear sickness."

"She's a trans-dimensional being," Kat said. "How can she get tear sickness?"

Elizabeth thought about Robert Lutece: what the doppelganger had done in a bid to gain his tear powers.

"It's like accepting blood donations from someone with a BBV," she said. "Blood is blood, but if it comes with an incompatible factor, you're not going to feel well."

"Meaning?"

"She wanted to gain full tear ability, so she took Robert Lutece's. But the circumstances of his superposition were different from mine. Her body is incompatible with his tear powers, and it's killing her from the inside out. Mentally and physically." Elizabeth tasted the blood.

She grimaced slightly, but there was something familiar about it.

"Chocolate?"

"Pardon?"

Elizabeth wiped her fingers off. "It's...nothing," she said.

The radio crackled to life. "I must say," said the disappointed voice of Sofia Lamb. "I thought you were going to accept her generous offer."

"I do not want to deal with that...thing again," Elizabeth said firmly.

"You two have much in common," Lamb mused. "It seemed surefire you would agree with everything she said."

"She is not me."

"I have two eyes that would say otherwise."

"Lamb, she told you I would ruin everything you stand for, correct?"

"She did."

"Well then logic states you don't want me to remain in Rapture. Killing me seems to be a drastic solution to a minor problem."

Lamb paused. "What are you asking?"

"Give us the Little Sister. I will leave Rapture with my friends, and you will never have to be concerned with me again."

"Little Sisters are what my philosophy relies on. Besides, your other half claimed she would deal with you efficiently."

"Does my other half have any objections?"

Pause. "Admittedly, I do not know where she is. She severed all communications with me."

"Why?"

"We had a deal. It has been fulfilled."

"Well then...perhaps you and I can make a new deal?"

Another pause, this one much, much longer.

"The Splicer's daughter is in Persephone, with me. There's a bathysphere docked nearby that will take you directly there. But that's as far as my help goes: I am not going to make this easy for you. But if you can retrieve her, you will be free to leave Rapture when you so desire. Unless of course, a lone Splicer decides to kill you."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." The communications cut off.

"You actually made a deal with her?" Kat asked, completely stupefied.

Elizabeth felt her hand cannon for a moment. "I need to play my cards right...find the right allies."

Tenenbaum frowned. "Is that not what the doppelganger said?"

Elizabeth ignored the query. "We need to get down to Persephone."

"That's gonna be a problem."

Elizabeth looked at Kat. "What do you mean?"

The former Splicer sighed. Finally, she pointed down at her leg, specifically the bullet hole the doppelganger had left.

"Yikes," Elizabeth said, kneeling down to look at the injury.

Upon closer inspection, she could see the bullet was still wedged inside Kat's flesh.

"How are you not screaming in pain?" she asked, looking up at the former Splicer.

"I've still got a little ADAM in my bloodstream," Kat explained. "Minor painkiller and antibiotic, also stops it from bleeding. But if I don't get this treated, things are not going to go well."

Elizabeth reached into her satchel and handed Kat a health needle. "Will this help?"

Kat took a deep breath. "Please, keep it away from me."

"The health needle will do little good," Tenenbaum added. "The bullet's still wedged in there. It needs to be removed before applying any sort of treatment, else Fräulein De Winter will die of infection. Worst case, I may have to cut off her leg."

"Do we have any medical supplies?"

"I left my kit at the Welcome Center," Tenenbaum replied, shaking her head. "It would take too much time to bring her there, treat the wounds, and come back."

"Time we don't have," Kat agreed. She took a deep breath. "I can't go down there with you, Elizabeth."

"Kat, your daughter..."

"I told you before, I've been without her for over a year. I can wait a little longer."

"Elizabeth, I will see to her safety," Tenenbaum added.

Elizabeth sighed. "I guess it all falls to me, then."

Tenenbaum cleared her throat. "There is one other thing."

"What?"

"Elizabeth, are you feeling alright?"

"No worse than usual."

"She means the protector form," Kat said.

"What gives? I've been doing that all day, ever since I bonded with Amber. You two share DNA, so you getting harmed affects me, too."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Tenenbaum said loudly.

Kat and Elizabeth looked at her, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"Elizabeth, when you got angry, your skin turned a different shade, your eyes went to a bright red, and you screamed like a devil."

"And?"

"We did experiments on the Big Daddies before we put their suits on. Elizabeth...you looked like an armor-less Big Daddy in protector form."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "But...that's impossible. I mean..I'm not mute, I don't make loud groaning noises..."

"Those were a result of Big Daddy conditioning," Tenenbaum explained. "If we hadn't altered their minds, they would have shown too much independence. You have had no such conditioning."

"Not to mention your height and strength gain over the last few hours?" Kat added.

Elizabeth breathed in a few times. "I can't deal with this now."

"Elizabeth—"

"Kat, I need to deal with your daughter, and quite possibly Comstock. I can't worry about how I look without a helmet."

"This isn't about aesthetics, Elizabeth, something is very wrong here—"

"I'm fine," Elizabeth growled.

Kat and Tenenbaum stared at her.

"I mean...I'm fine. Really."

"She was telling the truth," Tenenbaum said, stepping back from the console. "It is programmed to bring you straight to the dock at Persephone."

Elizabeth smirked. "I was worried she was going to pull a fast one and try to bring me to New York."

"...what?"

"Never mind."

Elizabeth stepped into the bathysphere. "Well," she commented. "I guess this is it for now."

"One more thing."

Tenenbaum reached into her bag and handed Elizabeth a blue bottle.

"Drinkable EVE?" Elizabeth asked. "How—"

"I found it while I was on my way here," Tenenbaum explained. "I wish I could give you more, but this was it."

Elizabeth popped open the cap and downed the entire bottle. She felt the long-dormant drinkable plasmids power up.

"Thanks," she said, wiggling her fingers.

Tenenbaum bowed slightly, then stepped out of the bathysphere. "Good luck."

"See you soon," Kat piped up. "Hopefully."

"Hey, don't worry, you two will be fine," Elizabeth said. She pulled down the lever.

As the bathysphere doors closed, she heard Kat say one last thing:

"It's not us I'm worried about."

Elizabeth sat on the bench. The cabin light had a faulty circuit and had been blinking for most of the ride. It made her feel a bit nauseous.

The radio came to life. "Did you miss me?" came the voice of the doppelganger.

"What is wrong with you?" Elizabeth asked.

"I suppose I'm just insane."

"Let me rephrase that. What is the condition of your current state of health?"

There was silence.

"Your next hour of life is not going to be remotely enjoyable." The signal went out.

Elizabeth smirked. "Well," she muttered. "That was a short conversation."

She stood up and looked out the window. Passing a rock overhang, the bathysphere turned to reveal the lights of the Persephone Correctional Facility.

Lamb had hid Amber somewhere in the facility. A facility overrun by Splicers. Not unlike Fontaine's before the Civil War. But Lamb's influence had brought a sense of order to the prison. One Elizabeth suspected was now mobilized to make her life very, very difficult.

She pressed a button on her radio. "Kat?"

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"Do you ever stop and think there must have been a moment at the beginning where you could have said 'no'?"

"'No' to what?"

"To this: Rapture, Chelsea, Angus, even Amber..."

"All the time, Elizabeth."

"Then what?"

Kat thought for a moment.

"Well, then I realize it's too late now."