Colony 6.02
After our powers recovered, we used Cerberus' dogs to bring the wounded critters back to HQ where they could feed on creep and hopefully fix themselves up. Once we got back to the common room, however, the atmosphere turned harsh.
"Taylor," Brian started as he took off his helmet and mask, "what the fuck happened out there?"
"I, Animos' scream stripped my control. Then the Teeth tried to hurt us, and the critters went apeshit." I stammered my way through the explanation, feeling completely drained from the day's events.
"That's not what I meant, and I think you know it. Before Animos, you were about to kill Mush. I'm not gonna say someone like him doesn't deserve it, but that's not what we do. We don't kill, except in extraordinary circumstances." He sighed and flopped on the old chaise lounge we'd gotten from the goodwill. "I just want to know why."
My words didn't come. I...really had no explanation. I felt suddenly helpless, lost.
"I can answer that," Lisa spoke up. We all looked to her. Well, except for Alec and Aisha, who were on the patched-up loveseat sharing a bag of tortilla chips. "You needed the world to be black-and-white again."
I blinked in confusion.
"Great fuckin' answer," Rachel grumped from the corner.
"I was pausing for emphasis," the freckled one huffed indignantly. She turned back to me. "Think about what you've had to deal with, recently. Canary getting railroaded into the Birdcage, the Triumvirate threatening you... And even before that, the PRT at large refusing to help during the war, Sophia getting away with what she did for so long, the list goes on." Her green eyes locked onto mine. "Things are so mired in gray that it's getting harder for you to tell who's actually a good person. So, with something like this happening, it was an opportunity for you to deal with real bad guys, no ambiguity."
I began to feel comforted. Until Lisa resumed speaking.
"But that's not why you were going to kill Mush. The reason for that is simple: revenge. The Merchants hurt your father, and that was the last straw. You need someone to pay for all the horrible things that you've witnessed, that you've personally suffered. He just happened to be there." She stepped into my personal space, poking me in the chest armor. "What Alexandria told you was right: you're a ticking time bomb. You need to figure out how to defuse yourself."
Brian motioned for further exposition. "And she can do that how?"
"That's easy," Rachel replied, Brutus curled up in her lap. "Just do something nice." She gave an angry frown when we all looked at her. "What? If fighting is getting her upset, then she should do something nice. Like buy somebody a stuffed animal."
I couldn't help giggling at that. "Rachel, only you could talk about stuffed animals while looking pissed-off."
"She has a point," Aisha piped up. "You've been focused entirely on making combat critters. Yes, they're sweet, but their main purpose is still fucking people up. Maybe you should work on critters who can be gentle and helpful?"
Lisa continued the train of thought. "Amy's had a hell of a time recently; maybe she could use a new little friend?"
Brian's phone rang. "Let's table the brainstorming. PRT's on the line." He answered the call. "Grue here. Yes, I understand. We knew it'd happen sooner or later. Can we have somebody come here for the debrief? We're all understandably wiped. Okay, thanks." He sighed and draped himself over the lounge. "So some rubbernecker caught the feeding frenzy on video and, like an asshole, uploaded it. People are nervous."
I punched a concrete pylon, causing a crack and hurting my knuckles. "Fuck! As if we didn't have enough problems!"
Lisa hugged me from behind. "It'll be okay. We have the local PRT's support and we'll get to tell our side of the story in the debrief. Animos stripped your control and then pissed off your pets; he basically killed himself."
I rested against the pylon, feeling her arms around me. "I just wish things could be good," I whimpered, feeling tears start to well in my eyes. "I only ever wanted to help people, make their lives better. Instead things start looking up only to end up getting worse!"
"So people'll be afraid of you," Alec muttered flippantly. "Give 'em a reason not to be. I mean more than just, 'I'm a good guy so you don't need to be afraid!' You can make creatures. What if you made, say, custom pets? Things to make people smile, so when they see you they think of cute critters rather than a death-swarm."
We all paused at that. "...Wait," Brian finally spoke up, "did Alec just have a good idea?"
"Sounds like it," Aisha chirped. She pecked the brunet on the cheek, causing Brian to lose his shit and the rest of us to laugh, distracting us from the heavy mood until the PRT eventually arrived for debrief.
(BREAK)
For less dangerous visits, the PRT employed reinforced sedans – black, of course – generally carrying two troopers and a specialist officer. In this case, the specialist was a coronologist, a researcher specializing in parahuman powers. We greeted them in full costume and led them into the HQ's common room. Our idea for an Undersiders complex was still moving slowly, but at least we had the central building mostly furnished with mismatched furniture from various pre-owned stores.
While the troopers stood at the ready, the researcher sat down opposite me. He was an unassuming man, average height and build, mid-thirties with a short haircut and dark brown eyes only a few shades darker than his skin.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said in a gentle voice, a small and diplomatic smile on his lips. "Now, the main reason I'm here is for your account of the events; I was sent specifically because of the fact that your creations remained even when your powers were neutralized. That is a very rare talent for a Master to have." He leaned back a little. "So, who wants to start?"
As team leader, Grue spoke up. "I got a call from Skitter that her father had been injured in the running fight between the Merchants and Teeth. We met up here at HQ and gathered our resources to stop the conflict. It was pretty easy to track them with all the wreckage, and we stopped them near the intersection of Lord and MLK. Skitter had one of her spikers take out Squealer's vehicle while Regent caused Animos to fall over. Quarrel and Butcher were the biggest dangers, so I blinded Quarrel so she couldn't use her power and Regent went to work on Butcher. Cerberus took on Hemorrhagia while Imp and Skitter handled the Merchants. Then Animos screamed and I lost control of my power. Everything went wrong: the extra meat on Cerberus' dogs dissolved, Skitter's swarm flew away, we were screwed. But the raptors, spikers and Atlas intervened and defended us, wounding Butcher, maiming Hemorrhagia and killing Animos when the Teeth tried to attack."
The coronologist looked over to me. "What happened, when you lost your powers? Can you describe it?"
I nodded. "It was like losing all five senses at once. I can see, feel, hear, et cetera through my bugs and critters so I suddenly lost all of that. Worse still, I couldn't feel them anymore." I took a breath, deciding to be honest and straightforward. "It's a great comfort, always having them in the back of my mind. Even if I'm too far away to control my creatures, I still know they're around. Suddenly I felt completely alone. It was...terrifying."
"I'm rather impressed that they protected you, rather than just running away."
I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. "My critters are all sweethearts. They're loyal, like good dogs. Most of the time I don't control them, letting them run on instinct alone, and they're generally helpful. It didn't surprise me at all that they stepped up to protect us." I felt my happiness wick away. "...Even if a lot of them died in the process."
"While people are going to be understandably frightened by the killing, your explanation should do a lot to allay their worries. Do you give the PRT your permission to release that part of the information? That is, that your creations are gentle unless attacked?"
I blinked in surprise, then grinned. "Certainly, and thank you."
He waved me off. "Your thanks are unnecessary, Skitter. We've collected the corpses from the scene of the fight. Our biologists are eager to see how they work. So you can consider us even." He stood and the troopers relaxed, ready to move out. "One more thing: you might need to give a press conference if mob mentality prevails and people let themselves continue to be scared."
"We're having her brainstorm making cute things," Regent volunteered.
"Excellent idea. If you can manage to find people who'll accept your creations as pets, it'd do a lot of good for public perception." He gave us a salute. "Thank you all for your time."
Lisa looped an arm around my shoulders after the coronologist left. "So, while we bounce ideas off each other, I have the perfect ambiance music."
She opened up her computer and linked it to the wireless speakers. Owl City's Fireflies began to play.
Lisa was a wonderful friend.
(BREAK)
I sat with my eyes closed, listening to the ideas being tossed around. Rachel suggested it be like a plushie, Alec added that it should squeak, and countless other recommendations. The worlds swirled in my mind, forming into appearances. It had to be huggable, sure. Soft and round, without rough edges. Not the whole thing, of course, or the head itself could get damaged. I would add the head, protruding from the central body. Bright, bulbous eyes to go with the stuffed-animal look, a little mouth... I could implant a creeper inside the body to make it squeezable and keep it fed, and an air bladder. Yes, it would squeak when squeezed.
Color...I wouldn't fight it; purple seemed to be the natural go-to for my creep, while the armored hides tended toward gray. Purple could also be brightened up to pink, which could work nicely. Yellow-orange eyes, and I could add inner luminescence. The tiny little mouth would flap open when it squeaked.
The creep... When Amy regenerated me, my body drew on my creep to restore damaged tissue. If the new squeaky had a creeper inside it, maybe it could spit out creep for Amy to use as fuel so she wouldn't need to draw on body mass like she did with Piggot.
I opened my eyes. "Okay, I think I've got it. Let's head to the hive."
The "hive" was what we'd taken to calling my section of the base, while Cerberus' was called the kennel. The rest of the Undersiders, without critters to care for, all had their own rooms in the central building. Rachel held me up while I coughed out an uglybug, and the little monstrosity went to work.
This egg was the smallest I'd ever made, and it didn't explode or rupture like the others. Rather, it was like watching a turtle hatch: the egg ripped and deflated, and my creation crawled out.
It was adorable. Wide eyes blinked up at me, its tiny mouth making soft gurgling noises. It scuttled forward on six stubby legs and two blunt pincers, the volleyball-sized creature moving with a slow and ponderous gait. I scooped it into my arms and it nuzzled against me. I was pleased with the weight, too: it should be easy for someone like Amy to carry it. The blunt little claws were for grabbing and manipulating things, so it could fetch or tug a sleeve or climb onto a couch. And now for the real test...I squeezed the little ball.
Squeak!
It raised its pincers in the air, joining my celebration. Aisha pounced me. "Oh my god, that's so cute! I want one!" She grabbed the critter and gave it a slower squeeze.
Squ-eak!
I looked over at the rest of the group and noticed Lisa was on the phone. What, did she not care about this little cutie-pie in my arms?
The blonde hung up and grinned at me. "Amy says you can come over."
(BREAK)
Even though I'd only been there once, I could only describe the Dallon household as though a malaise had been lifted from it. I remembered the conversation I'd eavesdropped on between Panacea and Foresight, so things had obviously undergone a major change since Amy and Carol were happily sitting beside one another.
"Thank you again for letting me come over," I smiled at the pair and inclined my head to Mark, even though he was in the kitchen with his back to me. Apparently Vicky was on a date with her on-again, off-again boyfriend (even though they were supposed to be in an "off" stage).
"Oh, no problem," Flashbang piped up as he made himself a sandwich. "Amy told us that Foresight was helping her with, let's say parental issues, so when Carol's shell finally cracked it was easy to fix bridges we'd thought were burned."
The blonde lawyer had the grace to look sheepish and took Amy's hand. "When Amy got kidnapped, I realized the antagonism between us was so petty when my little girl was in danger. We had more than a few shouting matches while figuring out where we stood with each other, but..."
Amy picked up where her mother left off. "For the first time, it actually feels like I have a mother. It's a little late, but better that than never. Now," she looked straight at me, "what's in the box?"
In my lap was a good-sized cardboard box, the flaps folded over one another to keep it shut while letting air flow. I couldn't help grinning. "Well, you've done so much to help me and, while I know you don't accept payment, consider this a gift to make up for the stress I inadvertently caused you." I leaned across the table and deposited the box in Amy's lap.
She immediately opened the flaps. "So, what could it–" She cut herself off with a yelp as two little pincers gripped the open edge. A round head rose out of the box and gave a soft gurgle.
"I made you a little friend!" My smile wouldn't shrink an inch.
The brunette gently lifted it out of the box, which Carol moved aside. It immediately snuggled into her lap and yawned. "Oh, wow," she whispered. "I...this thing is amazing. So many nuances and intricacies...it reminds me of you, but while your DNA is mutable, this thing's DNA has been altered but is...locked into place, for lack of a better phrase."
"He'll be your pet, your traveling companion, and he can produce creep – that's what we call my biomass – that you can draw on to help heal your patients."
She nodded in understanding. "Okay, I get all that, but what's this bladder for?"
I stifled a giggle. "Give him a squeeze."
Amy raised a brow, but did as I said.
Squeak!
I could practically see stars in her eyes. "Oh my god, this is so cute!" She squeaked him twice more, and the little thing gurgled with happiness. "What's its name?"
I shrugged. "That's for you to decide; he's your pet. Well, I refer to it as a 'he'. My creations are asexual, so you could call it 'he' or 'she', whichever you prefer."
"I'll think on it," she said while nuzzling the little ball of goo. "You're so cute, yes you are," she cooed to it in baby-talk. It reached up and toyed with her hair. Amy took a moment to look up at me. "Thank you, Skitter. I mean it. This...this is wonderful."
Lisa had been right: doing something kind, something peaceful, and seeing the happiness it brought? It really did my heart good. The stress and pain that had been knotting around my heart untangled, if only slightly, and I realized something.
I could do this. I could make companions for people, make their lives better. I didn't have to limit myself to just fighting bad guys. In fact, I didn't have to stop at companions. I could make so much to make the world better, and I wouldn't be forcing it on people, just offering them the choice. This made me happy, yes, but the look on Amy's face was what really made this worth it.
We chatted for about a half-hour before I left, ideas percolating in my mind. Foremost was this: when dad got out of the hospital, I'd ask him how to start a business.
