A/N: And now to everyone's favorite sociopath!
Coil had a headache. It was a danger of Thinkers, from what he knew. In this case, though, it was due to one simple problem.
He'd been keeping two running timelines going for far, far longer than he ever had before. Normally he collapsed a timeline within a day or two of making a choice. Given his current predicament, though, he'd had it running for six days straight. The longest he'd ever done it before was one and a half.
Ever since the picture of a red girl turning into a big red dragon crossed his desk. And knowing that he had liberated her tormentor from the prison Sophia Hess was supposed to go to...he was wishing he had the ability to hold onto another timeline. Or travel back in time. Or...damn near anything he could use to just fix this situation.
He reclined in a hotel room in Vancouver, using the position of Thomas Calvert Junior, to help rebuild the city after the Simurgh's attack. After working twelve hours to coordinate with the city, he was worn out. After setting up a white noise generator, he took out a specially-secured phone and made a call.
He sat upright in a hastily-reserved villa in Italy, his fingers clacking on the keyboard as he typed a message back to Brockton Bay. He wouldn't dare set foot in the city again. Hell, if it wasn't for the terrible climate, he'd be in Antarctica. Not that there was much he could do with an Antarctic base, even with the resources he has. Had. Oh, his bank account was fine, but removing all his assets from the Bay was a pain. Not all of it could be moved.
He gripped the phone tightly. "I need you to be ready to move Noelle out of the Bay, quickly."
Trickster's voice was a bit tinny over the line, filled with suspicion and anger. "You promised she'd have a cure."
Calvert rubbed his face. What had he been thinking, trying to juggle so many things at once? "And she will. I'm setting up a dedicated facility in Vancouver to house her. At the moment, however, the position in Brockton Bay is far too volatile for me to get the needed personnel in to work."
"Ninety percent chance you die in the next ten minutes."
He turned around, looking at Dinah. She was chained to the wall in the room, an armed bodyguard and a doctor standing over her. He carefully stepped away from his computer, moving to her. "What was that, pet?"
She smiled with satisfaction. "Ninety percent chance you die in the next ten minutes. One hundred percent chance in the next twenty."
His hands shook. What was going to kill him? He was tempted to close this timeline and split the other, but it was too dangerous, too risky. He would have to spend days or weeks traveling from Vancouver in the other timeline from this moment, and figure out a new reserve location.
He cleared his throat. "Chance of my survival if I turn Shadow Stalker over to Scarlet Dragon?"
Dinah grinned. "Zero percent chance."
So it wasn't her. So what would...
The ceiling crumbled as a figure burst through it, dust obscuring its form for a moment. Coil backed away, pressing his back up against a wall.
"You still there?" Trickster's voice regained his attention.
"Yes, I apologize. I'm a little distracted. I'm in the middle of getting everything set up for her unique needs." He spoke, glancing around the room. Hoping against all reason that another figure wouldn't appear and bring his doom.
Dinah wasn't here. He hadn't taken the risk to bring her with him in this timeline. Too much of a potential problem if he were found in his civilian identity along with a child who was reported dead. And with a body to boot.
It had seemed like such a good plan at the time. Have Noelle copy her, see if a useful clone could be made. If the clones couldn't be controlled or guided, then they would still be useful for ensuring Dinah Alcott was no longer missing. Drop a clone in front of the Mayor's residence, send her to run inside, ostensibly to find her uncle, then detonate the Bakuda bomb hidden in her clothing. The Mayor's estate now sported a glass statue of Dinah, looking surprised and panicked. At least, it had until the Mayor had it quietly hidden away.
It had taken five attempts to get a clone that wasn't able to predict the act in advance. With his power, however, it was simple enough to make sure those left no evidence, since technically they hadn't happened. It was a shame the rest of the clones weren't controllable, but it was worth the attempt to make them, anyway. If he could have had five Dinahs, with her power under his command, well, they would have been very useful for when his operations would expand. Or if something unforseen had happened to the original. At least, so it seemed at the time.
Now? He was beginning to realize he should have simply used his power to build wealth and live comfortably, rather than playing the petty games and power-grab he actually went for.
A maskless man wearing blue and gold emerged from the dust, a blue cape billowing behind him. His hair was thinning, and his features were plain. He looked, oddly enough, like some family man dressing up as a hero, not a hero himself. His eyes were hard as he looked at Coil. The bodyguard drew his gun, lifting it toward the intruder. He simply turned, grabbed the gun and crushed it in a single hand. With an almost contemptuous shove, he pushed the bodyguard into the nearest wall, knocking the man unconscious with a slap.
The intruder looked at the doctor, who was cowering in the corner. He then looked over at Dinah, who grinned happily.
Then those cold eyes focused on Coil.
"Holy fuck!" Trickster yelled, forcing Calvert to pull away from the phone for a moment.
Calvert turned to his laptop, bringing up a video feed of his base from his secure server. "What's happening?"
"Some guy just came out of nowhere! He's tearing his way through here!" Gunfire and the distinctive sound of Tinkertech laser rifles began echoing over the line. There was a loud bang as someone fired off a shotgun near Trickster.
Calvert managed to finally get the video feed up, his hands freezing as he saw the same man as in the other timeline, calmly and casually disabling his men with a wave of a hand. The air distorted in front of him, bullets flattening themselves before falling to the ground, while he simply walked up to each attacker and disabled them. The laser rifles were brought to bear, the mercenaries firing rapidly, but the beams themselves twisted out of the way, doing impressive damage to the concrete walls behind the man, but nothing to him.
"Who the hell are you?" Coil demanded. This wasn't good. At least he was safe in the other timeline. He needed to find out everything possible about his assailant. Then he could split things there and try and find a path out of this.
The man looked between Dinah and Coil. His eyes flashed, flame filling them from within, and he spoke with deadly intent. "Your sickness ends here." Water formed in his hands, and he thrust his arms toward Coil. A powerful jet of water arced out, slamming him into a wall with bone-breaking force. The last thing he felt...aside from the pain, was the timeline collapsing.
Calvert jerked, swallowing hard. He split the timeline.
He started the base's self-destruct. Five minutes and downtown Brockton Bay would sport a new crater.
He yelled in pain as the Thinker headache drove him to the floor, blood running from his nose. He began to spasm as blood began to leak from his ears, his nose, his eyes...
The timeline collapsed.
He breathed in. He swallowed, hard, as he tried to keep himself from shaking. It had been so long since he operated without a safety net that he nearly froze in indecision.
Nearly. "Trickster, are you still there?"
All he could hear were the sounds of running feet. Flipping his way through the cameras, he spotted them. Trickster was busily trying to open the vault door that held Noelle, while the other Travelers were leaving the base through an escape route that Sundancer had made by burning a passage through the walls and into the sewers.
And all he could do was watch helplessly as the man in gold and blue found his pet. She hugged him, and he tenderly picked her up in his arms. A flash of light, then the room was empty.
What the hell was going on?
And...was that music? The white noise generator should be drowning everything from out of the room. It sounded like someone singing a tune. It was...beautiful.
He swallowed hard as he turned around, finding a new figure sharing his room with him. White skin, nearly crystalline. Blank eyes. And dozens of feathery, asymmetrical wings sprouting from her back. She wore a golden toga, and floated just off the ground.
"You're dead." He managed to whisper.
She smiled and spoke, her voice echoing into his mind. "When a god is slain, death is not the only possible outcome. You, however, are an annoyance. You have slighted and distorted fate for far, far too long, snake. If you live, you will only harm our chances at surviving the Abomination. My gift, and the slayer of the first's own gift, agree." She tilted her head slightly. "While it is true I am still so very, very weak, so little I can see, I have enough strength in this place, this place so close to my death...to handle you."
A/N: And no. Mystery dude is not an OC.
