AN: Thanks again to my beta Grey Raven 09 for his assistance!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Worm. If I did, I would be FAR more productive.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think in a review if you feel like it!

AN: Got this one knocked out in record time! The next few segments will likely all be similarly shortish in length however. That is largely intentional.


UtileNerd

Madison clenched her teeth as Jack Slash's knife bit down the length of her arm leaving another thin cut.

"I don't get why she keeps you around. Do you know why, Miss Clements?" he asked tracing another line and drawing a hiss from her. "Less useful powers, sure, that makes sense. Even the most useless power can be made incredible with the correct nurturing. But you…you don't have any. So why does she keep you?"

"I'm her friend fucker!" Madison spat as he etched a line around her finger in a mocking parody of a ring.

"Friends are illusions, Miss Clements. They are, however, useful illusions. I do so hate to leave a city with the impression that they've won." He paused and walked fully in front of her tapping the knife against his hand. The pleasant expression on his face melted away into a nightmare scowl, all teeth and spittle and rage. "That little bitch and her team screwed with everything I've spent years building! She wants to fuck with me? Fine! I'll fuck with her. I'll rip one of her little toys away from her. Bonesaw isn't here so I can't leave your innards lying around while you're still alive and conscious but I can still slice you to pieces and paint the walls with your blood. We'll see how much your precious Queen enjoys that. Siberian was so eager to keep playing with the little morsel, I just couldn't say no. A little present to remember us by before we leave."

Madison spat in his face and Jack blinked, taking a moment to wipe the saliva away as a smile slowly formed again. She just glared. "She's going to kick your ass, just like she kicks everyone's ass. She yells at the Triumvirate and she pisses off Endbringers. You think you're someone Jack Slash? You're nothing! You're an ant beneath her heel!"

Jack chuckled and looked to the side. "Cherish dear, do tone down the overconfidence. It's a bit annoying."

"Not me," Cherish murmured. "I only stopped Queen from bringing her monster bugs. I don't like this, Jack. Everyone is too focused. Too determined. There are too many people approaching. We should leave…"

"Coward," he said glaring. "If Bonesaw was still around I would fix that. You better start shaping up again Cherish or there will be consequences. I know; make Queen depressed! Not quite suicidal, but just enough that she can't react when Siberian's little pet starts hurting her." His smile was almost ear to ear.

Madison's answering smile was just as wide and so was her laugh. He had no idea about Taylor's power, no idea at all. Cherish just shook her head and clutched her arm with her hand. "I can't affect her anymore. There are no emotions to influence. She's on the roof, but it's like she's a dead zone. Nobody is a dead zone. How is she a dead zone? I can even feel my brother…I can't affect him, but I can feel him. How can she be a dead zone?"

"Because you're not as omniscient as you thought Cherish," Lisa's voice floated out of the speakers of the gym. Madison's smile widened further and her heartbeat quickened. "Of course, you already knew that didn't you? Otherwise you would've taken over the Nine and had Jack kill himself weeks ago."

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be is it?" Jack murmured looking to the ceiling. "Now where are you little girl?"

"Getting away from Heartbreaker was one thing, but going to the Nine? And trying to take over? You never understood how stupid that was until now did you? Not until he beat you down. Just like Nikos did."

"Shut up," Cherish whispered clapping her hands over her ears.

"Now you're stuck and you have to stay. Except you've all lost and it's just you, and Siberian, and Jack."

"Shut up!"

"Do you really think you can break her by talking? I'm honestly curious. She's already broken so it'd be a nice accomplishment to drop her even further down the rung. If you can, perhaps I'd have a use for you, Cherish is nearly dead weight now. Care for a job? I have openings." Jack turned to the side and centered on a booth near the back of the gym.

"Jean-Paul got out. You can't. You never will. You're just a sad, pathetic little reflection of your father, begging for scraps and falling over the next man who reminds you of him. Jean-Paul pulled himself out of the gutter and managed to scrape together a life. You just ran to Heartbreaker 2.0"

"No! Jack isn't - " Cherish shouted wrapping her arms around herself and screaming.

"That is literally his power. To talk and whisper. Jack is your father just with another face, Cherie."

"…no…"

"That's quite enough of that." Jack raised his arm, but before he could strike with his knife, Madison kicked. She struck his leg and diverted his aim just enough that his knife only shattered the window of the gym's announcing booth. Madison caught sight of blonde hair bouncing to the side as Lisa dove out of the way of the glass.

"Tinkertech, five o'clock, 20 feet!" Madison shouted.

Jack snarled and slashed his knife at her, but Madison jerked the chair she was bound in to the side making his knife scrape across the ropes as well as her arm. He didn't follow-up, instead changing his stance and throwing something in front of the blinking tinker device on the floor nearby before lashing out with his knife towards Lisa's briefly visible blonde hair as she stood to try and shoot the thing.

"You can run all you want girl; we both know I still hold all of the cards! You have 15 seconds to get out here before I start cutting pieces off of your friend. If you come quietly, I might even let her live."

Madison, slowly slipped her bleeding hand free from the loosened straps and reached over to the bonds on her other arm as Lisa darted around another piece of track equipment firing a shot as Jack struck out at her. Lisa's pained cry had Madison scowling, but she knew she couldn't move faster. She needed to stay beneath his notice until it was too late.

"Cherish! Get off your fucking ass and drop this bitch!"

"Not Nikos, not Nikos, not Nikos," the murmuring was Cherish's only reply.

"I will fuck you over you little whore! Hit her with something!"

Madison's hand slipped free. Lisa stepped out from behind a pile of exercise mats with her hands up, a smile on her face. Jack frowned, his eyes narrowing. "What the fuck did you do?"

"I asked for help. Turns out that apparently, my power does like Taylor. Die in hell asshole!" Madison stood and swung the chair around in a single motion at Lisa's wink. Jack saw it coming just fast enough to raise his arm to block, but all that did was spin him around. Lisa fired off three shots, one struck his off-arm sending a spray of blood into the air, the second hit him in the stomach as Madison ran towards her friend and left him stumbling, the third exploded the tinkertech.

Jack's eyes widened and he shouted. Madison reached Lisa and the blonde pulled her behind the mats as Jack's blade slashed down leaving a divot in the floor. He didn't have time for a second attack as Taylor's swarm flew into the gym diving for him. Jack screamed as Lisa levered Madison back to her feet and the two of them took off down the hallway. "Don't stop, don't look back! Just run!"

"Already - running!" she gasped in reply. They rounded a corner and then took a second and a third before Madison realized that Lisa was just aimlessly taking turns. "This - way! Exit's - this - way!" She pulled her friend towards a corridor they had just passed and together they burst through the doors, the sound of the swarm increasing to nearly deafening levels as the sunlight washed across them.

"Taylor!" Madison looked to the side as she heard Amy scream.

Amy was running towards a massed collection of bugs, several heroes and villains right behind her. Madison shifted directions and started to head that way as well. Behind her, Lisa sucked in a breath.

"Amelia, stand back," QA's avatar stated, forming out of the swarm and stepping into the path of the everyone, its 'eyes' focused on the swarm.

"But Taylor - "

"Her last command was to feast. Don't get closer until I disperse this. The swarm may not distinguish between targets."

Madison shook her head as she pulled up beside the others. "Of - of course it would," she gasped out, hunching over. "Even unconscious Taylor would know who her friends are."

Lisa grabbed one arm and violently shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "No. No, no, no, no!"

QA lowered its arms and the seething mass of bugs slowly started to sort itself back into small swarms. As more bugs bled off from the veritable biblical plague covering the ground, two bodies became visible lying crumpled on the parking lot asphalt. One was barely a skeleton with just bits of meat hanging off the bones. The other was…

"No…" Madison felt her knees give out and she crumpled to the ground. Amy had already run forward to Taylor, but Madison knew what she was going to say without having to hear it. She could see Taylor's chest rising and falling, but it didn't matter. Her head had hit the ground and there was blood everywhere. More than blood. There was…no…this couldn't…this wasn't possible…

"Dammit all," Armsmaster muttered stalking past her.

"If you hurry, Jack and Cherish are going that way," QA said raising its arm. "Siberian is over there. I don't think you can catch her. She's running away with Manton. He's completely incapacitated and will remain so. No parahuman healing will help. I assisted Monarch with modifications. But she is leaving the city with her Master in tow."

"Can you get Jack and Cherish?" Hookwolf asked.

"I'm busy. Deal with it yourself."

Taylor.

Amy was arguing with Lisa. Amy was crying. Lisa was quiet. Lisa was never quiet. QA stalked forward and stood next to them looking down.

Taylor.

No.

This was Madison's fault. All her fault. She had gotten captured. She hadn't gotten free fast enough. She hadn't fought back hard enough. She hadn't made them focus on her. She hadn't done enough.

She had started all of this when she never pushed back against Sophia and Emma.

This was her fault.

She was the reason that Taylor was lying there and wouldn't be getting up again.

This was her fault.

All her fault.

Madison stood and started walking. She heard Lisa shout at her but she ignored the blonde. She just needed to get away from the eyes around her.

She couldn't make it right, but she could stop it happening again.


Fanfic Rec: 'Maddagain' by Iarna. This is a oneshot on SV. In it Madison has nightmares about canonverse up to Warlord!Taylor and shortly before the locker incident she tries to get Sophia/Emma to stop it. This is a short oneshot, but it's a good one.