A/N: Chap 24 review responses are in my forums as normal. And now, I present you the all-but-mandatory Cauldron scene!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Not One Kind of Strife Alone
Near an abandoned oil rig far out into the Atlantic Ocean, a superhero appeared almost as if from thin air. The quickening dusk hid the after shadow of his passage, though he came to a stop nearly instantly. For that one moment, his body seemed to sparkle as he reverted from a breaker state that made him impervious to the friction and heat of his impossible speeds.
Over the rig, Legend said aloud, "Door, please."
A few feet away from him, a pale square appeared before his eyes, expanding out in a three-dimensional cube until it grew into the size of a large door door-sized cube. Within the cube, he could see the hallway of a building interior.
He floated effortlessly through the portal until his feet came down on the white tiles of the hallway floor. Behind him, the portal closed. The thick, cold humid air of the ocean began to fade, leaving only the hint of its smell in the otherwise air-conditioned, sterile hall. A strangely compact breeze removed even that trace.
The Custodian of the place did not let unwanted smells linger.
As he walked forward, he considered for the thousandth time whether to get a cape, like Alexandria. His husband brought it up every few years, stressing how cool he would look. Legend had no doubt he was right. But while capes looked dramatic, the fact is that he wasn't a brute. He dealt with blows by phasing to his breaker state and rapid healing. The last thing he needed was for Behemoth or Leviathan to catch his cape and snap his neck. He wasn't sure he could heal from that.
He came to a set of double doors and stepped into a familiar conference room. The first thing he noticed was the back wall monitor with a full-color, high definition surveillance footage of the moment Taylor Hebert disappeared.
"So, your little pet project flew the coop," Legend said as he stepped to the ground table.
"She didn't run away," Alexandria said. "She expected to be back in a minute. Something went wrong."
After over two decades, he could hear the Thinker power in Alexandria's voice. She wasn't speaking out of hope, but out of careful analysis and power-induced surety. She leaned back in her chair as she viewed the footage, her helmet on the table in front of her. A small part of him still winced when he saw the star-shaped scar at the corner of her left eye.
While Legend was never attracted to women, he still admired beauty. Alexandria was a beautiful woman, but not like models on magazines. Hers was the beauty of strength and regal fierceness. A warrior, now and always.
Eidolon had also joined the meeting, and for all his vast power, physically he was the complete opposite of Alexandria. With his hood down and his artistically glowing mask on the table before him, he proved to be a thoroughly disheveled-looking man of middle age, thick brows, thinning hair and great, slab-like cheeks. He looked as if he belonged in the back yard of a suburban house flipping hamburger patties on a grill rather than fighting Endbringers.
At that moment, he was scowling at the monitor.
The head of their organization and the source of his power sat directly opposite the monitor. The woman had rich black skin but her hair was straight and silky, more like from Indian than African descent. She wore it in a bun secured by two ornate chopsticks. Next to her sat the infamous Number Man in a suit and tie, with glasses perched on the end of his nose.
As Legend settled down at the table, he glanced at the last member of the group. He never knew her name. She always wore suits, though the color often changed. Today it was beige, with a stylish matching fedora. She was always at the Doctor's side, and he knew from the other members of the cabal that she was dangerous, though he never knew in what way.
"I still don't see what the fuss is about," Eidolon said. He virtually growled the words. "All potential means is that she hasn't done anything yet. The father has. If we want someone, let's recruit the father."
"Danny Hebert beat the Siberian when the Slaughterhouse 9 went to Brockton Bay in 1998," Number Man said. He shifted his glasses further up the ridge of his nose with a precise movement of his hand while shuffling the many papers before him. "Dragon was able to interview Marquis regarding that incident. Evidently the Siberian was able to injure him to a point, but that he healed faster than Lung and displayed a burst of…" He glanced down at his notes. "Ah…fiery rage. Marquis could be quite eloquent when he wasn't murdering everyone who got in his way. He could not kill or even harm Siberian, but at one point he actually gripped her by her ankle and beat both Winter and Crimson to death with her before the Nine fled."
"That just proves my point!" Eidolon said.
"Projections indicate small likelihood of his joining," Doctor Mother said. "So far, the daughter has been much more willing to work with us."
"And you believe that shit about those necklaces?"
Eidolon's combativeness surprised Legend. Usually the man was saturnine, but rarely angry. He enjoyed his role as the second most powerful being in the world, second only to Scion. He enjoyed saving people and fighting the Endbringers, even if he could never truly defeat them. The fact that the latest Endbringer attack was months overdue seemed to have the man on edge.
"Before she disappeared, Dr. Sterns was leaning toward classifying her as a Trump 10," Legend said. "She flew faster than Alexandria, if just barely. The strength test topped out at 40,000 tons without effort, and the only because the press hit its max. She can cure anything, so far. We know she has a multi-state shaker effect, and she told Alexandria that she could reanimate the dead. More importantly…Eidolon, she survived two direct hits from Flechette. Flechette's empowered projectiles can pierce anything."
The man shook his head. "She was almost killed by a low-tier changer with shadow arrows."
"Was she?" Alexandria tapped a few buttons on the table, bringing up the footage. Legend had seen it twice now, the first-time minutes after getting Adamant to the hospital. He winced at what looked like a blatant murder attempt.
"The wings didn't emerge until Lung tried to kill her," Alexandria said. "He stabbed her in the back where he ripped out those bolts. He was trying to kill her. Even doing so, he couldn't. Shadow Stalker hurt her, but she was in no danger of dying. Something about her protection has a metaphysical aspect. It can keep anything from piercing her body, but somethings can bypass those protections. I'd imagine Narwhal could harm her badly."
"Besides the point now she's gone," Eidolon said. He sounded vaguely satisfied at the point.
Legend noticed, from the corner of his eye, how Doctor Mother glanced at her unnamed companion. "We believe it to our advantage to assist the girl if possible."
Eidolon sputtered. "What?"
"Do you really think I'd push through a Section 6-71 status for a 'hasn't done anything yet', David?" Alexandria asked. "Especially one caught on film cutting a Ward in half? Browbeating a family court judge to do an emergency order for a fourteen-year-old to be independent? I can't tell you specifically why, but my gut tells me we need her."
"Because she's a god?" Legend said. He made no effort to hide his sarcasm.
IS THAT TRULY SO HARD TO BELIEVE?
Eidolon cursed as he scrambled for his mask. Alexandria was on her feet in an instant, hands up and ready to fight. Even Number Man and Doctor Mother appeared startled by the sudden presence that had joined them. Only the beige-suited mystery woman remained seated. At least, at first. She stood slowly, the last to do so after Legend himself, and then oddly bowed.
Their intruder did not have defined features—she appeared to be a collection of paint droplets that provided a life-like silhouette of a mature female figure. Behind the paint droplets Legend saw only a shimmering cloud of golden light.
"Who are you?" Doctor Mother demanded. "How did you get here?"
I AM THAT I AM. I AM HERE BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO BE. AND YOU ARE HERE BECAUSE, IN YOUR SMALL WAY, YOU STAND AGAINST THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS.
Legend's stomach clenched. He'd watched the interview Alexandria had with Hebert several times now, and when she mentioned the Destroyer he always felt a chill run down his spine. When this shimmering intruder said it, made his whole body shudder with primordial dread.
"You're like Hebert," Alexandria said. "A god."
NONE ARE LIKE TELOS. GODS EMERGED FROM CREATION AS SPIRIT OR FLESH, SHAPED FURTHER BY THE PRAYERS OF MANKIND. BUT NEVER WERE THEY BOTH. FOR KRATOS OF SPARTA TO CROSS INTO THE SPIRIT REALM, HE HAD TO HAVE A MEANS. FOR ANUBIS TO CROSS FROM THE SPIRIT TO THE MATERIUM, HE HAD TO HAVE BORROWED FLESH. HEBERT'S BODY WAS SHAPED BY MAGIC TO HOLD A DIVINE SPIRIT. WHEN HER TIME COMES, SHE WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL GOD TO EVER STEP FOOT ON EARTH. AND EVEN SO, HER VICTORY AGAINST THE DESTROYER IS FAR FROM ASSURED.
"Do you know where she is?"
I CANNOT FOLLOW, NOR CAN ANY OTHER. SHE IS TRAPPED WITHIN THE DESTROYER HIMSELF. IF SHE DOES NOT ESCAPE SOON, HER DESTINY WILL BE CUT SHORT AND ALL WORLDS OF MAN SHALL DIE.
"You wouldn't be here if you couldn't help, though," Alexandria said. She let her hands fall to her side. "What is it you want?"
A BARGAIN SHALL BE STRUCK. I SHALL TELL YOU HOW TO SAVE YOUR SAVIOR. AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, YOU SHALL GRANT MY EMISSARY A BOON. BUT KNOW THIS. IF YOU AGREE, YOUR WORD SHALL BE LINKED TO YOUR LIVES. BETRAY ME, AND YOU WILL PERISH.
"Will this boon require…?"
"We agree."
Alexandria appeared as startled as Doctor Mother did. Legend gaped at the nameless woman in the fedora who spoke.
THE BARGAIN HAS BEEN STRUCK. TELOS OF AMERICA NEEDS THE LIGHT OF DAY TO GUIDE HER STEPS TO FREEDOM. REMEMBER YOUR WORD WHEN MY EMISSARY COMES.
The figure faded away in a prismatic smearing of what looked like phantom paint.
"What the hell was that?" Eidolon demanded. "What did we just agree to? And what was the point of a fucking riddle?" The man was near shouting, he was so angry.
Alexandria, though, just looked intently at the nameless woman. "You're sure?"
Madam Fedora nodded, and then without another word turned and left the room. Doctor Mother looked around the room before her dark eyes settled on Alexandria. "Do you know what she was talking about?"
Alexandria nodded. "When the Heberts fled America, they were assisted by an old Inuit woman who, briefly, made the sun go out along the entire eastern seaboard. Narwhal said that to the Inuit people, this woman was the sun. We need to get in contact with Narwhal."
Doctor Mother stood very still, in deep thought, before lurching into movement. "Well, it appears a bargain has been struck. We might as well get what we can out of it. Alexandria, please reach out to Narwhal. Legend, if you're willing, please return to Brookhaven for when we can recover our wayward…goddess."
"An interesting meeting," Number Man said as he stood and followed after the mundane human who ran their efforts. Only the Triumvirate remained in the room.
"You can't really believe any of this, Lexie," Eidolon said.
"Whether she's a god or an ancient type of parahuman doesn't matter, David," she said. "If she can help us save the world, then it's worth it." She looked to Legend. "Let's go. We have a lot to do."
~~Theogony~~
~~Theogony~~
Diane Wakefield tried to keep her hands from shaking. The Alexandria arrived just minutes after Legend on the helipad of the CRP building. The glowing skyline of New York lit the evening to the south.
Alexandria's costume was, like Legend's, extremely well made. It looked almost like a fitted rubber that clung tightly to her body, displaying a very attractive, athletic form. The cape wasn't fabric—it was the same heavy rubbery, tinker-tech substance that hung straight down from her shoulders. It would only billow if she walked fast enough, or when she flew.
Her helmet looked almost like a bicycle helmet, with a face shield that was completely dark on the upper half of her face, but which lightened enough that Diane could see her lips and chin clearly.
She wore a skirt over the legs of her suit, but it looked more military than feminine—like something she'd see in a history flick about Romans or Ancient Greeks. Her black boots rose to her knees and the black gloves rose to her elbows, both over the thick, skin-tight material. In the center of her chest, rising between the swells of her breasts, was the outline of a tower. The Library of Alexandria, she'd said in the past. A symbol of hope, guidance and strength.
I could be gay for a woman that hot, Diane thought. I don't even think Jack would mind.
"Emil," Alexandria said, shaking the old researcher's hand. "And you must be Dr. Wakefield?"
Diane forced words out. "Yes, ma'am."
When Taylor disappeared and didn't return, the CPR immediately reported the incident to both the PRT New York and ENE offices. After two hours, they made an assumption that Telos, for whatever reason, chose to flee her testing. Given her rocky relationship with the PRT, it wasn't even an unreasonable assumption.
But six hours after she disappeared, two thirds of the Triumvirate and dozens of associated capes and PRT agents descended on the CPR with the belief that Telos hadn't fled, but had in fact had a power-related incident.
The spot Telos disappeared to in the edge of the live-fire test range was cordoned off with spotlights. Over a hundred PRT agents and support staff were mobilized from the New York office and were searching the grounds and surrounding neighborhoods. Dragon-made drones equipped with IR and thermal scanners were doing crisscross search patterns over the northern half of the island.
There were more parahumans at the Parahuman Research Center than Diane had ever seen in her many years working there.
"We have a specialist coming in from further north," Alexandria said by way of explanation when Dr. Sterns asked what they planned to do. The hero turned her attention back to Diane. "Dr. Wakefield, did Telos show any hesitancy about traveling to her pocket dimension?"
"Yes, actually," Diane said. She removed her notes. "She compared it to standing on the high jump in a pool. She was nervous, but said her power wasn't really telling her anything. She just didn't really want to do it. I left the decision up to her, and she decided to try it."
"Stupid girly-child," an old, frail voice said almost in Diane's ear.
The doctor yelped and spun away to stare at an ancient, weathered Native American woman. Her black hair had thick streaks of gray in it, and her eyes had an odd, amber tint to them. The lines of her face spoke of ages, while the AC/DC T-shirt she wore under a fur-lined leather vest spoke of a rather eclectic taste. Leather moccasins with stone-bleached blue jeans made for a confusing aesthetic.
Right behind her stood Narwhal, whose seven-foot frame and horn dwarfed the tiny woman. "Who are you?" Diane blurted.
"Call me Sunny," the old woman said. She looked around before turning those eyes to Alexandria. "Get all these'ns outta heah."
Diane's breath caught in her throat at the utter note of command in the old woman's voice. What truly shocked her, though, was how Alexandria nodded. "Legend, we need to evacuate the CPR. Essential staff only, and then only at a safe distance."
Legend glanced from Alexandria to the old woman named Sunny, and nodded. He touched his earpiece and began issuing orders. Alexandria, meanwhile, turned her attention back to their guest. "What do you need from us?"
"Whiskey," the old woman said. "Fer afters. This 'uns gonna suck. Get back. Don't want none o' what's comin'."
"I don't understand what's happening," Wakefield noted. "She just slipped into a pocket dimension of her own choosing!"
The old woman turned her attention on Diane, and suddenly Diane felt like a little girl caught with her hand in her mother's cookie jar. A weathered old hand came up and gently patted her cheek. "You're a sweet child, girlie. But this heah is none of your ken. You get on back, you and your friend's don't wanna die, and stay behind a wall or such."
Don't wanna die? Dr. Sterns took her arm. "I think we should listen to her, Diane."
Diane followed in a confused daze as she, Dr. Sterns, and even the capes, all took shelter behind the shielded observation post near the testing field. Only Narwhal remained by the old woman as the two walked toward the spot where Telos disappeared.
Diane watched as the old woman...danced? She danced in a circle around the indicated spot, chanting just on the edge of Diane's hearing.
"This is bizarre," Legend noted behind them.
No one said anything else. When the woman finished her song and dance, she waved Narwhal back. The tall cape flew on her Forcefields back to the observation chamber.
"Narwhal, do you know what she's doing?" Legend asked.
"She cast a protection to keep anyone bad from seeing what's about to happening," Narwhal said.
"What's that mean?" Diane said.
Abruptly, it was day. Diane's breath froze in her lungs and she couldn't breathe. It wasn't a bright light she saw, it was actually daylight, illuminating green trees and grass, blue water and a blue sky overhead. And the sun, shining brilliantly on the field before them. Just as quickly as it came, night returned.
Only for the spot where Telos disappeared to explode.
Diane caught her breath in time to scream. She felt powerful arms grip her protectively and realized both Alexandria and Narwhal moved in front of her as the carbon-reinforced glass sheathing of the observation deck cracked from the concussive force. The explosion did not spread outward, though. Instead, it shot up, like the thrust of an impossibly large jet engine shooting red-black fire so high into the sky it made the clouds billow away.
Abruptly the fire ended. The various spotlights surrounding the field moved in on ground zero, and what they found brought Diane's hands to her mouth. "Oh my God."
Telos knelt in the charred soil where the flame originated. She appeared covered in some horrid red goo as if she had just emerged from a charnel house or a horror movie. Her whole body writhed and steamed, and she appeared to be fighting to draw a breath. At last she threw back her arms and screamed.
The air around her shimmered and blasted away as ice formed on the grass and the windows of the CPR building shattered. Overhead, clouds physically billowed again as if somehow being struck by an impossible wind. Tears welled in Diane's eyes and she fought to breathe. The scream tore at her, making her ears hurt and heart ache with a need to simultaneously run out and comfort the girl and run away screaming. It was the most wrenching sound she'd ever heard, like the cry of every child who'd ever lost a parent; like every mother who'd ever lost a daughter. It was the sound of the women of Troy lamenting their loss.
And when the scream at last ended, Telos collapsed into the waiting arms of the ancient woman named Sunny.
The doctor in Wakefield urged her to her feet. She ran out past the protective barrier. Mid-way there, she hit something so hard she bounced back on her back. With a groan, she sat up to see a pair of impossibly bright sun-yellow eyes staring at her from the tiny Inuit woman's face.
"Keep yer distance, ya heah? Poison on this girl'll kill ya quick, or worse. Girly-child, come lift this'un. Use them forcefields 'o 'yours."
Narwhal came at the older woman's beck and call. "Where to?"
"North to the Sound," the woman said. She turned to Alexandra. "You carry me. You, pretty boy. You burn this spot. You burn it hard 'n deep. The blood o' the Enemy will kill any who touch it. Ya heah?"
"This is crazy," Diane heard Legend mutter.
"Don't back talk me, boy!" the woman snapped. "Ya heah? You burn this spot like it was hell itself. The Destroyer can see his own. You don't burn it down, he'll see. And his rage will crack this world. Ya heah me?"
"I hear you," Legend said, suitably cowed by the woman's horrifying declaration.
In the meantime, Narwhal used her forcefield to gently lift the collapsed, winged girl off the ground. Alexandria approached the tiny woman, who looked up at her oddly. "Too tall. Kneel down."
Diane just wasn't sure what to think of the fact that Alexandria obeyed. The old woman clambered onto her back. "To the Sound. Imma gonna have to talk hard'n fast for my sister's blessing to wash that girl of her poison. I'mma gonna sleep for a month after this. Well, come on! Time's a wasting!"
Narwhal, Telos, Alexandria and the old woman all lifted into the evening air, flying north toward Long Island Sound.
"I am so confused," Diane said.
"You and me both," Legend said. "Well, you heard the old woman. Step back, and I'll get to burning the ground there."
And he did, unleashing lasers from his hand that burned a twelve meter square two meters deep into the ground around where Telos collapsed.
"Suregesh is never going to believe this at the next conference," Dr. Sterns declared with an oddly excited grin.