Seizure 18.B (Herb)
Jack Slash did the worst thing he could to Herbert.
He left him alone.
Herb was left, chained up, forced to watch as the fire-user, Immolation, crafted a frame by melting the steel spears Lee had grown with his bare, glowing hands into a frame they used to secure his friend. When they found out Lee was immune to heat, they poured the molten metal right on him, like glowing putty, and shaped it to trap him completely.
Without his Stand, Herb was forced to endure the heat, almost painful even from over a dozen feet away, but that was all he had to endure as his friend was maneuvered into place, forced back into unconsciousness whenever he woke, until he was completely secured.
Herb, meanwhile, just had a few extra straps attached so he couldn't look away.
They didn't need any more than that.
He had no idea how long he hung there, watching, trying to summon his Stand, able to grasp its powers only for a moment before the freezing lance of ice slammed into his spine from the thing stuck to his head and his powers were disrupted. Trying to grab the powers of others did the same thing, losing them before he could do anything.
When the others left, to get dinner, and he was left on his own, he found that when he tried to use his powers, the thing stuck to his skull glowed blue, before fading, only visible in the darkness.
Lee's never stopped glowing.
When the others returned, Herb's friend started to wake up, but when the Master boy opened his mouth Jack held up a hand, walking into Lee's line of sight. "You're up quickly. It's not even been an hour." Bonesaw giggled, and Herb knew that, while he couldn't tell exactly how long it'd been, it'd been most of the day. "We were barely able to make this comfy little chair for you. How is it? Snug?"
Lee had been forced into a sitting position, arms bound to his sides and held down by layers upon layers of cooled metal. His head was held in place, bands keeping it steady and forcing him to stare directly in Herb's direction. The man, drowsy, blinked prismatic eyes clear and looked to Herb, the only other person in his line of sight, all the rest of the Slaughterhouse nine standing behind him, by the door. The Herb mouthed 'I'm sorry', unable to speak.
The Hero pulled at his bonds, looking down, unable to shift his head at all, but they didn't move an inch. Glancing up to Herb, the man ignored the killer in front of him and asked, "Break, you alright? Other than the throat?" he added, sounding exhausted, but focused.
Jack flipped a knife out, opening a thin wound on the Lee's check. "I asked you a question," the slaughterer warned, but Lee didn't so much as look at him, staring at Herb, who quickly nodded.
Only then did Lee look to Jack, prismatic irises seeming to deepen, somehow. "Oh. You," the Hero sighed, blinking for a moment, his eyes shifting. "Huh, so that's how you do it."
"How I do what?" the man asked, on the back foot, and while Herb couldn't see his face, he could tell the other man was smiling, but was not happy. "How I look this darn good?"
"How you manage them," Lee replied, the thing on his head glowing even brighter, sending Bonesaw scurrying for her workstation, as the prismatic portions of his eyes crew to encompass the whites, a spark of something other within. "The structures of it. How it, oh, you think it's you, isn't it? That it's pure skill?"
What the hell are you doing, dude? Herb thought, looking to his friend and to the increasingly tense form of Jack Slash. Now was not the time to provoke the psychopathic killer! Or. . . maybe it was, he realized. They were screwed. Herb hadn't just fucked the dog, he'd gone balls deep into the entire pound, but, maybe Lee had a plan?
Yes. Yes. The man always had a plan, and could come up with them on the spot, but Herb had no idea what that was. Not that that was new.
Instead of answering the Hero, Jack looked towards Bonesaw. "Poppet, I thought you said he didn't have access to his powers?"
"He shouldn't, Jack!" the tiny Tinker complained, working furiously.
Lee couldn't move his head, but from the flex in his neck, he probably tried to cock it, as he stared into the leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine. Said leader shot back, "Then why are his eyes on fire, Bonesaw?"
And they were, ghostly rainbow flames that trailed wisps up above his head. "Ah," Lee remarked. "That's how you do so. And it's Minor?" He shuddered, and the device on his head started flickering like a guttering candle. "I̷̠̩̓ ̷̗̔͗h̵̫͖̅ȧ̵̝̆t̸̝̕e̴̜͑ ̸̝̖͘M̴̹͎̉̐a̵̖͐͗s̵̹̞̀̆t̸̪̃ę̸̉͑r̵̺͆ș̸͖̇̍,̶̟̱̑ ̸̺̌̽b̴̛̖̲͋u̶͕̟͊̑t̵̰͌͘ ̶͙̒I̸̮͐'̸̠͑ḻ̷͚̿l̸͖̚ ̷̧̞̍m̵̲̮̈́a̴̝̥̓k̷̖̤̇e̸̯͂ ̶̛̩͇à̸͎̈́ͅṅ̸̠ ̵̲͘ë̵͓́̚ͅx̶̛̰̽c̶͙̿̑è̴̢̟̕p̷̡̖̋ẗ̶͓̒i̸̗͙̾ǫ̸̅ṅ̶̯̭̚ ̶̫͛͐f̷̧̦̿͝ò̴̬r̴̨͖͂̿ ̵̡́̓t̷͕̼̾ḩ̸̙̇ḭ̷͝š̷̗͚̎.̵̪͘"
The words scraped across Herb's mind, the same snake-like hiss that he'd heard from the time Lee had gone, alone, to handle something that would've ended the world. He'd never said what'd happened, deep down under Brockton Bay, but Overwatch still had the recording. This time, though, the sounds seemed to drag across his mind like a rusty rake.
However it was effecting him, though, Jack Slash took the brunt of it, staggering back as Lee continued, "Ȋ̴̼̜̙̐͗͠͠ ̴̢͈̉̃S̶͓̤̘͑̊͑͜Ė̷̤͍̥̦͔͋͝ͅÈ̵͖̫̇̓̐̊͠ ̶̧͚̱̣̌͝ͅÿ̸̨́͛͂o̷͖͕̯̳͔͙͝ǘ̴̠͇͝,̵̣̗̤̯̊̈́̋̌͜ ̶̮͚͇̲͙̰͂͐͋̚P̸̹̰̐̋̿͆̕R̸̻̤̜̫̆̅͑̇Ỏ̵̬̗̞̫͙̈́̒͛͜J̸̟̳̟̅̃Ë̶̢͉̲́̓͗̂̔͝C̸̡̖͖͈̬̏T̶̘͈̅̈͒̇̅̀ͅI̸̼͓͛Ö̸̙́̿̚͝͠N̸͕̻̬̘̽͑̈́̊.̸͚̤̹͎̃͑̅͘ ̴̡̳̳͕͛̏ͅḬ̶̰̄̔ ̷̝́̀͜k̶̤͕̹̭̅͒̀n̵̤̱͗͛̅͛͝o̵̧̨͓͎̘̹̿w̸͎͔͊̕͘ ̴̠̦̬̞̈́̏̂̆͠y̵̙͙̖̍̕͠o̷̮̤̖̙͖̒͋ů̸̗̹͇̮̹̑.̴̥̣͉̜͇͍̀ ̵͉̥̅̇Ȁ̶̘̉̓̔̀̚n̸̫̽̈d̸̲̓͛͌͘ ̸͛̍̐ͅý̴̼̮̯̃͒́̇̀ŏ̵͈̼͖̺͗̕u̸̡͍̤͑̐̋̓́ͅ ̶͖̙̈̋̔̃̈́͂͜k̴̛̛͈̗̘͔͛́̆̏͜n̴̟̯̑̔o̶̳͎͓̐́̒̋̂͘ẃ̷̖̟ ̷̨̤̓͑̒m̸̲̮̓͌e̶̗̩͈̝͐̅͆,̴̟̟͍͚̒̓̏̿͜ͅ ̴̧̘͍̙̈́̀͊̆̄͒d̵̨̫͆͆͗͌ọ̸̥̙̔̓̿n̵̠̜̐͋̅͛͗ͅ'̷͉̥̻́̿̈̇t̶͕̯̠̑͑̃̕̚ ̴̺̤͉̰̱̋̈́̆̍̋͘ͅÿ̶̨́̌o̵̩̙̍͑͑́͂͠ṳ̵̪̯͓͆?̸̱́ ̶͕͌̆͆̓̅͠A̸̜̪̣͆n̷̜̖̮͓͂̃͗̎d̶̠̰͈̙̄̐͠ ̷̟̻̗̙͑͘͜y̴̫͇͗̎̐o̵̬̯̒̈́̋͒͘ṵ̵̡̪̝̾ ̷̢̪̗̾͒͌̆̒w̴͕̞̤̻̉ḭ̷͖̻̦̲͆͜͝l̷̦͍̟̩̥̣̄̈́̚l̴̠͈̟̯̅̒ ̴̜̺̺̩͛Ö̴͖̘̬̠́̉͝B̴͚̗͚͇̉́͗̀Ȅ̴̺͔̥̥̉̓ͅ-"
"Sleep!" the boy with the Master power, wide-eyed, shouted, and, like someone had turned him off, Lee stopped talking, his eyes snapping back to normal as the fires went out, lids slowly drooping into unconsciousness
"Jack," Immolation demanded, "What the hell was that?"
The psychopath straightened, and then quickly walked over to Bonesaw. He was trying not to look hurried, but the man normally strolled everywhere, and this was not a stroll. "That's what I'd like to know, young lady!"
"He wasn't playing fair!" the girl pouted, working on something, then rushing over to several different vials, uncorking and pouring them together until it formed a black fluid, with glowing blue bits in it. "My toys can stop powers, but you're not supposed to get new ones!"
"New ones?" Shatterbird asked, in a dress, but bits of glass hung, swaying slightly, above her head.
"Uh-huh!" the girl nodded, loading up a syringe-gun and rushing over to the brain-spider on Lee's head, and injecting it with the concoction. The brain seemed to rot slightly, turning dark, before the flickering blue glow bloomed brightly once more. "There! If it happens again, it'll reset itself!"
Frowning, Jack turned to the table, and, flipping his blade out, cut off one of the straps. Taking it, he stepped up to Lee, and wrapped it around his jaw, tight against his open mouth, gagging him. "That should help as well. Now, Bonesaw, I think it best if you explain. How did our guest gain a new power?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" the Biotinker huffed, flinching as Jack turned a cold look her way. "I, I don't know. Here, let me show you!"
Running over to her computers, she brought up a display, then picked up the camera-device, turned it around, and pressed it against her own head. Tuning it, the image showed brain matter, display shifting to show a crystal formation. Pressing something on the scanner, the image froze, and she pointed towards the anomaly.
"See! There's my Corona Pollentia, and there's my Gamma! That's what lets my power work!" she informed the others. Prancing over to Herb, he tried to pull away from her, but he could barely move, only managing to clink the chains useless. "Don't move!" the small girl admonished, free hand going to the pre-loaded needles in the pocket of her dress, and, despite himself, hating himself, he obeyed.
Even if he could do something, to try and strike back, he knew she wasn't just a little girl. She was modified, strengthened, with all kinds of weird cybernetics that her power had helped her create, and right now he was powerless.
In every way.
So he held still, as she scanned his brain, nodding to herself and running back, hitting more buttons. Another image was displayed on the screen, showing a much denser pack of crystals. "And this is Break's! See the formations! Wait. . . hey!" she declared, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. "You're cheating too!"
Herb just stared, unable to speak, and with no idea what she was talking about even if he could.
"Look, Jack! He has four powers too! See! That one, and that one, and that one, and that one, and, look, that one's Second Triggered!" she explained. The boy had left, but Siberian, Immolation, and Shatterbird had walked over, joining Jack Slash as they followed the girl's explanation.
"And our other guest?" the lead killer asked, causing the girl to run over to Lee's unconscious form, running the device over his head, nodding to herself, and running back.
"Okay! See this?" she questioned, bringing up a new image, which Herb could barely make out, having to look between them. Bonesaw's Shard was a single crystal, and his was a four-pronged formation, one larger than the other.
Lee's was a forest of points.
More than that it was long, comet- like a crystal, one that served as the base of all the others. Three larger shards ran down the length, though there was space for a fourth, and over a dozen smaller ones emerged all around, forming an odd pattern. The end of the main crystal was bare, and looked. . . incomplete.
"Are those all. . ." Immolation muttered, his crimson hair sparking into a low flame.
Jack nodded, "I believe they are. So Vejovis has twenty-seven different powers? That would certainly explain things."
The Biotinker nodded right back. "Uh-huh! Except, last time, he only had twenty-six!" She turned back to the display. "Though, they should've all been suppressed, and he didn't get the last power until the power-polyp started flashing. I don't know how he did that. Hmmmmm."
Jack Slash clapped, and it was like he'd broken a spell, the others are jerking out of the tense silence that had started to form. "Well, I think that's been enough excitement for one day. I believe it's time to turn in."
"But Jaaaaack!" Bonesaw whined, like, well, like a little girl told she had to go to bed. "I was gonna open him up and get a closer look!" And there was the psychopath.
"Now, now, growing girls need their rest. And don't cut him until I'm there," he warned. "We've already had too many surprises."
The small blonde girl sighed, "Yes daddy." Walking past the still unconscious Lee she patted his cheek. "You get your rest too. We're gonna have so much fun tomorrow!"
She left, the others following, Jack shooting Herb an easy smile as he turned off the lights.
AB
It'd been four days.
Four. Days.
Four days of hanging there, as he watched his friend cut open, drained, and experimented on.
Four days, where he hadn't been touched.
He'd tried to yell. He'd tried to break out of his chains. He'd tried everything he could think of.
Nothing had worked.
Now, though, Bonesaw had gathered the others, even a tentacle with an eye on it stretching in from the doorway, Crawler paying attention as Bonesaw lead an abomination in. Most of it was a muscular man, covered in scars, carrying a two-handed axe. Sticking out from the back of its neck, thin arms holding the large man's head in a parody of a hug, if you ignored where her skin was stitched into his scalp, was a dark-haired girl, from the hips upwards, her face sown into a parody of a loving smile. Both man and girl's skin was discolored, with what looked like an infection, maybe even necrosis, which Herb recognized from his days working as a nursing assistant.
Usually, that meant the person was going to die. He thought that, whoever these people had once been, that would be a mercy.
The girl dithered back and forth, before Immolation spoke up. "You said you were done, Bonesaw?"
"Yes! Yes I am! I've had a great time studying my new toy, Jack! I've learned so much about powers! And I made a discovery!" she grinned up at them, like a child who wanted to surprise her parents. "Who wants extra powers?"
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm sorry, poppet. I must've misheard you," Jack Slash frowned, as Herb felt his heart drop. "Are you sure you can take his powers? But you said you couldn't. That's why you need to make specimens like Buzzkill, here," the slaughterer remarked, waving towards the composite creature.
Bonesaw grinned, shaking her head. "I'm one-kajillion percent sure!" she beamed. "Gemma's are normally bound really tightly to the Corona Pollentia. And there's all sorts of connections throughout them that keep them working. You break those connections and, poof!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "No more crystal! That's why my toys need their brains mostly intact, though I've been getting a lot better at figuring out which parts I need and which ones I don't. I'd scanned Mouse Protector and Ravager and I was pretty sure I could make them look like a person! But somebody was a meany-head and took my toy," she grumbled, crossing her arms.
"I think he's a much better toy than she would've been, dear," Jack Slash smiled indulgently.
"Uh-huh!" the Bio-tinker smiled. "What was I. . . oh, right! Vejovis' crystals aren't connected right! It's crystals on crystals, with no neurons in the way, which means there's no neurons to worry about transferring! So, I can take powers from him, and give them to you! Who wants to go first?" she grinned, batting her lashes in a childish 'trust me' look.
The rest of the Slaughterhouse Nine exchanged looks, no one wanting to go volunteer. "Is there a limit to how many we can get?" Immolation finally inquired.
"Yep! If I'm right, no one can have more than three. Other than Break, who's a cheating cheater that cheats! Anymore than that, and your head will explode like the funny man with the watermelons!" she cheerfully informed them. "Oh, and that's three total, not three more. So I could get two, but you could only get one, Immy, since you already have two!"
"I said don't call me that!" the man growled, hair sparking, but he frowned. "I want the one that makes metal."
Bonesaw winced. "I, uh, don't know which that one is. I might be able to find out, but I'd have to stop blocking his powers."
"And none of us want that," Jack noted, giving the flaming man a significant look, before turning back to the Biotinker. "Can you give one to your other toy?" She nodded. "Then give it the one Vejovis picked up talking to me."
The girl grinned, motioning for the hulking beast to kneel down, while grabbing pliers and a scalpel. Prancing to behind Lee, she got ready to do something. She'd already removed part of his skull, though it'd, according to her, started to grow back, causing her to apply a grinder to it, the man waking up and screaming in pain until she was done, before he'd passed out again.
Lee was still passed out.
Herb hoped he'd stay that way.
Herb knew he wouldn't.
Bonesaw stepped up onto the stool Jack had gotten her, and reached in with the scalpel, the sound of flesh, and then metal on stone, was clearly heard. Lee's eyes flew open, and he shuddered against the metal restraints, hyperventilating, eyes open wide. His gaze met Herb's, but Herb couldn't meet his friend's stare, looking away as much as he could. Even then, Herb couldn't help but see Bonesaw reach in and attach the pliers. She pulled, hard, and with the sound like breaking glass, ripped something free.
"A̸̡̧͎̩̣̫͖̹̤̜͚̯͚̘͑͊̔́̈́̈̃̈́̎͠H̵̢̢̧̛̭̯̹͔̭̰̜͍̤̲̩͓͕̜̜̞̙̯͓̭͍̟͂́̓͂̋̂̇̓͆̇̇̂͘͠Ḥ̴̡̨̛̦͍̞̼̗̠̪̱͖̟̖̘͉͕̟̰̻̝͎̒̓̄̎̏̐̐͗̈́͊͝ͅH̶̨͚̮̐̌̋͒̿̌͊̈́̋̐͆͋͘͘̚͝H̴̡̢̞̤̜̭͓̱̠̯͇̤̮̼͈͉̼̋͑̄͆͋́̇̀̀̂̽̔͋͜͜Ĥ̴̢̢̢̛̛̩͕̮̠̯̲̥̫͈̺̖̳̰͔̤̪͖̯͇͗̓̽̎͑̒̊̌̒̋̎͊́̆̐̋̄̌̑͜͜͠͝H̸̡̧̛̪̭̙̗͓̖͍̏̏̐̈́̍̌̒̓̿͛̎͌͌́͒̾̂̾̕͜͠͝͠ͅH̸̦̘̤̣̖̮͒͆̏̀̔͐̿̑̄̈͋̐̉̚͝H̵̟͍͔͓͔͉͖͖̼̗͓͓̫̝̭̯̞͋͌̾͛͑̀͑̆̇̿͒́́H̸̢̢̨̢͍̰̼̗͓̰̝̺̣̟̘͉̮͖̱̗̲͓́̈́͒̏͒͆̕͜͠ͅ!̴̧̺̦̫̤̤̩͈̘̦̬̣̥̮̼͙̃̀̃͐̍̋̀͝͝͠!̴̡̛̛̯͎͙̳̼͙̯͒̓̽̀͗̈́̐̀̓́̿̌͆̏͐͆̅̓̔̉!̶̛̘̠͙͂̀͌̑̽̓͛̌̃̋̋̑͘̚" his friend screamed, clear despite the gag. The sound pulled at his soul, and even Jack Slash winced, though a broad smile spread across his features.
Bonesaw, who'd fallen over, stood up, a gold and silver crystal held securely in the clamp. The girl happily moved over to the abomination, slicing open stiches and opening up a discolored flap of skin, then something else, swinging open a black shell that'd been hidden underneath. Concentrating, tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth, she carefully inserted the crystal into the skull of what was once a man.
She stepped back as it shivered, the feeling of something in the air, though it passed quickly enough. Reaching into her smock, she pulled out a needle and thread, quickly reclosing the shell, then restitching the skin, before stepping back.
"Did it work?" Immolation asked, unsure.
Bonesaw frowned, before pointing off to the side, out of Herb's sight, commanding, "Use your new power on that wall!"
The abomination grunted and stood, grabbing its axe and swinging it seemingly at nothing at all, but the head of the blade shimmered for a moment, becoming impossibly long, and the sound of rending metal could clearly be heard.
"He's got your power, Jack!" Bonesaw cheered. "How did you know?"
The leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine laughed, "When you get to be my age, Bonesaw, you learn a thing or five. Now, Buzzkill is at the maximum number of powers, right?" The girl nodded. "Then give it one more."
"But, but that'll break it!" the Biotinker objected.
Jack Slash tsk'd. "Do you know that, or do you just think it?"
"Just think it," Bonesaw replied, stubbornly, but not willing to lie. "But I think it a lot!"
The knifemaster didn't relent. "And how much time does Buzzkill have left? Wouldn't it be better to find out now? On a toy that's almost gone, instead of one of your family?"
"I wouldn't mind finding out on Immy," she muttered to herself, the man in question scowling, while Jack Slash waited for her real answer. "Okay, daddy. I'll be good."
The girl moved back over to Lee, who was struggling weakly in his bonds, but his head was immobile as Bonesaw reached in and ripped out another power, the man giving out another soul-rending scream of agony.
The little girl barely noticed, only hesitating before she had her creation move to the corner inserting the next power. Scurrying backwards, the creature stood shaking, blue hexagons appearing and disappearing in the air around it. The man-portion of the creature, whose expression had remained placid this entire time twisted to a frown, speaking slowly as it went. "No. I. What?"
The woman attached to his back, shuddered, trying to pull away as she seemed to wake up, a look of horror on her features, screeching as she ripped out her stitches, clawing at her face.
Then both conjoined beings skin bulged, and they exploded, bits of gore painting the corner, and flying ten feet away, a mist of blood all that was left, quickly settling on the ground.
"Three it is," Jack remarked, amused. "Immolation, I believe you're next?"
The crimson-haired man was obviously having second thoughts, and took a half-step back, before The Siberian's hand landed on the taller man's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. The man was led to the operating table, where he was restrained, face-down, and Bonesaw injected him with something that knocked him out.
Herb couldn't help but watched as Bonesaw once more moved to his friend, who thrashed in his bonds, but couldn't move, shuddering as the power-negating brain-crab, which had been moved from the top of his head to the base of his neck, flashed brightly once, then twice.
"Ooooh! Two new powers to play with! You're such a great toy!" Bonesaw squeed, patting Lee on the cheek, the man unable to even pull an inch away. "Should I take one of them, Jack?"
"That sounds like a lovely idea, Poppet. Maybe if he keeps giving us new powers, we'll leave his old ones alone. Or not," The man smiled.
Again, Lee's scream tore at Herb, who could do nothing. This time the crystal was purple and blue-green, and in only a few minutes Bonesaw had cut Immolation's head open, his skull covered in the same black material as Buzzkill's had been, and inserted the power. She patched him back up, let him go, and injected him with something else while Lee sobbed in the corner.
Lee had held out for the first two, but he cried like a broken man. It was a sound Herb had heard before. It was a sound he'd hoped he'd never hear from his one and only true friend.
"So, how is it?" Bonesaw asked excitedly.
The red-haired man frowned. "It's. . . odd." He scooted off the table, and looked to the Middle-Eastern woman looking back at him with trepidation. "Shatterbird, you're next."
With a loud pop, Immolation switched position with the woman, who let out an aborted shriek of surprise that spider-webbed the already broken monitors behind herself.
That's Trickster's power, Herb realized, the sound distinctive. He slotted Trickster's power, to try to get away. Lee had told him about the mental component that power had, but to get away, he'd risked it.
And it had been for nothing.
"Oooo!" Bonesaw clapped. "You only have one power, so you can get two! New, or old?"
Shatterbird considered that. "There's only one new one left?" she asked, and the Biotinker nodded. "Then both new, if he makes another."
Lee got a hold of himself, his eyes looking in Herb's direction, but not seeing anything in this room. As Bonesaw approached, the brain-spider flashed blue again, signifying another power slotted, and suppressed. As the little girl got on her stool, Shatterbird called, "Actually, I've changed my mind. Two of the old ones instead."
Jack's laughter mixed with Lee's screams.