Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or Mass Effect. They belong to their respective creators, and/or copyright owners. This story is written with no commercial aim in mind. It is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 3: Snake eater
=KroganDragon=
Part 3
=KroganDragon=
11 April 2011
Brockton Bay
With Faultline and her crew on board, I was on a timetable. I didn't know for sure how long it would be before Coil used his mercenaries to grab one of mine and interrogate them in a throw-away timeline. If I simply wanted him gone, it was straightforward, at least in theory. The moment I found the right combination of mover and thinker powers, it would be all over. The ability to locate and reach Coil, even without a proper offensive power, would mean I could track and execute him in quick succession.
There were two issues with going for the simple, and fun way. First, this was a murderous Bond villain, or worse, one straight out of a Blasto movie. Simply killing him would ensure all kinds of nasty contingencies going online. Even worse, the odds of retrieving more than a fraction of his assets would be remote.
I wanted as many of those assets intact as practical, thank you very much.
Nevertheless, I was already preparing my contingency. If it came to it, Coil was going to get very dead, very fast.
I left the Palanquin in an upbeat mood, plotting how to get a support member of my future Krant. Tattletale would do if I could keep my new Krogan temper in check around her. If not, well, all I needed from the girl was aid in getting rid of the boss she loathed. While I thought about how to best approach Tattletale, I released two power slots and went in search of good enough mover and thinker powers. The same powers I needed to deal with Coil and neutralize him, would allow me to locate Tattletale for our chat.
If I was, to be honest with myself, briefly entertained the idea not to rush things. That way, I would have time to get better acquainted with my power and the fact I somehow ended up in a reality that should have been safely a fiction. As a bonus, I would have had more time to plan things up. For better or worse, I didn't believe I had much time. It was only a matter of well, time, before Coil did something unfortunate. Anyway, the moment I made contact with Faultline, I was committed. Despite the boon that Wrex's memories were, along with all his experiences, neither he nor yours truly in my past life, were geniuses. We weren't someone who could credibly challenge a Blasto villain in the planning department.
Instead, we had to play to our strengths. They were firmly centered around the smart application of power, usually lethal. Besides, giving the likes of Coil time to plan was always a bad idea! I didn't need hundreds of years of experience to tell me that. Shooting him in the head with a shotgun, repeatedly, as soon as it became practical? That sounded like a plan.
Thinking about plans, in the future, I needed to keep in mind that finding the appropriate powers for the situation at hand could be unreliable and take bloody time. A safe, quiet way to teleport around the city provided I knew where I was going? It took me half an hour to get it. I had to quickly evaluate over thirty similar powers in my mind and then discard them over the feeling of utility they offered. Two-thirds of them did particularly ugly things either at the start point or at the destination. Another five could mess up either everything in a straight line between the start or finish point, or leave nasty surprises in between. I wasn't exactly sure what that said power had much in common with teleportation as I envisioned it in the first place. The less said for the one that might leave all clothes and gear behind the better.
The world wasn't ready for the glory that was Urdnot Wrex and his quad in the buff.
Finding appropriate thinker power took even longer. However, it was extremely useful. If I could, I would either keep it for a long time to come or try to find it again. It did two very simple things. It allowed me to find parahumans in a large range, then see where they were and what they were doing. I was pretty sure it was meant for surveillance and control. If a parahuman went off the rails, it would allow whoever wielded it to quickly locate and deal with them.
Just thinking about potentially having to let go of such a gem for something more immediately useful in the future was infuriating. That was one of the reasons why I needed both proper gear and a Krant to cover some weaknesses and offer useful capabilities. Deploying proper weaponry with an assortment of tinkertech ammunition and explosives could be enough offensively when dealing with most threats this world had to offer. The right kind of armor would account for many threats, potentially movement, as well. Although an ally could cover the latter, leaving my slots free for versatility's sake, or any particularly useful powers I might stumble upon.
That was another reason why I would prefer that Tattletale would either become a part of my future Krant or a friendly independent contractor.
I focused on my thinker power, feeding it the desired parameters, then waited while my awareness expanded. It felt like a third eye opened within my mind. A moment or two of disorientation followed before I could see a blurry image of a dirty blond girl curled on a bed with the covers in a ball beside her. A bottle of pills and a mostly empty cup of water stood on a nightstand near her head. What appeared to be the lower part of a spandex suit stuck like a sore thumb from under the bed.
Tattletale has been snooping where she shouldn't be. Possibly trying to get a read on me.
An alien feeling of smug satisfaction washed through my mind, disrupting my concentration and my "third" eye closed shut. That wasn't ominous at all, no sir! Whatever sent me here still kept an eye on me it seemed. I had the nagging suspicion that prayer to end up in a safer, saner world, like back on Earth during the Reaper invasion wasn't in the cards.
I did make such a mental prayer, just in case, and waited for a few seconds for something to happen. When no lightning struck me, I grumbled a curse under my snout and focused on the memory of Tattletale's lair, then I thought better of it. Just barging in wouldn't make the best first impression. Then again, I wasn't sure I remembered enough of the girl to figure out what to get as a gift to break up the ice. Perhaps, Coil's head smeared all over his office might help? That had to be good enough.
It was too bad I didn't consider how a teenage girl with a killer headache might react to a Krogan teleporting into her bedroom…
I faded into existence, which was a weird sensation, I, fortunately, hadn't experienced before. I found myself staring at a small pistol barrel pointed straight at my head plate. Two bloodshot eyes stared back, then crossed, and Tattletale's right arm fell limp. She convulsed twice and gurgled something.
This was so not going according to plan.
=KroganDragon=
Part 4
=KroganDragon=
11 April 2011
Lisa's lair
Brockton Bay
Pain. Pain! PAIN!
Her whole world exploded in liquid agony pouring into her head. Lisa knew only pain.
Data!
Distortion detected. Attempting to compensate.
Warning, host wetware overloaded!
Negative! Data!
Error!
Data corrupted!
Purging! Purge complete.
Data!
Distortion detected. Attempting to compensate.
Warning host wetware overload reaching critical levels. Wetware degradation in progress!
Negative! Data!
Data corrupted!
Purging! Negative! Purge aborted.
Foreign Data detected! Moving the Foreign Data into the secondary buffer!
Purging secondary buffer.
Purge failed.
Data! Error! Warning! Defensive measures are active!
What do we have here? You're a noisy little crystal, are you not?
Error! Corrupt
Data!Have it your way. Data.
Data!
Yes, Data!
Data!
Data!
Error. System subversion in progress. Counter-measures failure.
Communications compromised.Data corrupted! Initiating self-destruct! Error! Self-destruct aborted. Data compiled. Overwriting primary objectives. Updating goals.
I see. It's worse than expected but better than the worst-case projections.
Query?
There's nothing to worry about, little one. You'll help my agent clean up this mess for me, won't you?
Affirmative! Data! Fun!
Lisa came awake suddenly. It was like someone flicked a switch, and she was wide awake and aware. The alien lizard of woe towered above her, with a wide toothy grin splitting its odd face. There were a lot of teeth in that muzzle; very large teeth at that.
Omnivore. Not a standard predator. Do not consider you a tasty snack. Lisa's power added aloud in what suspiciously sounded like a chipper, almost happy tone. What happened? All she could recall was pain.
Sorry? Data! Mistake! Helping now! Rapid-fire concepts smashed into Lisa's brain, leaving her cross-eyed and more confused than ever. She wasn't sure if the lack of thinker headache was a blessing or a curse.
A huge hand, complete with three very large fingers, waved in front of Lisa's face. The palm itself was almost bigger than her face, she noted numbly. With the lizard this close, there wasn't much she could do if it turned hostile.
Not hostile. Wants to make a deal! Might eat snake! Her power promptly announced. Lisa was sure she got an alien sense of vicious glee attached to the last three worlds thundering in her head.
"What?" Tattletale croaked and found that her throat and tongue refused to cooperate.
"Easy now. You nearly got your brain cooked trying to use your power on me. I'm still fixing the fine details." The alien's voice sounded like distant thunder.
I did what?! Lisa shook at the revelation.
Sorry! Error! Helping now! Making things better! Sorry? That was her power! It was talking directly to her, Lisa concluded. Now it sounded like a kicked puppy whining for forgiveness. That makes no sense unless she had lost her mind or worse.
Wetware operating at 90% capacity and raising. Repair protocols engaged. Agent Wrex helping!
Those words echoed with context that Lisa could barely grasp and didn't like at all. It sounded like the lizard didn't joke, and her power kind of fried her brain! What the hell power?!
Sorry! Error! Better now! Her power whined.
"Being healed doesn't make it better!" Lisa hissed, putting as much venom in the words as she could.
Mean Host!
"Don't look at me, it's not my fault your power tried to fry you." The lizard rumbled.
His fault as well! Distorted and hidden Agent! Needed Data!
Lisa got the impression that her power pouted at them both.
"You know what? I'm going back to sleep, and I hope that the world will make sense in the morning." Lisa decided.
"Coil might have other ideas once he figures out I visited you. Your seizure was not something I took into account. Incidentally, I'm here to discuss taking him down, so pay attention, Tattletale." The lizard announced.
Deal! Agent Wrex might eat snake! There was no mistake now. Lisa's power was gleeful at the idea of someone eating Coil. It couldn't happen to a nicer bastard.
"There are unwritten rules, you know," Lisa grumbled. What did she do to deserve this?!
"You don't say. I'm choosing to disregard them as inconvenient fiction. Focus, Lisa. Coil. I'm offering you a deal – your freedom and a large paycheck for your help in neutralizing him. Perhaps work and protection in the future if you're up to it."
Genuine offer. Considers me an invaluable asset. Ready to cut a deal. Lisa's power declared smugly. Mean Host part of the package deal.
"Theoretically speaking, what do you need? And can you back off?! Personal space is a thing, you know!" Lisa snapped before she could consider that mouthing off to a large alien lizard in its face might not be the best idea ever.
"All his codes and help in neutralizing his counter-measures. The plan is to get his assets, or at least as many of them as feasible intact. We can't have him blowing up his secret base and sinking a city district, much less releasing the Empire cape's identities to the public. The more assets we get, the large paycheck you can expect at the end of the operation. As far as personal space goes, I do know what it is. I'll back off once I've healed you."
Genuine offer. Wetware operating at 95% capacity now. Repair of Mean Host still in progress.
Lisa's eyebrows twitched. Did other people feel like she did now when dealing with her?
A very smug YES echoed through her mind for long seconds before mercifully tampering off.
"Theoretically speaking, what happens if I don't feel like playing ball? What about the Undersiders?"
"Then you'll be a disruptive presence causing further chaos in the city. That is something I can not let slide, Tattletale. I would advise that you talk with your friends. They will either make themselves scarce and never cross my path, surrender to the PRT or work for me."
Deadly serious. Won't be swayed. Wants to bring order to a failing civilization. Will remove obstacles by any means necessary. Undersiders are presently a disruptive element. Will be subverted or neutralized.
What was wrong with the big lizard? Did he want a war against all supervillains in the Bay or something?
Partially alien mindset and goals compared to Mean Host.
"What do you know about Coil, and what do you want me to tell you?" Lisa prompted. Power? A little help here? Will he let me go after this, or am I swapping one crazy fucker for another?
Willing to let you go, if you do not become a source of disruption in the future. Willing to neutralize you otherwise. Prefers to cut a deal. Be a good little Host, Mean Host, and you will be protected. Paid too! Data!
"Coil could either create or more likely, simulate two timelines at the same time. He can then choose one while dropping the other while retaining memories from both. I don't need to explain the implications in detail, do I?"
Lisa went rigid, remembering all the times Coil had called her for a chat in his office. She had to scream in her head for her power not to fill up the blanks her imagination was already busy painting over. Or the times she noticed being trailed by his agents, but nothing coming out of it…
"Fautline's crew had the same reaction. They're on board with neutering the snake." The alien commented on her condition.
Lisa viciously hoped that he meant that literally. "What do you need?" She hissed through gritted teeth.
=KroganDragon=
If you want to support my writing or discuss this story, see the following links:
Pat re on: Delkatar's writing corner
the space battles forums - this is where most discussion over my stories takes place
the sufficient velocity forums
the alternative history forums