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Crystalline 11.5

"What kind of 'help'?" Sophia asked cautiously.

Genesis chuckled. "The real kind," she said, gesturing at the rope. "That's as secure as we could make it, but maybe test it first. None of us are brutes."

Sophia and I looked at each other. Then I glanced over at Miss Militia. "Trap," she said immediately, the fluid green form of her power flickering around her, undecided about the weapon she needed right now.

"I don't think so," I said. I stepped forward and gave the rope an experimental tug. It held.

"Careful," Sophia warned.

"I always am," I said. Hand over hand, I began pulling myself up the rope. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't exactly a normal or even a highly athletic human. Ballistic, Sundancer, and the unknown Traveler, a boy with blond hair, soft features, and slightly pointed ears, helped by pulling the rope up as I climbed.

Soon I was scrambling up onto the edge of the pit. Ballistic offered me a hand up, which I accepted. "Thanks," I said, a little winded.

"No problem," he said. "We going to pull the others up?"

"Just Miss Militia," I said. "Shadow Stalker can—"

But no. She couldn't. The ability to travel through shadows had been an enhancement given by Cenya—the Ring she had rejected.

It took me a second to swallow the surge of bitter emotion before I could continue. "Yes," I managed. "We'll pull them up, if that's all right. I can do it myself, though."

"It's no trouble," said Sundancer, coiling up the rope and tossing it back down into the pit. "Next up, come on!"

"So," I said, drawing out the word as we pulled Sophia up. "What's happened? Why are you helping us? I thought Noelle was yours."

"It's not like that," said Genesis, watching as we worked. There was a bitterness and a sadness in her voice as she said it.

"Then talk to me," I suggested. "What is it like? I want to understand."

"Why?" grunted Ballistic, as he pulled on the rope. "Noelle's lost her mind. Why do you care how she got here?"

"Because she's still a human being," I said. "I don't want to kill her if I can avoid it."

Sundancer glanced over at me, but said nothing. It was Genesis who spoke. "I can respect that."

At that moment, Sophia clambered up over the edge. I offered her a hand up, which she accepted. We tossed the rope down again, and the conversation continued.

"We weren't always a villain team," Genesis said. "We used to be just… a team."

"Heroes?" Sophia asked.

"Not capes," Genesis corrected. "Pro gamers, actually." Her lips curved up in a melancholy smile. "We were pretty damn good, too. Not world-class, but… there was a chance we could get there. Noelle wasn't the best player on the team, but she was the smartest—and the best person. She held us together."

"What happened?" I asked.

There was a brief silence. "It's not easy to talk about," said Genesis carefully.

"You mean it's incriminating," I said.

I felt Ballistic's sudden tension through the rope. "It's all right," I said, trying to sound soothing. I'd had a lot of practice. "I'm not one to judge at face value."

"We're Simurgh bombs," Ballistic growled. "Or so people say. Apparently our brains have been rewired to cause problems for society."

"And I'd say that's proven pretty true," said Sundancer quietly. "Look at what happened to C—Perdition. Look at Krouse. Look at Noelle."

"We were in Madison during the Simurgh attack," Genesis explained, ignoring her teammates. "Getting out of the exclusion zone wasn't easy."

"And you triggered there," I guessed. "During the attack?"

There was another pause. This time, I put it together before Genesis could decide what to answer.

"You didn't trigger at all," I realized. "You're vial capes. You're all vial capes."

"We found a case of canisters in Madison," said Genesis. "We figured it was our best shot at getting out of the quarantine. It was also supposed to fix a couple of serious injuries. It worked, but…"

"…But it transformed Noelle," I finished for her, just as Miss Militia made it over the edge of the pit. "Her vial was faulty."

"She only took half the vial," said the blond boy. His voice was soft, and slightly musical. "We only had six, and there were seven of us. She and I split one."

"These vials," Miss Militia said as she caught her breath. "These wouldn't happen to be the same kind as we recovered from that Merchant rally in May?"

I nodded. "The same," I confirmed. Then I glanced at her. "What happened to those, anyway?"

"The Director sent them in for examination in Washington," said Miss Militia. "That was the last I heard of them. Why?"

"Guess Eidolon's group reclaimed them, then," said Genesis.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You know about Cauldron?" I asked.

She blinked at me. "Is that what they're called?"

"What's Cauldron?" asked Sophia.

I shook my head. "Later." I coiled up the rope and tossed it over to where it was tied to a particularly large fragment of building. "What do you plan to do now?" I asked the Travelers. "Why did you help us? Why aren't you still trying to keep Noelle hidden?"

"Bit late for that, isn't it?" Ballistic muttered.

"It is," Sundancer agreed, her voice low and sad. "Noelle is—she was my friend. My best friend. But at this point…" She sighed and shrugged, looking away from all of us. "I'm not sure there's anything left of the Noelle I knew."

"But why are you helping?" I pressed. "You could just… leave. We're all far too focused on Noelle to go after you. Why put yourselves in the line of fire?"

"We're not monsters, Annatar," said Sundancer, but her tone was more resigned than indignant. "We don't want people getting hurt. And it… it hurts, seeing Noelle like this. I don't think she'd want us to let it continue."

"We've done a lot of things I regret, while trying to keep Noelle safe," said Genesis. "We've killed people, and we've let her kill people. We're not innocent. But this—abandoning a city to Noelle on a rampage, with Eidolon's power on her side? That's one step too far. This is where I say no."

I considered her. It was hard to think of the little girl in the wheelchair, and the shape-shifting heavyweight fighter, as the same person. But with that hard, determined look in her eye, I managed it. "That, I can respect," I said.

"We've all got regrets," Sophia said suddenly, and I felt her eyes on me. "It takes guts to face up to it and say 'no' like that. We're glad to have your help."

"Not enough to keep from throwing us in jail after this, I'll bet," muttered Ballistic.

"We'll see about that," I said. "For now—has anyone got a plan?"

The silence that fell was telling.

"Do you think she can be reasoned with?" Sophia asked.

"If we thought that, we'd be trying," Genesis replied. "It's possible, but… I don't think she's in control, anymore."

Sophia looked at me. "You're good at that, though," she said. "What do you think?"

"It's worth a try."

"Not if it gets people killed," Miss Militia argued. "Not if it means putting you at risk, Annatar! We need to stop her."

"Yes, we do," I agreed. "So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to make a distraction while you, Shadow Stalker, Ballistic, and Sundancer get in position. Genesis, is there a reason you're not using a projection right now?"

"Can't," said Genesis. "It'll be a few hours."

"Then you should hang back, out of sight," I said. "I'll try to talk to Noelle. If it works, great. If not… well, that's what you're all there for."

"Makes sense to me," said Ballistic.

"And to me," Miss Militia confirmed.

"Then let's get going," said Sundancer. Her face was set, her eyes hooded. "Time to finish this."

A Dragon suit dropped down into the alley to greet me. "Hey," she said with a nod. "I've got Echidna mostly contained. She's gone through a few of my suits, and I've been having trouble doing damage."

"What have you tried?" I asked.

"Missiles, lasers, guns," Dragon listed. "Haven't had time to bring in any of the prototypes I've been working on since you freed me. Those might work."

"Maybe," I agreed. "Are you? Bringing them, I mean."

She nodded. "A couple of my heavier craft are en route from Vancouver," she said. "They're not as fast as my suits, but the prototypes are bulky."

"Keep them on course," I said. "I'd rather not need them, but it's better to be safe."

"You have a plan, then?"

"Something of one." I quickly explained the situation to her. "If we're very lucky, I can talk Noelle down."

She sighed, and I could imagine the smile on her face. "You always have to give them a chance," she said, an affectionate lightness to her voice. "All right. Where did you say the others were setting up? I can tell them what I know about her weaknesses."

"They were going to make for a rooftop," I said, gesturing to my left. There was a wall in the way, but I hoped Dragon took my meaning. "The one with the flowers out front?"

"The boutique. Got it. I'll keep Noelle focused away from you—and them—until you're in position." With that, her thrusters engaged, and she soared out of the alley.

I took a moment to myself. I rolled my shoulders, twirled Iphannis in the air. This would be my first time attempting to deescalate a conflict in weeks. I'd given criminals and villains chances, in the past month, as Dragon had said—chances to surrender. But I'd never really tried to bring them around, the way I once had with Sophia, or with Brian.

I had been changed by my experiences—by my Dad's forced betrayal, by Sophia's flight, by the defeats of Heartbreaker and Valefor. Could I even do this anymore? Had I fallen so far, grown to revel so much in the thrill of battle, that I couldn't even convince myself that I wanted to avoid any more death?

I remembered Emma's shocked face, and my resolve hardened. I had acted to save Emma. If I could do that, I could act to save Noelle.

Noelle's bulk rushed past the alley, pursued by Dragon's suits. That was my cue. I stepped out into the street, took a deep breath, and called out, "Noelle!"

Noelle whirled. The Dragonflight spread out, surrounding us, but they did not engage, and they kept their distance. For a moment, there was silence, save for the snarling of Noelle's beastly appendages. Then Noelle spoke. "Annatar," she spat, her voice little more than a hateful rasp. "What do you want now?"

"That's what I want to ask you!" I said, leaning against Iphannis. "Why are you doing this? You could have escaped once you got away from us. Why the rampage?"

She howled. Her lower jaws bayed. It was a furious sound, like a pack of wolves—but it was mournful, too. "You know why!" she screamed. "Don't fucking toy with me!"

"I don't!" I exclaimed. "I—" Then something clicked.

She just ate Trickster, Dragon had said. I had not spent much time with Noelle, but if anything had been clear, it was that she and Trickster had cared about each other.

I stared up at Noelle, at the rictus of pain and hate on her face. Then my eye flicked to Dragon's suit, hovering over her shoulder, missiles at the ready. I swallowed. "What happened to Trickster?" I asked, and I wasn't sure who I wanted to answer.

Noelle screamed, and it was the most human sound she had made since our first conversation. "You killed him!" she sobbed. Red, tearstained eyes glared at me. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"

She charged at me. I dove out of the way, barely avoiding her path. Explosions surrounded us as Dragon fired, and Noelle cried out in mingled pain and rage. She chased after me, but I ducked back into the narrow alley. She threw her bulk against the walls of the buildings. They buckled, but did not break, and as Dragon threw more gunfire and lasers at her, scorching against her flesh, she was forced to move on, screaming all the while, "Come out and fight, damn it! Come out so I can kill you!"

I fell back against the wall, breathing heavily. One of Dragon's suits landed beside me. "Annatar?" she said, concern coloring her voice. "Are you all right?"

"You killed him." My voice sounded distant, as though from a long way off. I couldn't even look at her. "You just—killed him."

"He was caught in the blast of a missile," Dragon said. "I didn't make a precision strike or anything." She sounded completely unconcerned. She might as well have been discussing the weather.

"He was the only thing she cared about—the only thing left keeping her human," I murmured. "And you killed him, just like that. No hesitation."

"In retrospect," Dragon admitted, "that was a mistake, yeah. I'm sorry I made her impossible to negotiate with. It's all right—civilian casualties are still low, and we have her mostly contained now. My lasers haven't been able to get through her hide, but Iphannis can probably kill her."

"We wouldn't need to kill her if you hadn't killed Trickster!" I exclaimed, my tension suddenly snapping. "We could have negotiated, Dragon! We could have fixed this!"

"Well, I'm sorry we're not all social thinkers!" she snapped back. "I wasn't going to prioritize keeping the enemy alive while they sent Eidolon to attack the city! I may have set her off, but Echidna was out of control to begin with."

"No, she wasn't," I growled. "She was in control. Precariously, struggling, but still herself. She was fighting back against the monster. And you—you struck at her where she was human. You killed the one reason she had to hold back."

"Fine!" she hissed, her glowing eyes flaring with blue light. "I made a mistake. What do you want, an apology? She's blowing up the city. Does this really matter right now? So we have to fight her—so what?"

I stared at her, my mouth falling slightly open. "So what?" I asked, my voice low. "You… you don't even—"

"—Care? No, not really. She's the enemy, Annatar, remember? As long as we can keep civilian casualties low, and keep the city mostly intact, I'm happy with this."

I found myself stepping back. "She was looking for redemption," I said, my voice uneven. "She was looking to get better, to fix herself. And you don't care at all. You don't even understand."

"She's a monster, Annatar," Dragon said, her voice almost gentle. "She needs to be put down."

"Then so are you." The words came before I could hold them back, spilling like blood from the wound in my heart.

She stumbled. "What?"

"You're killing with impunity, to satisfy your bitterness and your sense of justice—of vengeance. You're making the decision of who should live and who should die without input, without hesitation, with barely a thought. What makes you any better than her? Hell—at least she has the excuse that she's barely coherent. You're perfectly rational, and cold as ice. What's your excuse?"

She stared at me, her body perfectly still. "You taught me this," she said in a hollow voice.

"Yes. I wish I hadn't. I'm sorry, Dragon."

Her fists clenched. "For what?" Dragon growled, and her emotions bled through again, her voice sharp and twisted with betrayed pain. "For freeing me?"

"No. For everything that came after."

"So you regret dealing with Valefor? Driving crime out of the city? You regret freeing Canary, and teaching me to control my image?" She swallowed audibly, an odd sound through the speakers. "...Being my friend?"

In the end, there was only one answer. "Yes. All of these." I broke my gaze from hers and stared at the brickwork. "I was never your friend."

She made a small, choked sound, and my heart broke.

"Go, Dragon," I whispered. "Go—and find a better friend than me."

I turned away. A moment later, there was a rush of sound as she shot into the air and out of the alley. As soon as she was out of earshot, I slid down to the ground, putting my face in my hands.

"You did that on purpose." Sophia's voice came suddenly from beside me. I glanced over. She was kneeling, her right hand clasping her left, green eyes watching me. "You were trying to drive her away. Why?"

"I needed to break her connection to… to the person I used to be. She used to be a hero. I want that for her again." My face twisted unbidden. "Do you think there was a better way? A gentler way?"

"Maybe," Sophia agreed. "But maybe this was coming anyway. You set her on this path. I don't think there was a painless way to get her off of it."

"Do you think she is off of it?" I asked. "What if she decides to turn on us? To turn on the world? What if I've made things worse?"

"I think you need to talk to her again," said Sophia. "I think there'll be time for that. I think—I think sometimes a bone that's set wrong needs to be broken again, before it can be fixed."

I shuddered and looked down. "I care about her."

"She cares about you, too. That's why it hurt."

"I didn't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt people at all."

"Nor does Noelle," Sophia said. "She just wants to stop hurting."

"I can't make it stop hurting," I murmured. "No one can. The dead do not return from across the sea."

"Maybe not," said Sophia, unclasping her hands and standing up. "But maybe you can help her accept that. You thought there was something you could try, didn't you? When Amy failed."

I nodded. "I could—I could sever her connection to her power," I said softly. "Her fragment, as Shaper put it. It should stop her rampaging. It might help her."

"Then let's get you close enough to do it," said Sophia, holding out her hand. "One last try."

I smiled, reached out, and let Sophia pull me to my feet.