Part 6 - Infected
Chapter 113 - Guns and Glory
Teresa read the note that had been in the briefcase Miles had returned with.
"They've given us a list of things to do. One of them is to find Max, but he's been missing for almost a week." She told the others who were gathered around the table.
"What can we do? Right now he wants to be alone, and he's a God so he'll get it." Replied Stanley.
"He may be a God, but he's still mine and Miles' son." Said Gwen.
"And you think he'll make an exception for you? You were the last person he spoke to, so I'm guessing you said something that upset him."
Gwen sighed and shook her head.
"He came to me wondering whether he was a villain for making the call to burn the Tree. I told him he wasn't, although he wasn't too fond of listening."
"The question is whether Gwen actually was the last person he spoke to." Edward interrupted.
"Who else would he have spoken to?" Asked Teresa.
"His friend Jacob, or maybe his girlfriend Grace."
"I'll talk to them." Gwen volunteered.
"Good. The other things they wanted are to talk to me and Miles." Teresa concluded, looking down at the note again.
"They had Miles before. Why send him back?" Asked Edward.
"To give us the watches." Lisa replied.
"Oh. That was obvious."
"I guess we'd better get going, Teresa. Don't want to keep them waiting." Said Miles.
"If I understand this correctly, we'll pop up exactly where and when they need us." The commander answered.
"I don't know."
"In your own words, 'Einstein said time is relative'. It only passes for us when someone upstairs is doing something, such as reading this blasted fan-fiction, that makes it pass for us. Of course, we don't see the gaps because time moves at the same speed for all of us. That is what Einstein meant by time being relative, not that your crush isn't fifteen months older than you."
Gwen laughed.
"That's you told."
Miles shrugged.
"Fifteen months or not, I think it turned out alright."
"That's a matter of opinion, and nothing to do with Schrodinger." Teresa replied.
"What's Schrodinger got anything to do with this?" Asked Lisa.
"Schordinger's cat: you don't know if it's dead or alive until you open the box. Therefore you conclude it's both dead and alive until one is confirmed. My joke was that their relationship could be viewed as both bad or good, depending on whether the box is open or closed."
"That makes no sense." Said Miles.
"Well go get your relative time and rewind it so I never made the joke, then it doesn't confuse you."
Miles and Teresa popped up in the reception hall of the INTF, attracting some curious looks. The latter glanced through the note and sighed.
"It doesn't tell us where to go in this place. Any idea?"
"Nope. Maybe it's like Schrodinger's cat: you don't know if it's the right place until you open the door."
"Oh ha ha. That's called walking down a street you've never been down and opening a door. You either get a shotgun shell in the face for trespassing or a big welcoming handshake."
"In that case we're the cat."
"No, because we know we're alive."
"But we don't know if we will be in a minute when we open the door. Anyway, I'd just use a map."
"Well then, pull up a map and tell me where we're going in here, Mr 'Time is Relative'."
"I don't have one, Miss 'Schrodinger's Cat'."
"Sorry to interrupt, but you're needed upstairs." Said someone.
Miles recognised Zero. She took them up to a room with a long table.
"One spider and one former special ops agent." She announced to the people inside.
"Uh oh." Muttered Null.
"What's he doing here?" Miles asked the other people.
"He's twenty times more valuable than you are, so sit and let's get this over with. The sooner Liam is dead, the sooner we can all get a good night's sleep." One of them replied.
"My name is Alpha, this is Beta, Gamma and Delta and Epsilon. We're the five members of the Council, and everything goes through us. Is that clear?"
"Yes." Teresa replied.
"Good." Said Gamma, the one who had spoken first.
"We have a mission for you that may finish this faster than we hoped." Started Beta.
"Finally someone giving me orders, not me giving them." Teresa breathed.
"That's why you were chosen for this. Your background in special ops is invaluable, as well as your…what do you call them…projections?" Answered Epsilon.
"Your task is this: you will go to the narrative below, from here on out called Minus One. Your home will be referred to as Minus Two." Said Alpha.
"In Minus One, you will locate Liam, most likely at that recording studio, and you are to draw him into the open. Agent Forty-Two will be on a rooftop as sniper and will take a shot. If all goes well, Liam will be terminated and will become a standard instance of SCP-3812." Explained Beta.
"What about me?" Asked Miles.
"You will remain invisible with Teresa in case things get dirty." Answered Gamma.
"Null will provide you with the finer details. Dismissed." Epsilon concluded.
Null pulled up a powerpoint a few minutes later, at least a few relative minutes later. Somewhere along the narrative chain somebody had put down a book or paused a film that meant they were stopped for a time. Null paced a little as he gathered his thoughts. Teresa could tell he was uncomfortable.
"Okey dokey artichokey, as Siri used to say. You two better not screw this up. If Michael gets hurt, I'll make sure to write a very painful chapter of my fan-fiction."
"Oh you'd love that, wouldn't you." Miles answered with narrowed eyes.
"Don't start." Zero warned from the doorway.
"Anyway, Michael will be up on this building I like to call Maze Bank after my time playing GTA. It's tall, but he's a good shot. Teresa, you'll waltz into the studio and draw Liam out. Tell him you have a present for him; he loves presents."
"Who doesn't?" She replied.
"Miles: like the Council said, you'll be with Teresa, but invisible or camouflaged or whatever that thing you do is. If Liam tries any tricks, which he shouldn't, but if he does, you venom strike him and try to incapacitate him. If you screw this up, you'll probably come off even worse than Gwen did."
"I can hold my own better than her."
"Debateable."
"I mean with my venom strike and stuff. Gwen's always been slightly better off in a regular fist fight. I'll be fine, though."
"No you won't. The harder you hit Liam, the more you'll fuel his determination to beat the shit out of you."
"What makes you so sure?"
Null went silent for a moment. Teresa could have sworn she saw something in his eyes. When he spoke again, it was quiet.
"If Gwen ever tells you you can never escape your demons, she's right. It might feel like they're gone, but they're always there just waiting to pop back up and swallow you whole."
"Let's finish up here. You know what you have to do, and so does Michael. Meet him at the Hollywood sign." Zero interrupted.
"There's something not right about Null." Said Miles.
"You may want to think about the fact he knows everything you say and do if it reaches the pages of his fan-fic." Teresa replied.
They were waiting at the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, Minus One, for Michael.
"Can't you see it?"
"I do see it, Miles. But whatever it is, it's personal so quit thinking about it. He's unlikely to tell you of all people."
"If you're talking about Null, never ask him about his past." Said Michael, coming up to them.
He held out his hand; Teresa shook it.
"Noted. So, you got everything you need?" She replied.
"All in the car. You guys ready?"
"Always."
Teresa knocked quietly on a door to a recording studio. It was opened and someone popped their head round.
"Can I help you?"
"I have something for Liam."
"Pass it here and I'll give it to him."
"No can do. It's too big. It's outside."
"He's in the middle of a scene, but should be on a break in five minutes. If you hang around out here, I'll send him your direction."
"Brilliant. Thanks."
The five minutes went by and the door opened again. Liam eyed her warily.
"You have something for me?"
"It's outside."
"Is it now."
"Follow me."
They set off down the corridor. Miles was very careful he didn't get too close to Liam. Going through doors was the worst part, since he had to slip through the gap before they shut. On one occasion, his foot caught the door and it stopped for a second. His heart skipped a beat, but Liam didn't seem to react. They came out into the open. Teresa kept walking, rounding a corner that meant she was in Michael's line of sight. Liam stopped just before he rounded it. She turned to him.
"It's just round here."
"I'm sure it is. Say, Morales, how would you like to go and fetch it?"
Miles suddenly found a hand round his throat, despite still being invisible. Liam hurled him to the floor and kicked him in the painful place, turning him visible again. Teresa pulled her pistol, but Liam snapped his fingers and an enormous spike shot out the ground, knocking her to the floor.
"Good luck screwing Gwen after that." He said to Miles who had rolled onto his front and was clutching his groin in pain. "You really think I'm that stupid?"
Teresa tried to fire her pistol again, but Michael suddenly popped up and landed on top of her.
"I should have known, Michael. Impersonating my best friend. What did you do to him? Did you put a bullet in his skull?"
Michael stood up, pulling his own pistol and trying to shoot but his wrists were tied down by ropes that sprouted from the ground. Liam picked Teresa up by the throat.
"They always say to kill the characters you don't need. I have no use for you, Chelsea."
A black and green sword appeared in his hand which he made to stab her with but found his hand stuck by a web. Miles was picking himself up, holding one end of it. Liam sighed and clicked his fingers again. Instead of a spike from the ground, a helicopter crashed out of the sky. Its blades span like razor blades. Miles was slashed across the face before her could react. He yelled in agony, removing his shredded mask and clutching his eye. Liam hurled the aircraft's carcass away and drove his sword into Teresa's chest. She went limp and he dropped her corpse. Now he turned to Michael who was still tied down.
"Morales! Tell your buddies there's a hostage situation."
Miles staggered backwards, barely able to think over the searing pain in one eye, and lack of vision in his other from blood pouring into it. He felt for his watch and jumped leaving behind Michael.
Relations seemed to be getting better between the Null's narrative, known as Minus Zero, and Miles' home of Minus Two. That didn't exactly matter to him, not that he could see it through the blood. He felt reassuring hands guiding him somewhere, a voice telling him he would be alright. Soon he was laid down on a stretcher, groaning in agony. Of all the wounds he had had, this one was the worst. It was even worse than Helltreader's knife; he hadn't been awake for the pain, just the inability to say Gwen's name. He grasped onto the thought of her, trying to distract himself. What was she doing right now?
Gwen found Grace and Jacob hanging out together. Her first glance told her Grace was slightly down whilst Jacob seemed his usual self.
"Hey guys." She said happily.
"Hi Gw…sorry, Mrs Stacy. Wait, do I call you Mrs Stacy or Mrs Morales?"
"Gwen's fine, Jacob. Are you alright, Grace?"
"I'm worried about Max."
"I know. So am I. That's why I'm here. He's closer to the two of you than me and his dad. He's even closer to you, Grace, than he is to his sister."
"I hope so. If he's sleeping with his sister imma scoot out of here." Jacob commented.
"Ha ha hilarious, Jake. We're not sleeping together anymore. We decided it was inappropriate, and he's going through a tough spot at the moment." Grace answered.
"Sure."
Gwen sighed.
"I couldn't care less whether you're sleeping together. Honestly, I don't even care if he's got you pregnant something. Right now, I just need to know if either of you can tell me where he is." She said.
Grace shrugged.
"I sorta could. He gave me this:" She pulled out an envelope that had obviously been opened. "It's co-ordinates of some sort, but he said to only give it to anyone else if they had a good reason."
"We're all going die if he doesn't help us. Is that a good reason?"
"How? Why? It's like the Legion before Max took over: everything's so secretive. What's happening?" Asked Jacob, now in a serious mood.
"SCP-3812. It's going to blow up the world above, and that will destroy our narrative as well as a lot of others. We can fix it, but the current carrier is an exceptional circumstance."
"Sounds pretty bad. Should I dig out the old dinosaur army?"
"No, Jacob. Dinosaurs won't help this time. The carrier, Liam, quite literally turned the world upside down. The only person who might stand a chance is Max. So please, Grace; I need those co-ordinates."
Grace handed the envelope over.
"I tried looking into it, but the place in every world here in Bastria is just wasteland."
"Anything is progress. Thank you."
"Please find him. And when you do, can you tell him that…I love him."
Gwen put a hand on Grace's shoulder.
"I'll find him. I promise. And you can tell him yourself."
When she had gone, Jacob turned to Grace.
"You never denied he got you pregnant."
She shot him a look.
"He didn't. Don't get your hopes up about having someone dumber than you around."
Crossovers in this Chapter
- SCP Foundation