Welp, here we are. 7 reviews, 24 follows, and 21 favorites later. Honestly this is a little encouraging.
But on the topic of reviews, this site is cruising for a bruising. How do the first four reviews say posted on August 1st, then the fifth says posted on July 31st? The 6th is August 3rd, but the 7th is August second. The heck is going on here? Anyway, it's whatever. Apparently people wanna read this. So, here we are.
I'll be honest, I had this part done at least 2 days after the first chapter was uploaded. I don't know, I had stopped writing for a bit and to get back in the swing of it with a fun idea just sparked my motivation. Now with that being said, I should be up front, there will be no consistent upload schedule, this won't be my magnum opus where I try to make it as symbolic and thematic as possible, it'll just be for fun.
I do not own Worm or Ben ten, you know the drill.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Brockton Bay
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
3:37 AM EST
(One Hour After Chimera's Rampage)
'How could this happen?'Thought Gallant.
All over the northern end of the city, multiple fires burned strongly, their light illuminating the night sky. Entire buildings lay crumbled and broken onto the streets. Even standing amidst the destruction, his silver armor now darkened with soot and dust from all the digging, all he could feel was helplessness.
To his left, a shadow emerged from the ruins of an apartment building, Gallant stood straighter at its arrival.
"Survivors?"He asked, begging more like.
The shadow solidified and became a girl wrapped in a dark cloak, face concealed by a hockey mask. She looked at him, and slowly shook her head. He sighed, his feeling of helplessness growing. This was the ninth block they tried, and still, nothing.
"Let's keep going then,"He encouraged,"We're bound to find someone."
Storming past him, he heard her mumble bitterly,"You said that five blocks ago." He pretended he didn't hear her, even as his heart gave a painful lurch at the reminder. Looking back at the SAR team they were leading, he beckoned them to follow.
Quietly, they all marched down the street, nobody having any words to say amongst all this carnage. He could feel a mute horror from most of the SAR team, along with a small dosage of anger at the unwarranted attack on their home. He couldn't blame them.
'That monster was able to rampage for half an hour before help came. To think it could do so much damage.'Gallant despaired as he looked at the smashed remains of a small store on the corner of the block ahead. He blinked. Wait, is that…?
"Is there someone in there?"He pointed.
"Where?"His teammate replied, looking where he was pointing towards.
And sure enough, there was. Two people sauntered out of the store, seeming quite proud of themselves and the shopping cart they had full of merchandise.
'Looters,'Gallant thought disapprovingly. And from the state of their clothes it looked like they were Merchants. This was to be expected, but still, it was hard to believe some would take advantage of this tragedy for their own-
He was startled from his thoughts when he felt a surge of pure unfiltered anger. Looking over to his cloaked teammate, Gallant saw her shoulders tense, her fingers cracking from how hard her hands were squeezed into fists. Oh no.
"Wait!"He barely managed to call before she sprung forward, her crossbow out and loaded before it was shot into the back of one of the scavengers. The man went down with a tranq dart to the shoulder, screaming in pain and surprise, and before his friend could turn around to see what happened, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt and slammed heavily into the store's wall before being heaved onto the sidewalk.
From there, Shadow Stalker proceeded to rain punch after punch onto the man's face, not bothering to aim or even check to see if all of them were landing, she just attacked with nothing but raw aggression. Gallant rushed forward, grabbed her by the bends of her elbows and hauled her off. She didn't seem to notice she was being held as she kept trying to strike the now unconscious man.
"Shadow Stalker, enough!"He commanded."It's over, he's done!"
Wrenching herself free from his grip she stalked a few paces away before turning to him, her rage still burning as hot as ever. Gallant met her stare unflinchingly. Out of his peripheral vision he noticed that the SAR team was watching both of them intently. From them he felt a grim satisfaction at Shadow Stalker's actions and now he felt a small eager anticipation for what might happen next.
'Please don't do this now,'He thought desperately,'The absolute last thing we need is to be fighting each other. Especially with others watching.'
The staredown lasted a few seconds longer before she spun around and scathingly muttered,"I'm going ahead." She marched off before he could think to stop her.
Hoping his relief wasn't too obvious he turned back to the SAR team and saw some of them avert their eyes. Sighing quietly he told them to follow him. They did with no complaint.
He should've seen something like this coming he realized. Ever since the beginning of their mission, Shadow Stalker had been more on edge and hostile than usual. After working with her for a while he knew she was the type that preferred being on the front lines, not necessarily because she felt she would do the most good, but because she wanted to fight. More appropriately she wanted to hurt others. And for her to be put on the sideline doing search and rescue while someone tore apart their home was probably comparable to sitting on a throne of needles to her.
He could understand that to an extent. But really, what could they do? The entirety of the Protectorate and all of New Wave couldn't do anything against that Case 53. Thinking of it made him queasy.
'Vicky,'He thought worryingly,'Why would you try to fight that thing?'
From the small footage he had seen, Glory Girl had stood with her family as they attacked the unknown cape. It had not ended well.
A small part of him still winces when he thinks back to the sight of seeing Vicky charging in to fight that monster. He knew she perceived herself as being invincible but they both knew that while her shields were strong, they had limits. She would be overconfident in her abilities and it might get her hurt or worse.
'No!'He suddenly thought,'Now isn't the time to worry about her. She's strong, she'll be okay. Other people need you right now.'
Taking a deep breath he cleared his mind and focused on trying to pinpoint anybody with his emotional sense. Feelings like fear, desperation, confusion, anger, anything to help him find someone in the wreckage.
An abrupt feeling of anger and disgust came to him and he looked to see Shadow Stalker standing in the middle of an intersection, looking down the road at something that was deeply disturbing her.
"Shadow Stalker, what is it?"He yelled, feeling a small well of panic in his gut.
She just continued to stare, and he felt his worry increase. Jogging up to her side he turned to see what had captured her attention. His eyes widened as he felt his stomach lurch, the urge to be sick constricting his throat.
All along the street, protruding from the ground was a long row of jagged pointed green crystal spikes. That wasn't the disturbing part however, what was disturbing was just how many people were impaled upon them.
"Shit…"Someone in the SAR team whispered from behind him. He had to agree. What looked like a few dozen people were skewered, bodies hanging limply from the crystals like puppets without their strings. The steady flow of blood from the bodies caused an unpleasant shiver to slither down his spine.
Gulping slowly, Gallant choked out an order to go and see if there were any survivors. It took a second before the team started moving. And it took him a second longer to unlock his legs to join them.
"I'm gonna find that bastard,"Shadow Stalker hissed as he walked past her, her voice dripping with venom,"And make him suffer."
Gallant just continued on with his morbid task, choosing not to comment.
Gently massaging her temples, Amy Dallon sighed in exhaustion.
'And to think, I contemplated leaving early today.'She thought as she sat down for a brief break. She had frankly lost track of how many people she had healed in the almost literal sea of patients that streamed into Brockton Bay General.
The day had started off normal enough. She woke up, ate breakfast, went to school, came home and changed then had Vicky drop her off at the hospital. There were no extreme cases today, as such, her shift was pretty lax and if she wanted to, she could've headed home earlier than usual.
But oh how quickly things changed.
It was getting close to nine-her usual quitting time, when suddenly, people started arriving on mass. Multiple people with all kinds of strange injuries. She shuddered, at the graphic condition they arrived in. Those strange green crystals stabbed into people's bodies, horrific burns melting clothes into skin, some people so sick that they couldn't even speak or move. While horrified and rightly disgusted by the state of these people, leaving then was no longer an option. So she sent a text to her step-mother and stayed to help. If only she knew how long she'd be here, she thought it'd be a couple more hours but as more people arrived time just kept adding on and on.
'And now it's,'She looked to the clock on the wall,'Almost four in the morning, and there are still more people coming in.'
As much as she wanted to, she couldn't keep this up. She needed to eat, and she needed to rest or she wouldn't be of help to anyone. But she couldn't just leave these people here, what if they needed her, what if someone died and she wasn't here because she was asleep?
"Damn it!"She muttered, wiping away the frustrated tears pricking at her eyes.
"Amy?"A voice to her left startled her. She looked over and blinked in recognition.
"Clockblocker."She acknowledged.
The time themed ward had seen better days. His once white costume was now blackened with ash and dirt, and the way he stood suggested he was just as tired as she felt.
"Fancy meeting you here."He said with a notable lack of his usual lightheartedness.
"Yeah, fancy that,"She replied.
He walked over to the seat next to hers, looked to her and gestured to it, asking permission. She nodded and watched him practically fall into the chair, letting out an appreciative groan as he leaned back.
They sat in silence, content to enjoy the small reprieve they were both allowed, the sounds of the hospital staff running back and forth, shouting frantic orders and wheeling patients in and out of rooms was nothing but background noise. Amy couldn't help sneaking glances at him. Seeing Clockblocker-Dennis to his friends-who was usually energetic and animated, so subdued was almost a surreal experience. It just added to the incredibility of the night.
Her eyes shifted a little lower and saw that his chest was slightly darker then the rest of him. A closer look revealed the darker patch on his costume to be blood.
"Are you injured?"She asked, keeping an eye on the spot.
Sedately, Dennis looked to where she was looking before shaking his head slowly.
"Not my blood."He mumbled soberly.
She blinked at his response, surprised before looking at the spot again, and the full implications of what he said sunk in.
"Oh."Was all she could manage to say.
"Yeah."
They both went quiet after that. Dennis rubbed at his mask, unintentionally smearing more ash across it.
"She was,"He started, causing her to look at him,"Eight, or seven, I think. Maybe younger. I don't know, she was just...really small. She was holding a little stuffed lion. It was purple."
He weakly laughed at that.
"That's the most unthreatening color a lion could ever have."He let out a few more soft chuckles. Amy just sat, watching him.
Calming down, he breathed deeply before continuing."I pulled her out of a wrecked car. Her...her legs were missing. But I thought I felt a pulse, so I froze her, told Kid Win I would get her to a hospital and ran here."
His breathing started to hitch a little, but Amy just let him continue.
"I-uh...I made sure to freeze her every time my power faded, anyway to give her a chance, ya know. Hoping it'd stop the bleeding for just a bit before she got help."
He swallowed as his voice started to waver a bit more.
"I was relieved to finally get here. Happy to think I saved someone, ya know, just like a hero. So I came in, found a doctor in one of the rooms and uh…"He paused, Amy could see a small tremble go through his body as he fought to keep himself together.
"The doctor took one look at her and...told me she was dead. It didn't register for a while. I just thought, dead? No way, he didn't even examine her or anything. But he just kept saying it, slowly. The more he said it the more impossible it seemed. She can't be dead...I saved her...she was supposed to live."
He went quiet again after that. Amy could almost see the grief he exuded, her heart tightening in her chest at the pain he was probably feeling.
He eventually continued,"Uh so I...I just put her on a bed, laid her down, tucked her in, ya know. Made sure her lion was pressed nice and tight in her arms so it wouldn't drop. And just left. Doc didn't say anything so I figured it was okay, I wandered around for a bit, and eventually I found you."
He turned to face her fully, and with a voice struggling to be happy he quipped,"Funny how stuff works out huh?"
Eyes shining with empathy, Amy gently grabbed Dennis's hand and gave it what she hoped was a comforting squeeze.
"Yeah,"She muttered,"Real funny."
"Aegis, I think I hear someone under here!"
He was over in a heartbeat. Placing his ear close to the pile of shattered concrete he listened and heard it too, a small banging sound, like someone was taking a rock and hitting it against metal. He asked them to move aside as he got to work, meticulously lifting debris with small grunts of exertion and carefully tossing them aside, being extra cautious so as to not cause any more debris to fall and accidentally crush the person they were trying to rescue.
Casting aside a particularly large piece Aegis looked down and paused. Having someone hand him a flashlight he shone it into the hole.
"I think I see them. Hello!"He called,"Hello can you hear me."
A large pile of dust shifted, and a harsh coughing fit answered him. Turning to the SARS team he nodded,"Got em, call it in, we'll need help digging him out all the way."
As one of the men took out their phone and turned away to make the call he heard a weak voice call out,"Help…"
"Help is on the way sir. We're gonna get you out." He promised.
The truck took a while navigating through the destroyed streets, all the while Aegis did his best to assure the trapped man that they would free him soon. Once it finally arrived, they immediately set to work.
For this, Aegis stepped aside and let the more experienced members do their jobs, only helping when he saw they needed it. Through a complex application of concrete saws, jackhammers, chainsaws, bolt cutters and rope hauling systems, they were finally able to dig the poor man out.
He was an older man, probably in his late sixties if Aegis had to guess. He didn't appear to have any injuries on him, but he'd let the doctors look him over to be sure.
"Aegis to console, come in." He said, radioing in through the comm in his helmet.
"This is Vista on console, what's the situation?"
"Just rescued a civilian from the wreckage. Seems like he's okay but I'm waiting to hear from the field medics. Anyone else report in?"
"Gallant and Shadow Stalker called just a few minutes ago...says they found a street full of people skewered on those crystals."
'Damn…'Aegis thought.
"Any survivors?"He asked, hoping for a miracle.
"Only one, but he didn't make it to the hospital."Vista answered somberly.
"I see,"He sighed in resignation,"What about Kid Win and Clockblocker?"
"Kid Win called, said that Clockblocker pulled a little girl from a wrecked car and ran off to get her to a hospital. He hasn't seen him since. But besides that, him and his team haven't gotten anything. Looks like you're the only one who's been having any luck."
Making a note to speak with Dennis about that later, Aegis turned back to the man he had rescued and watched the medics look him over.
"I guess so,"He acknowledged, not knowing how to really feel about it."Any updates from the director?"
"No. Panacea still hasn't shown up yet so the Protectorate capes are still out of commission."
"She probably won't be there for a while."He informed her.
"Probably,"She sighed,"Not with how many civilians were hurt."
She went quiet for a second before changing the conversation,"Did you hear what people are calling him?"
"The Case 53?"He inquired,"No, what?"
"They're calling him Chimera. With all the different parts he seems to be made. You can't say it doesn't fit."
"Yeah."He said, internally shuddering at the images he saw.
"But what he's called doesn't matter to me,"He continued,"What does is what we're gonna do if he comes back."
"If by we you mean the Wards, I'm pretty sure our orders will be to flee on sight."Vista said with an annoyed tilt to her voice.
"Most likely,"He agreed,"But I meant the city as a whole. He came out of nowhere, destroyed a lot of property, and vanished. The Protectorate could hardly slow him down, so if he comes back, what are we gonna do about it?"
"I doubt the gangs would wanna help."She grumped.
"And even if they did, would it even make a difference?"He countered.
"Lung maybe, but everyone else, probably not."
Aegis turned to see the man, seemingly okay since the medics had stepped back, covered in dust and fiberglass, kneeling in front of the rubble of the building they found him in, his expression looking very pained.
"I gotta go, keep me updated on anything that might have to do with us."He ordered.
"Got it, good luck Aegis, console out."Vista replied before the line went quiet.
Walking over, Aegis took a knee next to him asking,"Sir, are you okay? Are you in any pain?"
He didn't say anything for a few seconds, just continued to stare at the ruined building before quietly whispering,"My shop…"
Turning to look at the now ruined building, Aegis saw that there was barely anything left of the original structure. Everything else was buried underneath mountains of concrete and masonry. Looking up showed that the building next to it had lost a good chunk of its roof.
"Insurance?"He asked, still examining the ruined store.
A dismissive snort escaped him."Sure, but they'll just drag their feet like they always do. I probably won't see that money for months."
He sighed before continuing,"But there were things in there, that money can't replace. Things I promised I would take care of. But now they're gone, and I went back on my word again…"
Aegis had nothing he could say to comfort him. No words to properly console the loss he was probably feeling. But he felt he had to try.
"I'm sorry you lost so much,"Aegis began,"But I assure you, your life is worth more than whatever was lost in there."
"Says who!"He snapped, finally turning to him with a scalding look in his eyes. The look slowly vanished before he turned away, ashamed at his outburst.
"You're still young, so you won't understand for a while,"He sighed,"But I'm an old man. I've lived my life, there's nothing left for me. The only way I can look forward is by looking back."
"My life, everything about me, was in there. And now it's gone. I'll die, alone and forgotten, without any trace that I even lived at all." He chuckled humorlessly.
"Maybe it's better that way. Who'd care about the death of a beat up old fisherman? People better than me have died for no reason. Yet I'm still alive. And that ain't right...it just aint right."He silently whimpered.
When he had nothing more to say, Aegis stood up and asked the SAR team if they could try to get him to a hospital, just in case there was any damage they missed. One of the doctors said they already called it in and an ambulance should be on its way.
Nodding, Aegis walked over to the edge of the sidewalk and slowly sat down. For the time being, he just sat, his mind not thinking of anything. Not the senseless destruction around him, not the demoralizing news that his team wasn't finding any survivors, and especially not the depressive words of a man who lost everything and wondered why he even bothered to live.
No, Aegis simply sat.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Shorter? Yes, but that's kinda the point here. I'm not willing to break the tension just yet. And what better way to keep the tone then with the thoughts of those dealing with the disastrous after effects? Also since it's not as exhausting trying to write consistently long chapters, that'll burn me out and make writing this a chore instead of being fun.
Things'll cheer up soon, probably. Maybe. I'm not saying this to be funny or coy either I just really don't know. Like I said in the first chapter, I planned for it to have more action, but it came out more atmospheric. Probably for the best since it set the tone a little better than just having the first chapter be all about the fight.
Anyway, review, PLEASE, those are very appreciated. Even if the site screws with me on the dates. Stay healthy and have a good night.