And so we start Part 3.
Wow, here we are. I honestly am surprised to be here. This story has come a long way. I'm proud of it. And me for being diligent enough to have an update every month. Seriously, that's the real accomplishment.
I do not own Ben Ten or Worm, and nobody cares.
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"...damages are higher than anticipated…"
"...the number of casualties was at least cut down…"
"...predictions are saying it would've been worse if…"
"...we keep learning more and more the longer this goes on…"
"No More."
Four pairs of eyes turned at the sober voice that spoke out for the first time in the meeting.
He stared back, eyes shining intensely at the other occupants in the room-challenging, daring for a rebuttal. Clad in his iconic blue and white suit, sans the mask, Keith sat at his end of the table, white gloved hands clenched tightly onto the table, and just under his arm, a thick manilla folder sat like a ton of bricks, obvious and distracting-almost threatening with its presence.
The two women at the other end of the table kept their faces neutral, their eyes dark and evaluating.
The clean shaved, blonde haired man raised a single brow-a miniscule quirk of his mouth showing his momentary amusement.
The final green cloaked member tilted his head, his glassy opaque mask hiding his expression, but his curiosity and interest was visible.
"No more. It's done."Keith proclaimed sternly,"This experiment is over."
It was quiet, the others meeting his defiant stare for a few seconds.
"Not quite."The dark skinned woman commented,"The data we've gathered from the recent events have been very useful."
"Indeed."Said the blonde haired man, lacing his fingers together and leaning on his elbows,"The sudden appearance of a new and unforeseeable threat has often been the fear of any society-be it disease,war,social discord-there is no real way to prepare for it; by their very nature, such things can only be reacted against, and this has been the perfect opportunity to see how Parahuman Feudalism stands against such threats."
"Terribly."Keith droned.
"So far, yes."He agreed.
"And at the expense of civilian lives."He glared.
"Also true."
Keith's fists began to tremble.
"Things have certainly spiraled past expected parameters."Alexandria interjected,"When we agreed that this sudden intervention was necessary for the experiment's growth, we hadn't intended for things to get so out of hand."
"Being honest,"Doctor Mother added,"From the very start, the situation was unusual. A cape that powerful suddenly shows up in a city with a heavy Protectorate presence-wreaks havoc, defeats its heroes, and then proceeds to stay in said city for weeks without showing up, only to come out of nowhere again and challenge all of its capes."
"Even the Slaughterhouse 9 never strikes the same location twice."Alexandria reasoned."Something made him stay in Brockton. Whatever it was, he kept himself completely hidden for weeks before reemerging in the same city. That isn't normal."
"Regardless of whatever reason he stayed,"Keith said,"He's done too much damage to keep being ignored, and can't be allowed to roam free anymore."
He leveled his hard gaze at everyone present.
"You kept me from interfering for days before you finally told me about this experiment of yours. Then you made me lie and divert attention away from Brockton-keeping my people from going in and assisting the Bay's Protectorate Branch, all because of some rudimentary system of sitting back seeing what happens!"
"Innocent people are dying, a monster is wandering around unchecked, and 'we're doing nothing about it!"
"It's not that simple."Alexandria opposed.
"Then make it that simple!"He exclaimed,"I've lied and covered for Cauldron countless times over the years, I didn't like it, but I saw the necessity. But this, this crosses the line! We're willfully ignoring people who need our help, aren't we supposed to be heroes?"
"Keith, listen-"
"No!"He snapped,"I've listened for long enough. Now I'm gonna speak."
He reached for the folder under his arm-the action seemed like he was yanking out a gun-pulling out a thick stack of reports and statistics, holding it up for everyone to see before sliding the mass of paper to the center of the table.
"See that?"He pointed,"That's a cobbled together list of the field reports from police, PRT, SARS teams, firefighters, and paramedics. Those are all people that were found wounded, or killed the night he arrived in the bay. Almost seven hundred names are on that list."
He pulled out another collection of paper, sliding it next to the previous one, this new dossier including a few pictures with multiple hospital patients in various states of injury.
"These are the hospital reports from that same night."He snipped,"Every hospital in Brockton saw a surge of patients-at least one hundred new occupants to each building. The most common injuries; burned, pierced, poisoned or trampled."
Another pile was added.
"These are missing persons reports, hardly even a quarter of them were even able to be looked at since that night!"
And so he continued; detailed listings of the multiple casualties, news reports, PRT trooper resignations, articles-both amateur and professional, national and international-spreading doubt of the Protectorate's worth and effectiveness.
All of it culminating in a scalding pile of evidence against their inaction.
"And this one,"He scowled, slamming the final damning file on the table,"From two nights ago. The fight between Chimera and Lung-lesser number of casualties, but no less destructive. Maybe even more, in certain cases."
He flipped to a marked page of the list. Even though he had seen them already, he still gulped when he saw the pictures clipped to it. Two young girls-one of them comatose laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to extensive machinery and wires. Completely unrecognizable under layers and layers of bandages and the other with her body covered by a white sheet, laid upon a silver table in a morgue...her head completely missing.
Keith gazed down at the two photos, his stomach heating up as his heart clenched with rage and sorrow. He pushed the photos to the center of the table, the list with their highlighted names and conditions right beside it. Everyone locked onto the images with a morbid focus.
"Victoria and Amy Dallon."He intoned."Sisters. New Wave's Glory Girl and Panacea."
He pointed to the body on the table.
"Victoria died intervening in the fight between Lung and Chimera. Nobody knows why. Most likely revenge; either for her aunt or his attack three weeks ago. Probably both."
He pointed to the hospitalized girl.
"Panacea, she's in critical condition-being monitored closely at all times by the most qualified doctors in the city. She's only alive because the Ward Clockblocker was with her. He used his power to keep her condition from worsening long enough for help to come."
He stared into everyone's eyes before saying,"He stayed with her for twelve hours until morning. Using his power to freeze her in time over and over again all night to keep her alive."
He let his words settle into them before he leaned back in his chair, now appearing tired from his tirade.
"Not only did two young heroines die, one of them was one of the best healers in the country, one of the best in the world."
"She's only alive now because her friend was with her at the right place at the right time and just so happened to have the right power to help her."
Massaging his face, he sighed tiredly,"In other words, she was lucky."
An imploring look centered on his face as the last of his anger left him.
"This has gone on long enough."He said quietly,"Too many people have been hurt. No one should have to suffer because of us not doing anything. I can't-won't sit back anymore."
The table was put into silence.
Alexandria, The Number Man, and Doctor Mother stared at the lone man, dissecting and evaluating his determination.
Eidolon however, looked only at the pictures of the two young heroes.
He breathed in deeply before he let it out.
"He's right."
Everyone turned to him.
"This, all of this,"He said while gesturing to the pile of documents on the table,"It's too much. We let it go too far."
He sat back in his chair, lightly massaging his knuckles.
"Being honest, I wasn't happy about the decision either. I've wanted to take him down ever since I saw the footage of him fighting the Brockton division. He's strong."
His hands slowly clenched.
"I think he'd make a good opponent."
Alexandria regarded him for a moment.
"Chimera's proven himself to be a wildcard. His threat rating shifts every time he appears. At the very least, he's a Trump 8. We don't know the full range of his powers, or even how they work. Not to mention he's shown he knows how to use them effectively. It'd be a risk to just rush into a fight."
"I agree."The Number Man acknowledged."I've been running a few calculations and they all say the same thing: Chimera's far from finished in showing us what he can do."
A beat passed, everyone letting the ominous news soak in.
"The best course of action for now would be to wait. Not for long!"Alexandria interjected when Keith started to protest."Just enough to prepare."
Keith swallowed his comment, instead nodding to the sensibility of the idea.
"So, what are you going to do now then?"Doctor Mother asked Keith.
He thought a moment before replying,"I'll do like Alexandria said, I'll take some time to prepare. Gather troopers, weapons, capes, both from Boston and New York and anyone else I can get. I won't take any chances with this-he has to go down."
"Indeed he does."Eidolon said,"I'll go with, we should be able to-"
"You can't go."Alexandria remarked to the surprise of the other two members of the Triumvirate."In case you've forgotten, Houston's been dealing with a surge of human and drug trafficking from the Devil Rose cartel-and with the number of capes they have on their side, the Houston branch needs you right now."
Eidolon seemed like he was gonna argue before Keith interrupted saying,"She's right."
He held up his hands placatingly as his friend's mask whipped to stare at him.
"Chimera's a threat, but he's not the end of the world."He negotiated,"With all the muscle we'll be pulling for this, it'll be unlikely that we'll really need you. But I'm not one to turn down the extra help, especially when it's from you. I'll keep you, the both of you,"He said looking at the other two heroes,"On stand buy. If things get harry and I need the reinforcements I'll call and you have Doormaker get you to Brockton."
Eidolon relented after a few more seconds, visibly unsatisfied with this decision.
"Have some faith in me David,"Keith smiled,"I'll take him down, I promise."
Eidolon stayed quiet, nodding and muttering a silent agreement before he got up from his spot at the table and left the room.
They all watched him leave, Keith looking a bit disappointed with his response.
"He'll get over it."Alexandria reasoned, turning back to Keith."Now then, since you're so adamant about this, tell me, what do you want to do first?"
He thought for a few seconds, rubbing his temple.
"First things first,"He responded,"We need to make sure Chimera stays in or around Brockton. He's shown a good penchant for disappearing, and I'd rather not have to search for him."
The Number Man laughed.
"Well that shouldn't be too hard."He smirked,"As i'm sure you know, ever since his fight with Lung he's just been-"
"-sitting right there."
"Yup."
Private's Samuel R. Studz and Lucas J. Neil sat in the front seats of their humvee, the heavily armored vehicle sitting besides multiple of its kind just behind PRT armored carriers. And just behind them, multiple rings of SWAT vans and police cars.
There was an air of tension that everyone was forced to stew in as they sat within this hastily made defensive perimeter. Even though the cause for said tension was two entire blocks away-the danger was very real and very tangible nonetheless.
Especially with where he had situated himself.
Studz pulled out his binoculars, adjusting them to zoom in on the target, seeing that yes he was indeed still just sitting there.
There being atop the disgustingly sharp and gory crown of crystal spikes poking out of what was once Lung's enormous draconian skull.
Studz felt his stomach churn as he beheld the horrific art piece that was once a man. His large dragon body was completely skewered and pierced by a towering pillar of jagged green spines, over half of the gargantuan spike was covered in a fine layer of dried crimson blood. Despite the fact that he was a notorious and dangerous criminal, Studz couldn't help but feel sorry for the former ABB villain-it was a terrible way to go for anyone.
And sat upon the top of the cold corpse was the one who did it to him; the infamous villain, Chimera.
The patchwork monster sat upon a ledge of crystals, his lower arms draped across his knees as he leaned forward, his usual violent and insane gaze threateningly calm as he looked to the city's horizon: watching and seemingly waiting.
"I'll give the crazy bastard this much,"Neil droned,"He's a bold fucker."
"Unfortunately,"Studz agreed.
"Look at him up there,"Neil said while leaning forward against the wheel,"Just rubbing it in our faces. I'm sittin right here ya fuckin pansies, what are you gonna do about it? Shit this is pissing me off."
"Gonna go tell him that?"Studz joked.
"Maybe I will."Neil agreed,"It'd beat sitting around here and watching his ugly ass."
"Yeah well, good luck with that."Studz said, turning his head to the front of the perimeter."You'll have to get past the Protectorate first."
At the very head of the barrier, Protectorate hero Battery stood tense and vigilant, watching the murderous villain with a predatory hatred. Her fists balled and her suit lighting up momentarily as her power steadily charged-being ready just in case the evil cape made a move.
"Think you got a shot?"Studz asked.
"Hell naw bro."Neil grimaced,"I've seen women angry before-seen them do crazy shit while angry before-but that bitch looks like she's ready to rip that motherfucker's head off. I ain't between that."
"One of the smartest decisions you've ever made,"Studz remarked.
"Fuck you."
The two stayed quiet for a few minutes.
"This assignment is crazy."Neil sighed, wiping a hand down his face."Never ever thought we'd be dealing with shit like this."
"It's nothing like what we're used to."Studz agreed."Makes me miss picking up after natural disasters."
"Instead we gotta deal with this disaster."Neil said, his face darkening,"Worst part is, I got a feeling it's not over yet."
Neil looked through his own binoculars, seeing the ugly mangled face of Brockton Bay's most destructive villain staring off into the distance.
'And that we haven't even seen the worst of it.'He thought dreadfully.
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These shorter slowed down chapters used to bother me, but I've learned to accept them. They are necessary and help me to relax. Matter of fact, I love them!
*Eye twitch*
...really I do!
And please excuse me if I took a few liberties with Legend. His level of involvement in Cauldron affairs has always been iffy to me, so I had to make an educated guess.
Anyways, tell me what you guys thought in the reviews. Stay safe and have a good night.