The area stood silent for a moment as Johnny Crimson made its proclamation, the murderous aura come off it standing in a stark contradiction to the righteous fury that the Bludgoning Angel could offput with its ability. Through my connection I could see the PRT agents backing off, some of the ones with stronger wills even going so far as to raise their weapons.
"Stand down, we can get him treatment right away but this isn't going to help anyone." Armsmaster stepped forward and another thing I had buried in my heart exploded forward.
The Undersiders and myself had taken out Lung, and Stetson had taken down Oni Lee, but Armsmaster had taken the full credit for both of them under the guise of 'protecting' me. But I had seen how he had drinken the praise in from their defeat, and heard the news stations speaking nothing but positively about him. It had taken time to accept it because part of me had been unwilling to admit that someone whom I had idolized for so many years had taken advantage of me.
My negative feelings seemed to connect with the doll who simply laughed in a low tone. "It must feel nice playing the hero in front of so many people, but no. You aren't taking one more step toward the two of them. But enough about that." Johnny Crimson raised its hand with an open palm toward the heroes, only for Shadow Stalker appeared in front of the doll, her body language conveying confusion at the sudden movement.
"Let's punish you." The doll tightened its hand into a fist before sticking one finger out, slashing out his hand as if drawing a line in the air between itself and Shadow Stalker's arm. It was a movement that didn't come close to touching the Ward, but all the same the arm that she had the crossbow in fell, detached from her body at the shoulder as a scream I couldn't have imagined coming out from her the day she had followed me across town tore loose from her throat.
The heroes burst into action, but before they could get a step further Johnny Crimson grabbed Shadow Stalker by the hood and pulled her in front of itself. "And of course there is something very important that has to be done," I saw Shadow Stalker try to enter into her breaker state, but with a slight draw of power Johnny Crimson was able to deny the attempt, causing her to stay physical. "You're in my zone, and all things that live within my radius are lambs to the slaughter. Now then," the doll turned toward me, and for the first time since he had been hit I looked up.
"Let go of me!" Shadow Stalker struggled against the strength of the doll, even with her bleeding stump she tried to put forward strength to break free.
"May I introduce you to what this city calls a hero," Johnny Crimson's free hand came to Shadow Stalker's mask, and with a slight push of force it shattered under its grip, revealing…
"Sophia." The name escaped my lips, I knew I wasn't mistaken, even in this barely lit section of the city I could tell who she was. So many emotions poured through my mind, confusion, hurt, anger, so many things swirling together that all I could do was scream.
The PRT was supposed to be the good guys, the Ward's training to be heroes under them. But right here I could see the truth, Sophia Hess, the girl who had made my life a living hell, who had isolated me from everyone and nearly driven me to madness was part of a group that was touted as heroes.
This was all too much, it felt like everything was hanging by a string but now I could at least focus. Sophia, who had taken everything from me once had tried to shoot me, had hit someone who had used his body to save me. There was a chance to save him if I could get to Riley, but I couldn't focus on the Dollhouse, it felt like my connection was behind a deep mist rather than the quick and easy access I usually had.
I couldn't let her take anything else away. I didn't want to lose everything to her.
"You don't have to say a word, dear puppeteer. Tonight everything is paid back in full, all debts are paid with blood!" the manic voice of Johnny Crimson boomed over the area.
But before he could make another move an unexpected savior appeared for Sophia, appearing in a burst of speed and landing a punch that threw Johnny Crimson back, dropping the girl into his waiting arms.
"Come on, are you going to count me out that quickly," Skidmark stepped back, that same power at his feet as he disappeared behind the PRT lines and tossed her aside.
Despite being obviously confused at the turn of events the heroes didn't waste a moment charging forward or launching attacks from afar toward the doll. However before any ranged attack could touch Johnny Crimson they changed direction, veering either wildly off course or into the air. "Hm, I thought things smelled shitty here, how deep are your tendrils in this?" the doll's voice projected fury from it as it pulled itself up.
There was no response from Skidmark, but Armsmaster was the first to close the distance and bring down his Halbert on the doll, only for Johnny Crimson to raise a single finger, causing it to pause only a few centimeters from its form. "Get out of my way, faker!" with a push of its hand Armamster was sent flying back as if struck by the force of a vehicle.
Johnny Crimson- Absolute Slaughter Type: Area Control
This doll possesses the ability to create an 'area of control' over which it can 'pull' objects toward it with an open palm, 'push' objects with variable power depending on the number of fingers used, or 'cut' objects at a close range with a slashing motion. While within the 'area of control' the total power necessary to use its abilities are reduced. A secondary doll is contained within but should only be activated in the event of an emergency.
Warning: As an Absolute Slaughter Type little to no regard will be placed between civilians and enemy combatants.
"You're all so weak, is that what passes for 'heroes' around here?" Johnny Slaughter quickly moved back as Battery suddenly appeared near it, the bumper of one of the PRT vehicles in her hands like a bat being swung down on the area the doll had been standing in moments ago.
"It's a bad idea to discount us just because you threw Armsy around." Assault ran in from the opposite side, aiming a fist at the doll while moving at near blinding speeds. "Then again, it wouldn't be the first bad idea you've had tonight."
"Oh really?" Johnny Crimson raised a finger toward Assault, sending forth a lance of force at the hero. But instead of flying away it simply seemed to charge Assault, and the punch that was landed left a dent in the doll's metal body.
"Looks like I'm a terrible match up for you." Assault moved forward again, however Johnny Crimson moved back from the next attack, holding its palm out and pulling Battery toward it, tossing her toward Assault.
"Shit!" Assault had to quickly pull down his fist before he hit his partner, only for Johnny Crimson to blast Battery in the back and send them both flying away.
Johnny Crimson let out a laugh. "All of you at once this time, let's make this fun!"
The PRT heroes all focused on him, Miss Militia launching large caliber rounds from her weapon, Assault, Battery, and Velocity landing blows on and off using their speed, and Armsmaster using the various distractions to try and land blows with his halberd with the skill that most expected from a lifelong cape.
It was a battle on a level that would be either awe inspiring or terrifying to most who saw it, but with Grue's body in my arms I couldn't bring myself to properly care. I couldn't bring myself to be properly aware one way or the other, my mind an utter blank only just hanging onto the reality of things around me.
Which made what happened next all the more surreal.
"Move your hand away from the sound, I can fix this."
The voice was the last one I expected to hear in this place, but all the same my eyes drew up to look at her face.
Amy had a look of pure concentration on her face, promptly deciding to remove my arms away herself before putting a hand on Grue's back and focusing. "Okay, just need to focus."
I watched as Grue's body began to move in an unnatural way, the arrow slowly pushing itself out of his body as flesh and skin knit itself back together under Amy's touch, her face tightened until eventually dark skin replaced the open wound. "I had to take a bit from his fat and muscle stores in order to rebuild, the arrow nicked his spine but I was able to repair it as well. Give him a few hours of rest and he'll be fine."
I looked at her without words, my mind still spinning at the fact she was here of all places, now of all times.
"Don't you think that's enough?" Amy put a hand on me and turned my focus to the heroes, who were all pinned to the ground by Jonny Crimson, applying an impossible amount of force to them. Even Assault seemed to strain against it, only able to keep up on a single knee but not dropping. "Taylor, it's okay now."
The sound of my name snapped the world back into focus for me, and I realized just what I had let happen because of my panic and rage. "Stop!" I shouted out toward Johnny Crimson, my connection to the doll strengthening as I forced myself back into control.
The doll lowered its hand and the heroes seemed to relax, though I could hear panting coming from a great many of them.
"You'll just let them get away, why not finish them now and take it all?" Johnny Crimson's voice rang out in a bellow, and I could feel the connection strain as the sheer disconnect between its mind and my will clashed.
"Because I have to be better." maybe the PRT weren't the shining beacons I had imagined them to be. Maybe someone awful like Shadow Stalker was free to be a Ward, maybe Armmaster stole credit because it was 'too dangerous' for me. But Assault had taken me seriously when I told him about my situation, Battery and drove me home after a long day, and Miss Militia had tried to treat me as an equal instead of causing the incidents to explode outward.
There was silence for a moment, and I thought that I could manage to take control of the situation.
Until a halberd blade pierced through the doll from behind. "Oops." Skidmark laughed from behind. "Were we all done here?"
I felt my control over Johnny Crimson shatter like glass being tossed against a wall as more blood was drawn for me to power it.
Shadows exploded out from the doll's metal body, inky black mixing into the already dimly lit area like semi-solid shadows. One of the shadows formed a claw, piercing straight through Skidmark's chest and ripping out his stomach as if it were made of paper mache.
A scream rang out but I couldn't make out whose, though it was feminine and slightly far away, tinged afterward by enough curses to fill out an entire page of a book. But despite myself I couldn't focus on that, because a message appeared in my mind that shook me further to my core.
Reality break detected, scans confirm presence of Third Cause.
A bubbling laugh escaped from Skidmark as he pulled himself back up, the blood and gore that had been ripped out of his body just moments ago being pulled back into his stomach like a magnet pulling metal toward itself. "Close, but not close enough." The villain looked at the various heroes getting back to their feet and the shadow like being before deciding to cut his losses.
"Well, you can only try right?" Skidmark turned and activated his power, most likely to make his escape from the situation. Before he could, however , a hand shot out from the ground and gripped his leg, causing the villain to tumble face first into the ground with a harsh smack.
"Like hell," Battery pulled herself on top of him and drove a knee into Skidmark's back pulling his arms behind him. She turned to look at the shadow like being and Johnny Crimson, as if waiting for them to make some move.
However before they could I ran forward and put myself between the doll and the hero, my arms outstretched. I wouldn't let anyone else get hurt.
But I was surprised once more as the darkness knocked me aside just as a tendril burst forth from Skidmark's body, piercing through Battery's side and aimed at my chest. The inky black creature, as it had formed into a more humanoid shape instead of just a mass of dark, gripped it between clawed fingers, digging itself into the meat of the tendril.
My first thought when looking at it was something akin to a worm, fleshy and writhing, wet with blood and other fluids. It struggled against the shadows grip, but found no release from its strength. Then throughout the tendril's form a black fluid began to appear under its skin, causing it to cease activity before turning to nothing but dust.
Amy ran past me and toward Battery, placing a hand on Skidmark's fallen body and hers, Assault quickly ran over as well to check on his partner, begging for her to be alright. After what felt like hours Amy let out a breath and said she would need rest, but that nothing vital had been hit.
I pulled myself into a sitting position and drew in a few breaths, trying to steady myself before another message appeared.
Reality break sealed, Third Cause infection destroyed.
I let out a small laugh at that, looking toward the doll and the shadow. "Thank you," even with the chaos that had been caused I couldn't deny that without them things could have gone worse. Skidmark was down and so was the Third Cause, or at least a sliver of it. I would have to tell Stetson about what had happened as soon as possible.
"What was that?" Armmaster demanded, standing over me with a look of fury on his face.
"Something we need to talk about," I stood up, watching as the hero's body tensed, readying himself for an attack. With a thought I had the Dollhouse send back Johnny Crimson and the shadow it projected, feeling myself become light headed as the powerdrain finally hit me in full. "But not today."
"Like hell-" before he could finish, however Miss Militia put a hand on his shoulder, giving the hero pause for a moment.
"Tomorrow at the Protectorate Headquarters." it wasn't quite a question, but also didn't seem as harsh as an order.
I gave a nod and looked toward Amy. "Keep her safe would you?"
Miss Militia seemed surprised for a moment before giving a smile. "That's what we do."
With all that said I turned and walked over to Grue's sleeping form, putting a hand on him and teleporting both of us to the Dollhouse. Riley ran down from her room and looked over the two of us for a moment before giving a sigh. "It's never easy with you is it?"
In response I did the only thing I had any power to do at the moment, and passed out on the floor.
When I woke up I found myself on a bed within one of the many rooms of the Dollhouse, a note left for me by Riley that she had looked over Grue before he had woken up, panicked at the sight of her, and had to be knocked out in order to prevent him from causing any harm. Which was another situation I was probably going to have to figure out sooner rather than later. But I had other business to attend to first.
"Dollhouse, connect me to Stetson."
Confirmed.
For a moment nothing happened, so I simply took time to adjust myself in the bed I had been put down in before his image appeared at the edge of the bed. "You've certainly seen better days, haven't you?" Stetson's voice was as calm as ever, but I could tell from the joke that he was concerned.
"Yeah," I began to tell him of what had happened that night, both my loss of control and the odd behavior of the Merchants, and finally the thing that had burst out of Skidmark and attempted to end my life. "And then I woke up in bed, Riley must have gotten a Mass Production Doll to carry me."
"She is thoughtful like that," I could tell that Stetson was worried but trying not to show it. "The Third Cause was likely testing the waters against you, seeing how you react and your level of skill. This won't be the last time you will face that thing."
"At least I have experience watching my own back." The fact that it could infect people and keep itself hidden unless they were wounded was going to be a pain to deal with, especially if it got to someone close to me. Thankfully I at least had my anonymity at the moment, so I wouldn't have to worry about my dad.
"I can return to you if you wish for me to, but I worry that it will draw more of their attention to your city before you are ready to properly defend it." Stetson looked at me for a moment, putting the decision on my shoulders.
I wanted to ask him to come back, to teach me all the things I still wanted to know and just to have someone I could fully put my trust in at my back. But at the same time having both of us in one place would inevitably draw more of the focus of our enemies. Even with the Merchants gone I couldn't afford to think that things would just magically become better, not with the other two gangs and Coil still standing.
"I'll be okay," I knew my voice lacked confidence, but I tried to show it in my eyes at least that I would do my best. "If I got scared that easy, I would have quit by now."
"Thata girl." Stetson looked to the side for a moment. "We have so much more to talk about, but at the moment I'm hunting down three very interesting troublemakers. I'll contact you again soon."
The image of Stetson disappeared behind my eyes as I fell back to the bed, wanting to just go back to sleep and hope that things would get better when I woke up. But before I could even put thought into the idea my phone rang from the side of my bed, displaying Lisa's name at the front. I quickly answered and spoke. "Grue and I are safe at the Dollhouse." there was more to say of course, but it felt like a good start at least.
"Oh, good." Lisa let out a small sigh of relief before speaking once more, a serious tone in her voice. "But you aren't going to believe this."
I paused for a moment and listened to what she had to say, my breath freezing in my lungs. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, check your phone later for the pictures. Oh and make sure Grue gets back in one piece or his sister might kill us." Lisa hung up and I was left looking at my phone as a message appeared.
With a quick press I opened it, looking at the picture in front of me with no small amount of confusion.
The face of Amy looked back at me from a crowded street standing next to a man I didn't recognize, the photo's origin being Boston according to the message right under it, having been taken just the night before. Apparently it had gone up on the internet just long enough for Lisa's programs to catch it before vanishing without a trace.
"What is going on?" I muttered to myself. And of course, the silence of the Dollhouse provided no answer.
And that brings us to the end of Babel, which of course means it's going to be time for a slight intermission.
Rest and Relaxation- Amy has been getting the most restful sleep of her life, and all it took was being kidnapped.
Meaning of the Name- Canary has questions for Stetson, which he is more than happy to answer.
Aloha - Alexandria has had to say goodbye to so many people, but somehow she never thought she would get the chance to say hello to this one again.
After that we will be picking up the next arc, with Taylor's enemies moving in the shadows around her and the PRT more wary then ever she will be tasked with trying to maintain her sanity in a world trying to take it away.
So wait for the next arc, Prometheus.