Origin 1.3

The mood was somber. Maledict, Cognit and Landscape didn't have much to do with me at the best of times; now, they slept all day and were out all night.

With the 'real' heroes all out countering the Slaughterhouse, there was too much to do and too few people to do it. The Wards had been light on members for a long time now, and only Cognit could be considered battle ready.

Maledict could be devastating in the right scenario, but her ability was too unreliable to be used frequently. Landscape's ability had the opposite problem - it was powerful and reliable, but very slow. The time and resources required crippled him in direct combat.

They really, really needed me.

Unfortunately, I was stilleight, and while they were out there fighting crime and risking their lives I was stuck insecond freaking grade. Apparently Miss Militia thought that if I stayed I might be tempted tocontributeinstead of lazing around while people died horrible deaths.

"Not interested Taylor," I growled, trying to block her out with my workbook. I'd already filled the whole thing out; to my despair, the teacher forced me to hand the assignments in one at a time.

I don't know how, but I had no doubts that the Youth Guard were in some way responsible for this hell.

She scowled at me. "Don't be so mean! All I wanted to know was what you wanted for your birthday!"

My parents back.I put the workbook down and met her glare with one of my own. "I don't want anything. In fact, I wish I didn'thavea birthday. It's beenthree months- I really don'tcarethat you didn't get me a present!"

She flinched. I'd been a bit loud at the end. Some of my classmates turned to look, eyes wide.

The teacher, as usual, ignored everything I did.

"W-well, I care," she said, voice going quiet. To my alarm, her eyes were getting watery.

Damn it, I made another girl cry.

I wrestled with my pride for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, I sighed.

"Sorry," I told her. "I shouldn't have yelled."

She went from teary eyed to bright and sunny in three secondsflat. Girlwould not stay down. Taylor was like one of those weighted dolls that fell and popped back up in one smooth motion.

"I forgive you!" She beamed at me with a gap toothed smile. "We're friends after all!"

"Yeah," I said uneasily, thinking of the girl from the park. "Friends."

I lied to the teacher during the last hour of class. I told her I had 'special business' to attend to with lots of meaningful eye contact and she folded like a cheap suit. Miss Tieri flinched, then nodded rapidly, announcing to the class that I had a 'family affair' to attend to.

I walked out of class without incident.

Well, without incident for now - if she talked to Miss Militia I wassunk. Abusing my rights as a parahuman affiliated with the PRT would get me a lecture whispered of only in the seventh ring of hell.

I'd rather fight the entire Slaughterhouse than get another one of those lectures. It was one of the reasons I wasted eight perfectly good hours sleeping once a week.

Much like yesterday, the park was quiet when I arrived; however this time I had to evade the occasional patrolman. For reasons unknown, the park was closed to the public today. With my abilities, it was literally child's play to evade the patrols; still, I couldn't help but worry about my companion.

I knelt down at the pond, tossing a rock up and down. The girl from before wasn't here, and there were no new tracks. I stood, watching the trees around me carefully.

I had wondered - but no, it was probably a coincidence. I threw the rock, causing it to skip across the surface once before it slammed into a tree.

Needles fell in a green shower. I glanced at my watch.

Forty five minutes until the PRT figured out I wasn't at the school. If I went back now, chances were my friend wouldn't show up anyways. I sighed, then began the long trek back.

"Josh!"

I turned towards the voice, mouth forming into a smile I couldn't quite help.

The girl from before was sprinting up to me, long blonde hair flying everywhere. The moment she stepped into the mud, her feet betrayed her. She let out a cry of alarm and slipped forward, still going at full speed. I caught her almost reflexively, whirling her around to disguise the way momentum dispersed from my telekinetic field.

"'Allo mystery girl," I said, grinning at her. She grinned back. "So you snuck out, huh? Didn't think you'd make it."

"Almost didn't," she said, settling onto her own feet. "S-My aunt almost caught me. I onlyjustgot away!"

I laughed. "Well, to preserve your cover we'd best not dunk each other in the pond. Come on."

The park had a fairly small playground, but since we were the only ones there a pair of swings was just perfect. Twice, we played impromptu games of hide and seek while patrols went past. They were surprisingly prevalent today. Still, after the first two they stopped coming completely.

At last, I glanced at my PRT approved watch and grimaced. "I have to go."

"Oh," she said, slowing down on her swing. "Okay then."

"Maybe tomorrow?" I asked, leaping off mine with an impressive (and completely mundane) leap. I made a small explosion of wood shavings when I landed.

"Right," she said unconvincingly, voice forlorn, "maybe."

"I -" Couldn't chicken out here. This was likely to be my only opportunity. Still, I hesitated; I had my suspicions, but confirmation might be worse than not knowing. "Uh -"

Heartbeat, twenty five meters behind me. A teleporter, or maybe a cloaking ability? No - Occam's razor; I simply hadn't been listening. I resisted the urge to turn and look.

"Sothisis where Bonesaw went off to in such a hurry," a man's voice rang out, tone suave and triumphant. My hands curled into fists all by themselves. "Siberian's been worried sick you know. Oh, and what's this? You've made afriend!"

Locked in a shelter all alone; his parents lied to him from day one.

Riley flinched and took a step back."I've - I've been good, Jack! I was going to come right back! I just - I wanted to say goodbye!"

Her reaction told me everything I needed to know. I turned, trying to immolate him with my eyes.

Unfortunately, heat vision wasnotone of my talents.

Too bad.

"Soyou'reUncle Jack," I said, shoving Josh somewhere he wouldn't get in the way; there was no time to be eight, not now. He didn'tlookterrifying - he actually reminded me superficially of one of my cousins. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and was wearing a wrinkled button up - business casual, if not for the bloodstained right sleeve. "I've heard a lot about you from my guardian."

"Have you now?" A spark seemed to light in his eye. It was easy to forget that this man was a mass murderer."Someone I know?"

He tortured her by bringing her parents to the brink of death, then having her heal them.

"You haven't met," I promised him. "She'd have put a bullet in your head."

I could almost see the mental calculus being performed. "Ah, I remember - the one with the flag scarf. Miss Militia - one of the few capes who've survived longer than Alexandria. Bonesaw, have you been making hero friends? Doesn't sound like you've been a good girl to me."

He did it over and over, again and again until she broke.

She shook her head frantically, looking terrified - not for herself, I realized. She was looking at me.

Her mother told her to be good. It was the last thing she -

Wood chips hummed around my feet, the building energy feeding through them uncontrollably.

"Her name," I said, voice going cold, "isRiley."

His lips thinned. Apparently, I wasn't playing by his script. His eyes flicked to Riley, a knife appearing in his hand as if by magic. "Being bad means I'll have to punish you. Of course, you know I care too much to hurt you, we're afamilyafter all - so, I'll just have to get rid of theproblem."

He punctuated the last word with a swift flick of his knife.

My collar split on either side of my throat. I looked down, pulling the ends apart with mild irritation. Riley let out a terrified squeak and covered her eyes, as though she expected me to collapse without a head.

"This was my favorite shirt," I told him. Next time I was in combat, I'd have to extend the field more evenly to protect my clothing.

Jack's eyes went wide. He blinked rapidly for a moment, then a malicious smile broke out on his face. "Interesting. I'd have never been able to tell you were a cape yourself - not even abruise! What do you think, Bonesaw - should we bring him with us?"

He used her for years, turning her Tinker specialty to horrific pursuits; she did whatever he wanted, and he never let her go.

I took a step forward.

He watched me, eyes growing wary and heartbeat speeding up. Despite my sudden proximity, he didn't move back an inch.

Anger thrummed deep in my chest, sudden and powerful, twisting my face into a hateful snarl.

I could banter with him all I wanted, but this man didn't respect banter - at best, you'd be an actor on his stage, performing your role splendidly before bowing out at a dramatic moment.

Fuck subtle banter.

"I'minteresting, huh? You know what I'd findinteresting?" I asked, baring my teeth. My next step tore up a spray of bark chips."Reaching down your throat, then hanging you from astreet lamp with ypur spine!"

If anyone says I don't have issues, feel free to laugh at them. Then, point them in the direction of a psychiatrist - preferably mine.

Jack flinched. It could have been the volume, or the proximity to a high class brute, or even just the sheer creativity involved in the threat, but it was definitely there.It wasn't a major flinch - it was less in his face and more an involuntary muscle movement in the legs. Still, I saw it, and he knew it.

Jack's eyes went hard. Playtime was over. We were officially off the set; no one who saw Jack show weakness could be allowed to live. The Slaughterhouse lived and breathed reputation. Without it, they were just another band of two bit villains.

"Hatchet Face," he said calmly, knife gripped tightly in one hand, "restrain him."

Powerful, burly arms reached around me. I didn't bother resisting, letting him pull me off the ground. Riley watched from the side, eyes horrified and despairing. There was no uncertainty in them; this had played out before, and she knew exactly how it ended.

I couldn't help but feel an irrational pang of betrayal - she couldn't havewarned me?

Jack took a few long steps back, presumably getting out of Hatchet Face's range.

Suppression field might be modular to a point, allowing expansion and contraction to fit a scenario.

Now that I knew he was nearby, I could feel the drain - like a straw trying to suck up the entirety of Jupiter. Despite his proximity, I couldn't hear a heartbeat.

I scowled. Apparently Riley had started her modifications on at least a few of the Nine early; either that or Hatchet Face's biology was weirder than Crawler's.

The evil smile was back - Jack had the upper hand again. Even Hatchet face was leering unpleasantly. Riley just trembled.

"See," Jack said, pacing lightly back and forth like a scolding schoolteacher, "you don't seem to understand the situation here. We're the Slaughterhouse Nine. You don't threaten the Slaughterhouse. I was going to just kill you, maybe slit your throat for the Wards to find, but now I think I've been challenged to be inventive. What did you say - by your own spine?"

Hatchet Face grabbed the back of my head, then began to squeeze. I could almost feel his puzzlement when nothing broke. He redoubled his efforts, grunting, trying to dig his fingers in, trying to doanything;nothing produced any progress whatsoever. I was blocking his efforts absolutely.

I began to pull myself, falling slowly back down to the ground. He heaved, trying to lift me, but failed and settled for a tight choke hold.

Hah. Like I needed to breathe anymore.

"You know," I said, smiling an unpleasant smile of my own, "there's a little thing you didn't take into account."

Jack narrowed his eyes, but didn't ask. Instead, he took a step back.

Petty genre-savvyassholecouldn't let me haveoneawesome moment.

I reached up with one arm and grasped Hatchet Face's hand. He let out a surprised grunt as I performed a sloppy judo throw with absolutelyzeroleverage, my field extending to give physics the middle finger.

Something struck me in the forehead, then in the back, but I ignored the feather light feeling and the man who was making them. My shirt spontaneously morphed into a mummy's rags, but at that point something as base as dignity was very far beneath my notice.

Jack switched weapons, simply dropping the knife. His new instrument was an awl, narrower and more pointed than the blade from before. The hits from it stung a bit more than the others, but the pain was still barely there.

"See," I said, baring my teeth again as I prevented Hatchet Face from moving with one foot. He struck back intelligently - aiming for my knee, for my ankle, for the leg pinning him down, but I didn't even twitch. He tried to shove me off balance, exerting his larger frame by doing this weird twisting trick with his legs, but that failed too. I had him - he wasn't getting away. "I was justimaginingthe conversation I would have with Riley's family, and I got alittle angry."

I brought my other leg down with concrete shattering force.

Hatchet Face's head, tough as it was, wasnotconcrete.

Fun fact of the day, I can keep blood from soaking my clothes with enough forewarning. Hatchet Face's head didn't quite explode, but things definitely crunched and flattened.I looked back at Jack, murder in my eyes, andlunged.

Jack rolled to the side in one smooth motion, but he just wasn'tfastenough; one trailing ankle remained in my path.

It was abadplace to be.

The ankle snapped with a loudcrack,the remaining force enough to send Jack spinning in a quick, humiliating circle. To his credit, he didn't cry out; his only reaction was a tightening around his eyes. He crawled backwards, still using only his left arm.

I turned, feeling another strike of the awl try to pierce my eye. I didn't bother blinking. He laughed, a long, manic sound, and dropped the awl for the knife once more.

This is not an exit.

"No way out," I told him, taking another step forward. I hesitated - capture or kill?

He ended the world last time; he did it from captivity.

"You won't hurt anyone else again." I promised him.

He smiled. His face was gashed from the bark, and blood was dripping into his teeth; he didn't seem to mind. "You win, kid. You're strong, you're vicious - but you aren'tme."

Then he made a quick motion with the knife; I almost laughed at the futility of the gesture, then I realized he wasn't aiming at me. I tried to move in between them, but Jack's power transcended petty things like space and time. Despite all my speed and all my strength, the blow connected.

The invisible edge struck Riley on the side of her neck.

She fell like a lost puppet.

"No!"

The worldfrozeas I moved faster than I'd ever moved before in one desperate lunge. The air congealed; moving at this speed, it barely had time to get out of the way.

Blood began to flow, a quick, vital stream. She let out a choking, gurgling cry and collapsed even as I reached down and applied pressure to the gash.

Jack laughed again. I glanced between them for a moment, then cursed and looked back to Riley. Crimson droplets welled up between my fingertips, but I didn't have time to wipe my hands off.

This isn't over. Not by a long shot.

I had one chance at doing this and less than a couple seconds to try.

He'd done this on purpose - even without his shard sense working on my powers,even working on guesswork, he'd known I would choose Riley over retaliation. A plan of action formed as my brain worked at light speed.

I reached out with my senses, feeling for the ruptured artery, then gripped it with my field. There was a delicate balance between strength and pressure - the edges had to be pulled and glued together, but in such a way that I didn't make the damage worse.

I had never done it successfully; preliminary testing on fruit had made fruit salad, and the stakes had never been higher. I stilled my mind and accelerated my thoughts. I had to do it, and I had to do it right the first time - there were no do overs with Riley's life.

I twitched two fingers; I performed it perfectly and with precision. The two neatly severed edges met, forming a seamless whole, and Iheld themthat way.

The blood flow stopped instantly, the flood of red subsiding to a mere trickle. I breathed a sigh of relief and stood, lifting her with me as I did. Riley was unconscious - she needed urgent medical attention. The school was too far; my clamp was only as perfect as I was, and we'd still have to wait for the ambulance to arrive.

I turned back to Jack, sheltering Riley with my body, only to find he had passed out. He was unconscious - injured, defenseless. I glanced at Riley, then took a step towards him.

If I had to kill him with Riley in my arms, so be it. Jackcould not win.

A woman in black and white stepped out of the trees behind them. I froze; I knew exactly who she was. We stared at one another for a long moment as she assessed the situation, obviously making the same choice I had.

"I'll be back for her," she promised, walking calmly to Jack and lifting him. She had no heartbeat, I noticed numbly. "You won't take her from me again."

I could have fought her. I didn't know which power was stronger; she'd taken out Alexandria's eye, but I'd be willing to test it at least once.

I could fight her - but I couldn't do it holding Riley.

Kill Jack, save the world - and let Riley die.

If I fought, I'd need both hands, and Riley would bleed out.

There was only one choice I could make.

I let the Siberian leave, Jack cradled in her arms like the world's ugliest baby.

I'll get back to saving the world later.

A regular hospital was out; I didn't want to draw the Siberian to a hospital full of civilians. The PRT infirmary was my best bet, but I didn't know Riley's status - if she was recognized and had a kill order on her head already, she would be shot out of hand.

I needed Hannah, and I needed hernow.

I began to run.