Chapter 5
"WAIT!"
Nidhog's paw, a scaled and clawed mass of flesh the size of a car stopped less then a foot above Alexandria's head, the gust of wind from the paw stopping blew back the the female hero singed hair and almost knocked her back a step from the sheer pressure.
The great black dragons head turned to regard the worm who had dared to order him, his yellow eyes burning.
But then the dragon paused, and gave its best impression of a smile, its lips pulling back from rows of saber like teeth, each as long as a grown man, it paused and sniffed at the air before speaking.
Its eyes fixed on the bound form of Shadowstalker and the supersede hero Velocity.
"Well…" It purred, low in its throat, the sound vibrating the bones of those nearby. "What a lovely gift you have there, is it for me?"
Velocity snuck a quick glance at Alexandria who just shrugged. He turned back to the great black dragon who was still regarding him with those great swordlike teeth bared in a smile.
"No. She is not. She is here so that I can show that we are not taking your daughters condition lying down. So that we can show you heroes are still truly heroes, that you don't have to do this because we can do it for you."
The corpse eater snorted, a gust of warm air blowing over Velocity, the dragons skeptical expression visible plain on his scaled face.
"Really? So you are going to kill her? Impale her? Burn her until her flesh crisps and her organs liquify from the heat?"
Velocity shook his head, plainly sickened by the corpse eaters nonchalant description of a gruesome death.
"No. I will have her imprisoned, she will be sent to the Birdcage with a life sentence, she will live and die in that hell hole."
Nidhog looked at Velocity intently, the other nearby capes were all dead silent as they stood witness to the conversation between the dragon of the apocalypse and Velocity, the scent of burnt flesh with the coppery tang of blood thick in the air.
"So, you have obviously brought your prisoner here, most likely in an attempt to delay me or convince me to stop, so that Panacea can finish healing my daughter, no?"
Velocity shrugged, not seeing any point in denying the obvious.
"Got it one. We received confirmation that Panacea had arrived at the hospital a few hours ago. I was hoping that you at least give us a grace period of an hour to get Panacea here to prove to you that she had seen to you daughter."
Nidhog paused. His eyes taking in Velocity's every aspect, from his rock solid posture, the occasional twitch of his facial muscles, and the one single, solitary drop of sweat making its way down his exposed neck.
"You have 10 minutes."
The tension dissolved briefly, and then shot back as they realized that they had ten minutes to fine Panacea and get her to PRT headquarters.
Which was halfway across the city from the hospital where Herbert's daughter was.
Scene Break
Amy Dallon, also known as Panacea screamed at the top of her lungs as a gigantic dog creature jumped, bridging the gap between buildings as it raced full tilt towards the PR headquarters. She was clasping desperately onto the purple costume of Tattletale, the blond hero constantly urging the dog they were riding to move faster.
Two other dogs flanked them with the rest of the undersiders who all wore varying expressions of discontent and terror to one degree or the other.
Bitch in particular looked like she wanted to claw someones eyes out, although Tattletale had assured her that she looked at everyone like that.
She didn't know anything about that, but what she did know was that Bitch's power was absolutely terrifying, those big ass dogs just scared the crap out of her for some reason.
But what scared her more was actually meeting the person considered the first villain, she couldn't help it, but the thought of meeting Nidhog in person set butterflies of acid and fire aflutter in her stomach.
Scene Break
Piggot stole yet another sidelong glance at the five story dragon clad in black scales as it lay on the front lawn of the PR h.q, seemingly asleep. Other capes were carefully circling the great beast as time ran down.
Alexandria coughed loudly to get Piggots attention as she conspicuously didn't limped up.
"Whats the plan to get Panacea here in time?"
Piggot shrugged.
"I have Velocity and a half dozen fliers scouting the most direct routes in between here and Brockton General, but otherwise I am using the rest of the non-priority combat capes to help the evacuation of nearby houses."
Alexandria sighed.
"I suppose thats the best we're going to get,"
Piggot nodded, and then walked back into the PR headquarters, to get Sophia placed in a confident cell. Ultimately resigned to whatever happened, wether she lived, or died, consumed by black fire.
Scene Break
Nidhog was counting down the time until he would again maim and kill, and then he felt the tread of three large quadrupeds in the earth, a distinct tattoo of paw beats that soon came into auditory range. He opened one eye and watched as three dog-like creatures plowed to a stop.
A white cloaked girl that smelled of hospitals and mint almost fell of the boney dog thing in her haste to get off. She flopped to the ground, stood up on shaky legs and then quickly jogged over to me where nervously stood for a few moments before speaking.
"H-hello sir. My name is Panacea, I have just finished a first session with your daughter, I managed to solve almost all of her medical issues save her leg."
Nidhog stared the nervous girl for a few moments, mulling over her statement.
"Why have you not healed her leg?"
Panacea visibly repressed a flinch as Nidhog spoke.
"She didn't have enough Biomass for me to completely heal her, however I should be able to finish up in the next few days."
The great dragon nodded.
"Very well. You have three days. I expect her to be fully healed by then Amy Dallon of New Wave. The unwritten rules will not save you if you fail to follow through on this."
Panacea nodded hastily before she ran towards what Nidhog recognized was her sister. Nidhog then turned to Alexandria who stood nearby, one hand at her ribs.
"I wish to speak with you at the hospital. Meet me there."
Alexandria nodded before turning away to speak to other capes in hushed, intense tones.
Shrugging to himself, Nidhog stood and craned his neck, slowly breathing in and out before speaking so loudly that windows for blocks around shattered, he drove capes to their knees in agony as eardrums and eyes ruptured, and began bleeding.
"I choose to spare you on this day, Brockton Bay. I do this only because what I have demanded has been given, balancing the scales. But I give this warning. I am not done."
With that Nidhog calmly turned around and lumbered in the direction of the hospital, the ground quaking with every step.
Emily Piggot just stared as the Corpse Eater moved away. A single thought on her mind.
"Oh fuck."