Warning, this chapter contains some (not quite S9 level) graphic depictions of violence. This is a Worm fic after all. Please read at your own discretion.

Splash 1.5

Sunday, 8:12pm, April 24th, 2005

After yesterday's outing and a late night - spent designing my new Peregrine, and the early workings of my new 'Data Knife' arrowhead - I hadn't woken up until around 10:30 this morning. Sam was long gone for work by then, and I knew he wouldn't be back until the evening, so I decided I might as well head straight for my workshop after breakfast.

My speculation thread on PHO had erupted overnight, with dozens of people arguing over just about every imaginable aspect of who exactly Parthian might be. Some had latched onto the idea I was a villain, and that the explosion was a failed attack on the Atlas HQ; others were screaming at me for more info on the building beneath it, believing that I had some kind of inside source or might be a whistleblower. A handful of them were dismissive, claiming it was all a publicity stunt and that I might not even be a real cape. More than anything, people just seemed to want to know more about Sydney's newest cape, and that put a pretty big smile on my face.

I'd been debating on the way to the lab whether I should lay low for a while, after last night's excitement - keep working on the Data Knife, upgrade the Peregrine further. The prospect of patrolling again tonight won out, though. With an already-finished design to work from, and enough spare drone parts lying around to scrap and reassemble, it only took me a few hours to get the Peregrine up and running again, after all - so I ended up having little time to spend working on designs anyway, until evening rolled around.

By 8pm I had the beginnings of a workable prototype, with my main issue currently being the delivery mechanism. Launching the arrow with the Data Knife payload was easy enough, but having it impact softly enough to not destroy the knife - without sacrificing all my penetration power in the process - had me a little stumped for the time being. I had plenty of possible concepts rolling around, but none of them really fleshed out yet. I'd have to spend some time just following the possibilities and see what seemed more feasible… But tonight wasn't the time for that.

I suited up, grabbing my costume from my car - having brought it back with me from my apartment - and got partially dressed, fitting everything but the helmet, cape, and gloves. As I checked my security cameras to see if anyone was around, it occurred to me that I could take off from my workshop if I wanted. There was a ladder with an access hatch to the roof, for ventilation maintenance, and the air conditioning units up there would offer solid cover from anyone who happened to be looking.

Rational paranoia told me no, that I shouldn't risk revealing the location of my workshop… But logically, the risk was minimal. The block of industrial units where my workshop was located was almost completely dark in the evenings, and there were next to no other businesses nearby that would still have people working at this time of day. On top of that, the Lightreach was near completely silent, and it gave off no light when in hoverboard configuration. If I took off fast enough, I'd be little more than a dark spot against a dark sky.

I checked the security cameras again to make sure no-one was around and then pulled on my cape, gloves and helmet. Then I checked the security cameras one more time. As satisfied as I could make myself that there was nobody around, I mounted the Peregrine to its mag-locks on the back of my armour and grabbed the Lightreach from the boot of my car. One diagnostics check later and I was ascending the ladder to the rooftop hatch.

I stepped out into the crisp night air and hunched low between the air conditioning units to hide myself from view. It had been an overcast day, and the clouds still hung low in the sky, blocking out the stars and making things all the more suitable for a rooftop launch. I mounted the Lightreach and accelerated away, sticking low to the tops of the surrounding buildings for a few blocks before angling upwards into the sky. If anyone happened to be looking, or if I managed to get picked up on radar somehow, they wouldn't have seen me until I was well clear of my workshop.

I kept my speed down a bit, due to the reduced visibility brought on by low cloud cover that saw me bathed in the fluorescent and neon lights of Sydney's CBD after just a few minutes of travel. Looking out over the city below, I tuned my comms to the police dispatch radio and began to listen in. I reached behind me and pulled the Peregrine free of its mount, tossing it up in the air and watching as its hard-light wings flashed into existence. I ordered it to loiter a few thousand feet up, circling in a one-kilometre radius around me and keeping its cameras on my position.

I dropped down to a few hundred feet and began flying along at a steady pace, doing loops around some of the major streets of the CBD while telescoping in to do some people-watching and keeping an ear out for the radio. Plenty visible at my current altitude, the occasional shout and whoop came my way from the pedestrians below as I passed overhead.

Much to my chagrin, the first hour passed by uneventfully, then the second. Police chatter started to pick up around 11pm, but it was mostly just reports of drunken disorderliness, angry homeless people, and the like. As condescending as that moderator had been, I would have killed for a petty thief or a cat stuck up a tree right now.

Not every patrol is eventful, I guess… That's supposed to be a good thing, right?

I roamed the streets from above for another 20 minutes before a fresh report finally came across the PD radio.

"Patrol units near Central, be advised - we have reports of a code thirty-six at a convenience store near Barlow and George. Suspect is male, average height, in loose dark clothing with a buzz cut and allegedly wielding a bladed weapon."

Code 36… That's a robbery!

"This is unit one-four responding," said a new voice. "Heading to scene now. We'll attempt to apprehend suspect as they leave the scene to avoid escalation."

I checked my GPS and started searching for the intersection in question. The moment I had it, I took off as fast as I could. Bobbing and weaving between the buildings felt a lot less stressful when I wasn't fleeing from Sentinel's probes, and I arrived at the location in just under two minutes. There were a few different small shops along the street corner when I arrived, so rather than try to guess which store was the target, I set the Peregrine to start scanning my vicinity for two things: any unsheathed, bladed weapons; and anyone running away from the intersection.

I angled down towards the intersection and set down on a building with a flat roof, just a few storefronts away from the intersection proper. Three of the shops at the intersection fit the bill for what could be considered a convenience store - the dispatcher had been frustratingly unspecific. Cautiously and quietly, I stepped up to the edge of the roof and called the Lightreach to my hand. I felt the familiar 'thunk' as the anti-grav generators switched to bow configuration and the hard-light projectors hummed to life, forming the bowstring while I drew a snare arrowhead from my bandolier and mounted it on the shelf.

It was eerily normal as I looked down. No crowd was forming, there was no-one screaming and shouting or running in terror. From my point of view, everyone was just going about their usual business.

Am I too late? No, surely not…

As I continued to watch, I heard the sound of police sirens in the distance, gradually growing louder. In the eerie quiet, I put a foot up on the lip of the roof and drew back on the bowstring. The shaft for the arrow flashed into existence - already nocked - and I went as still as I possibly could, letting the Lightreach's internal mechanisms hold the weight of the draw. I strained my ears to make out any noise, maximising the overlay of the Peregrine's camera in one lens of my helmet, in order to keep an eye on both of our vantage points at the same time.

The Peregrine suddenly chirped at me with an alert, its cameras zooming in and highlighting someone leaving a convenience store across the road. The person turned to walk in the opposite direction of the approaching sirens, one hand tucked into the pocket of a dark and baggy hoodie and a backpack slung over their shoulder. Their face was concealed at the Peregrine's current angle, with the hood covering their head.

It didn't take years of enforced etiquette and social tutoring to read this guy like a book; he was nervous, in bold font and all caps. His head was turning back and forth like he was looking out for something, and yet he always avoided looking back in the direction of the sirens - which were now close enough that I could see the flashing lights travelling up one of the streets.

Some more chatter came over the PD radio just as two very distressed looking individuals stepped out of the same convenience store Hoodie had just left, stumbling onto the street to wave down the incoming patrol car.

That was enough for me to make the call.

Time for that field test.

No warning. No mercy. No ambiguity. I loosed the snare arrow at Hoodie.

The arrow flew true, bursting in mid-air behind him with a pop like a firecracker, sending a tangle of wires that ensnared him in a split second, coiling around his limbs and torso. Hoodie let out a surprised shout, falling to his side on the ground with a dull thud.

Field test, Target Arresting Munition: successful.

"Hey! What the fuck?!" Hoodie shouted.

I ignored his protest and started scanning the rest of the area, watching through Peregrine's feed as well to see if anyone else was acting suspicious. There were a number of shocked gasps and shouts in reaction to the sudden and aggressive apprehension of the otherwise unsuspecting bystander, and one person darted over - seemingly to check if Hoodie was okay, though he didn't get too close. As all this was happening, the police car pulled up outside the store and one of the officers disembarked to begin conversing with the two presumed victims.

I stayed standing right against the edge of the rooftop, looking down. I toggled my helmet zoom and took a much closer look at my suspect, observing how he was reacting to the police presence. Hoodie's hood had fallen back during his tumble, and now that he was lying on the ground, I could see his hair matched the buzz cut description. His hand was still in his hoodie pocket, trying to pull something from it, but the cables of the snare kept his arms firmly in place.

I grabbed another snare arrowhead and held it loosely in hand in case he somehow managed to break free; there I waited for the police to finish talking with the two people from the store. The pair continued talking to the officer and one gestured down the street in the direction Hoodie had been moving. There was a brief pause as the moment of realisation came, followed by some frantic hand gesturing, and then a flash of lights and sirens from the patrol car before it began rolling down the street to where Hoodie was lying bound on the ground.

I double checked my radio, making sure I was still listening on the dispatch to see if they would call it in. It seemed like they had it under control. I took a moment to kind of... shift my pose a little bit, to look... a bit more heroic. Just in case anyone had noticed me and started filming or taking photos or something.

There was some radio chatter as the other officer got out of the patrol car and confirmed that Hoodie was indeed the perpetrator, and that he was being taken into custody. The first cop and the two victims were now looking around the vicinity, presumably trying to spot whoever was responsible for capturing Hoodie. Another bit of chatter came over the radio asking if any Atlas or other capes had been spotted in the area.

C'mon, guys. I'm right here. Just look up!

I turned around, looking for the HUD marker indicating the otherwise impossible-to-spot at this distance Peregrine and then looked directly at it as I flashed it a peace sign. I sent it a signal to dump its VIS camera cache to disk, saving a recording of the events. Nobody saw what happened in real time, but maybe PHO would appreciate my work.

I turned back to the street, lowering the Lightreach to my side and putting a hand on my hip. I contemplated clearing my throat to draw attention to myself, but decided that was probably beneath me.

I'm not that desperate for recognition. Besides, surely they'll look up soon?

I waited for what felt like another five minutes as they continued glancing about, utterly stumped and ignorant of the world's Z-axis. The officer who'd gotten out of the car first took statements from the two victims, while occasionally checking his radio for any information about the 'elusive' hero. The other officer carefully disarmed Hoodie of the large kitchen knife he had stuffed in his front pocket, and then awkwardly began lifting the crook to his feet.

I expressed my disappointment with a quick "tsk", turning on the spot and taking a few steps before mounting the Lightreach once again.

Ahh well. Recognition will come later.

I hovered forwards and upwards a little bit, watching as the officers loaded Hoodie into the back of the patrol car. I waited for them to leave before taking back off into the sky to return to my patrol. I didn't have to wait long for something new to grab my attention.

"Units in the Mosman area be advised and on alert," the dispatch radio came to life again. "We've just received reports of a Code thirty-seven and ShotSpotters confirm origin point to be somewhere between Military and Middle Head."

Gunshots. In Sydney?

The National Firearms Agreement of 1996 had put serious restrictions on gun ownership in Australia, and the subsequent government buyback amnesties meant that almost no-one in the country owned a firearm anymore. Those that did had to acquire a licence and register their guns, and they were limited to using them only for hunting or collection purposes. Active gunfire in the middle of the city likely meant only one thing: gang activity. And if I was remembering correctly, Mosman was in north Sydney - Wogs of War territory.

I brought my board about, ordering the Peregrine to skew cameras in that direction and move across the harbour to loiter between those roads. Once the drone was on its way with its cameras pointed in the right direction, I took off after it, jetting out across the harbour. I angled upwards as I reached the other side and continued at speed, no longer impeded by tall buildings.

The Peregrine arrived shortly before I did, quickly spotting a large crowd of people currently running down the street from where the shots had been reported. I swapped the drone's cameras to infravision and traced the faint trails of thermal energy back to a club called The Buena, where I could see a few people were still trickling out. I didn't waste time with the crowd and instead flew straight towards the club to meet up with the Peregrine.

Heart beating fast in my chest, I overflew the building high above it as I instructed the Peregrine to start looking for any sign of a pistol or other firearm, the same way I'd asked it to search for bladed weapons earlier. I dropped down lower and started circling the building at a steady clip, looking around to identify entrances, windows, and searching for a way to get a view into the building.

The building was a three storey nightclub with access points on the rooftop dance floor and balconies on the first and second floors. Other than the front entry, there was a staff entrance and loading dock around the back. Looking over the building, a chill ran through my blood as I made a sudden realisation about the current location.

A nightclub… Could this be the serial killer?

Going from stopping petty crime to wading in on gang violence was already a pretty big step. A serial killer - and a parahuman one at that - was a whole other level of dangerous.

I'm pretty sure I'm not ready for this.

A gunshot went off somewhere inside the building. The sound was dulled by the layers of concrete it had to travel through, but it felt loud all the same.

You don't have to fight the cape, Parthian. Just… help anyone who's still inside escape.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, steeled myself, and angled downwards, making for the rooftop entrance and intending to bust my way in if necessary; the Peregrine would ping me if anyone else exited the building or when law enforcement arrived.

The roof was an open party area, with a currently deserted bar and dance floor and a set of stairs leading down into the building. I swapped the Lightreach to bow configuration and took a snare arrowhead, mounting it to the shelf. I approached the stairs and began to descend; not hurrying, but not slowly either as I relied on my helmet cameras to provide me better vision in the darkened interior of the club.

There was a sort of ominous dissonance as I descended into the building. The second floor - like the roof - was a nightclub with a bar and dance floor. The lights and music were still blaring, but the space was completely devoid of any people or signs of life.

Muffled shouting, followed by a crashing sound, echoed up from the stairwell across the room that led down to the first floor. My head snapped to the source and I raised my bow, two fingers drawing the hard-light string to arm the snare arrowhead with a hard-light shaft as I proceeded towards it, aiming down the steps as I observed what I could of the floor below before descending.

The next floor down was a much more brightly lit space, probably once a dining area. As I cautiously made my way down, I saw that a large number of the tables had been overturned, chairs strewn across the room, with plates and glasses shattered all over the floor. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, immediately to my left, I spotted the body of a heavyset man who I guessed might be Greek. From his clothing, it looked like he was a security guard or bouncer of some sort, but something about him looked wrong as I gazed down at him.

I stifled a retch and quickly looked away, lowering my bow as I realised why.

Holy fuck..!

The guard's body was lying chest down on the floor but his face was looking up at the ceiling. His neck had quite obviously been broken with enough force to spin his head around more than 180 degrees.

I swapped to infravision and raised my head again. With the sight of the body now reduced to a more tolerable blob of heat, I did a quick scan around, looking for any fading heat signatures that might indicate a trail of the likely serial killer leaving the scene. The body on the floor next to me was starting to fade, and I detected another weak signature across the room where the stairs leading down to the ground floor were.

I raised my bow again and moved off from the poor bastard. I activated the cell uplink in my helmet, cursed myself for not memorising the Atlas Alliance hotline, and dialled triple zero instead as I pointed my bow out into the room. Noting that the Peregrine hadn't pinged me yet about anyone leaving, I took a deep breath and advanced across the room to the next set of stairs as the phone rang.

When I reached the other side, I swapped off the infravision to check the other body - in case it was still breathing - and immediately regretted it. He was younger looking than the other guy - maybe mid-20s - and Middle-Eastern in appearance, dressed in the same gear as the other bouncer.

It looked like he'd had his ribs caved in.

"You have dialled emergency Triple Zero. Your call is being connected," said an automated voice.

I looked away from the body and swallowed the bile rising in my throat as the phone picked up.

"Sydney emergency services. What service do you require?" said the woman on the line.

I took a moment to breathe and formulate the information I needed to convey.

"This is independent cape, Parthian, calling from The Buena, Mosman. I'm following the trail of another unknown cape down towards the ground floor of the building. I've found two bodies already... injuries incompatible with life. I believe the Sydney Club Killer is responsible and still present at the scene," I followed up, trying my level best to keep the quaver out of my voice.

I slowly shuffled down the first step to the ground floor, keeping my bow up and drawn, Snare ready to go. I took another step… then... another, as I listened for the operator.

"Understood," she responded calmly. "We've received multiple reports of gunshots and police and ambulance units are already on their way to your location. Are you certain there is another parahuman present at the scene?"

"Y-yes. I'm certain. Only a cape could cause these injuries… so easily, ma'am," I said, inching down another few steps. "I'm moving to attempt to identify and subdue. But you should get Atlas out here fast. I'm sure the killer hasn't left yet."

"Understood. I'm going to advise police to hold back and transfer you to APRA for further advisement. One moment…"

There was a brief dial tone as my call was transferred.

As I continued down the stairs, I found myself in an equally well lit foyer area. I spotted two more bodies - just as badly mangled as the previous ones - on the floor in the same uniforms and a trail of blood that led towards some back rooms; one of the doors to which had been knocked off its hinges. My call reconnected, this time to a male operator.

"This is Parahuman Response. Independent cape... Parthian, is that correct?"

"...Yeah. Tracking an unknown cape at The Buena in Mosman. Brute for sure, I think the gunshots were in self defence. I've found... four dead so far," I answered, taking a second to take a deep breath.

I paused for a moment, squeezing my eyes shut and focusing on my breathing again, trying not to heave breaths and blow out the mic to the APRA operator while the blood pounded in my ears and my heart beat a million miles a minute. I opened my eyes again, pulled the bowstring to half draw and aimed it, bringing up the reticle on my HUD and continuing forward.

"Acknowledged... The nearest patrolling cape, Deva has been informed and is on her way now along with two squads of APRA troopers. Based on my information or rather lack thereof, I'm going to assume you're a new cape, Parthian. I would strongly advise you to retreat and wait for trained professionals to handle this," the operator warned.

I continued into the back area. I could see several doors on either side of a dimly lit hallway, lined with a lush red carpet. Some of the doors were hanging open, and the trail of blood led to the very end of the hall where I could see one more door, currently shut. I heard the shouts of a female voice coming from beyond it. She sounded angry and... upset?

"I'll… take that under advisement. I can hear someone shouting. How far away is Deva?" I muttered, taking cautious steps towards the final door, aiming right at the centre of it. I proceeded forwards slowly, intending to get close enough to distinguish what the woman was saying unless something else happened.

"Deva is approximately five minutes away and the APRA units are ten."

As I got closer to the door, I could see something had punched a hole through it, right around where I would have guessed the lock had been. Crouching down while maintaining as much distance as possible, I attempted to peer into the room, only to find a busted, flickering light repeatedly washing out my night-vision over and over. Upon swapping back to infravision, though, I quickly counted five heat signatures in the room through the hole in the door. Three were laid out on the floor, gradually fading to ambient temperature. One was off to one side, and the fifth seemed to be floating in the air in the middle of the room. As I listened, I could hear shouts coming from the fourth person.

"TELL ME WHERE, DAMMIT! I'm tired of having to work my way through you people location by location! Just tell me where they're being delivered, and all of this stops!" she yelled. In addition to being enraged and upset, she sounded young.

I turned off my infravision, pausing and waiting.

"I-I... Don't know where…" Another voice choked out, barely audible, male. "They send the girls here each a-afternoon... and take 'em again... the next m-morning... Please!..."

"Might not be a Brute," I whispered to the APRA operator with my heart in my throat. "Might be a Shaker. Telekinetic of some kind."

"Understood. Parthian, I am strongly advising you to fall back," the operator warned me again. "Deva is three minutes away."

The girl shouted and I almost leapt out of my skin.

"FUCK! Why don't you know anything?!" she exclaimed. "Am I seriously gonna have to claw my way up your ranks to some big boss?!"

"I-I don't..." choked the man.

"Who delivers them? Where do I go next?! TELL ME!"

"B-Bali Springs… Near Headland Park. I know th-they also... take deliveries…"

"Fuck... Fuck! Fine! Another brothel it is..."

I held my breath, continuing to listen, unwilling to retreat from another potential murder in progress, hoping the girl would let the last victim go. I held position short of the threshold to the room, ready to break in if she didn't.

"T-there... I told you what... I know. Now let me go... P-please... I've got a wife and... d-daughter at home..." the man pleaded.

There was a long pause. It sounded like both the girl and the man were sobbing.

"I was somebody's daughter once too…" the girl muttered. "Kusottare."

A shout.

A crashing sound.

A sickening crunch.

A dull thud as a body hit the floor.

AN: Worm really did love its sudden escalations in the story, didn't it?

*Throws parahuman serial killer at Parthian*

Obviously things may not be as cut and dry as they seem at face value though. If there's anything Worm loves as much as sudden plot escalation, it's moral ambiguity!~

The next chapter will be the final one for Arc 1, followed by our first interlude and then it's on to Arc 2! Please enjoy the dramatic tension of this cliffhanger until the next chapter and feed me some yummy comments. Thanks for reading!