Read aloud to me alt Taylor Chapter 54: Kepkep, a 3x3 eyes fanfic

Khepri is not like the other Endbringers.

Those had been the words that stuck the most in Writ's mind from Legend's brief speech before the sandstorm descended upon Las Vegas. She supposed that she hadn't taken them too seriously at first.

This wasn't her first Endbringer fight by any means, and Writ doubted that Khepri was somehow worse than the hollow screams of the Simurgh. In hindsight that had been an arrogant belief, one that now haunted her steps as she tried to make her way through the sand-clouded streets.

The wind blew the fine grains hard enough to start stripping the skin away from the muscles beneath, and Writ knew that if it weren't for her power she would've been flung away long ago. Even so it was difficult to get around, all sound overshadowed by the howling storm. It was dark too, like late twilight, and she could barely see more than a few meters in front of her.

She is not the classical monster that her older siblings are. She is the slasher horror, hiding in the shadows and waiting to strike.

Breathing was difficult through the thick masks that had been issued to them, but she knew that the sand would've drowned her had she not worn it. More pressing was the worry she had for her teammates. All of them, in some way, were vulnerable to the conditions Khepri brought with her, although it would be a lie to imply that there were many who were not.

Her scarabs would swarm out from the sand, a writhing mass of chitin and jaws that surrounded the victim. Writ had seen one man, a local villain, scoured down to the bone in seconds before the swarm disappeared back into the darkness. She was especially worried about Colin, knowing that Khepri liked to target Tinkers, and the brave if unconventional leader of her division would not let that stop him from trying to face Khepri head on.

She will target the strongest capes. Those with the most potential. The ones who stand above the rest.

Writ came to a crossing and paused, unsure and unfamiliar with the city. The roads had been wrecked, half melted in places and simply gone in others. She caught sight of a long, thick gouge through the wall of the closest building. A great wash of wet blood accompanied it, as well as the bisected remains of a cape.

A wave of relief passed through her when she didn't recognise the poor soul, followed by one of guilt for the thought. The Endbringer carried a Khopesh, as long as Writ stood tall, and used it with preternatural speed. The Thinkers were unsure if it was part of her or not, but so far no one had been able to separate them. The scene brought her fear back into the fore, the last time she had seen her team running through her mind. Khepri sometimes gave her targets a warning, to unnerve them, by scraping the tip of her sword along the ground.

The sound had echoed strangely, and none of them had been able to pinpoint where she was. The next moment she was amongst them, weapon swinging. Velocity had dodged, barely, and the follow up slash impacted against Dauntless' shield with a great thrum of thunder. Writ had been thrown back and her teammate was only saved by Alexandria sweeping down, doubtlessly alerted by the explosive noise, and catching Khepri with a low-slung punch to the stomach.

The Endbringer had shifted in time for it to be only a glancing blow but was distracted enough that Legend could bring his lasers to bear. Alexandria followed up with another punch, one strong enough to send a ripple out in the sand and almost deafen Writ, but Khepri had seemed to have had enough by that point and called her sand to her. What had once been a thick veil became a blinding torrent, and by the time it lifted Writ was alone with no one in sight.

Her most dangerous attribute is not her most obvious one. It is not the storm, nor the swarm. It is not even the sword. It is the fact she is a Stranger. If she chooses not to make a sound, you will not hear her. If she chooses to hide behind her sand, you will not see her. You will never know she is coming.

Writ was reminded of that only when the blunt end of the Khopesh was hooked round her torso and used to smash her into an abandoned car. Her paper armour saved her, and came to life, great sheafs of it blurring out in a futile attempt to shred the Endbringer.

Tiny pieces too, so that she could sense and see via the outline of everything they came to rest against. She turned, neck hurting in an alarming way, in time to see the casual swipe that tore through her attack. Sand followed up, snatching the paper around them and dragging it far away, leaving Writ almost defenceless.

Khepri stood tall, dwarfing any normal human, around nine feet in all. She was long limbed, with golden scale-armour covering much of her body. There were thickly armoured parts around the chest and shoulders, as well as along the thighs, chunky and squared pieces that looked more decorative than functional. It spread out into an armoured skirt too, a long one in the ancient style that went to her knees, and her bare legs and feet under it was what could've passed for normal and slightly tanned human skin.

Khepri's hair was black and thick with a luscious sheen, similar to Writ's own, that fell to the small of her back. What stood out most those was the smooth white mask that covered her face, with the only marking on it a single tear under the left eye in a lapis blue. Writ could see human-looking eyes through the mark's holes that were a distinctive green colouring. The Endbringer had a bearing of pride about her, head held high and confidant. The returning conqueror, resplendent and strong.

Khepri stood still for only a moment, as if to let Writ appreciate her glory, before a blink-quick lunge of the khopesh split the car that Writ had been lying on in half. She had only managed to dodge by using all of her remaining paper to push herself away. Left in nothing but her under suit, a tight synthetic weave for moments like this, she knew that there was little else she could do to defend herself.

Sometimes she is merciful and leaves those she has defeated alive. With others she will be cruel and kill slowly, piece by piece. You might be wondering why it is we fight her. It is because if we do not – if we ignore her games, her challenges - she will bury the city in sand and her scarabs will devour every remaining person within twenty miles. Millions dead, if we do nothing. So we fight.

Writ lay prone on the floor, waiting for that final swing. She matched gazes with the Endbringer, unwilling to show fear or back down, and Khepri…faltered. There was no other word for it, for the hesitation was clear as day. The khopesh was lifted, brought under her chin to tilt Writ's head up and the sand above cleared long enough for the desert sun to shine down upon her bare face.

The moment stretched out even as both of them remained still, Writ frozen in place and unsure. Eventually, even reluctantly looking, Khepri lowered her weapon and took a step back. She shook her head as though she was trying to wake up, a quick and jerky movement. The Endbringer spared Writ one more glance before turning and loping off into the sandstorm.

The opening above remained, however, and Annette Hebert lay there for a long while in the sun, confused and shaken.

They told her afterwards that it was a good day, that Khepri was driven off after barely an hour. That cape casualties were light, and Dauntless' arm was only shattered and not lost, easy enough for Panacea to fix when they got home. It did not escape her notice that Khepri had vanished right after their confrontation, a twisting thought that sank low in her gut and kept her awake that night as she lay in her room in the Rig, thinking of green eyes, black hair, and a too-empty bedroom.

I have a vague idea for a story following from this if there is enough interest.

Edited for paragraph spacing because damn is nice formatting hard on this site.

This is the link to the first Omake.

Last edited: Jul 15, 2018

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Jul 11, 2018

#30

So I've vaguely decided where I think I can take this. Ish. I'll try to update once a week or so. There will be a more substantial chapter on Friday evening but I wanted to get this out now. No editor so there'll be mistakes.

Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Whispers

[Sibling]

"Sister?"

[Acknowledgement]

"Yes?"

[Creator]

"I think I saw my mother today."

[Thinker]

"Eden?"

[Negation]

"No. I know she's gone."

[Mother]

"My mother…before."

[Memories]

"Ah. You are starting to recall."

[Affirmation]

"Yeah."

[Path]

"What do you want to do?"

[Hesitation]

[Remember]

"I…I want to remember."

Saint shifted uneasily as another faint whisper of sound passed through the Dragonslayer's base. It had started earlier in the night, only occasionally at first but with increasing frequency as the sun fell fully below the sky. The others had been alarmed at first, checking the security feeds and defences but eventually concluded that Saint was just being paranoid. Even Mags had given up and left for bed, sighing fondly at him, however Geoff couldn't bring himself to sleep while he was so on edge and instead settled for watching the stream of Dragon's consciousness roll by on his monitor.

It was soothing, in a way, the lines of code and inner thoughts keeping him settled. Mostly. He had almost nodded off when the sound happened again, louder this time, enough so that he could vaguely guess where it was coming from. He rose, hooking the strap of his rifle around his shoulders and began a slow, measured walk in the right direction. Another whisper, this time seeming more like a hissing. He brought the gun up and sighted as he spun round the corner, but the hallway was empty.

Despite that his unease grew, feeling like there was something very wrong with what he was seeing. Saint continued forward, boots making a faint clomping sound on the metal, disturbing the thin layer of dust on the floor. Another corner, another sharp movement, but still he saw nothing.

Then, quick as lightning, a small flicker in the corner of his eye. It had looked like the tail of a snake disappearing into a dark room on the right. He frowned, knowing the lights should have been on. A quick tap on the communication device all the Dragonslayers carried and the comms line opened up. He tapped out a simple rhythm, hoping that at least one of the others was awake enough to hear and begin prepping the rest of his team. Saint almost flinched when the light came back on suddenly, although he managed to make no noise, and after a quick breath he slid next to the door, waiting for whoever was inside to come out. A minute passed like that, then two, before his nerve broke. He turned, weapon raised and sighted into the almost empty room.

There was a layer of dark brown sand a good two foot thick inside, evenly spread and, somehow, not falling out into the corridor. A glance up revealed a smooth borehole in the ceiling. Saint had no time to process this before the sand lunged towards him, covering his mouth and entombing his body. He was yanked around, and if he were free to move in any way he would've frozen, because he came face to mask with the youngest Endbringer. Khepri half crouched in the hallway, too tall to properly fit. She was also very close to him, enough that were he not mindless with terror he would also be incredibly uncomfortable.

She reached out to him, turning his head from side to side, green eyes weighing him. Her eyes were slit, like a cats, he noted absently, hysteria having looped back around to serenity. He was unsure of what she was looking for, but as the sand poured into his lungs and eyes he knew that she had not found it. The power to the lights was cut, and each member of the Dragonslayers was stalked and hunted down in the darkness, one by one.

Khepri stood before the main console watching Dragon. A measured turn of her head brought her attention to the laptop nearby, and streams of thin sand crawled into place to operate it. The computer was already logged in, and so it took little time to bring up google and begin her searches. Topics flicked by as fast as the pages would load. Endbringer attacks, S-Class threats, Scion, Eidolon, Alexandria. Brockton Bay, their protectorate team. Writ. She paused for a while then. The Undersiders. Coil. The Undersiders. Another pause. Danny Hebert.

Mentioned in a newspaper, a lawyer, his daughter and her friend were attacked. The friend died. Taylor Hebert. The same. Emma Barnes.

A final pause, far longer than the rest.

Annette Hebert.

The sand stilled.

"Mom?"

Last edited: Apr 2, 2020

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Jul 13, 2018

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C3: Echoes

Nightowl crouched low to the ground, the shadowy plates that made up her armour rippling in unease. Her long tail, a thin and serrated whip, twitched back and forth as she inched around the corner to scan the open plaza with wide, almost-human eyes. It seemed empty at first but it didn't take her long to spot the tiny shreds of paper scattered on the floor.

They were a trap, she knew, but as long as she didn't disturb any then Writ wouldn't know she had passed by. Nightowl took a step forward as slowly as possible, trying not to move the air too much, and when nothing happened she continued forward a bit more boldness. It did not take her long to cross the open space and she huffed out a breath of relief only to jump in surprise when she caught a flash of white in the corner of her eye.

She spun, baring her claws and teeth, but saw nothing. Then another, this time larger, and with a sinking feeling Nightowl knew that it was too late for her to escape.

More and more paper surrounded her, some plain rectangles and others in the shape of beasts and people, different enough to draw and confuse the eye. Enough so that when Writ herself struck out from the white tornado Nightowl was unprepared. A wide sword crashed into her leg, shattering the plates of shadow and impacting on her skin hard enough to leave a bruise. She tried to strike back, tail spearing towards the armored figure, but Writ spun away and disappeared into the storm.

Nightowl was more prepared next time, catching the sword with her claws and slicing clean through the paper, but Writ relinquished the weapon and disintegrated it, covering Nightowl's line of sight enough that when she pulled free Writ was already behind her, a spear poised to plunge through the small hole left in the almost recovered plate covering her thigh. Writ had underestimated Nighowl's speed, and before the hero could react she rolled onto her back, bearing her long back claws and wrapping her tail around Writ's waist, pulling her along. Nightowl followed up with the motion, coming to a stop crouched above Writ, her fanged mouth around the armoured neck.

She had a brief flare of satisfaction before she felt and heard a sharp crack and then the point of a spear press into her now exposed and very human neck. The figure below her crumpled in on itself, and Emma sighed.

"I got too caught up in the moment." She said, letting her armoured plates slide back into nothingness and flopping to the ground.

"And?" Writ asked, poking her in the side with her spear.

"And I focused on the enemy I could see, assuming I had them beaten." Emma rolled to the side to look up into the cold visage of her mentor's armour.

"Good." Annette said, the paper sliding away to reveal her wide, familiar smile. "You're doing well Ems." She reached down and hoisted Emma up, the girl slumping against her side.

"It doesn't feel like it." She complained into Annette's shoulder. "We've had powers the same amount of time and you're just so far ahead of me."

"I am very good at what I do." She beamed down, the light in her eyes softening the words as she cupped Emma's cheek. "But do remember, I purposely go hard on you in these training simulations. You're far ahead of the other wards of similar experience, and its best to be over prepared anyway."

"Yeah." Emma agreed, following her mentor towards the exit. "There's no kill like overkill."

Annette responded with an arched eyebrow.

"Have you been spending time around Chris again?"

"No!" A flush of pink spread across her cheeks, knowing exactly what the older woman was implying.

"He's just nice to be around."

"Mhmm."

"Mom!" The word slipped out, and Emma froze in horror, darting her eyes to Annette. There was a brief look of pain on her face before it eased.

"I-. Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, Ems. It actually means a lot to me." She had turned to face the teenager now with a small smile. "I think Taylor would've been happy to call you sister."

Emma let out a slightly-choked breath.

"Yeah." She agreed, thinking of blinding smiles and a thick main of black hair. "Besides, its not like my real mom has any right to the name."

"Emma!" Annette's voiced was raised but lacked the sharp tones of true anger, and Emma knew she agreed somewhat. "Your parents are just struggling with raising a young, headstrong parahuman. You should give them more of a chance."

"I did! And Alan just hides in his work like a coward while Zoe goes on pretending like I'm still a normal child. They're just so-"

"Emma." She warned again, lips pursed, and the teenager knew she had gone too far this time. "They still love you. They just don't want to lose you."

Her voice tapered off, and Emma knew that Annette was thinking of the child she no longer had.

"Okay okay." She sighed, nudging her godmother out of her fugue. "But I still prefer you."

She couldn't see it but knew that Annette was rolling her eyes as she led her off to the wards rooms.

Dragon hummed in contentment as she watched Colin review the recordings of the wards training sessions with their mentors. It was relieving to see her friend willing to turn his attention away from his tinkering and to something that didn't stress him out so much, even if it still counted as work.

"Aegis is still too willing to place himself in harms way." Colin murmured. "He relies too much on his healing."

"What do you want him to do?" She asked, if only to prompt his thoughts. Her friend narrowed his eyes, leaning forward slightly.

"Perhaps simulation that is restarted every time he takes damage I consider to be detrimental. If nothing else it would teach him patience."

"Not a bad idea." Dragon agreed, chuckling slightly at the irony of Colin helping someone with their patience. "Is that all of them?"

"Aside from Vista, who is on a field trip right now." There was a satisfied smile on his face as he signed off on the report, and Dragon again found herself thankful for Writ joining the Brockton Bay team.

She had brought her goddaughter with her, and it only took a few months before she caught wind of the poor job Colin was doing handling his wards. Writ had torn him up and down, warning him that he was risking losing one of them and that if he didn't sort his act out he would regret it. Colin had been furious that such a new member of his team had talked to him like that, and even more so when Dragon agreed with Writ.

But, eventually, the pair of them had brought him round, especially after Dragon explained to Colin about what had happened to Writ's young daughter. The final capstone had been how she had pointed out that leaving a legacy of superb Wards and newly graduated Protectorate members would look very good to the public and his bosses.

Even though he was doing it for somewhat selfish reasons he took to it with the same professionalism he did everything, so Writ and Dragon were mollified.

The alert of an incoming call distracted her from her thoughts. She turned her attention to it fully when she realised that it was not a call she could deny, and was coming from a remote island in Canada.

"Hold on Colin. Something's come up." He glanced up at her avatar, noting the concerned expression, and waiting to see if she needed him to help.

The connection alert timed out and was replaced by a video feed, showing a dark room. It looked like a military base, with metal walls, blast doors, and high ceilings. She could see computers in the periphery, turns on, although no one was operating them. Both doors to the room were open to shadowed hallways and Dragon could see a faint trail of blood leading into the room by the glow of a monitor. The base's alarm was going off noiselessly, red lights flashing on and off in a steady beat.

That was all very minor in comparison to the Endbringer standing in the middle of the room, her mask alternating between bone-white and a dark red as the lights turned on and off. She carried a body in her right hand, grasped behind the neck, and lifted it up so that Dragon could see Khepri's victim, Khopesh noticeably absent. Saint's eyeless, agonized face stared back.

"Colin." She whispered, bringing the feed up on his screen. The man stilled, eyes widening at the sight. The three of them didn't move for a second, the moment stretching out painfully far, broken when Khepri dropped the corpse to the floor and stepped forward.

A thousand voices in a thousand languages spoke all at once, in whispers and shouts and everything in between and for a moment even Dragon was overwhelmed.

"What did she do?" Armsmaster asked, wincing slightly. "It sounded like static."

"Static?" Dragon asked absently, still completely focused on the Endbringer. Khepri stood, as though waiting for a response, an expectant tilt to her head. "I think she was speaking."

Armsmaster shook his head and stood, coming out of the shock he had been caught by.

"We need to call this in, now, and sound the alarms."

"Wait!" Dragon half shouted. "I think I understood her."

"Dragon." He warned, already picking up his phone.

"Please Colin. They've never tried to communicate before."

Armsmaster gritted his teeth but stopped dialing.

"I'm calling Piggot as soon as this goes wrong. And translate for me."

Dragon nodded, although he couldn't see it.

"Each word had a similar meaning. Freedom."

Another chorus of voices spoke out, and the Endbringer gestured towards the body on the floor.

"And this time?" Colin asked.

"'A blood debt paid'…roughly."

"What was the debt for?" Dragon asked, speaking directly to the creature. There were three separate bursts this time, with enough of a gap for her to parse them out.

"Savior. Hero. Paragon." She repeated. "What does she mean?"

Colin didn't have a chance to respond, as Khepri raised her hand slowly to point directly into the camera.

"Me?" Dragon asked, shock running through her voice. A nod, then the Endbringer lowered her hand. She spoke again.

"Construct. Control. Poison." Colin seemed confused at this, but Dragon was able to understand all the languages Khepri was using. She knew Dragon was an AI, and Saint had had a way to control her, or to kill her.

"Why?" She whispered on private channel. "Why help me?" Khepri paused, looking the closest to hesitant that Dragon had ever seen an Endbringer.

Code. Friend. Another pause. Polite.

A bit more this time, with the knock on effects of Taylor's death, and the fact that even as an Endbringer she is an awkward dork.

Evil Atlas said:

Also, if this isn't a spoiler, is Khepri able to speak relatively normally, or does she have to use her sand or scarabs to talk? The end of this chapter indicates that she can speak somehow, but judging by the previous chapter I'm not actually sure if she has any facial features behind the mask.

As I said, semi-normally. Turns out that translating from the shard communication, which is a mix of many concepts at once condensed into a single word doesn't work so well in human language.

Last edited: Jul 13, 2018

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#98

Chapter 4:

Piggot's reaction was less than stellar. There had been shouting, threats of violence, promises of demotion, more shouting, and Dragon had only managed to halt her tirade by pointing out that Piggot had exactly no authority over her whatsoever.

Colin had been suspiciously quiet for the entire time, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he had somehow managed to soundproof his armour. Eventually she had calmed, her face flushed an unhealthy red as she called up the Chief-Director.

Despite the late hour and urgency of the request Rebecca Costa-Brown seemed as unflappable as ever, her first reaction to the news that Dragon had been talking to an Endbringer not half-an-hour ago a mere slow blink.

"How sure are you of this communication?" Was her first question, one Dragon had been expecting.

"Enough to bring this straight to you." She replied. "I would know if it were fake."

"The repercussions from imitating an Endbringer for their own gain would be enough to put he majority of villains off of such an action." Colin added. The Chief-Director acquiesced the point with a nod.

"Show me."

Watching it back afterwards let Dragon realise how awful the sound of Khepri's speech actually was. Her processors were quick enough to translate it on the go, and she lacked the biological feedback systems that would've caused pain.

Piggot winced at it, as did Colin despite him hearing it before, although Dragon did note that the Chief-Director seemed indifferent.

"Christ. Not even a day after Vegas." She said after a moment, letting a rare moment of weariness show through in her tone.

"At least she made it clear that she is returning to whatever form of rest it is that the Endbringers take." Colin offered into the silence, and Dragon couldn't help but smile fondly at him.

"Quite. I note that neither of you took the opportunity to ask any useful questions."

"We were…overcome by shock." Dragon offered, making her avatar blush. "We will be more prepared next time."

"Next time?" The director asked, letting a bit of scepticism out.

"It seems likely that she will contact us again at some point, considering the relative mundanity of her reasons." Colin said, coming to Dragon's defence.

"It seemed like she was thanking me. Like she owed me something." She shrugged. "But I know of nothing I might've done for her, let alone something that would be breaking what is now clearly years of silence for."

"Think some more on it." Costa-Brown said. "This is the most information we have ever had on the creatures, and I refuse to not eke out every last advantage we can from it. I'll have Watchdog look over the recording to see what they can pick up. We will reconvene with some of the other directors as soon as they have something for us."

The three of them nodeed, Piggot saluting, but the director didn't immediately end the call.

"It should be needless of me to say, but I will regardless. Not a word of this is to leave this room. I will not make threats simply because the consequences should be clear enough." She took a moment to meet the gaze of each of them. "Dismissed."

Piggot let out a sigh, and relaxed slightly.

"I want you to go over Dragon's entire history, starting with any and all contact with the Endbringers you have had. Then…" Here she paused, considering. "There is a theory, among the PRT directors and Watchdog thinkers, that we don't normally share with the public at large, or even the parahumans in the Protectorate. It has proven bad for morale, and is ultimately useless information when the attacks are happening. I think, however, that both of you are mature enough to process it."

Colin shifted, and Dragon had known him long enough to see the anticipation in his stance.

"Aside from the Simurgh, who is and has always been a mystery, the other three Endbringers seem to have a pattern. Behemoth kills the weakest parahumans. Leviathan creates more in the devastation after he has hit a city, and Khepri refines them. It is no coincidence that there are exponentially more second triggers during her attacks than there is in the normal life of a parahuman."

Dragon nodded at this, having had to delete a few similar discussions from PHO for the PRT. While it wasn't the most difficult conclusion to come to, it was still taboo talking about Endbringers, so it wasn't something she had to do often.

"Khepri, especially, seems to make a game of it and we can only guess as to the purpose. She has always been different from the others."

"Attacking almost three times as often. Always in the summer of whichever hemisphere. Civilian casualties are miniscule compared to her siblings, and even parahuman deaths are light." Colin said, thinking out loud.

"And eerily human." Dragon added. "Even more than the Simurgh."

Piggot slumped backwards into her chair.

"I had never liked the implications of the Endbringers have such a degree of planning." A hand slicked her hair back, rubbing at crease lines. "The idea that they are sapient, that they can talk…"

A tired quietness descended on them for a moment.

"You'll be off patrols until after the meeting, Armsmaster. This is your top priority. Now get some rest."

He nodded and stood, already lost in his thoughts. Dragon offered Piggot a goodbye before shutting the call down and switching to the camera in Colin's workshop.

Writ rode on the back of a paper gryphon above Brockton Bay, revelling in the view and freedom of flying, especially after experiencing Khepri's sandstorm only a day prior.

Despite the wind buffeting her ears and the cold that was starting to creep into her limbs it was one of the few times she could truly enjoy her powers.

Normally she was either fighting, admittedly something she had taken to well, or it was quiet enough that seeing her white armour only served to remind Writ of her trigger.

She knew that Emma suffered a similar problem when she shifted into her changer form. That in the instant after the change was complete she saw knives, instead of claws, and the dark of an alley instead of black armour.

They managed together, however, often spending time watching films or talking during the nights they couldn't sleep. Writ knew it wasn't the healthiest response, that while she wasn't replacing Taylor with Emma she had basically adopted the girl, especially after she had divorced Danny.

The same was true in reverse, Emma having given up on her parents ever understanding and struggling to connect with her sister while she was away for college. No, neither of them were replacing anything, and they both knew that, instead more relying heavily on the last strong familial relationship they had.

They had both made friends in the Wards and Protectorate, of course, but they were new. Post-trigger, and there wasn't the same inherent…loss. The other parahumans all had their own demons anyway, like anyone with powers.

Vista got too stressed whenever any of the adult heroes argued. Dennis avoided all mentions of hospitals and Panacea, hiding in jokes instead. Each had their own foible, although the Protectorate heroes had had long enough to practice hiding them.

Writ shook herself, drawing herself back to the present, thankful that checking her caches had become automatic after nearly a year, and turned her attention to the west.

The sun was fading, only a slight glow on the horizon outlining the hills above the city, while below her spread the uncoordinated wash of Brockton's Bays lights.

One of the reasons she loved New England so much was the chaos of the cities, founded before the regimented grid that the rest of America used had come into use. Brockton Bay reminded her of Europe, of old winding streets and quiet rainy nights.

Her route didn't take long to finish, the range on her power being as far as it was, and she tilted her construct back towards the Rig. Her other creations, a mix of birds, insects and pixies, swooped and dove around her.

They were not sentient, at all, but it took no effort at all to animate them that way and Writ honestly preferred it over the frozen stillness they would have otherwise. It was merely a bonus when they managed to distract anyone she was fighting.

She could've gone home but the thought of her empty, single bedroom apartment didn't appeal at the moment. Writ didn't think on the old house, sold off as it was after Danny had left for…where he went off to. She had wiped her hands of him long ago.

"Writ coming in for landing, tower 3." She said into her comm unit. "Whiskey-Uniform-Eight-Umbrella."

"Acknowledged Writ. You are cleared for landing, tower 3."

"Thanks Charlie."

"Anytime, ma'am." He replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Such a polite young man." Writ murmured, dipping her voice into a slight tease.

"Just doing my duty, ma'am."

She was pleased that he had only hesitated for a moment this time, and that she could barely hear his nervousness. He knew her identity too, so it was fun to tease him in and out of costume. It was with a better mood that she landed, the gryphon losing cohesion and smoothly transitioning back onto her armour alongside the smaller constructs.

The paper was only slightly unwieldy when she had it all in place, giving her a bulky, heavy look, especially with her weapon and shield on her back. There would've been no way she could've carried the weight of it all if she were unpowered.

There was no sound as the doors opened, smooth as they were, and as she descended the tower towards her room her thoughts turned towards the fight against Khepri in Las Vegas the day before. She had known that Khepri spared some parahumans, of course, but that wasn't really what had happened.

The Endbringer was about to strike a fatal blow, one that Writ had no illusions would be survivable, and then simply…stopped. More than that was the way that something about Khepri was weighing on her mind. Something familiar.

If she were human Writ would've said that she had met her once before, long ago, or that perhaps she knew a cousin. Not direct, but close enough to unsettle her.

She nearly fell into the wall when she bumped into Armsmaster coming down the hall towards his own room.

"Sorry!" She said, regaining her balance. "I wasn't looking…are you okay?" Her team leader had stopped in place, staring at the wall.

"Writ. Yes." He replied, then carried walking for a few steps before pausing and turning to face her. "Are you?"

She chuckled. "I am, thank you. You should sleep Armsmaster."

He seemed to come back to himself then, relaxing slightly. "I will. You won't need to be concerned."

"I will anyway, Colin. Goodnight."

"You too." He replied with a quick smile then turned to continue onwards. Writ rolled her eyes, a mixture of fondness and exasperation running through her, then headed towards her room.

[Exchange]

"I talked to Dragon. And Armsmaster.

[Outcome]

"How did it go?"

[Positive]

"Well...I think."

[Query]

"You don't think I'm making a mistake, do you?"

[Negation]

"No, not at all."

[Freedom]

"You are forging your own path with your freedom."

[Pride]

"I am proud of you."

[Query]

"Why?"

[Hope]

I was going to post this Tuesday but I was dog sitting today and pulled about 1k words out of my ass, so I thought I might as well finish it. Next update won't be till Thurs or later because I'm trying to finish as many of the Mage Tower fights on WoW as possible before they go forever.

Roughish as always because editing is for nerds.

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FifteenBadgers

Jul 20, 2018

#137

Chapter 5: Wave

There was a general sense of unease in the room. Emergency meetings for the senior directors were never for good news, of course, but it was highly unusual for them all to be teleported to an unknown location for one.

Even more so for Legend to be there in his capacity as head of the Protectorate, an uncharacteristically grim look on his face.

There had been more than a few curious gazes sent in Colin's direction too, but her friend seemed indifferent to the attention.

While the room was spacious the ceiling was low slung for its size, owing to being built inside a mountain base, and the air had a stale tinge to it that only added to the discomfort.

"Thank you all for coming." Chief Director Costa-Brown said, as though they had been given a choice. The invitation had been rather clear.

"At 21:34 EST on the 18th of May Khepri made contact with Dragon via a backdoor connection."

The various directors stilled and Dragon suspected they would've already begun shouting if it weren't for the severe expression that Costa-Brown was sending them.

"Khepri had infiltrated the Dragonslayers base not long prior and had killed all the individuals within, including their leader Saint. She then proceeded to use the direct connection they had to Dragon's computer to initiate a conversation. I will replay that recording now."

Dragon didn't pay too much attention to the video, watching the reactions of the audience instead. They had been building up to an explosive response but most of them had enough experience to know to wait for all the information before starting up.

The moment the recording stopped the Director of San Francisco, Antony Fairchild, burst onto his feet.

"That happened over five days ago!" He began, thunderous. "Five days! And we are only just hearing of this now?"

She understood his rage. The Leviathan had hit San Francisco only that January and they had lost an entire district to it. Even now the city was struggling to recover.

"I can think of few things more urgent than the Endbringers!" Fairchild paused to take a breath and Legend used the moment to speak up.

"There is little with can do with this information at the moment." As always his voice was deep and calm, a confident tone that soothed ruffled feathers. "Even less so before we had our Thinkers look over it, or Dragon analyse the base."

Fairchild scowled but settled back into his seat and everyone's attention returned to the Chief Director. She nodded her thanks at Legend before continuing to speak.

"Watchdog's conclusions are tenuous, and they have openly admitted that. Endbringers have always been resistant to Thinker powers, especially Khepri. They believe that the resting period that Endbringers take is not something they require, but a conscious decision, although this is drawn only from Khepri's use of the word 'will', rather than 'need, when she informed Dragon and Armsmaster about her returning to sleep. She displayed none of the wounds we inflicted upon her in Las Vegas, bumping up their estimated recovery speed significantly. This has now ruled out the possibility that we could pursue them after an attack to whittle them down."

"Not that anyone was stupid enough to try that anyway." Muttered the Rayleigh director.

"Khepri also did not seem to have her signature khopesh with her, but it was unable to be determined the reason why. Her physical dimensions had not changed and what we know of Endbringer physiology would rule out her absorbing it into her body somehow. Dragon found no indication in the base that she had used her weapon, nor was it left at the site." Costa-Brown paused then, sweeping her focus across the assembled people, and Dragon had to admire her ability to play a crowd.

"Most troublingly." She started. "Is the implication that the Endbringers are sapient. While we know they possess at least rudimentary intelligence it was previously unclear as to whether this was genuine or merely a form of complex programming.

Despite many years of research we still do not understand where the Endbringers come from, or even their true goals, and as such any theories as regards to their true nature have been mere speculation. Watchdog have, tentatively, said that they believe Khepri shows signs of true sapience. We cannot assume the same of the others, although it seems likely."

"Khepri has always been different." Colin spoke up for the first time, echoing the conversation of a few days prior. "More than the Simurgh, and she was unlike her brothers already."

"As there have been no more Endbringers after her, thankfully, we do not know if this represents a changing trend or if Khepri is the exception. Before we start the discussion Dragon will report her findings."

Dragon switched the screen behind Costa-Brown to show her face, and she nodded her greetings.

"Our investigation into what Khepri was thanking me for exactly hit a dead end quickly. Of all the capes she has second triggered few had close contact with me, and of those none have had a negative impact on the world that I would consider noteworthy. The list of those she has spared is longer but equally as unhelpful."

"Watchdog believes that whatever it was Khepri was genuinely thankful for it, and not in a malicious way." Costa-Brown added.

"Regardless, that's an avenue will we continue to explore. Carry on, Dragon."

"Thank you. I tracked the connection to a base on the coast of British Columbia, near the Hakai Protected Area. Aside from the corpses, all of whom seemed to have been killed by asphyxiation and had suffered extreme trauma to the eyes, mouth, throat, and lungs, the only evidence of Khepri's intrusion was a borehole that tunnelled directly into one of the rooms. It was approximately twenty metres deep, nearly perfectly circular, and appeared to have been cut with the kind of precision you normally find in laboratories.

There were no records of seismic activity in the area, and from what I can gather the Dragonslayers were unaware of Khepri's presence until the last moment. While this seems partly due to her Stranger abilities, which we are still unsure of the details of, it would indicate that the hole was created very quietly.

I found no sand in the base, even inside the corpses.

Additionally, placing the time of death at approximately twenty minutes before the call took place and assuming the borehole took at least half an hour to complete, the minimum speed Khepri would have had to achieve to reach the island after leaving Las Vegas at around 3pm the previous day would've been just over 70kmph if she went in a straight line. That would've placed her in close proximity to three major cities, none of which detected her in any way. Finally, Khepri was somehow aware of both the Dragonslayers link to me, their location, and how to operate a computer."

Everyone digested this for a moment, but Dragon could tell the mood wasn't good. If anything knowing more about an Endbringer just served to show their advantages.

She had to admit to herself that the information they had gathered hadn't given her any hope either.

Even Legend seemed unwilling to speak up now, instead staring at the map on the screen showing Khepri's predicted route.

She had been glad that Colin hadn't tried to investigate the base with her, being unwilling to fly all the way over and back when he 'trusted her to get the job done while he researched any connections'. It had meant that it was easy to hide the evidence of her being an A.I and destroy the device that Saint had been keeping in the base.

Amongst it all had been some notes he had written, worrying that she was starting to overcome the inherent limitations that her father had built into her. She ignored the twinge of resentment with ease, instead thinking that that, at least, was giving her some hope.

She could do so much more if she weren't restrained. One of the directors speaking brought her attention back to the meeting.

"So we have nothing to help us in combatting them." Director Fairchild said, sounding exhausted. "The biggest breakthrough in nearly twenty years and it tells us what? That the monsters are intelligent? Anyone who has fought them, seen them in person can say the same thing. That they are mysterious, that we do not really know their limits? The same."

Costa-Brown fixed him with a look that communicated very well that those were the exact reasons she hadn't informed them all earlier. Another short silence gathered, until one of the youngest of the group, Arthur Crowley, the Director in Minneapolis, spoke up.

"Have we ever tried communicating with Khepri? I know that there were attempts with Behemoth and Leviathan and that the Swiss spoke to the Simurgh without a response before Lausanne, but Khepri specifically?" He glanced around then continued with more energy when no one said anything.

"Armsmaster said it before, that she is different, and we have never responded with anything but force to her appearances."

"You should ask the people of Tunis, or Khabul, exactly how she responds when we don't play her game." Director Armstrong growled. "There is nothing left of those cities aside from dust and bones. You'll get nothing but death from her."

"We should at least try." Crowley replied. "What more could we lose at this point? I'll even volunteer to lead the delegation. If I die then I die, but I will go out trying to make a difference. I would not be willing to ask any of my men or the parahumans I work with to take such a risk if I wasn't willing to myself."

There were slow nods at his words and passion, although none seemed eager, but Legend sported a small and genuine smile on his face.

"What would a delegation entail, exactly?" The Chief Director asked, still expressionless.

"What do you think appropriate?" He responded. "I will be there with just a suit and megaphone if you allow it."

"Then you will be there with a suit and megaphone. It is unlikely than anything else would help you."

Crowley paled slightly at this, but nodded regardless.

"I will spread word that we are trying something different next time Khepri attacks, and to not interfere." Legend said, leaning forward. "And Director Crowley…thank you. It is not often that I see such hope regarding the Endbringers these days."

The director blushed and nodded.

Costa-Brown stood and the rest followed suit, waiting for her to finish the meeting.

"I will continue to update you in regards to this matter, as and when we receive new information. Dismissed."

As they all began to leave Dragon noted that the Chief Director indicated for Crowley to stay. They waited until the others had left, including Legend, until she spoke.

"Legend is right. It has been a long time since anyone has had hope." She seemed to measure him with her gaze, steady and unrelenting. He didn't falter.

"My older sister was a parahuman. She was killed by Leviathan in Seattle. Her death was what drove me to become a director."

Crowley paused, as if he were expecting Costa-Brown to comment, then carried on after she didn't respond. "I was angry, at first, as anyone would be, but after a while I couldn't help but think what good an Endbringer could do if only they were on our side. It was a foolish thought, and still is if I am honest, but Khepri seems the best chance to change that. Imagine if in the future such a thing happened and I didn't make the attempt next time she attacks. I don't think I could live with myself knowing that every death until then would be my fault, simply because I was terrified of trying. Terrified of doing the right thing. So, I am going to try."

He stood straighter at the end, and his hands only shook slightly. The Chief Director took a step forward and then, looking almost uncomfortable at the action, rested her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it slightly.

"You are a good man, Arthur Crowley."

She sounded almost lost, to Dragon, and she had to wonder at how much despair Rebecca Costa-Brown kept hidden if one man being earnest and brave could unsettle her so.

We're s- so very small, in the end.

The first bullet hit me from behind, where my mask offered no coverage, and I slowly toppled. The second hit me before I could fall, before there could be any pain.

She awoke to a featureless plain, accompanied by a throbbing in the back of her head and on the stump of her arm. She had...Scion had been defeated. Contessa had talked, had promised something, then shot her. She wore her old suit, from when she was Skitter, and memories of Brockton Bay flashed through her mind. A bit of movement caught her eye and she turned her head sharply to look upon a woman wearing the face of her mother. She was sitting in a chair, a content smile on her face, and aside from the silver hair and eyes looked identical to Annette Hebert. The woman gestured, inhumanly graceful, at the empty seat opposite her.

"My name is Eden. I believe we have much to discuss, Taylor Hebert. Do have a seat."

I am not as happy about this chapter, but I'll be posting one tomorrow or Sunday that I am more excited about.

I have also decided on a final direction and end to the story!

Also might've forgotten to add Eden's name in.

To be clear, not every post-chapter is going to be a Khep/Ziz convo. I'm going to start doing little flashbacks at times too, as in this is a flashback but I don't want to awkwardly put a

"Many Years Ago" crap in. Edited it to make the timeline clearer. Lines taken from Speck 30.7. The change from first to third person is intentional.

Last edited: Jul 20, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Jul 24, 2018

#175

Chapter 6: Pride

"Owl, I'm seeing some suspicious activity in this alley." Kid Win's voice crackled in her earpiece.

"Mmmm…how suspicious are we talking? A group of drunken men or Lung scratching letters into a wall?"

"Uh." He replied. "Just two guys huddled together. I think they're smoking something."

"Okay." She crouched further onto the rooftop, taking a silent pace forward. "Anything to indicate that they aren't just normal cigarettes?"

"Well, er, no." The embarrassment in his voice rose slightly. Another step.

"This close to the boardwalk then at most it'll be weed, so unless they're hauling around a load of it isn't again the law."

"Right." He said. "I wasn't really sure…" Kid Win trailed off.

She let out a soft giggle. "It's only your third patrol, you can relax Winnie. I was high strung too once. Besides, you're making a far worse mistake right at this moment anyway."

"I am?" He straightened up, alarm in his voice. "Wha-" The question turned into a high-pitched scream as Nightowl pounced on him from behind, her mass pinning him to the floor and keeping his hands well away from his laser pistols. She leaned in close to his ear, delighting in the panicky breaths he was taking.

"Situational awareness, Winnie."

She jumped off of him, flicking her tail back and forth happily.

"Christ, Owl, don't do that." Kid Win said, struggling to his feet and picking up his hoverboard as he did. Nightowl laughed again and leapt across the gap to the next building. Kid Win followed at slower pace.

"It's how I learned." She countered, prowling forwards to peer down into the new alley. "But you were seriously tunnel visioning."

"Yeah yeah." He grumbled, only just catching up to her before she was on to another roof.

"You don't really need me here do you?" The young Tinker half-stated.

"Nah. But I'm not allowed to do solo patrols and Stalker was busy tonight."

She saw him slumping slightly in the corner of her eye and turned sinuously towards him. He stumbled a bit, having been caught in her stranger effect momentarily.

"Seriously though. You're new. You'll catch up, and then it'll all be okay. Yeah?"

Chris tried to match her gaze but the hollow voids made him a bit queasy, so he settled for focusing on her nose, glad his visor hid his eyes.

"Yeah." He agreed, feeling only slightly better. He'd only known her for a few weeks and, if her were frank, she'd been intimidating for all of them. Shadow Stalker too.

They were well known in the city for being some of the best Wards the ENE division had produced in recent years and were expected to go far in their careers.

He had known that Shadow Stalker was a girl, obviously, but Nightowl was known for never appearing outside her changer form so everyone had, incorrectly, assumed she was a he.

He had been taken by surprise when they all unmasked for each other and Nightowl had turned out to be a distractingly attractive redhead, one that he could admit to himself that he had formed a crush on nearly straight away.

It left him wrongfooted most of the times he interacted with her and she seemed to delight in only making it worse for him.

The only saving grace that was while Emma Barnes was someone who he struggled to keep his eyes off, Nightowl was as hard to look at as ever.

She seemed like an unholy cross between a human, a lemur, and a big cat.

Her forelimbs were slightly too long compared to her back legs, as though they had been stretched out, and ended in clawed hands that had an extra joint in the fingers.

Her back legs were powerfully built, and seemed to end more traditional paws, until she gripped something with them and it turned out that they too were similar to hands.

Nightowls face was flat with wide, blank eyes, which is where Chris figured her name came from.

She had the nose of a cat, but human lips that opened into a mouth filled with teeth and fangs.

He had seen her yawn, once, and he was fairly sure that jaws weren't meant to open that far unless they belonged to a snake.

Her fur seemed normal at first, until you got close enough to see that they were more like long lengths of tiny segmented shards of glass, similar to the larger ones that ruffled up on the back of her long, deep chested torso and made her tail so dangerous.

That was what gave her the similarity to the lemur, aside from the front legs, as her tail was at least as long as her body and prehensile.

Chris had seen it spear straight through an armoured training dummy once. To top it off each of the flat plates that made up her form looked as if it had a faint night sky reflected, one that moved slightly out of sync with what she was doing, all of which added to her stranger effect.

"Come on." She said, rising from where she was sitting like a cat. "We've got another hour yet."

"Just maybe slow down a bit." Chris asked. "My hoverboard is a slow ride and I haven't managed to increase its speed yet."

"Well, Winnie." Nightowl said, peering over her shoulder at him, and he could hear the grin on her face. "Would you prefer to ride me?"

He choked on the breath he sucked in and nearly fell of his board but managed to stay on through sheer determination.

"No no." Chris said, hoarse. "I'm fine on this." He ignored the sound of Dennis raucously laughing through the earpiece, knowing the joker was purposely pressing the broadcast button.

"Alright." Nightowl said, about half an hour later.

She sounded serious this time, so he sidled up next to her as quietly as possible to watch where she was pointing. "This is what a drug deal looks like, generally."

There were a bunch of big men at one end of the alley leaning on a car, their muscles and tattoos clearly on show. "Empire." She continued. "Waiting for the client, probably mid-level since I can't see any capes. Anything serious and one of them would be here, but you don't get a car and five men just to sell to little Jimmy down the road."

"Should we wait for the client to show up?" He asked, taking a picture of the men.

"No. If too many come we'll struggle to subdue them without having to switch to actually harming them. I can handle five easily, and from what I read on the profile briefing your pistol's taser setting is almost as good as the tranq on Stalker's bolts, yeah?"

"I think so." Kid Win agreed. "You read those?"

"Yes." Nightowl said, twitching her head in her version of rolling her eyes. "If you don't know what your allies are capable of you're at serious risk of fucking up, especially when it comes to Tinkers. You should've memorised those briefings."

"Sorry." He began, but Nightowl cut him off.

"S'cool. I'm gonna call this in." She pulled back from the edge, motioning for him to continue watching the men in the alley.

"Console this is Nightowl, we've spotted a probable drug deal, Empire affiliations, no sign of capes. Permission to engage?"

"Nightowl this is Console." Miss Militia's distinctive accent came through the headpiece. "Permission granted but disengage if they pull guns."

"Miss M-"

"Nightowl. I would order that regardless, but you aren't the only one on the patrol."

"Fine. Engaging with trepidation and timidity, ma'am."

Nightowl leapt forward off of the edge of the building without warning, leaving Chris to scramble onto his hoverboard to follow. She had enough momentum to reach the bonnet of the car, crumpling it under her weight and leave deep gouges in the metal.

"Surrender." She said, and even with the adrenaline in his blood he could hear the boredom in her voice.

The Empire man closest to the door pulled a metal bat out of the car and swung it at her, to which she responded with a swipe of her claws.

The bat fell to the floor in pieces but the thug had little time to react as Nightowl had already pounced forward and toppled him to the floor. The others had pulled themselves together and had pulled weapons by then, but seemed unwilling to advance.

She took a step towards them, over the man, and Chris realised that he should be helping. His taser shot hit and the flunky spasmed a few times before falling still, breathing heavily.

The four of them were trying to surround her, and Nightowl nearly laughed at them.

It was like children trying pincer tactics on a tiger, unable to realise how out classed they were.

She hopped to the right and speared her tail forward. It didn't pierce her targets foot, instead digging into the concrete next to it, but she had only wanted him to move anyway.

He left a gap open which she slid into, body-checking the unsteady man to the floor at the same time as she swiped a paw at another.

He screamed as his leg moved in a way it wasn't meant to and she winced internally, knowing that she was in for a lecture about excessive force.

Still, he wouldn't be getting back up, leaving her free to leap at the remaining two thugs. Mid-air she used her tail as a dragline to twist about and land early, avoiding the lump of rock that had just been launched at her. Three Empire capes, Krieg, Rune, and Alabaster were descending into the alley on top of what looked like a ton of pavement.

"Not the prey we hoped to catch." Krieg said, gesturing forwards. "But it should still send a message." Alabaster hopped down alongside his superior, while Rune rose back into the air, gathered ammunition hovering around her. Nightowl glanced back to see Kid Win edging closer to her. He had tied up the first one she had beaten, at least.

"Console, this is Kid Win, we've been engaged on by three Empire capes. Krieg, Rune, and Alabaster." He managed to get the sentence out with remarkable speed but was interrupted when he had to dive to the side to avoid the rock hurtling at him.

Nightowl herself was forced to focused on the two older capes, both of whom were making their way towards her with decisive steps. They didn't speak, so Nightowl had to assume that they were used to working together.

She also knew, however, that Alabaster could take everything she threw at him, and so they seemed surprised when she lunged towards them. While they had more experience she was quicker by far, enough so that the albino cape was pinned to the floor through his chest by her tail before he could even start to dodge.

"Get out of there right now." Writ spoke up on the comms, furious. "I'm on my way to your current position, I'll be there in less than two minutes."

Nightowl didn't reply, instead making sure that her strike had been true and had severed Alabaster's spine.

Not that it was a hard shot to make, with her tail blades being as wide as they were, but it was nice to know that her skills weren't slipping.

The Empire cape could only gasp and try to push her tail out with his arms but all that served was to cut his hands up. She only realised the mistake she had made when Krieg got close enough for his power to begin affecting her but not enough that she could attack him without leaving her back exposed.

One of the non-powered minions who hadn't been taken out tried to step closer, but Krieg held out a hand to stop him. He seemed willing to let his power build up strength before trying anything. She floundered for a moment until she eyed the fight taking place between Rune and Kid Win.

They were swooping rather close to the ground at times, and so Nightowl waited until she felt the shudder run through Alabasters body to signify he had just been healed and reinjured. She then jumped backwards, slower than she was used to, then rebounding off the wall towards her teammate.

She had to take a missile meant to Kid Win in the process, as the idiot had turned to watch her move and missed the lump Rune had just shot at him.

A snap echoed in the alley, like the sound of ice cracking in a glacier deep below the surface, and she felt one of her plates crumble. It was on her torso, thankfully, so she swept her tail up and around to cover the spot.

"Why are you even here?" She asked, stalling for time.

"I think that is none of your concern, child." Krieg replied as he helped Alabaster to his feet. Despite her knowing how his power worked it still irritated her to see him up and standing about with a cocky smirk, no worse for wear.

"Do not hurt them too badly. They are only Wards." He instructed, making sure his men were listening. Nightowl whipped her tail round angrily, scoring into the concrete. Her destroyed plate had already reformed, and she hoped that none of the Empire had realised it had been broken.

"Stay behind me, Win." She said, stepping in front of the other Ward. "Shoot anyone who tries to flank me."

Rune tapped the wall by her, launching another shot at them, but she underestimated Nightowl's reactions, who batted it aside with her tail.

Kid Win took the opportunity to start shooting back, at Krieg, who sidestepped quicker than should've been possible.

He did clip Alabaster, but the man shrugged it off, and then they all began to run at the pair of Wards. They braced themselves, drawing closer together, but a white wall dropped out of the sky to slam in between them and the Empire.

Writ landed on top if it and a slew of paper shreds followed her, falling down like snow. She had formed a long spear and held it low in one hand, looking like a radiant knight to the two of them in her armour.

"Ah, frau-" Krieg began, but Writ cut him off.

"Did you think four would be enough?" She asked, and the three Empire capes froze. Crusader was lowered into sight, cocooned in paper, on top of which coiled a snake-like construct. It was reared up and the spike-like head was hovering barely an inch from the cape's eye.

The snow of paper became a storm above, then Rune too was dropped to the floor, bound and gagged. Writ casually threw the spear at Alabaster, propelling it with her power hard enough to pin him to the wall through his chest. She kept her eyes on Krieg for the entire time, pacing around him in a circle.

"Eight would not be enough." She continued, as a tendril of paper slipped around Krieg's leg and squeezed hard enough for the bone to crack.

"Twelve would not be enough." Another wrapped around his shoulders and held his arms fast, although this time she kept it light enough to avoid breaking his ribs.

"Your entire herd of racist thugs would not be enough if you threaten my Wards again." She was almost hissing by this point, and Nightowl felt a rush of glee run down her spine. Writ dismissed the Empire then, turning her attention to the two Wards, and the glee fled. She could tell by Writ's body language that she was angry with both of them.

"Console, this is Writ. Four Empire capes captured, Alabaster, Crusader, Krieg, and Rune. Awaiting containment and retrieval."

"Writ…" Kid Win began but trailed off when Nightowl nudged him. "Wait until we're alone." She murmured, nodding towards the enemy capes.

The PRT had shown up quickly, already on route from Kid Win calling the fight in.

They had foamed and tranquilised the capes and unpowered members and were shipping them to the Rig, with Kid Win along for the ride as a learning experience.

That had left Writ and Nightowl alone for the journey back, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Writ had forgone her usual griffon and instead was mimicking her student, having formed the shape of a great lion around herself.

"Do you know why I am angry?" She asked after a few minutes of silent travelling.

"Because I got into a fight with three Empire capes?" Nightowl said, slunk low to the ground.

"No. I am angry because you still focused only on the enemy you could see. Both at first, when you didn't check the surrounding rooftops for any reinforcements, and then when you were engaged on you didn't immediately run. They would not have risked the force necessary to stop you from leaving, not when you're a Ward. You think only of fighting, of what is in your face."

"Sorry." She said, despondent. Writ let out a sigh.

"What you did right, however, was protect your teammate, and fight well."

Nightowl look up, hopeful.

"The rest will come to you, eventually." Writ drew herself up then, standing proud in her lion shape. "But I will not forget that you deliberately disobeyed me. And not only that, you put Kid Win in danger too!"

"It wasn't deliber…" Nightowl trailed off, confused that Writ didn't sound angry. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you quoting the Lion King just because I look like a cat?"

Writ didn't reply for a moment, before letting out a giggle.

"I have been waiting to say one for so long."

"I'm going to start calling you Mufasa." Nightowl muttered.

"Only if I get to call you Simba!" This time the older woman couldn't restrain herself, and started laughing outright.

"Don't you dare!"

"You have no right to wear that face." She hissed out, staying where she was even as her mind raced through her options. A twitch of Eden's arm resulted in Taylor being forcibly pulled into the seat.

Eden blinked once and made no move to change her appearance. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Taylor unwilling to engage and Eden seemingly happy to continue observing her.

"You have potential. But you are correct. A mother should not look like her daughter."

Taylor felt a frown slip onto her face for a moment before she reclaimed her apparent passivity. A mirror shimmered into being in front of her and she froze in horror. Her face was different, and she hadn't noticed it change. More finely boned, elfin, and a glance at the now changed Entity opposite showed many similarities between them.

"A daughter should instead look like her mother."

A little bit late but eh. You got a silly omake to tide you over. For clarity, basically no one but her teammates know that Annette can sense things through her paper, so the Empire were expecting to be able to sneak up on her using Crusader's ghosts.

I'm going under general anasthetic for an op on Thurs morning and I'll have a week of being stuck in the house because of it, so there might be more story than usual. Or I'll write like three stupid omakes per day but we'll see.

For clarity: These little Eden Taylor moments at the end are in the past, right after Contessa shot Taylor at the end of Canon, not in the present.

Last edited: Jul 31, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Jul 31, 2018

#236

Chp 7: Shepherd. Wrex.

She arose on the foothills of Mt. Hood as the sun dipped past the horizon. The clearing was loud from the cacophony of animals and the rushing of nearby water, but Khepri wasn't worried about making noise. Supressing any sound she made was trivial and basically instinctual at this point. She stood there for many minutes, perfectly still, until a vague feeling of irritation drifted down her mental link.

[Admonishment]

"You will not meet anyone standing around in a forest."

[Unsure]

"I don't really know what to do. Should I make a costume?"

[Exasperation] [Love]

"Sister, you are an Endbringer."

[Petulance]

"Dragon seemed okay with it."

[Exasperation]

"I would not use the word 'okay'."

[Acquiescence]

"…fine."

She drew the dirt up from her surroundings, separating it out into a fine dust, then began to weave it together into long chains of pseudo-cloth. It did not take much time for her to make a brown, hooded cloak.

[Disbelief]

"You only made a cloak."

[Defensive]

"It's a costume."

[Exasperation]

"It is a poncho."

[Approval]

"I like it."

[Order]

"Just add something more."

Khepri rustled the nearby leaves in a fake sigh, then set about changing her creation. She made it longer, thickened it, then added a few patterns in to it. Underneath was a simple shirt and trousers that were a slightly lighter shade than the robe. Finally, to finish it off, she formed herself a crooked staff with a small bell tied to the end.

[Statement]

"A shepherd."

[Pride]

"Yup. I like the aesthetic. Plus it's thematic."

There was a long pause before she replied.

[Fondness]

"I am glad that you are happy doing you."

[Love]

"Thank you!"

Khepri had almost reached civilisation when it occurred to her that, while her face was covered, her mask was quite recognisable.

A quick flurry of activity saw another mask placed on top, one showing the visage of a smiling young man. She finished just in time to make it onto the road without breaking her pace.

A moments deliberation had her turn towards Portland and she carried on in her slow, loping strides. Her Sister had suggested changing how she moved, so as to further throw off any similarities to her usual self, and Khepri honestly found the change relaxing.

She wasn't hurrying anywhere or slinking through her sandstorm or really on anyone's time-frame but her own. It was…refreshing. The last time she had really been able to amble like this was when-. Her thoughts stuttered, and she paused in her walking, trying not to chase the idea away. Eventually the moment passed without her having caught it and was left only with the feeling that it had been a very long time ago.

The people she saw in the first village she came across stared a great deal at her.

She waved at them, but could sense no crimes taking place, and so carried on towards the bright lights of the city in the distance.

A few peaceful hours later, aside from the drivers who stopped to take pictures of her, and she found herself on the main road into the city. The signs said Portland, and Khepri felt pleased, because this was the first time she had found a city on her own.

The main centre was still a long way away, though, but her range covered most of the city by now, so it wasn't hard for her to aim towards what looked like a gang gathering. There was a human hovering in the air, which she knew probably indicated that there was a parahuman in the building.

It was a gang. They were in what looked like an old department store, which she thought was a bit silly for a gang, and the tags on the walls proclaimed them as the 'Gresham Maws'. At least it was better than the Azn Bad Boys, she decided.

[Urgent]

"You have to disguise your powers!"

[Reassurance]

"I am! I'm going to control rock. And make sheep. And goats."

[Reluctance]

"You are sticking with the shepherd theme."

[Pleased]

"I like goats."

If she were human Khepri would've taken a breath to calm her excited nerves, but as it was she casually strolled through the wall into what turned out to be a meeting of the Gresham Maw's main group.

She had to give credit to them, they didn't freeze.

The flying parahuman was a tinker, as it turned out, and he immediately shot her with a glob of acid that slid off her robes with a faint sizzling. Two of the other members in costumes rushed forward. One was carrying a scythe while the other seemed to be rearing back to punch towards Khepri's knees.

The Endbringer swept her staff forward, knocking them down, then made the rock below the floor surge up to trap their bodies.

After doing the same to the unpowered goons she turned her attention back to the tinker, who was hovering uncertainly.

He shot her again, then fled after confirming that his shot did nothing to her. She formed a herd of sheep, rams, and goats to show to her prisoners that she was watching them then zeroed in on the calmest looking human.

He had a phone on him, thankfully, but her fingers were far too large to use it. She decided to free his upper half and handed him the phone, hovering a large chunk of rock above his head to get her point across. She indented the words 'PRT' in it so he understood what she wanted.

The PRT and Protectorate were surprisingly thankful, although Khepri was unsure of why this surprised her.

While many of them were put off by her height at first after she demonstrated her slow movement and her Happy Mask they seemed eager to talk to her.

A lot of it was the normal nattering that humans liked to do, something that had only increased after she gestured towards her mouth in an attempt to make it clear she couldn't talk.

One of the local heroes, Mattock, hand shook her hand and explained that the Maw's, while new, had been a growing pain and the Protectorate was glad that she had helped stop them before they could really gather steam. He also called her Shepherd, which pleased her even if it was obvious, and then asked if she would be interested in joining the local team. That more than anything made her pause.

[Query]

"Sister?"

[Tentative]

"If it will make you happy. Just be careful."

Her communication with her sister took less than a second, so it hadn't turned awkward by the time she nodded. Then she struck on a brilliant idea. She moulded the mask to her face, covered her body in a similar rocky surface, and imprinted an omega symbol onto her arm.

Khepri nodded at the hero, then pulled her sleeve up to show the new 'tattoo' on her arm. Mattock let out an 'ahh' of understanding, but the grin on his face didn't waver. She was glad her mask was already smiling back.

Later that evening, after some of the preliminary paperwork for Case 53s had been done, she indicated to the team that she wanted to go outside to explore on her own. They seemed reluctant but didn't exactly want to upset the new addition to their team and eventually agreed. It didn't take her long to find a quiet alley near a free wifi point, and after walling it off she pulled out the laptop she had liberated from the Maw's then sat down with it on her lap.

Both Colin and Director Piggot were up when Khepri called again. They couldn't get hold of the Chief Director in time, but her office let them know that she would return as soon as possible.

Piggot's feed was much smaller, in the corner of the main screen, but her neutral expression was still clear. Dragon had to admire the woman for her composure, as even Colin was showing some subtle signs of nerves. She took a millisecond to gather herself, then opened up the line.

Khepri was outside, this time, and seemed to be sitting down and leaning against a brick wall. The buzzing drone of her speech was quieter than before, something which she was sure her coworkers were thankful for. It took a moment for Dragon to realise that the lower noise levels had made Khepri vastly more understandable, although it still wasn't perfect.

"Hello." She translated, slightly behind Khepri's wave.

"How are you?"

"We are good?" Colin said, but it was definitely more of a question than an answer.

"How about yourself?" Piggot continued, after it was clear that Colin was having one of his moments. Her poker face remained unruffled despite exchanging pleasantries with an Endbringer.

"I am happy!" Khepri replied, and even to human ears the buzzing sounded cheery. "I have joined the Protectorate- what."

"The Protectorate?" The poker face wasn't infallible then.

"Yes indeed. In Portland." A robe rose up out of nowhere, along with a mask, and in moments Khepri had been replaced with a smiling rock-man, a crooked staff leaning against her shoulder. Dragon was already accessing the Protectorate files and found what she wanted quickly.

"A Case 53 temporarily titled 'Shepherd' joined the Portland team barely a few hours ago, after surfacing by capturing the majority of a local gang." She paused, then. "No one was harmed beyond bruises." She added, because Dragon felt it needed saying.

"They were very nice to me. Especially- Leader. Genuine."

"I believe she means Mattock, Portland's Protectorate team leader." Dragon commented.

"I am…glad to hear that?" Colin supplied another question disguised as a statement.

"Would you mind if we ask why?" Piggot asked.

"I believe he is a good person."

"I mean why you joined."

Khepri hesitated here, long enough for them all to notice.

"Reparations. Sadness. Choice."

"You feel bad about the attacks." Dragon said into the silence, although the meaning was clear enough. Khepri's reply was halted by a beep, indicating the Chief Director was trying to join the call.

"Someone else is trying to join, if you are okay with that?"

Khepri tilted her head, but eventually nodded. Costa-Brown hadn't even had the chance to say a word before Khepri's body language changed. She sat up straight, the mask changing into a glare as she did so, and Dragon saw the slight vibrations of the building behind her.

"Negation." The Endbringer stated, then ended the call.

They turned their attention to the Chief Director.

"She recognised you." Colin said, and it was only from long years of knowing him that she caught the hint of suspicion in his voice.

A sick, angry burning feeling rose in Taylor at the sight of her now fine, straight silver hair. Her green eyes were the same colour, and she could no longer see anything of her mother in the mirror.

"I have a mother!" She tried to rise again, but the bonds held fast.

"You had a human mother. I am not human."

"But I am." Taylor growled, thinking of the way her kind had rallied against Scion.

"You were. No longer."

I can't stop Khepri from being the more adodorkable thing.

The op went well, but it turns out I move around way more than I thought when writing so I ended up doing nothing except playing games and watching anime for the first time in years, so sorry about the delay.

I've also decided I do actually need a beta read, but I think there's a specific thread for finding one? Idk, I'll look around. That saying, expect mistakes and typos and shit.

If Khep seems strangely childish its because she's only just started to mentally un-Endbringerfy herself.

Last edited: Aug 11, 2018

826

FifteenBadgers

Jul 31, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Aug 10, 2018

#319

Chp.8: Whirl

He is right, she thought. The mask made it harder than normal to tell but the Endbringer was similar enough to humans that her body language translated, clear and precise. Khepri did not like Rebecca Costa-Brown. More than that, however, was how instantly she had been recognised.

There had been no hesitation, no moment of unsure identity. Reactions that fast and pure could only come from an intimate familiarity.

"I am the second person she has shown previous awareness and opinions, after Dragon. The same may have been true of the Dragonslayers, but we cannot know for sure."

Trying to deny it would simply have raised their suspicions further, and made her look guilty, although of what even she was unsure. Antagonising an Endbringer?

"I find myself wondering if we are perhaps not the first humans she has been in contact with."

"Someone could be feeding her information, possibly biased?" offered Piggot.

Alexandria would admit that she appreciated the professional subservience Director Piggot gave her.

It made their experiment in Brockton Bay much easier to slip by the organisation as a whole.

The distance she kept from her parahuman allies helped as well. She also, thankfully, had a good head on her shoulders. Alex nodded at her words but didn't interrupt, letting her theorise out loud.

"They probably approached her first. If Crowley's idea is right, then she has always been willing to talk and no one, until now, has capitalised on it.

The Fallen are the likely suspects and are antagonistic towards the PRT, but that wouldn't explain her fondness for Dragon, nor how she found the location of the Dragonslayers."

Alexandria deliberated over whether to encourage the line of thought or not. On one hand it would serve to divert attention away from her when she was fairly certain why Khepri disliked her, but it would also waste resources on a fruitless investigation.

While Khepri's knowledge was concerning, the source of it was doubtfully hu-.

"The Simurgh," she breathed, eyes widening. "We have been treating her far too much like a parahuman, too much like a human in general. We have always theorised that the Simurgh could direct the other Endbringers, but if they directly communicate then Khepri will have all the information she needs."

Honestly she wanted to curse up a storm. Cauldron had been doing okay. Things were steady. They could account for most variables, and then… and then a bloody Endbringer had decided to grow a personality.

Doctor Mother was unnerved, and Contessa was useless for once, while the rest of them floundered for ideas. David was livid, enough that even Alexandria was feeling wary of him, although he had refused to explain why.

"It feels almost pointless to stand around guessing if that is the case," Dragon said, drawing Alex out of her thoughts. "It may sound fatalistic, but if this is a combined plot with the Simurgh to harm humanity then there is little we can do to stop it at the moment. I remain hopeful, though. There is something strangely genuine about Khepri. Regardless, our courses of action will hardly change."

"She was erratic today," Armsmaster added, his voice unusually quiet.

He was staring out through the window, not really looking at anything.

"You said she isn't human but even to me she seemed to express far more emotion than before." His attention returned to the others. "If they wanted something destroyed, or someone killed, they would simply go and do it under the guise of a city attack. This is unusual enough that I think Dragon is right. I am also hopeful," he added, as if he were unsure that they got the underlying message.

"Keep me updated," Alexandria said, nodding her thanks at them all. "I need to go and warn Director Stoutfield to treat his newest parahuman with care. Dismissed." She waited long enough to seem polite then ended the connection, sinking back into her chair as she did so.

Her hand rose up to rub at her eye, almost vacantly, as she thought back to the image of the Endbringer and the scowling green eyes behind her mask.

Khepri had known that she was Alexandria.

For someone of his size, Counterpoise thought, Shepherd really knew how to move.

The Case 53 had been with them for a fortnight now and was settling into the team almost as easily as she had. Admittedly he had been a bit strange at first, flicking back and forth between moods, but after that had begun to pass they had all chalked it up to the oddities of memory loss and moved on.

Although the ease with which the big guy had taken to fighting and team exercises had made Mattock wonder out loud to them all if Shepherd had been military before his Case 53'ing.

Counterpoise certainly liked him, more than some of the Wards team she had recently left, but the smooth ease with which he was dodging her shots was starting to rile her up. She let another bullet fly from her sling and Shepherd fully pirouetted onto his other foot, cloak swirling out, and she missed by mere inches.

"Fuck, dude!" she cursed.

Counterpoise hooked two bullets into her sling this time, spinning them up to speed and feeling her power work on the ammo.

Each extra rotation added more, so she could either loose straight away for her base amount or keep spinning. Five loops would be five times as much speed and force, and so on.

She had been allowed to stack it up to a hundred rotations during her power testing then promptly told that she was to never go above ten as a Ward nor higher than once against a normal person.

All of that was apparently useless against Shepherd, his gently smiling mask only adding to her irritation. She didn't think that he had caught sight of her double loading, so when she next fired she kept both bullets relatively close to each other.

The first was dodged, as normal, but the second impacted into the cloak that Shepherd had drawn up with a bone tingling crack. The bullet was cratered into the rock, webs of cracks radiating out, but thankfully hadn't pierced through.

"Chloe!" Mattock shouted, signalling for the training to end.

"It's fine Matt, Shepherd can take it. Look." Counterpoise gestured, and true to her word the bullet had already been pushed out and the crater almost completely healed up.

"Whether or not he can handle it is irrelevant. This is a live fire training session, you don't get to pull stunts like that."

"But-"

"Nor was it the point of the exercise," he continued. "The aim wasn't to score but to practice your aim against a target whose reactions are better than yours."

"Alright alright," she said, flustered and annoyed. "Can we try the proximity ones?"

Her team leader considered her for a moment, holding her gaze, before nodding and moving back towards Magellan, who was also supervising. Counterpoise took out one of the blue bullets and slipped it into her sling, looping it around without actually engaging her power while she waited for Mattock to explain to Shepherd.

"These are tinkertech bullets I've supplied Counterpoise with. They'll beep if you're in range of the blast but won't actually go off unlike the live ones, which are normally filled with containment foam or, in more serious situations, explosives."

Shepherd nodded in his easy way, and when he glanced towards Mattock in the process Counterpoise struck.

A high-pitched beep rang out as it passed by the Case 53, who had moved too late to dodge it fully.

"Your arm and hand stuck,." Magellan drawled, for the sake of keeping track.

Counterpoise continued firing, trying to anticipate how Shepherd would dodge. He had been hit a few more times before he adjusted to the radius of the bullets and his earlier smooth movements had become jerkier and more urgent.

Counterpoise was smiling now and could feel a thrum of glee in her blood. She managed a low shot that bounced on the floor, coming in at an unexpected angle, and it beeped right next to Shepherd.

"Your foot has been stuck to the ground."

It had to be said that Shepherd was an honest player. As soon as it had been called he kept his right foot firmly planted on the ground, not even turning on it. She took little time after that to cover him enough that Mattock signalled the end of the session.

"Good work both of you. For the most part," he gave her a firm glare and she shrugged but nodded her head to show she was taking it in. "Poise, you did as well as you could with your normal ammo, but that's why the proximity ammunition exists. You also capitalised on Shepherd's lack of wariness well, but you got too cocky at the end. Containment foam doesn't work on all parahuman powers, so don't assume they are down and out just because you've tagged them."

"Okay. Fair's fair," she said, acknowledging his point.

"Shep," Mattock continued, clapping the guy on his elbow. "You're a big target, so you'll always be one of the first aimed at, as well as relatively easier to hit. We'll continue to train you with dodging, but you are coming along well."

The Case 53 shifted his mask to show a bigger smile then gripped Counterpoise on the shoulder.

The gesture didn't have an exact meaning for him, but he had made it clear it was a positive one, so she smiled back and took his large hand into her own.

It wasn't something she would normally do but they had picked up on the fact that Shepherd liked physical contact but was often too shy to initiate, so they had all been pulled aside and asked to make him comfortable. Counterpoise didn't really mind, and Shepherd was a sweetie anyway.

"Come on Balboa, let's go find the others while these nerds do paperwork."

[Query]

"Do you remember?"

[Flawed]

"I am not as well made as you. Just as Leviathan is lesser than me, and Behemoth than him."

[Denial]

"I don't think you are lesser at all, sister."

[Urging]

"You didn't answer the question."

[Hollow]

"I recall green valleys. White mountains. A small river, in a small village. Summer breezes. A fire, in a hearth, during winter. Two people in soft chairs."

[Empathy]

"Only that?"

[Statement]

"I do not remember their faces."

Sorry about the delay, I was busier than expected, but the good news is that I should have the next chapter out tomorrow evening or Sunday morning. Thanks for the likes and reviews everyone!

Big thanks to BurnNote and EvilAtlas for beta'ing too, they were a massive help!

Last edited: Aug 11, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Aug 10, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Aug 12, 2018

#364

Chp.9: Firmament

Khepri wasn't sure what to make of Magellan. Most humans she had met fell easily in to one of two groups, either antagonistic or friendly. Her new teammates were nice, the criminals they arrested were less nice, or at the very minimum quite rude. Magellan seemed indifferent.

She knew enough to recognise he was often sarcastic towards most people, which was fine, but he wasn't towards her.

Or at least towards the guise of Shepherd. Khepri doubted Magellan would be sassy to an Endbringer.

Her guess was that he wasn't comfortable acting like that towards her, but everyone else seemed to have relaxed, even the Wards. Khepri turned her attention only briefly away from her thoughts to scan her surroundings.

They were doing a 'public' patrol, on the ground rather than moving along the rooftops. She thought it was silly. The public would be happier with them if they were more efficient at catching criminals entirely, rather than having showy actions that did nothing.

It was a familiar complaint, drawn from the flashes of memories she was having, but it still rankled.

Civilians, few as they were at half-past-two in the morning, occasionally stopped to take a picture of them. One had even asked for her autograph, so she gave him a smoothly carved rock statue of a shepherd's crook instead. Magellan had eyed her for a moment over it but didn't speak up.

They continued on in silence for a while, heading towards the rougher areas of town. Khepri had already sensed several people catch sight of them and quickly rush off, so she assumed that the local villains knew they were around.

Taking the opportunity of being alone Khepri reached over to tap Magellan on the shoulder, showing him the words that she had embossed in her cloak.

When will you trust me?

"No pleasantries first?" he asked, smirking slightly.

You don't seem to enjoy pleasantness.

Magellan chuckled. "So you can sass back at least. Don't take it to heart Shep, you're just new."

So it isn't personal.

"Naw. Although you've had the personality of either a puppy or wet paper recently which, frankly, is a bit tiring."

She bristled a bit, but he waved her down.

"You'll settle into something. Or someone, I suppose. Who you are is because of who you were, so no memories means you aren't really much of a person."

That seems a bit rude.

He shrugged. "Just life. Bushes are for gardens, not beating."

Khepri took a moment to process his words.

I shall endeavour to become human enough for your standards then.

"That's a bit better. Maybe add an insult on the end too, it's like throwing spice on a meal."

She pondered for a moment.

I agree. The galaxy you are named after is small and lacking in resources.

"Those words hurt me more than you can know, but not for the reasons you think."

Her staff struck the head of the brute she was fighting with a crack loud enough to echo in the warehouse. He swayed for a moment and she casually hooked the crook around his foot and pulled hard, tripping him backwards to hit the other side of his skull.

"Restraint, Shep," Magellan called out from his own fight. His power could draw nearby light into condensed orbs, leaving a region around them too dark to see. He was flitting between the darkness and the light, unseen by his opponents, who couldn't look directly at the orbs or see through the black.

A group of unpowered gangers were penned in by his power and Magellan would strike out unseen with his stun baton, bringing down a goon each time.

Khepri gestured, encasing the brute in rock aside from his mouth and nose, then strode over towards her teammate.

She heard a crash outside, presumably from Acacia laying into some unfortunate soul. Her targets probably heard it too, but they struggled to see her and by the time she was amongst them it was too late anyway.

She swung about with her staff, gentle enough this time to only knock them down, and the crowd of stone goats pinned them in place or helped catch any runners.

Magellan nodded appreciatively. "Useful as always. Lets go check on Acacia, make sure she isn't competing with you for excessive force charges."

It took them less than a minute to track her down. The sounds of pained groans made it easy enough and they found their teammate sitting on one of them in a graceful lounge, smoking away.

She was covered in her signature wooden armour, a brown motley of bark that was segmented like the old Roman style pieces.

Green leafy growths sprouted in places, including a plume atop her helmet that cascaded down her back. There was a smug smile on the portion of her face that was revealed.

"You're trying too hard to look cool, shrub," Magellan said as he began to check on the downed criminals. Khepri sent some of her sheep to accompany him, as a precaution.

"I barely even try." Acacia grinned, leaning forwards, her Australian accent only slightly softened after two years in Portland. "It took them a while to realise my bark is worse than my bite."

Magellan laughed, surprisingly deep for his size. "That's terrible, Acacia."

Shepherd raised her hand, palm facing down, and wiggled it a bit to show that she wasn't convinced.

"Aww Shep, come on," her teammate started with a pout. "An awful sense of humour is required on the Portland team. I'm on a roll recently."

"You're smoking a roll," Magellan muttered as he straightened up from checking.

"Now that was awful."

"You're awful."

"Your name is awful."

"Your mum is awful."

"Harsh Mags. Harsh. Anything to contribute, Shepherd?" the woman asked, turning towards her.

Hmm… I am technically under a month old and I am already more mature than both of you.

"Oof. Okay, man got us good. The PRT will be here soon anyway, I called in the fight as soon as I was done." She cupped her mouth and false-whispered to Shepherd. "That means we have to be serious. It's in Mattock's rulebook. I tore out the paragraph and pinned it above my desk."

"We have fourteen unpowered members and one parahuman, the brute Thudthud."

Khepri was impressed he could say that with a straight face and that the PRT officer wrote it down without cracking a smile.

"Farrier got away," Acacia added, "we think he was trying to drop off the KOIN files, but whether the trade was successful only the Elite know."

"Senator Baker won't be pleased," the officer replied in a level timbre.

"He probably shouldn't be making deals with the Elite then."

"Acacia," Magellan warned. "Those are rumours, and they will stay that way unless evidence is brought forward."

I don't believe that there were any more gang members within the vicinity. My constructs did not encounter any, but they are not fully reliable.

They were. Khepri just wasn't willing to give any more information out about her powers.

"I think that's all then."

The officer nodded once as he signed the form, tilting his head at the three parahumans.

"See you 'round, Magellan."

"You too, Velez." He gestured for Acacia and Shepherd to follow. "We'll report to Mattock and the director. If the Elite are making a push again then it needs to go up the chain."

I believe that Director Stoutfield will be almost excited about the news.

"Yeah the old wardog is going to love this," Acacia commented. "Good thing we've got a new heavy hitter on the team, hey Shep."

She nudged her shoulder into him playfully.

I look forward to being able to help. She paused for a moment, then widened the smile on her mask. Magellan will need all the assistance he can get.

Both of her teammates laughed, grinning back, and Khepri felt a happy warmth settle into her stomach.

"We haven't heard from her in three weeks now," Colin said. "I suggest we initiate contact this time."

Piggot nodded slowly.

"I agree. The reports from the Portland team are mostly positive."

"Mostly?" Dragon asked.

"Apparently the other brute on the team didn't get on with her at first, but Mattock settled it between them. They are cordial enough to trust on patrols together now, but not friends like she is with the others."

"We're discussing the social life of an Endbringer," Colin stated. There was a moment of shared silence.

"I'll get the Chief Director's go-ahead on this," Piggot continued. "It will likely fall to you, Dragon, as she likes you the most and, if I am frank, your suits are more expendable."

"I understand, Director Piggot," Dragon replied with enough of a smile to let Piggot know that she wasn't offended.

"If this goes well a face to face meeting might be considered."

"And that will almost certainly be our job, Armsmaster. Christ."

"I think we won't have any issues until the next Endbringer attack," Dragon said in a more sombre voice. "We don't know how she will react. It was assumed that she would continue in her attacks, but with her joining the Protectorate, even in disguise…"

Piggot sighed, rubbing under her eyes.

"It's a slow motion clusterfuck. Go get some rest, especially you Dragon. You'll need it."

If she was capable of it, she would be wringing her hands nervously. As it was she was pacing back and forth just outside her transport ship.

It was landed on top of the Portland Protectorate and that was where she had been waiting since Director Stoutfield confirmed that Shepherd – that Khepri – was heading to the roof to meet her.

The guarded door opened and the disguised Khepri ducked through it, giving a friendly nod to the troopers stationed there.

A rock wolfhound was padding alongside her, large even in proportion with the Endbringer and about the size of a small car for everyone else. She greeted Dragon with a wave, following the suit into the transport without preamble. It rose into the air quickly, heading into clear airspace.

"Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go?"

"Somewhere with a good view. High up."

"Easy enough. Are you going to stay in disguise?" Dragon kept the question as casual sounding as possible, making a note of the increasing ease with which she could understand the Endbringer.

Khepri deliberated for a moment, then the rock started to slough off her and into a neat pile in the corner. The wolfhound too, was uncovered, revealing a body of reddish sandstone and too intense blue eyes.

"Let me know if you need anything."

The only reply was a nod, so the AI refocused on going through her routine checks. The cameras were recording, for the benefit of the three people watching, but Khepri hadn't protested to them so far.

The flight did not take too long, and soon they were settling down high up the side of one of the mountains in the Cascades. Khepri gestured for her to follow once the door opened and strode out towards the nearby promontory.

"Turn the cameras off," Khepri said as she sat down on a boulder, the dog curling up by her feet.

Nevermind, thought Dragon. She joined the Endbringer on her seat, leaving a sensible amount of room.

"Thank you for-," Khepri gestured for her to stop, then leant back and tilted her head up towards the clear sky.

Dragon was human enough to feel uncomfortable for the first few minutes but eventually settled down and started watching too. They were far enough away from civilisation that there was little to no light pollution.

"Do you like the stars, Teresa Richter?" Khepri asked, sounding almost sad.

Dragon froze in shock and wouldn't have been surprised if even her runtimes had juddered.

"I haven't had much time to watch them, I'm afraid," she admitted in a quiet voice.

"I spend most clear nights I am not on patrol watching them."

"They are beautiful, and many people love them. Can I ask why?"

"I find myself comparing them to my siblings and I. I both envy and empathise with them. They seem so free..."

"Empathise?"

"Yes. Their freedom is an illusion. They are bound by the inextricable fate of their nature. To grow and spin and burn until they eventually fade. Stuck circling a far away unheeding mass that is as distant to them as they are to us."

"Why do you envy them then?" Dragon asked, strangely enraptured.

"You said it yourself. They are beautiful and loved."

Khepri stood, forming the rock up around herself until she was once again Shepherd of the Protectorate, resting her hand on the giant wolfhound beside her.

"Come, Queen. I feel like a walk."

"Wait, please," she called. "I have to ask, will you attack again?"

The Endbringer stood still for a long time, enough that Dragon began to doubt she would answer. Then Khepri turned her head upwards towards the heavens.

"Lovely little star," she whispered. "Would you stop your shine for me?"

She continued her vigil for a short while, before starting off into the gloom, her hound trotting beside her.

"Goodnight, Teresa Richter. Stay safe."

Thanks to BurnNote and Evil Atlas for beta reading, they've been incredibly helpful, and thanks to everyone who liked and review/replied.

Last edited: Aug 13, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Aug 12, 2018

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FifteenBadgers

Aug 23, 2018

#425

Chp.10: Diffused

Writ found that the three Empire capes they had captured were surprisingly good company. Sure, it was mostly her talking to them, which had started wearing thin quickly, but they did have the excuse of being bound, foamed, and gagged, so she supposed she could forgive them.

"You don't have to worry about Rune, by the way," she offered. "She's already been sent to a juvenile centre. Hopefully they'll be able to fix some of the damage that being around you all has caused."

It was a lie. Rune hadn't been moved anywhere yet, but if the expected escape attempt succeeded Piggot didn't want Rune being freed too.

The PRT Director didn't even want to have them moved because of it, but there was public pressure mounting to get Krieg and Alabaster into the Birdcage as soon as possible and so she had been forced to order it.

Once they were far out of the city Crusader would be separated from them and taken to a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, but it was deemed safer to keep them all together for now.

Writ shifted the paper of her seat as she lounged to the side, idly making the large spheres of paper float around in a slow circle.

"I heard that Nazis have a hard time in the Birdcage, you know. Turns out villains are still American."

Krieg was completely stoic, keeping his eyes shut and his breathing calm, but Alabaster glanced at her for a moment and she knew he was thinking about the numerous capes in the prison who would be capable of killing him.

She unfurled a bit of paper from one of the spheres and manipulated it into little humanoid figures, then made one of them turn into a blob and envelop the other.

Once she moved it back off the previously human paper had been turned into a skeleton.

"Acidbath is rumoured to be a block leader," Writ commented as the figures merged back into the ball.

There was a double knock on the roof, the signal that they were entering the area where Dragon had identified the E88 would strike.

Writ sat straight and moved the majority of her paper seat in front of her to form a thick, spiked shield. She forced herself to relax her body, even as her senses were on high alert, and ignored the way that Krieg had opened his eyes and was looking around.

The minutes passed slowly but Writ kept her focus until eventually there was a loud crashing noise, then a screech as the armoured van came to a quick halt. Gunshots started up, as well as more crashes, then the rear door of the van was ripped off of its hinges. Hookwolf peered in, the metal of his head glinting in the light.

"Bad doggy," she said, then launched the four spheres right into his face. They impacted with a crunch and she used the moment to dart out into the open, held aloft by her paper. Hookwolf quickly recovered, whirling around to face her, but she was already out of reach.

Writ took a moment to glance over the battlefield, checking on who was fighting.

All her team members were engaged ,although on the E88 side she couldn't spot Victor or Othala. Purity, Night, and Fog were not there, of course. The married couple hadn't been seen in months, while Purity was trying to rebrand herself as a hero.

Writ had already had a chat with the ex-villain about staying on the correct path, and reminded her that while she was the second strongest Blaster on the east coast she couldn't blast anything if she couldn't see. The paper wrapped around her head had delivered the point properly.

Piggot had been furious, docking her pay and even forcing her to make a private apology, but Writ knew the message had been understood even if it had shot the potential of her joining the Protectorate.

Writ jigged right to avoid the door that Hookwolf had thrown at her.

"Bitch!" he roared. "I'll fucking rip you apart!"

"I suppose I do vaguely resemble a newspaper," she replied, morphing a sphere into a large chain and looping it around his back leg.

The other three took his remaining limbs and hoisted him into the air, then started to pull on his limbs. Hookwolf shifted his blades, however, and shredded one of them before she could pull it back.

He thumped back to the ground and turned towards her, but she took remains of her sphere and swarmed it around his face, obscuring his vision.

The other spheres turned into large cubes and began hammering at his body, knocking him side to side and off his feet. He let out another scream of fury as he groped around for the other door to throw at her.

She took the opportunity to draw two of her nearby caches towards the fight then send them flying towards the giantess twins.

Assault and Battery were good, but there was only so much they could handle. Fenja saw the oncoming projectile and dodged in time but Menja didn't, crashing to the ground as the paper wrapped around her legs and tripped her.

Writ was still bludgeoning Hookwolf, and while it hadn't hurt him it had kept him occupied and disoriented enough that he hadn't managed to regain his footing.

She hauled Menja into the air and left her dangling, and once again Writ cursed her inability to really deal with Brutes. Still, it left only one giant for her teammates to handle.

She turned her attention back to Hookwolf when he finally started to think. He had formed a metal helmet without any holes and used it to push away her flurry of paper, then quickly dashed away from it before jumping into the air towards her.

"You broke Stormtiger's legs!"

"He was running," she said, easily moving out of the way. Hookwolf landed on a rooftop, spun, and jumped at her again.

"You murdered Cricket!"

Writ stiffened, anger blooming in her veins, and drew all her nearby paper into a great mass to catch the Nazi. She surrounded him with it and kept it pressed against him even as he tore it apart, then lifted him high into the sky.

"You've ended hundreds of innocent lives, then complain when someone finally finishes one of your own?" she cried, furious.

Writ launched him down as fast as she could, pushing with gravity, and Hookwolf impacted into the road with a rumbling crash. She lifted him back into the air, quicker this time.

"Fathers." Another crash. "Mothers." Another. "Children." She drove him down face first this time, burying him up to his haunches.

"I could kill every last one of you and still sleep well at night," Writ hissed, uncaring that he probably couldn't hear her, as she began to worm tiny shreds of her paper through his blades, searching for a soft body beneath it.

She had to stop when Menja, freed from her bindings, struck at her with her spear.

Writ barely dodged it, drawing higher into the air, but the giantess instead grabbed the incoherent Hookwolf and turned tail.

Her sister had picked up Victor and Othala, both injured, as well as Kaiser, whose armour was singed. Dauntless had obviously been aiming well.

Writ floated back down, still hyperfocused from the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and checked on the transport van. Krieg had got free, having been closest to the door, but Crusader and Alabaster remained securely locked up.

Armsmaster jogged up next to her for the same reason, then sighed when he saw one of the prisoners was missing.

He called Assault over and asked the pair of them to start moving the prisoners before jogging away.

"Two out of three isn't bad, considering the track record," Assault commented as they carried the pair to a new van."Plus they'll spend a while licking their wounds." He glanced at Writ. "Especially Hookwolf."

"He got to me," she replied, acknowledging the point.

"We heard. You, uh… thanks for the assist on Menja."

She considered him for a moment, then relaxed her stance, thankful he was shifting the topic.

"I do what I can, Assault, as do you. Besides, Battery would mope around if you got hurt."

He laughed cheerily.

"Yeah, puppy is surprisingly puppylike."

Writ went to reply but stopped, horror settling in her stomach as the loud drone of the Endbringer sirens started to sound. It was, thankfully, the alert for a different city, then a few moments later the specific code identifying which monster was attacking played.

"Khepri again. After barely two months," Assault said, his voice sombre. No doubt he was thinking back to Las Vegas.

Writ was too, but as the memory of green eyes played through her mind, she knew it was for an entirely different reason.

Taylor stilled, her unwillingness to show any weakness warring with her lack of information.

"What do you want from me?"

Eden considered her for a moment.

"You will have a purpose."

"One where I'm not human?"

Eden leaned towards her, one hand reaching out to cup Taylor's cheek as the Entity's inhuman eyes roamed over her face.

"I had to name the others myself." Her other hand reached up to match the other, Eden's gaze becoming almost reverent, her expression softening.

"But you've already been given one, Khepri. Look at you. Fierce. Determined. Strong because of your weaknesses, strong enough to kill Zion. Even now you look for an escape, a way to fight, a way to live."

Eden drew back, blinking her eyes a few times.

"You will be perfect."

"Perfect?" Taylor asked, against her own will.

"Yes. It will hurt."

Thursday...Tuesday...basically the same thing right? I'm just going to stop guessing when I get chapters out from now on, because life things. I'm on holiday for two weeks though, so hopefully (knock on wood) I'll have an increased posting rate.

Thank you Evil Atlas and BurnNote for betaing, as always, and thank you everyone else for reading.