Shining Example (WORM ORIGIN QUEST)

[X] Trust Him. If he can help, then you need to take the chance that he will.

First impression, you don't trust him.

Or at least, you don't trust the kind of person that he is. Path to Victory? The only chance that you have? He might be trying to push your buttons, but whether he is or not, the more he reminds you of Contessa, the less you want to let him work.

Then again, you were wrong about her. Behind all the powers, the suit and the gun was someone. She might have just said her name, but she was horrified that she could even reveal that much. For a moment, one brilliant shining moment, she was a person.

And the path took that away.

Now here this guy comes in with a cocky attitude to rival David's, and Rebecca's respect not to mention her trust.

If that wasn't bad enough, he didn't have to talk for a second before splintering everyone into ranting children. Charles thinks he could be working for Symphony, and you can't blame him for thinking that. The timing is so perfect it might as well have come from those awful B movies your dad used to watch.

And that's nothing compared to what he could want out of this. Setting you up for failure, getting you, Rebecca, Matthew, David and everyone killed. Controlling you, without even showing his face!

Your fist smashes against a wall, sending spiderweb cracks along the surface and making Rebecca's head snap to you. The shame that follows is enough to make your heart wrench.

What the fuck are you doing? You're here to stop Symphony, not waste time while people needed your help.

Alex spent time worrying over every little detail. Alex wasted time worrying about what might and what could happen if he acted.

You weren't him right now.

You're Atlas; all you need to do is stop this, and save everyone that you can while you do it.

Could and would of the situation be damned.

David could've been a self-centered prick, but he wanted nothing more than to stop this and help you prove something.

Something that couldn't come true if you ignored every voice that tried to help on the off chance that they might turn on you because they have an ulterior motive. Anyone can have one of those. Doctor Mother taught you that much.

The fact is that you're outgunned, barely have a plan, and still had god knows how many people to save all the while protecting each other so your path can come alive.

You needed help, and if he can get everyone out of this… it's worth the risk.

However, that doesn't mean you're just going to roll over and let him order you without something in return. You let Doctor Mother do that to you once, never again. You tap the edge of your mask and breathe.

"David."

There's a lurch at the other end of the line, probably from him jerking on his flight path.

"Yes?"

"On the off chance that we don't make it because of this, find Oracle, and have him answer for what he did."

A long pause from the demigod.

"Consider it done," he promises.

You nod, holding in a sigh of relief as you did. This guy claims to have the path to victory, but David doesn't show up on that path. If anyone was going to make it out of this, it was him.

And there's no one you trusted more to go through that promise. Now, you can't offer much to everyone else, but you can at least extend the offer.

"Matthew, Charles, same deal."

Whether it be the natural choice or the looming deadline, the silence that follows shatters almost instantly.

"...fine," Charles replies.

There's another second of silence, Matthew picks up.

"I hope you know what you're doing Alex."

You glance past your hand to the distance where the city continues to smoke. The smoke has all but blacked out the sky, and the utter destruction in the streets makes it hard to see this as a city instead of a war zone. Next, to you, Rebecca's head is on a constant swivel. With each motion, she somehow finds herself between you and whatever might come.

An immovable sentry, protecting you even when you're worried about her. It brings out a small smile, and it's better than you could've ever dreamed. Better than you or the world deserves.

"Quite the stage you've set for me, Mr Everett," Oracle cuts in almost cheerfully, cutting your smile down as he does it, "I hope I can meet your expectations."

Yeah, I hope so too.

Out loud, however, your voice still rumbles through with a growing familiar power, "What do we do?"

A clap rang through the line, and you can almost imagine the grin that must be spreading across Oracle's face.

"It's simple for the greatest outcome to come to fruition, I need everyone to obey my orders implicitly."

Something crumbles, and you glance over to see waves turn a nearby rock to dust. Rebecca spares another instant to give you a look from behind her helmet. You grit your teeth, forcing a deep breath in.

The glow fades away, but the feeling stays strong.

"Fine."

Another chuckle runs through the line, but you've never heard something more forced in your life.

"Right," Oracle calls, a cascade of popping sounds leaking into the line, "To business then, Ms Brown."

Rebecca stops turning her head. She motions with a hand, pointing at the ground near her as you make your way over. Your back goes flush, and Rebecca turns away, letting you take her spot as she puts a hand to her helmet.

"In sixty seconds, we'll be needing an ambush on the north end of Crystal's dome."

You tear your eyes away from the city just in time to see her mouth twist into a frown.

"What's wrong?" you whisper.

"Fastest route has no cover."

"Indeed, Ms Brown" Oracle agrees, "There's an eighty-three point five two percent chance of you getting caught in Richard's more… creative applications of his power should you attempt a more conventional approach."

"So how is she supposed to-?" Charles starts.

"The street directly east of your position, the underground runs directly underneath it. Make an entrance, head north, and don't stop until I say so."

Rebecca gives a gruff nod.

"Understood."

"Fantastic," Oracle exclaims, only to hum, "Actually, for the ease of execution, communications will need to be personalized. Mr Fahey-."

"Setting personal channels now."

"Excel-"

Oracle's voice goes dead, Charles' work showing faster than you could've imagined. You give your arm a break from holding a finger to your mask and instantly stare at Rebecca.

Her hand falls to her side, her fingers curled into fists, but her face is as still as stone. She doesn't even turn her head to look at you as she heads to what you assume is east. Maybe she glanced at you from under her visor; maybe there was some silent message, you can't tell.

It hurts not to no know, but it doesn't stop something from slipping out.

"Stay safe."

She stops freezing in the air. Her entire helmet turns towards you, and in the corners of her mouth, a smile inches its way out.

You blink, and she's gone. Loose items go everywhere in the slipstream, and the wind breaks harmlessly against your waves, the only thing making an impact being the ringing in your ears.

It occurs to you that that could be the last time you see her, the last words you say to her. Not the place you wanted to say it, nothing but hell for miles.

What you said though… it isn't too bad.

"Mr Everett, your role is critical," Oracle stresses, forcing you back to reality "Richard is treating this as the greatest resistance to his plans. However, the allure of your arrival is too much for him to resist."

"Where are you going with this?" you ask.

"What I'm saying, Atlas, is that this is one great show to Richard. He's introduced himself and his group as the heroes, and naturally, in the stage that he's set for himself, you are the villains. He tried to kill you to begin with because you sought to end the show to early. Now, if you play the part of the mastermind, he'll treat you with the same respect that's expected of a hero meeting his adversary."

Christ, and you thought Clint had self-esteem issues.

"So I'm supposed to be happy that this psycho sees this as one big game?"

"You should be, it's one of the few things stopping him from putting a hole in your head right now."

He can… oh fuck!

You jerk everything back, throwing your entire body behind the wall. You let out a sigh of relief, only for it to hitch in your throat. What the fuck are you thinking? Walls won't stop Symphony, his beams go through everything.

Except… didn't they slow down when they hit your waves?

"Quite the predicament, no? Unless you want to die," Oracle continues, "You need to start making your way to the Themes."

Biting down the comment in your head you glance around, "Which way?"

"Head to the street opposite of Ms Brown. Fly away from the dome and take the first right."

"Won't that give Symphony the chance to shoot me?"

"He won't be looking if you go when I say," Oracle bites back, "Now, once you take your first right, it's a straight path to the river. Unfortunately, your role will come into play before you manage to get there."

"Alright," you say, playing the directions back in your head, "What then?"

"React."

You feel your eyes narrow, and on the other end, Oracle pants. What is he doing that makes him out of breath?

"I don't have time to go into the specifics," he struggles out, "The fact of the matter is your powers have a greater instinctual trigger than any currently on the planet."

"That hasn't always been a good thing," you grit out.

The line goes dead, and even the fires seem to get quieter.

"Tragedies, both of them."

You… you wouldn't go that far. Mistakes, yes, the man in black. He was too far gone, a danger to everyone and even more so himself. Incubus had the chance to walk out of the mine, you gave him that chance, you made sure he could make it even when Harbinger thought otherwise.

But he didn't, he just… gave up.

"Alex," Oracle confides, "You won't make the same mistake again, not while I'm helping you."

You don't say a word, letting the silence speak for you.

"You have twenty seconds to get to your destination before Richard rechecks this angle, get moving."

You grit your teeth again, so you stare out at the empty street in a vain attempt to relieve the pressure. You let a second pass, still nothing. Swallowing your pride, you make the waves carry you into the air.

Away from the dome, first right. Away from the dome, first right.

Ok, time to go.

You clench a fist, and the waves explode under you. You fly out of the wreck like a bat out of hell. Your turn turns into a drift that has your waves scraping against buildings as you get too close for comfort. Ignoring the sounds of shattering glass, you level out your flight and cruise in the center of the street.

"What about time limit that you talked about earlier?" you ask, gliding over the wreckage of half a dozen wrecks.

"An obstacle, but one that David was uniquely equipped to handle. He will do his part while you do yours. Close your eyes."

"Wha-"

Light sears the world around you. Your eyes feel like they've caught fire, ripping a scream from your throat. It's almost loud enough to drown out the sound of something exploding in front of you. Wave spring up to stop the rocks and the dust, but you're left blind.

"Fly up!"

You don't question it. Waves build underneath you and blast you skyward. The world blurs as your vision slowly comes back into focus.

"Shield your left!"

Your hand snaps up, your palm pulsing out a hundred waves that condense into a glowing wall of gravitational force. Something smashes into it, barely even scraping away the outer coating but sending a sting heat to your ears.

Bullets.

You squint past the haze you're left with, and three of those robots are flying towards you. The guns beneath their bodies fill the air with the deafening stream of fire, adding to the chorus of bells in your head as the guns ping uselessly against your shield.

"They're a distraction," Oracle informs you, "Crush them!"

You bring your right hand forward, your gaze travelling down your fingers like the barrel of a gun. With a twitch, all three of the robots are surrounded. Your right-hand snaps to a fist and they crumple without even the chance to spark.

"Bring them around, shield your back."

You jerk your hand to your chest, sending the balls of metal flying straight towards you, then, you hear it. Something is screeching air, headings straight towards you. The thought gives way to instinct as you let yourself drop like a rock, allowing the balls to hit whatever was coming towards you.

They collide and then, boom.

The explosion sends you hurtling down, and you force a dozen wave to jerk you to a stop. A few extra stops your neck from snapping at the movement, letting you scan everything you can. The flash and blare of another shot makes you spin in the air. You narrow your eyes at the rocket, and more importantly, the knight aiming the robot on the ground.

"Defend your-"

Whatever Oracle finishes with is drowned out in a symphony of waves. You rocket to the side, dodging the missile by a hair's breadth. Another miniature explosion erupts. You slice a hand through the air, sending a stream of waves down like a shining blade that lights up the street. The knight leaps to the side, abandoning the robot as the waves smash it and the building they were standing on into rubble. You hold in a wince and somehow manage to spot the knight as he jumps to another building. His helm turns in your general direction, but you can't tell from this high up. He skids to a stop, smashing a fist against his leg and making the appendage go red hot.

"Hit him with everything, he can take it, and if you don't disorient him, he'll kill you. You'll need to get in close, and make the opportunity count."

A streak of black launches from the building, cracking the street and making your ears ring as he gets closer. His fist goes back, and you do the one thing that Oracle gave you.

You react.

A hundred waves appear and explode on your shins. He goes for your chest, but you spin, flipping over the gauntlet and smash your fist into his face. Another bomb blasts in the air, followed by a crash as the earth buckles under the impact.

You will a thousand waves in your hand and fire them down. The dust cloud splits, and another ear-rattling crash fills the air that ends with the knight in the middle of a crater. He moves to his feet, and you throw a thousand waves over his shoulders. You hear the armor scream, fighting in vain against probably a thousand tons of pressure. He takes a step forward, the single appendage cracking the ground just as quickly as you did. You will yourself back to the ground so fast you can't hear it. The knight tries to raise an arm, and you let the waves on your back explode.

His arm goes to his waist by the time that you cross half a football field to force your hand over his face.

A million waves build, and you let them loose in the millimetres between your hand and his head. Your waves buckle to the point of breaking as your arm snaps back and the windows of every building on the street shatter as the knight blurs like a bullet. He hits the ground once before plowing through building after building straight to the dome.

Damper Efficiency at 67%

You shake the visor message out of the way, taking a few deep breaths to stop the growing ringing in your head. You hear a whistle, Oracle again.

"Pacifist you may be, you're a natural at combat."

Ignoring that, you take to the skies again, and as you stop, the dust cloud of the knight keeps going. A singular path of destruction that only stops with a seismic crash against the dome at the end of a small clearing. The entire thing shakes, little more than a snow globe pounded against raw steel by an angry child. A black dot in the middle of an open crater is the only thing that lets you see the knight.

Another blast breaks the ground under him. The dome buckles as another black dot drags the knight across the surface of it, stopping at the crest and sending a shockwave across the city as he slams against it.

They don't stop.

One shockwave becomes a dozen as he's pounded against the top like a rag doll. A black dot is thrown up, putting it face first with a dozen lasers that blast him back to the ground. Over the dome, the other dot, Rebecca, flies across the edge and goes back into the ground where she emerged.

"The cars underneath you, see them?"

You glance down, the wrecks lying broken and abandoned.

"Take at least one."

Two it is.

You reach out, your waves picking them off the ground, crushing them further with every foot they travel.

"Keep them close, and let your instincts take the rest."

You feel your eyebrow twitch, but you do as you're told. The two heaps of scrap rush to you, and you let your hand drop. They start to go behind you, then they reappear, going in lazy circles all around you. You hold out a hand in front of you, and one of them gently glides over your arm.

You look away as a star burns into existence. It hovers over the dome, and even from this far away you feel the heat. Some of the closest buildings catch fire, and the dome starts to steam. Suddenly, a blue laser hits it, and it tumbles down. Another flies out, and a stream of fire bursts like a living river, blanketing a section of sky in fire and another stream of lasers fire. They miss the ball of fire only to curve and smash into it's back instantly. The ball of fire goes down closer to the ground, and a flaming chunk of rock flies straight at it.

You hear a hail of gunfire, rendering the rock to nothingness, letting the fire catch itself before it hits the ground.

"Now everyone has his attention," Oracle whispers, to himself in all likelihood.

He must shake himself out of the stupor, the cough of someone clearing their throat breaking through the line.

"Now is the time, Mr Everett, to the dome."

Well, alright then.

You will yourself forward, the balls orbiting you becoming bullets in the air all the while the ringing grows in your ears. You weave through the buildings, dodging any plumes of smoke and roaring fires that you can. In a second, you're floating on the edge of the clearing, the light of a nearby fire making your golden form shine.

The clearing might have been a park once, with the broken trees and upturned patches of grass. The heat of the fire along with Rebecca's actions however, have left it little more than a broken battlefield. Rebecca stands alone, a building to her back cracking her knuckles at the glowing ball. It seems to look at you as you make your way down.

You make out an almost feminine figure, black within the flames. She raises a hand, only for her to falter as Rebecca picks up another boulder-sized chunk of the ruined building. In the center of it all, the knight drags himself from the crater, his armor bent and breaking off his chest and shoulders. Beneath a shattered helm he looks up at you. From the sky, Matthew descends in a cascade of neon lights. He stops on top of a building at the edge, crossing his arms he looks over the clearing. On the left end of the clearing, the white figure lands.

Now that you're closer, you can see that she's just a woman in a white armored suit. She flicks her hand, and you swear that you hear thunder.

The knight eyes everyone, his gaze lingering on Rebecca a bit longer than you would've liked. For a second, he stops to watch as almost a dozen of those robots fly over to the white woman. Even from here you can hear them ready their weapons.

The knight eyes light up, but whatever he might've thought, it's blasted out of his mind as something turns a building into rubble. A green ball of crystal comes bouncing through, rolling along the ground and sliding to a stop. It cracks open like an egg, letting the green armored woman come tumbling out, a nasty spot of blood matting her hair.

The air crackles and everyone looks up to see as the clouds of smoke themselves part. David descends like some old testament god, his right hand alight with sparking lightning, and his left humming with a power that you can only imagine. A spike of crystal flies at him from the corner of your vision. He waves his left hand, the crystal vanishes.

And all hell breaks loose.

Legend takes to the sky sending a barrage of neon lights at the woman in white. She jumps clear, two of the robots behind her meeting a predictable fate. Rebecca rockets forward, punching the knight who manages to get an arm up in time. The two of them carve a ditch in the ground, both of them completely ignoring the growing heat from the ball of fire.

David snaps his fingers in his right hand, sparking electricity that misses the figure by a hair's breadth.

"Fire a shot upwards."

You throw a hand into the air, cutting a ball free from the waves that force it down. The shockwave makes your cape flutter before it smashes into a partially formed crystal ball above you. A million shattered particles rain down on you, your orbiting protectors shielding you from the bigger chunks with barely a thought.

You turn just enough to see the crystal woman. Once again, you see something flash over her face. She raises a hand, and you fire another ball. It goes wide over her head, but she scrambles back anyway, the message loud and clear. Her shoulder spikes are seemingly dragging her back and into the air, but she barely gets to the roof before another bolt of lightning hits her square in the back. Her limbs spasm, she goes still, and the dome falls apart. The stable structure liquifies, raining down on the blocked off sections of London. With a wave of his hand, Eidolon somehow makes the liquid go away, stopping the millions of gallons from destroying any more of the cities landmarks.

Then, the ball of fire explodes. The flash nearly blinds you again, the heat burns your skin, a snap rings out, and everything goes back to normal. Blinking away the black dots, you can't see the ball anywhere. You hear the crash as Rebecca gets a good hit in on the knight. The shockwave makes him flail like a ragdoll as he sails into the distance with Rebecca close behind.

In the sky, bullets and lasers fire blast out with thunder bombing in the distance. Or, maybe that's just Rebecca.

"I'm beginning to feel that we overestimated this whole thing."

You glance up to see David land right in front of you. He still sparked with power, his cape practically humming.

"Then again," he says, turning to the dome, "There's one more left."

You nod to him. He nods back and glides off the ground and flies off. A bell rings in your ears as you follow him, passing the remains of a tower, cars, and corpses. They littered the ground, split bodies that somehow lost limbs and left to die on the cold street.

The only saving grace is that most of them are looking down.

"Don't let them distract you, they-"

Your earbuds spark, and you have to stop to keep yourself from flying into the ground. Shaking away the pain, Eidolon stops too. He taps his ear, grunts, then turns to you. You shake your head, touching the edge of your mask and getting nothing.

Is this, is this Oracle plan?

You look at David, and without a word, he knows what you're thinking.

"He couldn't have planned for me."

"Yes," you admit, "But the timing-"

"Doesn't matter!" David roars, "We're this close to letting me finish this!"

He cuts his rant short, he growls from behind the mask.

"We'll deal with Oracle later. When we find Symphony, just hold him down, and I'll finish this."

He doesn't wait for you to answer. All you can do is follow close behind him.

He picks up the pace, forcing you to do the same as the two of you pass over the remains of a dozen of buildings. It only takes a few seconds, but it feels like years before you land in another clear square, or at least, you hope that it was a square before. At the end of the clearing, you see a building sitting at the edge of the Thames, a huge chunk of its roof blown out and an entire wall left with nothing. You glide closer, and you see him.

Sitting on a throne that didn't belong to him, Symphony taps his hand against the armrest. The man that did all this.

Killed all those people. Waves smash against your fingers, curling them so tight you feel nothing but pain.

He claps his hands together, and the sounds of trumpets blare from some unseen speaker. He steps off his throne, and bows with a needless flourish of his hand.

"Wel-!"

Eidolon rockets forward just as your fist flies out, blanketing the entire building and him in enough waves to crush steel. They surround Symphony, his knees buckle.

Then his head snaps up, his music note mask tilts, and the waves around him shatter.

"That's not very nice."

A baton flies into his hand. He points it, and a golden beam blasts David. He flies back, the golden stream making him rocket into the horizon. You look back at Symphony, his baton tapping against his head. You quickly raise a hand to-

Another beam from Symphony, this time from his finger hits your foot. For a second, nothing happens, then your waves break, and you feel it. You fall, crumpling to the ground flat on your face, but you don't even feel it behind the pain coursing through your leg

You try to move your foot, and all it does it make you scream again.

Oh god, it hurts!

Something runs down your face, and it doesn't stop. You bite down as best you can, staring at your arm to distract you from this hell. The waves slowly reknitting themselves back together, only to shatters again as another beam tears through your left hand.

After that, you don't know what you feel.

You know your jaw moves, you know you're screaming, but you can't hear it. Your other foot jerks without your permission, and another wave hits you. Waves blare to life, but none of them help you, they all fade away as Symphony fires again.

You don't know how long it lasts, or how long you lie there. All you know is that when you can hear again, you can't feel either of your feet, and your left thumb somehow can twitch with a hole your hand. Fuck, you can barely manage to prop your right arm under you.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

You try to look at him, but your vision swims, the pain making everything fuzzy. Or, maybe that's your visor, you can't tell anymore. You can barely tell if it's really Symphony reaching into his jacket and pulls out some book. He flips a page, the roaring thunder in the distance and the neon lights above him not even registering. You grit your teeth and push up.

And a golden beam tears a burrows a hole in the ground right in front of your head.

Just like that, you can't move. Your foot and hand burn, your ears ring you can barely hear a thing, but you can only shiver.

"But it's nothing, compared to how much you and your friends hurt me. I just wanted to make a difference, to make a world where everyone knows exactly who's in charge. Then you and your friends fly in, destroy hundreds of hours of my friends' work, hurt the good people who see the world as I do and use the bravest man I've ever met as a fucking punching bag when he was just trying to stop you."

You hear a step, and then another, and a boot stops an inch from your head.

"But worst of all, you made me hope that someone had come to join my revolution."

You crane your eyes up, watching as he leans down, tapping his baton against your head.

"But you aren't, you just think you're some kind of hero."

He stops the tapping, resting the tip of it square on your head.

"But you're just a kid in a mask."

It pushes into you, fighting against the few waves that stay by your side. His finger glows, then he drops the baton.

"The fuck is wrong with me? I'm beating up on a kid," he slaps his forehead, shaking his head in dismay, "This isn't how it was supposed to go."

He jumps to his feet and rushes over to his throne.

"Bad start, worse scene! But… I can fix this."

A cough, clearing his throat, he turned around straightening his suit with a quick tug.

"New scene! I'm Symphony, who are you?"

You glare with everything you have and the waves appear around you ready and waiting. You...

[] The waves have appeared, use them, all of them. His beam snuffed out a hundred, let's see how he fares against a billion.

[] Keep him talking, play the scene and by some miracle, David will come back. Pray to god he comes back with something that stops this madman.