Issue #2.4: Faustian pt. 4
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You are Black Swan.
You are currently flying in low-Earth orbit with one of the most powerful metahumans to ever live stuck to your head, and he's mad. Maybe if you keep flying up, you can just throw him at the moon or something?
"Do not think space will be the end of me!" he roars, "You're not the first to try!"
Well, poop. There goes that idea. Okay, okay, he's been guessing every strategy you've tried. Sometimes before you try it! He has waaaaaaay more experience than you. You're not gonna be able to surprise him by fighting in a way he's seen before. And he's seen how everyone's fought before!
So how can you fight him in a way that only you can?
The answer comes as he swings at your core again with a titanic blow. For all his might, all he manages to do is break his fingers on your chest. Pervert.
Wait! Your core . . . he can't break your core, but your core can break him.
Your construct-body is nearly out of energy. As soon as it is, you're going to enter hibernation and be at his mercy. If you're going to make a move, it has to be now.
You stop immediately, hitting Scarlet Maturity with thousands of miles per hour of whiplash. It snaps the tendons in his body, but he doesn't fly apart. You can already see him healing. You try to zip out from under him so you can build up speed, but he clips you with a half-regenerated arm as you do.
Right in what remains of your construct-body.
Your vision flickers and suddenly it's hard to think. You're tired all of the sudden. So tired.
". . . was I hitting the wrong part of you this whole time?" Scarlet Maturity says in genuine disbelief, "You truly are a pest. What's inside of you better be worth the effort."
You're too woozy to even be grossed out by that statement. You . . . you need energy. You need to keep . . . doing something. Almost drunkenly, you fly into the exosphere as Scarlet Maturity falls.
You recharge faster in the thinner air high, high above the Earth. There, you can see the blackness of space, with the Elysium Station on Jacob's Ladder far in the distance as your only company. You can think more clearly now, but you're still exhausted. You don't have arms or legs—you have just enough energy to cover your face.
You need more power than this. Your plan won't work if you're this weak. But even in space, the ambient light of the sun isn't enough! Scarlet Maturity will hit the ground before you're ready.
You need power. More power. You need to absorb power faster.
And . . . and there might be a way. You know your body is mostly a lie. A way of coping with how your power changed you. You once went two days without eating and didn't even notice until Mom freaked out. You stopped feeling pain at the very beginning of this fight, and you can make yourself see without eyes.
At your core, is a singularity. The heart of a supermassive black hole. At night, sometimes you imagine that you can feel it pulling, hungry to consume you and everything else. You've, uh, recently started watching a lot of movies with Maddie late at night when you both can't sleep.
She likes slashers. The gorier the better. Ugh.
Anyway, you've always kept a tight grip on your core. It might just be in your head, but you worry if you ever let go, even for just a second, it will feed.
Well, now you have to feed it. You have to beat Scarlet Maturity. It's not a matter of can you beat him, or should you beat him? He is in the way of everyone you love staying safe.
You will beat him.
So you loosen your grip, just a finger, and feel power filling you up. Faster than it ever has before, suffusing your very being. It feels . . . wonderful.
Why were you ever afraid of this? Your core is you. It—you—won't hurt anyone. Or, at least, anyone who doesn't deserve it—cough, cough, Scarlet Maturity, cough, cough.
Your torso is filling back in, but it still isn't fast enough! You need more, more, but how? Where is the power—
On the Elysium Station, an engineer named Cynthia Laronto was coming to the end of an eighteen-hour shift. She had already taken the maximum safe dosage of stimulants, and the synthetic coffee tasted like dirt. She was already booking her shuttle back to the plantside when she got an emergency alert on her console.
Then another thirty.
"Hey, Bill?"
"Yeah, Cindy?"
"You know those giant floating mirrors we have that redirect sunlight onto the solar panels that power the Ladder?"
"Yeah . . .?"
"Why are they all repositioning themselves to point at the same random spot in space?"
". . . I don't fucking know. All I know is that Rhys had the right idea getting a new job and the hell out of here."
"Hello, hello! You've reached Rad Rick's Twenty-Four Hour Raging Raveapaloza! The place where the party don't stop because we're contractually obligated! How can I help you?!"
"What's that? All of the lights for our Ludacris Laser Light-showevganza are all pointing at the same place in the sky at maximum power? That's gonna hurt our electric bills, baby! No, I don't know why! All I know is that if I drop the act for a second, they'll void my contract, daddy-o! Now let's party!!!"
In space, there floats a satellite whose existence would be denied by every major government on the globe.
It points at a patch of unoccupied sky, fires a high-intensity pulse of gamma radiation, and then returns to rest.
Many highly-ranked government officials would spend that night in meetings demanding the same thing.
"Why?"
"Hey, Cindy?"
"What is it Bill?"
"All of the station's communication equipment has been hijacked. They've somehow been altered to emit high-frequency radiation to that space spot in the sky."
"So?"
"Shouldn't we . . . tell someone?"
"With what comms, Bill? Look, my shift is over in ten minutes. If they wanted me to care, they should have given me dental."
—going to come from? WHOA!
Suddenly, energy like you never felt surges into you. It fills your non-existent veins and your construct-body reappears, fully intact.
No, not just fully intact. More powerful than ever. You have more energy than you've ever had before, so much that the void inside your chest is nearly sated. Nearly. The energy crackles over your skin and then you start to glow like a star. No, like a hypernova.
You feel the energy crackling around you. You pull it up, in, and then behind you, as you accelerate down, faster than you've ever been. You have the power to destroy planets in your heart.
And you're going to use it to:
Kick.
Scarlet Maturity.
In the nuts.
High on the Zenith, Gabriel Kwan's heart swells with a feeling that's become familiar over the last few days: hope.
"Thank you again, Dr. Lawson. I cannot express my gratitude."
Mendicant gives him a flippant wave and continues their examination of Charlotte Allard.
". . . fucked. Yep, defo fucked. Without me that is."
"You can heal her then?"
"Mhmm. Gonna take a bit—need to go slow or the shock will kill her. To be honest, I'd do this even if Double L hadn't asked. I always liked Arc. Besides, anyone else and she would have died in the attempt. But, lucky for you, you got the number one, top, most bad-ass mothereffer of a healer right here!"
They sit up quickly with one hand out.
"Wait, that sucks. Make up something cooler and tell Lady Leizi I said that!"
". . . alright?"
"And . . . uh, tell her that I've been working out and you're really impressed by my gains. Like, 'wow, I didn't expect a ticket to the gunshow with my healing!' Or something like that."
". . . so Lady Leizi isn't seeing anyone, is what I'm hearing."
". . . curses. A new, extremely handsome, rival appears. Okay, honesty set to 100? She's not looking for anyone right now, but she's cool with—holy shit, what is that light?"
There's an explosion in the sky, bathing the city in a white glow. Wolong's face freezes as something Lady Leizi said echoes in his mind.
"Wolong, she's the most powerful metahuman in this building by several orders of magnitude."
The laughter bubbles from his lips and bursts forth, as a very concerned Medicant makes sure he hasn't gone insane.
The first new generation of metahuman! All made to be heroes!
Silvio Serra Fernandes works feverishly in a windowless lab, driven by sheer willpower.
He hadn't believed it at first. Couldn't bring himself to believe it. But as he pulled the armor apart and rebuilt it, bit-by-bit, it all made a terrible, terrible amount of sense. The data the brass gave him was undisputable: Valiant Silver was meddling with forces she didn't understand. Her arrogance nearly destroyed the city—no, the world.
And now he was the only one who could prove it. Who could stop what she set in motion.
He has another six hours of work before he has to rest. The Rebound, once a distant, looming threat, was now something he had to actively manage himself to avoid. But it doesn't matter.
He stares and the faceplate of the nearly-completed PREVAIL armor stares back. He'll finish this work, defeat Justice Unlimited, and make them answer for their crimes.
Just like the Captain would have.
Lady Leizi helps secure the unconscious Handyman to twin shadow-corvids and ushers Menagerie Witch on. She climbs onto her own mount and shouts for Opale to join her. The white-clad woman runs to join her, when the remnants of her family climb back to their feet.
"Levithan's Blood! Gwen, Jean-Luc, give it up!"
Whatever response her cousin had is swallowed by a second detonation of light, dwarfing the first. It's like comparing a lightbulb to the sun. Lady Leizi's heart seizes in her chest, but her reaction is nothing compared to Été and Printemps.
"What? No, no, no, no!" Été wails, clawing at her face, "What is she doing?! She's . . . she's winning?!"
Printemps says nothing but holds his wife tight to his chest, both of them shaking like leaves. Having his neck broken didn't elicit a reaction like this—Opale stops.
"Gwen, Jean-Luc, what's going on?" she says, "What happens if Scarlet Maturity is defeated? What happens if Black Swan wins?"
Été just stares blankly, like a lost child. The question is seemingly incomprehensible to her.
"It's that damn contract! She can't answer! Gwen, try to focus. Try to tell me. What happens if she wins? What happens if she wins?"
You are moving so fast the rest of the world has stopped. You have no issue seeing at this speed—you would have no issue seeing at any speed. You kept your limitations because you were scared you would stop being human. But humanity is not a matter of flesh and blood or skin or sight. It's what's in your heart.
You are Mona Merola-Morales. You like anime and video games. You wanna try kissing a girl, just to see if it's nice as you think. You've always dreamed of being a superhero, and now you are one. It's harder, more dangerous than you ever imagined, but it just makes you love it all the more.
You are still an ordinary girl. But that's not all you are. You can be more.
Compared to you, the atoms making up the air are frozen in time. You collide with them, your speed fusing them to your core in a constant barrage of atomic fire. It would normally destroy everything around, but for you, it's just more fuel. The collisions don't slow you down—in fact, with the energy they create, you're speeding up. Your speed annihilates more atoms while speeds you up faster, creating an endless chain reaction.
A hypernovae, feeding into an unquenchable star.
And then, you're upon him. He's big, ugly, and completely healed. But he won't survive this. Despite it being impossible, you can feel that he sees you. Scarlet Maturity knows what will happen next.
He greets it with a savage grin.
A voice echoes in the back of your mind, but, before you can understand it, you're upon Scarlet Maturity. His body starts to dissolve before you even hit him, his regeneration futility trying to keep him together.
No . . . he's not just regenerating. Scarlet light is moving his atoms. Put them back together in the right shape. Only, even his atoms are dying now. You don't absorb that energy; you let it rip him to pieces.
He dies in slow motion before your eyes, body obliterated down to the quark. Except . . . except something doesn't die. In the center of his chest is a mass of the scarlet energy.
And it's starting to coalesce. It's starting to harden.
This time, it's Printemps.
He screams as something glows under his skin, a scarlet light that starts to burn. His flesh withers, his skin becomes papery, his eyes shrivel as all of the moisture burns away. Été shrieks and cries and beg as he dies, the energy draining what life he has. Once he's been reduced to a husk, his bones snap under their own weight and he dies.
Opale stands there stunned. She can't move, unable to understand what happens. Gwen looks at her with tears in her eyes and, for a moment, it's the Gwendoyln du Arceneaux from years ago. The one whole didn't let her cousin die when she had no one else. Then, the look leaves, the hate comes back, and Été moves to extract a bloody vengeance.
Menagerie Witches mount snatches Jean-Luc's body as Lady Leizi, already in motion, grabs Opale and brings her to safety. As they all fly away, the image of what just happened to Printemps remains fresh in everyone's mind.
As does the image of a red, horned skull eating a man alive.
The energy hardens into a solid core, not unlike yours, and falls with you to the ground. You have to stop yourself from impacting the Earth, your speed is so great you destroy the area around you.
But the red core is unharmed. In fact, it is growing.
Then it starts to change. Elongate, sharpen, develop distinct sections. A head emerges along with two arms and two legs. They grow larger, harder, more solid, until two horns of red crystal emerge.
And then, there stands Scarlet Maturity. Thirteen feet tall.
"Oh . . . that's effing bullpoop!" you scream, "I totally killed you! You were dead! I had a big internal monologue and everything!"
He laughs. "My powers are unfair? I believe you just rammed me at the speed of light and now remain in one piece."
"I'm a good guy and I'm cute! It's fine if I do it!"
Scarlet Maturity laughs again and flexes his hand, admiring it. "Ah, delightful. It's been so long since I've been able to collect."
"I don't know what that means! And I don't care! I beat you! I'm supposed to get to go home!"
"Very well."
"But I guess I'll have to kick your butt again—huh?"
"Leave, Black Swan," he says, "I have no contract with Faust. I follow him because he understands the same truth of this world as I do: iron sharpens iron. Today, the victory is yours, and to the winner goes the spoils."
"So I can . . . just go?"
"Yes. But before you do, allow me to welcome you to the elite of this world, Black Swan. Now you too will battle for the title of 'strongest'."
" . . . I don't wanna?"
"The fights will find you even if you do not wish them to. The powerful cannot bear a peer. They will hound you in your every living hour. You will continue to grow stronger. Or you will die. That is the only law of this world."
Then he laughs, delighted. He laughs and laughs and laughs until you can't take it anymore and fly away, so fast time slows down again.
But you can still hear him laughing.
You are g̵̨̰̳͇̊̍͊e̶̪͈͛͗̈́̕n̶̗͖̮͇͋c̸͉͙̗͑ͅč̴̪͝r̸̠̖̰̅͑̅q̷̧̩͐̈́̾̀̃.
You sit in front of a computer counsel, the emblem of a fish tattooed on the back of your hand. The room around you is dark. With you is Star, looking posh and self-assured as always, as well as Sun. Star sees you staring and raises an eyebrow. Sun just gazes forward, an empty expression on his face as always.
Å̶̡b̷̻̉.̶͔̽ ̴̩̈́A̴̠͊b̶̡̌.̸̮̃ ̸͌ͅḶ̶̛b̴͙̃h̶͠ͅ ̸̖͊q̷̜̎b̸̬̌ą̸̆'̷̝̅g̴͇͊ ̸̲̂j̴̥̐n̶̙̏ȁ̵͉g̸̝̒ ̴̖̅g̶̙̕b̸͎̽ ̶̮̒ŗ̶̈́a̴̤͝q̴̮́ ̶͙͠h̸̯͌c̶̪̈́ ̴͈͐ý̸͇v̶͔̓x̴̫͠ȑ̸͓ ̴̪͝u̵̪̕v̸̢̿ź̵̨.̷̬̚ ̵̯̑Ũ̸̪r̵̬͒ȳ̵̺c̷͓̚.̶̘̓ ̴̬̈́C̶͕̿y̸̛͕r̵͙̋ṇ̸͝f̸̙̀r̶͎̎.̵͔̈ ̶̪̀T̸͓̔b̸̤̓q̴͚͠,̸͇̍ ̶̰̚f̷͎̋b̷͎̃z̴͎̊ŕ̴̙b̸̞̚a̶̻̚r̸̺̉ ̶̖̍ṷ̵͊r̴̪͌y̸͉̑c̵̺͑ ̴̛͙ḻ̵̒b̸̻̚h̶̢̐.̸̣͆
Star continues examining you, but when you say nothing, lb̵̢͛̓ḧ̷̩́ ̶̭͠ṗ̷͜n̶̻͂ȁ̷̜̈́'̵̭̚g̶̦͉͑͛.̷̰͂͝, she turns back to the screen. Just in time for all of the other members to join.
There is yourself, Sun, and Star. Key appears demanding to know why she was kept waiting. Lantern is next, her appearance hidden as always. Hand is last to arrive, the Speaker appearing for it, a Japanese woman with tired eyes and prematurely gray hair.
You feel disappointment at not seeing Hand. It is glorious. L̵̛͉̈́b̸͇͎͌ḣ̸̰́ ̸̗̥̿͆ṡ̷͔́r̷̠̮͌̓r̶̯̭̈y̸͕̙̾ ̵̳̓͘e̸͉̖͠r̶͎̪̋y̴̲̒v̸̭̕͝r̶̘̊ş̸̡̍͆ ̵̯͗ͅȗ̵̢ṛ̴̈̓ ̶̦̗̈̀v̴̪̊f̷̡̟̓ ̸̻̯̍̋ä̸̺̯́̑b̷̻̀ǵ̶̻̙̍ ̶̗̑̈u̵̳̺͝r̷̡̙̃ȩ̵̛̥r̵͇̃ͅ.̵̺̊̋ ̸̰̈́̒Ṳ̵̝̈́r̴̫̋͊ ̶͙̉̚v̷̪̿f̴̢͊͝ ̷͖̙̎̇q̴̣̽̌v̶̫̮̔̉ḟ̷̞̖t̸̪͑͠ḫ̷͒͝f̶̛͙̔g̵̙̾̏v̸̦̓̚a̷̜̚t̷̡̹̊͋.̶̳͉̍
"Calm yourself," the Speaker says, tersely, "Crown-over-Moon was delayed. He will be joining us shortly. If you cannot be patient, you can at least silence your prattle."
Key gasps in outrage, and promises revenge. But the Speaker just ignores her, as if she were insignificant.
Key likely would have escalated, but just then, finally, the last member arrives. It is an impossibly thin man in a suit, sitting in a large office. There's something different about him this time, however. His perpetually bored expression is filled with delight. His immaculately groomed hair is out of place, but he looks more alive than he ever has. Key complains that he kept them all waiting.
"Yes, I did," he agrees, "But I had to ensure our private connection. Or do you want this meeting intercepted? I'll remind you that we have not yet located Moon River."
Next to him is a dark-skinned woman starting ahead and operating a computer with a blank gaze. She wears a black costume inlaid with a pattern of blue circuitry. An IV extends from her arm, into a solution in a bag that is being fed into her. F̴̡͝u̴̮͌r̷̬̀̀ ̸̬̉v̷͎̲̄f̶̳̈̌ ̸̧̺̔͠y̶̲̦͑v̴̇̈́͜x̵͇̻̍̿ř̵̮̜̾ ̵͔͕́͂l̷̖͆̕b̸̬̓͒h̷̬̊ͅ.̷̹̏
You can see she's moderating the call, and Moon-over-Crown gestures for her to encrypt it. She doesn't react. Moon-over-Crown drops his grin and signs, taking out a sryinge and then injecting something—A̷̩̾͗b̷͈͖̈́̚.̵͇͙͌ ̷̱̕Ạ̷͋b̸̨̳̊͠!̶͉͍̅̔—into the port that finds its way to the girl. She then moves like a robot, encrypting the connection and making it impossible to trace.
"Ah, tedious. I'm not sure how you manage with Sun, Star," he says.
Star gives an elegant, rueful smile.
"We all must do the best with what the Hand has blessed us. I am,however, glad the method has been improved," she says with a pointed glance at you, "Managing two of them would be beyond even me."
"Did Black Swan really beat Scarlet Maturity?" Lantern interrupts. She acts too young and impulsive for her own good.
"Ah, you were watching were you?" Moon-over-Crown says, "I thought the Speaker instructed you to avoid her."
"I was far away," Lantern protests, "She can't see if I'm far enough away!"
You get the impression that the last part was directed at the Speaker. She says nothing.
"S-so, did she?"
Moon-over-Crown nods, "She did. Christian is overjoyed. He has been sulking since we refused to allow him to engage the thirteen of the Catch-22."
Moon-over-Crown shrugs in an ill-fitting, casual gesture.
"Lady Leizi thoroughly outmaneuvered us. Justice Unlimited remains opaque, the details of 'Project Prometheus' unknown. And now, with them back in the Apiary, they will be hidden from our sight once again."
". . . the Apiary is mean. It can see me peeking," Lantern sulks.
Key says Moon-over-Crown seems pleased with being incompetent.
"Pleased? I'm positively energized. Worthy opponents are to be cherished, after all," he says, "Perhaps it's just a difference in philosophy. You, my dear Key, are what one might call 'eusocial'. You believe society should be organized in a strict caste system organized around the needs of the reproducer. I am a social darwinist. The strong become stronger or they are left behind."
Moon-over-Crown gives a rare grin.
"The world was so dull before. Now we have foes we can't watch and with knives hidden up their sleeves. We shall overcome them, or we were never meant to be masters of this world."
Key calls Moon-over-Crown filthy names that do nothing to diminish his grin. Key gets even angrier, but there is a loud, booming, q̶͙͋v̴̫̀f̸͔̀t̵̼̑ẖ̸̓f̵̳͛g̵̯͝v̶̡͘ä̴̱t̶ glorious gurgle you hear in your mind. Ah, Hand is here after all!
"Hand sees merit in Moon-over-Crown's position even if the Hand does not endorse it," the Speaker says, "Now cease this squabbling. Moon-over-Crown, I assume you have plans to make up for your failure."
"As ever," Moon-over-Crown says, "Dominion's pillars cannot remain secret any longer. If we do not reveal them, then Lady Leizi will. To that end, I've reached out to the Americans and Allied Global Logistics. You'll see the announcement in the coming days."
"They're cooperating?" Star says, "How unexpected."
"Yes," Moon-over-Crown agrees, "However, after their sacrificial dragnet of Justiciar turned up nothing but your genuinely ignorant predecessor, they're desperate. King grows ever closer to his quarry. It seems he has help now as well. The Interlocutor has grown more cunning as well—no doubt using who it took from the QZ—but it's only a matter of time before it is pinned down."
"We will act before then," the Speaker says, "Now, everyone will separately receive their orders. Star, prepare your charges. It's almost time."
"Very well." She looks at you. "Fish will need more preparation however. It seems she's awake again."
You f̵̛̘p̶̝͠ĕ̵̤r̸̘̎ṅ̶̫z̷͘ͅ ̸͖͐v̸̪͋ă̵ͅf̷̖̂v̴̧͗q̶̙̏r̸̛͖ ̷̨̈l̸̡̒b̸̙̾ḧ̶͔e̸̠̚ ̶̟̇b̷̛͈j̷̼̔a̶̲̿ ̷̞̍z̵̯̐v̸̻͆a̴̧̚q̴͓͘.̶̪̇ ̶̜̍A̵̞̍ḇ̵̅,̸͔̔ ̴͉̓c̶͈͒y̶̥̋r̴̙͝n̴̹̅f̷͎̀r̶̦̈́,̸͈͠ ̶͍̄T̷̘́ḇ̵̓q̶͈̓ ̷̥̏a̴͙̋b̸̜̀.̷͖̿ ̶̺͝V̶͔̋g̶̠̉'̸̫͘f̶̹̓ ̸̻͝ú̷̼n̷͉̐è̵͙q̸̝͂r̴̰̃e̵̠̎ ̵̞́g̵̮̏b̶̙̉ ̷̦̕p̸̰͝b̷͔̋z̵̜̐r̸͈͐ ̸̠̾ǒ̷̻ṋ̷̂p̵̰͌x̷̪̓ ̸̢͆ȓ̶͔i̷̫͂r̴̤͂ė̸̡l̵͓̒ ̵̮͋g̵̥͊v̶͚͠z̵͎͛r̶͌ͅ ̵̲̏l̷̟̔b̴̫̾h̷̛͎ ̸͕̃t̸̞̂b̴̯̚ ̷̨́n̴͉͆j̸͉̑n̶̪͋l̵̻̇.̷̤͝ ̶̰͑U̴̥̽r̶̩̒y̷̰͋c̵͓̈.̵̬͌ ̸̩̒C̵̘͝y̵̮͛r̵̞̐n̶̄͜f̶̘̓r̷̮̕.̷͓̉ ̵͉͗N̶̥͝ḁ̵̈l̴̬̑b̷̩̉a̶̦̅r̷̲̆.̴̦̕
Ṵ̸̌̈͜r̷̻̎ẙ̸̧͔͗c̶̨͘.̴͍͍̈́
The meeting ends.
That night, in Horizon, the City of Levithan's Rest, sleep eludes a few.
A girl sits, surrounded by damned souls, as icy claws try to take another away. Jenny is getting worse, the girl can see it. The ice has nearly totally swallowed her body. Jenny says she can hear it. The current Sovereign is near expiration. A new one is required. There must always be someone on The Frozen—
The girl makes her decision and acts. She carefully, carefully opens the last of their supply of the malevolent, golden liquid and carefully, carefully pours it onto Jenny. Jenny screams, but the ice and Levithan's blood annihilate each other in a reaction that is as horrifying as it is fascinating to watch.
Jenny's blue, frozen skin reveals itself once more and some of their number let out a sigh of relief. The others look at the girl, knowledge in their gaze.
That was the last of their supply. They'll have to go raiding again. But their foes are expecting them now. Not everyone will survive this.
The girl wordlessly stands up and begins to plan their next offense. Her twentieth birthday has come and gone, and her powers have not yet arrived. That means they never will. She will never be like her mother.
That's fine. She doesn't need them. She never has. She will save everyone here as she is.
She will defeat Justice Unlimited, break their stranglehold on her home, and make them undo what they did to these girls.
If not her, then who?
Another girl sits in a gilded cage, bandaging the only person she thinks she can trust.
Belle Sabreuse fended off the most recent of her would-be abductors, but took a bullet in the ribs for her trouble. The metahuman assures the girl that she will not abandon her—the girl's sister paid her very well to protect her.
But the reminder makes the girl shrivel more on the inside. Two more years. She has two more years before it's certain she's not a metahuman.
Her whole adolescence, she clung to the idea that her big sister was just waiting. Waiting for her to get powers so she could be spirited away to that glorious white dome in the city proper. That she hadn't been abandoned, that her sister's moniker really was a hidden message to her.
The hope grew dimmer every year and nearly blew out after the Movement. Now, she knew for sure her sister hadn't forgotten her. She knows, because her sister left her with a terrible curse: the only thing their father cared about.
She keeps her hands moving and the faith in her heart. For what is a person without faith?
A boy stands behind his boss, trying to ignore the itching in his veins.
You can't seem too desperate. Too desperate and the boss will know you're hooked. He'll give you need, but next time the craving will be twice as bad.
The boy has survived this long by being useful, staying unnoticed, and only skimming when the boss is high but not too high.
He doesn't like the look of these new folks the boss is dealing to. The queen lady is bad enough, but her crew? The ex-Wonderland guys? Ten miles of bad road.
Of course, Lethal Anodyne isn't known for his brains. The boy sees how the guy with stitches in his face is eyeing one of the dancers, and a quick word has her quickly shepherded backstage.
It's a little thing, nothing really, but it helps him sleep at night. Anymore and he'd be the nail sticking out. Anymore and he'd get hammered down.
Sometimes he wonders what it would be like if got powers, and could do more. But then the need comes back and he realizes his body will never let him leave.
Still.
When there's nothing you can do, but you can't just do nothing, then you do what you can. Right?
That night, a black swan limps back to her roost, only to be greeted by her family. With one new member, even! Everyone survived. Everyone is okay. The black swan finally lets herself collapse, knowing the morning will come.
The next day, someone uploads footage of her ramming Scarlet Maturity on Hero for Hire set to the tune of Yakety Sax. Said person has edited the video to make it look like Scarlet Maturity wet his pants.
______________________________________________________________________________
Black Swan's REPUTATION increases to 10.
Black Swan's HIT increases to 12.
You are currently flying in low-Earth orbit with one of the most powerful metahumans to ever live stuck to your head, and he's mad. Maybe if you keep flying up, you can just throw him at the moon or something?
"Do not think space will be the end of me!" he roars, "You're not the first to try!"
Well, poop. There goes that idea. Okay, okay, he's been guessing every strategy you've tried. Sometimes before you try it! He has waaaaaaay more experience than you. You're not gonna be able to surprise him by fighting in a way he's seen before. And he's seen how everyone's fought before!
So how can you fight him in a way that only you can?
The answer comes as he swings at your core again with a titanic blow. For all his might, all he manages to do is break his fingers on your chest. Pervert.
Wait! Your core . . . he can't break your core, but your core can break him.
Your construct-body is nearly out of energy. As soon as it is, you're going to enter hibernation and be at his mercy. If you're going to make a move, it has to be now.
You stop immediately, hitting Scarlet Maturity with thousands of miles per hour of whiplash. It snaps the tendons in his body, but he doesn't fly apart. You can already see him healing. You try to zip out from under him so you can build up speed, but he clips you with a half-regenerated arm as you do.
Right in what remains of your construct-body.
Your vision flickers and suddenly it's hard to think. You're tired all of the sudden. So tired.
". . . was I hitting the wrong part of you this whole time?" Scarlet Maturity says in genuine disbelief, "You truly are a pest. What's inside of you better be worth the effort."
You're too woozy to even be grossed out by that statement. You . . . you need energy. You need to keep . . . doing something. Almost drunkenly, you fly into the exosphere as Scarlet Maturity falls.
You recharge faster in the thinner air high, high above the Earth. There, you can see the blackness of space, with the Elysium Station on Jacob's Ladder far in the distance as your only company. You can think more clearly now, but you're still exhausted. You don't have arms or legs—you have just enough energy to cover your face.
You need more power than this. Your plan won't work if you're this weak. But even in space, the ambient light of the sun isn't enough! Scarlet Maturity will hit the ground before you're ready.
You need power. More power. You need to absorb power faster.
And . . . and there might be a way. You know your body is mostly a lie. A way of coping with how your power changed you. You once went two days without eating and didn't even notice until Mom freaked out. You stopped feeling pain at the very beginning of this fight, and you can make yourself see without eyes.
At your core, is a singularity. The heart of a supermassive black hole. At night, sometimes you imagine that you can feel it pulling, hungry to consume you and everything else. You've, uh, recently started watching a lot of movies with Maddie late at night when you both can't sleep.
She likes slashers. The gorier the better. Ugh.
Anyway, you've always kept a tight grip on your core. It might just be in your head, but you worry if you ever let go, even for just a second, it will feed.
Well, now you have to feed it. You have to beat Scarlet Maturity. It's not a matter of can you beat him, or should you beat him? He is in the way of everyone you love staying safe.
You will beat him.
So you loosen your grip, just a finger, and feel power filling you up. Faster than it ever has before, suffusing your very being. It feels . . . wonderful.
Black Swan recovers one injury level! Severe Injury!
Why were you ever afraid of this? Your core is you. It—you—won't hurt anyone. Or, at least, anyone who doesn't deserve it—cough, cough, Scarlet Maturity, cough, cough.
Your torso is filling back in, but it still isn't fast enough! You need more, more, but how? Where is the power—
* * *
On the Elysium Station, an engineer named Cynthia Laronto was coming to the end of an eighteen-hour shift. She had already taken the maximum safe dosage of stimulants, and the synthetic coffee tasted like dirt. She was already booking her shuttle back to the plantside when she got an emergency alert on her console.
DC 10
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 14.
14 + 3 + 10 (Fuck You.) = 27. Critical Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 14.
14 + 3 + 10 (Fuck You.) = 27. Critical Success!
Then another thirty.
"Hey, Bill?"
"Yeah, Cindy?"
"You know those giant floating mirrors we have that redirect sunlight onto the solar panels that power the Ladder?"
"Yeah . . .?"
"Why are they all repositioning themselves to point at the same random spot in space?"
". . . I don't fucking know. All I know is that Rhys had the right idea getting a new job and the hell out of here."
* * *
"Hello, hello! You've reached Rad Rick's Twenty-Four Hour Raging Raveapaloza! The place where the party don't stop because we're contractually obligated! How can I help you?!"
DC 10
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 3. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 11.
11 + 4 + 10 (You Killed Rosemary.) = 25. Critical Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 3. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 11.
11 + 4 + 10 (You Killed Rosemary.) = 25. Critical Success!
"What's that? All of the lights for our Ludacris Laser Light-showevganza are all pointing at the same place in the sky at maximum power? That's gonna hurt our electric bills, baby! No, I don't know why! All I know is that if I drop the act for a second, they'll void my contract, daddy-o! Now let's party!!!"
* * *
In space, there floats a satellite whose existence would be denied by every major government on the globe.
DC 10
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 9. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 10.
10 + 1 + 10 (I'll Send You to Hell.) = 21. Critical Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 9. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 10.
10 + 1 + 10 (I'll Send You to Hell.) = 21. Critical Success!
It points at a patch of unoccupied sky, fires a high-intensity pulse of gamma radiation, and then returns to rest.
Many highly-ranked government officials would spend that night in meetings demanding the same thing.
"Why?"
* * *
"Hey, Cindy?"
"What is it Bill?"
DC 10
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 13.
13 + 3 + 10 (Rest in Piss, Lil' Johnny Murder Pee-Pants.) = 26. Critical Success!
Stat Check: OPERATIONS 5. ???? ????? has OPERATIONS 12.
You rolled: 13.
13 + 3 + 10 (Rest in Piss, Lil' Johnny Murder Pee-Pants.) = 26. Critical Success!
"All of the station's communication equipment has been hijacked. They've somehow been altered to emit high-frequency radiation to that space spot in the sky."
"So?"
"Shouldn't we . . . tell someone?"
"With what comms, Bill? Look, my shift is over in ten minutes. If they wanted me to care, they should have given me dental."
* * *
—going to come from? WHOA!
Suddenly, energy like you never felt surges into you. It fills your non-existent veins and your construct-body reappears, fully intact.
Black Swan recovers one injury level! Superficial Injury!
Black Swan recovers one injury level! No Injury!
Black Swan recovers one injury level! Shielded!
Black Swan recovers one injury level! No Injury!
Black Swan recovers one injury level! Shielded!
No, not just fully intact. More powerful than ever. You have more energy than you've ever had before, so much that the void inside your chest is nearly sated. Nearly. The energy crackles over your skin and then you start to glow like a star. No, like a hypernova.
Black Swan has become Overcharged! Hypernovae Mode! +5 to next HIT Check!
You feel the energy crackling around you. You pull it up, in, and then behind you, as you accelerate down, faster than you've ever been. You have the power to destroy planets in your heart.
And you're going to use it to:
Kick.
Scarlet Maturity.
In the nuts.
* * *
High on the Zenith, Gabriel Kwan's heart swells with a feeling that's become familiar over the last few days: hope.
"Thank you again, Dr. Lawson. I cannot express my gratitude."
Mendicant gives him a flippant wave and continues their examination of Charlotte Allard.
". . . fucked. Yep, defo fucked. Without me that is."
"You can heal her then?"
"Mhmm. Gonna take a bit—need to go slow or the shock will kill her. To be honest, I'd do this even if Double L hadn't asked. I always liked Arc. Besides, anyone else and she would have died in the attempt. But, lucky for you, you got the number one, top, most bad-ass mothereffer of a healer right here!"
They sit up quickly with one hand out.
"Wait, that sucks. Make up something cooler and tell Lady Leizi I said that!"
". . . alright?"
"And . . . uh, tell her that I've been working out and you're really impressed by my gains. Like, 'wow, I didn't expect a ticket to the gunshow with my healing!' Or something like that."
". . . so Lady Leizi isn't seeing anyone, is what I'm hearing."
". . . curses. A new, extremely handsome, rival appears. Okay, honesty set to 100? She's not looking for anyone right now, but she's cool with—holy shit, what is that light?"
There's an explosion in the sky, bathing the city in a white glow. Wolong's face freezes as something Lady Leizi said echoes in his mind.
"Wolong, she's the most powerful metahuman in this building by several orders of magnitude."
The laughter bubbles from his lips and bursts forth, as a very concerned Medicant makes sure he hasn't gone insane.
The first new generation of metahuman! All made to be heroes!
* * *
Silvio Serra Fernandes works feverishly in a windowless lab, driven by sheer willpower.
He hadn't believed it at first. Couldn't bring himself to believe it. But as he pulled the armor apart and rebuilt it, bit-by-bit, it all made a terrible, terrible amount of sense. The data the brass gave him was undisputable: Valiant Silver was meddling with forces she didn't understand. Her arrogance nearly destroyed the city—no, the world.
And now he was the only one who could prove it. Who could stop what she set in motion.
He has another six hours of work before he has to rest. The Rebound, once a distant, looming threat, was now something he had to actively manage himself to avoid. But it doesn't matter.
He stares and the faceplate of the nearly-completed PREVAIL armor stares back. He'll finish this work, defeat Justice Unlimited, and make them answer for their crimes.
Just like the Captain would have.
* * *
Lady Leizi helps secure the unconscious Handyman to twin shadow-corvids and ushers Menagerie Witch on. She climbs onto her own mount and shouts for Opale to join her. The white-clad woman runs to join her, when the remnants of her family climb back to their feet.
"Levithan's Blood! Gwen, Jean-Luc, give it up!"
Whatever response her cousin had is swallowed by a second detonation of light, dwarfing the first. It's like comparing a lightbulb to the sun. Lady Leizi's heart seizes in her chest, but her reaction is nothing compared to Été and Printemps.
"What? No, no, no, no!" Été wails, clawing at her face, "What is she doing?! She's . . . she's winning?!"
Printemps says nothing but holds his wife tight to his chest, both of them shaking like leaves. Having his neck broken didn't elicit a reaction like this—Opale stops.
"Gwen, Jean-Luc, what's going on?" she says, "What happens if Scarlet Maturity is defeated? What happens if Black Swan wins?"
Été just stares blankly, like a lost child. The question is seemingly incomprehensible to her.
"It's that damn contract! She can't answer! Gwen, try to focus. Try to tell me. What happens if she wins? What happens if she wins?"
* * *
You are moving so fast the rest of the world has stopped. You have no issue seeing at this speed—you would have no issue seeing at any speed. You kept your limitations because you were scared you would stop being human. But humanity is not a matter of flesh and blood or skin or sight. It's what's in your heart.
You are Mona Merola-Morales. You like anime and video games. You wanna try kissing a girl, just to see if it's nice as you think. You've always dreamed of being a superhero, and now you are one. It's harder, more dangerous than you ever imagined, but it just makes you love it all the more.
You are still an ordinary girl. But that's not all you are. You can be more.
Compared to you, the atoms making up the air are frozen in time. You collide with them, your speed fusing them to your core in a constant barrage of atomic fire. It would normally destroy everything around, but for you, it's just more fuel. The collisions don't slow you down—in fact, with the energy they create, you're speeding up. Your speed annihilates more atoms while speeds you up faster, creating an endless chain reaction.
A hypernovae, feeding into an unquenchable star.
Black Swan can now freely fly at relativistic speeds!
And then, you're upon him. He's big, ugly, and completely healed. But he won't survive this. Despite it being impossible, you can feel that he sees you. Scarlet Maturity knows what will happen next.
He greets it with a savage grin.
DC 20
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 8.
8 - 3 + 5 (Hypernovae Mode) + 5 (Lightspeed Attack) + 5 (Tell Zixuan to Stop Looking for Me.) = 20. Critical Success!
Stat Check: HIT 15. Black Swan has HIT 9.
You rolled: 8.
8 - 3 + 5 (Hypernovae Mode) + 5 (Lightspeed Attack) + 5 (Tell Zixuan to Stop Looking for Me.) = 20. Critical Success!
A voice echoes in the back of your mind, but, before you can understand it, you're upon Scarlet Maturity. His body starts to dissolve before you even hit him, his regeneration futility trying to keep him together.
No . . . he's not just regenerating. Scarlet light is moving his atoms. Put them back together in the right shape. Only, even his atoms are dying now. You don't absorb that energy; you let it rip him to pieces.
He dies in slow motion before your eyes, body obliterated down to the quark. Except . . . except something doesn't die. In the center of his chest is a mass of the scarlet energy.
And it's starting to coalesce. It's starting to harden.
* * *
This time, it's Printemps.
He screams as something glows under his skin, a scarlet light that starts to burn. His flesh withers, his skin becomes papery, his eyes shrivel as all of the moisture burns away. Été shrieks and cries and beg as he dies, the energy draining what life he has. Once he's been reduced to a husk, his bones snap under their own weight and he dies.
Opale stands there stunned. She can't move, unable to understand what happens. Gwen looks at her with tears in her eyes and, for a moment, it's the Gwendoyln du Arceneaux from years ago. The one whole didn't let her cousin die when she had no one else. Then, the look leaves, the hate comes back, and Été moves to extract a bloody vengeance.
Menagerie Witches mount snatches Jean-Luc's body as Lady Leizi, already in motion, grabs Opale and brings her to safety. As they all fly away, the image of what just happened to Printemps remains fresh in everyone's mind.
As does the image of a red, horned skull eating a man alive.
* * *
The energy hardens into a solid core, not unlike yours, and falls with you to the ground. You have to stop yourself from impacting the Earth, your speed is so great you destroy the area around you.
But the red core is unharmed. In fact, it is growing.
Then it starts to change. Elongate, sharpen, develop distinct sections. A head emerges along with two arms and two legs. They grow larger, harder, more solid, until two horns of red crystal emerge.
And then, there stands Scarlet Maturity. Thirteen feet tall.
"Oh . . . that's effing bullpoop!" you scream, "I totally killed you! You were dead! I had a big internal monologue and everything!"
He laughs. "My powers are unfair? I believe you just rammed me at the speed of light and now remain in one piece."
"I'm a good guy and I'm cute! It's fine if I do it!"
Scarlet Maturity laughs again and flexes his hand, admiring it. "Ah, delightful. It's been so long since I've been able to collect."
"I don't know what that means! And I don't care! I beat you! I'm supposed to get to go home!"
"Very well."
"But I guess I'll have to kick your butt again—huh?"
"Leave, Black Swan," he says, "I have no contract with Faust. I follow him because he understands the same truth of this world as I do: iron sharpens iron. Today, the victory is yours, and to the winner goes the spoils."
"So I can . . . just go?"
"Yes. But before you do, allow me to welcome you to the elite of this world, Black Swan. Now you too will battle for the title of 'strongest'."
" . . . I don't wanna?"
"The fights will find you even if you do not wish them to. The powerful cannot bear a peer. They will hound you in your every living hour. You will continue to grow stronger. Or you will die. That is the only law of this world."
Then he laughs, delighted. He laughs and laughs and laughs until you can't take it anymore and fly away, so fast time slows down again.
But you can still hear him laughing.
* * *
You are g̵̨̰̳͇̊̍͊e̶̪͈͛͗̈́̕n̶̗͖̮͇͋c̸͉͙̗͑ͅč̴̪͝r̸̠̖̰̅͑̅q̷̧̩͐̈́̾̀̃.
You sit in front of a computer counsel, the emblem of a fish tattooed on the back of your hand. The room around you is dark. With you is Star, looking posh and self-assured as always, as well as Sun. Star sees you staring and raises an eyebrow. Sun just gazes forward, an empty expression on his face as always.
Å̶̡b̷̻̉.̶͔̽ ̴̩̈́A̴̠͊b̶̡̌.̸̮̃ ̸͌ͅḶ̶̛b̴͙̃h̶͠ͅ ̸̖͊q̷̜̎b̸̬̌ą̸̆'̷̝̅g̴͇͊ ̸̲̂j̴̥̐n̶̙̏ȁ̵͉g̸̝̒ ̴̖̅g̶̙̕b̸͎̽ ̶̮̒ŗ̶̈́a̴̤͝q̴̮́ ̶͙͠h̸̯͌c̶̪̈́ ̴͈͐ý̸͇v̶͔̓x̴̫͠ȑ̸͓ ̴̪͝u̵̪̕v̸̢̿ź̵̨.̷̬̚ ̵̯̑Ũ̸̪r̵̬͒ȳ̵̺c̷͓̚.̶̘̓ ̴̬̈́C̶͕̿y̸̛͕r̵͙̋ṇ̸͝f̸̙̀r̶͎̎.̵͔̈ ̶̪̀T̸͓̔b̸̤̓q̴͚͠,̸͇̍ ̶̰̚f̷͎̋b̷͎̃z̴͎̊ŕ̴̙b̸̞̚a̶̻̚r̸̺̉ ̶̖̍ṷ̵͊r̴̪͌y̸͉̑c̵̺͑ ̴̛͙ḻ̵̒b̸̻̚h̶̢̐.̸̣͆
Star continues examining you, but when you say nothing, lb̵̢͛̓ḧ̷̩́ ̶̭͠ṗ̷͜n̶̻͂ȁ̷̜̈́'̵̭̚g̶̦͉͑͛.̷̰͂͝, she turns back to the screen. Just in time for all of the other members to join.
There is yourself, Sun, and Star. Key appears demanding to know why she was kept waiting. Lantern is next, her appearance hidden as always. Hand is last to arrive, the Speaker appearing for it, a Japanese woman with tired eyes and prematurely gray hair.
You feel disappointment at not seeing Hand. It is glorious. L̵̛͉̈́b̸͇͎͌ḣ̸̰́ ̸̗̥̿͆ṡ̷͔́r̷̠̮͌̓r̶̯̭̈y̸͕̙̾ ̵̳̓͘e̸͉̖͠r̶͎̪̋y̴̲̒v̸̭̕͝r̶̘̊ş̸̡̍͆ ̵̯͗ͅȗ̵̢ṛ̴̈̓ ̶̦̗̈̀v̴̪̊f̷̡̟̓ ̸̻̯̍̋ä̸̺̯́̑b̷̻̀ǵ̶̻̙̍ ̶̗̑̈u̵̳̺͝r̷̡̙̃ȩ̵̛̥r̵͇̃ͅ.̵̺̊̋ ̸̰̈́̒Ṳ̵̝̈́r̴̫̋͊ ̶͙̉̚v̷̪̿f̴̢͊͝ ̷͖̙̎̇q̴̣̽̌v̶̫̮̔̉ḟ̷̞̖t̸̪͑͠ḫ̷͒͝f̶̛͙̔g̵̙̾̏v̸̦̓̚a̷̜̚t̷̡̹̊͋.̶̳͉̍
"Calm yourself," the Speaker says, tersely, "Crown-over-Moon was delayed. He will be joining us shortly. If you cannot be patient, you can at least silence your prattle."
Key gasps in outrage, and promises revenge. But the Speaker just ignores her, as if she were insignificant.
Key likely would have escalated, but just then, finally, the last member arrives. It is an impossibly thin man in a suit, sitting in a large office. There's something different about him this time, however. His perpetually bored expression is filled with delight. His immaculately groomed hair is out of place, but he looks more alive than he ever has. Key complains that he kept them all waiting.
"Yes, I did," he agrees, "But I had to ensure our private connection. Or do you want this meeting intercepted? I'll remind you that we have not yet located Moon River."
Next to him is a dark-skinned woman starting ahead and operating a computer with a blank gaze. She wears a black costume inlaid with a pattern of blue circuitry. An IV extends from her arm, into a solution in a bag that is being fed into her. F̴̡͝u̴̮͌r̷̬̀̀ ̸̬̉v̷͎̲̄f̶̳̈̌ ̸̧̺̔͠y̶̲̦͑v̴̇̈́͜x̵͇̻̍̿ř̵̮̜̾ ̵͔͕́͂l̷̖͆̕b̸̬̓͒h̷̬̊ͅ.̷̹̏
You can see she's moderating the call, and Moon-over-Crown gestures for her to encrypt it. She doesn't react. Moon-over-Crown drops his grin and signs, taking out a sryinge and then injecting something—A̷̩̾͗b̷͈͖̈́̚.̵͇͙͌ ̷̱̕Ạ̷͋b̸̨̳̊͠!̶͉͍̅̔—into the port that finds its way to the girl. She then moves like a robot, encrypting the connection and making it impossible to trace.
"Ah, tedious. I'm not sure how you manage with Sun, Star," he says.
Star gives an elegant, rueful smile.
"We all must do the best with what the Hand has blessed us. I am,however, glad the method has been improved," she says with a pointed glance at you, "Managing two of them would be beyond even me."
"Did Black Swan really beat Scarlet Maturity?" Lantern interrupts. She acts too young and impulsive for her own good.
"Ah, you were watching were you?" Moon-over-Crown says, "I thought the Speaker instructed you to avoid her."
"I was far away," Lantern protests, "She can't see if I'm far enough away!"
You get the impression that the last part was directed at the Speaker. She says nothing.
"S-so, did she?"
Moon-over-Crown nods, "She did. Christian is overjoyed. He has been sulking since we refused to allow him to engage the thirteen of the Catch-22."
Moon-over-Crown shrugs in an ill-fitting, casual gesture.
"Lady Leizi thoroughly outmaneuvered us. Justice Unlimited remains opaque, the details of 'Project Prometheus' unknown. And now, with them back in the Apiary, they will be hidden from our sight once again."
". . . the Apiary is mean. It can see me peeking," Lantern sulks.
Key says Moon-over-Crown seems pleased with being incompetent.
"Pleased? I'm positively energized. Worthy opponents are to be cherished, after all," he says, "Perhaps it's just a difference in philosophy. You, my dear Key, are what one might call 'eusocial'. You believe society should be organized in a strict caste system organized around the needs of the reproducer. I am a social darwinist. The strong become stronger or they are left behind."
Moon-over-Crown gives a rare grin.
"The world was so dull before. Now we have foes we can't watch and with knives hidden up their sleeves. We shall overcome them, or we were never meant to be masters of this world."
Key calls Moon-over-Crown filthy names that do nothing to diminish his grin. Key gets even angrier, but there is a loud, booming, q̶͙͋v̴̫̀f̸͔̀t̵̼̑ẖ̸̓f̵̳͛g̵̯͝v̶̡͘ä̴̱t̶ glorious gurgle you hear in your mind. Ah, Hand is here after all!
"Hand sees merit in Moon-over-Crown's position even if the Hand does not endorse it," the Speaker says, "Now cease this squabbling. Moon-over-Crown, I assume you have plans to make up for your failure."
"As ever," Moon-over-Crown says, "Dominion's pillars cannot remain secret any longer. If we do not reveal them, then Lady Leizi will. To that end, I've reached out to the Americans and Allied Global Logistics. You'll see the announcement in the coming days."
"They're cooperating?" Star says, "How unexpected."
"Yes," Moon-over-Crown agrees, "However, after their sacrificial dragnet of Justiciar turned up nothing but your genuinely ignorant predecessor, they're desperate. King grows ever closer to his quarry. It seems he has help now as well. The Interlocutor has grown more cunning as well—no doubt using who it took from the QZ—but it's only a matter of time before it is pinned down."
"We will act before then," the Speaker says, "Now, everyone will separately receive their orders. Star, prepare your charges. It's almost time."
"Very well." She looks at you. "Fish will need more preparation however. It seems she's awake again."
You f̵̛̘p̶̝͠ĕ̵̤r̸̘̎ṅ̶̫z̷͘ͅ ̸͖͐v̸̪͋ă̵ͅf̷̖̂v̴̧͗q̶̙̏r̸̛͖ ̷̨̈l̸̡̒b̸̙̾ḧ̶͔e̸̠̚ ̶̟̇b̷̛͈j̷̼̔a̶̲̿ ̷̞̍z̵̯̐v̸̻͆a̴̧̚q̴͓͘.̶̪̇ ̶̜̍A̵̞̍ḇ̵̅,̸͔̔ ̴͉̓c̶͈͒y̶̥̋r̴̙͝n̴̹̅f̷͎̀r̶̦̈́,̸͈͠ ̶͍̄T̷̘́ḇ̵̓q̶͈̓ ̷̥̏a̴͙̋b̸̜̀.̷͖̿ ̶̺͝V̶͔̋g̶̠̉'̸̫͘f̶̹̓ ̸̻͝ú̷̼n̷͉̐è̵͙q̸̝͂r̴̰̃e̵̠̎ ̵̞́g̵̮̏b̶̙̉ ̷̦̕p̸̰͝b̷͔̋z̵̜̐r̸͈͐ ̸̠̾ǒ̷̻ṋ̷̂p̵̰͌x̷̪̓ ̸̢͆ȓ̶͔i̷̫͂r̴̤͂ė̸̡l̵͓̒ ̵̮͋g̵̥͊v̶͚͠z̵͎͛r̶͌ͅ ̵̲̏l̷̟̔b̴̫̾h̷̛͎ ̸͕̃t̸̞̂b̴̯̚ ̷̨́n̴͉͆j̸͉̑n̶̪͋l̵̻̇.̷̤͝ ̶̰͑U̴̥̽r̶̩̒y̷̰͋c̵͓̈.̵̬͌ ̸̩̒C̵̘͝y̵̮͛r̵̞̐n̶̄͜f̶̘̓r̷̮̕.̷͓̉ ̵͉͗N̶̥͝ḁ̵̈l̴̬̑b̷̩̉a̶̦̅r̷̲̆.̴̦̕
Ṵ̸̌̈͜r̷̻̎ẙ̸̧͔͗c̶̨͘.̴͍͍̈́
The meeting ends.
* * *
That night, in Horizon, the City of Levithan's Rest, sleep eludes a few.
* * *
A girl sits, surrounded by damned souls, as icy claws try to take another away. Jenny is getting worse, the girl can see it. The ice has nearly totally swallowed her body. Jenny says she can hear it. The current Sovereign is near expiration. A new one is required. There must always be someone on The Frozen—
The girl makes her decision and acts. She carefully, carefully opens the last of their supply of the malevolent, golden liquid and carefully, carefully pours it onto Jenny. Jenny screams, but the ice and Levithan's blood annihilate each other in a reaction that is as horrifying as it is fascinating to watch.
Jenny's blue, frozen skin reveals itself once more and some of their number let out a sigh of relief. The others look at the girl, knowledge in their gaze.
That was the last of their supply. They'll have to go raiding again. But their foes are expecting them now. Not everyone will survive this.
The girl wordlessly stands up and begins to plan their next offense. Her twentieth birthday has come and gone, and her powers have not yet arrived. That means they never will. She will never be like her mother.
That's fine. She doesn't need them. She never has. She will save everyone here as she is.
She will defeat Justice Unlimited, break their stranglehold on her home, and make them undo what they did to these girls.
If not her, then who?
* * *
Another girl sits in a gilded cage, bandaging the only person she thinks she can trust.
Belle Sabreuse fended off the most recent of her would-be abductors, but took a bullet in the ribs for her trouble. The metahuman assures the girl that she will not abandon her—the girl's sister paid her very well to protect her.
But the reminder makes the girl shrivel more on the inside. Two more years. She has two more years before it's certain she's not a metahuman.
Her whole adolescence, she clung to the idea that her big sister was just waiting. Waiting for her to get powers so she could be spirited away to that glorious white dome in the city proper. That she hadn't been abandoned, that her sister's moniker really was a hidden message to her.
The hope grew dimmer every year and nearly blew out after the Movement. Now, she knew for sure her sister hadn't forgotten her. She knows, because her sister left her with a terrible curse: the only thing their father cared about.
She keeps her hands moving and the faith in her heart. For what is a person without faith?
* * *
A boy stands behind his boss, trying to ignore the itching in his veins.
You can't seem too desperate. Too desperate and the boss will know you're hooked. He'll give you need, but next time the craving will be twice as bad.
The boy has survived this long by being useful, staying unnoticed, and only skimming when the boss is high but not too high.
He doesn't like the look of these new folks the boss is dealing to. The queen lady is bad enough, but her crew? The ex-Wonderland guys? Ten miles of bad road.
Of course, Lethal Anodyne isn't known for his brains. The boy sees how the guy with stitches in his face is eyeing one of the dancers, and a quick word has her quickly shepherded backstage.
It's a little thing, nothing really, but it helps him sleep at night. Anymore and he'd be the nail sticking out. Anymore and he'd get hammered down.
Sometimes he wonders what it would be like if got powers, and could do more. But then the need comes back and he realizes his body will never let him leave.
Still.
When there's nothing you can do, but you can't just do nothing, then you do what you can. Right?
* * *
That night, a black swan limps back to her roost, only to be greeted by her family. With one new member, even! Everyone survived. Everyone is okay. The black swan finally lets herself collapse, knowing the morning will come.
The next day, someone uploads footage of her ramming Scarlet Maturity on Hero for Hire set to the tune of Yakety Sax. Said person has edited the video to make it look like Scarlet Maturity wet his pants.
______________________________________________________________________________
Black Swan's REPUTATION increases to 10.
Black Swan's HIT increases to 12.
