Given that Purity is a high level Blaster with decent Mover, her prison sentence seems likely to be more along the lines of, "heavily supervised parole as government-controlled weapon," as opposed to spending much time at all in a prison cell. Hopefully with a good 'take people as they come' remedial tutor and assigned counselor, but that's gonna be up to the Justice Department.
Ring-Maker [Worm/Lord of the Rings Alt-Power] [Complete]
- Thread starter Lithos Maitreya
- Start date
- Crossover Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Something to note is that Taylor didn't even ask for anything unusual from Purity.
She just asked her to... reveal information about one of her accomplices.
Specifically, it was the one of her accomplices that she had the most reason to oppose, because he (Kaiser) was the entire reason she tried to go hero and try to leave the Empire.
And yet Purity wasn't ready to do it, because... what, she doesn't want anything remotely unpleasant to happen to her abusive ex?
She just asked her to... reveal information about one of her accomplices.
Specifically, it was the one of her accomplices that she had the most reason to oppose, because he (Kaiser) was the entire reason she tried to go hero and try to leave the Empire.
And yet Purity wasn't ready to do it, because... what, she doesn't want anything remotely unpleasant to happen to her abusive ex?
- Location
- Pacific NW
*sigh* I think I'm gonna have to drop this. And it is NOT because of your writing Lithos. But the fact that this was my first exposure to the Worm-verse in general. And the more I find out about Worm and the underlying precepts the Wormverse is built on, the more of a bad taste accumulates on my literary palette. And even adding Tolkienverse precepts to it isn't making that taste go away.
I do appreciate the vision you have Lithos and all the effort you've made to achieve it. Thanks for writing as well as you have!
I do appreciate the vision you have Lithos and all the effort you've made to achieve it. Thanks for writing as well as you have!
- Location
- Somewhere, Maybe
I would give you a hug, but there's no hugs allowed on this thread. T_T
- Location
- New Zealand
If you don't mind me asking, what about Worm turns you away?
RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm not the person you're responding to, but my guess is that it's the grimdark and grimderp.
It's the darkest parts of reality, but with the bright spots replaced with dark unreality.
- Location
- Germany
Could we please stop that? Worm isn't grimdark, let alone grimderp. It is dark, and intense, but it has spots of hope and the possibility that things can get better.
And stop speaking for others!
- Location
- New Zealand
Yeah, I recall it coming up on the Parahumans subreddit, and the general consensus was that the Wormverse was 'nobledark'. I strongly disagree with it being Grimdark or 'grimderp', and most of the people I've spoken to who think this tend to be speaking about fanon more than anything.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this Taylor straight up maim/murder a bunch of folks during the goth Sauron arc? If she really cared about redemption or justice or whatever she should maybe apply it to herself first and go to jail but no she gets a pass for some reason.
A jail arc would be boring so that's a stupid idea.
A jail arc would be boring so that's a stupid idea.
- Location
- Tromso, Norway.
Additionally, going to jail doesn't actually fix anything. Free, Taylor can work towards helping people, which still isn't going to fix the damage she did but is at least better than accomplishing literally nothing.
She did have herself placed in jail immediately following her 'realization' with almost killing Sophia - Sophia was the one to pull her out of the jail by convincing her that her 'help' was more needed than imprisoning herself, and/or that she could better redeem herself by doing active 'good', rather than from a jail cell.
That being said, I can see how her saying 'nah' to Purity's attempt is kind of hypocritical, considering how she started things with Sophia, as well as her own actions....
....But Purity's lack of any real ACTUAL 'heroic' changes are probably what doomed the latter, here - being an 'antihero' who only goes after ethnic gang members is 'better' than being actively involved in the Empire, but not when it means you're not striving to actively fight against the evil you were formerly a part of.
Basically, it's the sort of logic that MIGHT play out in Worm, but absolutely won't play out well in Tolkien - at least unless/until Purity had the realization that she still was enabling the Empire by her actions.
Maire's snap-judgement call on Aster/Purity's relationship is kinda not-the-best, though.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Keep in mind that Taylor isn't throwing Purity into a pit, she's stepping away from the situation. What happens next is out of Taylor's hands now. We just saw Taylor's personal analysis and judgment of Kayden. It likely won't much affect the final verdict of the legal trial.
- Location
- Russia
Honestly, I expect to see Purity get the "Protectorate Parole" treatment anyway because the PRT sees far less need to constantly double-guess themselves like Taylor does, and so would accept the additional firepower.
dhasenan
always lowercase
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's going to be a heavily monitored parole in a different city on the far side of a trial. If Taylor had supported and vouched for her, Purity might be looking at a much more comfortable experience all through. Most importantly, I would expect Purity to lose custody of her child during the trial, something she might have avoided with Taylor's support.
So, uh, I mentioned over on Spacebattles that the Valar would probably block the way from Valinor to mortal Arda if the Sons of Feanor tried to come back to fulfill their oath. But that it would be a glorious battle if they were permitted to. I wasn't trying to awaken anyone's muse, specifically, but that's what ended up happening.
Still giggling over Taylor hiding behind Sophia as {REDACTED} comes over to talk to her.
Still giggling over Taylor hiding behind Sophia as {REDACTED} comes over to talk to her.
Radiant 13.6
Lithos Maitreya
Character Witness
- Location
- United States
Many thanks to @BeaconHill and @GlassGirlCeci for betareading.
I leaned back in my seat as I gazed out the tinted windows of the PRT van. The traffic was dying down for the night, but we were in the middle of downtown, so there were more than a few cars on the road. Once we encountered the Empire perimeter, that would be a problem. Hopefully the civilians were used to keeping their heads down during a cape fight by now.
"What're you thinking about?" Aegis' voice broke into my reverie. I turned my head to face him where he sat on the other side of the van. He was watching me with an almost relaxed expression on his face.
"Civilians," I said, gesturing at the window. "The past few fights were in less crowded areas. The Empire might try to use the crowds for cover—or as leverage."
He nodded. "It's a real risk. They'll have a perimeter to watch for us coming—we need to react quickly once they raise the alarm. We can't give them any time to make the first move."
"Leave the perimeter to the PRT," said Miss Militia from the front seat without looking back. "We need to push in to the Medhall building as quickly as possible. Kaiser will have an escape plan—we can't let him enact it."
"That's why we have the other teams," I said. "Speaking of which—Dragon, what's it look like up there?"
"No sign of any aerial escape," Dragon reported over the radio. Her core body, the gynoid frame which wore Vilya, was on a stealth Dragoncraft high above the city. "The helipad at the top of the building looks empty."
"Don't bet on it," came Gallant's voice. He, along with Vista and Sophia, formed the second infiltration team, coming towards the building from the south. "They had a Tinker until yesterday, and we've seen Auxiliary use redirection tactics before."
"I know," said Dragon. "I'm keeping both eyes open, don't worry."
I turned in my seat to look at Fume in the back. "How are you feeling?" I asked. "You've been quiet."
He already had his mask on, but I got the impression that he was grinning at me. "I feel great," he said, a vicious anticipation in his voice. "We're taking down the Empire. I've never been happier that you offered me this deal than I am right now."
I smiled. "You know your part?"
"Same as always—provide cover and confusion while you three plow through them." His fists clenched audibly in his leather gloves. "I just hope I can get a few hits in myself. I feel like I've earned it."
"I'll save a few for you, Brian," Aegis promised.
Fume chuckled. "Thanks, man."
"Don't get cocky, you two," I warned. "There are at least five capes in play today, all of them desperate. There's nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal."
"I can think of one thing," Aegis said. "You."
I huffed a slight laugh. "Fair point. Still—be wary. I don't want to lose someone because we got careless."
At that moment, Dragon's voice crackled through the radio. "Activity," she said sharply. "Motorcyclist headed away from Team 2's position, making a beeline for the Medhall building."
"I see him," growled Sophia. "Definitely Empire—Iron Cross on his jacket. I'm gonna stop him before he raises the alarm."
"Do it," I ordered. "Drivers—sirens on my mark."
There was a brief, tense pause. Then Sophia's voice came through again. "Got him, but I was spotted. Fell back. Cover's blown."
"Sirens now," I commanded, and was answered with light and sound. The cars in the road around us parted before us like the sea before Moses, and we passed through, picking up speed as we went. Behind us, the fleet of PRT officers in vans and other cars turned on their own lights and followed us in.
Fume cracked his knuckles. "Never imagined I'd be here," he said quietly.
"Same," Aegis said, a touch of awe in his voice. "We're making history."
"We held back Leviathan, we beat Heartbreaker and Valefor, I had a brief stint as a warlord, and this is what you don't believe?" I asked incredulously.
"It's different," said Fume quietly. "This is the Empire. They're our problem."
Aegis wordlessly held a fist back over his seat. Fume bumped it with his own.
I understood. "Well—bask in the glory after the glory's won," I said. "For now—"
I was interrupted by the distinctive ping of bullets off the armored exterior of the van. "They're taking cover in the buildings," Miss Militia said. "I'll handle this." She glanced back at us, and though her nose and mouth were covered by her American-flag bandana, her eyes shone with something like pride. "Give them hell," she said.
I saluted, and she grinned, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Then she threw open her door and rolled out of the moving car. Green light played about her, coalescing in her hand as she got back to her feet, but we were already too far by the time her weapon had formed for me to see the shape it had chosen. By the explosion I heard behind me not long afterward, I guessed the Empire troops wouldn't have cover for long.
"I hope she doesn't kill any of them," I said, glancing back. "That's not how we're supposed to do things."
"No," agreed Aegis. "But sometimes we're not perfect, especially when there's hundreds of them trying to kill half a dozen of us. I'd rather lose a few Neo-Nazis than lose even one hero."
That thought made me wince. It twisted, snakelike, in my brain, because it was too true to dismiss, and too dangerous to accept. "I'd rather not lose anyone, if we can avoid it," I said aloud.
"Me too," Aegis agreed, looking at me. "But—Mairë, I know you're trying to distance yourself from the past month, but sometimes…"
"I know," I said. "I know."
"Fenja headed for your position," said Dragon over the radio. "Out of the van, Mairë. You're up."
The PRT driver glanced back at me. "Want me to slow down?"
"I think this is as far as you go for now," I said. "Help the others set up the perimeter. We'll take it from here." I nodded to Aegis and Fume, then thrust open the door and leapt out of the vehicle. Sunrise sang as I pulled it from its sheath. My feet skidded slightly against the asphalt, but I quickly caught my footing.
And there was Fenja. I could see the tips of her winged helmet her over the tops of the buildings as she came towards us from another street. She'd be making the turn soon, and then there would be nothing between us but a couple blocks of space.
"I don't know how much help my power's going to be against her," Fume said as he emerged from the now-stopped car. "She can probably step on my whole cloud."
I nodded. "You find some cover and give us an escape route in case something goes wrong," I said. "Give us a dark alley or something. Aegis and I will fight her."
He nodded and turned aside. Aegis floated over, hovering near my shoulder. "What's the plan?" he asked.
"Plan?" I asked. "Hit her until she stops fighting. She and her sister were two of the strongest capes in this city. No holding back this time."
Fenja rounded the corner. Her blue eyes, the size of large windows in her massive face, stared down at us coldly. She leveled her massive polearm in our direction.
There were no words, no exchange of taunts or threats. I simply charged her. Aegis flew above me towards her face. Fenja swung her shield to bat him out of the sky even as she thrust her polearm in my direction.
It was a sloppy move. Using both weapons at once split her focus—her spear was trivial to dodge, and I leapt onto it as it passed, mithril gauntlets digging into the steel of the haft with a painful screech. I pulled myself up the weapon, running on all fours up the steel bar. Fenja noticed when I was halfway up and threw her arm out, trying to throw me, but I just shoved off of the weapon and leapt towards her, my sword whistling through the air.
I struck her in the thigh. As I made contact, I felt her power reach out a tendril of itself in an attempt to soften the blow, but Sunrise, like Narsil, was forged in Song and built of Music, and no frail wisp of Silence could hold it back.
I carved through the flesh of Fenja's thigh like butter. She screamed—a high, panicked sound. Her power had failed her, and that, more than the pain, drove her into a panic.
I caught myself on her knee and raised my blade to strike again. Before I could bring it down, however, a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye made me turn my head—just in time to leap off and catch myself on the flying chunk of masonry. It slowed to a stop in midair and I pulled myself up on top of it.
Rune stood atop her own floating stone, fifty yards or so from me. For a moment we stared across the gap at one another as Aegis dove again for Fenja's face.
Then Rune waved a hand and the rock beneath me began to fall. For a moment I cast my eyes about, trying to identify a surface to which I could leap and catch myself. There was none.
What was I doing? No holding back this time. Had I not even been listening to myself?
I leapt from the falling boulder, straight at Rune, breathing in a deep lungful of air. Just as I began to drop, I let the air out in wordless Song. The air twisted around me, pulling my body along, pushing me forward and upward.
Rune took an involuntary step back, her heel just at the edge of her platform as I flew towards her. Before she could act to pull her stone away, I landed on its other side, my boots gently touching down on the rock. I shifted my grip on Sunrise, holding it in both hands as I stared at Rune. Behind me, I heard the crash as her other boulder finally hit the ground.
"Surrender," I said.
She began to slowly raise her hands. A twitch of her wrist, or perhaps some keener instinct on my part, had me raising my gauntleted hand to block the burst of pepper spray before she had even finished pulling the canister out.
It splattered against my gauntlet, and where it seeped in, my skin burned. I ignored the itch, reaching out even as she kept spraying and wrenched the small canister away from her grip.
I met her gaze as I pulled it away. "I've had worse," I said, and with a momentary hum, my arm caught fire. The flame cleansed, burning away the minor irritation while feeling cool against my skin. I threw the canister aside, still burning, and it exploded with a loud snap several feet away. Then I reached out and grabbed her by the lapel. The flames licked at her costume, but did not burn it. "Yield," I said, and for a moment I felt the embers flicker again in my eyes. "Last chance."
She slumped in defeat. Before she could speak, a glint of reflected light made me turn. Fenja's spear was lancing towards me.
I waved my other hand, still holding Sunrise. My lips shaped a brief measure, and the metal became red-hot in Fenja's hand. She screamed and dropped the weapon, and the opening let Aegis in at her eyes. She flailed, slapping at him, but he was faster than she. She staggered back one step, then two, her feet thundering against the ground. Another scrap of Song ensured that when she next stepped back, her foot caught on an outcropping of stone in the street, and she fell with a resounding boom to the earth, the street shattering under her.
Still she struggled, flailing blindly as Aegis flitted about her face, striking at her eyelids, her ears, her throat—anything relatively soft. But I was getting impatient. Kaiser wouldn't wait forever.
My grip tightened on Rune, and I jumped off of the boulder, dragging her with me. She screamed as we fell, but we hit the ground softly. The moment my feet were on the solid earth, I threw her aside and ran towards the downed giantess.
I dodged on of her blind blows and then leapt onto her huge face. I raised my sword. "Stop struggling!" I commanded. "Last chance!"
She did not stop struggling.
Perhaps there was a gentler way to disable her. Perhaps I could have unfurled Iphannis and frozen her to the ground, or perhaps a sudden storm could have been directed to shock her into unconsciousness. In the moment, neither of these options occurred to me. Aegis was bleeding, his suit was red with more than dye, and not all the blood on Fenja's face was hers. All I wanted was to stop her.
I brought the sword down. Fenja wailed in agony. I wrenched it out, twisting as I did, and her scream sharpened to a shriek, then fell silent. She began to shrink as her power abandoned her to unconsciousness.
After a few moments, I was left standing over Fenja's body. Blood poured out of her ruined eye where I had stabbed into it.
I shook out Sunrise to clean away the worst of the gore as Aegis floated down to me. He stared down in silence at Fenja's face while I sang a brief fragment of Song to slow and stem her bleeding. His mask hid his expression, but I found I didn't care what it was. "Tie her and Rune together," I ordered. "Then you and Fume catch up with me."
He tore his eyes from the fallen cape and looked at me. "You're going ahead?" he asked. "Alone?"
I turned away. "I have a responsibility," I said. "Tonight, it's making sure Kaiser doesn't get away."
"Good luck," was all Aegis said.
I nodded and began to run.
"Dragon," I said into my radio as I picked up speed. "How are things going?"
"Alabaster's holding up team two," she said. "He's basically impossible to disable, with his power. Vista and Gallant are holding him—Shadow Stalker has gone on ahead. She's in the Medhall building."
"Alone?"
"Until you get there."
I sped up. The buildings blurred past me. I heard shouts, and bullets sailed past me, but the goons Kaiser had stationed on the streets weren't trained to shoot targets moving at superhuman speeds. The few strikes that landed pinged uselessly off my armor.
It only took a couple short minutes to run the several blocks to the Medhall building. It was one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, standing over two dozen stories tall. As I skidded to a stop before it, I stared up at the great spire, lit from hundreds of little windows, and for a moment was reminded of another dark tower housing another dark master.
Then I noticed the guards standing in the doorway. They were raising their guns, but they didn't immediately fire.
I met the eyes of one, then another in turn. There were four of them. Slowly, I pulled out a cloth and wiped the blood from Sunrise. "Well?" I asked.
One of the men swallowed. None of them spoke.
I strode forward. My gauntleted hand pushed aside one of them, and he sidestepped without resistance. Their heads followed me as I passed them.
Anyone who thinks a revolving door is an enemy to a dramatic entrance hasn't tried hard enough. The four glass panels shattered in unison with a sound like a thunderbolt striking a bell tower. Splinters of glass scattered before me as I stepped into the Medhall building. There were perhaps a score of men and women in the lobby, all armed. Only one recovered quickly enough to fire at me. After the first bullet from his pistol pinged off of my armor, a few brief notes made the ground undulate beneath him, throwing him off his feet. His gun slipped from his fingers, slid along the floor, and came to a stop right at my feet.
I stepped on it. It shattered, the plates of its frame splitting from one another as the mechanics of it broke under the strain. I kicked aside the fragments and looked around the room. All of the thugs were staring at me, transfixed.
"It's over," I said. I strode into the room, around the receptionist's desk where a woman was taking cover. Her shotgun wasn't even pointed at me as she stared unabashed.
I passed through the room to the stairway, opened the door, and entered.
"Holy shit, girl." Sophia coalesced from the shadows beside me. "That was…" she struggled for words. Her eyes were bright as she stared at me.
I met her gaze. "I think, at this point, you could have had the same effect if you'd walked in openly," I told her honestly.
"Doubt it. You were Annatar."
"And you're the hero who beat Annatar," I said. "They remember." I looked up. The stairs stretched up for hundreds of feet, spiraling around and around the stairwell. "They'll be at the top."
Sophia nodded. "Two capes left," she said quietly. "I left Alabaster with Gallant and Vista. Vista had him stuck in one of her space-traps when I left."
"That leaves just Kaiser and Oracle." I looked her in the eye. "Are you ready?"
"Are you?"
I reached out and took her hand. "Yes."
She looked down at our joined hands, then up at my face. She smiled under the mask. "Then so am I."
I bent my knees, took a deep breath, and jumped. Sophia let out a startled squeak as I pulled her up beside me. I Sang to the air, and it pushed behind us. I Sang to the earth, and it loosened its grip. Up and up we sailed until we reached the very top, and then alighted on the landing.
Sophia was breathing a little heavily as we touched down. "You okay?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she said, putting a hand to her chest. "Just, uh, wow."
I smirked. "I do enjoy having that effect on you," I said, and before she could reply, I kicked open the door.
We were in the penthouse. Above us was the roof, and I heard the whirring of what sounded like helicopter blades. A voice was furiously shouting. "Now, Oracle! They'll be up here in a moment!"
My eyes darted around the room. There—the staircase to the roof was on one side, an ornate, marble thing with a railing lined with ivy. I ran towards it.
Whatever Oracle replied, I didn't hear it, but Kaiser didn't like her answer. "Fine, stay here! Best of luck in prison!" The whirring grew louder.
I burst out onto the roof, Sophia on my heels. It had once been a helicopter—but Auxiliary had clearly modified it. Odd scraps of tinkertech jutted out of it at odd angles from all surfaces, and a faint shimmer, like a heat wave, surrounded the vehicle. My eyes slid off it like water off wax.
In the cockpit, Kaiser's armor gleamed. The helicopter began to rise into the air. Beside me, Sophia tensed, ready to leap through the shadows into the cockpit beside Kaiser.
"Wait!" Oracle called out. My eyes darted to her, and I saw that she was staring at me and Sophia. Some instinct or impulse made me reach out and grab Sophia's shoulder. She blinked and turned to me, the shadows wisping around her, but remained at my side.
And it was fortunate that she did. Only a moment after Oracle spoke, a loud bang emerged from the belly of the helicopter. Sparks burst from several of the tinkertech outcroppings. A bright flash emerged from the cockpit, and when it faded, Kaiser was slumped over the controls, smoke faintly rising from beneath his armor. The helicopter's rotors stopped, and it fell back to the roof. The shimmering stealth field around it faded away.
The sputtering of sparks and machinery continued for a moment, and then the rooftop was left in silence. Oracle stared at us. Sophia looked from me to Oracle. I stared at Kaiser, then at Oracle.
She knew the helicopter was going to fail. And she tried to stop Sophia getting hurt. The conclusion was inescapable, but I almost couldn't wrap my head around it.
The Empire's last cape raised shaking hands and pulled off her mask. The single red eye clattered to the ground. Emma Barnes raised both hands above her head and set them on top of her scalp. "I surrender," she said. "I'll come quietly, Taylor."
-x-x-x-
I leaned back in my seat as I gazed out the tinted windows of the PRT van. The traffic was dying down for the night, but we were in the middle of downtown, so there were more than a few cars on the road. Once we encountered the Empire perimeter, that would be a problem. Hopefully the civilians were used to keeping their heads down during a cape fight by now.
"What're you thinking about?" Aegis' voice broke into my reverie. I turned my head to face him where he sat on the other side of the van. He was watching me with an almost relaxed expression on his face.
"Civilians," I said, gesturing at the window. "The past few fights were in less crowded areas. The Empire might try to use the crowds for cover—or as leverage."
He nodded. "It's a real risk. They'll have a perimeter to watch for us coming—we need to react quickly once they raise the alarm. We can't give them any time to make the first move."
"Leave the perimeter to the PRT," said Miss Militia from the front seat without looking back. "We need to push in to the Medhall building as quickly as possible. Kaiser will have an escape plan—we can't let him enact it."
"That's why we have the other teams," I said. "Speaking of which—Dragon, what's it look like up there?"
"No sign of any aerial escape," Dragon reported over the radio. Her core body, the gynoid frame which wore Vilya, was on a stealth Dragoncraft high above the city. "The helipad at the top of the building looks empty."
"Don't bet on it," came Gallant's voice. He, along with Vista and Sophia, formed the second infiltration team, coming towards the building from the south. "They had a Tinker until yesterday, and we've seen Auxiliary use redirection tactics before."
"I know," said Dragon. "I'm keeping both eyes open, don't worry."
I turned in my seat to look at Fume in the back. "How are you feeling?" I asked. "You've been quiet."
He already had his mask on, but I got the impression that he was grinning at me. "I feel great," he said, a vicious anticipation in his voice. "We're taking down the Empire. I've never been happier that you offered me this deal than I am right now."
I smiled. "You know your part?"
"Same as always—provide cover and confusion while you three plow through them." His fists clenched audibly in his leather gloves. "I just hope I can get a few hits in myself. I feel like I've earned it."
"I'll save a few for you, Brian," Aegis promised.
Fume chuckled. "Thanks, man."
"Don't get cocky, you two," I warned. "There are at least five capes in play today, all of them desperate. There's nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal."
"I can think of one thing," Aegis said. "You."
I huffed a slight laugh. "Fair point. Still—be wary. I don't want to lose someone because we got careless."
At that moment, Dragon's voice crackled through the radio. "Activity," she said sharply. "Motorcyclist headed away from Team 2's position, making a beeline for the Medhall building."
"I see him," growled Sophia. "Definitely Empire—Iron Cross on his jacket. I'm gonna stop him before he raises the alarm."
"Do it," I ordered. "Drivers—sirens on my mark."
There was a brief, tense pause. Then Sophia's voice came through again. "Got him, but I was spotted. Fell back. Cover's blown."
"Sirens now," I commanded, and was answered with light and sound. The cars in the road around us parted before us like the sea before Moses, and we passed through, picking up speed as we went. Behind us, the fleet of PRT officers in vans and other cars turned on their own lights and followed us in.
Fume cracked his knuckles. "Never imagined I'd be here," he said quietly.
"Same," Aegis said, a touch of awe in his voice. "We're making history."
"We held back Leviathan, we beat Heartbreaker and Valefor, I had a brief stint as a warlord, and this is what you don't believe?" I asked incredulously.
"It's different," said Fume quietly. "This is the Empire. They're our problem."
Aegis wordlessly held a fist back over his seat. Fume bumped it with his own.
I understood. "Well—bask in the glory after the glory's won," I said. "For now—"
I was interrupted by the distinctive ping of bullets off the armored exterior of the van. "They're taking cover in the buildings," Miss Militia said. "I'll handle this." She glanced back at us, and though her nose and mouth were covered by her American-flag bandana, her eyes shone with something like pride. "Give them hell," she said.
I saluted, and she grinned, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Then she threw open her door and rolled out of the moving car. Green light played about her, coalescing in her hand as she got back to her feet, but we were already too far by the time her weapon had formed for me to see the shape it had chosen. By the explosion I heard behind me not long afterward, I guessed the Empire troops wouldn't have cover for long.
"I hope she doesn't kill any of them," I said, glancing back. "That's not how we're supposed to do things."
"No," agreed Aegis. "But sometimes we're not perfect, especially when there's hundreds of them trying to kill half a dozen of us. I'd rather lose a few Neo-Nazis than lose even one hero."
That thought made me wince. It twisted, snakelike, in my brain, because it was too true to dismiss, and too dangerous to accept. "I'd rather not lose anyone, if we can avoid it," I said aloud.
"Me too," Aegis agreed, looking at me. "But—Mairë, I know you're trying to distance yourself from the past month, but sometimes…"
"I know," I said. "I know."
"Fenja headed for your position," said Dragon over the radio. "Out of the van, Mairë. You're up."
The PRT driver glanced back at me. "Want me to slow down?"
"I think this is as far as you go for now," I said. "Help the others set up the perimeter. We'll take it from here." I nodded to Aegis and Fume, then thrust open the door and leapt out of the vehicle. Sunrise sang as I pulled it from its sheath. My feet skidded slightly against the asphalt, but I quickly caught my footing.
And there was Fenja. I could see the tips of her winged helmet her over the tops of the buildings as she came towards us from another street. She'd be making the turn soon, and then there would be nothing between us but a couple blocks of space.
"I don't know how much help my power's going to be against her," Fume said as he emerged from the now-stopped car. "She can probably step on my whole cloud."
I nodded. "You find some cover and give us an escape route in case something goes wrong," I said. "Give us a dark alley or something. Aegis and I will fight her."
He nodded and turned aside. Aegis floated over, hovering near my shoulder. "What's the plan?" he asked.
"Plan?" I asked. "Hit her until she stops fighting. She and her sister were two of the strongest capes in this city. No holding back this time."
Fenja rounded the corner. Her blue eyes, the size of large windows in her massive face, stared down at us coldly. She leveled her massive polearm in our direction.
There were no words, no exchange of taunts or threats. I simply charged her. Aegis flew above me towards her face. Fenja swung her shield to bat him out of the sky even as she thrust her polearm in my direction.
It was a sloppy move. Using both weapons at once split her focus—her spear was trivial to dodge, and I leapt onto it as it passed, mithril gauntlets digging into the steel of the haft with a painful screech. I pulled myself up the weapon, running on all fours up the steel bar. Fenja noticed when I was halfway up and threw her arm out, trying to throw me, but I just shoved off of the weapon and leapt towards her, my sword whistling through the air.
I struck her in the thigh. As I made contact, I felt her power reach out a tendril of itself in an attempt to soften the blow, but Sunrise, like Narsil, was forged in Song and built of Music, and no frail wisp of Silence could hold it back.
I carved through the flesh of Fenja's thigh like butter. She screamed—a high, panicked sound. Her power had failed her, and that, more than the pain, drove her into a panic.
I caught myself on her knee and raised my blade to strike again. Before I could bring it down, however, a flicker of movement in the corner of my eye made me turn my head—just in time to leap off and catch myself on the flying chunk of masonry. It slowed to a stop in midair and I pulled myself up on top of it.
Rune stood atop her own floating stone, fifty yards or so from me. For a moment we stared across the gap at one another as Aegis dove again for Fenja's face.
Then Rune waved a hand and the rock beneath me began to fall. For a moment I cast my eyes about, trying to identify a surface to which I could leap and catch myself. There was none.
What was I doing? No holding back this time. Had I not even been listening to myself?
I leapt from the falling boulder, straight at Rune, breathing in a deep lungful of air. Just as I began to drop, I let the air out in wordless Song. The air twisted around me, pulling my body along, pushing me forward and upward.
Rune took an involuntary step back, her heel just at the edge of her platform as I flew towards her. Before she could act to pull her stone away, I landed on its other side, my boots gently touching down on the rock. I shifted my grip on Sunrise, holding it in both hands as I stared at Rune. Behind me, I heard the crash as her other boulder finally hit the ground.
"Surrender," I said.
She began to slowly raise her hands. A twitch of her wrist, or perhaps some keener instinct on my part, had me raising my gauntleted hand to block the burst of pepper spray before she had even finished pulling the canister out.
It splattered against my gauntlet, and where it seeped in, my skin burned. I ignored the itch, reaching out even as she kept spraying and wrenched the small canister away from her grip.
I met her gaze as I pulled it away. "I've had worse," I said, and with a momentary hum, my arm caught fire. The flame cleansed, burning away the minor irritation while feeling cool against my skin. I threw the canister aside, still burning, and it exploded with a loud snap several feet away. Then I reached out and grabbed her by the lapel. The flames licked at her costume, but did not burn it. "Yield," I said, and for a moment I felt the embers flicker again in my eyes. "Last chance."
She slumped in defeat. Before she could speak, a glint of reflected light made me turn. Fenja's spear was lancing towards me.
I waved my other hand, still holding Sunrise. My lips shaped a brief measure, and the metal became red-hot in Fenja's hand. She screamed and dropped the weapon, and the opening let Aegis in at her eyes. She flailed, slapping at him, but he was faster than she. She staggered back one step, then two, her feet thundering against the ground. Another scrap of Song ensured that when she next stepped back, her foot caught on an outcropping of stone in the street, and she fell with a resounding boom to the earth, the street shattering under her.
Still she struggled, flailing blindly as Aegis flitted about her face, striking at her eyelids, her ears, her throat—anything relatively soft. But I was getting impatient. Kaiser wouldn't wait forever.
My grip tightened on Rune, and I jumped off of the boulder, dragging her with me. She screamed as we fell, but we hit the ground softly. The moment my feet were on the solid earth, I threw her aside and ran towards the downed giantess.
I dodged on of her blind blows and then leapt onto her huge face. I raised my sword. "Stop struggling!" I commanded. "Last chance!"
She did not stop struggling.
Perhaps there was a gentler way to disable her. Perhaps I could have unfurled Iphannis and frozen her to the ground, or perhaps a sudden storm could have been directed to shock her into unconsciousness. In the moment, neither of these options occurred to me. Aegis was bleeding, his suit was red with more than dye, and not all the blood on Fenja's face was hers. All I wanted was to stop her.
I brought the sword down. Fenja wailed in agony. I wrenched it out, twisting as I did, and her scream sharpened to a shriek, then fell silent. She began to shrink as her power abandoned her to unconsciousness.
After a few moments, I was left standing over Fenja's body. Blood poured out of her ruined eye where I had stabbed into it.
I shook out Sunrise to clean away the worst of the gore as Aegis floated down to me. He stared down in silence at Fenja's face while I sang a brief fragment of Song to slow and stem her bleeding. His mask hid his expression, but I found I didn't care what it was. "Tie her and Rune together," I ordered. "Then you and Fume catch up with me."
He tore his eyes from the fallen cape and looked at me. "You're going ahead?" he asked. "Alone?"
I turned away. "I have a responsibility," I said. "Tonight, it's making sure Kaiser doesn't get away."
"Good luck," was all Aegis said.
I nodded and began to run.
"Dragon," I said into my radio as I picked up speed. "How are things going?"
"Alabaster's holding up team two," she said. "He's basically impossible to disable, with his power. Vista and Gallant are holding him—Shadow Stalker has gone on ahead. She's in the Medhall building."
"Alone?"
"Until you get there."
I sped up. The buildings blurred past me. I heard shouts, and bullets sailed past me, but the goons Kaiser had stationed on the streets weren't trained to shoot targets moving at superhuman speeds. The few strikes that landed pinged uselessly off my armor.
It only took a couple short minutes to run the several blocks to the Medhall building. It was one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, standing over two dozen stories tall. As I skidded to a stop before it, I stared up at the great spire, lit from hundreds of little windows, and for a moment was reminded of another dark tower housing another dark master.
Then I noticed the guards standing in the doorway. They were raising their guns, but they didn't immediately fire.
I met the eyes of one, then another in turn. There were four of them. Slowly, I pulled out a cloth and wiped the blood from Sunrise. "Well?" I asked.
One of the men swallowed. None of them spoke.
I strode forward. My gauntleted hand pushed aside one of them, and he sidestepped without resistance. Their heads followed me as I passed them.
Anyone who thinks a revolving door is an enemy to a dramatic entrance hasn't tried hard enough. The four glass panels shattered in unison with a sound like a thunderbolt striking a bell tower. Splinters of glass scattered before me as I stepped into the Medhall building. There were perhaps a score of men and women in the lobby, all armed. Only one recovered quickly enough to fire at me. After the first bullet from his pistol pinged off of my armor, a few brief notes made the ground undulate beneath him, throwing him off his feet. His gun slipped from his fingers, slid along the floor, and came to a stop right at my feet.
I stepped on it. It shattered, the plates of its frame splitting from one another as the mechanics of it broke under the strain. I kicked aside the fragments and looked around the room. All of the thugs were staring at me, transfixed.
"It's over," I said. I strode into the room, around the receptionist's desk where a woman was taking cover. Her shotgun wasn't even pointed at me as she stared unabashed.
I passed through the room to the stairway, opened the door, and entered.
"Holy shit, girl." Sophia coalesced from the shadows beside me. "That was…" she struggled for words. Her eyes were bright as she stared at me.
I met her gaze. "I think, at this point, you could have had the same effect if you'd walked in openly," I told her honestly.
"Doubt it. You were Annatar."
"And you're the hero who beat Annatar," I said. "They remember." I looked up. The stairs stretched up for hundreds of feet, spiraling around and around the stairwell. "They'll be at the top."
Sophia nodded. "Two capes left," she said quietly. "I left Alabaster with Gallant and Vista. Vista had him stuck in one of her space-traps when I left."
"That leaves just Kaiser and Oracle." I looked her in the eye. "Are you ready?"
"Are you?"
I reached out and took her hand. "Yes."
She looked down at our joined hands, then up at my face. She smiled under the mask. "Then so am I."
I bent my knees, took a deep breath, and jumped. Sophia let out a startled squeak as I pulled her up beside me. I Sang to the air, and it pushed behind us. I Sang to the earth, and it loosened its grip. Up and up we sailed until we reached the very top, and then alighted on the landing.
Sophia was breathing a little heavily as we touched down. "You okay?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she said, putting a hand to her chest. "Just, uh, wow."
I smirked. "I do enjoy having that effect on you," I said, and before she could reply, I kicked open the door.
We were in the penthouse. Above us was the roof, and I heard the whirring of what sounded like helicopter blades. A voice was furiously shouting. "Now, Oracle! They'll be up here in a moment!"
My eyes darted around the room. There—the staircase to the roof was on one side, an ornate, marble thing with a railing lined with ivy. I ran towards it.
Whatever Oracle replied, I didn't hear it, but Kaiser didn't like her answer. "Fine, stay here! Best of luck in prison!" The whirring grew louder.
I burst out onto the roof, Sophia on my heels. It had once been a helicopter—but Auxiliary had clearly modified it. Odd scraps of tinkertech jutted out of it at odd angles from all surfaces, and a faint shimmer, like a heat wave, surrounded the vehicle. My eyes slid off it like water off wax.
In the cockpit, Kaiser's armor gleamed. The helicopter began to rise into the air. Beside me, Sophia tensed, ready to leap through the shadows into the cockpit beside Kaiser.
"Wait!" Oracle called out. My eyes darted to her, and I saw that she was staring at me and Sophia. Some instinct or impulse made me reach out and grab Sophia's shoulder. She blinked and turned to me, the shadows wisping around her, but remained at my side.
And it was fortunate that she did. Only a moment after Oracle spoke, a loud bang emerged from the belly of the helicopter. Sparks burst from several of the tinkertech outcroppings. A bright flash emerged from the cockpit, and when it faded, Kaiser was slumped over the controls, smoke faintly rising from beneath his armor. The helicopter's rotors stopped, and it fell back to the roof. The shimmering stealth field around it faded away.
The sputtering of sparks and machinery continued for a moment, and then the rooftop was left in silence. Oracle stared at us. Sophia looked from me to Oracle. I stared at Kaiser, then at Oracle.
She knew the helicopter was going to fail. And she tried to stop Sophia getting hurt. The conclusion was inescapable, but I almost couldn't wrap my head around it.
The Empire's last cape raised shaking hands and pulled off her mask. The single red eye clattered to the ground. Emma Barnes raised both hands above her head and set them on top of her scalp. "I surrender," she said. "I'll come quietly, Taylor."
-x-x-x-
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Lithos Maitreya
Character Witness
- Location
- United States
Since the readers so far seemed to have missed something I intended to be clear, I have made an edit to this chapter. Here is a changelog:
has been replaced with
- Location
- New Zealand
Can I just say that I love this line?
A very nice conclusion to the Empire 88 arc, and I like that Taylor is still struggling with use of excessive force even after dropping the Sauron personality.
Plus, going for the eyes is a very Taylor tactic, and I approve.
- Location
- Russia
I love the revolving door bit for two reasons. One, it's hilarious.
Two... See what Oracle's doing here? Let's hope her heel doesn't turn into a propeller at this point.
Two... See what Oracle's doing here? Let's hope her heel doesn't turn into a propeller at this point.
- Location
- Estonia
Probably not wrong, but still feels off to me as I read it. Wouldn't 'mechanisms' be the better word there?
Lithos Maitreya
Character Witness
- Location
- United States
I honestly do not know; I'll check later today.
