Many thanks to @BeaconHill and @GlassGirlCeci for betareading.
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The green mist dissipated as suddenly as it had appeared. Krouse stumbled as the ground suddenly met his feet again. His stomach rolled mutinously at the shift. Teleportation might be useful, but comfortable it was not.
He coughed to clear his lungs of the greenish smoke, leaning against a wall. They had appeared in a deserted back-street. His back was against an old industrial building, and across the street from him was a tenement house with boarded-up windows.
"Where are we?" Noelle asked. Krouse looked over at her. She seemed disoriented, but unharmed. Her agitation was already fading, her monstrous body settling down.
Satisfied, he turned to look around. "Still in Brockton," he said, recognizing the building beside them. He'd been standing on its roof when he stole Annatar's Ring. "About a mile north of where we were."
"I couldn't move us very far," the Eidolon clone admitted. "This power isn't a really long-range mover power. We're outside their perimeter, but they'll find us before too long."
"Then we need to move," said Trickster. "If we get out of the city, Annatar will stop chasing us. She's a feudal lord at heart."
"Well, I'd head north in the short term," said the Eidolon clone. "Downtown Brockton is the heart of Annatar's territory."
"And what then?" asked Sundancer. He glanced over at her, but she was avoiding his eyes. "Say we manage to get out of the city. What do we do then? Where do we go?"
"We can figure that out when we're safe," Krouse answered. "But we have to prioritize."
"We can't leave Jess and Oliver!" said Marissa sharply.
"We can catch up with them later," Trickster argued. "They're chasing Noelle, not a girl in a wheelchair or a guy with a perfect face. Oliver has a phone, and Jess is smart. It'll work out."
"And if it doesn't?" Ballistic asked suddenly. Krouse couldn't read him, not with his voice controlled and his face covered. "What if Jess gets captured? What do we do then?"
Krouse shrugged. "We can't exactly launch a rescue mission," he said. "Not against Annatar. But—come on, guys, this is a talk for
later. We're not safe here."
"Nor are they!" exclaimed Sundancer.
"Look, Annatar or one of her people could show up any second," Trickster urged. "We have to move
now. Sitting here is just going to get us killed."
"I think it's more likely to get
Jess killed," said Sundancer. He could feel her gaze on him, accusing.
"Look," he said sharply. "I don't
want Genesis getting hurt. I hope she gets out of the city okay, and finds her way back to us. But we have to look after ourselves first."
The Eidolon clone yawned. "As riveting as this is," he said, "can we please get on with it? If I have to sit still any longer I might just start blowing things up."
"Yes, let's get on with it," said Sundancer, turning away. "I'm going to find Jess."
"We can't afford to split up!" Krouse said sharply. "Our best chance is in numbers! We need to look after each other."
"Like you're looking after Jess?" Sundancer said, glancing back at him.
"That's different."
"It really isn't, man," Ballistic put in. "I get it, this is a mess. But we can't just abandon the others."
"Give it up, Luke," Sundancer advised, turning away again. "When Krouse says we need to look after each other, he means
we need to look after
him."
"What about Noelle?" Krouse asked.
The words stopped Sundancer dead in her tracks. Slowly, she turned and looked over and up at Noelle, who was watching her impassively, her tentacles lashing at the air.
"Good point," she said. "What
do you think, Noelle? You were our leader before Krouse was."
Noelle's face fell. A hand came up to massage her temples. "I… I don't…" she trailed off for a moment, then said, "It's so hard to think straight anymore. I don't even… why are we talking about running? We can fight them. We can
beat them."
"And then what?" Ballistic asked. "Say we beat Annatar, say we beat the entire city's worth of capes. What are we going to do then? We're trying to fix you and get home, aren't we?"
The Eidolon clone made a sound. It took Krouse a moment to realize it was soft, mirthless laughter.
"What's so funny?" Krouse asked sharply.
"It's not really," admitted the clone. "Just… it's futile. Trying to 'fix' Noelle. It'll never work."
"You don't know that," said Sundancer, but she didn't sound certain. "There's always a chance."
"Who do you think
distributed the power vials?" the clone asked. "And, yes, I know you took vials. Natural powers almost never cause mutations like these. The vials are usually pretty good, too, but sometimes…"
"Wait, back up," said Ballistic sharply. "You're saying
Eidolon was behind the vials we found?"
"Not Eidolon by himself," the clone corrected. "He's a vial cape himself. One of the first. He's been there from the beginning, watching the experiments, watching them refine the formulas. They could have taken you home any time, you know. They have a cape who can take away powers, too. But they'll never help you."
"But they exist," said Noelle, her voice rising in desperation. "We can convince them—"
"You can't," said Eidolon flatly. "You're exactly where they want you. Running around, getting more powerful, maybe even causing triggers. There's nothing you can give them to make it worth their while."
"So… what?" Trickster asked. "We should just give up? Turn ourselves in?"
"Why the hell would you do that?" the clone asked, blinking at him. "Give up on Noelle getting cured, yes. But why turn yourselves in?" He turned to Noelle. Their eyes met. Something passed between them, unspoken.
"No," Noelle said, shaking her head. "No, I'm not that far gone. Not yet."
"Why not? Eidolon is considered one of the three or four most powerful capes in the world," he said. "Why are we letting Annatar chase us
anywhere? We can have an army of
me."
"I can't make as many clones as I want," Noelle corrected. "It uses people up. The clones get weaker, and more likely to come out wrong."
"Still," the clone said. "Four or five of me? That's enough to scare anyone away. By
myself I'm enough to scare anyone away." He looked down at his hands, turning them over as though looking at them for the first time. Which, of course, he was. "Eidolon didn't understand his own powers," he said, almost to himself. "
I don't understand them yet either. There's something he was missing."
"It's not about whether we can beat them," Trickster said. "Fighting doesn't get us any closer to getting away safe. They can just keep throwing people at us."
The clone rolled his eyes. "Fine, keep struggling. Your loss." He looked around at them. "Whatever you all do, you'll need a distraction. I'll go make one. I'm not in the mood to be squeamish." He grinned. "I've never burned down a city before. It'll be nice to cut loose."
"Wait!" called Trickster as he started to fly off. "We might need your help to get out of here!"
"Then make another Eidolon," the clone shouted back without stopping. "Maybe he'll be as boring as you are!"
Silence fell. It was soon broken by the sound of crumbling masonry in the distance as the clone made good on his promise to create mayhem.
"We need to move," said Trickster.
"Yes," agreed Sundancer. "I'm going to find Jess. We'll meet you outside the city."
"We need to stick together," Krouse said exasperatedly. "Why is this so hard to understand? We have a better chance—"
"
Jess has a better chance if she has some help," said Sundancer flatly. "So I'm going to help her." She looked back up at Noelle. "I hope you manage to get out," she said quietly. "We'll find a way, Noelle. No matter what that clone says."
Noelle didn't answer. She was staring down at one of the heads on her lower body, which was snuffling at the ground like a dog. There was no sign that she even heard Sundancer, and after a moment, Marissa turned away and started down the street.
"I'm with you," said Ballistic suddenly, jogging after Sundancer. "I'll find Oliver, you go after Jess." He glanced back at Krouse. "We'll meet you outside the city."
"You're making a mistake," Krouse warned.
"Maybe," Ballistic admitted. "It wouldn't be the first time. But I'm not leaving Oliver and Jess stuck here. I'll see you later. Don't die."
He turned away and jogged down a side street.
"Well, I guess it's just us," Krouse said, looking up at Noelle. "What do you think? How are we getting out?"
"Getting out…?" Noelle echoed, her voice distant. "Think…"
"Noelle?"
She blinked and looked away from the head sniffing at the asphalt. "What? I don't know. What can we do besides walk?"
"You don't want to create another Eidolon clone?" Trickster asked.
Noelle shook her head vehemently. "If I do that," she said quietly, "I don't think… he's strong. He's
really strong. If I brought that much power in… I don't think I could stop." She sought his eyes. "I can barely remember why we're trying to run away, Krouse," she said. "All I want to do is turn around and fight them. I want to break, and kill, and
consume them." She shuddered. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"
"
Nothing," Krouse said vehemently, his heart sinking.
She's getting worse. "It's not you, it's that power. We need to get you out of here."
While we still can.
She nodded hesitantly. "Okay. North, Eidolon said."
"That's this way," Krouse pointed. He wasn't actually sure—the sun wasn't visible over the buildings right now—but the important thing was to get moving, to stop Noelle from dwelling on her thoughts. "Come on. We won't get far without a ride."
"I won't fit into a car," said Noelle. "I've been growing."
"Then we'll find a pickup truck," Krouse said, scanning the street. "You can probably fit in the bed. We won't be stealthy, but—there's one!"
There was a red pickup, just a block down the street from where they were. It was pulled into a driveway beside a two-story townhouse. Trickster ran towards it, Noelle easily keeping pace.
Hopefully, the keys will be in the house, he thought.
If not, that thing looks old. I can probably hotwire—
The explosion knocked him sprawling. Debris from the masonry showered the road around him. He rolled several feet before landing on his back, blinking up at the blue sky.
"KROUSE!" Noelle's shout seemed to come from a long way off. Her bulk swam in his field of vision.
I'm fine, he wanted to say.
Just winded. But he didn't seem to be able to form the words.
Something gold was glinting in the sky above. In his fuzzy vision its shape was indistinct. It looked vaguely humanoid. A beam of light shot down from it, striking Noelle, but she just snarled and shrugged it off. "NO!" she was howling. "YOU BITCH, YOU KILLED HIM!"
I'm not dead, Krouse thought in bemusement.
What are you talking about, Noelle? I'm fine.
He tried to sit up, but his arms and legs didn't seem to be responding. He turned his head—a surprisingly difficult endeavor, maybe he really had been injured.
Then he stopped. Stared at the red, pulpy mass that had once been his arm.
Oh, fuck. The thought was almost calm, barely affected by the sight before him. Almost boring—'Oh, fuck' was just the expected response to finding out you'd been horribly maimed.
Now that he thought about it, he
could feel the pain. It was distant, though—muted, as if he was experiencing it through a wire connected to a body half a world away.
At least my legs are fine, he thought. He couldn't feel any pain below the small of his back.
Then again, he couldn't feel anything below the small of his back.
Noelle was leaning over him. "She's gone for reinforcements," she said, and her eyes were streaming with tears. "Oh, Krouse, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
He tried to say something like
Sorry for what? Or
It's fine. His lips didn't seem to want to cooperate. The most he could manage was a vague mumble.
"I never wanted this," Noelle mumbled. "I don't—what am I supposed to do now?" She stared down at him. Then her face hardened. "They want to play hardball? Fine." She leaned down, and her lips met Krouse's forehead. "Thank you for everything, Krouse," she said. "I'll take it from here."
Then Krouse felt himself being dragged. His eyes flickered down. One of the heads, like a cross between a bull and a vulture, was pulling him by what remained of his lower body.
His eyes widened. Something deep inside him, a primal, unreasonable instinct, rebelled. He tried to struggle, to cry out, to beg Noelle to do something,
anything else. All he could manage was an incomprehensible babble.
"Goodbye, Krouse," said Noelle, her voice soft—but her eyes were hard and flinty. "I love you. I'll avenge you."
He looked back up, and the last thing he saw before he was engulfed was Noelle's face framed by a clear blue sky.
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