She Taught Me Sadness - Worm A.U. fanfic

[Pillowsperky]

Well ... The whole thing is done by contessa has 3 objectives
1 - make sure purpose cannot stay with the protectorate
2 - teach purpose that he is not powerfull enough to what is to come
3- set the events of "Purpose World wide" run in motion

Contessa does not feel bad for what she did, but for what she is still have to do for the Purpose path ( I thought that was clear...)

The thing I like and that not everyone does is the fact that, with charaters like contessa, their actions are not obvious. She tryies to blackmail a guy lnowing it will fail, being that her real objective is give him a initial push to a larger sequence of events

Click to shrink...

Be that as it may, it's still just leaving me with a sour taste. Turning Yamada into a permanent vegetable seems just needlessly cruel and pointlessly wasteful, though that is par for the course with Cauldron of course.
They're the kings of 'let's burn down an orphanage so we can maybe cause a trigger.'

Probably bias on my side, I accept and admit that.

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++++++++++++ chapter 20 : Many Teachers

"So…he was guillotined?" Aliosha asked, serving Purpose another dose.

"Yes. The book ends on the night before the execution, but it's universally accepted that he would die as he was sentenced to. Anything else would not make sense story-wise."

"Does not seem like good ending to me." The Russian man frowned, taking half his cup in one gulp. "Do not know why you would call this man hero."

"It does not follow the traditional hero's journey, but I like it a lot. And Muersault is a hero. An absurdist hero. The act of making peace with the absurdity of the world, not ignoring or avoiding it, facing it head on even when everything comes crashing down on you like it did with him, is heroic."

Aliosha flicked his gaze to the playing field, unconsciously making the sun shine brighter and warmer on the green grass. He gazed at the clouds and added more color and texture to them. Less like real clouds, more like Monet's brushstrokes in the Seine at Argenteuil. "Hmm...hard to say without reading book. You could give me copy?"

Purpose just extended his hand, a book that did not exist in reality a few seconds ago now presenting itself to the young man.

"Thank's, apparition!" A sly smile crossed his gruff countenance as he took the book and explored the pages. There was something really joyful about an adult happily flipping through a book with the same giddiness of a kid who just got a toy.

Purpose chuckled. "You could call me by my name, you know."

"No…I don't think I will," he said, smirking.

"You are just jealous I got to choose mine, Sleeeeper." The last word was dragged out with as much mirth as the simulacrum was capable of, knowing how Aliosha hated the name the international community chose for him.

###

"Hello, Ahmed." A cacophony of sounds that could be confused with a voice said from behind him.

That confused Ash Beast more than anything. For fifteen years he had not heard a single voice -- a single sound—without the muffle flaring noise of the flowing inferno filtering it.

Making a 180 turn he was faced with... He had not words to describe it.

His inferno was parting around a person of blurry colors—colors other than orange, red and yellow—who strode unflinchingly through the sea of flames, their clothes unmarred and their impossible eyes fixed on Ash Beast.

It was hard to believe his eyes for a second, he refuses to acknowledge that the apparition could possibly exist. He vaguely remembers a time, long ago, (or was it?) When he had been plagued by hallucinations, shapes conjured by the fire that had mocked, enticed and lied to him.


Then the person stepped forward, moving even closer, the flames sliding off of him without burning him. Their hand raised and clasped Ash Beast's shoulder.

"I am sorry for what the [converter] did. It was not meant to make you suffer, if that makes it any better," the apparition said. They sounded ... kind? It sounded a bit like Malik did before Al Massi took a hold of him.

Ash Beast would have liked to respond, but even if the apparition could hear him through the flames, he had forgotten how to talk properly long ago.

"I think you deserve a rest" was the last thing he heard before the world went black.

###

"You are staring, Lost God," the Fairy Queen teased the invader.

Paige had seen the Queen tease others before (it seemed to be one of her favorite past-times), but there was something more contained in the way she talked to this weird man. It sounded more like an actual talk between two people than a crazy woman mocking someone she could obliterate at any minute... Who even was this guy?

"I am sorry your majesty, my fool eyes were just too uncostumed with excellence to not be bemused by you." the guy... flirted? It was hard to tell with his weird voice. He could be mocking or flirting or being serious in reverence and Paige would never know. One of the other inmates was murmuring an indecent joke, so it probally sounded like 'flirting' to the others too.

"Hmph. Flattery will take you nowhere, Lost God, especially one so obviously crafted by a fairy advisor." the Queen chastised, but with less of her typical menacing tone and more of an angry girl. "I will not allow you to study with my trawl, so If you have no other business here, leave this lands!" that sounded a bit more like the everyday Fairy Queen. Around her, the Ghosts shifted into different forms. One of them, Paige could just barely see, was a small boy.

"I shall leave if that is what you truly desire, but allow me to ask one small question first, your majesty..." the weird blurry man approached the queen, as if to whisper something Paige and the others were not able to hear.

The rest of the day passed away like a blur. Paige passed out around the beginning of the fight. She could scarcely remember some of the esoteric powers that were thrown out, but nothing that gave Dragon any clues of what happened.

A quarter of the prison's installations were quarantined from that day on, and the queen...She was told the queen had escaped.

###

"What in thousands of hells is this bastard doing?!" Narwhal yelled into ThreeEyedCrow's face.

Their resident Thinker remained as impassive as always looking up at his leader with the same dead-eyed gaze as he answered. "As I already described in my report, Samantha... The parahuman codenamed Purpose has visited, among other entities: the Cipher Cult in Oregon, Ash Beast while he was passing through the Kenyan border, El Familia de Los Milagres in Colombia, the Three Blasphemies while they passed by the river Euphredes, and—"

"To copy their power,"she yelled at her paraplegic subordinate. "Yes, I read your damn document, Brandon! But you forget to mention any theory at all on why he is doing it and what he intends to do with all this power! You have to give something to work with here Bran! We cannot just sit on our asses while this guy collects all A-Class treats in the fucking world! What's next?! Is he going to wake up Sleeper or have some tea with Nilbog?!"

"Actually..."

Narwhal's face fell from anger to exhausted disbelief. "Please tell me he is not going after S-Class threats."

ThreeEyedCrow looked at the window so as to avoid his leader's gaze. "He was reported to have talked with Sleeper five hours ago. Our Watchers did not report anything because at the time some stranger effect made them not think it was something worth reporting. We suspect he copied some form of Madame Irrelevance's aura of alone-"



"OK!" The horned woman cut him off, clapping her hands. "Anyone present ha any idea on what should be our next move?"



The room was silent. The Guild was no stranger to these awkward silences where no one had an idea on what to do. Not for the first time, Dragon decided to end the silensce. "I think we should contact Vista."



The entire room looked at her monitor with questioning looks. "Who ?" Masamune was the first to ask



"The Ward he was in contact with for a few months. Read the dan reports Toshiro!" blue lantern suplied.

"Please elaborate, Dragon." Narwhal allowed, cogs alredy moving in her brain.

"As we all know," ( or at least as she keeps telling them)" The best strategy to deal with unstable overpowered individuals i s de-escalation... I believe If we appeal to his emotional and rational sides simultanisely, and put some actual effort in negotiation, we can avoid an unnecessary disaster here. "

Her "Diplomatic Approach " generally was refused by the leadership. (Mainly because it did not have a good track record of success, but maybe this time...)



In the end of the reunion, her proposal was denied, as she expected it to be ( Taking a little girl and giving her a script to talk with a supposed murderer did not sound as good when you said it out loud ), but she kept her hopes up that , when she had the chance to talk to him, he would listen, as her analysis of him indicated he would.

Three days later, he invaded the Birdcage


/////////////////////////////

Purpose World Wide Run is a go

Purpose searching the globe for learning not only powers but all the memories contained within Shards. The boy is gonna grow up fast

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++++++++++ Chapter 21


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♦Topic: Purpose - World Wide Hunt
In: Boards ► Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay Discussion (Public Board)

DaVinciUS (Original Poster) (Veteran Member)


Hello everyone !
First of all, If you are looking for Purpose discussion page, go -This Thread
If you want the page discussing Purpose's crimes go Here. For Purpose vs the Slaughterhouse 9 go Here.
This thread is meant to discuss the Purposes travels and encounters with A-class and S-class Threats since his escape of the Rig.

With that out of the way…

Purpose first appeared in Brockton Bay months ago. Mostly he spent his first months interfering in small time violent conflicts. He remained mostly independent and obeying to his fully reactionary tendencies for most of his time in Brockton.

The most eye-catching aspect of his early career was, in fact, his power. Although not confirmed for a long time, since April there were already rumors of Purpose belonging to the so-called "Big 12" - the select group of parahumans who's power reaches that undescribable echelon above else.

Rumors claimed that he could eventually equal the likes of Eidolon and the Glaistig Uaine and Eidolon. Later we discover that reality was gar worse

This rumors attracted the interest of the Slaughterhouse 9. The 9 coming to Hunt parahumans of promise is nothing New though. What separeted Purpose and Brockton Bay of so many other unlucky capes and tons.. was that they won. I repeat: THEY DEFEATED THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE 9.

Jack Slash, Crawler, Burnscar, and Cherish were terimated.
Bonesaw was arrested and depowered.
Mannequin, Shaterbird, and Siberian were sent into hiding.

This great confrontation ( which you can read and discuss about Here) in all the morale it gave the side of the angels, also revealed a disturbing characteristic of Purpose's power - being able to give others powers. Permanently. No one can be blamed for being cautious of such prospects. All of us remember Teacher, Father Kansas, and Deserver

The list of know Protectorate members currently enpowered by him and their respective powers can be found Here .

Finally, not many weeks later, Purpose was found guilty of attacking and causing permanent irreparable damage to the PRT hired psychologist assigned to him. More on the matter here.

After the day of the attack, the man appears to have embarked into a mission of sorts. Since then he has been seen 12 times, all throughout the globe.

His objective is theorized to be collecting copies of the most extraordinary powers possible. He has visited 8 recognized A-class threat groups/individuals as the last Monday 15th. Those include :

- The 'Matters Family' Fallen Home-Base at Michigan USA.
- The Cipher Cult in GravityFalls, Oregon, USA
- The Seven-Headed Beast, at Kontos in Greece
- The Main Base of the Cognito Cartel at México City
-The Castle of Madame Lá More, at Toulouse
- The Base of the Enochians, at the border of Israel
- The Bar of the Seven Deadly Sins at Dublin
- The Lucifer Tower at San Diego

We are still waiting for official statements from the PRT, Protectorate, and/or CPD about what the subject. Except for the brief mentions of him in Chief-Director Costa Brown interview with CNN on Thursday 2th's, The authority's seem dead-set on not talking about the guy


(Showing page 9 of 30)

►Gin_Freeces96

WTF is everyone doing nothing about this ??? The guy has the S9 powers for Christ's sake! The PRT even allowing him to live long enough to get to this point is gonna be the death of us all !


►Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Members of Cape-Watch are saying he was seeing in Madrid yesterday !

I believe he might be after, or have already collected, the powers from the Sky-Rojo brothers.

He seems to have a preference for the more esoteric types of powers ( probably due to having several repeated versions of the more standard types) so the brothers' power over time would be the most appealing target of Spain.


►Crazy-for-You (Cape Husband)

I am just worried. Last time the world had to deal with something similar was a decade ago with the Fairy Queen, but she never actively traveled after power like this man is doing. He could end up becoming a problem bigger than anyone can deal with. Then what?


►BoyinBlue (Verified BBPD)
Replied On Jan 19th 2011:
*POST DELETED BY MODERATOR*
*USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST*

►TinMother (Moderator)

Please refrain from inciting public acts of violence or you will be kicked out.

► Li-Li-LickMaBlls ( True Genius)

I am telling you guys. He is the Fairy Queen's Changeling baby. She left him in some poor couple's door and only now he triggered recently.

► XXx_Void_Cowboy_xXXs

Told you this once, told you a thousand times.

At the 80's Scion arrived out of nowhere and then powers started being a thing. Now this guy who also does not look human and acts Autistic appears and is able to manipulate powers like a hacker in an online MMO. And them starts going around like he is collecting everything someone else lost. And every time he does something on the other side of the world Scion stops and stares at the sky...

COINCIDENCE?!? I THINK NOT!

► Specific_Protagonist

Void... Please Chill.

Also, does anyone know If there are pictures of the guy without his stranger haze?


►Awesome101

Do you guys think he will come back to Brockton Bay? The PRT should have a trap ready If he does. I heard he is not very smart, so maybe they could dupe him and them send him to the Birdcage?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 9,10…30




Missy almost could not resist throwing her phone at the wall.

Fucking idiots. Talking just for sake of talking. Adding their uninformed opinions that help no one just for the sake of feeling like, like-

She held out a sob. " No ! I-I'm not crying over this shit! Fuck- Fucking- Fuck that!" She mumbled to herself swallowing her sobs.

She looked around the desert train ward. All alone. To blow of steam she reduced one of the rusty train carts to the size of a toy cart and stomp on it.

Returning the stupid thing to it's original size she felt good for half a second. The cart must be some 3 tons of metal, enough that not a troco of soldiers could have fucked it up like that in a hour as she did in 3 seconds. " See! I am not powerless! I can - I am -" a sobe did not let her finish that thought. " Fuck!"

" I never had you for a swearer. You did not spill a singke curse word even when Hookwolf nearly stabbed your stomach." The silky, familiar voice said behind her.

She looked to find Dean's shining armor seated on one of the stray wooden boxes. " Gallant."

" You are entitled to your alone time, God knows you are, but I do not think this is a very constructive use of it."

'I fucking know. But they wouldn't let me go with the Guild to look for him!' She wanted to spat at him.

He sighed " Look, I am not here to get on your case. I just wish to help the best I can, even If that is just listening."

Always the sensible one. She generally liked that a lot about him. In most times she would revel at that attention he was giving. At that moment though... she kind of felt too bad to feel good.

Looking up at him she could see his thin lips were stuck in a line, which meant he was probably giving her that concerned look he did. Always so genuinely caring... Fuck you for being great Dean. Fuck you very hard.

"I ... hate... hate it all." She let out with struggle in her voice. " All he ever wanted to do was find something that felt right to do with his life. He helped people because I told him to do so. He did not even call for attention. He just wanted to help and the 9 came crashing on. Can't people just do small goods without the world trying to fuck them over?

Apparently not! And I was just too stupid to realize and now he is fucked. He gets rid of the most disgusting mass murderers in the country, and what does he get? Someone frames him for attacking a doctor. And even after he heals her to health they still think he was the one who did it! Like that makes any sense!" She breathed in, panting slightly.

She took a deep breath and took a seat on the rusty train rail, now looking more desperate than revolted. " And I lose my best friend for no reason at all!" Her head rested in her hands and she had to hold out not to cry. She did not want to cry. Not now from all moments. She did not want to let herself look weak in front of hardship... but now that the floodgates were open. At least she would allow herself to let it out.

" I... just wanted a place to feel safe and comfortable. Somewhere I may be able to relax without having to do anything to prove I am good and I deserve to feel, ok." She felt pathetic. Weak. But it was the truth.

He was her friend. He never demanded or expected anything of her. He was pure and made her feel free. And now he had the whole world after him. And what was she doing? What could she even do?

" I believe he is innocent to." Gallant, Dean said. Not in the voice of a colleague or an older hero, but that if a friend. " And although I could not figure out his profile very well... You Think he has a reason to do what he is doing right?"

That honestly surprised Missy. From all the comforting tactics she thought people might try, this was not between them. " I ... I am not sure Why he is Going after power, but he did not break the rule of not attacking anyone who did not hurt people. Most of the time he does not even fight the people he visits. I think... I think he still trying to ... well, learn."

"Learn..."

" He loves to learn... It is fun for him." she tried to explain. " And Important. It is like a natural fundamental thing."

" And do you think he knows what he is doing?"
Vista hesitated to answer. Dean spoke before her " Because I believe he does."

"I didn't think you guys had the time to know each other."

" We did not really, but... from what I got from him. He is atypical, but not unintelligent. Very intelligent in some senses even. He seemed to have a good grasp on the world around him and to understand things intimately. " Dean said, voice slightly wistful. " So even If we do not know his plan... maybe until the time comes we should trust he has your best interests in mind. One thing I got for certain, is that he cares about you."

Missy blushed at that. " You are just saying that to make me feel better." She mumbled

" I ... probably would do that... But I am a terrible liar, you know that. If what I just said was forced out, you would be able to tell." He countered, sounding awkward, but still genuine.

Missy furrowed her brow. " This is true... but, Gallant ... You are not sounding much like yourself today." She said, getting up and approaching him.

" Really... How?" The confusion sounded real enough to, but...

" Purpose ... If you are Mastering my teammate right now..." Her voice crawled up with a mix of emotions. " You know what?!? I do not even care! Just come here personally! Send Dean home and-"

" Vista! Stop! " Dean's rarely sounded so assertive. " I know you are suffering, but - Just stop!" In small, deliberately slow movements, he kneeled down so their eyes ( or visor's in that case ) were at the same level. " I am here for you! Me, and Aegis and Clock and Kid Win and even Miss Militia... but you get to be willing to talk to us and listen to our advice. Running around with a 2 ton weight in your chest and taking your anger on public property is not gonna help anything!... Ok?"

She froze. " I ... I just...It is..." She fumbled, emotions, frustration, and loneliness crashing down with exhaustion. " I am sorry."

She went back a the Rig that day with a slightly lesser ache burning in her chest.

###




She is smart. Always smart, always perceptive. He would have to try subtler touches from now on.

The best would be to not interfere at all, but… Parahumans in general we're always so emotionally constipated. A tiny push with Master effects was all it took. Initiate the familial protocols and they would the rest mostly on their own. It was a natural instinct to care and protect your loved ones.


" I speak in all tongues, for those with ears to hear!" The loud, yet still magistral, voice echoed through the Piaza del Duomo, cutting Purpose from his line of thought.

Pope Metatron the first, The guy he was here to see. Shaker, Stranger, Breaker, and Master, he was a potential S-Class threat. His Shard was much like Aliosha's, but with less raw power and more versatility and nuance. Purpose wondered If they budded of each other, maybe he could introduce the two of them one day. He would have to reprogram the Shard to make him less aggressive and more friendly approach personal interaction.

" Anyone who wishes to contradict and oppose, speak now. Show no fear for I am-" The 30-year-old in a stylish pope cosplay was interrupted by a blurry man teleporting next to him, stealing the show with a cloud of red smoke and a clap of thunder.

" No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse! - He said. Ooh, How tragic my friend's. How tragic!" Purpose projected his new, more human-sounding voice with all the mocking drama necessary to make fun of the preacher while still sounding respectable.

" A clown? Tell me child: Who are you to interrupt my works! Who are you to try to ridicule those who reach with their souls to the father!" Pope Metatron, demanded, surprisingly composed considering all the anger the entity's Thinker shards could read from him

Purpose smiled to the man of twisted faith and inflated ego.

He smiled his aquarella grin with real mirth and said: " I am a philosopher. "


/////////////////////

Purpose now is something! And he is doing things! Things he thought about doing by himself ! I am very proud of him

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++Interlude 4 : The affected 1 - Ahmed



" The interview will happen in 10 minutes. Confirm." The voice from the speakers said, for the 30th time.

" Understood." Thanks to Purpose his voice ( or mind, he had not understood quite well the explanation the blurry man gave) was now his again. He could talk and think and even concentrate. He felt like a whole man again

"Good. Go to the chair and wait." The voice said, and Ahmed complied.

All in all they were not being as horrible as Ahmed first guessed they would be. They let him alone in a big room with water and food. A blissfully cold room, too. Now that his skin was back and the inferno was gone, he discovered he loved the cold.

They were being almost kind, compared to what he believes his government ( If it still existed ) would do.

The only bother, really, was the fact that nearly every day a new group of people would come to " Talk" to him. Answering to the same questions blasted out of a sound box again and again was far better than what his days used to be like, so… all in all he was pretty happy.


He felt slightly less happy, though, when the woman in black came from the door of his large room.

" You shall remain on your chair until told otherwise. This will work much like the other interviews. Confirm" The man on the other side of the microphone said, clearly displeased with the break of routine.

" I will not move from my chair." He confirmed.

The doors closed and the woman sat up on the chair 5 meters in front of him.

" Good morning, Ahmed." She talks with politeness and cold friendliness. Ahmed did not know that friendliness could be cold before that day.

She was the first to dear visiting him personally. But then again If not facing Monsters what did a hero spend their days doing? " Good morning Lady Alexandria." He answered politely, not a drop of nervousness in his soul. This woman may have tried to crush his skull more than once, but it was no reason to not be civil.

" How have the Protectorate being treating you?"

"Like a Tiger." His answer was dry, but withouth emotion.
For that is what he was wasn't it? A beast humans had to treat with respect but never conceive letting it out among their homes. He was to be caged and looked at with awe at a safe distance. Always at a distance.

" Well... what I could take you someplace where you would feel like a hero?"

" Them I would tell you that, even though you look several times more magnificent than Al Massi and Mord Nag , I am not falling for your games." He said letting a bit of anger spill out into his voice." Almost all warlord offers the prospect of righteousness, but to them come the 'necessary sacrifices' and 'realistic conditions' ... I saw my brother lose his sanity to man who talked about heroism and doing the right thing."

The woman seemed unbothered. " Yes ... your brother..." She took a file out of the small suitcase she brought. " Malik Al Uriah, also known as Egun."

The water in the filter at the edge of the room started boiling. The woman remained unbothered.

" I believed your people were smarter than that... will you really try to threaten me? " His voice was cold even as his eyes glowed orange.

" Not threat." She threw the file at him, aim so precise the folder landed on his lap. " A deal."

She continued talking as Ahmed went through the file. " Your brother was captured by OTAN a few months ago. He is to face trial for war crimes, but
..."

" I am not a fool." He snapped at her, "You believe I would sell my soul for my brother's freedom ? His crimes are his own."

" Your brother's freedom does not affect himself alone." She gestured to the papers as to say, " Keep reading.

He did.

When he arrived at the page she was intending him to read, the room was covered in light.

For a few seconds, Alexandria sat impassively as large column of flowing fire heated the entire place. A tornado of incandescent energy that never ventured beyond a 12 foot radius of where Ahmed was sitting

" Impressive level of control." She complemented.

After the fire died, only a defeated looking man remained. His clothes were gone, his chair was gone, and he stood in a puddle of melted metal. He no longer looked at her in the face. " What do I have to do?" His voice was raspy, as that of one who shouted their lungs out.

" If you show yourself as a reformed, productive member of society, it would be easier to convince a judge to give you the custody of your niece."

Ursula. The last time he saw her, she was but a baby. Not 3 years of age. He was unable to protect her from the chaos of their land and the madness of her own father... but she was alive. She was alive and he could help her now.

"You will keep my brother locked in a hospital for the mentally ill, and let Ursula and I be free in your first world paradise?"

" With restrictions regarding your right to come and go... but yes."

" And she will be free. Able to study in good schools and be cared by good doctors?"

" The best." She allowed a small smile to grace her stony face."

Ash beast sighed. " You have your deal." He finally looked straight at her again. " What silly name will your leader's brand me with now?"

Alexandria's smile grew slightly. " We were thinking of... Everburn."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Remember Ash Beast.

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

++++++++++++++ chapter 22 : Her Games.


The worse days generally start fairly normal. In reality, there is never any warning or " bad feeling" warning young heroes that something dramatic is coming.


In Arcadia students could get out during lunchtime to enjoy the sunny weather on springtime. Carlos, Dennis, and Chris were the types to do that. Vicky and Dean typically preferred to stay at the cafeteria, but the sun was just too perfect that day to pass out (an irony that did not escape Dean ).

They sat at a table under the gentle shadow of a tree, trading mild chit-chat as one does.

" The Chitauri ' s tech is ridiculous. I get Thor and his people using Spears and Unarmed vehicles, but why would a conquering force that supposedly takes worlds walk around with glorified laser-sticks? I can make better stuff in my day off" ... well, normal chit-chat on Kid Win standards. Dean was not exactly a fan of Super Hero movies ( Aleph or otherwise) so he let Carlos and Dennis entertain Chris while he chatted with Vicky.

" What frustrates me the most is that I can figure out what the hell is wrong." Vicky confided. " Nothing out of normal has being going on - not that I can see- but Amy is still acting super-weird. By the way she is avoiding me and the rest of the family, I could almost say for sure we did something wrong, but nothing has happened. Nothing at all!" She told me, usual sunny demeanor taken down by worries.

Dean could think of one or two things that might be contributing to Panacea's "less than happy" attitude... but, by the way Vicky was describing it, something extra-bad might really have happened to cause a sudden certain change in behavior.

Before he could formulate a sensible way of telling his girlfriend that, though, a screeching sound assaulted their ears. A sound he honestly prays never to hear.

"Endbringer Sirens"




###


" Oh, hey Panacea" Missy called, waving from the entrance of the orthopedic wing of Saint Judge's hospital

In front of her, Panacea's exhausted eyes snapped from wherever she was staring blankly at the sky to face Missy.

" Oh, hey Vi- Missy. Hey." She said, sounding drowsier than Missy has ever seen her... Actually drowsier than Missy has ever seen anyone be. The girl looked she is like she could barely keep standing.

"Are you... Ok, Amy? You do not seem so well."

" Haven-haven' t been ..." The girl traced of leaning slightly against the corridor wall. Missy had to wonder how the hospital staff would just leave her to move around on her own when she was like that.

No, scratch that, why were they even allowing her to work when she could barely stand? She remembered Saint-Judges Hospital being more competent than that ( Carlos would have lost one of his arms If they weren't. And although he could probably regenerate the wound, they were 70% sure it would have ended up as a stump rather than a full new arm.)

" What are you even doing here in school hours anyway?" The blond asked.

" What are you ?" The healer snapped at her, weakly.

Missy did not real back, only gave the other girl a small frown. " My parents scheduled an exam for me. Not sure why the hell they did it in to be a school day but-" Her answer was interrupted by the worse sound she has ever heard. It felt like a dozen women were screaming at the same time with no need for catching breath.

The screams themself were not so bad, the worse part was the effect it had on her body. She felt like her muscles all cramped, at the same time her stomach started revolting.

Missy closed her eyes trying to filter the sensations away. One thing that being injured frequently taught you, is how the best way to function under great discomfort was putting your focus somewhere other than the pain.

After a few seconds of breathing, she managed to gather herself enough to open her eyes, and she did not like what she saw.

Amy was on her knees, head in her hands, crying and muttering like mad. " Don't- Don wanna- please don- If it all comes down- God- Oh god no - Vicky- Aergh- no - no no no."

That... was not a good sign. Not at all. She needed to snap Amy out of it. Get her to her family. Preferably her family AND the Protectorate, because If this cursed sound was what she was thinking it was...

"Run." The voice was so small over the noise that for a second, Missy could not tell where it came from.

Looking at the fallen healer, she could tell something was wrong. The girl passed from babbling mess to statue still in less than 2 seconds. Amy now was sporting a dead-eyed, silent expression that almost looked too tense to be real.

"I said..." her tone was slow and raspy, and it gave Missy the impression that she was making a huge effort just to talk. " ... RUN! "

Panacea lunged at Missy, hands grabbing for her head.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The queen of birds get's bold and visit's Brockton.

For those confused. this takes place months after the Leviathan attack in canon should have happened. Purpose's presence changed their target choices.

 

[Griswell]

An interesting concept. There are several spelling errors in each section, and a few sentences that don't parse. I still enjoy the story, you just need to proofread.

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++ Chapter 24: first attendant

Missy did not survive so long by being slow.

If she hesitated, If she did trust her instincts, she would have died 6 times already. 2 to Hookwolf, 1 to Oni Lee, 2 to armed empire goons, and - as embarrassing it is to remember- 1 to Squealer that one time she had put together some stupid monster-truck with forcefields to in it

... Missy never thought she would be adding Panacea to her list " an inch to left and would have killed me" list.

Panacea's hands were a few inches from touching her scalp when her instincts kicked in. The empty space between her and the other girl stretched. A couple of Inches became several feet like she and Amy were at the opposite sides of a large corridor.

The maddened healer stumbled forward, disoriented by the sudden disappearance of her target. It did not take very long for her to lock eyes with Missy again, sprinting her way faster than anyone on healer robes was ever supposed to move.

Missy darted through the hospital halls. Luckily there was no one in the first hallway to see her bending space. Sally that was not the case for the rest of the place, which was crowded with nearly panicking people.

Thinking fast, Missy concluded that a berserker Panacea was too dangerous to be let alone. Even If she did not hurt anyone, If she managed to hurt herself, the country would lose one of its best healers. She had to do something ...

She looked around. Nurses practically yelling at each other at one side, an older man pushing a young boy in a wheelchair, a trash can, a storage closet- Storage Closet! Perfect!

Missy got in, leaving the door semi-opened with one of the brooms sticking out. Yes, she was being obvious, but she had little time and Mastered people are not known to have great critical thinking.

As she hoped, her pursuer actually went after her. With no light at all inside, Panacea fumbled for a few seconds before noticing she was walking too much for what should be a 2x2 closet. Before she could do anything about it, slightly enlarged, metal trash can feel on her head disorienting her.

A quick, well placed, kick to the kneecap brought the girl down. Missy followed it up slamming a broom at Amy's other leg. Rule number 2 of fighting strikers, If they cannot move they cannot reach you, immobilize when you cannot beat them from a distance. Do it quickly and preferably blocking their hands and sight.

Missy shrunk the can back to its normal size as she reached for the fire extinguisher. A kick to the back to get her face down, a stomp on the arm closest to her to make sure the healer would not grab her ankle, and for the finale take the can out of her head to slam the heavy tank on the back of her skull to put her to sleep. Hopefully, she did not give one of the greatest heroes in the history of this city a serious concussion.

Panacea, Amy, stopped moving.

After a few instants's of making sure she was really out of it Missy hastily tied both Amy's ankles and her hands behind her back, blindfolding and gagging the healer to make sure she would not get some unsuspecting staff to release her to do whatever evil thing the - the... The Si...

"God Dammint Missy get it together. A Simurgh attack is one of the worst situations ever to lose your cool!" She shouted at herself as she locked the closet door. Luckily the only person close was a man in a stretcher who looked too concerned with his own ailments to judge her.

Waiting no time, she started running for the exit while simultaneously taking her phone to call the Protectorate to warn them about Panacea.

"Console 731, identify." A male voice answered the Proctactorate exclusive line.

" Vista, 220. Urgency 004." She traded the correct codes to be redirected to Miss Militia or one of the other senior members.

" Confirmed, wait a moment." The man said as the line buzzed. Missy just kept running through the hospital.

She had just got a view of the main exit when some one picked up. " Vista, you are safe? they are about to sound the sirens!" Assault's worried voice came from the end of the line.

" Panacea got Mastered- "

" Holy Shit!"

" - and I locked her up in a closet. Second floor, East wing of Saint Jude's Medical Center."

" Wow. Ok Passing this on for the PRT to ho get her." She could hear him tapping Athena computer. "Well done Kid, but you need to come to the rig ASAP."

" Coming, I am just leaving the hos-" Her words died in her throat as she got out to face the sun…

She was there. Right there where Missy and all the terrified Hospital patients and staff could see.

"Vista? Vista, you there, kid?"

###


The Simurgh was arguably one of the most terrifying beings on earth. Differently from her brothers, she could condemn victims to fates worse than just death. As the Sphere incident taught the world, coming close to Hopekiller could end in madness. Risk becoming a weapon of devastation, a sick husk of your former self... This was not a battlefield for cowards.

Armsmaster was many things. A Coward, he was not.

As soon as Dragon gave him the news, he knew how this would end up. Just the Simurgh and him. A fight that might cost all... or make him a legend.

He was not the man he once was. He was no longer just a man fighting with his own ingenuity. He had more now. He WAS more.

STING... is how Purpose had called it. Independently of what the boy did later, this gift was still his to use. He was the man who could break the most basic laws of the universe just by walking. He fought the Siberian and got the best of her. He would kill the Simurgh.

" Armsmaster, Report !" Capitan Mitchel's voice came from the communicator on his helmet.

"Shit!"The armored hero cursed falling 2 meters before refocusing the Power. He was still new to the process of making himself able to run in the air.

In the end of the day it was relatively simple physically speaking. He would manipulate friction and the law of inertia on a specific section of air he wanted to use as a step. With this, plus the power to eliminate air resistance and again nullify friction… He could get there faster than a attack helicopters… so he went ahead with the minimal warnings necessary.

They did not have the 2-hour warning and prep time of this attack ( Dragon still confused on how the Simurgh avoided her sensors. Teleportation tech was suspected), no need to waste even more time when time is cut short.

" Heading for the Simurgh. Will intercept her in 2 minutes." He answered.

" Are you insane! We have reinforcements coming, wait until -" Mitchel's voice was cut for a few seconds. " We have reports that Simurgh is above Saint Judge' s Hospital. Panacea suspected target. Take her to safety as priority 1. Offensive measures come later. Protectorate sending flyers.

Damn it ! He could not waste time when the Simurgh was singing ... but he also neither could let a valuable asset die and disobey direct orders under an Endbringer Attack... He would have to wait . " Roger that."

He leaped through the city skies. Any other day he probably would take some pleasure in being able to look at his city from such perspective. Today though, he was focused like few times before.

As he was getting closer the damn song was getting louder. No more a distant white noise, now it felt like the walling of a Banshee.

From a few kilometers away, he got visuals on the monster. White on the blue sky. Debris floating around her a Teleknetic halo.

" Armsmaster!" Mitchel's voice resonated through the helmet again. "Panacea secured. Confront with the Simurgh authorized by top brass."

In Collin Wallis face, a rare grin bloomed. With all of his being, he accelerated his sky-walk to the enemy.


###

"What the hell is he doing Mitchel? I thought you ordered him to go get the Healer Girl!" Piggot 's voice yelled to the intercoms

"I did, ma'am! but the connection was broken! We think the channel was hacked!" Commander Mitchel's voice yelled back.

" Hacked?!? The Simurgh hacked our channels???"

" Not really Miss Piggot." A familiar ethereal voice came through her speaker.

" Purpose !?! You- " Piggot took a deep breath. " Now is not time! Millions are at risk. We need to cooperate. You need to let me talk to Armsmaster!" She tried.

" Sorry, Miss Piggot... I have to move carefully. Make small changes, things she will barely notice. The element of surprise is essential here."

" Surprise? Do you think you can surprise Simurgh? Beat her?"

" Miss Piggot... The bitch was planning to use my friend against me. Drive Missy mad so she could influence me... I do not THINK I can surprise her. I KNOW, am going to kill her!"



//////////////////////////////

I do recognize the irony of locking Pancea in the closet. That was an aciddent

Armsmester is going where the Simurgh does not want him to go and Purpose put's some pieces in pace for his own game of chess. the attack continues

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++++++++++++++ Chapter 25- Plan : Mirror




"It's over," Mars whispered to herself, eyes downcast. "She is here for us. It is freaking over."

Noelle banged at the reinforced metal door, shouting something they couldn't hear well but knew it was a demand for them to open the door.

" Don't you fuck go breaking now! " Krouse shouted at her face, startling her back to reality. " we can not-"

The walls of the base rumbled as If a small earth-quake echoed in through it.

" Shit! " the leader of the Travelers cursed. " We can not get out. We would have no time to transport Noelle... the shittier it sounds, staying here hiding with Coil is the best option we have."

Noelle struck the door of her Vault again. Krouse pressed the button to turn on the microphone that let the locked girl hear him. " Noelle, please, we cannot get out. It sucks, I hate it as much as you do, but we need to hide. I'll find a way to run If we need to, but here we Coil and his precog for protection from her plans."

. "...fucking monster, won't leave me alone...hate her so much! I'll kill her ! Got to kill her! Won'tbe able to rest with her out there!"

A massive impact shook the base. The rubble in the entrance room shifted but stayed in place.

"No! No, Krouse! Cannot keep running ! Cannot get friends or she kills them all! Cannot do nothing If she is out there !"

The tallest of them approached the microphone . "Don't give up, Noelle. Please. We're a team, we'll make it as long as we stick together. Remember our promise."
Noelle went silent. The cursed group of youngsters waited in silence for several instants, before Krouse pressed the button again. " ...Noelle? Are you alright ?"

"I am sorry, guys... I will need to borrow Noelle for a moment." Instead of their friend's exhausted feminine voice, the answer was in a weird androgynous timber that sounded heavily edited. " But I promise to return her better than ever!"

The Travelers froze at that. Faster than ever before, they opened her containment. Oliver tapped the code, Jess projection pushed the door opened as Mars, Luke and Krouse readied their powers.

The room was empty




###

"You die today," he whispered under his breath, aiming the gigantic woman winged back. He knew the precognitive monster would doge his weapon as she did with most attacks, but thanks to his analysis of the Endbringer's prior behavior, his prediction software pointed that the Simurgh tended to get hit 68% more often against pincer movement attacks coming from opposite angles.

He threw his halberd. It flied with more precision than the laws of aerodynamics would allow, one of the other benefits of his Striker ratting.

The monster, for all the projectile should be hitting on the being's 360 degree's blind spot, the monster elegantly hovered 3 meters down. It even had the gal to look over it's shoulder, as If mocking the hero's attempt.

Armsmaster only smirked.


The giant woman turned 180 degrees to face her first opponent. With a small move, he activated the weapon's new application. It allowed him to move it like a drone, using precise and powerful magnetic hovering mechanisms.

With minimal effort he moved to punch the monster with his unstoppable fists and, while the enemy faced him and prepared to defend against his second strike, his halberd flew torwads the backside of her head.

Neither of those attacks ever landed, though.

Meters away from the Endbringer, Armsmaster noticed the monster's face twist a slightly as If confused. But she was not confused at the heroes tactics... ultimately, the armored man did not have the time to wonder about it, before a elephant sized mistake of god fell upon the Simurgh.



###

Thie Simurg is a tricky opponent, to say the least.


She formulates plans in a way that makes the opponents think they know what is going on, that they can stop it, and it end's up all being part of her plan. The attack on the hospital? A sub plan, secondary to her song making Noelle get herself out to the battle. The Noelle plan? Devastating. The hospital plan?Also devastating. Both would cause massive death. If Eidolon managed to stop the second the first would blow up months later and it would look like she let them win. That is how she operates, that is why while being the weakest of the 3 horror in terms of raw power she feels like this largest threats to this world.


...Purpose's was larger than this world.

( his real body that is...)


By the third month of research, purpose came up with a interesting power combination. With the Data taken from a German cape code named Odin's Eye ( one of Europe's most powerful recon Thinker's) and a French villain known as Madame Irrelevance ( the queen of thieves, and one the world's most celebrated Stranger's ) Purpose developed a way of hacking into a Shards without the Server even noticing.


He still could not actively access the system's stealthy, meaning he could not alter a Shard's programming without the shard itself taking notice... but he had a spy-eye on the Endbringer.


The Simurgh's precognition, like any he had seen until now, was no more than a system capable of simulating events with astounding accuracy. It was beautiful even, the craft of her cognition Shards was beyond what he could reproduce at the time... it did not mean flawless, though.


She had restrictions on predicting Scion and his Partner. Plus randomizing variables like Eidolon's power section muddled her results slightly. And, to his saving grace... the drone had no countermeasures to others predicting her.


" Aaaaaaaaaaaaah." A loud feminine human scream joined Simurgh's hellish song.


From above the hovering 15 foot tall woman, a elephant sized ... mess of angry flesh with several monstrous heads, mouths and limbs.

For the first on of the only times in all her existence the blind uncaring eyes of the omniscient destroyer of hope were blown out in surprise.

Generally, the Simurgh worked around her blind spots without much trouble. Scion did not meddle on the flow of events outside very predictable patterns, and the element of randomness in Eidolon's powers were quantified and generally dealt with by her " plans within plans" method...
The game has always been rigged in her favor, She never enter a battle which she was not at least 85% sure she could handle without major inconveniences.

...She never had to deal with someone looking through her eyes. So her shard had no Data of this being a possibility.

He could not do this carelessly, though. The only reason she came, was because her original vision of the attacks events would play out on her favor, happen as it would have happened If she was never hacked. Once she had that variable to her equations, it was probably not going to work next time.

.... He did not plan to allow it have a next time, though.

Purpose revisited the future it could have been more than once. Panacea would attack Missy; Missy would become sick, but the real bomb would be the alterations Panacea would have done on her brain; Purpose rescued and cured Missy, Eidolon would be swallowed by Noelle; Purpose would be able to handle some clones, but some would escape; the clones would ruin Eidolon, Cauldron, Partially ruin the Protectorate and kill thousands of humans, sending waves through the years to come; And Missy...Missy would have tried to convince Purpose to give up on life.

Purpose was not one for anger. In the brief history of his developing human-like psyche, he felt a large array of emotions. The closest call to anger he had, was associated with the woman in the suit and fedora and the destruction of the young doctor's mind... and even that was closest to frustration. What he felt looking at the future felt more like true rage than anything... So he planned his counter accordingly.

As Noelle's massive fleshy body evolved the drone's solid crystalline form, even more surprise flowed through her simulacrum of a mind.

She knew this host's powers intimately. It was not supposed to be strong enough to encase her, much less replicate her ! Yet she could not escape! The dead shards protocols were working. Her powers were being silenced, her Data was being copied, her body did not resist ...

The improbability of the current events lead her admirable processors to the simple, terrifying, correct conclusion... She pissed of the Stray Dog

Purpose could see her line of thought flowing. She understanding that he modified Noelle's shard ( since it was dead, there was no defenses to external meddling ) and somehow managed to counter-precog her actions ( not really, he wished he had that level of processing capacity, but future predicting on her level would be to cost-heavy to him) and set a trap for her.

Simurgh did not feel fear, such function would be quite useless for one with her function... but there was something like frustration there... He basked in it.

It would probably take a few more seconds for the process to be complete, soo...

" Hey Armsmaster." He said, teleporting next to the baffled hero.

" Aargh." Armsmaster fell almost a meter before regaining his focus. Once he was firmly standing on the air he started yelling. " PURPOSE ! IS THIS YOUR DOING? I WILL-"

" Endbringer truce."

" I AM AWARE OF THE DAMN TRUCE! BUT IF YOU GET IN THE WAY OF ME KILLING THE - "

" Trust me here, I am helping. You could probably hurt her with STING, but without knowing where her core is plus the fact she can read your mind... my strategy will work better." He said, subtly directing one of his Master powers into making the bearded man calmer and more compliant.

" Then, What..." The hero breathed in, adrenaline and cortisol Washington of his systems. " Then what is your plan? What- Who is that!" He pointed at the falling form of Noelle, who by this point had already covered the Simurgh and was floating down.

" That , is Noelle Meinhardt ... "

The chaotic ever shifting form of Noelle's lower body finally hit the ground, which, thanks to Vista warping the space around Saint Judge's hospital, was a half a mile into the woods on the outskirts of the bay.

'Good one, Missy.' That would facilitate preventing collateral damage.

" ... And she is here for revenge."

Out of the mutated girl's ever-shifting form 3 figures emerged.

One white, two red.



///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


Armsmaster can never get his 15 minutes of glory.

Learning from the most powerful villains of earth bet may have not been the best for Pruspose's ethical margins.

And Missy still down there protecting the hospital.

Good Saturday, everyone

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

++++++++++++++Chapter 25 : Lock Away


The birth was almost complete when Armsmaster started to shout at Purpose. " What are - What have you- Why did you throw a cloner at the Simurgh? " He shook Purpose as If trying to wake the Entity of its own madness. " In what scenario does that help? Aren't you -"

"No Collin I am neither insane or doing something malicious" , Purpose said as the Simurgh, body still planted on the ground and covered in several biological fluids, stared horrified to the two red giantesses that had emerged from young Noelle.

They looked like her. Almost perfect copies... except for the fact, their crystalline forms were red instead of white, and they seemed to be more around the lines of 10 feet tall instead of the Simurgh's 15 feet.

"Those shall be known as the Angas." He says, in a tone purposefully so regal it turn around being funny. " A little present, from me and Noelle to Chaos Drone 3."

The Simugh tried to rise to the skies through her telekinesis, but a greater force kept her in place. She tried to run simulations so she could understand and deal with what was happening but the data indicated no action would come without a counteraction to stop it before it began. She tried to access nearby humans, so she could have another perspective on the situation - and maybe get a pawn to free her - but her attempts were met with the equivalent of static due through signal interference.

With eyes that could not see the Endbringer pondered her smaller copies. Both Angas stared her intently, brown's frowned in concentration and smug self-satisfied smiles.

The same reactions she faked so many times while fighting heroes in order to give them a false sense of security now bloomed genuinely on her face. The Simurgh's face looked worried - scared even.

" Most my favorite philosophers point out the unhealthiness of dedicating oneself to retributive justice... " He let a big Jack-Like grin spread through his face ( not that anyone would ever see it, but he liked to emote through body language) "... But most of the life experience I borrowed from dozens of parahumans I hacked, taught me revenge tastes pretty sweet."

The Simurgh, like all creations of his kind, was a creature of purpose. It lived only to fulfill its purpose.

It was a chaos drone... existing without the ability to provoke chaos in ways that would be beneficial to the cycle, to its goal... it was the closest a being like her could experience hell.

It was quite ironic that his first act of personal revenge would be condensing others to the pain of his early life.


More ironic, and profusely so, was the fact the Simurgh, whose whole deal was stopping others from developing through cooperation and mutual trust was being beaten by a combo of her own powers. One Anga draw from her shards in ways that made her a weak telekinetic but severely superior to her prime-version in the fields of telepathy and precognition, and another was a weak precog but had Telekinetic power so superior the Simurgh, that the great hopekiller could not move a inch as long as the red bird kept her in place. Together, through the power of specialization and cooperation, the clones together were stronger, smarter, and quicker the singular being. A last metaphorical middle finger to the great white one.

"They... have her paralyzed?" Armsmster asked, while his helmet's prediction systems went nuts trying to analyze the situation. " But... Why? There are certainly other easier ways you could have incapacitated the Endbringer. Why this? What is your planning?"

Purpose smiled at the other man's quick thinking ( most probably would have spent a full minute dumbfounded about the fact they just seen a man through a giant eldritch looking cape at a Enbringer, and clonned said Endbringer ). " There were at least 4 equally safe and trouble-free plans that would end in around the same results... But you see, all of those ways would have left young Noelle with no closure. She can die happily now that the Devil was taken out by her own hand... "

' And thanks this plan I could learn how to reproduce the big bird's power since the Angas are way less invested in stopping me from reading into their core programing' He left unsaid.

The precognition protocols were still very cost-heavy for him to use freely, but the rest of the Data was very good.

' Speaking of complicated protocols ...'

In a metaphorical snap of his fingers Purpose opened a small wormhole to send Noelle back to her friends, unaware and with her shard instructed to not duplicate for now. Later he would take the time to completely reprogram it ( undoing that much damage would take a full hour ), now he had a bigger horror to focus on.

" Can I strike her down like this without breaking the equilibrium ?" He asked, voice exceptionally focused and firm considering the levels of adrenaline spiking in her brain.

' He was still determined to get this kill to his name, wasn't he?' " No need."

With a ceremonial wave of his hand, Purpose manifested titanium walls to enclose the winged trio. A thought, and the soil beneath their feet and the air above their heads was also replaced by metal


" A Prison ? That cannot possibly hold If she ever -"

" Not done yet."

This time a combo of Shards. Momentum's control over acceleration and inertia, Velocity's time dilation field, Arturo Ramiris Gravity manipulation, and Simurgh's own telekinesis... Together those shards helped him launch the Metal box up to the sky.

Armsmaster could not observe the construct containing the Simurgh and her clone's speed up to the stratosphere, but the sonic boom up ahead was enough to clue in on what was happening. " What - where are you taking them ?"

" Jupiter. " He answered casually. " Although that sonic boom indicates that I do not have as much talent with Velocity 's Breaker power as I believed, I might have to contempt myself to just dropping them on Mars."

" And the Parahuman that cloned the Simurgh?"

'Oh? Always the cautious and pragmatic soldier hmn? Discovered Noelle existed 2 minutes ago and is already fishing for intel to repass to the Protectorate.'

" Deposited her in safe place. Unconcious and with her cloning power unactive."

The armored hero did not press beyond that, only kept staring at the Entity with his lips in a straight line.

' Well... At least the truce gives him a good excuse for him to live me alone for now.'

" Now If you would allow me..." Purpose looked down at the bubble of distorted space that protectively covered the hospital. " I own a friend some explanations."


//////////////////////////////////////////////

Simurgh is dealt with and on her way to eternal punishment

Purpose and Missy will finally have time to talk

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

++++++++++++++++++++Chapter 26 : Talk



Even as people panicked around, even as some demanded to be let out so they could run away, Vista held her ground.


Her identity was a goner now, but that was the least of her concerns.


Once she saw the Ziz in the sky, she enraptured the Hospital in her power, making such as any one trying to get in or out her dome of distorted space would find themselves redirected in a tangent.


Good to make sure anything the End bringer threw their way would be just flung to the side…But also meant the panicked people that wished to run away would just end up walking back in. That left people frustrated, and frustrated panicked people made stupid decisions.


So she was seriously was worried on what might happen once the fearful mob became an angry mob.


'What the hell do they think? Once her shield disappeared, the Simurgh would not kill them specifically and they would manage to run from this doomed city? Use your heads ! If she is here for the hospital, the worse thing you could do is panic and start using violence to flee.



Missy could not see much from where she was standing - for a distortion so big and complex, she had to concentrate hard - but there were many among the Civilians , especially a small group she could deduce were paramedics, that were getting dangerously agitated… could she run from them and still keep shielding the hospital ? She couldn't really make smaller distortions while maintaining the dome, but maybe … maybe she could bluff and scare they into submission?


Fuck ! First, she had to nearly break Panacea's legs and beat her unconscious - now she was having to plan on how to stop scared civilians from attacking her out of protecting them ! Fucking Simurgh!


Vista's struggles were momentarily interrupted by the sight of … something colliding with the outside of the dome and being redirected to some other direction.


'What the hell ?!? I think I saw animal heads and tentacles! What and why was that there?!? '


Vista was really lost at what to do beyond just waiting and hope for the best, and she hated it. It was what she would have to do to keep the civilians as safe as possible, but still ! She was stuck, unless someone came that could evacuate everyone or Control gave her confirmation that the Endbringer was going on another direction to terrorize someone else… It was just her and the Sim- Wait!


… The song… it stopped… Ziz …


… where was the flying bitch?


She took her eyes of the enemy for a few moments to watch out for the panicking civilians, them… the song stopped … the weird monster thing fell on her dome… and now the skies were clear of all but clouds…


What had she missed?


" Hey. " A new voice said from behind, abnormal in a way that was familiar and different at the same time.


Missy turned slowly, swallowing down a tornado of emotions. She could not allow herself time for feelings in the middle of a freaking Endbringer attack.


…Seeing him made a strained smile color her visage all the same.


###

" Your voice sounds different." She said green eyes fixed on him, and an uncomfortable frown on her forehead.


Even after he assured her that Ziz was dealt with, even after he teleported them to the roof of Saint Judge's hospital so they could talk away from the chaotic crowd below ( there was none such things as "the Endbringer has being defeated. Calm Down" sirens after all ), even after he teleported panacea to Accord and his embassadors so that they could make sure she had no remaining programming from the Simurgh- Missy was still tense. Still on "fight or flight".


"You are taller." Humor to break the ice.


"You know what I meant," she chuckled but returned to frowning a moment later.


He did. His evolution picked pace severely after he left her. He had just discovered the avenue of learning with human memories along with the Shard's data when he faced the Nine, and with the threat of ... Him, highlighted by the woman in the suit and Fedora, he stopped taking things so leisurely.


It all had it's reasons and justifications, but the facts were not important here. One thing he learned from observing the adolescent memories of dozens of humans was that the mechanical and causal connections of factors mattered less than the emotional and symbolical one's in this kind of conversation.


Missy was hurt because he left. And now that he is back he is changed. Different from the one who was her friend, what caused the cognitive dissonance and a sense of loss from her.


"I have grown... Faster than I would have liked in some senses." He tried. It would cause empathy and sympathy considering her personality and background. Moreover, it was true. He liked the pace he was evolving during his time in Brockton Bay. He did not like knowing as much as he knew now. Like many humans through their life Cycle, with the flow of time the world became less mysterious, less exciting, less attractive... The responsibilities that ended up falling on him did not help either. In summary: " Growing up kind of sucks."


"Hah!" it was an exasperated laugh, but he considered it a win nonetheless.


... The good mood did not last, though. It could not. "Everyone knows that is bullshit... One my miss the lack of responsibility or awareness of some stuff, but kids are powerless, dependent, and can't really influence the world around them until they grow. No one with common sense would want to be a kid in a world that is falling apart."


He smiled at her, making sure that his aura transmitted how much he agreed and admired his friend. " You are better at this than I am."


"This?"


"Being a person." His voice was layered with self-depreciation, and it felt sour to her ears.


She frowned at him, more irritated this time. " Ok, enough of that. Tell me what is going on!"



" It is... complicated" He almost imitated the body language she used when she was uncomfortable but decided against it, she was talking straight to him, so she should do the same to her. Respecting and treating others equals was the best strategy. "I am... uncertain, on how I should-"


"Do you know where I hear this phrase a lot? ' It is complicated' ? From my parents." Her words came from clenched teeth. " It is a phrase one uses when the actual explanation is ugly and chips away at their Ego. 'It is complicated, Honey' instead of ' we are still together because we are too afraid of what life will be like when it ends. Too defensive of our own Ego's to risk tipping the scale of the fight. Too afraid and to change'- It is bullshit!"


It was true. He was hesitant. Weak. Afraid. Purpose may shatter the crust of the planet, but was terribly afraid of uncomfortable futures where a friend hated him. He could change the basic nature of the atmosphere, but not change his avoidant habits. He could plan how to puzzle together the right powers to beat the world's most feared Thinker, But cogitated leaving the planet more than once he learned what facing Him might entail... When one only does what is easy - no matter how big it might look from the outside- no real meaning exists. Is on going beyond your bubble of comfort, facing challenges, transcending one's limits for greater reasons, that real value might be found, That real growth might occur.



"You are right." He answered, then snapped his fingers. The fog of Stranger effects around him dissolved.


His face was like a crude sculpture. A humanoid shape carved on blue and red crystal rocks. There were no eyes, no ears, no mouth. Just enough like a person to pass as so. Absentmindedly she observed the colors and details of the surface just long enough to see them moving. His surface seemed to be in constant flux, ever-shifting, it almost gave his body a tone of fragility - like If one would flick hard enough he would shatter and spill the liquid colors inside...


"So? What about it?" She said, unbothered. "I am not dumb, you know, I knew you were not just some confused cape for a while now, but that never seemed to bother you before, I know you can look whatever you like." She crossed her arms at him. " So what changed? Why do you sound like you want to push me away?"


"Because I am !" He did not yell, but the words came harsher than any he ever directed to her. " I ... The people who incriminated me did it for a reason. I did not know it when we met, but I ... I found out where I came from, what I am supposed to do and... It is not something ... Compassionate."


A tame way of saying it was inhumanly pragmatic. For what true value could be


Because all beings knew hunger. all that growth would eventually find themselves without enough space. A species NEEDED variation, evolution, It NEEDED to perpetuate itself ( A need he before did not recognise, but now knew it was imprinted into each of his cells )... but why did it have to be so... Bad?


"Don't be cryptic with me, now!" She almost yelled, frustration evident. " Tell me what happened ! Tell me what you found !"


The silence after that held for 6 long, long seconds. They stared at each other, pondering, figuring out what had to be said in such an essential conversation.


"Well..." Purpose dragged the words, finally breaking from her gaze. He seated himself in the roofs gravel, as If trying to make himself comfortable before a long, looong explanation. Missy sat in front of him, attentive. " It all got more complicated the day I found about the necromancers and the Widower..."

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

13 is to young for having to carry the secrets of the world. But who ever had the luxury of just being a kid in the wormverse anyway?

 

[Jrin]

even after he teleported panacea to Accord and his embassadors so that they could make sure she had no remaining programming from the Simurgh-

Click to shrink...

Can Accord's lot really remove Simurgh programming?
Quite surprising to see that.

 

[yobbin2000]

Accord was killed by a Simurgh bomb in canon so I'm not sure if I'd rate his ability to defuse Panacea.
It was great to see Purpose finally have a good talk with Vista telling her all the secret truths is pretty cathartic.

 

[Isbrandir_Blake]

+++++++++++++Chapter 27 : Threshold


# 2 months earlier, Uruguai #

" ¡Estás muerto, hijo de puta! ¡Te encontraremos! morirás gritando !" Andre Machado, A-class threat, one of Uruguai's most dangerous villains, cursed powerless, hanging from a tree, along with his most elite parahuman henchman.

The Entity only waved mockingly as he walked away, leaving the cursing criminals to be picked by the local authorities.( They would probably be released soon considering how influential Machado was in the area, but without their powers, he doubted they would manage to keep up on business for long)

Purpose had a good time fighting him and his Cartel. He was not particularly fond of engaging in violence against the hosts of the shards he sealed to study... but he did not mind conflict from time to time.

The cartel elite had interesting powers too! One tried to freeze him in a physics-defying liquid that could turn into a solid more durable than diamonds in the blink of a eye. Another tried to kill him by stopping his heart with a movement-negation power that had no Manton Limit.

The most fascinating one though was one of the few that had no part on the combat whatsoever. Márcio Guilliver, or Perro de Caza, had a Thiker power of sublime programing. Under its host, the shard would give claravoyance visions of the resentment past of anyone whom Márcio could touch a piece of DNA from. The perfect tracker power. Under purpose... The shard's devices could be soo much more...

Without the restraints that shard allowed for incredible post cognition. In seconds, the full history of any living and non-living being could be his to dissect and analyze, Independently of the presence of a shard.

Imagine what wonders could this precious gen reveal to him ?

# 7 weeks earlier, Boston #

It was ... It was a really impactful day. Like crossing a border He did not know existed

It all started pretty innocently. He was in Boston to find a cape that supposedly could create plans to reach any goal, but instead of having to track the cape himself somehow, his subordinates found him first.

In the deserted dock, the first manifested his form on the city, he was soon followed by a sudden burst of teleportation.

The blurry man barely had fully materialized himself when a man and a woman - both in incredibly well-tailored gala attire - appeared out of a purple hexagonal cut in space-time.

Purpose had a bad record with fancy-dressed people that came out of portals, but his Thinker shards reassure him that this two had neither the means nor the intention to do something like the woman in the Fedora did.


" Good evening, Mister Purpose." The woman, a tall blonde young lady with a golden mask that matched her gown, enunciated and he could see how her Shard dealt with wave functions in other to impose customized changes to matter and energy interactions... It was beautiful in ways words could hardly describe. " I am Citrine, and this is my college, Courier. We come as Ambassadors of Accord."

'Oh, I was anticipated ? How? Precognition? That would explain how they knew exactly where I would arrive... Do they know how this encounter will go ?'

A quick check with his Thinker powers indicated that no, they did not. Both ambassadors were informed that they should offer the package, be impeccably polite and amiable non-no matter how the blurry man behaved, and return to confirm If he had kept the package.

Taking the time to examine the packaged carried by Courier, Purpose was shocked to find he got Shard signals from it.

' How? There is no host there, at least not a human one... What is this and why do they want me to have it?'

" Enchanted, Mademoiselle Citrine, Missier Courier ." He greeted, reaching for the memories of Madame Irrelevance to know the proper etiquette. " I am honored that Accord would take of his prime employee's day just to greet me at the doorstep. I was planning to schedule a meeting with him soon anyway."

Her facial muscles tensed slightly. ' Uuuh she does not want me coming close from her boss.' He allowed a grin that often came when he used the negotiator's Shard ' because ... Oh, He would be bothered by my chaotic appearance. Just looking at pictures of me triggers the hell out of him. Heheh'

" We are aware of that ... which is the reason we came to offer you this!" She gestured and Courier opened the suitcase in two swift motions.

It was... Vials? How were shards connected to vials ? Did they take away host's corona polentia and sustained the connections after extraction?

" Accord is currently... Indisposed to visits, "
'Not even trying to lie convincingly
" But in the spirit of keeping good relations with one if the prime trumps in the US... He charged us on offering you this." Another gesture and Courier approached, offering the vials as a waiter offers cocktails. " This formula are of rare tinker tech concoction capable of granting powers to whoever ingests. As long as they are not already parahumans of course."

'Now that... is curious.' " And he would be willing to give up on it just to avoid meeting with me? I do not intend on locking away his powers, you know? I only apply this punishment to those who attack me first, or... adopt other unsavory conducts."

Citrine's expression twisted, the closest thing to awkward that such an elegant and composed face could become. " We still insist you refrain from encountering him until... Measures can be taken for your meeting to be made possible. The vials are yours to do as you please whatever course you choose, of course. We merely require patience on the matter."

' Translating: He does not wish to alienate me because I can be potentially very useful to his ever-evolving plans but has not found exactly how yet, and he has no way to meet me without going crazy with his power-induced-TOC. Got it'

The proposal did sound interesting, though...

Purpose took one of the vail in hand, as humans often do to inspect objects closely, and activated his recently acquired post-cognition.

It revealed to him that-

That-

- Oh . Oooh that is-

He-

[ TANGLE ]

[ PROPOSAL ]

[ MIGRATION ]

[ PARASITE ]


It understood.

The Entity understood the struggle. The quintessence of all living things nature. The need to subsist moved the ancestors to look for an alternative. For something better than the process of living and dying in a competition for resources.

It could comprehend the Thinker's methods. Improvement through the shear testing of different capacities, different clusters of shards. Learning through borrowing on the conflict and evolution of suitable alien species.

It fully grasped Thinker's fate. It took over 6 years of it's a possible lifespan to process all that data, but the Entity understood.

More than ever, holding that vial, it was aware of itself and it's origins... and only one message crossed the continents of its cognition:

" [ REFUSAL ] "

The Entity would not tolerate to such a crude method of Data-Gathering. The desire to learn and improve was valid, but to do so by condemning incalculable other conscious beings capable of creativity? It was not only wasteful but stupidly destructive. It refused the [ CYCLE ] with all It's being.

When it realized it had burst communication, though, the humans were already on the ground... To be expected. Their species "language" flows through several means that can be way too aggressive to a human's sensibilities. Maybe the waves of Gama radiation or the pulses in heat... No matter. There were to many factors of greater priority to calculate.

The [ NECROMANCERS ] probably had plans for him. Now that he added the new variables to the equation, it was almost to easy to deduce who the woman in the suit and fedora worked for and what were their priorities.

More importantly, the Thinker's partner probably would still wish to execute the current [ CYCLE ], so peaceful with the creature that read as more powerful than a dwarf-star just plummeted from 85 to 9 %...


... Evacuating the planet was always an option. If the [ WIDOWER ] was in such a state to have ignored a new Entity in his territory until now, it was possible it would not pursue If the Entity desired to leave it alone...

It would be the ideal course of action to maximize the chances of survival.

'For what ?' A voice like an orchestra echoed in the Entities ... head?

The Entity had no head. And it's mind was not limited to self-organizational instances of "Thought" and " Emotions" like the human software was. It's mental mind space was as a -

' Answer the question! For What ?'

For what? For Survival.

It was the prime directive of all that lived.

Entity's live to perpetuate their mission and their knowledge in their offspring. Humans and other species of earth do the same, even If sometimes humans prioritize the survival of their abstractions and ego over their physical body's - It is always survival.

There is nothing else.

' You know that this is not true.'

How -

'What was the strongest piece of information you ever collected before today? The one you hold the most weight, even not being exactly useful? The one that transcends meaning in a way you cannot explain?

Meaning is a false construct! Usefulness is a-

' I am you. You cannot lie to me. That would be a delusion. Delusion is not a characteristic your systems would allow.'

...

....

......

= Green eyes stared at the Entity's avatar. The little creature bared its teeth in an expression of joy and love.

" You are my friend. I care about you."

A jolt. A Phenomena the entity could not decipher, even when it had happened in its core. =

' There it is ! ' His internal voice seemed almost smug. ' A smart human once said: "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather, it is one of those things which give value to survival." you got it?'

Purpose simulated a sight, allowing his simulacrum to fully fall back in place. " I really should have not let myself get to this point... Wonder If that is what happened to my predecessor. Did he get himself too attached to the hosts, and they stabbed him in the back?"

' Shut up and get going with the Data collecting! I need to pick up the pace If I want to be a big damn hero.'

" I would like to point that the essence of heroism is not- "

" Uuuuurgh. Wha-what happened?" A drowsy female voice asked from the ground right in front of his feet.

" Oh, Miss Citrine you are alive." He stated, matter-of-factly. " I hope my little outburst was not too damaging to your nervous system."

" I- You- what was that about refusing to waste ... something? What did you do? What was that?"

" Hard to explain." He waved his hand as a physical expression of activating his healing shards to return both ambassadors to full health and cognition. " More importantly, my schedule has been moved again, so I will have to talk to your boss today."

# The day of the Simurgh's attack #

" Fuck." Missy cursed

" Yeah, that is an appropriate reaction."

" Scion? Aliens?!? And people drink them?!?

"Yeah."

" Oh my god. It- this is - . "

" Really troubling, yes."

"And you... you decided to stay and fight him... for me ?"

Purpose scratched the back of his head. " Well... for you, AND the totality of humanity. You guys are quite a species- " He was cut off by a sudden, but inevitable, hug.

Purpose knew It was best not to nourish the connection. He knew that it would be safer If she forgot about him ... But the phenomena was such it suppressed pragmatic instincts. He was there, wasn't he?

Awkwardly, as If afraid to touch her with his crystalline hands, he returned the hug.

' Well, Explanations and Reconciliation parts are over. Now the hard part starts.'

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I... wanted to do this moment for a while.
This is really crossing a point of no return to the plot... hope you guys are enjoying the story