The Owl in the Abyss - Chapter 29

She took in the passing houses of the neighborhood, not really seeing them.

With every passing moment, she came closer to the only thing that mattered to every fiber of her being. To the point where the gaping hole in her heart would be filled again, even if it was just for an hour or two.

The unmarked PRT car thumped as it drove over a few potholes, only briefly pulling her out of her reverie. Her eyes watched the reflection in the window as the distorted light of the houses made a seemingly infinite diorama in front of her eyes.

This wasn’t the best neighborhood in the city, definitely not one she would’ve chosen as a home to raise Aster in. That decision though was stripped mercilessly from her and some small part of her couldn’t help but feel she somewhat deserved it.

Yes, she had made the decision to leave the Empire and ‘go hero’. For months now she had fought against the other gangs, but what had it actually achieved when she couldn’t raise her hand against the worst one in the city. All her efforts were doing was just making it easier for Max to dominate the underworld of Brockton.

Kayden winced and pulled down the turtleneck sweater to scratch an itch under the very sophisticated Tinkertech collar around her neck.

She hated it.

Its presence was a constant reminder of her own failure. It was irrational but if she had just chosen her usual route of flight back from her patrols… then none of this would’ve happened.

Her return to Downtown over the suburbs of Lord’s Park had been a single moment of whimsy; that she could perhaps find something to actually do after a very boring patrol where none of her leads on the ABB had panned out.

Then… that fucking tree.

Her memories of that time under its mastery were sharp and vivid. As if someone had laser etched them into her mind. Even now, it just took a single idle thought to bring a replay of the events to the forefront. Feeling every single burning touch of that human tree on her skin, that instead of disgusting her, left her inflamed and yearning for more. Every bit of sensation as that thick, veiny penis mounted on its hand rammed into her again and again… wanting more of it.

Kayden grit her teeth in anger as she felt her panties become wet.

She heard her own cries of ecstasy in the night, joined by other voices, who were also in the delight- NO! In the horrid clutches of that thing. The wet rapid slaps of flesh on flesh resounded in her ears, she felt the ripples through her body of with each quick in-out movement, her breasts bouncing and rippling with the shifting momentum.

Her fist curled so hard that she felt her own nails threaten to cut into her palms, but the pain did the job of bringing her fully into the here and now, banishing the awful yet somehow still wonderful memory to the back of her mind. She knew she wasn’t mastered anymore, even the PRT confirmed it with extensive testing, but the memories of that night almost had a life of their own.

“Kayden?”

She turned to regard her interlocutor. Her eyes focused on the olive skin above the scarf bearing the American flag and then to honestly concerned deep green eyes. 

“I’m fine, Miss Militia.”

The Protectorate heroine’s power was now shifted into the very recognizable Desert Eagle, holstered in a black leather pouch on her belt.

“If you’re certain, we’re just a few streets away now.”

Her concern and warning was meant to allow Kayden the chance to compose herself. Every hero and agent assigned to her, knew of the side-effects those who had been taken by the Human Tree were experiencing. The stark memories, victims who would fall into them and the struggle to remind them where they were, to bring them back to reality. Then there were the physical side effects and here Kayden could only thank providence that she had put herself back on the Pill a few months after giving birth to Aster, seeing no reason to stop. She was glad she didn’t have to make the choice that many of the women who weren’t so lucky, now faced.

She didn’t know how many women were now pregnant because of that tree - the Protectorate was not forthcoming with that information - but she could read between the lines that it was giving the authorities major headaches. As they were torn between the potential danger of letting a biotinker creation procreate or allowing the freedom of choice and bodily autonomy to the affected women, that was ingrained in the State’s constitution.

Kayden shook off the thoughts of potential babies of a human tree and turned to the only baby who should matter in her life at the moment. She smoothed out her beige trousers nervously, straightened her blouse and double checked her reflection in the driver’s central rearview mirror as best she could.

Armsmaster, who was driving, touched something near the belt around his armor and from seemingly nowhere, a shiny mechanism began unfolding in his hand.

In the next moment, he held out what was a collapsible hand mirror back to her.

She numbly accepted it, even as she was amazed that the man would ever create something like that.

Miss Militia chortled, “Really, Armsmaster?”

“You never know when you need to see around a corner, especially without exposing any part of yourself to potential fire,” he said defensively.

Kayden took the tinkertech mirror gently and checked that her makeup was normal and there wouldn’t be anything that would prevent Aster from recognizing her mother.

Satisfied, she handed back the mirror with a nod, “Thank you.”

A few minutes later Armsmaster tapped on the brakes of the car and turned it into the driveway of a modest home that had seemingly done some recent refurbishment. The exterior paint was new, and a number of repairs to the frontage were also visible.

Kayden swallowed her nerves and felt her stomach twisting uncomfortably with worry, even as her patience was starting to wear thin.

Armsmaster pulled the handbrake up and secured the car, whilst Kayden fumbled a bit with the rear door lock before taking a deep breath of composure and got out.

She wanted to do nothing more than sprint towards the front door and hammer it with a fist, then use her power to blast it open.

The collar on her neck firmly kept such foolish notions in check.   

Armsmaster took the lead and Militia walked at her right as they approached the front door.

He knocked three times firmly on the hardwood.

The door opened and for the first time, Kayden saw the man who was now her baby’s guardian in the flesh.

She had seen photos, but in person Danny Hebert didn’t look all that impressive. Tall, thin, balding, huge green eyes behind circular glasses. His physical stature was nothing in comparison to Max or any of the men she favored or had known in her life, but in retrospect that was perhaps a good thing now. She met his eyes and her opinion quickly changed - there was something there, a hardness, an anger, an unyielding determination. His hands and the set of his face, showed that this was someone who had known loss.

She would’ve seen it even if she hadn’t read the prepared file that the PRT had given her.

Danny Hebert, CEO of Fortress Construction, widower, father to a single daughter - the parahuman who had chosen not to rescue her from the Tree. 

“Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Mrs. Anders,” Hebert greeted them with a nod, before standing aside. “Please come in.”

They walked into the small entrance hall and waited for the owner of the house to close and secure the door behind them.

“Please, the first door on your right is the sitting room, we can be comfortable there.”

Armsmaster entered first, his armored boots barely making any noise on the tile floors.

When Kayden entered her heart skipped a beat to see who was waiting for her.

“Theo?”

He simply smiled, “Hey Kayden,” and quickly engulfed her in a hug.

She nervously returned it, snaking her arms around her stepson’s back and clutching at him reflexively.

She held him out at arms length, looking critically at him. He certainly seemed as happy as he could be, well fed, there was also something different about him. A confidence in his eyes and the way he held himself that she was happy to see and also intensely curious about, her motherly instincts were screaming something at her.

“Good to see you,” she said with the relief of something familiar back in her life.

“And you, mom.”

It was rare that he used that appellation, reserving it for times when he was really emotional about something. This reunion certainly qualified, she supposed.

“Aster?” she asked insistently.

“Upstairs, she was sleepy and we weren’t going to keep her down here, when we weren’t too sure of your arrival time. I’ll go get her.”

He patted her on the shoulder and hurried out the room.

“Now then, everyone please have a seat,” Hebert said kindly, but quickly qualified, “Unless your armor is going to break my couch, Armsmaster.”

The hero reassured as he sat down, “It has systems to regulate its apparent weight,” .

“Anything to drink? Anyone?”

Militia and Armsmaster declined but Kayden said, “A tea would be nice, milk, one sugar.”

“Coming right up,” Hebert declared and quickly walked out the room.

Kayden found a double seater couch that faced the door to the living room, sat down and found her right leg twitching with impatience as it bounced on the ball of her foot. Her stomach clenched and felt as if there was a void gnawing there and she wrung her hands.

Then Theo reappeared in the doorway and cradled in his arms… Aster…

It took everything she had not to use her flight to cross the distance in an eyeblink.

As it was, she made two sprinting steps, her heart in her throat and in the process nearly bowling over poor Theo.

“Whoa, easy Kayden,” he flinched, shielding the one year old infant protectively, turning his shoulder to her. 

“Sorry, sorry,” she winced.

He opened up and there that beautiful face was, her mouth occupied with a pacifier and huge blue eyes staring up at her.

Then Aster actually smiled around the pacifier, it fell out and those eyes twinkled.

“Ma-ma..”

Kayden enveloped her child carefully, immediately feeling her own heart melt even as it was made whole again, tears of relief and happiness springing unbidden from her eyes.

“Yes, Aster, mama is here again.”

In that moment, everything wrong with the world, with her life, even the memories of that thing, was banished. She gave a reflexive kiss to Aster’s brow as she struggled not to hug the stuffing out of the poor infant. Automatically, she began moving and rocking the child on the spot.

“Mommy’s here,” she said more for herself than her daughter. It was as if she was making a vow to herself.

She allowed herself a full two minutes of just standing there and hugging Aster before regaining her own composure. At some point, Hebert had returned carrying a tray with her tea and he was seated in the main armchair with a mug of coffee.

Kayden sat down on the sofa, arranging Aster in her lap. Theo managed her tea and handed her the cup.

“Thanks Theo.” She let Aster play with her right hand, whilst taking a sip of the warm tea, just to distract herself from the impending conversation. Anything to put off the awful reality for just one more moment. “How have you been?”

He sat down next to her and shrugged in his usual way, “As well as can be expected. Still getting used to things. I have a roof over my head, a full belly and not in a state foster home. Mr. Hebert is… how to explain… cool and strict. Though I think his daughter is the true force in this house.”

Hebert chuckled and shrugged, “We all have our roles. Taylor still defers to me in the areas that matter. We both struggled after my wife’s passing, each in our own ways. It’s only been a few months since we actually began picking up the pieces and truly began healing.”

“And do you think bringing Theo and Aster into your home will help that?” Kayden asked pointedly.

Hebert took a sip of coffee, “We were in a position to help and we helped. There is no ulterior motive. What benefits we gain from this will be purely incidental. You know that, given who Aster and Theo’s father is, it paints a target on this house, on me and Taylor. As we speak, there is a car down the street that has Fenja and Menja in civilian attire keeping a watch on this house. One of them is already on the phone and reporting to Kaiser that you’ve been spotted entering the house, in the company of Armsmaster and Miss Militia.”

Kayden felt her heart racing and was alarmed when she saw both Protectorate heroes stiffen in surprise.

“Mr. Hebert, why didn’t you report this?” Armsmaster asked stiffly; his helmet became alive with light in his visor.

“They’ve been there since this morning,” Hebert smirked, his eyes became unfocused. As if he was seeing and hearing something more than just this room. “Well, it seems Fenja’s first name is Jess and she’s talking to Victor on the other end of the line…”

Kayden felt her head spin a bit as she witnessed Hebert purposefully outing himself as a parahuman. He had no obvious tech besides his glasses, so some form of minion Master? He was seeing through them? The Protectorate had known Danny Hebert was a parahuman, but also did not tell her…

He waved Armsmaster down to stay in his seat. “Please, Armsmaster. If they’re there and watching, it means Kaiser knows what’s happening and he will remain content that he has a handle on things. If they make trouble at this house, you know what trouble they will find.”

Hebert gave her his best encouraging smile, “Yes, Mrs. Anders, I opened my hand of cards to you. I’m a parahuman, as is my daughter, both of us are Masters of minion and human respectively. We can protect Aster even if Kaiser himself, fully armored, with most of the Empire capes behind him shows up at my front door. My company also now has a burgeoning corporate cape team that we can mobilize and my daughter has other resources she can bring to bear.”

Kayden struggled to come to terms with the idea that the concepts of Master and hero could be brought together. Yet somehow, that seemed to be the case with two Protectorate heroes in the same room and house, vouching for them.

She couldn’t help but ask, “You… triggered recently? I don’t know of any cape fitting your description in the Bay and I keep up to date.”

“Relatively recently, yes. I haven’t done anything like debuting a cape persona yet. Too busy with work, but I’m always using my power. It doesn’t exactly have an off switch.”

“I didn’t think you could trigger at your age, forgive me for pointing that out,” Kayden commented.

Hebert chuckled ruefully and held out a hand. “No offense taken.” There was an abrupt fluttering of wings and through a partially open window a common Mourning Dove flew in and landed on Hebert’s outstretched hand. The dove practically danced on the spot, lifting its left wing, then its right, clearly under the parahuman’s direct control. “Thank you, now back to patrol.”

He gave it a small boost of momentum and the dove fluttered and flew out the room.

Kayden tried to imagine just how many birds populated the skies over Brockton and how many species there were.

Then unbidden, a memory of an old movie from the ‘60s, a horror-thriller about birds starting to attack and even kill people…

Hebert could actually make that happen if he wanted to.

Then combine that with the apparent human Mastery from his daughter…

Yes, then she began to see his point.

“Where is she, by the way?”

He drank his coffee before giving her a lidded stare, “You know she is Escort?”

Kayden nodded, “After the brief I was given on you by the Protectorate, it wasn’t difficult to connect the dots.”

It was the only thing she obviously didn’t approve of in the whole arrangement. Which parent would want their infant in the same house as a working prostitute and cape in the same package. Someone who also was an avowed naturist. She could also imagine that in this respect Theo has had a feast for the eyes, living in the house with a constantly nude young woman.

“Then there is also something you must understand, given how close you’ll become to this small family and in the effort to build some trust between us.” He looked to the empty space beside his armchair. “Taylor?”

It began as a slightly red mist that appeared in mid-air, then in the blink of an eye, massively ballooned in volume and thickness.

Then in another blink, a tall, nude, dark haired young woman appeared.

“Mrs. Anders,” Escort aka Taylor smiled with a nod and stepped forward to hold out her hand.

She was startled though when Aster suddenly giggled in that baby way of hers and clapped, her eyes innocently taking in the naked heroine and clearly seeing nothing wrong there.

For politeness and her daughter’s sake, Kayden lightly shook the hand and took in the lithe, lightly toned figure that Escort had in the flesh. She rather irrationally wished she could get her own stomach and abs back to that level again. Her pregnancy hadn’t been kind in that regard. She also immediately spotted Theo’s face flushing, even as he was undoubtedly used to Taylor by now, not to mention a slight squirming motion. Typical teenage boy.

“Taylor, well, a pleasure to meet you.”

Again said for politeness sake. 

“And you. To finish what my father said, I’m not in the ‘business’, entirely by choice, but necessity. To put it in familiar terms, think of me as a partial Case 53. The only way I gain sustenance to live is from the semen produced by human males.”

Kayden tried to process that concept for a moment and her first instinct was to think she was intentionally pulling her leg. That couldn’t be possible, could it?

Then she saw the seriousness of both Heberts, Theo nodding and the non-reaction of Armsmaster, but Miss Militia jerked in surprise, her eyes widening and looking towards her Protectorate partner.

“It’s true,” Armsmaster confirmed.

Taylor perched her hands on her hips with a bemused smile, “How long did it take you to figure out?”

“Longer than it should’ve, honestly,” Armsmaster’s mouth thinned. “Your powers naturally make you a person of interest to the PRT and periodic covert surveillance was authorized. It was Dragon who spotted your lack of eating anything over a 48 hour period besides water and…male ejaculate,” he coughed uncomfortably. “She has many questions.”

“I’m sure she does, she can ask them when I pop around to the new quarantine site,” Taylor nodded. “Thank you for being so quick to respond to that.”

“We have more questions about that, but that can wait for later.”

Taylor nodded, “So you see, Mrs. Anders, I’m not about to bring my work home. It naturally wouldn’t be appropriate and believe it or not, the majority of working girls and gigolos in Brockton are at the end of the day, still people, and they do have lines they will never cross. At this point, it’s not even my primary profession as I’m working in dad’s company as a corporate cape. We both draw reasonable salaries for our roles and pay our taxes. We could easily move into a much better place… but this is home.” She shrugged, her breasts only slightly jiggling and Kayden idly noted how they seemed rather unnaturally firm.

Aster giggled and clapped her hands, babbling, “Ta-la! Boo!”

Taylor’s lips quirked in amusement. “She likes it when I pop into existence where she can see.”

“Ta-la, boo!”

The heroine rolled her eyes, “Fine, but only once.”

Taylor vanished in a red haze, before reappearing in an eyeblink just a few feet to her left.

Aster squealed in happiness. A noise that Kayden would never get tired of hearing and she would dearly miss when she was not in Brockton.

“And you haven’t mastered her or Theo, once?” Kayden had to ask, feeling the last vestiges of her objections vanish.

“Aster, never. Theo, on one occasion when we had to fetch him from your apartment and that was only to keep him from overreacting.”

“Final question, why didn’t you master me on that night?! To stop me from being…” She couldn’t finish the question and deflated, trying to banish the resurfaced memories.

Taylor’s answer was direct and immediate with no prevarication. “I couldn’t take the chance, Mrs. Anders. You were already mastered by another. We know now that it’s just an instinctual creature with no sense of self, but I had no way of knowing that at the time. I had to assume the worst. If I tried and failed, it would’ve perceived me as an immediate threat and it would’ve used you to defend itself. Imagine the consequences.”

Kayden winced. She knew her own potential destructive power and the thought of that being unleashed by anyone other than herself was frightening. It was an old nightmare of hers that she recalled having often in the early days of her cape hood.

“The brain and the human mind that sits in it is also not a simple rope that I can just pick up and fight another Master for. My power works with a certain vector to gain control, whereas another Master has a different approach. The interaction of the powers on a single mind might do nothing or it could instantly result in death by stroke or any number of bad endings. I took the safest option possible that would result with the fewest number of deaths. Yes, that means you were mastered and violated, but you are still alive, all the other victims and party goers who were there that night are alive as well.”

She took a belated sip of her tea as she digested the nude heroine’s reasoning. 

Kayden hated it.

Even as her reason and intellect understood it, her emotions were an entirely different matter. The feeling of violation that lingered, conflicting with the sheer want that the Tree induced in her. The longing for its touch again, because it was so… good.

Her mind rebelled against the notion firmly. How could it be good? Yet the memory of the pleasure rose up and fought.

She distracted herself by looking at Aster and taking a deep breath. “I accept your explanation. I understand it but… emotionally I can’t help wanting to wring your neck.”

Taylor nodded, “I can see the mark it’s left on you. That will be a battle that only you can fight, Mrs. Anders.”

“Have you been assigned any therapists, Mrs. Anders?” Danny Hebert asked, putting his empty mug down and giving a pointed look at the two Protectorate heroes.

“It was offered,” Kayden sighed. “I just haven’t given my answer yet.”

“Those who are qualified and vetted to work on parahuman related trauma is unfortunately not a long list,” Armsmaster explained. 

“Uh, Kayden?” said Theo uncertainly into the awkward silence that followed.

She blinked out of her reverie and turned to her stepson, “Yes, Theo?”

“What’s happening with regard to your… situation? Legally, I mean…” He winced, struggling to find the right words.

Kayden nodded, “There are still some aspects being settled. Essentially, I’m going to be rebranded and assigned to Denver, Colorado’s Protectorate branch under a two year probation. What that means for you and Aster, is that I will come visit every month for a weekend for that duration. If all goes well after that, a judge will look at the case and make a decision regarding Aster’s custody. That’ll go for you as well, but since you’ll almost be eighteen by then it’s a technical decision only.”

There was way more that could be said, but it wasn’t relevant to Theo. Such as how much information she had given the PRT on the Empire 88 to secure that deal. Most of what she could give was undoubtedly out of date, but there was structural information and locations that would always remain relevant. This was further complicated with the knowledge of E88 moles and sympathizers within the PRT’s local branch that had to be very carefully handled.        

She knew her own current location and the safe house she stayed in was being kept carefully compartmentalized, as was the information she had given. It was also being used as a means of identifying those moles.

“No prison then, that’s a relief, I’m-” Theo said, smiling.

“One moment,” Danny said, raising a hand to pause any further discussion. “Fenja and Menja are getting out of the car… they’re locking it and… walking this way.”

Kayden couldn’t help but flinch and looked at the master of the house intently, as Armsmaster and Militia got to their feet.

“Wait, another car just turned the corner, the twins are pausing, waiting for it. There’s only a single occupant, the driver… it’s your ex-husband, Mrs. Anders.”

Theo stood in alarm, “No, this can’t be happening. It’s insane. He’s going to start a fight here and now?”

“Whatever their intentions, they will not,” Danny said with finality. He glared at both Protectorate heroes. “Neither will you. This is my house and neighborhood, not a cape battlefield. He is masked as well, so he is coming as Kaiser. You’re obliged to try and arrest him-”

“We’re well aware of the potential for collateral damage, Mr. Hebert,” Armsmaster said. “Rest assured, we will only act in the defense of the lives of the people here.”

“Good, Taylor, Victor is on the field as well with a sniper rifle. He’s on a roof to the south that has a full range on the entire street. No doubt he will fire if you just master Kaiser on the spot. I have a number of birds ready to foul his aim. Can you please go and meet our unexpected guest?”

The heroine smiled dangerously, “On my way.” Then vanished in a haze of red.

888888888888888888888888888888888

That Kaiser parked properly and openly in front of our house boded somewhat well for his intentions.

Then again, it was not like I knew the leader of the E88 well enough to guess his actions. He was a formidable physical threat and had little to fear unless he was caught by surprise. You’d need to be at least an A-list parahuman to even have a chance. He was not coming on a whim and they had begun implementation of their own versions of Master/Stranger precautions within the Empire gang.

I saw immediately that all three had hidden earpieces and microphones, that was no doubt in direct contact with Victor. They would be required to say a specific passphrase or word every minute to indicate that they were uncompromised.

He met up with the twins, who were themselves masked up with elegant silver half-face masks with Teutonic wings jutting up on either side.

Both were practically the textbook definition of ‘blonde bombshell’ and even though they were in civvies, they were dressed to impress. Their clothes accentuated, emphasized and were quite practical, but were clearly designer labels. The cleavage on display was also impressive and both of them could easily walk onto the set of a Playboy shoot and look right at home.

Yet for all their unofficial status as ‘arm candy’ and bodyguards to Kaiser, they were also massive physical threats.

Both of them shared the same Breaker power, giving them the ability to shrink attacks proportionally to their size, which they could also vary. They could become five stories tall giant women that could crush you underfoot. Their durability increased accordingly at will as well. Their costumes, female themed Valkyrie-style armor, including spears and shields, also grew with them.

Normally, being so large should’ve come with downsides, but their powers compensated for their abnormally increased mass somehow, to at least let them remain as fast and nimble as they were in normal size.

I materialized on the edge of our property, staying at a respectable ten feet distance from the three Empire capes.

My hand thumped ‘15’s edge into the grass below my feet and my hair was covering my face in full Escort persona.

My sudden appearance caused them briefly startle for the slightest of moments, but they quickly regained composure.

Kaiser nodded at me in greeting. “Escort.”

“Kaiser, Fenja and Menja,” I greeted each in turn.

I noticed in his aura that despite the fact he clearly has women like the twins to call to his bed, that he was still appreciating my own more modest appearance and assets. It was still difficult for me to really accept my own kudos in that department.

The twin’s auras were also fascinating to study. They each had their own interdimensional shunt coming out of their heads, but the ‘color’ and feel of it was exactly the same. Clearly indicating that they truly shared the same Passenger and it wasn’t two powers with mirroring expressions just because they were twins.

Their emotions at seeing me were of grudging approval at my appearance, even though that was clearly overshadowed by their disgust that I was a working girl. Otherwise, their auras were unique and that was really no surprise. There was no way that they’d be identical in something as complex as human feelings, emotions and mind.

“Why are you here?” I asked flatly.

“I would think that would be obvious, Escort. My dear Purity has been in PRT custody for a while and now that she has resurfaced, I’ve come to make sure she’s all right.”

“No, you’re here to throw your weight around and ‘rescue’ her from the Protectorate, to find out what she’s spilled to them on you,” I countered. “If you don’t get your way, the threat of Fenja and Menja going giant on this entire neighborhood is a good incentive for the heroes to hand her over.”

“Or I could be here to just have a civilized talk with my ex-wife and the current guardian of my daughter,” Kaiser’s metal mask was rather impressive in conveying his expressions. It was made from his power and the metal flowed, like it couldn’t decide whether it was a solid or liquid.

“Then you should’ve come without the masks and the only way you have any legal say in your daughter’s future is if her mother and current guardian dies.”

“Come now, we both know that we are playing fast and loose with our actual identities and caped personas in this situation, Miss Hebert. But let’s keep to the theatrics while we are out here in public, shall we?”

I suppose it wasn’t terribly hard to figure out given the limitations I had on my ability to wear anything. Any decent investigator would just need photos of me before my own trigger, then put it next to Escort. My overall bone structure hadn’t changed, despite the other changes I had induced.

Another thing I noticed now was the steadily increasing number of birds who were starting to land on the lawn, the roof, the side fences and whatever else was handy. It was not enough to be remarked upon yet, as dad was keeping them moving, flying them away to hide them out of immediate sight.

Any further talk was interrupted when the front door of my house opened and Kayden strode out and into the front yard with a sure purpose in her step.

She thankfully didn’t have Aster in her arms, her instincts as a mother being spot on given we were riding on the edge of a knife at the moment.

“Max,” she greeted coldly, folding her arms and glaring at Fenja and Menja.

“Kayden.”

The name was spoken with courtesy, kindness, but I saw the man’s emotions and it was rather surprising. He still had feelings for her. It was buried beneath regret and bitterness, but it was there. That he had married ordinary, mousy Kayden, when women like the twins were readily available for him, at least spoke to something redeemable about Max Anders’ character. Even if he was an unapologetic gang leader who espoused a horrible ideology that should’ve been consigned to the history books.

“I thought I was very clear when we last spoke. You accepted the deal, you gave up any rights to Aster and Theo. I want nothing more to do with you or your organization.”

Kaiser shook his head. “How do I know it’s you talking at the moment and not the Master next to you?”

“Oh, so that’s your play, use the Master as the excuse for you taking whatever unilateral action to get what you want. Are you going to use Aster next? Hmm?” Kayden snapped.

“Look I just want to-”

Whatever Kaiser had wanted to do, whether it was peaceful or hostile or some power play, became irrelevant when the universe reminded me that whilst the SCP phenomenon was no longer just centered around me, it could still happen near me.

The void yawned open just ten feet to my right.

My head snapped in that direction and that was what saved my life.

Standing there was what looked like some sort of abstract, very crude humanoid art sculpture. It was two meters tall, a rudimentary head that only made the barest acknowledgement for a neck, before it flowed into a tubular body with two tiny legs that only served to keep it upright and balanced. Two crude arms extended forward no longer than two feet from its shoulders. The whole thing was made of concrete and was completely painted in a beige color, with a crudely painted face that nevertheless gave it a fearsome appearance. 

I took in its aura and immediately my heart sped up as I perceived the nature of this SCP.

My mind web snapped outward instinctively, I snagged Kaiser instantly and my fear combined with urgency let me bulldoze through the twins’ emotional battle to dominate them.

“Everyone look at it! Don’t blink!” I snapped the order.

“Yes, mistress!” The three Empire capes obeyed instantly.

With superior strength I grabbed Kayden by the shoulders and twisted her body to face the SCP sculpture, even as she boggled in incomprehension and fright.

I misted, just in time to hear the crack of a bullet breaking the sound barrier near me.

Thankfully, dad had been on the ball and Victor’s shot had missed by a full ten feet and dug itself into the front lawn. No further shots rang out, so I had to assume that dad was using his birds to thoroughly keep the cape too busy keeping his eyes from being plucked out, rather than shooting me.

I materialized and fixed my eyes on the SCP again, whilst grabbing hold of Kayden’s head… who was dangerously close to fully turning her head away from the statue.

“Kayden, keep your eyes open, look at the statue! Your life depends on it!”

“What?! Taylor, what’s… what? What’s going on?” She babbled in fright, even as she futilely tried to fight me. I snaked my fingers on either side of her eyes.

“Saving your life. Look at the statue!”

My efforts were in vain and I was forced to mist with Kayden as the damn SCP found the briefest of gaps, when Kayden nevertheless blinked. 

It moved.

Its speed was instantaneous.

One moment it was there, and the next it was right where Kayden had been.

It’s pudgy arms trying to wring her neck only to find that there was no victim for it to kill.

With as much speed as I could muster I zoomed back into the house through the outer wall.

When I rematerialized with Kayden, it was to find Armsmaster and Miss Militia already looking out the window, with the SCP in their sightline.

Then Militia began turning her head to face the sound of me reappearing.

“Keep looking at it!” I snapped. “The rest of you, don’t look out the window! Dad, call Henry. Code 173!”

I misted and flew back outside.

Dad had flown hundreds of birds onto the lawn, all of them forming a circle around the SCP, staring at it.

It wasn’t really helping. Each bird counted as its own ‘entity’ to this SCP. Once you laid eyes on it, a connection of sorts was established and if you ever blinked within its direct line of sight, it could essentially teleport behind you and break your neck instantly.

I reappeared next to Kaiser, Fenja and Menja, whose eyes were red and tearing up as they obeyed my last command without question.

“Fuck, umm, you can blink one eye at a time alternately. Just always keep it in sight.”

“Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress.” They chorused with visible relief.

‘15 started to hoot rapidly, “Taylor, the SCP has not formed a connection with me.”

I blinked my right eye, then left, using the corner of my vision to confirm what the sentient pipe was telling me, “Interesting, you’re clearly an exception to its rules.”

The harsh sound of glass being cut reached my ears, then the thump of heavy armored boots walking towards me from behind.

“Armsmaster! Are you-?”

“Relax, Escort,” he reassured from behind me. “I understand the precaution. I was looking outside when it appeared and moved to attack Mrs. Anders. So, this is another anomaly?”

“Yes,” I breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn’t be hearing Armsmaster’s neck snapping next. “Put simply, once you see it, never blink or break eye contact. If you do, it will move instantly behind you and either strangle you or snap your neck in a moment.”

“Can you see if it’s actually using spatial warping, teleportation or is it just that fast?”

“It’s fast, it needs an unobstructed line of movement to get behind you.”

“So it can be boxed in.”

“Yes, but it’s very heavy, extremely strong and the only way I can think of breaking the connections it has with us… is to enclose it all at once. Slamming a steel box on it from above that has to be strong and thick enough to withstand its strength. Then shoving a platform underneath to create a floor, weld it all together.”

Armsmaster nodded, even though the logistics of getting this all done was probably going to be a nightmare on short notice.

“You have all three under control?” Armsmaster carefully pointed to three Empire capes.

I sighed, “Yes.”

“Kaiser could create such an enclosure and if the twins grow big enough they can surely carry it,” he theorized. “The only issue is that the metal Kaiser generates breaks down and loses structural integrity when he’s not actively sustaining it and it’s also unknown how long he can keep the metal going.”

I glared at the homicidal SCP. It had a cunning, predatory animal intelligence, akin to a tiger but didn’t have higher thought processes and only rudimentary self-awareness. It only knew that it liked being looked at and anyone who didn’t must die.

“Well, we’re about to find out,” I said airily. “Kaiser, keep facing the sculpture and come here.”

“Yes, mistress!” the E88 leader said eagerly. He basically walked sideways as fast as he could towards us.

Armsmaster shook his head, “Unbelievable, the leader of the E88, wrapped around your finger. You don’t know how much I want you to order him into Protectorate custody immediately.”

“We do that and we unleash their full cape roster and gang to wreak havoc on the city,” I pointed out. “He wouldn’t come here without some final failsafe order in case this happened. He’s not stupid.”

Armsmaster nodded, “True, I managed to jam their personal radio links and I sent an alert out to the PRT. Victor was not the only one listening in.”

“Fuck. Of course, he wasn’t. They were probably listening in from E88 central and other safehouse locations all around the city.”

“Dragon managed to triangulate a number of locations.”

“Why am I not surprised she’s listening in? Hello Dragon.”

“Escort,” the Tinker greeted, utilizing a tiny external speaker on Armsmaster’s armor. “Forgive our precautions, but the Empire are not the only ones who utilize that Master Stranger protocol.”

“Nothing to forgive,” I sighed. “Kaiser, how long can you sustain your metal?”

“It will last indefinitely as long as I’m within three hundred feet of it, mistress,” he said earnestly. His submissive tone was so cringy and ill-fitting on the man. I could feel my order to keep looking at the SCP conflict with his own desire to drink in the sight of me. He quickly positioned himself so he could look at me in his peripheral vision.

“That simplifies and complicates things,” Armsmaster rubbed his chin in thought. “He can create the enclosure quickly, but you’ll need to keep control. The twins can increase their size and move it, but again same problem. Especially if E88 capes are coming to rescue their leader.”

“I have a confirmed sighting of Rune, she’s flying your way on one of her empowered slabs of concrete. She has Othala and Hookwolf on board.” Dragon reported. “I’m launching the Cawthorne Mark One to intercept.”

“Can you intercept in time?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes she can and this Cawthorne is now an upgraded model from the one you saw previously. It’s designed for Endbringer level threats,” Armsmaster chimed in.

“It still has a lot of work to go before I’d consider it ready,” Dragon retorted.

Armsmaster gave a brief smile. “Dragon, I’ve already sent word to mobilize the resources we’d need to contain this thing. Until that happens, we need to hold off the Empire.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Escort, order Kaiser to enclose the anomaly.”

“You heard him, Kaiser. Close that thing up.”

“Right away, mistress,” he said with enthusiasm.     

Kaiser raised his hand dramatically and thick steel sheets appeared from a thin rippling line of energy that appeared on the ground around SCP-173.

Steel molded and flowed like rapid water, moving upward in clear defiance of gravity.

Then it twisted, rapidly growing and gaining shape, definition and within seconds I began to recognize what I was seeing.

“Oh, you have to be kidding me,” I groaned.

173 was completely enclosed now, its ethereal connections cut off from everyone.

The only problem was that now I was faced with a nine foot tall metal statue of… me.

My proportions were clearly exaggerated. My legs were long, but not that long, nor were they so perfectly shaped and muscled, my hips that wide, nor was my ass that perfectly peach shaped. My statue’s cup size was a high C and I don’t think I’d ever pull off such an imperious, regal expression on my face, ever. My statue’s left arm was on the hip, toned muscles rippling and the right arm was extended forward, palm facing outwards, as if I was commanding a halt to whoever approached.

My mastery of him had clearly gone a bit overboard.

I finally stopped my alternate pattern of blinking and glared at Kaiser.

“Did I ask you to make a statue of me?”

“No mistress, but don’t you like it?” he asked plaintively.

It was quite flattering now that I thought about it, as my mastery wasn’t just about domination, it was also about suggestion and getting rid of filters.

“Objectively, it’s beautiful, thank you.”

Armsmaster’s aura turned into frank astonishment, including minor amounts of disbelief that he was watching the formidable, great Kaiser of the E88 reduced to an adoring fanboy.

Kayden, Miss Militia and dad jumped through the large gap the hero had cut through the living room windows, quickly jogging to join us.

“I’ve taken care of Victor,” Dad announced. “He’s unconscious in his sniper perch.”

“How did you manage that with just birds?” Kayden asked.

He chuckled, “A mass of common pigeons for distraction and attacking his face and body, then two ospreys carrying a stun gun. They’re fish hunters so their talon grip strength is very high.”

“Is Theo watching over Aster?” I asked when I noticed the teenage boy wasn’t emerging from the living room.

“Yes, if this neighborhood is going to become a battleground against the Empire…” Kayden’s hands flexed into fists and she glared at Kaiser. “Armsmaster, I think-”

The Protectorate hero held up his hand to pause her, “Your power is an absolute last resort and I will only deactivate your collar if you must defend yourself. If it gets to that point then we will have actually failed to an unacceptable degree. Escort, I need you to get Fenja and Menja to a sufficient strength and size to carry the… containment vessel for the anomaly.”

I gave a beckoning gesture to the twins, who had thus far just been standing rigidly at attention, waiting eagerly for my command. Both bowed to me and said, “Yes, mistress. Your will is ours.”

Everyone gave me weird looks.

“Hey, until I tell them how to treat me, they go with whatever their own idea of subservience is,” I explained plaintively, then addressed the twins. “Get yourself bulked to carry the statue.”

“As you command, mistress.”

Both blonde bombshells stepped back to give themselves room and then began growing. In one second, they went from a normal height of five foot seven to eight feet, then nine and finally stopped themselves at nineteen feet.

I wish I could’ve made sense of what I was seeing with True Sight, as somehow their power accounted for expansion of whatever they carried and wore without any problems.

We quickly got out of the way as the giant twins stepped forward towards the containment statue. Menja grabbed it by the legs and Fenja under the arms, then with a simple flex of their massive arms, lifted it easily.

“Armsmaster, I’ve intercepted Rune. Both she and Othala are foamed, but Hookwolf managed to escape. He is still approaching your position at high speed in his bladed wolf form,” Dragon reported. “My drones have also spotted Krieg, Night and Fog in one group, with Stormtiger, Crusader and Cricket in another. They are converging on your position in vehicles. E88 gang members are also attacking multiple locations throughout the city; power substations and other critical infrastructure. Director Piggot has authorized emergency mobilization of the entire PRT and a request is en route to the governor to ready National Guard units.”

My stomach practically sank through the floor, my hand gripping ‘15 hard.

Fuck.

I had acted to save everyone’s life from SCP-173 and in so doing had triggered the E88 to enact their own final contingency and ‘Fuck you’ to the city.

Armsmaster slamming his fully extended halberd into the ground ripped me out of my self-pitying spiral of thoughts.

“Listen carefully, all of you,” he stated firmly. “The twins will act as a visible lightning rod for the E88, drawing them in. We need to move north-east as quickly as possible. The area around the Boat Graveyard is the closest place we can contest this fight whilst minimizing civilian loss of life.”

“That would require us to move through the Docks, if they intercept us before that, we’ll end up fighting amongst the poorest of the city!” Dad reminded the hero.

“The longer we talk about it, the likelier that is to happen, Mr. Hebert,” Armsmaster pointed out.

Dad gritted his teeth in seething frustration, “Fine, I’ll get the car.”

“It would be best if we used the PRT vehicle, it’s armored-”

Dad held up a hand, slowly smiled and I saw the light of an idea dawn, “That’s fine, but it just so happens that I have come into possession of something special on that front.”

My mind hiccupped as I recalled that dad had taken to parking Coil’s special car in the garage lately.

“Dad, you can’t be serious?” I gaped.

“Dead serious, dear. Trust me.”

“If you have more capabilities to bring to the table, then as Protectorate commander on the ground, I need to know what it is, Mr. Hebert.”

“Give me a radio and I’ll explain as we fly, drive and run for our lives.”

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SCP/s featured in this chapter:

With a few tweaks:

"SCP-173" by Moto42, from the SCP Wiki. Source: https://scpwiki.com/scp-173. Licensed under CC-BY-SA.

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A/N: "The right SCP in the wrong place, can make all the difference in the world." ;-) Have a great weekend and stay awesome everyone.