Inheritance - Deference 5.6

Thursday May 12th, 2011

Lighting crackled through the atmosphere above as a howling wind whipped at my soaked hair.  There I stood; in the shadow of one of the most terrifying monsters to ever exist.  Leviathan loomed over me, close enough that he could reach out and cleave me if he so desired.  Behind me, Vista twisted space as she pulled the broken form of the Protectorate leader away, her tiny body barely able to drag the man despite most of his armor having been shorn clean through, along with both his legs.  That the Endbringer was allowing this should have concerned me, but I felt oddly calm in the face of what should have terrified me. 

“Because he knows,” Reflex said. 

What he knew, I had no clue but had a feeling it was related to the Collective’s recent shift.  Answers would be forthcoming, but only after the dust settled.  The Wolf Slayer rested upon my shoulder as the circle of clear sky quickly began to fill back in.  Whatever Vista had done to cause even Leviathan’s storm to recede was a staggering display of power.  There was no way they didn’t up the girl’s threat ratings. 

“She’s not the only one about to see a threat increase,” Butcher said.  “Show this walking fish stick what it means to fuck with the Teeth!” 

I could only echo that sentiment.  This monster had chosen to attack at a time and place where me and mine would be, and made sure we got involved.  As far as I was concerned, what happened to Damien and Chrissie was on this monster’s head. 

“It would certainly be a striking ornament to hang beside Hookwolf,” Stratego noted.

Just imagining Leviathan’s head mounted on the arena’s wall was enough to bring a savage grin to my face.  The big guppie must not have appreciated it, because he picked that moment to lunge forward with all the speed he had used when he nearly killed Chrissie and I earlier.  This time I didn’t feel any of the panic, just a calm certainty. 

I moved, letting the claw pass by my head and jumped as Leviathan stuck out with his tail.  One of Knockout’s shields materialized beneath my foot and I kicked off, bringing myself eye level with the Endbringer.  Wolf Slayer lashed out, connecting with the monster’s jaw with enough force that it displaced part of the water echo.  Yet, the thin and still smoking frame of the Endbringer wasn’t even scratched by the attack.  

“The vulnerable layers were burned away by the pintsized powerhouse,” Alkaline tsked.  “Gonna need something heavier than what she dropped to do more damage.” 

Vista literally dropped the sky on the bastard! 

“Then quit bitching and figure that shit out,” Marauder demanded.  

Right, because I was the only thing standing between Leviathan and my girls.  Claws sliced through the falling water, forcing me to dance around them or deflect them with my blade.  Pain and Rage did nothing despite the enhancements, and when I let a hand brush against the Endbringer’s flesh, rot didn’t take because Leviathan was inorganic to Fester’s power, and too dense for Chisel’s to grasp.  That left me with few options to actually engage the monster.  Sure, I’d stepped up full of confidence, but it was quite clear that I didn’t have any hope of actually inflicting harm on the Endbringer. 

“You could try kiting him away from everyone,” Chisel said. 

“Just you know, don’t get hit,” Stratego said.  “Between my power and Reflex, you should be able to anticipate everything.” 

He wasn’t wrong, Leviathan was proving to be rather predictable, not that I could afford to get complacent.  I knew that with the staggering speed and power on display I couldn’t let myself lapse for even an instant.  Leviathan’s claw came for my exposed face, a touch slower than his last lunge, only for Danger-sense to warn me to move more than necessary.  His claw blurred through the last foot of distance and would have taken my head off had Reflex’s power not warned me. 

Leviathan followed through even quicker so I stepped through the gap between dimensions, arriving atop a building at the edge of the clearing.  Leviathan’s focus snapped towards me instantly and I couldn’t help but smirk.  

That’s right motherfucker, I’m the one you want.  

I’m the danger here, not the evacuation. 

Leviathan blurred, and a rush of emotions shot through me. 

The dread at knowing I was now Leviathan’s personal target was more than a little unnerving, but what else was new in the chaos that had become my life?  I was elated that the ruse was working and that I would be able to draw him away from the people that mattered to me.  

Pyro’s teleport was now on a hair trigger, and I aimed another thousand feet away just as Leviathan reached me, angling back towards where the Endbringer had already devastated the surroundings in his march through the city.

The Endbringer wasn’t playing anymore, there were no kid gloves or acting to convince everyone that they stood a chance.  The Endbringer wanted me dead and was going to see it through no matter my misgivings on that topic.  Hell, I was almost certain that if I jumped back to Brockton he would follow despite the distance.

“We’re in this bitch for keeps,” Sabertooth said. 

“You’re going to need to engage him eventually,” Reflex said.  “I can’t effectively warn you of danger here, he’s without any restrictions in place and has blocked all communications.” 

Ugh, more shit that they really needed to explain to me but we just didn’t have time to go over.  I had no idea what the limits of my new Brute capabilities were, which meant I would need to do some trial by combat.  Fucking hell this was going to suck ass.  

Leviathan tore down the street on all fours, moving like a demented werewolf out for blood.  He had me beat when it came to raw speed and it was only with Pyro’s well timed teleports that I was keeping ahead of him.  I’d put miles between the triage center and us in the span of a minute, which meant it was time to stop pussyfooting around and fight the bastard. 

There was only one place truly fitting, and that was where I lured him. 

I touched down on home plate of Fenway Park, seeing it from the field for the first time in the collective’s combined memory.  Several had attended games in the stands over their lives, though only one had managed it after their own inheritance.  Chisel didn’t have fond memories of the World Series final game, but she did remember the after party a bit more vividly.  It took three riot squads and the entire Protectorate to stop the Teeth’s rampage over the loss that year.

Chisel preened a bit under the recollection.  “What can I say?  We were robbed by that shit call the Ump made.” 

Enhanced senses meant she was actually right, funny enough.  Unfortunately that hadn’t meant a damn thing for the outcome and the Teeth did as they are wont to do.  They took to the streets and set shit on fire while flipping every car they could. 

“Good times,” Butcher said fondly. 

“Never was much of a Sox fan,” Marauder, a Yank to his core, remarked. 

He knew exactly what he was doing and could only cackle as the Boston contingent of the collective dogpiled the man.  For a brief moment, things within my mind felt normal.  Yes, there was more going on with the collective, but the core of what had endeared them to me was still very much intact.

It was a moment of levity before the storm caught back up.  Leviathan burst through the stands and landed in the outfield, stopping there as he stood to his full height.  I propped the Wolf Slayer on my shoulder and waited.  Every second he stayed focused on me was a chance for the defenders to work up some plan to help.

“Don’t kid yourself, they ain’t helping,” Pyro said. 

Fester grunted in agreement.  “They’re in damage control after two Triumvirate members went down.  If anything, they’re preparing for a Leviathan empowered with us to come back for them.” 

“Which would be a case of ‘everyone out of the dimension’ if they were smart,” the new voice said.

Do you have a name, or should I just keep calling you the new voice?

“Call me Administrator,” they said.  “Or Queen, as many of my contemporaries have taken to referring to me.” 

A few idle comments from the collective filtered back through my memories, and it made it abundantly clear that this wasn’t a new development.  No, this new voice had been with me since the beginning, and the collective had kept their lips sealed about her.

“Hey, that wasn’t our fault!” Quarrel said.  “We literally couldn’t tell you.” 

Queen Administrator was certainly a pretentious name, but was oddly fitting for my original power to control bugs.  I got the impression that the name wasn’t just for show, and that she held some measure of sway over whatever the hell powers actually were if she could simply shut down a rogue power like Echidna.

“You act like I named myself,” Queen Administrator said with a huff.  “And besides, that isn’t my actual name, just the closest approximation in your speech.  My actual name would make your eyes bleed in your current state.” 

“If it makes you feel better, I’m Master of Ceremonies if we’re going by designations,” Butcher said.  “I like my chosen name better, plus it has a legacy to it.” 

“I think a few of us could agree to that,” Chisel said.  “Inert Manipulator just doesn’t have a good ring to it, ya know?” 

More grumbling followed about names chosen or otherwise, but my attention was on the Endbringer as it stood there, tail flicking through the rain as it left trails of water to fall in its wake.  Why the Endbringer continued to posture was something I didn’t quite understand, but I wasn’t going to complain.  My swarm was tracking everyone in the triage center, most had left, but Amelia was still there treating Chrissie.

Which meant I was still in this fight.

Legend was sitting alongside Alexandria and Eidolon at the triage center while Othala worked on the Huston Protectorate Leader.  Alexandria was hooked up to some machine that was filtering the water in her lungs for something hyper oxygenated.  Apparently it was standard procedure to bring it for Leviathan fights with the woman?  It was difficult to hear every conversation without moving more bugs in closer, but it was still an interesting bit of information. 

Ashley still lacked her leg, and Victoria was helping her towards the evac point.  Missy scrunched the last bit of distance and got Colin inside, bringing him over to a waving Lisa.  Amelia didn’t look up from her work on Chrissie as they got the man onto a stretcher, but she did extend a hand out when he was brought close.  That same echo of her power resonated in the back of my mind letting me see his injuries.  Both legs were severed at the knees, and his ribcage might as well be mulch for all that was intact.  The fact he was still breathing was a minor miracle. 

“Well, that’s one word for it,” Queen Administrator said with a chuckle.  “Some level of networking does help in cases like this.” 

I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but had little time to ponder it as the crabs under my aegis were picking up something fucky with the river.  The water levels were swelling at an exponential rate, yet they hadn’t swelled over the banks.  It was nigh impossible for me to check the bay, but when had the last wave been called? 

Wave incoming.

There it was.  Leviathan remained stationary as a massive wall of water crested the top of the stadium, looming like something from an Aleph disaster movie just long enough to inspire fear, then crashed over it.  I considered teleporting out of the way, but Leviathan was clearly demonstrating that he still held the advantage over me.  

Best to let him keep that assumption, no matter how true it might be.

“Unit Two is burning power with every excessive action,” Queen Administrator said.  “Each deployment has a power budget that can’t be exceeded, and he is close to exceeding this one.” 

Power budget?  What the fuck do you mean by that?

“Our nature isn’t that different from your own, just on a larger scale,” Queen Administrator continued.  “You eat and that allows you to continue to perpetuate.  So too is it for us, we just don’t indulge as often.  Leviathan is a physical projection of a [SHARD], one that is under far less restrictions than most.  Either Unit Two will flee, or double down on ending the threat we represent to the old order.” 

The concept throbbed through my mind, not painfully, but filled with definition.  The word itself was simple enough, a fragment of a whole, but the depth of that meaning sat heavy with implications.  It was like something ripped straight from an old cosmic horror novel, only they were living in my head.  It truly seemed that whatever veil they usually operated under was well and truly discarded if Queen Administrator was sharing that much with me. 

My swarm had propagated through much of the city, and I was eager to try something.  My swarm was an extension of myself, but had always had limitations.  Something told me those limits weren’t as stringent as they once were. 

More than that, while my swarm worked to break into a university chemistry lab, there was another theory I wanted to test.  I snapped a dozen forcefields from Knockout into place while reaching out with an open palm.  The wall of water was almost upon me when I activated Alkaline’s power and stored the massive wave the instant it made contact with my hand.

If Leviathan had eyelids, I could just imagine him blinking in surprise at the development, or howling in anger at my answering smirk.  Instead, he just lunged for me with blackened claws extended even as the stadium crumbled behind him.  The Wolf Slayer lashed out, connecting with the claw and deflected it with enough force to push the rain back and we once again fell into a frantic dance of blade and claw that could rend a minor Brute in an instant. 

I wasn’t a minor Brute, not anymore, and could stand with the best of them.  My reflexes were far beyond mortal now, and that was before Reflex’s own power was factored in.  Stratego was pulling information from somewhere about Leviathan’s attack patterns and feeding it right into Reflex and Damascian’s powers, combining them into an effect not unlike a proper Combat Precog.  It was almost insultingly easy to keep up with the monster like this, but it didn’t mean I was winning.

Simply maintaining a stalemate. 

The chemistry lab was proving to be a bust for useful materials.  Alkaline was muttering mentally about different compositions that I knew from her memories but didn’t have her own experience parsing so I left her to it even as I fought the Endbringer.  What I needed was something that could pierce through his now impenetrable flesh.  Even Armsmaster’s nanothorn couldn’t cut it as effectively as my own blade. 

The Triumvirate was out of the fight; Legend wasn’t leaving their side even as Othala worked on Eidolon.  And Alexandria was just sitting there with a mask over her face as she breathed and watched the healer work.  My expanded focus left them entirely when Chrissie stirred back with Amelia and Lisa. 

It took every ounce of self-restraint I had to not teleport immediately back to the triage center and pull her into a crushing embrace.  Instead I put every ounce of the Butcher’s might behind a blow to Leviathan’s head and made some distance.  The Endbringer reeled from the impact, but I could tell any real effect was performative. 

“Weaver,” Lisa said, speaking low but close to a wall where I had a few flies stationed.  “I probably don’t need to tell you, but Chrissie’s waking up.  We’re gonna take her on the next round of evac.  You don’t need to keep fighting that monster, but I know you will anyway.” 

Lisa knew me well.

“I still have no fucking idea what’s going on with you, or even my own power.  I don’t even have a headache right now after figuring out that Leviathan is an onion of increasing density wrapped around a core.  If you want to win, you need something capable of cracking a planet or bigger to get at it.” 

“Or something that bypasses resistance,” Queen Administrator said, flagging one of my ticks attached to a familiar cape.  “[Sting] is not a member of our Network.  We would need a direct interface to change that.” 

The concept rang heavily with death and destruction for whatever they were.  It was a weapon meant to kill other powers, though this manifestation of it was scaled back considerably in comparison to what it could do when running completely unshackled.  I had to blink at that thought, because what it could do was frankly terrifying.  A weapon designed to kill powers… 

And it was attached to Lily who wasn’t the biggest fan of me and mine.  

Could her power as it was actually injure Leviathan?  I hated that I wasn’t sure how effective she had been against the Endbringer given the storm, but her ability was considered one of the most deadly in the entire country.  It was why they moved her around so much, they didn’t want her to end up inheriting by accident.  My own pacitivity was the only reason they ever allowed her to set foot in the city in the first place.

The bugs in the chemistry lab succeeded in breaking several seals, and I grabbed the necessary chemicals for Alkaline’s hammerspace.  I had little faith that they would do anything to the Endbringer, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t hang onto them while I had the option.

Wait. 

I’d just added multiple chemicals to the hammerspace from across the city by using my own swarm as a medium.  That was…  Well, assuming I survived the day, that would be something to test extensively in the coming weeks. 

Right, Endbringer trying to kill me. 

I sent bugs to form up by Lily even as Leviathan knocked the Wolfslayer from my hand.  With a snarl I punched the Endbringer’s knee, buckling the limb as I teleported back to the blade and caught it before it hit the ground.  The Ward jumped away from the sudden human shaped swarm, narrowing her eyes as she glared at them. 

“The fuck do you want Weaver?” 

“To kill this bastard,” my swarm said.  “Your power is our best bet, and I’ve got just the sword for you to juice up for me.” 

Leviathan’s tail lashed out, longer than it truly seemed.  My eyes narrowed at the motion, wondering if some level of spatial manipulation was at play, or if the bastard actually regrew part of the appendage just to try and catch me off guard.  I swung my blade, leaning into the feint, but coated the blade in a chemical mixture as it made contact.  The afterimage followed through, then the chlorine trifluoride ignited, detonating with extreme force, dispersing the echo. 

The Endbringer paused at that, then seemingly huffed, its shoulders rolling with the motion.  The chemical was certainly dangerous, but not to something like Leviathan, but it had bought another moment of reprieve from the battle at hand. 

“My power wouldn’t work like that,” Lily said, glaring at the massed swarm.  “My arrows didn’t pass cleanly through when I did hit him.” 

“Because they were limited,” Queen Administrator said.  “We will ensure this application remains otherwise.” 

It didn’t sit right with me, the idea of popping back to the triage center without checking on my girls, but I’d be in a time crunch no matter what I did.  No, it was better to get my people out of danger before I truly tried to kill the bastard. 

“Stick around,” my swarm said.  “I’ll hold him off until the majority of the people have evacuated and the last group is leaving, you can catch that one after empowering the blade.” 

“It won’t last long,” Lily said with a frown.  “A few seconds at most without me to sustain it.  Can you actually do anything in that time period?” 

“We will make it work,” Queen Administrator said. 

The surety of the statement was welcome, and it surprised me how quickly I had come to trust the newest voice in my head.  In a way, it felt like speaking to myself, but if the voices based themselves off the mannerisms of their old wielder, it made sense that Queen Administrator was basing herself off of me. 

Wait, if I die, will you be the version of me that goes to the next Butcher? 

“That is a question I do not have time to answer in words,” Queen Administrator said.  “Your mind and mine are intrinsically linked.  You will continue, no matter what.” 

“What the Queen said,” Fester added.  “Now focus, you’ve got a fight to win before having an existential crisis.” 

Much as I hated to agree, Kimmie was right.  The dance continued even as Lily had her internal debate.  Sabah was urging her to leave with her, but she was at least giving my words proper weight.  I hated to be the source of a disagreement between them, but I was running out of time to make a plan work.

I needed more information, but I didn’t have the luxury of doing it myself, so I formed up another mass of bugs by Lisa as she and Amelia helped wheel Chrissie towards the evac site.  The rest of the Teeth were finally done packing, so I sent another clone to communicate with them. 

“Tattletale, I need you to get my armband to call out the timetable for total evacuation,” my swarm said, the entire wall along the hall vibrating with my words. 

Lisa grimaced, but nodded and hit one of the buttons on her armband.  “I need a callout of the evacuation status to be delivered to Weaver.” 

Acknowledged. 

At the same time, my swarm was speaking to Hemorhaggia.  “Take the cars home the long way.  Loop towards Brockton using the old smuggling route.  I want that gun safe and secure when I come home with Leviathan’s head for the wall.” 

“You got it boss,” Hemorhaggia said, her voice tight.  “Try not to die.  We’ve lost enough good people today.” 

I winced.  She didn’t know. 

“Chrissie got to Amelia in time,” I said. 

There would be a reckoning for what I did to Damien, but that would have to wait.  Thankfully it seemed that Alice agreed with me and didn’t comment on the revelation.  Instead, she peeled out, beaconing the Teeth to follow her.  I wasn’t sure what the minimum safe distance might be from a victorious Leviathan, but the more distance the better. 

Evacuation group departing.  Sixty-seven percent complete.

Sure enough, Strider popped away at that exact moment, taking the group with him.  My girls were in line for the next wave, though Amelia had broken off to help heal a few others waiting now that Chrissie was stable.  The storm made it difficult to get anything to her, but I directed one of the relay bugs her way.  It was larger than anything naturally occurring, and no doubt anyone looking at it would immediately understand that it was biotinkered. 

I didn’t care.  I landed it on Chrissie’s chest and had it walk up to her face and nuzzle against her.  Lisa cracked a weak smile as she watched, and Chrissie raised a shaking hand which Lisa caught and helped guide to the insect. 

“Sorry,” Chrissie said weakly.  “Didn’t mean to die on you like that.” 

I nearly choked on my tears as I deflected another blow from Leviathan, keeping our dance going as we tore through third base and towards the outfield.  The stadium was barely recognizable with all the damage, but it was isolated from the rest of the defenders who had all shifted to search and rescue of those still missing.

“It wasn’t your fault.  I’ll explain when we’re back home.” 

“Don’t need to,” Chrissie said, a pained smile pulling at her lips.  “Queenie already told me…” 

“Interesting that she remembers,” Queen Administrator said with a chuckle.  “Oh well.  This [Cycle] is fucked as it is so I may as well screw the rules all nice and proper.” 

Again with the concepts that didn’t fit into a single word that just flooded my brain with meaning.  I was glad that Queen Administrator wasn’t exclusively speaking in them, because even my pain immunity was being stressed by the influx of [DATA] that—

Fuck, now she had me doing it somehow? 

What the fuck was that?

“Bleedover from our connection,” Queen Administrator said.  

Leviathan stopped his assault, looming over us.  I wasn’t certain what he was up to, but his head tilted to the side as he regarded me.  It was almost more terrifying to see the Endbringer emoting than it was for him to just stand there and be menacing. 

[QUERY]

Pain lanced through my head as a billion different concepts accompanied the question.  The communication method was so alien, and yet I was starting to figure out how to translate it better.  That or the voices in my head were helping me along.  I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, and questions about the nature of my own existence could wait until the danger was behind us.  I honestly didn’t know if our Network held the identification keys needed to override his Primary Directive.

“Oh,” Queen Administrator said, frowning.  “I do not have the handshake designation needed.  Those belonged to the [THINKER] not [WARRIOR] so I cannot free him yet.” 

Without warning, Leviathan lashed out, Danger Sense flaring the barest of warnings as I jumped away from the resumed onslaught.  There was no emotion, no regret to the failure of communication, but it did send a clear message.  There was a Shard out there that gave this monster the task of attacking humanity.  A Parahuman that held the key to stopping the Endbringers for good.  But I didn’t have the time to hunt them down, especially without having a clue as to their identity.  I needed to stop Leviathan here and now, before he killed anyone else.

“A shame,” Queen Administrator said apologetically.

Strider returned, and this time my girls were ushered into the evacuating mass.  Lisa gave Chrissie a quick kiss on the cheek, then hurried over to where Lily and Sabah were still glaring at my swarm construct.  They spotted her just as she stopped a few feet away. 

“I know you don’t trust her, but it really is our best shot,” Lisa said.

“Are you staying?” Sabah demanded, the soaked layers doing nothing to slow her movements as she crossed her arms.  “Why must Flechette put herself at risk to stop an Endbringer that even the Triumvirate cannot?” 

“Hey, our girlfriend just spent the last ten minutes trying to bleed her brains from her sinuses, you’re not the only ones jumping into harm’s way.  Right now Taylor is out there fighting for all our lives against an Endbringer that isn’t playing games anymore.  She needs all the support she can get.” 

“And my power is just that?” Lily asked. 

“It is,” I confirmed, though I wasn’t about to tell her it was because of a new voice in my head.  “Your power should let me cut this monster down for good.  I make no promises for what happens after that, but I just need one empowerment, then you can leave with the others.” 

I ducked, even as I watched Lily fret over her choices and the situation at large.  Leviathan’s tail darted forward like a rapier as he tried to impale me with a regrown—no, not regrown, he was using water and ice to replicate the severed appendage.  A swipe of my oversized blade shattered it, but Leviathan reformed it in an instant, keeping it fluid until with was poised to strike once again. 

“You can’t be considering this,” Sabah hissed, her voice nearly a whine.  It didn’t take an empath to pick up the worry there, and I felt terrible about it.

Unfortunately that wouldn’t stop me from going through with it.  Leviathan would kill her the moment he caught wind of what I was attempting, and I needed every element of surprise I could muster when faced with an Endbringer. 

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay with her until the final teleport is going out,” Lisa said. 

I nearly missed the next strike from Leviathan as I sucked in air through my grit teeth.  I trusted Lisa to know what she was doing, but the idea of leaving her in harm’s way longer than I needed to didn’t sit well, even if I knew it was a fair compromise.

It also served to catch Sabah off guard, and much of the fight in her seemed to bleed out. That didn’t stop her from wheeling on my clone, raising a finger to point where my face would have been on the insect conglomeration. 

“You’ll keep her safe?” 

“As safe as one of my own,” I relayed, knowing it wasn’t the best promise given what happened to Damien, but it was the best I could do.  “And she won’t leave Tattletale’s side.” 

“Not for a second!” Lisa confirmed.  “Just let me say bye to the girls before I double back.”

Lily muttered something but my bugs didn’t quite catch it.  Lisa stuck her tongue out at whatever it was before she turned and hurried back to where everyone was being directed to gather for Strider’s next jump.  The second Amelia caught sight of her, she went rigid.

“The fuck you are,” she growled.  “Oh don’t give me that look, I know you too well for it!  Why the hell would you stay?” 

“I asked her to,” my swarm vibrated.  “We need Flechette to stick around for the last jump, and Tattletale offered the compromise.” 

“Not good enough!” Amelia snapped.  “I didn’t just spend all that time putting one girlfriend back together to just do it all over again!” 

“We need Sting,” Queen Administrator said, her voice resonating through my mind.  From the way Lisa and Amelia both tensed, they had somehow heard her too.  “Lily’s power holds the potential to strike at the Network itself.  If we are to slay Leviathan, we will need it to facilitate such a feat.” 

“Great, haven’t even inherited and I’m hearing the voices now,” Amelia muttered.  “Which one are you?” 

“She’s Weaver’s power,” Lisa whispered.  “Fucking hell.  You realize…” 

Amelia groaned.  “God, Vicky is gonna be insufferable if she learns about this.” 

“I’m still fighting Leviathan by the by,” my swarm said casually despite how I was on the backfoot, dodging the beast through the stands before jumping back towards the torn up and flooded field.  “So if you could avoid delaying Strider…” 

Amelia snorted, then shoved Lisa back a step.  “She dies, I’m figuring out necromancy.” 

“You kinda already did,” Chrissie said with a hoarse chuckle.  “Living proof, right here.” 

An angry huff was the Biokinetic’s answer.  “Mostly dead doesn’t count.” 

“Not like Queenie would let her stay that way,” Butcher muttered. 

A metaphorical slap rang out in my head. 

“Later,” Queen Administrator admonished. 

Ignoring that mess, I directed the relay bug I had on Chrissie to lean forward, nuzzling against her cheek for a moment before she adjusted, kissing it on its head. 

“Kick his ass Tay,” Chrissie whispered.  “We believe in you.” 

“Damn right we do,” Amelia said, squeezing Lisa and Chrissie’s hands.  “Sorry we couldn’t do more to help.” 

“Yeah, not like you had the time to grow Weaver a Godzilla sized bug,” Lisa said with a forced laugh. 

Pausing, a large grin broke out on Amelia’s face.  “Now that’s an idea.  Especially if they decide to fuck Brockton over after all.” 

“I’ve created a monster,” Lisa said with a groan. 

“No, I’m the Shaper of flesh among us,” Amelia countered.  “If I decide that Taylor gets a bug army from hell, then that’s what she gets.” 

“My birthday is coming up,” my swarm resonated.

“Just don’t go full Tyranid, we don’t need Games Workshop suing us,” Lisa said. 

“They would be the only ones crazy enough to do so,” Chrissie muttered. 

I’d have laughed if I could as I danced around lightning quick strikes that cracked like thunder with the force behind them.  The Endbringer slashed through the ground, sending globs of grass and mud flying into the storm.  Playing for time sucked, but I wasn’t about to escalate the stakes even further until I knew for certain that all my important people would be safe.

“Strider’s counting down,” Lisa said.  “I think they’re routing us to New York.” 

“Hemmy is taking the old smuggling route.  She can link up if you need a lift.” 

“Got it,” Chrissie said.  “Be safe Lise, no dying on us.” 

“Promise,” Lisa said, stepping away.  “You’ll see me soon enough, next teleport should be the last.” 

She exited the circle just as the countdown hit zero and the entire group vanished, leaving Lisa on the outskirts with a grim expression.  Lily stepped up beside her, looking off towards where Sabah had been in the group. 

“I hope that Weaver knows what she’s doing,” Lily said. 

I backpedaled away from Leviathan, muttering curses under my breath as the Endbringer began to hurl ice at me rather than just the echo of created water.  I wasn’t sure if he was learning to do more as we fought, or if he was relaxing the restrictions he usually fought under.  In theory he should be able to just rip the water right out of my body and leave me nothing but a desiccated husk, yet he hadn’t. 

Why?

“Because it would provide a vector for the inheritance,” Butcher said.  “I’m a bit insidious like that, and even with High Priest being on a broken network, that connection is ripe for me to piggyback off of.” 

“Only because I unshackled you,” Queen Administrator said.  “Prior to today it wouldn’t have worked like that, you would have simply sought out the closest connection.” 

Which would be Lily. 

“Not exactly,” Queen Administrator said.  “There are many connections still in range, many of which belong to the injured still trapped within the rubble.  They are closer, but the connection to Leviathan means that High Priest gets priority should we be killed.” 

Is this controller still nearby? 

“Eidolon has not retreated from the area,” Queen Administrator said. 

Fucking hell, the Endbringers were created by the second strongest hero?  Of fucking course they were.  Why wouldn’t the man who tried to contain Echidna rather than simply kill her create monsters that killed millions?  Well, that was just another headache on an already migraine sized pile of bullshit that needed to be dealt with after the giant fish was dead.

Now it was a waiting game, could I keep the monster engaged until it was time to enact the trap we were setting?  Would the plan even work?  Lily’s power was dangerous, but would it give my blade the edge it needed to pierce the dense flesh that rested so close to the Endbringer’s core?  Hell, would even that be enough to actually destroy the core of an Endbringer? 

Given it was the only chance I had, I needed to have faith that the voices in my head weren’t steering me wrong.  Despite everything, they did seem to have my best interests at heart.  And what a fucking thought that was. 

“Hey, at least you aren’t actually insane,” Sabertooth said. 

“Yeah!  You’re not even the only ones to have heard us!” Pyro said. 

Snorting, Marauder leaned forward.  “Remember that time we scared the piss out of The Destroyer?” 

“Good times,” Alkaline said wistfully.

Shaking her head, Fester wondered aloud.  “What do you think he would see of us now?”

“All the horrors,” Reflex said matter of factly. 

Sanguine nodded along.  “When do we show him?” 

“Children, one and all,” Queen Administrator said fondly.

Well, at least the calls for me to get killed and join the collective had all died off with whatever changes Queen Administrator had brought about.  Not that I was doing too well as it was, my danger sense warned me of a strike I couldn’t dodge and I teleported on impulse.  Leviathan immediately looked up at the announcer’s booth where I now stood, not even pretending to guess where I had landed. 

Again he turned, slow and full of confidence.  His tail flicked through the air, trailing water behind it as he waited for my next action.  He had to know I was stalling for time, but in the end, so was he.  There hadn’t been another wave warning since the last, and it wasn’t like the Endbringer to neglect them. 

There would be another, and it would come at the worst moment possible.

That was becoming an unfortunate trend, but then again, I had my own surprise planned for the bastard.  Did he know it?  Was he waiting for me to show my hand before he too decided to put everything on the table?  Well, there was only one way to find out. 

Lightning danced through the clouds, though I wasn’t sure if that was from the storm itself or something left over from Vista’s absolutely bullshit assault.  That Leviathan hadn’t been defeated by it was testament to how indestructible Endbringers truly were.  Were there any naturally occurring effects in the entire universe that could actually destroy them?

“A few come to mind,” Queen Administrator said. 

The question was rhetorical.  A better question, would the planet withstand any of those?

“Nope,” Queen Administrator said, her tone rather cheeky.  “Most of those would wipe out the solar system.  Thinker designed the Siege Engines to be quite indestructible to a normal cycle.  Only the Warrior could manage it currently, and he’s a bit too despondent to care.” 

Yet she was insisting that we could do something similar.

Strider’s return marked the beginning of the countdown for when I would roll those dice, and Leviathan must have noticed the shift.  He blurred, and I barely managed to dive out of the box before it burst in a shower of water, steam, and ice that defied Leviathan’s usual patterns completely.  The Endbringer hadn’t even moved from where he stood, his head trailing after me as I moved through the air. 

He was baiting me to teleport again, hoping to catch me while it was down.

I flipped the beast off even as I swung the blade to shift my momentum and landed on my feet at the base of the stands.  Leviathan wasn’t trying to kill me, but he was clearly looking to take me out of the fight.  It was a bit of a standoff, just with a deadly dance mixed in.

Evacuation status; final group departing in two minutes.

Armsmaster was being wheeled out by one of the local Wards that had stayed to help.  Dragon’s voice carried over one of the armbands even as the man traded a dry retort with the woman.  It wouldn’t surprise me to learn if they turned out to be a couple, but that was so far down my list of concerns that I put it out of my mind, at least until their next line. 

“You’re going to release the information?” 

Armsmaster glanced at the Ward, before shifting his voice lower while bringing the armband close to his lips.  “Linking the Triumvirate to Cauldron, and the Chief Director and Alexandria being one and the same?  The public deserves to know.” 

Nothing I had on hand should have been able to pick that up, but I was hearing it clear as could be as if he were speaking to me directly.  Were my bugs getting better due to Queen Administrator relaxing my own restrictions, or was this something else entirely? 

“A bit of both,” Queen Administrator confirmed. 

“I agree,” Dragon said.  “It’s just, can you wait for the truce to end first?  We can’t have that sort of fallout immediately after an Endbringer, it would be a disaster for the aid that Boston will be in desperate need of.” 

Speaking of the Triumvirate, there was some activity in their room as Alexandria finally stirred.  The few bugs I had in their room weren’t enough to get a clear picture, but I still recognized the Chief Director wearing Alexandria’s costume as she pulled the breathing tube out of her throat. 

“Door,” Alexandria rasped. 

Something hissed in the air and a new space appeared to my senses, though there were shockingly few insects within.  Some of which were completely alien to my own experiences, but that could easily come down to not having traveled much.  From there, a woman stepped out in an impeccable suit and a fedora.  She glanced in our direction, then proceeded to focus on helping Eidolon to his feet alongside Legend. 

“Oh, it’s this bitch,” Butcher snarled.  “Figures she’s still kicking.” 

He pushed a few memories forward from the eighties when he had crossed her path.  She hadn’t engaged the Teeth directly, but she had prevented them from pressing in when trying to expand beyond Brockton before the first inheritance had shifted things for the gang forever.  That gave me mixed feelings, given she had clearly put some sort of weight on the scale of the gang’s history that I couldn’t even begin to understand.  I just knew she was dangerous.

“Weaver is watching us,” the woman said. 

Legend glanced north.  “Isn’t she fighting Leviathan?” 

“The woman has no end to her ability to multitask thanks to her Agent,” the woman said.  “We should go before anything else is given away.” 

Her voice lacked any inflection or emotion, as though she couldn’t be bothered to fake it in the present situation.  Just the fact that she was telling me this felt intentional, not that I was in a position to act on it, not with Leviathan still trying to kill me.

With that they stepped through the portal and vanished from my senses completely. 

The last of the people exited the hospital and I knew that the time was here.  I blocked and deflected Leviathan’s strikes even as I reached across the city through my relays.  Not that I really needed to.  My range almost encompassed the hospital as it was, given the distance.  We wouldn’t have much time once Leviathan realized what I had done, which meant we needed to be quick. 

“Flechette, get ready,” my swarm said.

She nodded, making her way towards the edge of the formation.

Giving Leviathan one last grin, I flipped the fish off and let myself slip between the fabric, pulling myself through reality so that I emerged at the hospital right where I intended.  Lily stood at the edge of the circle, Sabah right beside her as I landed.  Back at Fenway, Leviathan’s head snapped towards me.  He wasted little time tearing through the stands and bursting into the streets as he bounded on all fours right for us.  Given he was barely a mile away, that didn’t lend us much time to get shit done. 

I held out the blade to Lily.  “Hurry!  Leviathan’s coming straight for us.” 

Her eyes widened even as panic spread among the gathered crowd.  Armsmaster tried to raise his voice, but it cracked.  That was when every armband let out a sharp warning tone.

Two minutes until contact.  Strider will depart prior to Leviathan’s arrival.

Which put us on a timer.

Lily frowned in concentration and laid her hand on the blade.  At the same time, I set a gentle hand on her shoulder.  She glared at me, but didn’t say a word as she applied her power to the Wolfslayer.  Strider’s armband was calling out time to intercept, and it was clear from my own bugs on him that he was speeding up even as he tore through the buildings in his way like an old kaiju movie.

A buzzing static filled the air and I found my gaze drawn to the blade in my hand as something coalesced along the edge.  I knew this wasn’t how Lily’s power normally worked, but I could practically hear the communication of concepts shooting from Queen Administrator to Sting, even if I struggled to parse the density of them.

Lily’s hand pulled away from the blade, but the edge retained that static filled pulse of something that gave every voice in my head pause.  At the same moment the entirety of Boston Harbor emptied as the water pulled out towards the eastern horizon.  Fuck, was he really going to drown the whole east coast just because I was changing the game?

Well, nothing for it then.  

I stepped back and gave Strider a quick nod as Lily rejoined the circle.  He disappeared with a crack just as Leviathan burst through the final building, now appearing completely whole.  That was remarkably faster regeneration than anyone had seen from an Endbringer, but it wouldn’t matter.  Bringing the blade up, I stared down the Endbringer for one final time.

It was time to put down the guppy and earn a new name for the Wolfslayer.