Inheritance: Deference 5.1

Thursday May 12th, 2011

Blood dripped from my hand to the stage in thick splatters of viscous fluid.  The siren wailed and rain beat down against the windows of the gala that the Teeth had effectively crashed.  Despite the number of people screaming in panic, the capes were all frozen in place.  We all knew what that siren meant and here I was—the Butcher—right in the middle of it all.  The weather certainly painted a picture and things were completely fucked regardless. 

“You’re thinking Leviathan?” Ironsides asked. 

“The Space Pigeon hit Australia in February, so it’s either the fish or the walking volcano.” Sabertooth reasoned. 

“Welp, time to fuck off,” Butcher said resolutely.

The chorus roared their agreement but something held me back from following through with their completely sane for once suggestion.  I looked down at the dead man laying at my feet, then looked at all the capes I had taken under my protection, even those who stood opposed to the Teeth.  Too many from Brockton Bay were present, and many more would choose to stand and fight. 

“Taylor, let’s not be rash,” Fester tried, but I was already stepping off the stage and pushing the dissenters down. 

“Have the Teeth load up and gather at the Brockton Staging Point,” I said, making sure I kept my emotions within myself and not in the swarm.  “We don’t have anyone that can provide active support, but we can at least help with Search and Rescue and Triage.” 

Lisa swallowed, her skin pale as she nodded, already pulling out her phone.  “You got it, boss.” 

With that taken care of I swept Chrissie and Amelia into a hug before she could lay into me verbally.  “I don’t plan to fight, just to keep our people safe.” 

“We both know better,” Chrissie said, her voice tight as I pulled back from the pair.  “You’ll get pulled in regardless.” 

Rather than answer that, I turned to face Amelia and confronted the real reason I was being adamant about helping.  “Do you intend to help in the medical station?” 

Amelia’s eyes widened, then she bit her lip as she looked back at the remnants of her family.  “Fucking…  Yes!  Even if I’ve gone full villain, this isn’t something I can just walk away from.” 

I nodded easily.  “Then you’ll have everyone in the Teeth that have even half an ounce of training at your disposal.” 

“I want Alice for certain.  Keep Robbie held back at the Arena, something tells me someone will be stupid back home.” 

“Noted,” I said, holding my hand out as my swarm dropped a bag in my hand.  I unzipped it and pulled out my costume, setting it aside before passing Lisa her own.  Amelia was already shifting her dress and Chrissie had accepted the second bag that held her own bone armored ensemble.

Madison had moved off, already yelling with Assault about helping.  The argument seemed poise to boil over when their form rippled and soon the familiar Xenomorph stood over the man, not that he so much as blinked at the display. 

That was when the final member of my entourage approached, her face hard.

“Any objections?” Sophia challenged. 

We looked at one another, the tension heavy as I kept the collective in check.  

“Nope,” I said, and that was the end of it. 

If Sophia wanted to attend, I wasn’t going to stop her, just like I wouldn’t stop any of my people from getting involved.  A third bag was passed to Sophia who didn’t even hesitate to start suiting up.  I’d heard she attended Behemoth last year, and the hardness of her eyes certainly suggested she knew what she was getting into.  The underclothes for her new outfit were my spider silk dyed black, pretty much standard issue for the Teeth at this point.  She’d added some riot armor we’d taken from Coil on top of it and a couple of trophies from the Elite, creating something that still resembled her old outfit.  To round it off was a helmet that I had helped shape with a few bones to create a haunting effect that was rather more intimidating than the hockey mask from her vigilante days.

I was just about finished suiting up when Armsmaster approached with a scowl on his face.  Ignoring him would have been easy given everything going on, but he stood firm and it was clear that whatever he needed to say was important. 

“Can I help you?” I asked as I secured the last of my wrist guards and held my mask in hand. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

Rolling my eyes, I affixed my mask in place then tilted my head to the side as I regarded the Protectorate leader.  “Preparing to help face the Endbringer, obviously.” 

Before he could answer, I reached through the entire relay swarm and pinpointed the lone fly I kept parked on my arrival point back at the arena.  The distance was greater than I’d ever crossed, yet when I went after Carol I had done something similar, something that all my prior testing had said was impossible.  This was just a higher scale. 

My world shrank and distorted as I was pulled through the eye of a needle.  I stayed compressed for what felt like an eternity, then dropped to my feet back at the arena.  The sirens had gone off in Brockton as well, which made sense given that the city was still considered close enough to be collateral.  Kyushu and Newfoundland both demonstrated how wide reaching Leviathan could be if allowed to lash out in full.

Now that I was back home, I allowed the voices to rise once more to the surface.  They muttered amongst themselves but didn’t directly address me as I began to set every bug in the city into motion, leading them towards the staging point.  Most of it would serve as biomass for Amelia, but some of them would be good enough to act as teleportation points to move around Boston.

“You know this is insane, right?” Chisel asked. 

A fitting choice for the voice of reason.  “My priority is keeping our people safe.  Most of us will set up at the triage station and play security.  I’ll do what I can but I intend to stay at least two blocks away from that monster at all times.” 

“Famous last words,” Sabertooth muttered. 

“Well, last words not spoken inside an Endbringer’s head,” Ironsides said with a sigh.

I did my best to not groan as they continued doomsaying about what might happen if the Endbringer inherited.  It wasn’t helping my disposition, but I had a gaggle of angry Teeth to wrangle and get pointed at the appropriate targets. 

“Not like they’re gonna get to play,” Quarrel muttered.

“Never say never,” I said, my swarm hard at work on getting everyone informed as I loaded up on gear.  The capes were the most difficult as Damien and Alice were both passed out in bed together and still tripping from their acid binge last night.  I’d need to ask Amelia to sober most of them up before things kicked off at this rate. 

“Everyone up!” my swarm announced to the entire arena.  “We’ve got an Endbringer hitting Boston, which means we’re on top level alert.  I need everyone with medical experience to get to the motorcade willing to volunteer.  Pandemic will need the help.  Capes, I need stay and go teams, strictly voluntary on the away side.  You’ll be guarding Pandemic seeing as none of us could hope to scratch Leviathan.” 

“We’re still going to get drawn into the quagmire,” Stratego complained.

He was probably right, but that wouldn’t change things.  I glanced at the minigun almost longingly before making the painful decision to leave it and grabbed Wolfslayer instead.  The blade had the best chance of making it through the coming battle intact out of everything in my arsenal. 

Four OTs were fastened to my vest, along with an assortment of Damascian’s blades, including a pair of swords in the event I had to defend against a horde of desperate masses all trying to get at Amelia.  The thought made me pause and go back over it, and I was a bit shaken to realize that had been all me.  Shit, I really would murder a whole crowd of desperate people if it meant keeping Amelia safe… 

Something to unpack later, when the sirens were no longer sounding.

Content as I could be that I was as armed as possible for the coming fight, I stepped through the not-space and landed in the loft proper where most of the capes were gathered.  Few even reacted to my thunderous arrival, but I was glad to see Big Robbie among them and ready to receive his marching orders, not that he needed them. 

“Alright, there’s no sugar-coating this.  Leviathan is hitting Boston and Pandemic has offered her services to heal the defenders.  That means I’m going too, and as such, the Teeth are on open invite status.”

“You want us to fight Godzilla?” Michael asked. 

“Oh goddess, he’s actually getting excited,” Alkaline whined.

I gave the man a flat look.  “Unless you’re confident you could last a round or three with Alexandria, you aren’t going anywhere near Leviathan if I can help it.” 

He quickly deflated as I moved on.  “I want everyone volunteering for protection detail to be in the motorcade in ten minutes.  We’ll be heading for the rally point where I will ensure that we get approval to attend.  Truce rules are in effect, defensive posture only.  I want everyone sticking around Brockton to help the city however they can.  Sandbag down at the docks, escort old ladies to the shelters, and whatever else we may require to keep Brockton secure.  If anyone violates this Truce, shoot the bastard.  Hero or Villain, it matters not.” 

That got a resounding cheer from everyone, but my stomach was starting to churn as the danger fully set in.  I’d been so amped up from killing Tagg that I’d let the situation run away from me.  Now I was forced to acknowledge that there were good odds that I would find myself a member of the collective before the day was done, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Oh, now she gets it!” Butcher exclaimed.  “Seriously.  I’d almost recommend we book it for St. Louis at this point and write off the entire coast rather than deal with an Endbringer.” 

“Again, I’m not ordering anyone to attend,” I reiterated, voice a touch calmer.  “There’s a chance we could all die before the day is done.” 

The words washed over the assembled capes like an ice cold bath.  I was essentially asking for volunteers to enter a warzone where we might all be killed.  All because Amelia would be there and I refused to let her do it alone.  My eyes trailed over my people, those who followed me for whatever reasons were their own.  Those I held responsibility for. 

Damien still seemed ready to go, and there was no disputing that his power could be useful.  Michael was fiddling with his scythe, and something told me he would rather stay, all because I denied him a crack at the Endbringer.  Elliot was on his phone, messaging someone frantically as his eyes hardened.  He would be going, regardless of what came.  Rachel was across the city with her dogs, Charlotte was there with her, already helping to secure the building from the storm visible on the horizon. 

Alec… 

Was with Aisha and Dinah across the city as they had a heated argument with Missy over the phone.  Dinah was refusing to answer her questions about the coming disaster despite the tears flowing down her face.  Her powers had issues predicting things directly, which explained why Thinkers were able to work around her in recent days. 

An Endbringer would certainly throw her models off.

At least the fight wasn’t in Brockton, which meant the local Wards would be sitting it out.  Without Missy running off to fight the water kaiju, it would be that much easier to keep them local and safe so long as I framed it correctly.  I had a bug clone form up and asked if they could help keep the peace in the city which seemed to placate the feisty Ward. 

My bugs in Sabah’s apartment picked up something I hadn’t expected.  Lily was there, and was suiting up even as Sabah argued with her.  Shit, Lily was eighteen and only still in the Wards for the polite fiction of her identity.  Her power was also one of the few that could potentially hurt an Endbringer, which meant that there was no way they would let her skip. 

Well, she might not be Teeth, but Lily was still someone I would look out for.

My focus drifted back to the Capes around me as their resolve solidified into the choices that would define them.  I could already tell who was staying and going, but there was one that wasn’t settled. 

“You’ll be there regardless,” Alice said, her eyes held firmly on my own.  I could only nod, knowing she was looking past me, peering deeper for something long lost, to those who had once been her lovers and friends.  I could see it more often than not, that yearning for the comfort and warmth that she held with half the collective.  “Then I’ll be there too.” 

“Oh Alice,” Damascian whispered, her voice almost bleeding with emotion.

Quarrel wasn’t taking it any better.  “She did promise to always be there for us…” 

That outpouring certainly didn’t help with my own conflicting emotions when it came to the woman.  Looking at her, I could feel all the love that my memories held for her welling up, willing her to stay behind where it was safe.  Even if I was a fifteen year old girl, those memories were still there and wouldn’t be going away anytime soon. 

“Amelia requested your help with healing the injured capes,” I said firmly.  “Just remember the Truce and help anyone they bring to you.” 

“I can do that,” Alice said firmly. 

“Wonderful,” I answered.  “Alright, eight minutes people!  Hop to it!”

I vanished in a puff of smoke as I set my swarm to work, ferrying as many relay bugs as I could manage from the edges of the city and towards the rallying point.  Those near to Boston were maintaining the link as best they could even as I thinned the line connecting the two cities to the bare minimum, funneling the rest into the city proper.

Redundancies were all well and good, but I had a feeling I’d need more of those in the city proper than anywhere else.

The motorcade was already a kicked swarm as minions set up our war vehicles for action.  I directed others to begin to prepare other vehicles for later support, including medical supplies that would be needed in the coming days.  I’d ensured we had a stockpile in the event of a prolonged war with the Elite, but it would be easy enough to replace them with Medhall secured.

Well, that would take a minute given the whole ‘The Butcher killed half the Board’ thing that was tying up the process, but the Elite had backed off and the Gesellshaft knew to cut their losses before the Teeth planned a European vacation. 

“They might rethink that if enough goes wrong today,” Ironsides warned.

Which was why I intended to bring everyone back alive.  Anyone that thought to use the aftermath of an Endbringer against the Teeth, especially after they fucking helped, would meet a gruesome end.

“Assuming we don’t end up in the head of someone who’s a worse pacifist than you were,” Quarrel snarked.

Then I’ll use my memories to show them why they’re wrong.

The timer ticked down as I worked alongside my minions to get the trucks loaded with supplies.  Being a Brute certainly helped with some of the sand pallets.  Who needed a forklift certification when I had Knockout’s force fields?  It was a fun exercise that helped distract me from the looming battle for a few minutes, at least until the capes stepped out of the elevator, walking with a put upon confidence that I knew was only somewhat faked.

“Alice, Damien, Michael, and Elliot,” I said to each of them.

Each member of the Teeth from when I joined would be present.  Since I took over, I’d neglected them in favor of the capes closer to my own age, not to mention the issues I was trying to avoid with my own inheritance.  Alice was just one of many, and looking at them all now, ready to march unto death on my request, I couldn’t help but nearly weep at their dedication. 

Chisel offered a metaphorical hand on my back.  “They’re Teeth.  Your lucidity is not the norm and even I struggled to make meaningful connections with my capes.  They’re used to being neglected until it is time to die.” 

That didn’t make it right. 

“Thank you,” I said, forcing my emotions into the distant swarm.  “If all goes well, none of you should see any action today.” 

“Fuck that,” Elliot said.  “My sister is going to be there, and I’m keeping her safe.” 

Right, his sister was a Changer with the New York Wards, and apparently Lily’s ex if Lisa’s digging was accurate, which it usually was.  She’d been wrong about Laserdream and Spitfire hooking up at a college party, turned out that Spitfire had hooked up with Brian at one point after her recruitment fell through and she was asking Laserdream how he was doing now that he had joined the heroes. 

“He should have gone to work for Faultline, there would have been more money in it,” Sanguine mused. 

“Not to mention a decent looking red-head,” Pyro added.

“Is that some pyromaniac solidarity I’m detecting?” Alkaline asked.

The teleporter just shrugged.

Chisel sighed, getting back on topic.  “I think the Undersiders folding in with the Teeth was his last line in the sand for villainy.  I’m not surprised he walked away, Grue never struck me as a hardcore villain.”  

Which was probably true, but he’d made his choice.  It was almost funny that Aisha ended up joining the Teeth shortly after that, not that I was making light of her trigger.  At least it resulted in dead Nazis, which made her more than worthy of her place with the Teeth. 

Tangent aside, I gave Elliot a firm nod.  “That’s your choice then, and I’ll respect it.  Good hunting.” 

Elliot nodded, his features hard.  “Thank you.” 

There wasn’t anything else to be said to that.  “Alright everyone, load up!  The capes are already gathering at the rally point and we want to get there before Strider arrives.” 

I was watching the countdown from here, and he still had three more priority stops before Brockton came up.  Leviathan wasn’t expected for another forty minutes, which gave them time to allow more capes to arrive, but Brockton already had the expected capes either assembled or in Boston for the Gala. 

Briefly I considered bringing up the thousands of Widows I was keeping in the basement for silk production, yet I couldn’t think of a single use case where they might be effective.  Even in the event of a mass attack by the Fallen or the Nine crashing the party, I’d be better off having Amelia adapt something on the fly. 

“That was horrible,” Alkaline said with a scrunched nose.

“Alright everyone!  You know your jobs, let’s get them done!” 

With everything seemingly settled, I tapped on the driver’s seat, signaling that we were good to go.  Tires squealed as the jeep flew out of the parking garage, heedless of traffic laws, the motorcade from hell departing for battle once more.  This time the vehicles had more skulls than ever, the Elite having donated many to the cause.  No doubt the Protectorate would react poorly to our arrival, but that was why I was going with them.  Not to smooth things over, but to force it all through. 

Nobody would deny The Butcher.

The collective let out a howl of approval at that sentiment even as I stood in the back of the jeep, gripping the roll cage as the motorcade tore down the stretch of the rough roads, my legs flexing with each pothole the driver couldn’t avoid, and not for lack of trying.  

Note to self; once the city was stable put pressure on the mayor to fix the damn roads.

“That or get your dad to run once he’s free,” Ironsides said.

The thought stung, but the smile won out.  No matter what happened today, I wouldn’t give up on helping him, even if it was as a mere voice in the collective.  We weren’t limited to ranting and raving anymore.  The Butcher had learned, and hopefully that would carry forward into the future.

Extending my focus, I struggled to read Boston from so far away, the thousands of relay bugs between us was causing all sorts of interference and feedback that was almost enough for me to experience pain.  The best I could manage was keeping general tabs on the cubes that each of my people in Boston were carrying, but I knew I could pop over to them at a moment’s notice. 

The PRT building was coming up quickly, and as we neared I detected the latest arrival at the Boston staging area, marking Brockton as the next jump point.  Rather than the usual course of events where everyone cleared the landing area for Strider’s next jump, several capes stepped forward to join him. 

Pulling into the parking lot, heads turned at the sight of the angry Teeth vehicles.  Not-Purity immediately took to the sky, lighting up the dark as she did.  The locals didn’t react nearly as much, hell, Miss Militia actually took a step back, opting to stand behind Dauntless and Velocity. 

I hadn’t even realized they were back in the city. 

“Probably all laying low to avoid pissing you off,” Butcher said with a grin.

Ignoring them, I jumped from the back of the jeep, being very obvious with my movements as well as avoiding obvious displays of power usage.  No doubt a single teleport would set everyone off immediately.  Then again, the numerous weapons on display, including the infamous Wolfslayer, were probably costing me more than a few points with the heroes. 

My nose wrinkled as one kid soiled his pants. 

“Who are you?” I demanded. 

The kid, because there were no other words for the brat as even Aisha had harder eyes than him, flinched back.  Two heroes from out of town stepped forward to protect him but I just rolled my eyes.

“Unless he’s Triumvirate class, he will die in that fight,” I said, looking across the assembled heroes.  “If you’re afraid of fighting me, you shouldn’t be here, because I can promise you that Leviathan is worse.” 

Strider picked that moment to bring the small group over and it didn’t surprise me to see Armsmaster and Legend among them.  No, the real surprise was seeing Alexandria and Eidolon making up the remainder of the little party. 

“Oh shit, they brought the whole package here,” Knockout said, turning giddy. 

Marauder rubbed his hands together.  “Okay, so Legend kills us first, then Eidolon, and finally Alexandria.” 

“No, let Eidolon be last, I miss having a dick!” Butcher complained. 

“We have an Amelia for that,” Fester said with some amusement.  “Though that might be an issue with Alexandria given Amelia can’t heal her…” 

“Eidolon can,” Ironsides said.  “I remember him healing her after the Siberian thing.” 

Right, when Hero died.  Probably not a good idea to bring that up within punching distance. 

“No, that makes it a great idea!” 

I shoved Knockout down on principle.  As much as the collective wanted this, I would rather remain in the driver’s seat.  I’m sure once the torch was passed and I was nothing more than another voice I would be no better, but that doesn’t mean I needed to rush into it anytime soon.

The jeeps emptied behind me, my capes folding in around me at a respectful distance.  I caught more than a few looks thrown my way that promised retribution, but they could suck a rancid lemon for all I cared.  The assembled heroes had begun to whisper, and I moved in enough bugs to catch all of it.  Inane babbling made up the bulk of it, but some were strategizing how they could help once I broke the truce. 

As if I would ever dare do such a thing.

“An evil clone might,” Alkaline said. 

Fester snorted.  “Wouldn’t that make her the good clone since we’re the scary villains?” 

“Huh, fair point,” Alkaline said. 

I gently pushed the talk of clones and if they would be the evil one aside.  Moral quandaries could wait until this mess was resolved and we were on the clock.  The collective’s focus shifted to Clockblocker who was off to the side helping direct people into the landing area and I mentally groaned at the jokes that immediately started up in the back of my mind.

One PHO post about him screaming and half the internet tried to ship us.  

“Weaver,” Legend announced, cutting off all the chatter, including the collective.  “Why are you here?” 

I let my head tilt to the side, the silent question hanging in the air.  “To help, obviously.” 

Eidolon scoffed, but Armsmaster let out a heavy sigh. 

“Aww, he’s exasperated already,” Butcher said with a childish tone. 

Legend smiled softly, just shy of condescending.  “Weaver, I shouldn’t have to tell you how much of a risk it is to allow yourself into something as dangerous as an Endbringer.  We don’t know what might happen if an Endbringer kills you.  Do you really want to take that risk?” 

“Well, it would be a quick way to find out if the Endbringers are a Master creation,” Reflex mused.  

“I remember that crackpot theory,” Alkaline said with a groan.  “A bunch of my smoking buddies liked to throw it around.” 

“Just imagine, the Butcher with Endbringers at their beck and call!” Marauder exclaimed.  “Piss thy pants, mortals!  For we have come for your women!” 

“Well, that’s one area Taylor isn’t lacking at the moment,” Fester said.

Rolling my eyes, I refocused on the Triumvirate member currently trying to talk me down.  “Then I focus on search and rescue and keeping the medical station secure.  My Teeth aren’t afraid to go lethal against truce breakers and will uphold the expected standards.” 

“Then they will be welcomed,” Legend said easily then his voice turned grave.  “The risk of a Butcher as unstable as your predecessors, or worse, an Endbringer with your combined powers, is too great to ignore.  We cannot permit you to attend.” 

I could be petty about it and just teleport over there.  I think we all knew it at this point, but that would hurt my legitimacy if I just circumvented all the proper channels.  Nah, I had another idea, one that might just be crazy enough to work. 

With deliberate slowness, I reached up to the closest holster and took hold of one of my OTs.  The Triumvirate were the only ones that didn’t visibly flinch as I drew it, yet I made sure I didn’t point it anywhere close to the assembled crowd. 

“Heavily modified Russian OTs-62 with high yield explosive fragmentation rounds,” I said, still holding the gun to the side.  “Strong enough to put down a Brute Four if they’re being pissy.” 

“Hard to forget,” Legend said sternly.  “Your point?” 

I grinned under my mask as I raised the gun and brought the barrel to rest right under my chin.  “What’s my Brute Rating again?”

I didn’t need to say anything further, the threat was clear.  The implications rippled through the crowd in an instant and even Alexandria flinched when I met her gaze with all the resolve I had.  The Butcher was going to attend this battle one way or another, even if we needed to hitch a ride on someone a bit higher up the food chain. 

“This is just like Blazing Saddles.” Pyro commented, though she wasn’t amused. 

“Hardly an empty threat, though.” Reflex added. 

My smile was all teeth as I looked across the field at every hero present and drew back the hammer with a click that was far more ominous than it had any right to be.  Behind me, the Teeth were actually excited by the display, and I even heard Alice mutter something about Alexandria as she crossed her fingers.  

With the stage set, I decided it was time to roll the dice.

“So, who wants to play Butcher roulette?”