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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 15
There's a buzz in the air. It's not an impression nor my imagination, it's the sound of all of Taylor's bugs flapping their wings in perfect coordination.
I grip my hand around her wrist. "Stand down, Ladybug." I tell her through clenched teeth.
"We're saving those children." Her voice is eerily cold. Almost mechanically so.
"Iknow." I feel my heart beating inside my throat. "But there's still a bomb in there, so before we can go in andrip those bastards' throats out,we must disable it."
The buzzing reaches a crescendo and then suddenly stops. "V-very well." Taylor stutters, her voice returning to normal. "What do you suggest?"
Let's see. The offices are located on a nearby two-stories building. There are a couple of mercenaries on the roof, and a third one on a balcony below them. There are no cameras outside, maybe to not bring attention to the place. After all, that's what the guards are supposedly for.
I tag the ones on the roof. "We teleport behind those two first."
"And then-" She stops, swallowing hard. "And then I stun them."
Come on, Taylor, you know you want to kill them. I want the same thing.
But I guess that dead people can't be interrogated. Not now, not yet. Not until they can be turned into servitors. Also, most of our weapons are non-lethal.
I'll start working on lethal options after this.
"Yes. But not with the Darkcoil." That one's too flashy. It would reveal us. "Use your rifle with one, and I'll stun the other with my riot prod." I built the prod as a defensive tool. I wasn't expecting to use it offensively so soon. "Then-" I take a deep breath. The kids haven't been taken down from the truck yet, and one of the mercenaries is talking with their doctor. I can also see that a group of three goons is seated in a small room at the back of the storage area. The coffee machine reveals it as a breakroom. I notice that there's a narrow blind spot next to its entrance, and feel the weight of the caltrops in my pocket, knowing that Taylor carries a similar package. "Scatter some caltrops around this part to get them when they rush out." The bunker underneath is thankfully empty. "And then trigger one of your EMP grenades."
Taylor gives me a sharp nod. "And after that?"
"After that, you hit them with everything you got."
Let's do this. It will be dangerous but these people need to die. Slowly. Painfully.
That or be stunned and captured, whatever happens first.
I set the beacon for our first teleportation and we go in. In the blink of an eye, we're standing across the street, behind our first two targets.
I lung forwards, tazing one man while Taylor shoots at the other. They both go down with muffled grunts.
Shit!
I grab mine from the back of his vest, slowing his fall down. He's incredibly heavy for my noodle-like arms, but I manage.
Thankfully Taylor notices what I'm doing and does the same. If we had let them hit the ground, someone might have heard them.
We toss their weapons away and tie them up with the zip-ties. Two down, far too many to follow.
It's too dangerous to talk this close to enemy lines, so a nod is all I can do to tell Taylor that she's good to go.
One moment she's there and the next she's not as she teleports inside the warehouse.
Shit, shit. Why are we doing this? We could have waited, followed them around like the plan was, and maybe even take pictures to post online. But we didn't, and instead charged in because we're angry, emotional, and don't measure the consequences of our actions. Also because there's no greater reward than brutalizing those that deserve it.
At least for me. Taylor's another bundle of issues.
I hope we are doing the right thing here. Coil will know about us after this.
A buzz puts an end to my train of thought. It's an electronic one, not caused by Taylor's bugs. It comes from the radio of one of the unconscious guys.
"Mike Seven, do you copy?"
Oh, you have to be kidding me! I hack the radio. Where does it come from? The guy in the balcony!
"Mike Seven, do you copy?" He asks again, more forcefully.
I need to get to him. There's a set of stairs that'll bring me right to his back but there's no way for him not to hear me.
Unless… idea! I rush down the stairs.
"Roof, what's going on over there?"
I use my visor to send an acoustic pulse so loud that could drive anyone deaf.
He yells and that's when I go in. He's too dazed to notice my presence and I have no trouble tasing him.
There! Three down and… why is he leaning forwards?
Oh, crap!
I try to grab him but I can't get a good grip. He slips from my fingers and goes over the railing, falling to the ground below.
A sonorous 'crunch' then follows.
That was his neck, wasn't it?
And that's when all hell breaks loose. There are shouts and screams followed by a loud bang and all the lights going off.
At least Taylor had enough time to do her thing.
The doors of the warehouse open and tires burn rubber. The truck tries to escape but it doesn't make it out of the building, the floor below my feet trembling as it crashes against one of the walls.
I aim at it with my visor and see that the driver is covered in wasps. Same with most of the mercenaries.
Good work, Taylor!
Okay, time to get down to business. With the bomb deactivated it should be safe for me to call emergency services. And look at that! There's a phone on a nearby desk, a rotatory one that was thankfully spared by the EMP.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
"There's a shoot-out next to me!" I give her the address, and just on cue several guns discharge outside the room. "I think that a man's dead! And there are parahumans and-" A door bursts open and in comes a mercenary. "Oh, shit!" I don't even have to fake my curse as I let go of the tube.
Thankfully the man hasn't noticed me, too busy screaming and fighting against the insects that are crawling all over his face. I dash towards him, ram the riot prod into his midriff and press the button. He goes limp as the battery of my prod goes into the red.
I'm almost out of charge.
There's a window that leads to the warehouse, maybe there so the suits can keep an eye on the workers below.
I hear orders and curses, and search for Taylor. I find her with her blink band on cooldown, hunkered down behind a pillar, the concrete slowly chipping away under the continuous barrage of laser shots.
In the cargo area, several unconscious bodies are scattered. Some of them knocked unconscious by the Darkcoil, others by an adverse reaction to Taylor's insects, but the survivors are finally putting together a coordinated resistance.
Good thing that they are showing their backs to me.
I pick up the rifle from the guy I just knocked out, steady it against the frame of the opened window, and aim at the goons below me. The weapon is in full automatic, and I manage to unleash a volley before it jumps out of my hand and smashes against my face.
Ouch, ouch, ouch! Why the fuck does a freaking laser rifle have recoil?
Freaking tinkertech.
Whatever the case, my distraction works by attracting the mercenaries' attention to me.
Shit, I don't have anywhere to go and I won't win on a firefight against them!
Two mercenaries are already heading towards the stairs.
Another idea!
I hide behind a desk, next to the door, and scatter my caltrops in front of me. The plan works, and when the first mercenary enters the room and twists to the side, he steps on my trap and screams in pain. That gives me the opening I need. I jump out of my hiding place and knock him unconscious with the prod.
The battery goes dead.
I try to level my rifle but it gets kicked out of my hands. I groan in pain at my hurt fingers, and then again as a fist forces all the air out of my lungs.
I see the end of a barrel.
I raise my hands.
There's a flash that makes me close my eyes and then a scream.
But it doesn't belong to me.
I crack my eyes open just in time to see the severed arm of the man falling to the ground, with Taylor standing behind him.
So, the psy blade cauterizes wounds. That's good to know.
The mercenary looks at his wound in confusion, as if incapable of processing that his arm is no longer there, and that's the time it takes for Darkcoil to go back online. With a second swing of the blade, he goes down.
I remain perfectly still for a couple of seconds waiting for something to happen but everything is quiet.
Taylor doesn't move, and the only sound that reaches my ears is that of my own breathing.
"Is it over?" I ask, my voice coarse and rough. I can barely recognize it.
She nods.
Through my visor, I can see the mercenaries scattered around the building, covered in insects and spiders weaving their webs to keep them where they are.
One of the bodies has a hole in its back.
Oh.
I did manage to land one of my wild shots.
Two kills for me!
Yay-fucking-me.
I can also see the children still inside the truck. We should… Taylor's already walking down the stairs.
I catch up to her just as she opens the back of the truck with a swing of the blade.
The kids are bruised because of the crash, but fine beyond that. At least physically.
"We're here to rescue you!" Taylor tells them but they don't react. They don't even turn their heads to look at us. She walks to their little cell and opens that one too. "You're free to go."
Still nothing.
There's a crack when Taylor steps on an empty syringe. There are more of those all over the truck's floor, together with pills and other medicaments.
"Ladybug, I think they are drugged."
She looks at me, then back at the children's empty eyes. "Fuck, fuck!" She swings her arms around.
"Please, calm down."
"After this?!"
"Yes! We need to help them! And we won't be of any help if we aren't thinking straight!"
There's that eerie buzzing again, and Taylor straightens up. "I'm calm now." She says in that robotic tone from earlier. "Will we call the PRT now?"
Damn, I'm actually scared of her. "I already did. We should wait now."
She nods as even more bugs converge on our position.
It doesn't take long after that. I only had a couple of minutes to break apart some of the rifles for pieces, and steal the mercenaries' wallets and phones, before the first patrol appeared at the edge of my visor.
I panic for a moment there, thinking that it might be Coil sending more of his mooks, but then I see who's leading the group. Under my scanner, it looks as if a sun was coming our way. That is how full of technology the motorcycle and armor are.
The roar of the engine stops outside the warehouse, and the hero descends from his vehicle.
So that's what Armsmaster looks in person. The polished plates of his power armor glimmer under the moonlight and each movement is followed by a soft, almost melodious hum of servomotors.
It's a daunting, beautiful sight.
Iwantthat. I want to be just like that.
But better.
The man inside the suit still hasn't realized how limited he is by his own biology, how muchmorehe could be if he improved his body the same way he has improved all his other tools. But he can learn. He did in canon.
Armsmaster approaches us with his halberd raised, ready to strike us down if we make any sudden movements.
It might have something to do with the fact that we're surrounded by a bunch of unconscious mercenaries, some of them needing some serious medical attention, and two dead bodies.
And let's not forget the fact that we attacked the Wards some weeks ago.
"Unknown parahumans, identify yourselves!"
Ready or not, it's time for us to meet the larger hero world.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 16
I lick my dry lips. Okay, how do I do this? What can I possibly say to keep things from escalating?
We are all fellow heroes here! Maybe a 'hi' would help?
No, no, that's just too stupid.
Thankfully, Taylor is more decisive than I am. "Independent heroes Tech Priest," She points at me. "And Ladybug." And then at herself.
Ah, yes. Answering his question does sound like the most reasonable way to start this conversation.
"You don't look like heroes." And as he says that, a dozen PRT rush into the warehouse. Most of them move to investigate the premise and check on the incapacitated mercenaries, but two come to stand next to Armsmaster. They are armed with what looks like blocky flamethrowers. Foam dispensers most likely. Completely useless against our teleporter, thankfully.
"We haven't been doing this for long." Taylor shakes her head. "We're slowly putting our costumes together."
As Taylor finishes with her explanation, I set a teleportation beacon. I hope to end this in friendly terms with Armsmaster, but better to be ready for anything.
"And in your second night, you decided to launch an attack on a group of unknowns, after you attacked a Ward during your first one." He says, pointing at the Psi Blade.
I swallow hard. That wasn't one of our proudest moments. Should I have worked on a way to disguise the Blade? It's kind of noticeable.
Taylor remains calm, though. It must be her power at work again but I don't mind, someone has to keep their cool in moments like these.
"That was an accident!" She cries out. "I panicked and messed up there. And this is our third night!" The fourth one, actually. During the second one, we burnt Winslow down but I'm not telling Armsmaster that. "In our second one, we saved a man's life!"
There's something in the hero's posture, I can't put my finger on what, but he looks frustrated with Taylor's answer. "The PRT has no information on that."
"We were in the newspaper! The man had been stabbed and we rescued him!"
Ok, Taylor is raising her voice so I better step in. "The policemen that came with the paramedics asked us about what we'd seen. They should have our statements."
Armsmaster says nothing as he... Is he actually staring at me? I can't see the man's eyes behind his visor but he does cock his head in my direction. The only expression that his helmet betrays is that of his jaw tensing.
"Armsmaster, come here! You need to see this." An officer calls for the hero.
It seems that they found the content of the truck.
"You two," Armsmaster signals at the officers with the containment foam. "Keep an eye on them." And then he rushes in.
Drops of sweat roll down my back and I find myself gripping Taylor's hand.
It's to ensure that we teleport together in case of being covered in containment foam.
Yes, that.
When Armsmaster finally returns, it feels like minutes have passed despite my visor's clock telling me it has only been some thirty seconds. "Tell me what happened here."
With Taylor, we share a look. How do we explain how we found out about this place? I'm most definitely not telling him that we broke into a public building.
Shit, Taylor hasn't said anything yet. Maybe she's unsure of how much of my technology I'm willing to share.
Does Armsmaster already have his lie detector? Oh, that will be a massive headache to work around.
How much time have we spent in silence already? He must be getting impatient.
Ok, here it goes. "By chance, we stumbled across what we thought were drugs being smuggled." I explain. "It just turned out they weren't drugs."
There! That was technically true, so his lie detector shouldn't have pinged on that. Or maybe it did and now is flagging me as a half-lier.
Goddammit is this man infuriating!
"Any evidence of illegal activities must be shared with the Protectorate."
Yes! Maybe we should have shared it! But guess what, we didn't! "We were stupid, alright?" I yell. "We thought we could handle this on our own. And we didn't even think about going in at first! We thought about following them around and seeing where they were going. But then when we saw what was actually going on we said 'fuck it'!"
"We couldn't leave the children in there." Taylor's voice is almost a whisper as she hugs herself. "Alone and in the dark, surrounded by blood and insects."
Blood and… oh, crap. Her facade of perfect calm cracks and I'm reminded that, despite everything, Taylor is still just a wounded child.
"Breathe, Ladybug. You're here with me." I rub her back and slowly her breathing stabilizes.
At least Armsmaster has the decency to wait for her panic attack to be over.
"Your actions here put not only yourselves but others in danger. And it's because of that that two men died."
"Yeah, well, my bad." I say with a shrug.
"Is that how you reply to killing two people?"
I mean- yes? I'm unsure how else to act about the issue. Should I cry? Start an 'oh, no, what have I done' rant? It's not like I purposely killed the first one. And with the second one, I just opened fire at him with lethal force but with no clear intention in mind. That counts as not purposely having killed him, right?
It doesn't really matter to me.
"What do you want me to say? I built non-lethal tools so we could capture them." I show him my Riot Prod. "We went in with the idea of subduing them but shit happened."
Even with his helmet on, I can hear the sound of Armsmaster's heavy breathing. "That attitude is exactly why the Wards Program exists. If it hadn't been because someone heard your ruckus and called emergencies-"
"I was the one who made that call!"
"Before or after you attacked?"
"What does it matter?"
"It matters because in one scenario you did everything right and only attacked when you were left with no other choices. In the other, you went in intending to deal potentially lethal damage to people, and only called when you found yourselves in over your heads!"
Ok Tech Priest, think about a clever retort.
I have nothing.
"What were you expecting us to do?" Thank you, Taylor! I'm so happy to have you around to yell at people when I go mute! "Just to sit back and let them do whatever it was that they were going to do?"
"Under these circumstances, yes! How did you know that the criminals wouldn't just shoot the children?"
"I had my bugs circling around the truck to stop anyone from going in!"
"Would that have stopped a stray bullet or laser shot from also going in?"
Taylor gets taken aback by that. She looks at me for support but just as shocked as she is.
"That's what I thought." Armsmaster presses on. "And that's without taking into account possible parahuman support. Did you even know who you were attacking?"
My throat feels as if I had swallowed a glass of sand. Far too much could have gone wrong there. We had nothing that could have stopped one of the mercenaries from shooting into the van, and we got lucky that they had no capes.
If it wasn't because of my foreknowledge-
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait! I can use this!
"I do know." I tentatively raise my hand. "It involves someone named Coil."
Yeah, he looks far from convinced. "How did you find that name?"
"I managed to hack one of their computers." I blur out.
"That's a lie."
Well, fuck you and fuck your lie detector too!
"And what if it is?" Taylor sounds as done with all this as I am. "He was telling the truth when he gave you that name, wasn't he? If not, you'd have said something back then!"
Oh, she got you there!
"Look, we want to be heroes, alright?" I add. "And all I know is that someone named Coil wants something with one Dinah Alcott."
"What?!" Someone yells at my back. Holy shit, that almost made me jump out of my skin! I search for its source and find… a helmet in the shape of a lion staring back at me.
That's Triumph.
Triumph, Dinah's cousin, has been standing behind me this entire time.
This is a good thing! I think. Hope.
"What did you say?" Triumph takes a step in my direction, and I toy with the idea of triggering the teleporter right there.
"Eh-"
Taylor steps in, putting a protective hand over my chest.
"Triumph, stand down!" Armsmaster orders.
"But sir, I-"
"Triumph." He repeats. "Stand down. Go call Console, inform them about this new development, and await further instructions."
Rory, as I think his true name is, slowly nods. "Yes. Yes, sir." He sounds far from happy but obeys and marches toward one of the vans.
Ok, good news, the distressed Triumph is out. Bad news, Armsmaster remains. "You two are playing a dangerous game," He raises an index which he points at each of us. "And without someone to regulate your actions, you'll cause more chaos and destruction in your misguided attempt at heroism than what most villains do."
I feel my hands curling into fists.
Before I can tell him what I believe about the Protectorate's competence, there's a bip, and Armsmaster takes his hand to the side of his helmet.
"I've been informed of a bunker underneath the premise." He explains after a moment. "Were you responsible for disabling the security systems?"
"I was." My voice is dry as I stare at where I think his eyes are. "I built some EMP grenades to take down the electronics."
"Show them to me."
Taylor's hand closes around mine as she pulls our last grenade out, her thumb close to the trigger.
Is she- is she about to do what I think she's about to do?
For the love of God, Taylor, don't activate it! We don't need this amount of heat over our heads just yet!
Armsmaster extends his waiting hand and the tense standoff continues for several heartbeats. Taylor finally relinquishes and gives him the grenade.
I'm breathing once again.
"A device that creates a localized pulse capable of rendering electronics inert." Armsmaster says, mostly to himself, as he brings the device up to his eyes. "I'm familiar with the principle behind it. My halberd has a similar function, and my armor has been shielded against devices such as this."
The implied threat is clear for everyone to see.
After a couple more seconds of examination, he gives it back to Taylor. That wasn't something that I was expecting him to do, but I'm grateful for it all the same.
"We used it to disable the cameras and the other sensors that were around this place." I say still not letting go of Taylor's hand. Wait, am I forgetting something? I feel like there was something really, really important involving the EMP and the- Oh, shit. "And the bomb!"
The world stands still as every single PRT officer in the surrounding area turns their heads towards me. "What?"
"There's a bomb down there! I disabled it but-"
"Evacuate the premise!" Armsmaster orders, raising an arm and signaling everyone out. "Call the bombs disposal squad!" He then turns his head at us. "And you-" But we don't hear the end of that sentence. With things having turned far too chaotic for my taste, I trigger the blink band and we teleport out.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 18: Coil Interlude
For millennia, society had survived thanks to the carefully crafted illusion that the state had the monopoly of the strength of arms, forcing everyone to comply with its law. It was when this illusion cracked that the world fell into anarchy and chaos, with the masses grasping to satiate their wild desires by feasting on each other as if they were cannibalistic vultures. Society would eventually rebuild itself, but not before the individuals were restrained once again.
No single event had threatened the pillars of society and risked dispelling that illusion in its entirety, as the arrival of parahumans had. How could it survive when the child following your son to school could kill an entire squad of trained soldiers on his own?
And that was why being a parahuman was the art of living a double life. Not a chosen path, but one imposed by necessity. Society had created a new illusion where the demigods fought in the sky while leaving the mortals to continue with their normal lives, only occasionally interacting with the ones above.
Few understood this as Coil did. After all, his power allowed him to take the 'masquerade' to its logical extreme, and exploit it for maximum gain.
He lived two lives like few could, always picking the best of two choices.
Sometimes he was forced to take greater risks, though. That day Coil had been forced to focus on a single reality as he was expecting a package from Accord.
It was the third of its kind that he had received in the last three months, and like the previous ones it was its eventual destiny to be sent abroad. But first, it had to go through Coil's city.
In one reality, the warehouse where the package would be received had been left empty except for a single soldier. That soldier was in charge of inspecting the state of the package while the rest of his troops waited in a building across the street, ready to intercept an attack or a potential betrayal.
Once he ensured that the package wasn't damaged, the vehicle continued on its way. But it didn't reach far. It turned a corner and then violently stopped as it diverted off-course and crashed against a private house. His mercenaries rushed to its aid, only to find its three occupants unconscious and the package missing.
Coil collapsed that reality and focussed on the other one. In that one, his mercenaries had been waiting inside the facility with orders to restrain the transport until Coil gave them orders to continue. He raised his radio and was about to inform them about the potential attack when the warehouse went black. All his cameras, sensors, and systems stopped transmitting. He triggered the self-destruct system but nothing happened. The explosives, too, had been disabled.
He split the timelines once more, and in one reality he ordered Chariot to rush to the warehouse with a team of his mercenaries close behind.
Chariot managed to send a final message about him reaching the facility before going silent.
A moment later the reinforcements arrived, only to be swarmed by a variety of poisonous bugs. The mysterious assailant managed to keep them busy long enough for Armsmaster to arrive, at which point the battle had been lost with even more of his resources compromised.
He collapsed that timeline and kept the other. The one where he had done nothing.
He split the timeline again.
In one he said: "Sergeant Hector, come in."
"Yes, si-" The good sergeant's words were cut short when Coil pulled a gun and spilled the man's brain over the door.
He closed it, and in the remaining one, he returned to his other works.
Being forced to wait and let things happen represented a waste of time and effort, but it wasn't the first time he was forced to cut his losses. Even with careful calculations, two lives weren't enough to account for every single permutation of reality. True skill came from recovering after a loss like that, and recover he would.
There was no information in the warehouse connecting his identity of 'Coil' to it, and the men stationed there didn't even know the true name of their employee. They just knew that he paid them, and the consequences of betraying him.
The authorities might be able to link the warehouse to his company and his civilian identity, but there was enough obfuscation for him to claim ignorance of it. The convenient death of some members of his personnel would ensure that no suspicions would fall on Thomas Calvert.
Several projects would suffer setbacks, others would have to be scrapped, and his relationship with Accord would take a hit, but he'd survive the witch hunt.
And then he'd simply recover the package once the opportunity presented itself. For as long as the PRT ignored the name 'Coil', he'd be able to move at his leisure.
Coil waited in his office, the tick of the clock like hammer blows against his skull.
He had been blindsided.
Made a fool of.
In another timeline, his commando team had finished interrogating Director Piggot just in time for the PRT to storm in with hero support. It was a great disappointment that the woman hadn't known more than what Coil had already managed to uncover, and because of that was that he was waiting for his Tattletale to arrive.
His intercom came to life informing of her presence, and Coil let her in.
"Hi, chief! How are you today?" She greeted him, always with that irreverence of one who didn't understand how disposable they truly were.
"Take a seat." He replied, aiming at the chair across his desk.
"Woah, chief, you're cranky today." Her lips curled as her power absorbed the information around her and used the scattered facts to put together a conclusive picture. "Wait, the PRT found out about you? Oh, that's not good."
"Not good for any of us. Especially you,Sarah."
Lisa, born Sarah, stiffened her grin in a vain attempt at hiding her true emotions.
Every human had a desire, and hers was as simple as they came: to own it all. She could have escaped his control months ago but he had shown her the forbidden fruit and now she craved for it. She couldn't allow Coil to fall until she was in a position to stage her coup and take over his enterprise.
She was a threat, but a predictable one. That made her useful and easy to control.
"Whatever you say, chief."
On her seat, she found a folder with the information Coil had taken from the PRT. Including photos and a transcript of a meeting between Armsmaster and Director Piggot.
"So, do we have our pyromaniacs?" Director's Piggot's desk was covered in photos. Some taken by Kid Win, some by Armsmaster, and the majority by diverse security agencies.
Acquiring copies of those same photos had been trivial.
The person she was talking to was Armsmaster, the servos of his armor locking him in place to not crush the chair under its weight. "After comparing the way the truck was opened with the damages caused to Winslow, I can say without a doubt that the same weapon was present during both events."
There were two photos that were of interest to prove his point: one of an engine that had been melted in the middle, and the other of the back door of a truck that had been melted in a similar pattern.
"And the same people?"
The hero went quiet for a moment. "I'm still undecided."
"The situation looks very clear to me, Armsmaster. A pair of children triggered and burnt their school down."
It wouldn't have been the first time something like that happened. Chariot had been about to do the same when Coil found him.
"There's something that doesn't fit. After being allowed access to Winslow's ruins I managed to find this." Browsing through the photos on the desk, he picked two. One had been taken on a concrete floor and was of what looked to be a metal cylinder full of wires. The second one was of the same cylinder but taken on Armsmaster's workshop.
"That's a tinkertech device." The Director observed.
"With Dragon, we have been trying to rebuild it, but our current theory is that it's an EMP emitter."
Those words had clued Coil into what had happened to his warehouse, and later to Chariot in the reality he had discarded.
He'd have to prepare defenses against devices such as those in the immediate future.
"More evidence that Tech Priest was behind it."
"At first glance, yes." Then Armsmaster presented a third photo, this one of the EMP grenade that he had inspected on-site. "But from what we managed to discern, Winslow's device works under different principles to reach the same result of Tech Priest's grenades."
Piggot's eyes narrowed. "You're saying that they were built by two different tinkers."
"Maybe Tech Priest inspired -or got inspired by- the first device. In whatever case, I'm sure that they are in contact with a second tinker."
"Maybe he suffers some unknown limitation?" Piggot drummed her fingers against the desk while with the other hand she rubbed her lips. "He could be like Leet."
"I thought about that but there's something else. The girl confirmed that she was the person that the Wards fought, but claimed that this was only their third night out."
"How good is your lie detector?"
Coil had tested it extensively in alternate timelines.
"It has been heavily tested and I trust it as much as the rest of my equipment. Only people with abnormal mental conditions can trick it."
"Could Ladybug have one of those 'abnormal mental conditions'?"
"That's a question for the PRT psychiatrists, not me."
Piggot folded her arms over her chest, spending a moment in deep thought. "Very well, what's your theory then?"
"I believe that someone else is supplying them with tinkertech equipment. Supporting my point are the aesthetic and functional differences between the blade and the rest of Tech Priest's equipment. Tinkers always upgrade their equipment, but never to such an extreme degree when they're just starting out and working with what scrap they can scavenge."
"And so we have Coil, a gang leader who outfits his mercenaries with tinkertech, being attacked by a pair of independent heroes outfitted, too, with tinkertech not of their own."
Those words awakened a deep hatred in Coil's stomach. He'd built his enterprise piece by piece on blood and sacrifice. And now someone tried to emulate him? And target him directly? He had years in this game! He wouldn't be defeated.
"Correct."
Piggot browsed through the documents, picking out their medic's description of the wounds the mercenaries suffered. "I know some ex green berets who were trained in the use of caltrops as a tool of area-denial."
"Do you think they were trained by someone with military training?"
She tossed the paper aside as she released an annoyed groan. "Or read a book on it. I don't like this, there are far too many unknowns here. Tinkers always represent wild cards and we won't be able to predict Tech Priest until we figure out what his specialty actually is. But if your theory is correct, and I'm not saying that it is, that would explain those quirks of their behavior."
"Should I upgrade their status to villains?"
"Not yet. We want them to keep attacking the gangs and not us, so we'll maintain their status as vigilantes. But I want you to bring them in for questioning. Even if they weren't directly responsible for the fire of Winslow, we now have evidence that links them to that crime."
"Understood."
That worked fine for Coil. The more information the PRT extracted from the independents, the more information that would reach him.
His Tattletale put the folder down. "They are wrong." She declared, making an unnecessary pause to make herself look intelligent. "There isn't just a second Tinker but they also have a Thinker. That's how they got information on you, boss."
Coil pressed his lips into a thin line. So that was how it was. For someone who hid in shadows and secrecy, Thinkers were the greatest enemies. "Any idea who they might be?"
"None, but I'm positive that they are adults." She laughed. "I know right? An adult sponsoring a team of teenagers to carry out his dirty deeds? What a strange concept!"
"Were they responsible for Winslow?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"They… Armsmaster's lie detector worked fine. But… uff, what a headache. I don't know. I'll need more information for that."
It was frustrating not to get a definitive answer but it was ultimately irrelevant. He already had plans to investigate Winslow's students.
"What's their relationship? Brother and sister?"
"They... are they siblings?" She massaged the side of her head. "No, they recently met. The thinker put them in contact. Yeah, I think that's all I can get out of this."
"Very well then."
Coil split the timeline.
In one reality he ordered his Tattletale out, with instructions to search for more information on the new player of the Bay.
In the other, he pulled out his gun and enjoyed the expression of surprise in her face before he pressed the trigger.
He collapsed that one and got back to work.
Sadly his Tattletale hadn't given him as much information as he'd hoped, but once again he was one step ahead of the PRT.
Dinah Alcott might no longer be in his reach, but now a new opportunity had presented itself. A thinker had come to his city and had dared to make war against him. Coil would find him, destroy him, and force him into submission.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 17
My eyelids weigh on me, my back aches, and my tongue feels as if I had spent the last hour eating grass.
I'm counting yesterday as a victory but the stress was too much for my poor heart. I could barely sleep after returning home and now I have a massive headache.
A fact not helped by that infernal beeping sound that makes me feel as if Fenja and/or Menja were dancing the polka inside my skull. Together with the band.
What the hell is that sound?
I force myself to crack my eyes open and find its source in my visor. Why is it flashing an 'update' sign?
I reach for it with a lazy hand and when I put it on the map we have been drawing with Taylor flares into life.
It's an update on my drone's activities. Atlas reached the first abandoned construction site some hours ago and has already started dismantling it for materials.
Joy.
I want to be more enthusiastic but my energy is completely spent.
I quickly check for the stability of his work. Ok, there's no need for me to do that because the drone automatically accounted for that, and has started 'eating' the half-built walls in a way that will ensure a controlled collapse. Atlas has been cutting through the columns, ignoring the concrete but keeping the metals, which he then stores inside his own body to bring back to the base later.
Wait, back to the base? Each trip will take at least half an hour!
I order it to dig a chamber underneath the site so it can store the resources there. Later with Taylor, we'll help him bring the materials by hand.
If everything goes well, I'll have enough for a hatchery in a couple of days.
Seeing Atlas work is relaxing, like looking at the work of a diligent little ant. Soon the Bay will be covered with hundreds like him.
I pull my visor off and start thinking. Solving Taylor's problems with school was crucial but it forced me to delay several projects.
It was the right thing to do, and the resources we stole from Coil's base will be extremely useful, but there's much I want to do with Deus Ex and not much time left. In a week I'll have to say 'bye-bye' to this tree and get ready for whatever it's to come.
I need to use it to its fullest.
We almost died last night.Ialmost died last night, and almost blew Taylor's cover because I had overestimated my own strength.
I look down at my hands.
They look so… soft and small. Weak. I was never one to exercise in my previous life but I was still a healthy adult male.
Now I don't even have that.
I won't let what happened yesterday repeat itself and put Taylor at risk because she has to come to my rescue.
I will become stronger, faster, better!
I have the technology.
And another thing that I have, which is a far more pressing issue, is an empty stomach.
First breakfast, then synthetic evolution.
"Hi." Taylor greets me as I enter the kitchen. Her voice is raspy and she drags her feet as she goes to the fridge to get some milk.
It seems that yesterday's event took a heavier toll on her than me, but she stills finds the will to bring her books down here to study.
"Earlier today your school called," she tells me. "You're getting back there on Monday."
They did? I didn't hear- ah, that must be why she looks more tired than me. Up in my attic, I can barely hear the phone.
I can't hide my disappointment. I had gotten accustomed to having my mornings free but I guess there isn't much I can do about it.
Do you know what I need right now? An aspirin. And a big-ass cup of coffee. Sadly I don't know how any of those would interact with my childish biology. Is caffeine actually unhealthy for children? I heard it is but I never researched the topic on my own.
Eh, I'll just remove my need to sleep with tinkertech and be done with it.
"Say, how did you figure out that this 'Coil' was involved with the warehouse?" It feels as if Taylor has been waiting several hours to ask me that question.
"The cellphones." I'm honestly surprised at how easy the lie comes out of my lips. My exhaustion also plays a crucial role in masking my stuttering. "I didn't want to tell Armsmaster that I had stolen them so I lied to him."
"Should we have given the phones to the PRT then? There might have been useful evidence there."
I shake my head. "No point. The phone deleted itself after I cracked it."
"Makes sense." She puts her cup down and returns to her studies, but it doesn't take long before she's groaning again. "Who is this Coil guy anyway?" The question isn't directed at me in particular, Taylor just threw it up at the wind in anger and maybe a bit of fear.
"No idea." I lie. Again. "But to stage this entire operation he had to have a lot of resources."
"He had an underground base for Pete's sake! Who does that?!"
I chuckle at that. Little does she know that he has several all over the Bay. "Don't forget that he had mooks armed with tinkertech. Not even the Empire has those, and you know how much they like to parade their money."
"Yeah." She toys with her pencils, placing one in her mouth, not chewing but pressing it between her lips. Now that's a behavior I understand! It's when you try to do something but your mind remains preoccupied with something else. "I still can't believe that Armsmaster treated us like that. Can you believe him?" And that's what she's been preoccupied with!
What to answer? Taylor has a huge problem with Authority, and in canon, she spent most of her time butting heads with whoever tried to rail her in. A commendable attitude, but not when you don't know how not to self-sabotage your own endeavors.
"Are you asking because you want me to agree with you or because you aren't sure what to believe?"
Taylor's eyes widen with my question. "I- I don't know." She admits, shaking her head. "I was so angry! I was finally doing something and now he comes to tell us that what we were doing was wrong? After we saved those children?"
"But we almost got them killed too."
"Yes!" She yells. "We almost did!" Her shoulders drop in defeat. "Armsmaster was right." Wait, what? Taylor admitting that someone else was right and not her? What a fascinating development! "God, I can't stop thinking- I couldn't sleep because I kept wondering what would have happened if a bullet had gone through that truck."
She sounds so exhausted, not just tired but drained of any energy and emotion. It's such a sharp contrast with how she was last night with Armsmaster.
I move my chair next to her and place a hand on her shoulder. "But it didn't."
"I know! You already told me this. I shouldn't worry about what didn't happen, but what if it happens again? What if we find more captured children and this time I mess up?"
"Then we do something different. Taylor, we learn and we get better. And wewillget better. You'll train and I'll build, and the next time we face a situation like this we'll be better prepared."
"Yes. That sounds like the right thing to do." With her elbows on the table, she presses her palms against her eyes. "You know? I grew up hearing about Lung's human farms but it all sounded so unreal. Now I have it in front of me and I'm scared."
Oh, yeah. That. Should I kill Lung before or after the Empire? Decisions, Decisions. I guess that's a bridge I'll burn once I get to it. "I'm not letting them do anything to you."
"I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you!" Me? Why me? "Those kids were your age!" Oh, that's why. "Besides," She cracks a sad smile. "I don't think they'd be interested in me."
I release a sigh. Are The Simpsons a thing on Earth Bet? I hope not because I'm about to blatantly rip-off one of their lines "Taylor, as your brother I find this extremely hard to say: you aren't ugly."
"Thank you."
I return her smile. "But wait, are you saying that I'm cute?"
"All children your age are cute." She ruffles my hair. "But don't worry, in just a couple years you'll grow up and become just as ugly as everyone else."
Little does she know that I plan to grow up into a beautiful machine. Oh, well, no need to tell her that yet. I'll let that be a surprise!
My job is done here and my stomach filled, so it's time for me to return to work.
"Hey, and another question." Taylor stops me on my way out. "About the men you- mh-"
"That I killed?" I finished her sentence. "I will not mourn them, nor will I lose sleep over their deaths if that's what you're asking."
"If you don't, then- then I think I won't either. Thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
We don't go on patrol for the rest of the weekend. It's better to lay low for some time while I tinker.
The next time we go out, I'll have my drone with us. We will havedroneswith us. The next time we face an enemy, we'll be better prepared.
And talking about preparations, I should work on some defenses for the house too.
"Today, class, let's give a warm welcome to our new students! They come from Winslow Mid."
Monday comes and with it new people. I thought that Winslow was only a high school but apparently it also had a middle school section.
"Why don't we let them present themselves?"
So, three new kids are joining my grade, and making a wild guess I'm going to say that another three must be joining Missy's class.
Oh, well, not much I can do about it. I'll have to learn to live with them and ignore them for the best of my abilities.
The first is a chubby guy with googly eyes who's looking at us with panic in his face.
The second is a girl whose brain looks vacant of any interesting thought.
And the third is a black girl who looks a bit old to be in our group. "Sup. Name's Aisha."
Oh.
That should explain the age.
At the risk of sounding repetitive: fuck me.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 18
So, to summarize, now I find myself in close proximity to 3 of the most dangerous parahumans in the world who are below 18. With two of them not being even 14!
Because sure, the kind of stuff that Alexandria and Legend can do is impressive and shiny, but the subtle powers are the scary ones.
And Aisha Laborn?
She utterly terrifies me.
I mean, okay, any camera can counter her. For a time. But that's like saying that any chump can kill Alexandria with a CO2 fire extinguisher.
At least she hasn't triggered yet. I hope. She shouldn't have unless I butterflied her canon trigger in some way or another. But I can see her! She's still there and still in my memories, so she doesn't have her power yet.
"What are you looking at?" She barks at me as she takes a seat a desk away from mine.
Oh, it seems that she noticed my blatant staring. How do I answer that in a suave and classy way that doesn't earn me her eternal enmity? "Just wondering why an older girl is coming to my class." I need more practice with this.
And I'll soon need practice dodging sharp objects if the look she's giving me is anything to go by. "The fuck do you care?"
"That's fair." I shrug my shoulders and return my eyes to my notebook. Remember kids! When in doubt, just ignore the other person until they stop being angry at you. Works every time.
"Oh, my, you must be great at parties."
Damn it! My flawless strategy of ignoring her is not working!
"Wouldn't know." I don't even raise my eyes from my notebook to look at her. "I haven't been invited to any and it's not like I'd go if I were."
"Your parents must be so proud."
"I wouldn't know that either. They both died months ago."
Now that does the trick! "Oh. I see-" She stutters. "Well- good to know!"
Oh, dead parents. The ultimate counter to yo-mamma jokes.
I feel dirty just for thinking that.
After several hours of unending misery and mediocrity, the bell finally rings to announce our lunch break. I take my tray to my table, the furthest one from everything and everyone else, and get myself comfortable.
"Hi, runt!"
Oh, come on! I just want some peace and quiet for myself, why do people have to ruin it by interacting with me?
"Hi, hag," I greet Aisha who has taken a seat across the table, making her laugh.
Ok, don't make eye contact and don't speak to her. Eventually, she has to get bored and leave.
My greeting doesn't count as talking to her! That was just being polite.
"Oh, no. You two are not teaming up." A third voice joins in, and I feel like fucking screaming. What is Missy doing here? I didn't do anything today to warrant her attention! "I already have more than enough troubles with one problem child." I'm a victim of my own fame.
"Typical." Aisha leans back and puts her foot on the table. "First day at school and miss cop here is already coming down on the black girl."
"I don't care about your skin,Aisha." Oh, boy, are Missy's words full of poison. "I care about your story which Winslow was happy to share with us."
"I'm not apologizing for the druggies I beat up!"
I'm reminded that the deepest pit of hatred than most people fell into is nothing but a small bump compared to the hatred that Aisha has for drugs. Not that I can blame her after what she had to live through with her mother.
"Of course, of course. That's what they all say." Missy is really taking her role of 'cop' to heart. She probably was actually trained for this.
"Look, officer, I'm not doing anything illegal! I'm not stealing your boyfriend or anything like that."
Boyfriend? Who's she talking abo-
Oh, fuck no.
"This jerk my boyfriend?" Missy asks, throwing a thumb in my direction. "If anything, I'm his parole officer."
"Really, this dweeb? What did he do, forget his diaper?"
That's enough. I had enough of people talking for me. "My only crime was explaining to my teachers, in excruciating detail, all the ways in which they were wrong."
There's a slapping sound when Missy slams her palm against her forehead.
For her part, Aisha looks as if she's about to fall off her chair in laughter. "Perfect, then! That's actually why I'm here. Word in the street is that yours is the homework I should be copying to get perfect marks." As I said: victim of my own fame.
"You two do know I'm right here, right?" Missy chips in a vain attempt at catching our attention.
"If you give me your math book," Aisha adds. "I'll give you a kiss."
Ugh, ugh. No, thank you. You're far too young for me.
Shit, I am far too young for you! This reincarnation thing is confusing. "Not interested."
"What, you gay?"
The first time someone actually asks me that. At least in this life. "I'll say no to that."
"You actually had to think about it!"
I shrug. "If anything, I'm saving myself for a robot girlfriend."
There's a cracking sound when Missy's plastic fork breaks in her hand. And now she's just there, staring at me as if she just found me breaking all her dolls. Was it something that I said?
"Ha!" Aisha still sounds like she's having the time of her life. "A guy like you used to go to my school. Before it went down in flames, that is. Some Gur, Gir-"
"Greg?" I blur out before I have time to think about the implications. The story of my life.
"Yes, that! How did you know?"
"My sister, Taylor, was Greg's classmate."
"Wait, Taylor Hebert?" Aisha's eyes narrow. "The locker girl? Shit, man, sorry for that. All the school heard about the locker." She coughs into her fist. "So, about my question?"
I reach for my backpack, pull out my math book, and give it to her.
"Thanks!" She snatches it away and starts browsing through it.
And now Missy's rubbing the side of her head like she's suffering a headache. "Why did you do that?"
"Because she asked nicely."
"And what? If someone asks you nicely to jump off a bridge you'll do it too?"
"Of course not! That'd involve me putting effort into it."
"She's going to copy all your work!"
"Wait, what the fuck?" Our attention gets enraptured by Aisha's curse. "This is all solved!"
I don't even bother to hide my pride at that. "Yeah, I solved it during one of the breaks when I had nothing else worth doing."
"You could have talked to your classmates and, you know, interacted with them." Missy tells me through clenched teeth.
"As I said, 'nothing else worth doing'."
I can almost hear the squeaking noise of Missy grinding her teeth. Is this what killer intent feels like? This must be what killer intent feels like.
"Ha! I like you." With that declaration, Aisha jumps to her feet and puts the book in her backpack. "I'll give this back to you later today, k'?"
She, in fact, doesn't give it back to me later that day. Nor the day after that or the following one.
At one point I eventually have to accept that she completely forgot about the issue.
Oh, well, it's not like I particularly care about that book.
While Taylor studies, I tinker. And after days of back-breaking work, and with my resources almost at zero once again, my next project is finally ready. This is, without a doubt, the greatest thing that I have created so far.
I'm not going to laugh.
I'm not going to laugh.
Oh, who the fuck cares? I snicker evilly at my invention.
It looks like an Upgrade Canister from the original Deus Ex: a vaguely egg-shaped blue container the size of a pineapple. But it has some key differences when compared to the original product.
In the first place, it doesn't contain any implants but the machinery to create them.
And in the second, I didn't build it for me but for Atlas.
"Are you ready for this, little guy?"
Next to me, Atlas chirps responding to my vocal input.
Ok, let's do this! It's upgrade time! Not only for him but for me too.
Atlas' back splits open revealing a socket the size of the canister's base. I plug it in, and through my Visor's interface I guide the process. His internal mechanisms dismantle the canister piece by piece, 'eating' it for a lack of a better word. The lights that dot his back start blinking as the software gets installed, and then Atlas' body-parts start shifting. The solid metal plate that composes the Drone's exoskeleton break open, absorbed into the main body, and replaced by scales for greater flexibility. Its eyes grow in size, becoming bulbous to accommodate the new battery of sensors, and the yellow membrane of the wings turns black, adopting a texture similar to Jensen's artificial muscles.
Now it looks closer to what an actual Zerg would look like. If the Zerg had evolved on Cybertron, that is.
With a 'blip' Atlas informs me that the update is done. All systems are green so… come on boy! Let's see what you can do.
I roll up my sleeve and place my open palm next to him. Atlas moves his head up and down as if he was sniffing me, but I know that his internal sensors are just studying my skin.
He crawls to me as if he was about to lick my fingers, and then the magic takes place.
He starts unfolding, his body melting over my skin as if it was a metallic glove.
It's working! It's working! Praise be the heavens above, it's working!
Oh, I feel like laughing again.
The idea was nothing if not brilliant. By upgrading my drone with the Deus Ex technology, I've given him the ability to interface with human anatomy without sacrificing his ability to turn into a hatchery later on. And the best part is that his repair functions work perfectly together with Deus Ex's healing ones, meaning that now the drone can both repair Mecha Zerg structures and also heal the human bodies it's linked to. And this ability will be inherited by all his children through the hatchery!
I'm a ge- why can't I close my fist?
Actually, why can't I move my arm at all? Oh, of course, silly me. The drone hasn't linked with my nervous system yet, that's why I can't feel or move my arm.
I- I didn't really think about how Atlas would proceed with that final step. I just built the upgrade blindly guided by my power. Seriously, how is he going to plug into my-
A metallic hiss brings the answer to my question as several spikes grow on the back of my arm. Except those aren't any normal spikes. Those are dozens of hypodermic needles that run all the way from my elbow to the tip of each finger.
Oh.
Oh shit.
I barely have time to reach for a piece of cloth and force it into my mouth before the pain starts.
And there is pain.
There is a lot of it.
My body arches back as a muffled scream forces its way out of my gagged mouth, my head hitting against the floor. It's a good thing that Danny isn't here to hear the commotion. Taylor is, though, who comes rushing into my room.
"Peter! What's- oh, my God!"
She reaches for me but I push her away with a swipe of my free arm, the one that doesn't feel like it's been melted in boiling steel. Yes, things look -and feel- bad but I need the process to continue. If she tries to force the drone out, I risk losing my entire freaking arm!
And suddenly, as fast as it came, the pain is gone. My heart still feels like it's about to burst out of my chest, but my thoughts are no longer dominated by the unending agony. I push myself into a seating position. I can move my arm now! And not only that, but I can feel through it as if it was my flesh and blood one! The wooden floor, my shirt, even the warmth of my chest! This is amazing.
"What just happened? Why did you scream like that?" Ah, yes. Taylor's still there and looking at me in concern.
"That was the sound of progress, my dear." I snap my fingers. It feels so good to be able to do that!
"What the fuck is wrong- no, no. Don't answer that." Taylor takes a deep breath as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Just explain."
"Well, I successfully turned Atlas into a detachable implant! I just didn't account for how much it would hurt to get it implanted." Using the X-Ray function of my visor, I check the inside of my arm. Wow. The needles go all the way into the muscle, through the bone, and all the way to the other side. That was why it hurt so much.
Wait, no. How that I'm conscious? This amount of damage should have turned me into a convulsing wreck on the floor, and knocked me unconscious for hours.
Tinker bulshit? Yeah, I'm going with that.
"Was it at least worth all the pain?"
"Oh, definitely." With a mental command my gauntlet shifts. First into a welding tool, and then into the drone's plasma saws. "Not only it can turn into a variety of construction tools, but also increases my strength, and heals whatever limb it's attached to."
Taylor's face lights up, realization dawning on her. "That's what you talked about building after-"
"After the stabbing, yes. If we had had this back then, we wouldn't have needed to call emergency services at all! We could have healed the guy on our own."
Not again. We are not getting caught with our pants down again.
"That's good." She nods, pinching her chin. "But wait! Won't it hurt every time you try to heal someone? That sounds counter-productive."
"No, that- that was a mistake on my part." Another mental command and Atlas detaches of my arm, the process of implantation going in reverse. Without pain this time, thankfully. In a moment Atlas is back at my feet, fully formed, and there's no evidence left that he was connected to my arm just seconds ago. I don't even have scars left of the needles. Everything was healed! The only thing left is the great disappointment I feel at my fleshy arm not being able to turn into a plasma buzzsaw. "I programmed it to keep people healthy and alive, and not causing unnecessary pain is a big part of that."
"What went wrong?" I'm getting to it, Taylor!
"I- programmed it to do all thatafterthe implantation. Not before or during it."
There's a slapping sound when Taylor's palm connects with her forehead.
Why do I have that effect on people?
"But don't worry!" I quickly add. "That's easy to fix." I access Atlas' functions with my visor and- wait a second. "It already did it on its own."
"What?"
"Atlas recognized the error in causing me pain, and so he rewrote his own program to not do that anymore." That must have been why the first implantation didn't hurt as much as it should have. Atlas corrected his program midways-through. "So, if I now do this-"
I reach with my other hand this time, and let the process repeat itself. I close my eyes and clench my teeth ready for the pain but it never comes. I crack my eyes open and see the arm fully integrated. I didn't feel a thing!
"Well, congratulations. You built a robot smarter than you." Taylor deadpans.
"I take that as a compliment! But yeah, I did program it to take into account different biologies and to learn on the fly. This is just an extension of that program."
"Good to know. Does that mean I can go back to studying or will you keep mutilating yourself?"
"No more mutilation for the day, Taylor. I ran out of materials for that."
She rubs her temples. I feel like she'd get along marvelously with Missy. "Just- just be more careful, okay? And no more screaming, please. Tomorrow is my entrance exam and I want to be ready for it."
Tomorrow is Friday? The week is already ending and I didn't even notice it! Tomorrow will be an important day for all of us. Not only will I have the resources to start building the hatchery, but Taylor will have her exam for Arcadia.
Mmm, I wonder-
"You arenotplugging that thing into my brain." She shoots my idea down before I can even formulate it.
"Okay, let's discard that idea then."
"I'm going back to the living room. Could you help me with some final math problems I'm having trouble with? The old fashioned, non tinker way."
"Of course! I'll be there in a minute. Just let me send this guy on his way."
I go to the basement and there I let Atlas go, ordering him to continue with his collecting of metals. The hatchery is so close that I can almost taste it! And with that done- wait, is Atlas moving faster now? And not only that, but he's nimbler too. It seems that my upgrades did more for him than I was expecting.
Nice!
With a bright smile, I go help Taylor get ready for her big day.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 19
Today's the day! In just moments Taylor will be leaving for Arcadia, and like any teenager on the morning of her exams, she's a total wreck.
"Where's my pencil sharpener?!" She cries out, turning the sofa upside down.
"Here, take mine." I offer, taking it out of my bag.
"Won't you need it?"
"Not more than you."
She snatches it out of my grip. It's getting a bit late for me to leave for Clarendon but this is more important.
"Pen, ruler, pencil-" She lists while checking the inside of her pencil case. "Maybe some colors?"
"Take them. Better to have them and not need them."
"Yes, yes." She stands up and spends a moment just looking down at her school bag in silence. "Okay, I think I have everything. I'll get there earlier and use the chance to check my notes."
"Taylor, breathe," I tell her slowly, taking her hands between mine. "Getting too nervous can be just as bad as forgetting a topic. Trust in yourself, trust in what we studied, and you'll do fine."
She nods, trying to retain her composure. She fails, but the intention is what counts. "Thank you."
"And remember. It isn't what you know, it's what you seem to know."
I manage to get her to crack a smile that way.
"I wished mom was here to see me."
I pat her back. "Wherever she is, I'm sure she's proud of you. Now go get'em, tiger!"
I follow her to the bus stop and stay with her until she has boarded her transport to Arcadia.
"Vaya con Dios." I say as I wave at the bus which is slowly becoming smaller in the distance.
I do get yelled at once I get late to Clarendon, but who gives a fuck? It was totally worth it.
I wonder how Taylor is doing.
Did she bring enough pencils? We could have looked over what the mitochondria was one last time.
Shit, was her calculator in radians or degrees? Lives have been lost because of that!
I did teach her how to check for that, but what if she forgets?
Fuck it! If she fails we're breaking into the biggest bank we can find and we're getting her a GED.
My train of thought gets violently interrupted when I feel a cold, wet thing getting into my ear.
"Agh!" I yell, falling to the floor.
The other children at the cafeteria start laughing at my misery as I crawl my way up to my seat. I search for my attacker and see the grinning face of Aisha staring back at me. On one hand, she has a drinking straw and a sheet of paper. One of the corners of the sheet has been bitten off and is covered in saliva. On the other hand, she carries her tray.
"My vengeance will be terrible," I tell her as she takes a seat across my table.
"I don't know," She waves a finger in front of me. "You look like the kind of guy who's all bark and no bite."
No bite? She will see!
They will all see!
Maybe. Eventually. I'd need to think about something. Maybe an enhanced jaw with saw-teeth? No, no. Hypodermic teeth with an acid payload.
How would I even use that in a safe way?
"So, what got your panties in a twist?" She asks, grabbing her fork in a closed fist and stabbing that innocent piece of meat. Damn, are her manners bad. As in, actually distracting.
"It's my sister."
"Locker girl?"
The table groans in pain as I stab my own meal. I look at her directly in the eyes as I speak, "You call her that again and I'm punching your teeth in."
"Ha! You'd have to catch me first." She takes a bite and continues talking with her mouth full. "Look, sorry, I suck at names. I just remember that your sis is a T-something."
Oh, well. Let no one say that I don't understand the difference between malice and mere stupidity. Recognizing it is another matter altogether.
"Taylor. Today's her entrance exam for Arcadia. If she doesn't do well, she'll have to go to a school that might even make Winslow look nice."
"Uff, harsh. Is that why you were late today?"
"Yeah, I was seeing her off."
"You don't give a fuck about school, do you?"
I shrug. What else am I supposed to do? It's not like I'm trying to justify myself here.
"Good. For my part, my bro's boss dragged me here."
My heart skips a beat.
Did Coil put Aisha in Clarendon? I don't think it was to spy on me, he shouldn't know yet. And Aisha would suck as a spy, she's too much of a scatterbrain. A plan to win more of Brian's loyalty? He might need that if the PRT is putting more pressure on him.
Whatever the case, I'll need to do something about him fast.
"How does Clarendon compare to Winslow?" I quickly ask to change the topic.
She shrugs. "No gang colors, the children don't carry knives for self-defense, and the bathrooms aren't stained in shit and piss. I haven't even gotten into a fight yet! And not because I don't want to. It's just that there are no Empire kids talking about what the Empire will do to my family once they are in charge, and no mules selling drugs in the girl's locker room."
They totally deserved what happened to them in canon.
Should I look into attacking the merchants next? God knows that Skidmark deserves all the fire and brimstone I can provide, and getting to one of Squealer's labs would be useful for my future projects.
"Give it some time," I tell her. "Everyone deserves a good kick in the ass every now and again."
"I know, right? That or a bullet to the head. It's amazing how many problems one of those can solve. Not like I ever shoot anyone, mind you, but I'm not sure about you." She adds with a grin and a dismissive wave of her hand.
She's joking.
She has to be joking. But I have. I shot one of the mercenaries who was shooting at Taylor. The laser rifle left a smoking hole the size of my fist in his back.
Well, no. Not my current fist but my previous one. The fist of a male adult.
Has Aisha noticed my discomfort?
"What?" She asks.
Oh, yes, she very much has.
She goes quiet and is now staring at me with a serious expression. I very much don't want to look at her and so I avert my eyes. That's very much not something I should be doing if I don't want to appear guilty.
Her face lights up in wild fascination. "You-are-shitting-me." She says in whispers, looking around. She only continues once she confirms there's no one nearby. "I said that as a joke, but— shit. Did you actually do that?"
Despite her deceiving looks, Aisha is tremendously intelligent. She should already have figured out that her brother Brian is Grue, and in the story she managed to figure out who Skitter was after meeting her once. Heck, she accomplished what Tattletale, Alexandria, and Jack Slash had all failed to do: actually read Taylor. And she did that because she's actually smart and good at thinking outside the box, and not fake-smart like Thinkers are.
Well, no point in lying to her then. "I did."
"Did they deserve it?"
Not what I was expecting her to ask. Not what I'd expect any normal person to ask, really. Not after learning that an 11-years old shot a person. But this is Aisha. Neither she nor I, are what most would call 'normal'. "They were trying to kill my sister."
"Then they did." Her words are- reassuring, somehow. "You don't mess with family." In another life, she didn't just threaten to kill but downright torture Skitter if she ever harmed Brian. "Did- did you feel anything after it?"
The fucking recoil! Yes, I'm still very much mad about a freaking laser rifle having recoil. Seriously, how does that happen? But I digress. I doubt that's what she refers to. "Not a thing. I did what I had to do, and I'd do it again if I were in the same position."
"Good."
The sound of the bell signals the end of our lunch break, and with it the end of our discussion.
Aisha jumps to her feet. "Well, talk more later. And don't worry, your secret's safe with me!"
You know, Aisha, secrets are easier to keep safe if you don't speak out loud that you have them. Case in point, Missy was walking behind you while you said that.
"What secret?" My self-proclaimed parole officer asks with a raised eyebrow.
"That the runt here popped his cherry before I did!"
What follows is the sound of me smashing my head against the table. Repeatedly.
One day, Aisha. One day I'll strangle you and I'll enjoy doing so.
When I get back home, I enter with a loud "Hello!" but only the empty silence is there to meet me.
Taylor must still be at Arcadia.
I have gotten accustomed to having her around to receive me, usually studying or training with her bugs, but she isn't here today.
Well, I guess I could- I don't know. Get me something to drink? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Was this house always this big? I mean, it's tiny, but I'm just noticing how much empty space there's in here. Some posters and pictures would do wonders to make the walls look less naked.
It's also silent. Does Danny have a radio? Some music would do this place some good. Wait, silly me, I have one in my visor. First time using that function even.
Eh, but if I go for my visor I might as well go tinkering.
Our hideout, the one Atlas dug, is full of raw metal but that I'm saving for the Hatchery so I won't be building anything new. I could cram some more programs inside of Atlas, though. I think I know how to give Banelings an EMP option, and how to give Zerglings an invisibility cloak. Both of those upgrades will be tremendously useful once we start fighting the gangs properly.
Or I could just build the Hatchery already. Everything's set for that.
But it doesn't feel right! I don't want to do it without Taylor here! That will be a special moment for both of us, and I want her to see it. I want to celebrate it with her. The same way we'll celebrate her passing the test.
I hope.
She has to pass the test.
As it turns out, after some more programing I end up browsing PHO. I can't believe it took me this long to make an account! The site is nowhere near as interesting as I expected it to be, but I assume it's because the bay is currently stable. I don't expect things to continue that way for long.
About an hour after my arrival, I hear the sound of someone unlocking the door.
Taylor is here.
I rush down the stair just as she's walking in. The moment she sees me, she raises both hands. In one she shows me five fingers, and in the other two. "Only seven people were going to get into Arcadia. Guess who's number seven?" She's smiling like I haven't seen her smile before.
I can't contain my excitement. I yell, she yells, we hug and then start jumping around. We almost break a lamp in our excitement but who cares? Taylor did it!
"Congratulations, sis!"
"Oh, I can't wait to see Emma and Sophia's faces when they see me there! And I'll be there due to my own merits, not because of a sports carrier or because my daddy has money." We go to the kitchen and toast with glasses of juice. "And you? How was your day?"
I got yelled at for arriving late and then Aisha figured out I had killed a man. But I don't think Taylor wants to hear about that.
"It got a lot better with this news! And will only improve after I build the Hatchery." Now that she's here I can get down to that.
"You haven't yet?"
"Of course not. I was waiting for you."
"Well, here I am. So, let's do it!"
I take the lead as we march to our underground base. Fairly barebones compared to Coil's base but I hope to develop it further in the coming weeks. One of the first steps should be adding some lights because right now the only way we can move around here is with our visors.
Okay, Taylor is at my side, and Atlas is patiently waiting on his spot on top of the pile of materials.
I rub my hands together. "Are you ready, sis?"
"Oh, absolutely." Taylor nods enthusiastically.
"Then let's get weird." This is it. The moment of truth. The moment I find out if all my work in the past weeks amounted to anything. "Atlas, do the thing!" A completely unnecessary vocalization, as I'm guiding him through my visor, but it still feels good to say it.
Atlas doesn't work as fast as the in-game mechanics would lead one to believe, but it's still surprising the speed at which he eats the scrap. And as he does, he starts growing. His legs and wings are gone now, replaced by dozens of tiny pincers that keep cutting the material and feeding it to the main body. Wires emerge as if they were the roots of a tree, and tubes get built on the spot, connecting the slowly expanding main structure. Beams anchor themselves to the ground, and in around five minutes the Hatchery is fully built.
It's a vaguely pyramidal structure as tall as a Taylor and a half, with a base so wide that it wouldn't have fit inside our living room. It's slightly bulbous, fitting with the mecha zerg design, but it's not identical to the original thing. I can see flaps connected to the main body by Deus Ex synthetic muscles, and the panels aren't smooth surfaces but composed of those scales that Atlas developed after I upgraded him. That means that my idea worked! It took me a month of hard work but here I have a Hatchery which is a perfect integration of StarCraft and Deus Ex tech.
I feel so proud right now.
"Wow," Taylor exclaims in amazement.
"I know, right?"
And it's not over yet.
From several openings, small creatures start emerging. They are the initial phase of any Mecha Zerg construction: the Mecha Larvas. They are about as long and wide as my arm, with bodies that end in triangular heads and pincers longer than my fingers. There are five of them, but three soon have turned into eggs with the extra resources I saved. It takes another couple minutes for the eggs to hatch, and for three new drones to emerge. They are identical to the original one, and so I name them Atlas II, III, and IV.
"Is this how you build them? I wasn't expecting it to be so- fleshy?"
"The best of both worlds, Taylor." I give the order through my visor and Atlas II goes to finish dismantling our first construction site, while Atlas III starts digging towards the second one. Atlas IV remains here, though, as I have plans for him. "We'll be able to build them fairly fast once we get enough materials." And then we'll have an army.
Three more larvas were produced to replace the ones that turned into drones, keeping the total number at a steady five. I pick one up and- yes, yes. It's melting into my arm. A larva doesn't give me anywhere near the strength or tools that a drone gives me, but it does allow for some light healing and extra armor. Again, nowhere near as good as a drone implant, but it's better than nothing.
I wonder what will happen once I get a Mecha Ultralisk. Food for thought.
I pick a second larva and place it on my shoulder. It links with the first one and now I have my arm completely encased in the zerg carapace, together with my shoulder and a bit of my torso.
Perfect! That means with enough Mecha Zergs I can get a full set of armor! But I'm not testing that yet. That would involve me getting naked and I don't think that Taylor would appreciate that.
Mmmm, this linking with larvas- it sounds familiar for some reason. Didn't I see that done somewhere else? I just can't put my finger on where.
"So, what?" Taylor asks, looking my arm up and down. "Are you going to become the God-Emperor of Brockton Bay now?"
Ah, that's what it reminded me of! Of Leto Atreid-
Wait a second.
"You read Dune?" I ask her in surprise.
"It was in Mom's collection. I read most everything in it."
The inspiration for Warhammer and far more stuff than I ever bothered to learn. "I should read the sequels one of these days," I admit scratching the back of my head. I'm not accustomed to talking with other people about stuff like this. At least not without a computer screen in-between.
"I haven't read those either. I stopped after what happened to Alia."
"Oh, I hated that so much!" Ok, enough about that. Let's get back on topic. "But, yeah. Now I'll have more materials to work with." And once I get to the boat graveyard- oh, boy, that's when things will get interesting.
"Why did you keep that drone here?" She points at Atlas IV.
"Oh, that's because of my next brilliant plan!"
"What public building do you want to break into this time around?" She asks with a cheeky smile.
She knows me so well. "A hospital!"
In her defense, she isn't immediately put-off by my suggestion. She just eyes at me warily. "Why?"
"Listen to me here. I want to take this drone to a hospital and set him to healing people. It will learn about human injuries, how to treat them, and we'll gain some karma points for a good deed done." That information I can then download into my other drones, and allow them to grow and improve.
"Is there any reason why we can't start with an animal shelter?"
"Eh?" I cock my head in confusion.
"You know, heal animals first. Something that we won't feel as guilty of hurting if something goes wrong. Or are animals too different from humans?"
That- is an excellent question.
"Well, not really, no." There are some specific ailments that don't translate, but stuff like dressing a wound or mending a bone? Those should be mostly the same. "That would be a good idea, yes." I must admit, Taylor is a good sounding board for my crazy plans.
So, a small change of schedules. Tonight we go heal as many animals as we can find, and tomorrow we do that for humans!
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