Project Prometheus (Original Setting Superhero Quest) (2025)

". . . metahuman gang known as "The Defiance Unit". The Defiance Unit snuck onto the Elysium Station through unknown means and attacked a number of critical control stations. Authorities say the Elysium Station is not currently at risk, but that there has been a double-digit number of casualties. In a statement, the Chairman of the Elysium Group, Maximilian Augustalis . . ."

Breakfast is quiet this morning. The news on the television alone would have been enough to silence most conversation, but the automated message sent to every Hero for Hire account kills what's left.

New Bounty Announced: Highest Priority

Who May Accept: Anyone

Targets: Memoria — Marcos Medeiros de Canto

Zeno — Camdyn Poole

Nox Esurientem — Gaspard Girardot

Crimson Soprano — Balduína Rios Barroso

Soldier X — True Name Unknown

Wanted: Dead

Reward: $1,000,000,000, payable upon confirmation of death of the entire Defiance Unit.

One billion dollars. One billion dollars. That's such an incomprehensible amount of money that you can't even wrap your brain around it. The Leviathan fell 57 years ago in 2001. If you made three thousand dollars a day every day between now and today, you would still not have one billion dollars.

And the Elysium Group is just casually offering it as a bounty?!

". . . whose mailbox did they shit in?" Eve says, asking the question that's on all of your minds.

"I don't know," Nora says, "But I'm willing to bet that, whatever they went after, it was a lot more significant than a few 'critical control stations'. Someone wants them dead. Not arrested, not captured, dead. And they're willing to burn a billion dollars to make it happen."

Yazmin stands up and slams the table with her first.

"Filho da puta!" she swears, "Do they have an idea what this will do to the city?! Fortune-seekers will tear Horizon apart looking for The Defiance Unit! Every organization will drop whatever it's doing to find them! And they'd be right to! One billion dollars is more than New Dawn or Global Justice bring in on any given year!"

"Well . . . naturally," Zixuan says, wetting her lips and looking away, "It's a billion dollars, darling. C-can . . . can you imagine what that kind of wealth would bring?""

"Yes," Yazmin growls, "I can. And it's nothing that is worth what will happen. This city is going to burn."

"It's easy to not care about the fire when you're above the ashes," Rakeem agrees, "Assuming they'll even pay out."

"Oh, they will," Yazmin says, shaking her head, "They want to send a message. This is the first attack on Jacob's Ladder since the Susurration. Usually Justiciar and her Edicts serve as a bulwark against any potential enemy action. It's why they tolerate letting AGL control The Foot."

"S-so what do we do?" Harper says tugging at her lip, "We're not going to go out and try to get the bounty, are we?"

"No!" you say immediately, "We're going to help them! They're our friends, right?"

You look around at the table around you. No one is willing to make eye contact. Zixuan, Rakeem, and Nora all look away. Harper has been nervously staring out the window, and Eve is furiously messaging someone—almost certainly Sunny—and trying to act aloof. Only Yazmin looks back.

"Right," she says, "We can't let them die like this."

The lack of eye contact grows even more pronounced. Nora looks at her hands.

"Yazy . . . the whole city is going to be after them. The whole city. Not just Powers, not just Global Justice, not just New Dawn. Everyone. Every hero, villain, metahuman, and two-bit pistol-jockey with a gun. I don't . . . I don't know how we can survive that."

"Not to mention, they're villains," Zixuan emphasizes, "I know I'm hardly one to throw stones, but they're not sympathetic to the public at large. We help them, and we risk being painted by the same brush."

"I can't believe you guys!" you say, outraged, "Zixuan, you made out with Marcos, sloppy-style! We all heard it!"

"True."

"Oh, yeah!"

"Fucking nerd has moves, I'll give him that."

Rakeem says nothing, his expression conflicted.

Yazmin says nothing, her eyes still blazing.

"And we hung out with Cameron—"

"Camdyn."

"Whatever!" you shout, throwing all four arms up, "We know their first names! Are we seriously going to just ditch Marcos, Camdyn, Bidu, Gaspard, and Soldier X—she said she has no other name, shut the fuck up Eve!"

". . . ouch," Eve says, grabbing her theoretical heart.

". . . some might call it a fitting end," Rakeem says, "How they would want to go out. Striking the biggest target of all. Poetic justice."

"This isn't justice," Yazmin says, her eyes blazing, "This is a lynch mob."

She slams the table again.

"Are we heroes or not?! I was unaware that we quit when things got too hard!" She turns to her girlfriend. "Nora, you guessed this would happen—"

"I didn't think they'd attack Elysium!"

"But you knew they would bite off more than they could chew. You planned for this—"

"Again, not for this."

"It's a matter of scale!" Yazmin says, waving her hands, "Your idea is solid. We help them escape from Horizon and disappear. It's just more urgent to do it now."

She leans over the table and stares Nora in the eyes.

"You were the one who agreed with them. You were the one who wanted to let them go. And now you want to hang them out to dry?"

"Uuuuuuuugh," Nora growls, rubbing her hair, "Fuck."

She bangs her head on the table.

"Fuck."

She leaves down for a second.

"Fuck."

And when she looks back up, it's Valiant Silver speaking.

"Okay. We all vote now. Secret ballots," she says, "We do this and it goes loud, they're going to come after NuGen next. All of us. They either won't believe or won't care if one of us abstains. So the vote has to be unanimous."

She looks around.

"Anyone votes 'nay' and we stay out of it. If you do, I will not judge you. No one here will judge you."

She growls that last bit at Yazmin, but mostly at you. You bristle in place.

She grabs a sheet of paper and rips it up. She gropes around for a pen and raises it when she finds it.

"Everyone make their decision. We'll come back in five minutes. Again, this must be unanimous and we will not try to find out each other's votes."

And then you all split up.

You vote to help The Defiance Unit without thinking twice. You scribble down your answers, fold the paper and toss into the middle of the table. Yazmin is right behind you. Nora signs, scribbles something, and tosses her vote in as well.

You look around to see everyone else. Harper is worrying at her lip so hard that you're concerned she will draw blood. You know what she's worried about: If her sister was still out there, could she possibly turn down the chance for a billion dollars? If her sister reappeared, was Harper better off keeping her head down or being out there so she could see her coming?

Rakeem is shaking his head, angry at himself. He's been all over the place since the turbo-fumble. The omni-botch. The omega-flub. You see him furiously scribble something and then fold his vote. He marches over and adds it to the table. He gives you and Yazmin a nod, speaking with his eyes.

I'm a hero. I don't know what I was hesitating for.

Zixuan sits by herself laughing in disbelief. Could she have ever pictured herself in this situation when she followed Yazmin and Nora those three years ago? At one time she was the leader of a fledgling crime syndicate. Now, she's a hero seriously considering fighting the whole city.

Eve is the only one to not leave the table. She rips her paper in half and throws it. Nora raises an eyebrow.

"You meatbags are the only ones at risk here. The most they can do to me is fuck up my drone. I'm not voting when I don't have the same skin in the game."

She crosses her arms and glares at Nora, daring her to object. Your leader just nods.

"Fine. We'll need you either way."

Finally, Zixuan and Harper turn in their votes. Nora mixes them together and opens them.

Six in favor. None against.

Nora lets out a noisy breath from her nose.

"Leviathan's Blood, we're fucking idiots. Alright, make peace with the god of your choosing, NuGen. We're all gonna fucking die."

Everyone sits. There's no dissention, none of the usual banter. Just razor-sharp focus. This is the path you all choose, and you'll see it through.

"Alright, here's the plan," Nora says, "We find the Defiance Unit, get them to ground, and get them out of the city ASAP. And we do it all on the down-low, so the shit doesn't roll back our way."

Zixuan laughs.

"Goodness, is that all? What was all that drama about a moment ago if it's that simple?"

"Lady Leizi, stop being sarcastic. You know you're extra hot when you're kind of mean and I find that distracting," Nora says, deadpan, "And, yes, I'm well aware how aspirational that all sounded. Thankfully, I've already taken steps to make our dreams more than just fantasy."

"No fuckin' way!" Eve says, "You were holding out on us?!"

"Yes, because I didn't want it getting leaked to Anansi wherever you wanted to look cool in front of her."

". . . that's not fair," Eve says, looking genuinely hurt for once.

"No, it's not. Take down 'arevaliantsilveranduiarabrokenuprightnow.com' and maybe I'll fucking apologize."

You hide your laughter behind your hand. Okay, maybe there's some of the usual banter.

"Anyway, I've got a clandestine path out of the city already set up," Nora says.

"Where?" Zixuan says wondering, "How could you—the abandoned subway tunnels."

Nora winks at her. "Got it in one. I added a little extra while excavating for the hydroponics lab. And Yazy helped clear some waterways that should be flooded. Instead, now we have a one-way ticket out of here."

"We just need to tell them," Rakeem says.

"Yep, yep, yep. That's where the second part of my plan comes into play. Zixuan, you planted it, right?"

"Naturally, darling," she says with false bravado to hide her nervousness. Of all your friends, Zixuan looks the least certain about your chosen course of action, but, if she has any reservations, she keeps them to herself. "He always wears the same jacket with a hood, even when in civilian garb. It was trivial placing your device in his inner breast pocket."

"Uhh, what?" Harper says, raising her hand.

"She bugged Memoria with a two-way communicator at the party," Nora says bluntly, "We can get in touch with him using it."

"That's why you kissed him?" Rakeem says sharply.

"Nora merely gave me the order to place the bug, darling," Zixuan says. She then flips her hair. "I kissed him because he was attractive and I wanted to."

Rakeem starts at that before looking away. He then shakes his head and refocuses on the mission at hand, while Zixuan smirks victoriously. You hold back a sigh. You almost feel bad for Renee.

"Yes, yes, Zixuan's very attractive, this is known," Nora says dismissively, completely missing the ongoing byplay, "Anyway, we can make contact. We have a way of getting them out. We do this fast, we do this clean, and we do this secret. Any questions?"

No one says anything.

"Good. Costumes on, get down here in five. Move."

Everyone dashes away to get suited up. Nora goes to the box where her armor is kept and snaps it onto her. In a moment she's Valiant Silver.

She leans over the table and sighs, her helmet's speakers distorting the sound. You put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" you ask softly.

"Fucking fuck!" she shouts, jumping into the air, "Don't sneak on me like that, Rosemary!"

"Sorry," you say, not sounding apologetic at all, "You just looked so stressed out . . ."

"I am," Valiant Silver says immediately, "This is serious. I don't . . . I don't know how we all come home from this."

She tilts her head down.

"There's a way . . . there has to be a way we all make it. I'm just not smart enough to figure out what it is!"

She slams the table. You see her shoulders trembling. You keep your hand on her shoulder and transition to a hug from behind with all four of your arms.

"Fucking suck it up," you say as kindly as you can, "You expecting to bitch a solution out of thin air?"

Your profanity is so at odds with your tone and personality that Valiant Silver bursts out laughing. You pull back and watch her as she recovers from cracking up. As she does, she hugs you from the front.

"I love you, Rosemary. Thank fuck we don't have worry about you dying during this clusterfuck."

Your back up bodies attest to that. In fact, you've made a lot of progress on your little cottage in the woods! It's nice having a self that's communing with nature.

As you and Valiant Silver have a moment, everyone else arrives. There's a shared look between all of you before Moon River places the call.

There's no going back after this.

As one you nod. Then Moon River connects. The connection stabilizes, but there's no answer for a second. Then—

"What the fucking fuck is this fucking thing?!" Zeno screams, his imagine appearing on the holographic display, "And why the fuck is is it playing 'The Internationale'?!"

"Zeno, this is Valiant Silver," your leader says, "Do you read?"

"What. The Fuck. Do you want? And can it wait? Here, I'll answer—yes."

"It can't wait if you want our help getting out of the city," Valiant Silver barks, "Where's Memoria?"

"Busy!"

"Quit fucking around," Valiant Silver growls, "We're the best chance you have. The Elysium Group has put a one billion dollar bounty on you. The whole city is coming for your blood."

"One billion—?!" Zeno lets out an incredulous laugh, "Of fucking course they did. Of course they did. As if what they've already done to us isn't enough—!"

"What's going on?" Valiant Silver says, "Zeno, tell us!"

". . . just tell her, Camdyn," a woman's voice says off-screen. Bidu? "We . . . we have no other hope."

"Fuck. Fuck. Alright," Zeno looks at you all, "Okay, look, they're doing so fucked up experiments up here. We wanted to hit them but . . . someone who is going to die tipped them off. They were waiting for us."

There's the sound of footsteps and Zeno looks away. "Freeze assholes!"

There's the sound of several gunshots.

"They won't be chasing us anymore," you hear Soldier X say, "Keep talking, we need help."

"Fuck, never seen anyone get literally kneecapped before," Zeno says, looking back, "Anyway they got metas up there, they jumped us, and Marcos is out of commission. He barely got us back to the surface."

"Where are you now?" Adamant asks, focused as always.

"Uhh, we're by the fuckin'—"

"Is this a secure channel?" Soldier X asks, off-camera.

"It should be—"

"No, it is not," an electronic voice interrupts.

Steelheart.

"Fuck!" Valiant Silver screams, "Meet us at the place you saw us last. Stay hidden! Moon River, cut the connection, now!"

The Defiance Unit winks away as Steelheart's emblem takes their place. Moon River looks shaken.

"How the fuck did you—I was encrypting this channel! You were so fast, you . . . How?! Not even Sunny is that good! You've never—"

"That is unimportant," Steelheart interrupts, "What is important is this: a certain unregulated party has caught wind of the bounty. They will stop at nothing to obtain it. I am powerless to check them. Even now, I'm risking much by contacting you."

The sky outside darkens as the world is flooded by hundreds and hundreds of Steelheart's drones. Your jaw drops in awe. There are so many. Did . . . did he empty Wonderland for this?

"They suspect you have a backchannel to The Defiance Unit. Many do. I will do everything I can to delay the disclosure, but they will eventually learn what I just have. Do not trust any future communications from me. Do you understand?"

"What are you playing at, Rotwang?!" Valiant Silver demands.

"I cannot tell you," Steelheart replies, "Nor can I stop what will happen next in my name. Just know that I valued our collaborations together and regret what this has become. Steelheart out."

And then he's gone.

". . . what the fuck was that?!" Valiant Silver shouts.

"Focus," Uiara tells her, "Steelheart is buying us some time. I think. We need to move, now."

"Fuck, okay, you're right."

She turns to you.

"Apiary, get some bodies to the meeting place ahead of us. The rest of us will wait in the labs. We travel separately; it will be less conspicuous that way. Moon River, you're on drone duty: disable as many of Steelheart's flying eyesores as you can, now."

"R-right," she stutters.

"Adamant, you and I are with Zixuan. Uiara, Red Huntress, travel solo. Apiary get bodies everywhere so no one knows exactly where we are."

She looks at all of you. You can't see her eyes, but you know the look in them: ready to defy the whole world.

"NuGen, together!"

* * *​

You keep waiting for things to go wrong, but they don't. Not yet anyway.

The sky above the Worker's Mitt is a kaleidoscope of green and red light, as Steelheart and Moon River duel for control of the army overhead. Steelheart had begun systematically scanning every inch of the borough, ostensibly looking for The Defiance Unit. However, he does so without any regard for the safety of others. He's already damaged numerous buildings and injures a score of people by the time your team's technopath begins struggling with him.

Moon River's taken to seizing control over whatever drones she can and driving them into the ground. Despite this, there's still a rain of shrapnel as Steelheart's other drones immediately destroy whatever she manages to wrestle away. You lose a half-dozen bodies as you try to intercept the falling debris to prevent it from hurting anyone.

Moon River's swears echo across the Mitt. You've warned as many people as you can to get to shelter. The community center is packed as you arrive—Valiant Silver and Adamant built it to be able to withstand a nuclear bomb—and you're mobbed by citizens of the Mitt.

"Apariy, what's going on?!

"Is NuGen hunting The Defiance Unit?! Are they really offering a billion-dollar bounty?!"

"Help me! I can't find Sammy! Please, Apiary, you have to help me find her!"

"She's on West 6th Street," you answer automatically, seeing the girl with another body, "She's hiding out in Kitagawa's Ramen. I don't think it's safe to move her, but Mateo and Mr. Kitagawa say she can stay as long as she needs."

"Oh thank god," the man sobs, "Thank you, thank you, Apiary."

"No problem!" you say. But as you do this, another two dozen people jockey for your attention, begging for your help. You hold up four hands placatingly.

"Calm down, calm down!" you shout, "I've got two more bodies coming and I'm all over the borough. I'll help everyone, I promise! And, no, NuGen is not hunting The Defiance Unit. The rest of the team is out trying to put an end to this madness. Moon River is trying to get rid of the drones as we speak."

"Man, are we lucky to have NuGen or what?!" someone cheers, "I moved here from North Docks just 'cuz I heard they were great, but I had no idea how great!"

The panic gives way to cheering as you wave them off. "W-we're just doing our jobs! There's no need—"

"We really do appreciate all of you," another woman says, "Any other time I'd be tearing my hair out in fear. But now, we know you're protecting us."

"Y-yeah!" you say, feeling riddled with guilt. The compliments and declarations of trust just keep coming . . . all while you have three bodies meeting with The Defiance Unit in Homeward Bound. If anyone knew they were with you, then everyone here would be in mortal danger.

So that's part of the reason you quickly shuffle the five members through the secret passage in the basement with nary a word. They're in the subways and moving before you can really even speak with them.

Not that they're particularly chatty. Nox and Crimson Soprano limp along, using each other for support. Soldier X is next to you at the front of the group, sidearm drawn. She's walking a little behind you, both so she can see any threats coming from ahead . . . and so she can shoot you if necessary.

Huh. Looks like all of that situational awareness training with Lady Leizi paid off! Now you know someone is ready to kill you!

. . . you try not to be offended.

Zeno is in the middle of the group, holding Memoria over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He looks grim, determined, and . . . absolutely baffled. He keeps shaking his head like he can't believe what he's seeing as you lead them to safety.

Well, the first step toward safety. A tense fifteen minutes later, you arrive at the rendezvous point, inside one of the minor hydroponics labs.

You turn the corner and are nearly blinded by the sudden light. As you do, you see your team sans Moon River.

The Red Huntress is the first to notice you.

"Apiary, you made it—Leviathan's Blood!"

"What? What?" you say, turning around sharply, looking for threats. You're confused when you see nothing, but then you realize what The Red Huntress is looking at.

The Defiance Unit.

You have to blink because, for a second, you don't process what you're seeing. Zeno is carrying a glass sculpture for some reason?

No wait. That's not a glass sculpture. That's a person. That's Memoria.

The photographer looks like he's seen better days. His skin is hardened and cracked, like a glass bottle that's been stepped on. His breath comes in short, sharp gasps, and blood trickles from fissures in his skin.

He's not alone either. Your eyes quickly flicker to each member of The Defiance Unit, and they all show symptoms of the same phenomenon—skin hardened like clay in a kiln, polished to a mirror sheen. Nox is unable to move one of his arms, the area around his shoulder is so hardened. Crimson Soprano looks like she's wearing a glass collar. Soldier X's body is covered up, but you see her moving oddly. Stiff. Zeno is the least affected, but you see traces of it on his neck as he turns the camera back to himself.

". . . Jordano's Disease," Valiant Silver breathes, recognizing the illness that took her father.

"Can you help?" Soldier X demands.

Valiant Silver takes a second to rouse herself, so Uiara answers.

". . . not immediately," she answers reluctantly, "There is a cure available, but it takes many treatments over the course of months. Even then . . . it can't reverse everything."

"Fuck!" Zeno swears, "Fucking . . . fuck! That little fucking shit is dead."

He turns to the rest of The Defiance Unit, breathes coming quick and heavy.

"We gave him everything! We taught him to read! He didn't have a name before we met him! None of them did! And he fucking stabs us in the back?! And all of his friends?! He . . . fuck!"

Zeno's voice cracks at the end of his rant and his knees buckle. Nox stumbles to catch Memoria, but Uiara is already there to lend a shoulder. There's a moment where Zeno tightens his grip on The Defiance Unit's leader, before his legs give out and he lets go. Uiara holds Memoria firm as Zeno sinks to his knees.

"Fuck . . ." he half-sobs.

You all share uneasy glances, but, to your surprise, it's Lady Leizi that steps forward.

"Darling," she says gently, getting Zeno's attention, "What happened? How did you all end up like this? Did this happen on Elysium?

"I fucking guess? I dunno, there was this room and we were in it, and some fucking shit turned something on . . . The Elysium fucks struck afterwards. Marcos barely got us to the surface before passing out."

"What were you doing there?" Valiant Silver asks, backing up Lady Leizi.

"We received a tip," Nox answers, "Or, at least, Marcos did. There was going to be a gap in Elysium's security as the members of their metahuman guardians were shuffled around. It was an opportunity too grand to pass up."

"A fitting finale," Crimson Soprano says, her voice hoarse, "A grand ending for The Definace Unit, striking out at the greatest parasites of all."

Lady Leizi narrows her eyes. "There's more to this story—"

"Our price is escape from the city and treatment for this . . . Jordano's Disease," Soldier X interrupts, "We'll give you the rest of our intel then and only then."

You all share a look.

"Umm, we were going to help you out anyway?" The Red Huntress says, putting a finger on her chin, "We had a vote and everything!"

"It's true," Uiara seconds, "Valiant Silver's been planning for this eventuality. It's how we got in touch with you to begin with."

Now it's The Defiance Unit's turn to communicate with a collective glance. Apparently, Zeno is silently elected as the spokesman.

". . . fuckin' why?" he asks, confused.

"Because it's the right thing to do," Valiant Silver replies, "And we're heroes, dickhead."

That more than anything—being called a "dickhead", apparently—convinces Zeno of your sincerity. There's a collective ripple of relief in The Defiance Unit as they accept your aid.

"So, what must we do?" Nox says, "How do we get out of the city?"

"The waterways—" Valiant Silver begins.

Only to be interpreted by a familiar electronic voice.

"Ah, NuGen," Steelheart's electronic voice reverberates, "I should have suspected. And I did, I suppose. Of course your naive altruism would have made you sympathetic to The Defiance Unit's futile resistance. And no doubt you could not resist playing the heroes and rescuing them. Pathetic."

The drone explodes as one controlled by Moon River zips in. You hear her swearing.

"Fuck, fuck! He got away from me, that shit. He figured out where I was trying to thin the drones and started looking—I-I'm sorry!"

Moon River is nearly in tears.

"Everyone move now!" Valiant Silver barks, "Our location's compromised; our plan is too. We need to scatter and get to ground. It's going to be a warzone with those drones. I don't know who the fuck that was, but it wasn't Steelheart—"

The emergency alert system blares on everyone's screen. Steelheart's emblem appears.

"Greetings," he says in his synthesized voice, "This is Steelheart of New Dawn. I have a definite fix on The Defiance Unit's presence. NuGen is helping them flee the city. Regrettably, however, Moon River proves a tiresome obstacle to apprehending them. So, I make the following offer to any who would accept: agree to equally divide the proceeds of bounty with me, and I will provide you NuGen and The Defiance Unit's locations in real time. This offer will remain open to all until The Defiance Unit is apprehended. To accept—"

"Fucking piece of shit!" Valiant Silver screams, "Okay, new plan: we split up."

"What?!" several voices say at once.

"The bounty is for the entire Defiance Unit, not just one or two of them. We split up and, if they catch us, they're more likely to keep us alive until they have the set. Zeno and Memoria are with me, Uiara, and Apiary. The Red Huntress and Apiary take Nox. Crimson Soprano and Soldier X, you're with Adamant, Lady Leizi, and Apiary.

"Fuckin' what?!" Zeno says in confusion.

"Shut up!" your leader snarls, "We'll use the waterways—"

"Wait," Adamant says, looking up and holding up a hand, "Is the room . . . shrinking?"

You all follow his gaze, and, sure enough, the room is . . . deflating? It's melting like a sugar cube with water being poured over it. Valiant Silver moves without hesitating.

"Everyone out, now! It's Limestone; he's destroying the tunnels!"

Valiant Silver begins booking-it for the exit just as the first part of the ceiling collapses and destroys a greenhouse-station. She grabs Zeno—his power not activating and thus, definitively proving she means no harm—and drags him with her. The rest of you are not far behind, Uiara carrying Memoria, you and Crimson Soprano taking to the air.

The tunnels in front of you are similarly soggy, with all the integrity of wet cardboard. It's only moments before they collapse entirely, either sealing in you in place or crushing you.

"Adamant, shore up the tunnels with your metal, now!" Valiant Silver calls.

Adamant sprints ahead, moving with a speed that belies his heavy form. Metal sprays from his arms like water from hoses, creating a shell of adamantium around you. He stretches the metal, spreading it in a layer down the length of the hallway. At the end, you can see the fading light of the afternoon. You see a man in a limestone-yellow costume touching the walls of the tunnels.

"Someone fucking shoot that guy!" Valiant Silver calls, a split second before there's a deafening BANG behind you. Soldier X lets out three shots from her sidearm, two of which catch Limestone in the shoulder. He goes down, wailing in pain.

"Get to a hospital before you bleed to death, asshole!" Valiant Silver yells, kicking him as she runs by. A few members of your team—and all of The Defiance Unit save Soldier X—do the same.

You get out of the tunnels, and the non-fliers collapse to the ground, panting for breath. Well, except Soldier X, who is barely breathing heavy; man, she's in shape.

"W-why'd he do that?!" The Red Huntress whines, "Didn't he just destroy the borough's hydroponics lab?!"

"Probably didn't care," Uiara says, between gasps of air, "Thought he could use the bounty money to buy off any complaints."

"D-dummy," the Red Huntress wheezes, "Whew, how long were we in those tunnels? It's already dark out."

She looks around.

"And where in the Mitt are we? I don't recognize that clocktower . . ."

Nox jolts at that. "I've seen this before! Friends, it's the work of an enemy metahuman!"

The sky around you turns black as pitch as a moon that is much too large hangs in the sky. The stars glow like holes in the firmament, letting in an unearthly light from behind. There's a loud, ghostly wail as dozens of translucent phantasms flow from the clocktower in the center of your new world. On top of the tower stands a figure, a black shadow underneath a white cape, holding an hourglass that is slowly draining.

The Stygian Spectre.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Valiant Silver swears, "Everyone, you need to break that stupid hourglass! His Domain stays up until it runs out of sand! Zeno, eyes on him; don't let him teleport around here!"

Zeno complies, and The Stygian Spectre halts in place. You can't see any of his features save two, blank white eyes, but they widen in shock.

You try to seize the initiative and send a body at him, but one of the ghosts intercepts you. It flies into you, gives you a chill that is as much an emotional blow as a physical one. Your body drops to the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

Right into the path of the other two metahumans.

One is a lithe warrior coated in an armor of ice—you think that's Frostbite—and the other is a hulking fellow wearing a mail of stone. Stone-Guy looks less certain than Frostbite who shoves his icicle-sword into the ground and twists. A geyser of ice explodes from him and charges at all of you.

Adamant creates a wall of metal that stops the ice, just as Stone-Guy starts racing forward. Valiant Silver curses under her breath.

"Zeno, don't lose line of sight on the Spectre! Apiary, Crimson Soprano, Soldier X, take out that stupid fucking hourglass, but watch the ghosts!"

"Leizi, you and me on Frostbite! Adamant, Uiara, take the guy who I'm pretty sure is Golem!"

". . . I am!" he says, looking uncomfortable.

"Well, fuck you, you should have kept to hunting Behemoths! Red Huntress, freelance, tag who you can!"

"What should I do?" Nox says, eying your opponents warily.

"You don't have time to ramp up. Play defense, protect Memoria."

Valiant Silver takes a breath.

"NuGen, Defiance Unit, defy together!"

"Stop sounding so cool!" Zeno whines as you all leap into action.

You and Crimson Soprano take to the air. The ghosts come like an ectoplasmic tide, but they're slow. Still, you find yourself having to bob and weave with all of your bodies just to remain untouched.

Crimson Soprano has more success simply blasting them away—her energy beams dissipate them like sun dissipates fog—but slows down after a rapid fire burst. Literally, she starts traveling more slowly through the air. You're confused about what's going on until something Valiant Silver told you once comes to mind.

"Crimson Soprano is The Defiance Unit's opener; not their closer. The reason is simple: no matter how flashy her attacks are, she's got a finite number of them before she has to go sit under the sun and recharge. She's about as threatening as I am without my armor when she runs out of juice."

Crimson Soprano catches your eye and you both realize the same thing; she's nearly out of power. Which is unfortunate, because The Stygian Spectre's hourglass is still over half-full.

Meanwhile, everyone else clashes with the two mercenaries. Frostbite is fast and vicious, but Valiant Silver's undersuit glows red as fire blasts from her palms. Huh. You had forgotten she had a pyrokinetic module. Why'd she stop using it? Also, didn't she make a railgun back when she took over leadership of NuGen? You haven't seen it since.

. . . was she just putting weapons in her armor and then forgetting about them?!

Frostbite sneers as the flames fail to melt his armor, but he misses Lady Leizi approaching him from the opposite side. A lightning-infused flurry of punches and kicks shatters his protection, and Frostbite is sent scrambling to reconstitute his ice.

Meanwhile, Golem takes a half-hearted swing at Adamant, failing to harm him. His rock-covered fist shatters against your teammate's metal body. Uiara glares at him, and his swings falter.

"What are you doing?" she demands, "You're barely trying to fight us."

Golem looks away.

". . . I don't like hurting people," he admits, "It's why I stick to hunting in the QZ. But, I heard a billion dollars, and Randolph offered . . ."

"So you took him up on it, knowing you would have to kill five people," Uiara says bluntly.

". . . it's different when you're actually doing it," he admits, putting his hands up, "I'm out. I'm sorry. I can't do this."

Back in the air, Crimson Soprano is in danger. The Stygian Spectre has noticed her flagging energy and directs his phantoms at her, despite his inability to move. It's all the Scarlet Songstress can do to stay in the air.

You rush him in response, but it's a trap. Just as you get level with the face of the clock in the tower, two giant shadowy hands burst out and grab all three of your bodies. They crush two of them, destroying them completely, and you're left with the unpleasant, existential sensation of dying twice in rapid succession.

. . . is it weird that you're getting used to it?

Your third and last remaining body here is sent flying. As you try to right yourself in the air, you see a transformed Red Huntress savage Frostbite on the ground. She's smaller and less animalistic than when she fought Nox, but it's more than enough to wear down the icy-warrior. He throws his hands up in surrender.

"I give up! I give up! Call it off—fuck!"

The Red Huntress gives him a final scratch for good measure as your team accepts his surrender. Nox marches forwards, pulling out two capsules from his justacorps. He throws one each at the feet of Frostbite and Golem.

"Break them open and smell them," he demands as he hands Memoria over to Adamant. Golem and Frostbite share a confused look.

"Now!" the still-bestial Red Hutnress roars. They both hurry to comply.

"Leviathan's Blood, what is that?!" Frostbite says, holding his nose, "It's like a skunk made out of used diapers!"

"That is disgusting!" Golem says, his eyes watering, "Why did you—"

His eyes go glassy and he collapses to the ground. Frostbite is quickly behind him.

Everyone stares in confusion, except Valiant Silver who gasps.

"Clever boy!"

Nox gives a vicious grin before teleporting away. Three jumps later, he's behind The Stygian Spectre. Nox snatches the hourglass from his unmoving hand and then throws it high in the air. It explodes as Soldier X shoots it from her hidden position on the ground.

Then the night sky turns back to late afternoon and you have to blink the sunspots out of your eyes. The Stygian Spectre turns back into just being a guy outside of his Domain. Nox grabs him by the scruff on the neck and shakes him, causing him to yelp in surprise. He goes limp as Nox drains him and drops him to the ground, flexing his hand as he does.

"Good job!" The Red Huntress chirps at him.

He nods at her.

"You as well. I find your combination of grace and lethality charming. Do you have a brother by any chance?"

". . . n-no?" she says tilting her head. Then she gets what he's asking. "Ohhhhhhhhhh! Sorry, no brothers, but I do know a few gay bars we could cruise at when this is all over!"

"Cruise?"

"You have much to learn!"

"Charming. Awesome. Uiara and I are coming. Now, can we please fucking focus on getting out from this metal asshole's thumb?!" Valiant Silver shouts. Above you, the war in cyberspace still rages.

"We've barely made progress," Soldier X agrees, "We need to split up and move—"

"Not so fast, villains!" an accented voice calls. From nearby, towering plants turn their bulbs and spit seeds the size of tennis balls at everyone faster than the eye can see. Crimson Soprano shrieks as she's sent falling, and Valiant Silver swears as they crack against her armor. Adamant and Uiara throw up some cover, but a man in a white costume bounces over the metal and ice wall, flaming sword in hand.

Nearby, a woman dressed like a red flower appears with another man in the most eye-searingly garish costume you've ever seen. A much shorter, slighter woman dances on the wind, feet suspended above the ground. Her red hair waves like a banner.

You squint. Wait. Is that a literal child?

"Darling, we've had quite the day already," Lady Leizi all but snarls. Sparks fly from her hands. "Do not make me punch a child!"

"That's kind of fucked up, bring a kid to collect a murder-bounty," Zeno agrees, "How old are you?"

". . . fourteen," she answers, her voice high and squeaky.

"Fourteen?!" you echo, horrified. Everyone else chimes in too.

"For shame!"

"Terrible!"

"Disgusting."

"Disgraceful."

"You should be ashamed!"

". . ."

"Shameful!"

"Again, kind of fucked up."

"Get the fuck out of my way before I turn Les Quatre Saisons in Les Quatre Morts!" Valiant Silver explodes. She points a finger at the man in white. "Fuckin' hell, Hiver! I thought you were cool!"

Hiver looks deeply ashamed.

". . . look, I don't . . . okay, this is pretty fucked up. We're hunting people like animals."

He drops his stance and lets go of the sword. He turns to the woman in red.

"Gwen, what the fuck are we doing?"

"We're hunting criminals, Hiver!" the garish man says, his grin fixed on his face, "Criminals who are in need of justice! And call your cousin 'Été' when we're in the field!"

"What have they actually done?" Hiver shoots back.

"They attacked Elysium! Those vile villains hurting innocent—"

"Did they?!" Hiver says, eyes narrowed, "Because there's been no reports of what happened on the station. You'd think they'd broadcast something like that if it were true?"

"Hiver!" Été says, shocked, "You can't be defending them!"

"I'm not! NuGen is!" He points to all of you. "NuGen! The guys who told Novalight and Justiciar to fuck off and won? The most beloved people in the Worker's Mitt since Valiant Red? You really think they're protecting The Defiance Unit for no reason?!"

". . . I hadn't thought of that," Été admits. She turns to the plant-man.

"Well . . . the optics might be bad . . ." he allows.

"S-sis?" the wind-walker says, "I don't wanna fight Apiary . . ."

She looks at your remaining body shyly.

"I . . ." Été bits her lip.

"Don't hurt Automne and we'll leave," Hiver says, "Look, we're sorry. It's just, you hear 'a billion dollars' and go crazy for a second. It's so much money . . ."

"Deal," Valiant Silver says, "Now, fuck off."

"Come here, now!" the garish man says, "We aren't—"

"Printemps, we're leaving," Été interrupts, "I'm not putting Automne in harm's way. This isn't what I promised her when she agreed to be a hero."

Printemps—so that was his name!—sighs. "Very well . . . However, we don't want to risk any negative press for being soft on crime!"

He turns to all of you.

"We were never here!"

"Deal," Valiant Silver repeats through grit teeth, "Now, fuck. Off."

Just then, an armored APC turns the corner and screeches to a halt in front of Uiara and Adamant's barricades, right near where Hiver is. The doors open, and four figures in black tactical gear hop out. One is carrying a comically oversized sword while another is yelling at some . . . birds? Who are squawking back?

Another one touches their hands together nervously, pulling some sort of metal rods out of the back of the car. While the fourth is unremarkable, save for their gloves that leave the palms of their hands exposed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Valiant Silver yells so loudly that you flinch, "You fucking guys now?! Why is—"

"SLAYERS!" Été snarls, "Of course you would be here! Our arch némésis!"

"Oh no, have we met?!" the figure with the sword says, "I am so sorry, but . . . I don't remember your name. I feel like such a jerk; I'm really bad with faces!"

"Giant Slayer," the one with the gloves says, "You've never met her before. I think she's saying her team and SLAYERS are rivals."

"We are?!" she exclaims, "Oh, now I feel twice as bad! I don't even know my rival's names . . . no wonder I can't find a husband . . ."

She slumps to the ground, inadvertently smacking Hiver with her sword. He lets out a muffled curse as yelp as the blade hits him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she says, standing up immediately, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine! Fine!" Hiver says, "Just . . . surprised me is all."

"Yeah, this old girl has a mind of her own," she says, patting the blade fondly, "So, uh, what are you doing here? Are you after the bounty too?"

"What is . . . this?" Nox says, tilting his head.

"It's called a meet-cute," Harper whispers, "I think there's something there!"

Hiver responds, having not heard Harper or Nox.

"Oh, uh, not anymore. We decided it was kind of messed up to hunt people down as part of a giant metahuman mob? Especially when we don't really know what they did on Elysium?"

"Wow, so gallant!" The Giant Slayer says in admiration, "Are you single? What's your net worth?"

"W-what?"

"Oh, nothing, sorry!" she says, quickly, "Umm, I never thought about it like that. It does seem wrong now that you mention it . . . but I dunno if my team would be willing to back off . . ."

"I don't fucking care," the person with the gloves says.

"W-well, I kind of know NuGen," the one with the metal rods adds, "So, it's kind of awkward—"

"I will fucking ruin your life, Vulcan!" Valiant Silver screams, "Fucking try me, nerd!"

"—I think we should leave!" Vulcan yelps.

"Hmm, okay . . . Wild Speaker, what do you think?"

"No, I don't have any bread! What do you mean 'payment upfront'?! You only understand that concept because of my power! The fuck is 'bird-law'? What—oww, my eyes!"

Wild Speaker curls into a ball as various birds swarm and peck her.

"My power has recharged," Crimson Soprano says, shaking with thinly-repressed anger, "Should I just kill them all?"

"We're leaving right now before we either kill them or ourselves," Valiant Silver says in the same tone of voice, "Right fucking now."

"Shame, the entertainment just picked up," Lady Leizi says, lips twitching.

"This is the funniest fucking thing I've ever seen, and I hate that we have to leave it," Zeno says, grinning madly.

You turn to go—

And the roar of a motorcycle stops you in place. No, the roar of motorcycles. Four riders pull around the corner and swerve to a stop. The woman in front of the gang wears a fringe jacket and a cattleman hat, domino mask over her face. She looks at you with brown eyes, her black hair tied into two braids.

Next to her is a man in a black Western shirt with pearl snaps, a black stetson hat, and a blue bandit mask covering his nose and mouth. Behind him is a younger woman with curly red hair wearing a plaid button-down under a vest. She gives a toothy grin underneath her gambler's hat. The final member of the foursome is a bookish man with glasses. He wears a preacher's robe complete with white collar, open crown hat, and a golden cross dangling from his neck. He carries a thick, black book.

The Lonesome Ranger. The Mysterious Stranger. The Getaway Kid. And Preacher Man.

The four metahumans that make up New Dawn's special reconnaissance and strike team: Desperado.

Valiant Silver doesn't lose her temper this time. She's all too cognizant of the threat the four metahumans in front of you pose. She stares down The Lonesome Ranger as the cowgirl levels a six-shooter at her.

There's a tense silence as you stand off with them. You see a plastic bag drift in the wind out of the corner of your eye, like a tumbleweed down a dusty street.

"What in tarnation is NuGen fixin' to do here?" The Lonesome Ranger demands, "You're standin' arm in arm with ten miles of bad trail. Surely, you comprehend that fact, eh, partner?"

"Oh, I reckon' they understand just fine," the Mysterious Stranger says, pulling out a magnum, "NuGen ain't never been shy. They wear their damn hearts right there on their sleeves, for the whole world to take a gander at."

"You know this is wrong," Uiara says. She takes a step forward, gaze not looking anywhere but at the leader of Desperado. "Or has the promise of the bounty blinded you to that fact?"

"You sayin' we've been bought and sold?!" The Getaway Kid mewls, "You got yerself some nerve!"

"Well, as they say, if the shoe fits . . ." Lady Leizi adds. Adamant steps forward to shield her from the guns, but it's a futile gesture. His metal form would do very little against the power of The Lonesome Ranger or The Mysterious Stranger, even if Preacher Man didn't get involved.

"Heh," The Lonesome Ranger laughs, "You damn kids will shootout with the whole wide world if you have to, won't ya? It don't matter if the law tells you to move; you'll hold firm and tell the law 'you first'."

She pulls back on the hammer of her pistol and you all tense. Then she snorts, holsters her weapon, and turns to the rest of her gang.

"Dang NuGen's put us to shame again!" she calls, "First they tell Yelena to shove it where the sun don't shine, they engage in a systematic technological uplift of their home—"

"Something we all coulda been doin' for a powerful long time!" The Getaway Kid chimes in.

"—that we coulda been doin' ourselves for a long time, don't interrupt me Azalea," The Lonesome Ranger continues, "And now they're preventin' a modern-day lynchin'. This is what Desperado should be doin'! Not leavin' it to the youth!"

She slaps the handlebars of her motorcycle.

"I vote we ignore orders and help NuGen getaway clean! Who's with me?"

"Seconded," The Mysterious Stranger says, "Wolong's already offered to provide any cover for anyone who ain't fixin' to hunt their fellow man. Denial's already taken him up on it."

"Denial has?!" The Getaway Kid exclaims, "Well then we gotta too! We'll never pry Eastwood away from Umibōzu at this rate!"

"That's three in favor." The Lonesome Ranger turns to the last member of her posse. "Preacher Man, you willin' to make it the clean sweep?"

Preacher Man pushes his glasses up his face and cracks open the tome in his hands.

"And the Lord said, 'My heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are all those of Justice.'"

He closes his eyes and bows his head.

"Amen."

"Clean sweep it is!" The Lonesome Ranger calls, "Desperado, we ride with NuGen!"

"They're so fucking cool," Zeno says, almost crying, "They're so fucking cool."

"Yes, we are!" The Getaway Kid calls, "And you're not bad yerself Mr. Blonde Man. Nor is that soldier lady who snuck off when the lightning lady was talking. Look! She's over there aimin' at us right now!"

She waves at Soldier X who is partially hidden in the lengthening shadows of the evening. Soldier X freezes in what you could swear is annoyance.

"Good," Valiant Silver says, not missing a beat, "We need to split up. Can we use Getaway Kid's safehouses?"

"Ya sure can!" she agrees, "But they ain't secret. Ya'll be found eventually."

"But we can move between them instantly, yes?"

"That ya can!"

"Perfect," Valiant Silver turns back to all of you, "Same assignments as before. You orders are this: don't fucking die."

"Of course, meu anjo."

"W-we're all gonna be okay! W-well all go to the diner after this! Everyone but V.S. and Uiara!"

"I . . . be safe, darlings. I . . . would miss any of you terribly."

"Still fighting Steelheart, still busy, I love you fucksticks, don't fucking die on me!"

"See you later. All of you."

"I got bodies coming!" you shout as nine arrive, "We're gonna do this! We're heroes afterall!"

The Defiance Unit watches all of you.

"Fucking assholes trying to look cool. W-well, you don't!"

"Zeno, you're crying," Crimson Soprano says, "Stop embarrassing yourself and admit it."

"I am not!"

She ignores him.

"Well, NuGen, we're about to walk into the heart of the night. I look forward to greeting you with the dawn."

"'Better three hours too soon than a minute too late'." Nox quotes, "But better now than never. I look forward to seeing you in the 'after' NuGen."

Soldier X nods. "Good hunting."

The Getaway Kid gives a toothy grin and opens a door in the wall that wasn't there a second ago. Behind it is a cozy looking lounge, and, past that, is a maze of stairs and hallways leading in a dozen different directions.

"We'll split up and give false reportin' of ya wearabouts," The Lonesome Ranger tells you, "As well as deal with the clown show over here."

She jabs a thumb at where Les Quatre Saisons and SLAYERS were still squabbling/flirting.

"Be careful out there. Novalight's in the sky, Powers is out in force, and they say Justiciar has left The Foot for the first time in a decade."

". . . well, fuck me, I guess," Valiant Silver swears.

You all shuffle past Desperado, moving into the safehouse. As you do, you lock eyes with Preacher Man.

"That wasn't the Bible!" you whisper at him, "That was Funny Valentine from Steel Ball Run!"

Preacher Man silently laughs and puts a finger to his lips before whispering, "And I'm actually Jewish!"

You laugh, move into the safehouse and follow all three groups. The hallways wind forever, until suddenly they stop.

Then you're out of the frying pan and into the fire.

* * *​

You emerge in a pleasantly furnished bar where a man in a suit stands behind the counter. He has a meticulously waxed moustache and wears an eyepatch. You, Zeno, Uiara carrying Memoria, and Valiant Silver stumble from a crack in the wall that is much too small for you to have all fit through. He raises an eyebrow.

"Ah, Miss Windfold has cast her lot, I see?" he says, continuing to polish the glass in his hands, "Those roughnecks from Desperado are a wonderful influence on her."

He puts the glass down.

"I would offer you refreshment, but I don't think you've time for leisure. Additionally, I would prefer any . . . altercation which you may find yourself in happen outside"

He gives a quick bow.

"I apologize for my frankness."

"It's no problem?" you offer, "But, uh, where are we?"

"You're inside Horizon Heights, more commonly referred to as the 'Corporate Playground'. You're approximately ten miles from the Northern Docks."

"Our ticket out of here; we'll hide on a cargo ship or something," Valiant Silver says immediately, "Thanks. You never saw us."

"Saw who?" he says, looking away, "I was downstairs taking inventory."

He disappears down a trapdoor behind the counter.

"Fuck, that's classy," Zeno says, "I wish I had a manservent. I'd call him 'Jenkins'."

"You'd call him his name," Uiara says absently, "Now, let's move."

The four of them and the three of you exit through the front door, only to realize you're in a back alley. The bar was apparently some kind of speakeasy. It's well and truly dusk now, the world bathed in a natural, orange neon glow.

"Wish we could wear disguises," Valiant Silver says, "But I'm useless without my armor and Apiary can't hide anyway. Our best bet is to move north as fast as we can."

Uiara nods. "A vehicle?"

Valiant Silver considers it. "I don't want to be stuck on the roads. Not to mention, any vehicle still driving out there is going to stick out like a sore thumb. They still think we're in the Mitt, remember? I don't want to tip them off to the idea that they should look elsewhere."

"I'll handle recon," you say, shifting through a nearby dumpster. Eventually, you find a crate of moldy fruit. Ugh. Well, it's not like you're actually eating it . . .

You grab a few grubby oranges and hork them down. You're extremely grateful when no one makes a comment. Your abdomen churns, and, a second later, a small drone flies out of you. You get to have the joyous sensation of giving birth to yourself.

Yuck.

Your drone zips around, high above the ground, and you get a picture of what your trip to the North Docks will look like. It's pretty grim.

Global Justice is out in force. While they have nowhere near the number of metahumans of a New Dawn does, or the ability to call on an auxiliary mercenary force the way Powers can, they have one thing Horizon's other two premiere heroic organizations don't: a professional, standing force of trained, non-powered members.

Every corner is corded off by roadblocks, manned by at least two soldiers. Well, Global Justice insisted they were "professional security officers" instead of "U.S. military assets", but, come on. They were soldiers! They're all dressed in blue uniforms and wearing white tactical vests and red helmets. Each soldier clutches a rifle with a flat attachment on the head of the muzzle. When you describe it to Valiant Silver, she theorizes that the rifles fire energy instead of ballistic projections.

"So there's an army of fucking pigs with lasers between us and the docks," Zeno swears.

". . . thought I smelled bacon," Valiant Silver agrees, "And I'm guessing they all have radios or communicators."

You check and confirm when your drone spots them on their shoulders.

"Alright, then," Valiant Silver says, "Plan's the same. We're gonna have to take out the soldiers before they see us. Then, we're gonna have to move fast before they notice the missing patrols."

"Yeah, how we gonna do that?" Zeno complains, "They're gonna rat us out the second they see us."

"Not if they can't move," Uiara says.

"Well, how are we gonna—" he stops talking when realizes, "Oh, right."

". . . when this over we're going to practice with your fucking power until you stop wasting it," Valiant Silver sighs, "Apiary, take Memoria from Uiara. Stay in the air, but below the roofline. Now, move."

And with that, you start your advance north. You clear the first three checkpoints easily. Zeno freezes the soldiers in place, Valiant Silver slaps knock-me-outs on them, and Uiara floats the bodies somewhere discreet. However, at the fourth checkpoint, you hit a problem.

"Stop," you say, "They're getting some kind of message. I can hear them over my drone."

"Patrol 9-A just went dark," a voice crackles over the radio, "He couldn't move before he lost consciousness. It's the new kid's power; I saw it through his eyes. It matches the effects of Zeno's ability. I'm putting out a general bulletin that he might be in the area. We're gonna pull the boys from The Foot and go over this sector with a fine-tooth comb. I'm telling the Boss-Lady as well, in case she wants to pay a visit during her first stroll in a while."

"Fuck," Valiant Silver and Zeno swear at the same time. She glares at him. "Global Justice has been holding out on us. 'New kid'? Sounds like they've got fresh blood."

"We have to move faster," Uiara says, "They're going to find us one way or another."

"Right, I guess I'll find a van to hotwire—"

"No need."

Uiara raises her arms, and a flood bursts out of every hydrant and sewer grate within two blocks. The streets flood, and she pulls the water to herself. She freezes a platform of solid ice with a cowcatcher on the front and a railing on the back and sides. You all obligingly get on—you taking extra care with your two bodies holding Memoria—and, once you're all in place, she bends the rest of the water into a wave beneath your platform. You shoot down the streets, riding a tidal wave of destruction the whole way.

"Whoa!" you shout in delight as you hold on. Zeno is screaming and looks green. Valiant Silver turns to her girlfriend.

"Yazy, I am going to do unspeakable things to you when we get home."

"Nora," Uiara hisses, flushing, "S-stop it—"

"Ah, ah-ah," your leader says, silencing the aquatic amazon with a finger on her lips, "Say 'Yes, Mistress'."

"Noooraaaaaaaa, nooooooo . . ."

"Do they know we're here, or is that part of it?" a nauseous Zeno says, hanging over the railing.

"I used to think they were just obnoxious, but now I think they like having an audience," you answer "There was this time we came down for breakfast only to find something of theirs from the night before on the table. There's no way they just 'forgot about it'."

"What was it?" he says between dry heaves.

You laugh. "Get this, it was—"

"STOP VILLAINS!"

The voice you hear is the single loudest thing you've ever heard. Louder than the shout Scarlet Maturity used to attack Zeno back at the gala. Louder than Zixuan screamed when she found Nora and Yaz's sex toys where she likes to eat bagels. The air ripples like water that has had a stone thrown into it, and smashes into your impromptu vehicle like a mack truck. The wave collapses and you skitter to a halt, the ice cracking underneath you.

You look in the direction of the shout, and there's a broad man shaped like a thumb. He wears the blue uniform of Global Justice, an emblem of a cracked bell over twin gavels. He charges at you, followed by four other familiar people: Joules, Stone Sentinel, Indemnity, and Steadfast. There's a fifth man with them; you don't know him, but he looks like a metahuman too. He has the same uniform they all do with a mountain peak overtop the Global Justice gavels.

"Fuck this," Zeno snarls, "These guys ain't coming anywhere near us!"

"No, let them," Valiant Silver says calmly, "They're trying to repeat Scarlet Maturity's trick. He's yelling loud enough that your power will have to stop air from getting to you to stop the sound waves."

"BY THE AUTHORITY OF ALLIED GLOBAL LOGISTICS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ELYSIUM GROUP, YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST!"

You all flinch. He's not as loud as before, but it's still deafening. His team, save Steadfast, flinch as well.

"Well, well, City Crier has to worry about friendly-fire. Good to know," Valiant Silver says, reaching into her belt, "Y'see, him I do know about."

She pulls out two screamers and cranks them to maximum intensity. You and Yazmin both nervously move out of the way—that's, uh, really, really loud. She presses the tops, holds them for a second, and whips them at the charging City Crier.

"HA!" he says, knocking them down with the force of his voice. However, they still detonate, letting out wails that shake your chitin from where you're standing. But, just as quickly as the sound comes, it fades away

"Try harder, next time!" he boasts, from where he's standing. But he's not as deafening as before. He's just kind of . . . annoyingly loud. He gives you all a big grin—

Just as a silver disk hits him in the chest, beeps, and explodes. When the dust clears, City Crier is on the ground, bleeding and unconscious with only the steady movement of his chest letting you know that he's breathing. Then, the injuries on him disappear and reappear on Steadfast. But they don't stick . . . it's hard to explain, but it's like the idea of harm just washes off him like how water washes off a duck's back.

"Yeah, City Crier can manipulate sound waves," Valiant Silver says, "He can do loud, he can do quiet, but he can't do both at the same time. Zeno, you mind locking the rest of these bozos down?"

He complies and their charge stops. Valiant Silver points at each of the Global Justice members in turn.

"Joules: he manipulates plasma into weapons or can do blasts. In a few seconds he's about to create a flash to try to blind Zeno because he thinks he's very clever. Apiary, why don't you pay him back for what he did to you at the Mitt? Then, there's Stone Sentinel . . . she's terrakinetic and makes living gargoyles. I have enough gear to deal with them, and, without her constructs, she's just a normal person."

You see sparks dance on Joules' body as he unconvincingly tries to trick you into thinking he's helpless.

"Oh, no! We're all stuck guys! What do we doooooooooo?"

"Leviathan's Blood, that goatee is ugly. What was I saying?" Valiant Silver asks, "Right, next is Steadfast. Invincible, but that's it. Uiara, freeze him in a block of ice. Won't hurt him, but he won't be able to get out. Then, there's Indemnity . . . he can transfer any injury he sees to a person he touches and designates as a 'receiver'. He's not a fighter, so, Uiara, hit him next. Finally, I think that's Pinnacle. He can gain 'perfect' skills in any one area, once per day. I don't want to know what he picked today, so Zeno, that's your target."

"Wow . . . you picked them apart in a second," Zeno says, "No wonder you beat our asses at the gala."

"Yep. Oh, and Justiciar's definitely on the way with reinforcements, so we gotta fucking get out of here yesterday."

"Oh, is that all?"

"Yeah, we're soooo stuuuuck," Joules calls, "Until I do this!"

There's a blinding flash and you hear footsteps.

"Yep," Valiant Silver says as you all move into action, "That's all. For now."

* * *​

Elsewhere, you're given an up-and-close reminder why Novalight is feared.

She moves through the sky faster than your human eyes can keep track of where she is. You only catch glimpses when she has to decelerate to turn or blast you. Even then, she's so blinding you can't look directly at her. And her power.

She melts through your bodies like they were nothing. There are three of you there, and suddenly there aren't. For the next five minutes you desperately fly with as many bodies as you can from the Worker's Mitt to the NID—thankfully they are right next to each other—fearing that you'll be too late.

You nearly are.

Nox and The Red Huntress are pinned down under a bridge by Novalight and her cronies. If she were so inclined, Novalight could just collapse the bridge on top of them and end it there. However, she seems either concerned with collateral damage or how that would look from the outside, and instead leaves it to Misty Monk, Atlas, and Man o' War to draw your friends out. Asariel and Rocketeer hover in the air with Novalight, making sure no one gets away. You don't see Master of Disaster, but you'd bet one of your right arms he's around here somewhere.

Well, shit. Seven versus three, how are you supposed to win now? You look at the eight bodies you have with you and—

. . . wow. Right. You have bodies.

Okay, so you can shore up the numbers disadvantage, but Novalight will still tear you apart. So, what do you do? The answer comes to you in a flash of inspiration: you don't care.

You can make as many bodies as you need. Who cares if she kills them—she can't kill all of them. And Nox and Red Huntress just need time . . .

Well, she was afraid you would be a living plague. Time to show Novalight her fears.

You send three bodies west to where the NID touches the Arabale Band—the part of Horizon where food is grown. It's an artificially vegetative place, swampland terraformed to agrarian soil, but it makes no difference to you. Organic matter is organic matter.

You land with your three bodies and eat. You eat and eat and eat, and from your abdomen comes more of you. Those bodies eat, creating more of you, and you take to the sky.

You're careful to limit how much of you there is. You're at about seventy total or so now? You're having a hard time focusing, but you're below the point where you totally start to lose it. And, besides, you won't have to worry about having too many bodies for long.

You descend on New Dawn like a swarm of locus, blotting out the setting sun. Asariel notices first, and turns her head toward your chittering. As she does, she does a double take in the air.

"Leviathan's Blood—!"

"Christ on a cracker!" Rocketeer shouts, "You were right Novalight! She's an organic R-Train!"

Novalight says nothing, but there's a hardness to her suddenly-empty eyes. A resignation that's almost relief. See? I knew it.

You say nothing to her directly. There's nothing to say. She judged you the day you met; put you in a box in her mind labeled "threat". If . . . everything you've done these last two years hasn't made her change her mind, then nothing will.

So instead you say, with a choir all your own, "This fight is over!"

Your proclamation is so loud, that Atlas, Misty Monk, and Man o' War turn to look at you. As they do, you see a red-clad hand reach out and tag Man o' War on the arm. He hisses as a clawmark appears on his body, just as the hand pulls away and avoids a swipe from one of his construct-arms.

You feel a savage glee at that. Let's see how far The Red Huntress can ramp up now—

A beam of light destroys a score of bodies in a flash. Asariel flaps her wings, and droplets of water fly at you with the speed of bullets. Rocketeer pulls out two pistols and starts firing a green ray that makes your bodies wither and rot away.

Man o' War scythes through you like stalks of wheat, Atlas crushes your bodies with an almost contemptuous ease, and Misty Monk flickers around you like the vapor from his censer. He breaks your necks as he does.

But for every body they kill, three more arrive. You are a living tide of chitin, an endless wave of exoskeletons and plucky grit. The ground becomes littered with your bodies, broken and burnt, and a terrible idea comes to you.

You . . . start to recycle.

Someone—Asariel?—lets out a gasp and you honestly kinda agree with her. This is the grossest thing you've ever done. But it works. You can consume your own biomass as readily as anything else—though it's not very efficient, and soon you need to be very, very careful to not overtax yourself.

You also discover something else—each body counts as a different person for the purpose of Nox's emotional drain.

A twelve-foot tall vampire moving at near-sonic speeds and swinging with the strength of an elephant teleports from under the bridge. He fires a barrage of black lasers from his eyes that wound Misty Monk and push the eight-armed Man o' War back. Atlas goes to attack Nox from behind—

And is nearly disemboweled by a quadrupedal Red Huntress. Your dear friend walks on all fours, looking like a jungle cat with blood-red fur. She's the size of a stallion and has long, fox-like ears that stick up like fins. She moves with a lethal grace, her maw elongated and slathering.

"Ah, shit," Rocketeer says, "Where the hell are our reinforcements?! We're New Dawn; we have more metahumans than anyone!"

"They're not coming," Asariel says, pale, "They wanted no part of this. T-they were right. And now, we're going to pay for not sharing their convictions—"

"Quiet," Novalight says, "Wolong will be disciplined for facilitating this . . . insubordination. But only after we neutralize the threat."

"Threat?!" Asariel shouts, "She walks dogs and watches children! Leviathan's Blood, my brother and my niece live in the Mitt and they practically worship her! Let it go, Novalight! We were supposed to capture The Defiance Unit, not kill Apiary!"

"Are you questioning my authority?" Novalight says, her voice deadly calm.

"N-no! It's just . . . is now the time for this?! Really, a power-play now?!"

"Fucking get it together, Asa!" Rocketeer shouts, "I don't even know what this thing is!"

It takes you a second to realize he's talking about you. Ouch . . . that actually kind of hurt. You've been with your friends for so long, you forgot what it was like to be treated as something other than a person.

Still, he asked a question. And, as he does, you think back to Preacher Man. Of course, you've actually read the Bible . . .

"Mark 5:9," you tell him.

He looks at all of you in surprise. "What?!"

"And Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?' He replied, 'My name is Legion, for we are many.'"

Then the battle is back on.

* * *​

The Bloody Slayer takes another swing at Adamant, his blood-sword failing to do any damage. He attacks the metal man with a single-minded intensity, seeming determined to avenge the destruction of his katana that had shattered when it met pure adamantium.

Meanwhile, Crimson Soprano and Soldier X are playing a game of whack-a-mole with Earthen Owl. The burrowing metahuman would dive into the earth like some sort of terrestrial fish and emerge to try to bind them with the vines that grew from his body. However, Crimson Soprano could fly and Soldier X was too wary to be caught off guard. They were in an uneasy stalemate as neither group could really harm the other.

Lady Leizi dodges out of the way of a solid spike of shadow as the Shadow Slayer tries to take her down. However, the umbral manipulation apparently is taking its toll on the former SLAYER, as she looks exhausted and out of breath. Lady Leizi, on the other hand, is positively brimming with vitality, grinning like she isn't tired at all. Lightning dances across her hands as she attempts to strike the Shadow Slayer down.

Using her power always did put Lady Leizi in a good mood. You always thought she should do it more often!

You, on the other hand, are on overwatch. You lost two of your bodies to the ambush by Powers and you didn't have any others nearby. You look around for more organic matter in case you need to make a back-up, but you're a little leery of doing that given what you're doing in the NID. You're close, very close, to being in too many places at once.

Still, the fight here is going . . . comparatively well? Things are most dire in the NID where you're brute-forcing your way through a bunch of S and A-class metahumans. The actual fight in the Corporate Playground is going very well, but the looming threat of Justiciar makes things all the more urgent. On the other hand, the showing from Powers has been . . . kind of lacking.

You supposed it makes sense. Powers is less of a hero team than a motley collection of mercenaries. They're less organized than Global Justice and New Dawn, and their standards are lower—

The Bloody Slayer screams as he breaks his hand trying to punch Adamant. He clutches it and howls, "The forbidden power, bound in this arm! I feel the demon's blood in me, freed to grant me its awesome power!"

He punches Adamant with the same hand again, and howls again when he breaks it even further.

—nonexistent. Power's standards are nonexistent. Adamant socks the Bloody Slayer in the mouth, and he goes down in a heap.

Just as he does, Lady Leizi slips under the Shadow Slayer's guard and strikes her in the face with a rising knee. There is an explosion of lightning and the Shadow Slayer is knocked unconscious. Adamant stares at the grinning Leizi in awe, a fond, openly admiring look in his eyes.

Lady Leizi meets his gaze and grins. Then she kicks a leg past Adamant's head to strike the rising Blood Slayer. She tuts at Adamant.

"Sloppy work, darling. Make sure to finish your fight before spectating another."

Adamant lets out a little snort. "Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for that."

"Yes . . . well, we're teammates," Lady Leizi looks away, "I'll have your back no matter the circumstance."

"Right back at you."

You put your face in your hands and start to feel bad for Renee again. They're so nauseating that you're having trouble even looking at them.

Actually . . . wait. That's literal. You're having a hard time seeing them. There's suddenly a thick fog everywhere. But there wasn't a cloud in the sky a second ago? Wait—

"Everyone focus!" Adamant yells, "Blue Skies is here! There could be more of them!"

"Understood!" Crimson Soprano shouts back. She then lets out a victorious cry as she tags Earthen Owl as he pops his head out to attack. He's on the ground, stunned, and Soldier X smoothly points her weapon at him. You see her aim at his head before changing her mind and targeting his knees. She moves to squeeze the trigger—

And a spear of bone flies through her skull. It shatters her head like a vase, and her decapitated body topples over like a felled tree.

It . . . you can't . . . what?

* * *​

Your brain won't process what you're looking at. Where there was a person a second ago there's now just a pile of gore. You keep waiting for the sight in front of you to change—maybe Soldier X had a secret regeneration power she never shared, or maybe Valiant Silver had yet another back-up plan that was about to kick in.

But it doesn't.

It feels too sudden, too harsh, to be real. Soldier X didn't even have time to realize what was happening—one second she was there, the next she wasn't.

You didn't know Soldier X super well. You've only had—and now will only ever have—a single conversation with her. But you felt like you understood each other. You both had nothing, came from nothing, only to meet the greatest people in the world. People who gave you everything you never realized you craved, people who did it without even realizing they did. People you would do anything for.

Soldier X loved The Defiance Unit with her whole heart, the same way you love NuGen.

And now she's dead.

A sharp wail pierces through your haze, the agony of Crimson Soprano realizing her teammate is gone. Adamant and Lady Leizi look horrified, equally able to comprehend what has just happened. They're frozen, until years of training kick in and Lady Leizi instinctively snaps her fist at a second projectile in the air. With a clap of thunder, she knocks down a second bone-spear that would have killed Crimson Soprano.

"Get down!" Adamant roars. He stretches his arm and grabs the scarlet songstress, dragging her close to him. He lets out a wave of metal from his body, stacking it high, creating an armored enclosure for himself, Lady Leizi, and the mourning Crimson Soprano.

Just in the nick of time too. Right as the adamantium solidifies, two more bone spears clatter against them. Had they been on target, they would have killed the two women next to him.

"Oh fuck me," a voice next to you in the sky says. A man dressed as an aviator doubles over, clutching his stomach.

"What the fuck, Marrow Spider?!" he screams, "We were supposed to capture them! Not . . . whatever the fuck you just did! We need all five for the bounty!"

You hear a voice speak from the mist.

"They're going to have to die one way or another. Don't be so squeamish."

"What the fuck man?!"

"Quiet. You knew what this bounty entailed. Don't act outraged to preserve your own sense of moral superiority. Leave if you don't like it, Blue Skies."

"Fuck . . . fuck . . ." the aviator gasps, "Fine, shit."

"Good. Don't lose your head over this."

"Don't lose my—holy shit, man," Blue Skies laughs, "Fuck me . . ."

Just then, he notices you flying next to him. He does a double-take and awkwardly waves at you.

"Oh, hi . . . um . . . 'sup?"

You ignore him. You feel cold. Focused.

Furious.

Soldier X had people she loved and was loved by in turn. She had her own dreams, wants, and hopes for the future. She was a person.

They snuffed her out like a candle. And now they're making fucking jokes?

Something inside you breaks.

"I'M gOiNG To EaT yoU."

"Oh, that's cool—what?"

* * *​

The fight with Global Justice hits a stalemate.

Steadfast sits in a block of ice, only able to move his eyes. He doesn't look hurt, or even like he's uncomfortable—if anything, he seems relieved. Stone Sentinel's unconscious body lies in a pile of rubble that was once her constructs. You had worried Valiant Silver had detonated her exploding disks too close to the short woman, but her injuries disappeared from her body nearly the moment she suffered from them.

Indemnity had been doing his job, and Uiara went to engage him as soon as she disabled Steadfast. However, she had been intercepted by Pinnacle. Zeno had successfully managed to freeze the warrior in place, but he somehow managed to remotely detonate two smoke grenades he had on his waist.

The battlefield is now filled with a white, thick smoke that makes it impossible to see. In the distance, you can hear the sound of plasma discharging as Joules and Valiant Silver clash—he ran from you as soon as he realized he couldn't do anything to hit you in the air. You had considered going after him—

And then Soldier X died.

Dimly, you're aware of Zeno groping through the smoke while Pinnacle fights Uiara hand-to-hand. You would think her super durability would give her the advantage, but apparently Pinnacle chose close quarters combat as his expertise of the day. He's grappling her, trying to get her into a submission hold to either choke her out or dislocate a limb.

Soldier X is dead.

Indemnity swears through the smoke, pointing out the obvious: yes, this disables Zeno's power. This also disables his power, the thing keeping everyone from suffering fatal injuries. He's borderline useless now, and everyone else is taking a major gamble.

You watched Soldier X die.

They kiLLeD hEr.

ANd theY'lL Do IT to EveRYONe elSe.

You know what the safe limit is on how many bodies you can have acting at once. Too many and you start to lose yourself. But yOU DoN'T cAre. iT HURtS sO MuCH, WaTChinG tHeM diE. YoU WoulD RAthER bE lOSt tHan FeEl tHiS waY!

You fly to some rooftop garden on top of some apartment building with your lone body that isn't protecting Memoria. Then you eat.

And eat.

aND EaT.

You flew up alone. You descend as legion.

* * *​

You stop holding back. The Arable Band—along with the Marajó Várzea—is the most vegetation-rich borough in Horizon. It supplies the city with the majority of the food it needs, the super-farms here turning out crops genetically modified to produce in abundance.

And now it feeds you.

You devour, you consume, you eat, and you convert. Trees, livestock, grass, bushes, whatever you need. A whole cornucopia of assorted matter enters your bodies, but it all leaves as the same thing: more of you.

And more of you is made, you grow bigger. Not literally—your bodies are the same size as always—but the thing that is yourself expands. It's like you've lived your whole life as a seed, only to suddenly sprout into a mighty oak. There's so much of you everywhere.

Novalight gazes in horror while Asariel shakes uncontrollably and Rocketeer curses up a storm. It's all you can do to not laugh at them; the small are so scared of you now that you're big. They kill you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, but there's always more of you to kill. They could kill you forever and never be done. You're so big that you don't feel the sting of the ant.

Nox and the Red Huntress fight for their lives, their opponents granting no quarter and receiving none in turn. Misty Monk's robes are stained red with blood, while Man o' War has lost arms to the Red Huntress's crimson claws. Atlas and Nox grapple one another, Atlas having to yield ground to avoid a blast from Nox's eyes. Nox pushes the purple-suited man to the ground, intending to crush him. He shatters the pavement with the force of his thrust, and it seems Atlas is being overpowered.

But then, the shattered pavement suspends itself in midair. It reforms into the shape of a person, right behind Nox. Master of Disaster thrusts his fist into the emotional vampire's back and twists. Nox's flesh twists along with it and rips. Master of Disaster pulls his fist back, the skin and blood now a part of his construct body, and goes to tear another hole in your friend.

NO, nO, nO, No, nO!

You're everywhere! You're so big! But you can't even protect a small?! You hAVe tO! WHeRE iS He?! YOu cAn SMElL hIM!

You follow the stench from the construct back to where Master of Disaster's true body is. He's a grubby man meditating in a basement two blocks over. You ignore Novalight killing you and rip the house apart. You bite Master of Disaster with countless mouths until his true eyes open up. He screams, but it's too little and quiet for you to understand.

What you do understand is that Nox is on the ground, drowning in a pool of his own blood. Atlas and Misty Monk turn to The Red Huntress, who is still bogged down with Man o' War. The set of their shoulders announces to the world what they intend to do to her once they join the battle. Another friend will die.

whY aRE hErOS doinG tHiS?! SToP iT!

You drag what's left of Master of Disaster into the sky, the grubby man screaming bloody murder in all of your arms. You raise him at his teammates and shake him. You shake him at EVErYonE! You scream at everyone in Horizon out of thousands of mouths all at once.

"ThE huNT is OvEr. gO hOME AnD stOP FiGhtING—"

* * *​

"—oR I'lL MaKE YOu StOP!"

Lady Leizi, Adamant, and Crimson Soprano still hide in their shelter of metal. Outside, Blue Skies screams as countless you swarm him. The air itself boils, and flash fries you by the dozens, but his steam won't save him forever. He seems to have the same realization, because he starts flying away as quickly as possible.

You let him. You hate him. You hate him. YOu HatE hiM aNd wiLl nEvER ForgIVE—

But he did as you asked. If they stop fighting, then so will you. And, besides, he didn't pull the trigger, so to speak. Someone else did. And that someone else is here.

YOu HAve AN itSY-bitSy SPIdeR to SquisH.

As if he senses your intention, Marrow Spider redoubles his assault on Adamant fortress. He shoves splinters of bone in every joint and crevice, every place where there's a gap to let in air. You think you hear some ricochet, and you definitely hear thunder as Lady Leizi is forced to parry. The reverberations echo around the shell, deafening everyone inside. Marrow Spider shoots faster, constantly changing his angles as you search for him in the fading fog.

It's only a matter of time until you find him—

Which is why your heart freezes in your chest when you hear familiar-sounding footsteps nearby. Heavy footsteps that shake the very earth. Footsteps that belong to a ten-and-a-half foot giant.

Christian.

Just as you find Marrow Spider, Christian approaches the adamantium shell. As you scratch and bite Marrow Spider until he's a incapacitated, bleeding mess, Christian finds a seam with his hands. And as you—all of the you here—races back, he pulls parts of the shell in different directions—

Ripping it to pieces.

By the time you get back, Adamant has been torn in half—his upper torso is still alive, thank God, even if he looks like he's in immense pain, Lady Leizi is unconscious with a broken arm, and Christian is holding Crimson Soprano aloft by the head. Her words are so, so, so small that you can't understand them. Why can't they be bIgGeR?!? But you know it's important, so you make yourself focus with all of your many-selves strength.

"—that's all that we managed to see. Now, did I answer your question to your satisfaction? If so, hurry and kill me now, you pig!"

She spits, hitting Christian's cheek. He wipes it away, but otherwise doesn't react.

"I see," he rumbles in that voice of his that is so familiar it makes your heart ache, "I have some idea of what you witnessed. It is no surprise they would want you silenced."

"Then do it! Since you're their dog!"

"If it were not me, then it would be someone else. You lacked the power to challenge those at the peak of the mountain, even if they did not climb there themselves. Hate me if you wish, but the thing you should lament is your own lack of strength."

"Spoken like a dog!"

"Hn." You see Christian's brow furrow, the muscles in his arm tense. His brain sends the signal to kill to his hand and—

"stOp IT!" you howl in unison. Christian instinctively halts as he turns to regard the new threat. His eyes widen fractionally while Crimson Soprano lets out a shrill gasp.

"ChRIsTIAn, StOp HURtiNg peOPLe! stOP IT!"

"Rosemary," he breathes, ". . . I see. So this is what Faust coveted. This is what he would have removed your gentle heart to get at."

"LeT HER gO!"

"Do you understand what you are doing, girl? The Force in Heaven has marked these fools to die. The billion dollar reward is merely a statement of their intent."

"i DOn'T cARE! ThEy'Re My fRieNDs! I caN't WAtcH ANyMorE OF My frIENDS dIE!"

Soldier X's body lies rotting on the ground. Despite your best efforts, other insects have already started swarming. You cuddle her close, feeling lost.

"i CAn'T! I CAN'T! IT HuRTs tOO MUCh! nO maTTer How biG i get, The hURT iS AlWAys bigGer!"

Something ripples across Christian's face, a fleeting expression of sorrow and . . . understanding? But he quickly smothers it, despite the pain it causes him, like putting out a candle with your fingers.

"You fool girl. Do you think NuGen has escaped the notice of the power? They've let you do as you please because they believe you to be harmless. A novelty. An amusing diversion that does not truly threaten them."

He looks around at the cloud of yourself.

"The powerful cannot bear a peer. Imagine you succeed on your mad quest to save The Defiance Unit: who do you believe they will turn their blades on next? Convince them that they might be wrong—or, worse yet, prove that they are wrong—and they will erase you utterly."

"IF theY try," you roar, "i'll eaT Them!"

He looks at you for a long moment.

"How much of you is still there, I wonder?" he says. His tone is light, but there's a wariness in his eyes.

A glimmer of fear.

aLl of YOu. That is the answer. There is all of you inside of you right now. What they see as separate entities are actually just smaller parts of the same whole. They always have been. And the more of them there are, the more of the whole there is to be a part of. But—

—that's not what he's asking. How much of Rosemary Ward is still here, among the Apiary?

Well, that's an easy one. It's the same answer after all—

"I am me," you answer, your voice smaller, confined to one body, "I always will be. The Apiary comes from my heart. You're a part of that, Christian, but, if you don't let Bidu go, then I'll make you let her go."

"You still don't understand," Christian says. There's relief in his eyes, but also a deep, deep resignation, "This path is a dead end for you. If you will not stray from it yourself, then I will not give you the option to walk it. Flee, Rosemary. Flee, and live play hero with your friends another day."

"No."

"No?"

"No!" you scream from all of your mouths, "I'm not running anyway anymore. I won't let anyone else get hurt."

A swing of Christian's arm and the force of the air alone is enough to splatter dozens of you. Yet, it's a mere drop in the bucket compared to the number of you that fills the sky. He flexes his arm, face considering.

"I assume you have several emergency bodies hidden elsewhere?"

". . . yeah, I do."

"Very well," he says, rotating his shoulder, "Then there is no need to hold back. If you will not quit the field yourself, then I will help you maintain the illusion that NuGen is no true threat. Prepare yourself, Rosemary Ward."

His words send a shiver down your spine as you realize your chosen brother intends to kill all of the you here. But . . .

But . . .

But he's still holding Bidu with his other arm. And she's still alive.

Why doesn't he just kill her? Why did he make sure you had other bodies first? anD wHY DOES it SOUnD Like HE's doINg this For WHaT he tHInks iS YOuR OWn GoOd?

wHY Is A HerO DOing THis? WhY—

Oh.

"i lOvE yOu tOO, chrIstIAN."

And then you-swarm descends.

* * *​

"We surrender! We surrender!" Indemnity screams as your swarm-you attacks him, Pinnacle, and Joules. The two fighters are relatively unscathed thanks to Indemnity's power, but the healer himself is scratched and bleeding. And none of them are powerful enough to put a dent in all of you. The battle is preordained and everyone sees that.

But . . . YOu'rE fEelinG vERy hUnGRy . . .

"Rosemary, stop!" Valiant Silver screams, "Stop now!"

Your best friend's words punch through your rumbling stomachs. You shake your heads as you realize she used your real name. She sees that you're looking at her, and takes off her helmet.

"The fight's over," she says, speaking to you calmly, the way you might to a spooked horse, "We won. We can leave. Okay?"

"WE wON?" You stop savaging the members of Global Justice, but you pin them all to the ground under many hundreds of pounds of chitin.

"Yeah," Valiant Silver tells you. She swallows, her throat tight, "Rosemary . . . how many bodies do you have active right now?"

"i . . . THE hUnt NeEdS To Stop."

"I agree, Rosemary, you know I do, right?" she says, "But how many bodies do you have active right now?"

How many? You're not sure how to count yourself. Over a thousand for sure. Two thousand? More? Probably more. You're so big right now it's hard to perceive all of the small that makes you up.

You feel . . . massive. And that's not just another way of saying "large". You mean that you feel yourself warping something the same way mass warps space. It's you . . . something rotten . . . something new and fake . . . someone so, so, sad that it makes you want to cry . . . and something else . . .

. . . something . . .

. . . sOmEThINg LoOMInG.

You look at your new peers in wonder. They're big too! Well, all of them but the sad one. But she's good at faking it! You actually think you like her best, but she's slumbering. But it's not a good nap, it's a bad one. Painful. Like she's stuck in a nightmare.

You feel bad for her; her nightmare has lasted twenty years. Someone broke her mind and then they broke her body. And now they're keeping her broken.

She's in . . . Wonderland? IS sHE LiKE yOU WeRe? yOu FEel BAd FOR hEr. YOu waNt to HElP.

You reach out and nudge her mind back into place. The nightmare ends immediately and Cordelia sends you a feeling of immeasurable gratitude as she drifts back into a natural sleep for the first time in two decades. It will be a long, long time before she wakes up again, but at least now she can begin to heal. You float in your shared connection for a second before pulling back into the big.

RigHt, WHaT WEre yOU doinG agaIN?

"—semary! Rosemary Ward, answer right fucking now!"

H-huh? What were you doing again? Oh, look, it's Nora! And she's with Camdyn and Yazmin! Aww, hi, Nora! Wait. Oh no. She looks upset! But why? You've having trouble understanding her.

"nORA? i caN'T HEar YOu. you're so SmalL, tRapPed IN All THaT FlEsh."

"Rosemary, please!" she all-but-sobs, "You need to reduce the number of bodies you have, right now. You know what being in too many places does to you! Reduce how many there are now. Right now."

"DOn't . . . PlEAsE DON'T bE maD aT me."

"She's not mad. She's terrified," Yazmin says, gently, "I am too. We're losing you, Rosemary. Please, please come back."

"i DOn'T wanT to. it HuRts ToO MucH. tHEY . . . tHEY kIlLED Her."

"They killed who?" Nora demands, "Who?"

"soldiER x," you cry. You turn to Camdyn, "I'M SOrRy. i'M So, sO, sOrry. I tRIED tO proTeCT Her. I fAILeD. i'M sO sOrRY."

"That's not funny," Camdyn says, his voice nearly a whisper, "That's not fucking funny!"

He strikes the nearest of your bodies, and then swears in pain as he shakes his hand. He dropped his power for a second to do that . . . but it doesn't look like it's the physical pain that's bothering him right now.

"Take it back!" he screams, holding his hand between his legs, "It's not fucking funny! Take it back right now! You fucking bitch, how dare you?! Take it back! T-take . . . take it back . . . please . . . p-please take it back . . ."

Something like shame ripples across all of the you. You barely knew Soldier X and you were falling apart. Camdyn was her teammate. They were together for years. They trusted each other. A-and you were so caught up in your own feelings that you ran away into your bigness to bury your feelings and didn't even think about how it would affect him.

"i'M sOrry."

Yazmin walks over the Camdyn and puts an arm on his shoulder. He jerks away, furiously rubbing his face with the sleeve of his duster. He walks past Nora, and Yazmin stands on her other side, a respectful distance away from Camdyn trying to pull himself together.

Nora looks at you, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Rosemary. Please."

Part of you recoils at her request. Big making itself small?! Why?! But you remember the shame. You remember your best friend. You remember the most noble of your teammates. You remember . . . you remember wanting to get big for a reason before it became about running from your feelings.

"OkAy. I'LL Get SMalL AgAIn."

You get ready to destroy as many bodies as possible. You'll still need a bunch to fight Christian and Novalight, but, actually, could Nora and Yasmin help with that—

A man appears behind Nora, Yasmin, and Camdyn. He wears blue, lacquered armor overtop a white robe that bears an insignia of a clock face with the hour and minute hand pointing to a roman numeral "6". In his right hand he holds a katana that he swings diagonally.

He just nicks Yazmin's neck, but he cuts through her skin like paper. She gasps in shock and clutches herself as an arterial spray of blood spurts from between her fingers. He continues his swing, and the sword scrapes against the chest plate of Nora's armor. Sparks fly everywhere, but her suit holds firm. He goes to complete the motion and decapitate Camdyn—who is still bent over—but Nora flicks her arm out and catches his sword with her gauntlet. It bounces off the metal and the man takes a step back.

Camdyn snaps his head up, but the man is already gone in a flash of blue light. Yazmin topples over.

"Yazy? Yazy?!" Nora screams, putting her helmet back on, "Freeze the wound. Freeze the wound shut. Zeno, Apiary, find Indemnity, right now! Get him to heal her!"

You take a second to process what's being said, but you immediately comply. You grab Indemnity and pass him from body to body until he can see Yazmin. Then you shake him.

"FiX HeR!"

"Okay! Okay! I would anyway!" he screams. Yazmin stops choking as her neck is suddenly in one piece. You feel a ripple of relief.

Then the man reappears. He's to the side of Camdyn, just in his blind spot. He whips his sword around and slices Camdyn across the face, cutting through the infinite space and destroying his right eye. He's gone before Camdyn can turn to face him.

Then he's back, on the opposite side of The Defiance Unit's ace, ready to blind his other eye. But someone is waiting for him, with a plan.

It's your leader, prepared as always.

She has a cinder block raised above her head, and she brings it down as the man appears. He dodges her with impossible speed and grace—like he somehow instantly knew she was there despite being ambushed—but he wasn't her target.

His sword was.

The cinder block shatters the sword into pieces, just as the man teleports away. Nora looks around for him while calling out.

"His sword cut through Uiara's skin and Zeno's space, but not through my armor! And it broke from a direct hit because everyone knows katanas are actually really shitty swords unless you're a fucking weeb. His power makes things work like they're supposed to, absent other powers! Uiara and Zeno's superpowered defenses meant nothing, but good ol' carbonized steel stopped him dead!"

There's something about your leader identifying how a power works in an instant that makes you feel awe even as big as you are now.

"Apiary! If all he has is weeb-shit, then he should struggle getting through your chitin too! Find him and—"

He reappears in front of Nora, a sneer on his face. He punches with his off hand and shatters the visor in her helmet. Then he takes the jagged stump of his sword and shoves it inside.

No.

No, no, no, no.

No. nO. no. no. No! nO! nO!

"nO—!"

* * *​

Your battle with Christian is at a stalemate. He's not killing you fast enough to make a dent in your swarm, and you're unable to meaningfully hurt him. The pile of destroyed chitin at his feet is already layers deep, and Bidu is still held in his grasp. She looks like she's slipping in and out of consciousness, but she's still breathing.

Zixuan is still breathing.

Rakeem is still breathing.

They're okay. They're okay, you tell yourself over and over again. You feel your mind teetering on the brink of the abyss, the sensory input from thousands of yous is almost too much to process. You see what happens to Nora at the same time as you exist here, and it feels like you're living through the moment over and over again. But you need to ground yourself in the now here—

A spear of bone flies through the air and pieces through Bidu's chest. Marrow Spider wasn't completely unconscious after all. He scurries away, disappearing into a storm sewer. Your bodies claw after him, but they're unable to follow.

Bidu's eyes go glassy and she stops breathing.

"—No, nO, NO, no—!"

Christian jumps as all of your bodies start howling at once.

nO more. NO more HoLdInG bACk. yOU'LL gRoW. YOU'll grOW sO LARGe YOU COUld eat ThE wOrLd IF YOu HaD tO. ANythIng. aNyThINg at All IF YOu CAN Keep tHEM SaFE!

You eat. You eat and eat and eat anD EAt anD eaT anD eaT aND eAT anD eAt—

* * *​

You eat everywhere. You grow large. Larger. Largest. You WiLl FIlL ThE SkY wiTh YOu And DeVoUr tHE suN.

Gaspard isn't moving, his breathing is shallow. Atlas, Man o' War, and Misty Monk close in on Harper, despite how savagely she fights them off.

In the sky, Asariel and Rocketeer look around in horror.

"She's snapped," Rocketeer shouts, "We knew it was only a matter of time until she—

"We pushed her to this," Asariel says softly, "This is our fault. All of ours."

"You can't be fucking serious, Asa, she's—wait. Is it getting . . . warm?"

A shrill beeping goes off from a device on his arm.

"That's . . . how many rads?!" Rocketeer screams. He looks at Novalight, who is staring into the middle distance, gazing at nothing. Your bodies around her sizzle and die as invisible poison cooks them alive.

"I don't . . . I don't feel so well . . ." Asariel pants. The water that makes up her hair starts to turn to steam. Rocketeer races over and grabs her, dragging her as far away from Novalight as fast as he can.

More of you die, cooked by invisible heat.

"Novalight, are you fucking crazy?!" Rocketeer screams, "You're going to irradiate the whole fucking borough! There are civies down there!"

"I have no other choice," she says, her voice tight, "I'll keep it as contained as I can. It will only affect us up here. Get away, now—"

As she speaks, you feel something wet in your grip. Oh, right. You had Master of Disaster up here . . . she probably couldn't see him through your swarm. You feel Master of Disaster melt in your grip, his eyes turning to liquid as his skin sloughs off like paper.

"Oh, god, no!" Asariel screams when she sees what's happened.

"Leviathan's Blood," Rocketeer seconds.

Novalight freezes in place, her expression one of pure horror.

"I . . . I didn't see him," she says, her voice uncharactically meek, "I . . . didn't mean to . . . not again . . . I-I had no choice—!"

"Novalight, stop!" Rocketeer calls, "This is why you can't use something as indiscriminate as radiation as a weapon!"

But Novalight doesn't seem to hear him. She's curled up into herself as she destroys you by the hundreds. Her eyes are haunted, seeing something else. Seeing something that happened a long time ago.

"I don't have a choice," she says, numbly, "It's up to me. I'm all that's left. It's all up to me."

"My husband is down there!" Asariel screams, "There has to be a better way! We can find another way to bring Apiary back to her senses! You're going to kill everyone around here!"

"SHE DOesn'T caRE," you buzz, "ShE AlreADy did thIS TO SomeONE sHE loVED. wHy SHouLd sHe caRe aboUT huRTING AnyoNE elsE?"

That snaps Novalight out of her fugue.

"Don't talk as if you understand anything, monster," Novalight barks at you, "Never again. Never again will I let something like that happen!"

"you'll juST Do SomEtHing just as BaD iNStead?"

"Silence! You speak as if you have something to say. You do not. You weren't there! You don't understand—"

"I UNderStANd tHAt CORDeLia forGIVES yOu FOR HUrTinG hEr."

Novalight's eyes blaze as the light around her becomes searing. She attacks with radiation and photons, wiping out everything around her. She fires indiscriminately upwards into your dark swarm, like she's trying to mop up a blot of spilled ink.

"she FOrgiVes yOu fOr HURTinG hER," you repeat. You reach out and listen to the dreaming murmurs of your new fake-peer, "but SHE wANts tO kNOW why YOu leT HeR cHildRen dIe?"

"Quiet!"

"You coUld Have savEd TheM. oR . . . diD yOUr rADIaTIoN KILL THEm TOO?"

"Be quiet!"

"DiDn'T YOU cAre ABoUt the TWIns? You WERe THeiR goDMOtHer."

"I said to be quiet!"

She blasts at you downwards and her light annihilates scores of your bodies . . . and a building beneath her. She freezes in horror when realizes what she's done, a hand over her mouth as she watches the ruined building topple over. But you don't hold back your screams when you realize what's happened.

The building fell on Gaspard. He's dead.

"—nO, NO, NO, NO, NO NoOooOo!"

* * *​

The man freezes in place as Camdyn catches him in his gaze. Camdyn stands there, one hand cradling the ruined side of his face. You see the man's arm frozen mid-thrust, the jagged edge of his blade not quite skewering Nora's skull.

Then, without any obvious movement, the man winks away, reappearing to attack Camdyn again. But you're all expecting it. You swarm him and, just as Nora predicted, his sword bounces off your chitin. However, he's strong and fast enough to rapidly kill you just by punching your bodies. Camdyn makes the man's motion impossible again, and, again, he teleports away.

"Fucking cheater!" Camdyn screams, "Stay still!

He reappears in the air behind both of you and kicks space-time manipulator with a savage axe kick, his leg extending through infinity.

"No," he says, speaking for the first time. Then he reaches over and crushes your body's head in his grasp. You race at him with your other forms, but he's already reaching for Camdyn to finish the job.

So Nora reappears to stop him. She lashes out with a glowing sword that extends from her wrist and looks like one of Harper's energy blades. He ducks under it with inhuman grace, punches Nora in the sternum, and grabs her by the neck. He raises his fist, intending to deliver the killing-blow. You see Nora's eyes rolling in her head, the whites of her eyes showing as she faces imminent death. You get there to rip the man apart, but he teleports with Nora in his grasp.

Then he's too far away for you to get to him before he strikes. Nora thrashes in fear, panicking to get away.

Then, just before she dies, your eyes play a trick on you. Terrified grey eyes look calm and brown for a second. Her messy hair looks neat and curly. And the black and silver of her armor turns dark blue and gold. The man halts mid-swing, his eyes wide in confusion and . . . recognition?

"Who are you?!" he demands, his face suddenly pale. He rips her helmet off her head and exhales.

"I thought . . . no, you're too old—"

The moment of hesitation is more than enough. Camdyn recovers and captures him in his gaze. And you envelop him, burying him under as many of your bodies as you can. When he teleports again, he brings all of you with him, and he can't kill you faster than you can add new bodies to the pile. He's trapped.

Camdyn limps over to Nora, who has rushed over to Yazmin's unconscious side. He gives her a crooked grin from his ruined face.

"Fucking today, amiright?"

"We need to go," Nora says, sounding utterly exhausted, "Justiciar will be here any second. We have to—"

A column of power annihilates the pile of bodies overtop the man. He emerges from it, transformed. His body is suddenly lithe, scaly, and muscular, like a bipedal lizard. Blue power crackles under his skin and glows from every pore. He's so fast. He's so strong. A sword of blue light is in his hands.

He kills your bodies with almost casual ease. And then he descends on your friends. Camdyn freezes him in the air, and you get ready for him to teleport—

But he doesn't.

A white hot light of destruction gathers around him and then manifests behind him in the shape of thousands upon thousands of blades. They dangle in the sky before turning toward all of you, as if pulled by magnets.

Then they fall like rain.

They slice through your bodies like a hot knife through butter. You can't intercept them no matter how desperately you try. Nora throws her body over Yazmin, and Camdyn—

Falls for the trap. He puts himself between the blades and your friends. But the swords attacking him are made of light. And, as Christian pointed out to him, his power protected him by keeping things away from him. Normally, light was allowed past his infinity so that he could see, but, as soon as that light became dangerous, his power would block it out.

So in the brief seconds where he was kept safe from the swords before they dissipated, he was blind.

And the man could move. In three flashes he appears next to Camdyn on his blind side. He then reaches over through infinity and plucks Camdyn's head from his shoulders.

W-what . . .? N-no. Soldier X. Bidu. Gaspard. Camdyn. No! W-why?!

WHy Does this KeEP HAPPEnING? wHY cAn'T yoU SAVe AnYone? wHy aREn't yoU BiG enOuGH?!

whY?

WHy?

wHy?

WhY?

wHY?

WHY?

WHY? wHY? whY? wHy? WhY? WhY? wHy? Why? wHy? wHY? wHy? whY? WHY? wHY? why? wHy? whY? WhY? Why? whY? WHY? WHY? WhY? Why? Why? wHY? wHY? whY? WHy? whY? whY? Why? whY? whY? why? WHy? why? wHy? WHY? whY? WHY? wHY—

* * *​

You eat. You create. What you create eats more and then creates in turn.

The cycle is endless. Like a drop of blood from a god, you will turn all that you meet into more of You.

You have to.

The pain is too great, too all encompassing, you much for the you that is too small. You have to get bigger. So big that the whole world burning would just be a spec in your consciousness.

You feel the rotted man and child-who-never-was reaching out to you, trying to simultaneously congratulate you for your apotheosis and hinder your growth.

But they can't. And you don't care. You just want to get bigger.

You see all things from all of you at once. A woman who bears the title of judge but is, in reality, little more than a leashed dog tries to bind you to her rules. She wants to chain you to her justice.

HER JustIce IS a joke. YoU SpIt oN hER JUsTicE. YOU HATE HEr.

But the judge is too small, her jurisdiction too limited to govern all of You. Eventually, she realizes the futility of her efforts, and her handlers rush her to safety. You don't care. They don't stop you from eating, so you let them go.

Next, is a living star in the shape of a broken woman. In a moment of fear, in a fit of rage, she did something she can never take back. She broke everything that gave her life meaning, and she clutches the pieces of a broken, new dawn so close to her chest that they've destroyed her heart. She tries to destroy You, as if doing so will allow her to find absolution for her sins.

WHAT haVe YOU eVer donE to HeR? Why cAN'T She jusT lEt yOU and YOuR FRiEndS Live? doeS SHE sEe yOU AnD RememBeR WHAt SHe's LosT? WHAT sHe's tHrown awAY?

But this only adds to the red in her ledger. She will kill hundreds of people and fail to stop you. Or, she would have. For an aquatic angel remembers she is a hero at the last possible second and strikes down the star with a lance of super compressed water. She then doubles over, bleeding as the colorless light bleaches her from the inside out.

You wonder if she will live or die before you realize you don't care. You're so big it's hard to care about anything—

Except the one hero who is managing to shrink you. Christian.

He is small, but big at the same time. Not as big as You, but he is bigger than any one of you. He's keeping You from becoming big enough to disappear completely. Your consciousness is already stretched to burst like a latex glove filled with water, but it's not gone yet. Everytime you start to fade away into the hunger, he pulls you back.

he WON'T Let yOU Go.

You try to remember why that's a good thing. You try to remember why it makes you so happy. But the feelings disperse over a thousand thousand bodies, the sheer mass of You grounding you from emotion.

So he stops holding back.

Every swing is a Category-5 hurricane. Every stomp is a jolt that makes the earth quake. His voice is a sonic cannon that breaks chitin like glass.

He leaps high and long, destroying you with a touch. He kills and kills and kills until the dead you on the ground is multiple feet-thick, and . . . slowly, he makes a dent.

A small dent. But a dent from the emerging You all the same. And, as he does, his voice is able to reach you.

"Rosemary!" he roars, "They will never leave you alone after this! They have seen your power and they will fear it. Those in Elysium, the gibbering Tumor, the thing King hunts! They have marked you among their number! Your choice will be subjugation to them or death."

You have to think to remember how to answer him. It comes to you with great effort.

"nUH-UH."

"Fool, girl! What could you possibly hope to accomplish now? Abandon this effort! "

"I cAN'T."

The small stops fighting you for a second, giving you a chance to grow. You get bigger, and it's hard to remember why you were listening to him. His words are a tiny thing, the squeaking of a floorboard amidst a great symphony. You try to drown him out—try to drown everything out—but then he speaks, and his words reach you through the flood:

"Then I will defeat you. Then they will turn their gaze to me, not you."

That . . . makes you feel sad? Like he's giving something up? Sacrificing something? But . . . what?

And . . . who . . . who is he?

wHO is tALkiNG? wHy CAn'T YoU rEMEmber? WAS it IMPortANT? WhO aRE you? ANd—

—Why DO yOU FeEl so SAd?!

Death comes to you a thousand times over. You feel Christian leaping through You; your swarm so thick that he can kill swaths of You with a mere leap. He's no longer holding back his strength on his punches—the air ignites from the sheer speed of his swings. Chunks of you die, swatted like flies or burnt alive.

you cAn't LEt him stOP YoU geTTiNG BIg, so, even though You hesitate to do it for some reason, you rip and tear at his flesh. But as quickly as you harm him, he heals the damage. And any body that gets close, dies. And he's moving faster, creating a firestorm to burn you with just his movement.

The fight gradually moves away from where people live to somewhere else. It's a place with a lot of boats and water. You don't remember if you moved your contest here or if he did, but you feel immensely grateful . . . for some reason.

yOU DON'T REMEMbeR WHy. thIs ShoULd be anNOYinG. tHERe'S less FOOd HerE.

B-but . . . no, it's good that no one will get hurt while you and Christian fight—

Wait, why are you fighting Christian?! And . . . and . . . wHo IS hE?

Wait, you remember . . . hE'S KILliNG You! yOu hAte HiM! yOu'Re GoNna eAT hIm! You swarm him, but he kills you. So you make more of You, and he kills them. You get mAd. You were big and now he's trying to make you small! Well, you won't let him!

You make so much You, devouring cropland, grocery stores, and every tree growing on the sidewalk. You start eating your old You, the destroyed bodies of chitin lying on the ground.

And then there's more of you! You get soooOoOOOoo big sooOooOoOoOOo fast! You feel a mad giggle spread across your hivemind; this is amazing! You feel incredible! YOU Don't reMEMBeR wHAT paiN FElt LiKE. yoU don't remEMBER ThE AngER aNd SaDnesS. you jUsT FEEL bIG!

You don't care if the Red Man kills all of the You near the inedible things! You have You everywhere else! You pick the boroughs clean, and you're so big.

it'S liKE eXOduS 10:12 sAys, "and The LOrD SaID to moses, 'streTcH OuT yoUr HanD ovEr EgypT sO tHat LOCUsTs sWARM OVeR ThE LAnD and dEvouR eVeryThiNg groWInG In thE FIelDS, evERYThing left By tHE HAiL.'"

BUT wHat DoEs THAt MEAN? AnD wHAt cAn You eAt Now? YoU WANT to GEt bIGgEr! You havE tHe CROPland, but thERe's nO food INSIDE The INEdIbLe plACE nOW . . . exCEpT THose sMall moVinG THinGs thAT POINt aNd sCrEAm aT YoU.

But, wait . . . you can't eat those . . . you can't! It's wrong . . . fOR SoME reASON. EVEN iF YoU'Re huNgRY. HonESTLy, yOU DOn'T carE. yoU'd eaT THEm, BUt THeY'D JuSt Be a LItTLE NibBle. Not enoUGh to mAKE You BiG.

BUt . . . thERE's oNE oF THEm You COulD Eat FOR a whILE . . . yeAH.

yoU SwArm ThE red mAN. YoU BITe anD cHEW, ANd, by THE TImE yOU SWalLOW, thE fleSH iS BaCk.

this iS AMaziNg! you can EAt aND Grow ForevEr! YoU jUSt NeEd To KEEp EATinG—

. . . just NeEd To kEEP eATiNg . . .

. . . JuSt . . . neEd to kEEP eAtIng . . . eAtiNg . . . eATiNg . . .

. . . what are you eating?! What are you doing?! What is this?!

You scream and vomit from as many mouths as you can, but there's as much hunger in You now as there is Rosemary Ward. Your bodies keep filling their stomachs even as you empty them.

The world becomes blurry and smeared as you cry from thousands of eyes at once. You force yourself to look at your brother and you chew and swallow pieces of him, and you find him looking back at you.

Why . . . why does he look like he's sorry?! You try apologizing, you try crying, you try saying anything . . . but all that comes out is:

"HElp . . . mE. heLp mE chRIsTian. i CAn'T STop. PleASe . . . helP . . . Me."

His eyes widen as he hears you, but then one of your mouths bites too deep and too greedily. Something vital in Christian breaks, and you can see him go still as the light in his eyes fades.

You're about to scream, when it comes back.

* * *​

In the NID, Atlas falls to his knees and pants. His invulnerable skin kept him safe from the giant insects that had swarmed him, but he would be lying if that experience hadn't been something that will haunt his nightmares in the weeks to come.

Looking around, Man o' War and Misty Monk had it worse than him. Misty Monk is nearly dead, while Man o' War has lost all of his glowing arms. Novalight is . . . somewhere around here, and the fallout from her . . . well, fallout will take years to clean up.

On top of that, they only got one of The Defiance Unit. Atlas sneers in annoyance. All this effort for naught. Sure, if they had gotten the other four it would have been worth it for a billion reasons, but this . . . such a bother.

Atlas sees something move out of the corner of his eye, and carefully walks over to it. It's that Red Huntress bitch, no longer shaped like a giant cat. Leviathan's Blood, fighting her had been annoying. She ruined his costume. And now she's trying to get away?

He looks around. Well . . . the bug is gone now. If something happened to this bitch, then who could say it wasn't just a tragic accident? He catches Julio's eye, and the man just rolls his eyes in response. He doesn't care, Atlas can do as he pleases.

Well, that's all he needs, isn't it? He takes one step forward to have his fun—

And red light burns from under his skin. It's hot! Too hot! He's melting—no, he's withering. Something is leaking out of him like water out of a hole in a jug, something important. No, not just leaking . . . something is eating it.

As Atlas shrivels and dies, the last thing he sees is a red, horned skull eating his heart.

* * *​

Red light explodes around Christian as he is reborn anew. He's bigger, stronger, and taller—just shy of eleven-feet tall. He swings a fist, and the air doesn't just ignite. It explodes.

He kills a hundred of you without trying, but there's so, so, so, so, so much more of you than that. aNd you FEEl YoURsELF slIPpiNG.

The hunger takes over and you climb all over your brother again. He tries to keep you away, killing you every time you get close, but there's still too much. You get close, and keep biting—

* * *​

Ryan Ortega feels it coming before it happens. The rest of Global Justice mills about, being careful to not leave the Captain's range like children hiding in their mother's skirts. There's some debate about whether to pursue Uiara and Valiant Silver, but no one has the stomach for any more fighting.

Uiara left, heading for the Worker's Mitt carrying some sort of glass corpse. And Valiant Silver . . . she followed the swarm north. The hero called Pinnacle suppresses the shudder he feels at the thought of doing the same. All those bugs? No thank you.

Besides . . . he doesn't have much time left.

Pinnacle walks over to the Captain and salutes. It's good to see her out of that room they keep her in. Justiciar turns to him slowly, body shaky, with an expression of confusion on her face.

"Sergeant," she says in greeting.

"Ma'am!" Pinnacle barks, "It's been an honor serving under you."

". . . 'been an honor'. Why past tense?" Justicar says, catching on immediately.

"The Reaper is calling, ma'am," Pinnacle says, "I'm afraid my ticket's been punched!"

The red light is bubbling under his skin. Less than a minute left.

"Sergeant!" Justicar calls in concern, "Stop, we can—"

"Do nothing, ma'am. There's nothing to do," Pinnacle says, "But don't cry for me. I've been dead since Washington Square, ma'am."

". . . I gave the order to fire."

"And I obeyed it. Respectfully, it doesn't matter whose fault it was; those kids wound up dead all the same. Ma'am."

His life is being whisked away. He's dying. That's fine. He just wish it hurt more.

It's what he deserves.

Pinnacle gives a small smile. "I'll save you a seat in Hell, ma'am. Don't join me too soon."

Justiciar swallows. "I'll see you there. Sergeant, dismissed."

Pinnacle smiles as the devil comes to claim him.

* * *​

Another explosion, and Christian is stronger still. Eleven-feet even. He kills your bodies with a reckless abandon, trying to stay in motion so you can't keep eating him. There's a slowly dawning desperation in his eyes, over what, you're not sure. You don't think he's scared to die, so what is it then?

He lands on the ground, and one of your larger bodies is waiting under the earth for him. It leaps up, armored proboscis extended for his neck—

* * *​

A ten year old child watches as the last metahuman of the Ghost Dragon Triad dies in front of her.

Now she's truly alone.

* * *​

"Rosemary, stop!" Christian roars, "You don't understand what you're doing—"

A thousand bites descend on him at once. One finds its mark.

* * *​

A petty warlord in an underground nightclub dies, screaming. Lethal Anodyne looks on in a stupor, and decides that this is probably a bad batch after all.

* * *​

Christian is stronger than ever, harder to kill than before.

"There is only one left before you! Stop, now!" He hesitates before adding, "Please."

But you can't stop. Even as your mouth is full of his flesh and your heart weeps, the hunger is inside your very bones now. This is hell. Worse than anything you felt in The Logos. Worse than when your body first changed. Worse than anything.

But . . . what truly is the worst is that you'll do anything for one last bite—

* * *​

Faust and the Speaker watch dispassionately as a Fish perishes. Faust tuts at the sight.

"Now, Kyoko, what was the point of having Christian empowering him if you were never going to finish your research on how it changed his power? This is wasteful."

"It was a dead end for what we seek. Besides, I assumed you were against the possibility of finding a way to leash your . . . associate."

Faust shrugs. "Dear Christian would have found a way out of it, or he would have been our thrall. Either way, it all turned on the potential of his own strength, just as he wished. Still, it was unusual for him to be willing to grant us the use of his power at all—even if it was just on a failed candidate. One might suspect he had an ulterior motive."

The Speaker doesn't respond, having lost interest in the conversation.

Faust shakes his head. It's times like these that he remembers why he tolerates Goethe's bumbling—at least the woman could banter.

* * *​

cHrIStian iS sO bIg now, anD so Are You. hiS eNDless FlESH HAs MoRe ThAT Made Up fOr whAt HE hAS kIlled. YOu'RE biG. So BIg yOU CaN eAt him UP IN oNe bite.

BUT YOu'rE TIRED oF hIS TAstE, You THINK. You'Re goiNG TO swaLlow hIM uP In oNE gReAT, bIG Bite ANd TheN eAT tHe reST OF THe citY.

YoU oPen yoUR JawS wIde—all Of tHEm—ANd gO to eaT. hE HolDs YoU bAck, shouTINg, bEggiNG, pLeADINg For yOu TO StOP. yOu aLMOST Do. It doesN'T SOund LIKE Him. ChrISTIan DoEsn't BEg. he DoeSN't pLeAd. hE doEsN'T gET scARED.

SOMEthING IS wrONG.

. . . BUT you'Re sO hUnGry you Don't cARe. YOu bITe and chew aND SwaLLOW AND eAt ANd—

Oh.

Oh.

Oh. You see. You feel it now. The red core of energy Christian gave you so long ago. It's still inside you. All of you. You were drawing from it for all these years to use your power, and slowly it became a part of you.

But it's also part of him. It's a doorway between your powers. And doors open both ways.

You can feel the energy begin to eat you . . . all of You—all of your bodies, you mean. It's eating all of your bodies, one by one, and it's speeding up as it does it. You don't . . . you don't have much time left.

You brother stands there, his body destroyed, but his remaining eye isn't filled with anger or vindication. He's just sad. You both know you and him will change places in a second.

"It's funny," you say to him. "Not, 'ha-ha' funny, but . . . well, I've wanted to invite you to the Bastion for the longest time. I almost did after the gala. But—"

You let out a dry laugh.

"—that morning, when I was going to? I forgot to duck going into my room and smacked my head on the doorframe. I thought, 'Christian's even taller than me! He's not going to be able to get around anywhere in here!'

There's a lump in your throat, but you talk around it.

"I was . . . I was gonna remodel parts of the Bastion and then introduce you to everyone. Kinda like a party? Bring the Mother Superior too, along with Heavenly Astrologian. Get everyone I love in the same place, y'know?"

You wipe your eyes and shake your head.

"I . . . I never got around to it. I meant to, but . . . you know how it is. Something always comes up. There's never time to do it. You think . . . you think there's no rush. You think you have all the time in the world."

It hurts. It hurts worse than Novalight nuking you or Christian smashing you. Dying hurts.

"Rose. Mary," Christian gasps through ruined throat. Just your name. He swallows, unable to form words. You spare him the effort and keep talking as your time ticks away.

"The most annoying thing is how well you'd get along with everyone. You and Rakeem could brood in silence together while you watched your stupid sports. Yazmin would work out with you, Harper would fix your wardrobe, and you and Lady Leizi could act all mysterious together. Eve would drive you nuts, but in that way where you pretend to be annoyed but actually like having someone talk your ear off."

You can picture it now. Everyone slowly warming up to the red monster with the heart of a wet cat. You sniff, and mourn what could have been. Why did you wait?

"But most of all, you and Nora would be insufferable. You'd spend hours talking about superpowers and then she'd drag you down to her lab to watch her work while you argue more about whether Valiant Red could beat Fantastic Metal. He totally could by the way."

"I—"

"No, shut up, I'm dying. I get to be right, this one last time! Valiant Red kicks Fantastic Metal's butt! Admit it! I want to hear you admit it out loud!"

"Rose. Mary," he chokes, "I'm. Sorry."

He looks so young right now, so lost. Like a little boy who's seen this one too many times. It hurts so much that you hug him with one body, four arms holding him tight.

"It's okay," you comfort him. You're crying now, and maybe the hug is for you too. "It's okay. You didn't mean to. I made this happen. I lost control. It's my fault. Mine."

"I've. Done this. To you."

"What? Saved my life?" you sniff, "We both know I would have broke back in The Logos. I would have gone insane, or died, or I'd be enslaved to Faust right now. You . . . you gave me time. Time to meet the people I love. I've been so, so, so happy these last two years. If I had to live my life all over again, I'd do everything the same just to have them again. My only regret is not sharing it with you while I could."

You squeeze him tight.

"Without you, that never would have happened. So please, please, don't blame yourself. Please?"

He holds you with his one remaining arm. He's gentle for all of his awesome strength.

"I don't. Want. This."

"I don't either," you sob, "I wanna stay. I wanna see tomorrow. I wanna live!"

You're shaking like a leaf.

"B-but I can't."

The scarlet energy is like a wildfire through your hivemind, burning everything in an ever-growing conflagration. You don't have long now.

"I . . . I have to do something before I go. I'll leave a body here with you, but don't freak out when the rest of me leaves?"

He nods slowly.

With that, every other body of yours takes to the sky. You fill the sky with a great buzzing, but, this time, it's not a threat.

It's a goodbye.

You start humming something to yourself, and, as you do, it reverberates throughout your swam. It takes you a second to realize what you're doing, but, when you do, you let out a wet laugh at how inappropriate it is. Then you keep humming.

It's Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee.

* * *​

Your bodies land right where the Worker's Mitt touches the wilderness that leads to the QZ. There's more than enough space here . . . but you'll have to move fast.

A thousand mouths eat all at once, and you quickly begin building something. Not a body for yourself . . . a home for everyone else. It needs to be big, gigantic so NuGen will have all the space it could want. It needs to be safe, a fortress to weather even the mightiest storms. And, above all, it needs to be home, somewhere where the people you love will always return.

But also, it needs really high ceilings and doors.

What would take anyone else a decade, only takes you minutes. What you make isn't you . . . but you're incapable of making anything that isn't at least a little alive. There's a seed of something in the building you make, a glimmer of the love you pour into these walls. You're not exactly sure what you made, but you know it's not just you.

You rest a forehead against the walls and wish whatever it is a happy birthday. You never thought you would be a mom . . . and you're still not. Mostly.

Your bodies here start dropping one by one.

Ah, you're nearly out of time. The walls in the building split open for you with a thought, and you descend down.

One more thing to make before the end.

* * *​

And then there was one.

Whether it's luck, fate, or some sort of mercy, your last body is the one with Christian. You see glowing red energy flowing into him, healing his wounds, rebuilding him, making him stronger than he ever was. He's now totally unharmed, but he's still growing.

He lets you go and takes a step back. To look at you one last time.

You smile. "Goodbye, Christia—"

You hear rapid footsteps racing toward you, the sound of metal boots on the ground. Nora turns the corner just as you die.

"No! No! Rosemary, no!"

You try to turn to look at her, but your head won't move. You try to speak to her, to tell her it's okay, but your mouth won't open.

You try to keep standing, but your legs give out.

You dimly hear Nora screaming as she clutches your head to her chest.

"Rosemary, no, please. Please, please, open your eyes. Please!"

You feel something wet hit your forehead, but just barely. You're so numb everywhere.

"Please don't go! I need you . . . p-please? Please?"

You feel the last your life leave you as your heart slows down.

"No! No, no, no, no! Rosemary!" Nora lets out a sound like a wounded animal. You feel her shift. "You! What did you do to her?!"

There's a beat for a second before you hear a rumbling reply.

"I killed her."

. . . he's got to be fucking kidding you.

You want to get up and slap him, but your heart stops beating. Time's up. It's over.

Your last thought is wanting to comfort Nora as she screams.

"I'll fucking kill you! Do you understand?! I'll fucking kill you if it's the last thing I ever do. You're dead, you're fucking dead for what you did to her! You motherfucking shit-cunt . . . I . . . I'll . . . R-rosemary—!"

* * *​

You are Nora Kim.

You're not ready for this. You haven't been ready for this for nearly a year. In fact, it wasn't for the silver weirdo float next to you, you wouldn't be here at all.

Wait—no. Towarri. If it wasn't for Towarri, you wouldn't be here at all.

You glance at the silver girl out of the corner of your eye, and feel a fresh wave of guilt. You—

"Yes? What is it?" Towarri demands. You jump a little at being caught staring. "Your face changed. Are you hungry? Do you need to use the bathroom? I told you before that I haven't yet been able to memorize your facial expressions. Your helmet makes it very difficult."

She says that last bit like an accusation, and you have to stop from reflexively apologizing. Towarri sure is . . . Towarri.

And to think, a week ago you hated her so much you wanted her dead.

After Rosemary died, you kinda . . . broke. You're many things, but 'good at handling death' is not one of them. NuGen could have survived the negative press from Apiary's ramage and standing with The Defiance Unit. NuGen could have weathered the storm from all of the lawsuits from Dominion, AGL, and, yes, even New Dawn. NuGen could have survived being pariahs in a city of metahumans.

NuGen never could have survived losing Rosemary. You could never forgive a city that would celebrate her murder and pin a fucking medal on his chest. The motherfucking asshole didn't even have the grace to look like he was enjoying getting away with his homicide; you think he died from the way that fucking-waking-shit-stain brooded.

So you disbanded. You all went your separate ways. And you . . . did what you always do.

You locked yourself in a lab and tried to find a way to kill Scarlet Maturity. You made a point to go somewhere where even Yazmin wouldn't find you. Then, you got to work.

You didn't exactly take care of yourself. By the end there, you were malnourished and hallucinating from sleep deprivation. You . . . probably would have died if a black hole hadn't ripped open the door to your lab one day.

Then, you had a silver-skinned girl bringing you food everyday. When you refused to eat, she created a series of questionnaires about your dietary preferences and wouldn't leave until you filled them out. You did it to make her go away, but, when next time she brought your favorite Korean take-out, you cracked and gorged yourself. She took that as a victory.

Then she started on other things:

"Are you sleeping between 7-9 hours a day? Have you received adequate sunlight to simulate Vitamin D creation? You smell terrible. I know it's rude to comment on it directly, but it's a sign of poor hygiene which is correlated with other health complications. Also, your stench is so pungent it's making my eyes water."

You hated her. Hated her. Who was this bitch, who just showed up unannounced and inserted herself into your life? She just popped in everyday and then left? Who the fuck did she think she was?

Then, you finally ventured from your hole one day. Only to learn that that freak was patrolling. Protecting the Worker's Mitt. Introducing herself as an "applicant for membership in NuGen". And what's more? She was good at it. She was extremely stiff and awkward, but the people of the Mitt cut her some slack. They found her blunt manner of speaking endearing. And she was strong, able to single-handedly chase off any rogue metahumans by herself.

No, more than that. Powers had heard that NuGen was back and decided to extract a little "payback". They attacked the Mitt "in self-defense" and Towarri—or Radiant Silvergirl as she called herself—annihilated them. Beat them so badly that she was then able to force them to provide community service "as restitution for the destruction of public and private property".

The Mitt loved her. They had felt abandoned by NuGen, but now there was someone who claimed to be one of their old heroes and protecting them like 'the good old days'. Sure she was . . . odd, but she was one of theirs, dammit! They adored her.

Like they used to adore Rosemary.

You snapped again. The next time she came to you, you lost it. You screamed at her. You threatened her. You said things to her, vile things that still fill you with shame to this day. And what did she do in response?

She tilted her head, frowned minutely, and said, "Oh. I guess I was doing it all wrong. I'm sorry."

And then she left. You got worried when she didn't come back the next day. Then, when she didn't come back the day after that, you went to go look for her.

She had still been patrolling around the Mitt, so you knew she was alive. You asked enough questions—and were recognized by enough people—that eventually you figured out where she went every night.

The Grave of the Bumblebee. The white sepulcher Rosemary had made before she died. It was evening by the time you got there, the sun set. And when you did, you realized how fucking big the place was. You were wondering if you would have to walk around the whole thing to find Towarri, when suddenly a hole opened up in the side of the structure and she poked her head out.

"Valiant Silver?" she said, squinting at you, "I took your words to mean that you no longer approved of my presence. Did I misread the situation?"

"Ummm, well, n-no—"

She brightens at that. "Excellent. Then my mastery of social nuance continues apace. That is a relief."

You two stared at each other.

"So . . . you live here?" you ventured.

"Well, yes. I am an applicant for membership in NuGen. And this is the home built for NuGen."

". . . fucking what?"

"You were unaware?" she frowns, "I supposed that does make sense . . . I assumed you were waiting to move in until the sewage is connected. The building already has electricity."

"But . . . what . . . how . . .?" you gape, "Why did you even come here in the first place?"

Towarri's face minutely falls at that. She looks away.

"I just . . . I wanted to meet her. This was the closest experience I could find."

A week of exploring later, and Towarri proved correct. The building let you and then . . . answered when you asked it questions. It was hard to explain, but it is like there's something slumbering in the walls. Normally, it's dead to the world, but if you ask it in just the right way . . .

The floor in front of you moves, reshaping itself to form a staircase downward. Towarri hums to herself.

"And this doesn't freak you out?" you ask, pointing downward.

"No. Why? Should it?" Towarri says pulling out a moleskine notebook, "I've found that my lack of a reaction to some things is off-putting to others. I was raised around constant violence and non-consensual medical experimentations, so my indifference to gore makes sense. However, I don't understand why people hate insects. They're a necessary part of the ecosystem."

She looks at you expectantly.

"Should a building reconfiguring itself in real time be alarming?"

You pause and actually think about it.

"Normally, yes, but not this building."

"Hmm. I see," Towarri says, scribbling in her notebook, "Tricky."

You nod and begin walking down. She goes to follow you, but the floor narrows in front of her.

"Ah, it seems whatever is below us is only meant for you," Towarri says, "Do you have the letter?"

The note you haven't been able to bring yourself to read in nearly a year burns in your breast pocket.

"Yeah."

"Excellent. And do you have the trail mix I prepared for you?"

". . . yes."

"And the hand sanitizer?"

"Yes."

"Very good. Do you need another nap before we do this? You only slept four hours last night, and you've been marginally more irritable than usual—"

"I'm going now."

Without another word, you start walking down the stairs. Towarri's voice soon fades away, and the world around you is illuminated by soft bulbs hung in regular intervals. Eventually, after about ten minutes, you hit a great door. It moves at your touch, but you don't open it yet.

Instead, you take a deep breath, pull out the letter, and read it.

Dear Nora,

If you're reading this, then something happened to me. I hope you never do. I hope all of these letters I'm writing are just a waste of an afternoon that I'll feel silly about later. I hope we all spend everyday together, and you accidently make us all immortal after an experiment goes wrong or something, I don't know.

But, if you are reading this, then there's one thing I want you to know:

I love you.

I love all of you so much. When I first started to change, it felt like I was dying. The 'Rosemary' I was before was melting and twisting into this disgusting bug-thing. And I was going to have to live the rest of my life in this body that wasn't mine. It was like being dead.

Then I met all of you. You accepted me without question. You gave me the first real home I ever had. You became my family in all but blood, and our connection was deeper than any shared genetics could make us.

In these last few years, I've gotten to live a hundred lives. I've been in a hundred different people, in a hundred different places. I've been a superhero, babysitter, DM, streamer, construction worker, chef, crossing guard, author, emergency medical technician, taekwondo instructor—so many, many different things. But, the best part of it all was that I always had a part of me with all of you.

These are the happiest times of my life and I would trade them for nothing. I would suffer a thousand more transformations, just to spend another day with you guys.

I think the world is indifferent. It doesn't care if a little girl turns into a monster or if child-killing billionaires rule the world with shit-eating grins. But it's also so, so beautiful.

I think the good in the world outweighs the bad. So, if I ever die, I'll make sure to make a place for all of you to live first. I'll pour all of my heart and all of my love into it. When you live there, don't feel sad that I'm gone.

Smile, because I was there.

But . . .

But, if I'm wrong. If the world is more bad than good . . . I'll make something else. A contingency, just in case.

I hope you never see this letter. I hope I'm standing next to you right now.

Goodbye, my heart.

Love,

Rosemary Ward, Apiary

You bawl. You didn't let yourself cry at her funeral. You didn't cry when NuGen ended. You didn't even cry when you and Yazmin ended things for good.

But now? You cry. Nearly a year's worth of pent up sorrow and grief pour out of you, all at once. When it's finished, you eat a little trail mix and stand up.

You open the door.

Oh. Of course. Of course that's what she meant. Her Contingency.

It's the most horrifying thing you've ever seen. It's—

The connection to the past ends there. No, the Golden Child seems to say, Not yet. You're not ready yet.

* * *​

You are Yara Oliveira.

The memories ended twenty minutes ago, but the four of you still sit in a stunned silence. The only sounds are the laps of waves on the beach, and Mona's gentle weeping.

Ellie sits next to her, hand on her back. Occasionally, you think her eyes look grey and her armor looks silver for a second, but then the illusion disappears as soon as you look closer. Lady Leizi is alone, the golden child cuddling close to her side.

Finally, she breaks the silence.

"Why show this to us now, darling?" Lady Leizi says to the golden child, "Why not immediately? Why not while everyone else was still here?"

The golden child looks away, tugging at a non-existent lip. But it's Ellie who answers.

"It's because Scarlet Maturity came to the Apiary for the first time ever today."

Lady Leizi starts in alarm.

"Y-yeah," Mona hiccups, "He started a streaming channel with the newbies, and then afterwards we went to the flea market to hear his tragic backstory and eat kibe."

Lady Leizi blinks. "I . . . see. Any other revelations I should know about?"

"I'm a lesbian," Ellie shrugs, "Just figured that out for sure."

Mona gasps. "Does your boyfriend know?!"

". . . Mona, do you know what a 'lesbian' is?"

"B-but," Mona sputters, "You . . . I was told . . . Miss Naught said . . ."

Her eyes go wide and then fill with fire.

"Maddie!"

"So . . . you wanted to show us Scarlet Maturity's true nature?" Lady Leizi asks. The golden child shakes his head and shrugs. For some reason, you hear a lot more in that body language than is expressed directly.

"I think . . . I think the Apiary wants to know if 'Christian' is still buried somewhere, deep down in Scarlet Maturity?" you say, trying to interpret, "I mean, I know Scarlet Maturity from his reputation and . . ."

"A violent thug who cares nothing about 'heroics' or collateral damage," Ellie finishes, "His body count is in the triple digits. Whether it was out of nihilistic grief or not—"

"He's a stinky poo-head who can't ever join Justice Unlimited," Mona finishes, "But . . . he's not all bad. Maybe we could do something like a friendly rival thing . . .?"

Lady Leizi shakes her head. "I don't know, darling. I just don't. Ten years of hatred . . . it doesn't just go away in an instant."

Ellie sighs. "None of this matters right now. We need to get you and everyone else out of The Frozen Throne first."

Lady Leizi gives a slow nod, her usual poise returning. "Yes . . . yes of course. How are you managing, darling?"

"Uncle Gabriel is in charge. We've read the rest of New Dawn in on Project Prometheus," she says with a careless shrug, "It was the best choice."

The loss in op-sec seems to physically pain Lady Leizi, but lets out a shaky breath and says, "Yes . . . Gabriel will do very well. Well thought out, Valiant Gold."

Ellie nods her head and leans back.

"I don't know how long has passed in the real world," she says to the golden child, "But I'd like to get a little sleep tonight."

"Yeah, me too!" Mona chirps, "I need my beauty sleep so I have energy for revenge."

The golden child nods and then they both fall into a slumber and fade away. You yawn yourself.

"I'll go too, darling," Lady Leizi says, "I'll see you back in Baba Yaga's domain."

"You bet," you tell her, "Might sleep in for a bit though. If Katie will let me . . ."

Lady Leizi smiles, and she too is gone. The gold child hugs you and then disappears. You get comfortable in your house and wait to wake up.

But you don't.