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Rating:
Mature
Archive Warning:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category:
Gen
Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - Wildbow亜人 - 三浦追儺 & 桜井画門 | Ajin - Miura Tsuina & Sakurai Gamon (Anime & Manga)
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverDanny HebertBrockton Bay WardsLisa Wilbourn | Tattletale
Additional Tags:
Canon-Typical ViolenceCanon-Typical Body Horrorshard-altered psychologytags to be added as we go
Language:
English
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Timballisto's Curated Works
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Published:2019-05-24Updated:2020-03-11Words:99,568Chapters:29/?Comments:226Kudos:730Bookmarks:266Hits:29,370
(Restricted) The Shadow Over Brockton Bay
Temeritous
Chapter 16: Lich: Interludes
Chapter Text
"And we're taking you now, live, to an aerial view of Captain's Hill from our traffic copter. Vern, what's that we're seeing out there?"
"I can only guess that the Hill was the site of a cape battle last night, Gill. I want to assure you people that this isn't an optical illusion, this is the whole Hill and there really is just that much destruction here. We've sent footage to a surveyor who said that the area is likely too unstable to walk on, so I think it's safe to say that Captain's Hill will be closed to the public for the foreseeable future.
"Right now, as you can see, it's cordoned off by the Parahuman Response Team; no official response yet from their Director Piggot…."
2.c
Coil sat back in his chair, elbows on the arms and hands steepled under his chin. He smiled slightly.
He did so love it when a plan came together.
This one was not without its risks. He had split his destiny at the moment he pressed the key to spill Lazarus' identity to the internet, and he had restrained himself from splitting it many times after that. If something went wrong, he needed to be able to undo everything .
In one world, he did nothing. The Undersiders, operating on intelligence gathered by Circus and shared with them for a fee, hit a jewelry store on Lord Street and skirmished with Lazarus and Vista. They escaped - barely, and only because Lazarus didn't try her hardest. Lazarus went home and the Empire continued to call in favors and gather new parahumans to their banner, preparing to break their capes out.
In the other world, Lazarus was severed from the PRT and the Protectorate. A very special pawn free for the taking; a power they couldn't be allowed to keep.
Coil's attention turned to the live camera feed in one of the long-term holding cells. It supplied all of the basic needs, except perhaps if you counted freedom or socialization among those needs, and fresh food came in through a dumbwaiter too small to fit any size of person. No interaction, or chance for escape, needed.
Coil stood up, stretched, and went for an ambling walk around his base that ended right outside the cell door. He pressed his palm to the reader and leaned forward to let it scan his retina. The door opened.
The man in the cell had seen better days. He'd tried to clean up the dried blood on his face in the sink with some success, and he was no longer wearing the shirt with the fake blood packets spilled down it, but there was still a certain exhaustion to him.
He eyed Coil warily, staying where he was on the other side of the room, by the mini-fridge. The plastic cup of water in his hand trembled.
"Good morning," Coil greeted, his lips turned up and teeth showing behind his mask. It would be a mistake to call this expression a smile. "How are you feeling, Mister Hebert?"
"Fine. Better. I guess that wasn't a weird rescue, was it?" Danny was quite pale, beginning to sport a shadow of a beard. One of the lenses of his glasses had been knocked out.
"No, I'm afraid not," Coil admitted.
"I figured it was the Empire before but… you're Coil, aren't you?"
"Was it the snake that gave it away?"
Danny let out a snort of half-hysterical laughter. "Yeah, a little. What… what do you want me for?"
"Why don't you have a seat," Coil tilted his head toward the little dining table with two chairs set around it. "There are a few reasons, but of course the only really important one is your daughter."
The plastic cup crumpled in Danny's grip, spilling water down over his fist as it split. He took a deep breath and released it, then crossed the room to sit down. "She won't do anything for you. Not for me."
"On the contrary," Coil said, sitting across from him. "She has already killed four people because she believes you are dead. Soon she'll be hunting down and eliminating the rest of the Empire from our fair city. Once she's finished destroying my enemies, I'll point her somewhere else."
"Four people?" Danny murmured, his gaze going distant for a moment. Then it came back to Coil, sharpened and angry again. "Where do I fit into that, then? Why not just kill me for real?"
Coil spread his hands. "Insurance. If all goes to plan, you'll die in a month or so with no one the wiser. If, however, she should find out that this was a manipulation… your life will make for a decent bargaining chip."
Danny stared at him for a moment, swallowed convulsively a few times. He spoke, hoarsely, "She's going to kill you. For her sake, I hope she does it fast."
Coil shrugged, unbothered. "An amusing sentiment. Unfortunately for you, I know your daughter better than you appear to."
Danny shook his head, clearing his throat and laughing a bit again. "Now I know you're not a parent. They'll always surprise you."
Coil sneered behind his mask. There might be more information he could get out of Mister Hebert, but nothing right now. A few days alone in his cell, nothing to occupy him and no one to talk to, and he'd be more willing to share. Isolation is by itself a form of torture.
He left, the door locking automatically behind him.
"She seems to have more Dust now than she did before, an order of magnitude more. During experiments with her power she divulged that she had about two cubic feet of Dust, outside of what she uses to form her minion. It is my judgement that at the time, she was not lying.
"When we encountered her at Captain's Hill, she had enough to push her minion to twice its normal size, and more besides. Previous testing revealed that she could create a a light breeze by moving her Dust through the air in its particulate form, but it was not very powerful. At the Hill, she was able to stagger myself, Miss Militia, and Dauntless with a strong, sudden wind.
"We are unsure how she created so much more Dust, our best theory right now being this phrase."
" Not your fault…. Kaiser, two men, and one parahuman woman whose name I didn't get, are all dead. No bodies, they're dust now. "
2.k
James took one last glance around the street and pressed the button next to K. Anders . "It's me," he said.
Without a response from the speaker box, he was buzzed in.
Kayden answered his knock on her door with Aster in her arms, bouncing slightly as she burped the baby. She narrowed her eyes at him and moved just barely to the side.
"If you're here on his behalf, you can leave right now. I don't care how many people you lost on that stupid attack. And outing a Ward? Has he lost his mind?"
James grimaced. If even Kayden believed that Kaiser had done that, convincing anyone else would be nearly impossible. "That wasn't us. Whoever did it made damn sure it looked like us, but you know Max. He'd never do something so foolish."
She stared at him, eyebrows raised. For a moment the baby began to fuss as she stopped bouncing, and then she started again. "So he didn't post that website everywhere, or kidnap that man out of his own home? It's an incredible frame job, if not."
"No… he did give the order to kidnap Daniel Hebert. We needed to act fast. It was clear that we'd be blamed for the site, we needed to do something." James made an aggravated noise, one hand clenching in anger. "Gesellschaft promised secure passage to Europe for everyone and their families, if we could bring in the Ward. Lazarus."
Kayden sighed. "Why are you here, James? I told you on the phone, I won't help you. I'm finally getting somewhere with the heroes."
"Not after tonight you aren't," James said. "And I told you , you don't know everything yet." He took a deep breath, and admitted, "Max is dead."
It felt strange to say it. There was no body, no proof. There were no witnesses.
Max and Mesmer went to Captain's Hill. Now the Hill was gone, and nobody had heard from Max. Even the basement they'd stashed Hebert in was empty, no captive, no guards, only a puddle of blood left behind. Everything had been going according to their hastily-slapped-together plan right up until it all fell apart at once.
It was too good, too fast. It was on purpose. Something was working against them even more directly than Lazarus.
He explained all of this to Kayden. She sat down on the couch abruptly, as if her legs couldn't support her anymore. When he was done, she said faintly, "He's… dead?"
James nodded.
She looked down at baby Aster, now sleeping peacefully in her arms. She looked back up at him. "What did you want from me? Why come here, Krieg? You have to know I wouldn't help you."
"I had hoped that you might. I still hope that you might tell Night and Fog to lend their aid again…"
"That was a favor for Max," she snapped. "One that he made clear I couldn't refuse."
"Then please, for his sake… If you ever loved him…."
"I thought I did, and I was wrong. That wasn't love. I know what love is, now." She was gazing down at Aster again, her eyes so soft.
"Don't you care at all?" James asked, quietly. "She killed Max, and Gerald and Perry. For all I know, she's coming for the rest of us next. This could be the end of the Empire. Aren't we your friends? Do you think we wouldn't stand by you?" He saw her wavering, and pushed on, "Do you think she'll leave you alone? You're still connected to us, however much you wish you weren't. What if she finishes with us and then comes for you? You'll be alone."
He pushed too far. Her expression hardened, mouth pressing into a thin line. "Get out. If you're being hunted, I don't know why the fuck you thought it would be okay to come here. I haven't been with the Empire in months, I'm finally getting away from your taint. You aren't Max, James, you don't have his silver tongue and you certainly can't talk me back in."
James felt his small hope snuffed out. He quickly flicked through backup plans - threaten her own civilian identity, her daughter, her safety - and discarded them. She'd kill him herself if she thought he was serious.
"Wait." He stopped at the door, held his breath. "If Max is dead… where is Theo? He doesn't need to be caught up in this. He shouldn't have to die for Max's mistakes."
James let the breath out. "You're right, I'll send him to you. With any luck, the sins of the father won't be visited on the son." A beat. A last reminder. "Or the daughter."
He left. Behind him, Kayden shifted Aster up and buried her face in the baby's neck, inhaling deeply. Tears leaked down her face, silent, absorbed by the soft onesie.
"That was fast. What did you find?"
"It doesn't look like Lazarus is going to be as much of a problem as we thought."
"Oh?"
"Coil has her. In fact, he's the reason she left the Wards."
"Hm. Sometimes I do regret being so hands-off in that city."
"This is well outside the original parameters for the experiment."
"You're right. And the Ajin would develop better in a heroic environment than a villainous one. I'll get in contact with Coil, and we'll see about bringing her back into the fold. He'll trade for a favor."
"He pulled her away from the Protectorate because he didn't want her in their hands, working against him."
"I see. Well, we'd have to arrange for her to transfer out of the city anyway. Perhaps Alexandria could take in another wayward Ward."
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