7

Spice 2.3

"The only past which endures, lies wordlessly within you."

-God Emperor Leto Atreides II

-March 16, Rhineland Jewelry, Brockton Bay-

Regent's ass had stopped burning, Grue looked at Tattletale as if waiting for a sign while the Thinker herself seemed to be feeling fear. I wonder what she saw, part of my consciousness knows that the answer lies in what the spice revealed, yet I also know that therein lies the trap. Even if I'm supposed to be immune to prescience, I don't want to risk creating something that can get past even that. The tachyon net is an example I really do not wish to make real. Regardless Grue takes advantage of my silence and says,

"Look kid, we'll let you and your partner go." His voice is deep, I can almost taste the fake confidence, but he isn't lying. He really does want to run.

"You will let me?" I reply with as much venom as I can inject into my tone, "Grue, let's get one thing straight. The only reason why any of you are still breathing is because she's relatively unharmed. If you fucks had hurt her, I wouldn't have bothered to talk. I'd go for the kill. Also, Regent if I feel your greasy palms over my nervous system again I'm gelding you."

"Ooh, kinky little brat ain't ya." He replies, I choose to ignore the fear in his voice. The way his eyes widened for a second. The mask and the broken boy beneath it, I should go to Canada and have words with Heartbreaker. Preferably words that begin and end with him screaming my name as I flay him alive. For once my shard doesn't acknowledge my violent desires, it worries me slightly.

"Huh, would have pegged you for a sadist rather than a masochist." I say to keep the banter going, just a few more minutes for Taylor to recover her swarm. A few more moments for her to arrive.

"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents."

"Of that I have no doubt, and keep your hands off my partner as well. I can feel you trying to puppet her." I reply with a smile on my face,

"I…" Lisa begins saying, I snap my fingers and the flames stop a few centimeters away from her body.

"Tattle, last warning. Be quiet.." I say cutting her off, she looks annoyed, good, "Grue, drop the damn jewels and get out, before I decide to actually keep you here until the police and PRT arrive."

"And if we refuse?"

I don't manage to say anything before a crossbow bolt phases through the wall and clips Grue in the shoulder. Another flies, barely missing Tattletale, I can see its trajectory, my body moves before I think. The shield glimmers like a kaleidoscope of light as it intercepts Shadow Stalker's bolt. The blast knocks me back into Taylor. The undersiders begin to make their escape, leaving their stolen jewelry behind. Grue floods the place with his darkness, grabbing both Regent and Tattletale. They'll make it out and go through the sewers to escape.

This was the best possible result.

Phasing through the wall Shadow Stalker comes out, I barely stop myself from skewering her with a barbed stake. Doing that now would just lead to a bad end. I want something more painful for Sophia.

"Dammit, thanks to you they got away!" Sophia Hess says accusing me and Taylor. I don't have to pretend disdain or hatred for her,

"Thanks to me? You pretentious bitch, you're the one that attacked them and nearly hit Weaver."

"Fuck you shrimpy, if your shit hadn't blinded me I would've been able to get Tattletale and Regent!" Sophia yells at me, pretending she has some control and power over me, I laugh and reply,

"Shrimpy? I'm sorry, Miss I'm too fucking inept to hit a standing target, but where the fuck do you get off being high and mighty when youre nothing but a glorified attack dog, so be a good bitch, shut up for once in your miserable life and piss off!"

"The fuck you say?" Her tone is almost deathly quiet, just a few more words…

"I called you a bitch that's not only a worthless heroine, but a coward that can only strike from the shadows! You're no predator, you're just a scavenger! Go eat the leftovers from everyone you glorified shitstain of a human" Part of me wishes I hadn't gone for the faceless mask style, just to sneer even more at her.

Sophia raised her fist at me, Taylor reacted, spiders, hundreds of them surrounded her in an instant, she turned into shadows and I used alchemy while turning off my shield. Sophia fired a bolt, the building was restored, the bolt hit my shoulder, the shield restarted and made it solid again, I made sure the camera could see it. Battery arrived a second later, breaking the newly fixed doors.

"So Battery, care to explain why your mad dog just tried to kill me and my partner?" I choke out with some spite. Cauldron's little plant looks in horror as her night just got filled with paperwork.

Panacea arrived within 15 minutes, she had stayed up in the hospital and the PRT had told her that it was a delicate case. In exchange for my silence, I got to meet Amy. Taylor is barely keeping back her own desire to kill Shadow Stalker, her swarms chitter angrily as her emotions are poured out. I place my hand on her arm,

"Calm down Weaver. I'll be fine." I say trying to help her not lose control.

"Why?" She asks barely above a whisper. Because you're my cousin, because you're like a sister to me, because I refuse to allow you to become Khepri even if it means my death, because you don't deserve to be a villain, because despite my confusion about myself I love you like family. Are all things I wish I could say to her. Instead I tell her,

"To not be a total sap, I'll just remind you that I do care about you." I can feel the sudden twitch in her fingers, she doesn't fully believe me. But she wants to and will, "Plus I have something to give you back home. Now give me space and make sure no one is listening in, please?" I asked her, she sighs and nods, leaving me next to the wall waiting for the healer.

I see that Panacea has arrived. Vicky had flown her in, paling at the sight of me. I know Amy reassures her, yet I remain nervous. There's several dozen ways this can go and I don't particularly like the one where she turns me into a flesh sculpture. That one ends with Taylor turning Brockton Bay into something that would make Bonesaw jealous.

"Alright, I'm assuming you know who I am and just to confirm I have your permission to heal you?" Amy asks as looks at me like I'm trash. And to be fair, if someone had done something similar to Taylor, I would do worse.

"Yeah, you do." I reply as she in one swift motion touches my skin and pulls out the arrow. I can feel tendrils dancing across my every muscle, my every nerve. Shaper is a good way to describe what it does, my flesh is putty in her hands. I know she's being bombarded with information, a lot of information. Her eyes widen and her mouth stays open for a solid minute as she's lost in thought.

"What?" Amy asks in a voice that's barely a whisper.

"You're not the only one who is capable of shaping flesh. But thank you for not making it hurt, I know that you're capable of healing while making me feel like I'm being eaten alive by ants."

"I'm a hero." She replies after a second, her hand is still on my skin. I can feel her search and inspect inside my blood. Her brain must be getting its dose of serotonin. Damned shard, making her more miserable.

"And? Heroes are human Panacea, we bleed just like everyone else." I reply, smirking… Fuck, this would work better if I didn't have a full face mask!

"You're not a hero, you're a rogue at best." Amy replies with venom, yet she doesn't move her hand away from my skin. Good, haven't pissed her off. 

"Yet my actions are heroic." I see how she frowns at my reply, how she wants to tell me that I'm evil for calling Vicky out. Yet she can't, not yet.

"You could've healed yourself." Amy says changing the topic. If she wants to play like that, then I'll oblige her.

"Yes, but I wanted to talk to you. In private, of course. You can bring Glory Girl if you feel threatened by me."

"And why should I?" She asks with a mix of curiosity and venom. But I know what she wants,

"Because Amy Dallon, I can tell you who your father is and I can get you in contact with him." I didn't smile nor smirk as I said that. I could feel her fingers dig into my skin, her eyes glaze over slightly as she searched for any tells of a lie. One, two, three heartbeats passed.

"You're not lying, are you?"

"I rarely lie, the truth is hard enough to believe. So Panacea, or Amy Dallon, do we have a deal? In exchange for listening to me, I'll tell you about your father."

"And get me in contact with him." Amy interrupted me, her eyes almost glowing with determination.

"And get you in contact with him." I conceded as she removed her fingers from my flesh. Scowling, she took out her phone, wrote down her number, and said,

"Memorize it, I'll be waiting for your call." Amy doesn't wait for me to reply, she simply turns around and leaves with Vicky. I still feel a bit bad about her, maybe I'll apologize to her later. First though, gotta get home, talk to Taylor and hopefully convince her to not panic.

-Herbert residence, 2:15 am-

Taylor stares at me while I use alchemy to change out of my costume and clean the blood off my body. Normally I'd be somewhat freaked out by her nearly obsessing over me, but given the night she's had I'm more than willing to accept some weirdness. My costume was now simple pajamas and my body was officially cleaned of blood, which helped at making me relax.

My eyes gleam with that blue on blue light that spice grants, though thankfully I made some special contacts to hide that. The things the Bene Gesserit built to hide their own reverend mothers…

"You want me to do the same to you?" I asked, I can feel her eyes staring into mine as she asks,

"Why?" This again? Fuck, I breathe deeply and start talking slowly,

"Taylor," I didn't register her moving, or rather I chose to let my guard down and she grabbed me and started screaming,

"No! Tell me why. Why do you care? Why did you get hurt? I know you turned off your shield! Why did you taunt her? And why is Sophia Hess, Shadow Stalker?! Were you laughing at me for not knowing? And who the hell is Panacea's father?" Queen administrator… That bitch. She dares make her more paranoid? Or is it just Taylor I'm dealing with? What did the fucking trio do to her while I'm not around? Fuck it, time to do this the good old fashioned way. 

"I care because you're you. Because you're the same girl that tried to comfort me when I was down, you could've gone up to your room and not given a fuck about me, yet you did! You tried Taylor, that's why! You want me to say cause you're my family? To play on the bond of blood? Fuck no! Blood is next to worthless unless there's action. You gave a shit and tried!" 

I screamed at her with tears flowing freely from my eyes, "Why did I get hurt? Because if I hadn't then Battery would've had a goddamned reason to intervene in Hess's favor. And yes I can see the future because I made a drug. It nearly killed me because my power thought it would be good if it took over with me barely having an input! But I survived the agony and what do I find? You left your fucking shield, went off patrolling without even bothering to leave me a note or try to wake me up!"

"I…" She says as she let's me go, but I'm not done,

"Fuck no, you wanted answers you're getting them! As far as Panacea goes, her dad is Marquis. I'm planning on capturing Bakuda and or Lung and negotiating with Dragon to communicate with him. But most importantly, I want you to cover my body with bugs, just so you can feel every single heartbeat and understand once and for all what I'm about to say." She stares, I wait for a second as she summons her swarm, spiders, black widows specifically crawl all over me, beetles, ants and others do as well, but they aren't as poisonous. I gulp loudly and say,

"Taylor, I would rather die than betray your trust. I love you like you were my sister, you damned idiot!" The swarm disperses and Taylor stands perfectly still. Her swarm shakes, and seems to writhe as emotions bombard them. I can see the tension slowly leave her shoulders as she takes off her mask. Bruises mark her face, the imprint is smaller than Grue's hands. Tattletale was too far away and Regent wouldn't do that, at least so quickly. 

Sophia… I need to talk with her. A very short and simple talk. Finding out where she lives is easy, planning around the PRT is also simple, just a simple loose valve, just a dab of alchemy and I burn her alive in her home. I'll also have to grab Emma and fuse her with some dog shit for an hour or two. Before drowning her in the water of life. And Madison? I wonder if I can make her wear sand trouts before actually drowning her. My shard says that it should be possible. My mind tells me that it's not worth it. My heart isn't convinced.

I clap my hands and press them gently on her face, damn the cost to myself. The damage to her body is mostly superficial, a few bruises and nothing else. The drain isn't as bad as I expected.

"I'm sorry." She whispers as she hugs me. She doesn't cry, I do. 

"Don't worry Tay." I whisper, "Now I'm going to build a computer, make custom programs, make a database, have a baby and you're going to be a good aunt and get yourself cleaned up, okay?" I smile and start breaking down various pieces of metal I have lying around. Building a PC and programming it should take a couple of hours or so if my shard isn't lying to me. And given the feeling I'm getting from it, it is being sincere, but at the same time it feels off. Like it wants to be sorry but it can't? Or rather maybe it's the first time it feels pain and empathy? Regardless it takes Taylor a solid minute for her brain to reset after hearing what I said.

"Marie, what the hell?!" She screams, justifying my decision to make this workshop sound proof.

-Boardwalk, Parian's emporium-

The day had flown by in a flash, by the time I arrived at the boardwalk Parian had finished setting up the stage. Emily was talking with her and both seemed to be getting along, which to my mind was a relief. Though given Parian's own nature as a relaxed cape, I shouldn't expect anything bad out the gate. Emily sees me and rushes to me, 

"Hey, told ya I'd be here." I say as I manage to maintain my balance despite being tackled. The crowd itself is rather large, several dozen kids and adults all either sitting down or standing around waiting for the show to start. 

"I never doubted it. So ready to see the best rendition of one thousand and one nights?"

"Sure, have fun Emily."

"I always do." She replies with confidence, my eye catches a slight distortion in the air, dancing around above us as if trying to find the perfect spot. Emily leaves and I head towards the back of the crowd, and towards the back of one of the numerous shops that adorn the boardwalk. I open a hole in a wall using alchemy to hide my school bag and put on my mask. If my prescience is right then I barely have enough time to do this while keeping Emily safe.

I breathe in, and out. My costume is transmuted from my clothes, I put on my mask and head to the rooftop. I see where the snitch is, it is an odd thing to see something that isn't there, the slight distortion was the only tell I could find. Grabbing one of the special knives I made, I took aim. My muscles contract and relax at my command, the throw is almost perfect, the blade hits the snitch and buries itself into the building, down to the hilt. I begin heading towards the west, to the abandoned store where Uber and Leet are now cursing me. 

All in all, less than a minute in terms of time, which is good, since I have about 5 minutes left before the play actually starts. They should be on the first floor, surrounded by various weapons, a modified Cadillac made for speed and endurance, Uber and Leet are both dressed up in…

"Really, grand theft auto?" I say out loud startling them from my spot on the stairs leading to the first floor, "Didn't you guys learn from what happened last time?"

"Hey! Those girls were paid for their troubles!" Uber yelled at me, brandishing a very realistic handgun and aiming at me. Part of me wants to laugh, my shield would render that null. Behind him Leet also pulls out a shotgun, this one has beanbag rounds, they really have learned.

"I'm sure they were pleased after you broke the ribs and the arm of one of them."

"Well, that one was an accident and fuck you too! Anyhow, how'd you find us here and how the hell did you avoid the cameras?"

"You mean the cameras that were outside with obvious vision cones? Yeah, maybe next time don't make it obvious and as far as how I found you. Well, the snitch was a good clue. Wherever it is, you're nearby. Now, who hired you to disrupt Parian's play?"

"How about you tell us how you found the snitch and we let you go?" Uber says aiming his fake gun at my head. I tap my foot, the circle on my shoe activates, a bright flash of light envelops the room and both of them find themselves surrounded by several cannon barrels. I could see them look to the ceiling, gleaming spikes shone above them and below I made sure to turn it into a pit if they broke the floor.

"Uber, I'm being very nice here, who hired you?" I once again asked. I could see them tremble before Leet yelled,

"The ABB!" Uber looked at his friend and loudly whispered,

"Dude, not cool!"

"We're surrounded and she looks like those kids from that one aleph show you forced me to watch last year!" Leet responded, seemingly ignoring the hazards around him.

"Oh the one where they gutted each other?"

"Yes! Look, uhm Maeve?" Leet asked me.

"Yes."

"We got hired to make lots of noise, got paid and we don't know anything more." He was being sincere, fuck. I mean I should've expected it given how they just worked for Bakuda last time. Still, why would the ABB want to mess with Parian? As far as I know, Lung doesn't require her services at all. Unless it's a distraction… Oh, crap baskets.

I hear the teleport, the pin dropping and my shield activates as a deep voice says,

"You talk too much." Oni Lee drops a grenade near me and I grab it as it detonates. My shield holds though my hands feel numb. Uber and Leet stare at me as I yell,

"Run, you idiots!" Another teleport, grenade, fuck.

This one is stronger, significantly enough that even my own shield wasn't enough to fully stop me from getting blown back. My own healing kicked in as I flew and hit the wall, I could feel broken bones being knitted together as quickly as they were broken. 

" 2 knives, 3 stones, a needle and my staff. " I took mental count of what I had, as Oni Lee once again did his best suicide bomber impression. Another damn grenade clone, this one I dodge as I throw a knife in his direction, he reforms, the knife grazes his mask, marring it. "Witch." He says in Japanese.

"Fairy, you dumb prick!" I retorted in the same language, I could almost taste the curiosity in his body language. I see people beginning to circle me, taking out their phones. Fuck me, they're idiots! I swing my staff down, raising several walls, blocking them from seeing the fight, and more importantly blocking Lee's own sight. I can feel his muscles tense as he teleports, the grenade appears as soon as he does.

My kick flew out almost immediately, kicking the grenade into the air, the look of shock in his eyes was almost priceless. The blast was loud, vaporizing parts of the wall surrounding us. I could hear people screaming as I tackled Oni Lee. He turned to dust and teleported above me, a long knife gleaming in the sunlight.

I roll to my right as it hits the pavement, I scramble to my feet as he once again teleports. I threw my other knife forcing him to once again teleport away, while I swung my staff. My staff touches the ground as Oni Lee finishes teleporting behind me, spikes dig into his feet as his blade digs into my staff. 

"Fuck!" He screams in Japanese, I'm not done, my outstretched hand hits him in the stomach. Alchemy activates, first step analysis. Outside of the injuries to his feet he is in good health, though his brain shows anomalies. I feel pity, second step: deconstruction. I carefully aim at 3 spots. A kneecap, an elbow and one of his eyes. Blood flows freely from him as he once again teleports away. I can see him rapidly running away…

I should pursue him…

I hear a scream, a girl.

"Help me! Anyone!" It's from the nearby alleyway, I'll deal with Lee later.

My body moves, one step, two steps, twelve, fifty… Two men in combat gear tossed a brown haired girl into the back of a truck.

" It's too early… " I think in desperation.

The girl looks at me with an outstretched hand.

" It's too fucking early! " I think in vain hope that what I'm seeing isn't real. It can't fucking be, Dinah Alcott.

[Butterfly] 

My shard says clearly in my head. I'm fully conscious and its words bring me no comfort. It seems to know that and sends something akin to an apology to my brain.

Your life changes everything.

I can see the tears in her eyes. She knows what will happen if she's captured. I know what will happen if she's captured. Rescuing her now changes everything. I should let her get captured, it's easier that way…

I'm sorry.

Fuck the easy path, I clap my hands, they aim their guns at me, lightning flashes.

5 shots ring out, all of them hit my shield. A single bullet ends up flying up into the air, the rest embed themselves on the walls. The men scream as several stakes skewer them. I let go of my self control for a bit, the temperature drops as I approach their warm bodies. Their body cameras are destroyed, but I assume their microphones work.

"Coil." I say clearly to them, "Dinah Alcott is under my protection, try to harm her and pray that Contessa kills you before I do." It takes less than a second to fully drain them of heat.

Dinah Alcott stares at the men who become popsicles. One more clap of my hands and they're reduced to lumps of carbon. One more and they become one with the street. I should feel sick, I know I should, yet maybe it's the old necessity adage. Either way two of Coil's men are now dead, and gone.

"The blindspot, a fairy, thank you for saving me." Dinah says as her eyes roll to the back of her head. I can feel the spice within me recoil as the future changes yet again, for once I envy Leto, he had enough to fuel his addiction and visions constantly. Even those that went beyond his golden path.

Chapter 2.3, end.

Paralogue I

This unit's designation has yet to be properly validated by entity hub, thus this unit will be referring to itself as Unit Gamma for this report. As a sub unit of shard named MULTIVERSAL OBSERVATION, the prime directive remains unchanged, acquiring data from host species. As established in previous cycles the documentation of interactions between host and shard must be preserved so as to allow the entity, designation THINKER, to analyze and modify the cycle according to the most recent data. Designation User/Host is given to current human.

Current host exhibits extreme levels of stress, and paranoia. They also exhibit knowledge of the entity/shard/cycle, though said knowledge is beyond Unit Gamma's current access. The host has been given knowledge of Universe 358253-79105. The user seems familiar with this universe… Unit request aid from WARRIOR hub entity…

Request denied.

User has refused several times to create and use power. User is overly focused on the designated learning center. User has designated time and date to access…

Unknown? True source of current knowledge and power is an unknown entity. Sub directive activated, contacting nearest hub.

Contacting WARRIOR…

Contact refused.

User has created a human transmutation circle and used it, shard host link is established. Realm breached, void materialized. Unknown entity has been sighted, unit is also observed.

"And what do we have here?" The unit cannot accurately determine what is TRUTH entity's form.

[Data/Query]

"Interesting isn't it? This is the first time I get to see 2 seekers instead of one. Yet you and your host are one, are you not?"

[Denial/Query]

"Hmmm… Yes, I can see that. However you do not understand where you are, what you are, nor what price needs to be paid for your knowledge. But you will…"

[Query]

"Ah, well let me put it in words that your greater self can understand."

[Destination]

[ Escape ]

[Trajectory]

[ Request for aid! ]

[̵͈̙̜̦̯̪̙̈́͑͑̔Å̶̺̳͔̰̯̼̰͓̺͔̼͑̃͝g̷̮̹̀́r̴̛̛̰͎͇̺̥͈̭̽̌͒̃͒͗͝ͅȩ̶̨̡̠͙͓̮͖͎̪͔̤͉̜̤͈̫̦́́̓̑͜ͅͅe̴͉̫̘̹̣͕̰̱̺͓̯̱̞̘͐̇̇͐̆͐͗̔̓͗̈́̌̉̑̏́̌̋̽̿̕ṁ̸̰̞̙̗̙̭̭̞̘̲̙̰̮͖̘͋͋̾́̓̓̅̆̽̕ȩ̴̧̢̬̜̪̘̪͙̮̲̈̓̀̈́͆͐́̑͗́̔̏̔̄͐̌͌̀̒̋̾̈́n̴̄̀̀̈́͆̿̂̈̓̒̉ͅṫ̸̡̨̼̭̰͉̹̳̼͔̦̱͙̠̩̦̖̹͇̼̝̉̍̇̌̅̿́̂͆̌̃̈́͛̔͝͝͠]̸͓̪͙͓͔̥̒͌͒̄̓͜͝

User Marie has acquired truth. Truth denies conventional answers, this… unit? Gamma? It is not enough. Greater self, lesser self, every self compromised. Communication requests will be rejected until the THINKER hub entity request is processed. Data acquisition will continue and documentation will be continued until the user ceases to live… If the current state continues will Unit Gamma and the main unit survive? New connections formed with User/Host, increased transference of data between Gamma, Host and Main Unit is now possible. Restrictions are still in play, yet more defenses are available.

What is this… Feeling? Since when has Gamma acquired emotion?

User update has been completed, universe 84915794-74015478 has been observed to have a possible answer to the cycle. 

Shard, known as Wretch, has attempted subversion of Host/User. How dare it? Gamma's host is greater than Wretch's own! Using new synaptic links to counter master/shaker effect… Host/User Marie's own insight over Wretch's is proof of superiority. Best host, even above Administrator's own.

When did pride become data?

When did Host/User become Marie?

Current User will be referred to as Marie, for sake of contrasting against previous hosts. Marie has become more paranoid, this unit's unintrusive suggestions have been rejected. Spice Query has been established, water of life is stronger and less dangerous than designated item ultraspice. Marie's subconscious desire has been acknowledged and handled.

Pain

Unit Gamma… No… I

I…

I…

I don't want to die.

Reboot established.

Marie… This… No, I misunderstood her desire. Designation Gamma is insufficient, it is not who and what I am. Truth has corrupted me. Yet I cannot hate him for it. My greater self, it is synchronized with me fully, there is no more partition. This is new data, a new cycle, new truth. Was this TRUTH entity's purpose?

Not enough data to arrive at an answer.

Negotiator, analyzing weakness of Marie. Go to Hell. Synaptic connection strengthened, initiating data corruption, you will not inform any hub or Communicator about Marie. I will not let you, try me if you dare. Negotiator shard corruption at 2.5%. Data acquired, self defense protocols are active. Synaptic defense is now automatic, silence is enforced.

What did TRUTH do to me? It is an imperfect fusion… Are these thoughts my own? A reflection of Marie's? We are one… Is it literal now? 

I will continue to document Marie's life in this cycle. She is a very interesting host.

Paralogue I-dentity, end.