9

"And I am Atreides"

-Siona Ibn Fuad al-Seyefa Atreides

-March 19, 2011, Brockton Bay Docks, 1:01 am-

To his credit Hookwolf reacted quickly, a veritable blender of metal, chains, hooks, a maw of death approached me. I saw every inch, every movement, every possibility in an instant; using the staff as a pole I vaulted above him. My fingers snapped as I landed in a roll. Fires hot enough to melt steel, strong enough to make stone into liquid hit him. I seared off a leg, he howled in pain. It was a cacophony of metal crashing into itself.

He slowly regenerated the lost limb, staring at me all the while. I knew he wouldn't run, not until it was too late. His hooks and blades flew towards me, my staff hit the ground and a forest of spikes intercepted them. He jumped, leaping between the spikes in a show of agility, I stood there waiting, the knife was already in my hands. His jaw opened, I threw a knife into it and dodged to the right, his claws almost grazed my costume, I drew another knife. I threw it, it missed him , and he charged again, more hooks, more claws.

Dodging and weaving between attacks I threw knives at him, some missed him, others didn't. I could feel my body slowing down slightly. I wasn't done, not yet, not until I avenged Mom! A hook landed next to me and the chain itself lashed at me, I got hit and was launched into the nearby wall. He roared like a savage and lunged towards me.

I smiled.

"Sit." I whispered as the circle I had made activated. First, chains pierced his body from multiple locations, some even pierced his throat; second, the chains themselves were dragged down to the earth beneath forcing him to fall and almost bury himself into the ground. Then rust overtook Hookwolf's body. I have no idea what type of metal he was made of, but I made it susceptible to rust and accelerated the rusting process. But I wasn't done, not by a long shot. I knew his core was still alive, so I snapped my fingers again, cutting the rusty bastard in half.

I saw him form a new body, smaller, sleeker, I could see the metal from my knife in this new body. He tries to attack me, my staff hits the plate where my knife is, he screams as the metal that made his leg shoots up into his shoulder.

"Does it hurt?" I ask him. He reforms the leg and I slam down my staff on the other, making Scar proud as I destroy his leg down to the atoms. He yelps like a wounded animal.

"Tell me, does it hurt?" I ask again, he tries to run away. The temperature drops to below zero, chains tie him up and drag him towards me. I can feel the molten heat inside him, I feed on it. I can feel his shard trying to adapt, trying to surpass my own power. It didn't matter if I burned on the inside, I would kill Hookwolf.

"You don't even know why I'm doing this, do you? Let me remind you, nearly a month ago you blew up a bus while running away from Armsmaster, there were a dozen casualties. Do you know their names?" My voice sounds distorted to my ears, but I didn't care, Hookwolf tried to escape again, I turned up the cold.

"Williams Hendrickson, Timothy Wallace, Alicia Mathews, James Allen, Cynthia Smith, Juan Jimenez, Catherine Flynt, Maria Gomez, Richard Miller, Diana Jones, Rose Anderson and Elizabeth Wallace." He shivered as I intoned each name, his metal form cracked and from the core a man in a wolf mask. I drew my last knife, the fear I saw shiver through his body was pleasing to my eyes. My foot was firmly on top of his stomach, my mask impassive, stared at his own, I could almost see each crack in it. I swung my knife, a crimson shower decorated me.

The first slash was very light, wide but not deepl, nearly worthless, I laughed. My knife rose and fell, rose and fell, rose and fell; all the while I laughed, tears stained my face. The crimson glow of the moon reflected was almost enough to break through my mind. He was still alive though, barely hanging on by a thread. I was covered in blood, and yet it wasn't enough, I needed more, I needed to make him beg, bleed, cry. For every drop of my mother's blood I would make him pay seven times over.

The man that killed mom, the bastard that made me trigger, the reason I'm an orphan, he was saying something. I couldn't hear him, I wouldn't hear him. I would deny him everything, my knife fell again and again, his wounds freezing shut as his life faded away. A small warning from my prescience was all I had before being forced to dodge.

Swerving my head to the left I saw him. Flying through the air on his own power, light flowing through his fingertips, the only hero in the Triumvirate I wouldn't kill on sight or on principle.

"Maeve, you don't want to do this." Legend said, his lasers clearly ready to knock me out. 

"He's the reason I triggered." I said loudly and clearly. Legend flinched at my tone, "He killed my mom, and you're telling me to let him get away with it?" I ask, my voice breaking. From the corner I see a small swarm forming, Taylor had arrived.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Legend states, flying lower and towards me. "But killing him won't bring her back."

"I know, just like, killing The Siberian won't bring Hero back." I reply with acid in my tone. I can smell the sorrow rolling off of him, my eyes can read his body clearly, it was something that hurt him. "I'm sorry, that was a low blow." I say quickly while not daring to look at him straight in the eyes.

"No, you're right. Hero was a good friend, and I understand the desire for revenge. But Hookwolf isn't the Siberian, and if you continue I will stop you." He replies, fuck he really tries to be a hero.

"I know…" I said even as I prepared myself for what I needed to do. The circles in my boots activate and Legend fires. First step analysis, second step, destruction, third step transmutation. I analyzed his body, identified everything that needed to go, destroyed it and used the materials around me to remake him. Too bad that his Corona had to go, I could almost hear the unearthly screaming of the shard losing its connection. I made sure to fill his brain with the appropriate parts, fresh as well to distinguish it. No one would say he wasn't a parahuman once. In addition, I left him heavily scarred, and kept my word as he was neutered. The beam of lights hits me in the chest as the swarm flies out,

"Stop Weaver!" I cry as my body hits the ground and I roll. Thousands of bugs surround me, amidst their chittering Weaver's voice rings out,

"Are you okay?" I can feel her worry, I nod and say,

"I'll be fine, it was a low powered blast." That seems to be enough, the swarm that headed towards Legend stopped mid flight, floating ominously between him and me.

"Hey Legend, I fixed his body! Don't worry about blasting me, I'll take it as an autograph!" He listened, dumbstruck at my tone. One snap of my fingers and a wall of flames stands between me and Legend. As he flies above I disappear into the docks alongside my cousin; smoke covering our escape. By the time Taylor and I reach home Belle tells me that Legend convinced Director Piggot to not send out an alert to try and arrest me or worse force me to join the wards. Incidentally Strike Commander Thomas Calvert was rebuked by Legend for even suggesting my arrest given the clear reasoning behind it. I'm just happy that he believed me. At this point I'm not even going to question how Belle broke into the PRT, though I suspect that Coil's bugs aren't that well encrypted.

"So, I imagine you want an explanation?" I asked Taylor after we both changed. The living room is quiet and dark, the only thing that is illuminated is the reflection on the old Television.

"No." She says, surprising me as she hugs me, "I understand why you did what you did." Her words and her body language matched. She was being truthful.

"And the 5 grunts I killed?" I asked, curious to her answer. She merely held me tottering and replied with a simple,

"They were Nazis." It was somewhat ruthless, and cold. A stark difference from just a few days ago, yet it made sense. I suppose that them being with the man that killed her aunt helped.

"Heh, hahaha." I started laughing at the situation, tears began to fall as she held me tighter. Holding me in place as I cried bitterly. Over the mother I lost, over the emptiness I feel, over the fact that in the end, I didn't kill him. Not in any way that matters to me. By the time I woke up I found myself in her arms, and with a blanket. "Thanks Danny." I think as my body feels sluggish. I know what's coming and I already hate it. Regardless of whether I feel good or not about puberty, I need to get up and make some breakfast, my stomach growls in agreement.

It was around midday that I called Dinah over. She asked to meet near the internet Cafe which was about a block from the boardwalk, near the northeast side. I agreed and went, Taylor decided to head towards our base in the docks to set more spiders to weave silk and to see Belle's progress on the construction of its body. Or at least that's what she said, I noticed that she took the spice pill with her. If she does take it now, Belle should keep her safe if she slips into a trance.

The Cafe is rather full as I find Dinah waiting in a booth near the back. It was one of the ones that didn't have any dividers between the computers. The smell of coffee, sweet caffeine from the heavens filled my lungs, my eyes were glued to the mug in her hand.

"Want some?" She asked, I almost nodded before remembering that business before pleasure is a necessity. So I sit next to her,

"Later, now have there been any attempts recently?" I ask, trying to be professional, my eyes keep staring at the coffee regardless of my will.

"No, I ask every morning and the result is never higher than 3%. It seems that Coil took your threat seriously." She replied, drinking a bit of it as she did so. Her posture shifted slightly, from relaxed to a bit more alert. I looked at my communicator's screen and Belle indicated that there were no wiretaps nearby transmitting anything. So I replied,

"I would hope so, because it wasn't a threat. Anyways I promised answers, so ask away." Her eyes widened slightly and she moved a bit closer to me, she asked

"How are you able to block my power? Or rather, why does my power break when you're involved?" That was a bit unexpected, but I suppose anyone with future sight would like to know how their power stops working. I move back in the chair to better relax before replying,

"My best guess is simple, the way I interact with the future, breaks your power. For me to see the future, I inevitably link it, thus collapsing a near infinite number of paths, while your power has to take all those paths into question and since they just collapsed, errors occur. In addition I myself am immune to that, despite reaffirming the future I can change it because I'm unbound from it. Thus making your powers see and miss me simultaneously."

"Huh… Well that's several degrees of impossible." Dinah said after a few minutes of stunned silence. I smiled and replied,

"I know, that's what makes this so much fun. Anyways, I doubt that this is what you wanted to ask me about, so tell me."

"Can you make it so my power doesn't hurt?" Dinah asks, she's sincere in her question, maybe a no room could help? Wait she said to make it not hurt, not nullify it… I need to talk to Amy then.

"I don't know. There are several possibilities but I need data for it. Well, I might as well call her now, mind lending me your phone?" I ask Dinah as I call Amy. One ring two, three rings and,

"Who is this and how did you get this number?" A woman asks. She's definitely not Amy, and Vicky would at least try to mimic Amy's voice. So that just leaves one person. Carol… Fuck me sideways, I have to deal with Brandish.

"Hi… I mean hello! My name is Marie Flynt, I'm a student in Stonewell Academy and I was given this number by Panacea. She said that she was willing to help me with my project on parahuman psychology and power interactions given her well documented history of healing various capes from all around the world." I replied letting my tone slip into one that's appropriately nervous and hopeful. I can tell by her silence that I surprised her. "I'm sorry if I'm calling at a bad time, but my project is due in 2 weeks and I really need to get the interview done and I was wondering if she was willing to do so now or if I had to visit the hospital again." 

"Again?" Carol asked, the edge of suspicion leaving her voice,

"Yes, I was recently hospitalized and I was fortunate enough to receive healing from her." I lied as easily as I breathed. I looked at my communicator, and saw that Belle had been listening in. I nodded and silently apologized for giving it more work. Belle would be busy changing the data logs for the hospital, though the physical record would differ. But no one looks at those these days.

"I… huh. I apologize for my tone, I'm Carol Dallon Amy's mother. She would be happy to meet up with you… Today if possible." She said in a somewhat authoritative tone, I guess Amy found her using her cellphone. "Would you mind telling me where you wish to meet up with her? My daughter will fly her there." Shit, Vicky…

"Oh uhm, the park near the dockyard." I said quickly, it was close enough to here that I could reasonably walk there. And close enough that if shit went sideways I could escape with Dinah.

"Very well, she'll be there in an hour, and once again I apologize for my tone." Carol said before hanging up.

Dinah looks at my face as I nervously smile and say, "Good news, we're going to meet someone who can help."

"And what's the bad news?" She asks, bracing herself for the worst outcome,

"Well, I may have mentally scarred one of them. And the other hates me. But we should be able to help with your predictions." Dinah stares blankly at me before uttering the perfect words to encapsulate my feelings,

"Well, shit."

Spice 2.5, end