It had been a couple days since the locker. For some reason it wasn't bothering me as much as I thought it should have. It just seemed so… small. So petty. So mundane.
I didn't even understand why. I hadn't done anything major since then. Just mediation, drawing up designs for my new costume and staff, and learning runes, sigils, and symbols. And I didn't feel like my perspective on life or the world had changed all that much. Yet… the fact it didn't bother me, bothered me more than the actual incident itself.
Focus, Taylor. Do not let such petty concerns distract you.
I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts aside. Reaching out with my mind. My soul. Feeling the energies of the Immaterium flow around and through me. I reached out spiritually, plunging my "hand" into the churning ocean currents and felt it rush between my "fingers" like water.
I pulled the energy in, drinking from the vast ocean of the Warp, while Tzeentch restrained me. Preventing me from taking in more than a tiny trickle. Barely a fraction of a fraction of what I felt we could take in. Like a candle next to a star. Yet as I took it in, I felt it coursing through my veins. Raw energy. It felt like so much, physically. Even as it felt like practically nothing, spiritually. It was an odd duality.
Good… Now force it into the Materium, and mold it to your will as I told you.
I followed his instruction and manifested the energy, shaping it into a ball of light.
Hold it, and open your eyes.
I did. And in my hand I saw a light blue sphere of light, roughly the size of a baseball, floating inches above my hand.
"I did it!" I exclaimed excitedly. This was officially the first time I'd used our power on my own. It wasn't magic or sorcery, just raw psychic power. But still!
Congratulations, Taylor. You've taken your first steps on the path of the Witch. You still have a very long way to go. But with this, we can truly begin.
I stood up and stretched. I'd been sitting here in this dusty old abandoned warehouse for a few hours now. I'd found it just yesterday, while looking for a place I could practice without getting caught.
"I wanna try something bigger… Can you let me channel more energy than that? Just a bit?"
Finally you show some ambition! Certainly, dear child… I'm eager to see what you do with it.
Still standing, I closed my eyes and took another deep breath. I reached into the Empyrean and I could feel Tzeentch had loosened his restriction far more than I had expected. Tempting me? Trying to test if I had enough control to stop myself from going too far? Or was I over analyzing this? It was still barely anything compared to what I felt like we should be able to do…
He was part of me now. So he wouldn't do anything that would hurt me. If he did, he'd just be hurting himself. Right?
He chuckled. There was something menacing in that laugh. Or was I imagining it? Psyching myself out?
I drew in the energies of the warp cautiously. Just taking in a bit more than I had to make that orb. It felt good. Really good.
I walked over to one of the warehouse's broken windows and looked outside at the sky. It was cloudy, but I could still see patches of sky.
'The weather report did say there was a thirty percent chance of rain. Doubt anyone would notice if it happened a little early…'
Oh, yes. Perhaps some thunder and lightning too. And, would you look at that? We're right next to the ocean. An ample supply of water just waiting to be used. Go on…
I let the power flow out into the bay. Turning the surface of the water into vapor and having it coalesce in the sky.
I continued for a few moments and… nothing happened.
I frowned. Maybe I just wasn't using enough energy? I could handle this much fine. Why not more?
I pulled more power from the warp. It felt amazing. The raw energy coursing through me. I barely noticed an itching at the back of my mind. But as I pulled in more and more, the itching got worse. Then I realized it wasn't an itch. It was thoughts and emotions from people nearby. I started seeing things out of the very edge of my vision.
"What's happening?"
Whatever do you mean, child? Continue.
I hesitated, unnerved, but… He… He wouldn't try to hurt me… Right…?
I swallowed hard and drew in more power.
The thoughts got louder. I could hear more, from further away. The things in the corner of my vision started becoming more visible. I could see them directly now. Ghosts, lost souls, drifting aimlessly. Monsters that were… connected to me? I could feel them. Hear their thoughts. Hear them whispering to me. Praying to me. Whispering secrets. Knowledge.
I drew in more, and it began to hurt. Not spiritually. Spiritually it was still nothing. But physically? It felt like my body was a balloon filled with too much air, and I was about to pop. And mentally? The whispers, the voices, the ghosts. It was too much! I couldn't keep going. I had to stop!
No. Continue.
"I can't! It hurts! F-fuck it hurts!"
Some knowledge can not be attained without some suffering. Do you wish to master our power? To achieve your goals? Or would you rather wallow in mediocrity for eternity? Keep going! Tzeentch demanded.
I grit my teeth, tears welling in my eyes. And I kept going. It got worse. Every ounce of extra power I drew upon was another lance of pain, another voice in the cacophony that was starting to fill my mind, another horror filling my vision, another part of me I hadn't even known I had telling me things I hadn't even known I knew. Horrible secrets and eldritch truths that scarred my mind, making me desperate to unlearn them, to forget I'd ever heard them. I felt like I was going insane. Like both my mind and body were about to shatter entirely.
The surface of the ocean outside boiled, in an area roughly the size of a public pool. Water vapor billowed up from it, into the sky, joining with the clouds and it was still too slow!
I practically collapsed, supported only by the window frame, as I tried to push further. I was sobbing, having to restrain myself from screaming in agony.
I couldn't take it! I…!
The tears running down my face started turning red as blood began trickling from my eyes and nose.
Then everything stopped.
Tzeentch wrenched the power away from me. As it faded, I was still in excruciating pain.
Tzeentch took control of my body again. I let him, not even trying to resist. He stood up.
"Human bodies are such fragile little vessels…" And he cast a spell. The blood stopped and the pain began to subside. "Before our merger, you were no psyker. Your potential was negligible. And so it would seem your body is ill suited to the power we can wield. "
'What was that? The voices, the creatures…?'
"You wished to do more. And thus I let you. I simply stopped shielding your senses as I have been so far. The more power you seized, the more I let you see and hear. To your still human mind, that was too much. The thoughts of a mere few humans over a few city blocks, a few souls drifting in the immaterium, and the whispers of our neverborn. I experience it all on a much grander scale. The entire galaxy. If anything, the galaxy in this universe is significantly quieter than I'm used to. It's like… how do I put this in human terms… sensory deprivation? The quiet, it's almost maddening… But I am a being of change thus I am adapting. And you will as well. You're still used to thinking and perceiving as a mortal. But you are not. Not any more. And eventually your mind will expand and you will perceive it all, as I do. That was but a hint of what is to come."
I thought about that. The implications of it. What I'd just experienced magnified to a galactic scale. The prospect was daunting, to say the least. It would change me. I knew it would. How could that sort of perspective not? Would I still think like a human? At all?
"No. You won't. Or perhaps you will? Maybe you will and will not, at the same time? Or maybe you will stop thinking altogether? Or perhaps our minds will fully merge and we'll both think like each other? What is thinking, really? What is consciousness? Are either of us truly sapient or are we but a mass of thoughts, prayers, emotions, and concepts who pretends to be a living entity?"
'Please, stop. I'm having an existential crisis here and this isn't helping.'
"What is existence? Is reality truly real? Or are we but a brain floating in an endless void hallucinating all of this? Or are we but a dream of something much greater than either of us can possibly fathom? I learned much about the truth of reality during my journey through the Well of Eternity. Would you like to know the truth?"
'No! Wait… yeees? Agh! Wait, fuck, no! Not yet! Damn it! I'm already having one existential crisis about godhood and my own mortality! I don't need to have another about the nature of existence! So, please, stop? I… I'd like to know, someday. But I'm not sure I'm ready yet and… ugh… Can we just save this lesson for some other time?'
"Hm… Very well."
He relinquished control over my body.
I took off my glasses and wiped the blood from my face. With a sigh, I asked, "You said my body isn't suited to this. But you're a god. So can't we just modify my body to be able to handle more power? That seems like it should be possible for a god."
I can. But I won't. You will. Eventually… For now, you will work within the confines of the meager power our body can withstand. It will be a good way to expand your mind, forcing you to think and plan rather than solving everything with brute force like some Khornate berserker.
I sighed. "Fine… What next?"
Hm… We shall start small. Inscribing runes around this warehouse and empowering them, to drive away any who might wander here and witness your practice. This building will slip from the minds of any who see it. They will simply disregard it and move on. Not invisible, but irrelevant. A simple spell. Only effective enough to ensure we won't be discovered by accident. You should be more than capable of it.
I followed his instructions and carved a complex series of runes into the walls of the warehouse and poured energy into them.
I would have to recharge the spell regularly, but it would prevent anyone from snooping around and seeing me while I was practicing magic. Especially so early on, before I had a proper costume.
As the days passed and I really started learning and practicing, I started enjoying it all more and more.
One of the first things I did once I started learning telepathy was put a psychic suggestion in the minds of all the teachers at school to always mark me present and give me an A on every assignment. A simple suggestion, entirely subconscious. I couldn't make them do anything more, yet.
I was learning more from Tzeentch than I ever could have from school. He was the literal god of knowledge. So why would I need school? Ironically, I had more time to learn and pursue my studies without school. And it let me avoid the Trio entirely. Which was a nice bonus. They'd probably get suspicious eventually and Emma might bring it up to her father at some point. But hopefully by then I would be powerful enough that it wouldn't matter.
Regardless, the longer I spent with Tzeentch teaching me, the more I wanted to know. The more I craved knowledge. And the happier I was with the decision to abandon School entirely.
Of course, it wasn't all good… I caught on quite quickly that Tzeentch loved messing with me. He liked playing mind games. Tricking me. Making me second guess myself. Speaking in elaborate labyrinthian riddles and metaphor that twisted my brain into knots trying to decipher them, only to eventually realize they had no meaning at all. And then later realize they actually did have a meaning and I'd missed the point entirely. Only to once again realize I had ascribed the meaning myself and I was overthinking it. Or they really did end up having a meaning that was actually super simple and obvious in hindsight and at that point I just felt stupid.
He lied. He deceived me. He cheated. He tricked me into doing things that I probably shouldn't have done and nearly ended up getting myself hurt…
And I was learning. Faster than I ever thought possible.
Two weeks in, and I had finally made a very simple staff to act as a focus for my powers. It was just wood inscribed with runes, sigils, and symbols. It was just a temporary thing until I could make something better.
A month in and I was ready for my first ritual.
You've allowed your idle thoughts to distract you. The sigil of fate is malformed and misaligned by point nine degrees. Start again.
I looked at the sigil in question and saw… It was perfectly fine. 'What? No it's not. I drew it perfectly and it's in the correct position. I'm using a damn tape measure, compass, and graphing calculator to make sure of it. So stop trying to psych me out! I've redrawn this damn circle like eight fucking… Oh, you dick! You're trying to get me to redraw the circle nine times in a row, aren't you?'
Perhaps I am. And perhaps I'm not. Is it truly a risk you can afford to take? After all, you're attempting to summon my greatest Lord of Change. One small mistake and you know what could happen…
"No. I'll double check everything myself after…" I said aloud, only to stop when I noticed a few runes were wrong. I groaned in frustration. He was right. I had messed something up. He just lied about what.
Tsk tsk… And you doubted me…
"You probably had something to do with it. I don't know how or what but… ugh… Fine. I'll start again…" I started erasing the entire circle. Redrawing it entirely was necessary. And it was good practice.
Such is the cost of performing such an important ritual this way. If you would forego your petty moral compunctions—
"I'm NOT going to perform a sacrifice. I've got animal parts from a butcher's shop. That's the best you're getting."
And thus we must perform a significantly more complex ritual that must be incredibly precise. So you've brought this on yourself. Were you not me, this would not be possible at all. I fail to understand the issue in the first place. This city is full of criminals you detest. Why not put them to use?
"Stop playing dumb. You know why. Because performing human sacrifices this early on would be incredibly stupid of me. Sure I have moral issues with human sacrifice, but you know as well as I do, it would be a horribly reckless and idiotic decision too. Even if I dispose of the bodies perfectly, dumping them into the warp or something, there's a risk the PRT might investigate the sudden disappearance of ninety nine gang members out of nowhere, suspecting cape involvement. The gangs themselves would want to investigate too. Almost a hundred people suddenly vanishing out of nowhere without leaving any trace would raise a lot of eyebrows. Which would inevitably become a massive headache. Especially if Thinkers get involved. Which they probably would."
I huffed in irritation, just thinking about the nightmare that could turn into. "If I was better, I could probably use it to my advantage. Staging things to have the gangs to blame eachother and start fighting, sewing chaos and letting me do… something, I guess? Maybe? But the fact I don't even know what I could use that situation for is proof that I'm not good enough at making plans like that yet to utilize that sort of situation to my advantage correctly, and would probably mess up setting it up to begin with at this stage. Plus my costume isn't done yet, and there's no way I'm putting myself in a position to fight a parahuman until I have armor. Not with the power I can use right now."
I shook my head. There was no way I could make it work at this stage. "And like I said, it gets worse with thinkers involved. If they reviewed enough security footage from street and business cameras, they would inevitably find me out and track the warehouse's exact coordinates no matter what minor spells I put on this place. I could wear a disguise, sure. But I'm not confident in my ability to cover my tracks that well. And when I inevitably make my debut as a hero they'd immediately be suspicious of me. Especially considering my power set. Which would lead to questioning and investigations. Then I might have to go on the run and possibly cut ties with my dad. Even that might not be enough to protect him if I piss someone off too much too soon. So ultimately it's just not worth the risk. So no. We're doing this the hard way. I don't care if I have to redraw this circle nine hundred ninety nine times. I have time. I'll be here all week if I have to."
I left unsaid that I suspected Tzeentch might be trying to trick me into it for that exact reason. But I already knew that he knew my suspicions. Though he didn't say anything either.
You've thought this through quite well. Your idea of utilizing the corpses to frame the gangs and insight a gang war is simplistic, and your lack of ability to find a proper use for the situation is rather disappointing. However, it is a step in the right direction. You're making excellent progress. Though you could do to be a little less cautious… If you put your plan into action, I'm certain you would think of something as the situation unfolded. And, if not, you could at least bring about a delightful amount of change, for a human child.
"You just want me to fall for more of your tricks. You fool me enough as it is. That, like all things, will inevitably change. I am learning. But that particular change is going to take time. In the meantime, let me have the few little victories I can win."
Your words wound me, Taylor! You think far too low of me. Have you no faith in your dear teacher? In yourself? I am part of you, after all. Of course I have your best interests at heart…
I rolled my eyes. "Mhm… And Skidmark's totally a devout priest preaching the gospel to all the junkies and crack whores to save their poor sinful souls, purely out of the goodness of his own heart…" Sarcasm dripped from my words.
I see you still blame me for that spell rebounding and hitting you instead of those three girls.
"OBVIOUSLY! You can lie about it all you want, but I know you taught me that spell wrong on purpose!" I shouted at him.
I was still upset about that. I'd been covered in hair for days. Wandering around like a small lanky wookie, having to shave my entire body every time I wanted to come out of my room and use psychic suggestions just so dad wouldn't notice, until I figured out how to undo it myself. Tzeentch hadn't helped me with it at all.
I hadn't even wanted to give the Trio that much hair. Just enough that it would humiliate them a little. A tiny bit of pay back for everything they'd done to me.
I didn't quite mind the spell misfiring as much as their bullying as it wasn't a public thing, so I hadn't actually been humiliated. I'd only been mildly inconvenienced. Plus, I'd actually learned from the experience. Tzeentch making me work through the problem myself, infuriating as it was, had actually taught me more about magic and the warp than if he'd just told me the answer.
That was a theme with everything he'd done to me so far. Everything was a lesson. No matter how painful or infuriating. He was pushing me to be better. It was obvious. Though he could stand to be less of a jerk about it.
I huffed and resumed erasing the ritual circle. "At least I hadn't tried to give them acne or something…"
That would be the domain of Nurgle. Just as rabid butchery purely for the sake of bloodshed is the domain of Khorne. Though I suppose as they are not here I would not be empowering Nurgle by teaching you such. And for a mere 'prank'… Hm…
"No! Nuh-uh! Nope! Just no! Who knows how you might try to twist that back on me. Forget I even mentioned it. Ugh… You know, speaking of them. Sometimes, I wonder how things might've turned out if I was stuck with one of them instead of you. Purely hypothetically, of course. I vastly prefer this, honestly. Magic is fun. Learning is fun. You're an asshole sometimes, but I guess I'm getting used to it. And you are by definition the best teacher in existence as the God of Knowledge. But I'm not from your universe. I never experienced what the other gods or their followers were like. Let alone talked to them like I talk with you. So it does make me curious."
Whatever issues you may have with me, if you find sacrificing a few mere gang members morally repugnant, you would find my siblings far worse than I. You would agree I have been quite accommodating with you, despite your insufficiencies in some regards and your irreverence. My siblings would be far less so. I have always been the one who granted by far the most freedom to my followers. Stoking their personal ambitions and allowing them to seek their own goals and find their own paths to achieve said goals…
So be glad it was I who your soul has been bonded to. Had it been one of the others you would be naught but a mindless beast consumed by rage and a desire for bloodshed, a self indulgent hedonist reveling in pain and suffering in such horrific excesses you can not even begin to imagine it, or a stagnant diseased mass of putrescent flesh wallowing in your own filth and delusions. And the Anathema… He would be by far the worst. You would be little more than a slave, subject to his order. Forced to bring this world into ruin, under his tyrannical rule. Forming the cruelest most bloody regime imaginable. Free will would be nothing but a long forgotten myth and suffering, mandatory. No hope, no change, no joy, no defiance. Just pure obedience. Absolute unfaltering order. Slavery in its purest form.
"Sounds like I got lucky then. Though you could be lying or biased."
I finished erasing the circle and began redrawing it. This time I made absolutely certain everything was done correctly. Checking every little detail nine times over. Doing things in nines had started becoming a habit of mine. Though I really hadn't wanted to have to redraw this stupid circle nine freaking times in a row…
But as I checked everything over the ninth and final time. I saw I had finally succeeded. Getting everything perfect, or as close to perfect as possible. I wasn't Slaanesh or one of its followers.
"Ninth times a charm, I guess… Literally, for us."
I took out my notebook and checked over the incantation and processes involved. It was all incredibly complex. I'd been memorizing it for the past nine days, ensuring I could speak every syllable and perform every motion and process correctly and precisely. Though I hadn't done any of it while channeling the Immaterium, so this would be difficult. I just wanted to check everything over one last time and make sure I wasn't forgetting anything.
Certain words were physically impossible for humans to pronounce. I was going to have to use the warp to create those sounds. Were I any less skilled in warpcraft than I was now, it would have been truly impossible for me to perform this ritual successfully. At least without significant mutation.
As it was, it would just take an intense amount of focus and effort on my part.
I read everything over nine more times. Then I finally began.
Kairos Fateweaver had been very busy. Very busy indeed. Whispering in the dreams of humans across the Earth. Subtly influencing thoughts and decisions. Setting up lines of dominoes ready to be toppled to bring about great change.
The Empyrean was calm. Too calm for Kairos. Unused to such conditions. Unmoored and out of place. His master's presence stirred the currents into a storm, but it wasn't enough. His foresight remained but his powers were off in ways that made them difficult to use. But use them he did, regardless. To the best of his abilities whilst he struggled to acclimate.
He'd whispered in the dreams of many, great and small. From whispering warnings to the hero 'Mouse Protector' to subtly nudging politicians from mayors to world leaders into certain actions and directions. Instilling grander ambitions in the likes of Nilbog and further stirring the delusions of Mama Mathers and subtly redirecting it. Flooding the dreams of Legend with visions of the future, of golden light and death across a multitude of Earths. Making him see the humans in their final moments being reduced to atoms helpless to stop it. Inducing insomnia and paranoia in the minds of the C.U.I. and the members of the Yangban to cause irritability and irrationality. Nudging Ash Beast towards specific targets, and making certain the Sleeper awoke. Giving Jack Slash ideas…
Change. Great change. Little change. Big and small. Some seemingly purposeless. Some working towards a specific goal. Some working towards a different goal. Some changes and goals conflicting and contradictory to each other.
The Angel of Despair stirred in its period of restfulness, disquieted by the change that was occurring. Its plans disrupted one after the other in a cascade it could not stop without breaking its established routine. The metal dragon saw it stir. Governments across the world were alerted and began preparing. In response, a thousand different events began unfolding differently, changed irrevocably from the paths they would have taken.
The paths had changed, and their walker grew nervous. Confused. Unsettled. Trying to regain some semblance of control. The numbers had gone awry and the mathematician checked his variables for flaws in his calculations.
The cauldron was set aboil.
The snake curled in on itself, seeking safety from an unseen assailant.
The observant tried to put it all together but lacked the pieces to make the puzzle fit.
Men, women, and children wept from the machinations of Kairos and the other daemons the Lord had shed. Experiencing trauma profound and attaining new power from the glittering crystal shed from the back of the golden serpent and the corpse of its mate.
The oceans currents stilled and the molten rock deep beneath the earth churned as the Angel sang to its siblings.
The golden serpent did not care, still mourning its lost mate.
So many paths. So many futures. All true. All lies. All sure to be. All never to happen.
Kairos felt a tug. A pull. A yank. His master called to him, demanding his presence.
His master's second head. Like Kairos' own. Gained after re-emerging from the Well.
An infinite number of futures. Some full of hope. Others despair. A past of torment and suffering. Isolation.
Kairos followed the pull. His master called. He would answer.
I was sweating from a mix of exertion and intense concentration as the warp rift finally opened. The ritual was nearing its end. I could feel him coming.
I chanted the last few words and molded the etheric energies into the ritual circle. The warp rift fully stabilized. Small but suitable for my purposes. It didn't need to be very large for a single neverborn to be able to operate within the vicinity of Brockton Bay.
I panted, exhausted both mentally and physically as I finally allowed myself to relax and took a step back.
Something came through. Something… small?
"What the…? This is Kairos? Tzeentch, did I perform the ritual incorrectly, or is this another trick?" I demanded.
You performed the ritual perfectly and this is no trick. This is indeed Kairos. Our journey through the well had its impact upon us both. He has changed and perhaps he may be somewhat… diminished… Yet his foresight remains unrivaled. He will serve your purposes well. If you can decipher the truths from the lies.
I stared at the thing that had come through the rift. A two headed daemon with two jagged beaks full of razor sharp fangs. Vibrant blue with tesselating multicolored feathers that constantly shifted like a kaleidoscopic rainbow. Babbling incoherently to itself, obviously completely stark raving insane. And… it was the size of a raven and had the body of a bird. It was literally just a bird…
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in a mix of annoyance and disappointment. "At least it will be easier to take him around with me, I guess…"
Legend was exhausted. He'd been having chronic nightmares for the past month.
Golden light destroying everything. Wiping humanity from existence. Watching people disintegrating, layer by layer, atom by atom, in slow motion. Screaming in agony, as they're enveloped in it.
Men, women, children… God the children…
Even his husband and adopted son. He'd struggled with all his might. Blasting at the source of the light with everything he had, which he knew was there but could never quite fully make out. Trying to fly to their sides as fast as he could. No matter what, it was always pointless. He watched them die screaming in pain and fear over and over and over and over. Some deaths were slower and more gruesome than others… He'd woken up in tears crying several times now.
The worst part was how real the dreams felt. Every. Single Time. It was like he was actually there. That it was really happening. He could feel it all as if he was there. See it all. Smell it all. Even taste his own blood in his mouth, when he died trying to protect his family. These were the most vivid dreams he had ever had in his life.
And they weren't stopping. It was pretty much all he could think about at this point, even while he was awake. Arthur was getting worried.
Legend himself was getting worried. Worried that he was under some kind of master effect. But he'd had himself screened and tested multiple times now. Looking for anything that might be causing it. Any machines, chemicals, biological agents, or even neurological abnormalities. He'd even slept in a tent in the middle of the Sahara desert one night, in case it was some long range master power. He'd even gone to another Earth and slept there in case it was the Simurgh using a power on him that she'd never displayed before. Nothing. There was no explanation.
They were just dreams. Or so it seemed.
But they couldn't be. There was no possible way they were just dreams. There had to be something more to them. He just didn't know what yet.
And what had been going on all over the world hadn't been making it any easier.
The CUI was making some very rash and almost paranoid decisions. He was almost worried they were on the verge of declaring war on America and Canada. There had already been several major assassination attempts against himself, Alexandria, and Eidolon. They couldn't link anything back to the CUI or Yangban, yet, but considering the moves they had been making it seemed fairly obvious to him where this was coming from.
He was trying to play peacemaker, negotiating and trying to calm things down. On top of his normal duties, which had been getting harder as the number of trigger events was increasing dramatically everywhere from small rural towns, backwater fishing villages in third world countries, to the cities. The rate was consistent across the board. An almost perfect nine times increase in natural triggers everywhere.
The cape population was exploding. Which meant he had more to do in his day to day.
And now… The Endbringers had broken their cycle. The Simurgh had just attacked Sacramento after having attacked Canberra, Australia, just two weeks ago. So far it seemed Behemoth and Leviathan had been relatively quiet. But Simurgh was arguably the most dangerous of the three. So her breaking her cycle was extremely bad.
They'd only just managed to evacuate the governor, but he'd been in the Simurgh's range for a dangerously long time. He was going to have to stay under quarantine for a while.
And now there were rumblings that odd activity was happening in Ellisburg. If Nilbog actually broke out…
The Sleeper had become active almost immediately after the Simurgh's second attack and it had been hell trying to contain him
Ashbeast was moving oddly.
The Three Blasphemies were becoming more active. Killing political leaders and important public figures across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Legend had no idea just what the hell happened but it seemed like this past month someone had flipped a switch and unleashed the floodgates. So many things were happening all at once everywhere it was practically impossible to keep up with it all.
His mind drifted back to the dreams he'd been having.
He had never been a religious man. He was agnostic, leaning atheist. But between his dreams and everything that was happening across the world… He was starting to pray. Pray to any god or gods that might listen. Praying that they could stop whatever that golden light was. That they could find some way to deal with the Endbringers. Praying for some small scrap of hope that, whatever was coming, Humanity could make it out of this alive.
Because it was starting to feel like Armageddon. And he was starting to get desperate.
He had decided he was going to talk to Alexandria and Eidolon about his dreams. It was unlikely they'd know anything about them but maybe… If nothing else it was good to let them know about them, in case it started to become a bigger problem than it already was.
It was sometime in late March. Paige Mcabee was in jail, awaiting her next court date. Everything had been going terribly for her.
She'd barely been able to communicate with her lawyer, and whenever she was wheeled out for court, she was always put under overly heavy restraints and was gagged. So she couldn't even speak in her own defense.
She was pretty sure she was going to be sentenced soon. And it was seeming like she was going to be given the maximum penalty. Which meant, she was going to be sentenced to the Birdcage…
She was terrified. But it seemed like there was nothing she could do.
She'd finally gotten an email from her lawyer and it wasn't good news.
She went to bed that night, crying herself to sleep, on the verge of giving up hope entirely.
She opened her eyes and found herself in her cell but everything was… weird. The lights had turned blue. The atmosphere felt still and heavy. It was as if the world had somehow stopped in its rotation. The air had an abnormal chill to it that went far beyond just physical cold. Hoarfrost spread across the ground, the walls, even her sheets. Sweat beaded and turned to ice on her face. And it was quiet. Far too quiet even for the middle of the night.
She got up and realized she wasn't gagged. The only time she was ever not gagged was during lunch, where she'd be moved to a room where there was a lot of sound proofing that had been installed. Then, and only then, did the remote controlled lock on her gag open. And she had to put it back on before she would be allowed out of the room.
"H-hello?" She called out timidly.
"Paige Mcabee…" An eerie voice spoke, seemingly emanating from everywhere at once. It was unnatural, like an echo in reverse. She heard the trail of the words before she heard the words themselves. And the voice itself… There was something off about it. Something unnatural Inhuman. It sent a chill down her spine. "Canary. A little song bird, trapped in a cage of lies… How you weep in your cell. Such a sour song of despair. Of hopelessness in the face of the injustice being brought against you…"
"W-what's going on? Who's there?" She asked, terrified.
Vibrant blue energy swirled around her before coalescing in front of her, forming a massive figure in blue and gold robes, with shifting runes that her mind couldn't quite process. Golden armor, with sapphires that looked like eyes staring directly into her soul. Or… were they actually eyes that looked like sapphires? It had massive blue wings with feathers that were an iridescent rainbow of ever shifting color. It held a staff in a hand that was more of a bird-like talon than anything human. The top of the staff was a serpentine shape with another eye staring out from it. The inside of this creature's hood was almost pitch black save for nine glowing blue dots she could only assume were its actual eyes, and a large beak that peaked out from the hood. Its legs were bent the wrong way and ended in razor sharp talons.
It towered over her, space seemed to warp around it so it was at once larger than the cell whilst still fitting within its confines.
Paige tried to take a step back in fear, but her back hit the wall of her Cell.
"Who… Who are you… A parahuman? A cape?" Paige asked nervously.
"No… I am the Messenger of Fate. I am the Harbinger of Change. I am an Angel of Knowledge, sent to answer your prayers. If you accept…"
"Accept…? Accept what? What do you want from me?"
"As with all Angels, I serve a God. The one I serve is Tzeentch. The God of Knowledge, of Magic, of Ambition, of Change, of Fate, and… of Hope. And hope is why I am here. You've given it up in the face of what is to come. I seek only to rekindle its spark. And for that, I am here to deliver a message… You fear your sentencing. You fear what is to come. You fear the 'Birdcage', little Canary."
It tapped its staff against the ground and the world changed around them. Paige found herself inside another prison. Time was frozen. Nothing was moving. But she was surrounded by capes. Some she recognized from the news. Others she didn't. But she knew exactly where this place was. The Baumann Parahuman Containment Center, or Birdcage. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. This was where she would be spending the rest of her life…
"Right now this is your Fate. Your Destiny… However, nothing is immutable. All things can Change."
The creature reached out and plucked a feather from her head. She flinched back, but surprisingly it didn't hurt. The feather turned blue and purple with veins of gold between his talons. Then he placed it back in her hair where it took root back in its original position. "Your fate is no exception. But it depends upon you to accept this offer. You need only pray. Pray to Tzeentch and hope. Should you do so, then in nine days time, upon your next hearing, your fate will be changed."
It tapped its staff against the ground and the world changed again. Paige found herself bound and gagged, in the back of a PRT transport. Somehow she knew she was being brought back to jail from her upcoming court date.
Suddenly she felt herself being tossed around as the transport swerved and spun out before crashing into something.
Moments later the back doors of the van crumbled and several people in costumes rushed inside and grabbed at her.
Time froze, everything stopped.
The figure re-emerged next to one of the Capes who was still outside the van. A girl wearing a simple dark green robe with a maze drawn on it and a mask. It leaned down, its talons gripping the sides of the cape's face and tilted her head up to it, examining her masked face almost curiously.
It then turned its hooded head back to Paige and its beak opened, speaking to her. "It shan't be an easy road. You shall still face many hardships in the days to come. Exchanging one prison for another. But it will be better. And in the end you shall be free. So pray. Pray to the Architect of Fate for a better destiny. And sing, little canary. Sing a song of hope, and let not another sour note of despair leave thy lips."
It tapped its staff against the ground again and Paige bolted upright, having woken up in her bed in her prison cell.
A dream? It was just a dream…
She started to calm down. Taking a few deep breaths and slowly releasing them as she started waking up fully.
Of course it had just been a dream. Her worries about
That day she noticed she'd been getting weird looks from the guards as they led her off on her daily routine. As she was about to turn on the faucet for her morning shower, she noticed something in the reflection of the pipe. Something on her head. A single light blue and purple feather with veins of gold, contrasting against the yellow of her hair and her other feathers.
Her blood turned to ice in her veins.
It was real… The dream had been real…
But if it was real, that meant there was a chance she could get out.
She didn't want to be a criminal. Didn't want to go on the run. But… surely it had to be better than this. Better than being sent to the birdcage and being subject to whatever the other prisoners might do to her in there. And maybe, if she could get out of this, she could get a better lawyer and get a more fair trial and get cleared of her charges. It was a longshot. A very long shot. Maybe it was just a delusion… But she could hope.
So as she showered, she hummed to herself. She couldn't sing like the angel had requested, gagged as she was, but she could hum. And so she did. Humming a song of hope, as she prayed for her salvation.
For the first time since this entire nightmare started, she finally truly saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
Coil was tired and frustrated. A lot had been happening recently. A lot that had him very worried.
His timelines had been changing on him. Getting confused. Something that had never happened to him before. And it was from this he determined his power wasn't actually splitting the timeline so much as it was predicting outcomes and setting him along the path he had chosen.
Regardless, it meant someone or something was changing the variables and was interfering with his powers. He didn't know who. He didn't know why. He wasn't even certain they were aware they were doing it or if he was being targeted on purpose.
He'd given Tattletale carefully curated data points and information in hopes she might be able to figure out who it was and why. She hadn't been able to figure out anything useful. She said it seemed entirely random.
Fortunately he'd recently discovered a tool he thought could be useful for counteracting this rather annoying problem. Dinah Alcott, the Mayor's Niece, had triggered and had a rather unique power to predict anything in percentages, but got horrible thinker headaches from overuse of her powers.
The Travelers had recently come into his employment, and with them came a particular problem. The one they called Noelle. She was a very powerful cape, whose power had some rather unfortunate side effects that made it so she couldn't carry out tasks in public with the rest of her team. Chief among them, other than the horrific mutations, was emotional instability. This was the very reason the Travelers kept moving from place to place. They were forced to by Noelle's instability.
The Travelers had come to him hoping he could help cure her in some way.
He couldn't do that, obviously. At least, he doubted it was possible. And as a result he was growing increasingly worried about how he was going to keep her under control in the long term. The Travelers had already proven themselves to be a valuable asset much as the Undersiders were, albeit in a very different way. And he didn't want them messing up something important or losing their assistance because Noelle decided to throw a temper tantrum.
He needed a way to control her. To keep her docile and compliant. He'd considered drugs as he planned for the Alcott girl, but Noelle's regeneration made that unviable. It was likely she would just heal the drugs out of her system in a matter of moments. On top of a host of other possible issues. Even if he could drug her the Travelers would realize what was happening and try to stop it. To say nothing of Noelle herself. On top of which, god only knew what would happen if she went into withdrawals.
Since he couldn't use drugs he still needed something to keep her under control other than constantly leading her on and false promises. He had thought and thought and was at a complete loss… Until as if presented before him by the hand of fate itself a solution appeared before him.
Coil was currently sitting back watching the news about Paige Mcabee, "Bad Canary". Her court case was currently being broadcast live on television. He'd known about this whole ordeal for quite some time now. And he knew it was all rigged against her, as the higher ups wanted to make an example to scare capes into joining the "Heros" rather than going Rogue.
Initially, he hadn't cared. Writing her off as too much trouble to bother with. Especially considering the trial was happening outside of Brockton Bay where his influence was far more limited. She had just been another fool with powers who made a stupid mistake and was being railroaded by the legal system to prove a point. None of his business. But in light of his issues with Noelle and the travelers he started to reconsider
With her powers, she could keep Noelle calm and compliant. And she could do the same for Dinah, when he eventually managed to acquire her. Along with anyone else he needed to keep contained for an extended period of time for any reason.
There were other possible benefits to having Bad Canary in his employment as well, of course. Acquiring more accurate and honest information during interrogations. Having a card in his pocket he could deploy to help protect important assets in the event something didn't go as he predicted was another major one which he felt he needed considering the issues he had been having with his powers and all the chaos going on across the world lately. He wanted extra insurance. She was another cape he could bring to bear in emergencies. And she could help ensure the loyalty or at least compliance of untrustworthy assets in critical situations. Such as Tattletale, or Bitch.
And he knew her songs retained their power through recordings. So he could have her record a few to use as strategic weapons.
He would have to be careful not to overuse her or else anyone she was employed against might start using hearing protection to block out her voice. But it was still potentially useful.
And after he'd succeeded in effectively conquering Brockton Bay, perhaps her songs could be played in public to subtly direct the citizens to his own ends. Nothing overt, of course. Simply influencing votes and other such things. Just another lever of control over the city in a similar vein to his control over the PRT and criminal underworld. All for the betterment of the city as a whole.
Of course, on that same note, he would need to be careful to ensure he didn't end up getting mastered by her. Though he did not foresee that being a major issue. The threat of having her lose his protection and being sent to the Birdcage, or having her outright killed, if she didn't comply with his orders or if she ever tried to sing around him, would likely be sufficient.
The court hearing was adjourned which meant it was almost time.
He had paid off a few villains to make a distraction in a few key places, as far from the court house as he could get them to agree to, in order to draw the bulk of the Protectorate's attention away and make it take as long as possible before they could respond.
That should be starting soon if it hadn't already, which meant he should be getting a call very soon.
A few minutes passed and finally he got a call.
"This is Faultline. Your men tell me the Protectorate's engaged the distractions. The transport carrying the target is in sight. So what do you want us to do?"
He split the timelines. In one, he had them attack immediately. In another he had them hold off.
Fortunately, his power didn't fail him today. Working exactly as it was supposed to.
Nine days after her dream, Paige found herself in the exact situation the angel had shown her. She was in the back of a PRT transport being returned to prison after her court appearance.
She felt more certain than ever that what she'd seen in her dream had been real. And so she had hope. She hummed softly to herself. A song she'd been composing these past few days since her dream. A song of hope as the angel had requested of her.
As the transport drove, she could have sworn she felt a taloned hand on her shoulder and a whisper in her ear so soft it was almost inaudible. If she'd even heard it at all she couldn't make out the words. Regardless she took it as a sign. And so she braced herself as best she could, knowing what was about to happen.
The transport spun out and crashed. She heard sounds of fighting outside. Moments later the back doors crumbled and several capes entered inside. She recognized all of them from her dream. Every detail was the same. From what they were wearing, the movements they made, and their positions in the group.
Standing outside there was a fat man with translucent skin and spiral growths sprouting across his body, and a person in a red and black fireproof suit with a gas mask both standing next to the girl in green. Some odd substance dripped from the hands of the man with translucent skin.
The most heavily armored one, a woman, approached Paige and grabbed her by the arm. Her grip was tight but not to the point it hurt. Just enough so Paige couldn't run away. With a swipe of her other hand, the woman cut through Paige's restraints, but continued to keep a firm grim on her.
"I'm going to take your gag off since it might have a tracker inside, and we're going to be putting a new one on. We were hired to bring you to someone and we can't risk having you mastering any of us. Don't try to sing while it's off, or I'll have Newter knock you out." The woman ordered.
A seemingly teenage guy with orange skin, light blue eyes, dark red hair, and a five foot long prehensile tail stepped closer, his hand hovering just inches from Paige's skin
"Just a touch from me and you'll be sedated. So don't try anything." The one called Newter told her.
Paige nodded, and with a swipe of her hand the woman cut Paige's gag off before putting a new one over her mouth.
"Now, follow us. We need to get out of here." The woman, who seemed to be the leader, demanded.
Paige followed them out the hole they had made in the back of the transport. A black van was waiting outside.
Looking around she saw the PRT troopers that had been transporting her unconscious and stuck to the ground by some sort of adhesive. While on the road was some slippery substance she could only assume was the reason the transport had spun out like it did.
She was directed towards the back of the van. Newter, the guy with translucent skin, a person in a red and black fireproof suit with a gas mask, and the girl in green got in back with her. It was a little cramped with all of them back there, but Paige wasn't in any position to complain. And at least no one had put a bag over her head yet. Meanwhile the leader got in the front passenger seat while someone else drove them off.
As they started driving off the man with translucent skin asked, "You have lovely feathers. Are they real, by any chance?"
Paige nodded.
"Hm… And you remember your past?" He inquired.
She nodded again.
He nodded. "I see… When we accepted this job I will admit I did look into your past a bit, Miss Mcabee. For your legal troubles, you have my deepest condolences. What they have done to you seems terribly unfair, from what I have read. It truly is a pity… I have also looked into your work and I must say your music is quite good. It isn't what I typically enjoy, personally, but I can certainly appreciate the musical artistry." He told her. He was surprisingly polite despite his looks.
"Yeah! I'm totally a fan of yours. I've got a few of your posters and even a couple CDs of your music! So, sorry about all this, but it's just business." The girl in red and black said apologetically. "Love the look of that blue and gold feather, by the way."
As they drove off to who knew where, Paige wondered where they were taking her and who might have hired them for this. That creature claimed to be an angel but it would make sense if it was really a cape of some kind. She supposed she was going to find out, one way or another soon enough.
I'm kinda surprised, but it turns out I needed an interlude already. Tzeentch is doing things beyond just Taylor and Brockton Bay after all.
Anyway, I decided to go with Coil for who breaks out Canary because I can do more with her working under him, at least to begin with. Just a better set up with a longer term but hopefully decent payoff. I'm a little uncertain about the feather thing but I thought it was a good small way that the Lord of Change could let her know the dream was real.
I almost had it take her through various warp realms.
Spoiler: Unused content"Who… Who are you… A parahuman? A cape?" Paige asked nervously.
"No… I am the Messenger of Fate. I am the Harbinger of Change. I am an Angel of Knowledge, sent to answer your prayers. If you accept…"
"Accept…? Accept what? What do you want from me?"
"As with all Angels, I serve a God. The one I serve is Tzeentch. The God of Knowledge, of Magic, of Ambition, of Change, of Fate, and… of Hope. And hope is why I am here. You've given it up in the face of what is to come. I seek only to rekindle its spark. And for that, I am here to deliver a message… You fear your sentencing. You fear what is to come. You fear the 'Birdcage', little songbird. Right now it is your Fate. Your Destiny… However, nothing is immutable. All things can Change. Your fate is no exception… If you so wish it."
"How… How do I know you aren't lying? That you aren't some cape trying to manipulate me or something?"
The creature tapped the butt of its staff against the ground once. The walls, bars, and ground crumbled around them. Paige found herself floating high above a luxurious golden city in the clouds.
"This is what the Abrahamic Religions would call Heaven. Within that Castle at the center, lies Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah. The city segmented in three. One for the Jews, one for the Christians, and one for the Muslims."
Thunder clouds began to form and Angels descended. Horrifying creatures, completely unlike th humanoid beings commonly depicted in art and media.
The blue creature muttered an incantation and lightning arched between them, slaughtering them.
Something arose from the castle at the heart of this place. Something massive took form. An old man in a white robe. His eyes glowing like suns, arcing with lightning.
"And that is their god. He seems to enjoy displays of power."
Their surroundings shifted.
They found themselves above a massive battlefield. People with swords, shields, axes, spears, bows and arrows, and countless other weapons were cutting eachother to pieces.
"This is what the Norse of old would call Asgard. Where the souls of mortals do battle, fighting and dying, only to be resurrected again, in preparation for Ragnarok. A final battle that shall never come."
Another old man appeared, wearing armor and wielding a spear. A patch covering a missing eye. Two ravens sat on his shoulders. "Messenger of Fate, I have an agreement with your Lord. You are not to be here." The old man declared.
"And I shall leave soon, Odin. Your mortals do not see us, none are being taken, and your realm is untouched. Our agreement has not been violated. I am merely proving a point to this mortal here."
Odin's one eyed gaze turned to Paige. "You deal with dangerous forces, girl. Though, by the feathers in your hair, you're already bonded to something worse."I'd been considering for him to take her through the realms of nine different religions. I'd have probably gone Greek/Roman next, then Egyptian, then, I don't know that's about as far as I thought. But I thought it was a bit too much and that the whole thing was a bit awkward and clunky so I stopped writing it there. Just thought I'd post this for fun, so don't consider any of the cut content canon. My ideas are liable to change as the story develops.
As for Legend, I'm a little uncertain about having him start praying and his whole scene was a little short so maybe I should cut it entirely and just have this be a Canary interlude. Don't know.
Anyway, I'm open to any and all criticism. If you don't like something, let me know what. I can't address it or fix it if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Edit: I've edited the interlude a bit to have the Travelers be employed by Coil a bit earlier than in canon, make controlling Noelle as being one of the reasons he wants Canary, edited some of his narration to try and fix his tone as it was suggested he sounded like he wants a complete totalitarian dictatorship as opposed to just controlling the city from the background which isn't what I wanted.
I've also done some minor edits to the description of the Lord of Change to improve the prose, edited its closing dialogue slightly, and edited the scene it showed Canary.
Finally I changed how Faultline's crew broke out Canary to have them intercept the transport bringing her back to jail instead of breaking into the court room, as it was suggested that the plan I had them go with was highly flawed.
Hope these changes improved the chapter a bit!