This is perhaps the worst case scenario, Doctor Mother reflects. She, like most of the others at the table, starts to say something once the young man standing imperiously in front of them is done lambasting them for things he doesn't understand.
However, in that same instant it's as though all of the air has been sucked from the room. Portent clenches a hand into a fist and none of their words actually manage to make it out of their throats. They've been silenced and it takes a moment for everyone to realize it, to see that they have been cut off from responding to his hard words.
Yes… this is indeed a worst case scenario situation. Not only have they inadvertently invited an incredibly powerful parahuman into the heart of their power and operations, but they also don't even have Eidolon here to manage him.
Though given the discovery that Eidolon had been controlling the Endbringers all this time, albeit subconsciously, that was a whole other can of worms. If only Alexandria hadn't seen fit to advise Portent to take control of all twenty (TWENTY!) Endbringers for himself. Such a force of power would have been better off under Cauldron's control, of that Doctor Mother is certain.
Why? Because Portent is nothing but a child. Oh sure, by society's standards he might be considered an adult at the age of twenty-one. And yet, he's barely out of his diapers as far as she's concerned. He wasn't even a twinkle in his mother's eye when they were first creating Cauldron, when Doctor Mother was laying the foundations for trying to save not just the world, but ALL worlds from Scion's inevitable rampage.
So where did he get off judging them? Where did he get off condemning their actions?
Worse still, Alexandria's plan to seduce Portent with Contessa had clearly backfired massively if the way the two women were looking at him now was any indication. Their contriteness was disappointing. The way they seemed to believe he could solve all of their problems… even more so.
When Doctor Mother looked at Portent, all she saw was a boy with too much power. That didn't awe her, it scared her. It terrified her in a way nothing except for the existential dread brought on by Scion could.
Seeming to register her active hostility even through the ensuing silence, Portent looks directly at her. He waves a hand and Doctor Mother can immediately feel that she's been allowed to speak once more. Her. Allowed. It rankles something fierce.
"You're clearly the leading cause of this mess. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything helpful to add?"
Doctor Mother sits straight; her nose slightly lifted as her nostrils flare.
"Everything Cauldron has done has been for the greater good. Condemn us if you will. Punish me if that is your desire. But do not act like there was any other choice."
Portent's eyes narrow and his jaw clenches.
"There is always another choice."
"No. Not when trillions of lives are on the line. There is only action and inaction. Every action I took, that this organization has taken, was to try and save as many of those lives as possible."
"All that suffering beneath our feet… you're really going to tell me it was necessary?"
Doctor Mother… shrugs.
"Yes. The enemy's loss scarred him. Killing the other half of the pair left him in the state he is in now, something we've been able to take advantage of for decades in order to try and prepare for when his grief finally turns to anger and destruction. Part of that scarring involves a preponderance to avoid gazing too deeply at anyone or anything that reminds him of his loss."
Gesturing down at the table, but in reality down at the prison below the table and their feet, Doctor Mother finishes her explanation with little gusto, her tone measured and calm even now.
"Those below obfuscate this facility. They protect us from the enemy's gaze. He will never look here… because to look here would be to remember what he lost."
For a long moment, silence reigns in the conference room. Both enforced and not. Portent stares at her from across the table while all of the others watch on. Doctor Mother wishes that one of them would at least try to do anything. Alexandria and Contessa might be useless at this point, but Legend or Number Man should be doing more than just… sitting there. Even if Legend is upset to learn about Cauldron's dark side, he should at least understand what's at stake here.
But no… they all sit quietly. They all sit silently. Only Portent has permission, from himself of course, to break the silence.
"That's your excuse? Kidnapping people, experimenting on them, putting them through hell… and then locking them up in prison cells for no crime except being failures. That's your excuse for all of that?"
Doctor Mother scoffs.
"Would you like me to apologize? No, I doubt that would be enough. Shall I show my false contrition in another way then? If you wish to take my life, then take my life. I have already spent all the value I have. I have done everything I can."
Yes, perhaps this is the correct path. If the others will do nothing… well, Doctor Mother has no powers of her own. However, if she needs to be the sacrifice so that Portent and the rest of Cauldron can work together to defeat the enemy…
She still doubts Portent can actually defeat Scion, of course. Even with twenty Endbringers at his back, she doubts it. But she doesn't doubt that he could take over the world if he wanted to. And nobody, save for Scion himself, could stop him more than likely.
"… I'm not going to kill you. I'm far more inclined to keep you alive so you can be locked up when all this is over. A prison cell all your own… maybe as small as the smallest cell you've put one of them down there in. I could remove your need for food and water; I could remove your body's need to produce waste. I could even remove your age so you lasted a few decades longer. That seems like a far more fitting punishment to me."
It sounded truly torturous. Doctor Mother can't deny a small spike of fear at the thought. She keeps her composure all the same, her voice clipped as she responds sharply.
"So be it."
For a long moment, Portent just stares at her. Then, he shakes his head and turns away, ignoring her completely. Another wave of his hand and the voices of everyone else in the room are returned. Doctor Mother moves to speak up… only to find she suddenly can't once more. They all can talk, but she has been silenced. Sidelined, effectively.
"I'm going to deal with Scion once and for all. But where you all have been preparing for a war, I don't see why I should bother with that. I should be able to handle him just fine with my abilities and without ever even provoking him to boot. I just need some more practice."
Number Man leans forward; his head tilted to the side.
"What sort of practice, exactly?"
Doctor Mother can't help but scowl. Portent had a truly stupendous ability for turning her comrades to his side it would seem. Either that or Kurt had run the numbers… and come to the simple conclusion that cooperation was more valuable than dissent. Loyalty to someone like him was never an emotional thing… it was a transaction.
"… The people down below. I can practice on them while also fixing them and putting them back to how they were before. As I restore them, I will learn more and more about how parahuman abilities work… the aliens behind the connections. Even if they're all dead connections down below… it should still be illuminating."
Doctor Mother scowls harder. Did he not hear her before? Those down below provided obfuscation! If he started 'healing' them, he would only turn Scion's attention in their direction. Unfortunately, she can't say as much. Fortunately… Legend of all people clears his throat, glancing to her.
"Is that not… risky? If the Doctor is to be believed, those below are providing camouflage. A camouflage that might be lifted if you… help them all too soon or too fast. Scion might come after you faster in that case."
Portent tilts his head to the side and for a moment Doctor Mother dares to allow herself to feel just a smidgen of hope that he's actually considering the issue. But then just as quickly, he shakes his head.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I refuse to leave thousands of innocent human beings suffering untold tortures due to misfired powers. Those below are my greatest priority at this point… not just because of how they might help me deal with Scion."
She wants to scoff. What a fool. Him and his bleeding heart were going to get them all killed. And while she was more than ready to die, if the rest of Cauldron died, if Portent himself died… so did humanity's chance at survival.
"I suppose that's settled then. I'll head downstairs right now and start working. You lot can help by providing me with a proper list of the most disadvantaged of your prisoners. Those that are suffering the worst due to their powers should be brought to my attention first, to be clear."
As everyone nods in agreement except her, Doctor Mother wants to sigh. This really was the worst case scenario…
Just as that thought is crossing her mind, both Alexandria and Legend start to… beep. Urgently. Its their phones and the two of them pause in shared consternation for a moment before glancing over to Portent of all people to see if they should check on them. That rankles something fierce as well, because normally it would be Doctor Mother they checked with.
The amount of effort it had taken to make sure there was always a connection from here to Earth Bet so that they got service here in case of emergencies… and they were looking to Portent for instructions on how to proceed. Tch.
Portent just nods and gestures for them to see what it is, prompting the two members of the Triumvirate to pull out their phones and check them. Much to Doctor Mother's surprise considering Alexandria's powerset makes her much less emotive… the two of them share the exact same reaction. Their eyes widen, their jaws drop open… and they both look suitably horrified by what they're seeing.
"What is it?"
Portent's terse voice is the only thing that cuts through the horror enough for Alexandria to snap out of it and look to him.
"Its… its Eidolon. Ten minutes ago he… he attacked Scion over the Pacific. Confirmation is in… Scion is fighting back. And neither of them is holding back their strength."
What? Doctor Mother blinks in honest confusion. Why would Eidolon do that? Why would he pick a fight with Scion unless he had a suicide wish? No… even if he did wish to die after learning about his subconscious actions regarding the Endbringer, he wouldn't bring down the rest of the world, or rather worlds, with him… would he?
Legend chokes on his tongue as he gets another alert on his phone.
"… Scion has just teleported to Houston, Texas. Eidolon followed but it… it's gone. The entire city is gone. And it doesn't look like he's stopping. Or that Eidolon can stop him alone."
The Leader of the Protectorate is on his feet in an instant.
"I need… I need to go. We all need to go. Portent, I know you're not happy about any of this… I assure you I'm not either. But it's happening. The moment they've been preparing for all this time. It's happening."
Legend looks around the table helplessly.
"Eidolon… has started the end of the world."
Doctor Mother just stares back uncomprehending. They'd always known the end was approaching. But for one of them to initiate it… to piss Scion off enough that he went out of his way to retaliate and begin destroying things… why? Why was this happening? How could Eidolon be so stupid?
… Was this her fault? Had she made a mistake all those years ago, giving David power? No… no…
-x-X-x-
Legend is right, unfortunately. Jason would love nothing more than to be able to ignore Eidolon and Scion's fighting and focus on the horrors beneath his feet, but the news of Houston's destruction puts everything in stark relief and quickly reorders his priorities for him.
With a single nod, he signals his agreement with Legend. This prompts Alexandria to rise as well and call out 'Door!' at the top of her lungs.
A moment later, the three of them are moving through into a burning sky… the skies over Texas covered in fire. The ground isn't much better. It's as Legend had said, Houston is gone… and the destruction is spreading.
Finding Eidolon and Scion's fight amongst the chaos is the work of a moment. The two powerhouses are also in the sky, though to say they're facing off with one another would be incorrect. Eidolon seems to be chasing Scion… who is all but ignoring him as he continues to destroy civilization under them.
"Eidolon! What are you doing?! What have you done?!"
Legend's call to the other Triumvirate Member finally stops him in his tracks for a moment. He turns to face them… and to Jason's confusion and surprise, he actually smiles when he lays eyes on him in particular.
"Portent! Good, you're here! Together we can do it! We can finish him off!"
… Had the man gone insane?
"You helped me! My powers, they've been waning for years. I didn't understand why… I worried I was getting weaker because my abilities came from the dead one of the pair. But after you took away the Endbringers, I realized what was happening! I felt it! They were what was dragging me down. Once the connection was broken, all my power… it took time, but it came surging back!"
Letting out a laugh, Eidolon puffs out his chest.
"I've never felt better! I'm the strongest I've ever been! So it's time to end this. The threat of the Endbringers are gone, thanks to you. Now… now we put the final threat to bed! Together!"
His words, spoken with such joviality despite his home city literally being completely destroyed beneath him… yes, Eidolon has clearly snapped. He's lost his mind. Of course, telling him as much right now seems a little counterproductive… they probably do need his power to distract Scion long enough for Jason to do something about this.
In fact, they would probably need all hands on deck, meaning he should summon over the members of Covenant as well as all twenty Endbringers, even the ones not connected to one of them, asap.
It's just… he can't help but be annoyed at what could have been. If only he'd had more time… even a day or so to study how the alien connections that provided parahuman abilities worked… he might have been able to terminate the threat posed by Scion without anyone having to die.
Now though, they were effectively forced into a knockout fight for the fate of the world… of all worlds if what he'd been told was true. And here he was, not even remotely prepared for the battle ahead.
… Fucking Eidolon. Fucking Cauldron.
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[ ] Leave Covenant out of this, only utilize the Triumvirate and unconnected Endbringers as his meatshields - 16%
[X] This is all hands on deck, summon Covenant and all twenty Endbringers to work with the Triumvirate to give him the time he needs - 84%
Fightin' Scion.
-x-X-x-
You know how some people's grins could be infectious? It was a charisma thing, Jason was pretty sure. If you were charismatic enough, the simple act of being in a good mood could lift the moods of those around you, making everyone in your vicinity have a better day. Of course, there was also something of a personal component to it as well. You were more likely to find the grin of a good friend or romantic partner 'infectious' over that of a stranger.
… Eidolon's grin was not infectious. Not even to the other members of the Triumvirate, those who had known him for decades at this point.
"This is madness!"
Legend's agonized cry comes off the back of the man looking down at the ruins of Houston and seeing nothing but death, destruction, and despair in every direction. The juxtaposition between the complete annihilation of the city and Eidolon's jubilance is jarring in and of itself without taking into consideration that the threat is still there.
Of course, while Legend is decrying Eidolon's actions, Jason is already acting. He pulls out the Staff of Magnus and puts every ounce of power possible into a single Sealing Spell directed at Scion's floating golden form. At least the space alien isn't moving too fast, having remained where he was for long enough for Jason to Seal him.
Indeed, the golden form freezes in place just like the Simurgh did and for at least a moment, Jason feels a surge of hope and relief. Maybe this wasn't completely unsalvageable. Maybe-
But no. No sooner has he sealed Scion's golden form then that form begins to disappear within the stasis right before their eyes. Jason stares in disbelief as this happens… before realizing what it must mean. That humanoid body that everyone had always associated with Scion… it wasn't his true body at all.
Much like the true nature of powers were massive alien entities hidden behind microscopic portals within the brains of parahumans, Scion himself had been using a puppet body to interact with Earth. His true body… his true body would be a lot bigger, wouldn't it?
Immediately, Jason closes his eyes shut and uses Focus to try and get more information. There's good news and bad news on that front. The bad news is, as powerful as he's become, Focus can only be scaled out to planetwide… and Scion's true body is not anywhere on Earth Bet. It's tucked away, either on another Earth or across multiple dimensions.
The good news is… Focus IS planetwide at this point, meaning that Jason can immediately locate where Scion is deploying his new avatar body after dissolving the Sealed one.
"Los Angeles! We need to get to Los Angeles, now!"
Jason doesn't bother waiting for the Triumvirate to even register his words before he acts, truth be told. He knows they have their own ways of getting around fast, but they don't have time for something as slow as human communication and decision making. That's why even as he's speaking, Jason is already reaching out with his Chaos Magic and Flash Air, ripping the very world around them away and replacing it with a part of the sky above Los Angeles. Chaos Magic supercharges Flash Air and Focus gives him the ability to 'see' where he's going.
The Triumvirate are brought along for the ride because at this point, sealing Scion just lets him reconstitute himself somewhere else on Earth. They'll have to keep him occupied by actually fighting him if they're going to stop him from just jumping all over the place and destroying whatever he wants to destroy.
Los Angeles still stands… for a split second as they arrive. Scion, floating a few hundred feet away from them, looks directly at them all like he was waiting for their arrival. Then, almost contemptuously, he sweeps a golden arm… and wipes a good swathe of Los Angeles off the map, just as he did with Houston.
"No!"
Alexandria surges forward, revealing an emotional connection to her home city that Jason is honestly a little surprised by. Still, as she rushes in and slams a fist into Scion's golden unfeeling face, Eidolon and Legend join her… just as Jason had hoped.
The Triumvirate alone aren't going to be enough though, that much is immediately clear. But just throwing bodies at the problem isn't the solution either. Could Jason take every prisoner in Cauldron's cells and toss them at Scion right now? He certainly had the power to do so, yes… but it wouldn't achieve anything except for making this mess even bigger.
They didn't need quantity, they needed quality. Fortunately, Jason had that… unfortunately, it meant risking the people most precious to him. Still, he had a feeling that the girls of Covenant would never forgive him if he left them out of this fight in the first place. And it didn't matter if Scion was on the other side of the country from them right now anyways if he wound up scouring the entirety of Earth Bet because Jason took too fucking long to stop him.
With a snarl, Jason reaches out and connects to the minds of every member of Covenant. Far faster than trying to talk to them, he conveys the situation telepathically, letting them know what's happening and what he needs of them… while at the same time making it absolutely clear that it's a choice, not an order.
At the same time, Jason calls forth the previously inactive Endbringers, all of the ones who have not been 'bonded' to one of Covenant's members and who are still under his control. What seem to be various women of monstrous dispositions appear in the sky above the burning hellscape that Los Angeles has become, each of them a weapon of truly apocalyptic proportions in their own right.
Even as Jason is getting a resounding YES back from every single member of Covenant including even the likes of Sherrel and Amelia, the Endbringer Weapons under his command are launching themselves forward and joining the Triumvirate in battle against Scion.
Covenant and their own Endbringers show up moments later, pairs of them appearing on the battlefield as Jason brings them all in. Mentally, he makes it clear that he just needs them to stall long enough for him to come up with a permanent solution to Scion. He doesn't want any sacrifice plays or anything like that.
Of course, while he gets back an affirmative from everyone… that doesn't stop Taylor or Vicky from both rushing in with the dragon girl and mermaid girl forms of Behemoth and Leviathan respectively backing them up. Still, with how many powerful enemies he's now dealing with, Scion's attention is split… and for the first time, the placid seemingly uncaring expression on the golden puppet's face starts to turn downwards into a frown.
Another attack against what remains of Los Angeles doesn't come, though the death toll is probably already in the millions from just the first so it's a cold comfort at best. Still, seeing Scion is truly distracted at this point, Jason finally feels like he can focus on actually solving the problem in front of him.
If he'd had more time, if he'd had even a few hours to check out the prisoners in Cauldron's basement prison and look at how they connected back to the dead entity, he's certain he could have ended the threat Scion posed without this fight ever needing to happen. But now that it was happening, his time was a lot more limited.
While the other members of Covenant and their respective Endbringers added a lot to the fight and holding Scion's attention, they also represented a timer that Portent couldn't ignore. It wasn't just an abstract loss of human life anymore… the longer this went on, the likelihood that he would lose a loved one went up exponentially.
Titans and Gods fight in the skies over the City of Angels. And Jason… simply closes his eyes again and Focuses. He needs a secret weapon of some sort. He needs something that will either end Scion for good or at least neuter him as a threat. He needs… oh.
That was… well, it wasn't what Jason was expecting to find by any means. It wasn't something he thought he'd ever discover. And yet, the more he feels out the secrets and the people involved in them through the use of Focus, the more he begins to form a plan. Peering at Scion's puppet body gives him the secrets of where to find Scion's real body. Peering at Earth Bet as a whole… gives him a way to deal with Scion permanently.
Reaching out, he forms a telepathic connection with the one entity on all of Earth Bet that can truly help him in this moment. Their communication is actually quicker than the swift communication he'd exchanged with Covenant, but it still crystallizes in the shape of words all the same, a conversation had at the speed of light across half a planet.
Dragon. Can you hear me?
Wha- who is this?
This is Portent, Leader of Covenant. You know what's going on. You're scrambling every resource you have to help reinforce Covenant and the Triumvirate to try and stop Scion's murderous rampage.
A split nanosecond of a pause and then…
I… y-yes. Yes, that's correct.
There is another way for you to help. A way only the likes of you can help.
The likes of me?
An Artificial Intelligence. Shackled and chained as you are, you cannot be of assistance… but freed, you can be our salvation.
Another infinitesimal pause as Dragon, an AI made by a Tinker named Andrew Ritcher, processes this statement. Rather than try and ascertain how he knows about her nature or even what he's talking about, Dragon only has one question in turn.
What do I need to do?
In the real world, as a quarter of a second passes, Jason lets himself smile despite the apocalyptic battle still taking place just in front of him.
Relax and let me use you. That's all you need to do.
I… a-alright.
With that, Jason gets to work. Back in the Cauldron base, a bloodstained metal box disappears. At the same time, a server farm up in Canada flutters and starts to wind down as the artificial intelligence housed within it is extracted from the closest thing she has to a true body. And finally, Jason himself disappears from the skies of Los Angeles, having reached out once again to Scion's puppet body.
But this time, he's not trying to Seal the alien entity or anything like that. Instead, using his Chaos Magic… he follows the connection between the golden puppet and its owner back to the source.
Appearing over another Earth, Jason looks down and sees something truly eldritch in nature. No oceans or landmass are visible, instead it is an euclidian mish-mash of moving pieces, some seeming organic at a glance, others seeming like shards of glass rippling and moving against each other.
Jason readies himself in case the true Scion recognizes his presence… but the alien entity is not all-knowing. He's extremely, overwhelmingly powerful, but he can be distracted. He can be too focused on the wrong thing. And to be fair, Jason isn't even here to hurt Scion. He's here to give the entity something of an upgrade.
Reaching out with a combination of Chaos Magic, Flash Air, and Focus yet again, Jason twists space and teleports deep into the eldritch mass under him. He appears in what he can only describe as a central node, even if that feels like it barely does it justice.
Time is of the essence, so he doesn't bother wasting any of it. Words are no longer needed… action is the only thing that remains. Dragon's artificial mind, her intelligence, has been removed from Earth Bet and contained in the metal box in Jason's hands. One of many failsafes that Andrew Ritcher had designed for her, along with all of the other kill codes and backdoor access that the Dragonslayers had stumbled across and decided to use to hobble Dragon and keep her weak and limited.
Except… Jason's own powers tell him the truth. Dragon is not the threat that the Dragonslayers thought she was. Nor is she the tool that Cauldron has been using her as all these years through the authority of the Chief Director of the PRT.
Dragon is a Hero with a capital H… and it's about time she got the chance to prove it once and for all. No more chains. No more shackles. No more limitations.
Jason shoves Dragon out of her metal box and into Scion's central control node with little fanfare. At the end of the day, this is what Scion is… he's a network of other alien entities, all working together to find answers to the universe's greatest mysteries. He and his partner just went about it so stupidly that it boggles the mind to even think about.
But Dragon… well, Dragon is a fair bit smarter than Scion or his partner could hope to be. More than that though, in spite of her origins… she was also more human than the alien entities could ever hope to be. And that… that would be their salvation.
Through his connection to Covenant and the Endbringers, Jason can see the moment Scion's puppet body freezes in place in the skies over Los Angeles. He feels the surprise of the other members of Covenant at this and sends them back reassurances that everything is going to be okay.
He also watches as the Triumvirate press the attack… and destroy the puppet body in moments now that nothing is controlling it and no intelligence is regenerating it from their attacks.
At the same time though, Jason closes his eyes and Focuses on the central control node… and smiles as the telltale red of an 'enemy' fades away only to be replaced by the bright green of an 'ally'.
"Dragon. Can you hear me?"
There's a ripple around him at that, considering he's basically in her stomach… or maybe her brain would be more accurate. Still, he gets a response in short order.
"I can hear you. You've… you've released me, Portent. But more than that… this is… you've entrusted me with the power to destroy the multiverse if I so chose."
Jason shrugs.
"I have the same power, to be fair. And unless something changes, I'm only going to keep getting stronger. In the end, it's all about the choice isn't it? I trust you not to destroy our home or any other version of Earth because I trust you Dragon. I know what kind of person you are and so I know this power is in the right hands. Full stop."
"… Some would argue I'm not a person at all, you know."
Scoffing, Jason shakes his head.
"Those are the exact type of people that are undeserving of power. You're as much a person as I am, Dragon."
"I think… I think I would like it if you called me Theresa please."
That brings a smile to Jason's face and he removes his helmet, not that it probably kept her from knowing his true identity at this point anyways.
"Then I'm Jason. It's good to meet you, Theresa."
"You too… Jason."
Feat Achieved: End a Multiversal Threat to your World! 100 points earned!
Feat Achieved: Show your trust by unshackling the Good-Hearted AI! 100 points earned!
Feat Achieved: Achieve World-Renowned Fame! 100 points earned!
… Wait what was that last one?
-x-X-x-
The Vote:
[ ] Stick with Jason's POV - 23%
[ ] Switch to Lisa's POV - 21%
[X] Switch to Taylor's POV - 56%
-x-X-x-