There comes a point in a story where events have spiralled so far out of control that one can only wonder at what comes next. With Taylor getting kidnapped and at the behest of Cauldron, at that, this story has well and truly gotten out of hand.

  Sure, I never truly expected to avoid complications. That would’ve been the height of hubris.

  Readers of both the web novel and fanfics already know that Worm will always fight back. It’s a merciless setting that despises change caused by outside forces, much like how an immune system would chew through foreign bodies. But I figured that with Taylor on my side, along with my meta-knowledge and power, there wouldn’t be anything we couldn’t ultimately overcome.

  On some level, I still believed that. But I no longer held much hope in reaching that point of cooperation without a significantly more grueling ride along the way.

  That my plans got derailed well before they could even start is a stark reminder of what I chose to insert myself into.

  And now, I have to contend with the setting’s most potent obstacle toward my intended goals. Which, now that I’m really thinking about it, makes very little sense.

  Even disregarding the fact that Brockton Bay is supposed to be some sort of experiment for them, the shadowy organization should still be treating this city with a hands-off approach. As far as I could remember, they only really got involved when Leviathan attacked and once Noelle started rampaging.

  So, why did I get their attention now, of all times? And why use such a heavy-handed method of reaching out?

  There were so many potential reasons for it, none of which I was smart enough to suss out. The worst part is how outmaneuvered the whole thing made me feel.

  Contessa had found a way to get around my defenses against Path to Victory, and she did it in a way that I couldn’t have foreseen. If she could do that, then what other landmines has she set that I would step on without knowing?

  Did she predict all of my actions, right from the start?

  Was my arrival known to her long before I came here?

  My gut told me that this couldn’t be the case, but I could no longer be completely sure.

  Scanning the masked faces of my current companions and one unfortunate villain, I could only wonder how much of the present circumstances were arranged ahead of time. Saving Tattletale from Coil’s mercenaries was certainly an unlikely event that only occurred due to Taylor’s swarm catching my attention.

  And by saving Tattletale and working with her, events have conspired that I’m now irrevocably tied to the group of teen villains. Something that I’d been trying to avoid. Lisa certainly won’t let this discovery go, not with them becoming entangled in this twisted weave. Her character wouldn’t allow that.

  Turning around, I faced the wall of monitors that showed numerous angles of both the office and the world outside. Mercenaries were stacked against the door and gathered along choke points all over the facility. The storm was still raging, but I could already feel it clearing up thanks to Violet’s affinity with the weather.

  Speaking of the Dragoon Spirit, the whole situation was apparently fuelling its urge to destroy more than my recent engagement with the city’s heroes. Having an enemy you can’t just punch to oblivion was infuriating to the unusually reactive crystallization of draconic wrath.

  It was all I could do to contain its rage at the whole convoluted mess.

  Every moment spent mired in hesitation was one where Taylor is trapped, and me losing even more of the initiative to forces beyond my control. Not to mention the eventual arrival of other heroes or villains.

  My attack might have been less disruptive than it had any right to be, but it wasn’t completely silent, either. Anyone with even rudimentary equipment could pinpoint the source of the tremors my entrance caused.

  “Seraph?”

  Hearing Lisa call out to me only highlighted how truly out of my depth I was.

  “You know who these people are, don’t you?” she asked, the tremor in her voice evident. “Who are they? Why go through all this trouble just because they want to talk to you? How did they know you would bring me, bring us, when we never had anything to do with each other until today?”

  All good questions. None that I could answer right then. Not with the clock ticking down so quickly.

  Turning back, I walked toward the group with deliberate steps.

  “That’ll have to wait, I’m afraid. For now, Tattletale, get started on acquiring his assets.”

  “The hell it will! What exactly did–”

  Brian’s incensed tirade was soundly interrupted by me grabbing Coil’s face and channeling millions of volts of electricity directly into his brain. Calvert was barely able to let out a squeak before all his mental faculties were fried. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to ensure death.

  “What the fuck! Why would you – Jesus fuck! You just –”

  I guess Lisa didn’t warn him of this outcome. Granted, I could have chosen a less violent method of execution. However, I was feeling severely uncharitable towards Coil, even before Cauldron’s involvement became evident.

  With the unpleasant surprise dropped on my lap, I’m suddenly inclined to listen to Violet’s point of view, more than ever before.

  Choosing to ignore Grue’s increasing hysteria and the dark clouds that were suddenly filling the room, I turned to his teammates. Unlike the group’s shaker, the rest of the Undersiders were significantly more contained. Rachel and Alec were almost dispassionate in their observation, while the Thinker seemingly locked up.

  “Tattletale,” upon calling her name again, Lisa finally seemed to snap out of her temporary catatonia. “Get started and grab as much as you can. Once that’s done, get back to home base and wait for me.”

  My piece said, I walked toward the steel door.

  “Hang on!” Once more, Brian made an effort to speak his mind. “You can’t just kill someone and walk away. Where are you even going?!”

  Without breaking stride, I answered over my shoulder.

  “Cleaning up.”

  Not giving him more time to interrupt, I ripped open the door, stepped into the hallway, and unleashed the charge I had been building up. Unsurprisingly, dozens of charred corpses were left twitching on the floor once I was done.

  After sparing the gawping Undersiders one more glance, I moved toward the next group that needed erasing. Finding acceptable targets to fully let loose on is a rare opportunity.

  One that I fully intend on savoring.

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  Things have gotten way out of control. This much Lisa could admit to herself, even as she worked on Coil’s system like her life depended on it. Every account opened to her, like a field of flowers blooming during Spring, but her progress didn’t feel fast enough.

  Seraph’s empowerment had started wearing off hours ago, but she still retained many of its benefits. For one thing, using her power didn’t even cause a twinge, and she’s been doing that almost constantly since the operation began. As such, firewalls and digital security were almost inconveniences rather than the sophisticated defenses they were supposed to be.

  Lisa couldn’t rejoice at this change in circumstance, however.

  What started out as a straightforward rescue effort has well and truly become a mess of epic proportions.

  It was supposed to be simple. Seraph grabs Coil after plunging through several stories of concrete, steel, and dirt. Seraph questions Coil about Taylor’s whereabouts. Seraph kills Coil, and Lisa rips the villain of everything worth stealing.

  Now, though? A third party has gotten involved. One that spooked the Bay’s strongest Trump, judging by his reaction. He clearly knew who these people were. The message itself spelled out that they have some sort of connection.

  Whoever they were, they had a lot of power and influence on their side.

  Even with Lisa’s expanded tools, she was only able to obtain the specific information that the various symbols, lines, and iconography were intended to convey. Nothing on who sent the paper or how they were able to set everything in motion.

  It has to be some sort of precog, Lisa thought while typing as fast as she could.

  That’s the only thing that makes sense. A parahuman who could see the future could make sure that Seraph got their message. It also explains how her presence and that of her teammates were accounted for.

  Lisa’s biggest concern, however, was Seraph’s reaction to the revelation. He’s become quite erratic.

  Coil was always going to die, but it was supposed to occur after the other Undersiders had gone back, thus avoiding drama with Brian’s adherence to cape etiquette. And it certainly wasn’t supposed to be so brutal. The mercenaries were also supposed to be left alone for her to take over, but that’s apparently not happening anymore.

  Regardless of his reasons, it was clear that time was running out. So, Lisa could only try to salvage what she could from this disaster.

  “Lisa, I need you to be honest with me,” Brian’s grave voice cuts into her spiralling train of thought.

  “Yes, Bri? How can I help?” Lisa tried to project nonchalance with her tone, knowing full well that it would fool no one. Perhaps she should’ve told him about Coil’s planned demise, after all?

  “Has Seraph lost his mind?”

  The question would’ve caused Lisa to snort in laughter if she weren’t asking herself the same thing. Unfortunately, the powerful parahuman’s motivations still escaped her comprehension, so she could only offer guesses.

  “I don’t think so,” she said without pausing her endeavors to steal as much of Coil’s resources as she was able to. “But he’s definitely not in a good mood right now.”

  “Guessing it’s something to do with this paper?” Alec brought up, while trying to examine the item against one of the room’s ceiling lights in a futile attempt to understand its hidden content.

  Too bad, it won’t work, though.

  As she told Seraph, the message was meant to be read by Lisa, specifically. Not that it blatantly said so. Rather, it was in the way that the content was arranged. Only someone with inference Thinker powers could understand what’s being conveyed, and in Brockton Bay, she’s the only one with such abilities.

  “It’s more to do with who sent it than the message itself,” Lisa said while wrapping up the financial side of the heist and moving on to properties. “These are some serious people. Serious enough that even Seraph is scared of them.”

  Her answer bought a few seconds of shocked silence before Bitch decided to break it.

  “Who?”

  The single word was barked more than it was spoken, but it carried more weight than it would from anyone else. And Rachel wasn’t wrong to ask. Who, indeed, could frighten a cape that wrecked most of the city’s roster of heroes and treated Lung like a Pez dispenser?

  Who could cause Seraph enough disquiet to transform the previously calm Trump into a dispassionate exterminator who thought nothing of snuffing out people by the dozens?

  Lisa would never claim to know the winged parahuman in any meaningful capacity. However, that last, dead-eyed gaze right after he killed the mercs in the hallway was so uncharacteristic that it made her blood freeze.

  “I don’t know, Rache.” Lisa had no problem admitting this. “They’d have to have some really scary capes, though.”

  “And now we’re caught in the middle,” Brian groused. Not that he’s wrong to do so. This certainly wasn’t what they signed up for.

  “And now we’re caught in the middle,” Lisa echoed in agreement. “Look, I’m almost done here. Get ready to go. Seraph promised to meet us at the loft, so we’ll probably get some answers then.”

  Following a few more swipes with the keyboard, the last of Coil’s assets that could be reasonably acquired were within Lisa’s reach. She then retrieved a few storage drives before unleashing a virus that purged all traces of her digital activities, as well as any footage captured over the past 24 hours.

  Lisa was even kind enough to remove several contingencies involving the identities of several capes, both heroes and villains. Unfortunately, she couldn’t confirm if those were the only copies.

  With that done, Lisa opened the secret escape tunnel originally meant for Coil’s use. This was yet another point of paranoia that Seraph brought up. Her former boss really was more predictable than she previously imagined, wasn’t he?

  Traversing the underground passageway took ten minutes, but the Undersiders eventually emerged near the coast at the Southern end of the city.

  It’s a bit far from their lair, but Bitch’s dogs made traversal much faster. About halfway to their destination, Lisa noted movement overhead. It was brief, but a streak of darkness cut through the storm clouds still gathering in the skies, moving towards the ocean at blinding speed.

  Seraph is going after Taylor on his own, it seems.

  Yet another change from their original plans. Was it impatience that caused him to deviate? Fear? Mistrust in the Undersiders?

  Somehow, some way, Lisa got the feeling that they just stepped onto a much bigger stage than they bargained for.

  Time seemed to have lost all meaning to one Taylor Hebert. Be it an hour, a day, or an eternity, all she knew was the unending kaleidoscope of starlight stretching the immensity of folds that seemed to contain galaxies and yet could be no larger than a single grain of sand. What it all meant still escaped the girl, whose greatest concern at that moment was to avoid drowning in the sheer depth of tideless oceans, where swimming down was as valid as the concept of not swimming at all.

  Sensations beyond description constantly assaulted her very being, yet she felt no discomfort. No cold touched her skin. No ache scratched her nerves. No panic or anxiety threatened to suffocate her mind.

  At certain points, it did occur to Taylor that she might simply be experiencing a particularly vivid, drug-fueled hallucination. And that she was currently strapped to a table with all kinds of psychedelic concoctions being injected into her veins.

  But she immediately discarded this idea, as there were not enough colors to warrant such a scenario being likely. Everything is just so black, white, and gray.

  Whatever the case may be, the thing that stood out the most was the omnipresent sense of belonging. As if she was finally where she was meant to be. Here, there were no worries. No loneliness borne of neglect, no anguish brought about by cruelty, and no fears of uncertain futures.

  Yet, despite the temptation to simply let go, despite the wondrous lightness of relief from undue burdens, a part of Taylor refused to release its grip on her pain. Lost memories of faces and voices that meant something once upon a time retained their grasp on her soul, rejecting cosmic demands to seek peace and tranquility.

  She didn’t know why it was so important for her to keep holding on. Only that it was. Some unrealized instinct told her that giving in would mean death in another form. One not so final, perhaps, but death all the same.

  Then, as if the swirling sea of glittering stars were being sucked down a drain, a point of illumination appeared in the distance. Whether it was getting closer to her or her to it, Taylor wasn’t sure, but it got progressively bigger. Until, finally, it was all she could see.

  Oddly enough, the brightness didn’t hurt her eyes. Was this what it was like to drift in an event horizon? Or, perhaps, the heart of a neutron star?

  And why does she suddenly feel bloated, as if she gorged herself on food that now threatened to exit every available orifice?

  In answer to her unspoken question, reality reasserted itself with such abruptness that it took several moments for Taylor’s mind to catch up. When it did, everything came back to focus.

  The uncomfortable cot, the solid walls, her abduction, and the reasons why everything happened. Immediately after cataloguing those facts, her neurons fired like a supernova, and she finally understood why she felt full to bursting.

  Something was pressing from all sides, like a bubble that’s constantly imploding, only to be met by an equal force that’s exploding outward. It wasn’t physical. Rather, it was coming from directions both within and without the material world.

  Taylor found it difficult to explain, even in her own mind, but the sensation was unmistakable. The same went for its purpose. Whatever this was, it’s the reason she can’t reach out to her bugs. A dampener of some kind meant to contain her powers.

  How she’s aware of it now when it escaped her notice before isn’t her immediate concern. Instead, she is more interested in making it stop. In getting some semblance of control rather than remaining powerless against people who meant her harm.

  So, she closed her eyes and focused on the force that seemed to be radiating from her. Or, more specifically, her brain. It didn’t take long, since her power seemed almost eager to respond. After grasping it like she would with her hands, Taylor instantly felt the difference.

  Whereas before, she needed to strain a bit in order to control the bugs in her range, this time, it was like wrestling a hurricane made of mandibles, antennae, chitins, and stingers into compliance. The sheer scale of it almost floored her, but the most notable part was the lack of anything to manipulate.

  The force suppressing her power was still in effect, so what she felt weren’t the actual arthropods. It’s whatever allows her to control them, in the first place. And it wants out.

  Sharing the same sentiment, Taylor thought about how she could use this new discovery to her advantage. The answer, it turns out, had to do with the bubble she previously identified. Already, it was struggling just to contain her power. What if she tried to pop it herself?

  With that thought, Taylor decided to try and push back against the bubble. At first, there seemed to be no effect. But after a few seconds, she felt it move back a bit in all directions before contracting once more.

  Hypothesis proven, Taylor sat up and breathed deep, recentering herself. She wasn’t sure how much effort this would take or if her captors would be alerted by her efforts. So, it would be better if she could get it done on the first try.

  Once ready, Taylor pushed with everything she had and immediately met resistance. Undaunted, the girl strained even more, infusing the action with every ounce of anger, fear, and desperation. Then, with one final metaphysical heave, the wall gave way.

  The elation of success was short-lived, however, as the floor buckled and jumped, tossing Taylor first into the bed and then against the wall, knocking the breath out of her lungs. A blast then reverberated from somewhere below, before cracks started forming on every surface. Immediately after that, alarms started blaring both inside the room and everywhere around it.

  Making matters worse, once Taylor made a ragged landing on the ground in a groaning heap, water started flowing through the widening cracks. Already, the room was starting to flood with what smelled like seawater. Unfortunately, upon turning to check, she saw that the door remained stubbornly shut.

  Recognizing her precarious position, Taylor scrambled to her feet and reached out to whatever was in reach in a desperate bid for salvation.

  What answered felt like manifestations of nightmares from the depths of humanity’s twisted imagination. In any other circumstance, she would have hesitated, out of fear for what she would unleash, at the very least. But the prospect of drowning chased away second thoughts or doubts about taking advantage of what tools were available.

  So, she gave the order, and from the abyss, monsters obeyed.