Interlude 1.c – The Bigger Fish
Dragons.
Symbols of Power and Strength.
Revered for their Wisdom and Knowledge.
They represented an insurmountable challenge to any mortal that dared to face them.
Which was a nice way to say that [XxVoid_CowboyxX] challenged [Tin_Mother] to a 1v1 in Call of Honor: Advanced Combat III and got his ass handed to him. Repeatedly.
Honestly, Dragon couldn't believe she'd wasted precious processing power over something so trivial.
But the little brat really had it coming.
Temporary bans didn't seem to faze him anymore, and permanently banning the human equivalent of a puppy seemed too harsh. So, she just chose to speak his language and accepted his challenge of "One v One me bro!".
She wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, but she actually quite enjoyed her interactions with Greg Ve—*cough*. Bad Dragon! She had to at least pretend to maintain the veneer of anonymity. It wouldn't do to start a panic.
Right! She quite enjoyed her interactions with [XxVoid_CowboyxX]. He represented a side of Humanity she found quite fascinating.
It wasn't that she liked him specifically, it was more like he was a particularly interesting piece of art she enjoyed looking at while thinking about more important things. Modern Art. Like that toilet seat that was turned into an art piece and put on display in a museum.
Or perhaps a puppy she sometimes poked with a stick? Hmm, that interpretation seemed exaggeratedly cruel.
'But not necessarily incorrect…'
Well, there were certain other things she found interesting about him. Like his similarities to Colin.
While most wouldn't think to put Armsmaster and Gre—[XxVoid_CowboyxX] together in any kind of comparative speculation, Dragon knew better.
The social awkwardness, the out-of-normal emotions, the passion with which they approached what they thought was important,…
Or maybe she was just seeing things.
~Ping~
Hmm, was it those anomalous readings acting up again? Why couldn't she just let those eggheads deal with thi—
On one of her screens, countless pristine white wings unfurled to reveal an inhuman, angelic figure floating high above the skies of the Southern Hemisphere.
A face set in a permanently blank expression peeked through the cover of not-feathers.
The Simurgh began her descent to the Earth, and Dragon, the stalwart, ever-watching guardian of the Earth alerted the world to the danger.
As sirens were sounded all across the world, Humanity trembled and held its breath.
An Endbringer was making its move.
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Robin Swoyer was a military man. Or he used to be.
But even after leaving the service, its lessons hadn't ever quite left him.
Oh, he didn't like it. The military just wasn't for him, cape life was definitely better.
However, just because something was better didn't mean it was good.
Looking around the large clearing filled with capes, both heroes and villains, Robin's mind couldn't help but think of how disorganized they were compared to actual military units.
This was a fight against one of Humanity's greatest enemies, and yet despite fighting together, it didn't ever quite feel like they were fighting 'together'.
When he first signed up for the Military, he didn't truly understand what he was signing up for, only thinking of it as an easy way to earn his livelihood while learning new languages, travelling to new places and meeting new people.
Instead, he was stuck as a part of the rank and file, with his deployments lasting much longer than he expected. Or maybe they just seemed that way with the fear of death hanging around him.
Then he triggered and became a hero, became Velocity, joining the war against the endless tide of villainy, where for the most part the only ones who really died were the civilians caught in the middle.
He was happy to leave the military, thinking that this would be the chance to finally follow his dreams.
And yet his new job once again prevented him from doing what he loved. Too much work, too many duties.
Only recently had he convinced the higher-ups to pay for his Chinese classes and give him time for it under the guise that it would give them an edge against the ABB. And it would help, but Robin could only think of his own love for languages when the request had gone through.
A small victory that had him giddy with excitement.
Then the Endbringer Sirens went off and he was quickly reminded of how his new job came with its own dangers of death.
His powers weren't really of any use against an Endbringer, but the same could be said of many of the other capes who could actually be considered powerhouses in their own local areas.
However, when faced with the Simurgh, Robi—No, Velocity's powers gave him a unique advantage that many others could only hope to have.
His power wasn't just super speed, it was Breaker state that altered the way in which time, physics in general or perhaps Reality itself worked in relation to him.
As he interacted less with the world around him, he sped up. This was Velocity's power.
Something to do with his altered state made it so the Simurghs Scream could not reach him.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
OK well the scream could still reach him, but that was only if he was extremely close to her. And even then it would take her a lot longer to affect him than it would someone else. And if he used his power to its full effect it would probably never reach him, though he'd just be a sitting duck at that point that she could simply reach out and strangle him to death.
That's right there was another aspect to his power that he found largely useless yet afforded him a hidden Thinker rating.
It was well known that he could run faster than cars and even run so fast he could travel over water. However, those speeds weren't truly that fast, not enough to be a hero who always arrives on time.
It wasn't that he couldn't push his power further, he could, that was the hidden aspect. Only, his state was so different that he could simply not move at all, only being able to move his eyes with difficulty. Only his thinking speeds and reflexes would improve to insane speeds, hence the Thinker rating.
Even normal use of his power that allowed him to move at a great speed limited the amount he could carry with him after all.
It was something that had many Protectorate Tinkers and scientists visiting him. Looking for ways to bypass the limits of or adapt certain aspects of his power to Tinkertech or normal tech to counter the winged Enbringer's scream. Yet none had succeeded yet.
It was as the winged angelic figure of the Simurgh could be seen already descended on Canberra and waiting for her opponents to approach her, that he thought of his powers to comfort himself. To tell himself that he wasn't at any risk himself. That he would go home alive and unaffected even as others went insane and died around him.
And yet, looking into the dull, silver eyes of the Endbringer, Velocity knew that should she wish it, he would die just the same as any of the others who died in a fight against her.
He was just the fly that flitted around her in countless battles. Hoping to distract a being that could predict the future.
The Simurgh. Ziz. Israfel. Ulama. The third.
The assault against her began.
As the wave of Parahumans charged the Hope killer in a crowd big enough to shake the ground, stray objects and pieces of the city were ripped away with telekinetic might and began floating in an orbit around her.
And for those who weren't Velocity, a continuous psychic scream was heard, applying pressure on their minds, building up in the back of their head, putting a timer to their doom. Reminding them of the bombs strapped to their bodies that would eliminate them should they ever stand a chance of becoming a Mastered explosive that the Endbringer would use against their fellows.
Just as the tide of capes was in range to launch an assault, everyone realized something was very, very wrong. Even the Endbringer they were about to face.
What they had initially thought of as the shaking of the ground caused by their heavy, collective movement, was anything but.
Even after halting completely, the tremors continued to rise. Pebbles on the ground started to jump on the ground. Puddles of water showed ripples that became increasingly erratic.
Soon, billboards and signs started to fall off, buildings started to shake, and glass started to hum ominously.
Then just as suddenly everything stopped.
The capes heavily experienced in combat had already prepared to start moving again and attack the Simurgh while those evacuating civilians continued moving, very aware of the psychic scream that continued to influence everyone in the vicinity.
However, before they could truly start moving, they heard it.
A scream. Or perhaps a roar.
[URL unfurl="true" media="youtube:lT_GHXBdHhs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT_GHXBdHhs[/URL]
One so in contrast to the Simurgh's psychic pressure, that everyone present could instinctively tell that she wasn't responsible for it.
The unique thing about the winged Enbringer's scream was that regardless of what one was hearing or whether someone could hear at all, the scream could always be heard.
The roar held a physical weight to it. A completely different kind of pressure that was felt in the physical world.
Normally they should have heard and felt both at the same time.
And yet, as the Roar reverberated through the city, the Simurgh's scream was not heard any longer.
In fact, even the objects in her telekinetic grasp had fallen to the ground, leaving her floating in the air more vulnerable than ever.
Velocity, who had, in a surprise exited his Breaker state when the tremors began, had experienced the psychic scream for a few seconds and in a panic activated his Breaker state as far as he could, essentially freezing him in place and allowing him to be one of the few people to witness what happened next best.
[URL unfurl="true" media="youtube:dvQJIgjlR3I"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvQJIgjlR3I[/URL]
In the world of slowed time, Robin saw flashes of red began appearing all around his vision. Expanding with such speed that they appeared fast even to him.
The small red lights filled the skies and bloomed into chaotic red disks, hovering and spinning in the air. With the biggest one opening up right above the winged Endbringer. On sight, Robin knew they were portals.
The ground right under where the Simurgh was floating was disturbed, as with a lurch, something ripped itself out and launched with speeds that belied logic.
It was a massive creature, whose size made Behemoth look small.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg711oj-c3033556-3af4-4c8d-9384-5b141912e62f.png/v1/fill/w_1458,h_548,q_70,strp/halda_alice_mephisto_by_applegrowth_dg711oj-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTYwMCIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2MxMWVlMmE1LWIxNzctNDIwOC04YmRmLTRiY2RhOTEwNDFlMFwvZGc3MTFvai1jMzAzMzU1Ni0zYWY0LTRjOGQtOTM4NC01YjE0MTkxMmU2MmYucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTQyNTUifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.7NwDG9II3cBwClKcycYser8Ob5RfDYlZmO868EHKIis]
A Wyrm of such great size moving at such speeds, that would instinctively make even the bravest of men step back with a tingle of fear. Yet, Robin could only remain frozen, both under the effects of his power and fear, afraid that if he lowered the effects enough to move he would be swallowed and killed before he could blink.
Deadly black spines covered the Beast's ghastly white body. Simply looking at them caused a sense of danger to appear. And yet, glancing at the white skin or hide only caused his eyes to hurt.
Looking into the opened maw of the Beast, Robin saw another red portal.
He watched as it swallowed one of the greatest threats that this world had feared for years.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg711pw-da343d86-0806-4acf-bcf6-94bad369245f.png/v1/fill/w_1021,h_783,q_70,strp/halda_alice_mephisto__closeup__by_applegrowth_dg711pw-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODM0IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYzExZWUyYTUtYjE3Ny00MjA4LThiZGYtNGJjZGE5MTA0MWUwXC9kZzcxMXB3LWRhMzQzZDg2LTA4MDYtNGFjZi1iY2Y2LTk0YmFkMzY5MjQ1Zi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTA4NyJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.zEf3qCOBhJ0SGDtgX-6OS97Xg3aIBo-DcK51hqCMy1Y]
Yet instead of feeling relief at the defeat of one of the Three Great Enemies, he could only feel despair. He could only imagine himself as being the next one to be eaten.
He could only watch as the Beast that swallowed the Simurgh passed through the portal, appeared in others and swallowed countless others.
To everyone else, everything might have happened in flashes. Too fast to comprehend.
But Robin Swoyer witnessed it.
The slowly building fear of attending an Endbringer Battle, the terror that the sight of the Simurgh struck him with, the helplessness at the certainty of only being alive to her whims, the despair at seeing a being that dwarfed his existence and the constant fear of death that kept reaching greater heights.
The uncertainty and fear of the unknown that was left with him when he could see the Wyrm no longer.
For the second time in his life, Robin Swoyer saw the stars and two great crystalline beings dancing among them.
Before he passed out, he could only have a single coherent thought.
'Truly, there's always a bigger fish.'
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Deep within the bowels of the Earth, within the underground rivers that hadn't had contact with the world of the surface for millions of years, the only life speculated to exist here were those of the single cellular kind.
And yet, within these uncharted waters existed a species of nematode, that would have normally been discovered by two scientists in Belgium in the current year of 2011 had the history of Earth-Bet continued normally like that of Earth-Prime.
The species would go on to be named Halicephalobus Mephisto, in honour of the Legend of Faust, after the demon Mephistopheles, The Lord of the Underworld.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg718c5-6f37347b-cd73-4f5a-a8fa-46a53f986670.png/v1/fill/w_1089,h_733,q_70,strp/halicephalobus_mephisto__1__by_applegrowth_dg718c5-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODYyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYzExZWUyYTUtYjE3Ny00MjA4LThiZGYtNGJjZGE5MTA0MWUwXC9kZzcxOGM1LTZmMzczNDdiLWNkNzMtNGY1YS1hOGZhLTQ2YTUzZjk4NjY3MC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.V2Rbhr5IxIymEqkKgbOr48lb8lBk3dksGQaQl8JZsqA][https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg718cb-fbda378f-ec2d-4313-a79e-997a551f9722.png/v1/fill/w_1259,h_634,q_70,strp/halicephalobus_mephisto__2__by_applegrowth_dg718cb-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjQ1IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYzExZWUyYTUtYjE3Ny00MjA4LThiZGYtNGJjZGE5MTA0MWUwXC9kZzcxOGNiLWZiZGEzNzhmLWVjMmQtNDMxMy1hNzllLTk5N2E1NTFmOTcyMi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.qoCclLofR-JkaCFdCPg5V5av_HQNt5vK39Pspx1KOQI][https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg718en-b12dfca5-4458-4452-ba73-4716dce41e2e.png/v1/fit/w_722,h_621,q_70,strp/halicephalobus_mephisto__3__by_applegrowth_dg718en-375w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NjIxIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYzExZWUyYTUtYjE3Ny00MjA4LThiZGYtNGJjZGE5MTA0MWUwXC9kZzcxOGVuLWIxMmRmY2E1LTQ0NTgtNDQ1Mi1iYTczLTQ3MTZkY2U0MWUyZS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NzIyIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.FuQ2DUckYapH5zKmJ7Rt2ZzFbYbTVK3oZYnyp-AOc6k]
And yet even this lifeform that specifically evolved to survive so deep underground couldn't hope to survive going deeper.
It all started with a boulder that reached where it shouldn't have, supporting life where it should have long since ceased to exist.
This large rock, held within it a hidden ecosystem, that allowed the worms within to survive regardless of outside conditions.
This meant that with the natural tectonic movements of the Earth, this boulder slowly travelled deeper and deeper, carrying within it a species not meant to normally survive such depths.
When the "World" first awoke, it was the life in this boulder that they touched first.
It was from the hidden world in the boulder, that "Terra" chose their first champion.
Their first Agent/Beast/Guardian.
Through Terra's touch, she was created.
The little ones on the surface had barely witnessed her form for a few moments when she was dealing with a troublesome being, and yet they had many names for her already.
Devil Worm. EndEater. Riftmaw. Abysswyrm. Voidserpent. Mephistopheles.
While the last one came close, to her, they were nothing but Titles.
Her beloved Mother had already bestowed her with a True Name after all.
She was Halda Alice Mephisto, the bringer of Chaos and Uncertainty.
A counter to those who would try to control the Fate of the Earth, such that even Mother could not truly see her.
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/c11ee2a5-b177-4208-8bdf-4bcda91041e0/dg718ay-d0700d85-0668-4356-857e-2c87c6777ae0.png/v1/fit/w_769,h_967,q_70,strp/halda_alice_chan_by_applegrowth_dg718ay-414w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTY3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYzExZWUyYTUtYjE3Ny00MjA4LThiZGYtNGJjZGE5MTA0MWUwXC9kZzcxOGF5LWQwNzAwZDg1LTA2NjgtNDM1Ni04NTdlLTJjODdjNjc3N2FlMC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NzY5In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.r45H9Nb3OODTcofnJAVv4M6ayz12htD2BudAakNI-Ok]
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