xx49.07.30 | 22:31 | Still Wednesday | [LUS]

back up the stairs can't stay down there any longer it's tearing me apart that I can't DO anything just have to get up have to get away have to THINK but what can I do? WHAT CAN I DO?

Calm down. Don't panic. Think. I've turned off all the lights I could, some don't have switches. C2 and Shade sent a lot of the goons down instead of up, that was really smart of them, but some are coming up I think and I think they came from the roof—in C2's message, what was it, 'torn to pieces by the robots', they didn't come up from ground level. Helicopter? But there's no pad here and the roof's covered with communications arrays, Dad said about that, he specifically said that a helicopter couldn't—VB? They're pretty tough. The First Rangers used one to get into Villainex's building lair thing. That was from the roof. So. Okay. Rough-landed on the roof, explains that crash I felt earlier, but there's no way they could fit that many guys in one VB, or even two—were they already waiting here? But nobody knew we'd be coming here, nobody except ... no, we couldn't have been betrayed. Could we? By who? Chass? No, Motoplasm said he didn't tell Chass where the meeting was. Motoplasm ... I can't believe he's gone, and The Force, and Harmony. And C2's in such danger, and the others—no, I have to focus. I HAVE to focus. What's important now? Figuring out if we were betrayed? Figuring out how these guys got here? No. Rescuing C2 and the others, THAT is what's important.

My head is clear. I don't feel sick. Why not? There are more supers, I should feel terrible, but I don't. Should I be questioning this? But it makes no sense! Why was oh someone's coming up. Two men. Hide, hide—no time to get up the stairs, this office will do. No door but it's dark enough that they won't notice me under this desk even if they look inside. Oh no they've got flashlights—wait, Shade's power, I can flicker out, I can become a shadow, it's weak but maybe ... I just hope they don't look in here. I don't think they're searching the offices. Just waiting? Slacking off? Oh PLEASE just be two lazy idiots, that would be great. They're talking. One of them's feeling sick? Teleporting! They teleported here? HOW? Where to, you can't teleport to INSIDE A BUILDING, that's insanely dangerous! The roof? No, still way too risky—wait, a receiver inside the building? If there's a receiver here—but why would there be? And that would mean they have the access codes, which would mean planning, which would mean they knew about this for SO LONG before it happened, HOW?

Oh no I'm trapped. How did that happen? There's only two of them but now they're EXACTLY between me and the stairs up, that's RUBBISH, nobody is as unlucky as I am—

Wait. If they came here by teleporter, is that how they're going to leave? In which case they need a transmitter. Send a VB to the roof with transceiver components, set it up inside, teleport the rest in. That makes sense. They're grabbing the 2nd Gens and New Powers to, what? Control the 1st Gens. Kill this fellowship before it starts. This is so ... so planned, they knew we'd be here ... was this all a trap?

Those two guys aren't moving. Do they know I'm hiding here? Is this all part of it? Just playing with me? No. Can't think like that.

Wait, if they're planning on leaving via teleporter we can trace the signal! That's possible, that is a thing that can be done! All I need to do is get the transmitter to Daniel or someone like Dr Tsezch, someone who knows how to trace a teleportation signal—wait. They must know that, the supervillains have to know that. Obvious yet horrible solution to prevent 'tracing'; blow up the building. Or just the part of it with the transmitter. Leave explosives behind set to a timer. Boom. No trace possible. And no ME if I'm anywhere near. Would they leave without me? It seemed like that Netta woman really specifically wanted me, but it also kind of seemed like she just wanted me dead.

Goons are moving, YES, finally some luck—

Or maybe not. Two stairways leading up to this floor. One on the left side of the big wide area in the middle, one on the right side. Offices surrounding.

One guy to each stairway.

Both goons have their guns out.

Someone's coming up? Is that what they're waiting for?

What am I copying, do I have light ... please let this work please please please ... managed to make a kind of sparkle between my hands. This is useless. But maybe ... maybe if I could just catch their attention, surely they'd investigate a weird sparkle in the air? Over ... there...

...

LOOK AT MY SPARKLE YOU GOONS

...

"Hey—you see that? What WAS that?"

"Gotta be the kid, he's messing with us. Must be close—maybe he's already up here!"

"If he was up here why would he be messing with us? Nah, he's still down there, trying to get us away from the stairs. Just stay where you are. Ain't no other way up, not except the elevator, and N's got that covered."

"Yeah, okay."

Rats. Rats rats rats. That had the opposite effect to what I wanted. Something with their guns? Force field? But I can't do it like The Force did ... like he'll never—NO just FOCUS for HOPE'S SAKE don't think about that, if I make a mistake here I am DEAD. So is whoever's down there, Shade maybe, oh come on Charlotte, come on, just do something, just figure something out—

"Quit that pacing, you're driving me nuts. Just get in position and stay there, no way he's getting up here before you can plug him."

"You do it your way, I'll do it my way. Gotta move to keep myself alert. My eyes are on the stairs, you—ugh!"

Force field at foot level to trip him, now another over my hand, it's wild and jagged and slippery and it shines out beautifully in this dim light but maybe it's enough oh please be enough—

"What the hell—"

I can feel the impact of every bullet all through me and I'm screaming and the guy I tripped is still on the floor and he sees me and then he sees his gun and he scrambles for it as I skid down behind the wall beside the stairway, bullets are thudding into it but not coming through thank goodness they're not coming through—the guy's up, he's halfway to his gun, it flew a really long way when he tripped but he's a fast runner, so my next force field trips him up really, really well—I fling both hands towards the other guy, blocking him off with another clumsy field as I run for the guy who fell, he's already getting up but he CAN'T get up, I won't LET him, his hair is long enough to get a grip on and the carpet is soft but I am NOT weak, I am STRONG—

"Little BITCH!"

I know I'm screaming again as I fling my arm out towards the other guy, my field, my field's gone, why is it gone? No no no—

"NO NO NO!"

He's got me he's got me the one I'm on top of has me he has my arm no don't touch me—

"Don't TOUCH ME!"

His eyes bulge in the dimness, my hand is against his chest, I don't know how, he can't breathe, he has no strength, he's not holding me, I've stopped his heart.

I've stopped his heart.

"AH!"

I just got shot, I felt it, I'm dead, it's in my back, I can still feel it, he shot me, he shot me and now I'm staring up at him, his gun is pointed at me, and I'm not dead because it's not a gun, not a killing gun, these are tranq rounds and it hasn't taken effect yet but if he shoots me again—

He pulls the trigger. The gun clicks on empty.

Screaming, I launch myself at him, I can't feel his blood, I can't find my aura, he's got my arm and he's twisting but I twist with him and get my foot around to kick him, my bare foot, I've lost my shoes, they were so pretty too, I'm too weak, that did NOTHING, he's got me, all he has to do—

"NO!"

He has my arm but I have his and I pull and I twist with all of my strength but it's not enough, he jerks his arm up and I come with it, he's strong, he's too strong, I'm dangling, I'm actually dangling off the floor and all I can do is kick him where it hurts.

He grunts in exquisite pain as I struggle free and fall, he grabs for me but I'm crawling away, I fling my hand back to put a field between us but there's nothing, my powers are gone again, what is HAPPENING to me? The other guy's up, he's not dead, his breathing's heavy and pained but he's up and he sees me and I can see his expression and he looks so mad and so does the other guy and I have no powers, I'm nothing, I have NOTHING LEFT—

"No! Get her!"

He's moving towards his gun and once he gets it he's going to shoot me, why hasn't that other shot knocked me out yet—don't think just crawl forward just get to the gun first get to the gun first get gun get gun—

"GET THE DAMNED GUN! GET HER!"

They're both running but I'm closer and I don't know how but I'm on my feet and running and leaping and the carpet scrapes rough against my hands and then it's there, cold metal against my palm and I roll onto my back and I'm crying as I pull the trigger again and again and again until I realise the gun's clicking on empty.

I missed. I didn't hit once. They're still coming for me...

"Oh, ohhh—"

I force myself to stop making pathetic noises. The men both collapsed. I didn't miss. It just takes a second for the tranqs to work.

I let my head fall back against the carpet and allow the gun to slip from numb fingers, my heart's racing and my breathing's weird and I'm staring up at the ceiling and I'm still conscious. Tranq isn't working on me. I reach back, feel the hardness of the slug—it comes away easily. It wasn't in all the way.

C2's power. Aura hardening. Just enough to stop a tranq from penetrating deeply enough to release its load.

Even when she's not around, she's helping me.

Footsteps, oh no, more—

"Charlotte? Charlotte!"

"Sonny?"

"Did you kill these two? Are you okay?"

"No. No. They're unconscious—they had tranq guns. I got shot but I'm ... I'm okay. No I'm not. How are you here?"

"I, er, I used my power, I managed to melt the guards' guns enough that they wouldn't shoot, then Carmen and Shade distracted them while I ran for it—I blocked off the stairways below, these barriers bend rather easily, but they'll get through eventually, can you stand? Oh, I'm so glad you're not dead. Morgan said they've set up some kind of teleportation receiver below but that portable transmitters are complicated and dangerous so there's almost definitely a VB on the roof, that's how they first got here, that's how they'll leave! I'm going to use my power to sabotage it!"

Okay, so maybe Sonny's matter bending isn't totally useless.

"There's another gun around here somewhere," I say as I go over to the unconscious goons—they've got spare clips. Sonny hasn't moved. "Find it!"

"What—I have to—"

"Don't argue, just get it!"

Sonny goes to get the other gun—I've already found mine. Reloading is simple enough.

"Now over here," I say. "Here, this stairway."

"What—"

"You said you blocked the stairs below—like this?"

I can feel the thin metal wall beside the stairway give beneath my hands, it's hard to make it move—

"How do I get it to go ... what, softer? Oh, I've got it—are you helping? Get that bit there, quickly!"

"Y-yes, but—"

"Stop arguing so much, just do what I say!"

Sonny can be fast when he wants to be. The metal's soft enough to wrench over to cover the stairway, not a permanent barrier but it'll at least delay them.

"Now the other one?" Sonny asks.

"No, we might need to get down quickly, and they've got control of the elevators—you said about sabotaging the VB, can you really do that?"

"I-I think so, it can't be that difficult, I know they're supposed to be really tough but it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to bend enough vital bits, then it'll be too dangerous to fly—"

"Okay. You've got the other gun, did you take the clip for it?"

"Y-yes, but—"

"Then go."

"But you—"

"I'll stay by the other stairway. If anyone tries to get up, I'll tranq them. That should give you enough time to wreck the VB. Go!"

He goes. So do I, towards the other stairs. I bend part of the barrier across, enough to give myself some cover, then I kneel down, the gun in my hands, and wait for them to come for me.

...

It's so quiet.

I don't have Malon's power. I don't have anyone's power, except Sonny's. I don't know if I've even got that now, with my mimicry acting all weird, they wear off so quickly—don't think about that, don't get distracted. Just keep focusing on the stairs. They'll be coming up—but what if they're already here? One of them could be a phase-shifter! He could be behind me right now, reaching out—

No. No one's there. Just the guys I shot, how long will they stay unconscious? I have no idea, I should have tied them up—no, that's stupid, I have nothing to tie them with, what I SHOULD have done is push them down the other stairs before we bent the walls to block them off, then at least I'd hear them before—

I'm breathing too fast. Almost hyperventilating. I force my breathing to slow. I force myself to focus on the stairs below. I take the gun in my right hand and wipe my left hand on my dress, then I take the gun in my left hand and wipe my right hand on my dress, and then I hold the gun in both hands again, aimed down at the stairs below. I wish I had more firearms training. All I ever did was the basic courses and that was just for play, I never thought I'd actually have to use a gun!

I should go drag those guys over here—no, I can't, I can't leave this stairway, if I leave it then they could come up, there could be someone down there right now, just waiting for me to relax for—

The elevator. The elevator! It's across from me and the numbers are going up, they're not taking the stairs, of course they're not if Sonny blocked them below, I'm so STUPID, I should have ... I don't know. I don't know! I aim my gun at the elevator—then back at the stairs. It could be a trick. Distract me by sending the elevator up, rush the stairs. No, come at me from BOTH AT ONCE, what do I do? I should just run—but Sonny, I can't—what floor is this? 43, 44? 45? How can I tell? How many below the roof, eight? Eight, yes, so it's ... 40? And the elevator's at 37 ... 38 ... 39...

40.

41.

42 oh no they're going up to the roof, they're going after Sonny I have to get to him—

"AHHH!"

The pitiful little cover I made explodes, a massive black tentacle smashing through it. I'm firing down, firing at whoever's down there but it's useless, there are more tentacles, all surging up, the gun's gone, everything's gone and I'm just running—

"Ah—"

I'm on the floor, something hit my shoulder, I'm crawling away but I can feel them, they're all around me, they're right behind me—

"No! NO!"

I kick back, they're so fast but so heavy, my bare foot just slides against it and the texture of them is wrong—

"No—"

The window's in front of me, I see my own terrified face in the dull reflection and I see him, behind me, just standing there, tentacles writhing around him. I manage to turn before one of the tentacles lashes out, I don't know how it misses but it does, it hits the window instead, hard enough to crack the thick glass, I'm already crawling away but more of the tentacles are coming, too fast—

"Ahhh no—"

My body bursts open and my insides erupt outwards, thick purple tendrils writhing out to slam against the black tentacles surging towards me, just enough to slow them as I scramble away, I'm on my feet and I gag as I realise more tentacles have sprouted from my legs to help steady me, to push me forwards, away from the nightmare creature behind me—

—between me and the stairs going up—

I spin and stare at him. He stares back from behind that featureless white mask. Without sound two new tentacles burst from his shoulders and whip towards me, but I'm already moving, falling to my hands and knees as another tentacle swipes through the air above, then a dozen tiny tentacles burst from my arms to help push me up and I'm running, I feel something brush against my neck and I cry out but then the stairs are there, THERE—

I shouldn't have looked back but I did, he's just standing there, staring up, his tentacles are gone, he's just staring—

But he's behind me, and Sonny's on the roof, and the bad guys in the elevator are going up, and I can't get up before they do, they're already there, these stairs are endless, they go up and up and up forever—

The door to the roof opens slowly and silently, sharp wind making my dress flutter around me. There's enough light to see what a mess the roof is in, communications arrays ripped apart by the bulky VB lying near the far edge. There's a woman and a man looking at it, and a big man wearing a bright orange shirt near them. He's speaking:

"—nah, nah, it ain't wrecked but he did some damage before we got to him. Nuh, chucked the little blighter off the edge."

No. No. I'm too late and Sonny's dead because I didn't get here in time, because I didn't come with him, why didn't I come with him? Wrong choice. One wrong choice, and now he's dead.

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that? Nah, you listen to me, it ain't like he was, wazzit called, priority one or nothing, it ain't like his dad's one of the top tier—big man himself said it, we ain't gonna turn him and hell, we've got firebugs comin' out our arse anyway, so what's the loss? Yeah I know it's not about ... you're talkin' like I'm stupid ... look, just shut up and use your bloody ears a moment, you got one less to worry about down there, you—what, you ain't? So where the bloody hell are you, then? Already? Hell's bells, Netta, you said it wouldn't come to that. Yeah I know about the bloody robots, but—what? What's so damned ... so why the hell didn't you say that to start with, I don't know—oi, you two, go check down a floor or two, Little Miss Bags'O'Fun got away from Tentacle Boy."

I'm already heading back to the door, there's nowhere to hide up here.

"Whazzat? Nah, he—well I didn't tell him to do it! Yeah I know we need her alive, you try talkin' to the little freak ... well then you send 'em up from below and we'll go down from above, nice and slow so we don't miss any dark little corners—"

I can't hear him any more, the others are coming down and Cage is somewhere below me, they need me alive, they need me alive but he was trying to kill me, they don't control him? What is he, doesn't speak, face hidden by a mask, terrifyingly powerful but slow, how slow? I've never heard of a power like his, Sonny's dead, thrown off a roof, my fault, can't go down, can't just stay here, can't fight, I need time to think, how many floors down from the roof am I now, three?

I crouch behind a pile of thin metal girders and try to breathe.

"I don't know why you're even bloody asking, you head down first and then Smith'll double-check your work, and I'll just stroll along behind the both of ya. Just in case, like. We already gave the roof a good going-over, if she's between us and him we'll get her."

How am I hearing this? Malon's power? But my powers went away—can't make force fields, can't create light, can't do anything except matter-bend, Malon can't be here, can she? The floor below? No, how?

"I know you're here, little girl."

The woman. Dzodestran accent, or maybe Amianan, sharp and severe. She's on this floor. I press in tighter against the pile of girders. I'm in a corner, the stairs are just across that gap but if she's watching...

"Why don't you come out and end this cleanly, hm?"

I'm barely breathing, I can hear her but I don't know where she is, where IS she?

"Did you ever play 'hide and go seek' when you were small? Were you the sort to hide until the last moment ... or could you not stand the tension? Were you one to leap out at those who sought you?"

Moving now, so slowly, the floor's cold but I'm glad to be barefoot, past heaps of wood and metal and heavy sacks and trestle tables and workbenches, so many things to hide behind but equally as many things in my way, things to trip over or carelessly kick...

I stop. I hear something.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It's him. I don't know how many floors down but it's HIM, it's Cage, he's coming up—

"Ah, you hear him too. You have stolen my gift, is that right? You can hear his footsteps, but shall I tell you something of interest? Those are not his feet. He uses those enthralling extrusions of his to mask the noise, if you look closely you can see that his feet do not quite touch the ground, you can see that between those scruffy sneakers and the floor there are dozens of tiny ... little ... tendrils..."

I can't move. I can see the stairs, there's the gap, but Cage is down there and I cannot make myself go a step closer to him—

"He is not large but he has weight, he has density, he has such immense power, especially at these times, after he has fed, when his very essence drips with the life of those he has taken within himself—your friends, yes? The legendary Motoplasm and The Force, together eternally within the energy of a monster. Listen with me, it's so very clear now, thud ... thud ... thud..."

If I could scream I would scream.

"So close, is he not? Perhaps ... beneath you. Perhaps preparing to thrust his tendrils up through the floor, to drag you down screaming, to catch you and hold you and bash your fragile little head against the hard ground until you struggle and thrash no longer, and then he will take you inside himself..."

Forcing myself to move, inch by agonising inch, I can hear him, somewhere below, thud thud thud, but I can't panic, I can't freeze, I just have to keep breathing and moving and breathing, even if he knows where I am he can't drive his tentacles through everything that's between these floors, that'd be impossible, he's strong but he's not THAT strong but this isn't helping this ISN'T helping because now all I can think about is those horrible black tentacles bursting through the floor, ripping it apart beneath me and dragging me down to—

Something's wrong. I can't hear the woman. I can't hear anyone above. Shouldn't I hear HER moving? But I couldn't, just her talking, why? WHY?

They're keeping quiet. They know Cage is hunting me. They're just waiting—but they need me alive, that guy said it, they NEED me ALIVE! Cage will kill me! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! Why did she stop talking if—

Because she's here. Because she's right here, on the other side of these piles of wood and girders, just waiting, she knows where I am, she knows exactly where I am, why isn't she moving? Why isn't anyone moving?

Why can't I hear Cage?

Stopped. Frozen again. I can't do anything because if I do something and it's the wrong thing then I'm dead, the next choice I make could be the last choice I ever make BUT THEY NEED ME ALIVE but that doesn't matter, it doesn't—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Oh no no no—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He's below. The floor below. Moving for the stairs, I can hear that much, how long before he gets to them, seconds? And then—

Wait. Why wouldn't this woman attack me, shoot me with a tranq gun or just GRAB me, she knows where I am, why would she wait for Cage—

Because she knows I can copy powers. Because she knows I have HIS power. Because she knows what he can do.

Because she's scared of me.

I look at the palm of my hand and wince as a tiny, writhing tendril sprouts from it. I choke back a retch and force myself to make the tendril grow. It's just my aura, it's just an extension of my aura but oh hope truth and goodness why does it feel so wrong and why does it writhe like that and why can I feel blood flowing to it, why can I feel the cut of air against it, why can I feel it pulsing and living as a part of me—

Thud.

I let the tendril slip back and disappear. Cage is slowing? Why—no, shut up about 'why' just ... just...

What was that? Something from above, like a gasp, was that the woman? Did she RUN AWAY? Was she ever even on this floor with me?

They're just waiting. Just waiting for Cage to come up and ... and absorb me...

...but I have to be dead first...

I bring my hand up and force myself to create another tendril, bigger than the last one, forcing it out as far as it will go but it starts to thrash and whip and flick horribly, like it has a mind of its own and yet always, always a part of me—

"No," I whisper, and the tentacle slips back into my skin.

Shud. Shud. Shud.

New noise, even worse than the thudding, what is that? Shud shud shud like something slimy moving against oh no please don't let it be—

I make a stupid little noise as he comes into view, so suddenly rising from the stairs, dozens of thin tentacles dragging him up, he hangs suspended in the centre of them all, attached to the roof and the floor and everything around himself, he's not walking, he's letting his tentacles drag him forward and he's looking right at me—

"Ahh!"

His tentacles slam into a pile of sheet metal which scatters towards me, I cross my arms in front of my face and let my own tentacles burst out to try to fend off the attack, feel the impact of the metal against me then I'm flying backwards, slamming hard against the ground except more tentacles sprout from my back, pushing me up as Cage drags himself towards me, he's so heavy but his tentacles are so strong—

I dive behind a pillar as Cage sends a heap of dense sacks at me, I feel their impact against the concrete—he's between me and the stairs down, I don't even care if that woman and the others are waiting to grab me, just as long as they take me away from this monster—stairs going up. Just there, just such an impossible distance away—glance out then pull my head back and a workbench slams against the pillar behind me as I run, stumble over something small and solid but an ankle tentacle steadies me, heavy crashing but too late because I'm already at the stairs, stumbling and falling forward into them but my hands are up and writhing tendrils burst out and somehow grasp whatever's above and I'm up and over and onto the next floor, same as the one below except with no monsters, and there are the next stairs and no one's shooting at me, no one's grabbing me, not even a sound except that SHUD SHUD SHUDing behind me and the crashing of Cage's passage through the room below, the elevator is right here but they control it and even if they didn't no, being trapped in a small metal box with black tentacles bursting through NO, just keep taking the stairs and it doesn't matter that eventually they'll end, just get away, just get away—

There's a flash of black and I can't breathe, I can't even struggle, he's got me, he's up here, there are two of him, there are two Cages and I'm trapped between them—

"Breathe, Powers, you've got half a minute before that monster manages to drag himself up here."

Chass. It's Chass. I stare at him as he frowns at his wrist and

[DATASTREAM LOST]