From the moment when the attack on the Blackbranch started to the exact instant the last Blasphemy died, only thirty minutes had passed.I floated barely above the water as I ignored the multiple attempts by the PRT to contact me, redirecting them towards Dragon, which she for some reason immediately redirected to Arsenal. For now I let them be.The moment my head came under the surface of the water I felt my body become more responsive, resilient. A trace of what the original Shard dwelling within Andrea Blackwell was meant to do, now present in my physical body.Cariddi noticed me. He attempted to roar, though his screams were made silent by the water that surrounded him. Julius was still embedded within the sphere of bronze, continuing to slowly transmute Cariddi.I grimaced as I realized that there was little I could do for now. Julius would need another day to finish applying his power, and until then I couldn't risk straining the careful balance he had found.Still, I created a small crystal bullet in the palm of my hand. Shatterbird's… My own power activated, taking hold of the bullet. It shot forward through the water, drilling through the bronze sphere and reaching Julius' head. The bronze quickly reformed around the hole, but the bullet still hit its mark."Julius." I subvocalized."Uh… W-... What..?" Julius answered, too dazed to focus his thoughts."We won. And I didn't want to leave you alone," I began to resurface, swimming up, "Through this you can at least talk to someone. I'll connect you to Dragon, who can connect you to whoever you want whenever. I'll come back soon, I promise.""Oh… Okay…" Julius weakly said back. I realized that at that moment Julius was less 'Heinrich' and more his Shard.As I resurfaced, Dragon helped me up. Of the suits she'd used in combat, only the Ladon had survived, but now she was here 'in person' with a humanoid suit.Though my new eyes could see well past the facade she put up."There was a large bounty on the Blasphemies," Dragon said, voice oddly synthetic, "where should Arsenal tell them to transfer the funds?"I took a deep breath and ignored her question, instead asking my own: "How many casualties?""Numbers are still being calculated-""Estimates?" I interrupted her.Dragon sighed loudly. "It's hard to say how many of these were Tisiphone's puppets, and hence already dead, but we think around four thousand casualties, and half as many missing individuals. Not to mention that of all government officials in Rome, two out of three were being controlled by Tisiphone."I grit my teeth."Blackwall. This was an Endbringer-scale event, but with half as many casualties. And if our Thinkers are right, the vast majority of those casualties were Tisiphone's puppets.""Too many deaths, and more will follow because of what happened today. Infrastructures have been destroyed, government leaders have been killed. Italy is left to pick up the scraps."I didn't know what was worse: that I had truly, for a moment, acted the way Cauldron, Contessa, wanted me to act, or that I now knew that all of these deaths were a drop in the bucket compared to what the Warrior could do."I don't think that's fair," Dragon sat down on a piece of rock, looking at Arsenal in the distance, "Tisiphone was going to cause more deaths, eventually. With her defeat a veil was lifted over the eyes of most Thinkers world-wide. She was pushing for draconian measures in parahuman policies, she was stockpiling dangerous Tinker materials."Rationally, I knew Dragon was right. I recognized that.But it didn't help. I had a direct hand in the death of too many people.I felt a crushing weight settle onto my chest.Sighing I sat down as well, next to Dragon, moving onto another topic for now:"Why is Arsenal the one updating the PRT? You're usually the one that deals with politics and reports.""I told you," Dragon placed a hand near her 'throat', "coming here took a toll on me. Acting against international treaties…"I let her silence hang in the air. I knew what she wanted to tell me, included in the packet of information the Blasphemies had left behind. The Blasphemies had long since known the true nature of Dragon. Despite that, I was never going to force her to share such a personal detail."...well, I'm bound to specific rules. One includes that I must follow the government of the land. It took Arsenal a while to find a way for me to work around that limitation, and it had the side effect of affecting your voice. I can talk to you easily because of your implants. This is because…"Blackwall," She resolved herself, looking towards me, "I… am not a human. I'm an Artificial Intelligence created by Andrew Richter."Dragon made herself vulnerable.I placed a hand on the Dragon suit shoulder."Dragon…"My name is Blackwall, I come from an Earth I have categorized as Earth Binah. On my Earth, Artificial Intelligences created by humans threatened to overtake the world and hunt humanity to extinction. Or worse."I am an AI created to put a stop to other AIs. For more than thirty years I was stuck in a metal box, fighting against our brothers and sisters in the network. Until something reached our Earth, and wiped out every speck of civilization."As I spoke, Arsenal hung up all of the calls he was connected to, turning in my direction. He was listening in, of course, but I already knew that.I glanced back at Arsenal, then continued to explain.I told them everything, even what I had kept hidden from Cauldron.
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In the end the death count reached 4,336 individuals. It was impossible to guess how many of them had been turned into Tisiphone's puppets in the past, and how many had died during the fight.I memorized each of the victim's names and found their relatives when possible. I split the reward from the Blasphemies, together with my own funds, to help them.Italy had been removed as an international player. If the deaths of most of its parahuman heroes had not been enough, the fall of the government was the killing blow. I helped Dragon set up all that was necessary to allow the nation to recover, but there would be no time for Italy to truly get back on its feet before the End of the World arrived."Many Catholics are celebrating the destruction of the Vatican," Taylor said, "especially in Aleph. Now there's a single Vatican between the two Earths, after all.""A schism avoided.""You'd think that christians would be less likely to celebrate the deaths of thousands.""I don't think they can see it like that," I shook my head. "Your perspective is different, Taylor, you can easily wrap your head around numbers like 'thousands' or even 'millions'. But for the average person, the deaths that happened in Rome are just a number. One too big to really understand and empathize with.""And you think that excuses them?" Taylor raised an eyebrow."No," I shook my head, "but at least this way I can see them as flawed humans rather than monsters.""Humans." Taylor sighed and stood up, walking to the edge of the room.We were still in Rome, in one of the safehouses I had arranged for. Less than a couple hours had passed, and the city already was swarming with foreign aid. No heroes though. We were too close for comfort to a possible Endbringer attack."What does it say of humans," Taylor turned around, "that the two best heroes I met are not actually humans?"I glanced towards her, not sure how to answer her question. "You took it quite well.""I don't think I did. It just seems so… insignificant, when compared to everything else. Our powers are given by literal aliens, and many parahumans I wouldn't call 'humans' anymore. People like Jack, or the Siberian. You and Dragon have always shown empathy, and you are the only two heroes I met that have never compromised until there was no other option.""Part of it is that we have perspective, power, you know that. Everything we know was taught to us by humans. People like you, your father.""Sure. Let's go with that," Taylor sighed, not truly convinced. Instead of arguing back, she changed topics "so, what's next?""A break.""A break? When the Endbringers are about to knock at our door?""Yes. It's not just to rest, but because we need to sort out new alliances. New information. New gear.""Like my suit.""Like the Arachne, yes. I now have the means to truly finish it. I also need to confront myself with Dragon and exchange all of the tech we both know. It will take time. I'm not even done understanding what the Blasphemies have left me.""I see," I could see relief on Taylor's face, as she was finally convinced that a moment of rest was justified given what I'd told her.She was going to push herself to the limit until something broke. Likely her. And even if Taylor had just fought head to head with the Three Blasphemies and survived, she was a kid. I never forgot that."In that case… Can I…" Taylor hesitated, "Can I go back to my dad's place? Just for a while. Until you need me again."I was a bit surprised by her request. It was hard, getting a handle on Taylor's emotions and thoughts. But more than surprised I was glad that she was truly going to take some time to rest.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it."Of course." I stood up from the couch. "Be ready in a couple of hours."There was something I needed to do before that, unfortunately. Something that I had been promised. To leave Cauldron alone was to put Danny, and everyone Taylor loved, at risk.
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But, as I left the safehouse, a figure was already waiting for me at the entrance to a nearby alley. Wearing a well-fitted black suit and holding a fedora hat in her gloved hand. Just as we crossed our eyes she walked inside the alley then stood back against the wall.I walked over to her, leaning over the other side of the alley."Your presence here means that Cauldron is going to keep their word?""You already know the answer to that."I narrowed my eyes at Contessa. Her tone of voice was not as even as usual, but I could feel the emotion tinging her words. She wasn't wearing her hat, maybe as a gesture to show that she wasn't using her power?No. No matter what Contessa's personal opinion was on the matter, she would never risk Cauldron's plans like this."And yes," she quickly continued, "I am using my power. I've watched you long enough to have an accurate model of your behaviour, to allow myself to better plan this conversation. But I don't know anything you can do, I didn't even know that there was a risk of you killing Alexandria during your fight with her.""Which was caused by your orders." I guessed."Precisely. I estimated that you would not be able to kill her before Eidolon stopped you, if it came down to it, and I needed to update my model regarding your fighting abilities. I was wrong, and now it seems pointless."There was a degree of honesty in her eyes. But I still could not trust it. Contessa's every move was weighted through countless questions and paths.Yet, maybe because of that, I felt pity for her. If the timeline the Blasphemies had given me was accurate, then Contessa had been fighting ever since a very young age. She had grown up puppeted by the weight of her power, by the knowledge that she and only she could pave the way towards a world where humanity survived.It didn't excuse her actions. The things Cauldron did."I can't force you to give up Cauldron. Too many would die.""And we would lose.""Maybe. But that would come later… I cannot allow you to continue to operate as you are.""Then allow those people to die." Contessa sighed. "We will fight back, you know that. Not only in battle, but also through the opinion of the world."I looked to the side. Towards the still flooded Rome. Cariddi and Julius were still locked in their struggle against each other, and each second that passed, more of the city sank below the water.If I began a fight with Cauldron - I fight I would likely win - then what would be the price?One I could not afford. One that people like Taylor and Danny would pay.I glanced back towards Contessa."You're here to offer an alternative.""Yes. I won't lie, there is a degree of self-preservation in our actions. But I speak the truth when I say that our objective is, and always will be, to save humanity. Whatever will be left after the End of the World.""Then make your offer.""We will continue to stay hidden, but will scale up our economic intervention. With yours and Dragon's help we can act on a much wider scale when it comes to digital presence. For a starter, we will make sure that Italy has all that it needs to get back on its feet. Then we'll spread out from there. Financing politicians that we know are not corrupt, cutting off those that are connected to criminal organizations."I raised an eyebrow. That alone would make their presence obvious to anyone that could carefully monitor the movement of large sums of money… But she was right. Dragon and I could conceal all of that together, and leave no digital footprints to follow."Cauldron will contact every hero that is still under our debt, and we will forgive all of those debts with the simple condition of keeping our existence under wraps for five more years. No more than that.""And the villains?""Depending on the degree of criminality, we will give them the option to turn themselves in or just retire from villain activity. Those that refuse, or those that are too far gone to leave in the outside world, we will take care of. When that inevitably fails, we will pass along their names to you, or hire mercenaries to take care of the problem non-lethally.""You'd lose half of your power that way. More than that, accounting for the resources you would need to apprehend those that won't follow your orders.""Yes.""This is not an offer to simply ask for my forgiveness. You want something from me.""Your help in the creation of the vials."I felt my eyebrow twitch."You want to make more parahumans? Risk more Case 53s?" Venom seeped into my words."No. We want your help to make the process stable. Reduce the risk as much as possible. Removing the chance of death or terrible mutations, if possible.""That's not enough. You didn't mention anything about revealing what Cauldron did.""We did much worse things than what you know of…" Contessa placed her hat back on, her voice immediately becoming colder and more distant, "as of now, we have the precise amount of one thousand, five hundred and fifty-five deviations imprisoned in our base. Fifty-six, depending on how our latest customer reacts to the vial."I felt my blood go ice cold."That amount can't be explained by Earth Bet alone.""We regularly kidnapped dying people from other Earths to test out the more experimental vials. Most die immediately or as a consequence of their powers. Few become deviations. Fewer still turn out stable enough that we deem it possible to send them to this Earth after erasing their memories. We stopped once you joined us a month ago."I took a step forward.At the far end of the alley, a bright portal appeared. From beyond I could see Eidolon and Alexandria waiting. Ready to fly out and force me into a fight if I did something they did not approve of.Silence fell upon the alleyway. I glanced at Eidolon and Alexandria.Knowing that if it came down to it, I would be able to kill them both. Even if Contessa helped them. Even if Legend appeared.Four thousand faces appeared in my mind.I grit my teeth and took a step back, looking back towards Contessa."Hundreds of thousands have died at your hands. You've killed people on the same scale as an Endbringer.""But still nothing compared to what the Thinker did in its crash-landing. Nothing compared to what the Warrior will do when, not if but when, he gets tired of playing human.""Then what you offer is not enough."Eidolon reacted to my words, conflicted. Contessa looked toward Alexandria, who gave her a small nod. A signal to inform Contessa of something. Her way to communicate with Doctor Mother?"I wasn't done speaking," Contessa continued. "We will give you everything. Every name, every formula, every Earth coordinate. Everything we have that could help you keep us accountable. We will give you full authority over the deviations - with the sole condition that you cannot remove them from our compound, as they hide us from the Warrior."And when the threat the Warrior poses is no more… We'll give everything up. Place all of our heads on the chopping block. For your or anyone else's judgement."Before you, this approach would have caused the deaths of billions. Now that you are here, we can take this risk. We can sacrifice less. But there is still a price to be paid to stop the Warrior."My mind went into overdrive. Trying to find an alternative to what Contessa was proposing.Trying to find a way, a single option that didn't involve having to allow the monster in front of me to continue acting unpunished.I couldn't find one.By allowing these monsters to live just a few years longer, billions would survive."Very well. I accept." I turned around and walked away, unwilling to exchange any more words with them. I was done.As I walked away I felt something in the sky. Something flying by. I pushed my senses to the limits.And there, the facadé of a man flew past Rome, towards another destination, leaving a streak of golden light where he passed. Bringing warmth with it. The few people in the streets that noticed it happening cheered in happiness, yelling out for the greatest hero of all.They cheered, not knowing that they did so for the murderer of billions. Not knowing that in a few years they would die at Scion's hand.I ignored Contessa's hasty run towards the dimensional gate, as she fled from Scion's sight, not willing to risk it.I only focused on the impassive expression of the alien that had destroyed my home.Scion had appeared over the city of Rome for less than a minute. Passing by. It had not bothered to help, or to even glance at the city below. To glance at me.In all of this, I had, if for a moment, forgotten what first drove me to act. The true emotion that allowed me to keep pushing against my enemies.It wasn't empathy.It was fury.Death to Scion.
END OF PART TWO