Super Genetics
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B2 - Chapter 19: Ultimatum
🕑 Added 2024-08-21 17:37:50 +0000 UTCSomething pinged in the back of Terry’s mind. A thought worming its way through the fog and the phantom screams echoing in his ears.
I’m alive…
Then, the sound of blood rushing in his head faded and he realized suddenly that the screams he heard weren’t phantom screams.
His head shot up, taking in the panicking crowd in an instant.
The mass of refugees rippled, recoiling from some unseen thing, like a herd fleeing the wolves in their midst.
A pulse of aura flashed out from that unseen epicenter, extending like talons over the crowd, gripping them tight, yanking them to heel like a leash. The screaming cut off instantly, but the terror remained.
The entire group of nearly a thousand people suddenly stood rigid, but Terry could see their eyes flitting about wildly, searching for their attacker with an animal panic.
Hands gripped under his arms and for a moment, he thought Rupert was latching his iron grip on him once more. He started to buck against the Duelist, when he spotted Tania standing over him, her eyes wide with concern.
“It’s him,” she hissed, unable to hide the terror in her voice. “My Danger Sense didn’t warn me until right before.”
Terry’s mind felt sluggish and it took him a moment to realize what she meant by ‘him.’ But as the realization hit him, the man himself stepped into sight, and Terry felt his stomach drop.
Pure white flame wreathed Qui Shen as he stepped into view. His features were obscured, just the barest silhouette visible through the blinding fire. The frozen refugees visibly sweat as he passed them, the heat of his presence forcing their eyes shut. A second wave of power stretched out—not from Qui Shen, but from somewhere among the refugees—washing over the crowd. Wherever the aura passed, people knelt and bowed their heads.
The compulsion struck their group a moment later, but the distance sucked most of the strength from its call. All the same, Terry felt his limbs trying to move, his mind cowering in awe at the flaming god striding toward him.
He forced the thoughts away, then rose unsteadily to his feet. Tania swayed at his side, clearly affected by the compulsion, but he pushed his aura out, dampening the effect. She shook her head to clear it, then scowled toward Qui Shen.
The flames shined bright, searing across his vision. His eyes watered but he wouldn’t let himself look away. Aura shifted around Qui Shen and for a moment, Terry thought he might skip the parlay and dive right into the fight.
There was nothing someone at his rank could do—he could only brace and wait for the flames.
But a moment later, the flames seemed to shift to his eyes, the aura shaping it visibly. The sound of crackling fire coalesced into a voice, deep and violent, like the whoosh of sparks as a log split from the bonfire’s heat.
“You know who I am. You know what I’ve come for.” His mouth—barely visible beneath the white flames—didn’t move with the sound. Somehow, he was manipulating the fire itself to speak. “Relinquish it and we shall have no quarrel.”
Terry was stunned by the words; Qui Shen was offering a trade? It was simple enough, he supposed. Your lives—and the lives of every civilian here—in exchange for the Singularity.
He looked toward Sol and Tinker to gauge their reaction.
Tinker’s mask lay open, revealing the weathered face beneath. He licked his lips nervously, his large power armor doing little to hide the obvious doubt in his posture.
But when Terry looked toward Sol, he was surprised by the steady glint in his eyes, the magic coursing through them in golden waves. His aura pulsed powerfully, cycling around him like a tide pool.
He’s preparing for a fight, Terry realized.
Behind Tinker, Bloodhound, Lady, and Rupert appeared to be shifting through various levels of fear and doubt. Bloodhound had the resigned look of a man beyond his depth, but willing to face whatever came next. Lady stared toward Tinker with the desperate focus of a child waiting for their parents to step in. Rupert was openly panicking, glancing between Tinker and Sol fitfully.
A handful of seconds passed, then Tinker spoke.
“We know you, Qui Shen. But we don’t know what you’ve—”
Sol’s voice cut across the cavern.
“You’ve come for this.”
A wave of power washed over Terry, filling him with a sense of rightness, a vibration that resonated with his aura. Something called to him, pulled at his attention.
His gaze shot toward Sol, where the Metaphysical Singularity floated between his palms.
***
Two people sat in silence in a pitch-black cave, one condensing his aura, cycling it through his limbs to increase their strength and hardiness. The other, taming the infected Singularity nestled deep in her chest.
Slowly, she passed her senses over the tainted object, feeling the chaos like splinters sticking up from rough wood. When she found them, she focused her aura into a thin point, gripped the splinter's edge, and pulled it free.
Another chaos burr was removed, then eradicated with a flex of her aura.
Her father had passed over the Spectral Singularity months ago—she was better equipped as an Alterant and former Disruptor to peel away the chaos riddled through its make up. But it still resisted her, insidious in the way it wove throughout the Singularity—even more difficult to purge than the parasitic being that had been her System.
As she thought about her former System, her only regret was that she could no longer use her System chat. If she still had it, she could have messaged James to tell him she was alive.
She could have messaged Terry to apologize for leaving him, to beg for forgiveness…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a stirring in the air around them. Both Penelope and Silver’s eyes shot open at the same time. Through the dark, they locked onto each other.
“Which one?” her father asked softly.
She felt the pulse of power touch her skin, resonate with the sibling Singularity inside of her. There was a familiar flavor to that power, one that synchronized with her own aura.
“It’s one of my Aspects,” she replied.
Silver nodded. “Metaphysical, then. Dancer wouldn’t let his free—even for a second.”
“Close, too,” she added. “Can you get us there?”
She heard him rise to his feet, felt his senses range out.
“It’s…strange,” he said after a moment. “I feel a blockage.” She felt more than saw his eyes lock on her. “Artifact, I think. I might be able to break it with enough time…”
She chewed her lip in thought. As she opened her mouth to speak, the pulsing power cut off at the source, like a fire doused in water.
“And it’s gone.” She sighed, her shoulders sagging.
“I still have it,” her father whispered, his voice tight with concentration. “I’m tracking the Artifact.”
Hope blossomed in her chest—and anticipation. If they could acquire a fourth Singularity, they’d achieve a Majority.
Then, things would be…maybe not easier. But at least momentum would be on their side. Then…she could finally turn her focus toward finding Terry.
***
“Sol!” Tinker hissed. “What are you doing!”
The Singularity felt alive in his hands; a writhing web of power that shifted and pulsed in a rhythm that reminded him of blood coursing through veins. He almost thought it spoke to him, a flicker of a whisper echoing in the back of his mind.
It was rejecting him, he knew. Not a violent rejection, but more of a soft letdown. A subtle sensation of wrongness, incompatibility.
When he’d first accepted it from Terraform, he’d felt that rejection powerfully. Let it resonate with his own self doubts and trauma, amplifying the damage Hunter had helped reveal.
But now, he understood. It wasn’t that they were incompatible or that Sol wasn’t enough for it to accept him. The realization had come to him the moment Qui Shen had stepped into view.
He’d felt true resonance in the moment, the pulse of power emanating from the man possessed a flavor to it that called to him.
Sol had always recognized that he wasn’t meant to be a world power—had never had ambitions to become one. He had always been content with the moderate responsibility of ruling Topeka, never striving for more than he could handle.
Terrence had made the first move in their little conflict and Sol had been forced to respond in kind. But he’d never wanted Wichita.
Things had just…escalated beyond his intention or control. Once the hound was out of the gate, there was no pulling it back in.
His imprisonment had given him time—too much time, really—to contemplate his lack of ambition. He didn’t see it as a flaw to understand one’s place in the grand scheme of the world. But he hadn’t considered the ramifications of his actions on those that followed him.
The Knights of Sol were dead.
But more than that, Topeka suffered. The civilians that he had purported to lead were the victims of his arrogant disregard. Terrence and the Council fought over his city like animals over a corpse.
When Terry had saved him from his grandfather’s dungeon, Sol had known with steel-clad certainty that he could never lead again. Yet, somehow, months later, he found himself entrusted by Terraform to not only shield this Singularity, but shepherd his people to safety.
Safety from the mad man standing across from him now.
“This is what you’ve come for, isn’t it?” he called to the mad man. “Traveled thousands of miles in secret for this.”
He felt the aura around Qui Shen shiver, an involuntary spasm that seemed to trace across the man’s entire being.
“Give it to me,” the flames hissed.
Sol turned his attention toward the Singularity in his hands. Then, he let it sink back into his chest, feeling the warmth of its power spread across his limbs.
The flames encircling Qui Shen flared brighter, but Sol wasn’t afraid of a little light.
His voice felt easy, his limbs relaxed for what felt like the first time in years. “I need to speak to my people. I’ll hold on to it for now.”
“You may confer. But know this: if you don’t surrender the Divinity.” The flames licked the stone floor, molten fire sneaking toward the refugees. “I’ll burn every last one of them.”
Sol turned without another word, noting the fear and hesitation in the eyes staring at him.
“Tinker?” he asked quietly. “Where do Dancer and the SPC stand?”
A pained expression crossed his face.
“I…received word from Dancer.” He frowned, hesitation heavy in his tone. “He’s offered you four asylum...” His eyes flitted toward the crowd of people for the briefest moment, the shame visible as he turned back to Sol. “Just you four.”
Sol felt Rupert smile at his side, quickly masked with a look of reluctant acceptance.
Next to him, the confusion on Terry’s face shifted, recognition flashing in his wide eyes before they narrowed, his jaw clenching visibly.
“Fuck that—” he started, but Sol held out a hand. Terry looked toward him in shock, then a flash of betrayal, but he returned that look with a steady gaze. He could see the kaleidoscope of emotions pass through the boy’s eyes before he settled, his trust only slightly marred by confusion.
Turning back to Tinker, he nodded sympathetically.
“And how does Dancer propose to extricate us from this little…” He indicated Qui Shen with a look. “…predicament?”
To Tinker’s credit, he at least had the good grace to look embarrassed.
“I’ll drop the Artifact blocking space manipulation. Dancer has an A-ranking Traveler on standby ready to pull us out fast.”
Sol nodded, keeping his face impassive as he looked behind him at the kneeling Market natives. Wide eyes, tear-streaked faces, and pitiful expressions stared back at him.
“And them?” he asked, his voice low.
Tinker’s face was deathly white.
“You know…”
“I want to hear you say it,” Sol said simply.
Tinker sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before looking over Sol’s shoulder.
“We leave them to Qui Shen.”
“You son of a bitch,” Tania hissed. She strode toward Tinker’s power armor, shoving futilely against the cold steel. “You’d leave them to die?”
“There’s nothing for it, you silly girl,” Rupert growled. “Either they die or we all die!”
She whirled on the man, her face a thundercloud of fury.
“Well, now the coward speaks.”
Sol saw the tensing in Rupert’s muscles, could feel his intentions before he even moved. With a step, he gripped the man’s arm. The Duelist was strong—possibly stronger than Sol, even. But he had enough strength in his hand to give the man pause long enough for the fury to clear and sense to return.
When he was sure Rupert wouldn’t do anything stupid, he cut his gaze back toward Tinker, evaluating him with a measured look.
“What are your thoughts on all of this?” he asked.
Tinker sighed, glancing toward Lady and Bloodhound. “Frankly, it doesn’t sit right with me. There’s nearly a thousand people we’d be leaving to die.” He reached a steel hand toward his face as if to wipe at it, then stopped once he realized it wouldn’t clear the opening. His hand dropped down, a resigned posture in his shoulders. “But I think the Singularity is too important to give over to a maniac like that. We have to do the responsible thing.”
Sol nodded, using the heavy silence to craft a System message to Terry and Tania.
“I agree. The Singularity is too important to hand over to a maniac.”
He knew what needed to be done—felt it deep down in a place he had thought was long dead. There was nothing heroic about what was to come; lives would be lost—perhaps all of them would die in the next few minutes.
But at the very least, he could make sure the Singularity Terraform had entrusted to him wouldn’t end up in the hands of a tyrant—either of them.
“Okay, Tinker. Tell Dancer we accept.” His tone was weary, resigned to a choice that was no choice at all. “Let us know when you’re ready to drop the spatial restriction.”
***
Terry read Sol’s System message over once more, a confusing blend of feelings mingling inside of him.
On one hand, he felt a keen sense of righteousness at what they planned to do. Qui Shen and Dancer were cut from the same cloth in his mind and he didn’t trust either of them to wield an additional Singularity. If one of them got their hands on this one, the balance of power would be forever skewed in their favor.
On the other, he was scared shitless. It was one thing putting his life on the line against sanguine and draugrs. But this was a battle between S-rankers. He didn’t have a place in that fight. All he could do was stay out of the way and wait for the flames to consume him.
But this was what he had wanted growing up; he’d wanted to be a hero. As a child, he had naively thought that meant thwarting the bad guys and posing for pictures at the follow up press conference.
Now, he knew different. There was always collateral damage. Heroes rarely walked away unscathed. And sometimes, they had to make that final decision to sell their lives just to put a speed bump in the villain’s path.
He was that speed bump, he finally realized. It might have galled him in the past to know that he wasn’t the hero.
But now, as he stared across the cavern at a man armored in living flame, he felt content.
The smallest of nods between him, Tania, and Sol was all they needed. A moment later, Tinker was giving them the signal.
“Dropping in five,” he said. His mask irised across his face, sealing him into his power armor.
Sol pulled the Singularity from his chest and Qui Shen shivered in excitement over his shoulder.
When the first pulse of power hit Terry, he reeled in shock. Time slowed, his thoughts speeding up as his body seemed stuck in amber.
A flash of awareness seemed to emanate from the Singularity, something akin to an acknowledgment of his presence; an approving sensation washing over his mind.
Then, it began to guide his aura, revealing a framework in Terry’s mind that was familiar, yet…more.
Almost unconsciously, he shifted gears. Instead of simply preparing to send it through a portal as far into the earth as he could, a new plan began to form.
A single second passed and he crafted the portal framework with his aura.
Another second, and he attached the framework to the ocean of power pulsing from the Singularity.
A third and he matched the rhythm with his own aura, giving life to the power he was embedding inside it.
Four seconds gone, and he tied off the aura, feeling the Singularity guiding his hand gently.
When Tinker let his lock over space fall, a pulse of power burst from the Singularity, warping the air around them.
A portal whooshed into existence—Dancer’s Traveler was right on time.
But as it cut across space and the others prepared to jump through it, the Singularity bent space, too. With a rush of air, it was gone, the slightest tug on Terry’s aura the only indication of their link.
He felt another pull, then another. Without realizing how, he knew the Singularity was portaling through the earth’s crust, constantly moving, out of reach for Qui Shen or Dancer.
Quest Complete: [Anchor a Skill]
Comments
White Rose
lol, I'm envisioning it more just cycling around them but that works too!
Andrew Simpson
Rose was saying that if they got their hands on metaphysical, they would have 4/7 between them: Physical and Material on silver, and Spectral and Metaphysical on Rose.
Andrew Simpson
I guess the center of the earth is a pretty good spot to store it x x
White Rose
Exactly!
james apfel
Ah silver got the spectral from Terminus after he came back
White Rose
Silver has the Physical and Material.
james apfel
Thanks for the chapter - is Terry’s mom saying the Metaphysical would be their 4th singularity meant to be a reveal? I thought Silver just had physical and spectral, and White Rose just made S rank so she couldn’t have been carrying any Herself?
