The streets near the plant were still blocked when Shudder arrived. She scouted the blocks nearby, keeping to shadows and the occasional rooftop, getting a sense of how many were there and how far they were stretched. Her heart quickly sank as she noticed that there were only ordinary police cars, none of the sleek ones she’d seen at the clinic. Nevertheless she settled around the corner of a vet’s office next to the open road and waited to see if anything happened.

After a few minutes, she began to doubt herself. Even if she lucked out and the Seraphinite did show up here, could she really keep it away from someone like Valkyrie? She was just a girl with a stick and what could barely be called a superpower. How could she hope to avoid a cyborg with unknown abilities and her own personal police force?

Deciding to give up, she pulled out her phone and discovered a number of texts and missed calls from Elise. She felt a stab of guilt, despite knowing that she owed Elise nothing. The thought that her rescuer might be sitting at home worrying about her didn’t feel good.

However, as she stepped out into the street, she caught sight of someone walking in the opposite direction, towards the plant. He was carrying a square metallic case with a handle similar to a briefcase.

Shudder ducked behind the building. Thankfully he seemingly hadn’t noticed her. She waited until he slowly shuffled closer, just a few feet away, then stepped out into his path.

“What you got there?” she asked.

He stopped and looked at her with tired eyes, more confused than surprised. “It’s not supposed to be you.”

Was he on drugs or something?

“That wouldn’t happen to be Epsilon Seraphinite, would it?” she asked. She hesitated to use her power, not know how he would react in this state.

He looked past her. “It’s supposed to happen over there. Not here.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” said Shudder calmly. “I’ve got it from here.”

She tentatively reached for the case. He didn’t pull away, or react in any noticeable way, so she gently pulled it out of his hand.

“There we go,” Shudder said. “Good job. See you later.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait, no, wait!” the man shouted, suddenly full of energy. “Somebody help!”

Instincts from her earliest days as a criminal kicked in and Shudder sprinted. She kept her eyes ahead, but listened for the sounds of pursuit. She heard nothing from behind, but there was a loud thudding sound from around a corner somewhere ahead. It sounded too heavy to be footsteps, but she wasn’t eager to find out what it was, so she turned early, cutting between two buildings, trying to move fast while keeping her steps quiet. 

She found herself at a parking lot which was too open for her preference, but going forward was better than doubling back, so she continued running across it, looking for a path where she might lose any potential pursuer without trapping herself in a dead end.

Something caught her foot and in an instant she lost her balance, the box flying from her hands as she desperately tried to catch herself. Thankfully, she managed not to land on her face. But any hope of escape vanished as she rolled over to see what had tripped her.

Standing over her, arm retracting to its usual size, was Prometheus.

He gaped at her. “Shudder? How?”

“Told you you were making a mistake,” she replied, pulling herself into a sitting position. “I’ve got friends in high places.”

She reached out psychically, reaching for the fear that he had done something wrong, in a strained hope that somehow amplifying it would enable her to escape, but while she could feel that apprehension blossom in him, it didn’t show on his face.

He stretched out his other arm to lift the fallen box. “I knew it. STRIX was right about you. You are dangerous, aren’t you?” He unlatched the box, pulling open its lid and revealing a green and white stone. “You’re the one with the Seraphinite.”

Shudder gingerly pulled herself to her feet. She recalled what Sarah had said about not letting the Seraphinite come into contact with machines. Was Prometheus a cyborg? Or some sort of statue with a human soul? Did he count as a machine?

“Listen, you should probably close that box and take it to your friends. That thing is dangerous.”

Prometheus picked up the Seraphinite, holding it between a thumb and forefinger. “Think you’re going to pull some sleight of hand and get it away from me?”

“I’m serious. I don’t know if you should be touching that,” Shudder said. How could she convince him to put it away?

Prometheus grinned. “Try getting it away from me now.”

Dropping the box, he used his now-free hand to lift his shirt, revealing his stomach. In an unsettling sight, the metal skin in a small area sank in on itself, creating a small dip like an oversized second navel. He placed the Seraphinite inside this dip, then the skin around it flowed over it until it vanished entirely in his body.

Shudder didn’t know what to say, so she sucked in a breath through her teeth, waiting for something to happen.

Prometheus’ grin turned into a frown. “Now, what I want to know is, how the fuck did you escape from STRIX?”

At that moment, Shudder realized that the aura-like presence that surrounded everyone was gone. It had been there a moment ago, and she had never seen someone without one. Sometimes it was clear and sharp and easy to grasp, other times it was little more than a vague glow, but everyone had fear. So where had Prometheus’ gone?

“Look, I think something might be wrong. Just take that thing out of your stomach and I’ll tell you everything.”

“No!” Prometheus bellowed, punctuating the syllable by stomping one foot forward with a bone-jolting thud that left a small crater in the pavement. “Magical weapons, mind control, alien mercenaries. The director was right. You won’t stop until you succeed.” Something seemed to ripple across him and the color of his skin seemed to change subtly, gaining a tint Shudder couldn’t quite identify in the dark. “Unless someone puts an end to you.”

Realizing that Prometheus’ anger couldn’t grow any more than it already had, Shudder decided that it was time to flee and dashed towards the perimeter of the parking lot. To her surprise, she wasn’t immediately halted by Prometheus and, breaking her usual rule, she ventured a look behind her to see that he was on his hands and knees writhing as his body bulged and shifted. He wasn’t looking her way, so Shudder ducked behind a dumpster and peeked out to watch what happened next.

Prometheus’ back and shoulders had become a mountain range, a series of spires which grew taller and thinner until he bristled with spikes, leaving his clothes in shreds around him. His legs had grown shorter, or perhaps his arms had grown longer and developed into thick claws so that he looked like a four-legged beast. His head was completely unrecognizable, losing all semblance of eyes, ears, nose, and hair as it stretched outward until it looked like a lizard. By the time he was done shifting, he was the size of a car.

With a roar that no longer sounded human, he bounded off into the street. How did he know how to move like that? How did he navigate without eyes? Was he following some primal instinct locked within the human brain or was the Seraphinite in complete control?

She could ignore it, she thought. It didn’t have to be her problem. She could go back to Elise’s apartment, pretend none of this had happened, and let someone else deal with whatever Prometheus had become. After all, it wasn’t as if she could do anything to stop him.

Except that she could tell somebody. If she did, the information might help save lives. It could mean prison again, but…

She sighed, pulled out her cell phone, and called Elise. As it rang, she began to run back towards the street.

It was Whisper’s raspy voice that answered. “Where are you?”

“The food processing plant.” She realized she was almost crying as the words spilled out of her. “I screwed up, Whisper. I found the Seraphinite and…do you know about the Epsilon Seraphinite?”

The response was succinct, but patient. “I don’t.”

“It’s a weapon. It got inside Prometheus. It turned him into a monster. He’s going to kill someone if he isn’t stopped.”

If Whisper was confused by this explanation, it didn’t show in his voice. “I’ll be there soon. Is his team around?”

“I’m looking for them.”

Whisper hung up and Shudder continued along the outer perimeter of the blockade, hoping to find a sign of the Outcasts.

It wasn’t long before she heard the sounds of fighting. There were shouts, and a terrible scraping. Ignoring her desire to run, she made her way towards the sound.

Rounding a corner, she found Stray and Synapse, who had seemingly done the impossible and already subdued Prometheus. The hero-turned-monster was laying on his side, legs bound with a rope made of Synapse’s psionic energy and Stray was perched on Prometheus’ side, gripping a spike in one hand.

“Do whatever you’re going to do quickly, please,” Stray was saying. “I’ve never felt anything push back like this.”

Focusing on Synapse, Shudder caught sight of a psionic knife in her hand, which was inching closer and closer to Prometheus’ head.

“Wait! That’s Prometheus!” Shudder shouted.

Stray and Synapse both glanced in her direction. Prometheus used the opportunity to jerk back to his feet, throwing Stray off and shattering the psionic bonds. He then swiped at Synapse like a cat, sending her flying several yards into a streetlight, before scampering away again.

Stray and Shudder both rushed to Synapse’s side. Her leg was bent in a place where legs didn’t normally bend.

“How am I going to explain this to my parents?” she moaned.

Stray had taken out his phone and, to Shudder’s confusion, taken a photo of a wall. “Let me guess. Adam touched the Seraphinite?”

“You’re here for it too?” Shudder asked.

Stray nodded. “Heaven was able to determine its location. Weren’t you arrested?”

Before Shudder could explain, a portal opened at the wall Stray had photographed, admitting the remaining Outcasts.

As soon as he saw Synapse, Lucas’ eyes widened. “Oh, shit, that looks bad.”

“Yeah, things have taken a turn,” Stray explained. “We’re going to need to get the others, as well.”

Shudder had little time to wonder who “the others” were, as Lucas opened another portal, which admitted two members of Nova Legion, Repulse and Gaelos Hex.

She was going directly back into STRIX custody as soon as this was over, wasn’t she?

“What happened?” Repulse asked. Her sleek power armor gleamed even in the dim streetlights. It was built for offense, not defense, all thrusters and pulse cannons. She didn’t even have a helmet, leaving her blonde hair and youthful face exposed. Her psionic shields were more than sufficient protection.

Gaelos Hex, meanwhile, just wore a suit with a pocket-filled overcoat. He looked more like an ordinary middle-aged man than one of the world’s most prominent superheroes. Ignoring the wounded Synapse, he held an object which looked like a cross between a magnifying glass and a monocle up to his eye and began looking around the area.

Repulse called for a medical team to pick up Synapse and Stray filled in the others on what had happened while Shudder tried to stay unnoticed at the edge of the gathered heroes.

As Stray finished his explanation, Hex spoke up. “Thankfully, we came prepared for the possibility.” He patted at one of his pockets. “Brought some incense that will cleanse anything the Seraphinite’s touched. Where is it, by the way?”

“I don’t know.” Stray looked at Shudder. “Where is it?”

Shudder made a nervous glance between Stray and Hex. “It’s inside him. He made a little hole in his stomach and put it inside.”

The normally unflappable Hex was visibly shaken by this information. “Why the Hell would he do something as foolish as that?”

“He was already holding it and acting a little weird.” Shudder chose to omit the fact that he was keeping it away from her.

“This makes our job a lot harder,” Repulse said. She looked at Hex. “Do you think someone from Heaven can get it out?”

“Whisper could,” Shudder suggested.

Repulse and Hex looked at each other.

“He could do it,” Repulse agreed. “But do we still have his number?”

“He’s already on his way. I called him a little while ago.”

Repulse grinned. “Good thinking.” However, her smile quickly vanished. “Wait, you aren’t one of the Outcasts. You’re…didn’t I punch you once?”

“Er…yeah,” Shudder admitted.

To Shudder’s surprise, Repulse let out a laugh. “That’s right, you were Tlön’s little helper! Phew, Ari gave me an earful after that. I may be Nova Legion’s leader, but he’s the team dad and he won’t let any of us forget.”

Once a STRIX medical team had arrived for Synapse—and once Repulse had reassured her that they would not remove her mask or attempt to learn her name—the group followed Hex, who was somehow able to track Prometheus’ movements through his lens. The path twisted and wound unpredictably, often turning and doubling back in ways that made no sense, but which occasionally allowed the pursuers to skip walking around a block knowing the path would only lead them to an alley nearby. Meanwhile, Shudder called Whisper again to update him and let him know where he could catch up with them.

Eventually, Hex paused at a set of stairs leading down to a building’s basement. “He must have slowed down at some point. He might be tired, but I wouldn’t count on it. We don’t know what the Seraphinite does to someone’s head. He might be setting up an ambush.”

“I can scout ahead, if you’d like,” came Whisper’s voice from somewhere nearby. He’d apparently silently joined the group at some point.

“Ah, there you are,” said Repulse. “No, you stay back. I don’t want to risk you when we need your power to get the Seraphinite. Sila and I will take point. When we come across Prometheus, I’ll protect us with a barrier and Sila will attack with everything they’ve got.”

“Er, everything I’ve got?” Sila asked. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“There’s absolutely no chance of you hurting Adam,” Lucas said.

Repulse nodded. “Right. But it will distract him while Stray gets close enough to suppress his strength. Then I hold him with a barrier, Whisper grabs the Seraphinite, and Hex cleans whatever magic is left in him.”

Hex held up a stick of incense. “Remember, once this is lit, no other magic will work in the area. That means no portals.”

After receiving nods of understanding from the others, he led the group down the stairs, and unlocked the door with a key from his pocket, then stood aside for Repulse and Sila to pass.

As she took her turn entering the basement, Shudder noticed that the door had no keyhole.

Inside, it was too dark to see, but Repulse was able to provide some light through a flashlight mounted on her armor’s wrist. Guided by Hex’s instructions, she led the group down a hallway passing many storage rooms. It seemed that this basement connected several of the buildings along this block. In fact, Shudder wondered if it even extended beneath the street to the next block.

Eventually, Hex directed Repulse to enter one of the storage rooms. Opening the door, she cast her flashlight across its floor, revealing that the floor tiles and the concrete underneath it had been torn up unceremoniously and tossed around the room, leaving a gaping hole.

Repulse walked up to the hole and shined her light into it. It led about one story down to the remains of an elevator.

“Can you see well enough to make a portal?” she asked.

Lucas peered into the hole, then nodded. With a wave of his hand, a portal appeared in the air, allowing the group to descend easily.

Once they were through, they found that at the bottom of the pit, hidden from the view above, was a door which had been forced open. As they passed through it, they found it led to what looked like an old office. A very old office. With wood-paneled walls and a yellow carpet and boxy gray computers sitting at rows of desks. Everything was covered in dust.

“What is this place?” Repulse asked.

“I love it,” said Stray, wiping dust off one of the keyboards.

“I think it’s a lair,” said Shudder.

One by one, Repulse’s light found each of the room’s exits. There were several, most of which seemed to lead into other offices. “If it is, it’s from before most of us were born.” She snickered. “I’ll have to ask Ari if he knows about it later.”

A sound similar to furniture being moved came from one of the doors. Repulse pointed her light on it just as Prometheus flowed through, his body contracting to squeeze through like a cat passing under a fence before he stood completely in the office, his bulk stifling the room.

With a flash of white light, Repulse fired a pulse blast at the beast, which Sila quickly followed up by conjuring a ball of plasma out of the air and throwing it. The attacks did little to push Prometheus away, but weren’t entirely without effect as he reared up, tearing through the ceiling like paper, and attempted to crush Repulse beneath his feet. Thankfully, they halted just before reaching her, a brief shimmer of light revealing that they’d been blocked by one of her barriers.

Sila ran to one side, throwing more plasma at Prometheus, who turned his attention to them, twisting one of his back legs impossibly to kick them away.

But Stray seized the opportunity and leaped up to cling to one of Prometheus’ spikes. Shudder wasn’t sure what he was doing, but Prometheus’ twisted leg briefly fell limp before he began to shake his body and dislodged Stray, spilling the contents of a desk on him in the process. Once Stray had fallen, the leg snapped back to its original position and the monstrous Prometheus began to claw at Repulse’s barrier.

“Can’t make another barrier while I’m holding this one!” Repulse called out.

Whisper, apparently deciding that it was becoming unlikely that Prometheus would be held still, ran forward and phased into his body, groping for the Seraphinite. Stray had managed to untangle himself from the computer equipment that had landed on him, but wasn’t quick enough to jump at Prometheus again and with a flash of light, Repulse’s barrier was shattered. Repulse let out a pained shout and gripped her head in her hands. Prometheus swatted at Stray again, sending him flying over a desk and to the floor once more. The creature began to pick his way towards the fallen Stray. Whisper was still desperately reaching within his torso and there was no one else standing who could stop him.

Next to Shudder, Hex had already lit his incense. She wasn’t sure if it would have an effect before the Seraphinite was removed, but she could guess that it would be more effective if it were closer. So she snatched the stick from Hex’s hand and threw herself between Prometheus and Stray.

Prometheus opened his mouth, giving Shudder a clear view of what was inside—a mass of swirling blades that could liquify her body in seconds. And there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Her baton was useless here, and she still couldn’t sense any fear from him.

But it had to be there. Everyone had fear. If he was still Prometheus, if the effects of the Seraphinite could be undone, there had to be fear within him. And she knew exactly where to find it.

She reached out mentally. She felt where his mind should be, searched for a fear she knew had to be there. When she found it, it was small, as tiny as anything she had ever felt, hidden deep within his thoughts. Normally such fears were difficult to manipulate in any noticeable way, but when she tugged at this one she discovered that it moved easily, blossoming until it dominated Prometheus’ mind.

The fear of what he had become.

Prometheus halted before her, and made a wailing roar that for the first time since his transformation, sounded almost human. At that moment Sila, apparently having recovered, began hurling more balls of plasma, even bigger than before. One by one they exploded on Prometheus’ body.

Then the ceiling collapsed.

Shudder ducked under a desk and covered her head as tiles, ductwork, and finally concrete rained down around her. After a terrifying few seconds of chaos and terror the world fell silent. Coughing from the dust, Shudder found her own flashlight and turned it on.

Thankfully, she wasn’t completely blocked in, and shifting a few pieces of debris created an opening enough for her to crawl out from under the desk. The room had been completely transformed. Only a small corner could be seen now, the rest was just a column of debris extending from floor to ceiling. There were two doors which were mostly accessible and a third half-buried in rubble. None were the door they had entered through.

Of her companions, only Whisper was visible, standing untouched, waist deep in the remains of a duct, looking frantically at the floor around him. He made an uncomfortable grunt as Shudder’s light fell on him.

“I had the Seraphinite,” he said. “It slipped out of my fingers.”

Shudder scanned the floor with her flashlight. She didn’t see the Seraphinite, but she did discover Prometheus, lying face down, thankfully human again—or at least a metallic facsimile of human—and apparently unconscious. Shudder had lost the incense stick, but seemingly it had done its job.

“You should see if anyone’s alive on the other side,” Shudder said. “I’ll look for the Seraphinite.”

Whisper stared at her for a moment, then nodded and phased through the mass of rubble. Shudder started shifting aside chunks of concrete and tile near where Whisper had been standing, looking for the Seraphinite.

A moment later, Whisper returned. “They’re all safe. Sila ducked into another room and Repulse managed to get another barrier up in time to protect Hex and Lucas. Stray was half-buried, but I got him out. Lucas can’t form portals yet. They’re all wondering about Prometheus.”

“He’s not moving,” Shudder said. “I don’t know if I could wake him up or even if we should want to. I’d check for a pulse, but does he even have one?”

Whisper looked down at the unmoving form of Prometheus. “I should get him some clothes.”

Shudder nodded in agreement and Whisper disappeared through another wall. For the next several minutes, she shifted aside chunks of concrete, brushed aside dust, and scanned every hole and crack she could find, searching for the Seraphinite.

Finally, she spotted it. It had somehow fallen some distance away, dangerously close to a half-smashed computer. Did it affect broken machinery as well? Shudder picked it up, examining it. It really looked like an ordinary stone. If it became lost again, it could easily be mistaken for a gemstone and find its way back to a piece of machinery.

She needed to keep it hidden. She couldn’t hand it over to Nova Legion or Arachne or anyone until she was sure they planned to destroy it. That is, if she wasn’t arrested tonight.

The sound of footsteps came from behind one of the doors. She quickly concealed the Seraphinite in her pocket and called out, “Whisper? Are you back?”

It was more than one person. Had the others found a way around? Something about the sound left her feeling uneasy.

She soon discovered why when the door opened, admitting Valkyrie. She was dressed in the same uniform-like costume as before, but this time was accompanied by a stern-faced man in a red suit.

“Do you know who this place belonged to?” she asked as she strode towards Shudder. “A supervillain named Cruelty’s Calculation. What kind of person do you think would give himself such a name?”

Shudder considered running, but as far as she knew the only way out was the door from which Valkyrie had entered. She would be throwing herself directly into Valkyrie’s fake police. Besides, something told her not to abandon Prometheus.

Valkyrie stopped and looked down at Shudder, smiling. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Shudder.”

“You’re Valkyrie, right?” Shudder asked.

Instead of answering, Valkyrie looked around the room. “Cruelty’s Calculation was an Omega supervillain in the mid-80s. You probably haven’t heard of him. STRIX agents—not superheroes—put a stop to him before his plans got far, and the entire event was classified. He claimed to be able to mathematically predict the future. According to him, he had calculated the world’s end and his own role in it. The truth is, he was a reality warper.”

Reality warping was an extremely rare classification of superpower. It was powers which lacked any consistency or limitations, its wielders appearing to be gods who could create and destroy at will, or at least by sets of rules which made sense only to them. Physics and reason crumpled in the hands of reality warpers who could sing songs which turned into bullets or make cities vanish by crossing them off of a map. Even magic paled in comparison to its capabilities.

“He kept some of his victims in this very office, where he forced them to calculate the pain equations he used to torture the rest of his victims. You’re a smart girl. You can see why I would want to prevent something like that from happening again.”

She looked back down at Shudder, her expression serious now. “Give me the Seraphinite.”

She tried to think of something she could do, a way to stall, but the warnings from Snapshot and Sarah echoed in her head. So she pulled the Seraphinite from her pocket and offered it. The man in red removed his jacket and wrapped the Seraphinite in it.

“Thank you,” Valkyrie said. “Tell your friend about Cruelty’s Calculation. He needs the lesson even more than you.”

She reached out a hand and Shudder forced herself not to flinch as Valkyrie pulled Sarah’s camera off Shudder’s costume and crushed it in her hand. Then she turned to leave.

“Shall we take her, too?” the man in red asked. “Her only power is limited emotional manipulation, but the process has been known to change superpowers. She could become telepathic, or even psychokinetic.”

Valkyrie didn’t turn back. “There’s no need. Shudder will join us of her own volition.”

Then the two of them left.

Shudder picked up the remains of her camera, then turned her attention to Prometheus, who was just beginning to stir. As she crouched over him, he looked up at her.

“What did you do to me?” he asked slowly.

Depending on what he remembered, Shudder realized, the situation looked bad. She was alone with him and had no one to corroborate her explanation of what had happened.

“It was the Seraphinite,” she said. “It did something to you. I tried to warn you.”

“It’s only supposed to mess with machines,” he said. He still sounded disoriented.

“Apparently you’re close enough.”

“Oh. That sucks.”

He closed his eyes again and Shudder decided not to attempt to talk with him further. A few minutes later, Whisper reappeared holding a bundle of clothes.

“How is he?” Whisper asked.

“Not great,” Prometheus replied. “Thinking I might lay here forever.”

Whisper sighed in what Shudder imagined was relief, even if it sounded more like annoyance. “He’s awake. What about the Seraphinite?”

Shudder briefly considered lying, but ultimately settled on the truth. “Valkyrie was here. She took it.”

“Who’s Valkyrie?” Prometheus asked.

“A superhero,” Shudder replied at the same time as Whisper said, “A supervillain.”

“It’s a matter of perspective, I suppose,” Whisper said. “You’d call her a vigilante. She kidnaps criminals, or kills them. It’s not clear which. Very few people who encounter her escape.”

“She’s not a vigilante,” Shudder protested. “She’s with the government. She has police cars and everything.”

“Fake police cars, from what I understand.”

“Not tonight. That blockade was ordinary police cars.”

Whisper looked back down at Prometheus. “Are you able to move? We should get you back to your friends.”

Prometheus stirred, pulling himself up to a sitting position and reaching for the pile of clothes. “My friends are here?”

“Just on the other side of the wall. I’m Whisper, by the way. This is Shudder. We helped your friends free you from the Seraphinite. I’ll take you back to them as soon as you’re dressed.”

“Yeah, I’ve met Shudder,” Prometheus said dryly as he pulled on a pair of slacks, then paused for a moment. “Listen, uh, I don’t know if I can see my friends right now.”

“Are you sure?” Whisper asked, concerned. “They’re all worried about you.”

Prometheus shook his head. “The things I did and thought…it’s really messed up. I just need some time. Can we go somewhere else?”

“Fine,” Whisper said. “You can stay at my apartment for the night.

“Not if it’s above the first floor,” Prometheus said through a shirt he was squeezing into. “I can cause structural damage just by walking around.”

“You can’t go above the first floor in buildings?” Shudder asked.

“It depends on the building,” Prometheus explained, “but mostly no. Can’t go in at all if it has a basement.”

Shudder had never imagined Prometheus had to live with such a limitation.

“Hey, you know what building is really well reinforced?” Shudder asked.

“No, Shudder,” said Whisper, “that’s a bad idea.”

“But it’s solid!” Shudder protested. “I’ve seen fights there. Superpowered fights.”

“It’s too public. He’s going to want somewhere quiet.”

“Honestly, public is good,” Prometheus said. “Anything to distract me from how I feel right now. Where are you thinking?”

This time Whisper’s sigh was certainly annoyance. “Serpent’s Lair.”