Insanity

  “He’s around here somewhere,” I stated softly behind my mask, stepping out onto the chilly countryside of Vladivostok. Rachel and Miguel walked up behind me, their eyes still focused on me with distrust, clearly unsure of my words. I continued, resuming my walk as I approached the forest, turning my head sideways to look at the two rebels, “He was heavily injured after his fight with Breadman. The Celestial dropped him into an artificial sinkhole, with Oliver only surviving by slowly turning off his power on the outermost layer of his body, essentially using the sheer friction of his body scraping against the sides of the hole he was making until he finally came to a stop.” Rachel grunted and walked past me, entering the forested tundra and beginning to scan the environment herself, unimpressed by my supposed knowledge, “So you’re telling us he skinned himself alive in order to survive? That does sound like Grey Matter…” Miguel soon walked past me as well, eyeing around the forest in search of their heavily injured comrade. I shrugged, letting those two go about their business as I myself turned on my heels and began to search around the place myself. Only I wasn’t looking for the Australian and his horribly mutilated body, but rather for something - or someone depending on your point of view - FAR more important. And of course I knew exactly where to look, my eyes narrowing and a half-smirk etching across my face as I found it, the little red plant being no bigger than my hand and barely having begun to sprout any sort of leaves. Too bad it won’t remain small for much longer. I crouched down on my knees and gently dug out the area around the plant, scooping it up and placing it neatly in my pocket, dirt and all included. Here we go. Hope you’re nice and cozy in there, ‘Savior’. Now all that’s left is to take you to Iceland. Shortly after I heard an exclamation coming from a few hundred meters away, Miguel’s voice calling out to Rachel. I perked up and quickly rushed over while keeping the being in my pocket as concealed as I could. Right on cue.

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  “War… How odd. You wouldn’t lie to me, would ya?” Dreamstress asked with a mutter, laying down on her bed sideways while looking at the glass wall separating her from the woman sat down on the white marble floor. The mysterious woman looked away in distress, her arms crossed, “Of course not, Michaela. I have no reason to lie to you!! Look- Kronos is quite literally manufacturing the deaths of hundreds if thousands as we speak! Wouldn’t it be a good idea to, I don’t know, do something about it??” she called out in frustration, struggling half-heartedly against her chains. This woman here was Dreamstress’ most closely and zealously kept secret by far. She had personally killed every single person involved in the creation of this secret room, as well as any person who had so much as caught a glimpse of this woman she had locked up in it. Three grinned, her eyes glinting with energy, “Oh yeah, I heard you loud and clear the first time. Isn’t it wonderful?~ I better start getting ready for lots of big bloody battles, and order a few backup suits. I’m going to want to look my BEST when the monsters come looking for revenge~ Speaking of which, I’ll tell my escort to get my ride ready. Wouldn’t want to piss off Empress by being late to my super duper important monster extermination missions, after all,” she hummed in an almost cutesy way, kicking her feet behind her as she passed to the next page in the book she was reading, her lava-lamp irises intensifying in color. The chained woman didn’t seem surprised by these words or this behavior, her eyes remaining glued to the floor in defeat. This SURELY can’t be the best timeline, could it?? Come on, Kronos, can’t there be at least one where I get to live happily ever after?! She lamented, pulling on her chains to scratch an itch she had on her wrists. This sucks!! Damn you Michaela!! Damn you Kevin!!!

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  Maquineer hummed to herself her favorite childhood song, from before she became what she was now. The sun had set some time ago, and she was done with all the ‘paperwork,’ meaning she was finally ready to start what she actually came here for. She wandered around the closed beach for a bit, bobbing her head up and down to the beat of the music, swaying her hair around a bit as she looked up at the cameras lining the lifeguard posts curiously. A flick of her fingers later and the cameras were gone and in their place little blocks of metals and glass lay on the sand loosely, having reduced the machinery to its base components. I wonder what the cameras are even for. What’s the point of staring at beachgoers? I think it’s silly, personally. The concept of people getting stolen from at the beach had not crossed her mind. She sighed and scratched her chin, pouting, and finally decided it wasn’t worth her attention. She got on her knees, placing a hand against the sand, her palm opening up and revealing a small yet extremely potent sonar. She continued to hum the tune to herself, burying her hand in the sand and sending out the signal, closing her eyes as she analyzed the information she was receiving. Well, lots of sand of course. Tons of plastic from littering. Some coal deep down, interestingly. Lots of oil from ancient underwater vegetation. Aha! There it is! Maquinner got to her feet, clasping her hands together as the sonar retreated into her palm and her hand reconfigured back into, well, a hand.

  She smiled softly, looking up at the stars in the sky, yawning. “Okay!! Here we go~” she told no one in particular, extending her arms outwards, her palms facing downwards and her fingers stretched out like she was puppeteering an invisible marionette. Maquineer’s power - Artificer - functioned as thus; she could will into existence absolutely anything and everything she wanted to, instantly, as long as she could fulfill two very specific conditions. First; she had to know exactly HOW to build said thing, like a mental blueprint, with exactly what materials and how much of each. And second; she needed to know exactly WHERE these materials were. She, like everyone else, was incapable of just creating matter from nothing, and thus her power required her to know where the materials she was using for her creations were coming from. That's what the sonar was for, to fulfill the second condition. Alas, the machine couldn’t detect things above the ground, meaning she couldn’t keep inventory of absolutely everything around her; such as the trees dotting the landscape or the two women staring directly at her from across opposite ends of the beach.

  She took a deep breath and flicked her fingers, taking one last inventory of what she needed in her mind. Annnd done. A small amount of each of those materials disappeared from where they were originally, a small device instantly appearing on the sand in front of her, similar to a shoe box. She smirked and gingerly picked it up, blowing some sand off it and shaking it slightly, peering at it with one eye open. “Yeah, this’ll work nicely,” she muttered to herself with a little delighted smile, placing it on the ground and turning around to look at the blocks of raw materials she had turned the cameras into, once more extending her arms to rebuild them. I wonder what I’ll eat in the morning. I’m getting kinda hungry. She thought absentmindedly as the cameras were once more put where they needed to be, although she was unsure of if they were facing the right direction. She stared intently at the little devices, trying to remember how exactly they had been positioned before she dismantled them. I’m thinking of getting some french toast. Been a while since I ate some french toast. Mmm, some tea would also hit nicely… Finally she decided it wasn’t worth the hassle, surely some employee would just turn the cameras manually a little. No biggie. She lowered her arms, deciding to just leave them as is. Although that’s when she noticed her arms were detached from her shoulders, resting on the sand at her sides below her in the position she liked to use when manipulating materials. Huh? She thought annoyedly, blinking a few times before the information actually hit her. “HUH?! WHAT?!” she exclaimed in shock, her eyes quickly widening as she turned around in a panic, using her ability to re-attach her arms by dismantling them and re-creating them instantly. She set herself up in a fighting stance, her eyes wildly scanning the environment around her.

  Cassandra was sitting on a small disk of rapidly spinning floating water right in front of the surprised Maquineer, the rectangular contraption Number Five had come here to make in her hands as she tilted her head to examine it, bouncing it around in her arms. She smirked, grinning toothily like a maniac as she turned to look at the Celestial, twirling her hair with one finger. “Hello there! Long time no see, ay? Isn’t that right, Alice?” the terrorist asked with a haughty tone and a small laugh. Maquineer’s eyes widened even further, the Celestial scanning the strange person in front of her up and down quickly multiple times using all the different kinds of vision her eyes could muster, running all of it through her memory to the best of her ability. Maquineer opened her mouth slightly in confusion, furrowing her brow with a small shake of her head, “I-I’m sorry, do I know you?? I don’t think- I mean I might be totally wrong!! I just don’t seem to remember you…” she expressed to Cassandra, who merely pouted in disappointment in response. Who is this?? Alice thought to herself in confusion. I’m CERTAIN I don’t know her. But she’s acting like she knows me!!! God, I hope I’m not being rude…

  Cassandra sighed, looking down at Maquineer like she had been personally offended by what the Celestial had said. “Really??” the rebel asked innocently, water slowly emerging from the sand in streams and beginning to gather behind her, forming a spiral. “Well, it’s not like we ever met face to face though…” Cassandra sighed, grinning, her aquamarine eyes glowing intensely in the deserted beach. “I did meet this little toy here rather personally, though,” she added, once more bouncing the box in the air, “Awful experience I may add. I would absolutely not recommend that to anyone. Say, aren’t these, like, ULTRA illegal?” She asked casually, turning to look at Maquineer curiously. Alice pursed her lips, looking up at the sky and sighing before turning back to the stranger in front of her. She shook her head in disbelief, “I don’t believe you. There is absolutely no way you survived one of my nucle- I mean ‘especially big’ bombs!!” Maquiner reasoned with a shrug, lowering her arms down from their fighting stance. The Celestial interlaced her fingers, grinning wide at Cassandra as her mechanical eyes whirred slightly, being the only noise that filled the ambiance other than their voices and the sloshing of water.

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  Cassandra nodded along, but then giggled and waved her index finger patronizingly at Maquineer. “Oh yes! There is no way indeed!!” she agreed enthusiastically, her eyes narrowing animalistically and their glow intensified violently, the vortex behind her becoming faster and faster, now like a whirlpool, “I never said I survived the explosion, after all! That’s ridiculous. Nah, I said I knew it personally cuz I saw the aftermath with my own two eyes. You know? Different!” Maquineer furrowed her brow in shame at being corrected, her lips trembling slightly and putting a hand to her forehead and groaning a little, “Oh damn, you’re right… I assumed things, didn’t I??” she muttered softly, sighing nervously as her eyes anxiously stared at the woman up and down, “S-Sorry. I’m still not great at context clues, I know. I’m trying to get better though!! Oh sorry that’s out of topic-” Cassandra lifted her hand, shaking her head, making Maquineer stop talking momentarily in surprise. The rebel grinned psychotically at the Celestial, tossing the mini nuclear bomb in the air and catching it casually, “It’s whatever, more my mistake since I phrased it in a purposefully misdirecting way. And even if I wasn’t being malicious, context clues can be kinda tricky for everyone anyway… I’d say you’re doing great,” she told Alice with a rather monotone tone.

  The Celestial sighed in relief, giving herself a brisk and reassuring nod along with a small smirk. Oh that’s great! I’m getting better then. Cassandra then leaned forward towards Alice, the vortex behind her having grown so massive it sounded like a waterfall, spiraling like a tiny hurricane. The rebel began to talk again, her voice coming out excitedly, “But that doesn’t matter right now. So tell me Alice, who is this little thing for?” she asked, once more looking down at the ‘micro’ nuclear bomb. Five snapped out of her thoughts, lifting an eyebrow as she inspected the clearly ‘bad guy’ in front of her that had stolen an extremely dangerous device. She pursed her lips but finally decided to answer with a sigh, “Well, I’m going to either capture or kill you after this so I guess there’s no point in hiding it really… Mmm, that kinda makes me feel like a villain from a movie!! Sort of exciting- Ah sorry!! Yes yes, back on topic. Basically it seems like monsters have been acting up recently; cooperating and stuff. Oh and Four even claims he heard one talk but I’m not so sure about that one. Anyway, the bomb is to blow up the cause of all this when we find it before panic spreads and stuff. We’re also going to blame it on you guys!! Seeing as how nuclear bombs are still like HUGE time illegal and all that,” she finished with an anxious shrug, as if she was afraid that her use of the explosive wasn’t for anything grander or cooler and it would disappoint the rebel.

  Cassandra nodded a few times apprehensively, darkness shrouding her gaze except for her piercing icy blue eyes for a couple of seconds before she lifted her head up again, staring right at Alice with murderous intent and a wide toothy grin. She laughed openly, sounding more like an animal dying than a human, making Maquineer recoil in instinctual aversion, shifting her feet nervously. “Really? And you expect me to believe all that bullshit??? You expect me to really just take your word that you made the most illegal and dangerous thing in the entire world because of some spooky scary monsters?!” the rebel rolled her eyes, “Oh man, the biggest irony here has gotta be that IF you’re telling the truth, it would mean that the World State has actually been upholding the ban on this kind of weaponry at all!! How unexpected,” Cassandra sighed, her laughter stopping abruptly, “But that aside, you’re being awfully convenient and rude, aren’t ya? You were going to frame US detonating a nuke and you don’t even know where you’re going to activate it? I feel insulted~” Maquineer hung her head shamefully, pressing her index fingers together, answering, “Wha?! I didn’t lie to you!! I’m being serious!! And I mean- Well yeah I guess it is pretty rude… Sorry about blaming it on you guys and all, it’s just easier that way. But it’s not like you wouldn’t do some awful things if you had one, right??” That’s what Empress tells me anyway. I believe her, too… The intruder lady is right, though, it is kinda rude. Maybe I should apologise? What if I convince them to do it themselves instead, that way no one has to lie??

  Cassandra’s eyes narrowed and she jumped off the disk of water that had been holding her up, getting on her feet and kicking off her high heels, all while Maquineer watched her with dwindling interest. The rebel sighed and interlocked her fingers, beginning a stretching routine even as her grunts of effort were drowned out by the sounds of the vortex, the whirlwind beginning to cave into itself, slowly transforming into a sphere while still containing all the violent aspects of the hurricane. It was as if the sea raging in a thunderstorm had been condensed into a single very angry bubble. Cassandra continued to stretch like nothing was happening, opening her mouth to respond, “Yeah, you ain’t wrong to be fair. There’s a reason I’m trying to get my hands on this cute little thing after all…” she stopped for a moment, holding up the micro nuke and throwing it into the air, catching it again while licking her lips, grinning sadistically before turning back to Maquineer, “... Just not the way you’re thinking~ But I think I’ll keep you guessing, it’s more fun that way!” The Celestial furrowed her brow and shook her head dismissively, shifting her feet and extending an arm forward towards Cassandra, pointing a finger in accusation, “You’re talking like you’re actually going to get to use it and not like I’m going to kill you,” she noticed, raising an eyebrow, “That’s sort of rude in itself.” Cassandra pouted in confusion, once more throwing the small explosive into the air, turning back to look at Alice, “No it isn’t? That’s totally different, you can’t just compare me talking like I’m gonna win to admitting you were gonna frame us for actual nuclear levels of terrorism, idiot.” Maquineer blushed in shame and kicked her feet timidly at being corrected like that.

  Love Love watched the two women bicker from afar, she herself sitting down underneath a palm tree while silently staring at them from behind the tree trunk. What are they doing?? Are they crazy?? Why haven’t they attacked each other yet?! She thought in a daze, looking down at herself in confusion before looking back out at the beach. Jessica genuinely didn’t know how to feel about the situation at hand. Maquineer genuinely just casually admitted to having created THE bogeyman responsible for setting back humanity a hundred years of progress, and the other woman didn’t seem to give much of a damn either - even admitting she’d use it. The sidekick put a hand to her forehead and groaned in frustration, a bead of sweat running down her face as she realized she was about to be witness to another battle like the one between Alexander and John. Why is Maquineer doing this?! Isn’t that like actual, literal treason against the World State?? And yet… she doesn’t seem to have any qualms about it. Love Love was pale, her hands shaking slightly. She crouched behind the tree, questioning what she was supposed to do. And the other girl clearly doesn’t want to use that thing for any good reasons, either. She took another deep breath and peeked out to see what the two of them were doing now, steeling herself and deciding to remain hidden unless she REALLY felt like she had to intervene. But even then, the sheer menace both of those madwomen by the beach were exhuding made Jessica feel like if she revealed herself she’d get eviscerated instantly. Unlike with John, she wasn’t sure if Maquineer would let a civilian just walk away. At first she thought that surely the answer would be yes, but she wasn’t as certain of that anymore.

  Cassandra took a step forward, flexing her fingers in vicious anticipation,“Enough fraternizing with the enemy! I REALLY want to kill you now~ I’m itching~” Cassandra stated right as Alice was going to open her mouth to say something, lifting up the hand that had the explosive in it and throwing it behind herself. The orb of erratic and violent seawater behind her suddenly sprouted a tendril that grabbed the box, absorbing it like a slime from a fantasy game, the explosive disappearing within the foamy depths of the sphere. Maquineer narrowed her eyes, quickly realizing what the rebel had just done. I got distracted!!! The hero bemoaned internally, extending her arms and getting into a fighting stance while Cassandra grinned manically, her teeth glinting in the moonlight like a Cheshire cat while her eyes vibrated violently. I can no longer disassemble or move the bomb away, as I no longer know its exact location. It's swirling somewhere in there, constantly moving!! Maquineer realized, staring past Cassandra, ignoring the rebel and instead concentrating on the orb behind her. She did open her mouth to talk though, even as she recalled where everything she had scanned earlier with the sonar was located, putting her arms forward, blueprints flashing through her mind, “I disagree, rebel! This wasn’t fraternizing. Fraternizing would imply that I was treating you with some sort of preferential treatment, but so far I’ve only acted as I would have with any other homeless person. I’m just being polite!” Cassandra laughed in response, raising her arms as water rose all around her, coming from under the sand and from the ocean directly, gathering around her and twisting into the shape of spikes, “You really just called me homeless!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! You’re one insane little bastard, aren't you, Alice?! The name’s Cassandra by the way, in case you were wondering~” she exclaimed excitedly, bringing her arm down as the spikes flew towards Maquineer like a volley of arrows. The hero’s eyes widened and she quickly dodged out of the way, one of the spikes only barely managing to graze her shoulder, her electronics buzzing with energy. She once more looked past the terrorist, ignoring her presence for a moment and instead focusing on the orb containing what they were both really after. Maquineer skidded to a halt in the sand, grabbing the air right as a flamethrower appeared in her arms, immediately holding the trigger down and causing the device to spew flames out intensely.

  Cassandra jumped backwards and out of the way of the fire, grinning before landing on the sand unscathed, making a crescent move with her foot on the sand, her eyes locked on Maquineer, a droplet of drool running down her cheeks like a starving animal. “That’s not gonna work, Celestial!!!” she laughed at Alice, spreading out her arms, the orb only becoming even more intense even as obscene amounts of water vapor flew into the air, creating something akin to a smoke cloud. Maquineer harrumphed, jumping out of the way right as another volley of water arrows landed where she had been standing. She’s right. The flames aren’t doing anything to the orb. Of course, she must be just refilling it faster than I can evaporate it! She has a nigh infinite supply of water here at the beach. God, this is so annoying!!! Maquineer crossed her arms, the flamethrower replacing her left arm, a shield made of an amalgam of steel replacing her right arm, the wound on her shoulder disappearing along with the change. Her eyes began to glow slightly, the cameras in them locking unto Cassandra. The rebel only grinned more widely in response, raising her arms while water flew up into the air from underground, various swirling blobs of water covering the space between the two women. Both of them were now a fair distance away from the other, completely focused on each other. If I want my bomb back, I’m going to have to knock her out or kill her. Maquineer realized, brandishing her weaponry as she once more took inventory of the things scattered throughout the beach. And she can’t run away, she knows I am much faster than her. Although it doesn’t seem like she would wanna do that even if she could. “HEY!! I’m NOT insane!!! If anything, YOU’RE the insane one!!” she answered Cassandra accusingly, even in the middle of the intense battle, visibly distressed at the childish insult the rebel had hurled at her earlier.

  Love Love breathed out shakily as she watched from her own little corner of the beach, her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. She wondered again why Kevin had sent her here. If only he was here… Agh, at least with him nearby she knew she wouldn’t die!! Although, if she did die… would Kronos turn the clock to ensure she didn’t?? What if she had already died and he was making sure that didn’t happen?? More importantly, she couldn’t help but stare at the battle about to really get going down by the shore. She felt genuinely excited for once, instead of utterly terrified like in Immortalis’ mansion. Maybe it was because she was in a safe place where neither of them could get to her in a moment’s notice. Maybe it was because she could easily be confused for a random civilian. I don’t feel like a victim, I feel like a spectator. Like I’m watching a movie. She thought absentmindedly. A horror movie, but still a movie.