More Meteor Showers Bring Even Stranger Powers. (O/A)

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Shane's carapace began to crack before he stretched his torso so that his head was level with Cassandra's. His back burst biomass again and again in order the slow his ascent. He threw his arms around his assailant and opened his mouth. His face became a horrible maw as he spewed forth a black cloud of bio spores into her face. He counted the girl as fortunate. If the passenger had been in control it would have gone for the vastly more vulnerable orifices at his waist.

The water reached an apex and began to writhe back down. It rolled and drifted beneath the scene above like a stalking predator.  

[Nova Blancke]

Cassandra was about to crush his head as he stretched. When Shane opened his...mouth Cassandra replied with her open hand. She plunged it into his mouth like a knife. If she pressed further she would reach his brain stem Black spores did escape from it ands she didn't know if she had inhaled them or not. The doctors at Daedelus never could figure out just how invulnerable she was. Perhaps it same applied to her cells, perhaps not.

Alexavier looked down to see the water fall down. Shane had prepared something like that? Of course...that's why he was in the pool before. It had to be for Cassandra since he can't absorb her normally. So he wanted to do it from the inside out!


Theonis wasn't sure if he had to leave or not. In fact...he was conflicted about this whole matter. Sure it was Gidget's own body but it was alive without ...herself in a manner of speaking. So given time she would develop her own personality. Was this really the right thing to do? In a way they would be killing her. Then there was the matter with Shane.

"This...isn't my place to speak about and if you want me to leave I will but....maybe...it's best to do this..ya know...after Shane has been dealt with?" He asked hesitantly." I mean...what if he absorbs those two? I don't want to seem...cold or insensitive but right now...your...artificial body is useful."  

[PixelMuse]

As Trinity was carrying the Gidget's unconscious body, she looked to Theonis as he spoke. The thought did cross her mind, especially when she was speaking with Gidget, earlier about rescuing Shane. She had pointed out that she would have an advantage of not being mind controlled since she technically had no brain to control and also she had all of those defenses she had set up against Charles Ray. Yet Gidget seemed too focused and determine to do what her brother had instructed.

On the one hand would it be a terrible idea to rescue Shane and bring him here before he absorbs the two he's been fighting against? Wouldn't it be easier to just handle Shane and not Shane combined with mind controlling, super strength and quite possibly invulnerability?

She looked to Theonis and smiled, glad that he had brought that up. Then she looked to Gidget, the machine and awaited her answer.  

[mc2]

"Send Mom to deal with Shane," offered Christian. "He listens to her still, more or less. And Alexavier at the very least seems to listen to Mom some. Cassandra hates Mom, though. Mom is playing a dangerous game with the two but at least in Alexavier's case she may be making some headway. For some reason she doesn't believe he is completely evil. Mom wouldn't make the gambles she had if she didn't have some sort of proof in that- maybe their auras are unstable but 'good' or something?"

He shrugged, "I don't like the idea of sending her out as diplomacy isn't her strong suit, but she has a better chance on reaching a diplomatic solution than anyone else. And, Gidget can continue with the procedure. As long as she doesn't try to shield Shane again, she should be fine. She is pretty indestructible unless she overuses her power."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Shane turned head slightly at the last moment to keep Cassandra's hand from passing directly through the back of his head. He hardened the carapace as he felt his spores became active in her body. He only had one command.

Tear her apart.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

The machine continued it's task as it considered the situation at hand. It did not take long for a response.

"Shane has had time to plan things. He is aware that he is beyond redemption. He is also aware of Annie's reluctance. He has destroyed my bodies before, and he will not hesitate to do so again. He will hesitate if his sister is before him. He has created a plan B in this."  

[mc2]

Christian shrugged at the machine's assertion. "Yeah, but you think you will be capable of killing your own brother when you start having emotions again? When you start feeling sharper emotions such as love? Of course, if you think you can kill him by all means do. I would have a long time ago if it didn't mean that Mom would hate me. I don't care about the people he's killed or whatever- what I care about is the fact he's using Mom as a crutch and he should know better. It isn't that hard to know or see that his reliance on her is killing her."  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Christian's talk of love and hate struck a chord in the machine.

"Christian, I do not know what it is that you have been through during your time at Daedalus. From what little memory I was able to get from the girl, I can see that you are very intelligent and that you love your mother enough to kill for her. These are two qualities that I have never seen in a boy your age. While admirable to a point, it also explains vast hubris."

"You may have been subjected to unthinkable tortures and procedures while at Daedalus. You may have seen things done to other metahumans and people that would cause a normal child to become mute. However, do not believe for a moment that these qualify you in being able to know everything about the few people you have encountered in the last few days."


The machine finished it's task and turned to face the boy. It held a cable that resembled the ones used in the film "The Matrix." As Trinity completed her task, the machine said what it had to say to Christian.

"Your mother is also using Shane as a crutch. The moment Shane dies, she is planning on leaving you here at Valhalla with us while she gives into her vengeful desires and hunts down Daedalus. That is why I currently have her under observation. She believes she is headed down the same path of gradual madness as him. She is correct. However, she can be saved. I know a boy who is good at putting together broken minds. Before you say it, yes I tried with Shane. The constant flux of his body renders him unable to recover his sanity."

"Please do not mistake my distaste for your attitude as dislike towards you. I am simply stating my opinion in the matter, and you can take it as you see fit. You are obviously intelligent and able to understand complex ideas, so I will not talk down to you as I would most children. You are right on many points, but are wrong on a few as well. You said it yourself earlier, emotion is not just chemical. I do love my brother, but I know that he is better off dead."

She turned her attention toward Trinity and stated, "I am ready."  

[PixelMuse]

It seemed as if that both Gidget and Shane had accepted his death. Shane didn't want to go with me to fend off the two other metas... Gidget, didn't want to even try to save her brother... This new voice... the machine, I guess...only confirmed that he has to die. There was no restoring his sanity and if he continues to become more unstable then his status would be a danger to everyone.

As much as I'd would like for the two to see each other once more... it just might not happen. With her brother gone... she may need some consoling, especially with all of fer feelings back...

Trinity places the girl in the chair and strapped her in. She looked to Theonis, and thought, I may need to talk to Theonis about moving in with him. If Gidget finds out she would try to hide and say it's okay and so forth. I can't move if Gidget becomes fragile, someone needs to be there for her...

Looking at the body with closed eyes, she couldn't help but think of a song that she heard when she and Gidget were watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The title... it was at the tip of her tongue...  

[Nova Blancke]

The spores did as they were told but not as fast as they should. But fast enough for Cassandra to feel the effects. She winced at this new found sensation. It hurt. But she had never before experienced pain. She didn't like the pain. It didn't feel good. The pain caused her legs to tighten around Shane in shock. Small tears begin to roll down her face.Pain...pain..she was being consumed from the inside out. He....he caused this! He made her feel....like this! Her confusion from the pain turned into fury. She squeezed him even further with her legs. The crushing power between her thighs came close to crushing steel. Pulling out her hand, she went for his throat this time. She would squeeze it just as hard even if she knew it wouldn't kill him. It would however keep his head in place as she hammered down on it with her other hand. Somewhere in the back of her head she knew she had lost but she would use whatever remaining time she had to pulverize him.

Alexavier felt it. It felt as if something was devouring him instead. She would...he would die! No she would. Cassandra!

"No no no no no no no no no." Alexavier shot up and tried to rip Cassandra off of Shane with his powers but knew it was already too late. "You can't have her! YOU CAN'T!" He screamed out in tears. His stomach turned. Desperation struck him. A part of him was dying...literally as the spores were consuming Cassandra. Her cells might be stronger than average but slow but steady she was being devoured.

Something snapped. If he couldn't have her....neither could Shane and he would send both of them to space! He grabbed hold of Shane with his power and fired him up once more as he did earlier. This time Cassandra was with him but Alexavier knew that she would not let go no matter what. It pained him to have to do this. Clutching his heart he looked up as they were launched up.  

[The Count of Monte Carlo]

Ako helped clear away the unused equipment, and stood ready to provide the necessary jolt. He was unnerved by Gidget's robotic behavior, and how she no longer considered herself human. He worried that the phrase Shane had given Trinity to tell Gidget had done more than just tell her what to do, it seemed as though it had started a program that completely took control from the woman. "Gidget, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, his voice full of concern.  

[mc2]

“I don’t care if you dislike me or not,” Christian replied indifferently. “I’m not my mother. She’s the one who is willing to do anything to be liked. A lot of people at Daedalus has said it before, I’m far more my father’s child than Mom’s. Honestly, I knew Mom was planning on abandoning me. She may love me, but in a lot of ways she only loves me because she thinks she should. And, no matter how much she loves me, she resents me, more than even she realizes. I don’t blame her.”

He took a deep breath and said with a small smile, “No matter how much I want Mom to stay and be safe, I know that she won’t be happy unless she decides she wants to be. Even if you manage to fix her ‘broken mind’, you are just doing what father and Daedalus were trying to do. Sure, Vallhalla doesn’t do all kinds of experiments that Daedalus does, but that doesn’t mean you guys are any better, not in Mom’s mind. Saving someone who doesn’t want to be saved is wrong and won’t work in the end.”

“You’re right, I don’t know everything about the few people I have encountered in the past few days. I won’t even claim to know what is going on in Mom’s head. However, as a genius and being a sensor of emotions, I like to think I have a fairly decent feel of the situation. Of course, that could just be arrogance on my part,” finished Christian with his small smile. “Imprisoning someone because of love is just as bad as imprisoning someone because hate and fear. Of course, considering who my parents are and how I was raised I’m not going to claim to have a normal sense of right and wrong.”

Finally he frowned and said with a simple shrug, "Ignore me, though, by all means. Like you said I am wrong in a lot of ways. I make assumptions, it isn't a good habit."  

[PixelMuse]

The Count of Monte Carlo

Ako helped clear away the unused equipment, and stood ready to provide the necessary jolt. He was unnerved by Gidget's robotic behavior, and how she no longer considered herself human. He worried that the phrase Shane had given Trinity to tell Gidget had done more than just tell her what to do, it seemed as though it had started a program that completely took control from the woman. "Gidget, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

Trinity raised an eyebrow at him and wondered, Why is he asking again. I thought we've been through all of this. She kept silent, there was probably a good reason to ask again. Quite possibly because of the behavior Gidget the Machine has been handling things. She seemed to be acting differently since she and her body shared a spark.

Since then has the Machine done all the talking and not Gidget. It didn't sound like Gidget. Still in the end we are all after the same goal right... including Gidget dwelling inside The Machine. Is this what Shane has been referring to all along? Thinking that The Machine entrapped her?... Yet what other option would there have been if there wasn't a body to go back to. What if we end up transferring this Machine personality into Gidget's body? But... the Machine was programmed to return Gidget to Gidget's body. Only thing that could cancel that would be... if the Machine was self aware. Or perhaps the spark messed with the programming creating this personality. her eyes widen a little at the conclusion.

She started to look up the meta human who helped Gidget with Angel. With the number ready and text ready to send she awaited the response.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Shane could barely put a thought together as Cassandra pounded his head. The carapace was barely holding on and starting to crack. He realized that they were flying up again. His spores were breaking her insides apart, but it seemed as though Alexavier was simply going to sacrifice his counterpart to kill him.

He figured he had less than ten seconds before he reached the point of snap freeze. He felt that Alexavier was staying in place after having launched them. He commanded the spores inside of Cassandra to seize her muscles as he used bio bursting to turn his body and start to move away from Alexavier's field of telekinetic influence, which Shane surmised would be small than his telepathic field. Shane put everything he had into it.