11.07

Chapter 11.7: Fallout

Newter descends from the mall’s roof, a dizzying sixty-foot drop, landing nimbly beside the vial-carrying woman. He disarms her with a touch, seizing the vial. The crowd surges after him as he races towards Skidmark, intent on the remaining vials.

Skitter, with Minor and Brooks in tow, decides to search for Bryce amidst the chaos, while Newter confronts Skidmark. Newter’s attack is thwarted, and he’s hurled into the crowd. The mall’s windows expand, torches ignite, and a colossal face emerges from the wall behind Skidmark – Labyrinth’s power in full force.

Stone walls rise, forming a maze, as the mall’s exterior morphs into a grotesque temple adorned with animated figures. Faultline, Gregor the Snail, and a new, red-haired woman descend from the roof. Trainwreck attacks, but the newcomer eludes him, landing in the maze.

Labyrinth elevates the case of vials, but Skidmark forces them onto the platform. Gunfire rings out as the red-haired woman, seemingly having navigated the maze, shoots at Trainwreck, wounding him. Skitter, determined to retrieve Bryce, enlists Minor’s help to scale the maze wall.

From atop the wall, she witnesses Faultline cripple Trainwreck, severing his mechanical leg. Labyrinth creates stairs leading to Skidmark’s platform, while Faultline and the red-haired woman ascend. Skitter, guided by her bugs, locates the injured Bryce. His “family” is devastated: the girlfriend and her mother are dead, victims of Scrub’s power. Thomas, the man who brutalized Sierra’s friend, is gravely wounded.

Brooks tends to Bryce, while Skitter, grappling with a mix of pragmatism and ruthlessness, decides to leave Thomas to his fate. As they flee, Gregor attacks Trainwreck and Mush with slime, while Labyrinth impedes Mush’s efforts to gather matter. Scrub, near Faultline’s group, is hurled off the platform by the red-haired woman.

Skitter, Minor, and Brooks reach Lisa, Charlotte, Jaw, and Senegal. From atop a wall, Skitter watches Faultline and the red-haired woman corner Skidmark. Newter’s fate is uncertain, and Spitfire is likely guarding Labyrinth. Skidmark, facing defeat, launches the case and vials into the crowd. Papers scatter.

Skitter, at Lisa’s urging, uses her bugs to gather the airborne documents. Lisa identifies an unaffected corner of the mall, a blind spot in Labyrinth’s power, and they escape through a hidden shop exit.

Outside, they tend to Bryce and await transport. Lisa examines the recovered papers: a contract between “Cauldron” and the vial buyers. The document warns against the primary negotiator using the vials, detailing debts and countermeasures. Client four is flagged as a potential “Deviation” risk.

Other pages detail the financial exchange and the “Nemesis program.” Lisa reveals that powers can be bought, and a private army enforces the contracts. Newter appears, revealing that he, Gregor, and Shamrock were Cauldron’s test subjects. He explains that many subjects die, some are brainwashed into enforcers, and others, like him, are released as part of the Nemesis program.

Skitter admits to taking the papers on a whim and offers them to Newter, along with Lisa’s assistance in deciphering them. Lisa, seeing an opportunity, offers her knowledge in exchange for copies of Faultline’s documents. Newter, wary but intrigued, takes their information and departs.

Skitter is left to deal with the civilians: Charlotte, who now knows her identity, Bryce, and Sierra. The weight of social interaction, her weakness, settles upon her.