14.2

Worm, Arc 14.2 Summary

Amy Dallon, Panacea, fled in terror from the Siberian, missing the tips of three fingers on her left hand. Siberian, a master of the hunt, effortlessly kept pace, toying with Amy like a cat with its prey. She could easily close the distance but chose to let Amy run, savoring the chase.

A group consisting of Skitter, Grue, Tattletale, Trickster, Sundancer, and two of Bitch’s dogs watched from a ruined building. Sundancer, anxious, suggested intervention, but Skitter, through binoculars, explained they couldn’t do anything yet. Siberian allowed Amy to escape again, clearly enjoying the game.

Skitter noticed Amy wasn’t bleeding as much as she should be, speculating she might be using her biokinetic powers to alter microbes for clotting. Skitter mused that she would use microbes for defense, like creating an opaque gas or finding hiding places, but Amy, lacking combat experience, was panicking. Skitter began gathering a swarm around Amy, but Amy, in her fear, used her power to disable Skitter’s bugs, mistaking them for a threat. Skitter cursed Amy’s foolishness, hoping she wouldn’t die for it.

Skitter’s power weakened as Amy continued to disable her bugs. She used her swarm to search for Siberian’s real body, a middle-aged man, as Cherish had described. The search was difficult, as she had to find him without alerting him and triggering Siberian’s attack.

Siberian let her hair down, flicking it over her shoulder. Skitter gathered her swarm into decoys, scattering them as Siberian advanced. Siberian tore through a pickup truck, hurling one half through five decoys and the other at Amy, hitting her but not fatally. Skitter realized using decoys had provoked Siberian, but Amy finally stopped disabling her bugs, understanding Skitter’s intent to help.

Trickster detonated a grenade near Siberian, creating a distraction. Grue unleashed his darkness, and Skitter mounted one of the dogs, joining him. They searched for Siberian’s creator, finding two men together but Siberian didn’t react to Skitter’s bug assault on them. Skitter and Grue couldn’t find the creator, but Siberian was distracted by the darkness.

Skitter wrote “run in 3” with bugs, then sent decoys in different directions. Siberian attacked a decoy, then threw a chunk of wall, hitting Amy. Skitter used her swarm-sense to map the area, guiding Amy with bugs on her hand. They looped around to check the twelve o’clock position from Siberian, hoping to find her creator.

Skitter directed Amy into a mall, then had Grue clear the darkness around her. She focused on guiding Amy, tracking Siberian, and searching for the real body. Siberian climbed a building, then dropped down, heading towards Amy. Skitter pulled Grue’s arm, directing him towards Amy.

Skitter couldn’t find Siberian’s real body, wondering if Cherish had lied. She tested another man fitting the description, but there was no reaction. She theorized about the link between Siberian and her creator, considering range limits and the need for protection.

Siberian was tracing the wall of a building with her hand and forearm, punching through it and its supports. Skitter realized Siberian was trying to collapse the building onto the mall. She used bugs to warn Amy, demonstrating the danger with a diagram. The building collapsed, but Amy escaped. Siberian entered the mall as Amy exited, and Skitter directed Grue to intercept her.

They looped around, heading towards Amy. Siberian was leaping around, searching. Skitter wondered if she sensed vibrations or used her power to detect impacts. Siberian started chasing them. Skitter realized she should be looking for a vehicle, not a person. She asked Grue to grab Amy, and they lifted her onto the dog.

Siberian crashed into them, knocking them down. Grue banished his darkness. Tattletale stood, facing Siberian, and said they were there for three reasons: to save Amy, to kill Siberian, and to waste her time. She revealed they knew about Siberian’s other self and that the rest of their team was attacking the other Nine. Siberian flickered and disappeared. Tattletale was shocked, and Trickster cursed. They needed to warn the others.