18.z (Bonus Interlude #4; Faultline)

Worm, Chapter 18.z Summary:

Dr. Jeremy Foster, a former asylum doctor, was awakened by gunshots. He heard a woman’s voice on his radio, not his captain’s. Sensing danger, he locked himself in his panic room, equipped with security monitors. His estate’s guards were down, and his phones were jammed.

Invaders, seemingly unfazed by his expensive art, entered his altered bedroom, now a field due to a parahuman’s power. The room transformed further, and cracks appeared on his panic room door. He fired his gun, but nobody was there. The room’s surfaces were being etched and transformed into plant-like forms. A voice identified herself as Faultline.

Faultline, leader of a mercenary group, was inside Dr. Foster’s altered bedroom with her team: Shamrock, Gregor, Spitfire, Newter, and Labyrinth. Labyrinth’s power was transforming the room, causing a bad day for her. They weren’t there for revenge but for information. Dr. Foster claimed he no longer worked with the Asylum. Faultline accused him of being a spy, bankrolled by someone, possibly Cauldron or foreign agencies. She threatened to expose him if he didn’t cooperate.

Dr. Foster, fearing for his safety and reputation, eventually confessed to working for the United Kingdom and the C.U. (China), feeding them information from the asylum. He was paid to observe, especially during the Simurgh attack in Wisconsin. He revealed his contact was named “Christof,” a name that excited Faultline. She learned that Cauldron might have been involved, suggesting they were interested in the Madison quarantine.

Later, Faultline’s team was in a hotel, discussing their mission. They planned to enter the Madison quarantine zone, created after a Simurgh attack. Faultline led her team through a tunnel into the devastated city. Inside, they found signs of life but no people. They encountered five survivors, who were initially hostile. Faultline offered them a way out in exchange for information about the monsters from the portal the Simurgh created. One survivor, Maddie, revealed she was a parahuman, like them, and had been experimented on.

Maddie, now called Matryoshka, joined Faultline’s team. They returned to the hotel, where Matryoshka experienced modern amenities for the first time. Faultline received a message from Coil in Brockton Bay, delivered by Tattletale. Tattletale wanted to borrow Labyrinth for a non-combat situation, offering a large sum of money. Faultline, suspicious but enticed by the payment, agreed.

While preparing to leave the hotel, Faultline sensed something was wrong. She found her team attacked and injured. Gregor was burned, Newter was broken, Matryoshka was pinned to the wall, Labyrinth was screaming and injured, and Shamrock was performing a tracheotomy on Spitfire. The attacker was a woman in a suit, who had defeated them effortlessly. A note left behind read, “Final warning. -c”.