19.5

Worm, Chapter 19.5 Summary:

Grue’s darkness, a tidal wave, surged toward Scapegoat’s van. Skitter, atop Atlas, pursued, guided by her bugs. The van rematerialized, heroes scattered. Skitter’s heart pounded, relieved that Scapegoat’s power remained intact. They were dispersed, battle lines shattered, struggling to regroup.

Skitter’s bugs crafted a cord, attempting to ensnare the teleporting Grue. Futile, but any disruption might help. The Triumvirate, joined by flying heroes, engaged Echidna. Alexandria, striking first, was briefly trapped. Eidolon, using a time-distortion bubble, slowed Echidna. Legend’s lasers, precise and numerous, carved through her, avoiding trapped victims.

Grue teleported, severing Skitter’s cord. Her bugs retrieved it, ready for another attempt. Legend’s beams followed Echidna, relentless. Alexandria, trapped in the slowing effect, used a traffic light pole to bludgeon Echidna, freeing a trapped hero. Grue’s darkness blanketed the area, Legend retaliated, targeting the source.

Skitter tied the cord to Echidna, anticipating her next move. Eidolon signaled, Legend fired, and Grue was pulled off his feet, the cord tightening around his neck, killing him instantly. Echidna, regenerating, rampaged through alleyways. Myrddin, with a wave of his staff, blocked her path, summoning heroes, including Tecton and Chevalier.

Skitter, realizing the need for guidance, directed the van and drew arrows and letters in the sky with her bugs, marking Echidna’s location and identifying key heroes. Exhausted, she struggled to maintain focus. Myrddin and Chevalier, a formidable duo, attacked. Myrddin absorbed Echidna’s vomit, releasing it as a condensed projectile. Tecton aided, destabilizing the ground.

The Triumvirate flew overhead, Legend unleashing a massive laser. Echidna, trapped and wounded, had limited escape options. Skitter directed heroes, warning of her imminent escape through the walls. Echidna, desperate, plunged into a building, heading towards the waiting heroes. Forcefields and heavy hitters slowed her, Chronicler’s replicas dealt further damage.

Echidna, falling, vomited a massive sludge of bodies. Legend attacked, but Echidna escaped, leaving a trail of clones. Myrddin contained her momentarily, while others fought the fragile, yet dangerous, clones. Rachel’s dogs, led by Bentley, tore through the ranks. Casualties mounted.

A speaker blared, disseminating Tattletale’s intel: Echidna was in a rage, controlled by the monster, not Noelle. Her regeneration stemmed from a core producing endless biological material. Scapegoat emerged, using a captured clone. Skitter, overwhelmed by phantom sensations, heard a subtle keening. “Shatterbird!” she buzzed, warning the others.

Shatterbird’s attack, weaker but still devastating, shattered glass across the city. Tecton, Scapegoat, and Chevalier were injured. Skitter, protected by the clone, remained within Scapegoat’s range. Battle lines broke, clones advanced. Weld, Atlas, and Skitter formed a defensive line.

Skitter fought a duplicator, her weapons against the clone’s relentlessness. Weld battled an invulnerable, burning man. Skitter directed him to attack the man’s vulnerable back. Legend’s stray lasers killed more clones, Weld finished the last. But they weren’t winning fast enough.

Echidna reappeared. Legend and Eidolon focused on her, leaving the clones to the others. A Kudzu-clone rallied the others, charging towards Echidna. Despite the heroes’ efforts, they reached her. The Kudzu was absorbed, then Echidna split into four.

The Echidna-doubles, though withering, posed a grave threat. One charged the ground troops, while the others fought the Triumvirate. Eidolon, caught by a concealed tongue, was pulled in, his forcefields failing. Alexandria, trapped between two Echidna-doubles, was swallowed by the original.

Echidna spat out Alexandria, now missing an eye, revealed as Director Costa-Brown, head of the PRT. Another spit, and Eidolon emerged, deformed but regenerating. Chevalier urged an attack before Eidolon recovered. They charged, a desperate last stand.