7.08

The chapter continues the intense conflict with the Empire Eighty-Eight, as Skitter, Grue, and the Undersiders confront a trio of formidable opponents: Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket.

The encounter begins with Hookwolf’s taunting, revealing the Empire’s strategic shift to avoid being cornered like the ABB. Skitter tries to de-escalate, stating they’re not looking for a fight, but Hookwolf is dismissive, ordering Stormtiger to find the rest of her team. Stormtiger reports he can only smell Skitter and the two individuals near the ambulance, confirming that Grue is nearby but somehow undetectable to Stormtiger’s senses.

Hookwolf, a ferrokinetic shapeshifter, confronts Skitter, demanding information about Bitch’s whereabouts. Skitter reveals they split up earlier after receiving news of the email leak, a decision made to avoid potential danger. Hookwolf remains skeptical, and the situation intensifies when a disguised paramedic, identified as one of Coil’s operatives, attempts to shoot Stormtiger and Hookwolf. While Hookwolf is impervious to the bullets, Stormtiger deflects them with his aerokinesis. Cricket, a scarred woman with scythe-like weapons, is tasked with handling the operative.

Cricket and the operative vanish into Grue’s darkness, leaving Skitter and Hookwolf in a tense standoff. Hookwolf, unfazed by the bullets, threatens Skitter with interrogation, revealing Stormtiger’s ability to create compressed air claws that can be explosively released. Skitter, aware of her limited combat options against these powerful foes, anxiously awaits Grue’s next move. She finds him by the ambulance with the driver, hoping he’s preparing a plan.

Cricket returns, having subdued Coil’s operative, and Hookwolf suggests using Stormtiger’s brutal methods for interrogation. Grue finally acts, retrieving an oxygen tank from the ambulance and using it to create a diversionary explosion. He throws the tank, using his darkness to conceal it, and then shoots it, causing a blast that severely injures Hookwolf and temporarily incapacitates Stormtiger.

Grue advances, shooting Stormtiger to prevent him from retaliating, but Cricket threatens Coil’s operative, forcing Grue to cover them with darkness rather than negotiate. Hookwolf, heavily wounded, regenerates his damaged body with his power, transforming into a monstrous, blade-covered form. He lunges at Skitter, who flees into Grue’s darkness.

Inside the darkness, Hookwolf blindly attacks, hitting a mailbox and a fire hydrant, while Skitter evades him. Cricket abandons her hostage to engage Grue in close combat. Despite Grue’s gunfire, Cricket’s exceptional agility and reflexes allow her to dodge and inflict severe wounds on him. Grue uses his darkness to create a chaotic battleground, but Cricket’s echolocation, a subsonic drone that disorients Skitter’s bugs and possibly Grue, gives her an advantage.

Skitter realizes Cricket’s power is a form of echolocation that can be maintained continuously to disrupt her bugs and cause disorientation. She decides to attack Cricket, hoping to exploit this weakness, but Cricket’s radar detects her, and Skitter is struck by the handle of a scythe, then stabbed in the side. Grue intervenes, but Cricket wounds him further.

Skitter, despite her injury, manages to stab Cricket in the thigh, taking advantage of her inability to dodge attacks she can’t see. She twists the knife, inflicting a severe wound that finally incapacitates Cricket. Grue clears the darkness around them, revealing his own injuries, and they decide to retreat, helping the injured operative to the ambulance. They gather first aid supplies and flee before Hookwolf can recover and attack again.

Reaching a safe location, an old church, they find Regent, Tattletale, and Bitch waiting. Grue explains the encounter, and Tattletale assesses the situation, emphasizing the need to end the conflict quickly due to Purity’s ongoing rampage and Grue’s injuries. They discuss strategy, with Grue suggesting guerrilla tactics, but Tattletale argues for a direct confrontation with Purity as the most viable option.

Despite Grue’s reluctance, Tattletale insists, outlining a risky plan that requires immediate action. Skitter begins stitching Grue’s wounds, while Tattletale prepares to explain the plan, acknowledging the danger but emphasizing its necessity. The chapter ends with the Undersiders preparing for a high-stakes confrontation with Purity, driven by the urgency of the situation and the need to protect their territory.