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Just As Planned (Catalog SI, Worm Start) by Throwaway1971

Books » Private Rated: M, English, Parody & Romance, Words: 154k+, Favs: 136, Follows: 153, Published: Aug 6, 2024 Updated: Dec 3, 2024

3Chapter 3: Worm 3

The moment I got to the study, I was already doomed.

I managed three steps towards the high-back leather chair in front of the desk before I was abruptly stopped by a hand gripping the back of my shirt. It tugged once, and I was reminded of a kitten being picked up by the scruff of its neck.

Then she pulled up with her hand – then she pulled with her mind – and my shirt was gone. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have complained...but leather is typically not comfortable to sit in while topless. She already knew that – of that I had no doubt whatsoever. I am capable of pattern recognition.

"You have a plan," I said. It wasn't a question.

In response, I watched the chair drag itself away from the desk as I was dragged backwards into Ziz's waiting arms, which wrapped snugly around my torso as she pressed me to her chest and laid her cheek along my face. We floated forward as she crossed her legs beneath me, curling herself up in a position that could not have been comfortable for a human being – but that maximized the surface area of our skin that was in contact. We came to rest in midair, just in front and above the desk, the bottom of her ass just barely touching the floor and still leaving me too tall to reach the desk.

Which, naturally, floated into the air before us and came to rest at the perfect height for me.

Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I'm starting to become accustomed to this?

"Heh. Evidently the Simurgh tracker is down...I suppose they were having trouble finding you."

I blinked. Shit, that was stupid of me. How have I not already considered this? There is no way her strange behavior wasn't noticed even before we simply disappeared off the map. Did any cameras get a glimpse of me in her arms, I wonder? That would make certain things...complicated, if I became the Ziz Bomb. There were ways to change my face, of course, but Bonesaw is the only one immediately available and I wasn't keen on using her methods for that...and I was the only one of the three of us that would be able to use a civilian identity at all.

...Well, that might not be true. Riley, after all, is not nearly so well known as Bonesaw. Once some of Jack's conditioning was worked out...ugh, I didn't exactly want to rely on her to connect with the outside world.

Gently, I was squeezed from all sides, pulling me out of my thoughts and reminding me where I was. I took a deep breath, moderating its release as I focused on slowing my racing heartbeat. "Yeah. You're right – it is what it is. If you planned for it, then it most likely isn't an issue in the first place...and if you didn't, because I forgot to mention it to you, then it doesn't matter. We'll deal with it as it comes. For now, we just have to wait for the bindings to complete...things will be simpler once I have the budget." I tapped my fingers against the desk. "Hmm. I suppose I should stop lurking PHO and do something useful..." I fished my phone out again, bringing out the catalog. "I'll make a list of potentials that might be worth binding. Then it'll just be a matter of narrowing it down to ones that I can stand...then I can make decisions on if I actually want them."

"At approximately 0842 hours yesterday – the 14th of April, 2011 – the Simurgh broke its usual pattern of behavior." The screen shifted, Dragon's avatar disappearing and being replaced by a series of satellite images. The Simurgh was roughly visible uncurling itself from its fetal hibernation pose and taking off – the notation indicated that it was moving in the upper range of its recorded speeds. Piggot frowned, tapping a finger idly against the paper copy of the report sitting in front of her at her desk. It had arrived only moments before the call came through, and she hadn't had a chance to read it yet. On the screen, Dragon continued speaking.

"Initially, it was assumed this was the beginning of an early attack. It would be a bit early, but not completely out of projection. That would be the false alarm that was raised."

"It was quite short," Armstrong spoke up, his camera in the conference call automatically enlarging slightly to indicate that he was speaking. "I recall my people being...rather worried that the alarm had been cut so short. Several of them feared the worst."

Dragon nodded. "We projected potential targets as quickly as possible, but...we weren't expecting the Simurgh to take any action, since Canberra was only two months ago."

"Where is it now?" Hearthrow cut in next, asking the single most important question.

But also, in Piggot's opinion, the one least likely to have a satisfactory answer. When Dragon looked pained instead of immediately answering, she closed her eyes and sighed through her nose.

"That's...unclear at this time. We're investigating every lead, but the information was too critical to wait."

The Chief Director nodded quietly. "Agreed. Continue, Dragon. The more information we have, the more likely our conclusions are to be useful."

Privately, Emily thought that their conclusions were unlikely to be useful regardless. Regardless of how they deluded themselves, they had never managed to do anything but react to the Endbringers.

"Of course. After approximately five minutes of flight time, the Simurgh suddenly ceased all horizontal movement over Quarantine Zone Seven and began to descend."

"Seven? It went back to Madison?" Tagg grimaced. "What did it do this time?"

Dragon paused, and the images on the screen refreshed. "Not everything is clear – satellite imaging couldn't penetrate the cloud cover over Madison. However, we do have the following video from one of the monitoring stations."

From the sky, the monstrous angel descended rapidly, feet pointed towards the ground. The resolution of the video was just good enough to see its head tilted downward.

"That's faster than usual," Armstrong interjected and the video paused. He cleared his throat. "Every other video I've seen, the Simurgh typically descends slowly – this is the kind of speed I'd expect to see when it was retreating, not advancing."

Costa-Brown nodded. "A good observation. Continue."

The Simurgh descended farther, dipping below the quarantine wall and out of sight. "There's approximately thirty seconds of nothing, and then..." The timestamp skipped ahead and the Endbringer came into view again, rising just as rapidly as before.

But clutched in her arms, barely visible through the wings, was a blurry human form. Piggot leaned forward, fingers digging into the arms of her chair, eyes wide.

"That's – my god, is that a person?" Armstrong had leaned back in his chair, sweat shining on his brow.

"Who is he? Any identifying characteristics?" Tagg looked like he'd eaten something rotten.

Dragon shook her head. "No. The clothing isn't noteworthy. We can surmise that whoever it is, he's tall – somewhere between six and six-point-five feet based on what we can see."

"Nothing else?" Piggot grit her teeth.

"No. There's a gap here – the Simurgh doesn't break cloud cover for thirty-two-point-six minutes, meaning she must have slowed or stopped. The speed of her ascent from the Quarantine Zone would put her breaking the clouds within five minutes at the latest."

"A gap? Meaning this isn't where it was lost. What else do we know?" Costa-Brown looked unaffected, but Piggot had interacted with her a few times and gotten a measure of the woman. She was shaken.

A satellite image appeared once again, this one much clearer. The Simurgh, staring straight into the center of the shot, wings wrapped more closely around its body than normal. From beneath its wings and arms, two legs emerged in dark pants and generic sneakers. Nothing above the waist was visible.

"This is the final shot of the Simurgh before its disappearance. From one frame to the next..." The image changed. Everything was exactly the same – the clouds beneath had not moved, not a single ripple out of place. However, the Simurgh and its passenger were missing.

There was a very loud silence.

"Do you have this as a video?" The Chief Director's voice was stiff. Dragon nodded in response. "Play it."

The timestamp changed, and for just a moment the clouds rippled by on screen. Then the monster broke through, rising rapidly in frame, eyes locked on the center of the camera and wings held like a shield (or a cage) in front of whoever it'd stolen from the quarantine. Then, without fanfare or visible effect, it was gone.

Tagg let out a breath. "What are the chances this has been tampered with?"

"If it has, I'm unable to detect it – and so is WEDGDG."

"Not terribly high, then...but possible." The Chief Director sighed. "Very well. Initial thoughts?"

"It's...possible that man possesses a Stranger power. I've seen similar powers before, although rarely so complete – and obviously never used on an Endbringer. But, in theory, if powers can be used to attack them..." Armstrong trailed off.

"Hiding that thing does sound like something one of its lunatics would do," Tagg grunted.

"It could also have been a tinkertech device of some kind. Madison is where the Simurgh previously deployed such tactics, is it not?" Piggot clasped her hands.

"It is. In either case, though, the question becomes why. Why wait until this moment to deploy it? Why not hide itself and its quarry when leaving the Quarantine Zone in the first place, or after taking to the air?" Armstrong gesticulated at the air.

"Trying to determine why the Simurgh does things is dangerous," Tagg said. Piggot found herself agreeing with the man.

"The most important question is simple. Was this an attack? Was the man the target, and the Simurgh successful in its objective?" The Chief Director folded her hands in front of her face in thought. "Because if so, there is little we can do to change things now. However, if it was not, and the Simurgh is suddenly breaking the pattern the Endbringers have held since their appearance..."

"That question will answer itself. If Leviathan moves in the next two months..." Tagg let the thought lie.

"But if it does not, and we fail to consider the alternative, we will be two months behind." With a sigh, the Chief Director slumped slightly. "We have no other information?"

"No, Chief Director. As soon as more becomes known, I will inform you."

She waved a hand. "Very well. Any further input?" Silence. "Then you're all dismissed. Further information will be forthcoming." The call immediately disconnected, and Piggot allowed herself a moment to slump in her chair.

Then the office shook as the sound of a distant explosion reached her ears, and she reached for the alarm instinctively before it triggered on its own.

Chapter 33 - 3