Allison blinked her eyes in surprise for a moment, seemingly in shock that Farce would be-...hmm….
”Er...Farce?” Allison said, the girl walking over and gently removing the envelope from the other female’s hands with her own left hand, before putting her right hand on Farce’s left shoulder,
”There is no one else here, unless you have voices talking inside of your hea-....”Allison froze as she was speaking, cartoons with internal dialogue popping into her head at first. At least,before she remembered just what Farce’s power was, or...had been. She took a few steps back from Farce for a second, thoughts starting to race in her head. Ideas. Probably crazy people talk, but...was it her twin again? Or like, if not her twin then could someone else get stuck up in there?
In the meantime, she looked down at the contents of the envelope in her own left hand. Was something in here that had caused the voice then?
Judah limped with the cane over to Farce and inquired anxiously,
”Don't tell me..is he in your head too?” His body began to shake in rage. Everyone could feel the anger in the air around them. Axel whined in concern. Judah did not wait for a response. He suddenly pulled his sidearm from its holster and shouted,
”COME OUT PATRIARCH! I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU!!!” Judah waved the gun around threateningly, but did not flag anyone with it. That would happen when the villain revealed himself once more.
I had no idea that Master Baiter’s analysis of your power was so accurate. Her information gathering can be unreliable. Still, I FEEL like the real Dominique, not like a copy at all. Tell your insane friend that I have no intention of living like this and will gladly die… but first I have to get that letter to my son.Farce grabbed the letter back from Allison, holding it away from the other members of Lethal Force. A second later, she clutched her head and sat down on a pew, looking up at Judah with a pained glance.
”I’m not letting him out without listening to what he has to say first, so you better put that gun away, Judah, before I get mine and make you do it.” Her voice was calm, yet callous towards Judah. Farce didn’t much like how far Judah went when they finished Patriarch off, and was still a little on edge with what was going on.
Judah angrily stared at Gaia for a moment then let out a loud breath of air. When she got like this there was no convincing her otherwise. He holstered his weapon and sat down in a pew nearby. He began wrapping his bloodied calf with torn pieces of cloth. It was a rush job, but it would do. Judah began putting pressure on the chest wound to counteract the bleeding somewhat. Then he leaned forward in anticipation for whatever would happen next. Axel sat nearby and cocked his head to the side slightly confused at the turn of events.
Meanwhile, everything was silent in Farce’s head. She could almost feel the tension in her mind and in the air as she spoke aloud the next few words.
”Alright, you’ve got the floor in my head, Patriarch, now... you’ve got a son?” A real son. The only real child of mine. The kid hates my guts, but he deserves to know what happened to me. That letter is his absolution. It’s what will finally sever all his ties to me, to live free from my shadow. I planned to give it to him after I killed Mantis on television, but… Here we are.”Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just open this letter after everything you’ve done to us? Lethal Force was my family, and I’ve seen too many people die from yours than I wanted to. Zach, Samatha, Dunn, Fran, and we might as well count Genevieve over there as another one lost because of you, so why should I respect your wishes and give you this last solace?”You can spite me all you want and it won’t mean shit. I’m dead and I have no way to continue my mission by being stuck in your head. Shit, even if you let me out I can’t convert anybody else. I can feel how my powers are gone. So sure, you can be a dick for the sake of pissing on the dead. Or you can help ease the mind of a young boy who hates me more than you. If word gets to him that I’m dead before he sees the letter I don’t doubt that he may kill himself.Farce paused for a moment and thought to herself. She looked up at Judah, then down at the blood on the ground, and she pondered if it was actually worth it to do the final deed of the worst man in all of Denver. Somehow, in some way, she kept circling back to wanting to give the man his last wish. That was somewhat a courtesy on Death Row with a last meal, so why couldn’t she do the same with a final delivery.
She stood up from the pew, still clutching her head.
”If I deliver this letter to your son, will you promise to call whoever’s going to take your position and tell them to leave these two alone? Surely you know that I can let you do it.” I do not have an heir. The most likely scenario will be that my lieutenants will all share the position. But that can be done.With a moment of hesitation, Farce placed the letter carefully in her bag as she looked at Alison and Judah.
”This letter is not for either of you two to read, nor is it for me.” She grabbed her gun off the ground as well and stuffed it in the back of her shorts.
”I’m going to make a delivery that’ll mean you guys’ safety from the Community after this. After that...” She trailed off, grabbing a blade from the corpse on the ground in the process.
Judah listened intently to the one sided conversation.
She didn't even mention herself. He thought. What was she planning? Judah leaned on the cane and stood up replying,
”Gaia..we are a team. I don't know why you aren't including yourself in this deal but I don't like it.” He began walking toward her, tapping the cane on the way continuing,
”We are in this together. If it's a trap we'll be ready.” Axel barked in agreement. Judah glanced at Alison and nodded.
”No way. If it is a trap, I don’t want you guys coming with me in case none of us make it out. After that… I-I dunno what I’ll do. All I know is I might not see you guys again afterwards.” Farce looked over at Healer before back to Judah.
”Tell the PRT, or whoever you want, what happened to Healer. Maybe they can do something. I’m pretty sure that you should both join them if you wanna keep being heroes, Judah especially.””...Perhaps we can make a deal here, to get this all over with and settle things.
I can go with you, and make sure things go well while Judah stays here. That, or he goes to a location to meet me after this to confirm things went well.
However, I won’t ask or try to look at the letter at all. But…I want to be there to here and see how things go down in all of this,” Allison said, stepping forward between Farce and Judah (more a Mantis still to her), looking both parties in the eyes back and forth as she spoke,
”Also keep in mind, this is the Community we are talking about. Even if Patriarch is...in your head and being somehow genuine in all of this, and you can do your best to prove it, that isn’t a guarantee people are going to all listen. Including MB, who just ruined my college and my identity. Entirely.
And...you might need a better blade of mine than that after all of this, Farce...”The college student let the last words trail off in the air, biting her lower lip as she stared Farce in particular in the eyes as she said it. She’d seen Farce grab that blade, yes, but what good did it do when there was a pistol? Nothing, unless one wanted to go out samurai-style and end it all. Allison’s mind ‘that day’ had considered such, even, and Farce’s behavior in her eyes seemed to ring that warning bell loudly.
Judah stared down at Alison for a few seconds. Then he turned his eyes towards Healer. He resigned himself and replied,
”I will tend to Genevieve...our meeting place will be at this location outside the city.” he texted them both an address on the outskirts of the city. Away from any major destruction.
Afterward, Judah brushed past Alison and went to hug Gaia.
”Stay safe. I know where you lived.” He muttered quietly with a grin. Then he turned to Genevieve and handcuffed her behind the back. He motioned to one of the girls to help carry her. She was in no state to move by herself to his car.
”I’ll be safe. I’m probably not gonna stick around Denver any more after this, though. Too many memories.” Farce calmly said as she dropped the gun she was holding to the ground as if it was a used napkin.
”Won’t need an empty magnum, either.”Farce stepped towards the cathedral’s grand doors, looking out them with a smile and with her newly acquired blade in hand.
”I’d like to help, but I’m getting out of here before you guys can follow me. I don’t want you risking any pain from Behemoth, Allison. Judah’s got enough of a temper on him that I don’t need him killing any innocents. This is a solo mission.”She turned back one last time.
”I’ll update you guys on my plan after I deliver this, but until then… au revoir.” Farce waved for a final time before darting out the doors and ducking into an alley, making sure that she couldn’t be followed by Mantis or Excaliblast.
Allison felt herself walking towards the cathedral doors, getting perhaps close enough by the time Farce's 'last words' rang out into the large room. Perhaps it was due to intuition gleaned from the other parahuman's words, or perhaps it was due to an unconscious desire to not let Farce stray too far away right now. But...
"Farce, you dumbass!" the blade-shooting parahuman yelled, frustration swelling up in her words as she bolted right after the other woman,
"You are not gonna pull shit like this on me, like some damned martyr!"...Either way, Allison was going to do her best to keep hot on Farce's heels.
Judah turned toward her as she began to follow Gaia. He sighed and tapped his cane on the ground,
"Allison..sit down." Mantis maintained a level voice with the command. It had an air of authority which demanded to be listened to. His power covered their area of the cathedral. It began to overwhelm Allison's choices to the point where she felt like she
needed to sit as much as her lungs needed oxygen. On top of that, fear began to overtake her emotions; amplifying the already extraordinary suggestion.
Judah was not about to allow Allison to stop Gaia from her mission, foolhardy or not. It was out of their hands and they had to let her go.
Allison felt the rather strong tug on her mind, a push in the opposite direction of what she was wanting to do. Her body began to suddenly move slower and slower, as if her limbs were being encased in wet cement. Her legs began to twitch against her will as well, burning with the intense feeling that if she didn’t sit soon she would collapse or something. This came along with the increasingly severe pangs of fear flowing into her mind as well, as if someone had just injected her with-....oh hell no.
”You...you bastard!!! You trick me into a suicide mission...you get Whip and Sparce killed...MB has ruined my school and shot me up and exposed me to the world because of that damned mission...I get jumped on the way here….and now…now of all times you want to make me sit like some petulant child??!?!”The negative emotions began to flood out in full, Allison even gritting her teeth in her fury, as the fear being shoved into her mind finally tapped into the raw anger. The words Allison had long held in were now emotionally bursting forth like a shattered dam, flood waters cascading down onto the small town of her sanity below. All the while, the college student was forcing her body to move...even if it was a pathetic inch by literally agonizing inch.
Allison couldn’t resist forever or just shrug it off completely, that was certain at least, though...she was putting up somewhat of a hell of a fight in the process. Though soon her voice completely cracked, the raw fear, anger, and agony tearing Allison up inside, even as the college girl finally yelled aloud her swan song and tears began to move down her face. She merely hoping Farce would hear it.
”Farce! I know you can hear me right out there! Please...please, I beg you, let me come with you! Please!!!
...I ran away last time, I was afraid and scared, just happy you were alive. But I can’t run away from this any more! Not you, not any of this...no matter how it ends…please let me be there!”But Gaia had left. Whether she heard Allison's pleas was not known. Judah somberly looked out the cathedral doors. The shaking of the building could be felt as Behemoth stomped ever closer. They would have to get a move on. He limped over to Genevieve and hoisted her over his shoulder. With his other hand he maintained a solid hold on his acquired canesword. Then he began hobbling out, clacking it against the ground as he went. As he passed Allison he released her from his powerful influence.
Without turning back he stated to her,
"We can leave together or alone. It's up to you." Then he exited the intricately detailed doors without another word.
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