The River King 22 (Patreon)

The River King 22

Taylor Hebert

My patience was rewarded. When I saw him in his office, I struck with everything I had. The walls came alive. Every vent and overlooked closet became the beachheads for my invasion.

My soldiers were small, but they came in the tens of billions. While waiting for Coil, I’d had nothing to do but grow my swarm. I made no distinctions as I would normally do. Everything, from venomous spiders and hornets to useless mites and bedbugs, made their way into the base.

Each portal through the River cost me. I could feel my mind stretching to accommodate the new vector. It came as a surprise because I’d never noticed any such strain no matter how many bugs I controlled, but perhaps I should have expected this. Tahm’s gifts never seemed to play by the same rules as my original.

I tasted copper in the back of my throat. Blood dripped from my nose. I bit my lower lip, tearing the skin. Still, I persisted. Six. Eight. Ten portals. Three to close the gates. A fourth to rush Coil. A fifth to kill all power. The sixth, seventh, and eight to deal with the Travelers in their bunks. Ninth and tenth to round up the guards and deactivate any failsafes.

All the while, my crabby minions marched onward. They joined the insect army, providing much-needed muscle to the invasion force. When some of the soldiers picked up flamethrowers from a supply closet, possibly meant specifically to deal with me, they swarmed the men and tore them to pieces long before their watery shells could evaporate.

Off in one corner of the base, I felt my forces get flash-cremated. Never mind the bugs, even the watery constructs I’d sent were gone in an instant, reduced to so much steam and ash. I should have expected it; with a leader like Trickster, the Travelers were bound to be a pain in my ass.

I redirected more of my swarm. They were just flies and cockroaches, easy enough to sacrifice. Meanwhile, a few of those bugs spread out, going unnoticed in the chaos a s I moved to map the space and get eyes on my enemies.

It was a good thing I did. For the second time, a ball of fire formed out of thin air. It expanded and filled the corridor, scouring it all clean with scorching heat.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed a young girl, two or three years my senior. She wasn’t in costume, preferring a pair of tight jeans and red tank top. She was tall, slim, and blonde, with a natural, effortless grace that most girls wished they could have.

I closed off most of my portals. The taste of blood in the back of my throat was nearly overpowering now. Still, I forced myself to take control of the River. Tahm said that all of life was one River. If so, then surely the course of the River could change.

With great effort, I opened another portal, this time right near the Travelers. They were in a dormitory area that Coil must have reserved for them. They had their privacy. It also meant they had nowhere to go.

I sent in a steady stream of fodder. The fireball girl shrieked in visceral fright, more from grossed out impulse than real fear. She created a large fireball at the door of their dorm, roasting every insect that dared draw near, but also trapping them inside with the handful of insects I’d sent the first time.

Perfect. 

The fireball was pretty damn bright, practically a miniature sun. And, I knew from experience that Trickster needed line of sight to teleport. So long as it remained up, that fucker couldn’t warp himself out the door.

After ordering most of the bugs in that area to steadily stream towards them, I closed that portal and called the River again. This time, I redirected the flow of the stream until the mouth of the River was directly in their quarters. Their bathroom made for an easy place to teleport to.

I felt much like a fox in a henhouse. The first thing I heard was shouting and squealing. The fireball girl reacted to bugs in just about the same way every teenage girl did. It just so happened that for her, “kill it with fire” was a very doable strategy.

“Mars, let it die a bit!” one of the boys shouted. He wasn’t in costume either. He was a stocky boy with short, brown hair and a snub nose that might have been broken and reset at some point.

“No! Ew ew ew! Why is it bugs?” fireball girl shrieked. 

“Coil’s being hit by Monarch,” Trickster, the only cape I really knew on his team, said. He looked a lot younger without his mask, though he still had his obnoxious smirk that made me want to feed him his teeth. “We need to regroup with his mercenaries and counterattack. Send the sun ahead of us, Mars.”

Mars, possibly an astronomy fan, made to comply with her leader. The fireball began to shrink slightly and move forward.

I couldn’t have that. It was clear that the Travelers were Coil’s heavy hitters. If they got out, they’d receive support from his mercenaries and make taking this base so much harder.

As it was, I could see the walls starting to melt near the fireball. Perhaps Trickster had been right to call it a “sun.” The heat effectively died near Mars, though. She had some kind of heatproof field that protected her from the effects of her own power.

I abused that mercilessly. One of my watching flies dipped beneath her notice until it alighted on her face and crawled up her nose. The visceral shriek of revulsion that followed could probably have shattered a wineglass.

I took that moment of chaos to strike. I redirected my crab constructs when I saw the fireball. They were better used guarding the exits to make sure no one escaped or securing Dinah than dying pointlessly here. Even so, I’d gotten very strong. I didn’t think I’d need much help against people in an enclosed space. 

There were five people here, in a section of the base that had been converted into an apartment suite of sorts. Trickster, Mars, the stocky boy, a girl that was wheelchair-bound, and a boy whose face seemed to shift through different appearances subtly, almost like a character creator screen in a video game.

I dismissed the face-changing boy for the moment. Stranger? Changer? Either way, he wasn’t the priority. Neither was the fire girl. I felt reasonably sure that an armor of water would protect me from the worst of her power, at least long enough to move. That left the stocky boy and the wheelchair girl whose powers I couldn’t begin to guess at.

No matter, my target was obviously Trickster. Even aside from the decapitation strike, the past few weeks had instilled in me a blood-boiling loathing for teleporters.

Yes, I knew I was being hypocritical. No, I didn’t care.

Before anyone could react, I crashed through the door of the bathroom. Watery tentacles lashed out from my arms. They straightened and hardened into spears, ready to run him through.

“What the fu–!” the wheelchair girl shouted.

Trickster turned at the noise. His blinked spots out of his eyes even as the realization of what I’d done set in. I could see his eyes flicker around the room, looking for something, anything, that could take his place. But before he could make the switch, my water spears pierced his neck and chest.

Where could he go? Who could he swap with? I’d seen his power enough times to know that mass mattered. A chair wasn’t heavy enough. The bunk beds were too heavy. And I’d coated myself in water. If he swapped with me, he would have delivered himself into the River. Only his teammates were valid targets.

Whether because he cared for his teammates or because he could not trigger his power in time, he died. His last words were became wet gurgles as blood filled his throat and spikes of water shredded his chest cavity.

That… I wasn’t ashamed to admit it. That was extremely satisfying. It felt as if I’d finally swatted a particularly annoying mosquito.

“Francis!” the fire girl screamed, only for me to shove a bug down her throat. “Who are–Ack!”

I was then struck by a desk lamp that made the air crack with its passing. The lamp’s sturdy, metal base smacked against my forehead with the impact of a gunshot.

I staggered back with a cry of pain. Black spots appeared in my vision and I felt my skull crack. It was the stocky boy. He touched the lamp, and then flung it towards me with the force of a bullet.

“Shit, it’s Monarch,” he shouted. He immediately took charge in the absence of their leader. “Oliver, take Jess out of here! Mars, fucking roast her!”

Mars’ fireball winked out, leaving the exit clear. The changer began ushering the wheelchair girl, Jess, out of the suite. 

I couldn’t have that. If I let this Oliver guy leave, he’d probably change into someone else. I’d never find him again and always be wondering if I’d missed one. More to the point, I didn’t know what Jess could do.

She had to be powerful to be allowed on a team like this as a paraplegic. Since she chose not to use her power now, I assumed this was because it was too destructive or indiscriminate. The moment I took out her teammates, she’d probably fuck me over.

No, I refused to take more risks than necessary. She had to die now. Remove the leader and mover. Then, the unknowns. 

I leapt past Mars, barreling her aside with my shoulder. She flew across the room, hitting a bedframe with a thud. My hands closed around their necks. Two, quick twists made sure they wouldn’t be a problem.

That was as far as I got before the stocky boy slammed the whole desk into my side. The metal and wood hit me at an angle before shattering into a million pieces. His attack launched me clear out of the room, smashing the door off its hinges as I passed.

I felt the snapping of bones. White hot daggers of pain shot up my arm and torso. That was my arm and several ribs gone, probably a few organs, too. All across the bunker, my swarm army became even more aggressive as I offloaded all the rage and fear into the bugs.

I couldn’t remove the pain, but I’d function fine. I once pushed my own entrails back into my stomach after Hookwolf handed me my ass the first time around. Pain was an old friend, just a message I could ignore as necessary.

With a grunt of pain, I wrapped several tendrils of water around my arm and torso, forming a rudimentary brace.

“Mars, kill her!” the stocky boy shouted.

“O-On it!” the blond replied.

Then, my world became fire. White hot light filled my vision. I threw myself to the side, hoping that her fireball was also line of sight. Even then, I was in too much pain for it to be a clear dodge.

There was no pain. The miniature sun was all-consuming. At first, I didn’t even notice that I’d lost my right arm. One moment, my body had been coated in a shell of water. The next, it all flash-boiled and my arm was gone even as I rolled out of the way. The heat was too hot, too instantaneous, for my nerves to protest their sudden incineration.

Then, as I made some distance between me and the sun, the pain returned. My nerves remembered that they were supposed to be sending alarms to my brain. Searing agony filled me. It wasn’t just the missing arm. The water’s sudden evaporation helped shield me somewhat, but only just. It meant that rather than getting cremated, my costume fused into my skin. I’d have to flay myself alive to even begin healing.

I grit my teeth and forced myself to stand. The River coated me again, bathing me in its cooling waters. My swarm army had fully invaded the bunker now and I could close all the other portals, not that I would have been able to keep them open through the beating those two gave me.

My mind raced. My first thought was to flee. Those two had way too much firepower between them. One could turn anything into a bullet and the other made miniature suns.

But… But if I fled, they could break the perimeter I’d set up and leave the bunker easily. I’d already killed enough of their friends that future conflict was guaranteed. Or, they could trigger whatever contingency Coil told them.

No, leaving wasn’t an option.

I forced myself to call the River once again. Painfully, I slipped inside just as I heard footsteps drawing near. The stocky boy turned the corner just in time to see the last of the River close.

I emerged in a supply closet four hallways down. Panting harshly, I pressed water into the stump of my right arm and listened.

“Shit, she went inside the water!” he said.

“W-What do we do, Luke?” Mars stammered.

“I don’t know! Why is she even attacking us?”

“Francis–”

“Fucking Francis! I told him he shouldn’t have agreed to help Coil!”

“W-We can still get away. She won’t come near my sun.”

“It’s not Monarch I’m worried about, Mars.”

“Oh… Oh, god… What do we tell Noelle?”

“Fuck… She’s going to go fucking berserk when she hears.”

“We need to survive first. What if she comes back?”

“You need to stop holding back, Mars. She killed our team, our friends,” the boy I now knew as Luke said. “We need to end her or this won’t ever stop.”

“You’re right. I-I’ll do it,” she said.

It was too late. The moment I’d snuck into that supply closet, I’d already begun rerouting my bugs. Swarms were worthless against Mars, but bugs were very sensitive to heat. I just wanted to know where her fireball was so I could teleport into her blindspot.

I appeared with the sound of stirring waves. Luke turned at the noise. In his hands were several steel marbles he drew from his pocket. He probably used those when he wasn’t throwing lamps and furniture.

The marbles fired with the sound of gunshots, but I was ready. I took them against a thick shell of water that acted as ablative armor. They still hurt like a bitch, but at least they didn’t pierce through flesh or further powder my already broken ribs.

I replaced my right arm with a watery faux limb and smashed it into his face. My watery hand filled his nostrils and mouth. Faster than he could react, I plugged his throat and palmed his head like a bowling ball.

“Luke!” Mars cried.

She moved her sun faster than I thought she could. As she brought it near, I felt the water rapidly boil and enflame my injuries all over again.

Naturally, I grabbed Luke by the throat and yanked him into the sun. Mars seemed like a conscientious person. I didn’t enjoy this, but she should have learned by now what a weakness that could be.

Sure enough, the fireball winked out before he could draw near rather than barreling through him to get to me. No matter how powerful a blaster she was, it didn’t mean anything if she wasn’t willing to follow through.

I took the chance to spear her through the throat. I didn’t have anything against the blonde, but she sure as shit had something against me by now. I couldn’t afford to leave her alive.

That left one. Slowly, clutching my aching side, I turned towards the last Traveler. He’d landed harshly against the wall, not helped by how I’d grabbed him by his head and neck to throw him.

He looked up at me as I approached. “You fucked up so bad. Noelle’s going to kill you.”

“Noelle? Who’s that?” I asked.

The rest of the raid was going well.

I’d had Coil eaten alive two minutes ago so Luke was actually the only cape in the entire bunker now. Coil tried to trigger the bombs, but eating through their wires was the very first thing I’d done even before letting him know I was here.

Some of the mercenaries managed to get their hands on tinkertech weapons and fortified themselves inside an armory. They wouldn’t last, though. Laser weapons sounded cool, but they weren’t any better against a swarm of millions. The flamethrowers were more annoying, but I simply staggered my swarm and waited for them to run out of fuel.

I grabbed Luke’s arms and yanked. He was an impressive blaster, but he had no durability to speak of. With a pair of loud pops, I wrenched his arms from his shoulders. The last of the marbles he’d been palming rolled to the floor.

“Cute,” I muttered. “Who is Noelle?”

“Go to hell, bitch,” he cursed.

“You kidnapped the mayor’s niece. She’s what? Ten? Twelve? Are you seriously acting like the good guy here?”

“We didn’t kidnap her.”

“You’re on his side, that’s good enough for me. Now, who’s Noelle? Most everyone in the bunker is dead. I’m pretty sure I killed all your friends. The wheelchair girl was Jess, right?”

“Shut up. She’s going to go nuts. The city’s fucked and it’s all your fault.”

“Is… Is she the one in the vault?” I asked hesitantly. That vault wasn’t a place fit for a human. “What the hell did you do to your own teammate?”

“You think we wanted to?” he spat. More than pain or fear, he was absolutely livid at that. “She asked to be put there! You killed her boyfriend and she won’t have a reason to live anymore, you bitch!”

“Asked? Why? Why would she lock herself up with dead bodies?”

“She can’t control her power. And once she learns that Francis is dead, she’ll go berserk. She’ll stop at nothing to kill you.”

“I’m sure I can manage one more Traveler,” I said. Suddenly, I was very happy that I hadn’t bothered to open the vault earlier. “Can’t be too hard.”

“You’re strong. Ruthless. But she’s a mini-endbringer,” he chuckled. “I’ll see you in hell, Monarch.”

I tried to stop him, but he’d managed to get his hand on one marble. I hadn’t noticed because he hadn’t been aiming at me; he’d been aiming it at himself.

The marble was flung from just a finger, fired towards his own head. He didn’t quite have the range of motion on his dislocated arm to aim properly, but it still went through his lungs and probably his heart. With the sound of a gunshot, the last Traveler died.

X

I now had a problem and her name was Noelle.

Luke had been confident that I couldn’t beat her. He’d called her a “mini-endbringer.” And considering those were just about his last words, I was inclined to believe him.

Noelle was strong. Even had I been in top form, I certainly wouldn’t want to fight someone that could scare him like that. As I was, with my ribs shattered, right arm missing, and most of my flesh an angry red or melted to my costume, I had no chance.

And yet, the initiative was mine. Or rather, she didn’t know anything. Everyone in the bunker was dead but her, so she wouldn’t know anything for a little while. I could leave her there, but Luke had seemed quite confident that she’d break out.

For now, I decided to deal with Dinah. I appeared from the River to find a girl who’d shoved herself onto one corner of the bed. She sobbed quietly, knees clutched in her arms, head buried. She was dressed in medical scrubs. Urine ran down her legs, soaking the bedsheets.

I paused. I… I wasn’t good at this. I was reminded of the lone car accident I’d responded to. Maybe it was a bit much to say seeing how I was only fifteen myself, but children were illogical. They were emotional, impulsive, and… I really was no good with them.

And that was before I ended up looking like a horror movie villain. I looked down at the stump of my arm. Scorched black, it looked more like holiday ham than a human limb. The rest of me wasn’t much better. Still, seeing that sobbing girl, I had to try.

“Dinah Alcott?” I called, as gently as I could. She froze. The sobbing stopped, as if she was afraid that I’d hear her and kill her for it. “Dinah, it’s okay. It’s over now.”

Slowly, she turned her face towards me and flinched. Her eyes widened in terror and I remembered that I’d made my mask to look inhuman. It’d sounded good in my head, a way to separate myself from Taylor.

I yanked it off my face. It fell to the ground with a wet slap. My eyes met hers. I didn’t know what kind of face I was making right now.

“Dinah, I’m Monarch, a superhero,” I said softly. “Let’s… Let’s get you home.”

“M-Monarch?” she asked, in a whisper I could barely hear. “D-Dad said you’re bad…”

“Yea, I guess you can say that.” The mayor’s brother? I figured he had more than enough reasons to not like me. “I don’t always get along with people, but I’m a hero. I save people, and I’m here to save you.”

“Really? You’ll take me home?”

“I will, if you’ll let me,” I said, holding out my left hand.

“W-What happened to your arm?”

“There were a lot of villains here. They were very strong.”

“Okay. I… They gave me candy…”

“Candy?”

“M-Mr. Pitter. The crabs dragged him away,” she said quietly. “He gave me candy and it made me feel really good.”

“Good? Can you tell me more? Did… Did he touch you?”

“He… He wrapped a rope around my arm, and then gave me a shot. And then, it’d make me feel good, but only for a little bit…”

I remembered him. He’d been the only man in medical scrubs. Tattletale had been right. Coil had a pet thinker drugged up in his basement.

I’d had my crabs rend the nurse limb from limb, just as soon as he was out of her line of sight. I didn’t know what “candy” was exactly, but I couldn’t help thinking I should have taken my time with him.

“Can I have more candy?” she asked hopefully. “It makes the headaches better.”

I recoiled viscerally. “No! I… No, I’m sorry, I can’t give you ‘candy.’ Remember, you need to tell mom and dad exactly what happened, okay?”

“Okay.” She took my hand. “The candy… It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“It is. Just… Hold your breath, Dinah. Can you do that for me? We’re going for a quick swim. And then, I’ll take you to someone who can help you better than I can.”

“A swim?” The River formed its mouth on the ground next to her bed. She looked at the murky depths with fear. “I’m… not good at swimming.”

“That’s okay,” I said, squeezing her hand comfortingly. “I won’t let you go.”

“It’s dark.”

“I know. You can close your eyes and plug your nose if you want, but I need you to be brave for me, Dinah. Can you do that?”

“I… I can.”

“Good, here we go.”

X

I delivered Dinah back to her family. They… They weren’t happy to see me. To them, I was the scary murderer who started the gang war. There was probably some resentment about making the mayor look bad, too.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that I’d found their daughter when no one else would. The couple looked at me as if I was a rabid beast. There was a great deal of confusion; no different than if a tiger started working at a soup kitchen. It was honestly a little funny.

I told them in clipped tones what Coil had done, and that he was dead now. I didn’t want their thanks, but Dinah needed treatment. Rehab would probably be good. So would therapy, for that matter. They also learned that she’d triggered from me, though by the tightening of their eyes, they’d long since grown disillusioned with the Protectorate.

Whatever. Whether she joined the Wards or not, that was none of my business. They said they were moving out, anyway. The lucky bastards had enough money to own a summer home somewhere and had only remained for the desperate hope of finding Dinah again.

With that done, I found myself back in Coil’s bunker. In another life, or if things had been different, I would have loved to use this place. It was well-hidden, spacious, and easily fortified. Plus, I could have any number of insects or crabs to breed for my army.

Unfortunately, that didn’t seem like an option anymore.

I found Tahm Kench waiting for me in what passed for the bunker’s lobby. He wore a long trenchcoat that somehow made him look even more ridiculous. Between his lips was a Cuban cigar as thick as two of my fingers, though he made it look like a cigarette. He puffed away at it with a calm, unbothered air.

Then again, that was Tahm. My understanding of him had shifted somewhat since I’d met him. I understood now that he wasn’t a friend. Or rather, he was, but he wasn’t the kind that a lonely, desperate girl needed. He wasn’t truly emotionally available or invested in this city. He didn’t care, not like I did.

It wasn’t his fault, not really. He was a Case-53, someone who woke up one day with no memories and an inhuman appearance. How could he care for the plight of others when he had so many problems of his own? How could he love a city that was never truly home?

No, Tahm Kench was a merchant. He cared about me inasmuch as it allowed him to “sell” his bargains. It was… nice. His was the only truly honest relationship I had. Not even dad knew, though I supposed that with my arm the way it was, that was a matter of time.

I chuckled. Once, I’d gone through so much effort to make sure that dad wouldn’t find out. I’d gone missing, purposely distanced myself from my civilian identity until I could hunt down Hookwolf. Those days seemed such a long time ago.

Standing here, in a glorified tomb of bodies I’d made, I was filled with a strange sense of apathy. A part of me wanted to peel that bandaid off, to just tell dad all that had happened, all that I’d done. A pipe dream, but it was nice to think about.

“You always know where I am, Tahm,” I said with a placid smile. “Do you have a way to track people you’ve made bargains with?”

“Of course,” he admitted easily. “You’ve entered the River before. The world is a River–”

“And you’re the king.”

“That’s right, and I always know when I am needed.”

I gave him an unimpressed look that he shrugged off like water off a duck’s back. “Really, now? What do I need, Tahm?”

“Why, Taylor, what you’ve always desired, of course: Power,” he said with a toothy grin. He gestured to the corridor with Noelle’s vault in it. “There is one villain that needs to be slain for you to wrap up this little arc, no?”

I paused. He… He wasn’t wrong. 

Noelle… I knew very little about her because Luke killed himself before I could interrogate him further. All I knew was that he’d been genuinely convinced that she’d destroy the city.

The vault door was thick enough that I’d never be able to move it on my own. It looked like the kind of containment measure the PRT might design for Lung. Inside, my bugs found only death and decay. There was too little light to see her and all my scouts died the moment they touched her.

She had to be a brute. And, maybe some kind of death-touch on top of her brute package? Luke said she volunteered to put herself in that isolation chamber. If she couldn’t turn it off, it’d explain why she insisted on being locked up.

I sent one of my crabs inside. They couldn’t see any better than the bugs, but I hoped their watery shell would keep them safe long enough for me to learn something.

I waited, and was met with disappointment. The scout crab felt something similar to hide. It transitioned to scales, then fur, then hide again. And then, there was immense pressure put on the construct, enough to crush the crab in an instant.

“Changer-brute,” I muttered, “probably with a transformation she can’t control. That shouldn’t be enough to scare Luke, though. She probably has something else…”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there, Taylor. Information is not my forte, you understand,” Tahm said in his suave drawl. He’d burned the cigar down to the nub and began chewing on the last bits. “Now, while I can’t help you learn more about her, I can help you get ready for a dangerous opponent.”

“And what will it cost me?”

“I seek more than bodies, you know that. All power comes with a sacrifice. Ol’ Two-Coat’s a bit more honest about it, that’s all.”

“I already gave you Emma. You were right. She was my last connection to the girl I’d been.”

“Not the last, perhaps…”

“I swear to god, Tahm, if you ask for my father–” I snarled. That, I couldn’t forgive, not even from him.

He held his hands out in surrender. “I would never. I know the struggles you went through to rescue your father, Taylor. I am a merchant, after all. Knowing when something is off limits is part of the job.”

“Then what is it?”

“What did you want to be when you were young?”

“A teacher, just like mom. Sorry, I don’t know any teachers I can kill off,” I said dryly, and honestly, not without some relief.

“And when you gained powers?” he asked knowingly.

“A hero. I used to wrap a bath towel around my neck and run around pretending I was Alexandria.”

“I think I know you quite well by now, my friend. It is a dream you hold dearest to you, even now. To be a hero. To make a difference.”

I froze. He didn’t say anything further, but I understood immediately what he was looking for. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Are you sure? She can give you a great deal of power.”

“She’s a child!”

“She is. This is an inexcusably evil act,” Tahm agreed easily. He pulled out a second cigar from his breast pocket and lit it. “And yet, I’ve been led to believe that being a hero is about saving as many lives as possible.”

“Even if it means sacrificing the little girl I just saved, Tahm?” I asked, horrified, but not surprised. This was Tahm Kench, my friend who only saw the world through the lens of bargains and desires.

He wanted me to go get Dinah, to pluck her from her parents’ arms so he could eat her whole. White hot rage blinded me. I swallowed the vomit that welled up in the back of my throat. That… That went against everything I stood for, everything I fought against.

And yet, that was precisely why it mattered. I could see it now. Every deal I made with him had pushed me further, changed me in ways beyond the offer of power alone.

I gave Tahm bugs for his meals. I thought it was gross at first, but I fed him, and gave up my reservations for a little bit of power. That power bought hope, hope that I could really be a hero.

Then, I gave him cats and dogs. Live prey that stirred the heartstrings. In doing so, I lost the hesitance towards violence. I came to understand that in order to do good things, to really make a difference, I had to do many unpleasant things as well.

Then came the price of human lives. Back then, I told myself that Nazis weren’t humans, that I was doing a community service. No matter what subset of the internet agreed with me, that of course wasn’t true. I’d become a murderer so I could have a greater impact on my city. Every Nazi off the street was someone they weren’t hurting, after all.

With Hookwolf, I regained my arm, but that justification was stripped from me. Until then, I’d had the excuse that I was acting as a hero. The PRT disagreed, but who cared what they said? My actions were selfless. I wanted to improve the city and that was impossible unless I removed the Nazis. Hookwolf was the first person I hunted specifically for personal gain.

Last was Emma. Dear Emma, my sister from another mother. She’d been my most precious friend. Considering she’d also been the cause of my trigger, it wouldn’t be wrong to say she’d quite literally made me.

Watching her die had hurt a lot more than I’d cared to admit. Hearing her beg, to sob apologies and swear on all the memories we shared… What hurt most of all was how little those words affected me. Tahm taught me then that I’d truly left her in the past.

I let out a hollow laugh. Tahm was right, of course. I’d wanted desperately to be a hero. When I got powers, that was the first thing thought that came to mind. Lying in that hospital bed in the psych ward, I thought about what it might be like to do good, to be needed.

Truthfully, I’d long since betrayed those ideals. Hookwolf was a piece of shit. Most people probably didn’t care too much that I’d killed him to get my arm back. But Emma? She’d been an innocent girl. A bitch, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, innocent.

And I’d killed her for dad. It was a bargain I made without thought, one I didn’t regret even now, but I couldn’t help but think that my childhood self would be disgusted with me.

So what was one more? Why not kill Dinah?

Most people in the city thought I was a bitch anyway. My image improved slightly after I saved people from Bakuda’s time bubbles, but plenty of people still blamed me for the gang war.

I’d be a villain. No, I was a villain. My reputation was thoroughly tainted, to the point that I honestly didn’t think it’d take much of a hit if I killed Dinah. Hell, it didn’t have to be right now. I could just wait until late at night; no one had to know.

Which was exactly why I couldn’t let Tahm have Dinah. She wasn’t any more special than Emma. No one would know. But… But I would know. Being a hero was all I’d ever wanted and this was the first time that he’d asked me to throw aside my dream so blatantly.

I looked down at my missing arm. Dad would know everything soon enough. I didn’t have the mental energy to even try to lie anymore. It’d scare the shit out of him. I didn’t know how he’d react, but I knew that nothing would be the same again.

In… In that sense, being a hero was all I had left. Even if it was tarnished, even if the city I loved already called me a villain, I couldn’t bring myself to throw away this dream. Otherwise, what else did I have? What else was I?

“No,” I said, with steel I didn’t know I had. “Not this time, Tahm.”

He studied me with a careful smile. “Hmm? Are you sure? You’ll have to find another way of dealing with this Noelle character.”

“I know. I’ll figure something out.”

“As you wish, Taylor. Then I suppose this ends our business for today. I’ll be off.”

“I… I don’t know when I’ll need you again… or if I’ll call you again at all…”

“The most satisfied man in the world has no need of ol’ Tahm Kench. Perhaps, that will be you,” he said. Tipping his hat, he sank into the River, no doubt to tempt someone else.

I knew it for the cheeky mockery it was. I was a lot of things. I was determined to be even more. But “satisfied?” No, that would never be me.

X

I took a deep breath. I stood atop the Forsberg Gallery, roughly the center of Coil’s underground network.

It was a minor miracle that such an iconic building had remained standing despite Bakuda’s bombing spree. Even if there was nothing worth attacking in an art gallery, I figured she’d be the type to do it just to prove she could.

Below me, a network of bugs kept tabs on every inch of the bunker. I knew nothing of construction or structural engineering, but I hoped my insects would be sensitive enough to warn me ahead of time if something went wrong.

Slowly, I extended my senses and reached for the water around me. Belowground, the River formed a portal. Deeper still, a second portal formed, right inside the aquifer.

This was my answer. Power wasn’t always the only way forward. Funny enough, Tahm was the one who taught me that. Soon, the bunker would be submerged in its entirety. And with it, Noelle.

The vault wasn’t entirely airtight, but the bunker would fill up long before the vault. Even if she tried to break out now, the air in the vault would press against the water outside with the sturdy, reinforced steel door between them. It’d be like pushing a mountain, impossible, even if she was as strong as Lung.

The water rose. Soon, the bugs I’d left in the air vents heard Noelle’s final pleas. Something heavy thrashed against the door. And though she tried with all her might, she pushed against all the water I could bring up from the aquifer.

I set my jaws and forced myself to listen as Noelle hammered away at the vault door. Desperate hammerblows turned into terrified begging as the water level rose with inevitable finality.

“Please! Anyone!” I heard Noelle scream out. “Francis? Mars? Luke? Jess? Oliver? Please!”

She sounded so… human. When I first delved into that vault, I thought it housed a monster. Turned out, it was quite the opposite.

She’d been a good person, someone who hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone. She’d willingly sealed herself away. And now, I’d murdered her friends. I’d turned her place of solitude into a watery tomb.

I remained until the very last of my bugs drowned to death with her. I heard her last words. I listened as she took her very last gasps of air. I had to. I owed her that much. Even if no one else would, I promised I’d remember her. Until, one day, the River took me also.

Author’s Note

Extra long chapter to end The River King. I considered breaking it up, but it didn’t feel right. 

Anyway, a lot of problems didn’t get solved. The Empire is still more or less solvent. The ABB is fine. Danny is going to learn about just what a go-getter his daughter turned out to be. Funny enough, Leviathan might not be one of those looming issues.

Endbringers seek to incite greater conflict and though the gang war is bad, it’s got nothing on the entire Empire roster getting outed. Another reason Levi potentially hit Brockton was to free Echidna, something that obviously can’t happen now.

Of the shitshow trifecta of Bakuda, maskless E88, and Echidna, two were removed from the board. Not to mention, Taylor is now free to turn her focus exclusively to the gangs. So yea, potentially no Levi.

In any case, I consider this a good stopping point. Though there are a lot of lingering issues, solving Earth-Bet’s problems wasn’t the point of this story; that’s way too hopeful to expect here.

Taylor changed a great deal through her meetings with Tahm Kench. She gained a great deal of power. She lost a lot of the things she once considered precious. And in the end, found it in herself to cling on to her sole dream, however unworthy she feels about it now.

It’s complicated, not necessarily in the moral sense, more in the emotional sense. Taylor’s a hard character to get right and I hope I did her some justice here.

Also, Leviathan can’t kill my fic if I end it before him! \(^o^)/