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Contessa pointed the barrel of her gun at the wreck of a woman in front of her. This girl had killed Scion and saved every Earth, but she certainly didn’t look it. She looked unraveled and feral with her wild hair, vomit and blood covered mouth, and glassy yet frantic eyes, as if her brain had frayed into tiny strings and jostled into a tangle of knots.
She didn’t deserve to die here, pitiful and crumpled in some far off forest. She deserved a good, peaceful life. A life free of conflict and capes, a retirement from the hell of Earth Bet. A clean slate, and the opportunity to attempt to rebuild without the corruption of power.
Path to safely removing Khepri’s powers.
Only two steps. The savior of everything crumpled to the ground, the infinite stars of the universe reflected in her eyes.
As Contessa worked through the path to giving Khepri a peaceful and safe life and asked the Faerie Queen to make a portal to Earth Aleph and deposit the girl there before they sealed it off forever, she just hoped she hadn’t forgotten anything important.
What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck .
Aisha wasn’t having a great time. She’d been following Taylor as she stumbled around this forest for almost a week now (she wasn’t about to call her Khepri , like she was some all powerful goddess. She was still Taylor, even if she had been a tad terrifying as she mind controlled five thousand people as her personal army to kill God), leaving food and water out in front of her so she didn’t wither away. Well, wither away any more. Honestly, forgetting to eat and drink was hardly any different from normal Taylor.
Anyway that wasn’t the important part. The gunshots. The gunshots to the head. The gunshots to the head that she didn’t do anything about because holy shit the woman with the funky hat shot her so quick but apparently Taylor is still alive and now Fedora Weirdo is talking with the actual fucking Faerie Queen and that’s a portal! Not a hexagon though. Taylor’s were cooler. Oh crap wait they were talking. Focus.
“–seal it off forever after this? Are you quite certain?” Asked Glaistig Uaine.
“It’s the only way to make sure no one finds her. Some would want revenge, she deserves peace after all of this,” Hat Lady replied.
“Very well.”
It really was astounding how they were having such a pleasantly calm conversation while Taylor lay collapsed on the ground in between them with two bleeding gunshot wounds in the middle of her head. There was a bit of gauze on the bullet holes, but that was like putting tape on a broken window.
One of the Faerie Queen’s ghosts had just lifted up Taylor in a bridal carry and was bringing her towards the portal, and Aisha realized this was the last she’d ever see of her. Taylor, who’s own enjoyment of classic literature had led to Aisha getting into it. Taylor, who acted so stoic but was really just some dork who hid her emotions in bugs. Taylor, who did anything to protect her team, was going to be separated from them forever. Again. Not her own damn fault this time. Would she really be happy like that? Would she be okay wherever that portal led with absolutely no connections, friends, or healthy non-self destructive habits?
No. Definitely not.
Aisha slipped through the portal after Taylor, just as she’d done hundreds of times before. Like always, she went unnoticed.
She half expected the portal to immediately close behind her, reveal that she got through in the nick of time, dramatically trapp her in another dimension. That did not happen. The portal was still open like ten minutes later while Business Italian (Contessa apparently? Cool name) got stuff like money and paperwork sorted out and patched up the bullet holes in the back of Taylor’s head. In all that time, there was nothing to do but think.
Aisha hadn’t even been that close to Taylor. Before Scion, the fondest memory she had was the girl viscerally gnawing out someone’s eyes with maggots while she lectured her and Alec about using fear as a tool. Real friendly stuff. But Aisha had watched as Taylor controlled everyone, Aisha saw in vivid detail how she deteriorated, how she lost everything. Aisha was used to being forgotten, but not like that. Witnessing Taylor’s mind die stuck with her, enough that she followed the shambling husk instead of going back. She didn’t want that to be how they said goodbye. Brian, Alec, and now Taylor, why wasn’t there ever just one more conversation?
It occurred to Aisha that there could be more, this could be a fresh start for her too. No one would be able to stop her from staying on Aleph like Taylor instead of going back to the post-apocalyptic hell. People wouldn’t even know she was gone, most of the time. It was a tempting escape.
But the Heartbroken would need her to keep them from getting sent to jail, from killing each other, or more likely from both. The Undersiders would need someone to tell them that Taylor was alive even if she was gone. Lisa would need someone to keep her from getting stabbed by everyone she talked to, although that certainly wouldn’t be Aisha. Lily and Sabah would need her to… actually they'd probably be fine without her. Rachel would miss her, Aisha liked to think, but she would be fine without her. And wow, that was it. Alec was long gone, so there was no one to join her in joking around and having fun. Taylor was going to leave again when they just got her back, so no terrifyingly ominous yet mysterious bug girl to tease.
A ghost entered through the portal, jarring Aisha out of her thoughts as she recognized the black motorcycle leathers and helmet with a skull on it, and for a brief moment everything was fine and dandy and her brother hadn’t died at the oil rig and she hadn’t cried herself to sleep the night after.
Then she remembered Glaistig Uaine’s power, and the hope was smothered away underfoot.
“Hey, Brian. How’s death? Having a good time?” She asked, her voice cracked halfway through.
He didn’t look up.
“Ah, not here for me, duh. You’re here to rekindle an old flame. Cozen wasn’t doing it for ya, eh bro?” Aisha joked.
He didn’t respond. He didn’t get mildly annoyed at her needling and give her a stern look that wasn’t quite as mad as he wanted it to be.
“She didn’t even know you died. I had to keep using my power so I wouldn’t give it away, so everything would seem fine. And I can’t stop using it now either, can I, or the fairy roleplayer will get me. I’m not supposed to be here.” Aisha stood up and walked over to the ghost of her brother until she stood next to him. She simply existed for a moment, no words came to her. It was an odd feeling, even if it was a familiar one. This was her chance to say goodbye, and no one would know but her.
“You were a nag, Brian. You were always trying to get me to make good life choices, which is real fucking rich considering you joined a supervillain team. You were always trying to get me to do homework even though it was hopeless, or to stop shoplifting stuff even though money was tight, or to be more responsible as a warlord ruling part of a major city. It was annoying as hell, but you did it because you wanted the best for me or some shit.” Aisha paused, she took a ragged breath before continuing. “It’s weird, I expected to miss the nagging more, the movies always say something like ‘oh I’d give anything to hear him do the most annoying thing ever again’, but I could still do without that. Maybe it just hasn’t set in that you’re really gone and I’ll never hear you lecture me again. Not that you were only a nag though, I guess. I definitely miss how you taught me self defense, and those shitty shows we watched together back when you had the time. I remember once you took me out for ice cream, and you refused to get something for yourself too until I was annoying enough about it, so you finally ordered a single scoop of vanilla like some grandma. I thought that was the funniest shit back then, you kept acting serious when it was just ice cream, and eventually I got you to start laughing too. It hurts, knowing I’ll never have those things with you again, but it feels like an old pain reopened, not a fresh wound.” She wiped at her eyes, and was very thankful her power hid her in this moment.
“I think it’s because I already mourned you two years ago. You didn’t die, but… it felt like it, Brian. Bonesaw killed the part of you that nagged, that cared, she killed everything that was you and left a hollow shell, and Scion finished the job just when it seemed like you were becoming yourself again. And I feel like it’s my fault, because you did it all for me, didn’t you? Supervillainy, fighting the Nine, everything. Even when you second triggered in that damn fridge, it wasn’t when you were turned inside out and strewn around the place, or when Bonesaw cut open Taylor’s skull. It was when she was about to start doing stuff to me.” A tear landed on Taylor’s body, and Aisha let out a shaky breath before continuing.
“And I never thanked you, did I? For everything you did, for throwing away so much for me. I was just an annoying little shit as always and you loved me anyway because you were just a good brother like that and you didn’t want me to be with our shithead parents. You wanted me to do something with my life, to be more than the criminal you forced yourself to be for my sake. And y’know what? I could. I could leave it all right now and be normal, I’d be safe. I think that’s what you’d want.” Aisha did her best to smile impishly, but it was shaky at best.
“Too bad though, I’m gonna march my ass back through that portal and meet up with the Undersiders and my squadron of psychopathic teenagers. I’ll be the best damn criminal ever instead of settling down now that it’s all over. I’ve got one last chance to be rebellious and get under your skin, can’t waste it, can I? What are you gonna do about it, bro? Are you gonna try and stop me?” The ghost of her brother moved, and Aisha’s breath hitched, hoping it was in response to what she said. Maybe he would do something about it, maybe he could hear her despite her power, maybe he’d tell her to– Oh, the movies were right. She did want him to nag her.
Brian’s ghost bent down and reached into Taylor’s bloodstained and singed utility belt. His left hand withdrew an old, crumpled, dirty scrap of paper, and his right fist unfolded to reveal a second one. He opened his glove-covered hands, and the scraps fluttered to the ground, laying face down. Brian’s ghost had no face, but Aisha could see him slump as he read the notes.
Hands shaking, Aisha crouched down and picked them up, her eyes misted up as she read the four and a half words. She wrapped her brother’s ghost in a hug, his skin hardly felt solid enough to touch, and wiped her tears on his stupid fucking motorcycle leathers that he thought looked cool.
Cut ties, I’m sorry . Those were the words that had led to Taylor hurting Brian by leaving with no warning, weren’t they? And everyone else when she had Panacea bring her past the point of no return. Did Taylor even know how much it hurt the people she left behind? Did she care?
Aisha would always have to wonder.
Brian stepped away and walked towards Glaistig Uaine on the other side. Aisha would give anything to be able to uncloak right now. She was sick of only being able to say goodbye when it was too late and other person couldn’t say it back. But she probably wouldn’t even be brave enough to say it if they could hear her. It was so much easier as a soliloquy, unwitnessed by anyone.
No, that wasn’t quite right. It was never easy, and it never got easier.
Aisha looked back, just once.
“Good luck, Taylor. Skitter, Weaver, whatever you are now. I hope you’ll remember me, one day.”
She followed her brother’s ghost through the portal, another tie cut.