That escalated surprisingly quickly. I suppose we're at the "join or die" phase of this whole things, but setting Endbringers on people seems rather unsportsmanlike. Then again the Yangban are assholes, but do the Elite really deserve to get Leviathaned? I assumed they were mostly playing by the rules up until now.

So are the heroes just having faith that the Simurgh isn't going to mind-fuck them or are they pretty much resolved to being nutbag puppets?

 

Don't you remember what Taylor's "shard" was originally made to do? Communicating between the entities/shards/whatever. All the times where the entities talk to each other, and it's mention that much more is expressed but it boils down to words like "Territory. Claim. Agreement. Destination. Worry. Reassurance."- that's them using the shard Taylor has. Ever since Scion's interlude I've been expecting that Taylor can more effectively "talk" to Scion and the Endbringers than any other cape.

Really, at first I was expecting Taylor to do the talking on her own, rather than relaying Tattletale's words. But Taylor and Tt don't know what the readers know.

Anyways- still not sold on the idea that Eidolon actually is the creator of the Endbringers. By using Contessa's power Scion was simply saying the words that would make Eidolon give up. That doesn't mean the words he said had to be true. Though, the Endbringer's strange behavior seems to be evidence in favor of that.

 

One problem I have with the Eidolon theory is that when Behemoth was killed, two more Endbringers replaced him. I could see maybe a single new Endbringer making sense in that context, but it doesn't make as much sense to me that there should be two of them.

Also, everything we know about the Endbringers seems to suggest that everything about them was very intelligently designed and thought out. Their appearance, powers, schedules, the way they responded to Behemoths death - that all seems a little bit beyond Eidolon's subconscious to me, passenger or no.

It all seems a little underwhelming too, honestly. The mystery of the Endbringers was hyped up a bit throughout the story, and the theory that their creation was entirely incidental isn't very satisfying.

 

I just like the 3rd entity theory so much more than Eidolon projections. It fits so much better, and honestly I think the projection theory is kind of dumb. I mean, I understand why people think it- the reasoning is pretty clear- I just think the 3rd entity would be better writing.

I'm actually going to be a bit disappointed if it turns out Eidolon really made them. But it's not a big deal.

 

I think the biggest strike against the Eidolon theory is that the Endbringers are still there after his death. If those were projections like Siberian or Genesis, I would expect them to perish with Eidolon's death. Even if they are creations his death should influence them more than it did.

Really, it seems much more likely that Scion's words rather meant that Eidolon subconciously held back during the fights in order to remain relevant. If he had tapped into that kind of power he displayed in that fight, the Endbringers would have ended as threats a long time ago.

 

hahaha, Mecha-Leviathan.

 

Man, I just can't get over the idea of using Endbringers as weapons. It's like replacing tanks with freaking Shoggoths. There is no such thing as overkill any more.

 

Things are going a bit too well now though. Getting Endbringers on your side is pretty impressive. Just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

It struck me after reading this chapter, with the massive revelation of, "Oh God, what have you done???" that if someone wanted to, they could probably make a good case that, other than Scion, Taylor is actually the Big Bad.

I mean, let's say you're Faultline, or Doctor Mother (who ironically is losing her shit right now while Weaver, by outward appearance, is cool as a cucumber). Weaver just subjugated the Endbringers, and immediately used them to wipe out two of the largest groups that weren't interested in playing ball with her. She shows up to this meeting with Shadow Stalker, and Lung, and Armsmaster as her subordinates - three people who should absolutely despise her. And the rest of her enemies? They're dead.

So maybe you're Miss Militia and you take a look back at her career. She's a hero pretending to be a villain? Now she's a villain being heroic? Now she's a hero being villainous? Some part of you has always had that niggling doubt. And with every flip-flop she walks away squeaky clean, with more parahumans in her pocket. With every scary cape fight she gets more and more famous, more and more respected. She starts getting put in charge of villains and heroes and everyone in between.

And she always survives, sometimes by the skin of her teeth. She has the devil's luck. But if you're Weld, and you see her on that platform after the attack on Scion, you have to wonder. Because even after Scion tore her in half, she just climbs back up and stares at him, spitting and hissing and growling like there's not a doubt in her mind that she will kill him, it's inevitable.

So now you're the Number Man, back on that tower, in the rain, in the ruin, and you can't believe what you're seeing, even though your power confirms that it's real. The Simurgh and Leviathan, together, and Leviathan has just had what amounts to an Endbringer second trigger. And everyone's eyes are transfixed on this scene, because it defies horror, defies imagination, except for her, because your power tells you that she's watching you.

And if in that moment, Contessa leans over and says, "I can't see," what's left for you to think?

What can you believe? That by some coincidence, on her first night out as a cape, this girl met Lung, and Armsmaster, and the Undersiders, and lo and behold, here they are! That it was a coincidence that she pushed, and escalated, and fought, and was the centerpiece of every major event in Brockton Bay? That it was a coincidence that her calling in the Protectorate in the face of Echidna ultimately led to Cauldron's outing? That when she had an absolute stranglehold on the city she just up and decided that she would move on, and in doing so murdered Alexandria, who wielded untold influence within the PRT? Someone who could cap her career with a word? Someone firmly in Cauldron's pocket?

And when she'd finally slipped under your radar, no longer relevant to your plans, was it a coincidence that Tattletale insisted that she be allowed to join the parahuman meetings? Tattletale grated the nerves enough that she was a distraction, always a distraction. But was that intended? Was it strange that while Tattletale's power seemed useful and was welcomed, she was always there, saying a few strong words, judging, and deciding.

And in the final moments, before Scion decided to turn on humanity, was it a coincidence that she was there, leading capes in the field? That she was the last person to speak to Scion before Jacob?

You knew that Skitter was the name the press and the PRT had pinned on her, in the beginning. She'd chosen the name Weaver for herself. Did you ever ask what she'd been weaving?

You knew that she had power like Jacob's, that someway, somehow, she was different. You just didn't know how different.

Jacob? The Simurgh? To her, in the end, they were just pawns.

 

That there would make a great interlude

 

Yes it would, though it's not Jacob, it's Jack Slash.

 

It's both.

 

Well, I can see a meeting happening to which everyone but Skitter's group is invited to, where they discuss something along these lines, maybe a ceasefire to do something about the girl who has been one of the most influential pieces on the board for quite some time now.

I mean, whenever she joined a group, she ended up as its leader. She joined the Undersiders, she became the boss. She joined with Coil, she became the leader of the city. She joined the Wards, she became the leader of her own faction that included heroes and villains alike. She joined the side she is on right now, they have two Endbringers under her leadership and now she wants for all of humanity to band together.

There seems to be a pattern.

Awesome stuff, Howdy.

 

Awesome there Howdy, could totally see it happening. Being Taylor is suffering after all.

Also you forgot one of the potentially most incriminating parts. Dinah when talking about the end of the world says that while other people might be there Taylor will be there even if different.

 

I...

I really enjoyed this chapter. Brought things home and tied up some loose ends. I do wonder is the Simurgh's communication with Taylor is a result of Taylor's own power is or just the Simurgh doing her thing. I hope it's the former.

 

Dude, the whole "Simurgh whispering ever-so-gently into taylor's ear/brain" thing was really unsettling.

 

The pathos is strong in this one.

I absolutely love this chapter. Unlike a number of earlier chapters, every conversation seems to hit the right key, seem to be perfectly constructed. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

The end is also interesting. Did Simurgh follow Tattletale in order to allow Taylor to get in those last minute goodbyes? I suspect that she wouldn't have done what she did in this chapter had she had an Enderbringer gliding above her head.

 

Once again, the Golden Boy looks like a dope. The Simurgh got more impact for two words than he got for four, I suspect.

 

Calling it now, Taylor becomes the third entity, wrecks shit and goes back in time to make everything come to pass as it has.

We ought to be pretty safe from something like that happening.

 

Doubt that.

Has been an excellen chapter, love these conversations Taylor has with people and how they interact with her. Hopefully we will see some interesting POV's with the interludes. I would like Glenn or so, or maybe Tattletale.