-------------
Chapter 17
-------------

The sun had barely risen when Mortar Mage left the mansion. Mary followed from a distance. She had been curious about that man for some time, and her gut told her that he went somewhere that Mary had never known before.

If it was home, and she saw nothing suspicious, then of course she would turn back and go somewhere else.

However, she soon found herself in Siren’s Gauntlet, and suddenly doubted that Mortar was heading home, least of all in his hero costume. Mary followed him to a building wedged in the corner of the district. The building was unmarked save for its address. It wasn’t built like any residence, as were most of the poorly maintained structures in this district.

She didn’t normally care about Mortar Mage’s personal affairs, but Mary had reason to get involved now. Everything Mortar had said lately about a war, what Halah had said about Mortar’s shadow, made Mary think there was something important that the man was still hiding.

Once Mortar had entered the building, Mary waited a moment before walking up to it and knocking on the door.

“I don’t want any cookies, thank you!” came his voice from within.

Mary said, “That’s not until February, Mortar. It’s me.”

Seconds passed, and the door opened with banging sound. Mortar Mage looked at Mary with a curious look on his face. Then he stepped aside and let her in. The interior was that of a laboratory with low lighting in most places, from what she could tell at the entrance.

“Welcome, I guess,” Mortar Mage said while walking deeper inside. “You’re now the third person who knows I come here.”

“This isn’t where your magazine is printed, then?” Mary said. She entered the next room, and the one after that, while taking in the sights.

“Not even a data printer for a calculator from the 70s.”

“There’s some high tech stuff here, though.”

She stopped in a room with computer consoles that made up a circular pattern in the middle, and tubes decorated the walls at even intervals. Mary looked inside the tubes and found people with similar, familiar features sleeping without any sign of motion. The tubes all had signs at the top with serial numbers and the word “Model” on them.

One tube had a woman in it. Mary recognized her, and the others, before seeing the sign above her where the number had been crossed out and a name was written in its stead.

“Toyenna,” said Mary. “These are all androids.”

“They’re more than that,” Mortar said as he was setting something up by one of the consoles.

“What is this?”

“It’s a terribly long story. To make that story as short as possible, they were built to terrorize everyone, regardless of what dimensional realm we live in, but something happened with one of them. The others eventually learned of her and aimed to destroy her if she could not be fixed. She agreed to a plan—the only one we had—to use their combined power to create a seal. She baited them to this place, and now they stand between us and something that would make The Event look like a cute puppy trying to bite at you playfully.”

“Something?”

“The literal end of the universe, out of phase with our own time.”

“That sounds like it could be important.”

“You might be right. This is the biggest project I’ve been working on for the last four years. I’ve been maintaining the equipment and trying to upgrade some of it as safely as possible. If they awaken or if any one thing goes wrong, we’d be worse than dead; we’d be nothing without past, future, or meaning. However, I’ve been running calculations and upgrades in hopes that I can at least awaken Tawnya without disturbing the balance.”

“Warren.”

“But enough about me, or her. How is your sister doing?”

“She’s sleeping finally. Jackie needs time to adjust.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m OK, I guess.”

“Liar.”

“You do know I can kick your butt.” Mary looked at him plainly, and Mortar only laughed. “I’ve been having nightmares lately, and feelings.”

“Oh? What kind of nightmares?”

“I’ve been dreaming that my succubus self has been coming back. It scares me, Mortar. I’ve been getting closer and closer to losing myself to feelings that I can’t even deal with. I feel like, at any moment, I might harm or kill again because I can’t control it for long.”

Mortar beckoned with his fingers, and pointed to a circle on the ground. Mary walked into it warily, and saw Mortar walk to another computer. Seconds later, a nervous Mary heard some clicking and beeping.

Then her feet lifted off the ground, and a column of light engulfed her floating body.

A projection appeared between Mary and Mortar Mage, which showed a female body. A bar of static ran down the projection, and it changed to reflect various systems.

“As you can see,” said Mortar, “you’re quite human, albeit one mutated to a point that allows you to compensate for ice powers, super strength, and accelerated reflexes. I may not be a doctor of medicine, but I see nothing wrong with you. You’re a perfectly healthy young woman.”

“What about my feelings? My urges?”

“What part of ‘perfectly healthy’ did you miss? It’s normal to have feelings, though mileage may vary from person to person. There’s no shame in having them. Maybe you should communicate this with Kyra?”

She felt excessively warm in the cheeks. “It’s more than just Kyra. There’s someone I’ve been trying not to do anything with.”

“Is it because you’re afraid you’ll lose Kyra?”

“No. Yes. Damn it, Mortar, it’s everything I’ve yet to truly understand. Why did my life have to get so complicated since becoming a woman?”

“I think it was destined to become complicated since the day you were born, my friend.” He pressed some keys, and Mary was let back down on the ground.

“You’re a help.”

“Remember, Mary, when you became a human woman after our conflict with the demons a few months ago, I referred you to a couple people who specialized in transformative magic in case you wanted to change back into a man. I guess my question is: why haven’t you if you hate it?”

“I don’t hate it. This might sound weird, but, urges aside, I actually like it.”

“That’s not so weird. We have another transgender among us, in case you forgot. Everyone discovers themselves at different points in life. I won’t judge either of you, no matter what your sexual preferences, or what sex you choose to be. Don’t think of your urges as a curse. That’s just your hormones, and your body, telling you what it wants. Choose responsibly what you do with those feelings, is all, because ignoring them isn’t healthy at all.”

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but Mary wasn’t sure what she wanted. She thanked Mortar, wished him luck, and made her way to the door.

“Mary,” said Mortar Mage, “you’re one of three people who know about this place. I would appreciate it if you didn’t spread word about it.”

“Not a problem.”

Despite being dead for five years, last night was the best sleep Judy had had in recent memory. She walked into one room wiping her eyes clear of some leftover grogginess, and sat down on the sofa facing a television.

Judy made sure to call her mom once she woke up, because her mom promised to bring breakfast from somewhere, probably UHOW. Waffles were always good.

Her necklace sat in another room, placed in a jar that Warren had told her, yesterday, could charge magical artifact items over time. He suspected that the necklace would need it, and Judy was now reluctant to part from it. She only wished Warren had specified how long she would need to leave the necklace in there. So she guessed that it might need an hour, or to check on it then.

Now, there was only time to kill before her mom came.

She turned on the TV after finding the remote. Judy flipped through Saturday morning cartoons and various forms of paid programming until she hit the news. One station was reporting on two attacks that had happened last night. She listened for any details in case they had something to do with what Halah had said, but nothing did unless she counted four assassins whose powers vaguely resembled the four horsemen.

Two of the news stations showed reporters standing outside of the main city library. It was supposed to be opened, but a group of people slipped in late last night, did away with the staff and last few visitors for the evening, and stayed the whole night for purposes unknown. This group was refusing to let anyone enter.

Suddenly, the front door opened to the library, and cameras zoomed in on the group leaving the building. They were led by a woman in Egyptian garments and a mask that resembled a spider to hide all but her mouth. Five others exited with her, but only three had faces that could be seen by anyone.

This looked important, and Judy clicked the button for the digital video recorder to start recording. That was a split second before it hit her that the two other figures were wearing tiki masks.

The woman with the spider mask put up her hands like some sort of accepting ruler to her subjects. She spoke out, and her voice reached the reporters’ microphones from yards away. There was something familiar about her as she did so.

“Mortals of Paragon, and of Earth, you are blessed for the time is soon upon you. All that separated you from us and an eternity of discord and endless death was the truth of a single event, but in just days you will not have such a reprieve.”

“What?” Judy asked. However it had been in reaction to the faces she had seen. She recognized the woman in the mask at once, but there was another. The face she’d seen was mostly hidden by everyone else on either TV station, but there was the one glimpse. She got up and moved closer to the screen, switching stations rapidly in case she saw that face again. She needed to be sure.

“Have you foolish cattle forgotten so easily the truth?” The woman on the screen asked. “We have seen a glimpse of this truth, a truth so many of you have deemed inconvenient and unworthy of remembering, and the rest of it eludes us even now. There is someone out there who knows the rest, and yet he says nothing. Will this person step forward?”

Judy said, “No. No, come on. Show me your damn face. It can’t be you, so show me.”

“Some of you will think to laugh or jeer. A few of you will try to stop us. Worry not, for it will be over for you in two days’ time. In the end, you will all be the same – basking in all the pain and horror we shall bestow upon you. I have seen it, and it is glorious.”

“Come on!”

“What’s the shouting?” asked a voice behind Judy. It was Jackie, but Judy continued to focus on the two channels.

Finally, the face she thought she had seen shifted back into view as the group walked forward. Judy paused on his face. Those gaunt features. That expression void of everything but pride.

She felt the world around her crush her every fiber, body and soul. Someone shouted out after her, but it was drowned out. Everything was.