The Silence of a Somber Day

Crimson Lightning

"That doesn't explain their plan," Drista said after Tommy had finished explaining where he came from. She was the only person that didn't have a visible reaction to the truth. Purpled seemed saddened as he thought of his own past. Hannah had gone pale with shaking hands as she recalled her own experiences being trapped and experimented on. Scott seemed a few seconds from tearing down the door to fight someone, and Fundy looked absolutely lost as he learned a hard truth about their world. Tommy didn't care anymore. He resented his mother, but he couldn't bring himself to completely hate her. "You came from an abandoned prison as a fourth generation baby? Why does the Cult care about that?"

"You're impatient as fuck," Tommy said with a light growl as he stood to his feet. Tommy dropped his mask on the chair he had been sitting on. Tommy began to pace back and forth in slow patterns. "Pandora's Vault was secure. It's the most secure place in the world. Sicknesses and shit didn't get in. Nobody had the flu in the history of that place. What we did have was a disease nicknamed Epimetheus, after Pandora's husband. It was a bitch of an illness, but it didn't kill anyone. It made you feel heavy, nasty cough, all that shit. What it did besides make sloths of people was mutate the blood."

"Epimetheus made people immune to mind control, including the Egg's whispering. Most of the people in Pandora's Vault were killed by a massive explosion that was created by Tommy's Mother. Fortunately, a few people were able to survive because the daycare was a bunker designed to protect guards should Pandora's Vault get nuked or bombed. There were twenty children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old with two adults in the bunker," Purpled continued with wide eyes as he finally got the picture that Tommy was trying to explain to the others. Purpled didn't pay attention to the horrified looks he got from the others who didn't realize he was also from Pandora's Vault.

"You're exactly right, Piss boy. I'll be assuming for the next part, but as I am a Big Man, everything I say is facts that cannot be disproved," Tommy quipped with a wired smile. "Pato rescued the children from Pandora's Vault. When Pato realized the effects of their blood, he struck a deal to sell it to Bad. When the Cult proved that the blood could completely erase the Egg, they began bargaining for the children in order to kill them. That's why they sent people to kill me but not Jack. They weren't sure until after Jack was kidnapped. They need to exterminate the people that can defeat them..."

"Because they want to spread the influence of the Egg. They want to brainwash all of L'Manberg, and go after the whole world next. We may have Bad here, but Skeppy and the other leader are out there right now. They're planning an attack," Drista said with widening eyes as she placed all the puzzle pieces together in her brain. Drista looked for confirmation. Tommy was nodding solemnly, and Purpled had this pained expression on his face.

"As we speak, they are preparing a gas that will spread over the city to infect everyone," Tommy said with a sigh, his hands landing in his palms. This was the biggest plot to happen in L'Manberg since William, and Tommy had been sidelined from his hero duties. Tommy could have figured this out sooner if he had the resources of the heroes, but instead he was holding a war council with a fugitive, human experiment, traitor, tech analyst, runaway, and whoever the hell Hannah thought she was. Tommy had an appreciation for everyone there, and a loose friendship with Drista and Purpled, but he couldn't imagine taking down the Cult with the six of them alone.

"Where will they launch the gas?" Hannah asked before she flicked her hand to the side. Tommy hissed in pain as the last bits of the bloodvine was extracted from his body. The bloody tendrils were placed on a towel that Tommy had set out when Hannah first came over. Hannah stared down at Tommy with a determined look he had no idea how to decipher. Hannah was an enigma to him. He knew she was hiding something, but Tommy couldn't figure out what it was for the life of him. "For it to spread over the entire city, it would need to follow the wind currents. It's been estimated that it will blow southward for most of the day with an approaching warm front. That means they would need to be in a high enough place in the Northern part of the city."