We moved as fast as my beetle was able.  I knew she could fly faster, would have compelled her to even push me and the beetle forward if I thought I could have handled the navigation.

I mean, she can fly faster when not being digested alive.

As a group, we passed over a red scaled wingless dragon that I took to be Genesis, wading through the flames on her way to the site of the battle.

Heya!

My beetle needed a name.  Had to have a better way of referring to it.  A hercules beetle, but bigger, a giant.

Oooh, naming time!

Hm. Like a hercules beetle but giant. So maybe a name of a large figure from Greek mythology? Like Atlas (though I don’t think Bailey’s strong enough for that name), Chronos (doesn’t fit very well either), etc., or the more general Titan. Or a name of an actual giant, which is a separate thing in Greek mythology from the also gigantic titans. I don’t actually know any names of giants, though.

I suppose if you get more specific and focus on Hercules, then maybe you could go bigger by naming the bug Zeus? Making him the father of Hercules beetles.

I thought about Hercules, about the myth; Hercules had borrowed the burden of the giant who carried the world.  Atlas.

Alright, sure! That was my first guess from “hercules beetle, but bigger, a giant”, even if I hadn’t connected Atlas to Hercules specifically.

I stand by my claim that the name Atlas has connotations of strength that don’t particularly fit him… actually, I suppose if it’s compared to other beetles, he’s incredibly strong. Fair enough!

(Also Atlas is a titan, not a giant. Though he is giant, the adjective.)

But his use of his power gave me another idea.  Glory Girl had powers too.

Yeah, but how would you use them to evacuate her?

“Can she fly!?”  I shouted.

It somehow managed to slip my mind that that’s one of them.

“What?”  Weld asked.  He glanced up at me, then turned his attention back to the fight.  His body was tensed and ready to act the second Crawler made a move for his teammates.

I don’t think this is quite what Taylor is going for, but I’m thinking that – like how I suggested that a side effect of Cache’s power might be being “hollow” – anyone with flight might, as a passive side effect, be lighter than they should be.

It seems Taylor is going for Glory Girl actively using her flight to help out the evacuation, even if she can’t fully lift off on her own.

“Ask her if she can fly!”

“She’s insensate!”

Insensate. Good word.

“Try!”

He turned back to the superheroine and said something I couldn’t make out.

“Uhh… can you fly?”

If she responded, I didn’t hear it.

Weld extended his arms into two long poles.  They extended ten feet, then fifteen, then thirty.  Reaching back, he caught Glory Girl with the ends, bending the tips to encircle her body.

Nice! Metal “tentacles”!

“Wait!” I said.

He glanced up at me, then over at Crawler.  The villain was spitting at Assault, who slid on the ground to evade the spray.  Crawler took advantage of the gap in the defensive wall to stampede toward Vista and Flechette.

Shit. Vista, do your thing!

Vista increased the distance, but not as fast as Crawler crossed it.

Well, at least she listened to me. That’s a change of pace. :p

Evac.  The last time I’d had a scale to check, months ago, I’d weighed a hundred and eighteen pounds.  With my gear, my costume, maybe that added up to one hundred and twenty.  I had my doubts the beetle could manage me if I was even ten pounds heavier.  How could I carry someone larger than me, in addition to myself?

Yeeah.

Even without Taylor, Bailey might not be able to carry the evacuees. Especially Cache.

Though maybe Cache is lighter than he seems because of his power. Even though the power doesn’t literally put people inside him, it might have a weird side effect of making him parahumanly “hollow”.

Maybe I didn’t have to.

Had to think out of the box.  If I could get her out of here, and if the beetle could manage her, I could remotely pilot it to Amy.

Yes! And if you’ve got time and range, you can do multiple trips.

I think time is the biggest concern there.

Those were two pretty huge ifs.  No, couldn’t pin my hopes on that.

I saw Cache using his power on himself.  He was barely able to crawl, but he surrounded himself in his dark geometry, disappearing as it condensed down to a point.  He’d taken himself out of this dimension.  I wasn’t sure if it was a journey of no return or a way to get some respite.

Probably the latter, I would imagine. Well, that means one less evacuee.

Though… if he can do this and open a portal back later, why didn’t he join the other heroes in his pocket dimension earlier, instead of being frozen? Can he not do this when there are others in there? Or maybe it was so that he’d know when it was safe for himself and everyone else to come back.

“I’m out!”  I replied.

“Then get out of here!  You’ll be one less person we have to protect!  Our front line’s pretty thin!”

Hm. Fair enough, honestly, though I’m not sure Skitter’s going to take the implication that no bombs = needs protection super well. But look what we’re dealing with, lady. You probably should get out of here, even without the looming threat of the second barrage of bombs.

Weld half-turned to glance back at Glory Girl, and I could see his expression change as he saw how bad she was.  It was reaching the point that we might have to leave her for dead.

Yikes.

Hey, do you think Bailey could carry one more person?

…

She could send Bailey off to Amy using the continual order feature, carrying Victoria, and stay behind herself.

There were spots where the muscle had necrotized enough that I could make out her internal organs.  If the redness was any indication, the acid was extending to her vitals.

Yeah, fuck, she needs to get to Amy fast if she’s to survive.

“Evac Victoria and Cache on your way out!”

Yeah, Weld sees it too, but question is, can Bailey lift that much?

Ursa, Triumph and Assault were getting into the thick of things with Crawler while Miss Militia and Flechette aided them from a distance.  Ursa was creating forcefields in the rough shape of bears, two at a time.

Oh, heh, so that’s what they are.

Weld stood, defending the two female members of the Wards.  Glory Girl was looking worse for wear with every passing second.

Maybe we can’t rule out her death quite yet. Still, though, her having to choose whether or not to allow Amy to help her would be much more interesting than her just dying to pile some extra angst on Amy. Which might not even be a net positive in terms of amount of angst on her, compared to Victoria being alive and hating Amy.

“Weld!”  I shouted, drawing the beetle as close as I dared with the heat and smoke beneath me.  “What can I do!?”

“More bombs on Mannequin!”  He shouted.

Good call, good teamwork. 🙂

The Incredibles 2 was good, but it’s not the superhero fiction you all came here to see me react to. Let’s get back to Worm!