"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."
"If it's the North, I would imagine that they were dropping it from the Observatory. It's one of the largest towers in L'Manberg, and it's the most Northern building there is. It would hit the residential area first before sweeping through the business district, the hero agency buildings, the shopping district, and hitting the rich people's houses last," Scott said after everyone had thought about it for a moment. Tommy agreed after thinking over the words. It was true that would be the best way to cover everyone... It would give the heroes time to prepare, though.
Tommy's eyes widened instantly. "Bad! He has access to the Tower of Power, the hero agency headquarters. He's going to bomb it to brainwash the heroes to keep them from fighting against the Cult. Goddamnit!"
"That means we need to split our minimal forces in two. One group will need to disarm the bomb and warn the heroes. The other group will need to find a way to thwart the gas release as the observatory. If the second group can stall long enough, the heroes will arrive to detain the Cult and expose the Egg permanently," Drista said with a frown. "The problem is how outnumbered we are. The Cult must have dozens of members willing to throw away their lives for this stupid red thing. Some of them will be trained to the extent that I was, which is bad if the four of us are going to fight the douches."
"Four?" Fundy asked with a raised eyebrow in Drista's direction. If he was being completely honest, Fundy was out of his level with most of this. That didn't mean he wouldn't fight. Fundy knew that Tommy was a good guy. He was an annoying little shit from what Scott would say, but he wasn't someone who would fight on the side of evil. What that did mean was that Fundy was confused about a lot of what was going on. From what he could tell, Drista had connections with the Cult; Tommy and Purpled were from Pandora's Vault, the equivalent of Atlantis in terms of legends; Pandora's Vault had kids that escaped that were immune to the Egg. That was about all he could figure out.
"Tommy has made it really clear that he wants to fight the Egg. Purpled is going to follow along for whatever reasons he had. I personally want to see the Cult get damned to Hell. You're a hero, so you legally have to fight villains," Drista shrugged. "That's four. I know how to count."
"I'm helping," Scott said. He stood tall above them with his purple hair and galaxy colored eyes. Everyone stared at him in confusion. Scott gave a low chuckle before standing to attention. "Did you all forget I was Major General Scott Starborne in the military? I may not have some fancy suit like the rest of you, but I can and will kick ass for my country. I joined the Heroes Association as a tech analyst to help the heroes, but I never said that I wouldn't join a physical fight if it should arise."
"Hell yeah, Scotty boy, I knew there was a reason why I liked your boring ass!" Tommy said. He raised his fist to slam it into Scott's for a fist bump. Scott gave a loud laugh while Tommy was grinning from ear to ear. Tommy turned to the amused stare of Hannah. "What about you, flower girl? Gonna defeat the assholes with us?"
"They challenged me first. I think it's my turn to stick a vine in their arms," Hannah said while patting the arm that they injected the Egg into her with. Hannah had Tommy steal Holy Water for her to free herself of the Egg. Tommy knew that Hannah had her own secrets, but he could tell that her want for vengeance was genuine. Tommy raised a hand to high five Hannah. She gave a half smile as she returned the gesture.
"That's six members. Still not a good amount... This may be a stretch, but what if we found a way to ask the Syndicate to help us? They hate the Cult as much as we do, and they have powerful members that could tip the odds in our favor," Fundy said with a deep blush on his cheeks that rivaled his hair in color. He was embarrassed to bring up the group after hearing everything that the others said.
"No. I'm not working with those selfish assholes. They don't care about the Cult. They care about power. If I see a member of the Syndicate, I will kill them or die trying," Tommy snapped with dark, glaring eyes at Fundy that contrasted with his normal excited expression that he wore even in depressing moments. Fundy shuffled back from the gaze. It was a cold anger that made it clear that whatever Tommy said wasn't a lie. It was a genuine threat. Tommy took a deep breath to calm down. "We're working with three other asshats. My blood can make people immune to the Egg and cure them of the effects. We're going to free Bad, Ant, and Punz. They'll fight for us or risk getting brutally tortured."
"He can be gruesome," Drista said with a shudder as she pushed Tommy away from Fundy. She gave Fundy a reassuring smile. Fundy gave a nervous grin with a nod.
"Purpled, come help me. Everyone else, get suited up, eat some food, do some cardio, pray to Prime, and say your last goodbyes," Tommy said while gesturing for Purpled to follow. The two started walking down the small hallway to Tommy's room where they had placed the Cultists. Before the two of them went inside, Tommy called over his shoulder, "In that order!"
Tommy and Purpled walked into the room. Lying on the floor in a neat row on a blanket was Bad, Ant, and Punz. They had all been laid on their backs, and they didn't move much in their unconscious states. Before Tommy did anything, he placed a hand on Purpled's shoulder to stop him from moving. Purple orbs met blue eyes as they tried to guess what the other was thinking. Tommy finally sighed. "That explosion you mentioned. My Mother had unlocked her own power. It was star-based and shit. When she died, her lifeforce exploded to kill all the people of Pandora's Vault. Except the people in the bunker, me... and one other escapee..."
Purpled's eyes went wide. What had he done to make Tommy realize the truth. Tommy gave a smile as he realized he was right. "He was your brother, wasn't he? You looked up to him, and he told you that he was escaping. Did he promise to come back to you?"
"He did. It seems he got caught up in other things," Purpled said as he stared sorrowfully at Punz. Purpled looked away quickly while fiddling with his hands. "He took care of me when I had Epimetheus. He told me I was stronger than that disease. His blood was never mutated. I want to believe that he was coming back for me. I pray that the Egg, mind control, is the reason he never came... I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Well, it isn't like you lied to me. I figured it out after seeing him. Besides eye color, you two could be twins," Tommy gave a breathy laugh. He unsheathed a knife at his belt with a loud exhale. He made a thin cut across his palm. He giggled as he thought of something. "We're the opposite of vampires. Instead of sucking blood from unwilling victims, we're forcing people to drink our blood."
"A regular Dracula, we are," Purpled said with an amused smile as he took Tommy's knife. He sliced his own palm with the blade. Beads of blood started to bubble from the cut. The two shook their heads before splitting up. Purpled put his hand directly over Punz's mouth, and Tommy squeezed his fist to create a dripping faucet that went into Bad's mouth. After two minutes, the red started to come back to both of their skin while their eyes lost the red touches of color. Purpled turned around with a happy smile, "We did it!"
"That we did," Tommy muttered as he let some blood drop in Ant's mouth. The feline man had the same process happen to him. After a few hesitant moments, all three victims had their eyes slam open. Purpled had pulled Punz into a hug immediately, but all Tommy could do was stare at Bad. The man sat up, his hand hesitantly reaching for Tommy. Instead of flinching away like he did for SapNap, Tommy grabbed onto Bad's hand with teary eyes and a watery smile. "Welcome back, Bad."
"Toms. I'm... you're... what?" Bad said with a happily confused face as he stared into Tommy's eyes. The former hero wasn't sure how much Bad remembered. Hopefully, he remembered enough to know where the bomb was and how to disarm it. Tommy exhaled as he let his body bend over. He felt like he hadn't slept in a week, much less taken a break. Tommy wanted to relax, to let Bad read him books like they used to while the world burned. Tommy cursed his need to save people. Tommy hated how there were people he wanted to protect. He needed to beat the Cult not just for himself, not just for revenge, not just because he wanted to save civilians, but also because he didn't want his family (Tempest's family and Tommy's family) to become victims of the Egg.
"I have a lot to explain. You deserve to know the full truth. Unfortunately, we're short on time. It's our duty as heroes to help the people. You taught me that. I'll live up to it right now. Help me, Bad, help everyone you've unwittingly hurt. Make things right," Tommy said as he stood up. He raised his hand to help Bad onto his feet and to have an assurance that he agreed. Bad stared at the hand, looked up at Tommy, before taking the hand into his own. Tommy helped him onto his feet. Bad had this proud smile on his face that Tommy thought he would never see again.
"Okay, Toms, I- I'll help."