POWER: Rebound
Eve sat at the desk in Fisi's office, watching the live feed of his address. He'd just announced that all the alleged illegal activities performed by the Masked had actually happened—something he and Eve had long prepared to do, seeing as how "Project REVELATION" was finally completed, and they'd lost the allegiance of the Safe Haven Mafia. In any case, their exposure no longer mattered; with the power of the Double Avatar, Fisi now had no equal on Earth besides his fellow Dark Celestials.
"As the current proprietors of the Safe Havens, we have the authority to do with them what we wish," Fisi was saying. "And what we wish is to give each and every haven to the one to whom they rightfully belong... the one who claims them as her birthright."
"That's my cue," Eve said to herself with a smile, standing and turning to walk over to the window. She looked down as Fisi's voice emanated from the hologram projector behind her, declaring, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the lovely Eve Black Horn—Chief Peacekeeper of the Seven Safe Havens!"
Eve's smile morphed into a grin as she waved enthusiastically to the reporters far below. She knew they probably couldn't see her clearly, but the moment was overwhelming! All those years of planning... all those roadblocks I had to overcome... they were all worth it! she thought as tears appeared in her eyes. She moved away from the window, covering her mouth with her hands as her heart leapt with joy. I'm so close... so close! Two more steps, and my work is finally done!
Eve turned her back on the window and walked back to Fisi's chair, falling into it as she wiped her eyes. "But it's not over yet," she whispered to herself. "No, not yet. Before I can get what's mine..."
Eve's eyes narrowed, and she let out a long breath. "...the Protectors have to get theirs," she hissed with a cruel grin.
-
Eve sat in that chair for a few minutes after being christened Chief Peacekeeper, reveling in the peace it brought her—knowing she was finally in control of her birthright.
That peace didn't last, though, because it was only a few more minutes before gunfire rang out from the first floor of the Tower.
Eve frowned, one of her rabbit ears rising straight up as she listened to the echoes. "Oooh... she finally made it," she said after a moment, her eyes lighting up. "Took her long enough."
She waited a little longer. Then, when the doors to the office were pushed open, she turned off the holo-projector and stood to her feet as the assassin known as Raptor entered. "Well, well, well," Eve purred, her eyes sparkling. "Look who it is: everyone's favourite hit-woman." She smirked and added, "Welcome to the First Haven, Raps."
---
After the short battle with Raptor—in which Eve had failed to enslave her with a mind-dagger, as she'd intended—the jackalope left the Tower and headed to the Animal District. Once there, she disembarked from her limo and went deeper into the forested area of the district on foot.
About ten minutes of walking later, Eve found herself in the geographical centre of Safe Haven. She sat down, cross-legged, and lifted her head, staring into the night sky.
It wouldn't be long before Xirxine, the Protectors, and several different armed forces launched their assaults on the Safe Havens. This would probably be the last moment of peace Eve got before it all went to hell.
And she intended to use them wisely.
Eve closed her eyes and lowered her head, reaching deep into her memories as the markings on her body began to glow with soft white light. "It's time, Adam," she whispered, sighing. "After all these years... it's finally time."
The light around her markings turned a violent red.
Eve's eyes snapped open.
They were completely and utterly black, with not a speck of light to be seen.
And then she spoke words born of desperation, of paranoia, and of fear.
"I bind the power of the Great Beasts to my blood," Eve hissed, weaving her fingers through the air with sporadic popping motions as strands of black light appeared between them, snapping taut and loosening arrhythmically. "Their dark time has come. I take their will and bend it to my own."
-
The Haven's Heart thrummed with a low, powerful beat, its lifeblood churning and turning black.
-
"For my sake and the control the Safe Havens," Eve continued, "let this Black Binding be completed."
Her face split with a terrible grin as she finished, "And may the Great Spirit have mercy on their souls."
Then, without warning, darkness overtook her vision, and Eve's mind seemed to peel away from her body, descending into an empty, broken void.
Eve opened her eyes.
She was met by the sight of fog—fog so dense she couldn't see a thing, not even the ground. Indistinct figures moved around in the shadows—figures she heard, for she could not see them.
Wait—no. She could see one of them. One humanoid figure, standing off in the distance, a shadow in the smoke, his black antlers barely visible—and yet visible.
Eve's breath caught in her throat. Was that...? It couldn't be!
"Adam?"
The word made its way out of Eve's mouth despite her hesitation—and in response, the man extended a hand, causing magical symbols to swirl forth and disperse the fog.
He was unfamiliar, and yet Eve recognized him in an instant: his dark hair, tired eyes, skin carved with markings identical to her own. And of course, those antlers were a dead giveaway.
Eve gasped, an excited smile breaking out on her face. "By the Maker, it is you," she breathed in Tsalagi, switching to her native language. "I can't believe it."
The man—Adam—slowly lowered his head, a frown on his wrinkled face. "You are Black Horn," he croaked, narrowing his eyes. "My kin."
"Yes! Yes, that's right!" Eve let out a laugh of amazement, approaching Adam at a slow pace. "I can't believe this is actually happening," she whispered to herself. "Is it because of the Binding? Is that even possible...?"
"Binding?" Adam interrupted harshly, drawing Eve's wandering gaze back to his. "You speak of the Black Binding?"
"I do," Eve confirmed, coming to a stop directly in front of her ancestor. "I've performed it." Her heart leapt at her next words: "The Magnakind, they—they serve me now."
Adam grew quiet.
Then he looked away from Eve as sorrow clouded his gaze. "I see," he murmured. "So they have turned. My greatest fears came true."
"What? Oh, no-no-no-no," Eve told him quickly, waving her hands in a dismissive gesture and letting out a reassuring laugh. "No, they didn't turn. I turned them."
Another moment of silence passed as Adam stared at Eve in shock and disbelief. "You what?" he rasped.
"I turned them," Eve repeated in a casual tone. "I had to, in order to solidify my role as Chief Peacekeeper of the First Haven. It's my birthright, after all. The havens and everyone in them—they belong to our bloodline."
Adam continued to stare at Eve, struggling to grasp what she was saying. "I—I don't understand," he said, growing more and more upset by the second. "You subjected the will of the Magnakind to your own because you want to rule the havens?"
Eve narrowed her eyes at that. "Because I am entitled to rule the havens," she stated in a staccato tone, moving even closer to Adam. "This is about heritage, Adam," she told her ancestor in a dangerously low voice. "And taking back what's mine."
Adam did not back down, but shook his head as fear and dismay replaced the anger in his eyes. "So this is what I've done," he whispered. "My fear gives way to folly, and my safeguard... becomes a shackle."
Eve smirked. "That's about the long and short of it," she confirmed, backing away and putting her hands behind her back. "I know it's not what you wanted, but it's what we deserve. With the Magnakind at my beck and call, I won't just take our havens back—I'll take back our whole freaking continent!" She laughed excitedly before letting out a satisfied sigh and smirking again. "For the Tsalagi," she purred, "for the Black Horn tribe... and for me."
With that, Eve spun around and began sauntering off into the fog. "Oh, and by the way," she called without facing Adam, "good luck trying to hide the Binding from me in the past. I already know you do, and you already know I find it. Forbidden knowledge is what I'm all about." She glanced over her shoulder and winked at the First Founder. "After all... they didn't name me 'Eve' for nothing."
The fog collapsed around her, drowning out any reply Adam might have given. Voices swirled around Eve like a whirlwind—her parents, her grandmother, KayCee, Eno, the Whisper in the Wind—and eyes appeared in the spinning shadows.
Eve knew those eyes. They were the eyes of the excavation team, from all those years ago. Eyes that saw who she would be, what she would do—eyes filled with desperation and bloodlust.
They all tried to stop me. Tried and failed.
This is my FATE. This is my DESTINY.
I am the Chief Peacekeeper of ALL-HAVEN.
I am its ruler.
I am... THE BLACK QUEEN.
-
The darkness calls...
Shadows swell within...
The frenzy of the hunt...
Unquenchable bloodlust...
Tainted magic...
Intertwined with madness...
The Black Binding is in effect...
...and we await the Black Queen's command.
Fisi glanced up from the hologram projector on his desk, which was currently showing the Tower's charging status. Eve had just reentered the office, a strangely vacant look on her face. "Are you quite finished, Ms. Black Horn?" he inquired.
"Almost," Eve answered, walking past the desk and standing in front of the window.
Fisi grunted and went back to watching the status bar. "It won't be long now," he muttered under his breath, clenching and unclenching his fists anxiously. "No, not long at all, hmhmhmhmmm."
A soft, arrhythmic snapping sound—like rubber bands stretching and popping—came from behind him, but he didn't bother looking. He'd heard the echoes earlier; he knew what it signified.
"Not long at all," Eve whispered in agreement.
Fisi could see her reflected reflection from the window in the wineglass on his desk—her milky white eyes, seeing what he could not. Still, he could guess what she was seeing.
That creature beyond the veil. The thing pulling the strings.
Fisi scratched his scars and licked his lips. "Not long..."
POWER: Dreams
Eve had failed to fight off Cthylla's dream-inducing grip. She had been trapped—trapped in a world of the Great Old One's creation.
And yet, even in the dream, she was... at peace.
She had entered this new world with her power intact—with her hold over the Founders almost absolute. Sure, the Bat, the Owl, and the Eye had taken some doing, but she'd eventually gotten a hold of them.
Her only issue was Fisi.
He had wielded enough power to stave of Cthylla's tentacles entirely. He was fully conscious in the world beyond Blacksdale, overseeing the Tower's status from his office. Though she possessed great power in the sunken world, a deep-seated paranoia would often thrill through Eve as she made her way to the end of Blacksdale's story—fear that Fisi would harm her in some way while she was "sleeping", or interfere with her plans.
As it turned out, she needn't have had such fears. Fisi was a man of his word, allowing her to see her plans out to the very end, so that her control of the Founders was sure.
Meanwhile, he took care of his own business.
---
"Where is she now?"
"She's made her way to the Cidade Capital. It won't be long before she reaches the Tower."
"Is she aware of the Pantheon's current location?"
"I believe so. But once reality fractures, she will be able to move between havens easily enough."
"You are anticipating success for Cthylla? Even in the dream, the boy's will may be too strong for her to overcome."
"You underestimate our ally, kaka."
Fisi smiled thinly. "Hm, hmhmhm. Perhaps I do." He swept some dust of his desk. "Tell me, Tembo; what do you plan to do if Artemis turns her gaze upon you? Will you destroy our Mother's Avatar?"
"I will do nothing more and nothing less than what you would do, Fisi. I will act with tact, and take whatever measures I can to ensure her survival until Lyssa is awake and free."
"Very good. I am merely making sure we're on the same page, heehee." Fisi made a gesture to Tembo's hologram. "You are dismissed, dear. Keep an eye on your Tower."
"As you wish, kaka." Tembo bowed her head and vanished.
Fisi sighed and checked the status bar. Then he gently rested a hand on one of the tentacles coiled around his desk, murmuring, "Thirty seconds. Hold the line—and watch the cracks."
Cracks? What—
Silence.
Fisi waited patiently for Cthylla to realize her mistake.
Then...
NO! When did—how did I miss them?!
Fisi grinned. "Has your vision been clouded, my friend? Hmhmhm... how curious." He tapped the tentacle again. "Nevertheless, you have a deadline to meet. Do your part as promised..."
He gripped the tentacle tightly and finished in a hiss, "...or SUFFER."
And do her part she did.
-
Fifteen seconds later, the tentacles retreated, and Eve immediately staggered away from them with a disgusted shout. Then she groaned and leaned against the desk while Fisi looked on, rubbing her head. "Ugh. That was not fun," the jackalope remarked groggily.
"What a shame. I thought you'd enjoy your little excursion in the dream world," Fisi stated, walking toward the hidden staircase that led to the top of the Tower. "Did you find what you were looking for in there, hm?"
"Yeah," Eve answered, waving her hand dismissively before straightening up and exhaling. "I've got everything I need."
"Good. Though I hope this doesn't mean you'll abandon me at my crowning moment," Fisi added, giving Eve a crooked grin over his shoulder.
"Not a chance, Mr. Isidore," Eve replied with a smirk and a nod. "'I'm with ya to the end of the line', and all that jazz."
"Very well." Fisi beckoned to her as he headed up the stairs. "Then follow me, Ms. Black Horn."
-
Eve followed Fisi up the stairs, checking her hands and smiling when she saw the black strands of light still woven around and between her fingers. "Nigadv. Sgi-adeladisdi," she said quietly.
An answer floated to her through the echoes, sent forth by the Head of the Founders.
Tunakuja, Malkia Mweusi. We come.
---
Fisi stood with his back to the rooftop's edge, hands behind his back as he watched the Bila ya Nyota open overhead. He knew the same phenomenon was happening in every other Safe Haven, as the other Dark Celestials had been given ample time to activate their Towers thanks to Cthylla's dream-inducing grip. "This world is finally ours to command," he murmured, rubbing the scars on his face. "With the Bila ya Nyota consuming all, the Dark Celestials shall never die."
"Wanna bet?"
Fisi glanced over his shoulder. Then he chuckled, smirking, and turned around fully.
Almost every PFT and Support Squad member had ascended to the rooftop, from A to Ω and everything in between.
"This is where it ends, Fisi," Cameron—who had spoken first—growled, shifting into her half-raptor form. "You versus all of us. No holds barred."
"I wouldn't want it any other way." Fisi spread out his hands while Eve simply leaned against the rooftop entrance's wall, crossing her arms. "Come, Protectors," Fisi called to the heroes as the aerial forces and allied Inner Gods clashed with the Old Ones and Outer Gods, raining fire and madness all around. "Let us do battle... one last time."
She could see them.
Her Avatar... her god-hunters.
Pressing through the fractured reality.
Making their way to the First Haven.
To the Wonder-Thief.
She could... see them.
She could SEE them.
She was... AWAKE.
Lyssa's eyes snapped open.
She unfurled her body, leaving her fetal position as the strength of Wonder flowed around her and through her.
She made her way to the edge of the rift leading out of the Bila ya Nyota...
...and reached out a hand into the cool night air of the Corporealm.
The Mad Mother had arrived.