SSV: Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 1

Chapter 13

Two days had passed since Courtney's attack on the precinct. In forty-eight hours, things had escalated at a surprisingly rapid rate. There was still no word on Dr. Murray's whereabouts, but the attacks in the streets by the infected were becoming more frequent. Zoey had finally organized a press conference alongside the current mayor, and the city was placed in a firm lock down under quarantine. For the sake of everyone's safety, citizens were urged to stay indoors until the crisis was resolved. All the while, Courtney had yet to make another appearance. Somehow, this added another layer to the tension that was mounting throughout the city.

Sally had accepted Beth's offer for shelter, despite her own reservations about leaving her neighborhood unprotected. The older woman had taken up her own role as a would-be benefactor and protector for the people that couldn't defend themselves, or who didn't feel safe turning to the MPD. Her and Sam had brought back a small arsenal to Blackridge Manor, and they spent most of their time swapping stories, polishing and cleaning their equipment, or draining Jake of his liquor.

Beth and Pam kept mostly to themselves when they weren't checking in with Alexis and her progress. Beth had only gone out once since her return, and that had only been to rendezvous with the civilians she entrusted to Miri. Thankfully, they'd made it back home without issue. Beth had set up an impromptu alchemy lap and reloading bench that she worked on in her spare time, and Pam concentrated on her studies or meditation while Beth worked. Occasionally they would retire to one of the guest bedrooms, but they remained hyper focused on the crisis brewing throughout the city.

Jake worked closely with Alexis, much to his own dismay, throughout the last two days. Admittedly, he was surprised at how different the insane girl could be while working. There were still the longing looks, strange comments and come-ons, and the occasional grope, but she kept a certain air of professionalism about her while they worked together. The girl had become obsessed with studying the parasites and Courtney's nightmare fuel. She was fixated on finding a way to exterminate and cure the infected and afflicted. Honestly, if it weren't for her nearly psychotic nature and episodes, Jake could have certainly seen the appeal of being with her.

Whenever he wasn't working alongside Alexis, Jake spent his time tinkering and trying to upgrade his gadgets. One of his projects was creating a new cowl for his suit and upgrading the one he had. Beth and Pam had told him that they hadn't been able to recover it after saving him from Courtney's rundown hideout. He hadn't slept much since his rescue. Fear still had a hold over him, and the memories of what he'd endured were still painfully fresh in his mind. The nightmarish visions had felt incredibly real. Ashley did her best to keep the nightmares at bay, but there was still the nagging sense of dread every time he closed his eyes. So, Jake worked, tinkered, and kept communications open between him and the MPD.

It was late in the evening, and Beth was sitting at her reloading bench working on explosive ammunition. She'd found a new recipe for gunpowder that was a play on her witch-fire bullets she'd used against Goth. The formula was simpler, forgoing the blessed ingredients and just utilizing the combustible ones. Once the bullets made contact with their target, they would erupt in flame. Her hope was that it would give her an advantage against the infected. They needed everything they could if they were to stand a chance against the inevitable mob that would undoubtedly be protecting Courtney. Jake was still looking into who the mystery guy was, but they at least had a lead as to how Courtney was creating the toxin. They still didn't know what she was planning, though.

Beth was in the process of pouring her mixture into a casing when Sally walked up, "Hey, kid, how's it going?"

Beth jumped at the sound of her voice, too engrossed in her routine to notice anyone approaching. "Jesus," Beth said, frowning at the mess on her bench, "How does someone as big as you move so damn quietly?"

"You're either losing your touch, or you're too distracted if you think I'm quiet, Beth," Sally replied, looking over her workstation, "What's going on, kid? You've been avoiding me since you called, and you've been jumpy as shit since I got here. What's up, Beth? I do something to piss you off or something?"

It was true, Beth had been avoiding Sally since her arrival. "No, you didn't do anything," Beth sighed as she tried to salvage what was left of her mixture, "It's just…look, I saw some shit while I was under the gas Courtney's been using."

"What the hell does that have to do with me?" Sally asked, grabbing a couple of casings that had clattered to the ground.

"You were there, Sal," Beth replied, closing her eyes and clenching her fists, "I saw you fucking kill yourself, watched you take that stupid sawed-off of yours and blow your brains out."

"Well, that's flattering," Sally scoffed, attempting to make light in spite of Beth's clearly disturbed state.

"It's not a joke, Sal," Beth snapped, reeling on her aunt and glaring at her, "I had to watch as you shot yourself! As if that weren't enough, your last words were basically telling me to go fuck myself."

"That sounds like me, but you gotta realize that wasn't real, kid," Sally said, dropping her attempts at humor, "I ain't dead, I ain't got any plans to off myself, and I'm not your enemy, not anymore anyways."

"It was so real, Sal," Beth whispered, shuddering involuntarily as she remembered the grizzly scene, "I attacked you and left you for dead, or some fucked up version of me. Whatever that was, it was something more than a nightmare. It was like all life and resistance had been ground out of me, and all that was left was some empty shell following orders and going on a killing spree."

"But that's not you, and that wasn't real," Sally pointed out, "Hell, that wasn't even me. Look, I'm not a science type or an egg head, but whatever this freak is using is just another drug. I've done acid, shrooms, and anything else you can name, and the important thing to remember is that it's all just a hallucination. The shit can't hurt you unless you let it, kiddo. Now, I've watched you crawl back from the depths of shit, lose your goody-two-shoes outlook, and kick the teeth in of people that scare the shit out of ninty percent of people. Are you gonna stand there and tell me that this is when fear is gonna get the better of you?"

Beth looked away from Sally, who had been returning her glare with a hardened stare. "It's not that simple, Sal," she said.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Beth," Sally said, crossing her arms, "You're a Thompson, kid, and you're not the type to just roll over. Whether it's a hail of gunfire, demons, a titanic witch monster, or an army of undead, you keep fighting. Shit, you managed to turn Pam over to your side, and you got me and Sammie to boot. I don't give a damn what that charismatic cunt showed you, none of us are gonna straight abandon you. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, kid, always have been. You remember that little punk Jimmy Tuson that used to pick on you?"

Beth rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah, he made my life a living hell when mom and I moved."

"And what did you do about it?" Sally asked, "Did you sit at home and cry about it?"

"I knocked out his two front teeth after kicking him in the dick," Beth replied, "What's your point, Sal?"

"The point is," Sally sighed, "You stood up to your bully and for yourself."

"I only did it because he was starting to pick on other girls," Beth said with a shrug.

"That's my point, Beth," Sally said, earning a confused look from Beth, "You stood up to that bully because he was threatening others. You've always been that way, kid. The whole reason you picked up those pistols was because Goth was torturing Jake, and even before then you were fighting for other people who were too scared to fight for themselves. Don't let this zombie bitch and her drugs take that away from you."

"Tch, never thought I'd get a pep talk from your about fighting bad guys," Beth said with a small smile, "I remember mom went ballistic when she found out what I'd done."

"Your mom was worried you'd turn out like how me, or how she used to be before she had you," Sally said, leaning against bench, "Your mom wasn't always the Suzy-Homemaker that you grew up with. She and I used to hit the bars, pick fights, and get loaded every other night."

"Get out," Beth said, finally starting to relax, "Mom's idea of fight was getting stains out of my old clothes."

"That was after you came along, before then she was more wild than me," Sally said, "I'll show you some pictures sometime once this shit is over."

"Am I interrupting?" Pam's voice called out from just above them, "I can come back if I am."

Beth and Sally looked up at the stairwell leading to the second floor of the Birdcage. Pam was leaning against the steel railing of the white stairs. "Nah," Sally said, pushing herself off of the bench, "Just catching up with my niece. I was just getting ready to head up and grab a bite."

Pam walked down the stairs as Sally prepared to take her leave. "A little family bonding, I take it," Pam said, sensing the calm permeating the both of them.

"Ha, I guess you could say that," Sally said with a hearty chuckle before turning to Beth, "Remember what I said, Beth. I'll catch you two later. Let me know if there's any new developments."

"Yeah, and thanks, Sal," Beth said as her aunt walked past Pam and headed upstairs.

"Everything alright, Kitten?" Pam asked as she looked over Beth's workstation, "Looks like you made a bit of a mess here."

Beth tilted her hear and tried resume cleaning up while she replied, "Yeah, I'm good. Sal just spooked me, but she gave me some weirdly helpful advice."

"I noticed your anxiety around her finally dropped," Pam remarked while holding out her hand to gather the remnants of Beth's powders with her power, "I take it she had imparted some wisdom on you."

"Sally and wisdom don't exactly go together in the same sentence, but yeah, kind of," Beth replied, "I never thought I'd get help from her, even after everything we've been through."

"Wisdom can come from anywhere and anyone, Kitten," Pam said, refilling the bottles before dispelling her magic, "It's something to bear in mind when speaking with others. Sally may be more of a brute, but she's lived a long and hard life."

"Guess you've got a point," Beth said, putting away her materials and turning all of her attention to Pam, "So, what's up? Did you get bored, or has Zoey called with some information?"

"Jake is handling communications with Zoey, Kitten, but I think I may have stumbled across something that can aid us in the battle to come," Pam said, motioning for Beth to follow her as she explained, "I'll speak to Jake about it when he wakes up, but I found an interesting text on something known as dream striding."

"What's that?" Beth asked, following Pam as she led her to the table she'd been using for her studies.

"It's a practice that was used when attempting to converse with beings from other realms," Pam replied, taking a seat at the table and motioning for Beth to do the same, "Now, while the original purpose is irrelevant, let alone dangerous, the principle is something that we may be able to utilize."

"I'm gonna need a bit more to go on, hon," Beth said, taking a seat across from Pam.

"Courtney's toxin and parasites induce a nightmarish trauma, yes?" Pam asked, continuing when Beth nodded, "Yet, each of us were able to overcome our nightmares when we realized that we were in a false reality, a dream if you will."

"I'm still not getting where you're going with this," Beth said, furrowing her brow.

Pam leaned back in her chair as she tried to clarify, "If we can find a way to reach that point sooner, and together, then we can overcome the horror that Courtney will undoubtedly try to throw at us. This is where the ritual of the dream stride comes into play. The spell will allow us to unite and bypass the nightmares that she and the parasites use. We take back the control that Courtney seeks to rob us of, and then we can attempt to fight back and break free."

Beth frowned as she tried to understand what Pam was proposing, "So, you're saying that if we use this then we can escape?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Pam said, "We will still be trapped within her nightmare world, but we should have our abilities and cognitive functions back. It won't undo the effects of her poison, but we should be able to reunite and fight back. My powers were suppressed in the beginning, and you lost your ability to summon the Northwind, but using this should grant us access to aspects that Courtney will have sealed off. There's still the battle of overcoming terror and we have no way of knowing the level or control she has over that reality, but this gives us a fighting chance. Alexis seems to think that the queen parasite that Courtney is carrying gives her greater authority over the hallucinations, so we will still have to be prepared for a fight."

"But at least we'll have a chance," Beth finished, nodding as she finally begun to understand, "It's not great, but it's an edge that she won't be expecting. At this point, even the smallest advantage is better than nothing. I'll take the element of surprise, however small it might be, over running blind through her bullshit."

"Precisily," Pam said with a proud smile, "There's my smart girl. I'll share this with Jake when he wakes. Until then, why don't you keep working in your shells, and see if you can find a way to implement the concoction into Jake's birdarangs? Whatever Courtney is planning, I've no doubt she'll be well protected when the time comes. I suspect, given how flamboyant she's been lately, that she'll be announcing herself before too long in an attempt to goad us into chasing her."

"Given what we've seen, you're probably right," Beth agreed, "Alright, I'll keep working and see what I can do. Come get me for dinner?"

"Of course," Pam replied with a smile, "Let's just hope we have time to eat. I should go make sure Sally and Samantha haven't eaten everything I planned on preparing."

—-----------

Jake sat in his room upstairs alone and pretending to rest. Sam, Beth, Pam, Ashley, and even Sally had all forced him to head up for at least a few hours after he'd nearly burned down the lab while working with Alexis. Ashley had already been riding him hard about his sleep, but after the incident even Alexis was adamant that he needed to step away. Still, he couldn't bring himself to shut his eyes for long. His nightmares were all too real, and he was terrified that any moment he might awaken back in Hell beneath Lilith and her awful machinations. Besides, there was still so much that needed to be done in order for them to succeed against Courtney and whatever she was planning.

They had a lead, at least, but it wasn't anything substantial that pointed them in the right direction. Courtney was working with someone from his company, but to what end? She needed help perfecting her toxin and its effects, but why would she recruit someone from R&D? More importantly, why was this man working with her? There had to be a connection that he was missing, but what could it be? Maybe he was too exhausted to help Alexis isolate the toxin and a cure, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything he could do. He sat up and walked over to his dresser. Opening the top drawer, Jake fished out a small computer he'd stashed away for emergencies.

"You need to be lying down," Ashley sighed from the edge of his bed as he turned the device on, "You're no good to anyone if you can't stay awake and focused, Jake. Please, you're not still trapped in a hallucination."

"I can multitask," he replied as he sat down and leaned back, "See, I can lie down and work at the same time."

"Don't be cute," Ashley said, rolling her eyes, "You know that's not what I meant. If you're in need of a sleep aid, though, I can give you a rather pleasant dream. All you need to do is tell me what you're wanting, and I can make it happen if you'll just close your eyes."

"Now who's being cute?" Jake asked as he typed his password and signed into his company network, "I'll take a raincheck on that, but I appreciate the offer."

Ashley sighed as she realized that he wasn't going to give up whatever he was doing, "What exactly are you trying to find, love?"

"Staffing records, projects that I might have overlooked, background checks, anything that might tell me more about our mystery conspirator," Jake said as he opened different tabs, "I missed a lot while I was with Rebecca, hell, even before I wasn't the most attentive CEO. I tried, but I wound up passing off several responsibilities to advisors and people I thought I could trust."

"A wealthy man ignoring his responsibilities, imagine that," Ashley scoffed.

"I know, I know," Jake sighed, "I made mistakes, but I never thought that anything like this could, let alone would, happen. I'm trying to do the right thing now, though."

"I know you are," Ashley said softly, "Carelessness is the curse of youth, Jake. You can't atone for everything in one night, though. How are you even planning on finding this man in your company records? Your company employs nearly half of the city."

"I'll start with a wide net and narrow it down from there," Jake replied, "Beginning with projects linked to Brunswick salvage, military contracts that we might have procured over the last two years, and the divisions of R&D that were working on either of those. If I can figure out who was working on either of those, then maybe I can further narrow the search."

"Well, we know it's a male," Ashley added, "That should help things a bit. Does your hiring process take into consideration people's sexual interests?"

"No, that's not something HR has ever asked about," Jake replied, turning to look at her confusedly.

"Probably for the best, otherwise you might not be running the company," she joked with a wicked smile.

"Haha, you're hilarious," he scoffed, "I thought you didn't want me looking into this?"

"I didn't say that, I said, I think you should be resting," she corrected him, "However, I can see there's no stopping you from doing this unless I take the wheel and force you to lay down. I'm not going to do that, though."

Jake didn't reply, but she could feel his appreciation. It meant more to him now than ever that she was willing to voice her opposition to wresting control from him. Rather than focus on her subtle gesture, Jake turned his attention back to the screen and his research. Ashley didn't say another word, instead choosing to let him work. They could rest afterwards, and maybe he would put himself to sleep while surfing through files. She could hope for that much at least.

Jake continued to browse through projects and personnel files. The Brunswick archives went deeper than he realized. The military had indeed reached out regarding some of their old and existing contracts with Emily from before her disappearance. Mostly new forms of weaponry that blended the experimental technology that she'd designed based on the arcane artifacts and other ancient items. Blackridge Inc. had taken on a handful of the old contracts in hopes of restoring lost profit margins behind the scenes in the wake of Rebecca's hostile takeover. However, nothing he found seemed close to having a connection with Courtney and her current plans, let alone the parasites.

Jake decided to shift his focus to personnel working in R&D. The list of names was massive, so he tried shifting once again to individuals working with Brunswick projects. Finally, narrowing it down to males only took his list of suspects from over one hundred to roughly forty. Now all he had to do was try to decipher the names of their projects and assignments. It was commonplace policy to use codenames for any projects that could be considered sensitive or controversial to the public. Either the system or the employee would choose the names, so Jake was forced to look into the details of each one individually. Even having narrowed his suspect list down, though, the number of secret projects was staggering.

Jake was beginning to think that it was a lost cause when he found a file labeled: Toxikinesis. He'd read that name before; the Greek Goddess of poison. He opened the file to find who'd commissioned or sanctioned the project, but it appeared to be an ancient one from before Emily's disappearance. It was the first mention of the Devil Burrowers that he'd come across, but that wasn't what caught his attention. The timestamp on it was from earlier this year, and the username was one of his employees. Andrew Richardson, one of the younger scientists in R&D had accessed the files, and from the look of it, he had been the only person since his company had seized control of Emily's assets to dig into it. Why did that name sound familiar?

"Found something, love?" Ashley asked, sensing the shift in his attitude.

"Actually, I think I might have," he said as he pulled up Andrew's files, records, and any surveillance files, "It might be a long shot, but there's someone who was poking around one of Emily's pet projects dealing with the parasites."

"Could it have been a coincidence?" Ashley asked.

"Maybe, but this guy is the only person who's opened this particular file since we took over Brunswick," Jake replied, "Moreover, I know that name from somewhere, but I can't quite place it. Wait a minute, I know where I know him from!"

Jake pulled up a picture of Andrew's employee badge and his records. Ashley looked over the screen and frowned. "This is the one you believe is working with Courtney?" Ashley asked.

"This guy was close to Courtney while we were dating," Jake explained, remembering the copious amounts of dirty looks he'd received, "I swear, he hated my guts for us being together. When we announced our engagement, he excused himself early to head home, and let me see here…bingo, it was him! Last year, we had a breach in security from an employee accessing top secret data from a personal computer. It took our cybersecurity team three days to track down the breach, but we let him off with a slap on the wrist since it wasn't anything major."

"Your culprit is a jealous, bitter, weakling," Ashley clarified, "I'm afraid I'm not following how this helps us stop the undead invasion, though."

"I can try to dig into his logs, dms, and track where his ID badge has been used," Jake explained, "Miri said he's been wandering around the city, and Courtney is planning something more than just a feeding frenzy. It might not tell us what they're up to, but it'll give us an area to search for where their base of operations might be."

"Sorry, what exactly are dms?" Ashley asked, "Not to detract from your little victory or anything, but I've never really understood those three letters."

"Direct messages," Jake said, "Andrew is a smart kid, so it's likely that he's using a private network for communications. However, I might be able to triangulate and isolate a pattern based on old records. Everyone has a habit or patter, no matter how small, and with the tech downstairs there's a chance we can figure out what they're planning. I'll have to setup a remote program to run in the background, but that won't be too difficult or take too long."

"Brilliant," Ashley said with a genuine smile, "I must say, you're quite attractive when you're in detective mode. Now, will you please try to get some rest once this is done? We need to be able to function if we're going to fight and survive."

"Deal," Jake said, logging into the Birdcage systems from his laptop, "Let me get this going, and I'll lay down for a little while without a fight, I promise."

"Good," Ashley said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and laying down, "Do what you need to do, but try to do it quickly, my love. There's no telling how much time we have before Courtney decides to make her move. We need to be ready when that time finally comes."

Jake nodded as he ran the proper protocols on his computer. The program was simple, but it would hopefully yield something that they could use to track down Andrew and maybe Courtney. Within a few hours, they should have something that they could use. Once it was finished and running behind the scenes, Jake closed his laptop and crawled into bed. Admittedly, the mattress was a welcome change from all the stress and chaos that he'd been swept up in. He could feel Ashley close beside him, at least on the inside, and he closed his eyes with a deep breath. A few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt him, and it was the least he could do for everyone after everything they'd done for him. He was asleep within a matter of seconds.

—--------------------

Courtney sat in the office of the warehouse that she'd taken for herself. Jake's Raven mask rested on her desk in front of her, and she leaned down over the desk to stare at it. She'd been so close to finishing Jake and his legacy. Unfortunately, the Feral and the pretender had shown up before she could finish her fun. However, she had learned something unique from Jake's nightmares. She grinned to herself as she remembered that she now knew who The Feral was; she was Beth Thompson. Courtney had thought that the girl had been murdered by the pretender, but she'd succumbed to Goth and her evil influence. She kicked herself for not watching those visions closer that first night, but it was better late than never.

The waiting wasn't certainly the worst part of her current plan. She was ready to move, but the technology simply wasn't ready. Her patience was thin, though. There was no way she could speed things along any further, though. Her minions were working as hard as they could, and, as foolish as it may have been, she believed Andrew when he said he was moving as fast as he could. However, that didn't make it any easier to deal with. The only solace she could take as time slowly ticked by was the unease and dread that the city was feeling. The lockdown had gone into effect, just as she planned, and when the time finally came, the people would be trapped. Heroes were so predictable; it brought a wide smile to her face.

"Ms. Tellar," Andrew's voice broke her from her musings, "I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but I thought you might like an update on your plan."

Courtney sat up and smiled, "Andrew, it's like you read my mind. Come in, come in, and tell me you have some good news!"

Andrew stepped into her office with shakey knees. He loved Courtney, but he had always been the nervous type around women. The fact that she was a potentially dangerous sociopath only added to his growing nerves. He cleared his throat as he placed a tablet down on her desk, "Yes, ma'am, by my calculations, we should have a finished product by tomorrow night. I-I know it's not quite as soon as you would like, but the blast radius is going to be larger than expected. Your plans for a world of harmony and subservience should be a reality soon!"

Courtney stood up and hummed to herself as she walked around her desk. Her fingertips trailed along the top of it. She ignored the tablet Andrew had placed on it; the data didn't concern her, only the end results. "Hmm," she hummed as a low and dark laugh bubbled up from her throat, "That's wonderful news! Not quite as quick as I'd hoped, but I'll take what I can get. Metropolis will be the testing phase, and if all goes accordingly, we'll begin distribution to every major city across the country! Can you feel that, Andrew? Oh, the air is positively electric!"

"It's always electric whenever you're around, Ms. Tellar," Andrew replied, his cheeks flushing.

"Tell me something, Andrew," she said, spinning in excitement, "What exactly is it that you want out of helping me? I've wracked my brain on this, and I know this is more than just a matter of self-preservation for you. Jake was nothing more than a boss to you, but it's like you hate him almost as much as I do. So, tell me. What is it that you hope for, Andrew?"

Andrew swallowed as he tried to decide whether to be honest with Courtney or not. This was his chance to tell her everything, but could he do it? The last thing be wanted was to lie and offend his crush, though. "What do I want, Ms. Tellar?" he asked as he tried to work up the nerve to speak plainly, "I want you to succeed, ma'am, and I want you to be happy with that success."

"Such a drole and contrived answer," Courtney sighed, frowning at his response, "That doesn't answer my question. Try again, and put some feeling into it this time, Andrew!"

"Oh, uhm, okay," he said, shaking slightly as he realized he was going to have to confess his feelings, "Ms. Tellar, I…I have dreamed of you since the moment I first saw you. You are the most gorgeous, intelligent, and remarkable woman that I've ever encountered. When Jake Blackridge won your heart, I was devastated, but I realized that all that mattered was your happiness. If I loved you as much as I claimed, then it wouldn't have been right for me to be bitter. It was a difficult time in my life, but I swore that I'd find a way to be happy for you. Then, that filthy little snake broke your heart! He sold us all out to that lunatic and her cronies, but you, Ms. Tellar, you actually tried to do something about it! You took a stand against that maniac, and where was Jake Blackridge during all of that?!"

Courtney raised her eyebrows and leaned against the desk. She'd never seen her little book-worm so riled up before. "If memory serves, he was, quite literally, tied up beneath Goth," she replied, "Please, continue, Andrew."

"Yes, exactly!" Andrew shouted, now lost in his buried emotions and outrage, "This world and everyone in it could burn for all I care, but you, Ms. Tellar, you deserve to be the one to strike the match, should that be what you want. You deserve everything and more, but that worthless playboy left you I'm ruins! He abandoned you, and that is something I will never be able to forgive! Ms. Tellar, you are under no obligation to reciprocate my feelings, let alone let me live, but every second that I serve you is a second that I count among the happiest in my life. Should I only become a meal for you, I would thank my stars above that someone so perfect would even dare to consider me worthy. I am the scum beneath your perfect feet, I am unworthy to even breathe the same air as you, but I am forever in your debt for your time and mercy."

"So, that's why you sought me out," Courtney smiled, "You're in love with me."

"Yes, Ms. Tellar, I couldn't accept what they were saying about your death," he admitted, "The police and the so-called heroes are too quick to give up on people. I pulled the surveillance footage from the night of your disappearance, and that's how I knew where to search for you. When I found you, I was almost as heartbroken as I was the day you and Jake announced your engagement, but I refused to give up on you! I pulled the files from the company server, stole you and your containment barrel away, and brought you here so that I could monitor you. The Brunswick files talked about the extremely low survival rate from human testing with the Burrowers, but I knew that if anyone had a chance, it would be you, Ms. Tellar! I couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't try to help you through the process, and I was right! You are a marvel of science and perfection!"

"Perfection?" Courtney asked with a wide smile, flattered by Andrew's words, "What about this body seems like perfection to you, Andrew? I feed on the flesh of others, my skin is discolored, and, if we're being honest, my mental state is what most would consider unhinged."

"You are perfect, Ms. Tellar," Andrew argued, dropping to his knees and taking her hands in his, "I look at you, and I see a woman more determined and beautiful than any other who walks this earth. Your strength and will are what allowed you to survive the bonding process. It wasn't anything that I did, Ms. Tellar, it was all you. Only a true Goddess among peons like myself could have come out of what you've been through as amazingly as you! Please, Ms. Tellar, believe me when I say that you are the future of our miserable kind. Humanity is lucky to have you as the precursor to what is to come!"

Courtney stared down at him for a moment before reaching down and grabbing the collar of his shirt. She pulled him to his feet and crashed her lips into his. Andrew's eyes went wide as the girl of his dreams initiated a forceful kiss. Her breath was revolting, and the taste of her previous meals was almost enough to make him sick. He didn't care, though. He returned her kiss as best he could in spite of the horrendous feeling of Courtney's undead mouth. Her tongue probed and prodded every inch of his mouth as she stole his breath from him.

She broke the kiss and held his chin in her hand, "Still think I'm perfect, Andrew?" she asked, knowing full well the taste of decay littered her mouth.

"Now more than ever, Ms. Tellar," he replied, earning a broad smile from her, "I will follow you to the ends of the earth, and I'll make sure you get to have the last laugh with Jake Blackridge and all of his friends."

Courtney giggled like a school girl as she stepped back and twirled. Her giggle turned to a cackle as she proclaimed, "Prepare my stage, Andrew! I think it's time we put on a little show for Metropolis, don't you?!"

Andrew smiled as he watched the love of his life spin in a giddy fit of excitement. The hour of her victory was drawing near, and he was proud to be a part of it. "Right away, Ms. Tellar," he said as he hurried out of the room, "I can't wait to see it, and all the world will know your name soon!"