The O-warhead's effect is based on several simple principles. At first, learning about Tattletale's order for such devices from Tomoko—I decided this was another one of her pranks and asked not to distract Tomoko "Bakuda" Hideoshi from important matters. Because we only have one bomber-tinker-genius, and there's never enough Zero Time bombs. But Tattletale gave me a brief lecture on how such bombs work and I—backed down. Though... as always with Lisa, she just twists me around her finger.
Then Tattletale said: "Taylor, do you know that the nervous system isn't as important for orgasm as the brain? Unlike pain impulses, orgasm requires more than just stimulation of certain nerve endings. Sex—it's in the head, Tay-Tay. That's why some people like being humiliated, and others—like humiliating. Someone loves the smell of sweat, and someone—likes doing it in a store, in a fitting room. And if you can endure pain, stopping an orgasm by willpower—is impossible. Do you know what the main goal of human organism existence is from evolution's standpoint, from species survival perspective? Reproduction. That's exactly why during orgasm all possibilities to act otherwise are forcibly shut down. In nature this doesn't last long, but the O-bomb from dirty and lustful Tomoko—can extend this effect... and during all this time no one will be able to do anything. Only... enjoy pleasure, Tay-Tay. And you know... I have an idea. Let's rent a room in a cheap motel, lock ourselves in, get naked and... drop such a bomb at our feet, huh?"
I remembered how she said this—with her usual crooked smirk, by which you can never tell if she's mocking you or really thinks so. Remembered her jokes about needing to launch a couple such bombs at Armsmaster and see—if it affects him or if he's finally become completely cyborg. About how if you explode such things at the Congress of Christian Communities, you can be absolutely sure they'll write us personal tickets to hell.
But then neither I, nor Tattletale, nor anyone else—dared to test the O-warhead's effect on themselves. Now, after six of my bodies in the parking lot got a full dose of artificial orgasm—I can say with complete certainty that no one would want such a thing a second time.
"So sweet is honey that at last it's bitter"—here's a Shakespeare quote that accurately describes the state of a person hit by an O-warhead. Flash in the head! First—an instant flash that knocks out all thoughts, twists you and throws you to the ground, forcing you to writhe in a paroxysm of pleasure so intense it resembles pain, agony, the body shaking in convulsions. I don't know how to describe it, but I feel it as if I was tied hand and foot, gagged, ears plugged with wax, eyes blindfolded, pumped with a horse dose of stimulants and given to ten perversely lustful and horny Tattletales to tear apart, stimulating every inch of my body with vibrators, tongues, touches. I'm thrown from hot to cold and ultimately lose track of time... and when I come to—I'm lying on a dirty concrete floor, still shuddering all over and feeling contractions in my lower abdomen, pain in all muscles at once and emptiness in my head...
It's hard for me. All this is connected to the fact that there are no separate Me's here, I'm alone here. I just have many bodies and receive information from each of them. It's easier for me than others because I can divide the streams and weaken them. It's harder for me than others because I still get the full range of sensations from each body. And while one of my bodies writhes in a paroxysm of unbearable bliss on the dirty concrete floor after the O-warhead strike—two others appear in the concrete room, an explosion thunders and...
How could I miss? A simple swing of a blood blade should have taken Jack's head off! This movement I could do in my sleep—appear with Butcher's teleportation explosion, immediately—slash backhand with the edge of my palm, from which with Muramasa's skill—I grow a blood blade, but... I don't hit!
"Now hold on!" Jack's voice booms and my Taylors in the room—freeze. My insects still can't get into the Plant, so I only see what my two bodies see—one that pressed Bonesaw with an empty gaze to its chest (she still got hit by the O-bomb) and another that tried to kill Jack. The third doesn't count. The third lies on the floor drooling. Also on the floor lie Emma and Madison, their bodies, like mine—shuddering in sweet convulsions from the O-ammunition, I see with horror the seminal fluid splattered from the monstrous-looking male genitalia of these two. Disgusting.
Why didn't it work? Why didn't Jack—fall to the floor like everyone present? Why can't I hit him for the second time?! And why can't I—move from the spot?!
"Taylor, Taylor..." Jack shakes his head. "What a hot little thing you are. I admit I'm surprised. To do such a thing to Riley... you know she's—underage? I think that's called corrupting minors? Though I expected no less from the Babylonian Whore. However, forgive me, but I still haven't heard your proposal, Taylor. We gathered here to negotiate, didn't we? To go from negotiations to... this..." he nods at the lying bodies of my classmates. They have obvious priapism—the monstrously sized penises sewn onto them—stick out like flagpoles, the O-bomb caused them an attack of painful erection. They writhe on the floor, causing me a persistent desire to burn everything here with a flamethrower after all. Even when they just stood, simply stood before me, heads down and singing "Happy birthday to you" in trembling voices—even then they caused revulsion and horror in me. But now... when they're naked, with erect members, covered in their own seminal fluid—writhing on the dirty concrete floor... a lump rose to my throat at one glance. Such... shouldn't exist in principle. Such a familiar face, distorted in a sweet grimace, schoolgirls' bodies, tumors, pus and oozing ichor, sparse hair sticking out of disgusting warts, vulgarly protruding penises, blood and seminal fluid... they seemed to be the embodiment of everything most disgusting. Such... human cesspool, in which these two writhed...
"Get a hold of yourself!" a voice in my head snaps at me. "Taylor! Stop!"
"..." I take a deep breath and turn away from Emma and Madison. Calm down, Taylor, you just almost activated the body's built-in self-destruction system. Emotions, emotions... breathe out.
"Taylor, get a hold of yourself!" Tattletale echoes the Fifth, sitting at the base and watching what's happening through cameras mounted in each Taylor's tactical armor. "Jack... he... somehow can influence you through your own abilities! He... seems like he can make you listen. And maybe even obey! It's dangerous for you to talk to him... the longer he talks—the more influence he has on you! It's like a web—you get more and more entangled! And also—O-bombs don't work on him, his body was enhanced by Bonesaw, he can no longer experience orgasm. Or emotions above a certain level."
"So what to do?" I grumble to myself, unable to move from the spot. "I can't kill him, but talking to him is dangerous..."
My Taylor who holds Bonesaw—futilely tries to teleport from there... if it worked, I would then simply level the Plant along with Jack and Siberian's host cape. And with my bodies... and even with Emma and Madison. Right now I have no sentiments. And honestly—I want to burn everything here with fire. To ash.
"So, Taylor? Shall we continue negotiations? Let Riley go, it's impolite. Come on, let go!" he raises his voice and my Taylor—involuntarily releases her hands. Bonesaw—sinks to the floor, pulls out a small syringe from somewhere in a bag at her waist and with trembling hands—gives herself an injection in the neck. Jumps to her feet, runs aside and throws away the syringe.
"What a bitch you are, Taylor!" she shouts. "You know what your new dads' big male things are for? For you! And they can do it non-stop for days! They'll tear you in all holes, rip you apart from inside and cum in you, so you'll always see your daddy's face fucking you like the last whore!"
"Riley! Language!" Jack raises a finger.
"Oh! Sorry, Taylor," Bonesaw immediately lowers her head. "I meant to say you'll like my gift. It's not just beautiful, but functional. Jack! Please, enough already! Let me play with her!"
"Riley—Taylor and I agreed to first hear her proposal. Hold negotiations, so to speak..." he squints and tosses the knife on his palm. "It's just there are three living Taylors here... and how many Taylors do we need for negotiations?"
"One?" Bonesaw suggests and tilts her head sideways. "Exactly! One! Give me those two!"
"Exactly. For negotiations I only need one Taylor." Jack raises a finger and both my bodies—one writhing on the floor and the other that released Bonesaw—fall to the floor with severed frontal lobes. I can't even order them to activate self-destruction, Jack severed the control modules in their heads, destroyed the Corona Gemma and Pollentia.
"Excellent!" Bonesaw raises her hands up. "Even if they're dead, they'll do for Taylor's girlfriend-dads. What could be more romantic than a little incest-necrophilia?"
"Before we begin, Taylor," Jack says, "I want to note that Riley developed and even managed to create and pour into canisters a virus you might call 'Biblical Plague.' Or simply Pestilence. And if you kill her now—these canisters, placed around the city—will explode, releasing the virus into the air. What are the projections, Riley?"
"Ninety-eight percent mortality in the first day," Bonesaw answers. "The city will die out. And then—depends on wind patterns... but I think the entire northeast of the country will have it very bad. Millions of victims. I don't usually do such things, but for you... you don't think your only gift will be two of your horny classmates? And... I know you're impatient, but I promise you that when I get to your true body—you'll feel what it's like—to be the most popular girl in class and beloved daughter of your daddies! Everyone I get to, all your close people—will love you for days!"
My Taylor, the only one left alive inside the room—still can't move, can't say a word. Outside, beyond the range of Bonesaw's aerosol—clouds of my insects gather, hundreds of my bodies, Tattletale commands the capes, here are Trickster and Ballistic, Sundancer and Genesis... toward the eastern edge of the Plant move Grue, Regent and Hellhound, who prefers to be called—Bitch. They move on huge dogs of monstrous sizes. The Plant's perimeter is cordoned off by operators, commanded by Dmitri. Somewhere in the attic of the building opposite—Jane "Mamasita" Rodriguez falls into dust, setting up her sniper rifle and beginning to equip a firing position. I'm not alone here and only this—gives me confidence. Even if Jack now kills another of my bodies—it won't mean anything. He has no other cards, he can't threaten me with hostages... Emma and Madison as hostages? Don't make me laugh. I would kill them myself now, they're clearly suffering, they're in pain, if they could speak, could dare—they would ask me to kill them themselves. So that card is beaten. The only valuable thing—is Bonesaw and even that... I'm already having serious doubts about how much I need her... and at what cost.
"Prepare 'Baby' device!" I-Amy say into the selector. Somewhere in the basement Tomoko nods and hurries to the containers, and a couple of Valkyries—descend into the elevator shaft, ready to take "under wing" a couple of Bakuda's super-powerful bombs, "Baby-U." Enhanced.
"Taylor..." Tattletale warns nearby. But doesn't object. During battle—I make decisions. She—gives information, but I always make decisions myself. Right now—she's overloaded, too much information, she can't handle the streams, she can't make decisions. I touch her hand and heal all consequences of gift abuse and enhancement. She—nods gratefully. Presses fingers to her temples. Closes her eyes.
While she thinks—my Valkyries receive two massive silver cylinders from Tomoko's hands. Grasp them with their claws and soar up, leaving through the laboratory's open door and elevator shaft. Should get a special shaft for flights inside the base...
"So, Taylor..." Jack turns his head to the surviving Taylor. "Now you can speak. State your terms, and we'll—tell you ours. And then—we'll start killing each other. I want to note that you've already killed six of our comrades, and I... only three of yours so far. We're short three more for an even count. Well, we'll settle up."
My Taylor watches as Bonesaw gives injections to the... creatures lying on the floor. Right now I can't perceive them as my classmates, as Emma and Madison, they... there's almost nothing human left in them. She gives them injections, stopping the agony from the O-bomb, with a short command raises them to their feet and points with her hand. Two creatures with my father's face and high school girls' bodies, with protruding phalluses—lean over the body of the nearest Taylor. I hear zippers of tactical armor fastenings being undone. I clench my teeth. They'll do this before my eyes! Yes, it's just a dead body... but it's—my dead body! One of my bodies! And they—will defile it! Before my eyes.
"Don't give in to emotions, Taylor," says Tattletale, still with closed eyes. "That's not your body. That's just organic protoplasm from your gel vat. Too bad we can't give the self-destruction command yet, but... that's not your body. They're doing this to throw you off balance. All this—is to throw you off balance. As long as you're calm, as long as you remain yourself—Jack can't do anything to you. You—also can't do anything to him, his ability won't allow it. But he—can't do anything to you either. To penetrate your head—he needs to first shake your psyche. Anchor, Taylor! Anchor! Calm down, remember who you are, remember what path you've traveled. Don't let him shake your psyche, make you forget your principles and who you are. If you lose yourself now—he'll do everything so you—never find yourself again."
"This bastard wants to get into my head?" I say, watching as two creatures, once my classmates—tear clothes off the dead body lying on the floor. My dead body.
"His power doesn't work immediately. Gradually. Slowly. To implant new principles in the victim's head, impose his will—he first needs to destroy the former principles, foundations of personality and individuality. Exhaust the will. That's what all these bloody and cruel initiation rituals serve when joining the Slaughter," Tattletale explains and opens her eyes. "If you remain yourself—he has no chance. Though... that's only because you have many bodies. If you had one body and fell into their hands..." she shakes her head. "Sooner or later he would break you. He would break anyone."
"If this freak wants to get into my head—welcome. After all, you've already prepared the welcoming committee, right, Fifth?" I ask myself and from somewhere inside comes a feeling of calm and satisfaction.
"Good," I say, looking into the abyss inside myself. "Good. I—give permission. I accept your terms, Fifth. Jack Slash—is a monster, but you... you are too. Who better to hunt monsters than a monster? Come on, Fifth, here's your chance... I give you control. Break a leg."
Watching from the side—I feel how the posture of my Taylor, locked in the room with Jack and Bonesaw, changes. The body relaxes, a slight smile appears on the lips. He throws a curious glance at the corner where the desecration of my body is taking place and chuckles.
"Well... since I was allowed to speak..." the voice of the Senior Comrade and Good Friend sounds in the room. Jack Slash—freezes and turns his head to me, or rather—to my body controlled by the Fifth, turns his head and in his eyes, for the first time all this time I see some emotions. Surprise?
"This is of course none of my business," the Fifth continues, "but who rapes corpses like that? Come on, let me show you..."