🏛️✨🕷️ * ﹕ㅤㅤ the world might seem like it was on the verge of collapsing, but hive sat in tranquility in his office, insulated from the endless night swallowing halcyon whole, insulated from the panic, the sirens, the distant screams echoing upward from the streets outside smoke & mirrors. the power in the nightclub remained on, rich enough to have a generator and enough fuel to last an entire month, and hive reviewed paperwork and profits as if he had expected business to flourish once this was all over, so the book must always be balance regardless of chaos outside. and phermonger stood behind him, the dancer's hands pressing deliberate circles into the tension in his shoulders, the touch so soothing that the telepath allowed himself the indulgence of closing his eyes for only a moment, savoring the muffled static of thousands of surrounding terrified and panicked minds humming softly beneath his consciousness like distant radio frequencies. but maybe he was only listening to the things he wanted to hear... to the terror and the hysteria... too distracted by the suffering of others that a certain bloodlust flew under his radar, and hive failed to see this coming. a rare mistake that might just be his undoing.
the windows exploded inward as gossamer swung into the window from godknowswhere, with enough momentum for glass to burst across the office in a violent shower that hive and phermonger had to shield their eyes with their hands, little shards cutting and grazing their skin as cold wind flooded the room. and phermonger barely had enough time to react to anything else before he was slammed hard against the wall by the webbings gossamer shot at him, restrained instantly, layers upon layers of thick webbing pinning his arms and torso tight enough to crack drywall behind him. " fuck⸻ " but the curse died in his throat as he watched gossamer lunge at hive.
except gossamer stopped mid-motion, mind being scrambled by psionic pressures that staggered his own control over his body, while hive simply looked at him as the faintest smile touched his lips. " the wolfes sent you, hm ? " hive asked in a smooth conversational tone, as if they were discussing business over whiskey instead of standing moments away from murder, as if he didn't already know the answer from reading gossamer's mind. " how tragic. killing one master only to chain yourself to another. if you're trying to find yourself, you've gone the wrong way about it, my dear perry. "
and yet, against all odds, gossamer steeled himself and took a step forward. hive looked at him with an almost proud look across his face, marveling at the strength exhibited, but that only meant increasing the challenge. he reached farther into gossamer's mind, an intrusion so deep that gossamer's body jerked violently for a split-second, the room itself feeling like it was tightening around the spider, air becoming suffocatingly heavy beneath the weight of the telepath's influence.
" you might kill me today, both of us know i'm not a fighter the same way you are, " hive clicked his tongue, shaking his head and looking at gossamer like a disappointed father. " but parts of you will die with me. " and with a deep exhale, the telepath scrambled the spider's mind again, enough to shatter precious moments he held dearly, memories peeling apart and away, leaving him confused every time he tried to hold onto a memory, unsure what he'd been thinking beforehand.
first were memories of his grandmother⸻ granny destruction laughing while tossing him the folded black-and-white suit, telling him every proper menace needed a good fucking name. gone.
and still, gossamer kept moving. slowly. violently. like he dragging himself through wet cement while hive infested his mind. the telepath destroyed memories of bunny next, so annoyingly sweet, that maybe he was doing him a favor. then it was memories of rafi nadeem. all the laughter, all the moments with each other, all the thoughts he ever had about him, gone.
then the next was more purposeful. the false mask society, all the private identities, safehouses, missions, faces, removed from the spider's mind to protect hive's men if he were to die here. then next to go were everything that had built him up today : trailblazer's assassination, every murder, all the memories of blood splattering across his mask. hive wondered if he'd be as strong without those things that had kept him cold-blooded.
and phermonger watched helplessly from the wall, dread creeping slowly across his face as gossamer kept moving through the psionic pressure while hive never moved from his chair, trying to dismantle gossamer without lifting a single finger. " you'll never be free, " hive said, a final taunt as gossamer finally reached the desk. " you'll only be as good as when someone points you to the right direction. "
hive's hand disappeared beneath the desk, fingers wrapping around the hidden handgun and then pulling it free, barrel pointed at the spider before the gunshot cracked through the office⸻ at the same time as gossamer surged forward with a clawed hand aimed at the telepath's throat.
the bullet tore through gossamer's shoulder, blood spraying across the floor, as blood erupted from down hive's dress shirt after gossamer successfully sliced his jugular open. the telepath's pressure on his mind faded away as hive instinctively grabbed at the wound but it was already too late. death was certain.
and with the last slivers of his strength, hive shifted just enough to spend his final moments looking at phermonger. " you'll never be free, " he repeated, for perry, for donny, for everyone, like a man who was sure he could return even from this.
then his eyes darted left, right, everywhere, as if he was searching for something, then finally stopped moving, but not before the corner of hive's mouth twitched upward into the faintest trace of a smile.
huk zvtldolyl lszl pu ohsjfvu, h thu pu h zalypsl dopal yvvt vwlulk opz lflz mvy aol mpyza aptl pu flhyz.
