Part 57: Humanity's Hope...

XCOM Part 57: Humanity’s Hopes…



No… I know Carol’s mind was destroyed when we destroyed the Alien Base!
Anything that can be copied once can be copied more than once, Cam. Anything can be quantified, and nothing is precious. Eating Allen to become Allen was very enlightening.
Stop! Stop talking in her voice!
C’mon. I’m as much a part of the Uber Ethereal now as my old DNA is a part of you. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Swapping bodies and minds, trying to better ourselves all the while.



You’re trying to make something healthier than your current body that can still sustain psychic powers, and you think humans are the perfect missing link.
Ding ding ding! Yes. Yes.
Well, it won’t work. We’ve got your hyperwave decoder. We have copies of your weapons and are trading the technology to other countries as we speak. Very shortly, everyone on earth will be a match for you.
Really. Tell me, Cam… when you touched the device in the Gollop Chamber, you had visions of the past and future, right?



I did…
Well, for me, it’s like that all the time. Ever since we built our Device, I’ve been able to see into the future with perfect clarity.
Not very well. We’ve been kicking your ass.



Yes. You’ve shown us just how powerful humans can be if granted our technology. And those tasty meld canisters we brought to each battle site… those were the perfect bait. Now we have all sorts of ideas for how to mutate humanity into a servitor race while we work on our Avatar Project.
Good luck with that.
Oh, we’re not so bad. Most of the other races were animals or savages before we found them. And there are horrors lurking in the depths of the cosmos that would make us seem like angels. Crystaline entities that reproduce by spreading nanomachine dust on planets. Giant jellyfish that evolved to shatter nearby sapient minds. Telepathic microbes that devour whole dimensions.



I don’t care if you’re the least shitty alien conquerers out there. It’s too late to colonize Earth. We’re all strong enough to stop you. I’m only one person granted SOME upgrades, and eventually there will be a lot more like me. We can take you all on.
Oh? I just told you… I can see the future. So, buddy, how far do you think we can see into the future? Five minutes? Ten? A day? A week? A year?
Wait… no.
You saw all the bodies disappearing on this ship when you killed them.
Everything on this ship is an illusion… a mental projection. Maybe the ship itself!
Maybe this entire planet. This isn’t the present, Cam. This is the future. One possible future that hasn’t been set in stone yet. You wondered if you were still in the Gollop Chamber, touching it and seeing a vision? From one point of view, you are. And from my point of view I’m still touching mine, long ago.



The Orphan, your “commander,” had a similar but much more limited ability that let him guide his troops through battle, sustaining almost zero fatalities. Even now, he’s been lending his mental strength to your squad, without quite knowing it.
Bullshit. What we did, we did on our own!
Nobody ever accomplishes anything on their own. Without strings, puppets do not move.



I’ve learned almost everything I can from this reality. Once I’m done draining data from your friends’ minds and stripping your body of useful genetic research, I’ll collapse this potentiality. From your point of view, a singularity will consume the earth… but I’ll be sitting pretty at home, ready to decapitate XCOM back when we first arrived on Earth.
Not if I kill you first!
Please. You’re talking to a finger puppet. The real me is greater than you can imagine.



It’s summoning up copies of other Elites and Ethereals! Guys, we need to kill it now!



Guys?
…
…
I have severed your connection to the Orphan. Their minds are unspooling. Regressing to nothing. All the character development they got working for XCOM has been erased. They won’t move for you anymore.



I can’t quite do the same to you, buuuut… I am a master of illusion. They’ll see what I want them to see. And right now, they see you, pointing a gun at them.



She’s under mind control. We need to kill her.
Yes. We need to kill her to stop the aliens.
What?! No I’m not! Wait!



AUGH! STOP! I’m on your side, dammit! You’re supposed to be mind-control-proof, Eva!



YeeeeAAIIIIgggghhhh…
Goodbye, Cam.



Goodbye, XCOM.























.












..











…









nnnn… not… yet… Not… YET!



My heart’s still beating. I’m not dead yet!
Hmm. Some roaches need to be stepped on twice before they die. Give it up.



My will isn’t broken yet. Everyone has faith in me. I can still feel them. That means…!
This isn’t a shonen manga, Cam. This isn’t an anime. You can’t win just by trying really hard or wanting it hard enough.
Ahahaha. What did you say? “This isn’t anime?” The real Carol Allen would never say that.



You said it yourself. I’m like a human ethereal now. I can replace the commander… I can restore my friends’ minds! We can beat you! Watch this! Leroy! Bar-Lev!!!



Everything I do… it’s for the good of the country.
All that matters… is keeping up appearances.
Bullshit! So you were both spies. So what! You both woke up and realized what really matters. You fought together, bled together, fell in love, realized there were bigger stakes.
Colonel M’s orders…



Colonel M’s a short-sighted asshole! Remember what you gave up when you became a cyborg? NOTHING! You got rocket boots and rocket fists, you fucking love them both.
That’s… that right!



Leroy! Jogging buddy! You designed my wedding armor, remember? We all fought in pink!
That’s right, but… I want… what did I want?
You wanted to marry Mimi. You wanted to be a mother!
…I’m going to be a mother!



Cam! What the fuck, you’re hurt! Let me heal you!
Impossible…
I knew it! Mom! Hilda!



I can never tell Cam how much it hurts… I’m too busy saving the earth.
I’m a sniper… a government assassin… I don’t deserve to be loved.
You both deserve all the love you get and more. Mom! You remember kicking Exalt’s ass in South Africa? “Diplomatic immunity!”
…”It’s just been revoked!” Hahahaha, that was awesome!
Hilda! We fought EXALT together lots of times…once as a tiny two-person team! And once you beat them with no weapons, armor or clothing!
Hahahaha! That was so uncomfortable, but whenever I think about it now I just laugh… how the fuck did I forget that?!



Cam! Honey!
I’m back in action!!
Just one left! Eva!



What’s the point of trying? Everyone’s better than me.
Nobody’s better than blowing the shit out of aliens than you! You have a goddamn rocket launcher and a heavy plasma machine gun and you can use them better than Zhang!
I’m so nervous…
Because you care!
My family hates my face…
Your old family can go to hell. You’ve got a sister in Hilda, a father in Van Doorn, a sister in law with me, and a boyfriend in Hugo! We all love you, because you’re so full of love yourself! XCOM is your family now, literally!



Everyone!
You can’t foil someone with the power of love! This is ridiculous.
No. This is XCOM. I know you’re not the real Carol Allen… because the real Allen is alive, in me!
Yeah!



Concentrate fire on the leader! Everything else on this ship is an illusion. Once we kill the boss, we win!
You got it, honey! One double-tap coming up!



No! This is not what you were meant for! This is not what XCOM is supposed to be like!



Look at us. You said that this isn’t an anime? We’re a team of color-armored soldiers with superpowers. XCOM IS ANIME!
So long, Ethereal!



We got it!
I… I shall survive, on another plane of existence! You shall perish in this one! Joke’s on you, Cam! I’m a load-bearing boss!



Uh oh. The device is doing something.





Shit! It said it’d collapse this version of earth! The ship’s creating a singularity!
We need to get out of here!
Yeah. You do.



C’mon, Eva, hustle!
Running, running, running!



…goodbye, Cam.



Mom! What are you doing!?
You have to protect the earth, Cam. But as a mother, it’s my duty to protect you. You’re not the only psychic here. I can pilot this ship.
Wait!



GO!



Gaah!



Cam. By the time you get this recording, I might be gone. Ever since I became psychic, I’ve been having dreams of the future. But my own future seems to stop after we complete our mission.



I see myself… in water. Forever, possibly. But I’ve been seeing other things that give me hope.



I see you and Hilda in a sweet little cottage. I see Leroy and Bar-Lev in big frilly wedding dresses.



I see… Zinchenko tossing water balloons to his kid, Dina. Van Doorn playing darts with Zhang. I see Eva dancing around in a circle with Hugo. I even see Shen’s anklebiter playing with him. Nice things.



I also see what will happen if I don’t give myself to the water. Everything ending. So. I’ll do what I’m supposed to do, to stop that from ever happening.



Central, we’re bugging out. Latisha “Rhino” Watkins is not on board… we waited as long as we could.



I can’t see too far into the future, but I really hope humanity doesn’t use this technology to turn on itself like before. I’m hoping the next generation can learn not to do that. That’s you, Cam.



Well… gotta go put this recorder where you’ll find it after the mission. Thanks for being a good sport, kid. Love you lots. Bye.







That’s so like her… always has to show off more than anyone else.
Cam…
I’ll be fine. I’ve just got dust in my eyes…