"Rheka, you must go." "I will do what I have to." "You must come back and retrieve it later." "It will speak." "There is no other choice." "This is my duty." "No please." "Kali." "Well, well, you led us on a merry dance, didn't you, huh?" "No... crap." "What is it?" "It's not in him anymore, is it?" "Look at him." "Where'd you put it?" "Hey, hey, hey." "He's not going to answer." "When the bug leaves the body, you die." "It's part of the deal, and it's been in him for a long, long time." "Help him out, will you?" "Okay, people, moving on." "Spread out." "He must have passed the bug on to somebody." "Wait." "The old lady he was running with." "Find her." "Arigato." "Onryuji-San, what happened?" "Suki's never done anything like this before." "Suki?" "Giant lizard creature." "She's usually so docile." "He can't understand it." "No one was hurt, but there was much panic." "People were running through the streets, screaming." "Wow, it's just like in the movie." "No." "Nothing like a movie." "Where is she now?" "She's been sedated offshore while we build an enclosure on one of our Islands." "Last night she was fine, this morning all of a sudden, it's like a switch was turned on." "Okay, so a giant lizard creature loose in Tokyo." "How we going to spin this?" "So?" "Well, it looks like our spin is holding up." "Anyone who saw Suki now thinks it's part of some big Hollywood blockbuster shooting down by the harbor." "Good." "I'm getting pressure from new York to keep this story quiet." "Our new head of house there, Terrance Wexford, is very keen on making his mark." "You're under pressure?" "What's that about?" "Nothing." "Everything's fine." "Listen, Magnus, I know you, okay?" "I know when something's up." "I promise you, when the time comes, you will be the person that I talk to, all right?" "Henry." "Sorry to bother you, doc." "Got some breaking news out of London." "What is it?" "I'm patching through a video right now." "What is that?" "Dear God." "London calling." "Well, we caught her, but as you can see, she's still a little riled up." "We just came back from Tokyo." "They had a similar problem with Suki." "What happened?" "She went psycho, broke out of her enclosure for no apparent reason." "Now, I've received dispatches from Sydney, Rio, and Lagos." "All of them are reporting similar incidents." "In each case, one or two abnormals suddenly started acting up, out of the blue, no warning." "What is causing this?" "No idea, but we'd better figure it out, and quickly." "So far we've been lucky no one's been seriously hurt, but that won't be the case forever." "It could be a virus, like Lazarus last year." "Maybe, but this is a very select group of abnormals, and the behavior response is totally different." "Lazarus triggered violence." "This, whatever it is, is causing outright fear." "A change in atmosphere?" "No way." "Our satellite feeds would have detected something like that." "Besides, the Peruvian seppulus is incredibly sensitive to these kind of fluctuations, and yet Limus reported no problems." "Which leaves us with sound." "Something sub-sonic?" "Doubtful." "Pterodactyls have a high tolerance for that." "Can I just say that arguing over the cause at this point in time is useless." "We need to initiate an immediate global alert." "We're not there yet, Terrance." "Only a handful of abnormals have been affected so far." "Almost causing a panic in London and Tokyo." "Why risk further exposure?" "Dr. Magnus..." "I've just received a report." "A giant sand Ray has been found in the desert a hundred kilometers east of Minya, dead." "Surfaced inexplicably." "This is the middle of its hibernation cycle." "All right, everyone, please, let's not panic." "There has to be a reason that this is happening." "We just have to remain vigilant until we can figure out what it is." "In the meantime, survey your sentient abnormals, and keep tabs on the rest." "Report any changes in behavior to Declan immediately." "Dr. Magnus, I must insist... that's all." "Thank you." "I'm sorry, Dr. Magnus?" "Yes, Ravi, what is it?" "I'm not sure if this falls under our purview, but I thought it was worth mentioning." "A man was found shot dead in Dharavi." "He had the mark of Kali on his left leg." "Kali?" "Yeah, it's an ancient cult dating back 5,000 years." "Its followers were rumored to be able to foretell disaster." "So they're abnormals?" "We've no idea." "We've never actually made contact with them." "I appreciate it, Ravi." "Thank you." "I'll be in touch." "So, what do you think?" "You think this Kali thing ties in?" "I've no idea." "This situation's so fractured, anything, no matter how insignificant, could be a factor." "Yeah." "What?" "You want me to go to Mumbai?" "I have to stay here and manage this situation." "You mean manage Wexford." "Yeah, you picked up on that, did you?" "Yeah, just a little." "Okay." "Take Kate with you to Mumbai." "It'll be fun." ""We're going on a trip," he says." ""It'll be fun!" he says." ""Please stop talking for two minutes," he says." "Hey, I have just been on a plane for 15 hours." "I am entitled to a little complaining." "Yeah, well, try flying through Tokyo and London first, and then we'll talk." "Dr. Zimmerman, Miss Freelander." "Namaste." "I am Dr. Ganapathiraman." "Hi, Dr..." "Doctor." "I'm Will." "Then you must call me Ravi." "Thank God." "I'll be Kate." "Kate." "Pavitar." ""Pure."" "No, just Kate." "I have rooms ready for you if you need to rest." "Absolutely... no, actually, we're fine." "Why don't we just get started?" "Moving fast in Mumbai?" "That's a bad idea." "What are we, here on vacation?" "Bring on the heat." "Female." "You can tell by the markings." "Hmm, yes." "Oh, young too." "Maybe 60, 70 years old?" "Damn, there aren't that many of these left." "I've arranged for a helicopter transport to Cairo." "We should do a biopsy on the wings, tail, and cephalic lobe, send them to London." "Declan can do a full work-up, see if there's any link to the other abnormals." "Any chance we can get access to the victim?" "We're in good with the local authorities." "They've given us the crime scene, and I've arranged with the coroner to "borrow" the body for a window of time." "Good should be delivered to the Sanctuary this afternoon." "The cops have anything yet?" "Still haven't ID'd the body." "They think this was just another drug deal gone bad." "I dot think so." "Talk to me, William." "Well, the spatter angle seems very long." "I mean, do you think slum gangbangers carry that heavy a caliber?" "Doubtful." "Cheaper the gun, smaller the bullet." "I'm thinking..." "Military issue." "These are new treads." "It's a recent acquisition." "Yeah, those kicks st." "Okay, so..." "Some dudes with expensive boots and even more expensive guns were here." "So not a local job, then." "Well..." "I'm saying no." "Not unless the locals buy their guns direct from the manufacturer." "Armor-piercing 9 mil." "Still jagged." "Russian." "Pricey." "You thought I was just a token Indian, didn't you?" "Okay, so, all of this points to a professional, if not military-style hit." "Why?" "I mean, who is this guy?" "What did they want from him?" "Or this cult he belonged to?" "Hey, Ravi, what's this?" "Ah, a shrine to the goddess Durga." "They're fairly common." "Okay." "So the witnesses say that the victim was being chased, but he had a good head start." "There's lots of ways out of this alley." "Why did he stop here?" "'Cause he was headed this way?" "Yeah." "Hey, what do you make of this?" "Nice call." "Uh, Dr. Zimmerman..." "Will Z. with the score." "You guys are good." "Is that supposed to be there?" "No." "Huh..." "Let's get this back to the Sanctuary." "Helicopter's a half an hour out." "Apparently, they had some problems with navigations." "That's all right." "It's giving me a chance to study these samples." "What do you make of this?" "Evidence of nociception." "Exactly." "This creature was in pain." "Which explains the fear reaction, but what caused it?" "I still don't know." "I have to compare results with Declan when I get back to London." "Pili?" "You worked with Terrance Wexford in Berlin, right?" "Yes." "How do you think he's enjoying his new post?" "I think he's enjoying the authority of it immensely." "I see." "Thank you, Pili." "You think this was hidden by the dead guy?" "Or someone else." "Or it means nothing." "We'll run some scans, see what turns up." "Indian military has no record of any personnel operating in Dharavi during the time of the murder." "Okay, so we're looking for career mercenaries, ex-military." "I'll send out a few emails, see if any kr or Blackwater guys were in town." "No trace on the casing we found?" "None, but we do have an ID on the victim, one Ajay Paveljit." "No immediate family." "No fixed address." "Huh." "The body's downstairs." "We're ready to start the autopsy." "Wow, I am, uh, jetlagged." "I think I better turn in, but why don't you do the autopsy, and we'll just go over the results tomorrow?" "Thought he was a doctor." "He is, just not the kind that likes autopsies." "Hey, wake up!" "Don't make me come in there." "No, seriously, don't make me come in there." "Hey!" "Wow." "Next time you should actually try sleeping." "Oh, I don't know..." "I guess it's the 22 time zones in two days." "Well, snap out it." "Ravi's downstairs." "He says he's got something." "All right, I'll be down in a minute." "Tests on the statue came back clean." "There's nothing unusual about it, however..." "I completed the autopsy on Mr. Paveljit." "According to his DNA scan, he's human, so imagine my surprise when I examined his internal organs and found evidence that he was over 200 years old." "What?" "But his DNA is normall" "You're sure?" "Absolutely." "He's 100% human." "I ran the test three times to be sure." "Crafty son of a bitch." "Stares down the barrel of a gun not 20 feet away from where he hid the bloody thing." "That's devotion." "So where is it now?" "Well, often, that's a good question." "Any sign of the old woman, or the statue?" "No?" "This one said he saw someone take the statue, a man." "Was he a white man like me?" "Yeah." "Yeah?" "Competition." "Hmm." "Magnus's people." "It would be so crappy if they got to the bug before us." "Lads, this just got more difficult." "How was Egypt?" "Tiring, and what's the other word I'm looking for?" "Ah, yes, Sandy." "What's been happening here?" "Well, you'll be pleased to hear at most of the affected abnormals have calmed down substantially." "Whatever wascausing the flare-up seems to have dissipated somewhat." "Well, that's a relief." "These are the locations where the events took place." "London, Tokyo, Sydney, Rio, Lagos, Cairo." "There doesn't appear to be a common link between them." "No pattern that I can discern." "You're saying all these places were affected at the same time?" "Yeah, roughly, why?" "Well, if it was some kind of trigger, it would have to be very strong and moving very quickly." "An EM pulse of some kind." "Maybe." "But that doesn't align with the symptoms we're seeing." "Exactly." "Mean, none of the abnormals we're dealing with are usually affected by Em spikes." "Not to mention," "I don't know anything powerful enough to send a pulse worldwide like that." "Still, I'll have Henry go over the satellite data." "There must be something we're missing." "You were right about the pulse." "Chinese weather satellite caught a trace of a unique energy signature right around the time the incidents began, but I followed it to this." "It's an em pulse originating in Mumbai, right in the heart of Dharavi." "Dear God." "Yeah, that's pretty much what I said." "So, what do you think it means?" "That this is somehow connected to the cult of Kali." "And voila." "Drink this." "Thanks." "I don't know what's wrong with me." "I feel like I'm dying or something." "Maybe it's something you ate." "You know, the first time I was here," "I had a samosa off the street cart." "I barfed for, like, two days straight..." "Okay, thank you." "That's great." "Wow." "Maybe you should go back and lie down." "Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." "Do you want me to come with you?" "No, thanks, I'm fine." "Why don't you just keep asking about the cult?" "Oh..." "You sure you're okay?" "Yeah..." "Yeah, I think I just need to sleep." "Quickly!" "They're coming!" "They must not find him." "You lost him?" "No, he wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the Sanctuary early." "Did you check the hospitals?" "Nobody fits his description." "What about his cell phone?" "We tracked it using the GPS." "Found it in a ditch." "I've organized a search." "We have people going door-to-door." "Don't worry, we'll find him." "Show me this statue you found." "Kate?" "He's out there, which means I am too." "We just found out, sir." "She only landed here 90 minutes ago." "Bribe an official." "Get a passenger manifest." "You can't just come to me and say, "guess what, boss, she's suddenly in town."" "Sir, she flies a private charter with a bogus flight plan." "There's no way we could have known... enough, enough." "I mean, this... this isn't a game." "It's a one-shot, once-in-a-lifetime thing." "Some mooks from the local Sanctuary, one thing." "Helen Magnus?" "Whoa, she's another, and it means if we screw up, even marginally, we're going to get pinched, or die, or worse." "No more surprises." "It commemorates the ceremony of acceptance." "You recognize it?" "From a conference in Brazil about 40 years ago." "Markings are similar, signifying a cult member's initiation as a doot." ""Doot?" I don't know that word." "Ancient Urdu dialect meaning "herald"" "or "guardian,"" "or in some translations, "prophet"." "It was believed that the doots could foretell disaster... earthquakes, tsunamis, and the like... and that the advance warning gave the other cult members a chance to escape." "Seems like someone with that ability would be worth more alive than dead." "Definitely." "You're sure there was nothing inside these?" "They're completely solid." "Scans for surface residue are still pending." "Huh..." "The pattern inside here changes." "The design loses symmetry." "Something's missing." "Durga, where have you been?" "I've been looking for you." "I tried to call, but you didn't answer." "What's wrong?" "Are you sick?" "What's happened to you?" "Why won't you answer me?" "Will he survive?" "I don't believe it." "What?" "Tests show surface residue on the statue came from a makri." "I'm not familiar with that species." "You wouldn't be." "It's an incredibly rare species of abnormal spider that requires a war m-blooded host to survive." "I thought they were extinct." "Something that rare would be very valuable..." "Oh, no." "This isn't about money." "This is about something far worse." "The makri is a subspecies off-shoot of a marine-dwelling abnormal known as gephallis bertallosso." "It's a massive arachnid creature capable of manipulating tectonic plates via focused magnetic resonance." "You're talking about big Bertha." "The one who makes the earth move." "And the waters rise." "The makri is its tiny genetic cousin." "They may well have a link, a chemical, or even psychic bond that allows the host a deeper connection to big Bertha." "So if anyone finds this makri... they could potentially use it to locate the most powerful abnormal on earth." "Wait, but big Bertha is dead." "You killed her four years ago, yes?" "We all know that." "Dr. Magnus?" "Not exactly." "Bertha is alive." "You kept her alive and lied about it?" "Historically, creatures as powerful as big Bertha have a symbiotic relationship with other life forms this planet." "I felt that euthanizing her would create far greater problems... tidal patterns would be altered, undersea ecological systems completely destroyed, massive geological shifts." "The best course of action was to keep her secure and under watch." "Killing her posed far greater risks than keeping her alive." "Where is she?" "A specialized containment field at the bottom of the Indian ocean." "Which you kept hidden from the entire Sanctuary... it was necessary!" "To keep her and the rest of the world safe." "It was my prerogative, Ravi." "My choice." "Okay." "Fine." "We need to dispatch ships immediately, increase security to the entire area..." "Of course." "I'll get Henry on it." "He'll coordinate, but we need to find Will." "If the makri behaves the way I believe it does, then it could well be a doorway into finding Bertha's location, which is no doubt what the mercenaries were after when they killed Mr. Paveljit." "What happened to me?" "You went away for a while, but now you're back." "Why did I get sick?" "Because of the makri, the ancient spider inside you." "The former host, Ajay, was being chased by bad men." "He hid the makri in the shrine of Durga." "You found it." "You were not supposed to." "But why did it... the makri needs a host." "When it doesn't have one, it speaks for all the world to hear." "It chose you..." "Which is a great honor." "I should get back to the Sanctuary." "The streets are not safe." "For that matter, the Sanctuary may not be either." "You must stay hidden until you get proper training." "Trained?" "To become a suitable host." "It is in the blood of my people to withstand the trials of the makri." "You are strong, but you are far from being ready." "Helen, news travels fast." "Terrance." "You kept Bertha alive after all we discussed." "It was necessary." "And I appreciate your opinion, but things have changed considerably." "Do you have any leads?" "At the moment, we're at a bit of a disadvantage, but Bertha is secure, I assure you." "And let's hope she stays that way." "You're certain this makri is linked to her?" "We are now." "Let come to Mumbai, help you analyze everything you've learned." "You don't need to do that." "Besides, you've got your hands full in New York." "You have my complete support, Helen, you always have, but people are questioning your judgment." "I can handle it." "I hope so." "What is the makri?" "It's what gives you your power." "My power?" "To be a doot, a prophet." "It is through you that the destroyer of the world communicates with us." "Kali..." "She is extremely powerful." "Without the makri to help us speak to her, we'll be as helpless as leaves in the wind." "That's the woman of my visions." "That's Kali." "You're seeing her already?" "Then your connection must be very strong." "What are we going to do?" "Run and hide." "Go, go, go, go, go." "Check in there." "We've got search ships moving into the area now." "We should be at Bertha's coordinates in six hours or less." "Good." "I want you on a plane immediately with the weapon." "We'll monitor her sensors from here." "Yeah, about that." "Just so you know, I went over the sensor logs." "You know how she's supposedly been asleep this whole time?" "Well, guess what happened at roughly the same time as the Mumbai EM pulse?" "She responded to the call of the makri." "Yeah." "She emitted a magnetic burst so low in frequency at the sensors didn't detect it until I did a full scan, but it was powerful enough to briefly alter the earth's magnetic field." "Magnetic North was shifted by one hundred thousandth of a degree." "Navigation instruments all over the world were affected." "Doc, that is power." "Let's go, come on." "Let's go." "Well, who said good things don't happen to good people, huh?" "Dr. Will Zimmerman?" "And you..." "Oh, I've been looking for you for years." "If I'm not mistaken, you're the last surviving member of the cult of Kali." "You're too old to withstand it, so the spider's got to be in him." "Please, you must not do this." "Are you kidding?" "Is she kidding?" "Of course I must." "This is huge!" "Hmm?" "I was sure your boss was going to find you before I did, so I think this is kismet." "Karma." "Fate." "All that stuff." "Get that set up." "Who are you?" "Who, me?" "Just a guy..." "With lots of money, and people." "I like to get my hands on rare stuff, you know?" "Why, did you think I was someone a bit cooler?" "An abnormal?" "Hmm?" "Don't I wish it." "But you just wait." "What are you..." "What are you going to do to me?" "You mean you haven't worked it out yet?" "Okay, so you know that little thing inside of you?" "It's like a dial-an-earthquake in a box." "You see, you are..." "Psychically cod to..." "Kali." "Yeah." "Well, I was going to say big Bertha, but sure." "Big Bertha?" "And Kali..." "One and the same." "I know, I know, you thought she was dead." "So did everybody thanks to sheriff Magnus," "But she's still alive and kicking, and whoever has that bug inside of them..." "They control her." "So, my friend here is going to hit you with a low-frequency magnetic pulse, and I'm not going to lie to you, that little thing is not going to like it, no, not one little bit..." "But to tell you the truth, it's the only way to get the bug out, all right?" "So... sorry, Will." "Wait a second." "Just hold on a second." "Hold it, hold it!" "What have you done?" "Relax, he's perfectly okay." "You just need to send your signal out, don't you, little buddy, before you're ready for your new home." "Henry's en route." "Good." "I need a detailed list of all naval traffic within a 500-kilometer radius of the coordinates around Bertha." "What is it?" "Satellites just picked up a disturbance in Mumbai." "It's the EM pulse again." "The makri." "It's coming from a warehouse about six kilometers northeast of here." "We need to let Kate know." "I will." "The pulse went global." "They've probably detected it by now." "I need a few minutes." "Start packing up." "Copy that." "Start packing up!" "You're not prepared for this." "I've been training for years for this moment." "Rocky on the courthouse steps." "I know all about you people." "I've mimicked yo diet, oxygen levels, nutrients." "I've mastered your meditation." "I've opened more chakras than you can shake a stick at." "Oh, Bibi..." "No, I'm prepared." "You cannot force the makri to take you as a host." "It must choose." "Oh, the whole religious bit." "Ceremony of acceptance, commune with the gods, tinky winky woo-woo." "I've read all about that." "There's more to it than you know." "It's a bug!" "It's science." "I have a sensor alert from Bertha's containment location." "What?" "Movement." "I see it." "Can you compensate, flood the area with sedative?" "Already done." "Her system's beating it." "Bloody hell, they found her." "Sir, it's happening." "Lock onto her tracking beacon." "Got it." "Is she emitting any magnetic energy?" "No." "Are any of our ships close?" "Nearest vessels 29 kilometers out." "It's not good enough." "They're tracking her." "What about their ships?" "Two Sanctuary vessels within 30 k." "Watch this." "Magnus, what's happening?" "I don't know." "I've lost telemetry on Bertha." "I don't have a position." "Neither do I." "Magnet burst just scrambled their system, sir." "Two Sanctuary ships dead in the water." "And their homing beacon?" "Disabled." "Could be interference." "Reboot the system." "Kate, what's your position?" "We're almost there." "Sorry..." "Really." "It's just business." "Go to hell." "Sir, we've got Sanctuary personnel in the vicinity." "They're closing in." "Okay, people, let's get the hell out of this hole!" "Put her in the van." "What about him?" "He's already dead." "Converge on the warehouse." "Converge on the warehouse!" "Reboot is complete." "I've lost all satellite data from the region." "Well, get it back!" "I can't." "Dammit." "They used her to blind us." "They've got big Bertha." "Oh, will..." "Oh, God..." "Call Magnus." "No pulse." "Oh, God." "Come on." "Come on, Will." "I'm putting his blood sample into the system now!" "Come on!" "Come on, Will!" "It's going to be okay." "Pulmocardiac tach." "Help me hold him!" "Will, it's Helen!" "Can you hear me?" "Kali..." "She's out there!" "God, what the hell did they do to you?" "He's in shock." "Dr. Magnus..." "Oh, my God." "What is it?" "His organs are going into systemic failure." "His system's been flooded with toxic antibodies." "Turn him!" "What?" "He's been poisoned?" "No, the makri, it must have been removed by force." "It would have released these toxins." "But I thought the hosts can't survive without it." "They can't!" "Will!" "Hey..." "God, he looks terrible." "Unfortunately, the makri's absence from his nervous system is causing a hypersensitive immune response." "I've stabilized him for now, reduced the fevers, prevented more seizures." "We're running tests." "I know of a few treatments that could slow his decline, but we simply don't know enough about the makri or its effect on his physiology." "Any sign of Bertha?" "All our resources are being diverted to the search, but it'll take time." "She could be thousands of miles away by now." "Hey, don't beat yourself up about it." "You did what you had to do." "I wish it were that simple." "The truth is, I broke the rule that I myself set into place." "I knew it would come back and haunt me sooner or later." "No, doc, there is a psychic link to a parasite and an ancient cult." "Abnormals all over the world are acting crazy." "I would say that your hunch about Bertha being connected to the eco-system is on the money." "She could destroy millions of lives." "And by killing her, she could destroy millions of lives, so what kind of choice is that?" "Look, it happened..." "So we improvise, we fix it." "What else can I do?" "Find out if Henry's made it to the lead search ship." "Patch him through when he's ready." "Done." "Bertha's magnetic burst definitely caused a spike in weirdness." "I've adjusted our navigation systems to compensate." "Also, Declan's reporting more incidents of abnormals appearing in public, stirring things up." "Yes, I've been getting messages from heads of sanctuaries all over the world." "Things are only getting worse." "Hey, doc, listen, about Bertha." "I'm really sorry I wasn't there to help." "You were in the air, Henry." "There's nothing you could've done." "Yeah..." "Okay, so we lost round one." "What's our next move?" "We need to re-establish contact with Bertha's tracking device." "Yeah, bad guys have got her under some sort of a jamming cloak." "None of my scans are picking anything up." "Who the hell could've done this?" "Someone with major connections in the abnormal world." "It's far more than that." "This is someone who has put together pieces of information that are thousands of years old... the cult of Kali, the makri, its connection to Bertha." "Who everybody believed was dead." "Yeah, you know, this whole cult thing," "I mean, that's got to be, like, biblical old, huh?" "Older, in fact." "There are legends of abnormals who were movers of earth, heralds of the great floods, the whisperers who could talk to all creatures." "All these predate even the earliest egyptian dynasties." "Someone studied this as though it were all fact, not myth, and now they have control of the most dangerous abnormal on earth." "I want to know who we're dealing with and where they've taken her." "Get us back in the game, Henry." "We're almost in position, Mr. Forsythe." ":" "Durga..." "Durga?" "Kali?" "Kali?" "Durga, find me." "Kali?" "Come to me." "Ravi, I need two milligrams lorazepam!" "Hold him still, or he'll lose the IV!" "Help me!" "Help me find her!" "Will, talk to me." "Help me find her..." "Dammit..." "You can't see her, can you?" "Who?" "Kali." "You can't see her." "The Bhagavad Gita says the herald will see her as a beautiful enchantress when the connection is strong," ""with color so vibrant so as to blind a man."" "It does say that." "So why am I seeing nothing when I'm connected to Bertha?" "Come on." "I brought you here as my tech support, and it's my first time as a herald." "I'm not going to get nasty with you..." "But he might." "Kali only comes to the mind's eye when the makri wills it so." "You are not its chosen host." "You will never see her mind inside yours." "So I don't get fries with my happy meal." "You're not a herald, and you never will be." "Oh, really?" "That's funny, because I thought I was the one who made her crawl 200 miles across the ocean floor." "I'm the one with the critter inside of me." "I think Bertha will do whatever I want." "Such as?" "What do the ancient texts foretell?" "The great flood will come and sweep away sins." "The earth swallowing up our unclean." "Every single holy man has predicted Bertha's awakening since the beginning of time, and guess what?" "They're right." "They're right." "Bibi..." "It's the end of days." "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Ah... do not do that." "Do what?" "Follow me like that." "You're looking for the ones who hurt the white man." "The ones who took my bibi." "You saw them?" "The, uh... the white guy is pretty sick right now." "Sick?" "But he has a makri inside him." "Not anymore." "That's very bad." "Dr. Magnus?" "Have you heard from Henry?" "Still trying to steal back satellites to pick up Bertha's trail." "He's going through every ship in the area at the time she escaped." "So far all their stories check out." "He's looking for false registries, shell companies... it's all taking too long." "Bertha's been gone more than 12 hours now." "Someone has control of her." "Declan's reporting more abnormals worldwide wreaking havoc." "Controlling the spin on that many sightings, not easy." "And will, I mean..." "He's speaking more hindi now than English when he talks." "He keeps calling out for Kali." "Quite possibly a side effect of having the makri forcibly removed." "It isn't." "This is Arjuna." "He says he's a member of the cult." "Tell them what you told me." "Your friend is still connected to Kali." "Are you certain?" "If he still sees her in his dreams, they can speak." "Kali's an apsara." "A sea spirit." "Bertha?" "Once the makri chooses its host, that bond can't be undone, even when the makri is gone." "Can he sense this apsara, control it?" "Not without the makri to help him." "He's helpless." "Unless they call her in a rapati sungu." "Rapati sungu?" "He must dance for her." "Dance for her?" "If he dances a song for her, she will hear him." "If he dances well, she will listen to whatever he says." "Are you sure about this?" "Of course." "I am to be a host when I am older." "I've been training since I was very young." "Infirmary, go ahead." "You have a visitor." "You took Bertha to the woods to kill her, and you never pulled the trigger." "The optics on that are..." "Oh, to hell with the optics, Terrance." "It was my choice not to kill her." "If I thought it would be popular," "I wouldn't have kept it secret." "Well, the only problem with lying is getting caught." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying that 80... 50 years ago, even, no one would have challenged you on this, but things have changed." "Helen, I'm sure you did what you thought was best, and at the time, it probably was, but now..." "I couldn't have known about the makri, or that someone would have figured out a way to control Bertha remotely." "And I know you took every precaution, but it still happened." "Look, this isn't even about credibility." "It's becoming about trust." "You need to contain this situation quickly." "We need to find whoever's controlling Bertha and sever the connection." "Once I get her back into containment again, then I..." "Containment?" "Helen, Bertha is a threat to every living creature on this planet, and you want to put her back in her box?" "This issue is far larger than you could possibly understand." "Killing her is a last resort." "The other heads of house agree." "It would be far too reckless." "Yes, some feel that way, but not all..." "And Helen, the tides are turning." "We've known each other for a long time, and I owe you everything..." "But you need to rethink your stand on this." "You're on thinner ice than you realize." "] There were about 18 ships in the vicinity when Bertha was taken." "Now, at first blush, most of them check out." "You got oil tankers, cargo ships, fishing trawlers." "No connective tissue between any of them." "But you found something." "Yeah." "Hi!" "Yeah, I hacked into the databases of a few fortune 500 companies, and I cross-referenced their boards of directors." "You know, those guys make a whole bunch of money for doing pretty much nothing?" "And?" "And, well, one of the guys sits on the board of every company that had ships in the region where Bertha was hijacked." "Here you go." "This is Edward Forsythe." "Now, he's a big player in the global geo-mining biz, okay." "This guy owns half of the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and the North sea oil project, all right?" "And he was in Mumbai when all this went down." "I've met him before." "He approached me at a conference years ago, asked all sorts of questions about abnormals in ancient mythology." "Oh, sorry ." "It's a bit rough in here." "So I don't know how he knows what he knows, yet, but he did buy a lot of ancient artifacts from museums over the last few years for, like, insane amounts of money." "What kind of artifacts?" "Totems, scrolls, ancient texts." "It's all shroud-o f-turin Indiana-Jones stuff." "He believes every abnormal can be traced to a certain region of Pangea, going back, like, millions of years." "The original super-continent?" "That's an interesting theory, but there's no proof." "So what does a billionaire art collector want with an earthquake monster?" "Well, controlling Bertha's like having the ultimate nuke." "I mean, he could be using her to leverage oil rights anywhere in the world." "Political blackmail for business contracts." "Any coastal city is in jeopardy if he lets her loose." "No." "That's a lot of risk for a little gain." "I mean, the guy definitely doesn't need the money." "Then what on earth is he up to?" "You think they're onto me, Magnus and her crew?" "Yeah, I think they're onto me." "Not that it matters." "They have no idea what I'm up to." "They're probably digging up the auction sale from the canopic jar of shtabi from the London museum." "They should've bought it from a numbered company." "We're never going to be pals, are we?" "You're afraid." "You should be." "Sorry about the delay, sir." "Bertha's proximity is playing havoc with our navigation." "Yeah, well, we were about to start swapping puke stories." "What's new?" "She's made good progress, sir." "She's at the designated coordinates now." "So we're ready for phase two?" "Collateral damage?" "We anticipate major seismic activities associated with her actions." "Coastal areas will be hit very hard." "That's a damn shame." "Let's get it started." "Right." "Come on, girl, let's go to work." "Where have you been?" "Come." "You have been looking for me?" "That depends if this is real or not." "I am real, Durga." "As real as you." "Why do you call me that?" "Durga." "It is your name." "Don't tell me you have forgotten mine as well?" "Kali." "You should have not disappeared like that." "Where did you go?" "The thing that connects us was taken from me." "The makri?" "And you allowed this?" "I didn't have much of a choice..." "But the other one that you're connected to is not your herald." "He calls me." "No..." "Kali, you need to stay." "Don't listen to him." "I must go, Durga." "I can't stay." "No..." "No, wait." "If you are my true herald, find me." "How?" "Dance the rapati sungu." "Dance?" "And you will find me." "I should have taken more precautions." "His state of mind's been deteriorating lately." "I've contacted the local authorities, given his description." "I'm sure they'll be a big help." "You'd think a white guy wandering the street screaming about Kali would get noticed." "Not really." "It's Mumbai." "I want all abnormals with psychic and remote-viewing abilities activated as well." "If Will's mind is still linked to Bertha, there may be a way to track him using unconventional means." "On it." "Helen..." "Not now, Terrance." "We need to get on a ship, lead the search for Bertha, and end this." "The search is ongoing." "Finding will is just as important." "His link to Bertha may well be the key." "I need five minutes." "Take over." "I'll be right back." "Got it." "Come with me." "Namaste..." "Are you sure?" "Hey..." "Are you sure?" "Look at it." "No?" "Okay." "Dammit..." "Hey, buddy." "Thanks for nothing." "Come on... :" "Oh, God..." "These people are really, really unhelpful." "No wonder we have no idea where he's gone." "You're not really Indian, are you?" "Excuse me?" "Dude..." "Yeah, but you didn't grow up here, that's for sure." "So?" "So you have no idea how to talk to these people." "They want to help us." "You're just not asking properly." "What, am I supposed to offer them money?" "'Cause I have tried that." "It doesn't work." "Kate, it's entirely inappropriate to offer money to someone in their own home." "You need to show politeness, gratitude." "Would it kill you to have a cup of tea with them, for God's sake?" "They don't like you." "Stop being rude, and they will help us." "I know all that." "It's just that I've never bought into that whole..." "Quiet, subservient Indian girl thing." "Man, you have some serious hangups about your roots." "This is the 21st century." "You don't have to be a servant or a maid, you just have to show some respect." "You can be likeable, even attractive, when you let your guard down." "Try that." "Did you..." "Just make a pass at me?" "Warming up to it, not that my parents would approve of you, of course." "I'm joking." "They'd love you." "Really?" "No." "I know will is tied into this, but you're only going to dig yourself a bigger hole by taking your eyes off of Bertha." "Believe me, this is the right strategy." "No, it isn't." "You are way out of line." "You need to shift your focus on this right now." "Lying about not euthanizing an extinction-level abnormal would've gotten any other head of house suspended, but because it's you, they're trying to give you the benefit of the doubt." "Which they should." "For how long?" "And now with this Forsythe character who can control her by remote, what would you say if the shoe were on the other foot?" "There are extenuating circumstances." "We don't know enough yet about her connection to the earth." "You don't destroy something that powerful without having all the facts." "The fact is, she can destroy half of europe when she's upset!" "You've taken us to the brink, Helen." "How did you think the network would respond?" "You taught us to think like this." "You said, "question everything."" "They're giving you 72 hours to contain the situation." "It's Henry." "Doc!" "Geosynchronous satellites detected major magnetic disturbances about four minutes ago." "I'm sending you the data now." "Look, based on the resonance pattern, this has got to be Bertha." "Re-direct all search teams to the coordinates immediately." "Yeah, we're closing in now, and I know your next qstion... why would Forsythe send Bertha there?" "Tectonic plates." "Because the tecton... yeah... right." "It's a convergence point of three major tectonic boundaries in the southern hemisphere... the Indian, African and Arabian plates." "Dear God, he's going to set her off." "No chae since the recent burst." "Nothing?" "No activity, sir." "She's just sitting there." "You're not strong enough." "You're not worthy of carrying e makri..." "And Kali knows it." "Really?" "Watch this." "Fire the little spider up." "Magnec resonance burst, half power, just to get things started." "Mr. Forsythe... shut up and do it." "Seismic readings coming from Bertha's position." "She's active." "It's starting." "Like I said, end of days." "No!" "I've got your lon g-range chopper at shivajI airport prepped and ready to go." "Should get you out here within six hours." "Good." "Is the weapon ready?" "Yeah, one vlf Bertha stunner, ready to go." "You get close enough, the acoustic bullet should put her back to sleep." "Just, the problem is... we have to get close enough." "Yeah." "All right." "I'll get there as soon as I can." "Okay, fly safe." "You're using a long-range acoustic device against Bertha?" "With a clear shot, we could knock her out." "Forsythe can't control an unconscious creature." "What if it doesn't work?" "You need an alternative." "I'm hoping it won't come to that." "There's too much at stake, Helen." "I agree, and if there is absolutely no alternative, then I will destroy her." "Suddenly such a delicate flower." "Oh, bite me." "It's actually quite breathtaking." "We'll monitor you from here!" "Maintain radio contact!" "Do nothing unless I order it!" "Of course." "Ready!" "Kali!" "Kali, what are you doing?" "No!" "No, you must stop!" "No..." "Kali!" "The end..." "The end of days!" "The great flood!" "The great flood is coming!" "We're almost at the coordinates." "Anything yet?" "Yeah, reports of seismic activity in the area, low-grade, but pretty constant." "I'd say we've got to be getting pretty close." "I'm just getting some weird mapping data here." "Okay, that's just crazy." "What is it?" "I'm cross-checking with our nautical charts." "Just hold on." "Okay, either we're totally off course, or..." "Doc, I'm reading a chain of Islands dead ahead, but there's nothing in the charts indicating any land mass, just open ocean." "That's because it's new." "She's not making earthquakes." "She's making land." "This is Magnus." "We have a complication." "Are you getting these images?" "Yes, we are." "Sonar indicates tectonic plates are diverging rapidly." "We're also detecting a smaller vessel approximately six miles West of your position." "What do you want to bet it's Forsythe?" "This is the captain." "We're moving to intercept." "Don't!" "He's got control of Bertha." "If we try taking his ship, there's no telling what he'll do." "That's why he's out here alone." "He has tte ultimate bodyguard." "If she keeps building land at this rate... it'll cause massive destruction to the entire region, I know." "We're circling around, trying to get a better lock on her position." "Copy that." "Standing by." "Ready deployment of all depth charges." "If she can't finish this, we will." "Yes, sir." "Ravi!" "People are saying there's something happening a few streets over." "Henry?" "I can't get a shot." "We didn't anticipate her making Islands, and they're kind of in the way." "Dammit." "What do you want me to do, doc?" "Target Forsythe's ship." "Forsythe's ship?" "If we can't get a shot at Bertha, we might be able to use the l-rad to sever his connection to her." "Oh, man..." "Kali!" "Kali, you must stop!" "The end of days..." "I must..." "I must find her." "How can I find her?" "Dance..." "I can dance!" "I can dance!" "Kali!" "Kali!" "Damn, I'm losing her." "Mr. Forsythe, we're tracking a lone helicopter closing in on our position." "Mr. Forsythe..." "Mr. Forsythe?" "It's Magnus." "Shoot her down." "Doc!" "We have a weapons lock on our position!" "He's got missiles?" "Of course he does." "Deploying countermeasures." "Hang on!" "Yeah!" "Nice move, doc!" "Get ready to fire the weapon!" "We have missed the target." "20 seconds to reload." "Namaskarr, Durga." "Namaskarr, Kali." "Sir, Bertha's slowing down." "Her rate of volcanic activity is decreasing." "Come on, stay with me." "I have a shot!" "Take it!" "He was here." "People saw him only a few minutes ago." "I know, I got the same story, and something about a... dancing, and apparently, quite well." "Will dancing?" "Pull our people back." "What?" "The dance, the rapati sungu." "He's trying to reach Bertha." "Get our people away from him." "It worked." "You heard me." "You summoned me." "Kali..." "Please, stop what you're doing." "The makri is telling me that there is danger." "You said your makri was taken from you." "I know, but..." "I can still feel you." "What you're doing..." "Is what I am asked to do." "If you don't stop, millions of people will die." "Then they will die." "But this herald..." "He doesn't respect you." "He's only using you for his own gain." "You are different?" "Yes!" "I respect you." "Your power is incredible, but killing innocent people is not what you're meant to do." "I have heard this from other heralds in the past, a request for leniency, for mercy." "People are stronger now." "If you hurt them, they'll hurt you back." "I only wish to be left alone." "What's Bertha doing now?" "Scans indicate..." "She's inactive!" "I think it worked!" "Magnus, did you hit the target?" "She's quiet." "But still conscious?" "Yes." "We should be able to guide her back to her containment area." "I'm heading back to the ship." "We'll regroup for the next phase." "Understood." "Captain..." "Deploy all depth charges to Bertha's position." "Target her with everything we have." "Right now." "Yes, sir." "Ready all ordnance." "All charges, maximum depth." "All charges max depth." "Aye, sir." "And cut off all Magnus' radio communications with the other ships." "Why was I asked to make land?" "Oh, I don't know, but you don't have to do what he says." "Please..." "You danced well for me, Durga." "Well, I..." "I didn't have much of a choice." "I had to get your attention, didn't i?" "No!" "Depth charges?" "Terrance, what the hell are you doing?" "Dammit!" "What?" "What is it?" "You said you would leave me alone!" "What happened?" "You betrayed me!" "Will!" "Will!" "What the hell are you playing at?" "She was calm!" "We had a window of opportunity." "It had to be done." "Captain..." "Please escort Mr. Wexford to the brig, pending my orders." "With all respect, ma'am, I can't." "I received a coded message on the secure network frequency." "Mr. Wexford... by unanimous consent, you are hereby relieved of your command of the Sanctuary network, effective immediately." "Dude, you cannot be serious." "Don't interfere... dude." "I'm in charge of operations now." "You're remanded to custody pending further disciplinary action." "You had this planned all along." "My orders were to take over if you failed, and by letting Bertha live yet once again, you most certainly have." "I'm sorry, Helen." "You gave me no choice." "You have no idea what you've done." "I saved lives." "I did what you refused to do." "No, Terrance, this is what you've done!" "Oh..." "Oh, she's mad."