Straw beside two pieces of shit who were planning our
destruction the whole freakin' time – whether they knew it or not.”
Cotton very vocally agreed, as did Alec (a rare instance where he and
Thomas were in sync) and so a separate acknowledgment for the two
avatars was held a week after Straw's elaborate funeral.

Straw's teammates and his
retinue from outside the team, solemnly honored this most amazing of
men. Straw's heirs attended: his lover Octavia Flay and her child by
Euphrates, Darius Flay (b. 1975); his estranged widow Artemis Clancey
(b. 1948) and her child by Euphrates, Zachariah “Zack” Straw (b.
1970); as well as the surviving members of the interconnected
Clancey, Reale, Torrance, and Flay families.

This left the Aggregate with
only one original member in its 16 year existence - the Shadow Baron,
and he shouldered theother gifted individuals looking to take him down. His main target, however, was Cary Bradcroft's knowledge of the Black Cabal talisman.

Gathered was the same
line-up present at Straw's memorial – perhaps the most formidable
Aggregate yet assembled. Also present were the Absurd Tentacle,
Silent Indigo, and Javier. Vaikuntha announced,
“Millenia I have slept, and dreamt beyond the pale... for the day I
wake and unleash the destroyer force on all mankind.” In one mighty
wave Vaikuntha annhilated Silent Indigo, Karibou, and the Empress
Moth, critically injuring Corona and Wurm in the process. Ghost Cat,
Cary's replacement as field commander for Euphrates, attempted to use
advanced martial arts on Vaikuntha while Javier and Bradcroft hurled arcane forces at him, and Thomas and Lykos attempted to knock him down
with brute force. Alec and Stephen Bartholemew simply shot at him.
All